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Our manuscript describes a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak investigation in an Ontario tertiary care hospital. We use traditional contract tracing paired with whole-genome sequencing to facilitate an understanding of the evolutionary history and transmission dynamics of this SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in a clinical setting.

Flare frequency distributions represent a key approach to addressing one of the largest problems in solar and stellar physics: determining the mechanism that counter-intuitively heats coronae to temperatures that are orders of magnitude hotter than the corresponding photospheres. It is widely accepted that the magnetic field is responsible for the heating, but there are two competing mechanisms that could explain it: nanoflares or Alfv\'en waves. To date, neither can be directly observed. Nanoflares are, by definition, extremely small, but their aggregate energy release could represent a substantial heating mechanism, presuming they are sufficiently abundant. One way to test this presumption is via the flare frequency distribution, which describes how often flares of various energies occur. If the slope of the power law fitting the flare frequency distribution is above a critical threshold, $\alpha=2$ as established in prior literature, then there should be a sufficient abundance of nanoflares to explain coronal heating. We performed $>$600 case studies of solar flares, made possible by an unprecedented number of data analysts via three semesters of an undergraduate physics laboratory course. This allowed us to include two crucial, but nontrivial, analysis methods: pre-flare baseline subtraction and computation of the flare energy, which requires determining flare start and stop times. We aggregated the results of these analyses into a statistical study to determine that $\alpha = 1.63 \pm 0.03$. This is below the critical threshold, suggesting that Alfv\'en waves are an important driver of coronal heating., Comment: 1,002 authors, 14 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, published by The Astrophysical Journal on 2023-05-09, volume 948, page 71

The Comprehensive Antibiotic Resistance Database (CARD; card.mcmaster.ca) combines the Antibiotic Resistance Ontology (ARO) with curated AMR gene (ARG) sequences and resistance-conferring mutations to provide an informatics framework for annotation and interpretation of resistomes. As of version 3.2.4, CARD encompasses 6627 ontology terms, 5010 reference sequences, 1933 mutations, 3004 publications, and 5057 AMR detection models that can be used by the accompanying Resistance Gene Identifier (RGI) software to annotate genomic or metagenomic sequences. Focused curation enhancements since 2020 include expanded β-lactamase curation, incorporation of likelihood-based AMR mutations for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, addition of disinfectants and antiseptics plus their associated ARGs, and systematic curation of resistance-modifying agents. This expanded curation includes 180 new AMR gene families, 15 new drug classes, 1 new resistance mechanism, and two new ontological relationships: evolutionary_variant_of and is_small_molecule_inhibitor. In silico prediction of resistomes and prevalence statistics of ARGs has been expanded to 377 pathogens, 21,079 chromosomes, 2,662 genomic islands, 41,828 plasmids and 155,606 whole-genome shotgun assemblies, resulting in collation of 322,710 unique ARG allele sequences. New features include the CARD:Live collection of community submitted isolate resistome data and the introduction of standardized 15 character CARD Short Names for ARGs to support machine learning efforts.

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 4 (mGlu4) is one of eight mGlu receptors within the Class C G protein-coupled receptor superfamily. mGlu4 is primarily localized to the presynaptic membrane of neurons where it functions as an auto and heteroreceptor controlling synaptic release of neurotransmitter. mGlu4 is implicated in numerous disorders and is a promising drug target; however, more remains to be understood about its regulation and pharmacology. Using high-throughput sequencing, we have validated and quantified an adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing event that converts glutamine 124 to arginine in mGlu4; additionally, we have identified a rare but novel K129R site. Using an in vitro editing assay, we then validated the pre-mRNA duplex that allows for editing by ADAR enzymes and predicted its conservation across the mammalian species. Structural modeling of the mGlu4 protein predicts the Q124R substitution to occur in the B helix of the receptor that is critical for receptor dimerization and activation. Interestingly, editing of a receptor homodimer does not disrupt G protein activation in response to the endogenous agonist, glutamate. Using an assay designed to specifically measure heterodimer populations at the surface, however, we found that Q124R substitution decreased the propensity of mGlu4 to heterodimerize with mGlu2 and mGlu7. Our study is the first to extensively describe the extent and regulatory factors of RNA editing of mGlu4 mRNA transcripts. In addition, we have proposed a novel functional consequence of this editing event that provides insights regarding its effects in vivo and expands the regulatory capacity for mGlu receptors.

