70 research outputs found
On Silence Podcast Letter Nine: Shivang Ambardar
No full textEleven writers, four months, one podcast. Our ninth letter, read by MA Creative Writing graduate Shivang Ambardar, returns to Matthew as he answers Tina's letter seeking help for girlfriend. Lucia's fascination with her family history and secrets are beginning to concern Tina. Twin brother Matthew seeks in this letter a way to connect to his sister.Credits (Freesound): 02102 Slovakian Folk Band by Robinhood76, sfx_amb_forest_spring_afternoon-01.wav by bajko, Field recording in central London – binaural by arnaub, Walking on stony beach.wav by BonnyOrbit, Piccadilly_Circus_Ambience.WAV by habbis92, EustonStation_ST.wav by habbis9, Waves on the Lake by theshaggyfreak, baby_boy_toddler_kid_smile_smiling_joy_fun_happy_kids_infant.wav by ondondvo, Big Issue.wav by deleted_user_1116756, St. Francis Cathedral bells by ondrosik, Fujara by Ondrosik.These are all available on Freesound under the Licenses: Attribution NonCommercial 3.0, Creative Commons 3.0, Creative Commons 0, Attribution NonCommercial 4.0.Episode URL: https://onsilenceliterarypodcast.podbean.com/e/letter-nine-shivang-ambardar/Also published: https://www.lincolnreview.org/onsilenceOn Silence PodcastEleven writers, four months, one podcast – the brief was simple. Our aim was to recreate the dynamics of a writer’s room to produce an original literary podcast series. During the second half of 2023, we engaged in regular meetings with our groups of writers who worked in collaboration to produce thirteen episodes. We chose to write On Silence in the epistolary form – a series of letters – in order to explore hidden conversations between family members, friends, strangers and confidants. Our writers were presented with the first letter, then instructed to continue the story. Each writer wrote, edited end recorded up to two letters; each contribution was rigorously reviewed by the other members of the team to create, what we hope to be, a cohesive, well-crafted narrative. The process – like the story – led us to surprising discoveries. Whether the experiment worked or not is up to you to decide…ContributorsDorsa Daneshvar Khoshkar Vandani, Burcu Güney Yılmaz, Shivang Ambardar, Martyn Rosser, Ellie Wilson, Beth Parker, Abbie Laycock, Tori Wood and Jo Major.Project Leads/ProducersSherezade García Rangel and Amy Lilwall.</p
Computation of Time Response for Linear Networks a Novel Approach
No full textA novel technique is presented for analysing linear time-invariant networks. The method described is capable of both quantitative analysis, i.e. finding the time response of the network with prescribed initial conditions on the continuity variables and given driving functions, and qualitative analysis such as the investigation of network stability. The novel development of the paper offers the following advantages over conventional techniques: (i) it requires only DC analysis, (ii) it is recursive in nature, and (iii) it does not require writing or solving system differential or integro-differential equations. © 1988, The Institution of Electrical Engineers. All rights reserved
The Taxation of Deferred Compensation Under I.R.C. § 864(c)(6) and Income Tax Treaties: A Rose is Not Always a Rose
No full textThis Comment argues that Section 864(c)(6) taxes the deferred income of all nonresident aliens, whether independent contractors or dependent employees, by analyzing the tax treatment of nonresident aliens subject to the Dutch and Swiss Treaties. Part I discusses the general rules for taxing aliens for compensation earned in the United States. Part II discusses TAMRA\u27s amendments to the Code sections that are relevant to tax treaties. Part III argues that while the language of Section 864(c)(6) is ambiguous, its legislative history and the principles of other Code sections indicate that Section 864(c)(6) provides for a net tax of a nonresident alien\u27s deferred compensation. This Comment concludes that the United States should tax deferred compensation of nonresident aliens on a net basis, regardless of whether the taxpayer is an independent contractor or a dependent employee
Women\u27s Envy in the Workplace: Contexts and Consequences
No full textThere is a paucity of literature on women\u27s subjective experience of being envious or being envied in the contemporary workplace. Yet envy, wanting what another possesses, is believed to thrive in a competitive interpersonal milieu, much like the modern workplace, where employees vie for limited organizational resources and rewards. Accordingly, there is a need to better understand envy\u27s role in the workplace and move from an abstract, context-free conceptualization of workplace envy to one that is more differentiated and context-bound. Eighteen women were interviewed for this qualitative study, using semi-structured interviews. Results were analyzed using both psychoanalytic and social psychological theory and research. Findings revealed that professional women did experience envy at work as characterized by both Kleinian theory and social comparison research. Two contexts, referred to as \u27withholding\u27 and \u27destructive differentiation\u27 in this study, elicited envy in participants. Envy in the context of \u27withholding\u27 was evoked when one wanted: (1) a specific \u27organizational good\u27 such as a promotion or special assignment was given to another, (2) interpersonal rewards such as praise and recognition that another received, and (3) mentoring that another