Digital Commons Network^™

Training Data Augmentation With Data Distilled By Principal Component Analysis, Nikolay Metodiev Sirakov, Tahsin Shahnewaz, Arie Nakhmmani

Faculty Publications

This work develops a new method for vector data augmentation. The proposed method applies principal component analysis (PCA), determines the eigenvectors of a set of training vectors for a machine learning (ML) method and uses them to generate the distilled vectors. The training and PCA-distilled vectors have the same dimension. The user chooses the number of vectors to be distilled and augmented to the set of training vectors. A statistical approach determines the lowest number of vectors to be distilled such that when augmented to the original vectors, the extended set trains an ML classifier to achieve a required accuracy. …

Analyzing Water Resource Challenges In The Us Eastern Zone, Yaw Twumasi, E. C. Merem, S. Fageir, D. Olagbegi, J. Wesley, R. Coney, Y. Babalola, T. Thomas, A. Hines, G. Hirse, G. S. Ochai, E. Nwagboso, M. Crisler, S. Leggett, J. Offiah, S. Emeakpor

Faculty Publications

One major narrative over the last several years, consistent with the US Northeast region in policy discourse rests on its perception as a hub with high concentration of city bright lights and skyscrapers but short on water usage. In the process, no one thinks about how the rising demands from urban residential areas to hydroelectricity and climate change stressors impact the hydrology. Yet, what is forgotten is that the economic engine driving the region comes from the interactions in a complex hydrological network anchored in water distribution dependency. At the same time, a closer look at various states indicates that …

Evaluating Climate Change Hazards Within The Us Midwest Zone, Yaw Twumasi, E. C. Merem, S. Fageir, D. Olagbegi, J. Wesley, R. Coney, Y. Babalola, T. Thomas, A. Hines, G. Hirse, G. S. Ochai, E. Nwagboso, M. Crisler, S. Leggett, J. Offiah, S. Emeakpor

Faculty Publications

The US Midwest region known for its web of lakes, rivers and vast swaths of farmland ranks high as the nation’s food basket. Being a huge agricultural hub tied to global markets, the region’s immediate influence spans across multiplicity of states supported by a flourishing supply chain network sustained by farming centers and activities in and outside of the Midwest. Notwithstanding the region’s place as an active farm hub, it is slowly emerging as an epicenter of changing climatic hazards with the manifestations evident in different forms over the years. With many of the risks and recurrent changes now a …

The Effects Of Changing Climate In The Us Western Region, Yaw Twumasi, E. C. Merem, Y. A. Twumasi, S. Fageir, D. Olagbegi, J. Wesley, R. Coney, Y. Babalola, T. Thomas, A. Hines, G. Hirse, G. S. Ochai, E. Nwagboso, M. Crisler, S. Leggett, J. Offiah, S. Emeakpor

Faculty Publications

he Pacific Northwest region of the US has over the years, outpaced other zones in the country in every socio-economic indicator. Known for its enviable physical attributes of high montane ecosystem and warm weather all year round in some places together with abundant biodiversity. The region’s position as among the fastest growing areas in the nation under vast swaths of land with large population concentration in big cities has made it the perennial destination for many. Aside from all these, in the last several years, the zone continues to be the epicenter of the most dangerous natural disasters prompted by …

Assessing Climate Change Dangers Within The South Florida Region Of Us Southeast, Yaw Twumasi, E. C. Merem, S. Fageir, D. Olagbegi, J. Wesley, R. Coney, Y. Babalola, T. Thomas, A. Hines, G. Hirse, G. S. Ochai, E. Nwagboso, M. Crisler, S. Leggett, J. Offiah, S. Emeakpor

Faculty Publications

In the last several decades, the southern portion of Florida continues to be an attraction, and destination for tourism given its warm environment. Aside from the benefits that accrues the region, with that have come many challenges rooted in climatic uncertainty. To that effect, it is inconceivable to venture into climate change risks analysis overtime, without cognizance of the scale and responses in Florida as a mitigation template considering the frequency therein. In the process, no matter what, the Southern Florida zone remains an epicenter of most natural disasters in the Southeast region of the US based on location and …

