Digital Commons Network^™

Mapping E-Waste Distribution To Form A Circular Supply Chain – An Investigation On E-Waste Towards Circular Economy In Taiwan, Shu-Hui Hung, Kuan-Wei Tsai

Applied Environmental Research

While there has been a growing number of studies utilizing material flow analysis (MFA) to examine the flow of e-waste, there remains a lack of studies on industrial e-waste circularity in Taiwan. This study employs MFA to examine the annual generation of e-waste by Taiwanese industries, the domestic flow of this waste, the utilization of secondary materials recovered from e-waste, and the spatial distribution of e-waste and its secondary materials. The results reveal that Taiwan generates approximately 50,000 tons of e-waste per year, with waste code E-0221 and the "manufacture of other electronic parts and components" industry being the primary …

Fenton And Photo-Fenton For Treatment Of Red Water Containing Trinitrotoluene: A Comparative Study, Nguyen Trung Dung, Le Thanh Dat, Hoang Thi Tue Minh, Nguyen Phuong Thao, Nguyen Thi Thuy, Nguyen Thi Cam Tien, Nguyen Nhat Huy

Applied Environmental Research

Wastewater originating from the production of TNT explosives (red water) contains special hazardous substances that must be treated before discharging into the water environment. In this study, we applied both conventional Fenton and photo-Fenton (UV-Fenton) processes to treat COD and color in red water. In the Fenton process, the COD and color removal efficiencies were 75.5 and 92.4%, respectively, under optimal operating conditions of pH = 3, [Fe2+] = 0.3 g L-1, H2O2/Fe(Ⅱ) ratio = 10:1, reaction time = 120 min. In the UV-Fenton process, the efficiencies were 76.1 and 94.2%, respectively, under optimal operating conditions of pH = 3, …

Theoretical Approaches To Food Waste Behaviours: An Overview, Dane Chia, Chin Choo Yap, Mohamed Kheireddine Aroua, Lai Ti Gew

Applied Environmental Research

Food waste around the world has emerged as a pressing issue that calls for attention and intervention. Analysing the food waste problem without understanding wasteful behaviour antecedents may oversimplify this multi-faceted issue, which will then compromise the development of interventions. This paper provides an overview of the theoretical approaches to food waste behaviour antecedents, followed by evidence-based interventions, using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the Norm Activation Model (NAM), and the Social Practice Theory (SPT). These theories encompass the psychological, behavioural, societal, material, and structural factors that influence food waste practices. Our aim is to provide a holistic understanding …

Unraveling The Effects Of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi On Plant Growth, Nutrient Content, And Heavy Metal Accumulation In The Contaminated Soil: A Meta-Analysis, Bela Putra, Anuraga Jayanegara, Irwan Susanto

Applied Environmental Research

This study evaluated the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on plant growth, nutrient uptake, and heavy metal accumulation on polluted land using a meta-analysis approach. Data from 33 relevant studies were selected based on inclusion criteria, specifically articles in English, observational research, and investigating the role of AMF in plant growth and productivity on polluted land. The results showed that plants inoculated with AMF experienced significant accumulation of heavy metals in roots, such as Pb (p<0.01), Ni (p<0.01), Cr (p<0.01), Mn (p<0.05), Fe (p<0.05), and As (p<0.05). The AMF significantly reduced the accumulation of heavy metals such as Cr, Ni, Fe, and Cu on the upper part of fodder forage (p<0.01). Forage growth was also enhanced due to AMF. The AMF greatly increased the fresh weight, length, and phosphorus (P) content of fodder forage roots (p<0.01). It also increased the plant's biomass, fresh weight, dry weight, height, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) contents (p<0.01). In conclusion, AMF is important in increasing plant growth, nutrient uptake and reducing heavy metal accumulation in forage on polluted land.

