1,720,965 research outputs found
Replication Data for: The Ye-U Fault: A Blind Fault Beneath the Central Myanmar Basin Revealed by a High-Resolution Catalog From the 2019 Mw 5.4 Ye-U Earthquake Sequence
No full textRaw waveform data for mainshock and aftershocks of the 2019 Mw 5.4 Ye-U earthquake sequence, recorded by EOS-DMH-MEC stations and a temporary array of short-period seismic nodes. See readme.txt for further details
顔表情画像解析による人の複雑な感情推定に関する研究 －Emotion GANs (EmoGANs)による混合表情画像の合成による解析－）
No full textSupervisor: 小谷 一孔先端科学技術研究科博士identifier:https://dspace.jaist.ac.jp/dspace/handle/10119/1877
Modulation of resistive states of oxide heterostructures
No full textWith the advancement of information and technology, the demand for the memory storage devices has increased. With Moore’s law slowing down in chip market or even possibly coming to an end in the near future, there is an urgent need to implement alternative storage devices to replace the conventional memories. Among emerging non-volatile memories, Resistive random access memories (RRAMs) show a promising future for the next generation of storage devices. However, extensive research is required to fully understand the resistive switching mechanism and the impact of the materials used. This research investigates the mechanism of filament formation, ion migrations, and electron behaviors by applying pulsed voltage and illumination. The first section of the paper observes the switching behavior of LAO/LNO sample by applying pulsed voltage whereas the second section of the paper explores the photo-response of ZnO thin film under different illumination of visible light range. The last section inspects the photoelectric gating effect on resistive switching patterns of lithium ionic liquid coated ZnO thin film by applying gate voltage in addition to the illumination. The results are analyzed and the challenges as well as the future work of the resistive switching technology are stated so as to provide an insight on improving RRAM storage devices which have the possibility of dominating the future of high-speed and low power storage devices.Bachelor of Science in Physic
Biorefinery Pathways for Institutional Food Waste
Full text linkEvery day, enormous quantities of nutritious food are wasted in landfills across the globe. Agriculture and food production use intensive amounts of water, chemicals, and land, rendering food waste as a major environmental and economic concern. New York State is currently considering legislation that would ban landfill disposal of food waste produced by large institutional generators, such as universities, hospitals, sports venues, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. Institutions have concentrated populations which generate predictable volumes of food waste and waste cooking oil. At the same time, these populations need heat, electricity, vehicle fuel, and soap. Developing a biorefinery system offers great potential to institutions and provides viable and sustainable utilization of various waste streams to generate energy via anaerobic digestion and biodiesel production process while simultaneously solving a waste disposal issue. However, the implementation of biorefinery systems at institutional food waste generators is just beginning, and data required to design the system and relevant case studies are very limited. Recognizing the urgent need to find alternatives for the diversion of food waste from landfills, this dissertation has provided the technical and economic viability of decentralized, onsite biorefinery systems at institutional generators with a specific focus on large institutions generating, on average, more than 1.8 metric tons of food waste per week (~91 t/year, equivalent to 100 short tons/year). The challenges and opportunities of these alternatives have also been considered in this dissertation.
First, development of sustainable food waste management requires an integrated, interdisciplinary management structure which includes a good understanding of regional variations in food waste resources, waste treatment facilities and processing capacity in a specific geographic region. Currently, poor quality and unreliable data on food waste prohibits proceeding to efficient waste management. These scarcities of data have led to a call for further research. To identify the research gaps, Chapter 2 begins with an assessment of reliable data on the quantity and types of food waste produced, transport of waste to treatment facilities, location of existing waste treatment facilities, and the amount of wastes that could potentially be treated at these facilities. Regions 3 and 8, as defined by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), were chosen as case studies to the underlying challenges and potential opportunities. The information provided in this chapter can be an important resource for implementing future waste diversion strategies, and further indicate which policy attributes should be considered.
