Digital Commons Network^™

Multi-Scale Variability Of Heavy Metals In A Snowpack In The Triple Divide Region Of The Western United States, Kelsey Hefner

University Honors Theses

Natural and anthropogenically sourced particulates are deposited from the atmosphere to landscapes via dry and wet deposition, making frozen winter snowpack a natural archive of atmospheric elemental composition. In the Western United States, wildfires are increasing in extent, duration, and severity. Severe fires remove forest canopy, impacting how atmospheric elements are dispersed and stored across snow-dominated watersheds. We evaluated concentrations of twelve elements in 397 winter snow core samples from a chronosequence of eight forests that burned with mixed severity from 2000 to 2018 in the Triple Divide region of Western Wyoming, the headwaters of the Columbia, Colorado, and Missouri …

A Computational Investigation Of Wood Selection For Acoustic Guitar, Jonah Osterhus

Senior Honors Theses

The acoustic guitar is a stringed instrument, often made of wood, that transduces vibrational energy of steel strings into coupled vibrations of the wood and acoustic pressure waves in the air. Variations in wood selection and instrument geometry have been shown to affect the timbre of the acoustic guitar. Computational methods were utilized to investigate the impact of material properties on acoustic performance. Sitka spruce was deemed the most suitable wood for guitar soundboards due to its acoustic characteristics, strength, and uniform aesthetic. Mahogany was deemed to be the best wood for the back and sides of the guitar body …

Operation Shark: Addressing The Negative Portrayal Of Sharks In Media, Michael R. O'Shea

Masters Theses

Sharks are some of the most well adapted and effective animals in the animal kingdom. Unfortunately, they are also some of the most feared. For many people the word shark evokes images of vicious attacks like those seen in movies such as Jaws. Sharks have also been negatively portrayed in the media. This negative portrayal of sharks has led to misconceptions about sharks that have damaged their populations. Efforts have been made to raise awareness and fight common misconceptions of sharks. However, many people still hold on to the incorrect ideas they have about sharks. This thesis will examine the …

Abundance, Distribution, And Diversity Of The Paralarval Cephalopod Community In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Shannon Leah Riley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The abundance, distribution, and diversity of cephalopod paralarvae from the upper water column (0-130 meters) in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) was studied using samples collected during six ichthyoplankton surveys between 2009 and 2012. A total of 2240 cephalopod paralarvae belonging to 21 families were examined. Octopodidae, Enoploteuthidae, and Ommastrephidae were the most abundant taxa collected in the time series. Five taxa had significantly different abundances between some sampling periods, while no significant differences in abundance occurred between any GOM regions (northwest GOM shelf, north-central GOM shelf, West Florida Shelf, GOM slope, and GOM basin). The majority of taxa …

Brain Science And Brain-Inspired Intelligence In Intelligent Era, Xu Zhang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

With intelligence technology as the core technology and intelligent computing power as the productive force, the intelligent era has once again pushed brain science to the forefront of world science and technology. Brain science is the science that studies the nature and rule of cognition and intelligence of human, animal, and machine. A comprehensive analysis of the structure and functional connection rule of the nervous system will eventually draw the functional connectivity map of the brain. In the past decade, neuroscience research has been committed to systematically analyzing the types of neurons and neural structural connections of the nervous system, …

Employing Digital Pcr For Enhanced Detection Of Perinatal Toxoplasma Gondii Infection: A Cross-Sectional Surveillance And Maternal-Infant Outcomes Study In El Salvador, Mary K. Lynn, Marvin Stanley Rodriguez Aquino, Pamela Michelle Cornejo Rivas, Xiomara Miranda, David F. Torres-Romero, Hanson Cowan, Madeleine M. Meyer, Willber D. Castro-Godoy, Mufaro Kanyangarara Ph.D., Stella Coker Watson Self Ph.D., Ms, Berry A. Campbell, Melissa Nolan Ph.D., Mph