The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) consists of three types of telescopes: large-sized (LST), mediumsized (MST), and small-sized (SST), distributed in two observing sites (North and South). For the CTA South "Alpha Configuration" the construction and installation of 37 (+5) SST telescopes (a number that could increase up to 70 in future upgrades) are planned. The SSTs are developed by an international consortium of institutes that will provide them as an in-kind contribution to CTAO. The SSTs rely on a Schwarzschild-Couder-like dual-mirror polynomial optical design, with a primary mirror of 4 m diameter, and are equipped with a focal plane camera based on SiPM detectors covering a field of view of ~9°. The current SST concept was validated by developing the prototype dual-mirror ASTRI-Horn Cherenkov telescope and the CHEC-S SiPM focal plane camera. In this contribution, we will present an overview of the SST key technologies, the current status of the SST project, and the planned schedule.

Axion-like-particles (ALPs) emitted from the core of a magnetar can convert to photons in its magnetosphere. The resulting photon flux is sensitive to the product of $(i)$ the ALP-nucleon coupling $G_{an}$ which controls the production cross section in the core and $(ii)$ the ALP-photon coupling $g_{a\gamma \gamma}$ which controls the conversion in the magnetosphere. We study such emissions in the soft-gamma-ray range (300 keV to 1 MeV), where the ALP spectrum peaks and astrophysical backgrounds from resonant Compton upscattering are expected to be suppressed. Using published quiescent soft-gamma-ray flux upper limits in 5 magnetars obtained with $CGRO$ COMPTEL and $INTEGRAL$ SPI/IBIS/ISGRI, we put limits on the product of the ALP-nucleon and ALP-photon couplings. We also provide a detailed study of the dependence of our results on the magnetar core temperature. We further show projections of our result for future $Fermi$-GBM observations. Our results motivate a program of studying quiescent soft-gamma-ray emission from magnetars with the $Fermi$-GBM., Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures. Version accepted in Physical Review D. More conservative benchmark core temperature assumed, details of production in the core provided, new constraints on ALP couplings based on spectral analysis presented. Extensive supplementary material added, future projections discussed, overall conclusions unchanged

The melanocortin peptides derived from pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) were originally understood in terms of the biological actions of α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) on pigmentation and adrenocorticotrophic hormone on adrenocortical glucocorticoid production. However, the discovery of POMC mRNA and melanocortin peptides in the CNS generated activities directed at understanding the direct biological actions of melanocortins in the brain. Ultimately, discovery of unique melanocortin receptors expressed in the CNS, the melanocortin-3 (MC3R) and melanocortin-4 (MC4R) receptors, led to the development of pharmacological tools and genetic models leading to the demonstration that the central melanocortin system plays a critical role in the regulation of energy homeostasis. Indeed, mutations in MC4R are now known to be the most common cause of early onset syndromic obesity, accounting for 2–5% of all cases. This review discusses the history of these discoveries, as well as the latest work attempting to understand the molecular and cellular basis of regulation of feeding and energy homeostasis by the predominant melanocortin peptide in the CNS, α-MSH.

Analysing 9 years of Fermi-LAT observations, we recently studied the spectral properties of the prominent globular cluster 47 Tuc (Brown et al. 2018). In particular, we investigated several models to explain the observed gamma-ray emission, ranging from millisecond pulsars (MSP) to Dark Matter (DM), with the motivation for the latter model driven by recent evidence that 47 Tuc harbours an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH). This investigation found evidence that the observed gamma-ray emission from 47 Tuc is due to two source populations of MSPs and DM. In Bartels \& Edwards (2018), the authors comment that this evidence is an artifact of the MSP spectra used in (Brown et al. 2019). Here we reply to this comment and argue that the authors of Bartels \& Edwards (2018) (i) do not give due consideration to a very important implication of their result and (ii) there is tension between our MSP fit and their MSP fit when taking uncertainties into consideration. As such, we still conclude there is evidence for a DM component which motivates a deeper radio study of the prominent globular cluster 47 Tuc., 3 pages, accepted for publication in PRD