colleague acquired. Envy in the context of \u27destructive differentiation\u27 was felt (1) when a colleague with whom they identified achieved more success, (2) when a colleague possessed talents or skills of special value and importance to their type of work. Four themes were also identified regarding the consequences of envy in the workplace. The four themes fell on a continuum, spanning from more to less destructive consequences: (1) envious attacks aimed at damaging the envied other, (2) withdrawing from a relationship of potential value, (3) devaluing oneself, and (4) improvements in motivation. The fording that participants\u27 experiences fell on a continuum from negative to positive has important implications. If a continuum of experiences of envy exists, envy be a normative experience in the workplace and may have functional and adaptive purposes in the workplace rather than solely pathological ones. This study demonstrated the need for greater recognition of envy\u27s role and impact on achievement, performance and productivity in the workplace
Combining Thermo-plasmonics with Microfluidics for Biological Applications
No full textIn this project we, for the first time, integrated microfluidics with thermo-plasmonics. While microfluidics is a popular platform allowing experiments with small volumes of fluid, thermo-plasmonics can be used for powerful particle manipulation including capturing, mixing, filtering and projection. Combined, these two techniques give us an opportunity to work with numerous complex fluids containing particles, cells, and micro-beads. Here we designed, developed and tested several devices demonstrating various aspects of this exciting hybrid technology. This required use of soft lithography, metal deposition, 3D printing, oxygen plasma treatment and several other surface modification techniques. Additional challenges were in the fabrication of a multi-layer chip with several types of surfaces binding at several interfaces. The detailed design optimization was conducted, and many characteristics of the microfluidic channel were varied. After that, optimal flow patterns were determined using high-quality syringe pumps. An experiment with the simultaneous flow of two colored solutions through the same microfluidic chip demonstrated controlled laminar flow with minimal mixing. Next, thermo-plasmonic experiments were conducted in optimized micro-fluidic channels. Efficient capturing of microbeads were demonstrated using low power green laser with a wavelength 532 nm. In future, these experiments have many important applications including separation of bacteria from blood on a microfluidic chip. This might help with treatment of sepsis, analysis of blood pathogens and better prescription of antibiotics
Nanophotonics and Nanomaterials for Microbial Inactivation
No full textThe study of light-matter interaction at nanoscale, also termed as nanophotonics, has gained vast attention due to its multidisciplinary application in the field of chemical engineering for the synthesis of nanomaterials, in the field of physics to study non-linear optical processes and optical phenomena in nanocavities and in the field of biology, biomedicine to study and develop novel optical nanoprobes for diagnostics, nanobiosensing and near-field imaging.
We studied UV-irradiation-based inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses. In this work, we fabricated a device comprising a pulsed nanosecond 266 nm UV laser coupled to an integrating cavity (LIC), composed of a UV-reflective material, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). This device overcomes the limitations of state-of-the art UV inactivation strategies via UV lamps by providing higher efficiency, low power and dose requirement and shorter irradiation times. Our results show that LIC device inactivated SARS-CoV-2 at ~ 1 millisecond effective irradiation time, with \u3e 2 orders of magnitude higher efficiency compared to UV lamps. This LIC device due to its exceptional virus inactivation efficiency has a huge potential for development of real-time UV air and water purification systems.
Next, we used two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (2D-TMDs), and their exceptional mechanical and optoelectronic properties provide flexible platform for nanophotonic engineering. Using strain engineering, continuous band gap tunability has been achieved in 2D TMDs. In our work, we presented a new method of nanobubble fabrication on monolayer 2D-lateral heterostructure (MoS2-WS2) using high temperature superacid treatment. We used tip enhanced photoluminescence (TEPL) spectroscopy to perform near-field imaging with nanoscale resolution on the fabricated nanobubbles. TEPL nanoimaging revealed the coupling between MoS2 and WS2 nanobubbles with a large synergistic photoluminescence (PL) enhancement due to the plasmonic tip, hot electrons and exciton funneling. This work opens new avenue in exploration of novel nanophotonic coupling schemes. In addition, we used TEPL to analyze the optical properties of heterojunction, which are atomically thin p-n junction, formed by lattice mismatch of monolayer 2D TMDs. We performed picoscale control of quantum plasmonic PL at 2D heterojunctions and observed more than three-orders magnitude of PL enhancement than the pure material, due to the classical near-field mechanism and charge transfer across the junction. The controllable photoresponse of these lateral heterojunctions can be used to develop novel nanodevices for chemical and biosensing.
