Digital Commons Network^™

Cytokine Data For Cytokine Profile Assessment From Peruvian Pinniped (Arctocephalus Australis And Otaria Byronia) Plasma, Mykenzee Munaco, Milton Levin, Michael Adkesson, Susana Cárdenas-Alayzad, Dimitrios G. Giarikos, Amy C. Hirons

SECLER Data

Large colonies of two vulnerable, sympatric pinniped species, Peruvian fur seals (Arctocephalus australis Peruvian subpopulation; PFS) and South American sea lions (Otaria byronia; SASL), reside and reproduce in Punta San Juan, Peru (PSJ) where they are exposed to stressors such as contaminants and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. The use of cytokines as immune biomarkers can be indicative of an animal’s health and function by allowing for the assessment of an individual's cytokine balance as type I helper T cells (Th1) or type II helper T cells (Th2) dominant. Utilizing archived pinniped plasma samples from 2009-2019 …

Monitoring Method Research On Passenger Behavior On Escalator Based On Digital Twin, Nan Lü, Qibing Wang, Lu Jiawei, Juntong Chen, Gang Xiao

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: In order to solve the problems that the traditional escalator cannot be monitored and analyzed in real time during operation, the management and maintenance only on escalator equipment side, and the lack of monitoring passenger dangerous behavior, a monitoring method of passenger behavior on escalator based on digital twin is proposed. By constructing the digital twin of escalators, a visual interface is designed to map the escalator running status and passenger behavior data. Through passenger video surveillance, the improved OpenPose posture recognition algorithm is used to obtain the key point data of human body. Posture recognition is classified to …

Toward An Interoperable And Scalable Iot-Driven Smart City Solution Using Blockchain, Nada Abdulaziz A Alasbali

Student Works (2020-2029)

A smart city is primarily an urban region that makes effective use of contemporary technology to manage its resources, assets, and services. Internet of Things (IoT) devices and sensors are installed throughout the smart city in order to facilitate remote monitoring and data collection in relation to a variety of key infrastructures. The data is then utilised to plan the necessary maintenance tasks to ensure that citizens receive high-quality services. Even though IoT devices make it possible to collect data in real-time in a smart city, most sensors and IoT devices do not have a lot of storage space or …

One Font Doesn’T Fit All: The Influence Of Digital Text Personalization On Comprehension In Child And Adolescent Readers, Shannon M. Sheppard, Susanne L. Nobles, Anton Palma, Sophie Kajfez, Marjorie Jordan, Kathy Crowley, Sofie Beier

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

Reading comprehension is an essential skill. It is unclear whether and to what degree typography and font personalization may impact reading comprehension in younger readers. With advancements in technology, it is now feasible to personalize digital reading formats in general technology tools, but this feature is not yet available for many educational tools. The current study aimed to investigate the effect of character width and inter-letter spacing on reading speed and comprehension. We enrolled 94 children (kindergarten–8th grade) and compared performance with six font variations on a word-level semantic decision task (Experiment 1) and a passage-level comprehension task (Experiment 2). …

3d-Aware Multi-Class Image-To-Image Translation With Nerfs, Senmao Li, Joost Van De Weijer, Yaxing Wang, Fahad Shahbaz Khan, Meiqin Liu, Jian Yang

Computer Vision Faculty Publications

Recent advances in 3D-aware generative models (3D-aware GANs) combined with Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF) have achieved impressive results. However no prior works investigate 3D-aware GANs for 3D consistent multiclass image-to-image (3D-aware 121) translation. Naively using 2D-121 translation methods suffers from unrealistic shape/identity change. To perform 3D-aware multiclass 121 translation, we decouple this learning process into a multiclass 3D-aware GAN step and a 3D-aware 121 translation step. In the first step, we propose two novel techniques: a new conditional architecture and an effective training strategy. In the second step, based on the well-trained multiclass 3D-aware GAN architecture, that preserves view-consistency, we …

Initial Experience With An Electron Flash Research Extension (Flex) For The Clinac System, Kyuhak Oh, Kyle J. Gallagher, Megan Hyun, Diane Schott, Sarah Wisnoskie, Yu Lei, Samuel Hendley, Jeffrey Wong, Shuo Wang, Brendan Graff, Christopher Jenkins, Frank Rutar, Md Ahmed, Joshua Mcneur, Jeffrey Taylor, Marty Schmidt, Lasitha Senadheera, Wendy Smith, Subodh M. Lele, Ran Dai, Dong Jianghu (James), Y Yan, Su-Min Zhou

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

Purpose: Radiotherapy delivered at ultra-high-dose-rates (≥40 Gy/s), that is, FLASH, has the potential to effectively widen the therapeutic window and considerably improve the care of cancer patients. The underlying mechanism of the FLASH effect is not well understood, and commercial systems capable of delivering such dose rates are scarce. The purpose of this study was to perform the initial acceptance and commissioning tests of an electron FLASH research product for preclinical studies.

