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Table Of Contents

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Different Vegetable Oils (Macadamia Nut Oil And Walnut Oil) On The Coefficient Of Friction As A Finish For Oak Wood, Lee Dillon

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Slipping due to insufficient friction with flooring can cause fatal injuries in workplaces and homes. Oak wood flooring is commonly used in construction to build these environments. In the manufacturing process, wood finishing is conducted at the end of the process to strengthen the properties and longevity of the wood, although it could impact the coefficient of friction (COF) causing slip falls. Vegetable oils, such as macadamia nut and walnut oils, used as wood finishes have gained prominence due to their beneficial aspects to the environment. However, little is known about their effectiveness as a safe coating for wood floors. …

Exposure And Connectedness To Natural Environments: An Examination Of The Measurement Invariance Of The Nature Exposure Scale (Nes) And Connectedness To Nature Scale (Cns) Across 65 Nations, 40 Languages, Gender Identities, And Age Groups, Viren Swami, Mathew P. White, Martin Voracek, Ulrich S. Tran, Toivo Aavik, Hamed Abdollahpour Ranjbar, Sulaiman Olanrewaju Adebayo, Reza Afhami, Oli Ahmed, David A. Frederick

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Detachment from nature is contributing to the environmental crisis and reversing this trend requires detailed monitoring and targeted interventions to reconnect people to nature. Most tools measuring nature exposure and attachment were developed in high-income countries and little is known about their robustness across national and linguistic groups. Therefore, we used data from the Body Image in Nature Survey to assess measurement invariance of the Nature Exposure Scale (NES) and the Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups (N = 56,968). While multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CFA) of the NES supported …

A Multimodal Residual Spatial-Temporal Fusion Model Based On Automatic Sleep Classification, Yecai Guo, Shuang Tong

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Highly accurate sleep staging plays a crucial role in correctly assessing sleep conditions. Aiming at the problem that the existing convolutional network cannot obtain the topological characteristics of physiological signals, a sleep staging algorithm based on multi-modal residual spatio-temporal fusion is proposed. Time-frequency images and spatio-temporal images are obtained using short-time Fourier transform and adaptive map convolution, which are converted into high-dimensional feature vectors; lightweight interaction of feature information flow is realized through time-frequency feature and spatiotemporal feature extraction modules; the feature enhancement fusion module fuses feature information to outputs sleep staging results. The results show that the model …

Modeling And Simulation Of Pipeline Cable Inspection Robot Based On Omnidirectional Wheel, Chao Yuan, Yao Zhang, Yadong Zhao, Dawei Xu, Jing Yuan, Yongjie Zhai

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Aiming at the problem that the inner space of underground pipeline cable is narrow and closed, which cannot be inspected by humans, and the existing pipeline robot cannot adapt to the special environment of pipeline cable, a miniaturized, compact pipeline cable inspection robot is designed. This robot is capable of operating within the underground pipeline where cables have already been laid to inspect the inner wall of the pipeline and the working condition of the cables. According to the requirements of the working conditions, the whole three-dimensional model of the robot has been established. The mapping relationship between the …

Biochar And Biosorbents Derived From Biomass For Arsenic Remediation, Gaurav Sharma, Yaksha Verma, Chin Wei Lai, Mu Naushad, Jibran Iqbal, Amit Kumar, Pooja Dhiman

All Works

Global groundwater contamination by Arsenic (As) presents a grave danger to the health of living beings and wildlife, demanding comprehensive remediation strategies. This review delves into the complex landscape of arsenic remediation, encompassing its chemical forms, occurrences, sources, and associated health risks. Advanced techniques, notably biomass-derived adsorbents, emerge as promising and cost-effective solutions. The exploration spans preparing and modifying biomass-derived adsorbents, unraveling their adsorption capacity, influencing factors, isotherms, kinetics, and thermodynamics. Noteworthy attention is given to plant-agricultural waste, algal-fungal-bacterial, and iron-modified biomass-derived adsorbents. The comprehensive discussion of the adsorption mechanism highlights the efficacy of low-cost biomass, particularly from plant, animal, …

Human Capital At Home: Evidence From A Randomized Evaluation In The Philippines, Noam Angrist, Sarah Kabay, Dean S. Karlan, Lincoln Lau, Kevin M. Wong