Faculty Publications

Toxoplasma gondii is a parasitic infection that can be transmitted in utero, resulting in fetal chorioretinitis and other long-term neurological outcomes. If diagnosed early, pregnancy-safe chemotherapeutics can prevent vertical transmission. Unfortunately, diagnosis of acute, primary infection among pregnant women remains neglected, particularly in low-and-middle-income countries. Clinically actionable diagnosis is complex due to the commonality of infection during childhood and early adulthood which spawn long-last antibody titers and historically unreliable direct molecular diagnostics. The current study employed a cross-sectional T. gondii perinatal surveillance study using digital PCR, a next generation molecular diagnostic platform, and a maternal-fetal outcomes survey to ascertain …

Signer-Independent Sign Language Recognition With Feature Disentanglement, İnci̇ Meli̇ha Baytaş, İpek Erdoğan

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Learning a robust and invariant representation of various unwanted factors in sign language recognition (SLR) applications is essential. One of the factors that might degrade the sign recognition performance is the lack of signer diversity in the training datasets, causing a dependence on the singer’s identity during representation learning. Consequently, capturing signer-specific features hinders the generalizability of SLR systems. This study proposes a feature disentanglement framework comprising a convolutional neural network (CNN) and a long short-term memory (LSTM) network based on adversarial training to learn a signer-independent sign language representation that might enhance the recognition of signs. We aim to …

A Potential Of Watercress Nasturtium Officinale Bioactive Compounds In Inhibiting Infectious Myonecrosis Virus (Imnv) By Targeting Rna-Dependent Rna Polymerase (Rdrp) Virus From Several Countries: In Silico Approach, Qurrota A’Yunin, Fatchiyah Fatchiyah, Maftuch Maftuch, Feri Eko Hermanto, Muhammad Hermawan Widyananda, Narendra Santika Hartana, Muhaimin Rifa’I, Yoga Dwi Jatmiko

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Infectious myonecrosis virus (IMNV) disease causes mass mortality and decreased shrimp production. The RdRp region projects to the interior, where it may function in transcription. The focus of this study was to determine the effect of amino acid polymorphisms from several countries on the structure of RdRp and identify the potential of watercress in inhibiting IMNV by targeting the RdRp protein of IMNV through an in silico approach. The results showed that the structure of the IMNV RdRp protein from Indonesia was similar to Mexico, and the protein structure from India_QDN was identical to India_QIL. Ligand binding affinity values showed …

Recognizing Traps And Frightening Wolves: Foxes And Lions As A Representative Of Machiavellian Political Ideology In Shakespeare’S Comedies, Grace Powell

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

While William Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets have been the subject of literary discourse for centuries, one topic that has been less traversed is the connection between his Comedies and Niccolò Machiavelli’s political ideologies. This project will explore references of lions and foxes in Shakespeare’s Comedies and the leaders and monarchs within them to determine how beliefs about Machiavelli’s political ideology influenced Shakespeare’s literature and became symbols for leadership and power. This will be important for gaining historical context on Machiavellian political discourse and how it was represented in the contemporary dramatic literature of William Shakespeare. I closely examined Shakespeare’s Comedies …

Evaluating The Impact Of Wildfires On Mixed Conifer Forest Regeneration And The Effectiveness Of Usfs Management Strategies On Restoring Ecosystem Services, Wyatt Farino

Master's Projects and Capstones

Wildfires are increasing in frequency, duration, and severity across Western North America. 20,438,720 acres (20.1%) of California has burned at least once since 2010. Projections suggest a statewide increase in burned area between 36% and 74% by 2085, with some forested areas in Northern California exceeding 100% in all modeled scenarios. Fire regimes have deviated far from their historical norm, significantly increasing the risk of type conversion from forest to other ecosystems. Californians rely on the myriad of ecosystem services produced by these forests to meet their basic needs. Access to these fundamental services will be severely reduced if appropriate …

Assessing The Use Of Regenerative Agriculture In California Almonds As Climate Change Resilience, Skyler M. Seamons

Master's Projects and Capstones

The agriculture sector is responsible for 10% of the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions. In turn, anthropogenic climate change threatens crops. With its Mediterranean climate, California is the country’s largest agricultural-producing state. Many California crops are at risk due to increasing temperatures and changed precipitation patterns. This paper investigates regenerative farming techniques as a tool to protect California crops from a changing climate. Almonds are used as a case study to analyze the soil management practices, finances, and policies underlying regenerative agriculture in California. A literature review and comparative analysis are used to compare regenerative and conventional soil management practices …

