Digital Commons Network^™

Mercury In Coniferous And Deciduous Upland Forests In Northern New England, Usa: Implications Of Climate Change, J. B. Richardson, A. J. Friedland

Dartmouth Scholarship

Climatic changes in the northeastern US are expected to cause coniferous stands to transition to deciduous stands over the next hundred years. Mercury (Hg) sequestration in forest soils may change as a result. In order to understand potential effects of such a transition, we studied aboveground vegetation and soils at paired coniferous and deciduous stands on eight mountains in Vermont and New Hampshire, USA.

Grounding Serious Game Design On Scientific Findings: The Case Of Enact On Soft Skills Training And Assessment, D Marocco, D Pacella, E Dell’Aquila, A Di Ferdinando

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The lack of open-access tool for the enhancement and promotion of soft skills is bringing the e-learning community to new educational challenges. The paper describes the implementation of ENACT, an online serious game for the standardised psychometric assessment and training of users’ negotiation skills through the interaction with virtual artificial agents. The assessment process is divided into 8 scenarios based on real life situations and investigates the user negotiation styles in relation to Rahim’s conceptualization of five different styles of handling conflict. Need analysis data and preliminary testing results of the platform are presented.

Counterculture, Ju-Jitsu And Emancipation Of Wood, Marcin WóJcik

Experiential Knowledge (EKSIG) Conference Series

This paper sets out to formulate the notion of material-oriented design in wood. In this respect I propose an alternative ontology, where the material is seen as an equal rights partner to the designer. Further, I contrast the constructivist and evolutionary types of management, where in the latter systems are produced with minimal waste and energy expense. I discuss the implications of the approach on an example of five experimental projects, including my own in more detail. I advance that material-oriented design challenges the established form-matter relationship, design process, our understanding of authorship and bears an environmentally friendly potential.

Materials Driven Architectural Design And Representation, Anders Kruse Aagaard

Experiential Knowledge (EKSIG) Conference Series

This paper aims to outline a framework for a deeper connection between experimentally obtained material knowledge and architectural design. While materials and architecture in the process of realisation are tightly connected, architectural design and representation are often distanced from the material domain in which the construction eventually will happen. In many cases, it can seem that materials play the role of a selection of building blocks from which a determined architectural vision or representation are tried to be build. Research in materials, materials behaviour and new materials are often quite technical and oriented towards the field of engineering. Often cost, …

Madec: Exploring New Methodologies To Transfer Material Knowledge Into Design Disciplines, Chiara Lecce

Experiential Knowledge (EKSIG) Conference Series

Due to the increased complexity of materials and production processes, the responsibility of the development of a design is often left in the hands of technicians and production personnel. This lack of knowledge about materials thus effectively creates a barrier between the designer and the product. Bridging this gap represents a challenge to designers and especially to the design schools. (Bak-Andersen 2013, p.69) Designers cannot know everything but they can open their minds and develop a more conscious understanding of this new field of design practice starting from a cultural point of view. MADEC is a research group based in …

Materials, Time And Emotion: How Materials Change In Time?, Eline Nobels, Francesca Ostuzzi, Marinella Levi, Valentina Rognoli, Jan Detand

Experiential Knowledge (EKSIG) Conference Series

During their lifecycle, objects shift from their initial state of perfection, in which they are conceived by designers and industrial production, and approach an imperfect status. This is shown by changes that impact shape, surface and material properties, due to usage and time. In this paper we focus on the passage of time and its consequences. For some materials ageing is negatively addressed as decaying, for other ones it may have a positive effect to be defined as evolution or maturation. What are the factors that lead to a positive or a negative perception of ageing objects? In other words, …

Volume 53, Number 15: November 25, 2015, University Of North Dakota

University Letter Archive

No abstract provided.

Recurrent Hepatocellular Carcinoma In Patient With Crohn's Disease: Incidental Or Expected Outcome Of Azathioprine?, Youssef Botros, Mary Mathews, Hiren Patel, Nihar Shah Md, Walid Baddoura, Andrew De La Torre

Gastroenterology

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) usually occurs in patients with underlying risk factors such as liver cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis B. Although patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) are at an increased risk to develop malignancies such as colon cancer, the incidence of HCC in this population is extremely rare. We report a case of 62-year-old male with long history of CD treated with azathioprine (AZA) and aminosalicylic acid (ASA) who was incidentally diagnosed with HCC, for which left hepatectomy was done. Four years later during routine follow-up, patient had another hepatic lesion and underwent resection of the mass. The mechanism of occurrence …

Fatigue Modeling Via Mammalian Auditory System For Prediction Of Noise Induced Hearing Loss, Pengfei Sun, Jun Qin, Kathleen Campbell

Articles

Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) remains as a severe health problem worldwide. Existing noise metrics and modeling for evaluation of NIHL are limited on prediction of gradually developing NIHL (GDHL) caused by high-level occupational noise. In this study, we proposed two auditory fatigue based models, including equal velocity level (EVL) and complex velocity level (CVL), which combine the high-cycle fatigue theory with the mammalian auditory model, to predict GDHL. The mammalian auditory model is introduced by combining the transfer function of the external-middle ear and the triple-path nonlinear (TRNL) filter to obtain velocities of basilar membrane (BM) in cochlea. The …

The Mathematics And Applications Behind Image Warping And Morphing, Tanvir Prince, Maria Malik, Ildefonso Salva, Ariel Mazor, Sakhr Aldaylam

Publications and Research

This research is conducted in the summer of 2015 and is possible by the support of various agency, in particular, by the grant of Prof. Angulo Nieves and the New York City Research Initiative.

