Digital Commons Network^™

Yearly Nitrogen Budget In Natural And Fertilized Grasslands Of A Bohemian-Moravian Highlands District, Milada Findeisova, Vladimir Ruzicka, Blanka Ulehlova

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Simplified models are presented of nitrogen cycling in the three grassland ecosystems, as compiled from soil, plant, rain- and lysimetric water analyses pertaining to an experimental site near Kamenicky, in the nature conservancy area Zdarske vrchy in the Bohemian-Moravian highlands. The plant stands, all originally classified as Polygalo-Nardetum strictae, in­clude a control and two stands as modified by two levels of fertilization for three years. The increment of nitrogen harvested decreases con­siderably at the higher level of fertilization, while the nitrogen losses from the ecosystem increase and the atmospheric nitrogen fixation decreases dramatically.

Mineral Composition Of Vegetation Related To Primary Production In Alluvial Meadow Ecosystems, Jana Jakrlova

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Concentration and ratio of mineral nutrients, dynamics of mineral nutrient uptake per 1 m2, and the contents of mineral nutrients in per­manent biomass reserve and in maximum biomass were assessed in three selected types of meadow ecosystems representing a natural hydrological series in a given area (dry, moist, wet). The assessment was based on chemical analyses (N, P, K, Na, Ca, Mg) and production analysis of above-ground and underground parts of defined vegetation.

Total above-ground biomass produced per year was estimated (from the dry type to the wet one) at 706, 1070, 2430 g • W • m-2, re­spectively; total …

Biomass Budget And Energy Flow In Alluvial Meadow Ecosystem, Milena Rychnovska, Blanka Ulehlova, Jana Jakrlova, Marta Tesrova

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Primary production, production processes, and decomposition have been studied in alluvial meadow ecosystems for 6 years. Water has been found to be the decisive factor in the energy flow and mineral elements turnover. The quality and quantity of production and decomposition processes depend on the oc­currence and duration o( floods. Permanent pool of underground biomass in Alopecurus pratensis stand makes 45.3 %, permanent pool of shoot biomass makes 54.7 % of the total biomass. 19.4 % of the total biomass is taken off as forage. 11. 7 % of shoot biomass is de­composed during the summer season, and 3 .1 …

Current Aspects Of Eco-Physiological Studies Of Meadow Plants, Momcilo Konic

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Basic parameters applied in eco-physiological studies of meadow plants are: water balance (hydration, transpiration intensity, amounts and forms of water, water deficit, etc.), assim­ilation balance (CO2 balance, assimilation performance, compensation effect), matter pro­duction. Eco-physiological studies should be followed by microclimatic measurements and the anatomical analysis of the meadow plants under study. Eco-physiological studies of meadow plants, if performed in a complex and systematic way, constitute the safest basis for detennining the characters of the entire meadow plant com­munity under the concrete conditions of natural factors prevailing in terms of natural condi­tions and human influence.

Landscape Management Problems Of Grassland Utilization In Mountainous Regions Of The Gdr, Peter Hentschel

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In the medium-altitude mountains of the GDR, many meadows cannot be utilized for intensive forage production. Because of their importance for recreation, game feeding and nature con­servation, general afforestation is not possible. A model is presented that allows for every meadow to choose between intensive utili­zation, afforestation, and reservation for other social needs. Management methods for mead­ows not suitable for intensive utilization, espe­cially the employment of herbicides, are dis­cussed.

Mitigating An Influenza Outbreak At A Residential Youth Summer Camp, Sandra D. Shapiro, Rachel Thomas, Stacey A. Hobbick, Bretta Weissman, Erica Gottlieb, Rebecca Spielman

CompassPoint

No abstract provided.

Fall 2024 - Volume 34, Number 2, Compass Point

CompassPoint

No abstract provided.

