Digital Commons Network^™

Dirt/Μ: Automated Extraction Of Root Hair Traits Using Combinatorial Optimization, Peter Pietrzyk, Neen Phan-Udom, Chartinun Chutoe, Lise Pingault, Ankita Roy, Marc Libault, Patompong Johns Saengwilai, Alexander Bucksch

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

As with phenotyping of any microscopic appendages, such as cilia or antennae, phenotyping of root hairs has been a challenge due to their complex intersecting arrangements in two-dimensional images and the technical limitations of automated measurements. Digital Imaging of Root Traits at Microscale (DIRT/μ) is a newly developed algorithm that addresses this issue by computationally resolving intersections and extracting individual root hairs from two-dimensional microscopy images. This solution enables automatic and precise trait measurements of individual root hairs. DIRT/μ rigorously defines a set of rules to resolve intersecting root hairs and minimizes a newly designed cost function to combinatorically identify …

Putting Gpt-4o To The Sword: A Comprehensive Evaluation Of Language, Vision, Speech, And Multimodal Proficiency, Sakib Shahriar, Brady D. Lund, Nishith Reddy Mannuru, Muhammad Arbab Arshad, Kadhim Hayawi, Ravi Varma Kumar Bevara, Aashrith Mannuru, Laiba Batool

All Works

As large language models (LLMs) continue to advance, evaluating their comprehensive capabilities becomes significant for their application in various fields. This research study comprehensively evaluates the language, vision, speech, and multimodal capabilities of GPT-4o. The study employs standardized exam questions, reasoning tasks, and translation assessments to assess the model’s language capability. Additionally, GPT-4o’s vision and speech capabilities are tested through image classification and object-recognition tasks, as well as accent classification. The multimodal evaluation assesses the model’s performance in integrating visual and linguistic data. Our findings reveal that GPT-4o demonstrates high accuracy and efficiency across multiple domains in language and reasoning …

Reclaiming Healing Spaces: A Phenomenological Study On The Transformative Power Of Outdoor Therapy From The Lived Experiences Of Black Clinicians Working With Black Clients, Lynn Murphy

Dissertations

This phenomenological study involved assessing the experiences of Black therapists who engaged Black clients in outdoor therapeutic contexts. The study was founded on the existing literature that shows the quality of the therapeutic relationship is pivotal for client retention and the Western standards that have historically favored treatment within indoor environments. To contextualize this research, a comprehensive literature review was commenced, covering topics such as the decolonization of therapy, the historical and present-day relationship between Blacks and the outdoors in the United States, sedentary lifestyles, the psychological benefits of time spent in nature, various types of outdoor therapy, and the …

Testing Feed Is Vital For Feed Budgeting, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Animal production and livestock factsheets

A little knowledge of the nutritional value of your supplementary feeds can save you a lot of money and hassle.

In dry seasons, it is likely that farmers will need to start supplementary feeding earlier than usual. The higher requirement for supplementary feeds over dry seasons means accurate feed budgeting becomes increasingly important to minimise feed wastage, for weaner survival, and to maintain stock at the right condition score (CS) for joining.

Shifting Baselines: Visualizing Climate Change In America’S National Parks, Lee Lines

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Getting To The Point: Contrasting Directness And Warmth In Motivational Embodied Conversational Agents, Michael O'Mahony, Cathy Ennis, Robert Ross

Conference papers

Enhancing long-term engagement with conversational agents remains a significant challenge. Controlling the perceived warmth or directness of an agent’s personality through the style of its generated text could be used to increase user likeability. This paper reports an investigation of a Wizard-of-Oz (WoZ) mediated study of two variants of a motivational embodied conversational agent to measure user perception of and attitudes towards warmth in interaction style. Results show a significant effect of users preferring an agent with a "more direct" personality for this scenario, though this effect is in many ways nuanced.

