Digital Commons Network^™

Dispersive Micro Solid Phase Extraction Of Cadmium On Mil-53(Al)@Batio3 Nanocomposite From Seafood Samples, Mustafa Soylak, Eda Bora, Furkan Uzcan

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

This study’s main goal was to produce a user-friendly dispersive micro solid phase extraction (dmSPE) technique with a MIL-53(Al)@BaTiO3 nanocomposite for the extraction and preconcentration of cadmium (Cd) in various seafood matrices, followed by using high-resolution continuum source flame atomic absorption spectrometry (HR-CS-FAAS). The MIL-53(Al)@BaTiO3 nanocomposite was synthesized and characterized using a range of techniques, including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis. The dmSPE technique involved the dispersion of the MIL-53(Al)@BaTiO3 material in the sample solution, followed by its separation from the sample matrix. The optimized method exhibited a …

Physical And Chemical Characterization Of Recycled Glass Sand For Environmental Restoration, Shehbaz Ahmad, Julie P. Vanegas, Nicholas Borne, Natalia Butler, Toby Mendels, Leah A. Michaeloff, Diego Molina, Mary Salvaggio, Samantha Tamayo, Franziska Trautmann

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Introduction

We rely on coastal resources for food, water, and energy. However, over 75% of U.S. coastlines are eroding. Concurrently, the U.S. recycles less glass than other developed countries, landfilling hundreds of millions of tons every year. Recycled glass sand has many potential benefits over natural sand for combatting land loss; for example, it can be produced with controlled particle size to better resist erosion, making it an excellent—and underutilized—material for environmental restoration.

Objectives

This research compares the physical and chemical properties of recycled glass sand to natural sands (beach and dredge) from the U.S. Gulf Coast to assess environmental …

Classification Of Human Trust In Ai Using Brain Activity Data, Danushka Bandara, Ruhuan Liao, Fatima Chowdhury, Leslie Abbott

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

Trust plays a crucial role in human-computer interaction, particularly in scenarios involving artificial intelligence (AI) systems. This study explores the feasibility of using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) data to classify trust levels in human-AI interaction scenarios. A total of 18 participants completed an image classification task with an AI team member while their hemodynamic responses were recorded using fNIRS. Preprocessing of fNIRS data involved motion artifact removal, filtering, and normalization. Exploratory analysis identified significant associations between hemodynamic responses in the prefrontal cortex and trust levels. An across-subject binary trust classification model was developed using machine learning techniques, achieving an F1 …

Coarse-Graining Spiking Reservoirs: Reducing Reservoir Size While Preserving Critical Dynamics, Tucker X. Mastin, Christof Teuscher

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

We propose an extension of renormalization into the domain of spiking neural networks, thereby providing a novel framework for coarse-graining neural networks without disrupting their critical properties. The proposed coarse-graining technique merges neurons and synaptic connections based on a graph-theoretic distance derived from synaptic weight strength and is configured to effectively prune the reservoir size while preserving the scale-free spiking dynamics indicative of criticality. Criticality in spiking neural networks may provide information-theoretic advantages by optimizing information processing and sensitivity to input. Using time-series prediction benchmarks, we demonstrate that networks operating at criticality exhibit up to 32% higher prediction accuracy before …

Ecological Acclimation: A Framework To Integrate Fast And Slow Responses To Climate Change, Michael Stemkovski, Joey R. Bernhardt, Benjamin Wong Blonder, John B. Bradford, Kyra Clark-Wolf, Laura E. Dee, Margaret E. K. Evans, Virginia Iglesias, Loretta C. Johnson, Abigail J. Lynch, Sparkle L. Malone, Booke B. Osborne, Melissa A. Pastore, Michael Paterson, Malin L. Pinsky, Christine R. Rollinson, Oliver Selmoni, Jason J. Venkiteswaran, Anthony P. Walker, Nicole K. Ward, John W. Williams, Claire M. Zarakas, Peter B. Adler

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

1. Ecological responses to climate change occur across vastly different time-scales, from minutes for physiological plasticity to decades or centuries for community turnover and evolutionary adaptation. Accurately predicting the range of ecosystem trajectories will require models that incorporate both fast processes that may keep pace with climate change and slower ones likely to lag behind and generate disequilibrium dynamics. However, the knowledge necessary for this integration is currently fragmented across disciplines.