Exploring Shifts In Yam Production Trends Along Nigeria’S Southern Region, Yaw Twumasi, E. C. Merem, S. Fageir, D. Olagbegi, J. Wesley, R. Coney, Y. Babalola, T. Thomas, A. Hines, G. Hirse, G. S. Ochai, E. Nwagboso, M. Crisler, S. Leggett, J. Offiah, S. Emeakpor

Faculty Publications

Yam as a staple commodity in Nigeria, remains generally grown in different places within the ecological zones and food hubs in the nation. Notwithstanding all that, being integral part of the nation’s food security in a setting where Nigeria ranks high as the largest producer globally. Still, yam continues to find ample use with essential role for numerous purposes. Classified as an important food crop, the use of yam runs deeper, given its high demands for religious, socio-cultural practices, the economy, industries, and the marketplace. Even at that and considering the vast presence of yams over large swaths of land …

Scenario Setup And Forcing Data For Impact Model Evaluation And Impact Attribution Within The Third Round Of The Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (Isimip3a), Katja Frieler, Jan Volkholz, Stefan Lange, Jacob Schewe, Matthias Mengel, María Del Rocío Rivas López, Christian Otto, Christopher P.O. Reyer, Dirk Nikolaus Karger, Johanna T. Malle, Simon Treu, Christoph Menz, Julia L. Blanchard, Cheryl S. Harrison, Colleen M. Petrik, Tyler D. Eddy, Kelly Ortega-Cisneros, Camilla Novaglio, Yannick Rousseau, Reg A. Watson, Charles Stock, Xiao Liu, Ryan Heneghan, Derek Tittensor, Olivier Maury, Matthias Büchner, Thomas Vogt, Tingting Wang, Fubao Sun, Inga J. Sauer, Johannes Koch, Inne Vanderkelen, Jonas Jägermeyr

Faculty Publications

This paper describes the rationale and the protocol of the first component of the third simulation round of the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP3a, http://www.isimip.org, last access: 2 November 2023) and the associated set of climate-related and direct human forcing data (CRF and DHF, respectively). The observation-based climate-related forcings for the first time include high-resolution observational climate forcings derived by orographic downscaling, monthly to hourly coastal water levels, and wind fields associated with historical tropical cyclones. The DHFs include land use patterns, population densities, information about water and agricultural management, and fishing intensities. The ISIMIP3a impact model simulations driven …

Urban School Neighbourhoods Dominated By Unhealthy Food Retailers And Advertisements In Greater Tunis: A Geospatial Study In The Midst Of The Nutrition Transition, Christelle Akl, Nehmat El-Helou, Gloria Safadi, Aline Semaan, Aya El Sammak, Tarek Trabelsi, Sonia Sassi, Chaza Akik, Jalila El Ati, Pierre Traissac, Hala Ghattas Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Objective:

Food environments are a major determinant of children’s nutritional status. Scarce evidence on food environments exists in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). This study aims to fill this gap by documenting the obesogenicity of food environments around schools in Greater Tunis, Tunisia – an LMIC of the Middle East and North Africa region with an ongoing nutrition transition and increasing rates of childhood obesity.

Design:

In this cross-sectional study, we assessed built food environments around fifty primary schools. Ground-truthing was performed to collect geographic coordinates and pictures of food retailers and food advertisement sets within an 800-m road network …

Immersive Engineering Learning And Workforce Development: Pushing The Boundaries Of Knowledge Acquisition In A Cave, Opeyemi Peter Ojajuni, Brian Warren, Fareed Dawan, Yasser Ismail, Albertha Lawson

Faculty Publications

This study provides insight into the use of virtual reality (VR) to enhance engineering curriculums and develop engineering students’ computational thinking (CT) levels at Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs). The sample population for this research includes students enrolled in a first-year engineering course at an HBCU. To support the students’ education in cybersecurity additive manufacturing, virtual reality was used to simulate classroom teaching and assignments. Participants in this study were first taught using the traditional method that allowed them passive viewing of images and videos of objects and spaces. The participants were later taught the same lessons in a …

