Biomimicry as a practice has generated a plethora of innovative technologies. By observing key processes that evolution has converged upon, we can improve and evolve manmade mechanisms. This literature review addresses the importance of vortices in biological systems and compares their locomotive purposes across a wide range of animal phyla. The development of particle image velocimetry (PIV) has enhanced our ability to study the vortex mechanics of remarkably fast or efficient animals. Such experiments have made great contributions to the human understanding of flow and kinematics. Vorticity studies, for example, have produced results that contradict the paradigm for animal motion-- particularly in how the inherent low-pressure zone associated with vortices can allow animals to maneuver through a fluid. Lampreys and jellyfish have shown to use vortex-based locomotive techniques to “suck” themselves through the water. Additionally, the “hyper-pitching" process of the zooplanktonic sea butterfly is controlled by pressure fields generated by leading edge vortices. Such findings have interesting implications for the future of biomimetic water and air travel, as the utilization of pressure as opposed to thrust may facilitate the creation of more efficient vehicles. Furthermore, comparative biological studies allow for a more in-depth interpretation of animal kinematics that have been difficult to study due to lack of proper technology. By creating qualitative analogies between air travel and water travel, we can reexamine how airborne creatures move.

The University of Washington High Enthalpy Flow Laboratory (HEFL) has constructed a purpose built laboratory for experimental research on Rotating Detonation Engines (RDE). This refit included the rebuilding of the lab apparatus, the assembly of the RDE and supporting equipment such as downstream piping, vacuum system, gas handling plumbing, and the redevelopment of the experimental instrumentation. The assembly of the lab apparatus consisted of the construction and mounting of fuel, oxygen, and nitrogen lines for the RDE, and the assembly of back pressure controlled exhaust tubes leading to a dump tank and an optical imaging port. A stand for the engine apparatus itself as well as much of the plumbing support equipment was also constructed. The assembly of the RDE consisted of the assembly of the various engine parts, followed by the connection of the various instruments such as pressure sensors, temperature sensors, ion probes to the engine itself. The hardware and software components of the instrumentation systems were also redeveloped to allow for very high instrument density for pressure and temperature sensors on the RDE. The software component of the instrumentation involved developing MATLAB scripts for valve actuation, data acquisition, and sensor calibration. The hardware aspect of the instrumentation involved selecting the sensors to be used on the engine based on their signal conditioning, as well as designing and building power supply and signal processing circuits to connect the sensors to a rebuilt data acquisition computer system.

The idea of energy, matter, and motion has perplexed many philosophers and physicists from antiquity to modern physics, from Plato to Einstein. New and developing physical theories raise different interpretations of energy and matter but no complete theory of everything exists at present. However, there is a law we can almost take for granted - the Law of Conservation of Energy, it simply states that energy cannot be created nor destroyed although it can be transformed from one form to another. With an up-to-date history of the first law of thermodynamics, physicists in the field can have a sense of what has been done and what not. A complete overview of the rudimentary law would also provide a continuous timeline in which one can identify flaws in current theories. After establishing the foundational theory and history of conservation of energy, this literature review aims to provide a comparative study between the concept of mass and energy in two of the most profound physical theories - Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity. Subtle implication of numerous laws of thermodynamics and mass-energy equivalence like Dark Energy, Dark Matter, Higgs Mechanism and Blackhole Thermodynamics is studied in an introductory manner for potential history and correlate direct and indirect links to energy conservation.

Traumatic fracture of the bone surrounding the eye (the orbit) can result in functional impairment of vision. Double vision, diplopia, is one such sequelae. The cause of diplopia in orbital fracture patients has most commonly been attributed to loss of orbital volume caused by an open fracture that allows the contents of the orbit to shift. However, in cases where the orbit is surgically repaired and orbital volume is restored, some continue to have diplopia. Our hypothesis in these cases is the anatomy of extraocular muscle pulleys is affected by the trauma. The aim of this study is to test this research question by analyzing computed tomography (CT) scans. Patients were selected from a previous study of orbital fracture patients in which all patients had CT scans available for review and consented to be part of a research study on orbital fractures. Locations of the extraocular muscle pulleys were measured relative to the center of the orbit in the lateral, anterior and superior directions. Pulley location was determined by a tangent plane drawn where the optic nerve meets the orbit and crosses the muscle. The measurements were input into Orbit, simulation software, to produce a prediction of visual changes in Lancaster plots. The Lancaster plots were compared to the data from the patient’s clinical visual testing to determine the accuracy of the prediction at each point in the visual field. Our results showed that the accuracy of our prediction varied, as the location of the pulleys is not the only factor that contributes to diplopia. Other factors that may contribute include weakened muscle, entrapment and damage that is not visible on CT. More research is needed to determine how the muscle pulley system is affected in orbital fracture, and to determine how clinical interventions including surgery may help improve diplopia.

With more than a million arrivals in Europe in 2015, the mass migration has impacted the continent politically, economically, and socially. According to Europol, a law enforcement agency, in 2016 more than 90% of migrants going to the European Union have experienced some kind of smuggling during their journey. Many articles aggregate human smuggling with human trafficking. However, there is a lack of empirical examination and of different types of smuggling. In this study, I focus on migrant smuggling. Nevertheless, human smuggling is often seen as a crime that is organized, where a new “service” gets added to their principle activity (drug smuggling, money laundering…), as stated by Finckenauer, and performed by people who have never been involved in transnational criminal organizations. I assess this puzzle: How does human smuggling differ from human trafficking and organized crime, by examining primary and secondary sources such as scholarly literature and local newspapers? I argue that human smuggling has some traits of organized crime; however, considering entirely as it, limits the study of smuggling, as a business activity, and limits the prevention of illegal immigration. Human smuggling has traits of organized crime: the structure, the persistence, and violence have shown that these elements are not voluntarily present in the activity of smuggling. Nonetheless, the main purpose of this activity is treated as a business: where demand and supply meet and where price fluctuates depending on these factors. Migrant smuggling needs to be seen as a mutually consenting act between a migrant and a smuggler: the migrant is looking to flee because of instability in his/her country for the hope of a better life while the smuggler is considering smuggling as a business. This project aims to give a nuanced understanding of human smuggling to better intervene at the source of this mass migration.

