Digital Commons Network^™

Invasion Of Plant Communities, Stephen L. Young, Sarah Kimball, Stephen J. Novak

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Due to numerous human activities, organisms have been transported and either accidentally or deliberately introduced all around the globe. Biological invasions are now considered to be one of the main drivers of global change because many invasive plants have severe ecological, economic, and health consequences. Thus, there is an ever-growing need to better understand invasions to determine how specific plant species are able to establish in communities and, in many cases, expand their range. Here, we describe the invasion process and how it contributes to the invasion of plant communities. We present an invasion-factor framework (IFF) model that uses three …

Predicting Spatial-Temporal Patterns Of Diet Quality And Large Herbivore Performance Using Satellite Time Series, Sean P. Kearney, Lauren M. Porensky, David J. Augustine, Justin D. Derner, Feng Gao

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Adaptive management of large herbivores requires an understanding of how spatial-temporal fluctuations in forage biomass and quality influence animal performance. Advances in remote sensing have yielded information about the spatial-temporal dynamics of forage biomass, which in turn have informed rangeland management decisions such as stocking rate and paddock selection for free-ranging cattle. However, less is known about the spatial-temporal patterns of diet quality and their influence on large herbivore performance. This is due to infrequent concurrent ground observations of forage conditions with performance (e.g., mass gain), and previously limited satellite data at fine spatial and temporal scales. We combined multi-temporal …

Lovie, Annie Vitalsey

Yalobusha Review

No abstract provided.

Employment Status For “Essential Workers”: The Case For Gig Worker Parity, Miriam A. Cherry

All Faculty Scholarship

This Article explores what I call the “essential worker paradox”: During the pandemic, gig workers have been recognized as providing critical and important services. At the same time, the law has yet to recognize gig workers fully and to commit to providing them with the same basic protections as employees. The Article argues that the stark difference in treatment between gig workers and regular employees has long created unfairness. While views of gig work as a side hustle or work driven by customer convenience may have prevailed in the past, now the meal delivery driver and the on-demand grocery shopper …

Riverrun 2022, Saint Mary's College Of California

Riverrun Literary Magazine

No abstract provided.

The Undergraduate Spectrum 2022, Saint Mary's College Of California

The Undergraduate Spectrum

No abstract provided.

A Framework For Thinking About The Government’S Speech And The Constitution, Helen Norton

Publications

This Essay sketches a framework for mapping and navigating the constitutional implications of the government’s speech—and then illustrates this framework’s application to some contemporary constitutional disputes. My hope is that this framework will help us sort through the constitutional puzzles triggered by the government’s expressive choices—puzzles that confront courts and policymakers with increasing frequency. What I call “first-stage government speech questions” require us to determine when the government is speaking itself and when it is instead (or also) regulating others’ speech. This determination matters because the rules that apply to the government as speaker are very different from those that …

Ubiquitous Aberration In Cholesterol Metabolism Across Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma, Venugopal Gunda, Thiago C. Genaro-Mattos, Jyoti B. Kaushal, Ramakanth C. Venkata, Gopalakrishnan Natarajan, Kavita Mallya, Paul M. Grandgenett, Karoly Mirnics, Surinder K. Batra, Zeljka Korade, Satyanarayana Rachagani

Journal Articles: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is characterized by metabolic deregulations that often manifest as deviations in metabolite levels and aberrations in their corresponding metabolic genes across the clinical specimens and preclinical PC models. Cholesterol is one of the critical metabolites supporting PC, synthesized or acquired by PC cells. Nevertheless, the significance of the de novo cholesterol synthesis pathway has been controversial in PC, indicating the need to reassess this pathway in PC. We utilized preclinical models and clinical specimens of PC patients and cell lines and utilized mass spectrometry-based sterol analysis. Further, we also performed in silico analysis to corroborate the significance …

Worthless Secrets: Corruption Of Cosmological Knowledge In The Enochic Tradition, Andrei Orlov

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

The article explores the fallen Watchers’ cosmological secrets and their connection with the cosmological law or the “law of the stars.” It argues that the Watchers’ cosmological expertise is closely connected with their roles in relation to the “law of the stars” as the former participants and guardians of this reified cosmological covenant.

