Digital Commons Network^™

Agro-Ecological Options For Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera Frugiperda Je Smith)Management: Providing Low-Cost, Smallholder Friendly Solutions To An Invasive Pest, Rhett D. Harrison, Christian Thierfelder, Frédéric Baudron, Peter Chinwada, Charles Midega, Urs Schaffner, Johnnie Van Den Berg

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Fall armyworm (FAW), a voracious agricultural pest native to North and South America, was first detected on the African continent in 2016 and has subsequently spread throughout the continent and across Asia. It has been predicted that FAW could cause up to $US13 billion per annum in crop losses throughout sub-Saharan Africa, thereby threatening the livelihoods of millions of poor farmers. In their haste to respond to FAW governments may promote indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides which, aside from human health and environmental risks, could undermine smallholder pest management strategies that depend to a large degree on natural enemies. Agro-ecological …

Adversarial Learning On Heterogeneous Information Networks, Binbin Hu, Yuan Fang, Chuan Shi

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Network embedding, which aims to represent network data in alow-dimensional space, has been commonly adopted for analyzingheterogeneous information networks (HIN). Although exiting HINembedding methods have achieved performance improvement tosome extent, they still face a few major weaknesses. Most importantly, they usually adopt negative sampling to randomly selectnodes from the network, and they do not learn the underlying distribution for more robust embedding. Inspired by generative adversarial networks (GAN), we develop a novel framework HeGAN forHIN embedding, which trains both a discriminator and a generatorin a minimax game. Compared to existing HIN embedding methods,our generator would learn the node distribution to …

Sex Differences In Circadian Rhythmicity Arise Outside The Hypothalamus, Sneha M. Chaturvedi

Senior Honors Papers / Undergraduate Theses

Most biological processes are regulated by an internal circadian rhythm. This body clock synchronizes daily rhythms in physiology with the environment. Circadian outputs can differ between females and males, but the underlying mechanisms for these differences are unknown. Glucocorticoids, a class of circadian stress hormones in vertebrates, provide a model for studying sexual dimorphisms in circadian timing. Female rodents show a higher mean and peak-to-trough amplitude of corticosterone than males. This is most prevalent during proestrus when estrogen levels are high. To test the hypothesis that male-female differences in daily corticosterone secretion arise within circadian cells in the brain, we …

Comparison Of The Survival And Growth Of West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine In East Texas, Jamie Hooker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

West Gulf Coastal Plain provenance loblolly (Pinus taeda L.), longleaf (Pinus palustris Mill.), shortleaf (Pinus echinata Mill.), and slash pines (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) were planted in East Texas to compare initial growth and survival. Containerized seedlings were planted in December 2015 on three study sites in Shelby, Houston, and Cherokee counties using a randomized complete block design. Seedlings were measured in January-February 2016 and again January-February 2017, January 2018, and January 2019. Three years after planting, survival was best (76.4%) in Houston County and was lowest in Cherokee County (26.4). Damage by Texas leafcutter ants (Atta …

Soil Amelioration And Plant Establishment On Sodium Affected Soils On Galveston Island, Texas, Elaine Harris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The storm surge from Hurricane Ike in 2008 inundated much of Galveston Island, Texas, causing lasting below-ground impacts in the form of elevated soil sodium (Na+) concentrations. The Na+ initially killed much of the vegetation on the Island and its persistence in soils and groundwater slowed revegetation with some species. Soil amelioration techniques aimed at reducing soil Na+ concentrations were evaluated on an area affected by the storm surge. The treatments were: constructed raised beds composed of uncontaminated soil, incorporation of organic mulch, gypsum application, and combinations of these treatments. Inputs of Na+ from sea-spray aerosols were also quantified using …

Mistaken About Mistakes, Kathryn Zeiler

Faculty Scholarship

Theoretical work in behavioral economics aims to modify assumptions of standard neoclassical models of individual decision-making to better comport with observed behavior. The alternative assumptions fall into at least two categories: nonstandard preferences and psychological mistakes. Applications of behavioral economics models in law, however, tend to assume that deviations from standard neoclassical models are meant to build in psychological mistakes that produce regrettable choices. Often follow-on policy prescriptions suggest interventions that either help individuals choose correctly or go further to substitute the “correct” choices for those that mistake-prone individuals might choose in error. Such policy prescriptions are ill suited in …

