Digital Commons Network^™

Hiv-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder (Hand) Biomarker Identification: Significance Analysis Of Microarrays And Two Persuasive Approaches With Random Forest, Hansapani Rodrigo, Bryan Martinez, Roberto De La Garza, Upal Roy

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: HIV Associated Neurological Disorders (HAND) is relatively common among people with HIV-1 infection, even those taking combined antiretroviral treatment (cART). Genome-wide screening of transcription regulation in brain tissue helps in identifying substantial abnormalities present in patients’ gene transcripts and to discover possible biomarkers for HAND. This study explores the possibility of identifying differentially expressed (DE) genes, which can serve as potential biomarkers to detect HAND. In this study, we have investigated the gene expression levels of three subject groups with different impairment levels of HAND along with a control group in three distinct brain sectors: white matter, frontal cortex, …

2020 Viewbook, Office Of Admissions

Viewbook

IMSA fosters the discoverers. The thinkers. The problem-solvers of the future who can change the world. Our mission is to ignite and nurture creative, ethical, scientific minds that advance the human condition. We are a diverse community that promotes curiosity and exploration. We’re about more than great college prospects and great jobs, we’re about making our families proud. We’re about a better world for everyone through immersive learning experiences.

In 2017, we adopted the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a call to action that commissions us all to make the right choices now to improve life for …

College, At What Cost? African American/Black Women Undergraduate Students’ Perception Of Institutional Policy Levers, Tamara D. White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study is exploring how institutional policy levers impact retention for African American/Black women undergraduate students at a private four-year predominantly white institution in a mid-western state of the United States. Retention of African American/Black women undergraduate students is not a widely researched area. In this exploratory case study, eight African American/Black undergraduate junior and senior women, ten administrators and one focus group of six African American/Black women were interviewed. Artifacts were collected from the administrators. The data collected was analyzed using the culturally engaging campus environment model. The experiences of the African American/Black undergraduate women were examined in academic …

Can Algorithms Promote Fair Use?, Peter K. Yu

FIU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Access Foundation Student Progression At Technological University Dublin: A Quantitative Study, Annette Forster, Fiona Faulkner, Mark Prendergast

Irish Journal of Academic Practice

Despite a global expansion of higher education in the twentieth century, inequalities in terms of student demographic still remain. The number of mature students (students aged 23 years and over) and students from lower socio-economic backgrounds in full-time higher education in the Republic of Ireland remains low. In order to address this issue, Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) offered a one-year Access Foundation programme providing a route to higher education for mature students and young adults (students less than 23 years) from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. This study examines the factors affecting the progression of students on this programme to undergraduate …

New Technologies And New Spaces: Opportunities For Innovative Educational Environments, Gene Carolan, Cathal Curran, Alan Mccormack

Irish Journal of Academic Practice

Both the National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 and the EU Commission's Report on the Modernisation of Higher Education emphasized the need for high-quality learning environments that are driven by state-of-the-art physical spaces and e-learning platforms. TU Dublin’s impending move to a new consciously designed campus at Grangegorman, and its adoption of the new virtual learning environment, Brightspace, are reflective of these trends. In anticipation of these developments, this paper explores how Brightspace might be integrated into the novel learning spaces created by TU Dublin’s migration to the Grangegorman Campus. The migration presents an excellent opportunity for students and …

Stem Or Steam?: The Critical Role Of Arts In Technology Education (And The Critical Role Of Art In Technology), Etain Watson

Irish Journal of Academic Practice

This paper outlines the interdependency between arts and technology, and explains the absolute necessity of keeping them together in our education systems. While arts and humanities can be successfully taught without technology, technology greatly enhances learning, and more technology is connected to arts in some way than any other use. According to PwC Chief Executive Luke Sayers, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are the solution to our workforce and growth challenge. Deckers suggests that all the levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy exist in order to get us to the highest level where decisions are made according to aesthetics. Both STEM …

Sampling Device-Dependence Of Prokaryotic Community Structure On Marine Particles: Higher Diversity Recovered By In Situ Pumps Than By Oceanographic Bottles, Viena Puigcorbe, Clara Ruiz-Gonzalez, Pere Masque´, Josep M. Gasol