Genixer : Empowering Multimodal Large Language Models As A Powerful Data Generator, Henry Hengyuan Zhao, Pan Zhou, Mike Zheng Shou

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Multimodal Large Language Models (MLLMs) demonstrate exceptional problem-solving capabilities, but few research studies aim to gauge the ability to generate visual instruction tuning data. This paper proposes to explore the potential of empowering MLLMs to generate data independently without relying on GPT-4. We introduce Genixer, a comprehensive data generation pipeline consisting of four key steps: (i) instruction data collection, (ii) instruction template design, (iii) empowering MLLMs, and (iv) data generation and filtering. Additionally, we outline two modes of data generation: task-agnostic and task-specific, enabling controllable output. We demonstrate that a synthetic VQA-like dataset trained with LLaVA1.5 enhances performance on 10 …

Advancing Robust Autonomous System Localization: Labeling Optimizations For Convolutional Neural Networks, Jeffrey L. Choate

Theses and Dissertations

AAR is increasingly critical as aircraft autonomy advances, particularly for the Global Strike mission of the USAF, enhancing operational range and endurance. Traditional methods relying on GPS and custom communication links are limited in GPS-denied environments. This dissertation advances a single camera method to estimate object pose across three interconnected studies. The system trains a CNN on synthetic imagery to predict bboxes for object components, Solve-PnP algorithm finds the 6DoF pose, then employs novel pseudo-labeling on real-world images. These findings are pivotal for the AAR community and contribute to robotics, computer vision, and CNN research. By enabling robust GPS-free autonomous …

Autonomous Experimentation For Accelerated Calibration Of Fused Deposition Modeling 3d Printers, Graig S. Ganitano

Theses and Dissertations

Additive Manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, has emerged as a key component of Industry 4.0, enabling reduced cost, quick production, greater sustainability, and increased design complexity compared to its traditional manufacturing counterpart. Currently, Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology dominates the AM market with respect to the number of 3D printers in use. However, the FDM process is sensitive to changes in system configuration, especially the feedstock material. Utilizing a new feedstock requires a time-consuming trial-and-error process to identify optimal settings for a large number of process parameters, acting as a barrier to the technology.

To enable greater accessibility …

Microwave Catalysis-Enabled Membrane Processes For Microbial Inactivation, Fangzhou Liu

Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for advanced technologies to combat virus transmission. Traditional membrane filtration technologies primarily serve as physical barriers, capturing pollutants but failing to inactivate microbial agents such as bacteria and viruses. These membranes typically target larger particles but are ineffective against sub-micrometer viral particles. Thus, there's a critical demand for membrane filtration processes that combine robust filtration with antifouling and reaction -enabled functions for efficient pathogen disinfection. This research explores a novel microwave-assisted membrane filtration process incorporating catalytic reactions to enhance microbial disinfection and prevent membrane fouling, offering a groundbreaking solution to global challenges …

Temporal Dynamics Of Coastal Sediment Characteristics: A Comparative Study On Pre- And Post-2004 Tsunami Event Along The Nagoor - Poompuhar Stretch, Tamil Nadu, Yamini S

Theses and Dissertations

Tsunamis represent some of the most devastating natural events for coastal regions, as exemplified by the 26th December 2004 Great Indonesian Earthquake triggered a massive tsunami across the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean, causing extensive destruction in various countries, including India. This study addresses a significant gap in the literature by focusing on the detailed sedimentological aspects of coastal dynamics. Specifically, it examines the pre-tsunami (December 2004), post-tsunami (January 2005), and recent (December 2022) sediment characteristics along a 35 km stretch of the Coromandel coast from Poompuhar to Nagoor.

Eight stations were selected for sampling: Poompuhar, Chinnankudi, Kuttyandiyur, Chandrapadi, …

Monitoring Marine Animal Interactions With Open Ocean Aquaculture And The Potential For Measuring Impacts, Ryan Richard Yont

Theses

Aquaculture, the farming of water-based organisms, is one of the fastest growing industries in the food production sector globally. Aquaculture farms, regardless of type, are categorized as either coastal or offshore marine aquaculture and are generalized into three categories: fed (e.g., finfish), unfed (e.g., filter-feeding bivalves), and autotrophic (e.g. kelp). Viewed as an agricultural industry, marine aquaculture is tightly regulated, particularly in the U.S. Despite this, an area of concern for the public and management alike is the potential for marine life interactions with aquaculture gear. Even the best-run farms represent a change in the physical and biological characteristics of …

Far-Right Ecological Extremism: The Synthesis Of Violence, Hate, And The Environment On /Pol/., Hannah Claire Dunleavy

