Digital Commons Network^™

Research Strategies To Catalyze Agroecological Transitions In Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Sarah K. Jones, Nadia Bergamini, Francesca Beggi, Didier Lesueur, Barbara Vinceti, Arwen Bailey, Fabrice A. Declerck, Natalia Estrada-Carmona, Carlo Fadda, Etienne M. Hainzelin, Danny Hunter, Chris Kettle, Job Kihara, Abdel Kader Naino Jika, Mirjam Pulleman, Roseline Remans, Celine Termote, Tobias Fremout, Evert Thomas, Louis Verchot, Marcela Quintero

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Governments are updating national strategies to meet global goals on biodiversity, climate change and food systems proposed in the Convention on Biological Diversity post-2020 framework and agreed at the United Nation’s Climate Change Conference (COP26) and Food Systems Summit (UNFSS). This represents a unique and crucial opportunity to integrate and accelerate food system actions to tackle interconnected global challenges. In this context, agroecology is a game-changing approach that can provide the world’s growing population with nutritious, healthy affordable food, ensure fair incomes to farmers and halt and reverse the degradation of the natural environment. Here, we explore agroecological transition pathways …

Ecological Chemistry Of Pest Control In Push- Pull Intercropping Systems: What We Know, And Where To Go?, Jakob Lang, Frank Chidawanyika, Zeyaur R. Khan, Meredith C. Schuman

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Push-pull technology (PPT) employs mixed cropping for sustainable intensification: an intercrop repels or suppresses pests of the focal crop (push), while a trap crop attracts pests out of the field (pull), where they may be targeted for control. Underlying chemical-ecological mechanisms have been demonstrated in controlled settings, primarily for some of the best-established cereal PPT systems developed in east Africa. Yet, many questions remain regarding mechanisms, and strategies to adapt PPT for different crops and locations. We conducted a systematic review of scientific literature on PPT and related practices for biological control of pests of food and fodder. Of 3335 …

Striving To Be Resilient: The Role Of Crop-Poultry Integrated System As A Climate Change Adaptation Strategy In Semiarid Eastern Kenya, Kelvin Mulungu, Daniel Kangogo

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Climate change continues to pose significant challenges to food security and livelihoods of smallholder farmers specifically in semi-arid regions. One approach that holds prospects for climate risk management is climate-smart agriculture (CSA). CSA has concentrated on crop practices with little attention to livestock especially indigenous (village) chickens as a potential practice that can be combined with crop agriculture. This study considers the adoption of three CSA practices: improved maize seeds (IS), soil management (SM), indigenous chicken (IC) enterprise and their various combinations. Using survey data collected from 300 farming households in semiarid Kenya, we estimate the impact of integrated crop-poultry …

Amplicon-Based Assessment Of Bacterial Diversity And Community Structure In Three Tropical Forest Soils In Kenya, Eucharia Kenya, Grace Kinyanjui, Alex Kipnyargis, Franklin Kinyua, Mary Mwangi, Fathiya Khamis, Romano Mwirichia

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Forest soils provide a multitude of habitats for diverse communities of bacteria. In this study, we selected three tropical forests in Kenya to determine the diversity and community structure of soil bacteria inhabiting these regions. Kakamega and Irangi are rainforests, whereas Gazi Bay harbors mangrove forests. The three natural forests occupy different altitudinal zones and differ in their environmental characteristics. Soil samples were collected from a total of 12 sites and soil physicochemical parameters for each sampling site were analyzed. We used an amplicon-based Illumina high-throughput sequencing approach. Total community DNA was extracted from individual samples using the phenol-chloroform method. …

Correction: Research Strategies To Catalyze Agroecological Transitions In Low- And Middle-Income Countries (Sustainability Science, (2022), 17, 6, (2557-2577), 10.1007/S11625-022-01163-6), Sarah K. Jones, Nadia Bergamini, Francesca Beggi, Didier Lesueur, Barbara Vinceti, Arwen Bailey, Fabrice A. Declerck, Natalia Estrada-Carmona, Carlo Fadda, Etienne M. Hainzelin, Danny Hunter, Chris Kettle, Job Kihara, Abdel Kader Naino Jika, Mirjam Pulleman, Roseline Remans, Celine Termote, Tobias Fremout, Evert Thomas, Louis Verchot, Marcela Quintero