Technical Disclosure: A Multi-Variable, Object-Oriented Database Schema And Api Protocol For Ai-Guided, Performance-Based Curriculum Routing, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

This technical disclosure details the architecture for an automated, multi-variable, object-oriented data schema and Application Programming Interface (API) designed to execute performance-based curriculum routing without age-segregated grade boundaries. The system structures diverse academic, kinetic, and technical disciplines into standardized, interoperable data objects called Discipline Blueprints. Each blueprint enforces a non-linear advancement pipeline governed by two immutable checkpoints: a zero-assist algorithmic velocity sprint and a physical/systemic product generation milestone. A localized machine learning agent parses real-time telemetry from user interactions, dynamically matching individual cognitive profiles against localized workforce shortages and trade vectors to prevent network drop-out. Crucially, the architecture incorporates an …

From Ai To Alien(S): Universal Alignment Principles And The Architecture Of Inter-Species Communication Metrics, Christopher L. Eckes

Defensive Publications Series

The critical bottleneck in both contemporary Artificial Intelligence (AI) alignment and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is anthropomorphic bias. Modern AI alignment models rely heavily on human linguistic structures, reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF), and qualitative ethical frameworks. These models degrade rapidly when scaled to non-human or multi-agent networks. Similarly, traditional SETI protocols look for messages encoded in cultural or linguistic formats that assume shared biological or social evolutionary tracks.

This paper introduces a foundational framework for AI-Alien Alignment Principles (AAAP). By treating communication as a problem of non-linear dynamical systems integration, this model establishes Topology, Vector Calculus, …

Interaction Boundary Constraint, Brian Harber

Defensive Publications Series

Compositional AI systems increasingly operate through orchestration layers, retrieval mechanisms, external tooling, routing systems, and probabilistic model behavior. Under these conditions, evaluation often occurs through observable interaction surfaces while direct visibility into the full composition producing an interaction remains limited, partial, or absent at the point of interaction.

This paper defines the Interaction Boundary Constraint as a limit on what can be legitimately inferred from interaction surfaces alone under conditions where producing composition is not fully present at the point of interaction. The constraint distinguishes between reconstruction and compositional presence and constrains the scope of claims that interaction-surface evaluation alone …

System And Techniques To Facilitate Probabilistic Attribute-Based Security Policy Conversions, Renato Morais

Defensive Publications Series

Proposed herein is an artificial intelligence (AI) for information technology operations (AIOps)-driven engine and system that provides for the ability to automate the transition from legacy Internet Protocol (IP)-based rules to identity-centric, zero trust policies. In this context, Security Group Tags (SGTs) are used as an illustrative example of such attribute-based policies. The system correlates identity metadata with real-time traffic telemetry and applies a Stability Index (SI) to evaluate whether a legacy rule can be converted to an attribute-based policy with reduced risk of service disruption. The SI considers identity consistency, temporal persistence, and traffic coverage so that conversion recommendations …

Identification Of Active Compounds And Antidiabetic Activity Of Red Shoot (Syzygium Myrtifolium) Leaves Extract With In Vitro And In Silico Methods, Muhamad Iqbal Prakoso, Siti Warnasih

Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disease that affects approximately 537 million people worldwide (1 in 10 individuals), and its prevalence is projected to reach 783 million by 2045. One of the plants that has the potential to be an antidiabetic is red shoots (Syzygium myrtifolium) since it contains various secondary metabolite compounds such as flavonoids, triterpenoids, steroids, saponins, phenolics, and anthocyanins. This study aimed to evaluate the antidiabetic properties of red shoot leaves extract and to identify and predict interactions between its active compounds and the α-glucosidase receptor. Ethanol, ethyl acetate, and n-hexane extracts of red …

The Sigma Ring And Other Distinctive Features Of Surface Potentials Of Group 1 Systems, Kelling J. Donald, Victoria Rankin, Brice Di Carlo, Jonathan E. Findley, Ethan B. Leonard

Chemistry Faculty Publications

For a sigma hole induced on a terminal atom, such as a halogen atom (X) in a molecule R-X, it is commonly expected that the maximum potential in that sigma hole will arise along the extension of the R-X bond, opposite the overlap region. We find, however, that for the majority of group 1 halides (MX) that expectation fails. Conventional sigma holes appear on Na in its halides and hydrides, but not so for M = K, Rb, or Cs. Instead, a sigma ring─a latitudinal ring maximum─is observed in the surface potentials of those molecules. That anomaly is examined, and …

