Digital Commons Network^™

The Ratification And Implementation Of The International Maritime Organisation (Imo) Instruments : A Social And Policy Persepctive On Maritime Governance In Fiji, Miriama Latianara

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Preparedness And Response To Oil And Biofuel Spills : A Case Study Of The Western Indian Ocean, Soifoine Abdillah

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Regulatory, Safety And Environmental Aspects Of Biofuels In International Shipping, - Kiran Chempakassery Sasidharan

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Assessing Marpol Annex V Port Reception Facilities Of The National Port Of Liberia (Freeport Of Monrovia), Barbara Wade Cummings

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Combating Illegal, Unreported And Unregulated (Iuu) Fishing In Argentina : Role Of Argentinian Coastguard As Maritime Authority In Charge Of Law Enforcement, Mario Damian Tiscornia

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Stable Isotope Paleoecology In The Bridgerian (Early Eocene): Investigation Of The Bridgerian Crash And The Canopy Effect, Aaron M. English

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO) was the warmest sustained interval of the Cenozoic. Its waning stages coincided with a marked decline in mammalian biodiversity known as the Bridgerian Crash, which was likely driven by increasingly cooler and drier conditions. Paleobotanical evidence suggests the early Eocene supported wet, subtropical to tropical forests at mid-latitudes, however the structure of these forests at the close of the EECO remains poorly understood. In this study, I measure carbon isotope values (d¹³C_E) from the enamel of early Bridgerian (~52.2 – 48.3 Ma) herbivorous mammals from the Greater Green River …

Gerunds In Irish Sign Language: An Exploratory Analysis, Zaid Mohammed

Doctoral

In sign languages (SLs), e.g., American Sign Language (ASL), gerunds help express the meaning of ongoing actions and activities conveyed by verbs (Klima & Bellugi, 1979, p. 295). In spoken languages, a gerund is a form of the verb that functions as a noun and expresses the state of being or an ongoing action (Maekelberghe, 2020). Gerunds are complex constructions as they have nominal-verbal nature (Travis, 2005, p. 321) and morphological similarity with present participle or progressive aspect (Siegel, 1998). This research is motivated by the challenging nature of distinguishing gerund constructions at the morphological level, and research in sign …

From Prohibition To Preparation: Reframing Academic Integrity In The Age Of Ai, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

This study analyzes how U.S. universities reconfigure academic integrity during the 2024–2025 cycle in response to widespread generative AI adoption. The analysis foregrounds three loci: student ignorance and metacognitive blind spots; the expanded remit of Academic Integrity Officers prioritizing education over punishment; and deliberate AI-enabled misconduct that exposes the evidentiary limits of detection technologies. A mixed-methods design integrates a multi-site review at Arizona State University, Montclair State University, and Cornell University with synthesis of surveys, policies, and faculty development guidance. Findings show that detector outputs function as conversational prompts rather than adjudicative proof, necessitating dialogic resolution standards, process evidence, and …

Climate-Driven Potential For Tularemia In East Africa: Skill Testing And Ecological Consistency Of A Transferred Risk Model, Komi Mensah Agboka, Allan Muohi Ngángá, Bonoukpoè Mawuko Sokame, Steve Soh Bernard Baleba, Tobias Landmann, Elfatih M. Abdel-Rahman, Chrysantus M. Tanga, Souleymane Diallo

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Tularemia, a neglected zoonosis, remains underreported in Africa despite growing concern over its climate-driven expansion. This study aims to quantify the specific contribution of climate to tularemia risk using a climate attribution framework. We trained a Least Squares Dummy Variable (LSDV) fixed-effects panel model on United States (U.S.) county-level tularemia incidence data from 2011–2020 (n = 500, R² = 0.90), incorporating only climatic predictors: cumulative temperature, cumulative precipitation, and their respective variabilities. The climate-only model explained 86% of variance in the training data, demonstrating strong climate influence on tularemia disease dynamics. We then applied the model to East Africa, using …

