Digital Commons Network^™

Pyrolysis Temperature Affects Dissolved Phosphorus And Carbon Levels In Alkali-Enhanced Biochar And Its Soil Applications, Meng Wang, Jim J. Wang, Jong Hwan Park, Jian Wang, Xudong Wang, Zuoping Zhao, Fengmin Song, Bo Tang

Faculty Publications

Alkali-enhanced biochars, as an environment-friendly material, combine the advantages of biomass nutrients and carbon fixation. In this study, rice-residue-derived biochars were evaluated for P and C solubility and their amendment upon plant P uptake. Biochars from rice straw (RS) and husk (RH), including raw biochar without alkaline pretreatment (0B), alkali-enhanced biochars with KOH (5KB, 5 g KOH per 100 g feedstock;10KB, 10 g KOH per 100 g feedstock), K2CO3 (5K2B, 5 g K2CO3 per 100 g feedstock; 10K2B, 10 g K2CO3 per 100 g feedstock), and CaO (5CB, 5 g CaO per 100 g feedstock; 10CB,10 g CaO per 100 …

Alteration Of Biomolecular Conformation By Aluminum-Implications For Protein Misfolding Disease, Yuhai Zhao, Aileen I. Pogue, Peter N. Alexandrov, Leslie G. Butler, Wenhong Li, Vivian R. Jaber, Walter J. Lukiw

Faculty Publications

The natural element aluminum possesses a number of unique biochemical and biophysical properties that make this highly neurotoxic species deleterious towards the structural integrity, conformation, reactivity and stability of several important biomolecules. These include aluminum’s (i) small ionic size and highly electrophilic nature, having the highest charge density of any metallic cation with a Z²/r of 18 (ionic charge +3, radius 0.5 nm); (ii) inclination to form extremely stable electrostatic bonds with a tendency towards covalency; (iii) ability to interact irreversibly and/or significantly slow down the exchange-rates of complex aluminum–biomolecular interactions; (iv) extremely dense electropositive charge with one …

Invited Perspective: Existing Rules For Disinfection By-Products Are Good, But They Are Not Enough, Susan D. Richardson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Mindfulness, Psychological Distress, And Somatic Symptoms Among Women Engaged In Sex Work In China, Cheuk Chi Tam, Yuejiao Zhao, Shan Qiao, Xiaoming Li, Zhiyong Shen

Faculty Publications

Women engaged in sex work (WSW) in China encounter numerous disadvantages (e.g., exposure to violence) and have substantial risk for psychological distress and somatic symptoms. Intervention literature has attended to mindfulness, which is a protective factor for psychological outcomes, and its influences can further improve physical health. However, mindfulness has not been well studied in WSW. We aimed to examine the association among mindfulness, psychological distress, and somatic symptoms among Chinese WSW. Data were collected from 410 WSW in Guangxi, China, using an anonymous, self-administered survey evaluating demographics, mindfulness, psychological distress (i.e., depression, loneliness, and perceived stress), and somatic symptoms …

Piezoelectric Point-Of-Care Biosensor For The Detection Of Sars-Cov-2 (Covid-19) Antibodies, Debdyuti Mandal, Mustahseen M. Indaleeb, Alexandra Younan, Sourav Banerjee

Faculty Publications

It is always challenging to diagnose a disease using a biosensor reliably, and quickly with high sensitivity and selectivity, simultaneosuly. Recently the world experienced a global pandemic caused by a novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Although the vaccines are available, COVID-19 resulted a huge threat to the entire world with high mortality rates. Irrespective of a specific disease, there is a constant need for a cheaper and faster in-vitro, lab-on-a-chip sensor with high sensitivity and selectivity. Such sensors will not only facilitate the disease detection but will expedite and vaccine development process through detection of its corresponding antibodies when developed. In this …

Using Multidisciplinary Analysis To Develop Adaptation Options Against Extreme Coastal Floods, Xinmeng Shan, Jun Wang, Jiahong Wen, Hengzhi Hu, Lei Wang, Jie Yin, Mengya Li