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Microbes associated with sinking marine particles play key roles in carbon sequestration in the ocean. The sampling of particle-attached microorganisms is often done with sediment traps or by filtration of water collected with oceanographic bottles, both involving a certain time lapse between collection and processing of samples that may result in changes in particle-attached microbial communities. Conversely, in situ water filtration through submersible pumps allows a faster storage of sampled particles, but it has rarely been used to study the associated microbial communities and has never been compared to other particle-sampling methods in terms of the recovery of particle microbial …

Pedogenic Processes In A Posidonia Oceanica Mat, Nerea Pineiro-Juncal, Carmen Leiva-Duenas, Oscar Serrano, Miguel Angel Mateo, Antonio Martinez-Cortizas

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Scientists studying seagrasses typically refer to their substratum as sediment, but recently researchers have begun to refer to it as a soil. However, the logistics of sampling underwater substrata and the fragility of these ecosystems challenge their study using pedological methods. Previous studies have reported geochemical processes within the rhizosphere that are compatible with pedogenesis. Seagrass substratum accumulated over the Recent Holocene and can reach several meters in thickness, but studies about deeper layers are scarce. This study is a first attempt to find sound evidence of vertical structuring in Posidonia oceanica deposits to serve as a basis for more …

Navigating Coasts Of Concrete: Pervasive Use Of Artificial Habitats By Shorebirds In The Asia-Pacific, Micha V. Jackson, Chi-Yeung Choi, Tatsuya Amano, Sora M. Estrella, Weipan Lei, Nial Moores, Taej Mundkur, Danny I. Rogers, Richard A. Fuller

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Loss and degradation of wetlands has occurred worldwide, impacting ecosystems and contributing to the decline of waterbirds, including shorebirds that occur along the heavily developed coasts of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF). Artificial (i.e. human-made) wetlands are pervasive in the EAAF and known to be used by shorebirds, but this phenomenon has not been systematically reviewed. We collated data and expert knowledge to understand the extent and intensity of shorebird use of coastal artificial habitats along the EAAF. We found records of 83 species, including all regularly occurring coastal migratory shorebirds, across 176 artificial sites with eight different land uses. …

Reservoir And Lithofacies Shale Classification Based On Nmr Logging, Hongyan Yu, Zhenliang Wang, Fenggang Wen, Reza Rezaee, Maxim Lebedev, Xiaolong Li, Yihuai Zhang, Stefan Iglauer

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 Chinese Petroleum Society Shale gas reservoirs have fine-grained textures and high organic contents, leading to complex pore structures. Therefore, accurate well-log derived pore size distributions are difficult to acquire for this unconventional reservoir type, despite their importance. However, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) logging can in principle provide such information via hydrogen relaxation time measurements. Thus, in this paper, NMR response curves (of shale samples) were rigorously mathematically analyzed (with an Expectation Maximization algorithm) and categorized based on the NMR data and their geology, respectively. Thus the number of the NMR peaks, their relaxation times and amplitudes were analyzed …

Trade-Off Assessments Between Reading Cost And Accuracy Measures For Digital Camera Monitoring Of Recreational Boating Effort, Ebenezer Afrifa-Yamoah, Stephen M. Taylor, Ute Mueller

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Digital camera monitoring is increasingly being used to monitor recreational fisheries. The manual interpretation of video imagery can be costly and time consuming. In an a posteriori analysis, we investigated trade-offs between the reading cost and accuracy measures of estimates of boat retrievals obtained at various sampling proportions for low, moderate and high traffic boat ramps in Western Australia. Simple random sampling, systematic sampling and stratified sampling designs with proportional and weighted allocation were evaluated to assess trade-offs in terms of bias, accuracy, precision, coverage rate and cost in estimating the annual total number of powerboat retrievals in 10,000 jackknife …

Sam-Sos: A Stochastic Software Architecture Modeling And Verification Approach For Complex System-Of-Systems, Ahmad Mohsin, Naeem Khalid Janjua, Syed M. S. Islam, Muhammad Ali Babar

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

A System-of-Systems (SoS) is a complex, dynamic system whose Constituent Systems (CSs) are not known precisely at design time, and the environment in which they operate is uncertain. SoS behavior is unpredictable due to underlying architectural characteristics such as autonomy and independence. Although the stochastic composition of CSs is vital to achieving SoS missions, their unknown behaviors and impact on system properties are unavoidable. Moreover, unknown conditions and volatility have significant effects on crucial Quality Attributes (QAs) such as performance, reliability and security. Hence, the structure and behavior of a SoS must be modeled and validated quantitatively to foresee any …

