Digital Commons Network^™

Investigating Relationships Found In The Kidney Microenvironment To Aid In Understanding Malfunctions Of Proteins In Chronic Kidney Disease, Ademide Ogunsina

Holster Scholar Projects

The kidneys are the filtration organ that helps filter out waste from our body. Kidney disease is an ailment that causes damage to the kidney so that it cannot filter our blood and other bodily fluids properly. It is also one of the least researched illnesses in the medical field. And with about 10-15 percent of the American population suffering from kidney disease, there is an urgency in finding more ways to help find a solution.

I examined the damaged kidney environment at the cellular level to find out what protein processes cause the malfunction of the kidneys. Methodologies employed …

New Species Of Birds Reported In Arkansas Since 2009, R. Tumlison, R. Kannan

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

We update our state of knowledge regarding the 20 new species of birds (and 1 new species name based on a change in taxonomy) discovered in Arkansas since the last update in 2009. These are based on records of the Arkansas Audubon Society and those posted on eBird. New species include 3 from Order Anseriformes, 1 Pelicaniformes, 1 Falconiformes, 1 Gruiformes, 4 Charadriiformes, 1 Apodiformes, and 10 Passeriformes. Historic distributions of the new species include Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf Coasts, as well as interior origins. The current count of extant species of birds observed in Arkansas now stands at 425.

Rare Birds In Arkansas: Historical Observations And New Records, R. Tumlison, R. Kannan

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Diligent members of birding communities are quick to report rare sightings of birds, which often lead to multiple observations and photographic documentation. Verified reports and images of birds in Arkansas are curated by the Arkansas Audubon Society (AAS), which has led to an appreciation of which species are common versus rare. We gathered historic (literature) and more recent unpublished records of rare birds (those with fewer than 10 reports, per AAS) to document the historic and current state of knowledge of those species. Currently, there are a total of 425 species of birds reported in Arkansas, of which 54 are …

Least Flycatchers Under-Reported In Fall Migration In Arkansas —A Citizen Science Conundrum, L. Barnes, R. Kannan

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The Least Flycatcher Empidonax minimus is a small passerine migrant bird that passes through Arkansas in fall and spring migration. The birds are vocal during spring passage but relatively quiet and unobtrusive during fall migration, leading to many fewer reports by birdwatchers in fall than spring. We use eBird maps and data to present evidence to support this discrepancy between fall and spring observations. We also show that the species is under-reported in Arkansas during the fall compared to neighboring regions. This may be in part due to the reluctance of some birders to provide the minimal evidence required to …

Citizen Science: Role Of Inaturalist In Biodiversity Documentation And Education In Arkansas, K. Baker, L. Barnes, S. Rana, J. Jackson, R. Kannan

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

iNaturalist is a global online digital platform for documenting and fostering interest in biodiversity, with Research Grade (RG) entries being vetted and scientifically valid observations. Here we present a review of the role of approximately 16,000 Arkansans using the iNaturalist tool for recording 445,000 verifiable observations comprising 10,800 species, with 40 percent RG, and one third of observations still pending confirmation. Overall, plants lead in RG observations followed by invertebrates and birds. Within these groups, reptiles lead in proportion of RG observations, followed by birds and amphibians. Less charismatic or infrequently encountered organisms are less represented. Arkansas ranks about average …

Energy Content Of Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) In The Diet Of Scaled Quail (Callipepla Squamata) In Southeastern New Mexico, J.L. Hunt, M.E. Grilliot, T.L. Best, C.M. Wilkerson, A.F. Huitt

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) are common insects that are important food items for many kinds of wildlife, including many species of upland game birds such as scaled quail (Callipepla squamata). We analyzed the energy content of grasshoppers obtained from the crops of scaled quail collected from plainsmesa sand-scrub in Lea and Eddy counties, New Mexico. Grasshoppers were removed from crops and dried for 48 hours at 60°C to remove moisture and standardize masses. Grasshoppers were then pulverized and analyzed for gross caloric value (i.e., energy content) in an oxygen bomb calorimeter. Energy content of grasshoppers from New Mexico averaged 19.2 J/kg …