Integrating Environmental Impact Assessment Into International Shipping Governance : A Bbnj-Pssa Synergy Framework, Thi Thuy Linh Pham

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Envisioning Future Interactive Web Development: Editing Webpage With Natural Language, Truong Hai Dang, Jingyu Xiao, Yintong Huo

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The evolution of web applications relies on iterative code modifications, a process that is traditionally manual and time-consuming. While Large Language Models (LLMs) can generate UI code, their ability to edit existing code from new design requirements (e.g., ”center the logo”) remains a challenge. This is largely due to the absence of large-scale, high-quality tuning data to align model performance with human expectations. In this paper, we introduce a novel, automated data generation pipeline that uses LLMs to synthesize a high-quality fine-tuning dataset for web editing, named Instruct4Edit. Our approach generates diverse instructions, applies the corresponding code modifications, and performs …

Interaction2code: Benchmarking Mllm-Based Interactive Webpage Code Generation From Interactive Prototyping, Jingyu Xiao, Yuxuan Wan, Yintong Huo, Zixin Wang, Xinyi Xu, Wenxuan Wang, Zhiyao Xu, Yuhang Wang, Michael R. Lyu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Multimodal Large Language Models (MLLMs) have demonstrated remarkable performance on the design-to-code task, i.e., generating UI code from UI mock-ups. However, existing benchmarks only contain static web pages for evaluation and ignore the dynamic interaction, limiting the practicality, usability and user engagement of the generated webpages. To bridge these gaps, we present the first systematic investigation of MLLMs in generating interactive webpages. Specifically, we formulate the Interaction-to-Code task and establish the Interaction2Code benchmark, encompassing 127 unique webpages and 374 distinct interactions across 15 webpage types and 31 interaction categories. Through comprehensive experiments utilizing state-of-theart (SOTA) MLLMs, evaluated via both automatic …

Ai Companions And The Lessons Of Family Law, Clare Huntington

Faculty Scholarship

Virtual friends and lovers powered by artificial intelligence are rapidly moving to the center of our emotional and social lives. Millions of people turn to AI companions every day for conversation, romance, sexual intimacy, therapy, and education. AI companionship holds promise, potentially reducing loneliness, supporting people without access to mental health treatment, helping students learn, and offering a judgment-free space for sensitive conversations. But AI companionship also raises significant concerns. The technology's addictiveness may exacerbate loneliness and can undermine human relationships. Therapy bots may prove more harmful than helpful. AI companions can be emotionally abusive. And their access to the …

The Simulation Of Hyperspectral Observations By The Upcoming Spacecraft "Arab Satellite 813", With The Radiative Transfer Model Sciatran, Sara Maher Alhasan

Theses

The Arab Satellite 813, which is scheduled to be launched in 2025/2026 by the UAE Space Agency, is set to increase earth observation and monitor the climate across the middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This study uses the SCIATRAN radiative transfer model which was originally developed for the Envisat mission to simulate the hyperspectral observation specifically tailored for the satellite's payload. Using calibrations that were used by the previous research in their SCIATRAN V4.6 study and adjusting parameters like the Leaf Area Index (LAI), a simulation which agreed robustly with the benchmarks set by the previous research was …

Establishing A Framework Of Best Management Practices For Sustainable Water Quality: Integration Of Technology And Remote Sensing, Mason L. Marcantel

LSU Master's Theses

Water quality security is a complex management issue that is constantly challenged by factors of seasonal variability in climate change, urban population growth, and agricultural intensification. These factors warrant the need for innovative technological adaptations to management practices that integrate remote monitoring, predictive modeling, and sustainable resource utilization. This study establishes a framework for sustainable water quality practices through the integration of remote sensing technology for urban wastewater treatment and agricultural irrigation systems. This dual-site research study explores seasonal water quality dynamics and technological interventions to create a more proactive approach to water quality security.