Packet Analysis For Network Forensics: A Comprehensive Survey, Leslie F. Sikos

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Packet analysis is a primary traceback technique in network forensics, which, providing that the packet details captured are sufficiently detailed, can play back even the entire network traffic for a particular point in time. This can be used to find traces of nefarious online behavior, data breaches, unauthorized website access, malware infection, and intrusion attempts, and to reconstruct image files, documents, email attachments, etc. sent over the network. This paper is a comprehensive survey of the utilization of packet analysis, including deep packet inspection, in network forensics, and provides a review of AI-powered packet analysis methods with advanced network traffic …

Validity And Reliability Of Methods To Determine Barbell Displacement In Heavy Back Squats: Implications For Velocity-Based Training, Brendyn B. Appleby, Harry Banyard, Prue Cormie, Stuart J. Cormack, Robert U. Newton

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of methods for determining barbell displacement during heavy back squats. Twelve well-trained rugby union players (mean ± SD 1 repetition maximum [1RM] 90° squat = 196.3 ± 29.2 kg) completed 2 sets of 2 repetitions at 70, 80, and 90% of 1RM squats. Barbell displacement was derived from 3 methods across 4 load categories (120–129, 140–149, 160–169, and 180–189 kg) including: a (a) linear position transducer (LPT) attached 65 cm left of barbell center, (b) 3D motion analysis tracking of markers attached to either end of a barbell, …

Optimization And Modeling Of Process Parameters In Multi-Hole Simultaneous Drilling Using Taguchi Method And Fuzzy Logic Approach, Muhammad Aamir, Shanshan Tu, Majid Tolouei-Rad, Khaled Giasin, Ana Vafadar

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

In industries such as aerospace and automotive, drilling many holes is commonly required to assemble different structures where machined holes need to comply with tight geometric tolerances. Multi-spindle drilling using a poly-drill head is an industrial hole-making approach that allows drilling several holes simultaneously. Optimizing process parameters also improves machining processes. This work focuses on the optimization of drilling parameters and two drilling processes-namely, one-shot drilling and multi-hole drilling-using the Taguchi method. Analysis of variance and regression analysis was implemented to indicate the significance of drilling parameters and their impact on the measured responses i.e., surface roughness and hole size. …

Leak Location Based On Pds-Vmd Of Leakage-Induced Vibration Signal Under Low Snr In Water-Supply Pipelines, Shuaiyong Li, Chuanqiang Xia, Zhenhua Cheng, Weipei Mao, Ying Liu, Daryoush Habibi

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Leak location in water-supply pipelines is of great significance in order to preserve water resources and reduce economic losses. Cross-correlation (CC) based leak location is a popular and effective method in water-supply pipelines (WSP). However, with a decrease of signal to noise ratio (SNR), the errors of time-delay estimation (TDE) based on CC will become larger making it almost impossible to determine a leakage position. Hence, this work proposes leak location based on a combination of phase difference spectrum and variational mode decomposition (PDS-VMD) of leakage-induced vibration signal under low SNR for WSP. Firstly, the leakage-induced vibration signal is decomposed …

Remodeling The Skeletal Muscle Extracellular Matrix In Older Age—Effects Of Acute Exercise Stimuli On Gene Expression, Matthias Gumpenberger, Barbara Wessner, Alexandra Graf, Marco V. Narici, Christian Fink, Sepp Braun, Christian Hoser, Anthony J. Blazevich, Robert Csapo

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. With advancing age, the skeletal muscle extracellular matrix (ECM) undergoes fibrotic changes that may lead to increased muscle stiffness, injury susceptibility and strength loss. This study tested the potential of different exercises to counter these changes by stimulating the activity of genes associated with ECM remodeling. Twenty-six healthy men (66.9 ± 3.9 years) were stratified to two of four groups, performing unilateral (i) conventional resistance exercise, (ii) conventional resistance exercise followed by self-myofascial release (CEBR), (iii) eccentric-only exercise (ECC) or (iv) plyometric jumps (PLY). The non-trained leg served as control. Six …

Interrelations Among Leadership Competencies Of Bim Leaders: A Fuzzy Dematel-Anp Approach, Seyed Armin Mirhosseini, Reza Kiani Mavi, Neda Kiani Mavi, Behzad Abbasnejad, Farzaneh Rayani