2. We develop ‘ecological acclimation’ as a unifying framework to emphasize the similarity of dynamics driven by processes operating on dramatically different time-scales and levels of biological organization. The …

Confidence Intervals For The Difference And Ratio Of Two Means From Independent Beta Distribution, Albert Ashong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores constructing and evaluating confidence intervals for the difference and ratio of means from two independent Beta distributions using Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) and the Wald method. It addresses the limitations of traditional methods due to the unique properties of Beta distributions. Extensive simulation studies assess interval performance based on coverage probability and Average width. The study aims to provide robust tools for statistical analysis in fields where Beta distributions are common, enhancing understanding and application of these methods in various scientific domains. Additionally, these confidence intervals will be applied to real biological data from a Morris Water …

The Only Constant Is Change: The Role Of Genetic Diversification In Cancer And Beyond, Malgorzata Tyczynska Weh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Genetic diversification, the process by which genetic variation arises in a population, is fundamental to evolution by natural selection. Mutation, a central diversification process, fuels adaptation across species, including in cancer. Yet most new mutations are neutral or deleterious on cell fitness, raising the question of how mutation-driven adaptation persists. To explore this paradox, I developed a spatial agent-based model (ABM) in which population fitness emerges from individual cells acquiring mutations at varied rates and with diverse fitness effects. I evaluated model behavior across adaptive states, mutation rates, and distributions of fitness effects. The results show that high mutation rates …

Martingale Methods For Structural Change Detection And Feature Attribution In Dynamic Networks, Izhar Ali

Theses and Dissertations

Dynamic networks undergo structural changes when their generative process shifts at a change-point. We need to detect this change-point with minimal delay while identifying its underlying causes. This is an optimization problem of minimizing the expected detection delay while controlling the false alarm probability below a threshold---leading to three critical challenges: non-parametric detection without distributional assumptions, exact feature attribution, and early detection with rigorous false alarm control. We construct additive martingale statistics from multiple graph features using conformal prediction, providing false alarm guarantees via Ville's inequality. Our key theoretical contribution proves the Martingale-Shapley equivalence: each feature's martingale value equals its …

Updated Take Estimates Of Marine Turtles In The Guajira Peninsula, Venezuela, Royner Carrasquero-Labarca, Matthew Ware, Jordano Palmar, Daniela Rojas-Cañizales, Héctor Barrios-Garrido

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The Guajira Peninsula is one of the most important foraging grounds areas for marine turtles in Venezuela. There, five species converging: the green turtle, hawksbill, loggerhead, leatherback, and olive ridley. The Wayuú indigenous people are inhabits of the Guajira Peninsula. They have a close relationship with these animals, and for generations, they have used these species as subsistence resources. Marine turtle take has always occurred in this area and has historically been high; it is still happening now, but the current extent is unknown. For that reason, we aimed to assess and update the estimate for marine turtles take in …

Multiscale Modeling Of Drug-Induced Liver Injury From Organ To Lobule, Alon Malka-Markovitz, Stelian Camara Dit Pinto, Mohammed Cherkaoui, Steven M Levine, Sharmila Anandasabapathy, Gagan K Sood, Sadhna Dhingra, Gao Yujia, John M Vierling, Nicolas R Gallo

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Drug-induced liver injury poses significant challenges in drug development and in clinical care. This study builds on prior work developing a Human Liver Virtual Twin by creating a Multiscale Computational Fluid Dynamics framework that integrates patient-specific anatomical data to predict acetaminophen-induced liver injury as a demonstration of its capability. The model bridges vascular, lobular, and cellular scales to simulate dynamic blood flow, drug transport, and injury mechanisms that accurately reflect clinically observed spatial heterogeneity. Results demonstrate accurate blood flow dynamics, predictions of hepatocellular damage, and a scalable framework for studying spatial heterogeneity applicable to other hepatic pathologies. This work establishes …

Cutthroat Trout In Utah, Hope Northagen, Ethan Gilliam

All Current Publications

This fact sheet is intended to inform anglers, aquatic recreationalists, and backyard conservationists interested in learning about a Utah native species, current restoration steps, and how their actions can help professionals restore native cutthroat trout populations.

The Link Between Environmental Change And Invasive Species, Marion Murray, Meg Kast

All Current Publications

Climate change and invasive species represent two pressing environmental challenges facing our planet. Each poses a threat to global biodiversity and ecosystem stability, and together, they amplify the impacts of the other. As global temperatures rise and ecosystems are disrupted, new conditions are created that allow invasive species to spread more easily, establish themselves in new areas, and outcompete native species.