Defining Life: A Conversation, K. Kofman, C. Adami, F. Baluška, J. Bongard, D. Brash, P. Calvo, G. Dodig-Crnkovic, P. Das, C. Fields, T. Froese, P. L. Gentili, G. Y. Georgiev, Scott F. Gilbert, T. N. W. Jackson, S. Kauffman, N. Lane, P. Marshall, D. Mcshea, W. Miller, S. Newman, A. Nunn, T. P. Pavlic, M. Picard, W. Ratcliff, A. Reber, J. Shapiro, A. Sloman, R. Solé, C. Sonnenschein, S. Stepney, R. Watson, O. Witkowski, M. Levin

Biology Faculty Works

Life is one of the most fascinating features of the physical world. Despite centuries of scientific study, experts still disagree about the definition, and even the possibility or utility of a definition, of this field. In a recent paper, we used AI to analyze the conceptual space formed by definitions of life given by a select set of modern workers in the life sciences and related fields. However, some of the most interesting material emerged as real-time conversations among those polled. In order to ensure that these ideas are not lost to the peer-reviewed scientific record, we here provide a …

On Universal C∗ Algebras Associated To Operator Spaces And Generalized Crossed Products, Sayan Kansa Banik

Doctoral Theses

In my thesis, we study generalized crossed product constructions of the group \( C^* \)-algebra \( C^*(G) \) with respect to certain completely positive maps, where \( G \) is assumed to be a discrete amenable group. We also investigate the universal \( C^* \)-algebra \( \mathcal{E}_\alpha \) introduced by Hirshberg, which is constructed from \( C^*(G) \) and a pure injective homomorphism \( \alpha \colon G \to G \). In particular, we analyze its relationship with Exel's construction of generalized crossed products associated with the endomorphism of \( C^*(G) \) induced by \( \alpha \), together with an appropriate …

Religious Bias In Llms Is Significantly Understudied, Sheryl Carty, Nancy Fulda, Walter Reade

Faculty Publications

In the earlier years of development of LLMs, it was relatively easy to prompt an LLM to respond with toxic or biased statements about religion. Subsequent improvements in frontier models addressed many of the issues of bias and toxicity in general, including against religion. At the same time, the adoption and usage of these models has grown exponentially. Small and implicit biases, therefore, have a magnified overall impact. In this paper, we (1) briefly review previous efforts to measure religious bias in LLMs, (2) show, by reviewing over 12,000 papers dealing with bias in LLMs, that religious bias has been …

Um–Protoshare: Unet-Guided, Multi-Scale Shared Prototypes For Interpretable Brain Tumour Classification Using Multi-Sequence 3d Mri, Ali Golbaf, Vivek Singh, Swen Gaudl, Emmanuel Ifeachor

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Deep learning shows strong promise in brain tumour classification using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), although limited interpretability constrains clinical translation. Most interpretability methods are post-hoc and yield visual attribution maps that are only weakly connected to the decision process. Clinicians prefer decisions built from evidence they can recognise and verify on MRI, rather than post-hoc explanations. Case-based models embed reasoning by comparing image evidence with learned prototypes, yielding “this looks like that” rationales at decision time and mirroring clinical reasoning. Building on this paradigm, we introduce UM–ProtoShare, which compares the input multi-sequence 3D brain MRI with a bank of shared, …

Oregon State Rank Assessment For Oregon Daisy (Erigeron Oreganus), Nora Dunkirk, Sue Vrilakas

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

Oregon state conservation status assessment for Oregon Daisy (Erigeron oreganus) using NatureServe methodology, 2026.

Oregon State Rank Assessment For Bensonia (Bensoniella Oregana), Nora Dunkirk, Sue Vrilakas, Gabriel Campbell

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

Oregon state conservation status assessment for Bensonia (Bensoniella oregana) using NatureServe methodology, 2026.