In Chapter 3, an assessment was conducted of the technical challenges, economic feasibility and policy opportunities to adopt low-volume anaerobic digester (LVAD) systems, designated for deployment at the scale of an individual food waste generation site. Food waste generators often have much lower volumes of organic material available for conversion than dairy farms or public-owned treatment works (POTW). Small anaerobic digestion systems are not a new technology but have historically been implemented primarily in treating animal waste in developing countries. In the U.S., anaerobic digestion of food waste is usually achieved by co-digestion with dairy manure in centralized facilities, while food waste-only anaerobic digestion is still emerging and public data or case studies necessary to establish this as a potential food waste management pathway are lacking. Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) was chosen as a case study to assess the viability of implementing an LVAD system utilizing campus organic waste. It was demonstrated that the LVAD approach is economically feasible only if several conditions are met: biogas is utilized directly for thermal energy applications, thereby eliminating the capital/operation/maintenance costs associated with electricity production; system capital cost is reduced to $500,000 or less; and available feedstock is increased to at least 900 t/year by importing food waste from neighboring generators and collecting associated tipping fees.
Chapter 4 documents an investigation of various solution pathways available to utilize another important institutional food waste material: waste cooking oil (WCO). Institutions such as universities usually generate large amounts of waste cooking oil that can be suitable for production of biodiesel via the process of transesterification. The free fatty acid (FFA) content of waste cooking oil from institutional cafeterias is often lower than many other establishments (i.e., fast food restaurants), and thus has a greater value as a biodiesel feedstock, because the cooking oil replacement rate is often higher. The development of a closed-loop biodiesel production system, including utilization of crude glycerol as an ingredient for soap production, is compelling especially in a constrained system because the locations of WCO feedstock supply and biodiesel demand are in close proximity and controlled by a single entity. Biodiesel can be utilized by the RIT community in vehicles and other applications. Crude glycerol can be refined and used to produce soap of varying quality and has potential as a value-added product. Potentially, the soap could be used in cafeterias and bathrooms across campus and dining services. This study indicated that using waste cooking oil for biodiesel production at the institutional scale could only be viable by generating the revenue from the sale of biodiesel and offsetting the cost of high quality liquid soap at retail price.
In Chapter 5, it was demonstrated that black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) could potentially reduce the amount of food waste needing to be landfilled in areas of concentrated generation, such as urban areas and institutions like universities and hospitals. BSFL have previously been used by home gardeners and large agricultural enterprises to transform food wastes and animal manures into feed for chickens or fish, while significantly reducing waste volumes. Bioconversion of food waste biomass with BSFL results in useful products such as protein rich insect biomass. This study demonstrated that bio-methane potentials (BMP) of BSFL were higher than the potential of food waste and manures and 1.5 to 2 times higher than other representative feedstocks, including energy crops and algae. In addition, the yield of biomass per hectare of land used is much higher. BSFL could therefore be a viable feedstock for biogas production or as part of an integrated biorefinery system, and as an effective bioresource solution for the global problem of food waste management.
Finally, it is uncertain that an on-site low volume anaerobic digestion system at institutional generators is most economically and environmentally beneficial. Therefore, a model was developed to compare different potential food waste treatment scenarios: centralized anaerobic digestors (AD) at large confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), centralized AD at landfills, centralized AD at waste water treatments plants, and low volume anaerobic digesters (LVADs) at individual food waste generation sites. Chapter 6 presents an assessment of the optimal food waste conversion options for particular spatial distributions of food waste materials in two geographical regions of New York State. The assessment was based on three economic indicators, including net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and payback period (PP), to enable food system stakeholders to determine the most cost-effective food waste utilization strategy. The decision process considered was based on the availability of existing facilities (e.g., stand-alone AD, wastewater treatment plants with AD, and composting), available capacity of selected facilities, and available quantity of animal waste in each region. This assessment demonstrated that capital cost plays a significant role in achieving economic viability, and tipping fees are often the major sources of revenues for these treatment facilities. Without offset of the capital investment from government entities in the form of grants, the economic viability of new facilities is challenging. Therefore, diverting food waste to WWTPs with excess capacity was identified as an important option that showed the most profitable scenario without considering environmental incentives and renewable energy credits.