Methods: A linear accelerator (Clinac 23EX) was modified to include a nonclinical FLASH research extension (the Clinac-FLEX system) by Varian, a Siemens Healthineers company (Palo Alto, …

Scale Model Experiments Of Toxic Gas Production From The Combustion Of Polymers When Applied With Different Droplet Sizes Of Water Mist, Nicharee Thinnakornsutubutr, Masayuki Mizuno, Kazunori Kuwana

Progress in Scale Modeling, an International Journal

This research experimentally investigated the combustion of polymeric materials with water mist application in an enclosure, with an emphasis on the production of toxic gases. Two different diameters, ~100 and ~260 μm, were tested. The experimental conditions were determined based on Froude similarity laws for low drop Reynolds number conditions. Droplets and polymers’ physical and chemical properties influence the burning/extinguishing behavior and toxic-gas evolution. In general, larger droplets can extinguish a fire in a shorter time, and toxic gas concentrations in a test chamber decreased more rapidly. However, the large droplets tended to cause the flame expansion phenomenon for thermoplastics …

Stability Analyses On The Effect Of Vaccination And Contact Tracing In Monkeypox Virus Transmission, Solomon Eshun, Richmond Essieku, James Ladzekpo

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Monkeypox is a significant health concern due to its potential for morbidity and occasional mortality. Vaccination and effective contact tracing play pivotal roles in controlling infectious diseases, including monkeypox. This study aims to contribute to our understanding of monkeypox dynamics by developing a comprehensive mathematical model that incorporates key factors such as vaccination, quarantining, and contact tracing. Through rigorous sensitivity analysis, we explore the impact of varying vaccination coverage and contact tracing on the disease’s dynamics. In particular, we investigate the dynamics of the disease in relation to variable vaccination coverage and contact tracing. Our findings highlight the critical role …

Verifying Empirical Predictive Modeling Of Societal Vulnerability To Hazardous Events: A Monte Carlo Experimental Approach, Yi Victor Wang, Seung Hee Kim, Menas C. Kafatos

Institute for ECHO Articles and Research

With the emergence of large amounts of historical records on adverse impacts of hazardous events, empirical predictive modeling has been revived as a foundational paradigm for quantifying disaster vulnerability of societal systems. This paradigm models societal vulnerability to hazardous events as a vulnerability curve indicating an expected loss rate of a societal system with respect to a possible spectrum of intensity measure (IM) of an event. Although the empirical predictive models (EPMs) of societal vulnerability are calibrated on historical data, they should not be experimentally tested with data derived from field experiments on any societal system. Alternatively, in this paper, …

Research On China’S Marine Protected Areas Policy Based On Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework 2030 Targets, Ke Duan, Xiulin Wang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at the Conference of Parties (COP15) has set a series of targets, including protecting at least 30% of the oceans by 2030 worldwide. In China, how to build a marine ecological civilization in synergy with the targets has become an important issue. This study analyzes the necessity of accelerating the construction of marine protected areas in China from the perspectives of adapting to international trends, fulfilling the responsibilities of international conventions, safeguarding maritime rights and interests, and implementing the maritime power and strategy. The feasibility …

Threads, Buckets, And Impact: A Framework For Tool Accelerated Machine Learning Courses, Jonathan Adam Niemirowski

Doctoral Dissertations

Artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) have exploded in use, accessibility, and awareness in the past few years, particularly with the release of ChatGPT in late 2022. Advances in end-user ML tools are accelerating the development of ML applications, lowering the technical barrier of entry for users outside of the computer science (CS) community. Access to ML education within STEM is mostly limited to upper-level computer science courses that have deep pre-requisite requirements or to introductory workshops that yield limited ML skills. Despite the critical need for ML education, there is a lack of guidance in instructional design for applied …