Repeated Healing Of Low Velocity Impact Induced Damage In Orthogrid-Stiffened Sandwich Panel, Patrick Mensah, Guoqiang Li, Obed Tetteh

Faculty Publications

Herein, we present a new sandwich panel composed of a carbon fiber grid-stiffened shape memory vitrimer (SMV) core. The sandwich panels were fabricated via a pin-guided dry-weaving technology, and their impact responses were evaluated via low-velocity impact testing. The main failure mode observed after the first round of impact was the transverse cracking of the SMV matrix in the sandwich core. The healing efficiency according to the crack initiation energy (CIE) was found to be 76.5% after the first healing cycle. Even after the second healing cycle, the healing efficiency was greater than 72%. From the low-velocity impact tests, reinforcing …

Self-Healing Of Macroscopic Cracks In Concrete By Cellulose Fiber Carried Microbes, Emmanuel Igbokwe, Samuel Ibekwe, Patrick Mensah, Ogad Agu, Guoqiang Li

Faculty Publications

This research introduces a new approach to healing millimeter scale cracks in concrete using Lysinibaccilus Sphaericus Bacteria (LSB) encapsulated in cellulose fibers. Cracking in concrete, particularly macroscopic cracking, can cause premature structural failure and reduce its lifespan, which is a critical industry challenge. While bacteria encapsulated in cellulose fibers have been used to heal cement mortar, the studies are limited to heal much narrower cracks. In this study, we integrate LSB, known for its strong biocalcification abilities, with the protective environment of cellulose fibers, which are renewable and sustainable, for healing millimeter scale cracks in ordinary cement concrete. To understand …

Permitting The Future, Jonathan Adler

Faculty Publications

Today’s environmental laws impose a range of permitting and review requirements on federal projects and private developments that require federal approval. While well-intentioned, these requirements have imposed substantial costs and delays on economic development, including the development of “green infrastructure.” Alternative energy projects and the infrastructure upon which they depend are constrained by lengthy permit reviews and assessments. While designed to protect the environment, these regimes may constrain the development and deployment of the environmental technologies of tomorrow, including (but not limited to) those necessary to address climate change. This essay is the introduction to a symposium on “Permitting the …

Is The Business Of The Court (Still) Business?, Jonathan Adler

Faculty Publications

The Roberts Court has long been characterized as a pro-business court, perhaps the most pro-business court in a century. Insofar as this alleged pro-business orientation is due to the Court’s Republican-appointed majority, President Trump’s appointments to the Supreme Court should have magnified the Court’s pro-business orientation. Yet there are reasons to question the general characterization of the Court as “pro-business” as well as the assumption that an increase in the Court’s Republican-appointed majority has increased any pro-business orientation. Quantitative analyses often fail to account for the relative importance of individual decisions, the broader, legal context in which the Court’s decisions …

Assessing The Performance Of Place-Based Economic Development Incentives: What’S The Word On The Street?, Matthew Rossman

Faculty Publications

Although politically popular, place-based economic development incentives have had limited success and proven difficult to evaluate. Unlike most legal scholarship on this topic, this article takes a qualitative approach in examining them. It studies the performance of four distinct types of development incentives intended to alleviate economic distress, using insight gathered from interviews with business owners, development professionals, and community members in six adjoining neighborhoods, where past efforts at revitalization have failed despite locational advantages.

