Digital Commons Network^™

Transformative And Disruptive Role Of Local Direct Current Power Networks In Power And Transportation Sectors, Prahaladh Paniyil, Rajendra Singh, Amir A. Asif, Vishwas Powar, Guneet Bedi, John Kimsey

Publications

The power sector is about to undergo a major disruptive transformation. In this paper, we have discussed the best possible energy solution for addressing the challenges of climate change and eradication of energy poverty. This paper focusses on the decentralized power generation, storage and distribution through photovoltaics and lithium batteries. It encompasses the need for local direct current (DC) power through the factors driving this change. The importance of local DC power in the transportation sector is also established. Finally, we conclude with data bolstering our argument towards the paradigm shift in the power network.

June 4, 2019 Board Meeting, Beth Ashmore

NASIG Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Members' Forum Minutes, Beth Ashmore

NASIG Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Mobile Media Beyond Mobile Phones, Jordan Frith, Didem Özkul

Publications

In this introduction, we argue for an expanded focus in mobile media and communication studies (MMCS) that accounts for the many types of mobile media that affect our lives. We begin by pointing out that mobile phone/smartphone research has dominated MMCS as a field. That focus makes sense, but it runs the risk of MMCS essentially turning into “smartphone studies,” which we argue would limit our impact. To make that case, we identify a few examples of the types of oft-ignored technologies that could add to the depth and breadth of MMCS research (e.g., RFID [radio frequency identification] tags, the …

April 3, 2019 Conference Call, Beth Ashmore

NASIG Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Committee Reports/Updates

NASIG Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Hypergraph Partitioning With Embeddings, Justin Sybrandt, Ruslan Shaydulin, Ilya Safro

Publications

The problem of placing circuits on a chip or distributing sparse matrix operations can be modeled as the hypergraph partitioning problem. A hypergraph is a generalization of the traditional graph wherein each "hyperedge" may connect any number of nodes. Hypergraph partitioning, therefore, is the NP-Hard problem of dividing nodes into k" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-table; line-height: normal; font-size: 16px; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; color: rgb(93, 93, 93); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; position: relative;">kk similarly sized disjoint sets while …

Report On The 2019 Nasig Award Winners

NASIG Newsletter

No abstract provided.

September 2019 Full Issue

NASIG Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Organizational Trust And Project Delivery Variables On Bim User Confidence, Jason D. Lucas, Saw Sri Neeharika Vijayarao

The Professional Constructor

The use of Building Information Models (BIM) for construction planning has increased in all areas except for automated processes such as quantity take-off. Many model users lack confidence that a model, typically created by a third party, has accurate enough information in it to rely on the data for planning the project. This research is looking at how factors of organization trust and variables related to project delivery can raise user confidence in these situations. Factors of organizational trust were identified through a literature review. Two surveys were utilized to identify which factors were significant in raising user confidence. Finally, …

Accuracy Of Drone Based Surveys To Measure Stockpile Volume, Joseph M. Burgett, Scott Shaffer, Eric Stuckey

The Professional Constructor

This paper outlines a two phase experiment evaluating the accuracy of volumetric calculations using a commercially available drone and structure-from-motion (SfM) software. In the first phase, a large cardboard pyramid with a known volume was used to simulate a stockpile. Using georeferenced images collected by a Phantom 4 Pro drone and the SfM software ContextCapture, the computed volumes ranged between 1.5% and 3.3% of the actual volume. In the second phase of the experiment, a photometric survey was created of a large SCDOT borrow pit. The volumetric calculations were computed using conventional survey practices and with drone collected images. There …

Gender Inclusivity And Equity In Academic Libraries, Buhle Mbambo-Thata, Jia Tina Du, Ulrike Lang, Jesús Lau, Amal Mostafa, Bharat Mehra, Clara M. Chu, Jaya Raju

Publications

In order to draw attention to and learn about gender inclusivity and equity in the academic library workplace in a fluid non-binary gendered society, academic librarians and researchers from major world regions were invited to respond to the question: What are the three most significant issues that are impeding and the three most significant issues that are enhancing gender inclusivity/equity in your region? The regions included are Africa, Asia and Oceania, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and North America.

The Tiger Vol. 113 Issue 5 2019-08-26, Clemson University

Tiger Newspapers 2019

No abstract provided.

Title Changes, Kurt Blythe

NASIG Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Polarization-Resolved Second Harmonic Generation Microscopy Study Of Cardiac Hypertrophy, Cai Yuan

All Dissertations

As the most important structural and functional protein of cardiomyocyte, myosin is sensitive to mechanical and hormonal stimulus during cardiac hypertrophy. Accumulating evidence suggests that the changes in myosin during cardiac hypertrophy can eventually lead to heart failure. Therefore, the effective detection of the structural changes in myosin is critical to understanding the underlying mechanisms of cardiac hypertrophy and contributes to the early diagnose and treatment of cardiac hypertrophy.