Ultrasound Assisted Comparative Study Of Fucolam And So-Dium Alginate And Impact On Their Physiochemical Proper-Ties Using Box-Behnken Design, Uday Bagale, Ammar Kadi, Artem Malinin, Varisha Anjum, Irina Potoroko

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

The article discusses about the possibility of comparing the impact of ultrasonic treatment on fucolam and sodium algi-nate. The purpose was to study the effect of micronization on the sulfated heteropolysaccharide fucolam, analyzing its dispersed state and accessibility by reducing its molecular weight and increasing antioxidant activity. The optimization of the micronization process was carried out using the Box-Behnken Design (BBD) method, with a sonication time ranging from 15 to 45 min, power ranging from 50 to 100 W/cm2, and temperature between 30 °C and 40 °C. The fixed lower fucolam concentration was 0.1%. The results illustrated that sonochemical treatment …

Additive Effects Of Cyclic Peptide [R4w4] When Added Alongside Azithromycin And Rifampicin Against Mycobacterium Avium Infection, Melissa Kelley, Kayvan Sasaninia, Arbi Abnousian, Ali Badaoui, James Owens, Abrianna Beever, Nala Kachour, Rakesh Kumar Tiwari, Vishwanath Venketaraman

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Mycobacterium avium (M. avium), a type of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), poses a risk for pulmonary infections and disseminated infections in immunocompromised individuals. Conventional treatment consists of a 12-month regimen of the first-line antibiotics rifampicin and azithromycin. However, the treatment duration and low antibiotic tolerability present challenges in the treatment of M. avium infection. Furthermore, the emergence of multidrug-resistant mycobacterium strains prompts a need for novel treatments against M. avium infection. This study aims to test the efficacy of a novel antimicrobial peptide, cyclic [R4W4], alongside the first-line antibiotics azithromycin and rifampicin in reducing M. avium survival. Colony-forming unit (CFU) …

The Synthesis And Optimization Of Conductive Carbons From Renewable Resources For Supercapacitor Applications, Iris Denmark

Theses and Dissertations

The use of fossil fuels has played a pivotal role in the evolution of energy storage devices and the generation of electricity. With that, we have now entered an era in which we have become primarily dependent on these non-renewable resources which have become increasingly scarce overtime. This has driven us toward a pertinent demand for alternative sources of energy. There are various forms of alternative energy in which biomass is the most used. Carbon is becoming the most commonly used material for energy applications due to its versatility and bioavailability, including that which is sourced from biomass. Herein is …

Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft Final Unreclaimed Sites – Field Sampling Plan (Fsp) Ur 43 – Area Near Missoula Gulch Ball Field, Mike Mcanulty

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

A Framework For Creating Virtual Reality Models For More Effective Coastal Flood Risk Communication, Tina Korani, Alexandrea Martinez

CSU Journal of Sustainability and Climate Change

Coastal cities are exposed to increasing risks of flooding from sea-level rise. Climate change is expected to double the frequency of coastal flooding within the next decade, and some areas could experience floods of a magnitude 100 times higher than currently (Vitousek et al., 2017). People living in at-risk areas often ignore the impact of climate change on flood intensity and frequency. Immersive visual storytelling techniques proved promising and powerful tools to engage with and raise awareness of flood hazards. Here, we are introducing a framework to use Virtual Reality (VR) to reach better people living in coastal cities and …

Evaluation Of Native Plant Communities On Nebraska Game And Parks Commission State Parks, Robert F. Steinauer

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

This report evaluates the Native Plant Communities on Nebraska Game and Parks Commission State Parks East Region, also known as Region 3, which includes much of northeast and extreme eastern Nebraska, including portions of the lower Niobrara, Elkhorn and Platte Rivers and nearly the entire east border formed by the Missouri River. Fifteen state-listed threatened and endangered species have been recorded within the boundaries of Region 3 within the last twenty years. Several of these occupy habitats within major river channels.