Environmental Studies Senior Theses

American far-right ecologism incorporates the American far-right’s antidemocratic and exclusionary tendencies, fears of existential threats and conspiracies, apocalyptic fantasies, and commitment to racial hierarchies. There are many shades of far-right ecologisms – including authoritarian deep ecology, eco-fascism, and exclusionary eco-nationalism – but all threaten the United States’ democratic ideals, multiculturalism, and pluralistic society. This thesis examines the rise of far-right ecologism in the U.S. by analyzing posts from 4chan’s /pol/ board (2015–2020) with a mixed-methods that blends a literature review, quantitative analysis, and descriptive case study. From 2015 to 2019, far-right ecology posts increased by 410%, and violent rhetoric in …

Adversarial Variational Autoencoders To Extend And Improve Generative Model, Loc Nguyen, Hassan I. Abdalla, Ali A. Amer

All Works

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has been advancing with many notable achievements like ChatGPT and Bard. The deep generative model (DGM) is a branch of GenAI, which is preeminent in generating raster data such as image and sound due to the strong role of deep neural networks (DNNs) in inference and recognition. The built-in inference mechanism of DNN, which simulates and aims at synaptic plasticity of the human neuron network, fosters the generation ability of DGM, which produces surprising results with the support of statistical flexibility. Two popular approaches in DGM are the variational autoencoder (VAE) and generative adversarial network (GAN). …

Weather Risks, Crop Losses, And Risk Proneness: An Examination Of Evolving Risk Preferences Of Rice Farmers In Bangladesh, W. Parker Wheatley, Taznoore Khanam, Valerien O. Pede, Takashi Yamano

Economics Faculty Publications

Changing climate poses significant challenges for smallholder rice farmers. Weather-related deviations from longer-term patterns and crop losses due to abiotic hazards can affect farmer risk preferences and drive adaptive responses. In addition, farmers’ proneness to and past experiences with crop risks such as drought, submergence, and excess soil salinity can impact their baseline risk preferences and their response to changing risks. Using data for Bangladesh from two waves of the Rice Monitoring Survey, climate-related data (precipitation and temperature), farmer reports of crop losses, and measures of proneness to abiotic risks, this article estimates how weather deviations from longer-term trends, crop …

Advancing Endovascular Neurosurgery Training With Extended Reality: Opportunities And Obstacles For The Next Decade, Shray Patel, Michael Covell, Saarang Patel, Sandeep Kandregula, Sai Krishna Palepu, Avi Gajjar, Oleg Shekhtman, Georgios Sioutas, Ali Dhanaliwala, Terence Gade, Jan-Karl Burkhardt, Visish Srinivasan

SKMC Student Presentations and Publications

Background: Extended reality (XR) includes augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR). Endovascular neurosurgery is uniquely positioned to benefit from XR due to the complexity of cerebrovascular imaging. Given the different XR modalities available, as well as unclear clinical utility and technical capabilities, we clarify opportunities and obstacles for XR in training vascular neurosurgeons. Methods: A systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines was conducted. Studies were critically appraised using ROBINS-I. Results: 19 studies were identified. 13 studies used VR, while 3 studies used MR, and 3 studies used AR. …

Foraging Strategies Of Ruminant Livestock On Intensively Managed Grasslands: Potential And Constraints, I J. Gordon, C Lascano

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

All grazed swards exhibit heterogeneity in the spatial (horizontal and vertical) dispersion of species/biomass. A herbivore foraging at random within such a heterogeneous environment would ingest less nutrients than wou Id one which exploited the heterogeneity on offer through selective grazing. The suite of decision-making processes involved in the selective grazing we observe is termed the animal's foraging strategy. On first observation, intensively managed sown swards appear to offer little opportunity for a herbivore to exhibit a foraging strategy; however, opporlunities do exist and there is empirical evidence that herbivores foraging on sown swards tend to have a diet higher …

Comparative Foraging Strategies Of Grazing Ungulates In African Savanna Grasslands, N Owen-Smith, D H.M Cumming