The purpose of this research is to reveal the mathematics and applications of the computer animation techniques of warping and morphing. A warp is a twist or distortion in the form of an object in an image while a morph is the smooth and gradual transformation of an object in one image into the object in another image. Linear algebra makes these computer animation techniques possible; …

Hidden Intrabasin Extension: Evidence For Dike-Fault Interaction From Magnetic, Gravity, And Seismic Reflection Data In Surprise Valley, Northeastern California, Noah D. Athens, Jonathan M.G. Glen, Simon L. Klemperer, Anne E. Egger, Valentina C. Fontiveros

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

The relative contributions of tectonic and magmatic processes to continental rifting are highly variable. Magnetic, gravity, and seismic reflection data from Surprise Valley, California, in the northwest Basin and Range, reveal an intrabasin, fault-controlled, ~10-m-thick dike at a depth of ~150 m, providing an excellent example of the interplay between faulting and dike intrusion. The dike, likely a composite structure representing multiple successive intrusions, is inferred from modeling a positive magnetic anomaly that extends ~35 km and parallels the basin-bounding Surprise Valley normal fault on the west side of the valley. A two-dimensional high-resolution seismic reflection profile acquired across the …

Infusing Critical Thinking Into Communication Courses, James P. Dimock, Kristen P. Treinen, Daniel Cronn-Mills, Robert S. Jersak

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

The importance of critical thinking is generally recognized by educators and during the past 20 years numerous initiatives have been taken to improve critical thinking. Although research demonstrates courses in communication study can have a positive impact on critical thinking skills, we argue that instruction in critical thinking can be more explicitly covered in basic communication courses. This article details our efforts to infuse critical thinking into an entrylevel communication course and outlines a guide to help communication teachers integrate critical thinking into their courses.

U.S. Drought Monitor, November 24, 2015, Richard R. Heim Jr.

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of the United States for November 24, 2015 (11/24/15) plus: United States crop areas experiencing drought (map), an approximate percentage of crop located in drought by state (bar graph), and the percentage of crop area located in drought during the past 52 weeks (line graph) for corn, soybeans, hay, cattle, and winter wheat.

D-Brane Instantons As Gauge Instantons In Orientifolds Of Chiral Quiver Theories, Sebastian Franco, Ander Retolaza, Angel Uranga

Publications and Research

Systems of D3-branes at orientifold singularities can receive non-perturbative D-brane instanton corrections, inducing field theory operators in the 4d effective theory. In certain non-chiral examples, these systems have been realized as the infrared end point of a Seiberg duality cascade, in which the D-brane instanton effects arise from strong gauge theory dynamics. We present the rst UV duality cascade completion of chiral D3-brane theories, in which the D-brane instantons arise from gauge theory dynamics. Chiral examples are interesting because the instanton fermion zero mode sector is topologically protected, and therefore lead to more robust setups. As an application of our …

The Concept Of Mattering As Critical To Nursing-Student Recovery, Ronald Steven Hutchins

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study using a phenomenological case study and grounded-theory design was conducted to examine the phenomena of nursing-student recovery following a failure in a clinical nursing course. For the purpose of this study nursing-student recovery was defined as: The academic progression of a student who failed a core clinical nursing course, and subsequently successfully completed the course, the nursing program, and passed the NCLEX-RN exam. A literature review was conducted focusing on student academic recovery, and three conceptual theories that support transitional change, growth and stability: Neuman System Model (NSM), Self Determination Theory (SDT), and Schlossberg's Transitional Theory (STT). …

Cunningham Concludes Tenure As Cis Department Chair, Edwin Smith

University of Mississippi News

Longtime professor passing baton, returning to teaching and research

Genetic And Morphological Diversity Along Altitudinal Gradients In The Genus Rhoadsia (Teleostei: Characidae: Rhoadsiinae), Grace Malato

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The Neotropics have the highest fish species diversity of any area in the world, with some experts estimating that as many as 4000 species of fishes are present in freshwater ecosystems. Elevational gradients are partially responsible for this diversity due to the rapidly changing ecological conditions associated with changes in altitude in rivers. One area where elevational gradients are particularly important is Western Ecuador; this region forms part of a biodiversity hotspot extending south from Panama along the western side of the Andes. Fish species diversity is relatively low because of the small size of most of the river drainages …

Changsheng Li (1941 – 2015), Perry Smith

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Physics Major Scores Highest Possible On Gre: Robbie Polski Credits Internship, Good Prep, Professors, Samuel Fry

Andrews Agenda: Campus News

"Robbie Polski, physics major at Andrews University, achieved the highest possible score on his GRE Physics Subject Test—an exam intended to measure the extent of an examinee’s mastery of the fundamental principles of physics."