We analyze 9 years of PASS 8 $\textit{Fermi}$-LAT data in the 60$-$500 MeV range and determine flux upper limits (UL) for 17 gamma-ray dark pulsars as a probe of axions produced by nucleon-nucleon Bremsstrahlung in the pulsar core. Using a previously published axion decay gamma-ray photon flux model for pulsars which relies on a high core temperature of 20 MeV, we improve the determination of the UL axion mass ($m_a$), at 95 percent confidence level, to 9.6 $\times$ 10$^{-3}$ eV, which is a factor of 8 improvement on previous results. We show that the axion emissivity (energy loss rate per volume) at realistic lower pulsar core temperatures of 4 MeV or less is reduced to such an extent that axion emissivity and the gamma-ray signal becomes negligible. We consider an alternative emission model based on energy loss rate per mass to allow $m_a$ to be constrained with $Fermi$-LAT observations. This model yields a plausible UL $m_a$ of 10$^{-6}$ eV for pulsar core temperature $, Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in Physical Review D

Kir7.1 is an inwardly rectifying potassium channel with important roles in the regulation of the membrane potential in retinal pigment epithelium, uterine smooth muscle, and hypothalamic neurons. Regulation of G protein–coupled inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels by G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) via the G protein βγ subunits has been well characterized. However, how Kir channels are regulated is incompletely understood. We report here that Kir7.1 is also regulated by GPCRs, but through a different mechanism. Using Western blotting analysis, we observed that multiple GPCRs tested caused a striking reduction in the complex glycosylation of Kir7.1. Further, GPCR-mediated reduction of Kir7.1 glycosylation in HEK293T cells did not alter its expression at the cell surface but decreased channel activity. Of note, mutagenesis of the sole Kir7.1 glycosylation site reduced conductance and open probability, as indicated by single-channel recording. Additionally, we report that the L241P mutation of Kir7.1 associated with Lebers congenital amaurosis (LCA), an inherited retinal degenerative disease, has significantly reduced complex glycosylation. Collectively, these results suggest that Kir7.1 channel glycosylation is essential for function, and this activity within cells is suppressed by most GPCRs. The melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R), a GPCR previously reported to induce ligand-regulated activity of this channel, is the only GPCR tested that does not have this effect on Kir7.1.

The city of Melbourne is located in a highly productive agricultural region with the capacity to meet approximately 41% of the city population’s food needs. Melbourne’s “foodbowl” is an important building block in a resilient and sustainable food system for this rapidly growing city. This article presents some findings of the Foodprint Melbourne initiative led by University of Melbourne researchers who worked in partnership with local governments to investigate the significance of periurban food production to the city’s long-term food security and the regional economy. They identified risks to city fringe food production from urban sprawl and the impacts of water scarcity, and generated an important evidence base to support the development of a vision and roadmap to strengthen the resilience of Melbourne’s foodbowl.

There are many advocates and critics of urban agriculture’s role in a sustainable food system but little quantitative data, potentially due the difficulties in collecting it. Urban food production is an example of a distributed system intrinsically linked to urban farmers and urban lifestyles and therefore cannot be recreated in a lab. Citizen science (CS) is identified as a potential method to measure aspects of urban agriculture but has potential issues associated with maintaining participation in data collection. This paper presents the development of a citizen science methodology combining general CS project design methods with methods for engaging and retaining participants in CS projects, based on motivation, for the design of a citizen science project measuring the sustainability performance of urban food gardens in Melbourne, Australia. It was found that an additional motivation emerged that is not yet documented in existing literature and is particular to citizen science projects. Other conclusions were also drawn related to timeline management, potential cost reductions conflicting with reducing barriers to participation and diversifying recruitment methods to attract participants with more time to be involved.

We analyse 30 Galactic globular clusters ( GC ) located off the Galactic plane, using 8 years of Pass 8 Fermi-LAT data in the range 60 MeV - 300 GeV with the analysis down to lower energy being performed for the first time. We refine the prior detections of 5 GC, 47 Tuc, NGC 6093, NGC 6218, NGC 6752 and NGC 7078. We also detect NGC 6254 for the first time. NGC 6093 and NGC 6218 exhibit flat hard spectra in the range 1 - 10 GeV. The lack of a spectral cut-off between 1-4 GeV in NGC 6093 and NGC 6218, suggests other sources of gamma ray emission apart from millisecond pulsars may be important in these GCs.