Education Division Scholarship

Children spend most of their time at home in their early years, yet efforts to promote human capital at home in many low- and middle-income settings remain limited. We conduct a randomized controlled trial to evaluate an intervention which encourages parents and caregivers to foster human capital accumulation among their children between ages 3 and 5, with a focus on math and phonics skills. Children gain 0.52 and 0.51 standard deviations relative to the control group on math and phonics tests, respectively (p<0.001). A year later effects persist, but math gains dissipate to 0.15 (p=0.06) and phonics to 0.13 (p=0.12). Effects appear to be mediated largely through instructional support by parents and not other parent investment mechanisms, such as more positive parent-child interactions or additional time spent on education at home beyond the intervention. Our results show that parents can be effective conduits of educational instruction even in low-resource settings.

Trends From 20 Years Of Artificial Intelligence In Financial Services In Africa, Nthabiseng Moela, Lerato Matlala, Jackie Ma, Dipuo Maphutha, Hossana Twinomurinzi

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

The need for financial inclusion in Africa, particularly for marginalised groups like women and small businesses, highlights the importance of leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI). This study provides a bibliometric analysis of AI's integration into African financial services from 2003 to 2023. The key results show a significant increase in AI use, particularly in fraud detection, credit risk prediction, and stock market volatility forecasting, with 49% of the research coming from South Africa, Nigeria, and Tunisia. However, areas like financial development management, inflation control, and gender disparities in loan access remain underexplored. The emphasis has been on the technical implementation of …

Re: Comment Letter For Draft Bpsou 2023 Site-Wide Surface Water Data Summary Report (Dated May 31, 2024), Emma Rott

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Cardiomyocyte Resilience To Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury: The Therapeutic Potential Of An Indole-Peptide-Tempo Conjugate (Iptc), Shanshan Hou, Xin Yan, Xiang Gao, Steffen Jockusch, K. Michael Gibson, Zhiying Shan, Lanrong Bi

Michigan Tech Publications

Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury leads to apoptosis and extensive cellular and mitochondrial damage, triggered by the early generation and subsequent accumulation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS). This condition not only contributes to the pathology of I/R injury itself but is also implicated in a variety of other diseases, especially within the cardiovascular domain. Addressing mitochondrial oxidative stress thus emerges as a critical therapeutic target. In this context, our study introduces an indole-peptide-tempo conjugate (IPTC), a compound designed with dual functionalities: antioxidative properties and the ability to modulate autophagy. Our findings reveal that IPTC effectively shields H9C2 cardiomyocytes against hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) …

Alphafold2 Modeling And Molecular Dynamics Simulations Of The Conformational Ensembles For The Sars-Cov-2 Spike Omicron Jn.1, Kp.2 And Kp.3 Variants: Mutational Profiling Of Binding Energetics Reveals Epistatic Drivers Of The Ace2 Affinity And Escape Hotspots Of Antibody Resistance, Nishank Raisinghani, Mohammed Alshahrani, Grace Gupta, Gennady M. Verkhivker

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

AlphaFold2-based atomistic predictions of structures and conformational ensembles of the SARS-CoV-2 spike complexes with the host receptor ACE2 for the most dominant Omicron variants JN.1, KP.1, KP.2 and KP.3 to examine the mechanisms underlying the role of convergent evolution hotspots in balancing ACE2 binding and antibody evasion. Using the ensemble-based mutational scanning of the spike protein residues and computations of binding affinities, we identified binding energy hotspots and characterized the molecular basis underlying epistatic couplings between convergent mutational hotspots. The results suggested the existence of epistatic interactions between convergent mutational sites at L455, F456, Q493 positions that protect and restore …

Review Of Data Bias In Healthcare Applications, Atharva Prakash Parate, Aditya Ajay Iyer, Kanav Gupta, Harsh Porwal, P. C. Kishoreraja, R. Sivakumar, Rahul Soangra

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

In the area of medical artificial intelligence (AI), data bias is a major difficulty that affects several phases of data collection, processing, and model building. The many forms of data bias that are common in AI in healthcare are thoroughly examined in this review study, encompassing biases related to socioeconomic status, race, and ethnicity as well as biases in machine learning models and datasets. We examine how data bias affects the provision of healthcare, emphasizing how it might worsen health inequalities and jeopardize the accuracy of AI-driven clinical tools. We address methods for reducing data bias in AI and focus …

