Digital Commons Network^™

U.S. Drought Monitor, November 22, 2016, Richard R. Heim Jr.

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of the United States for November 22, 2016 (11/22/16) plus: United States crop areas experiencing drought (map), approximate percentage of crop located in drought by state (bar graph), and the percentage of crop area located in drought over the past 52 weeks (line graph) for corn, soybeans, hay, cattle, and winter wheat.

Why The Supreme Court Should Use Ariosa V. Sequenom To Provide Further Guidance On U.S.C. § 101 Patent Eligibility, Naira Rezende Simmons

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

35 U.S.C. § 101 provides patent protection to “any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof.” The Supreme Court previously concluded that Congress intended patentable subject matter to “include anything under the sun that is made by man.” Nevertheless, over the past five years the U.S. Supreme Court has made a series of decisions that narrowed the scope of subject matter eligible for patent protection.

In Mayo the court held that correlations between the concentrations of a metabolite in the blood and the concentration of a drug are not patent …

Avalanche Statistics From Data With Low Time Resolution, Michael Leblanc, Aya Nawano, Wendelin J. Wright, Xiaojun Gu, Jonathan T. Uhl, Karin A. Dahmen

Faculty Journal Articles

Extracting avalanche distributions from experimental microplasticity data can be hampered by limited time resolution. We compute the effects of low time resolution on avalanche size distributions and give quantitative criteria for diagnosing and circumventing problems associated with low time resolution. We show that traditional analysis of data obtained at low acquisition rates can lead to avalanche size distributions with incorrect power-law exponents or no power-law scaling at all. Furthermore, we demonstrate that it can lead to apparent data collapses with incorrect power-law and cutoff exponents. We propose new methods to analyze low-resolution stress-time series that can recover the size distribution …

Ports, Prosperity, And Pests: Assessing The Threat Of Aquatic Invasive Species Introduced By Maritime Shipping Activity In Cuba, Charleen O'Brien

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Aquatic invasive species (AIS) are biological pollutants that cause detrimental ecological, economic, and sociological effects on non-native communities. With increasing globalization through maritime trade, coastal ports are vulnerable to AIS introductions transported by commercial vessels. As Cuba’s Port Mariel becomes a competitive transshipment hub within the Caribbean, it is essential to identify the potential threat that AIS may pose with a likely increase in shipping activity. It is equally important to understand the status of established AIS in Cuba and control measures presently being implemented by the country. This information can provide guidance for establishing or improving Cuban AIS preventative …

Building The Education And Training Pillar Of The University Of Tennessee’S Institute For Nuclear Security, Howard Lewis Hall

International Journal of Nuclear Security

The University of Tennessee (UT) developed its first formal and coordinated efforts in nuclear security education in 2008-2009 with its graduate certificate program in nuclear security in the Department of Nuclear Engineering. Building on this work, in 2011 UT established the UT Institute for Nuclear Security (INS) as a collaborative center at the university to expand its curricular impact as well as foster research and partnerships with nearby major governmental facilities engaged in nuclear security work. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12), and Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) have joined with UT as charter members …

Promoting Excellence And Demonstrated Competence For Nuclear Security Training, Daniel Johnson, Brunelle Battistella, Roger Howsley

International Journal of Nuclear Security

The international community has spent considerable time, money, and effort attempting to establish a series of national and regional Centres of Excellence (COEs), also known as Nuclear Security Training and Support Centres (NSSCs). These Centres tend to have a wide variety of objectives, structures, and methods of delivery. Unsurprisingly, no internationally accepted standard exists on how they should operate. The IAEA has produced some excellent guidance (TECDOC 1734), but by virtue of its role cannot provide standards for benchmarking success. Against this backdrop, the World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS) launched the WINS Academy, an initiative to provide practitioners with …

Spray Printing Of Organic Semiconducting Single Crystals, Grigorios-Panagiotis Rigas, Marcia M. Payne, John E. Anthony, Peter N. Horton, Fernando A. Castro, Maxim Shkunov

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Single-crystal semiconductors have been at the forefront of scientific interest for more than 70 years, serving as the backbone of electronic devices. Inorganic single crystals are typically grown from a melt using time-consuming and energy-intensive processes. Organic semiconductor single crystals, however, can be grown using solution-based methods at room temperature in air, opening up the possibility of large-scale production of inexpensive electronics targeting applications ranging from field-effect transistors and light-emitting diodes to medical X-ray detectors. Here we demonstrate a low-cost, scalable spray-printing process to fabricate high-quality organic single crystals, based on various semiconducting small molecules on virtually any substrate by …

Nuclear Security Education At Pakistan Institute Of Engineering And Applied Sciences (Pieas): Current Status, Future Prospects And The Lessons Learnt, Tariq Majeed Dr.