The challenges faced by economically distressed places are typically varied and complex. The qualitative sampling techniques employed in this article’s research generated nuanced, ‘on the …

Image Processing Of Big Data For Plant Diseases Of Four Different Plant Categories: Represented By Rice, Banana, Sunflower, And Potato, Richard S. Segall, Prasanna Rajbhandari

Faculty Publications

In this research, plant pathogens are considered as big data because of the numerical counts for high intensity pixels in the images. The research presents an automated approach for early detection of plant diseases using image processing techniques. By analyzing the color features of leaf areas, the k-means algorithm for color segmentation and the Gray-Level Co-Occurrence Matrix (GLCM) are used for disease classification. A novelty of this research is that it illustrates four categories of plants to analyze and compare: (1.) Grain, represented by Rice Plant Leaf Data; (2.) Fruit, represented by banana plant leaf data, (3.) Flower, represented by …

Subsurface Redox Interactions Regulate Ebullitive Methane Flux In Heterogeneous Mississippi River Deltaic Wetland, Jiaze Wang, Theresa O'Meara, Sophie Lafond-Hudson, Songjie He, Kanchan Maiti, Eric J. Ward, Benjamin N. Sulman

Faculty Publications

As interfaces connecting terrestrial and ocean ecosystems, coastal wetlands develop temporally and spatially complex redox conditions, which drive uncertainties in greenhouse gas emission as well as the total carbon budget of the coastal ecosystem. To evaluate the role of complex redox reactions in methane emission from coastal wetlands, a coupled reactive-transport model was configured to represent subsurface biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur, along with production and transport of multiple gas species through diffusion and ebullition. This model study was conducted at multiple sites along a salinity gradient in the Barataria Basin at the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain. Over …

Charting The Scorched Trails: A Comparative Analysis Of Roadway Damage From Historical Megafires To The Unprecedented 2020 Labor Day Wildfires On The Usa West Coast, Kevin Christiansen, Ayat Al Assi, Rubayet Bin Mostafiz, Robert V. Rohli

Faculty Publications

Roadways in the US states of Washington (WA), Oregon (OR), and California (CA) incurred extraordinary damage during the 2020 Labor Day wildfires. However, the cost and risk of these fires have not been placed in a historical perspective. This study examines the damage to roadways affected by the 2020 Labor Day wildfires in relation to the history of megafires in WA (1902–2023), OR (1845– 2023), and CA (1889–2023) using carefully selected data sets gathered from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), and California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). A method for classifying road damage from …

Identifying And Filling Critical Knowledge Gaps Can Optimize Financial Viability Of Blue Carbon Projects In Tidal Wetlands, Tim J.B. Carruthers, S. Beaux Jones, Megan K. Terrell, Jonathan F. Scheibly, Brendan J. Player, Valerie A. Black, Justin R. Ehrenwerth, Patrick D. Biber, Rod M. Connolly, Steve Crooks, Jason P. Curole, Kelly M. Darnell, Alyssa M. Dausman, Allison L. Dejong, Shawn M. Doyle, Christopher R. Esposito, Daniel A. Friess, James W. Fourqurean, Ioannis Y. Georgiou, Gabriel D. Grimsditch, Songjie He, Eva R. Hillmann, Guerry O. Holm, Jennifer Howard, Hoonshin Jung, Stacy D. Jupiter, Erin Kiskaddon, Ken W. Krauss, Paul S. Lavery, Bingqing Liu, Catherine E. Lovelock, Sarah K. Mack, Peter I. Macreadie

Faculty Publications

One of the world’s largest “blue carbon” ecosystems, Louisiana’s tidal wetlands on the US Gulf of Mexico coast, is rapidly being lost. Louisiana’s strong legal, regulatory, and monitoring framework, developed for one of the world’s largest tidal wetland systems, provides an opportunity for a programmatic approach to blue carbon accreditation to support restoration of these ecologically and economically important tidal wetlands. Louisiana’s coastal wetlands span ∼1.4 million ha and accumulate 5.5–7.3 Tg yr⁻¹ of blue carbon (organic carbon), ∼6%–8% of tidal marsh blue carbon accumulation globally. Louisiana has a favorable governance framework to advance blue carbon accreditation, due to …

Seaweed As A Resilient Food Solution After A Nuclear War, Florian Ulrich Jehn, Farrah Jasmine Dingal, Aron Mill, Cheryl Harrison, Ekaterina Ilin, Michael Y. Roleda, Scott C. James, David Denkenberger