Changes in myosin during the development of cardiac hypertrophy are not limited to tissue, cellular or sub-cellular levels such as series and parallel addition of sarcomere. Before cardiac hypertrophy develops obvious …

Examining The Relationship Between Research Climate And Faculty Productivity At An Emerging Academic Health Center In The Southeastern U.S., Hagan E. Walker

All Dissertations

Logistic regression analysis was utilized to determine the relationship between research productivity and the research climate, as measured by 155 clinical faculty survey responses, in an Academic Health System in the Southeastern U.S. Subscales addressing the institutional characteristics of goals, culture, mentoring, network, resources, time, communication, rewards, opportunities, and governance were used as independent variables. The dichotomous dependent variable was whether clinical faculty were productive in research as measured by IRB protocols.

Results indicated that a positive view of the research climate for networking and resources significantly improves the odds for clinical faculty showing increased research productivity. The study demonstrated …

Application Of Geospatial Technologies For Land Use Analysis And Soil Science Education, Hamdi Zurqani

All Dissertations

This research is composed of three parts: 1) Adaptation of Soil Judging to Libya, 2) Predicting the classes and distribution of salt-affected soils in Northwest Libya, and 3) Geospatial analysis of land use change in the Savannah River Basin using Google Earth.

Soil judging (Evaluation) plays an important role in soil science education. Libya has six soil orders according to the U.S. Soil Taxonomy (Entisols, Aridisols, Alfisols, Inceptisols, Vertisols, and Mollisols) and the most common soil orders are Entisols and Aridisols. A Soil judging (Evaluation) scorecard was tested at two different universities in Libya: The University of Tripoli and University …

The Influence Of Incorporation Of Mn On The Pitting Corrosion Performance Of Crfeconi High Entropy Alloy At Different Temperatures, H. Torbati-Sarraf, Mitra Shabani, Paul D. Jablonski, Garrett J. Pataky, A. Poursaee

Publications

The electrochemical behavior and susceptibility to pitting corrosion of CrFeCoNi and CrMnFeCoNi high entropy alloys were studied in a 0.1 M NaCl solution at temperatures ranging from 25 to 75 °C. Electrochemical measurements revealed that CrMnFeCoNi is more susceptible to oxide film breakdown and localized corrosion compared to CrFeCoNi. Post corrosion microscopic observations showed severe pitting corrosion for CrMnFeCoNi in higher temperatures compared to CrFeCoNi. Based on in-depth XPS profile measurements on the remaining oxide films, this behavior was attributed to the depletion of Cr in the oxide film and detrimental presence of Mn in the matrix solid solution of …

Modeling Electrostatics And Geometrical Quantities In Molecular Biophysics Using A Gaussian-Based Model Of Atoms, Arghya Chakravorty

All Dissertations

Electrostatic and geometric factors are critical to modeling the interactions and solvation effects of biomolecules in the aqueous environments of biological cells as they respectively influence the polar and non-polar components of the associated free energies. Conventional protocols use a hard-sphere model of atoms to devise and study the underlying thermodynamics. But this traditional model tends to overlook some of the important biophysical aspects at the cost of oversimplification of the representation of the solute-solvent environments. Here an alternative and physically appealing model of atoms – a Gaussian-based model, is presented which replaces the hard-sphere model with a smooth density-based …

More Than Just Dictionaries: Exploring The Incorporation And Use Of Linguistically Inclusive Materials In A Middle School Library Media Center, Dwane Enrique Valera

All Dissertations

The school library media center (SLMC) is a space in schools that can be overlooked when trying to reach students. The English language learner (ELL) population is a sector of the student population that is growing in the United States, and growing at faster rates in the state of South Carolina. With a growing population of ELL students, there are also misconceptions about the incorporation of native language materials in the academic setting. Being able to offer ELL students the opportunity to utilize their home languages can encourage the use of the SLMC. This study implemented an intervention to determine …

Essays On Two-Sided Platforms: Market Entry Strategy And Dynamic Pricing, Qing Wei

All Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two chapters: In the first chapter, we build a theoretical framework to study the dynamic entry interactions between two platforms with homogeneous products into city-based markets. This research is applicable for studying the entry strategies between, for example, Uber and Lyft; Groupon and Living Social, and other business models with the attributes of switching cost, network effect, and segregated markets. We address three questions in this paper: 1) What determines the expansion path of city-based platforms?; 2) What factors are affecting the market concentration structures; and 3) Under what conditions can a second mover become the …

Self-Repair And Self-Cleaning Of The Lepidopteran Proboscis, Suellen Floyd Pometto

All Dissertations

The proboscis of butterflies and moths is a key innovation contributing to the high diversity of the order Lepidoptera. In addition to taking nectar from angiosperm sources, many species take up fluids from overripe or sound fruit, plant sap, animal dung, and moist soil. The proboscis is assembled after eclosion of the adult from the pupa by linking together two elongate galeae to form one tube with a single food canal. How do lepidopterans maintain the integrity and function of the proboscis while foraging from various substrates?

