Magister Scientiae - MSc (Chemistry) / Electrochemical platforms were developed based on pencil graphite electrodes (PGEs) modified electrochemically with reduced graphene oxide metal nanoparticles (ERGO-metalNPs) composite and used for the high-sensitivity determination of Bisphenol A (BPA) in water samples. Synergistic effects of both reduced Graphene Oxide sheets and metal nanoparticles on the performance of the pencil graphite electrode (PGE) were demonstrated in the oxidation of BPA by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). A solution of graphene oxide (GO) 1 mg mL-1 and 15 ppm of metal stock solutions (1,000 mg L-1, atomic absorption standard solution) (Antimony or Gold) was prepared and after sonication deposited onto pencil graphite electrodes by cyclic voltammetry reduction. Different characterization techniques such as FT-IR, HR-SEM, XRD and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the GO and ERGO-metalNPs. Parameters that influence the electroanalytical response of the ERGO-SbNPs and ERGO-AuNPs such as, pH, deposition time, deposition potential, purging time were investigated and optimized. Well-defined, reproducible peaks with detection limits of 0.0125 ?M and 0.062 ?M were obtained for BPA using ERGO-SbNPs and ERGO-AuNPs respectively. The rGO-metalNPs-PGE was used for the quantification of BPA in tap water sample and proved to be suitable for the detection of BPA below USEPA prescribed drinking water standards of 0.087 ?M. / 2021-12-31

Magister Scientiae - MSc (Chemistry) / Electrochemical platforms were developed based on pencil graphite electrodes (PGEs) modified electrochemically with reduced graphene oxide metal nanoparticles (ERGO–metalNPs) composite and used for the high-sensitivity determination of Bisphenol A (BPA) in water samples. Synergistic effects of both reduced Graphene Oxide sheets and metal nanoparticles on the performance of the pencil graphite electrode (PGE) were demonstrated in the oxidation of BPA by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). A solution of graphene oxide (GO) 1 mg mL-1 and 15 ppm of metal stock solutions (1,000 mg L-1, atomic absorption standard solution) (Antimony or Gold) was prepared and after sonication deposited onto pencil graphite electrodes by cyclic voltammetry reduction. Different characterization techniques such as FT-IR, HR-SEM, XRD and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the GO and ERGO–metalNPs. Parameters that influence the electroanalytical response of the ERGO–SbNPs and ERGO–AuNPs such as, pH, deposition time, deposition potential, purging time were investigated and optimized. Well-defined, reproducible peaks with detection limits of 0.0125 μM and 0.062 μM were obtained for BPA using ERGO–SbNPs and ERGO–AuNPs respectively. The rGO-metalNPs–PGE was used for the quantification of BPA in tap water sample and proved to be suitable for the detection of BPA below USEPA prescribed drinking water standards of 0.087 μM.

Objectives: Patient-reported outcomes (PROs; self-report assessments) are increasingly important in evaluating medical care and treatment efficacy. Electronic administration of PROs via computer is becoming widespread. This article reviews the literature addressing whether computer-administered tests are equivalent to their paper-and-pencil forms. Methods: Meta-analysis was used to synthesize 65 studies that directly assessed the equivalence of computer versus paper versions of PROs used in clinical trials. A total of 46 unique studies, evaluating 278 scales, provided sufficient detail to allow quantitative analysis. Results: Among 233 direct comparisons, the average mean difference between modes averaged 0.2% of the scale range (e.g., 0.02 points on a 10-point scale), and 93% were within ±5% of the scale range. Among 207 correlation coefficients between paper and computer instruments (typically intraclass correlation coefficients), the average weighted correlation was 0.90; 94% of correlations were at least 0.75. Because the cross-mode correlation (paper vs. computer) is also a test-retest correlation, with potential variation because of retest, we compared it to the within-mode (paper vs. paper) test-retest correlation. In four comparisons that evaluated both, the average cross-mode paper-to-computer correlation was almost identical to the within-mode correlation for readministration of a paper measure (0.88 vs. 0.91). Conclusions: Extensive evidence indicates that paper- and computer-administered PROs are equivalent.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / This project focuses on the development of simple, highly sensitive, accurate, and low cost electrochemical sensors based on the modification of pencil graphite electrodes by the electrochemical reduction of graphene oxide-metal salts as nanocomposites (ERGO-MC-PGE; MC = Sb or Au nanocomposite). The electrochemical sensors ERGO-Sb-PGE and ERGO-Au-PGE were used in the determination of paracetamol (PC) in pharmaceutical formulations using adsorptive stripping differential pulse voltammetry. The GO was prepared from graphite via a modified Hummers’ method and characterized by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy to confirm the presence of oxygen functional groups in the conjugated carbon-based structure whilst, changes in crystalline structure was observed after XRD analysis of graphite and GO. / 2023-10-07

The study examined whether, under comparable testing conditions, second - v and fourth-grade students who took a computer-administered (CA) achievement test in mathematics achieved the same mean score as comparable students who took the same test by paper and pencil (PP). For number correct, the CA standardized mean difference effect size was - 0 .28, which was larger than the expected effect size of zero, although not statistically significant at. 05. It was noted that CA subjects completed the test more quickly, on the average, than PP subjects (CA effect size for time to completion = - 0. 79). When time to completion was statistically controlled, the difference in mean scores between CA and PP modes vanished (CA effect size = - 0.02). Possible explanations for the findings are discussed. It is concluded that, based on these results, one would not be justified in assuming CA and PP scores from elementary school students to be equivalent.

