Digital Commons Network^™

Likelihood-Based Tests Of Species Tree Hypotheses, Richard Adams, Michael Degiorgio

Entomology and Plant Pathology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Likelihood-based tests of phylogenetic trees are a foundation of modern systematics. Over the past decade, an enormous wealth and diversity of model-based approaches have been developed for phylogenetic inference of both gene trees and species trees. However, while many techniques exist for conducting formal likelihood-based tests of gene trees, such frameworks are comparatively underdeveloped and underutilized for testing species tree hypotheses. To date, widely used tests of tree topology are designed to assess the fit of classical models of molecular sequence data and individual gene trees and thus are not readily applicable to the problem of species tree inference. To …

The Right To (Human) Counsel: Real Responsibility For Artificial Intelligence, Keith Swisher

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Surface Fluid Entrapment In A Laminar Flat Plate Boundary Layer, Abigail Hays

Mechanical Engineering Research Theses and Dissertations

For streamlined objects in laminar flow, the drag is dominated by friction drag. To counteract this, the boundary condition of the object can be changed to introduce an apparent slip on the surface. A number of approaches have been proposed for introducing surface slip to reduce drag and viscous resistance in fluid flows. This work investigates a novel approach to providing slip via fluid entrapment in a perforated domain embedded in the surface. The fluid entrapment system uses a cavity underneath the domain to allow entrapment of fluid of the same type, or supply air to the surface perforations in …

City Of Concord, Fy 2023 Annual Report, Concord Town Representatives

Concord, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

I Am Made Of..., Chris Latray

CutBank

No abstract provided.

Online But Unlawful Sales Of Unapproved And Misbranded Prescription Drugs: Internet Pharmacy Compliance With Food And Drug Administration Warning Letters, Yam B. Limbu, Bruce A. Huhmann

Department of Marketing Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Consumers increasingly use online pharmacies. However, illicit online pharmacies endanger consumer welfare with unapproved and counterfeit drugs. By linking Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning letter content with observations of the 1108 websites cited in those letters, we identify factors associated with FDA-requested compliance and active/inactive website status. One in five online pharmacies failed to comply with FDA recommendations. Findings support the cost/benefit, social norm, and instrumental theories of compliance. Compliance declines with cost (e.g., when the FDA requests changes to more drug categories). Organized crime's social norms encourage law breaking; thus, illicit pharmacies comply less than other online pharmacies. …

Vehicle Rebalancing In A Shared Micromobility System With Rider Crowdsourcing, Ziliang Jin, Yulan Wang, Yun Fong Lim, Kai Pan, Zuo-Jun Max Shen

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Problem definition: Shared micromobility vehicles provide an eco-friendly form of short-distance travel within an urban area. Since customers pick up and drop off vehicles in any service region at any time, such convenience often leads to a severe imbalance between vehicle supply and demand in different service regions. To overcome this, a micromobility operator can crowdsource individual riders with reward incentives in addition to engaging a third-party logistics provider (3PL) to relocate the vehicles. Methodology/results: We construct a time-space network with multiple service regions and formulate a twostage stochastic mixed-integer program considering uncertain customer demands. In the first stage, the …

Beyond Anthropomorphism: Unraveling The True Priorities Of Chatbot Usage In Smes, Tamas Makany, Sungjong Roh, Kotaro Hara, Jie Min Hua, Felicia Si Ying Goh, Wilson Yang Jie Teh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This study examined business communication practices with chatbots among various Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) stakeholders in Singapore, including business owners/employees, customers, and developers. Through qualitative interviews and chatbot transcript analysis, we investigated two research questions: (1) How do the expectations of SME stakeholders compare to the conversational design of SME chatbots? and (2) What are the business reasons for SMEs to add human-like features to their chatbots? Our findings revealed that functionality is more crucial than anthropomorphic characteristics, such as personality and name. Stakeholders preferred chatbots that explicitly identified themselves as machines to set appropriate expectations. Customers prioritized efficiency, …

Inventory-Responsive Donor-Management Policy: A Tandem Queueing Network Model, Taozeng Zhu, Nicholas Teck Boon Yeo, Sarah Yini Gao, Gar Goei Loke