Algorithmic Discrimination Is An Information Problem, Ignacio N. Cofone

UC Law Journal

While algorithmic decision-making has proven to be a challenge for traditional antidiscrimination law, there is an opportunity to regulate algorithms through the information that they are fed. But blocking information about protected categories will rarely protect these groups effectively because other information will act as proxies. To avoid disparate treatment, the protected category attributes cannot be considered; but to avoid disparate impact, they must be considered. This leads to a paradox in regulating information to prevent algorithmic discrimination. This Article addresses this problem. It suggests that, instead of ineffectively blocking or passively allowing attributes in training data, we should modify …

Deep Grassmann Manifold Optimization For Computer Vision, Breton Lawrence Minnehan

Theses

In this work, we propose methods that advance four areas in the field of computer vision: dimensionality reduction, deep feature embeddings, visual domain adaptation, and deep neural network compression. We combine concepts from the fields of manifold geometry and deep learning to develop cutting edge methods in each of these areas. Each of the methods proposed in this work achieves state-of-the-art results in our experiments. We propose the Proxy Matrix Optimization (PMO) method for optimization over orthogonal matrix manifolds, such as the Grassmann manifold. This optimization technique is designed to be highly flexible enabling it to be leveraged in many …

Implantable Microsystem Technologies For Nanoliter-Resolution Inner Ear Drug Delivery, Farzad Forouzandeh

Theses

Advances in protective and restorative biotherapies have created new opportunities to use site-directed, programmable drug delivery systems to treat auditory and vestibular disorders. Successful therapy development that leverages the transgenic, knock-in, and knock-out variants of mouse models of human disease requires advanced microsystems specifically designed to function with nanoliter precision and with system volumes suitable for implantation. The present work demonstrates a novel biocompatible, implantable, and scalable microsystem consisted of a thermal phase-change peristaltic micropump with wireless control and a refillable reservoir. The micropump is fabricated around a catheter microtubing (250 μm OD, 125 μm ID) that provided a biocompatible …

A Csra-Binding, Trans-Acting Srna Of Coxiella Burnetii Is Necessary For Optimal Intracellular Growth And Vacuole Formation During Early Infection Of Host Cells, Shaun Wachter, Matteo Bonazzi,, Kyle Shifflett, Abraham Moses, Rahul Raghavan, Michael F. Minnick

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Coxiella burnetii is an obligate intracellular gammaproteobacterium and zoonotic agent of Q fever. We previously identified 15 small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) of C. burnetii. One of them, CbsR12 (Coxiella b urnetii small RNA 12), is highly transcribed during axenic growth and becomes more prominent during infection of cultured mammalian cells. Secondary structure predictions of CbsR12 revealed four putative CsrA-binding sites in stem loops with consensus AGGA/ANGGA motifs. We subsequently determined that CbsR12 binds to recombinant C. burnetii CsrA-2, but not CsrA-1, proteins in vitro. Moreover, through a combination of in vitro and cell …

Toxic Chemical Governance Failure In The United States: Key Lessons And Paths Forward, Ariana M. Chiapella, Zbigniew Grabowski, Mary Ann Rozance, Ashlie D. Denton, Manar A. Alattar, Elise F. Granek

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Over 40 years of regulations in the United States have failed to protect human and environmental health. We contend that these failures result from the flawed governance over the continued production, use, and disposal of toxic chemicals. To address this failure, we need to identify the broader social, political, and technological processes producing, knowing, and regulating toxic chemicals, collectively referred to as toxic chemical governance. To do so, we create a conceptual framework covering five key domains of governance: knowledge production, policy design, monitoring and enforcement, evaluation, and adjudication. Within each domain, social actors of varying power negotiate what constitutes …

Moving Beyond ‘Therapy’ And ‘Enhancement’ In The Ethics Of Gene Editing, Bryan Cwik