In the first study, water …

Mosquito Classification And Explainability From Image Data Via Deep Learning Techniques, Farhat Binte Azam

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mosquitoes are the deadliest animals on Earth, responsible for more human deaths annually than any other species. Mosquito-borne illnesses continue to pose severe risks to global health. In 2015 alone, there were an estimated 214 million malaria cases worldwide. Similarly, a 2016 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that Puerto Rico’s Department of Health received over 62,500 suspected cases of Zika, with 29,345 confirmed positive cases. In 2019, Southeast Asia experienced its worst dengue outbreak in recorded history. Of the approximately 4,500 mosquito species distributed across 34 genera, …

Effects Of Hydrological Connectivity On Created Marsh Sustainability, Katie Swann

LSU Master's Theses

While efforts are being made to curb the high rate of coastal land loss in Louisiana, and even to restore ecosystem services and functions, it is generally accepted that restoration of these areas and functions is not a one-to-one value. It may take decadal time scales to reach efficient functional processing of nutrients and carbon storage rates, which may never reach true capacity comparable to similar naturally-organized systems. Although it is imperative to preserve these areas, restoration of ecosystem services and biogeochemical processes of coastal wetlands are preferable to future without action scenarios. Effectively directing the use of the limited …

Rewilding The Built Environment: Navigating Economic, Political, And Social Barriers To Urban Ecological Restoration, Carly E. Smith

PANDION: The Osprey Journal of Research and Ideas

Urban rewilding offers a nature-based approach to restoring ecological processes in cities while advancing climate resilience, biodiversity, and public well-being. Unlike conventional green infrastructure, rewilding allows ecosystems to develop with minimal intervention, emphasizing succession, complexity, and long-term adaptability. This paper examines the political, economic, and social factors that frame how rewilding is understood and implemented in urban planning. Governmental frameworks often prioritize order, predictability, and short-term results, making it difficult to accommodate the uncertainty and ecological complexity that rewilding requires. Economic models struggle to capture its long-term value, frequently overlooking ecosystem services or reconciling competing land uses. Social perceptions of …

Enzymes Of Calendula Officinalis L. As Affected By Foliar Application Of Nano-Nitrogen And Potassium Fertilizers, Under Water Stress Conditions, Aqeel Abdulabbas Alsudani, Qais Hussain Abbas Al-Semmak

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Water stress is a major environmental factor that limits the growth and productivity of Calendula officinalis L. To alleviate its negative effects, recent approaches have increasingly focused on nano-fertilizers that enhance plant antioxidant defenses. This study therefore aimed to evaluate the effect of foliar application of nano-nitrogen (0, 2, and 4 mL L⁻¹) and nano-potassium (0, 2, and 4 g L⁻¹) fertilizers under two irrigation regimes (100% and 50% of field capacity) on the activity of key antioxidant enzymes, including catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD). The results revealed that irrigation at 50% field capacity significantly increased CAT, …

Heavy Metal Contamination And Health Risks In Katoro's Artisanal Gold Mining Soils, Tanzania, Innocent J. Lugendo, Venance Mwesiga

Tanzania Journal of Science

This study assessed heavy metal contamination in surface soils from artisanal gold mining areas in Katoro, Tanzania, evaluating ecological and human health risks. Thirty-six soil samples were systematically collected from three mining villages (Bingwa, Isenye, and CCM) at varying distances ranging from 30 to 90 m from active mining pits alongside twelve control samples from a non-mining area for comparison purposes. Concentrations of Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn, Pb, and As in soil samples were analyzed using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF). Results revealed severe contamination, with Cr (117–1255 mg/kg), Cu (81–104 mg/kg), and Ni (89–271 mg/kg) exceeding permissible limits. The …

Modeling The Effects Of Screening, Vaccination, Treatment, And Non-Pharmaceutical Controls On Leptospirosis Transmission Dynamics, Janeth Michael, Herieth Rwezaura, Goodluck Mlay, Nyimvua Shaban Mbare