First Insight On The Genesis Of Iron Oxide-Hydroxide Biospeleothems In Rancho Chico Lava Tube, Mexico, Rafael López-Martínez, Elizabeth Solleiro-Rebolledo, Rocio Alcántara-Hernández, Teresa Pi Puig, Sergey Sedov, Daisy Valera Fernández, M. Nayeli Luis-Vargas, Yasmany Lima Vera, Jesús Solé, Ramon Espinasa-Pereña

International Journal of Speleology

Iron is a common element in lava tube systems, typically observed as thin crusts or inferred from the reddish coloration of secondary mineral deposits. In this study, we describe iron oxide-hydroxide biospeleothems discovered in the Rancho Chico Lava Tube, located within the Xalapa Monogenetic Volcanic Field in Mexico. We adopt an integrative approach combining petrography, soil micromorphology, scanning electron microscopy, mineralogy, and 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding. DNA sequencing reveals the presence of microorganisms such as Acidithiobacillus, Gallionella, and members of the Leptospirillaceae family, which may be involved in the oxidation of Fe²⁺ within the lava tube. The source …

Predictive Modeling Of Colorectal Cancer Risk: Leveraging Health, Demographic, And Socioeconomic Factors For Targeted Screening, Anish Bhandari, Shawn Deng, Michael Olheiser, Robert Slater

SMU Data Science Review

Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a significant public health concern, affecting millions in the United States and worldwide. This study investigates the risk factors associated with CRC using data from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial and aims to develop predictive models to identify high-risk individuals for targeted screening and increased awareness. The dataset integrates CRC incidence data from the National Cancer Institute with socioeconomic indicators from U.S. Census Bureau, linked by zip code. We employ Logistic Regression and Neural Network models to predict CRC risk, incorporating health, demographic, and socio-economic features. While the results suggest that …

The Enigmatic Samuel Aughey: Nebraska’S Pastor Naturalist, Hugh H. Genoways, Margaret R. Bolick, Mary Anne Andrei

Zea E-Books Collection

Samuel Aughey at age 39 became the first Professor of Natural Science at the new University of Nebraska in Lincoln, serving from 1871 to 1883. He was an ordained pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, with an addendum degree from Pennsylvania College (now Gettysburg College) in 1856 and an A.M. degree two years later. His early pastoral work was in Pennsylvania, but in 1864 he became a home missionary to a church in Dakota City, Nebraska. Aughey’s career at the university was marked with successes and honors, but also criticism and questions about his basic knowledge of the sciences. While …

Applying Ceragenins In Translational Medicine: Activating Mesenchymal Stem Cells And Preventing Healthcare-Associated Infections, Aaron L. Zaugg

Theses and Dissertations

Healthcare-associated infections are a major global concern. Increased infections among vulnerable populations lead to millions of deaths, annually, complicated by the emergence of multi-drug resistant pathogens. These infections are often facilitated by medical devices serving as abiotic surfaces that facilitate the formation of biofilms. Notably, colonization of prostheses and other bone-associated medical devices can lead to corrective procedures, revisions and death. To address these issues, inspiration can be drawn from natural sources of bone health and defenses against infection. Cathelicidins are endogenous peptides involved in both bone maintenance and infection control. Ceragenins are small molecule mimics of cathelicidins with broad …

Linking Static And Dynamic Structures And Properties Of Materials With Computational And Mathematical Models, (Enoch) Sin Hang Ho

Theses and Dissertations

Terahertz (THz) spectroscopy is an effective technique to study and manipulate the structural dynamics of materials, due to its frequency range being very similar to the vibrational frequencies of collective atom motions in a host of materials. High-field and broadband THz radiation can be generated via optical rectification (OR) in nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals. The efficiency of OR response in an NLO crystal is determined by many factors, including molecular hyperpolarizability (β), 2nd order electric susceptibility (χ(2)), crystal structure, primary growth orientation, refractive index, absorption and phase matching condition. In this dissertation, I will focus on using computation methods and …

2d Cuo/Rgo Nanocomposite: A Novel Architecture For Enhanced Cr(Vi) Photo-Reduction, Islam Gomaa, Nasser M. Hosny, Medhat A. Ibrahim

Nanotechnology Research Centre

he urgent need for efficient detoxification of carcinogenic hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in aquatic environments has driven the development of advanced photocatalytic materials. This study presents the synthesis of 2D CuO/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposite via probe sonication, designed to synergistically enhance the photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) to less toxic Cr(III). The nanocomposite was meticulously characterized using XRD, HRTEM, FESEM, XPS, and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Structural analysis confirmed the formation of CuO nanosheets (average size: 396 nm, thickness: 6 nm) integrated with rGO, where the rGO acted as an electron acceptor, mitigating charge recombination. XPS revealed Cu²⁺ in CuO and …