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

In the original publication of the article, under the case study “Case study 3: Participatory guarantee system to stimulate agroecological transition in Cuba”, the reference “Fernández León 2016” should read “Fernández and León 2016”. Further, the correct reference should read as below, Díaz Fernández I, León DE (2016) Gestión Empresarial y Género: Oportunidades y Retos Para Cuba. Economía y Desarrollo 157:39–49. In addition, the caption of Table 2 was incomplete in the original version of the article. The complete caption of Table 2 should read as follows “Farming approaches that seek sustainable outcomes, in contrast to conventional agriculture. This list …

The Role Of Nitrogen Fixation And Crop N Dynamics On Performance And Legacy Effects Of Maize-Grain Legumes Intercrops On Smallholder Farms In Tanzania, E. Mugi-Ngenga, L. Bastiaans, S. Zingore, N. P.R. Anten, K. E. Giller

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Maize-grain legume intercrops form an important component of the cropping systems of smallholder farmers in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. However, the effects of cropping system and fertilizer use on nitrogen fixation and nitrogen uptake of component crops in maize-legume intercrops are not well understood. Our study addressed the questions: (i) What is the capacity of pigeonpea and lablab to fix atmospheric nitrogen (N2) in sole crop and when intercropped with maize on smallholder farms across different agro-ecological conditions?; (ii) How does productivity and N-uptake by sole and intercropped maize and legumes respond to N and P fertilizer?; and (iii) …

Impact Of Covid Social Distancing Measures On Eating And Exercise Behaviors Among A Sample Of Hispanic Parents Of Young Children In The United States, Christian E. Vazquez, Katherine E. Hess, Megan J. Mcbride, Catherine Cubbin, Sarah Kate Bearman, Esther J. Calzada

SAGE Open Access Agreement Publications-Archive

Background: In the United States, healthy behaviors, such as eating fruits/vegetables and exercise, are well below recommended levels, particularly for Hispanics. The COVID pandemic may have exacerbated existing health behavior disparities. The current study examines the impact of COVID social distancing measures on Hispanic parents' eating and exercise behaviors, and how the impact may differ by socioeconomic status (SES) and distress levels. Design and methods: This cross-sectional logistic regression study utilized data from a sample of Hispanic parents in Texas (n = 237). COVID-related questions were collected in Summer 2020. Dependent variables included self-reported changes in exercise and eating behaviors …

An Architectural Riddle: Billy Tripp's Minefield, Frédéric Allamel

Study the South

"The Mindfield, the sculptural environment created by self-taught builder Billy Tripp, is an alternative to architecture, or at least a countermodel that brings a novel perspective to the discipline. Challenging present architectural principles, such as functionality, cost-effectiveness, building techniques, and materials, the Mindfield opens the way to new possibilities. An ever-evolving edifice not designed to be inhabitable, and whose raison d’être emerged late in the building process, the Mindfield positions itself at the antipodes of mainstream architecture, thus enriching the architectural discourse with its innovative experiments. In building the Mindfield, Tripp inaugurates a holistic art where architecture, sculpture, and literature …

Coral X-Radiograph Densitometry System, Nova Southeastern University

NSU Software

The Coral X-radiograph Densitometry System (CoralXDS) is a Windows-based program which provides a tool for measurement of linear extension, density, and calcification from coral X-radiographs. These quantities are determined for high-density, low-density, and annual bands. CoralXDS operates in two "modes": full mode and extension/luminance mode. Full mode measures linear extension, density, and calcification, while extension/luminance mode measures only linear extension. Extension/luminance mode requires only a coral image with scaling information. CoralXDS allows user specification of transect location and orientation on the coral image, and provides several options for automated and manual band selection. The output measurements …

Cpce Software, Nova Southeastern University

NSU Software

The CPCe (Coral Point Count with Excel extensions) program is a Windows-based software (PC use only) that provides a tool for the determination of coral cover using transect photographs. A specified number of spatially random points are distributed on a transect image and the features underlying the points are user-identified. Coverage statistics are then calculated and the results sent to Excel spreadsheets automatically.

Additionally, CPCe can be used for image calibration and area analysis of benthic features. Excel sheets are automatically generated to summarize the area calculations for each image.