Numerical Dose Assessment And Short-Term Radioactivity Impact On Foodstuff For Continuous Release From Of Triga Mark Ii Research Reactor, Ahmed Dahia, Amel Dadda, Amina Lyria Cheridi Deghal, Abdellah Bouam

Applied Environmental Research

This work is a contribution to the assessment of the radiological consequences of radioactivity and radiation dose for TRIGA Mark II research reactor during continuous operation. The potential release to the atmosphere of 131I, 137Cs, and 90Sr are computed in the South direction is calculated using CROM software. We have attempted to evaluate the daily concentration of radioactivity and its impact on foodstuff. The annual average dose received from internal and external irradiation by age group through the different pathways were also considered. The simulation results showed that the highest air concentration was found at 225 m distance from the …

Prevalence Of Microplastics In Coastal Area Of Samae San, Thailand And Its Possible Source, Siwanath Pangpunth, Sujaree Bureekul, Voranop Viyakarn

Applied Environmental Research

This research explored the abundance, morphology, and polymer composition of microplastics (MPs) in various environmental samples within the Samae San subdistrict involving surface soil nearby the dumping site, road dust soil, beach sand and sediment in the area with distinct land- based activities. Dumping site soil exhibited the highest concentration in items per kg of dry weight at 93,734.3, followed by road dust soil (573.0 ± 583.7), beach sand (99.8 ± 75.3), and sediment (83.1 ± 50.4). Morphological traits revealed similarities between transparent fiber-shaped particles in beach sands and sediment, and those in nearby road dust soil, while green sheet-shaped …

Analyzing Climate Change Status Through Evaluating Trend Of Temperature And Rainfall And Predicting Future Climate Change Status At Lake Tana Basin, Tesfaye Bayu Zeleke, Tri Retnaningsih Soeprobowati, Solomon Adissu, Meseret Abatechanie

Applied Environmental Research

The trends of temperature and rainfall are critical indicators of climate change within a certain area. However, the existence of climate change is not locally understood in most parts of the world. This research aims to analyze the trend of temperature and rainfall in the Lake Tana Sub-basin as a means to understand the current and future status of climate change. The trends of temperature and rainfall were analyzed using the modified Mann-Kendall trend test, while the autoregressive integrated moving average model (ARIMA) was used to predict future temperature and rainfall. The findings reveal that monthly temperatures show a significant …

Ball-Milled Biochar From Waste Bamboo Chopsticks: A Potential Adsorbent For Methylene Blue Removal, Nguyen Trung Hiep, Hoang Thi Thuy Hoa, Thai Phuong Vu

Applied Environmental Research

Waste bamboo chopsticks encounter limited recycling. Several treatment procedures necessitate sophisticated technologies and intricate processes that need more practicality for local-scale production, leading to substantial challenges in effectively repurposing waste from disposable bamboo chopsticks. In this research, waste bamboo chopsticks were used as raw materials for the production of ball-milled biochar (BM-WBCB). FTIR, SEM, and BET were among the numerous analytical methods used to describe the BM-WBCB. The outcomes showed that the surface was made up of hollow, porous structures. In addition, the pHpzc value of the biochar was 8.7, and it had a BET-specific surface area (273.11 m2 g-1). …

Groundwater Recharge And Surface Runoff Modeling Response To Land Use And Land Cover Dynamics In A Mae Wong Watershed Of Thailand, Banchongsak Faksomboon, Pranee Lertkaeo, Bunchongsri Phunlao

Applied Environmental Research

This study aims to develop efficient management strategies and assess the spatiotemporal dynamics of land use and land cover (LULC) on surface runoff modeling response dynamics for the long-term sustainability of watersheds. The soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) model was used to evaluate the LULC dynamics on GRSR in the Mae Wong Watershed (MWW) of Thailand. Using Landsat images, three different LULC maps (2011, 2021, and 2031) were created using the cellular automata markov chain (CA-Markov) model, and TerrSet 2020 geospatial monitoring and modeling software. In the overall MWW, the forestland has undergone deforestation and decreased by 2.10% of …

Comparative Study Of Aerosol Optical Properties Along A Megacity, Ariel F. Scagliotti, Marcela V. Reale, David H. Margarit, Nadia S. Gonzalez, Guillermo A. Jorge

Applied Environmental Research

Interest in the study and characterization of aerosols has been growing given its multiple connections with air quality and climate. However, the limited ground-based stations for measurements in many countries are not enough to completely study a big city or a region. Low-cost technology arises as a viable alternative to improve the spatial resolution of measurements. This study aims to demonstrate that the properties of aerosols may change within a megacity and that is advisable to segment measurements according to their characteristics. We measured the optical properties of aerosols in the outskirts of Buenos Aires and compared the data obtained …