Heat Release And Flame Scale Effects On Turbulence Dynamics In Confined Premixed Flows, Max Fortin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

As industry transitions to a net-zero carbon future, turbulent premixed combustion will remain an integral process for power generating gas turbines and are also desired for aviation engines due to their ability to minimize pollutant emissions. However, accurately predicting the behavior of a turbulent reacting flow field remains a challenge. To better understand the dynamics of premixed reacting flows, this study experimentally investigates the evolution of turbulence in a high-speed bluff-body combustor. The combustor is operated across a range of equivalence ratios from 0.7-1 to quantify the role of heat release and flame scales on the evolution of turbulence as …

A Survey Of Current School Orchestra Directors' Incorporation Of Alternative Styles In The 6-12 String Curriculum, Haley Fye

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study collected a representative sample of current grade 6-12 school orchestra directors' incorporation of alternative styles in the curriculum. It examined directors' repertoire selection process and their potential influence on student engagement, motivation, and retention, with a specific interest in alternative styles. Alternative styles in string education that are included in this study are contemporary pop, folk, bluegrass, rock, Irish fiddle, jazz, and world music. Participants were recruited in the study through two private Facebook groups for school orchestra directors (School Orchestra and String Teachers, and Orchestra Teachers) and two communities on Reddit pertaining to music teaching (r/MusicEd and …

Improving The Academic Success Of Technical College Students With Disabilities: A Multisite Descriptive Case Study, Andrea Colwell Ingram

Theses and Dissertations

Students with disabilities in higher education have lower retention and graduation rates than students without disabilities. While postsecondary administrators are attempting to meet the needs of students by implementing necessary reforms, barriers remain like issues with disclosure, transition planning, and faculty knowledge. This present qualitative descriptive case study sought to explore the instructional practices that were implemented by technical college educators to accommodate students with learning challenges, including students with disabilities, utilizing the Universal Design for Learning framework to determine which current technical college faculty instructional accommodations practices intersect with or diverge from Universal Design for Learning principles. The participants …

Agency Development Of Preservice Teachers Progressing Through An Undergraduate Education Program, Tracy Christina Stockdale

Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests student achievement improves when teachers connect with their students and create lessons and instruction based on their needs (Hattie, 2003; Stronge, 2018). Unfortunately, educators throughout the United States report losing control over the educational decisions they make in their classrooms at startling rates (Ingersoll, 2011; Wright, 2020). A recent study by Ingersoll, Merrill, Stuckey, and Collins (2018) found that approximately 50% of educators leave the profession within their first five years of teaching. An analysis of the attrition data showed that teachers often leave the profession due to perceptions of low classroom autonomy (Ingersoll et al., 2018). The …

Teaching Health Justice And Reimagining Narratives Of Place Through Community-Driven Science Practices, Tammie Visintainer

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This study explores how a biology teacher from a summer science program engaged high school students of color in a three-week science unit exploring community health at the intersection of history, race, place, and power. The goal of this study is to better understand what community-driven science looks like in a science classroom when a health equity unit is guided by a biology teacher who engages the socio-historical, political, and relational aspects of community structure and agency. Using student and instructor interviews, program observations, and student artifacts, I examine how the instructor's positioning as a Black woman scientist shaped her …

The Critical Role Of Happiness In Education: Resilience, Retention, And What Happy Teachers Do Differently, Jill Marie Hayes White

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Teachers are unhappy, stressed, and leaving the field at an alarming rate. This paper analyzes how teacher happiness is related to resilience and retention. It also looks for patterns that identify what happy teachers do differently at work. To complete this investigation, current K-12 public school teachers throughout Iowa completed electronic surveys that assessed their happiness, resilience, and work life. These surveys included the Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999), the Brief Resilience Scale (Smith, et al., 2008), and 14 additional survey questions created by the researcher. Correlational, comparative, and descriptive analyses were completed to examine potential relationships and …