Tracing Moravian Manufacture, Material Objects And Religious Mission: Transatlantic Textile Journeys, Katherine Faull

Faculty Conference Papers and Presentations

No abstract provided.

The Promise Of Labor-Based Grading Contracts For The Teaching Of Psychology And Neuroscience, Jasmine Mena, Jennie Stevenson

Faculty Journal Articles

Introduction: Instructors assign grades to communicate to students how well they are learning the course content. However, students and instructors are often displeased with the process and outcome of grading. Statement of the Problem: We contend that conventional grading inadvertently detracts from student learning and simultaneously replicates systems of oppression in academia. We discuss Labor Based Grading Contracts (LBGC) as an alternative to conventional grading. Literature Review: We review the conceptual and empirical literature on LBGCs as an alternative method of assessing student work and extend its application to psychology and neuroscience courses. Teaching Implications: We present recommendations for implementing …

Chronic Experience With Unpredictable Food Availability Promotes Food Reward, Overeating, And Weight Gain In A Novel Animal Model Of Food Insecurity, Kevin P. Myers, Marta Majewski, Dominique Schaefer, Alexis Tierney

Faculty Journal Articles

Ubiquitous, easy access to food is thought to promote obesity in the modern environment. However, people coping with food insecurity have limited, unpredictable food access and are also prone to obesity. Causal factors linking food insecurity and obesity are not understood. In this study we describe an animal model to investigate biopsychological impacts of the chronic unpredictability inherent in food insecurity. Female rats were maintained on a 'secure' schedule of highly predictable 4x/day feedings of uniform size, or an 'insecure' schedule delivering the same total food over time but frequently unpredictable regarding how much, if any, food would arrive at …

Legitimacy, Resistance And The Stakes Of Politics, Adam Burgos

Faculty Journal Articles

This essay argues for the conceptual connection of legitimacy, resistance and ‘the people’ within liberal theories of public justification by making two primary claims: that legitimacy and resistance are mutually constitutive of one another and that together legitimacy and resistance are constitutive of an aspirational conception of ‘the people’. These claims revolve around the idea that the legitimacy of democratic regimes necessarily entails the questioning of that legitimacy through resistance, which concerns demands that say something about the makeup of ‘the people’. The concern is conceptual, examples of resistance showing how the conceptual connection manifests itself.

Neither Race Nor Ethnicity: Latinidad As A Social Affordance, Adam Burgos, Alejandro Arango

Faculty Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

The Question Is Not “Can Humans Talk?” Or “Can They Suffer?” But “Can They Reason?”, Clive Phillips

Animal Sentience

In their target article, Rowan et al (2022) make a welcome attempt to chart the development of Western progress over the past two hundred years toward formally recognizing that animals feel. They outline the heroic efforts of Compassion in World Farming to gain for animals the status of sentient beings rather than merely human property. A broader view exists, from human prehistory to the present day, in which animals have been (and still are) understood to be sentient by indigenous peoples as well as by some Eastern religions. Growing recognition in the West that animals feel represents a new age …

Motivated Science: What Humans Gain From Denying Animal Sentience, Uri Lifshin

Animal Sentience

Resistance to the idea that non-human animals are sentient resembles erstwhile resistance to the theory that the earth is not the centre of the universe, or that humans evolved from “apes”. All these notions are psychologically threatening. They can remind people of their own creatureliness and mortality and might make them feel guilty or uncertain about their way of life. An honest debate over animal sentience, welfare and rights should consider the human motivation to deprive animals of these things in the first place. I briefly review empirical evidence on the psychological function of denying animal minds.