Faculty Publications

Long-term flood risk adaptation and decision making are complex because the future is full of deep uncertainties. Flexibility and robustness can be used to deal with future uncertainty. This study developed an integrated modeling framework that extends previous studies to the spatial domain to assess the future flood risks and the cost and benefit of three adaptation measures for four types of buildings in Shanghai. Real options analysis (ROA) and dynamic adaptive policy pathways (DAPP) were integrated to develop a dynamic adaptation pathway and identify robust adaptation options. The results show that: (1) Sea level rise and land subsidence will …

The Curve Not Taken: Effects Of Covid-19 International Comparison News, Seon Woo Kim, Martina Santia, Raymond J. Pingree, Ayla Oden, Kirill Bryanov, Jessica Wyers

Faculty Publications

International news can inform people not only about what is happening in other countries, but also about how their own country could benefit from policies that have proved successful elsewhere. Specifically, international policy comparison news, or news that compares the policies of two or more countries on the same issue, is a potentially important but underutilized and understudied form of news content. We use an experiment to test effects of exposure to news comparing the COVID-19 pandemic policies of the U.S. versus South Korea, and find that this increases knowledge of policy differences between the two countries, support for adopting …

Mission Planning For Low Altitude Aerial Drones During Water Sampling, Michael E. Hodgson, Nikolaos I. Vitzilaios, Michael L. Myrick, Tammi L. Richardson, Matt Duggan, Kazi Ragib I. Sanim, Michail Kalaitzakis, Bhanuprakash Kosaraju, Caitlyn English, Zechariah Kitzhaber

Faculty Publications

Mission planning for small uncrewed aerial systems (sUAS) as a platform for remote sensors goes beyond the traditional issues of selecting a sensor, flying altitude/speed, spatial resolution, and the date/time of operation. Unlike purchasing or contracting imagery collections from traditional satellite or manned airborne systems, the sUAS operator must carefully select launching, landing, and flight paths that meet both the needs of the remote sensing collection and the regulatory requirements of federal, state, and local regulations. Mission planning for aerial drones must consider temporal and geographic changes in the environment, such as local weather conditions or changing tidal height. One …

Sorption Of Cellulases In Biofilm Enhances Cellulose Degradation By Bacillus Subtilis, Yijie Deng, Shiao Y. Wang

Faculty Publications

Biofilm commonly forms on the surfaces of cellulosic biomass but its roles in cellulose degradation remain largely unexplored. We used Bacillus subtilis to study possible mechanisms and the contributions of two major biofilm components, extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) and TasA protein, to submerged biofilm formation on cellulose and its degradation. We found that biofilm produced by B. subtilis is able to absorb exogenous cellulase added to the culture medium and also retain self-produced cellulase within the biofilm matrix. The bacteria that produced more biofilm degraded more cellulose compared to strains that produced less biofilm. Knockout strains that lacked both EPS and …

Does Sea Spray Aerosol Contribute Significantly To Aerosol Trace Element Loading? A Case Study From The U.S. Geotraces Pacific Meridional Transect (Gp15), Chris M. Marsay, William M. Landing, Devon Umstead, Claire P. Till, Robert Freiberger, Jessica N. Fitzsimmons, Nathan T. Lanning, Alan Shiller, Mariko Hatta, Rebecca Chmiel, Mak Saito, Clifton S. Buck

Faculty Publications

Atmospheric deposition represents a major input for micronutrient trace elements (TEs) to the surface ocean and is often quantified indirectly through measurements of aerosol TE concentrations. Sea spray aerosol (SSA) dominates aerosol mass concentration over much of the global ocean, but few studies have assessed its contribution to aerosol TE loading, which could result in overestimates of “new” TE inputs. Low-mineral aerosol concentrations measured during the U.S. GEOTRACES Pacific Meridional Transect (GP15; 152°W, 56°N to 20°S), along with concurrent towfish sampling of surface seawater, provided an opportunity to investigate this aspect of TE biogeochemical cycling. Central Pacific Ocean surface seawater …