Mapping For Impact: Actionable Spatial Literacy Through Counter-Mapping, Rachel Hansen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Counter-mapping is a technique that young people can use to take informed action on community issues through the mapping process. This mixed-methods study examined how ninth-graders in a large urban district in Iowa developed spatial thinking skills while engaging in counter-mapping in their community and the extent to which they used those maps to take informed action. A nine-week learning progression for counter-mapping scaffolded progress variables across three different spatial thinking standards and one inquiry standard. Findings indicated that students improved throughout the learning progression, but some needed teacher support to conduct spatial inquiries. Chances of reaching the upper anchor …

A Graduate Recital In Piano, Heather Gillis

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Heather Gillis presented a full graduate piano recital on Friday, March 10, 2023. The recital was performed at 8:00 p.m. in Davis Hall in the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center at the University of Northern Iowa. This recital was given in partial fulfillment of the Master of Music degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy. The program consisted of works by Sergei Prokofiev, Robert Schumann, and Joseph Haydn. This abstract contains further discussion of performed works.

Catalog Revision Gen Ed, Academic Affairs

Executive Actions

No abstract provided.

Lost Circulation Control During Drilling And Completion In Complex Formations, Chong Lin, Arash D. Taleghani, Chengyuan Xu, Zhenjiang You

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Well drilling is a common method for Earth exploration, underground mineral resource extraction, and geological storage of nuclear waste and carbon dioxide. Drilling fluid circulates in the well during drilling, cooling the drill bit, transporting rock cuttings, preventing wellbore collapse, and balancing formation pressure. Lost circulation occurs when less fluid returns from the wellbore than is pumped into it, resulting in economic losses due to drilling fluid wastage and nonproductive time. Untreated losses can cause well control issues, poor hole cleaning, pack-offs, and stuck pipe, impairing normal drilling. Lost circulation incidents are more likely to occur with the increasing share …

Edna Metabarcoding Of Avocado Flowers: ‘Hass’ It Got Potential To Survey Arthropods In Food Production Systems?, Joshua H. Kestel, Philip W. Bateman, David L. Field, Nicole E. White, Rose Lines, Paul Nevill

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

In the face of global biodiversity declines, surveys of beneficial and antagonistic arthropod diversity as well as the ecological services that they provide are increasingly important in both natural and agro-ecosystems. Conventional survey methods used to monitor these communities often require extensive taxonomic expertise and are time-intensive, potentially limiting their application in industries such as agriculture, where arthropods often play a critical role in productivity (e.g. pollinators, pests and predators). Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding of a novel substrate, crop flowers, may offer an accurate and high throughput alternative to aid in the detection of these managed and unmanaged taxa. Here, …

A Survey On Artificial Intelligence-Based Acoustic Source Identification, Ruba Zaheer, Iftekhar Ahmad, Daryoush Habibi, Kazi Y. Islam, Quoc Viet Phung

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The concept of Acoustic Source Identification (ASI), which refers to the process of identifying noise sources has attracted increasing attention in recent years. The ASI technology can be used for surveillance, monitoring, and maintenance applications in a wide range of sectors, such as defence, manufacturing, healthcare, and agriculture. Acoustic signature analysis and pattern recognition remain the core technologies for noise source identification. Manual identification of acoustic signatures, however, has become increasingly challenging as dataset sizes grow. As a result, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques for identifying noise sources has become increasingly relevant and useful. In this paper, we …

What Do Mathematics Lessons Look Like? Analyses Of Primary Students’ Drawings, Benjamin Rott, Laura Barton, Vesife Hatisaru

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The use of student drawings to assess their experiences and beliefs about teaching and learning of mathematics has become almost a regular research method – especially when working with young students who may not express themselves well, for example, in self-report questionnaires. These methods, nevertheless, need to be improved regarding their objectivity and validity. By building on the existing research, in this study, we focus on objectivity and validity issues in drawing-based methods. We use a drawing-based instrument: Draw A Mathematics Classroom (DAMC) and present 104 fourth-grade students to draw a picture of their regular mathematics lessons. We especially aim …