Detecting And Correcting Systematic Image Distortion In Digital Atomic-Resolution Images From Crystals: Projected Symmetry Of Graphite Calibration Samples For Scanning Prove Microscopy And Subperiodic Crystals For Aberration-Corrected Transmission Electron Microscopy, Tyler Michael Bortel

Dissertations and Theses

Though it is an impressive technology, Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) produces images commonly plagued by small systematic errors, often called "drift". These effects have a variety of causes, most notably nonlinear behavior of piezoelectric actuator tubes responsible for the positioning of the scanning probe or sample. One result of these distortions is a potential incorrect classification of the symmetry groups and projected Laue classes of recorded images from crystals—made possible by using recently developed objective methods. An implementation of a known method for detecting and correcting these errors is presented. This method operates strictly in Fourier space so as to …

Latent Policy Manifold For Governing And Selecting Orthogonal Ai Directives, Nathan Myung-Chul Kim, Abraham Addisie

Defensive Publications Series

A system for managing modular directives for large language models can address challenges associated with redundant or conflicting instructions. The system can create a latent policy manifold by vectorizing a repository of natural language instructions and applying a matrix factorization technique, such as singular value decomposition, to identify an underlying orthogonal basis. This manifold can be used by an offline governance component to analyze and reduce redundancy in the instruction repository and by an online routing engine to select a subset of instructions at runtime. The selected subset of instructions can be both relevant to a given query and mathematically …

Pseudodifferential Absorbing Boundary Conditions For Waves, Lauren Taylor

Mechanical Engineering Theses

Absorbing boundary conditions (ABCs) are required to truncate the computational domain when performing Finite Element Analyses of exterior acoustic problems where physical domain is unbounded. ABC is applied on a fictitious boundary containing the scatterer and ideally allows outgoing waves to leave without non-physical reflections. Preventing artificial reflections is essential to benefit from the accuracy of the numerical method used. Otherwise, ABC acts as a reflective surface, and artificial reflections distort the solution in the entire domain which is not recoverable by any type of refinement. Pseudodifferential ABCs were used to describe the Dirichlet-to-Neumann map which maps known boundary values …

Biophysical Insights Into A Cryptic Ligand Site In The Hydrophobic Core Of Human Pcna, Alexis N. Dispensa, Sharon N, Greenwood, Jason Yang, Daniel E. Logatto, James Fusco, E. Railey White, Roderic G. Eckenhoff, Zhiwei Liu, Brian P. Weiser

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

Proteins contain small pockets that form due to imperfections in residue packing or the rotational and conformational movement of amino acids. In this work, we used the fluorescent probe 1-aminoanthracene (AMA) to detect a small ligand pocket in the hydrophobic core of human proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), which is a critical protein for DNA replication and repair. Fluorescence measurements of AMA reported that the core of PCNA had a dielectric constant (ε) of 4, which was very apolar and similar to cyclohexane (ε = 2). Protein mutagenesis, photoaffinity labeling, and molecular dynamics simulations localized the binding site for AMA …

Identification Of Prognostic Factors For Disease Recurrence-Free Survival (Drfs) In Breast Cancer Patients Using The Cox Proportional Hazards Model, Dwi Cahyaning Putri, Veny Prabaningrum, Samsul Arifin

Jurnal Biostatistik, Kependudukan, dan Informatika Kesehatan

Breast cancer remains one of the most common malignancies among women worldwide, with recurrence remaining a major clinical challenge. Despite various treatment efforts, the mortality rate from breast cancer remains high, particularly among patients with worse clinical and molecular conditions. This study aims to identify factors influencing the survival of breast cancer patients using the Cox proportional hazards model. The study analyzes clinical and molecular data of breast cancer patients to identify key risk factors affecting Disease Recurrence-Free Survival (DRFS). Analysis was conducted using Kaplan-Meier, the Log Rank test, and the Cox proportional hazards model. The results showed that nodal …

