Digital Commons Network^™

Wastewater-Derived Ammonia For A Green Transportation Fuel, Joseph Kalman, Maryam Haddad

Mineta Transportation Institute

The energy-water nexus (i.e., availability of potable water and clean energy) is among the most important problems currently facing society. Ammonia is a carbon-free fuel that has the potential to reduce the carbon footprint in combustion related vehicles. However, ammonia production processes typically have their own carbon footprint and do not necessarily come from sustainable sources. This research examines wastewater filtration processes to harvest ammonia for transportation processes. The research team studied mock wastewater solutions and was able to achieve ammonia concentrations above 80%(nanofiltration) and 90% (reverse osmosis). The research team also investigated the influence of transmembrane pressure and flow …

Contracting Strategies: A Different Approach To Address Long-Term Performance, Maria Calahorra-Jimenez

Mineta Transportation Institute

For cost-efficiency, public safety, and sustainability, improving long-term performance in highway projects is imperative for public administrations. Project delivery and procurement methods provide an opportunity to align design and construction processes with this goal. While previous studies have explored whether project delivery methods impact the long-term performance of highway projects, these studies did not focus on how core elements within project procurement relate to long-term performance. Thus, to fill this gap, this research explores how and to what extent long-term evaluation criteria are considered in design-build best-value procurement of highway projects. To this end, the team conducted content analysis on …

The Impact Of Faculty-In-Residence Programs: A Difference-In-Differences And Cross-Sectional Approach, Leonard Lira, Christine Ma-Kellams, Kyle Hambrook, Ravneet Tiwana, Lina Anastasovitou, Luis Arabit, Jennifer Johnston, Theodore Tsau

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Purpose: Faculty-in-Residence (FIR) programs are implemented based on research that shows positive effects on student success when students interact with faculty outside of the classroom. However, most research is limited by cross-sectional studies of only students and does not look at the Faculty-in-Residence programs from a holistic perspective that investigates the impact on faculty. This study focuses on the impact, not only on students over time but additionally on the perceived impact on faculty who participate in Faculty-in-Residence programs.

Methods: We examined the effect of FIR programs at a large, public California university on both student success (i.e., …

Open Innovation Web-Based Platform For Evaluation Of Water Quality Based On Big Data Analysis, Xiaofang Han, Hong Shen, Hongqing Hu, Jerry Gao

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

There are many models presented that assess water quality. However, the applications of the models are limited due to the difficulty of preparing input data and interpreting model output. In this paper, we developed a Web-based platform to assist researchers in analyzing water quality. The data from sensors can be automatically imported to the platform according to the configured information of data structures. The platform also provides conventional methods and big data methods for the users to analyze water quality. Moreover, the users can choose the water quality parameters according to the water usage. The presented platform can show the …

Supervised Learning Models For The Preliminary Detection Of Covid-19 In Patients Using Demographic And Epidemiological Parameters, Aditya Pradhan, Srikanth Prabhu, Krishnaraj Chadaga, Saptarshi Sengupta, Gopal Nath

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The World Health Organization labelled the new COVID-19 breakout a public health crisis of worldwide concern on 30 January 2020, and it was named the new global pandemic in March 2020. It has had catastrophic consequences on the world economy and well-being of people and has put a tremendous strain on already-scarce healthcare systems globally, particularly in underdeveloped countries. Over 11 billion vaccine doses have already been administered worldwide, and the benefits of these vaccinations will take some time to appear. Today, the only practical approach to diagnosing COVID-19 is through the RT-PCR and RAT tests, which have sometimes been …

August Vollmer, Traffic In Women, And The Theory Of Organized Crime, Paul Knepper

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

During the 1920s, the League of Nations carried out the first intercontinental investigation into the traffic in women. Although this work is virtually unknown in criminology, the investigators, William Snow and Bascom Johnson, formulated the conceptual language of “trafficking” used today. It was also during the 1920s that Frederick Thrasher and John Landesco published their pioneering works on “organized crime” drawing on research in Chicago. The advantages of the League’s model can be seen in the response to a 1924 report of a white slave traffic ring in Los Angeles by August Vollmer, the celebrated founder of professionalism in American …

Nicer X-Ray Observations Of Eta Carinae During Its Most Recent Periastron Passage, David Espinoza-Galeas, M. F. Corcoran, K. Hamaguchi, C. M.P. Russell, T. R. Gull, A. F.J. Moffat, N. D. Richardson, G. Weigelt, D. John Hillier, Augusto Damineli, Ian R. Stevens, Thomas Madura, K. Gendreau, Z. Arzoumanian, Felipe Navarete