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

We review the evolutionary (species-specific) and ecological (individual behavioural) strategies of African grazing ungulates. The contexts considered are free-ranging wild ungulates, traditional livestock pastoralism and extensive commercial ranching. Particularly successful are (1) buffalo, able to digest grass fibre effectively in mesic grasslands; (2) wildebeest, exploiting semi-arid grasslands through migration; (3) megaherbivores (elephant, hippopotamus and white rhinoceros) utilising a wide range of vegetation components. Species-specific adaptations include body size and metabolic rate, digestive efficiency and passage rate, oral and dental anatomy, water dependence and detoxification capacity. Species overlap in grass species se'lected, with dietary differences apparent in grass height favoured, and …

Comparison Of Animal Gains Using Perennial Pastures Exclusively Or Combined With Chicory-Oats-Clover Temporary Winter Pastures, J A. Josifovich

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The increment of winter forage availability using short-rotation pastures could be an interesting way to increase winter carrying capacity. The producer could make good use of higher spring grass production. Sowing oats, rye or chicory alone is quite common in the Argentine Pampa. to evaluate the efficiency of these short-rotation winter pastures a 3 year trial was carried out at Pergamino Experiment Station. The treatments were: a) perennial pastures, 100% of the surface, b) perennial pastures 75%, and chicory-clover 25%, with 2 replications of 3 ha each. The pastures were, for. class II soils, fescue (Festrlca aru11dinacea Schreb.) cv. El …

Influence Of Climatic Factors On Animal Production In The Humid Pampa Of Argentina, J D. Josifovich, E Frutos

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

For any' pasture grazing area it is important lo know the relationship among the climatic parameters, rainfall and temperature, with carrying capacity and minimal gains. The availability of pasture to adjust stocking rates and make provisions for hay or supplementary feed needed for periods of shortage can be estimated from these data. Seven years of monthly rainfall and medium average temperature; and 25 years of forage digestibility and average daily gains were related to cattle i: carrying capacity; Analysis was made using the stepwise regression method. Carrying capacity was evaluated considering animal units (AU) for a 400 kg head gaining …

A New Theory Of Feed Intake Regulation In Ruminants And Its Implications For Forage Quality Research, J.J M.H Ketelaars, B J. Tolkamp

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The low voluntary intake of many roughages is commonly explained by a limited physical capacity of ruminants to process fibrous feeds. Recently, we developed a new theory of feed intake regulation assuming feed consumption to create both benefits for the animal (represented by the intake of net energy for maintenance and gain) and costs (represented by the total oxygen consumption of the feeding animal). For non­reproducing ruminants we have shown that voluntary intake of roughages is close to the optimum feed intake level, i.e., the level at which for the animal the ratio between benefits and costs becomes maximum. According …

A Conceptual Model To Explain Variation In Ingestive Behavior Within A Feeding Patch, Emilio M. Laca, M W. Demment, R A. Distel, T C. Griggs

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

A conceptual model is presented that links the mechanics of bite formation to the characteristics of the sward to explain variation in bite weight, bite area, bite depth and biting rate measured in a series of experiments with hand-constructed swards. Bite area is determined by the behaviour used by the animal to collect and grasp the tillers, and the length and stiffness of the sward, Bite depth is affected by height and the degree of vertical heterogeneity in stiffness. Time per bite is controlled by bite weight. These mechanisms of bite formation and time per bite ex.plain many observed effects, …

Selective Behaviour Of Cattle Grazing Ryegrass Swards With Horizontal Heterogeneity In Patch Height And Bulk Density, Montague W. Demment, R A. Distel, T C. Griggs, E A. Laca, G P. Deo

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Patches of different height and/or bulk density were created in ryegrass pasture to study selective responses of steers to horizontal variability in patch structure. The experiment involved 3 heterogeneity treatments with 2 patch types each. Steers encountered and entered both patch types available in each treatment with the same frequency. In contrast, they grazed for a longer time (T,) at; and removed more bites (B) from the patch type that yielded greater intake rates. While T, and B varied for a patch type depending on the alternative patch, bite rate and likely bite size were constant for a given patch …

Computer Recording Of The Variation In Intake Of Supplements Provided To Grazing Cattler, R M. Tait, L J. Fisher