The Impeccable Timing Of The Apple Maggot Fly, Rhagoletis Pomonella (Dipetera: Tephritidae), And Its Implications For Ecological Speciation, Monte Arthur Mattsson

Dissertations and Theses

Speciation is the process by which life diversifies into discrete forms, and understanding its underlying mechanisms remains a primary focus for biologists. Increasingly, empirical studies are helping explain the role of ecology in generating biodiversity. Adaptive radiations are often propelled by selective fitness tradeoffs experienced by individuals that invade new habitats, resulting in reproductive isolation from ancestral conspecifics and potentially cladogenesis. Host specialist insects are among the most speciose organisms known and serve as highly useful models for studying adaptive radiations. We are just beginning to understand the pace and degree with which these insects diversify. The apple maggot, Rhagoletis …

Multiwavelength X-Ray Diffraction, Maziar Saleh Ziabari

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The central problem of diffraction theory is determining the structure of an object given only the intensity of its diffraction pattern. In general, both the amplitude and phase must be known to uniquely solve a structure; however a coherent radiation source is usually required in order to measure the diffacted phases (e.g. in holography). In many important cases, coherent sources are unavailable and other assumptions or methods must be employed to substitute for the missing phase information. One method that has been successfully applied to the specific problem of determining atomic structure from X-ray diffraction intensity patterns has been the …

Shape Recognition: Convexities, Concavities And Things In Between, Gunnar Schmidtmann, Ben J. Jennings, Frederick A.A. Kingdom

School of Health Professions

Visual objects are effortlessly recognized from their outlines, largely irrespective of viewpoint. Previous studies have drawn different conclusions regarding the importance to shape recognition of specific shape features such as convexities and concavities. However, most studies employed familiar objects, or shapes without curves and did not measure shape recognition across changes in scale and position. We present a novel set of random shapes with well-defined convexities, concavities and inflections (intermediate points), segmented to isolate each feature type. Observers matched the segmented reference shapes to one of two subsequently presented whole-contour shapes (target or distractor) that were re-scaled and re-positioned. For …

The Role Of Geography In Nexus Thinking: Becoming Institutional And Community Leaders While Defending The Discipline!, Amy E. Potter

Earth, Environment & Sustainability: Faculty Presentations (1988-2022)

This presentation was given during the Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting.

Implementation And Assessment Of Novel Functional Hemodynamic Mri Measurements In The Brain For Evaluation Of Disease And Treatment, Adam Martin Winchell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The characterization and quantification of cerebral hemodynamics can provide critical biological information of current physiology. Divergent hemodynamic processes can provide integral knowledge into different pathophysiologies and aid in the diagnosis and evaluation of treatment. A variety of different magnetic resonance (MR) imaging techniques were implemented to quantify cerebral hemodynamics in a diverse set of neurological conditions. The first study investigated the association of blood flow and blood volume of a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma tumor by arterial spin labeling (ASL) and dynamic susceptibility weighted contrast MR as a predictive marker of survival. Higher tumor blood flow and maintenance of higher …

Middle-Income Latinos In Middle-Class Communities: A Study On Parental Involvement Dynamics, Rafael Inoa

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The academic underperformance of students of Latino backgrounds is a serious cause for concern in the United States, especially considering the significant portion of the total U.S. population that Latinos constitute. Since parental involvement is known as a powerful resource in helping all students succeed academically, it can be used as a way to counter the achievement gap that Latinos are currently facing. However, middle-class Latinos, who are also plagued by this gap in academic achievement, are continuously overlooked throughout the educational literature. The current study lays focus on this group by centering on the perspectives of middle-income Latino parents …

The Ticker, November 23, 2015

The Ticker

The Ticker is the student newspaper of Baruch College. It has been published continuously since 1932, when the Baruch College campus was the School of Business and Civic Administration of the City College of New York.

Lanthorn, Vol. 50, No. 26, November 23, 2015, Grand Valley State University

Volume 50, July 13, 2015 - June 6, 2016

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Davida Fischman Tssa Winter 2015, Davida Fischman

Teaching Skills Study Awards (TSSA) Reports

Enhances faculty's teaching by attending a conference devoted to university teaching, a high-impact practice, evidence-based practice or a newly developing teaching practice.

Cseas Weekly Bulletin (November 23, 2015), Center For Southeast Asian Studies

CSEAS Bulletin

No abstract provided.

A 21st Century Curriculum, Geoff N. Masters Ao

Teacher columnist – Geoff Masters

One of the biggest challenges we face in school education is to identify and develop the knowledge, skills and attributes required for life and work in the 21st Century, writes Professor Geoff Masters AO.