Ols Testing With Predictors Scaled To Have Unit Sample Variance, James Sasu

Research Papers

We consider testing the multiple linear regression model with ordinary least squares( OLS) if the predictor variables have been scaled to have unit sample variance

Leviosa: Natural Language-Based Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle Trajectory Generation, Godwyll Aikins, Mawaba Pascal Dao, Koboyo Josias Moukpe, Thomas C. Eskridge, Kim-Doang Nguyen

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

This paper presents LEVIOSA, a novel framework for text- and speech-based uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) trajectory generation. By leveraging multimodal large language models (LLMs) to interpret natural language commands, the system converts text and audio inputs into executable flight paths for UAV swarms. The approach aims to simplify the complex task of multi-UAV trajectory generation, which has significant applications in fields such as search and rescue, agriculture, infrastructure inspection, and entertainment. The framework involves two key innovations: a multi-critic consensus mechanism to evaluate trajectory quality and a hierarchical prompt structuring for improved task execution. The innovations ensure fidelity to user …

Scattering At Condensed-Phase Surfaces: General Discussion, Dmitri Babikov

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Synthesis And Evaluation Of 5-(Heteroarylmethylene)Hydantoins As Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3Β Inhibitors, Nicholas O. Schneider, Keandra Gilreath, Daniel J. Burkett, Martin St. Maurice, William A. Donaldson

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) is a serine/threonine kinase which plays a center role in the phosphorylation of a wide variety of proteins, generally leading to their inactivation. As such, GSK-3 is viewed as a therapeutic target. An ever-increasing number of small organic molecule inhibitors of GSK-3 have been reported. Phenylmethylene hydantoins are known to exhibit a wide range of inhibitory activities including for GSK-3β. A family of fourteen 2-heterocycle substituted methylene hydantoins (14, 17–29) were prepared and evaluated for the inhibition of GSK-3β at 25 μM. The IC50 values of five of these compounds was determined; the two best inhibitors …

Disentangling Cyclic Causality: An Instance-Based Framework For Causal Discovery, Chase A. Yakaboski

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Correlation does not imply causation" is one of the fundamental principles taught in science, emphasizing that associations between variables do not necessarily indicate causality. Yet, over the past three decades, extensive research has begun to challenge this perspective by developing sophisticated methods to differentiate causal from correlative relationships. This research suggests that correlations often involve a blend of confounded and causal interactions, which, given certain assumptions, can be disentangled to uncover actionable insights and deepen our understanding of physical, biological, and societal systems.

Accurately discovering causal relationships from data amidst cyclic dynamics remains a challenging open problem in causality research. …

Consistent Monte Carlo Methods For Non-Linear Applications In Light Transport, Zackary T. Misso

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

The study of light transport focuses on describing the propagation of light from emitters to sensors through accurately describing the interactions light can undergo with everything in between. Physically-based rendering is the process of applying the laws of light transport to formulate practical algorithms which simulate the flow of light for the purpose of synthesizing images of virtual environments.

Unfortunately, there are very few interesting scene configurations which can be computed analytically. Instead, modern solutions predominantly rely on Monte Carlo integration to stochastically estimate the transfer of light since the process is both unbiased and consistent. Meaning, it is expected …

Mitigating Safety Issues In Pre-Trained Language Models: A Model-Centric Approach Leveraging Interpretation Methods, Weicheng Ma

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Pre-trained language models (PLMs), like GPT-4, which powers ChatGPT, face various safety issues, including biased responses and a lack of alignment with users' backgrounds and expectations. These problems threaten their sociability and public application. Present strategies for addressing these safety concerns primarily involve data-driven approaches, requiring extensive human effort in data annotation and substantial training resources. Research indicates that the nature of these safety issues evolves over time, necessitating continual updates to data and model re-training—an approach that is both resource-intensive and time-consuming. This thesis introduces a novel, model-centric strategy for understanding and mitigating the safety issues of PLMs by …