An Inventory Of Tidal Marsh Restoration Opportunities In Humboldt Bay And Their Impact On Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Nicholas Rowlands

Master's Projects and Capstones

Blue carbon ecosystems like tidal marshes, mangroves, and seagrass are efficient carbon sinks that release minimal methane under saline conditions. However, coastal wetlands globally are under threat, and on the U.S. West Coast some 85% of historic tidal wetlands have been lost. As such, there is increasing interest in their restoration as a necessary climate mitigation strategy. This GIS analysis identifies potential tidal marsh restoration sites in Humboldt Bay, California, and estimates the post-restoration greenhouse gas benefits. An elevation-based model of Humboldt Bay’s full estuary extent developed by West Coast researchers was combined with data from the California Aquatic Resources …

Elevating Urban Landscapes: How Green Roofs Enhance Biodiversity And Address Climate Change In California, Jeffrey R. Beaudoin

Master's Projects and Capstones

Green roofs are increasingly valued for mitigating the Urban Heat Island effect, providing thermal comfort amidst rising temperatures of climate change, enhancing hydrological properties, and improving urban biodiversity. In this report, I explore the environmental benefits and practical challenges of green roofs, with a specific focus on California. My study evaluates the effectiveness of green roofs in enhancing environmental sustainability using a weighted rating system. I categorize the benefits of green roofs into key areas: thermal performance, stormwater management, ecological support, mental health benefits, noise reduction, air quality improvement, and water quality enhancement. Green roofs have shown the potential for …

Towards A New Role Of Mitochondrial Hydrogen Peroxide In Synaptic Function, Cliyahnelle Z. Alexander

Student Theses and Dissertations

Aerobic metabolism is known to generate damaging ROS, particularly hydrogen peroxide. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are highly reactive molecules containing oxygen that have the potential to cause damage to cells and tissues in the body. ROS are highly reactive atoms or molecules that rapidly interact with other molecules within a cell. Intracellular accumulation can result in oxidative damage, dysfunction, and cell death. Due to the limitations of H₂O₂ (hydrogen peroxide) detectors, other impacts of ROS exposure may have been missed. HyPer7, a genetically encoded sensor, measures hydrogen peroxide emissions precisely and sensitively, even at sublethal levels, during …

An Interdisciplinary Exploration Of Carbon Offsets In Higher Education, With An Analytical Case Study Of The University Of Lynchburg, Grace Milligan

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Carbon dioxide is warming our planet and causing our climate to change. There are disputes in the environmental sustainability community today about the best way to address rising carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, especially in institutions of higher education (IHE). One method corporations, individuals, and IHEs use to address their own CO2 emissions is by purchasing carbon offsets. After the entity measures its carbon footprint, they purchase carbon offsets to reach “carbon neutral” or “net-zero emissions.” The topics of carbon neutrality and carbon offsets are important for the IHEs who want to be sustainable, like the University of Lynchburg, because the …

Effects Of Urbanization On Winter Bird Biodiversity, Margaret Kicklighter

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Aves (birds) is an essential class of animals that contribute to ecosystem function as predators, pollinators, scavengers, seed dispersers, seed predators, and ecosystem engineers. However, Aves, and the roles they fill, are threatened when ecosystems are altered, fragmented, and destroyed by urban expansion. Some bird species can continue to live in urban environments, but many are unable to tolerate habitat loss. Birds’ differing capacities to tolerate urban environments is crucial knowledge that informs conservation efforts, influences which ecosystem services are lost, and determines how species richness and diversity changes. This study analyzed how overall bird diversity responds to urbanization. Additionally …

The Investigation Of The Reaction Of 2,3-Dimethylfuran With O(³P) And The Estimate Of The Photoionization Cross Section Of C-Cl And Absolute Photoionization Cross Sections Of Chlorinated Organic Compounds, Yilan Lori Chen

Master's Theses

The work presented in this thesis focuses on gas-phase reactions, which are fundamental for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change. The experiments are performed at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where there is a time-of-flight mass spectrometer coupled with tunable synchrotron radiation at Beamline 9.0.2 to collect high-quality data.