Not Of Woman Born? Extra-Uterine Destining And The Individual, Social, And Spiritual Implications Of Ectogenesis, Laura Johnson Dahlke

Ph.D. Dissertations (Open Access)

The development of ectogenesis or artificial womb technology is currently ongoing and likely to be in use in the near future. This qualitative study analyzes the potential individual, social and spiritual implications of ectogenesis. It argues that while there may be therapeutic benefits to the artificial womb, it will ultimately result in dehumanization and alienation from the body. While much of the current conversation about this technology addresses the health implications to the fetus and neonate, this dissertation investigates the possible impact of artificial wombs on women. It employs Martin Heidegger’s philosophy of technology as a model to assist in …

Inspiring Young Students To Pursue Engineering, Tami M. Brown-Brandl, Brian Steward

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Imagine elementary school students understanding inputs and outputs, choosing appropriate sensors, and programming an autonomous robot. Imagine middle school students learning about PID control and creating advanced programs for sensor-based decision making. Imagine high school students using CAD to design drive trains, manufacturing parts with CNC machine tools, using finite element analysis to adjust the design, ordering custom components from a machine shop, using image processing for target recognition, and applying path planning and motion control. We have witnessed all of these skills. They happened outside of traditional classrooms, and they were all student-driven.

Yes, it’s true, and it’s amazing. …

Evaluating Ideasthesia As A Creative Tool In Compositional Practice: A Personal Reflection On Coloured Hearing Synesthesia, Suzanne Kosowitz

Theses : Honours

This research presents an evaluation of my compositional process with regard to synesthesia as a creative tool. Traditionally, the phenomenon of synesthesia has been discussed in perceptual terms, such as something that is seen visually elicits an additional experience in another sensory domain, such as sound. However, recent research has identified that there is an additional process involved in creating the secondary sensory experience, which is a semantic representation of concepts (ideasthesia). Specifically, my research considers ideasthesia in combination with a personal reflection on coloured hearing to provide a retrospective analysis of one of my compositions, Dance in Defiance (2012) …

Blockchain-Technology-Based Solutions For Iot Security, Israa Al-Barazanchi, Aparna Murthy, Ahmad Abdul Qadir Al Rababah, Ghadeer Khader, Haider Rasheed Abdulshaheed, Elika Daghighi, Yitong Niu

Iraqi Journal for Computer Science and Mathematics

After a long period of development, blockchain innovation has received much attention from scholarsand industry practitioners alike. This innovation allows the issuance of smart contracts, which are utilised to automateand execute deals amongst clients. Blockchain is also being used nowadays by a few IT applications as a specialisedfoundation. This technology also prevents the duplication of information similar to what is being done with Bitcoinand other cryptocurrencies. Specifically, Bitcoin records are virtually impossible to alter as this cryptocurrency isbeing traded amongst hundreds of thousands of servers. Therefore, to launch a successful attack, the aggressor shouldchange the Bitcoin records of 51% of …

การคัดแยกและลักษณะสมบัติของแบคทีเรียที่มีความสามารถในการผลิตดีเอชเอจากกุ้งเคยและกะปิของไทย, ณิชาภัทร วิเศษชลธาร

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

กรดไขมันไม่อิ่มตัวที่มีพันธะคู่หลายตำแหน่งในกลุ่มของโอเมก้า-3 เช่น ดีเอชเอ และอีพีเอ เป็นกรดอะมิโนจำเป็นต่อร่างกาย (essential amino acid) เนื่องจากในร่างกายมนุษย์ไม่มีเอนไซม์ที่สามารถสร้างพันธะคู่ตำแหน่ง ω-3 ได้ มีรายงานว่าเส้นทางการสังเคราะห์กรดไขมันผ่านวิถีทางชีวภาพ (FAS pathway) พบในแบคทีเรียจากทะเลบางสายพันธุ์เท่านั้น ในงานวิจัยนี้ทำการคักแยกแบคทีเรียทางทะเลจากตัวอย่างกะปิซึ่งมีการตรวจสอบจากงานวิจัยก่อนหน้าว่ามีกลุ่มของกรดไขมันโอเมก้า-3, 6 และ 9 ผลการศึกษาสามารถคัดแยกแบคทีเรียสะสมไขมันสูง (oleaginous bacteria) ได้ 6 ไอโซเลต โดยเฉพาะ Bacillus amyloliquefaciens SR121 เมื่อทำการวิเคราะห์ whole genome พบยีน FabF (β-ketoacyl-ACP reductase), FabG (Ketoreductase), FabZ (Dehydratase) และ FabI (Enoyl reduction) ซึ่งเกี่ยวข้องกับ 4 กระบวนการสำคัญ ใน FAS pathway นอกจากนี้ B. amyloliquefaciens SR121 มีการผลิตกรดไขมันมากที่สุดร้อยละ 75.06 ± 2.05 ของน้ำหนักเซลล์แห้ง และเมื่อใช้อาหารสำหรับการเพาะเลี้ยงที่มี pH5 พบปริมาณการผลิตไขมันเพิ่มขึ้นถึงร้อยละ 89.46 ± 3.79 ของน้ำหนักเซลล์ สำหรับการปรับภาวะเพื่อผลิตกรดไขมันกลุ่มโอเมก้า-3 พบที่ 35 องศาเซลเซียส มีการผลิตมากสุดถึง 19.73% ของปริมาณกรดไขมันทั้งหมด หรือคิดเป็นกรดไขมันไม่อิ่มตัว 92.97 มิลลิกรัม และมีการผลิตกรดไขมันกลุ่มโอเมก้า-3 มากที่สุดโดยปริมาณ 72 มิลลิกรัม ต่อน้ำหนักเซลล์ 1 กรัม