Philosophy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Since the advent of recombinant DNA technology, expectations (and trepidations) about the potential for altering genes and controlling our biology at the fundamental level have been sky high. These expectations have gone largely unfulfilled. But though the dream (or nightmare) of being able to control our biology is still far off, gene editing research has made enormous strides toward potential clinical use. This paper argues that when it comes to determining permissible uses of gene editing in one important medical context—germline intervention in reproductive medicine—issues about enhancement and eugenics are, for the foreseeable future, a red herring. Current translational goals …

Scanning Single Shot Detector For Math In Document Images, Parag Shrikrishna Mali

Theses

We introduce the Scanning Single Shot Detector (ScanSSD) for detecting both embedded and displayed math expressions in document images using a single-stage network that does not require page layout, font, or, character information. ScanSSD uses sliding windows to generate sub-images of large document page images rendered at 600 dpi and applies Single Shot Detector (SSD) on each sub-image. Detection results from sub-images are pooled to generate page-level results. For pooling sub-image level detections, we introduce new methods based on the confidence scores and density of detections. ScanSSD is a modular architecture that can be easily applied to detecting other objects …

The Impact Of Traumatic Brain Injury On Neuropsychological Functioning And Tau Accumulation Later In Life In Military Veterans, Lindsay Eatman

Dissertations

Abstract The following study examines aging veterans that experience a TBI while in service and

compares to older veteran without a history of TBI. The objective is to look at cognitive profile later in life for military veterans with moderate to severe TBI different and compared to older veterans with no history of TBI. Is there a difference in tau accumulations on neuroimaging in military veterans with moderate to severe TBI compared to older veterans without a history of TBI? What is the relationship between the cognitive profile and tau imaging correlates for military veterans with moderate to severe TBI …

The Underlying Psychophysiology Of Pedophilic Disorder And The Implications For Treatment Approaches, Tonise Florexil

Dissertations

Sexual crimes are a persistent and significant social dilemma that continues to plague our society (Lee, Jackson, Pattison, & Ward,2002). Past research has made considerable advancements in terms of the types of interventions that clinicians can utilize when they work with individuals who have a history of child sexual offenses. However, current literature lacks an understanding of the risk factors that influence the development of Pedophilic Disorder. A history of sexual trauma also affects families. The children of traumatized individuals have more adjustment difficulties than their counterparts who did not have a parent(s) with a sexual trauma history. This clinical …

Radiobiological And Dosimetric Impact Of Raystation Pencil Beam And Monte Carlo Algorithms On Intensity-Modulated Proton Therapy Breast Cancer Plans, Suresh Rana, Jaafar Bennouna

All Publications

No abstract provided.

Association Of Office And Ambulatory Blood Pressure With Mortality And Cardiovascular Outcomes, Wen-Yi Yang, Jesus D. Melgarejo, Lutgarde Thijs, Zhen-Yu Zhang, José Boggia, Fang-Fei Wei, Tine W. Hansen, Kei Asayama, Gladys E. Maestre, Takayoshi Ohkubo

School of Medicine Publications

Importance Blood pressure (BP) is a known risk factor for overall mortality and cardiovascular (CV)-specific fatal and nonfatal outcomes. It is uncertain which BP index is most strongly associated with these outcomes.

Objective To evaluate the association of BP indexes with death and a composite CV event.

Design, Setting, and Participants Longitudinal population-based cohort study of 11 135 adults from Europe, Asia, and South America with baseline observations collected from May 1988 to May 2010 (last follow-ups, August 2006-October 2016).

Exposures Blood pressure measured by an observer or an automated office machine; measured for 24 hours, during the day or …

Customized Methylc-Capture Sequencing To Evaluate Variation In The Human Sperm Dna Methylome Representative Of Altered Folate Metabolism., Donovan Chan, Xiaojian Shao, Marie-Charlotte Dumargne, Mahmoud Aarabi, Marie-Michelle Simon, Tony Kwan, Janice L. Bailey, Bernard Robaire, Sarah Kimmins, Maria C. San Gabriel, Armand Zini, Clifford Librach, Sergey Moskovtsev, Elin Grundberg, Guillaume Bourque, T Pastinen, Jacquetta M. Trasler

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Background: The sperm DNA methylation landscape is unique and critical for offspring health. If gamete-derived DNA methylation escapes reprograming in early embryos, epigenetic defects in sperm may be transmitted to the next generation. Current techniques to assess sperm DNA methylation show bias toward CpG-dense regions and do not target areas of dynamic methylation, those predicted to be environmentally sensitive and tunable regulatory elements.

