37200 research outputs found
Sort by
Enhancing Frequency Event Detection in Power Systems Using Two Optimization Methods with Variable Weighted Metrics
Get PDFThis research presents a novel technique that refines the performance of a frequency event detection algorithm with four adjustable parameters based on signal processing and statistical methods. The algorithm parameters were optimized using two well-established optimization techniques: Grey Wolf Optimization and Particle Swarm Optimization. Unlike conventional approaches that apply equally weighted metrics within the objective function, this work implements variable weighted metrics that prioritize specificity, thereby strengthening detection accuracy by minimizing false-positive events. Realistic small- and large-scale frequency datasets were processed and analyzed, incorporating various events, quasi-events, and non-events obtained from a phasor measurement unit in the Western Interconnection. An analytical comparison with an algorithm that uses equally weighted metrics was performed to assess the proposed method’s effectiveness. The results demonstrate that the application of variable weighted metrics enables the detection algorithm to identify frequency non-events, thereby significantly reducing false positives reliably
Elements of Social Capital and Counterspace Processes Contribute to Undergraduate STEM Student Development of a Sense of Belonging
Get PDFHaving a sense of belonging can promote persistence in the STEM fields, but less is known about what it means to develop that sense of belonging. To investigate this phenomenon, we conducted semi‐structured interviews with a cohort of STEM students (n = 10) nearing graduation at an urban university regarding their sense of belonging and qualitatively coded the interviews using thematic analysis. Results revealed that all interviewed students clearly articulated feelings of belonging, making them an ideal population from which to learn more. We applied two frameworks to guide our understanding of what factors promoted the development of a sense of belonging for these students: the Network Theory of Social Capital and the Counterspaces Framework. The students described their experiences in relation to elements of social capital and counterspace processes as they reflected on the development of feelings of belonging. One element of social capital, “reinforcement,” or assurance and recognition of one\u27s worthiness as a member of a group, was the most prevalent element of social capital influencing the participants\u27 development of a sense of belonging. “Direct relational transactions,” or the exchange of resources within a community, was the most prevalent counterspace process discussed by the participants. Our findings expand the utility and add to the theoretical underpinnings of the two frameworks, indicating that gaining social capital and experiencing counterspaces can contribute to undergraduate STEM student development of a sense of belonging
Endemism Shapes Viral Ecology and Evolution in Globally Distributed Hydrothermal Vent Ecosystems
Get PDFViruses are ubiquitous in deep-sea hydrothermal vents, where they influence microbial communities and biogeochemistry. Yet, viral ecology and evolution remain understudied in these environments. Here, we identify 49,962 viruses from 52 globally distributed hydrothermal vent samples (10 plume, 40 deposit, and 2 diffuse flow metagenomes), and reconstruct 5708 viral metagenome-assembled genomes, the majority of which were bacteriophages. Hydrothermal viruses were largely endemic, however, some viruses were shared between geographically separated vents, predominantly between the Lau Basin and Brothers Volcano in the Pacific Ocean. Geographically distant viruses shared proteins related to core functions such as structural proteins, and rarely, proteins of auxiliary functions involved in processes such as fermentation and cobalamin biosynthesis. Common microbial hosts of viruses included members of Campylobacterota, Alpha-, and Gammaproteobacteria in deposits, and Gammaproteobacteria in plumes. Campylobacterota- and Gammaproteobacteria-infecting viruses reflected variations in hydrothermal chemistry and functional redundancy in their predicted microbial hosts, suggesting that hydrothermal geology is a driver of viral ecology and coevolution of viruses and hosts. Our results indicate that viral ecology and evolution in globally distributed hydrothermal vents is shaped by endemism and thus may have increased susceptibility to the negative impacts of deep-sea mining and anthropogenic change in ocean ecosystems
Publishing and the Literary Agent
Get PDFLiterary agents are an under researched and comparatively recent feature of international book publishing. This chapter defines literary agents in comparison to other international book publishing intermediaries (like foreign rights agents and literary scouts) and maps the history and roles of the literary agent in Europe and Anglo-America from the nineteenth century to the present. Agents are pushed and pulled by various dichotomies in the industry: center vs periphery, culture vs commerce, local vs global. Over time, literary agents have evolved from brokers to author advocates and informal to professionalized, enabled to flourish and multiply through international copyright coordination and an increasingly crowded marketplace. However, work of literary agents has always been highly networked and culturally and politically embedded
The Role of Feline Goddesses in Advancing Women’s Rights in Ancient Egypt
Get PDFThe ancient Egyptians highly valued cats, worshipped female feline deities, and granted women more rights than other ancient civilizations. These three facts are widely acknowledged, but they have an intriguing link—and the key lies in the divine feline. This paper explores the extent to which ancient Egyptian feline goddesses, particularly Bastet, Sekhmet, and Mafdet, contributed to the treatment of women and their freedoms that surpassed those of women in other ancient civilizations. Examining historical records, religious artifacts, and scholarly journal articles, it illustrates how feline deities shaped gender dynamics in ancient Egypt. By analyzing the relationship between cats, feline deities, and women, this paper argues that the divine feminine played a critical role in advancing women’s rights in ancient Egypt, offering a historical precedent for gender equality that remains relevant in discussions of women’s empowerment today.