International Journal of Nuclear Security

In this paper, the details of nuclear security education at Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) have been discussed. Nuclear Security education was initiated at PIEAS as a sub-specialty of its MS Nuclear Engineering Program in October 2009. Two courses, Nuclear Security (NE-581) and Physical Protection Systems (NE-582) have been offered on regular basis in the 3^rd and 4^th semesters. To date, 72 students have been graduated with this sub-specialty. The most important lesson learnt is that introduction of nuclear security related courses in nuclear engineering program has opened up new venues of applications of nuclear …

Design, Synthesis, And Evaluation Of Dasatinib-Amino Acid And Dasatinib-Fatty Acid Conjugates As Protein Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors, Rakesh Tiwari, Alex Brown, Neda Sadeghiani, Amir Nasrolahi Shirazi, Jared Bolton, Amanda Tse, Gennady M. Verkhivker, Keykavous Parang, Gongqin Sun

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Derivatives of dasatinib were synthesized via esterification with 25 carboxylic acids including amino acids and fatty acids by extending the inhibitor to interact with more diverse sites and to improve specificity. Dasatinib-L-arginine derivative (Das-R, 7) was the most potent of the inhibitors tested with IC50 values of 4.4 nM, <0.25 nM, and <0.45 nM against Csk, Src, and Abl kinases, respectively. The highest selectivity ratio obtained in our study, 91.4 Csk/Src belonged to compound 18 (Das-C10) with an IC50 of 3.2 μM for Csk compared to 35 nM for Src. Furthermore, many compounds displayed increased selectivity toward Src, as compared with Abl. Compounds 15 (Das-E) and 13 (Das-C) demonstrated the largest gains (10.2 and 10.3 Abl/Src IC50 ratios). Das-R (IC50 = 2.06 μM) was significantly more potent than Das (IC50 = 26.3 μM) against Panc-1 cells while they both showed an IC50 < 51.2 pM against BV-173 and K562 cells. Molecular modeling and binding free energy simulations revealed a good agreement with the experimental results and rationalized differences in selectivity of the studied compounds. Integration of experimental and computational approaches in the design and biochemical screening of dasatinib derivatives facilitated rational engineering and diversification of dasatinib scaffold, providing useful insights into mechanisms of kinase selectivity.

Systems And Methods For Stable Haptic Feedback Over Packet-Switched Networks, Parikshit S. Kulkarni, Susana K. Lai-Yuen

USF Patents

Providing haptic feedback to a user over a packet-switched network includes sensing movement of a haptic device by a user, the haptic device being configured to control a first virtual object within a virtual environment, transmitting data associated with the movement of the haptic device from a client computer to a remote server via the packet-switched network, the server modeling movement of the first virtual object in the virtual environment and estimating an orientation and a position of the first virtual object within the virtual environment, the server determining a type of tactile feedback to be provided to the user, …

Nuclear Security And Hrd - Viet Nam’S Effort, Nu-Hoai-Vi Nguyen, Tan Huu Vuong

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Viet Nam is expanding its nuclear energy program for the application in various areas including industries, agriculture, healthcare, education and research. Recognizing the importance of the nineteen issues laid out in the IAEA document “Milestones in Development of a National Infrastructure for Nuclear Power” [1], Vietnam is considering how to address these issues. This paper describes the establishment of nuclear security infrastructure in Viet Nam and how Viet Nam has addressed one of the nineteen issues, that is human resource development in nuclear energy in general and in nuclear security in particular.

Challenges And Responses For Ensuring Sustainability Of Insa Training Programs, Jongsook Kim, Hyung-Kyung Lee, Jin-Young Lee

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Providing a systematic training is critical for a state or international perspective to reinforce nuclear security regime nationally or internationally. Korea government recognizes the importance of such challenge, and established the INSA under the KINAC as a Center of Excellence for fostering national nuclear security capacity and contributing international nuclear security governance. INSA started with the government policy that the establishment of sustainable education and training infrastructure and processes is fundamental to the capacity building strategy. After established, INSA has been designing and delivering the domestic and international/regional training programs for the purpose of fostering human resources development in nuclear …

The Utility Of Table-Top Exercises In Teaching Nuclear Security, Christopher Hobbs, Luca Lentini, Matthew Moran

International Journal of Nuclear Security

In the emerging field of nuclear security, those responsible for education and training are constantly seeking to identify and engage with tools and approaches that provide for a constructive learning environment. In this context, this paper explores the nature and value of Tabletop exercises (TTX) and how they can be applied in the nuclear security context. On the one hand, the paper dissects the key components of the TTX and considers the broader pedagogical benefits of this teaching method. On the other hand, the paper draws lessons from the authors’ experience of running TTXs as part of nuclear security professional …