A Machine Learning Framework For Detecting Covid-19 Infection Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering, Eloghosa Ikponmwoba, Okezzi Ukorigho, Parikshit Moitra, Dipanjan Pan, Manas Ranjan Gartia, Opeoluwa Owoyele

Faculty Publications

In this study, we explored machine learning approaches for predictive diagnosis using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), applied to the detection of COVID-19 infection in biological samples. To do this, we utilized SERS data collected from 20 patients at the University of Maryland Baltimore School of Medicine. As a preprocessing step, the positive-negative labels are obtained using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing. First, we compared the performance of linear and nonlinear dimensionality techniques for projecting the high-dimensional Raman spectra to a low-dimensional space where a smaller number of variables defines each sample. The appropriate number of reduced features used was obtained …

A Framework For Vibration Attenuation In Traffic Mast Arm Structures Under Wind Loads, A. M. Aly, H. Gol-Zaroudi, M. Rezaee

Faculty Publications

Traffic signals and information signs play a vivid role in maintaining safe travel by guiding drivers on highways and urban roads. Traffic mast arm structures are susceptible to vibrations induced by wind loads. Fatigue-induced failure is common in these structures. However, it is crucial to ascertain the functionality of signal support structures. This paper lays the foundation for a fully computational framework to model and mitigate wind-induced vibrations in traffic lighting support structures by conducting computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, dynamic modeling, and damping enhancement. We validated the CFD simulations by aerodynamic testing. The dependence of flow pattern and aerodynamic …

Bio-Inspired Geotechnical Engineering: Principles, Current Work, Opportunities And Challenges, Alejandro Martinez, Jason Dejong, Idil Akin, Ali Aleali, Chloe Arson, Jared Atkinson, Paola Bandini, Tugce Baser, Rodrigo Borela, Ross Boulanger, Matthew Burrall, Yuyan Chen, Clint Collins, Douglas Cortes, Sheng Dai, Theodore Dejong, Emanuela Del Dottore, Kelly Dorgan, Richard Fragaszy, J. David Frost, Robert Full, Majid Ghayoomi, Daniel I. Goldman, Nicholas Gravish, Ivan L. Guzman, James Hambleton, Elliot Hawkes, Michael Helms, David Hu, Lin Huang, Sichuan Huang, Christopher Hunt, Duncan Irschick

Faculty Publications

A broad diversity of biological organisms and systems interact with soil in ways that facilitate their growth and survival. These interactions are made possible by strategies that enable organisms to accomplish functions that can be analogous to those required in geotechnical engineering systems. Examples include anchorage in soft and weak ground, penetration into hard and stiff subsurface materials and movement in loose sand. Since the biological strategies have been 'vetted' by the process of natural selection, and the functions they accomplish are governed by the same physical laws in both the natural and engineered environments, they represent a unique source …

Exploring The Use Of Machine Learning To Parameterize Vertical Mixing In The Ocean Surface Boundary Layer, Jun Hong Liang, Jianguo Yuan, Xiaoliang Wan, Jinliang Liu, Bingqing Liu, Hakun Jang, Mayank Tyagi

Faculty Publications

In ocean and climate models, the simulation of upper-ocean temperature and salinity depends on mixing parameterizations for ocean surface boundary layer turbulence. Existing mixing parameterizations are based on physical principles with empirical parameters. However, they are still imperfect, leading to biases in the simulation of physical states in the upper ocean. In this study, we explore the use of the data-based machine learning technique, specifically, a deep neural network model, for the effects of vertical mixing in the ocean surface boundary layer. The model is trained using process-oriented simulations of the upper-ocean turbulence driven by realistic forcing conditions at the …

Heat Pulse Testing At Monitoring Wells To Estimate Subsurface Fluid Velocities In Geological Co2 Storage, Refaat G. Hashish, Mehdi Zeidouni

Faculty Publications

Monitoring the injected CO2 during geological CO2 storage (GCS) is essential to assure containment and identify CO2 leakage. In this work, a new approach is introduced to estimate the evolution of the downhole fluid velocity at a monitoring well and identify CO2 arrival time using in-well heat pulse/tracer test. The proposed technique involves using a downhole heater to generate a series of heat pulses and measuring their corresponding temperature response. The surface temperature of the downhole heater is controlled by the supplied electrical power and the heat loss by convection to the surroundings. Convective heat transfer is well described using …