The research questions included whether lepidopteran species are capable of total self-repair, how …

Essays On Pricing Mechanisms In Sport Economic Markets, Jeremy Mitchell Losak

All Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Understanding The Warburg Phenotype And The Metabolic Plasticity Of Proliferative Mammalian Cells Using 13C Metabolic Flux Analysis, Daniel Odenwelder

All Dissertations

Proliferative cells, including many types of cancer and pluripotent stem cells, rely primarily on glycolysis and lactate metabolism for energy, regardless of oxygen availability. This metabolic phenotype – referred to as the Warburg effect – results in wasteful lactate accumulation. Although cancer cells and pluripotent stem cells share this central metabolic characteristic, the sensitivities of each of these cell types to lactate stress appear contradictory. While lactate accumulation is thought to adversely impact pluripotent stem cell proliferation and differentiation capacities, cancer cells have been shown to possess bioenergetic plasticity to utilize lactate catabolism for fuel. As a result, lactate buildup …

Development Of Peptides For Enantioselective Hypervalent Iodine(Iii)-Mediated Chemistry And Functional Materials For Environmental Remediation, Maria I. Swasy

All Dissertations

Within the field of asymmetric catalysis, many researchers have been inspired by the multifaceted structures and corresponding catalytic activity and selectivity of enzymes. One approach to mimicking the important characteristics of enzymes is to develop peptide-based catalysts for asymmetric transformations. Peptides containing even a small number of amino acids are able to provide an environment, rich with chiral information, that is adequate for the transfer of chirality. The overall goal of the presented research is to combine peptide-mediated asymmetric catalysis with hypervalent iodine (HI) chemistry in order to develop new and highly modular peptide catalysts for a variety of HI-mediated …

Targeted Edta Chelation Therapy With Albumin Nanoparticles To Reverse Arterial Calcification And Restore Vascular Health In Chronic Kidney Disease, Saketh Ram Karamched

All Dissertations

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death globally. An estimated 17.9 million people died from CVDs in 2016, with ~840,000 of them in the United States alone. Traditional risk factors, such as smoking, hypertension, and diabetes, are well discussed. In recent years, chronic kidney disease (CKD) has emerged as a risk factor of equal importance. Patients with mild-to-moderate CKD are much more likely to develop and die from CVDs than progress to end-stage renal failure. Vascular calcification (VC), typical in aging, several genetic and metabolic disorders, is now recognized as a strong and independent predictor of cardiovascular events …

Children's Exposure To Peer Victimization, Bullying, Perceptions Of School Safety, And School Climate Among Albanian And Serbian Students In Kosovo, Natyra Agani

All Dissertations

Statistics suggest that school violence is prevalent in the Balkan region. However, the Balkan culture in general and Kosovar society in particular has paid little attention to peer victimization, bullying, school safety, and school climate considering the transitional period that society went through during the occupation and after the war. Moreover, there is no word in Albanian and Serbian language that describes bullying specifically. In order to explore the prevalence and nature of peer victimization, bullying, children's perceptions of school safety, and school climate in Kosovo, a survey with 385 participants from grades 6th through 9th will be conducted with …

Toward New Ecologies Of Cyberphysical Representational Forms, Scales, And Modalities, Alexandre Gomes De Siqueira

All Dissertations

Research on tangible user interfaces commonly focuses on tangible interfaces acting alone or in comparison with screen-based multi-touch or graphical interfaces. In contrast, hybrid approaches can be seen as the norm for established "mainstream" interaction paradigms. This dissertation describes interfaces that support complementary information mediations, representational forms, and scales toward an ecology of systems embodying hybrid interaction modalities. I investigate systems combining tangible and multi-touch, as well as systems combining tangible and virtual reality interaction. For each of them, I describe work focusing on design and fabrication aspects, as well as work focusing on reproducibility, engagement, legibility, and perception aspects.

Pairing Passive Sampling With Epigenetic Biomarkers Of Exposure To Monitor Potential Toxic Impact Of Environmental Complex Mixtures, David C. Wyker

All Dissertations

The goal of this study was to develop a means of assessing and monitoring the potential impacts of complex mixtures in surface waters by utilizing environmentally representative mixtures collected using passive sampling devices and whole organism bioassays, which equally represent the complex biological systems they are acting on. Chemical monitoring across three watersheds and comprising seven sampling locations was conducted across Georgia and South Carolina using passive sampling devices (PSDs). Earlier research conducted in the lab showed differing, and significant responses from fish sampled at many of these sites using the ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) bioassays. The polar …

Connected And Automated Vehicles In Urban Transportation Cyber-Physical Systems, Sakib Mahmud Khan

All Dissertations

Understanding the components of Transportation Cyber-Physical Systems (TCPS), and inter-relation and interactions among these components are key factors to leverage the full potentials of Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs). In a connected environment, CAVs can communicate with other components of TCPS, which include other CAVs, other connected road users, and digital infrastructure. Deploying supporting infrastructure for TCPS, and developing and testing CAV-specific applications in a TCPS environment are mandatory to achieve the CAV potentials. This dissertation specifically focuses on the study of current TCPS infrastructure (Part 1), and the development and verification of CAV applications for an urban TCPS environment …