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

A computer system has been developed to record the consumption of' supplements provided free choice to grazing cattle. The system is based on electronic animal identification and one or more weatherproof electronic scales located in simple feed stations connected by telephone cable to a computer at a distance of up to 1 km. The software program identifies and records individual animals, • time and duration of visits, and the quantity of supplement consumed. The system has been tested in the field using 40 kg molasses-based feed blocks with up to 20 steers per feed station in paddocks of approximately 4 …

Comparison Of Bite Weight And Bite Dimensions Of Sheep And Goats Grazing A Range Of Grasses And Clovers, Y Gong, J Hodgson, M G. Lambert, A.C P. Chu, I L. Gordon

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Response patterns in bite weight and bite dimensions of sheep and goats were evaluated using 3 grasses and 3 clovers sampled at 2 stages of maturity offered as prepared turves to animals confined in metabolism crates. Average bite weight across 12 sward types (6 forages x 2- stages) was similar for sheep and goats, but goats had greater bile weight per unit LW0•75 tlian sheep, Despite being shorter, the much denser clover swards resulted in larger bite weight than did grass swards. The taller reproductive swards enabled animals to harvest greater bite weights than did vegetative swards. Sheep obtained heavier …

Relationship Between Sward Structure And Dietary Quality And Intake, In Cattle Grazing Humid Sour Grassveld In South Africap, P J. O'Reagain, M Haller, P.J K. Zacharias

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The relationship between sward structure, and dietary quality and intake was investigated for cattle grazing humid sour grassveld in south Africa. A 2-ha site was divided into 6 equal-sized blocks with; each block being managed to achieve a different sward structure using rotation·a1 grazing of cattle at 3, 5, 8, 11, 16 or 20 week intervals. Before to grazing, sward structure was quantified in terms. of tuft height, leaf table height, stemminess and greenness of the 3 most abundant species as well as sward leaf density. Oesophageal i fistulates were used to estimate dietary quality, bite rate, bite size, and …

Bite And Bolus Size Of Japanese Black Cattle Grazing Trays Of Perennial Ryegrass Of Different Heights, Shigeru Shioya, Kazuhiko Ochiai, Yasuko Togamura, K Betteridge

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

To determine the influence of grass .height on ingestive behaviour of Japanese Black cattle, bite size and bolus size of a Japanese Black heifer (230 kg body weight) and a Japanese Black cow (450 kg body weight) were estimated on perennial ryegrass (Lolium pere,me L.) turfs. Turfs in trays (460x600xl00 mm) were fed to the cattle for up to 3 min and reductions in turf weight were measured. One high (25 cm), 2 medium (13 cm) and 2 low (6 cm) turfs were offered to each animal. Bite size (dry matter intake/bite) both for the heifer and cow was greatest …

Performance Of Subterranean Clover Int He Central Andes Of Peru, Brigitte L. Maass, Custodio L. Bojorquez

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The central Andes of Peru are characterised by moderately acid soils, a pronounced dry season of 4-5 months and temperatures that decrease as night frosts increase with altitude. Above an altitude of 3200 m asl, the proportion of pastures in land use increases. However, native pastures lack sufficient quality and quantity to maintain· animal production, particularly in the dry season. Where irrigation is not available, introducing annual legumes may be an option to improve native pastures. In a trial to test adaptation of subterra.nean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.), 5 Australian cultivars were sown at 4 different altitudes between 3300 …

Rangeland Exploitation- The Global Need For Integrated Science, A H. Nordmeyer

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The global surge in human population growth is placing major pressures on winter cold rangelands. The need is urgent to develop an international science that comes to grips with local requirements for food and fuel, and combines these with the global requirements of maintaining and increasing stores of carbon. The critical problem for rangelands is that most systems do not generate incomes to allow replacement or enhancement of the nutrients removed by herded animals, by cut-and-carry forage harvesting, and by fuel extraction. Progress in rangeland science that is relevant to subsistence cultures requires a better understanding of the carbon and …

Software For Grassland Management For The Supply Of Fresh Feed For Stall-Feeding And/Or Grazing And For Conservation In Combination With Feed Production On Arable Land, A Chudy

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Tasks, fundamentals and methodics (algorithms) of software for the projection of feed production (FUPRO) as part of an integrated software program (the package Futterplanung), are described. It covers total feed-economic relations, starting from the use of agricultural acreage up to specific animal requirement.