This dissertation focused on economic implications of alternative food waste conversion options for institutional generators, through the integration of conversion technologies using different waste feedstocks in a decentralized, on-site biorefinery architecture. In this sense, the biorefinery model was presented as a potential alternative to centralized large scale-systems that utilize wastes from multiple sources, often including transport of waste over large distances. This concept aimed at maximizing the utilization of food waste in a manner that enables institutional generators to benefit from organic material they generate during normal operation. The findings from this dissertation provide valuable information to small-scale food processors and institutions that currently send their solid waste to landfills or incinerators, paying disposal charges or sending it to anaerobic digestion, usually involving transport costs and tipping fees. The method developed in this dissertation can be readily adapted by other institutions, and the information provided would assist entrepreneurs in achieving successful commercialization of small-scale food waste utilization systems
顔表情画像解析による人の複雑な感情推定に関する研究 －Emotion GANs (EmoGANs)による混合表情画像の合成による解析－）
Full text linkSupervisor: 小谷 一孔先端科学技術研究科博
Vitamin D Status and Asthma in Adult New Zealanders (50-84 years old): A population-based Cross-sectional study
No full textFull text is available to authenticated members of The University of Auckland only.Asthma is the 14th most important disorder in the world in terms of the extent and the duration of disease. The New Zealand Health Surveys have reported an asthma prevalence in adults of 11.5% in 2006-07 and 11.1% in 2011-13. In New Zealand, one in four adults (27.1%) has a 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) level below the recommended level [50 nmol/L]. These surveys also showed that vitamin D status, as measured by 25OHD, differed by ethnicity, socioeconomic status and BMI. The epidemiology of vitamin D deficiency has a similar pattern to that seen with the asthma epidemic. Aim This study aims to investigate in participants aged 50-84 years in the Vitamin D Assessment (ViDA) study: 1) whether serum 25OHD concentrations are associated with the presence or absence of asthma; 2) in participants with asthma whether 25OHD concentrations are associated with asthma medication usage, asthma severity, asthma control, urgent health facility usage and hospital admission (asthma exacerbations); and 3) whether serum 25OHD concentrations are associated with lung function. Method A cross-sectional analysis was carried out on baseline data collected from 5,088 participants in the ViDA study, which is a large randomised controlled trial, to determine whether vitamin D supplementation prevents cardiovascular disease. Participants were mainly recruited from general practice registers in the Auckland region during 2011-2012. Baseline interviews were carried out by staff from the School of Population Health at the Tamaki campus of the University of Auckland. As part of the baseline interview, 680 participants reported that they had been told by a doctor that they had asthma, and provided further information on their asthma severity and exacerbations. Serum 25OHD was measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and converted to a deseasonalised value for each participant. Lung function was measured with a KoKo Trek spirometer, according to American Thoracic Society guidelines, except only three expirations were carried out due to time constraints, and to avoid exhaustion of elderly participants. Results Mean (SD) levels of deseasonalised 25OHD were not different between those with and without asthma [65.5 (25.0) nmol/L vs 66.2(22.3) nmol/L, P =0.5]; and neither were they related to having severe asthma , having an asthmatic attack in the last 12 months , having to use asthma medication , and having uncontrolled asthma . In contrast, asthma participants who needed emergency care at a clinic, hospital or who had a hospital admission in the last 12 months had significantly lower mean deseasonalised 25OHD levels than those who did not, adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, BMI, smoking, sun exposure, physical activity and skin reaction to sun [Mean (SD): 60.7(2.8) nmol/L, 53.1(3.6) nmol/L , P = 0.009 and 60.2(2.8) nmol/L, 44.8(7.0) nmol/L, P = 0.03]. Lung function measures (Forced Expiratory Volume in One Second, Forced Vital Capacity) were positively associated with 25OHD categories of deficient, insufficient, sufficient and high, independent of age, sex, ethnicity, BMI, smoking, physical activity and sun exposure and skin reaction to sun (p<0.05). Conclusion Vitamin D status was not related to the presence of asthma in older New Zealanders. However, asthma participants who needed emergency care for their asthma in the last 12 months had lower vitamin D levels, while lung function was reduced in those with low vitamin D status. These results support the need for further clinical trials of vitamin D supplementation in asthma patients to determine if asthma exacerbations can be prevented and lung function can be improved
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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