Objectives: Our goal was to assess variation in human sperm DNA methylation and design a targeted capture panel to interrogate the human sperm methylome.

Methods: To characterize variation in sperm DNA methylation, we performed whole genome bisulfite …

Diet, Digestion And Energy Intake In Captive Common Marmosets (Callithrix Jacchus): Research And Management Implications, Michael L. Power, Jessica Adams, Kirsten Solonika, Ricki J. Colman, Corinna N. Ross, Suzette D. Tardif

Biology Faculty Publications (Archived)

Common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) are susceptible to intestinal inflammation which leads to chronic diarrhea, weight loss, and vitamin D deficiency. We examined food intake and digestion in three mixed-sex groups of adult marmosets maintained on three commercial base diets. Animals underwent two consecutive 4-day digestion trials. Body mass stayed constant. Feces and diet were assayed for Mn, fat, and gross energy (GE). Apparent digestibility of dry matter (ADDM) was calculated by the total collection method and from dietary and fecal Mn; the methods produced correlated results (r = 0.658, p < 0.001). Apparent digestibility of energy (ADE) was calculated from ADDM and the GE of feces and diet; apparent digestibility of fat (ADfat) was calculated from ADDM and fecal fat. ADDM and ADE varied by diet (p < 0.001). We found poor digesters on all three diets. The concentration of fecal fat was inversely related to ADE (r = −0.729, p < 0.001). High fecal fat (>10%) was associated with ADfat of zero, consistent …

Syntroph Diversity And Abundance In Anaerobic Digestion Revealed Through A Comparative Core Microbiome Approach, Masanori Fujimoto, Daniel Elliott Carey, Daniel Zitomer, Patrick J. Mcnamara

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Anaerobic digestion is an important biotechnology treatment process for conversion of waste to energy. In this study, a comparative core microbiome approach, i.e., determining taxa that are shared in functioning digesters but not shared in non-functioning digesters, was used to determine microbial taxa that could play key roles for effective anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic digester functions were impaired by adding the broad-spectrum antimicrobial triclosan (TCS) or triclocarban (TCC) at different concentrations, and the core microbiomes in both functioning and non-functioning anaerobic digesters were compared. Digesters treated with high (2500 mg/kg) or medium (450 mg/kg) TCS and high (850 mg/kg) …

4-H Career Readiness - Animal, Dairy And Veterinary Sciences, Bioveterinary Science Emphasis, Joshua Dallin, Kelsey Romney

All Current Publications

This brochure gives 4-H members information about preparing for careers in Animal, dairy and veterinary science, with a bioveterinary emphasis.

4-H Career Readiness - Animal, Dairy And Veterinary Sciences, Equine And Management Emphasis, Joshua Dallin, Kelsey Romney

All Current Publications

This brochure gives 4-H members information about preparing for careers in animal, dairy and veterinary science, with equine and management emphasis.

4-H Career Readiness- Animal, Dairy And Veterinary Sciences, Animal And Dairy Science Emphasis, Joshua Dallin, Kelsey Romney

All Current Publications

This brochure gives 4-H members information about preparing for careers in animal and dairy science..

The Effects Of Sleep On Workplace Cognitive Failure And Safety, Rebecca M. Brossoit, Tori L. Crain, Jordyn J. Leslie, Leslie B. Hammer, Donald M. Truxillo, Todd E. Bodner

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Healthy employee sleep is important for occupational safety, but the mechanisms that explain the relationships among sleep and safety-related behaviors remain unknown. We draw from Crain, Brossoit, and Fisher's (in press) work, nonwork, and sleep (WNS) framework and Barnes' (2012) model of sleep and self-regulation in organizations to investigate the influence of construction workers' self-reported sleep quantity (i.e., duration) and quality (i.e., feeling well-rest upon awakening, ability to fall asleep and remain asleep) on workplace cognitive failures (i.e., lapses in attention, memory, and action at work) and subsequent workplace safety behaviors (i.e., safety compliance and safety participation) and reports of …

Agricultural Drought Assessment Based On Multiple Soil Moisture Products, Jongjin Baik, Muhammad Zohaib, Ungtae Kim, Muhammad Aadil, Minha Choi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