Optimal Operation Schedule Of Battery Energy Storage System For Supporting Variable Renewable Energy In Generation System, Chalermjit Klansupar

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Variable renewable energy (VRE) generation alters residual demand curves, leading to high operating costs for conventional generators. Additionally, the variable nature of VRE causes a mismatch between electricity demand and generation, resulting in greater expected energy not supplied (EENS) values, which represent a critical component of power generation costs. To alleviate the impact of VRE, utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESSs) provide ancillary services. The BESSs’ general applications are spinning reserve, regulation, and ramping. This paper proposes a method to determine daily operation schedules for grid-scale BESSs, compensating for the negative impacts of VRE on operating costs, power generation reliability …

A Comparative Study On Artificial Intelligence-Based Methods For Fault Detection, Classification, And Localization In Distribution Lines, Nanda Kumari

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

In recent years, supervised machine learning (SML) has demonstrated its effectiveness in pattern recognition and outcome prediction within datasets. The objective of this research is to develop an algorithm that utilizes SML classification and regression equation capabilities to accurately classify and locate faults occurring in electricity distribution lines. The proposed algorithm takes the measured values of electrical current and voltage at one end of the distribution line as input data and outputs the type of fault. The algorithm evaluates its performance by simulating the IEEE 14-bus power system using MATLAB and generating various types of faults at different locations and …

Co-Effects Of Silver Nanoparticles And Microplastics On Nitrifying Microorganisms From Wastewater Treatment Plants And Their Activities, Nampetch Charanaipayuk

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and microplastics are emerging water contaminants of the decade. They share a similar fate and transport in wastewater treatment plants as they tend to accumulate in sludge of aeration tanks. Since both contaminants have negative effects on microbial growth, the ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in the aeration tanks are at risk for inhibition and consequently nitrification process fails. This study investigated the effects of AgNPs and microplastics on ammonia-oxidizing activity and community. No inhibition of ammonia oxidation rate was observed at 0.1 mg/L AgNPs. Partial inhibition was found at 0.5 and 1 mg/L AgNPs, while complete inhibition occurred at …

Chemical Constituents Of The Rhizomes Of Stemona Curtisii Hook F. And Their Biological Activities, Olusola Idowu

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Eighteen compounds were obtained from hexane and dichloromethane extracts from the rhizomes of Stemona curtisii Hook f. Their chemical structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic studies including 1D and 2D NMR, MS, UV, IR, and comparison with data from the literature. Sixteen compounds were known compounds namely stemonal (SC1), erythrinasinate (SC2), a mixture of stigmasterol and b-sitosterol (SC3), 6-deoxyclitoriacetal (SC4), stemonacetal (SC5), 11-hydroxy-2,3,6,9-tetramethoxy[1]benzopyrano[3,4-b][1]benzopyran-12(6H)-one (SC6), a mixture of diastereomer of clitoriacetal (SC7), 1,7-dihydroxy-3-methoxyxanthone (SC8), pratensein (SC9), genistein (SC10), a mixture of clitoriacetal and 6-deoxyclitoriacetal (SC11), clitoriacetal (SC12), nervosin (SC13), caviunin (SC14), clitoriacetal 11-O-b-D-glucopyranoside (SC15) and daidzein (SC16). Two new rotenoid glycosides …

