Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Biological Control For One Health, Urs Schaffner, George E. Heimpel, Nicholas J. Mills, Beatrice W. Muriithi, Matthew B. Thomas, Yubak D. Gc, Kris A.G. Wyckhuys

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Biological control has been effectively exploited by mankind since 300 CE. By promoting the natural regulation of pests, weeds, and diseases, it produces societal benefits at the food-environment-health nexus. Here we scrutinize biological control endeavours and their social-ecological outcomes through a holistic ‘One-Health’ lens, recognizing that the health of humans, animals, plants, and the wider environment are linked and interdependent. Evidence shows that biological control generates desirable outcomes within all One Health dimensions, mitigating global change issues such as chemical pollution, biocide resistance, biodiversity loss, and habitat destruction. Yet, its cross-disciplinary achievements remain underappreciated. To remedy this, we advocate a …

Human Impacts On Mammal Diversity From The Pleistocene To The Present, Carson P. Hedberg

Biology ETDs

Humans have fundamentally altered the planet’s biodiversity. It is critical to characterize these changes, but also to understand how they impact the structure and function of modern ecosystems. This dissertation investigates how anthropogenically mediated species losses and/or introductions influence ecological function and community structure in mammals across multiple temporal and spatial scales. We found that selective loss of large-bodied mammals over the Late Quaternary has led to severe losses in functional diversity in modern ecosystems, suggesting megafaunal mammals contribute distinct ecological functions. These changes to mammal diversity and distribution over millennia have altered both global patterns in functional diversity and …

Ambient Noise Tomography Of The Southern M9.2 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake Rupture Area, Joshua Ojuoluwa Osasona

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

We used data from a densely spaced node array to investigate seismic velocity structure within the southern rupture area of the M9.2 1964 Great Alaska earthquake. The node array was deployed along a ~50 km section of the road system on Kodiak Island as part of the Alaska Amphibious Community Seismic Experiment (AACSE). The full ~400-node array was active for 25 days in May-June 2019. We extracted Rayleigh wave dispersion curves from ambient noise cross-correlations between station pairs in the node array to compute phase velocity maps from 2-8 s periods. Using these phase velocity maps, we performed a Bayesian …

Exceptional Points Induced By Unidirectional Coupling In Electronic Circuits, Wenzheng Zhao, Yeang Zhang, Zixuan Gao, Delong Peng, Jun Long Kou, Yan Qing Lu, Ramy El-Ganainy, Şahin K. Özdemir, Qi Zhong

Michigan Tech Publications

Exceptional points in non-Hermitian systems have attracted considerable attention due to their novel applications in several fields such as optics, electronics, and mechanics. Typically, exceptional points are constructed through gain and loss modulation or dissipative coupling within the framework of parity-time symmetry or anti-parity-time symmetry. Recent demonstration of unidirectional coupling in optical resonators to create exceptional points has offered an alternative approach. This study extends this concept to electronic circuits, examining exceptional points that emerge in unidirectionally coupled LC circuits. We show that this circuit undergoes resonance frequency splitting that exhibits either linear or square-root scaling with the strength of …

Alabama Agricultural Producers’ Experiences With Wild Pigs (Sus Scrofa) And Their Preferences Concerning Wild Pig Management, Hailey E. Ellis, Luren M. Jaebker, Alan D. Bright, Mark D. Smith, Keith M. Carlisle

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Government agencies and landowners use a variety of lethal methods to reduce invasive wild pig populations and resulting agricultural damages. To provide decision-makers with information regarding Alabama farmers’ experiences with wild pigs and their preferences for management actions, we surveyed Alabama Farmers Federation members in 2020. We found that wild pigs were commonly present on livestock, timber, and crop production acreage, but wild pig damages and costs were much more common among crop producers. Respondents' wildlife acceptance capacity for wild pigs was low and all lethal control methods were considered aceptable by most reposndents, particularly those performed by landowners. While …

Newton's Electromagnetic Bucket, Angelina Georg

Mathematics Colloquium Series

We examine Newton’s thought experiment: Newton’s Bucket. We replace the bucket with a charged infinite cylindrical shell in order to extend the analysis to an electromagnetic one. We show that Newton’s mechanical conclusions are equally valid electromagnetically.