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

We report high-precision X-ray monitoring observations in the 0.4-10 keV band of the luminous, long-period colliding wind binary Eta Carinae, up to and through its most recent X-ray minimum/periastron passage in 2020 February. Eta Carinae reached its observed maximum X-ray flux on 2020 January 7, at a flux level of 3.30 ×10-10 ergs s-1 cm-2, followed by a rapid plunge to its observed minimum flux, 0.03 × 10-10 ergs s-1 cm-2, near 2020 February 17. The NICER observations show an X-ray recovery from the minimum of only -1/416 days, the shortest X-ray minimum observed so far. We provide new constraints …

Eta Carinae: An Evolving View Of The Central Binary, Its Interacting Winds And Its Foreground Ejecta, Theodore R. Gull, D. John Hillier, Henrik Hartman, Michael F. Corcoran, Augusto Damineli, David Espinoza-Galeas, Kenji Hamaguchi, Felipe Navarete, Krister Nielsen, Thomas Madura, Anthony F.J. Moffat, Patrick Morris, Noel D. Richardson, Christopher M.P. Russell, Ian R. Stevens, Gerd Weigelt

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

FUV spectra of Δ Car, recorded across two decades with HST/STIS, document multiple changes in resonant lines caused by dissipating extinction in our line of sight. The FUV flux has increased nearly tenfold, which has led to increased ionization of the multiple shells within the Homunculus and photodestruction of H2. Comparison of observed resonant line profiles with CMFGEN model profiles allows separation of wind-wind collision and shell absorptions from the primary wind P Cygni profiles. The dissipating occulter preferentially obscured the central binary and interacting winds relative to the very extended primary wind. We are now able to monitor changes …

Stratigraphy, Age, And Provenance Of The Eocene Chumstick Basin, Washington Cascades; Implications For Paleogeography, Regional Tectonics, And Development Of Strike-Slip Basins: Reply, Erin E. Donaghy, Paul J. Umhoefer, Michael P. Eddy, Robert B. Miller, Taylor Lacasse

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

We welcome the comment by Evans (2022) and the opportunity to further discuss our study of the Chumstick Formation. The correlation of fault-bound nonmarine sedimentary units in central and western Washington has been a topic of interest, and debate, for many years (Frizzell, 1979; Taylor et al., 1988; Gresens et al., 1981; Gresens, 1983; Evans and Johnson, 1989; Evans, 1994; Cheney and Hayman, 2009). However, many questions about the regional correlation of these units were resolved with the publication of a suite of internally consistent high-precision 206Pb/238U zircon dates from volcanic interbeds throughout the early to middle Eocene stratigraphy (Eddy …

Mangrove Dispersal Disrupted By Projected Changes In Global Seawater Density, Tom Van Der Stocken, Bram Vanschoenwinkel, Dustin Carroll, Kyle C. Cavanaugh, Nico Koedam

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The degree to which the distribution of mangrove forests will be impacted by climate change depends on the dispersal and establishment of sea-faring propagules, which drive forest rejuvenation, gene flow and range expansion. Climate change affects sea surface density via changes in temperature and salinity. However, these changes have not been mapped and it remains unclear how these factors may impact mangrove propagule dispersal. Here, we provide evidence for strong warming of coastal mangrove waters and elevated geographic variability in surface ocean density under representative concentration pathway RCP 8.5 by 2100. The largest changes will occur in the Indo West …

Assessing The Performance And Efficiency Of Environmental Dna/Rna Capture Methodologies Under Controlled Experimental Conditions, Anastasija Zaiko, Ulla Von Ammon, Jacqui Stuart, Kirsty F. Smith, Richard Yao, Melissa Welsh, Xavier Pochon, Holly A. Bowers

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Growing interest and affordability of environmental DNA and RNA (eDNA and eRNA) approaches for biodiversity assessments and monitoring of complex ecosystems have led to the emergence of manifold protocols for nucleic acids (NAs) isolation and processing. Although there is no consensus on a standardized workflow, the common practice for water samples is to concentrate NAs via filtration using varying pore size membranes. Using the smallest pore is assumed to be most efficient for NAs capture from a wide range of material (including sub-cellular particles); however, a trade-off must occur between detection of a meaningful molecular signal and cost/time effort when …