Students' Views On General Education: Insights Gained From The Narratives Of Chinese Students In Hong Kong, Daniel T. L. Shek, Florence K. Y. Wu, Wen Yu Chai

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

The General University Requirements (GUR) is a component of the new 4-year undergraduate program at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). This study examined students’ views and experiences of the GUR using a qualitative methodology. Written comments of 240 freshmen, sophomores, and senior-year students with reference to open-ended questions on their memorable experiences in the GUR study were collected. The qualitative findings suggested that students generally had positive views on the GUR in terms of its widely adopted active and experiential learning pedagogy, useful and attractive contents, caring teaching staff, and rich learning outcomes. Challenges were also identified for further …

Convolutions And Green’S Functions For Two Families Of Boundary Value Problems For Fractional Differential Equations, Paul W. Eloe, Jeffrey T. Neugebauer

Mathematics Faculty Publications

We consider families of two-point boundary value problems for fractional differential equations where the fractional derivative is assumed to be the Riemann-Liouville fractional derivative. The problems considered are such that appropriate differential operators commute and the problems can be constructed as nested boundary value problems for lower order fractional differential equations. Green's functions are then constructed as convolutions of lower order Green's functions. Comparison theorems are known for the Green's functions for the lower order problems and so, we obtain analogous comparison theorems for the two families of higher order equations considered here. We also pose a related open question …

Independent - Nov. 22, 2016, Brett Starkopf

The Independent (1988-present)

No abstract provided.

Examination Of The B Coefficient In Gap Crystal Utilizing Single And Double Photon Absorption, Ines Kusmic

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

A laser of 0.800 mm at 100 fs is utilized in obtaining a b coefficient in a GaP crystal associated with double photon absorption. Data is collected for the incident power of the laser for both single and double photon absorption, and it is plotted against the signal generated in the photodiode containing the GaP crystal. The slope of such a plot is employed in calculating b with equations derived in the theoretical model that is unique to the present work. The data for single photon absorption is utilized in calculating the thickness of the GaP crystal, while the data …

Fluvial Archives, A Valuable Record Of Vertical Crustal Deformation, A. Demoulin, A. Mather, A. Whittaker

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.

Classes Of Operators On Spaces, Aaron Larmiah Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

In this dissertation we investigate spaces of analytic functions defined on the open unit disk that satisfy some natural boundry conditions. These new spaces are called Bloch type spaces. Given a positive integer m, the m-Bloch type space, denoted by B^(m), consists of all analytic functions which map from the open unit disk to the complex space with boundry conditions similar to the Bloch space using the n-th degree derivative. Following the leadership of Zygmund, Bloch and other well-known researchers, we consider closed subspaces of B^(m) by imposing natural reducing conditions. These closed subspaces provide an easier platform to derive …

On Some Exact Nonparametric Conditional Test For Clustered Binary Data, Nana Akwasi Abayie Boateng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The development of exact, non-asymptotic, procedures for analyzing clustereddiscrete data has remained a challenging problem for research statisticians due tothe dearth of tractable probability models for describing complex dependencestructures of discrete data points within clusters. Under an assumption of deFinetti's definition of infinite exchangeability, several models have beendeveloped. However, these procedures are not valid when data comes fromintrinsically finite exchangeable population. Moreover, the procedures invariablyconduct inference based on asymptotic distribution of estimators or test statistics.For example, for testing association between the rows and columns of a contingencytable the asymptotic distribution of the likelihood ratio statistic under nullhypothesis of independence is …

Leveraging Content, Context, And Social Attributes To Detect Malicious Short Urls In Online Social Network, Raj Kumar Nepali

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

Online social networks (OSNs) are platforms to connect and communicate with friends, families, and like-minded people. Users post thoughts, comment to other’s posts, share photos and videos, and share information. The shared information often includes URLs (Uniform Resource Locators), which direct users to web content like news, articles, and advertisements. URL sharing is very popular on online social networks. However, URL sharing is not always convenient because of overly long and complicated URL strings. Thus, short URLs have become very popular on OSNs because of their simplicity. However, many risks have been found and reported in association with sharing short …

Start Up Strategies For Pbis Implementation, Robbie Y. Vincent, Marcus Washington, Amber Garlin, Kriszti Kilpatrick