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Problem definition: In the blood-donor-management problem, the blood bank incentivizes donors to donate, given blood inventory levels. We propose a model to optimize such incentivization schemes under the context of random demand, blood perishability, observation period between donations, and variability in donor arrivals and dropouts. Methodology/results: We propose an optimization model that simultaneously accounts for the dynamics in the blood inventory and the donor’s donation process, as a coupled queueing network. We adopt the Pipeline Queue paradigm, which leads us to a tractable convex reformulation. The coupled setting requires new methodologies to be developed upon the existing Pipeline Queue framework. …

Managing The Creative Frontier Of Generative Ai: The Novelty-Usefulness Tradeoff, Anirban. Mukherjee, Hannah H. Chang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In this paper, drawing inspiration from the human creativity literature, we explore the optimal balance between novelty and usefulness in generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. We posit that overemphasizing either aspect can lead to limitations such as hallucinations and memorization. Hallucinations, characterized by AI responses containing random inaccuracies or falsehoods, emerge when models prioritize novelty over usefulness. Memorization, where AI models reproduce content from their training data, results from an excessive focus on usefulness, potentially limiting creativity. To address these challenges, we propose a framework that includes domain-specific analysis, data and transfer learning, user preferences and customization, custom evaluation metrics, …

Generative Artificial Intelligence: University Student Awareness, Experience, And Confidence In Use Across Disciplines, Andrew Kelly, Miriam Sullivan, Katrina Strampel

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The global higher education sector has been significantly disrupted by the proliferation of generative artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT, especially in relation to its implications for assessment. However, few studies to date have explored student perspectives on these tools. This article reports on one of the first large-scale quantitative studies of student views on generative artificial intelligence at an Australian university (n = 1,135). When the survey was conducted, most students had low knowledge, experience, and confidence in using these tools. These results varied across disciplines and across some student sub-groups, such as mature-age students and international students. Confidence …

A Case Study Of The Comparison Between Rubberized And Polymer Modified Asphalt On Heavy Traffic Pavement In Wet And Freeze Environment, Dongzhao Jin, Kwadwo Ampadu Boateng, Dongdong Ge, Tiankai Che, Lei Yin, Wayne Harrall, Zhanping You

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Ground tire rubber (GTR) usage in asphalt pavement with the dry process has gained more prominence in recent times. The objective of this work is to investigate the pavement performance of GTR-modified asphalt pavement and polymer-modified asphalt pavement on heavy volume of traffic conditions in Michigan's wet and freeze environment. A suite of laboratory tests was done to evaluate the pavement performance of GTR-modified and polymer-modified asphalt mixtures. To reveal the strain and stress relationship under different frequencies and temperatures, the dynamic modulus test was applied. The Hamburg wheel tracking device (HWTD) was used to assess the high-temperature deformation resistance. …

Photocatalytic Degradation Of Fluorescein Dye Through Sns2/Sno2 Photocatalyst For Efficient Environmental Remediation, Saddam Alaskary

Chemical Engineering

The SnS2/SnO2 nanocomposite, employed as a photocatalyst for the photodegradation of fluorescein dye, demonstrates the significant role of mass ratio and catalyst dosage in photocatalytic degradation. The relatively small disparity between the conduction bands of SnS2 (ECB = -0.895 eV) and SnO2 (ECB = 0.15 eV) is conducive for the formation of a Z-scheme, which curbs the recombination process and elevates photocatalytic activity. The nanocatalyst was synthesized using the sol-gel method and subsequently characterized through XRD, SEM, TEM, EDX, mapping, DRS, and XPS. The peak intensity of the photoluminescence (PL) study, relating to the optical property of the catalyst, was …

Hacking The Library Exhibition Pdfs, Sally Brown, Christine Hoffmann, Lois Ann Raimondo, Karen Diaz, Sarah Pahlfrey

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The hacker ethos in the positive sense is about the ability to deconstruct and reconstruct information systems. Hacking starts with reconceptualizing libraries. L Hacking the Library presents artwork that highlights the intersecting values that shape our libraries through an artistic lens, reflecting on challenges and definitions of libraries past and as we move into the future. To provide personal context, "Community Connections" complement the art from librarians across the nation who responded to the artwork.