Part of the panel: Alternative Narratives and VisibilityModerator: Professor Patricia Schechte
The Electrostatic Charge on Exuded Liquid Drops
Get PDFFluid triboelectrification, also known as flow electrification, remains an under-explored yet ubiquitous phenomenon with potential applications from material science to planetary evolution. Building upon previous efforts to position water within the triboelectric series, we investigate the charge on individual, millimetric water drops falling through air. Our experiments measured the charge and mass of each drop using a Faraday cup mounted on a mass balance, and connected to an electrometer. For pure water in a glass syringe with a grounded metal tip, we find the charge per drop (Δ/Δ) was approximately -5 pC g to -1 pC g. This was independent of the release height of the drop, tip diameter and length, tip cleaning preparation, and whether the experiment was shielded with a Faraday cage. Biasing the tip to different voltages allowed for linear control of the drop charge, and the results were consistent with known electrochemical effects, namely the Volta potential expected between most metals and bulk water (≈-0.5 V). Introducing insulating plastic materials into the experiment (from the syringe body or tip) imparted large amounts of charge on the drops with systematic charge evolution. Together these results show that the flow electrification of water is more complex than previously reported, and is driven by material-dependent electrostatic processes
Identifying Antimalarials That Disrupt Malaria Parasite Transmission when Fed to the Mosquito
Get PDFA decade-long decline in malaria cases has plateaued, primarily due to parasite drug resistance and mosquito resistance to insecticides used in bed nets and indoor residual spraying. Here, we explore the innovative control strategy targeting Plasmodium with antimalarials during the mosquito stages. This strategy has the potential to reduce the risk of resistance emerging because a relatively small population of parasites within the mosquito is subject to selection. After validating mosquito feeding strategies, we screened a range of parasiticidal compounds by feeding them to mosquitoes already infected with mouse malaria (P. berghei). Three antimalarials showed activity against P. berghei in mosquitoes, apparently targeting specific stages of P. berghei development during transmission. Borrelidin, a threonyl-tRNA synthetase inhibitor, significantly reduced P. berghei sporozoite numbers. Azithromycin, an antibiotic targeting apicoplast protein synthesis, significantly lowered sporozoite infectivity in mice. T111, a next generation compound targeting the parasite electron transport chain, reduced sporozoite numbers in P. berghei at equivalent concentrations to the gold standard electron transport chain inhibitor, atovaquone. T111 also prevented sporozoite production in mosquitoes infected with human malaria, P. falciparum, even after very short exposure times. Encouragingly, T111 remained efficacious after being freeze-dried onto a substrate and later reconstituted with water, suggesting this compound would be effective in easy-to-distribute-and-deploy transmission control devices. Our findings suggest that several antimalarials can be used to target mosquito-stage parasites via sugar baits and limit malaria transmission. Importantly, mosquito feeding of antimalarials could vastly increase the range of potentially useful parasiticidal compounds to include those failing to meet the exacting standards required for human antimalarial drugs, potentially improving malaria control for minimal cost
Head of Roses
Get PDFHead of Roses is a slow-burn religious horror novel, the first five chapters of which constitute this thesis project. In order to examine its themes -- that of grief and trauma, guilt and shame, motherhood, religion and faith, and the redemptive power of love -- the novel carefully subverts religious horror genre conventions regarding the traditional roles of protagonist and site of horror. Head of Roses deconstructs these genre archetypes with an inverted narrative: the protagonist inadvertently produces the horrific element and the religious institution become the victims. Rather than addressing tensions in faith through demonic or occult subject material, Head of Roses focuses instead on the divine as an all-consuming force -- one that, if not engaged carefully, may both corrupt and be corrupted. For this reason, the novel separates itself from the established canon of religious horror works.
Set in the early 1990s, Head of Roses follows protagonist Jess Brooks, a young woman attempting to raise her younger brother Benny on her own. The Brooks move to Mooresville, a small rural town in midwestern Oklahoma, where the tight-knit community provides Jess a sense of belonging she has hitherto lacked. Jess quickly integrates herself in the town, eventually finding herself attending a service at the local Baptist church, where she becomes intrigued by the enormity of both its faith and community. Over time, Jess grows continually enraptured by the faith and prayer until her unstable, trauma-founded relationship with her newfound religion results in a misguided plea for a confirmation of presence -- to God, or Jesus, or even an angel. Something heeds her call. Something horrific, with roots bedded deep within the darkest parts of Jess herself. And Mooresville will never be the same again
Objects Against Convention: An Objective Study of Claude Cahun\u27s Overlooked Works
Get PDFThe French artist and writer Claude Cahun (1894-1954) is best known for her early self-portraiture. These photographs take place in theatrical spaces and witness the artist donning costumes and masks, playing out different identifiers and gender roles. Beginning with the discovery of Cahun\u27s work in the 1990s, the scholarly conversation has focused entirely on the artists early work based on a perceived kinship with postmodern notions of identity. While this early body of work is fascinating, attention to it has been singular, shaping how the rest of Cahun\u27s work is understood. To trouble this one-dimensional view of Cahun as an artist, this thesis focuses on the overlooked works and objects of the artists later work. Beginning in 1936 with Claude Cahun\u27s participation in the Surrealist Exhibition of Objects, we will explore Cahun\u27s engagement with Surrealist, domestic, and natural objects. This shift in viewpoint allows for a new consideration of how Cahun\u27s work unsettles societal and artistic conventions and offers a view of her later work as an integral culmination of her art practice