Tanzania Journal of Science

Leptospirosis is the world’s most common zoonotic disease and remains a significant public health challenge, particularly in regions with poor sanitation and high exposure risks. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of combined interventions: screening, vaccination, treatment, and non-pharmaceutical controls in reducing leptospirosis transmission in human and domestic animal populations. The study develops and analyzes a deterministic compartmental model with eleven compartments representing human, domestic animal, and bacterial populations. Stability analysis reveals that the Disease-Free Equilibrium (DEF) is globally asymptotically stable when the effective reproduction number is less than a unit ( < 1), ensuring disease eradication under these conditions, whereas the Endemic Equilibrium Point (EEP) remains stable when > 1. The study employs the normalized forward …

Rainwater Harvesting For Domestic Use In Suburb Areas Of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania: A Case Study Of Wazo Hill, Scholastica S. Ishengoma, Mahir Mohammed Said, Neema O. Msuya

Tanzania Journal of Science

Despite the increasing reliance of rainwater harvesting in semi-urban areas, there is a lack of comprehensive localized data on the safety of harvested rainwater, particularly in areas such as Wazo Hill where communities predominantly depend on it. This study evaluates the quality of harvested rooftop rainwater intended for human consumption and assesses its compliance with the World health Organization (WHO) and Draft East Africa Standards (DEAS) for drinking water. Rainwater samples were collected from various catchment surfaces and storage systems located in Wazo Hill, Tanzania. A stratified random sampling technique was employed to select the households equipped with rainwater harvesting …

Assessment Of Bacteriological Quality And Physico-Chemical Parameters Of Domestic Water Sources In Relation To Human Health Risk In Kigamboni, Tanzania, Joseph A. Mwakosya

Tanzania Journal of Science

Data on bacteriological quality and physico-chemical parameters is crucial for protection and sustainable utilization of water resources. This study determined bacteriological quality and physico-chemical parameters of well and tap water sourcesin relation to human health risk in Kigamboni, Tanzania. Thirty water samples were collected randomly and analyzed using SPSS software. The mean values for well water samples of pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), turbidity, Chloride, Sulphate, Nitrate, Phosphate, and Calcium Carbonate were 7.2, 960.27 mg/L, 528.13 mg/L, 1.52 NTU, 288.00 mg/L, 30.13 mg/L, 0.05 mg/L, 0.08 mg/L, and 160.07 mg/L, respectively. The mean values for tap water …

A Guide To Breaking Seed Dormancy Of Common Wetland Plant Species, Samantha R. Kurkowski, Rae Robinson, Sandra E. Johnston, Montana M. Horchler, Adrienne E. Ernst, Margaret D. Haney, Karin M. Kettenring

All Current Publications

This guide was developed from a series of seed dormancy break and germination experiments conducted over 4 years with 41 species. The purpose of this guide is to synthesize the information we learned through these experiments and present the findings for those interested in breaking seed dormancy, such as land managers, restoration practitioners, and wetland researchers. Ultimately, we hope this guidance catalyzes further wetland restoration throughout the Intermountain West.

Development Of A Mesothelin-Binding Engineered Scaffold Protein As A Theranostic For Pleural Mesothelioma, Roberto Silvestri, Margherita Piccardi, Alessia Laurenza, Filomena Rea, Allison R. Sirois, Martina Lari, Francesco Bartoli, Giovanni Signore, Lorena Tedeschi, Elisabetta Ferraro, Paola Anna Erba, Roberto Giovannoni, Stefano Landi, Federica Gemignani, Sarah J. Moore

Engineering: Faculty Publications

Mesothelin (MSLN) is a tumor biomarker expressed at high levels on the surface of numerous cancers with extremely limited expression in healthy tissues. MSLN-targeting agents developed for diagnosis and therapy could have a significant impact on the management of MSLN-expressing cancers. Pleural mesothelioma (PM) is a deadly cancer that arises from mesothelial cells lining the pleura and is predominantly linked to asbestos exposure. There are currently no effective treatments, and diagnosis occurs in late stages of disease due to the lack of clinical symptoms in the early stages. Recent efforts to diagnose and treat PM have focused on identifying and …

