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Wave-Measuring Performance Characteristics of Spoondrift Spotter
Get PDFSpoondrift Spotter represents a state-of-the-art wave measurement buoy developed by Spoondrift (www.spoondrift.co) and supported by funding from the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E). A low-cost buoy platform like Spotter enables a range of new applications. For instance, coherent arrays of Spotters can support adaptive tuning of marine and hydrokinetic energy devices. In general, the availability of high-fidelity wave measurements can help support wave assessments for a variety of commercial, military, operational, academic, and recreational users
Session 3 Presentation - An Overview of Recent Wave Glider® Field Program
Get PDFDeveloped by Liquid Robotics, Inc., Wave Gliders® (WGs) use wave energy for propulsion through the synergistic alternating thrust of wave action on the floating vehicle and mechanical wings 6 m below the vehicle. WGs provide dynamic environmental monitoring in the maritime environment with weeks-tomonths-long deployments using solar panels to power sensors, and satellite and cell communication channels for data delivery. Some data is transmitted real-time or in bulk at more infrequent intervals, while other data is archived on-board for extraction after a mission.
Example field programs include: wave, ocean, and PBL measurements in tropical cyclones; algae bloom monitoring; satellite ground truthing; active and passive acoustics; marine mammal monitoring; carbon cycle studies; geodesy marine magnetics; hydrocarbon seep mapping; and marine surveillance. Instrumentation to support these missions are different combinations of the following: anemometer; towfish; fluorometer; ADCP; acoustic modems; acoustic recorders; directional ocean wave sensor; CTD-DO; magnetometer; and camera.
The presentation overviews recent WG field programs, including the 2014 Mississippi State University mission. MSU deployed 3 WGS from Aug.-Nov. 2014, validating the instruments during buoy loitering exercises for surface meteorology, SST, and wave data. MSU also intercepted Tropical Storm Hanna’s fringes
Fabrication and Characterization of Intricate Nanostructures
Get PDFEncapsulation of nanoparticles within hexaniobate nanoscrolls presents interesting advances in the formation of nanocomposites exhibiting unique multi-dimensional properties. Building upon previous successes, facile yet versatile wet-chemical and microwave-irradiation synthetic protocols for the fabrication of a series of hexaniobate composites are presented herein. Solvothermal and, more recently, microwave-assisted methods have been developed that allow for the fabrication of peapod-like structures. During solvothermal treatment, exfoliated hexaniobate nanosheets scroll around highly ordered chains of preformed nanoparticles (NPs) to produce nanopeapods (NPPs). This approach offers versatility and high yields, in addition to the potential for advanced functional device fabrication.
For the characterization of these materials, advanced techniques in atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used for investigating the surface of materials at the nanometer scale. Extensive physical, dynamic, and force modulation studies were performed on novel oxide nanocomposites by implementing particular scanning techniques to determine information such as topology, stress-induced behavior at the nanoscale, magnetic behavior, and frictional forces of the nanoscale materials. These composites were then analyzed by topological intermittent contact studies in tapping and contact mode, as well as with derivative techniques of these commonly used scanning probe approaches.
In addition to studying surfaces using conventional modes of AFM, the mechanical properties of these nanocomposites were measured via dynamic lateral force modulation (DLFM) and magnetic properties of functionalized magnetic nanosheets were mapped via magnetic sampling modulation (MSM). By utilizing the capabilities of the DLFM imaging mode, elastic properties such as Young’s Modulus were measured from force-distance curves. In addition to this modulation mode, MSM was used to selectively map the vibrating magnetic nanomaterials from a modulated electromagnetic field. The information obtained from these AFM techniques can be helpful in determining the relative structural behavior of these nanocomposites and gauge their use in various applications such as structural engineering of nanoarchitectures as well as studying magnetic characteristics of metal oxide nanocomposites that exhibit characteristics different from their bulk counterparts
Found Missing: Fugitive Slaves, Jailer ads, and Surveillance in Antebellum New Orleans
Get PDFThis paper explores fugitive slave advertisements from the pages of the New Orleans Argus in 1828. As the main repository for runaway slave advertisements in New Orleans at the time, the Argus played a critical role in policing and surveillance of the city’s enslaved population just as New Orleans was becoming the largest slave market in the South. Using the Argus as well as historians’ accounts of the city, this thesis argues that as the market in enslaved people grew, slave owners depended upon local jailers in tandem with papers like the Argus, to police the enslaved population. The large volume of these advertisements, however, also testifies to enslaved people’s frequent rejection of bondage. This thesis is designed primarily as an index of the existing ads for 1828 with the aim of assisting further research into these sources
A River Separates Them, A Culture Connects Them: The Mohawk Hunters of Algiers and the Mardi Gras Indian Tradition in New Orleans