In this study, we evaluated three soil moisture (SM) products (Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-2 [AMSR2], Advanced SCATterometer [ASCAT], and European Reanalysis Interim [ERA-interim]) across Australia in four climate zones by comparing against the Australian Water Resources Assessment-Landscape (AWRA-L) SM products from July 2012 to June 2017. The ASCAT SM indicated better performance than other SM products over Australia. To evaluate the applicability and reliability for monitoring agricultural drought, an agricultural drought index, the Soil Water Deficit Index, was estimated from three SM products and compared with three commonly-used drought indices (atmospheric water deficit [AWD], Evaporative Stress Index, and Reconnaissance …

High Performance Computing Techniques To Better Understand Protein Conformational Space, Arpita Joshi

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis presents an amalgamation of high performance computing techniques to get better insight into protein molecular dynamics. Key aspects of protein function and dynamics can be learned from their conformational space. Datasets that represent the complex nuances of a protein molecule are high dimensional. Efficient dimensionality reduction becomes indispensable for the analysis of such exorbitant datasets. Dimensionality reduction forms a formidable portion of this work and its application has been explored for other datasets as well. It begins with the parallelization of a known non-liner feature reduction algorithm called Isomap. The code for the algorithm was re-written in C …

Temperature And Ph-Responsive Nano-Hydrogel Drug Delivery System Based On Lysine-Modified Poly (Vinylcaprolactam), Fatemeh Farjadian, Somayeh Rezaeifard, Mahsa Naeimi, Sahar Ghasemi, Soliman Mohammadi-Samani, Mark E. Welland, Lobat Tayebi

School of Dentistry Faculty Research and Publications

Background: Smart materials capable of responding to external stimuli are noteworthy candidates in designing drug delivery systems. In many of the recent research, temperature and pH have been recognized as the main stimulating factors in designing systems for anti-cancer drugs delivery systems.

Purpose: In this study, thermo and pH-responsive character of a nano-carrier drug delivery platform based on lysine modified poly (vinylcaprolactam) hydrogel conjugated with doxorubicin was assessed.

Methods: Poly (vinylcaprolactam) cross-linked with poly (ethyleneglycol) diacrylate was prepared via RAFT polymerization, and the prepared structure was linked with lysine through ring-opening. The anti-cancer drug doxorubicin, was linked to lysine moiety …

Investigation Of The Biosynthetic Process Of Indigoidine, Yi Chen

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Indigoidine is a natural blue dye with antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. It has also been used as an indicator for gene expression based on its distinctive blue color. Similar to the industry blue dye indigo, indigoidine has a promising potential to be applied in industry as a blue dye. However, the indigoidine production level in the original microorganisms was very low. Heterologous expression of the responsible synthetase gene in Escherichia coli can facilitate the fast and large-scale production of indigoidine. Also, a good understating of the working mechanism of the synthetase is favorable for the industrial application.

In our previous …

Towards Conjunctive Management Of Surface Water And Groundwater In The Mediterranean, Matthew Lagod

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

One of the fundamental principles of integrated water resources management is the interconnected nature of water in the hydrological cycle, including the interactions between surface water and groundwater. Although scientists have long recognized these interactions, in many cases they are not reflected in natural resources policies and management practices. As a result, the allocation of water resources by public authorities may not be optimal, and may furthermore lead to long-term degradation of water resources and the ecosystems they sustain. In response to this and to growing pressure on water resources from increasing human populations, water experts have developed a body …

Investigation Of Riluzole’S Synaptic Protection Mechanism Through Hsf1-Bdnf Axis, Yi Zhang

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The FDA-approved amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) drug Riluzole has great potential in treating Alzheimer’s disease (AD) based on promising animal data as well as its known action on modulating synaptic transmission. However, its detailed mechanism of action is not fully understood. Here, we proposed work aiming to address this aspect via focus- ing on the Heat Shock Factor 1 (HSF1)-dependent mechanisms. We found that Riluzole could increase HSF1 and BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) expression both at transcriptional and translational levels. CA1 (Cornu Ammonia, the first region in the hip- pocampal circuit), is its main target. We also demonstrated a protective …