Scalable Methods For Resource-Constrained Adaptive Sampling, Kizito Masaba

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

As the global community confronts the pressing issues of climate change, the importance of environment monitoring cannot be overstated. This process is essential in identifying and tracking critical environmental trends to facilitate efficient and effective conservation efforts. Traditionally, scientists perform this task using hand-held, in-situ instruments. With the recent robot advancements, this task can be fully automated by applying multi-robot systems to a task referred to as multi-robot adaptive sampling. However, the cost of purchasing and operating robot systems for this application are still prohibitive due to various environmental, technological, and logistical constraints. Some of the outstanding constraints to the …

The Impacts Of Impurities And Stress State On Polycrystalline Ice Deformation And Investigations Into The Densification Of Polar Firn, Ayobami Oladapo Ogunmolasuyi

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Glacier ice cores are unparalleled natural archives of past climate, containing ancient air and impurities. Understanding glacier and ice sheet behavior and their impact on impurity records is crucial for interpreting ice core records. H₂SO₄ is particularly significant, as it provides the strongest evidence for the diffusion of chemical signals and decreases the strength of single crystals and polycrystals of ice. However, its effects on recrystallization, grain growth, and fabric development mechanisms, as well as the effects of grain boundaries on its post-depositional diffusion remain unclear.

This thesis investigates the effects of the microstructural location of H …

A Memory Efficient Deep Recurrent Q-Learning Approach For Autonomous Wildfire Surveillance, Jeremy A. Cantor

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous literature demonstrates that autonomous UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) have the po- tential to be utilized for wildfire surveillance. This advanced technology empowers firefighters by providing them with critical information, thereby facilitating more informed decision-making processes. This thesis applies deep Q-learning techniques to the problem of control policy design under the objective that the UAVs collectively identify the maximum number of locations that are under fire, assuming the UAVs can share their observations. The prohibitively large state space underlying the control policy motivates a neural network approximation, but prior work used only convolutional layers to extract spatial fire information from …

Feedback Loops: Feedback Machines, Patrick Barry

Articles

Yes, AI raises serious concerns about bias, privacy, copyright infringement, environmental sustainability, and a whole bunch of other important topics. But if you are looking for a positive use case - and a new way to approach professional development - try asking chatgpt or some other AI chatbot for feedback, especially on something you've written.

Advancements In Ai-Driven Education: Transforming Learning And Training With Intelligent Technologies, Sharon L. Burton

Publications

This article examines the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in higher education, focusing on its integration in learning methodologies and its impact on student engagement and outcomes. Recent research underscores the increasing use of AI in education, where it is reshaping teaching and learning dynamics by facilitating personalized and effective learning experiences. Applying Literature review, the study further explores AI's role in enhancing independent learning abilities and student satisfaction, with intelligent learning tools proving crucial in improving user contentment and intent to use. Additionally, it considers the ethical and risk management aspects of AI in education, including data governance …

Fundamentals Of Sustainability, Eva Maleviti

Publications

Fundamentals of Sustainable Aviation is the frst textbook to survey the critical feld of sustainability within the aviation industry. Taking a systems thinking approach, it presents the foundational principles of sustainability and methodically applies them to diferent aviation sectors. Opening with the basics of sustainability, emphasising the Sustainable Development Goals, the book then considers the environmental, economic and social dimensions of aviation. The following chapters apply these insights to aviation design, supply chains, operations, maintenance and facilities. The fnal chapter examines the concept of resilience in sustainable aviation. Overall, the textbook shows how future sustainability can be achieved by making …

Toward The Unified Theory Of Said-Linked Subauroral Arcs, Evgeny V. Mishin, Anatoly V. Streltsov

Publications

We present a unified approach to subauroral arcs within intense subauroral ion drifts (SAID), which explains the observed transition of a precursor Stable Auroral Red (SAR) arc into Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement (STEVE). This approach is based on the short-circuiting concept of fasttime SAID as an integral part of a magnetospheric voltage generator between the innermost boundaries of the freshly injected plasma sheet electrons and ring current ions. Here, enhanced plasma turbulence rapidly heats the bulk plasma and accelerates suprathermal non-Maxwellian “tails.” Heat and suprathermal electron transport rapidly elevate the ionospheric electron temperature—the source of a bright SAR arc. …