Disease Surveillance By Artificial Intelligence Links Eelgrass Wasting Disease To Ocean Warming Across Latitudes, Lillian R. Aoki, Brendan Rappazzo, Deanna S. Beatty, Lia K. Domke, Ginny L. Eckert, Morgan E. Eisenlord, Olivia J. Graham, Leah Harper, Timothy L. Hawthorne, Margot Hessing-Lewis, Kevin A. Hovel, Zachary L. Monteith, Ryan S. Mueller, Angeleen M. Olson, Carolyn Prentice, John J. Stachowicz, Fiona Tomas, Bo Yang, For Full Author List, See Comments Below

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Ocean warming endangers coastal ecosystems through increased risk of infectious disease, yet detection, surveillance, and forecasting of marine diseases remain limited. Eelgrass (Zostera marina) meadows provide essential coastal habitat and are vulnerable to a temperature-sensitive wasting disease caused by the protist Labyrinthula zosterae. We assessed wasting disease sensitivity to warming temperatures across a 3500 km study range by combining long-term satellite remote sensing of ocean temperature with field surveys from 32 meadows along the Pacific coast of North America in 2019. Between 11% and 99% of plants were infected in individual meadows, with up to 35% of plant tissue damaged. …

Culturally Tailored Diabetes Self-Management Educational (Dsme) Program And Its Impact On Motivation And Self-Efficacy Among Hispanic Adults With T2dm: A Pilot Study, Andrellie P. Van Wageningen

Doctoral Projects

Type 2 diabetes mellitus in the United States is an epidemic that disproportionately affects Hispanics in the state of California. Many factors have been attributed to this phenomenon because of their unique characteristics. As recent studies have pointed out, their social determinants of health, cultural influences, and genetic predisposition often lead to poor health outcomes and impaired quality of life. A targeted approach is critical in promoting increased diabetes knowledge, enabling skills to master self-care activities, and positive self-care behaviors to avert poor outcomes. The purpose of this doctoral project is to examine whether culturally tailored DSME influences an individual’s …

E-Services & E-Resources In Pandemic Covid-19: A Case Study Of Gift University Library, Qaiser Iqbal, Tahira Akbar

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

Purpose – The goal of this research aims to explain how a university library handled the epidemic -19 that began in March 2020. This research examines the library's state throughout the dilemma and shows how the epidemic has posed unexpected hurdles to digital services. It also clarifies why the beginning of 23 March 2020, the library has converted some existing services to an electronic format and investigates various programmes and practices to assist with all aspects of the university's online learning and teaching.

Design/methodology/approach – During the COVID-19 epidemic, Many of the libraries' digital resources were employed to address …

Social And Web Presence Of Cultural Heritage Organisations In India, Harpreet Singh, Mansi Gupta

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The present study focuses on the Social and Web presence of 27 Cultural Heritage Organisations in India. The purpose of this study is to investigate the domain authority, number of webpages, links, calculate the web impact factors and link-mentions on Social Networking Sites of the websites of Cultural Heritage Organisations and rank them accordingly. Analysing the websites of the Cultural Heritage Organisations it was found that majority of them have '.gov.in' domain name in their URLs. The study found that the highest domain authority (63) and page authority (51) was recorded by website of the Archaeological Survey of India. Indira …

Assistive Technologies Used In Canadian University Libraries For The Visually Impaired, Ramina Mukundan, Nikesh Narayanan

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Information has always been a catalyst for societal improvements. Libraries play a crucial role in ensuring equitable access to information resources. Enhanced accessibility helps in establishing an atmosphere that supports and promotes inclusive education. Information and resource access is quite a challenge for visually impaired people. The needs of people with varying levels of visual impairment differ in their range and magnitude. The use of assistive technologies greatly aids in closing this gap. Resource and accessibility provisions should be modified to meet the needs of visually impaired users, who need specialized equipment to access traditional and modern technology-based information resources. …

Designing A Model To Measure Information Intelligence Based On The Indices And Measures, Asefeh Asemi, Vahid Aghakishizadeh, Ahmad Shabani, Adeleh Asemi, Andrea Ko

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Measuring information intelligence is especially important in information societies. The present study aimed to identify indices and measures effective and design a model for measuring information intelligence. The research used a mixed method to achieve objectives. Data collection tools included the study of scientific literature and interviews. The research population included related published literature related to scientific theories, information science experts, and psychology experts. Based on the research findings, 14 indices and 97 measures were identified as effective for measuring information intelligence in two dimensions of management and information retrieval. After weighing and prioritizing the indices, finally, a model is …