Data Breach Mitigation In Hospital Database Management Systems – The Case Of A Hospital In South-South Nigeria, Leton Rebecca Nsereka, Irene Govender

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

The damaging effects of data breaches result in the loss of sensitive data, operational downtime, financial losses, and, in extreme cases, legal action. This study investigates the Hospital Database Management systems (HDMS) in a selected hospital in South-South Nigeria for the mitigation of data breaches. The deployment of an Incident Response Framework for data breach mitigation on HDMS has yet to be fully researched, creating a gap literature. The research objectives were accomplished through mixed methods and design science research (DSR). About 180 participants including forty employees from the medical records unit and 140 patients/patient relatives, who interact with the …

Revolutionizing Medical Education: Harnessing Ai To Cultivate Critical Thinking Skills, Alex Zuo, Anthony L. Alanis

Research Colloquium

Our study intends to integrate AI-enabled tools in medical education, including but not limited to adaptive learning systems, virtual patients, and AI-enhanced assessment methods, to develop and foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills with the engagement of medical students. It is expected that this provides for a good environment for both teachers and students through workshops, online resources, and collaborative academic projects. We also consider AI-generated images and open educational resources that could augment curricula and personalize the experience for learners. Medical educators use storytelling, including AI for data storytelling, to package complex clinical data in approachable yet revealing ways …

Response To Agency Comments On The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft Blacktail Creek Groundwater Hydraulic Control System Pre-Design Investigation Evaluation Report Prepared For Atlantic Richfield Company By Stantec Consulting Services, Inc. Dated September 12, 2024 Date Of Comments: February 1, 2024, Stantec Consulting Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Blacktail Creek (Btc) Pumping Test Interpretation Technical Memorandum, Stantec Consulting Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Groundwater Model Technical Memorandum, Stantec Consulting Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Data-Driven Mathematical Modeling And Simulation Of Migration Dynamics During The Russian-Ukrainian War, Danielle Sitalo, Alonso Ogueda-Oliva, Padmanabhan Seshaiyer

Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics

In this work, we employ a governing system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) to create a mathematical model for getting insights into the dynamics of migration of Ukrainians evacuating due to war. A suitable assumption on coefficients of this model results in the well-known logistic growth. Additionally, stability analyses of equilibrium solutions for these ODEs are performed, and we employ parameter estimation techniques to identify coefficients using online datasets via both a least-squares approach as well as a physics informed neural network approach. Our findings indicate that over time, the daily influx of Ukrainian refugees to Poland stabilizes at a …

Application Of Haines And Terbrugge Chart For Suitable Slope Angles – A Case Study Of Artisanal And Small-Scale Mining, Carol Mgiba, Steven Rupprecht

Journal of Sustainable Mining

Significant hazards in Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) are rock failure and slope collapse caused by overly steep pit walls, poor mine design and water pressure. There is a lack of expertise and capital in ASM. Providing a simple and cost-effective slope stability analysis and designing systems that can mitigate the risk of slope collapse is essential. This article aims to assess whether stability charts and estimations can be used to establish suitable slope angles to mitigate the overwhelming cases of slope collapse in ASM. The Bieniawski’s Rock Mass Rating system and Heins and Terbrugge stability chart were used to …

Editorial: Centering Humanism In Stem Education, Desirée Forsythe, Sheila S. Jaswal, Bryan Dewsbury, Susannah Mcgowan

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"To understand why this Research Topic exists, it is important to recall the original goal from our call for proposals: to reorient STEM researchers and practitioners to reconsider the actual purpose of the practice of teaching and learning. Bryan Dewsbury often invokes us in his writing and talks to understand our why. As educators, we wish to provide insights, practices, and proposed theories to reflect on our WHY in STEM education—from one instructor’s empathetic approach to understanding the undergraduate student experience in gateway courses to the cultural initiation ceremonies at the disciplinary level. These components of humanism and the lens …

Developing Decision Support Tools To Optimize Crop Production Using Uav-Based Multispectral Imagery, Fared Farag