Food systems in cities are under increasing pressure. Food production is occurring further and further from the point of consumption and extreme weather events due to climate change are impacting on food supply networks. It is possible that cities will have to rely on their local regions to meet at least some of their food needs in the future. Although large amounts of food are produced on the outskirts of cities, it is not clear the extent to which the nutritional needs of inhabitants could be met sustainably. This paper aims to investigate if it is possible to feed the city of Melbourne a healthy diet from the local area (i.e. achieve direct food availability) and what that diet might look like. It tests a new methodology using linear programming to find the optimal mix of food types to produce a diet profile that meets the Australian Dietary Guidelines within theproduction capacity of the local ‘region’. Results from three region scenarios are presented – Greater Melbourne, Foodbowl and Rest of Victoria. No solution could be found that satisfied all constraints for any region, however this identified issues surrounding availability of certain food types, particularly fruit, vegetables and legumes. Systematically increasing certain constraints provided insight into how diets could be composed to meet requirements and where it might be necessary to increase production within a region or future proof food supply networks. It also highlighted conflicts between sourcing food locally and reducing carbon emissions.

This letter describes the further exploration of two series of M(1) allosteric agonists, TBPB and VU0357017, previously reported from our lab. Within the TPBP scaffold, either electronic or steric perturbations to the central piperidine ring led to a loss of selective M(1) allosteric agonism and afforded pan-mAChR antagonism, which was demonstrated to be mediated via the orthosteric site. Additional SAR around a related M(1) allosteric agonist family (VU0357017) identified similar, subtle 'molecular switches' that modulated modes of pharmacology from allosteric agonism to pan-mAChR orthosteric antagonism. Therefore, all of these ligands are best classified as bi-topic ligands that possess high affinity binding at an allosteric site to engender selective M(1) activation, but all bind, at higher concentrations, to the orthosteric ACh site, leading to non-selective orthosteric site binding and mAChR antagonism.

Herein we report the discovery and SAR of a novel metabotropic glutamate receptor 3 (mGlu(3)) NAM probe (ML289) with 15-fold selectivity versus mGlu(2). The mGlu(3) NAM was discovered via a 'molecular switch' from a closely related, potent mGlu(5) positive allosteric modulator (PAM), VU0092273. This NAM (VU0463597, ML289) displays an IC(50) value of 0.66 μM and is inactive against mGlu(5).

Melbourne is surrounded by a highly productive foodbowl that currently grows a wide variety of fresh foods, but it faces challenges. • Melbourne’s foodbowl grows 47% of the vegetables produced in Victoria and has the capacity to meet around 41% of Melbourne’s total food needs. • As Melbourne grows to a population of 7-8 million people by 2050, it will need at least 60% more food. • If the city’s footprint continues to grow as it has in the past, the capacity of Melbourne’s foodbowl to meet the city’s food needs could fall to around 18% by 2050, due to population growth and urban sprawl. • Loss of production in the foodbowl is likely to contribute to higher food prices. • Melbourne’s foodbowl contributes $2.45 billion per annum to Melbourne’s regional economy and 21,000 full time equivalent jobs. • Melbourne’s food supply faces future challenges from the impacts of climate change, including water scarcity and extreme weather events. • Other major Australian state capitals also have productive foodbowls that contribute to fresh food supplies, but they are all under similar pressure from population growth and urban expansion. They are unlikely to be able to meet future deficits in Melbourne’s food needs. Melbourne’s foodbowl is an important building block in a resilient and sustainable food future for the city. • Ensuring a resilient food supply for Melbourne requires a precautionary planning approach that retains – or strengthens – the capacity of the city’s foodbowl. • The loss of Melbourne’s foodbowl is not inevitable as the city grows. If growth on the city fringe can be limited to existing growth corridors and strong targets are set for urban infill and increased urban density, the impact on the city’s foodbowl can be reduced. • Melbourne can plan for a resilient city foodbowl that provides healthy food for a growing population, promotes a vibrant regional food economy and acts as a buffer against future food system shocks. • Increased investment in delivery of recycled water from water treatment plants could create ‘drought-proof’ areas of food production. • A ‘joined up’ policy framework is required to plan for a resilient city foodbowl. Policy is needed to protect farmland, increase water access, reduce and reuse food waste, strengthen the regional food economy and attract farmers to farm in the city’s foodbowl.