Artists included: Jackie Andrews (Maryland, mixed media), Trudy Borenstein- Sugiura (New Jersey, book arts), Sally Jane Brown (West Virginia, drawing), Shan Cawley (West Virginia, painting), …

Establishment Of Unit-Based Council Using A Shared Governance Toolkit For Surgical Clinics, Fica Etienne

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: Shared governance (SG) is an organizational framework that empowers healthcare professionals by granting them authority over their own professional practice. The absence of a unit-based council (UBC) has been identified as hindering collaborative decision-making and problem-solving approaches.

PICOT: In four surgical clinics requiring a Unit Based Counsel (UBC) structure (P), what is the impact of implementing a Shared Governance (SG) toolkit (I) compared to not implementing an SG toolkit (C) over eight weeks? (T)

Evidence: The existing literature strongly indicates that shared governance (SG) empowers nurses to collaborate as equal partners with nursing leaders within …

Discerning The Drivers Of China’S Nuclear Force Development: Models, Indicators, And Data, David C. Logan, Phillip C. Saunders

China Strategic Perspectives

For decades following its first test in 1964, China maintained a small nuclear force and a doctrine emphasizing deterrence and no-first-use of nuclear weapons. China has recently embarked on an unprecedented campaign of expansion and modernization, which is changing the size, structure, and operational posture of its nuclear forces. The growing discrepancy between China’s restrained declaratory policy and advancing nuclear capabilities raises important questions about the status and future trajectory of China’s nuclear forces, with major implications for the United States.

Horizontal Transfer Of Probable Chicken-Pathogenicity Chromosomal Islands Between Staphylococcus Aureus And Staphylococcus Agnetis, Douglas D. Rhoads, Jeff Pummil, Nnamdi S. Ekesi, Adnan A.K. Alrubaye

Cell and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Staphylococcus agnetis is an emerging pathogen in chickens but has been most commonly isolated from sub-clinical mastitis in bovines. Previous whole-genome analyses for known virulence genes failed to identify determinants for the switch from mild ductal infections in cattle to severe infections in poultry. We now report identification of a family of 15 kbp, 17–19 gene mobile genetic elements (MGEs) specific to chicken osteomyelitis and dermatitis isolates of S. agnetis. These MGEs can be present in multiple copies per genome. The MGE has been vectored on a Staphylococcus phage that separately lysogenized two S. agnetis osteomyelitis strains. …

Dice: Blessed Or Cursed?, Warren Campbell, Cameron Miller, Xavier Simpson

SEAS Faculty Publications

Every year, hundreds of millions of dice are manufactured and sold. Because of the impossibility of precise dimensional control and nonuniform density, none of these dice are fair. Polyhedral dice manufactured for role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons typically contain 4-sided, 6-sided, 8-sided, 10-sided, 12-sided, and 20-sided dice (D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, and D20). D20s are especially problematic. In 3000-roll tests of several D20s, only about one-quarter tested fair. In light of the inherent unfairness of most dice, we explored the possibility of using dice mechanics involving multiple dice to obtain fairer results. For D20s, summing three dice gave …

Louisiana Agriculture Magazine, Summer 2023

Louisiana Agriculture

Rice, alligators and sugarcane are quintessential Louisiana products, and LSU AgCenter researchers and extension agents devote themselves to helping the producers who grow them. Economists are finding ways to improve the market for alligators while specialists focus on innovation in the sugar industry and creating new varieties of rice.

AgCenter researchers also have an eye on the natural world. They are protecting the roseau cane that thrives on the coast and the ironwood trees of Guam. All these efforts are detailed in this issue of Louisiana Agriculture magazine.

