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Margaret Ely Webb Bookplate Commissioned for C. A. F.
No full texthttps://digital.sandiego.edu/bookplates-artists-webb/1021/thumbnail.jp
Margaret Ely Webb Bookplate Commissioned for n/a
No full texthttps://digital.sandiego.edu/bookplates-artists-webb/1042/thumbnail.jp
Margaret Ely Webb Bookplate Commissioned for Viola S. Meyer
No full texthttps://digital.sandiego.edu/bookplates-artists-webb/1030/thumbnail.jp
Probing Sterile Neutrino Decays in the Adolescent Universe with Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and Large Scale Structure
Get PDFThe early universe provides a unique opportunity for researching neutrinos because in these dense and hot places, neutrinos have significant interactions with each other and everything else in the plasma of the early universe. One issue in the current cosmological paradigm is the lithium problem, where there is a discrepancy between predicted versus observed abundances of lithium produced during Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. In this paper, we look beyond the Standard Model to try and address this discrepancy by using the early universe as a laboratory to study the decay of sterile neutrinos into Standard model particles and its effect on cosmological observables. These decays create nonthermal neutrino spectra as opposed to nearly thermal spectra predicted by standard cosmology. These altered spectra affect the production of primordial elements during BBN and the formation of large scale structure
Outsmarting Smart Devices: Preparing for AI Liability Risks and Regulations
Get PDFAs AI technology continues to advance rapidly, establishing a new model for AI regulation will be crucial to protect both companies and consumers. The U.S. must consider consumer safety as well as innovation-conducive policies when assigning liability to AI. By using EU regulatory guidance as a starting point, this paper argues that a multi-tiered liability scheme coupled with a Uniform AI ethical framework and the creation of an independent AI regulatory agency would aid the U.S. in striking the right balance to effectively combat the risks posed by AI and IoT
Reducing Zoom Fatigue: Improving the Online Classroom through Andragogical and Technological Enhancements
Get PDFZoom fatigue and its underlying contributors are examined. Next-generation video-conferencing teaching and accessibility strategies to improve the student and faculty experience during live sessions are shared. An affordable next-generation video and audio setup demonstration is linked for review
“Zoning” Matters: RLUIPA and the New Normal of Religious Discrimination
Get PDFThe protection of religious freedom under federal law waxes and wanes, depending on two unpredictable factors: judicial activism and congressional action. A review of dozens of cases involving alleged violations of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), including two recent cases heard by the Supreme Court and the Fourth Circuit, reveals for the first time that many litigants and judges have ignored the congressional injunction to limit the reach of RLUIPA to two (and only two) forms of land-use regulation: zoning and landmarking. Plaintiffs have instead used RLUIPA to challenge water and sewer, septic, fire prevention, building, water pollution, environmental review, and other local and state regulations, as well as the use of eminent domain—all in the name of religious freedom. Central to the resolution of these disputes is the definition of the word “zoning.” Rather than ignoring the issue or taking a holistic approach to the meaning of zoning (and thereby submitting all forms of land use regulation to the most exacting scrutiny should they place a substantial burden on the free exercise of religion or otherwise fall under the proscriptions of the Act), courts and counsel need to consult the rich body of case law that describes the discrete substance and structure of American zoning. Adhering to the meaning of zoning as derived from the diverse laboratory of state courts meets the expectation of the bill’s champions in Congress, addresses the problem situations identified by experts who testified on the proposed legislation, and prevents the possibility of using RLUIPA as a strategy for neutralizing effective state and local environmental controls in a time when sustainability, safe structures, and the protection of water supplies rank high on the list of public health and safety needs. If, as a result of the findings in this Article, there should be a strong desire to expand the reach of the Act by amending the definitional section of RLUIPA, there is little likelihood that the near-unanimous support for RLUIPA and its predecessor Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) would be replicated. A contemporary effort to widen the reach of RLUIPA would very likely fall victim to lawmakers’ (and their constituents’) concerns that certain religious minorities (especially Muslims) are no longer worthy of special legislative protection, that many religious groups and individual believers have been using federal and state statutes designed to protect against religious discrimination as a means for discriminating on the basis of gender and sexual orientation, and that the environmental harms posed by lax enforcement of building codes, clean water, and other regulations outweigh the benefits of expanding RLUIPA’s protections
Optical Transport of Ultracold Atoms
Get PDFAt temperatures near absolute zero, bosons form a macroscopic quantum state that can be manipulated and imaged in a very controlled and tunable way. To reach these extreme temperatures near absolute zero, advanced methods in cooling, including laser and evaporative cooling, must be used. In addition to these techniques for cooling, atoms must also be held up against the constant pull of gravity, so additional trapping techniques using lasers and magnets are used. In our lab at University of San Diego, we are implementing a tunable lens system (TLS) to optically transfer atoms to a more optically accessible location. A tunable lens (TL) is a lens where the curvature of the lens can be adjusted through an applied electrical current, thus translating where the focus of a lens is in a controlled way. This research aims to discover the optimal setup for a TLS to be used in the transportation of ultracold atoms in our system. In this research, I will report on the building of the TLS within the lab and the adjustment of various systems pertaining to the TL
Beating the Heat: The Use of Coral-Benefitting Bacteria for Heat-Stressed Anemones and Inspiring Future Biologists
Get PDFThe warming of ocean temperatures has caused mass coral-bleaching events characterized by the expulsion of vital algal symbionts from coral tissues. However, the possibility of algal reuptake and existence of bacteria that support coral-algal symbiosis are two avenues of potential restoration efforts. Using the sea anemone Exaiptasia diaphana as a model for corals, I tested whether the coral-benefitting bacterium Endozoicomonas montiporae could enhance algal uptake under ambient (27°C) and heat-stressed (32°C) conditions. I then turned acquired results into an article modeled after National Geographic Kids to introduce the experiment to younger ages. While temperature was a larger determinant of algal-uptake success, microscopic imaging showed heat-stressed anemones with the addition of E. montiporae to have visibly more algal density in their tissues than those without the bacterium. These results suggest that administration of E. montiporae to corals may assist their algal reuptake before they bleach completely. By making such work accessible to children and students of younger ages, an early interest in scientific inquiry and climate preservation can be inspired