From The Amazon To The Andes: Paleoclimatic And Paleoenvironmental Changes Recorded By Sedimentary Biomarkers Since The Late Pleistocene, Alessandro Antúnez De Mayolo Mauceri

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The South American tropics encompass some of Earth's most diverse and dynamic landscapes, from tropical glaciers and arid deserts to savannahs, shrublands, and the planet’s largest and most biodiverse rainforest—spread across a vast climatic and topographic gradient. These biomes provide vital natural resources that sustain communities, bolster economies, and serve as key components of the global hydrologic and carbon cycles. Despite their environmental and socioeconomic importance, these tropical systems are highly vulnerable to contemporary and future climate change and its cascading impacts. Adding to this challenge, the scarcity and short duration of instrumental climate records from this region pose major …

Diversifying Cybersecurity: Evaluation Of An Internet Of Things (Iot)-Based Cybersecurity Training Course Designed To Bridge The Diversity Gap, Maureen Namukasa, Bhoomin B. Chauhan, Carlie Swords, Curtice Gough, Weronika Dymanus, Catherine Diresta, John Vitali, Vivek Sharma, T J. Oconnor, Meredith Carroll

Aeronautics Faculty Publications

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an eight-module Cybersecurity course at increasing the learning outcomes of middle and high school students with little to no experience, including underrepresented minorities (URMs) in Cybersecurity. Twice we administered and evaluated the Cybersecurity course, which included hands-on IoT-based activities, utilizing collaborative learning, scaffolding, and representation-based learning strategies. Using a quasi-experimental, within-subjects, repeated measures design, each participant experienced a pretest, the course, and a post-test to evaluate the impact on learners’ self-efficacy, interest, and knowledge. The results revealed that (1) at pre-test, female (p = .001) and in one course administration minority …

Photo-Crosslinked Persistent Micelle Templates With Near Universal Solvent Compatibility, Coby S. Collins, Mengxue Zhang, Cj Strurgill, Christian X. Ruff, Bryce Melton, Morgan Stefik

Faculty Publications

The controlled preparation of porous nanomaterials from block polymer templates is important for diverse applications from energy devices to optical coatings and sorbents. The architectural dimensions determine the overall performance for many of these applications, however the independent control of these dimensions has remained limited to a narrow range of solvent conditions for kinetically trapped (“persistent”) micelle templates. Polymers with a photo-reactive chemistry are shown to enable cross-linked micelle templates that universally remain persistent under diverse solvent conditions. Specifically, poly(poly(ethylene glycol methacrylate))-b-poly(butyl methacrylate-co-coumarin methacrylate) (OBC) was prepared by RAFT polymerization and the resulting micelles were crosslinked …

The Cellular Mechanisms Of Alzheimer's Disease Protection By The Pilra G78r Variant, Wenhan Cheng

Theses and Dissertations

Microglial dysfunction is increasingly linked to Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Immune receptors like TREM2 and CD33 play opposing roles in microglial activity. TREM2 activation triggers immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM) signaling to promote microglial activities, including amyloid-β clearance, but variants in TREM2 such as R47H that impair its function increase AD risk. In contrast, CD33 is an inhibitory receptor that contains an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (ITIM) which transmits signals that suppress microglial function. An AD-protective variant in CD33 alters CD33 activity, potentially enhancing TREM2 function. PILRA is another inhibitory immune receptor expressed by microglia that contains an ITIM. A naturally …

Texture Classification Through Deep Residual Networks And Feature Interpretability, Ankit Kumar

Master’s Dissertations

Texture classification plays a critical role in various real-world and industrial applications such as material recognition in manufacturing, medical image diagnostics, surface defect detection, and agricultural monitoring. The ability to distinguish textures reliably enables automation and enhances the precision of intelligent systems. Traditional methods like Local Binary Patterns (LBP), Gabor filters, and wavelet-based descriptors have been used extensively for texture analysis. While these techniques are effective under controlled conditions, they suffer from limited robustness to changes in illumination, scale, and viewpoint. Moreover, handcrafted features often fail to capture the intricate texture structures present in real-world surfaces. The KTH-TIPS2a dataset introduces …

Quantifying Wellbore Effects During Co2 Sequestration In A Saline Aquifer, Uzoma Johnpaul Ajugwe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a strategy for mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from large stationary sources like fossil-fuel-fired power stations. One method of CCS involves carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration in deep saline aquifers, where supercritical CO2 is injected into an aquifer. The success of such projects depends on accurate predictions of CO2 behavior within the subsurface, which are obtained through numerical simulations.