Incorporating A Machine Learning Model Into A Web-Based Administrative Decision Support Tool For Predicting Workplace Absenteeism, Gopal Nath, Yawei Wang, Austin Coursey, Krishna K. Saha, Srikanth Prabhu, Saptarshi Sengupta

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Productivity losses caused by absenteeism at work cost U.S. employers billions of dollars each year. In addition, employers typically spend a considerable amount of time managing employees who perform poorly. By using predictive analytics and machine learning algorithms, organizations can make better decisions, thereby increasing organizational productivity, reducing costs, and im-proving efficiency. Thus, in this paper we propose hybrid optimization methods in order to find the most parsimonious model for absenteeism classification. We utilized data from a Brazilian courier company. In order to categorize absenteeism classes, we preprocessed the data, selected the attributes via multiple methods, balanced the dataset using …

Analyzing Identity Trajectories Within The Physics Community, Gina M. Quan, Chandra Turpen, Andrew Elby

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

We analyze the identity trajectory of a single case study, Cassidy, within the physics community. We focus our analysis on two settings in the physics community: an undergraduate research experience, and undergraduate coursework. We use video data from three interviews (spanning roughly fifteen months) to longitudinally analyze shifts in participation. We discuss Cassidy's experience through two constructs: normative identities, Cassidy's sense of the valued roles within physics, as well as personal identity, who Cassidy is within the physics community and the extent to which she aligns with normative identities. In attending to shifts in the alignment between personal and normative …

Aligning The Transit Industry And Their Vendors In The Face Of Increasing Cyber Risk: Recommendations For Identifying And Addressing Cybersecurity Challenges, Scott Belcher, Terri Belcher, Kathryn Seckman, Brandon Thomas, Homayun Yaqub

Mineta Transportation Institute

Public transit agencies in the United States depend on external vendors to help deliver and maintain many essential services and to provide critical technologies, from ticket purchases to scheduling to email management. While the integration of new, advanced technologies into the public transit industry brings important advancements to U.S. critical transportation infrastructure, the application of digital technologies also brings with it a new assortment of digital risks. Transit agencies of all sizes are finding themselves subject to cyber incidents—most notably ransomware attacks—like those experienced by larger, more prominent companies and critical infrastructure providers. The findings in this report focus on …

Connected Simulation For Work Zone Safety Application, Vahid Balali

Mineta Transportation Institute

Every year, over 60,000 work zone crashes are reported in the United States (FHWA 2016). Such work zone crashes have resulted in over 4,400 fatal and 200,000 non-fatal injuries in the last 5 years (FHWA 2016, BLS 2014). Apart from the physical and emotional trauma, the annual cost of these injuries exceeds $4 million-representing significant wasted resources. To improve work zone safety, this research developed a system architecture for unveiling high-risk behavioral patterns among highway workers, equipment operators, and drivers within dynamic highway work zones. This research implemented the use of a connected virtual environment, which is an immersive hyper-realistic …

Biological Hydrogen Gas Production From Food Waste As A Sustainable Fuel For Future Transportation, Pitiporn Asvapathanagul, Leanne Deocampo, Nicholas Banuelos

Mineta Transportation Institute

In the global search for the right alternative energy sources for a more sustainable future, hydrogen production has stood out as a strong contender. Hydrogen gas (H2) is well-known as one of the cleanest and most sustainable energy sources, one that mainly yields only water vapor as a byproduct. Additionally, H2 generates triple the amount of energy compared to hydrocarbon fuels. H2 can be synthesized from several technologies, but currently only 1% of H2 production is generated from biomass. Biological H2 production generated from anaerobic digestion is a fraction of the 1%. This study aims to enhance biological H2 production …

Analyzing The Use And Impacts Of Oakland Slow Streets And Potential Scalability Beyond Covid-19, Gordon Douglas, David Moore

Mineta Transportation Institute

This report presents the results of a mixed-methods study of the 2020-2022 Oakland Slow Streets program. An official response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the program used signs and temporary barricades to limit thru-traffic on 21 miles of city streets to create more and safer space for walking, cycling, and outdoor recreation. Researchers collected data throughout the summer of 2021 on seven designated slow streets plus one cross street and one control street for each – a total of 21 street segments representing conditions in seven different neighborhoods across Oakland. Data collection comprised in-person passerby counts, observations and photographs of local …

Manual For Asphalt Pavement Repair And Resurfacing Preparation, Dingxin Cheng, Gary Hicks, Roger D. Smith

Mineta Transportation Institute

Timely repairs of pavement defects are essential in protecting an important investment and asset that public agencies have. These repairs may be made as durable “stand-alone” repairs of isolated problems, or as part of preparations for a total resurfacing. This manual provides basic information on the planning, materials and construction aspects of common pavement repairs such as crack sealing, crack filling, and patching, as well as a broader look at other preparations needed for total resurfacing a pavement, whether the resurfacing is a surface treatment or a thin hot mix asphalt (HMA) overlay.