Invisible Women: Gender Representation In High School Science Courses Across Australia, Kathryn Ross, Shanika Galaudage, Tegan Clark, Nataliea Lowson, Andrew Battisti, Helen Adam, Alexandra K. Ross, Nici Sweaney

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The visibility of female role models in science is vital for engaging and retaining women in scientific fields. In this study, we analyse four senior secondary science courses delivered across the states and territories in Australia: Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, and Physics. We compared male and female representation within the science courses by examining the mentions of male and female scientists along with the context of their inclusions in the syllabuses. We find a clear gender bias with only one unique mention of a female scientist. We also find a clear Eurocentric focus and narrow representation of scientists. This bias …

Hybrid Warfare And Disinformation: A Ukraine War Perspective, Sascha-Dominik Dov Bachmann, Dries Putter, Guy Duczynski

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Misinformation, disinformation and mal information are part of the information disorder construct, dominating the information warfare domain. These are key enablers associated with grey zone operations, and an integral part of current adversaries' and competitors' hybrid warfare tool kit. Disinformation, in combination with influence operations, also plays an important role within the concept of hybrid warfare; both from a threat–and own resilience perspective. This article reflects on these information warfare tools and their application by Russia in the current Russo-Ukraine war, offering potentially considerable force multipliers in the information domain for the Russian aggressor. Hybrid warfare and associated threats, specifically …

Spatial Heterogeneity In Sediment And Carbon Accretion Rates Within A Seagrass Meadow Correlated With The Hydrodynamic Intensity, Jiarui Lei, Rachel Schaefer, Phil Colarusso, Alyssa Novak, Juliet C. Simpson, Pere Masqué, Heidi Nepf

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The majority of the carbon stored in seagrass sediments originates outside the meadow, such that the carbon storage capacity within a meadow is strongly dependent on hydrodynamic conditions that favor deposition and retention of fine organic matter within the meadow. By extension, if hydrodynamic conditions vary across a meadow, they may give rise to spatial gradients in carbon. This study considered whether the spatial gradients in sediment and carbon accretion rates correlated with the spatial variation in hydrodynamic intensity within a single meadow. Field measurements were conducted in three depth zones across a Zostera marina L. (eelgrass) meadow in Nahant …

Mobile Big Data Analytics Using Deep Learning And Apache Spark, Muhammad Azeem, Bassam M. Abualsoud, Dimuthu Priyadarshana

Mesopotamian Journal of Big Data

The new mobile big data is the outcome of the widespread use of mobile devices like smartphones and IoT devices. Without employing suitable analytical and learning methodologies to extract crucial facts and hidden designs from the data, collecting MBDs is not economically viable. We drew on the work of other academics who published their findings between 2015 and 2021 for this analysis. This white paper gives an introduction to deep learning in MBD analysis and a straightforward training exercise, and it verifies the viability of customizable learning architectures via Apache Spark. Certain deep learning tasks, in particular, are carried out …

Large Scale Data Using K-Means, Raheela Zaib, Ourlis Ourabah

Mesopotamian Journal of Big Data

Because of the exponential growth of high-layered datasets, conventional database querying strategies are inadequate for extracting useful information, and analysts must now devise novel techniques to meet these demands. Such massive articulation data results in a plethora of new computational triggers as a result of both the rise in data protests and the increase of elements/ascribes. Preprocessing the data with a reliable dimensionality reduction method improves the efficacy and precision of mining operations on densely layered data. Therefore, we have compiled the opinions of numerous academics. Cluster analysis is a data analysis tool that has recently acquired prominence in a …

Effectual Text Classification In Data Mining: A Practical Approach, Israa Ezzat, Alaa Wagih Abdulqader, Atheel Sabih Shaker