Spatial And Temporal Variations Of Microplastics In The Bangpakong River Of Chachoengsao Province, Rizki Syawalia Siregar

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Microplastic contamination has received increased attention in recent years. The toxicity of microplastics has prompted environmental and human health concerns. The river is one of the sink media for the microplastics contributed from the land. The contamination of river water with microplastics has resulted in numerous reports. The Bangpakong River is one of the province's main sources of freshwater supplies, hence study on microplastics in the river is required in order to develop a database on the occurrence of microplastics in various land-use patterns along the river. The objective of this study was to determine variations of microplastics with regards …

Synthetic Flavonoid Derivatives With Antiviral Activity Against Dengue And Chikungunya Viruses, Van Cao

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Dengue infection is one significant global health issue, as climate change exacerbated the spread of mosquito vectors. The Chikungunya virus is also a re-emerging arbovirus infection, which is transmitted by some similar vectors. Currently, no commercial antiviral drug is available to treat them. Previous reports suggested that several flavonoid derivatives inhibited mosquito-borne flaviviruses even at submicromolar levels, and one of them is a halogenated flavone derivative, 8-bromobaicalein, was a potential dengue and Zika replication inhibitor targeting flaviviral polymerase and also 3CLpro of SARS-CoV-2. This study characterized that 8-bromobaicalein inhibited chikungunya virus replication with EC50 of 0.49 ± 0.11 µM in …

Succession Of Carrion Insects On Pig Carcasses Relocated From Indoor To Outdoor Conditions, Sudarat Fueangmeekun

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Forensic entomological evidence can be used to solve relocations cases. However, forensic entomological studies on corpse relocation in Thailand is limited, therefore, this research aimed to study insect succession on pig carcasses relocated from indoor to outdoor conditions and pig carcasses refrigerated for 3 days before relocated to the outdoor condition. Nong Hin District in Loei Province was chosen to be the study site. The study was conducted in three seasons: winter, summer and monsoon. There were three experiments in each season: 1) non-relocation (control), 2) relocation from an indoor to an outdoor condition, and 3) refrigeration before relocation. There …

Isolation Of Ace2 Inhibitors From Rice Bran Oil By-Product, Muhammad Waqar Nasir

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study aimed to isolate γ-oryzanol from the crude oil acid fraction (a by-product of rice bran oil refinery) and to evaluate their Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) inhibitory activity. Chromatographic fractionation of the crude oil acid fraction gave 3 isolated fractions of γ-oryzanol containing cycloartenyl ferulate, campesteryl ferulate, sitosteryl ferulate, stigmasteryl ferulate, and cyclobranyl ferulate. The γ-oryzanol containing cycloartenyl ferulate and campesteryl ferulate as major component showed good ACE2 inhibitory activity with the IC50 value 10.57 μg/mL. Furthermore, the 19 structures of γ-oryzanol were also studied for its interaction against ACE2 through molecular docking. Based on the in-silico study, ADME …

Effect Of Oxyresveratrol On Inflammatory Skin Diseases||, Hung Gia Tran

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Background: Oxyresveratrol (ORV) is one of the novel antioxidants having been extensively studied in recent years. One of the main sources of ORV is Artocarpus lakoocha, which has been used in traditional medicine in Thailand for decades. However, the role of ORV in skin inflammation has not been clearly demonstrated. Therefore, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of ORV on dermatitis model. Objectives: To determine the effect and mechanism of ORV on anti-proliferation, anti-inflammation and anti-Staphyloccocus aureus with keratinocytes and to clarify the treating efficacy of ORV on skin inflammatory mouse model. Materials and methods: The effect of ORV was examined …