Chapter 1 details the background and purpose of each project, along with an overview of the origins of synchrotron radiation and time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The adaptation of biofuels is a way to minimize carbon emission and air pollutants, so research surrounding the reaction dynamics …

A Model Of Oocyte Population Dynamics For Fish Oogenesis, Louis Fostier, Frédérique Clément, Romain Yvinec, Violette Thermes

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Differential Equations For Modeling Pathways Leading To Diabetes Onset, Viktoria Savatorova, Aleksei Talonov

CODEE Journal

This paper presents a mathematical model that explains potential pathways leading to diabetes onset. By utilizing a system of nonlinear differential equations to describe the dynamics of the glucose regulatory system, the model can serve as a pedagogical tool for teaching and learning differential equations, dynamical systems, mathematical modeling, and introduction to biomathematics. Within this framework, students can analyze equilibrium solutions, investigate stability, assess parameter sensitivity, and explore the potential for bifurcations. Theoretical analysis is complemented by illustrative numerical examples. Instructors have the flexibility to adapt and incorporate suggested activities according to their teaching preferences and objectives.

Statistical Mobility Of Aggregated Microswimmers, Yonatan Ashenafi

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Impacts Of Hematodinium Infection In A Seasonal Population Model Of The Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab, Gwendolyn R. Sargent, Romuald Lipcius, Leah Shaw, Junping Shi, Jeffrey D. Shields

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Understanding Cardiovascular Dynamics: Insights From Data Driven Nonlinear Hyperelastic Wall Modeling In Pulmonary Arteries, Md Arifuzzaman, Mette S. Olufsen, Mansoor A. Haider

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Embodied Visions: Interactive Installations That Reimagine Bodily Presence In Digital Imaging Apparatuses As Shadows, Yunzi Shi

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Contextualized within a history of technological development, the evolution of imaging devices and technologies is accompanied by the abstraction of spatial relationships between the body of the observer, the apparatus, and physical reality, which leads to disembodying experiences for the observing subject. Compared with devices and interactive experiences, critical reflection on the epistemological impact of digital imaging devices has less priority in computational imaging and human-computer interaction research. Taking an artistic approach, this thesis describes Embodied Visions, an exhibition featuring three interactive installations exploring the technical infrastructure for imaging and reflecting on the (dis)embodied experiences in the digital age. …

Nidus Idearum. Scilogs, Xiii: Structure / Neutrostructure / Antistructure, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In this thirteenth book of scilogs – one may find topics on Neutrosophy, Plithogeny, Physics, Mathematics, Philosophy – email messages to research colleagues, or replies, notes, comments, remarks about authors, articles, or books, spontaneous ideas, and so on. It presents new types of soft sets and new types of topologies.

Exchanging ideas with Mohammad Abobala, Ishfaq Ahmad, Ibrahim M. Almanjahie, Fatimah Alshahrani, Nizar Altounji, Muhammad Aslam, Said Broumi, Victor Christianto, R. Diksh, Feng Liu, Frank Julian Gelli, Erick Gonzalez Caballero, Riad Hamido, Yaser Al-Hasan, Ahmed Hatip, Yasin Karmouta, Nivetha Martin, Preda Mihăilescu, V. Lakshmana Gomathi Nayagam, Ze Carlos Tiago de …

Research On Simulation Methods For Forest Fire Extinguishing Using Water Mist, Bing Xiang, Xiaohong Dong, Yang Li

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: As a highly hazardous natural disaster, the occurrence and spread of forest fires are usually affected by a variety of complex factors such as climate, terrain, vegetation, combustible materials, etc., which makes it difficult to accurately simulate the spread and extinguishing process of forest fires. The spread of forest fires and the process of water mist fire extinguishing are physically modele. The spread model adopts a tree module structure to simulate the pyrolysis reaction of tree burning, and considers the effects of temperature, wind field,mass loss rate and other factors on the spread of tree burning.In the fire extinguishing …

Testing Hadronic-Model Predictions Of Depth Of Maximum Of Air-Shower Profiles And Ground-Particle Signals Using Hybrid Data Of The Pierre Auger Observatory, A. Abdul Halim, P. Abreu, M. Aglietta, I. Allekotte, K. Almeida Cheminant, A. Almela, B. Fick, K. Nguyen, D. Nitz, Et Al.