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 by the authors. The use of new, digitally enabled innovations, such as building information modeling (BIM), raises issues such as the delineation of a competent leader. Even though BIM-based competency assessment models have become essential tools for maximizing the potential values of BIM implementation, the current competency models provide limited focus on leadership aspects that facilitate and enhance the BIM implementation efforts. This paper seeks to identify the specific competencies required for BIM implementation and examines the relationships between these competencies. Thirty-two experts from around the globe investigated a total of 15 leadership competencies under three categories pertaining …

Structural Similarity Loss For Learning To Fuse Multi-Focus Images, Xiang Yan, Syed Zulqarnain Gilani, Hanlin Qin, Ajmal Mian

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Convolutional neural networks have recently been used for multi-focus image fusion. However, some existing methods have resorted to adding Gaussian blur to focused images, to simulate defocus, thereby generating data (with ground-truth) for supervised learning. Moreover, they classify pixels as ‘focused’ or ‘defocused’, and use the classified results to construct the fusion weight maps. This then necessitates a series of post-processing steps. In this paper, we present an end-to-end learning approach for directly predicting the fully focused output image from multi-focus input image pairs. The suggested approach uses a CNN architecture …

Are Heat Shock Proteins An Important Link Between Type 2 Diabetes And Alzheimer Disease?, Joanne Elizabeth Rowles, Kevin Noel Keane, Thiago Gomes Heck, Vinicius Cruzat, Giuseppe Verdile, Philip Newsholme

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are growing in prevalence worldwide. The development of T2D increases the risk of AD disease, while AD patients can show glucose imbalance due to an increased insulin resistance. T2D and AD share similar pathological features and underlying mechanisms, including the deposition of amyloidogenic peptides in pancreatic islets (i.e., islet amyloid polypeptide; IAPP) and brain (β-Amyloid; Aβ). Both IAPP and Aβ can undergo misfolding and aggregation and accumulate in the extracellular space of their respective tissues of origin. As a main response to protein …

Enhanced Magneto-Optic Properties In Sputtered Bi-Containing Ferrite Garnet Thin Films Fabricated Using Oxygen Plasma Treatment And Metal Oxide Protective Layers, V. A. Kotov, Mohammad Nur-E-Alam, M. Vasiliev, Kamal Alameh, D. E. Balabanov, V. I. Burkov

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Magneto-optic (MO) imaging and sensing are at present the most developed practical applications of thin-film MO garnet materials. However, in order to improve sensitivity for a range of established and forward-looking applications, the technology and component-related advances are still necessary. These improvements are expected to originate from new material system development. We propose a set of technological modifications for the RF-magnetron sputtering deposition and crystallization annealing of magneto-optic bismuth-substituted iron-garnet films and investigate the improved material properties. Results show that standard crystallization annealing for the as-deposited ultrathin (sputtered 10 nm thick, …

Energy Efficiency Of A Flat-Plate Solar Collector Using Thermally Treated Graphene-Based Nanofluids: Experimental Study, Omer A. Alawi, Haslinda Mohamed Kamar, Hussein A. Mohammed, A. R. Mallah, Omar A. Hussein

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© The Author(s) 2020. A covalent functionalization approach was utilized for the preparation of highly dispersed pentaethylene glycol-thermally treated graphene-water as the absorbing material inside a flat-plate solar collector. Four mass fractions of nanofluids were prepared (0.025, 0.05, 0.075, and 0.1 wt% pentaethylene glycol-thermally treated graphene-water). Graphene nanoparticles were characterized by energy dispersive X-ray analysis with a scanning electron microscope. Measurements of the thermophysical properties were subsequently carried out for the nanosuspensions. The raw investigation data were collected from an indoor flat-plate solar collector test setup. The experimental procedure included different sets of variables such as input temperatures of 303, …

Virtual Source Method For Modelling Fully Nonlinear Progressive Water Waves, Omar Ismael Khaleel Al-Tameemi

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

This thesis describes the development of the Virtual source method (VSM) to generate linear and nonlinear water waves in a numerical wave tank (NWT) as well as the investigation of its global accuracy. The method is based upon the integral equations derived by using Green’s identity with Laplace’s equation for the velocity potential. BEM and VSM schemes are tested against a number of benchmark scenarios. The first test is the standing wave in a rectangular numerical wave tank. The BEM has shown to be up to 1st order accurate in time while VSM is up to 4th-order. Nonlinear effect beyond …