TOUGHREACT, a renowned simulation tool, models subsurface fluid flow, geochemical interactions, and solute transport, providing insights into the feasibility of CO2 sequestration projects. A critical aspect of these simulations is the apportioning of …

Harboring Change: Legacy Contamination, Plant-Metal Dynamics, And The Fate Of A Boston Marsh, Emma Brooks

Graduate Masters Theses

Coastal wetlands within the Boston Harbor watershed provide numerous ecosystem services and community benefits but are challenged by anthropogenic influence including a legacy of pollution and increasing mean sea level. In this thesis, I will consider the historic and present sources of contamination in Boston Harbor, the role an individual salt marsh species (Salicornia depressa) plays in the movement of heavy metals, and how projected sea level rise and urbanization may affect future marsh viability. These complex issues are explored through a case study of Pattens Cove, a 9.6-acre parcel of state-managed land in Dorchester, MA home to …

Implications Of Neural Compression To Scientific Images, João Phillipe Cardenuto, Joshua Krinsky, Lucas Nogueira, Aparna Bharati, Daniel Moreira

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

While neural compression has the potential to revolutionize image compression, recent studies have emphasized its ability to introduce subtle artifacts that could alter the image content. Concerned about the impact of such modifications on scientific images, this work explores the potential effects of neural compression on these images, focusing on two critical aspects: semantic understanding and forensic integrity. We use scientific image datasets to assess the performance of neural compression techniques on Visual Question Answering (VQA) and copy-move forgery detection tasks. Our findings indicate that the subtle changes introduced by neural ] compression do not significantly degrade the performance of …

Investigation Of Isobaric Mixing As A Mechanism For Boundary-Layer Cloud Formation, Jaemin Yeom, Nithin Allwayin, Virendra P. Ghate, Katia Lamer, Fan Mei, Raymond A. Shaw

Michigan Tech Publications

This study investigates the potential role of isobaric mixing in the formation of marine boundary layer clouds. Cloud formation theory emphasizes uplift and adiabatic cooling, but recent observations support the existence of small clouds forming at various altitudes, even below the lifting condensation level. Isobaric mixing of air with different thermodynamic properties can generate localized supersaturation. A Gaussian mixing model is employed to simulate this process, considering the correlation between temperature and water vapor. Cloud droplet size distributions from aircraft measurements show a persistent and prominent mode of small droplets at 9 (Formula presented.) m, and the size of this …

Proceedings Of The Cuny Games Conference 11.0, Robert O. Duncan, Grace Axler-Diperte, Joe Bisz, Christina Boyle, Devorah Kletenik, Carolyn Stallard

Publications and Research

The CUNY Games Conference combines workshops, idea exchanges, interactive participant presentations, playtesting, and playing tabletop games into a one-day online event to promote and discuss game-based learning. The conference focuses on creative pedagogy, such as playful learning activities or games, that teachers can use in the classroom every day. The conference is online and features interactive presentations by attendees, informal idea exchange sessions, and workshops by the conference organizers.

Late Holocene To Modern Dust Increases In Antarctic Ice Cores, Lillian D. Tipton

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Dust aerosols impact global climate by influencing direct and indirect radiative forcing, serving as cloud condensation nuclei, and supplying trace nutrients to the ocean that affect the marine biological pump. Antarctic ice core dust records show dust deposition changing in step with global climate over the past eight ice-age cycles. However, fewer studies have focused on Antarctic dust deposition during the late Holocene-to-modern period. Notably, 20^th-century increases in dust deposition have been observed in ice cores from James Ross Island (JRI) and Dronning Maud Land, with the JRI record hypothesized to reflect desertification and land-use changes in Patagonia. …

Pvc Biodegradation Potential Of Native Fungal Strains From Mt. Hood National And Tillamook State Forests, Bristol Ozturgut

University Honors Theses

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a toxic, degradation-resistant environmental waste product. Recent research has revealed fungal enzymatic activity capable of biodegrading plastics. As PVC infiltrates local environments, it becomes imperative to determine the adaptability of local fungi to PVC substrates. In this experiment, 100 local native fungal strains sampled from the Tillamook State and Mt. Hood National forests and one commercial strain of common oyster mushroom were investigated for their ability to colonize and digest PVC by direct isolation on 0.1% and 0.2% PVC-enriched limited growth media. Substrates for positive cultures were imaged using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to analyze potential …