Extended Sentinel Monitoring Of Helicoverpa Zea Resistance To Cry And Vip3aa Toxins In Bt Sweet Corn: Assessing Changes In Phenotypic And Allele Frequencies Of Resistance, Galen P. Dively, Tom P. Kuhar, Sally V. Taylor, Helene Doughty, Kristian Holmstrom, Daniel O. Gilrein, Brian A. Nault, Joseph Ingerson-Mahar, Anders Huseth, Dominic Reisig, Shelby Fleischer, David Owens, Kelley Tilmon, Francis Reay-Jones, Pat Porter, Jocelyn Smith, Julien Saguez, Jason Wells, Caitlin Congdon, Holly Byker, Bryan Jensen, Chris Difonzo, William D. Hutchison, Eric Burkness, Robert Wright, Michael Crossley, Heather Darby, Tom Bilbo, Nicholas Seiter, Christian Krupke, Craig Abel, Brad S. Coates, Bradley Mcmanus

Faculty Publications

Transgenic corn and cotton that produce Cry and Vip3Aa toxins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are widely planted in the United States to control lepidopteran pests. The sustainability of these Bt crops is threatened because the corn earworm/bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), is evolving a resistance to these toxins. Using Bt sweet corn as a sentinel plant to monitor the evolution of resistance, collaborators established 146 trials in twenty-five states and five Canadian provinces during 2020–2022. The study evaluated overall changes in the phenotypic frequency of resistance (the ratio of larval densities in Bt ears relative to densities in non-Bt ears) …

Substantially Enhanced Landscape Carbon Sink Due To Reduced Terrestrial-Aquatic Carbon Transfer Through Soil Conservation In The Chinese Loess Plateau, Lishan Ran, Nufang Fang, Xuhui Wang, Shilong Piao, Chun Ngai Chan, Siliang Li, Yi Zeng, Zhihua Shi, Mingyang Tian, Yi Jun Xu, Junyu Qi, Boyi Liu

Faculty Publications

Soil conservation is of global importance, as accelerated soil erosion by human activity is a primary threat to ecosystem viability. However, the significance and role of soil conservation in reshaping landscape carbon (C) accounting has not been comprehensively integrated in the terrestrial C sink. Here, we present the first integrated assessment of the modified terrestrial C sink and aquatic C transport due to soil conservation for the semiarid Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP), the world's most vulnerable region to soil erosion. We show a surprisingly low terrestrial-aquatic C transfer that offset the terrestrial net ecosystem productivity by only 7.5%, which we …

A Modified-Herringbone Micromixer For Assessing Zebrafish Sperm (Mags), Jorge A. Belgodere, Mustafa Alam, Valentino E. Browning, Jason Eades, Jack North, Julie A. Armand, Yue Liu, Terrence R. Tiersch, W. Todd Monroe

Faculty Publications

Sperm motility analysis of aquatic model species is important yet challenging due to the small sample volume, the necessity to activate with water, and the short duration of motility. To achieve standardization of sperm activation, microfluidic mixers have shown improved reproducibility over activation by hand, but challenges remain in optimizing and simplifying the use of these microdevices for greater adoption. The device described herein incorporates a novel micromixer geometry that aligns two sperm inlet streams with modified herringbone structures that split and recombine the sample at a 1:6 dilution with water to achieve rapid and consistent initiation of motility. The …

Gene Editing Provides A Tool To Investigate Genes Involved In Reproduction Of Pigs, Rodney D. Geisert, Destiny N. Johns, Caroline A. Pfeiffer, Riley M. Sullivan, Caroline G. Lucas, Constantine A. Simintiras, Bethany K. Redel, Kevin D. Wells, Thomas E. Spencer, Randall S. Prather

Faculty Publications

CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology provides a method to generate loss-of-function studies to investigate, in vivo, the specific role of specific genes in regulation of reproduction. With proper design and selection of guide RNAs (gRNA) designed to specifically target genes, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing allows investigation of factors proposed to regulate biological pathways involved with establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. The advantages and disadvantages of using the current gene editing technology in a large farm species is discussed. CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing of porcine conceptuses has generated new perspectives for the regulation of endometrial function during the establishment of pregnancy. The delicate orchestration …

Economic Viability Of Implementing Structural Health Monitoring Systems On The Support Structures Of Bottom-Fixed Offshore Wind, Mario Vieira, Brian Snyder, Elsa Henriques, Craig White, Luis Reis

Faculty Publications

Offshore wind (OSW) energy is a renewable source with strong prospects of development that may decisively contribute towards energy independence. Offshore wind is, however, not yet ubiquitously cost competitive, and frequently requires support schemes to finance its extensive capital requirements. Therefore, cost reduction strategies are necessary for the future development of offshore wind technologies. Even if structural health monitoring (SHM) systems are currently applied for the inspection of critical mechanical structures, they have not been the focus of research from offshore wind stakeholders. The main goal of this study is to evaluate the viability of SHM systems on the support …