Get PDFAll over the world, Carnival is a time for a break in human activities, and inversion of the usual hierarchies. In New Orleans, Carnival is a time when the powerless take over the streets, and, for a time, invert control and ownership. One of the New Orleans carnival organizations are the Mardi Gras Indians, groups of African Americans who dress as Indians during the day and take over the streets of their neighborhoods, showing their power and beauty in a breathtaking display of costumes, music and dance. The Masking of the Mardi Gras Indian is a tradition dating back to at least the early nineteenth century. The Creole Wild West were the first named Indian tribe on record in 1884 but this does not mean they were the only or earliest tribe to mask. In the beginning some gangs would get together on Mardi Gras but did not mask under a proper name. The Mardi Gras Indian practice is a practice rooted in resistance to white oppression and African Americans’ demands for inclusion in the city’s Mardi Gras celebrations. The history of Mardi Gras Indians in New Orleans is not limited to the East Bank of the Mississippi River but is also includes residents on the West Bank, specifically in the neighborhood of Algiers. Within the Algiers neighborhood there are several different sections. Probably the most well known section, Algiers Point, consisted of mostly white residents. The Oakdale area, later known as the Fischer Housing Development, and the Cut-Off, an area that borders the bayous of Plaquemines Parish consisted of mostly African Americans. Although the origins of Indians masking on both sides of the River is a point of debate among scholars, some evidence suggests that Indians from Algiers masked as early as the early twentieth century. This thesis is an examination of the longest-running tribe in Algiers, the Mohawk Hunters who started out in the Oakdale area but currently most of their members now reside in the Cut-Off area. Using archival material as well as recently conducted oral histories, it explores the relationship between the Algiers Indian tradition and the more well-known groups on the East Bank. By their deep attachment to their neighborhood, despite its separation from the rest of New Orleans by the Mississippi River, they have helped to strengthen the Mardi Gras Indians’ neighborhood-bound traditions of community service and youth education. Not many people are privy to some of the information that was passed along to me through the oral interviews conducted but my personal connection to some the Mohawk Hunters, including my cousin Charles “Cubby” Dillon, possibly allowed me to gain a deeper look into the organization. I was able to use text messages for follow-up questions and this was access most interviewers may not have had. Although few residents on the East Bank know of their existence, they are a model of the community-engaged, twenty-first century Mardi Gras Indians
One-way Coupled Hydroelastic Analysis of Aluminum Wedge Under Slamming
Get PDFThe concept of using aluminum as the primary construction material for high speed ships and the hydroelastic behavior of the structure is widely gaining importance as a significant research topic in naval architecture. Aluminum is lighter than steel and hence can be predominantly used in high speed crafts which experiences significant slamming. This thesis work is focused on wedge shaped models. Free fall wedge impact is studied and a FORTRAN 90 computer program is developed to estimate the structural response of the wedge experiencing slamming by the use of matrix methods, finite element techniques and Newmark-Beta numerical time integration methods. The numerical solution is validated by comparison with the static solution. The theoretical hydrodynamic pressures which are used as input for this work was originally developed by using a flat cylinder theory [26]. The wedge drop at 0.6096 m (24 inch) drop height with an impact veloc- ity of v=3.05 m/s is based as the premise and the experimental pressure distributions measured by the pressure-transducers and the theoretical pressure predictions are used as inputs and the structural response is derived. Additionally, the response is compared for three different plate thicknesses and the results are compared against each other. The maximum deflection is comparable to the deflection evaluated from the experiment and tends to attain convergence as well. As the plate thickness reduces there tends to be a significant rise in the deflection values for the wedge plate, in the manner that when the plate thickness is halved there is a deviation of more than 75% in the deflection values as such
Possible breakdown of dopamine receptor synergism in a mouse model of Huntington\u27s Disease
Get PDFThe model of basal ganglia function proposed by Albin, Young and Penney (1989) describes two anatomically independent motor pathways, the direct and indirect. However, under normal conditions striatal dopamine (DA) is required for the expression of motor behavior, and DAergic control of the two pathways (via D1 and D2 receptors, respectively) is dependent on co-activation. We tested for a possible breakdown of D1/D2 synergism using transgenic R6/1 mice bearing the human huntingtin allele (Htt). Motor stereotypy, observed prior to the onset of HD-related symptoms, was rated on a 5-point scale following activation of: A) D1 receptors alone, B) D2 receptors alone, and C) stimulation of both D1 and D2 receptors. Results revealed that mice with the HD allele, like their WT litter mates, depend on the co-activation of the indirect and direct motor pathways to facilitate deliberate behavior
Stay Woke
Get PDFThroughout the pages of my thesis, I comprehensively analyze the processes, intentions, and production of my thesis film Stay Woke. My examination will exhaustively probe every stage of the film from development to preproduction to production to postproduction and beyond. Individual aspects of this process including writing, casting, locations, production design, cinematography, directing, budgeting, scheduling, and postproduction workflows will be detailed. As I make elaborations in each section, I will explain my learning experiences from each day’s new tasks, challenges, and lessons. All of these things will be framed with regards to the overall goal and themes of the film