Cross-Model Watermarking Via Discriminative Samples For Secure Authentication, Juan Zhao, Yudao Sun, Zhihai Yang, Cai Xu, Hongji Chen, Fan Zhang, Jianxin Li

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Deep neural networks on cloud platforms face growing security threats, with AI services increasingly relying on heterogeneous models for the same task to meet diverse user needs. Existing methods fail to distinguish benign modifications from malicious attacks in cross-model scenarios. To address this challenge, we propose a non-intrusive cross-model watermarking method that generates discriminative samples as universal keys, enabling authentication without altering model parameters or architectures. Specifically, we introduce a margin enhancement loss to amplify confidence gaps between benign and malicious behaviors, ensuring high transferability across models. Both theoretical analysis and experimental results demonstrate the high efficacy of our proposed …

User Privacy In The Digital Playground: An In-Depth Investigation Of Facebook Instant Games, Sideeq Bello

LSU Master's Theses

Amid growing concerns over data privacy in web and mobile applications, this study aims to assess the privacy mechanisms in instant games on Facebook, a platform with approximately 3.03 billion monthly active users and a substantial repository of personal data. Instant Games have become increasingly popular due to their ease of access and social integration features. Investigating these games can provide insights into privacy mechanisms and practices, thereby informing the development of more fair, compliant, and user privacy-centric gaming experiences. Thus, this study proposes an integrated analytical framework that leverages a combination of descriptive, memory, and network analysis techniques to …

Protocol For Assessing And Managing Radon Gas Exposure Risks In Caves: A Case Study Of Altamira And Paleolithic Cave Art Of Northern Spain World Heritage Site, Sergio Sanchez-Moral, Javier Lario, Soledad Cuezva, Juan Carlos Cañaveras, Tamara Martín-Pozas, Angel Fernández-Cortés

International Journal of Speleology

Exposure to radon and its progeny poses a significant health risk for workers in tourist caves. Implementing protective measures is challenging due to increasingly strict gas concentration and dose limits in new regulations. This study evaluates the annual effective radiation doses received by workers and researchers, considering seasonal and spatial radon variability. Radon levels, temperature, and ventilation patterns were continuously monitored for at least one year in each cave. Results show significant radon fluctuations influenced by seasonal ventilation regimes driven by thermal gradients between the cave and external atmosphere. Using International Commission on Radiological Protection guidelines, the study calculates the …

Evaluation Of Soil Quality Index For Sugar Beet Cultivation Under Neutrosophic Set Framework, Asiye Yilmaz Adkinson

Neutrosophic Systems with Applications

Evaluation of soil quality index for sugar beet cultivation is a decision-making problem. So, we use the decision-making methods to solve this problem. We use the ARAS method is a decision-making method to rank the alternatives. The average method is used to compute the criteria weights. Evaluation this problem contains uncertainty information. So, the neutrosophic set is used to solve this uncertainty information. This study uses ten criteria and 15 alternatives. The sensitivity analysis is conducted to show the stability of the ranks. We change the criteria weights by ten cases. Then we apply the steps of the proposed approach …

Neutrosophic Set Model For Effective Earthquake Disaster Risk Management: Results And Discussion, Emadaldeen Hassan Alomar, Abdullah Ali Salamai

Neutrosophic Systems with Applications

Secondary effects including landslides, tsunamis, and fires can cause significant damage and fatalities following an earthquake. Effective disaster risk management has been predicted to be built on regional fire-following earthquake (FFE) risk. Specifically, a target region’s building and geographical factors might impact the fire danger and spread. The percentage of fire-resistant building types as building characteristics and the distribution of building densities as regional characteristics were the primary factors used in this study to determine FFE risk. This study develops a decision-making methodology for risk management in the FFE. We use the single valued neutrosophic set (SVNS) to overcome uncertainty. …