Finally, we utilized strong optical properties of 2D TMDs for detection of untreated and antibiotic-treated bacteria. We introduced two bacteria-2D TMD interaction models, mechanical and electrical. Using mechanical model we determined the intensity of the exciton funnels created by both untreated and antibiotic-treated bacteria. Our hypothesis states that an antibiotic treated bacteria forms weaker funnels because of the inhibitory effect of the antibiotic on the bacterial adhesion proteins. On the other hand, the electrical model involves two mechanisms, firstly tunneling from the plasmonic tip to the bacteria and to the 2D TMD and secondly, the charge transfer mechanism between the 2D TMD and bacteria. A correlated study using AFM, KPFM and TEPL measurements show that tunneling was more prominent in the case of the untreated bacteria at the bacterial adhesion sites (poles). Lastly, we show the application of heterojunction, by dropcasting bacteria on top of it. We observed tunneling was stronger at the junction than the pure materials, providing with new avenues for biosensing using heterojunctions
Individual variation in testosterone levels and parental care in eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis): Interactions with reproductive success and offspring traits
No full textHormones are important regulators of behavior and fitness. We have learned much about the direct effects of hormones on behavior and reproductive success from studies that experimentally manipulate hormone levels. To complement these studies, we also need to assess natural individual variation in hormones at multiple time points in relation to behavior and fitness as this practice can help to inform us about how hormonal profiles evolve. Testosterone has been implicated in fitness-related traits, and is predicted to interact with important behaviors, such as parental care. The level of parental care provided to young is critical in shaping the rearing environment. I conducted research on eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) to explore individual variation in testosterone levels in relation to parental care and fitness, and performed an experiment to alter parental behavior and measured subsequent effects on offspring. In Chapter II of my dissertation, I reported the findings of a study in which I injected birds with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) to stimulate testosterone secretion within parental and aggressive contexts. I measured testosterone levels before GnRH was injected (initial testosterone levels) and thirty minutes after GnRH was injected (GnRH-induced levels), as well as the difference between these values (testosterone production). None of these testosterone measurements were related to nest visit rates or aggressive response to an intruder. However, there was significant variation among individuals in initial testosterone levels. Individuals also differed in their responsiveness to GnRH. In Chapter III, I showed that reproductive success was not related to initial testosterone levels or GnRH-induced testosterone levels. In the study conducted for Chapter IV, I manipulated brood sizes of bluebirds to create enlarged and reduced broods, keeping some broods unmanipulated as controls. Surprisingly, adults raising enlarged broods compensated for the increased number of young. As a result, the nestlings did not incur many costs overall, but nestling feather coloration was impacted. My findings emphasize the importance of studying individual variation in hormone levels, and identifying situations in which parents would be more likely to incur costs than offspring
Π⁰ detection using the CHAOS spectrometer : a feasibility study
No full textThe CHAOS spectrometer has demonstrated its success in the study of physics involving
charged pions. Extending the capabilities of the spectrometer to allow studies with neutral pions
would expand the range of potential experiments and permit a greater understanding of the physics
dealt with in the CHAOS collaboration's research. Since the spectrometer is sensitive only to
charged particles, Π⁰'s must be detected via pair conversion of their decay γ's. In proceeding
through the steps of a Π⁰ cross-section measurement, from the details of optimizing detection to
aspects of analysis and normalizations, this thesis will help evaluate the suitability of CHAOS as
a Π⁰ detector.Science, Faculty ofPhysics and Astronomy, Department ofGraduat
Experimental study of the near threshold pi+ p ---> pi+ pi+ n cross-section and chiral symmetry
No full textTotal cross-section measurements of the π+p→π+π+n reaction at pion kinetic energies of 180, 184, 190, and 200 MeV are reported. The threshold value for the amplitude a(π+π+) as well as the s-wave, isospin 2, ππ scattering length a20 were determined. The results were found to be in agreement with chiral perturbation theory and inconsistent with the calculations of Jacob and Scadron and the model of dominance by quark loop anomalies
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