This M.F.A. thesis paper and drawing installation deal with the physical relationship of the body to itself, and with the neurological wiring connecting the parts to each other and to the whole. In my drawing 10 Months/ 9 x 20 Feet, I work on a scale several times that of my own body. Issues explored include contingency, relationships, accumulation, parameters, play, record, time, duration, proprioception, metonymy, fragmentation, space, scale, sight, process, and drawing. Over ten months, I produced a single drawing measuring twenty feet across and nine feet tall. My body’s repetitive contorting in order to trace itself, in order to literally circumnavigate a moving form, can be seen as a means of familiarizing myself in a tactile sense with the physical relationship of myself to myself.

The aim of this study is to find out how various tools, digital as well as analogue, affect pupils spelling. Through a systematic literature study, this paper contributes with a research overview of what existing research shows for this subject. The results show, even though all research is not united, that pupils spelling is positively affected when the student is allowed to use their body and write by hand with the pencil. The digital tools can also contribute to the pupil's spelling developing despite the concerns over the word processing programs that exist. For students with learning disabilities, and who for various reasons have problems with the pen grip or to form letters, the digital tools can open up to a more equal school where all pupils can be equally active. The conclusion in this study shows that the choice of writing tools for the student needs to be individual as all students do not master the pen. The results in this study however points to, for pupil´s spelling, that the pen as a writing tool can be better than the digital tools.

A new method is presented for the numerical computation of the generalized eigen- values of real Hamiltonian or symplectic pencils and matrices. The method is strongly backward stable, i.e., it is numerically backward stable and preserves the structure (i.e., Hamiltonian or symplectic). In the case of a Hamiltonian matrix the method is closely related to the square reduced method of Van Loan, but in contrast to that method which may suffer from a loss of accuracy of order sqrt(epsilon), where epsilon is the machine precision, the new method computes the eigenvalues to full possible accuracy.

Le travail de recherche proposé dans ce manuscrit consiste à modéliser le rayonnement électromagnétique de conducteurs filaires. En effet l’estimation du rayonnement est un enjeu majeur et l’utilisation de modèles exacts nous semble nécessaire. On propose donc dans ce mémoire une approche analytique qui permet de quantifier les niveaux de champs électromagnétiques rayonnés par les systèmes filaires. Dans un premier temps nous proposons un modèle analytique du calcul du champ électromagnétique rayonné par un système filaire basé sur un développement approfondi des équations de Maxwell. Ce formalisme est issu de la formulation intégrale du potentiel vecteur émis par une antenne filaire dont on supposera connu la distribution de courant. Le modèle analytique ainsi obtenu permet d’estimer aisément les champs sans avoir besoin de discrétiser ni le support de transmission ni l’espace d’observation. Pour enrichir notre modèle nous avons ensuite envisagé les cas où la distribution du courant le long des conducteurs était issu, soit de la théorie des lignes soit d’une simulation numérique basée sur la théorie des antennes, soit de mesures. Dans le cas où c’est la théorie des lignes qui est à la base de la détermination des courants distribués, nous proposons un formalisme analytique du champ électromagnétique rayonné basé uniquement sur la seule connaissance des courants et de leurs dérivées aux extrémités des conducteurs. Nous avons également montré que ce formalisme s’extrapole aisément au cas d’un réseau multifilaire. Dans le cas où la théorie des antennes ou des mesures sont à la base de la connaissance des courants distribués, on identifie ce courant par quelques pôles et résidus grâce à la méthode d’identification Matrix Pencil (MP). Le champ électromagnétique rayonné s’exprime alors par une série finie de termes intégrales. Ce formalisme reste analytique et présente l’avantage d’être adapté aux approches paramétriques et d’optimisations. Nos travaux de recherche ouvrent des perspectives de reconstruction de la distribution du courant par Matrix Pencil à partir de la connaissance du courant et de ses premières dérivées spatiales aux seules extrémités des conducteurs. Le champ électromagnétique rayonné sera alors déduit de notre modèle. / The research presented in this thesis is focused on the modelling of electromagnetic radiation from thin-wire configuration. The radiation assessment is one of the most important issues which strongly requires an accurate modelling. In this work, an analytic approach to evaluate electromagnetic field radiated from thin-wire structure sis proposed. In the first part, we propose an analytical model for calculation of the electromagnetic fields from wire structure derived from the Maxwell equations. This formalism arises from the integral formulation of the magnetic vector potential due to a known current distribution along a wire antenna. The analytical model enables one to readily calculate the fields without requirement of wire structure discretization or involving the propagation effect over the domain of interest. In order to improve the model, we subsequently analyze cases where the current distribution along the conductors is known, either obtained by using the transmission line theory, by numerical simulations based on the antenna theory, or by measurements. On the basis of the known current and its derivative at the ends of a two-wire configuration, obtained by using the transmission line theory, the proposed approach yields an analytical formalism for determination of the radiated electromagnetic field. This analytical formalism is readily extended to multiple wires structures, as well. Once the current distribution is determined by using the antenna theory, the proposed method extracts the corresponding poles and residues by using the Matrix Pencil Method (MPM). In this case, the radiated electromagnetic field is formulated just by few integral terms. The main advantage of the analytical formulation within the framework of the proposal approach is that the method is very suitable for parametric and optimisation studies. This research should be considered as an opener to the subject related to reconstruction of the current distribution by using the Matrix Pencil method (MPM) only based on the current and its first derivative at the wire structure ends. Consequently the radiated electromagnetic field may be subsequently readily calculated by using theproposed analytical model.

We study canonical forms for Hamiltonian and symplectic matrices or pencils under equivalence transformations which keep the class invariant. In contrast to other canonical forms our forms are as close as possible to a triangular structure in the same class. We give necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of Hamiltonian and symplectic triangular Jordan, Kronecker and Schur forms. The presented results generalize results of Lin and Ho [17] and simplify the proofs presented there.