This report explores Melbourne’s ‘foodprint’ – the environmental footprint of feeding the city. It takes a lot of land, water and energy to feed a rapidly growing city like Melbourne, and a significant amount of food waste and GHG emissions are generated as a result. As supplies of the natural resources underpinning food production become more constrained, the city will need to explore new approaches to increase the sustainability and resilience of its food supply. This report aims to provide an evidence base to support this process. The principal findings of this research are: • It takes over 475L of water per capita per day to feed Melbourne, around double the city’s household usage. • 16.3 million hectares of land is required to feed Melbourne each year, an area equivalent to 72% of the state of Victoria. • Feeding Melbourne generates over 907,537 tonnes of edible food waste, which represents a waste of 3.6 million hectares of land and 180 GL of water. • Around 4.1 million tonnes of GHG emissions are emitted in producing the city’s food, and a further 2.5 million tonnes from food waste. • Melbourne is likely to grow rapidly between now and 2050, and its foodprint will increase significantly as a result. • Melbourne’s city foodbowl could play an important role in increasing the resilience and sustainability of the city’s food supply. • The city foodbowl has significant capacity for production of fresh foods. It also has access to recycled water and organic waste streams, and could reduce the city’s dependence on distant sources of fresh foods. • Key vulnerabilities in Melbourne’s regional food supply include loss of agricultural land, water scarcity and the impacts of climate change. • Potential strategies to increase the sustainability and resilience of Melbourne’s regional food supply include increasing urban density, shifting to regenerative agriculture, increasing the use of recycled water for agriculture, reducing food waste and modifying our diets. • Multiple strategies are likely to be needed to increase the sustainability and resilience of Melbourne’s regional food supply. • Around 10% of the available recycled water from Melbourne’s water treatment plants would be enough to grow half of the vegetables that Melbourne eats. • Increasing urban density as Melbourne grows could reduce urban sprawl by about 50% over the next 20 years, saving 180,000 hectares of land in Melbourne’s foodbowl – an area equivalent to almost 5 times Victoria’s vegetable growing land.

Within the literature, theories and analyses of social involvement or participation have focussed primarily on the political and formal role of participation within the community or neighborhood. This study illustrates, through qualitative inquiry, that within small rural communities, individuals find it difficult to separate formal and informal participation, when both have an equally important role to play in community life. Fifty-five structured interviews were conducted with women across six rural shires in the southwest region of Western Australia. Qualitative analysis revealed that approximately 50% of women, when asked about their involvement in their community, referred initially to their informal participation within the community, rather than their participation in formal community groups or associations. These results are discussed in relation to life in small rural towns. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

This paper examines the concept of moral community within a rural context. The theory of moral community is discussed in relation to research in the social justice and community psychology literatures, and is related to participation in voluntary community organizations. A total of 388 women, located across six rural shires in the Great Southern Region of Western Australia, participated in the study. Results suggest that individuals participating within different community organizations or groups differ in their intensity of moral community feelings, and that sporting groups have much lower feelings of moral community than most other community organizations. The results of the study are then discussed in relation to the literature on group structure and climate. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Nonverbal synchrony is an important element in human-human interaction. It can also play various roles in human-computer interaction. This paper surveys some of these uses, and presents a quantitative method for measuring the level of nonverbal synchrony in an interaction.

We have investigated relationships between age, blood pressure and intracellular calcium concentration in platelets from normotensives and hypertensives. In normotensives, there were positive correlations between age and platelet intracellular calcium concentration (r = 0.76, P less than 0.001), age and mean arterial pressure (MAP; r = 0.55, P less than 0.01) and MAP and platelet intracellular calcium concentration (r = 0.45, P less than 0.01). Multiple regression analysis revealed that age was the primary determinant of platelet intracellular calcium concentration in normotensives. The effect of MAP on platelet intracellular calcium concentration when adjusted for age was not significant (P = 0.73). In hypertensives, there was no significant relationship between age and platelet intracellular calcium concentration (r = 0.15, P = 0.43), age and MAP (r = 0.17, P = 0.37) or MAP and platelet intracellular calcium concentration (r = -0.27, P = 0.15). Overall, platelet intracellular calcium concentration was significantly higher in hypertensives than in age-matched normotensives (P less than 0.05). Within the age groups examined, platelet intracellular calcium concentration was significantly higher only in younger hypertensives when compared with controls of a similar mean age (P less than 0.001). Thus, age, in addition to hypertension, is an important determinant of platelet intracellular calcium concentration.

There is a growing realization in the health system that integration of effort may be the best way of ensuring optimal outcomes of management both for clinicians and for people using the health system. It is also hypothesized that the impact of diabetes (chronic disease) and its sequelae could be reduced by the provision of well-organized care, based on agreed evidence-based guidelines for best practice, incorporating patient education and early detection of complication. This paper defines the characteristics of an integrated model of providing care to people with diabetes.