Georgia Association for Positive Behavior Support Conference

Dr. Robbie Vincent and the Rome City School team will be presenting on effective strategies to start and sustain a positive school climate. The strategies will be applicable and relevant to elementary, middle, and high school levels. Developing positive teacher morale, establishing a positive school climate and fostering teacher, student, and parent buy-in will be topics of discussion. The presenters will also share methods and suggestions for PBIS implementation to include: first steps, team selection, and behavior recognition systems. Parent and community involvement are critical components to successfully implementing and sustaining Positive Behavior Intervention Supports. The presenters will offer suggestions …

Real Life Account Of Pbis At The Primary/Elementary Level, Regennia L. Walker, Sean Burnette, Caron Crook, Deeann Robinson, Victoria Mcswain, Heather Whitton, Katrina Burnette, Ashley Mandy

Georgia Association for Positive Behavior Support Conference

Real Life Account of PBIS at the Primary/Elementary Level: Implementation and Sustainability of Tier I Behavior Support

PBIS implementation began with administrative support. Coach and PBIS team were formed and action plan was created. A tentative action plan was introduced to all school staff. Staff input was needed for a successful implementation. Timeline was created and everyone was given an opportunity to take an active role with implementation.

Schoolwide expectations and positive reinforcements were developed: PBIS language, lesson plans, tickets, celebrations… Collected data soon guided the instruction and adjusted the re-teaching of school expectations. We found it very important for …

Bringing Success To The First Year: Pbis Starter Tips, Dr. Julie Treadwell, Kimberly Dorminy

Georgia Association for Positive Behavior Support Conference

Sugar Hill Elementary is excited to share our PBIS first year success story. Now in our second year of implementation, we will provide starter tips to other schools in their beginning stages. The presentation will outline the steps to create a matrix based on school-wide expectations, present activities to help gain staff buy-in, describe ways to solicit help from the community to enhance the incentive program, and explain how to structure lessons that are manageable for all staff members and/or parents to implement. We’ll also share our lessons learned when implementing this framework.

Research Fellowship In Nicaragua Valuable Experience For Biology Student, Sarah Gardner, Dave Albee

Press Releases

Alexis Toruño ’17 suspected that her research trip to Nicaragua this past summer was going to provide realworld application to her studies. She didn’t expect it to be such a revelation.

November 21st 2016, Csusb

Coyote Chronicle (1984-)

Divided by opinion
Some believe that America is great others believe it never was. p.5

Jack H. Brown
Commemorating the life of "Our Brown" who died at the age of 78. p.9

The Challenge Of Climate Change Adaptation For Agriculture: An Economically Oriented Review, Bruce A. Mccarl, Anastasia W. Thayer, Jason P. H. Jones

Applied Economics Faculty Publications

Climate change is occurring. Deviations from historic temperatures and precipitation plus increased frequency of extreme events are modifying agriculture systems globally. Adapting agricultural management practices offers a way to lessen the effects or exploit opportunities. Herein many aspects of the adaptation issue are discussed, including needs, strategies, observed actions, benefits, economic analysis approaches, role of public/private actors, limits, and project evaluation. We comment on the benefits and shortcomings of analytical methods and suggested economic efforts. Economists need to play a role in such diverse matters as projecting adaptation needs, designing adaptation incentives, and evaluating projects to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Agenda, November 21, 2016, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Retention and Student Success
• EPC Items (November)
• USUSA Annual Report
• 402.12 Senate Standing Committees (Second Reading)

Synthesis, X-Ray Structures, Electronic Properties, And O2/No Reactivities Of Thiol Dioxygenase Active-Site Models, Anne A. Fischer, Nuru Stracey, Sergey V. Lindeman, Thomas C. Brunold, Adam T. Fiedler

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

Mononuclear non-heme iron complexes that serve as structural and functional mimics of the thiol dioxygenases (TDOs), cysteine dioxygenase (CDO) and cysteamine dioxygenase (ADO), have been prepared and characterized with crystallographic, spectroscopic, kinetic, and computational methods. The high-spin Fe(II) complexes feature the facially coordinating tris(4,5-diphenyl-1-methylimidazol-2-yl)phosphine (^Ph2TIP) ligand that replicates the three histidine (3His) triad of the TDO active sites. Further coordination with bidentate l-cysteine ethyl ester (CysOEt) or cysteamine (CysAm) anions yielded five-coordinate (5C) complexes that resemble the substrate-bound forms of CDO and ADO, respectively. Detailed electronic-structure descriptions of the [Fe(^Ph2TIP)(L_S,N)]BPh₄ complexes, where L …

Academics: The Newsletter Of The Swosu College Of Arts And Sciences, Peter Grant

aCAdemicS: The Newsletter of the SWOSU College of Arts & Sciences

No abstract provided.