Predictive Power Of Wastewater For Nowcasting Infectious Disease Transmission: A Retrospective Case Study Of Five Sewershed Areas In Louisville, Kentucky., Fayette Klaassen, Rochelle H. Holm, Ted Smith, Ted Cohen, Aruni Bhatnagar, Nicolas A. Menzies

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Background: Epidemiological nowcasting traditionally relies on count surveillance data. The availability and quality of such count data may vary over time, limiting representation of true infections. Wastewater data correlates with traditional surveillance data and may provide additional value for nowcasting disease trends. Methods: We obtained SARS-CoV-2 case, death, wastewater, and serosurvey data for Jefferson County, Kentucky (USA), between August 2020 and March 2021, and parameterized an existing nowcasting model using combinations of these data. We assessed the predictive performance and variability at the sewershed level and compared the effects of adding or replacing wastewater data to case and death reports. …

Exploring Post Quantum Cryptography With Quantum Key Distribution For Sustainable Mobile Network Architecture Design, Sanzida Hoque, Abdullah Aydeger, Engin Zeydan

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

The proliferation of mobile networks and their increasing importance to modern life, combined with the emerging threat of quantum computing, present new challenges and opportunities for cybersecurity. This paper addresses the complexity of protecting these critical infrastructures against future quantum attacks while considering operational sustainability. We begin with an overview of the current landscape, identify the main vulnerabilities in mobile networks, and evaluate existing security solutions with new post-quantum cryptography (PQC) methods. We then present a quantum-secure architecture with PQC and Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) tailored explicitly for sustainable mobile networks and illustrate its applicability with several use cases that …

Teachers Do It All: A Cluster-Based Analysis Of Abbott Elementary, Peter Heryla

Iowa Journal of Communication

This study employs rhetorical criticism to analyze the television sitcom Abbott Elementary (2021). Through close examination of the episodes “Pilot,” “Development Day,” and “Egg Drop,” this analysis aims to uncover key ideas about the multifaceted roles and responsibilities educators are required to assume outside of their main job as “teacher.” Utilizing cluster criticism, the study shows that being a teacher is about more than educating, and that teachers are motivated by common themes when they act outside of their role. The study also focuses on the mediated representation of teachers and the harmful demographic tropes that have historically characterized them, …

The Future Of Mediation: Mcluhanisms For The Quantum Era, Erik Gustafson

Iowa Journal of Communication

The 21st century has been characterized as a time of expansive and rapid technological change, particularly regarding the internet, digital technologies, and now artificial intelligence. Both scholarly and popular conversations have rushed to make sense of the technological phenomenon as they occur. Now, the “second quantum revolution” and the race for “quantum supremacy” threaten to push technological knowledge and applications even further from public understanding. As such, the present article sought to provide a host of theoretical and practical tools that may aid the public and scholars alike in understanding and combatting the overwhelming features of technology that may come …

Modeling Apparent Pb Loss In Zircon U-Pb Geochronology, Glenn R. Sharman, Matthew A. Malkowski

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The loss of radiogenic Pb from zircon is known to be a major factor that can cause inaccuracy in the U–Pb geochronological system; hence, there is a need to better characterize the distribution of Pb loss in natural samples. Treatment of zircon by chemical abrasion (CA) has become standard practice in isotope dilution–thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS), but CA is much less commonly employed prior to in situ analysis via laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) or secondary ionization mass spectrometry (SIMS). Differentiating the effects of low levels of Pb loss in Phanerozoic zircon with relatively low-precision in situ U–Pb …

Media Haze Classification In Retinal Images Using Deep Learning, Jonathan O'Berry

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Media Haze (MH) is a condition that affects an individual’s quality of life by affecting their eyes. Current practice is to detect MH by manually examining retinal fundus (retinal) images. The analysis of images being used as the prevalent technique for identifying the MH condition strongly suggests that automation of this process may be possible. In recent years, machine learning, specifically computer vision, has allowed for the automation of tasks relating to image analysis. This ability to automate has also recently been shown in the medical field for some eye conditions and diseases. This thesis centers around the problem of …