Blockchain And Distributed Autonomous Community Ecosystems: Opportunities To Democratize Finance And Delivery Of Transport, Housing, Urban Greening And Community Infrastructure, William Riggs, Vipul Vyas, Menka Sethi

Mineta Transportation Institute

This report investigates and develops specifications for using blockchain and distributed organizations to enable decentralized delivery and finance of urban infrastructure. The project explores use cases, including: providing urban greening, street or transit infrastructure; services for street beautification, cleaning and weed or graffiti abatement; potential ways of resource allocation ADU; permitting and land allocation; and homeless housing. It establishes a general process flow for this blockchain architecture, which involves: 1) the creation of blocks (transactions); 2) sending these blocks to nodes (users) on the network for an action (mining) and then validation that that action has taken place; and 3) …

Managing The Curb: Understanding The Impacts Of On-Demand Mobility On Public Transit, Micromobility, And Pedestrians, Susan Shaheen, Elliot Martin, Adam Cohen, Jacquelyn Broader, Richard Davis

Mineta Transportation Institute

In recent years, innovative mobility and shifts in travel and consumption behavior are changing how people access and use the curb. Shared mobility—the shared use of a vehicle, bicycle, scooter, or other mode—coupled with outdoor dining, curbside pick-up, and robotic delivery are creating new needs related to the planning, management, and enforcement of curb access. This study examines curb planning and management from several angles, such as safety, social equity, and multimodal connections. This research employs a multi-method approach to identify the changing needs for curb space management and how to meet these needs through new planning and implementation policies …

Zero Trust Architecture: Trend And Impacton Information Security, Onome Christopher Edo, Theophilus Tenebe, Egbe-Etu Etu, Atamgbo Ayuwu, Joshua Emakhu, Shakiru Adebiyi

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Traditional-based security models are a threat to information security; they have been regarded as weak and ineffective to meet the dynamics of information system trust. An emerging framework, Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) seeks to close the trust gap in information security through enforcing policies based on identity and continuous authentication and verification. This framework is built on several trust nodes and logical components that attempt to close the trust gap that exists in an information system. The adoption of this framework is still in its teething stage which is a result of several misleading deductions and assumptions. We attempt to …

Sociodemographic Determinants Of Librarians’ Psychological Wellbeing: An Ex-Post Facto Research, Christian S. Ugwuanyi Phd

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Considering the enormous responsibilities placed on school librarians, this study explored the sociodemographic determinants of school librarians’ psychological wellbeing in Nigeria. This study used an ex-post facto research design. Drawing from the scientific research paradigm and quantitative research approach, data were obtained on 145 school librarians using the Psychological wellbeing scale (α = .82). The 145 librarians were sampled from both Federal and state Universities in southeast Nigeria. The data were analysed using the mean and analysis of variance. The study found that, while age had no significant (p > .05) influence on librarians' psychological wellbeing, qualification had a significant …

Job Satisfaction Among Library Professionals Of Central University Libraries In Delhi And Uttar Pradesh: A Comparative Study, Kasam Ali, Nishat Fatima Prof.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

A university library has a great significance in the scheme of higher education at national and international level. It reflects the character of the university and acts as an active tool of education. The present study was designed to ascertain the job satisfaction among library professionals of central university libraries in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Census sample was used to collect data from the working library professionals of university libraries of Delhi (N=137) and Uttar Pradesh (N=200). The data was gathered through Job satisfaction scale (JSS) designed and developed by Singh and Sharma (1986). The findings of the study revealed …

Media Literacy In Library And Information Centres: Practical Perspectives, Clement Samuel Udo Mr, Edidiong Nyong Ben Mr, Ifiok James Afaha Mr, Shalom Yusuf Mr

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The primary objective of every academic library is to meet the information need(s) of members of the community and to help the institution to achieve its objective of promoting teaching, learning and research. To achieve this, the library usually delivers different services in order to meet the information needs of the user community. In the information-rich environment of the 21^st century, library managers need to be both discriminating users and skillful creators of information using media literacy skills. This study focused on how media literacy skills such as accessibility, analytical, evaluation, communication and participative skills can be adopted in …