Faculty Publications

Abrupt sunlight reduction scenarios such as a nuclear winter caused by the burning of cities in a nuclear war, an asteroid/comet impact or an eruption of a large volcano inject large amounts of particles in the atmosphere, which limit sunlight. This could decimate agriculture as it is practiced today. We therefore need resilient food sources for such an event. One promising candidate is seaweed, as it can grow quickly in a wide range of environmental conditions. To explore the feasibility of seaweed after nuclear war, we simulate the growth of seaweed on a global scale using an empirical model based …

Research Criteria Towards An Interdisciplinary Stratospheric Aerosol Intervention Assessment, Simone Tilmes, Karen H. Rosenlof, Daniele Visioni, Ewa M. Bednarz, Tyler Felgenhauer, Wake Smith, Chris Lennard, Michael S. Diamond, Matthew Henry, Cheryl S. Harrison, Chelsea Thompson

Faculty Publications

With surface temperatures already reaching unprecedented highs, resulting in significant adverse consequences for societies and ecosystems, there are increasing calls to expand research into climate interventions, including Stratospheric Aerosol Intervention (SAI). However, research and dissemination are currently fragmented and would benefit from a comprehensive international assessment of the current state of knowledge regarding impacts, risks, and recommendations for future SAI research directions. The goals of a scientific assessment would be to describe the current state of SAI research and evaluate proposed scenario-strategy combinations through well-designed evaluation guidelines. The suggested iterative approach would integrate natural and social science considerations to guide …

Response Of River Delta Hydrological Connectivity To Changes In River Discharge And Atmospheric Frontal Passage, Sajjad Feizabadi, Chunyan Li, Matthew Hiatt

Faculty Publications

Atmospheric frontal passage is a common meteorological event that can significantly affect hydrodynamics in coastal environments, including the hydrological connectivity between channels and floodplains that regulates material transport in river deltas. This study is focused on the influence of atmospheric cold fronts on the hydrological connectivity between channels and floodplains within the Wax Lake Delta using the Delft3D FM model. The results demonstrate a substantial effect of passing cold fronts on the exchange of water and transport fraction between the primary channels and floodplains. This impact is intricately connected to the morphodynamical characteristics of the floodplains, the intensity of cold …

A Scalogram-Based Cnn Approach For Audio Classification In Construction Sites, Michele Scarpiniti, Raffaele Parisi, Yong Cheol Lee

Faculty Publications

The automatic monitoring of activities in construction sites through the proper use of acoustic signals is a recent field of research that is currently in continuous evolution. In particular, the use of techniques based on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) working on the spectrogram of the signal or its mel-scale variants was demonstrated to be quite successful. Nevertheless, the spectrogram has some limitations, which are due to the intrinsic trade-off between temporal and spectral resolutions. In order to overcome these limitations, in this paper, we propose employing the scalogramas a proper time–frequency representation of the audio signal. The scalogram is defined …

Quantification Of Hvac Energy Savings Through Occupancy Presence Sensors In An Apartment Setting: Field Testing And Inverse Modeling Approach, Zhihong Pang, Mingyue Guo, Blake Smith-Cortez, Zheng O'Neill, Zhiyao Yang, Mingzhe Liu, Bing Dong

Faculty Publications

While many simulation-based studies have demonstrated the energy-saving potential of occupancy-driven smart thermostats in residential buildings, field testing of these devices remains relatively limited. The objective of this study is to propose a new field-testing approach to evaluate the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) energy-saving potential of occupancy-driven thermostats and occupancy-centric controls (OCC) for HVAC in a residential apartment in Texas, U.S. A proprietary prototype occupancy sensing system was chosen for this study, coupled with a Raspberry Pi-based hardware framework to facilitate OCC implementation by linking occupancy sensors to the existing HVAC system. Energy consumption of the HVAC system during …

Relationship Between Genotype And Disease Phenotype For Gluten-Related Disorders, Michael Roberts, Nadine Grzeskowiak, Stephen Bricher