Using CPCe

Using CPCe is simple and straightforward. The main …

Crime Victimisation In India, Sudhir Krishnaswamy, Renuka Sane, Ajay Shah, Varsha Aithala

Books

This edited volume is a pioneering and comprehensive study of crime victimisation in India. Relying on the findings of four crime victimisation surveys conducted in India, it provides a unique basis for understanding crime in society. It considers the public’s fear of crime and perceptions of safety and security, focusing on their access to the police and how they view police effectiveness. This study provides critical data on the level of crime within particular spatial and temporal conditions which can supplement official statistics on crime published by the state, help systematically diagnose law and order issues and develop solutions for …

On Decolonization: Scattered Speculations On The Indian University, Atreyee Majumder

Popular Media

Universities are like good headphones, the noise-cancelling ones that consistently drown out the turbulent world outside its boundary walls. Universities have taught me to read, think, argue, imagine, and most importantly, write. Universities have also been sites of disappointment, disillusionment, and agony. Universities have also consistently generated employment, horizons of aspiration, a growing collection of books and bookshelves, varied range of intellectual friends and collaborators and nemeses among the dead and the living, and finally, an entry point to a cosmopolitan, bourgeois life for me. The university is now a space that I consider home. In this essay, I will …

Dataset For Faculty Perceptions Of Open Access Publishing: Investigating Faculty Publishing Habits To Evaluate Library Collection Alignment, Elisabeth Shook, Amy Vecchione

Albertsons Library Research Data

Dataset gathered to study faculty perceptions of open access publishing. The data was gathered through a Qualtrics survey deployed in Fall of 2020 to all faculty. Two reminder emails were sent. For the purposes of this study, faculty were considered any employee with teaching responsibilities, including traditional tenured and tenure-track faculty, clinical faculty, emeritus faculty, lecturers and instructors, and adjunct faculty. The consent process was included in the deployment of the survey, and the recruitment process consisted of one email sent to all Boise State University faculty inviting them to participate in the research. There were no incentives available for …

Nitrogen Budgets And Nitrogen Use Efficiency As Agricultural Performance Indicators In Lake Victoria Basin, Winnie Ntinyari, Joseph Gweyi-Onyango, Mekonnen Giweta, James Mutegi, Benson Mochoge, Generose Nziguheba, Cargele Masso

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Too little nitrogen (N) is a threat to crop productivity and soil fertility in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Nitrogen budgets (NB) and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) are critical tools for assessing N dynamics in agriculture and have received little or no attention in the region. Data were collected from smallholder farmers clustered into two categories, farmers applying and farmers not applying N fertilizers. NB were calculated using the Coupled Human and Natural Systems (CHANS) model approach for field and farm spatial scales. The results showed spatial variabilities in NB and NUE at the field level (maize and rice) across all the …

Dataset For A Survey Of Non-Usgs Continuous Streamflow Gaging Networks In The Pacific Northwest, Kendra E. Kaiser, Mcallister Hall, Kyle Blasch, Vanessa Fry

Redfish Environmental Data Institute (REDI) Datasets

Various organizations collect streamflow data across the United States, the largest of which is the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Beyond the USGS there are other public agencies, tribes, nongovernmental and private organizations that also collect streamflow data. This data is highly variable and distributed across a range of data platforms and repositories. This survey was developed and deployed to obtain information about the organizations that maintain streamflow gaging networks. It was distributed to over 300 contacts, and had 100 respondents, with 57 unique and sufficiently complete responses.

Study Into The Sensitity Of The G-H Method To Blending Distance, Cory Goates, Doug Hunsaker

Browse all Datasets

A numerical lifting-line method (implemented in an open-source software package) is presented which can accurately estimate the aerodynamics of wings with arbitrary sweep, dihedral, and twist. Previous numerical lifting-line methods have suffered from grid convergence challenges and limitations in accurately modeling the effects of sweep, or have relied on empirical relations for swept-wing parameters and have been limited in their application to typical wing geometries. This work presents novel improvements in accuracy, flexibility, and speed for complex geometries over previous methods. In the current work, thin-airfoil theory is used to correct section lift coefficients for sweep, providing a more general …

The Donkey: An Unsung Hero Of Human Civilization, Andrew Rowan

Tales of WellBeing

Donkeys receive little respect but provide critical support and livelihood for millions of people worldwide.