Student Theses and Dissertations

Multispectral imagery collected through unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) holds promise for optimizing crop production to meet the rising market demands. This study aimed to enhance the main two facets behind the UAV data pipeline: data collection and data analysis. Chapter II addresses data collection challenges by presenting a software tool designed to assist UAV operators in validating and identifying potential errors in the collected images. Through beta testing, the software effectively reduced operational costs and laid a solid foundation for subsequent data analysis. Chapter III delves into the data analysis facet to develop advanced modeling approaches for accurate and robust …

Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou), Draft Residential Metals Abatement Program Construction Completion Report (Non‐Residential Parcels – Indoor Dust) –East Middle School (Dated March 29, 2024), Molly Roby

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Adequacy Of A Prediction Model, Abhaya Indrayan, Sakshi Mishra Ms

COBRA Preprint Series

No abstract provided.

Could A Carbon Tax Improve Utah's Air Quality And Mitigate Climate Change?, Rose Cameron, Kendall Becker, Alexi Elizabeth Lamm, Scott Hotaling

All Current Publications

Urban areas in Utah have suffered from poor air quality since Euro-American settlement in 1847. Because today’s harmful air pollutants and carbon dioxide—the most significant driver of contemporary climate change—are often emitted together, a carbon tax could improve air quality while also mitigating climate change. Here, we explore how Sweden has successfully implemented a carbon tax and consider the viability of a similar approach for Utah. While a carbon tax would pressure Utah’s transportation and energy sectors to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, revenue from the tax could finance renewable energy infrastructure to support companies transitioning away from fossil fuels …

Low-Emission Beef Production In The Southern Rangelands Of Western Australia: An Analysis Of Herd Structure And Stocking Rate Experiencing Droughts, Christophe D'Abbadie

Animal production and livestock research articles

Reconciling profitable cattle production with rangeland health and reduced emissions is a key challenge in the southern rangelands of Western Australia (WA). Stocking rate and herd structure selection are crucial decisions to achieve this balance. This study assessed the emission profiles of three contrasting herd structures (weaner production, live export, and slaughter production), and three stocking rates within a herd–carbon accounting modelling framework. The analysis considers the impact of varying drought frequencies on these cattle production systems. Herd models were developed for the semiarid southern WA rangelands. Stocking rates were set at 100%, 80% and 66% of the government recommended …

2024 September 10 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Re: Butte Reduction Works (Brw) Phase Iii Quality Assurance Project Plan (Qapp) Request For Change Brw-2024-01, Josh Bryson

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Big Geospatiotemporal Data Approaches To Monitoring And Mitigating Environmental Impacts In Agriculture, Olatunde D. Akanbi, Vibha S. Mandayam, Erika I. Barcelos, Arafath Nihar, Yinghui Wu, Jeffrey Yarus, Roger H. French

Student Scholarship

This research explores the application of geospatial techniques for global agricultural monitoring, integrating satellite imagery and soil data to assess crop health and soil conditions. Our approach provides actionable insights to improve agricultural productivity and sustainability, addressing food security challenges through advanced machine learning models.

Design And Implementation Of An Opioid Scorecard For Hospital System-Wide Peer Comparison Of Opioid Prescribing Habits: Observational Study, Benjamin Slovis, Soonyip Huang, Melanie Mcarthur, Cara Martino, Tasia Beers, Meghan Labella, Jeffrey Riggio, Edmund Pribitkin

Jefferson Hospital Staff Papers and Presentations

BACKGROUND: Reductions in opioid prescribing by health care providers can lead to a decreased risk of opioid dependence in patients. Peer comparison has been demonstrated to impact providers' prescribing habits, though its effect on opioid prescribing has predominantly been studied in the emergency department setting.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to describe the development of an enterprise-wide opioid scorecard, the architecture of its implementation, and plans for future research on its effects.

METHODS: Using data generated by the author's enterprise vendor-based electronic health record, the enterprise analytics software, and expertise from a dedicated group of informaticists, physicians, and …

Re: Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Revised Butte Reduction Works (Brw) Phase Iii Quality Assurance Project Plan (Qapp) Request Of Change Brw-2024-01 (Dated August 30, 2024)., Emma Rott

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.