After the establishment of a new democratic government following the US invasion in 2001, the Taliban has provided a parallel court system across Afghanistan. Rebel forms of justice may appear highly coercive, but prove particularly appealing to civilians if they are quicker, more straightforward, easier to access, or more in line with their preferences than formal state courts. Under what conditions are citizens more likely to support the legal authority of the formal government’s judicial systems compared to rebel groups’ alternative forms of law? In this research, I expand the framework of competitive governance by focusing on the decision of individuals to support various legal institutions based on views of government legitimacy founded in the evaluation of public service provision. I hypothesize that as individuals view the government as more legitimate, they demonstrate support for the formal courts, and as they view the government as illegitimate, they are less likely to support the formal judicial system. I address this question by analyzing two data sources. First, I have identified active Taliban courts by district from 2011-13. Second, I have access to the ANQAR survey data, an extensive nationwide survey addressing perceptions of government legitimacy and rule of law. Preliminary findings suggest a zero-sum dynamic between the institutions - that successful rebel governance may not only increase compliance with the rebels, but may actually decrease civilian compliance with state institutions. The policy implications of this research are twofold. First, this informs formal governments that building a judicial system is not just a function of strength and access, but rather that civilians are assessing the government’s service capacity as a whole. Secondly, understanding civilian behavior and preferences will assist nascent democracies in determining how it is most efficient to spend their limited resources to increase the support of the civilians.

Orbital fractures are one of the most common facial fractures and often result in functional deficits if not treated appropriately. No prior reports have assessed dynamic visual acuity (DVA) in these patients, which is critical in visually tracking objects during head movement. Our research seeks to determine the effect of orbital fractures on DVA and assess whether DVA will change over time in those who undergo surgical reconstruction of the orbit. We hypothesize that DVA is adversely affected in orbital fracture patients and improves after surgical reconstruction. We designed a prospective pilot study at a Level I trauma center. Adult patients who presented with an orbital fracture between November 2017-January 2019 without prior ocular history were eligible. All enrolled subjects underwent static visual acuity (SVA) and DVA testing twice: once within one month post-injury before surgery, and another at least ten days following surgery. SVA was assessed using a mobile Snellen eye chart. DVA was measured by having the subject rotate their head at a standard frequency while again reading a Snellen chart. DVA is defined as abnormal if acuity falls more than two lines on the Snellen chart compared to SVA. Eleven patients have been enrolled and tested. Four(36%) patients exhibited abnormal DVA prior to surgery, compared to two(18%) after surgery. For all patients, the mean change in visual acuity (DVA logMAR minus SVA logMAR per subject) before surgery was 0.17 (SD=0.09). Following surgery, the mean difference in visual acuity across all patients was 0.07 logMAR (SD=0.07). Our data shows that, surprisingly, the majority of orbital fractures patients tested did not have abnormal DVA. In patients that did demonstrate abnormal DVA, half improved after surgery. The mean difference in visual acuity of all patients also improved after surgery. A larger study is needed to determine the prevalence of abnormal DVA in this patient population.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues as the leading cause of death worldwide. The underlying cause of CVD is atherosclerosis, characterized by fatty plaques in the inner walls of the artery, and exacerbated by oxidative stress, inflammation and immune cells. The high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-associated enzyme paraoxonase-1 (PON1) plays a significant role in protecting against CVD. However, the mechanism of PON1’s protection is not well understood. Our laboratory and others have reported a progressive decrease of PON1 activity in several diseases. Our goal is to understand how PON1 prevents oxidative stress and its potential measurement as an early biomarker of risk of disease. Our hypothesis is that oxidative stress inhibits PON1 enzymatic activity, leading to progression of the atherosclerotic process in CVD. The objective of this research is to generate a mouse model to allow us to study the human enzyme PON1 in induced atherosclerosis in vivo.  Starting from two strains of knockout (KO) mice, we have generated the Pon1/apolipoprotein E (apoE) double KO mouse, known to be susceptible to atherosclerosis. We are now crossing this double KO mouse with Pon1 KO mice that express human PON1 (transgenic human PON1 mice, tgHuPON1). We collect ear punches for DNA extraction and blood from the saphenous vein for activity assays. We use polymerase chain reaction (PCR) genotyping methodology, which amplifies DNA, to identify mice that are KO for mouse Pon1 and apoE and that express human PON1. We run enzymatic assays to determine activity levels of the human PON1 in mice. Once we have created the tgHuPON1/apoE KO mouse, we will feed mice with an atherogenic diet, which will induce subclinical atherosclerosis. This knowledge will contribute to understanding the relationship between PON1 and CVD, and will likely generate a useful biomarker for risk of disease.      

We investigate recent developments in the foundations of mathematics, particularly homotopy type theory, to determine their viability as foundations of mathematics. Related foundations such as Martin-Löf type theory, topos theory, and category theory are also discussed. We evaluate the possible benefits of a type-theoretic formulation of mathematics and the nature of constructive axiomatic foundations. The research involves a review of the existing literature in these areas and a comparative analysis of the methods used across frameworks. This research is the first step towards the development of languages easily used by computers and mathematicians which incorporate the power and flexibility of nonstandard deductive procedures.