Effects Of Alkylation On Potency Of Benz[A]Anthracene For Ahr2 Transactivation In Nine Species Of Freshwater Fish, Justin Dubiel, Hunter Johnson, Andreas N.M. Eriksson, A. Hontela, Jon A. Doering, Steve Wiseman

Faculty Publications

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are naturally occurring or anthropogenic organic chemicals that can activate the aryl hydrocarbon receptor 2 (AhR2) and induce toxicity in fishes. Alkyl PAHs are more abundant than nonalkylated PAHs in certain environmental matrices and there is growing evidence that alkylation can increase potency, dependent on the position of alkylation. However, it is unknown if the effect of alkylation on potency is conserved across species. In addition, relatively little is known regarding the extent of interspecies variation in sensitivity to PAHs and alkyl PAHs. Therefore, objectives of the present study were to characterize potency of benz[a]anthracene (BAA) …

Transcription Factor Pecs Mediates Agrobacterium Fabrum Fitness And Survival, George C. Nwokocha, Prava Adhikari, Asif Iqbal, Hannah Elkholy, William T. Doerrler, John C. Larkin, Anne Grove

Faculty Publications

The transcriptional regulator PecS is encoded by select bacterial pathogens. For instance, in the plant pathogen Dickeya dadantii, PecS controls a range of virulence genes, including pectinase genes and the divergently oriented gene pecM, which encodes an efflux pump through which the antioxidant indigoidine is exported. In the plant pathogen Agrobacterium fabrum (formerly named Agrobacterium tumefaciens), the pecS-pecM locus is conserved. Using a strain of A. fabrum in which pecS has been disrupted, we show here that PecS controls a range of phenotypes that are associated with bacterial fitness. PecS represses flagellar motility and chemotaxis, which are processes that are …

Monarch, Philip Walzer (Editor)

Monarch Magazine

Summer 2023 issue of Monarch, the Old Dominion University Magazine.

Subtitled: The Launch of a New Era

Energy Efficiency And Carbon Footprint Reduction In Pharmaceutical Research & Development Facilities, Vibhu Sharma, Abhimanyu Singh

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Graduate Student Publications

The pharmaceutical industry faces significant challenges in reducing energy consumption and carbon footprint due to its energy-intensive operations, particularly in Research & Development (R&D) facilities. This paper presents a case study of a comprehensive energy assessment conducted at a leading pharmaceutical R&D facility. The assessment aimed to identify energy use reduction opportunities to align with the broader corporate strategy of carbon footprint reduction. This study details the methodology, findings, and strategic implementation plan for enhancing energy efficiency and sustainability in pharmaceutical R&D operations.

Clear As Glass: Novel Antibiotic Glasses Vitrified From Solution, Claire Lamberti

Chemistry Theses and Dissertations

The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) has maintained a list of essential medicines since 1977 (1). This list contains the medications considered to be the most effective and of the utmost importance to the needs of worldwide healthcare systems. If new forms of these drugs can be created, they can be studied for potential stability and transportation purposes, as well as drug delivery mechanisms. There are strategies to try and improve the physicochemical properties including forming polymorphs, salts, cocrystals, and amorphous formulations. There are issues with these techniques, and a large one is that in most cases the crystal structures of …

The Decomposition Of Normal Vibrational Modes In Different Chemistry Problems, Mateus Macedo Quintano

Chemistry Theses and Dissertations

The least action principle yields the Euler-Lagrange equations, which explain molecular vibrations in minimizing action. Subsequently, the Lagrangian gives rise to the equations of motion using the Euler-Lagrange equations. We can then solve the characteristic value problem to obtain normal vibrational modes. Ultimately, the vibrational spectrum of a molecule can be extracted from the characteristic values. Normal coordinates are linear combinations of internal or Cartesian coordinates. However, the delocalization of normal vibrational modes across the molecule restricts the direct use of normal mode frequencies and force constants for measuring bond strength. From the force constant matrix and the normal mode …