Securing Information On A Web Application System To Facilitate Online Blood Donation Booking, Hrishitva Patel

Faculty Publications

Blood donation has saved many lives in the past. According to statistics presented by the American Red Cross, a patient is in need of a blood transfusion every two seconds. There are many benefits that arise from blood donation to both the donor and the blood recipients. With blood donation, cancer patients, people involved in accidents, or those battling diseases that require blood donation have access to enough blood to sustain their survival. There is a need to digitize the blood donation booking to facilitate blood donation across the United States, and ensure patients in need of blood, receive their …

Systematic Overexpression Of Genes Encoded By Mycobacteriophage Waterfoul Reveals Novel Inhibitors Of Mycobacterial Growth, Danielle Heller, Isabel Amaya, Aleem Mohamed, Ilzat Ali, Dmitri Mavrodi, Padraig Deighan, Viknesh Sivanathan

Faculty Publications

Bacteriophages represent an enormous reservoir of novel genes, many of which are unrelated to existing entries in public databases and cannot be assigned a predicted function. Characterization of these genes can provide important insights into the intricacies of phage–host interactions and may offer new strategies to manipulate bacterial growth and behavior. Overexpression is a useful tool in the study of gene-mediated effects, and we describe here the construction of a plasmid-based overexpression library of a complete set of genes for Waterfoul, a mycobacteriophage closely related to those infecting clinically important strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and/or Mycobacterium abscessus. The arrayed …

Student Retention And Persistence In University Certificate-First Programs, Troy Martin, Randall Davies

Faculty Publications

While access to higher education has grown over the past few years, significant barriers exist for nontraditional students attempting to prepare for and complete postsecondary education. For these students, the traditional methods for acknowledging student achievement do not always work. This research explored the impact of earning professional certificates on nontraditional students’ confidence, motivation, and persistence. Specifically, this study evaluated the matriculation rates between two cohorts of students who participated in the online PathwayConnect program. The mixed-method study found that matriculation rates for students who were encouraged to earn a certificate increased compared to those who followed a traditional path. …

Adolescent Transport And Unintentional Injuries: A Systematic Analysis Using The Global Burden Of Disease Study 2019, Amy E. Peden, Patricia Cullen, Kate Louise Francis, Holger Moeller, Margaret M. Peden, Ismaeel Yunusa Ph. D., Et Al.

Faculty Publications

Background Globally, transport and unintentional injuries persist as leading preventable causes of mortality and morbidity for adolescents. We sought to report comprehensive trends in injury-related mortality and morbidity for adolescents aged 10–24 years during the past three decades.

Methods Using the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors 2019 Study, we analysed mortality and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) attributed to transport and unintentional injuries for adolescents in 204 countries. Burden is reported in absolute numbers and age-standardised rates per 100000 population by sex, age group (10–14, 15–19, and 20–24 years), and sociodemographic index (SDI) with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). We …

Optimising Predictive Models To Prioritise Viral Discovery In Zoonotic Reservoirs, Daniel J. Becker, Gregory F. Albery, Anna R. Sjodin, Timothée Poisot, Laura M. Bergner, Binqi Chen, Lily E. Cohen, Tad Dallas, Evan A. Eskew, Anna C. Fagre, Maxwell J. Farrell, Sarah Guth, Barbara A. Han, Nancy B. Simmons, Michiel Stock, Emma C. Teeling, Colin J. Carlson

Faculty Publications

Despite the global investment in One Health disease surveillance, it remains difficult and costly to identify and monitor the wildlife reservoirs of novel zoonotic viruses. Statistical models can guide sampling target prioritisation, but the predictions from any given model might be highly uncertain; moreover, systematic model validation is rare, and the drivers of model performance are consequently under-documented. Here, we use the bat hosts of betacoronaviruses as a case study for the data-driven process of comparing and validating predictive models of probable reservoir hosts. In early 2020, we generated an ensemble of eight statistical models that predicted host–virus associations and …