Michigan Tech Publications

We test the predictions of hadronic interaction models regarding the depth of maximum of air-shower profiles, Xmax, and ground-particle signals in water-Cherenkov detectors at 1000 m from the shower core, S(1000), using the data from the fluorescence and surface detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory. The test consists of fitting the measured two-dimensional (S(1000), Xmax) distributions using templates for simulated air showers produced with hadronic interaction models epos-lhc, qgsjet-ii-04, sibyll 2.3d and leaving the scales of predicted Xmax and the signals from hadronic component at ground as free-fit parameters. The method relies on the assumption that the mass composition remains …

Advancing Simultaneous Extraction And Sequential Single-Particle Icp-Ms Analysis For Metallic Nanoparticle Mixtures In Plant Tissues, Lei Xu, Xingmao Ma, John Yang, Joel G. Burken, Paul Ki-Souk Nam, Honglan Shi, Hu Yang

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Engineered Nanoparticles (ENPs) Have Been Increasingly Used in Agricultural Operations, leading to an Urgent Need for Robust Methods to Analyze Co-Occurring ENPs in Plant Tissues. in Response, This Study Advanced the Simultaneous Extraction of Coexisting Silver, Cerium Oxide, and Copper Oxide ENPs in Lettuce Shoots and Roots using Macerozyme R-10 and Analyzed Them by Single-Particle Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Additionally, the Standard Stock Suspensions of the ENPs Were Stabilized with Citrate, and the Long-Term Stability (Up to 5 Months) Was Examined for the First Time. the Method Performance Results Displayed Satisfactory Accuracies and Precisions and Achieved Low Particle Concentration …

Optimization And Applications Of Whispering Gallery Mode Microbubble Resonator, Maxwell Adolphson

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Optical biosensors are frontrunners for rapid and real-time detection of analytes, particularly for low concentrations. Among them, whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonators have recently attracted a growing focus due to their robust optomechanical and optofluidic features and high sensitivity, measuring down to single binding events in small volumes. With their unique advantages and their compatibility with different sensing modalities, these sensors have the potential to become major game changers for biomedical and environmental monitoring, among many other relevant target applications. In this dissertation we focus on one geometry of whispering gallery mode resonators, the microbubble resonator. This platform is unique, …

Conceptualising And Enacting Pathways To Transformative Climate Justice: Examples From The Philippines, Justin See, Anne Shangrila Fuentes, Emma Porio, Brooke Wilmsen

Sociology & Anthropology Department Faculty Publications

Scholarship on climate change adaptation is increasingly moving from incremental responses to climate injustice towards transformative approaches that deliberately change systems to achieve just and equitable outcomes. A transformative understanding of climate justice is relatively new and evidence of how this could be achieved is in its infancy. In this paper, we conceptualise transformative climate justice as comprised of three subcomponents: (1) inclusive justice (seeking to ensure that no one, especially the most vulnerable, is left behind), (2) epistemological justice (drawing upon diverse knowledges and worldviews), and (3) restorative justice (healing and restoration of communities and the environment). We then …

A Robust Decision-Making Model For Medical Supplies Via Selecting Appropriate Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Amira Salam, Mai Mohamed, Rui Yong, Jun Ye

Neutrosophic Systems with Applications

Recently, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been used in many fields, including the field of health care, especially in delivering the necessary medical equipment and supplies, due to the many advantages they have compared to other traditional methods and the presence of different types of UAVs, to improve healthcare and provide it with the medical supplies and equipment necessary to save the lives of patients. Choosing the appropriate UAV for a specific situation represents a problem facing decision-makers, which is considered a multi-criteria decision-making problem. Since the decision-making process is cumbersome and complex, and deals with uncertainty and ambiguity. In …