Security Architecture Decision Framework For Endpoint Protection In Resource-Constrained K-12 Environments, Jason Folker

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

K-12 educational institutions face an ongoing challenge in protecting endpoints when budgets and staffing prevent the implementation of standard security best practices. Technology directors routinely make difficult decisions about administrative rights, software controls, and security tooling, but they lack frameworks designed for the constraints and priorities specific to educational environments. This paper develops a security architecture decision framework tailored for K-12 endpoint protection. The framework integrates five weighting dimensions to help technology directors evaluate competing architectural choices. These dimensions include educational impact, security risk reduction, resource requirements, compliance obligations, and operational feasibility. The framework creates structured documentation that helps decision-makers …

Coherent Two-Photon Backscattering And Induced Angular Quantum Correlations In Multiple-Scattered Two-Photon States Of The Light, Nooshin M. Estakhri, Theodore B. Norris

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

We present the emergence of coherent two-photon backscattering, a manifestation of weak localization, in multiple scattering of maximally entangled pure and fully mixed two-photon states and examine the effect of entanglement and classical correlations. Quantum correlations in backscattering are investigated for finite three-dimensional disordered structures in the weak localization regime, as well as systems of a small number of scatterers with specified spatial arrangements. No assumptions are made about the statistical behavior of the scattering matrix elements. Furthermore, we study the interplay between quantum correlations induced by multiple scattering and the correlations that may be present in the illumination fields, …

Constructing A Lower-Bound Estimate Of The Global Number Of Insect Species On A Hyperdiverse Empirical Foundation, Robert Colwell, Laura Melissa Guzman, Dirk Steinke, Anne Chao, Daniel H. Janzen, Winnie Hallwachs, Austin Baker, Jose L Fernández-Triana, Paul D.N. Hebert, Frank Joyce, Robert Puschendorf, Donald L.J. Quicke, Rodolphe Rougerie, M. Alex Smith, Nelson Zamora, Michael J. Sharkey

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Estimating the number of insect species on Earth is a daunting challenge. The current consensus estimate—about six million species—is likely far too low, as we will show. Our estimate of the global number of insect species rests on a sample of more than 1,600,000 DNA-barcoded insect specimens representing 53,945 species from 15 “core” Malaise traps deployed in dry forest, cloud forest, and rainforest ecosystems of the Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in Costa Rica. Even this massive sample fails to reveal the full extent of ACG insect species richness. To estimate total ACG insect richness, we adjust the observed count …

Message From The President, Georgia Southern University

Messages from the President

No abstract provided.

Tree Layer Composition And Regeneration Status Of Quercus Floribunda Lindl. On Different Aspects Of Nainital Catchment In Kumaun Himalaya, Ambica Agnihotri, Ashish Tewari, Shahbaz Ali

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

Oaks are climax-forming species found at various elevations in the Himalayas between 2100– 2700 masl. However, aspect-wise regeneration patterns of Quercus floribunda in the Nainital catchment remain poorly documented. While previous studies focused on oak forest structure, the present study provides new insight into aspect-wise variation in the regeneration stages of Q. floribunda in relation to microclimatic conditions. The present study aims to evaluate tree composition and the regeneration status of Q. floribunda forests across different slope aspects in the Nainital catchment area of the Kumaun Himalaya. Four sites representing different slope aspects were selected in the Nainital catchment. Soil …

Analysis Of Quasi-Periodic Waves Of Cubic Nonlinear Schrödinger Equations, Perla Kfoury, Stefan Le Coz, Tai-Peng Tsai

University of Tennessee Mathematical Journal

We study the quasi-periodic standing wave solutions of the focusing and defocusing cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equations in dimension one. In the defocusing case, we establish  a diffeomorphic correspondence between the invariants of the ordinary differential equation of the wave profiles and the conserved quantities of the evolution equation. We introduce a numerical scheme to compute the minimizers of the energy at fixed mass and momentum for both focusing and defocusing cases. The scheme is based on a gradient flow approach with discrete renormalization at each time step.  The novelty of our scheme is that the renormalization step deals at the …