Quantile Differences In The Age-Related Decline In Cardiorespiratory Fitness Between Sexes In Adults Without Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus In The United States, Andrew Ortaglia, Melissa Stansbury, Michael David Wirth, Xuemei Sui, Matteo Bottai

Faculty Publications

Objective: To comprehensively assess the extent to which the decline in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) with age differs between sexes. Participants and Methods: This study used data from the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study, conducted between September 1974 and August 2006, consisting primarily of White adults from middle-to-upper socioeconomic strata restricted to adults without type 2 diabetes mellitus (33,742 men and 9,415 women). Quantile regression models were used to estimate the differences in age-associated changes in CRF between the sexes, estimated using a maximal treadmill test. Results: For adults aged up to 45 years, significant differences in slopes relating to age and …

Invigorating Seventh-Day Adventist Science Education With Chemical Knowledge Of God's Creation, Ryan T. Hayes, D. David Nowack

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

How The “Blueprint” For Agriculture In Adventist Education Can Be Relevant In The 21st Century, Katherine Koudele

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Strategies To Maximize Academic Integrity In Online Education, Glynis Bradfield, Ray Mcallister

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Applicability Of Blockchain Technology To The Normal Accounting Cycle, Williams Kwasi Peprah Ph.D., Reynaldo P. Abas Jr., Akwasi Ampofo

Faculty Publications

Blockchain technology is a distributed, unchangeable ledger that makes recording transactions and managing assets in a business network much easier and now a type of accounting software concerned with the transfer of asset ownership and the maintenance of an accurate financial ledger. Despite the numerous benefits of blockchain technology, there is no study on the applicability of blockchain technology to the normal accounting cycle in emerging economies in Africa. Thus, this paper provides general insights on how blockchain technology may be used in the normal accounting cycle in West Africa. The study adopted a qualitative research method and content analysis …

Fall Conference 2022 Panel Presentation, Ellen Amatangelo

Faculty Publications

This presentation was part of a panel discussing ways in which work done by employees at the Brigham Young University Library focuses on Christ. Collections and articles in BYU's institutional repository that focus on religious topics are highlighted.

A Clinical Test To Assess Isometric Cervical Strength In Chronic Whiplash Associated Disorder (Wad): A Reliability Study, Jeff Habberfield, Geoff Schneider, Kathryn Schneider, Sozina Katuli, Lee Olson

Faculty Publications

Background: Cervical spine muscle weakness is well demonstrated in individuals with chronic neck pain. There is a lack of literature evaluating clinically applicable means of assessing isometric cervical strength in chronic whiplash associated disorder (WAD). This study assessed the reliability of self-resisted isometric cervical strength testing using a handheld dynamometer. The relationship between strength and neck pain-related disability and kinesiophobia was also investigated.

Methods: Twenty subjects with chronic WAD performed maximum-efort isometric cervical fexion, extension, side fexion, and rotation against a hand held dynamometer. The dynamometer was held by the subject, who provided self-resistance. Subjects completed two sessions of testing …

Mentoring: An Essential For Novice Teachers, Kathleen Forbis, Anneris Coria-Navia, Jimmy Kijai, Larry D. Burton

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Changing National Landscape, Hyveth Williams

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Optimization Of Solar-Coal Hybridization For Low Solar Augmentation, Aaron T. Bame, Joseph Furner, Ian Hoag, Kasra Mohammadi, Kody Powell, Brian D. Iverson

Faculty Publications

This work presents a process to determine the preliminary optimal configuration of a concentrating solar power-coal hybrid power plant with low solar augmentation, and is demonstrated on a regenerative steam Rankine cycle coal power plant in Castle Dale, UT, USA (average DNI of 542 W m⁻²). A representative plant model is developed and validated against published data for a coal power plant. The simplifications that lead to the representative model from a coal power plant model include combining multiple feedwater heaters, combining turbines, and using a mass-average calculation for extraction steam properties. Comparing net power generation and boiler …