Luxe: Combining High Energy And Intensity To Spark The Vacuum, Beate Heinemann, Tom Heinzl, Andreas Ringwald

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The vacuum of quantum electrodynamics (QED) can be viewed as a medium akin to a dielectric which can be polarised by external fields. If these are sufficiently strong, the response of the vacuum becomes nonlinear and involves phenomena such as lightby- light scattering (‘nonlinear optics’) and, in extremis, ‘dielectric breakdown’, i.e. real pair production, if a critical field strength is exceeded. The LUXE experiment aims to realise near-critical fields through collisions of photons stemming from an ultra-intense optical laser with high energy electrons or photons provided by the European XFEL linear accelerator. This set-up provides a golden opportunity to enter …

Propeller And Vortex Ring State For Floating Offshore Wind Turbines During Surge, Ryan Kyle, Yeaw Chu Lee, Wolf Gerrit Früh

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Tsunami Generation By Combined Fault Rupture And Landsliding, Natalia Perez Del Postigo Prieto

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Tsunami generation and propagation mechanisms need to be clearly understood in order to inform predictive models and improve coastal community preparedness. In the last two decades, unexpectedly large tsunamis have devastated localised coastal communities claiming thousands of lives (i.e. the Japan Tsunami of 2011 and Palu Bay Tsunami 2018). An earthquake primarily caused these devastating tsunamis, although the moderate earthquake magnitude for case of (Palu Bay Tsunami 2018), wave directivity and wave arrival time, and extremely large run-up heights in localised areas did not agree with predictions or later tsunami simulations. However, evidence has been later found to suggest that …

Investigation Of The Chemical Composition Of Plasma-Treated Water By Midiplexc And Its Antimicrobial Effect On L. Monocytogenes And Pseudomonas Fluorescens Monospecies Suspension Cultures, Oliver Handorf, Harald Below, Uta Schnabel, Katharina Riedel

Articles

Plasma -generated compounds conceived by microwave -induced plasma (MidiPLexc) were physicochemically investigated in their molecular compositions. Therefore, plasma -treated water (PTW) was generated by treatment with the MidiPLexc within a 1 l glass bottle for a pre -treatment time of 100 s, 300 s and 900 s. The PTW was further investigated in its composition of reactive oxygen/nitrogen species. For this purpose, the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentration of the PTW was determined electrochemically using chronoamperometry, and the anionic components were determined using ion chromatography. As a result, H2O2 concentrations of up to 720 mg l−1 , nitrite concentrations of 1600 …

Analysis Of A Large Spatiotemporal Groundwater Quality Dataset, Ontario 2010–2017: Informing Human Health Risk Assessment And Testing Guidance For Private Drinking Water Wells, Tessa Latchmore, Paul Hynds, R. Stephen Brown, Corinne Schuster-Wallace, Sarah Dickson-Anderson, Kevin Mcdermott, Anna Majury

Articles

Approximately 1.5 million individuals in Ontario are supplied by private water wells (private groundwater supplies). Unlike municipal supplies, private well water quality remains unregulated, with owners responsible for testing, treating, and maintaining their own water supplies. The primary goal of this study was to assess the effect of repeat sampling of private well water in Ontario and investigate the efficacy of geographically- and/or temporally specific testing recommendations and health risk assessments. The current study combines the Well Water Information System Dataset and the Well Water Testing Dataset from 2010 to 2017, inclusive. These two large existing province-wide datasets collated over …

Knowledge And Behavioural Interventions To Reduce Human Health Risk From Private Groundwater Systems: A Global Review And Pooled Analysis Based On Development Status, S. Mooney, C. P. Mcdowell, J. O'Dwyer, P. D. Hynds

Articles

Groundwater contamination constitutes a significant health risk for private well users residing in rural areas. As the responsibility to safeguard rural private domestic groundwater typically rests with non-expert homeowners, interventions promoting risk mitigation and awareness represent the most viable means of preventing supply contamination. However, no global review or pooled analyses of these interventions has been undertaken to date. The current study sought to identify and quantify the performance of private well interventions from 1990 to 2018 via a global systematised review and pooled analysis. The PICO (Population-Intervention-Comparison-Outcome) approach was employed for literature identification. Relevant studies were statistically analysed across …