Dataset For Stable Isotopes Of Precipitation, Surface Water, Spring Water, And Subsurface Waters At The Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed And Critical Zone Observatory, Southwestern Idaho, Usa, Kathleen Lohse, Melissa Schlegel, Jennifer Souza, Sara Warix, Ruth Macneille, Erin Murray, Anna Radke, Sarah E. Godsey, Mark S. Seyfried, Bruce Finney

Reynolds Creek Critical Zone Observatory Data

The Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed (RCEW) and Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) is the site of over 60 years of research aimed at understanding water cycling in a semi-arid climate. Meteoric water lines (MWLs) are frequently used to interpret hydrologic processes necessitating the development of local meteoric water lines (LMWLs). At the RCEW-CZO, a RCEW LMWL and a groundwater recharge RCEW LMWL (RCEW LMWL - GWR) were developed with this dataset using orthogonal regression from primarily three different elevations (1203m, 1585m, 2043m). The RCEW LMWL (δ18O = 7.41 δ2H - 3.05) is different from the RCEW LMWL-GWR (δ18O = 8.21 δ2H …

Love's Verse: Craving Krishna In Modern Times, Atreyee Majumder

Popular Media

Can the timelessness of extreme devotional love written across the past two millennia be measured, contained in the modern, postcolonial version of the English language? Is English a viable crucible for the power of Bhakti? Can English be a language of transcendence of a modern genre?'

Slnet: A Redistributable Corpus Of 3rd-Party Simulink Models, Sohil Lal Shrestha, Shafiul Azam Chowdhury, Christoph Csallner

Association of Computing Machinery Open Access Agreement Publications-Archive

MATLAB/Simulink is widely used for model-based design. Engineers create Simulink models and compile them to embedded code, often to control safety-critical cyber-physical systems in automotive, aerospace, and healthcare applications. Despite Simulink's importance, there are few large-scale empirical Simulink studies, perhaps because there is no large readily available corpus of third-party open-source Simulink models. To enable empirical Simulink studies, this paper introduces SLNET, the largest corpus of freely available third-party Simulink models. SLNET has several advantages over earlier collections. Specifically, SLNET is 8 times larger than the largest previous corpus of Simulink models, includes finegrained metadata, is constructed automatically, is self-contained, …

Psdoodle: Fast App Screen Search Via Partial Screen Doodle, Soumik Mohian, Christoph Csallner

Association of Computing Machinery Open Access Agreement Publications-Archive

Searching through existing repositories for a specific mobile app screen design is currently either slow or tedious. Such searches are either limited to basic keyword searches (Google Image Search) or require as input a complete query screen image (SWIRE). A promising alternative is interactive partial sketching, which is more structured than keyword search and faster than complete-screen queries. PSDoodle is the first system to allow interactive search of screens via interactive sketching. PSDoodle is built on top of a combination of the Rico repository of some 58k Android app screens, the Google QuickDraw dataset of icon-level doodles, and DoodleUINet, a …

Psdoodle: Searching For App Screens Via Interactive Sketching, Soumik Mohian, Christoph Csallner

Association of Computing Machinery Open Access Agreement Publications-Archive

Keyword-based mobile screen search does not account for screen content and fails to operate as a universal tool for all levels of users. Visual searching (e.g., image, sketch) is structured and easy to adopt. Current visual search approaches count on a complete screen and are therefore slow and tedious. PSDoodle employs a deep neural network to recognize partial screen element drawings instantly on a digital drawing interface and shows results in real-time. PSDoodle is the first tool that utilizes partial sketches and searches for screens in an interactive iterative way. PSDoodle supports different drawing styles and retrieves search results that …

Immediate And Residual-Effects Of Sole And Intercropped Grain Legumes In Maize Production Systems Under Rain-Fed Conditions Of Northern Tanzania, E. Mugi-Ngenga, L. Bastiaans, N. P.R. Anten, S. Zingore, K. E. Giller

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Intercropping of maize with grain-legume crops predominates on smallholder farms in East Africa. However, the growth and development of crops and their interaction with fertilizer in intercropping systems are not well understood. We sought to answer the questions: (i) what are the effects of fertilizer on the growth and development of maize-pigeonpea and maize-lablab intercropping systems under variable agroecological conditions? (ii) what are the residual effects of two seasons of sole and intercrops of maize, pigeonpea and lablab on a succeeding maize crop? We studied pure stands of maize, long-duration pigeonpea, medium-duration pigeonpea and lablab, and additive intercropping combinations on …

A Tale Of Three Congregations: Building Resilience In Congregations In Disadvantaged Neighborhoods, Makaela Brass, Zara Escamilla, Isaac Voss

Presentations

No abstract provided.