Mesopotamian Journal of Big Data

Text classification is the process of setting records into classes that have already been set up based on what they say. It automatically puts texts in natural languages into categories that have already been set up. Text classification is the most crucial part of text retrieval systems, which find texts based on what the user requests, and text understanding systems, which change the text in some way, like by making summaries, answering questions, or pulling out data. Existing algorithms that use supervised learning to classify text automatically need enough examples to learn well. The algorithms for data mining are used …

The Data-Driven Future Of Healthcare: A Review, Muhammad Miftahul Amri, Saad Abbas Abed

Mesopotamian Journal of Big Data

The future of disease detection, treatment, and prevention may very well lie in data-driven healthcare. Here, we take stock of where things stand and highlight certain emerging issues and long-standing difficulties. We looked at all the research that has been published on the topic of data-driven healthcare decision-making. Our research shows that the use of data in healthcare has already improved patient care and results. However, there are substantial obstacles that must be overcome, such as the need to more effectively integrate data from multiple sources, as well as issues with data quality, privacy, and security. Furthermore, healthcare data use …

A Novel Approach Of Reducing Energy Consumption By Utilizing Big Data Analysis In Mobile Cloud Computing, Mostafa Abdulghafoor Mohammed, Nicolae Țăpuș

Mesopotamian Journal of Big Data

With the rapid proliferation of smart mobile devices and increasing adoption of cloud computing services, energy efficiency has become an important issue in mobile cloud environments. High energy consumption not only results in higher operational costs but also creates sustainability concerns related to cloud infrastructure and services. This paper proposes leveraging big data techniques such as machine learning and predictive analytics to optimize resource allocation and reduce energy consumption in mobile cloud computing. The massive amount of data on factors like user behavior, mobility patterns, network availability, and resource utilization can provide key insights to improve energy efficiency. We present …

Optimizing Big Data Analytics For Reliability And Resilience: A Survey Of Techniques And Applications, El-Houcine El Baqqaly, Alaa Hussein Khaleel

Mesopotamian Journal of Big Data

The advent of big data has revolutionized various industries, enabling organizations to make data- driven decisions and gain valuable insights. However, the sheer volume, velocity, and variety of big data pose significant challenges in ensuring the reliability and resilience of big data analytics pipelines. In this context, optimization techniques play a crucial role in enhancing the reliability and resilience of big data analytics. This paper provides a comprehensive survey of optimization techniques for reliable and resilient big data analytics. The paper first discusses the motivation for optimizing big data analytics for reliability and resilience. Then, it presents a detailed overview …

Navigating The Void: Uncovering Research Gaps In The Detection Of Data Poisoning Attacks In Federated Learning-Based Big Data Processing: A Systematic Literature Review, Mohammad Aljanabi, Hijaz Ahmad

Mesopotamian Journal of Big Data

This systematic literature review scrutinizes the landscape of research at the intersection of federated learning, big data processing, and data poisoning attacks. Employing a meticulous search strategy across multiple databases, the studyunveils a surge in annual scientific production, emphasizing a growing interest in federated learning and related fields. However, a critical research gap becomes evident during the investigation of data poisoning attacks specifically in the context of federated learning when processing big data. The most relevant keywords and a visually compelling word cloud further illuminate the prevailing themes and emphases within the literature, emphasizing the lack of explicit focus on …

Levels Of Autotrophy And Heterotrophy In Mesophotic Corals Near The End Photic Zone, Amy Carmignani, Veronica Z. Radice, Kathryn M. Mcmahon, Alex I. Holman, Karen Miller, Kliti Grice, Zoe Richards

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Mesophotic corals live at ~30-150 m depth and can sustain metabolic processes under light-limited conditions by enhancing autotrophy through specialized photoadaptations or increasing heterotrophic nutrient acquisition. These acclimatory processes are often species-specific, however mesophotic ecosystems are largely unexplored and acclimation limits for most species are unknown. This study examined mesophotic coral ecosystems using a remotely operated vehicle (Ashmore Reef, Western Australia at 40–75m depth) to investigate the trophic ecology of five species of scleractinian coral (from genera Leptoseris, Pachyseris, and Craterastrea) using stable isotope analyses (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) of host and symbiont tissues …