Psychological sense of community (SOC) was proposed to be the central aspect of community psychology by Sarason (1974). At the Society for Community Research and Action conference at Yale in 1999, Sarason was asked by Bob Newbrough why he had formulated the concept of SOC. He stated that as a child during the depression he experienced the terror of being at the point of having no physical and emotional support. Sustained experiences of this kind then form the basis of alienation that individuals and groups in our societies experience. Sarason argued that this was a profound experience and is a considerable risk factor for psychological and social problems. Understanding SOC, thus, is an essential aspect of community psychology.

Rural women face a variety of health-related problems, some of which they share with their city sisters. However, the multiple responsibilities of women on the land, and their geographical isolation and lack of support, can lead to physical decline and increased mental strain. It is these factors which are often overlooked in the planning and allocation of funding and services to rural areas. This paper examines the application of community competence and empowerment measures in developing and implementing health services for women in rural Australian communities. A study conducted in the south-west region of Western Australia illustrates the ability of women within rural communities to identify and respond constructively to health issues of concern.

Integrin alpha 4 beta 1 can mediate both cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix adhesion by binding to either fibronectin or vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1). Both interactions are important for extravasation of leukocytes from the blood implying that rationally designed inhibitors of alpha 4 beta 1 function may be useful for treating a various inflammatory conditions. The mechanisms of ligand binding by alpha 4 beta 1 are complicated by the fact that alternative splicing can generate different isoforms of the receptor-binding domains in both fibronectin and VCAM-1. Therefore, in addition to developing alpha 4 beta 1 antagonists, we have also been interested in identifying isoform-specific functions. Recombinant ligand variants have been tested in adhesion and direct receptor-binding assays and each molecule was found to have a different inherent affinity for alpha 4 beta 1 that endows them with different adhesive activities. This suggests that alternative splicing may regulate alpha 4 beta 1-dependent motility in vivo. The initial strategy that we have adopted to develop alpha 4 beta 1 inhibitors has been to identify key amino acid residues and peptide sequences participating in the receptor-ligand binding event and to use this information to generate synthetic mimetics. Three active sites have been identified in fibronectin by testing truncated proteins, expressing recombinant fragments and screening synthetic peptides. Two of these sites employ versions of a novel integrin-binding motif, LDVP/IDAP. A key active site in VCAM-1 has been identified by similar approaches as the related sequence IDSP. Since IDSP-like sequences are probably used by other integrin-binding immunoglobulins, derivatives of these peptides may turn out to be the forerunners of a new generation of therapeutic agents with multiple applications.

Students are spread out over approximately 20 European U.S. military installations.The objective of the course of study is the Data Processing Core and Advanced Certificates awarded after 12 and 24 semester hours of course work, respectively.Instruction is provided by U.S. military and civilian personnel qualified in data processing and the language being taught.Purpose: To give students the fundamentals of programming in several of the most common programming languages in use today. They are not expected to become full fledged programmers. In the introductory courses, an important objective is to provide a general appreciation of data processing and how it is affecting the lives of everyone. In addition, it is hoped that students will apply this understanding so that data processing is seen as a tool to make jobs more meaningful—as opposed to the threat people feel as their job is “automated.”

An air purifier was developed for tunnel, toll and garage booths or cubicles. Catalytic oxidation, activated carbon and a HEPA filter are used to scrub out CO, hydrocarbons, NO2 and particulates. Tunnel tests showed these air impurities were adequately removed.

Vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of a sphere is one of the most basic fluid-structure interaction problems. Since such vibrations can lead to fatal structural failures, numerous studies have focused on suppressing such flow-induced vibrations. In this study, for the first time, the effect of an imposed transverse rotation on the dynamics of the VIV of an elastically mounted sphere has been investigated. It was observed that the non-dimensional vibration amplitude for a rotating sphere (A∗ = √2yrms/D, where yrms is the root mean square of the displacement in the transverse direction and D = sphere diameter) exhibits a bell-shaped evolution as a function of reduced velocity, similar to the classic VIV response of a non-rotating sphere. The sphere is found to oscillate freely up to a rotation ratio α (ratio of the equatorial velocity of the sphere to the free-stream velocity) close to 0.5. For lower rotation ratios (α ≤ 0.3), the response looks similar to the non-rotating case but with slightly smaller vibration amplitude. For higher α values, the amplitude was found to decrease significantly with the rotation up to α = 0.5. The amplitude dropped drastically after it reached the peak amplitude. This is unlike the VIV response of a rotating circular cylinder where the vibration amplitude increases up to three times the maximum vibration amplitude in the non- rotating case due to a novel asymmetric wake pattern (see [1])