Advances In Retinopathy Of Prematurity Imaging, Taku Wakabayashi, Samir N. Patel, J. P. Campbell, Emmanuel Y. Chang, Eric D. Nudleman, Yoshihiro Yonekawa

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) remains the leading cause of childhood blindness worldwide. Recent advances in ROP imaging have significantly improved our understanding of the pathogenesis and pathophysiological course of ROP including the acute phase, regression, reactivation, and late complications, known as adult ROP. Recent progress includes various contact and noncontact wide-field imaging devices for fundus imaging, smartphone-based fundus photography, wide-field fluorescein angiography, handheld optical coherence tomography (OCT) devices for wide-field en face OCT images, and OCT angiography. Images taken by those devices were incorporated in the recently updated guidelines of ROP, the International Classification of Retinopathy of Prematurity, Third Edition …

Iotree: A Battery-Free Wearable System With Biocompatible Sensors For Continuous Tree Health Monitoring, Tuan Dang, Trung Tran, Khang Nguyen, Tien Pham, Nhat Pham, Tam Vu, Phuc Nguyen

Association of Computing Machinery Open Access Agreement Publications-Archive

In this paper, we present a low-maintenance, wind-powered, battery-free, biocompatible, tree wearable, and intelligent sensing system, namely IoTree, to monitor water and nutrient levels inside a living tree. IoTree system includes tiny-size, biocompatible, and implantable sensors that continuously measure the impedance variations inside the living tree's xylem, where water and nutrients are transported from the root to the upper parts. The collected data are then compressed and transmitted to a base station located at up to 1.8 kilometers (approximately 1.1 miles) away. The entire IoTree system is powered by wind energy and controlled by an adaptive computing technique called block-based …

The Roles Of Polysaccharides In Tilapia Farming: A Review, Zulhisyam Abdul Kari, Wendy Wee, Noor Khalidah Abdul Hamid, Mahmoud A.O. Dawood

Faculty Journal Articles

Impairment of fish growth and immune system due to stress and disease are major constraints in aquaculture industry. Traditionally, antibiotic was used as prophylactic agent in the health management of aquaculture species. However, antibiotic only provide a temporary solution to the problem of disease outbreak. Over-reliance on antibiotic also has led to the increasing cases of antibiotic resistance among pathogenic bacteria from aquaculture sites and contamination of antibiotic residues into human food chain. Probiotic, prebiotic and symbiotic are therefore suggested as alternatives to prophylactic antibiotic to be used in the aquaculture industry. A potential prophylactic agent is polysaccharide that could …

Size Assortative Mating In The Clown Weevil, Denson K. Mclain

Faculty Datasets

These data were collected as part of a study of the Sesbania clown weevil, Eudiagogus pulcher Fahraeus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in eastern Texas, where the density of clown weevils varied by 25-50 times within all of four sites, increasing with the proximity to water of its host plant, rattlebox, Sesbania drummondi (Rybd.) Cory (Fabaceae). These data document changes in the strength and direction of assortative mating by size (body length) which reflect the effect of population density on the rates of mate choosiness, courtship, and inter-male rivalry. Stochastic simulations investigate how interactions between population density, the operational sex ratio, rate of …

Integrating S-Erp Systems And Lean Manufacturing Practices To Improve Sustainability Performance: An Institutional Theory Perspective, Mohamed Ahmed Abobakr, Magdy Abdel-Kader, Ahmed Fouad Elbayoumi

Faculty Journal Articles

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the impact of integrating Sustainable Enterprise Resource Planning (S-ERP) systems and lean manufacturing (LM) practices on sustainability performance, especially in Egypt as an emerging country. Design/methodology/approach – The authors carried out an experimental study with a sample of 144 professional accountants of MPA, MBA and DBA students at two of the top universities in Egypt. Findings – The results provide significant evidence that the integration of S-ERP systems and LM practices implementation improve sustainability performance. However, there is no significant evidence that S-ERP adoption contributes to the success of LM practices implementation. Research …

Make Data Count: Data Citations, John Chodacki

Open October

No abstract provided.