Surveyed areas which contained habitat for legally protected species include Dead Timber State Recreation Area, Indian Cave State Park, …

Human Recognition Theory And Facial Recognition Technology: A Topic Modeling Approach To Understanding The Ethical Implication Of A Developing Algorithmic Technologies Landscape On How We View Ourselves And Are Viewed By Others, Hajer Albalawi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The emergence of algorithmic-driven technology has significantly impacted human life in the current century. Algorithms, as versatile constructs, hold different meanings across various disciplines, including computer science, mathematics, social science, and human-artificial intelligence studies. This study defines algorithms from an ethical perspective as the foundation of an information society and focuses on their implications in the context of human recognition. Facial recognition technology, driven by algorithms, has gained widespread use, raising important ethical questions regarding privacy, bias, and accuracy. This dissertation aims to explore the impact of algorithms on machine perception of human individuals and how humans perceive one another …

Measures And Models Of Visual Acuity In Epipelagic And Mesopelagic Teleosts And Elasmobranchs, Eleanor M. Caves, Tracey Sutton, Eric J. Warrant, Sönke Johnsen

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Eyes in low-light environments typically must balance sensitivity and spatial resolution. Vertebrate eyes with large "pixels" (e.g., retinal ganglion cells with inputs from many photoreceptors) will be sensitive but provide coarse vision. Small pixels can render finer detail, but each pixel will gather less light, and thus have poor signal relative-to-noise, leading to lower contrast sensitivity. This balance is particularly critical in oceanic species at mesopelagic depths (200–1000 m) because they experience low light and live in a medium that significantly attenuates contrast. Depending on the spatial frequency and inherent contrast of a pattern being viewed, the viewer’s pupil size …

The Devil You Know And The Devil You Don’T: Current Status And Challenges Of Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication In The United States, Daniel J. O'Brien, Tyler C. Thacker, Liliana C.M. Salvador, Anthony G. Duffiney, Suelee Robbe‑Austerman, Mark S. Camacho, Jason E. Lombard, Mitchell V. Palmer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Having entered into its second century, the eradication program for bovine tuberculosis (bTB, caused by Mycobacterium bovis) in the United States of America occupies a position both enviable and daunting. Excepting four counties in Michigan comprising only 6109 km2 (0.06% of US land area) classified as Modified Accredited, as of April 2022 the entire country was considered Accredited Free of bTB by the US Department of Agriculture for cattle and bison. On the surface, the now well-described circumstances of endemic bTB in Michigan, where white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) serve as a free-ranging wildlife maintenance host, may appear to be …

Ranking And Analysis The Strategies Of Crowd Management To Reduce The Risks Of Crushes And Stampedes In Crowded Environments And Ensure The Safety Of Passengers, Waleed Tawfiq Al-Nami

Neutrosophic Systems with Applications

Public gatherings, transit hubs, stadiums, and crowded retail malls are just a few examples of places where crowd management has become an urgent issue in recent years. Effective crowd management strategies have been required due to the increasing population, urbanization, and frequency of large-scale meetings. These strategies are used in dynamic, sometimes chaotic, circumstances to protect people and facilitate their free movement. The purpose of this study is to analyze and rank various strategies for crowd management to reduce the risks of crushes and stampedes, improve security, and facilitate smoother traffic flow. This study used the single-valued neutrosophic set to …

Diversity And Adaptation Of Perennial Plants From North Africa: Legumes And Grasses, Aissa Abdelguerfi, M. Laouar, K. Abbas, M. M'Hammedi Bouzina

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

A variety of climates, soil types and reliefs characterise North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia). These natural conditions have produced a large diversity of environments, landscapes, plant formations and flora. Several factors have contributed to the spread of a wide floristic variety: the influence of the Mediterranean in the north and in the north-east, the Atlantic in the west, and the Sahara in the south, as well as the presence of mountain ranges, particularly the Rif, the Tell Atlas, the Sahara Atlas, the Middle Atlas, the High Atlas, and the Anti-Atlas. This diversity of landscapes, environments and ecosystems has generated …

Effect Of Aspect And Animal Movement On A Temperate Mountain Grassland Structure, Sorkunde Mendarte, I. Amezaga, Isabel Albizu, A. Ibarra, Iker Mijangos, M. Onaindia

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Mountain pasture systems are maintained by the combination of physical and environmental factors and human activity leading to highly complex ecosystems (Watkinson & Ormerod 2000). Differences between pastures are usually due to physical conditions and animal pressure (Fynn & O´Connor 2000). In extensive livestock production systems in the Basque Country (northern Spain), livestock graze in mountain pastures from May until October. This study examined the effect of aspect and animal movement on grassland structure.

