University of Windsor

About: University of Windsor is a education organization based out in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Argumentation theory. The organization has 10654 authors who have published 22307 publications receiving 435906 citations. The organization is also known as: UWindsor & Assumption University of Windsor.

Understanding chemical shielding tensors using group theory, MO analysis, and modern density‐functional theory

Abstract: In this article, the relationships between molecular symmetry, molecular electronic structure, and chemical shielding (CS) tensors are discussed. First, a brief background on the CS interaction and CS tensors is given. Then, the visualization of the three-dimensional nature of CS is described. A simple method for examining the relationship between molecular orbitals (MOs) and CS tensors, using point groups and direct products of irreducible representations of MOs and rotational operators, is outlined. A number of specific examples are discussed, involving CS tensors of different nuclei in molecules of different symmetries, including ethene (D2h), hydrogen fluoride (C∞v), trifluorophosphine (C3v), and water (C2v). Finally, we review the application of this method to CS tensors in several interesting cases previously discussed in the literature, including acetylene (D∞h), the PtX42− series of compounds (D4h) and the decamethylaluminocenium cation (D5d). © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Concepts Magn Reson Part A 34A: 91–123, 2009.

Implementation of Multiplication, Modulo a Prime Number, with Applications to Number Theoretic Transforms

Abstract: This paper discusses a technique for multiplying numbers, modulo a prime number, using look-up tables stored in read-only memories. The application is in the computation of number theoretic transforms implemented in a ring which is isomorphic to a direct sum of several Galois fields, parallel computations being performed in each field.

Association of ambient air pollution with respiratory hospitalization in a government-designated "area of concern": the case of Windsor, Ontario.

Abstract: This study is part of a larger research program to examine the relationship between ambient air quality and health in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. We assessed the association between air pollution and daily respiratory hospitalization for different age and sex groups from 1995 to 2000. The pollutants included were nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, particulate matter 10 microm in diameter (PM10), coefficient of haze (COH), and total reduced sulfur (TRS). We calculated relative risk (RR) estimates using both time-series and case-crossover methods after controlling for appropriate confounders (temperature, humidity, and change in barometric pressure). The results of both analyses were consistent. We found associations between NO2, SO2, CO, COH, or PM10 and daily hospital admission of respiratory diseases especially among females. For females 0-14 years of age, there was 1-day delayed effect of NO2 (RR = 1.19, case-crossover method), a current-day SO2 (RR = 1.11, time series), and current-day and 1- and 2-day delayed effects for CO by case crossover (RR = 1.15, 1.19, 1.22, respectively). Time-series analysis showed that 1-day delayed effect of PM10 on respiratory admissions of adult males (15-64 years of age), with an RR of 1.18. COH had significant effects on female respiratory hospitalization, especially for 2-day delayed effects on adult females, with RRs of 1.15 and 1.29 using time-series and case-crossover analysis, respectively. There were no significant associations between O3 and TRS with respiratory admissions. These findings provide policy makers with current risks estimates of respiratory hospitalization as a result of poor ambient air quality in a government designated "area of concern."

Performance comparison of genetic markers for high-throughput sequencing-based biodiversity assessment in complex communities.

Abstract: Metabarcode surveys of DNA extracted from environmental samples are increasingly popular for biodiversity assessment in natural communities. Such surveys rely heavily on robust genetic markers. Therefore, analysis of PCR efficiency and subsequent biodiversity estimation for different types of genetic markers and their corresponding primers is important. Here, we test the PCR efficiency and biodiversity recovery potential of three commonly used genetic markers - nuclear small subunit ribosomal DNA (18S), mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and 16S ribosomal RNA (mt16S) - using 454 pyrosequencing of a zooplankton community collected from Hamilton Harbour, Ontario. We found that biodiversity detection power and PCR efficiency varied widely among these markers. All tested primers for COI failed to provide high-quality PCR products for pyrosequencing, but newly designed primers for 18S and 16S passed all tests. Furthermore, multiple analyses based on large-scale pyrosequencing (i.e. 1/2 PicoTiter plate for each marker) showed that primers for 18S recover more (38 orders) groups than 16S (10 orders) across all taxa, and four vs. two orders and nine vs. six families for Crustacea. Our results showed that 18S, using newly designed primers, is an efficient and powerful tool for profiling biodiversity in largely unexplored communities, especially when amplification difficulties exist for mitochondrial markers such as COI. Universal primers for higher resolution markers such as COI are still needed to address the possible low resolution of 18S for species-level identification.

Spatial Variability and Application of Ratios between BTEX in Two Canadian Cities

Abstract: Spatial monitoring campaigns of volatile organic compounds were carried out in two similarly sized urban industrial cities, Windsor and Sarnia, ON, Canada. For Windsor, data were obtained for all four seasons at approximately 50 sites in each season (winter, spring, summer, and fall) over a three-year period (2004, 2005, and 2006) for a total of 12 sampling sessions. Sampling in Sarnia took place at 37 monitoring sites in fall 2005. In both cities, passive sampling was done using 3M 3500 organic vapor samplers. This paper characterizes benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o, and (m + p)-xylene (BTEX) concentrations and relationships among BTEX species in the two cities during the fall sampling periods. BTEX concentration levels and rank order among the species were similar between the two cities. In Sarnia, the relationships between the BTEX species varied depending on location. Correlation analysis between land use and concentration ratios showed a strong influence from local industries. Use one of the ratios between the BTEX species to diagnose photochemical age may be biased due to point source emissions, for example, 53 tonnes of benzene and 86 tonnes of toluene in Sarnia. However, considering multiple ratios leads to better conclusions regarding photochemical aging. Ratios obtained in the sampling campaigns showed significant deviation from those obtained at central monitoring stations, with less difference in the (m + p)/E ratio but better overall agreement in Windsor than in Sarnia.