Faculty Publications

We investigated gluten-related disorders (GRD) in intestinal biopsy-proven subjects to determine the relation between genotype (i.e., Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) DQ alleles) and phenotype (i.e., antibody levels and clearly defined symptoms). Subjects had known DQ genotypes, information on IgA anti-Endomysial antibodies (EMA) and/or anti-tissue Trans Glutaminase (tTG) antibodies (tTGA). Subjects also answered a survey characterizing gastrointestinal, skin, and neural symptoms. Though all were biopsy-proven, HLA genotypes included all combinations of DQ2.5, DQ2.2, DQ8, DQ7.5, DQ5, and DQ6. Subject antibody levels were proportional to the number of DQ2.5 haplotypes, and subjects with non-CD-associated haplotypes did not have positive antibody scores (despite …

Fascism: A Reading List With Notes, Michael F. Russo

Faculty Publications

Today, Fascism is on the rise around the world including, dismayingly, in the United States of America, threatening the rule of law, which is the basis of democracy. In the U. S. Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican nominee for president, has declared himself the standard bearer for authoritarian rule. If he wins, it is likely the United States will cease to be a democracy. If democracy is to survive, it is essential that citizens understand fascism, how it comes into existence, and what it does once it has taken root is essential. That is the reason for this reading list.

External Projects And Partners: Addressing Challenges And Minimizing Risks From The Outset, Stan Kurkovsky, Chad A. Williams, Mikey Goldweber, Nathan Sommer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Mir-379-5p Affects Breast Cancer Cell Behavior By Targeting Ube2e3 Ubiquitin Conjugating Enzyme, Araya K. Schroder, Conor J. Loy, Fernanda Aiala, Jazmyn Rafique, Arnob Ghosh, Lina I. Yoo

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Leveraging Compliance To Design A Minimally Invasive, Expandable Interbody Cage Capable Of Customized Anatomical Fit For Spinal Fusion Surgery, Larry L. Howell, Daniel J. Orr, Anton E. Bowden, Christian Payne, Hailey Jones, Bruce M. Frankel, James Anderson, Alek Sperry, Brandon Sargent

Faculty Publications

As spinal fusion surgery continues to transition to less invasive techniques, there remains an unmet need for ever smaller and more complex interbody cages to meet the unique needs of this difficult surgery. This work focuses on the hypothesis that this need can be met using the inherent advantages of compliant mechanisms in a way no previous device has. Deployable Euler Spiral Connectors optimized using a gradient based optimization algorithm were used as the foundation for a device that can stow to a very small size for device insertion then bilaterally deploy to a substantially larger device footprint. Additionally, a …

Parental Support Challenges For K-12 Student Online Engagement, Qi Guo, Charles R. Graham, Jered Borup, Bobbie Sandberg, Richard E. West

Faculty Publications

This research seeks to understand parental support for online students. Using a survey, this study examined perceptions from 567 parents from eight online K-12 programs in a Midwestern state regarding their support for students’ online affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement. Guided by the Academic Communities of Engagement Framework, our analysis identified eight main challenges parents faced when supporting their online student: (a) focus; (b) keeping on pace; (c) lack of motivation; (d) lack of organization, learning materials, live sessions, and support from online schools; (e) lack of feedback, support, and communication from teachers; (f) parents in need of additional skills …

Estimating The Likelihood Of Future Tax Settlements, Jared Jennings, Joshua A. Lee, Erin Towery

Faculty Publications

Corporate income tax settlements represent a substantial cash outflow for many U.S. firms. This study develops an ex-ante measure of future corporate income tax settlement likelihood using quantitative and qualitative information from Form 10-K. We find that both quantitative and qualitative information are incrementally useful in predicting future tax settlements. We then use our new measure to examine the association between predicted future tax settlements and cash holdings. In contrast with prior research documenting a positive association between reserves for uncertain tax positions and cash holdings, we find that firms with a higher likelihood of future tax settlements hold less …