Extensive Management Of Sheep Grazing In Upland Sown Grassland: Long-Term Effects On Plant Species Composition, C. A. Marriott, G. T. Barthram, T. G. Common, J. H. Griffiths, J. M. Fisher, K. Hood

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Changes in the Common Agricultural Policy have led to the development of agri-environment schemes to deliver environmental goods from grasslands. These schemes encourage more extensive grazing systems, and change the emphasis from animal output to issues such as increasing biodiversity. Lower stocking densities are expected to promote the development of a heterogeneous habitat and associated compositional changes in plant species. The long-term effect of more extensive sheep management, combining cessation of fertiliser and lower grazing intensity, on botanical composition and animal output in upland sown grassland has been studied at 3 sites (Marriott et al., 2002) since 1990. We …

Changes In Floristic Diversity Associated With Sheep Grazing Management On A Karst Pasture, Matej Vidrih, F. Batič, K. Eler

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Greater plant diversity, richness and lower primary production are more characteristic for karst (calcareous) pastures than for lowland grassland. In relation to the level of animal grazing required, light and moderate levels are usually most appropriate (Hart, 2001). From the conservation point of view grazing intensity should be variable between sites, and between parts of large sites, and timed to provide for the requirements of different species in different seasons (Dolek & Geyer, 2002).

Floristic Composition As A Parameter Of The Quality Of The Grassland Type Festucetum Vallesacae In Thestara Planina Hilly-Mountainous Region Of Serbia, Z. Nesic, Z. Tomic, S. Mrfat-Vukelic, M. Zujovic, I. Djalovic, S. Djordjevic

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

With the increase of sea level and changes of climatic conditions, the possibilities for growing cultivated forages decreases. Therefore natural grasslands will become more important in relation to livestock nutrition. This will increase the importance of the nutritive value of these natural grasslands that have very diverse and dynamic floristic composition. The quality of the grassland depends on species categorised as grasses, legumes and other species. Other species were often regarded as harmful in regard to quality, however, they often contain many medicinal and stimulating substances that may have beneficial effects on animals and on the quality of animal products …

Floristic Composition As Parameter Of Quality Of Ass. Agrostietum Vulgaris, Z. Tomic, S. Mrfat-Vukelic, Z. Nesic, M. Zujovic, S. Djordjevic-Milosevic

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In hilly-mountainous region of Serbia, meadows and pastures are the main sourcees of roughage feeds and grazing for ruminants. On Stara Planina mountain, in SE Serbia, meadows and pastures with different plant associations and a wide range of species of differing nutritional value predominate. Until the 1930s, and even until now, only species of the grass family and leguminous plants were desired and all other plants were considered worthless or harmful Klapp (1986). The main criteria to evaluate whether a meadow plant species is a weed are: is it poisonous?; is it suitable for consumption by domestic animals as regards …

Study Of Characteristics Of Soil Animals In Halophilous Plant Communities Of Leymus Chinensis Grasslands Of Northeast In China, Xiuqin Yin, Y. Zhang, W. Dong

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

We have researched soil animals in 8 types of halophilous plant communities of Leymus chinensis grasslands of Northeast China to characterise soil animal groups and explain the role and function of soil animals in grassland ecosystems (Richard & Roger, 1998) and provide a scientific basis for research to improve alkaline lands in these grasslands.

Spatial Distribution Of Soil Macroinvertebrates In A Dry Steppe (South-Eastern Siberia, Russia), K. B. Gongalsky

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Soil macroinvertebrates are important components of ecosystems. They play a key role in decomposition processes and turnover of the most of elements. Adequate estimation of abundance and biomass of these animals is fundamental for understanding their input in steppe ecosystems. Asian steppes of Russia are poorly studied. Therefore, baseline soil invertebrate composition, abundance and rules of distribution were estimated.

Grazing Effects On Spatial Microdistribution Of Soil Macroinvertebrates In A Steppe Of European Russia, F. A. Savin, K. B. Gongalsky, A. D. Pokarzhevskii

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Measures of ecosystems and their populations include biomass, production and trophic composition and animal spatial distribution. Grazing of grasslands influences spatial distribution of vegetation seriously. The same effects on soil macroinvertebrates are less well studied. Spatial distribution is usually studied at a coenosis level, and not at a studied point level, although the scale of sampling has a giant importance in estimation of organism's distribution. The aim of our study was to estimate grazing impact on large soil invertebrates in steppe ecosystems in Chernozem Nature Reserve in Russia.