Intersections Of Living And Machine Agencies: Art-Based Models Of Adaptive Conversation With The More-Than-Human World, Carlos Castellanos

Tradition Innovations in Arts, Design, and Media Higher Education

Today’s AI systems are not built to have reciprocal interplay with their environments and thus they demonstrate little interest in emergence, adaptation or developing mutually productive relationships with the natural world. Is a different kind of AI possible? How can artists contribute to its development? In this essay, I will discuss ways in which the arts might help guide us towards a new kind of AI, built upon adaptive conversation (i.e. shared construction of meaning) with nature. I will discuss how can work with AI while also challenging its prevailing ontology, and even suggest alternative ontologies and epistemologies. I will …

Balancing Context And Clarity Through Visualizations For Better Decision-Making, Bhavana Doppalapudi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this era of a data driven world, the effective communication of data through visualizations is pivotal for converting complex information into accurate insights. Effective visualizations not only enhance users' comprehension of complex data but also induce trust, leading to better decision-making. This dissertation explores methods to improve trust in visualizations by providing additional context and enhancing their clarity, ensuring appropriate data interpretations and better decisions from users.

The work in the dissertation begins by examining the impact of scatterplots combined with statistical metrics such as accuracy on users' trust and decision-making focused on recommender systems. In addition, we show …

Construction, Emplacement, And Structure Of Cretaceous Plutons In The Ebbetts Pass Region, North-Central Sierra Nevada Batholith, California, Hollianne C. Mcclure

Master's Theses

Field, petrographic, and geochronologic analyses were conducted for five Cretaceous plutons in the North-Central Sierra Nevada batholith to better understand their construction, emplacement, and deformation histories. All the plutons in the study area were constructed incrementally, but timing and degrees of mixing between increments vary. The lack of internal contacts and heterogeneity in the interiors of the Stanislaus Meadow and Ebbetts Pass plutons suggest that there were sizeable magma chambers where there was thorough mixing of increments. The West of Elbow, Lookout Peak, and Kinney Lakes plutons were constructed from small batches of magma based on their textural and compositional …

Active Tectonics, Erosion Rates, And Topographic Metrics In The Hayword-Calaveras Fault Zone, Simone I. Yeager

Master's Theses

In northern California, the complex geometry of the San Andreas Fault system, and how it steps and propagates across the Earth’s surface, is revealed in the topography. Activity along the Mission and Arroyo Aguague oblique reverse faults, located where the right-lateral Hayward Fault steps to the left of the Calaveras Fault, are manifested in the Diablo Mountain Range. The high topography in the restraining step can be observed in lidar imagery and seismicity studies show these faults are connected at depth. In this study, we investigate active tectonics, erosion rates, and topographic metrics from the southern end of the restraining …

Coding Connections: Exploring Relationships Between Computer Science Learning And Mathematics Achievement In Secondary Education, Bradley Hayes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation in practice explores the intersection of computer science education, specifically computational thinking and programming, with mathematics achievement among 15-year-old students in selected English-speaking countries. The research addresses a gap in understanding whether skills developed through computer science can positively influence mathematics performance by assessing the extent to which learning in computer science transfers to mathematics.

To achieve this, a quantitative methodology was employed, incorporating pilot study data from a single school and large-scale survey data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022. The analysis assessed the correlation between regular participation in programming activities and mathematics attainment, …

Re: Butte Mine Flooding Site Cd, Cv 02-35 Bu-Rfc, 2024 Third Quarter Report, Mark Thompson, Dave Griffis

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

No Change In Functional Ecology Or Body Size In Response To A Global Climate Event In The Late Maastrichtian Owl Creek Formation, William T. Rizza

Master's Theses

During the last 300 ka of the Maastrichtian, global temperatures increased and decreased by ~2℃, likely caused by a pulse of Deccan volcanism. The Owl Creek Type Section in Mississippi records some portion of the last 400 ka of the Late Maastrichtian. It is expected that marine invertebrates will demonstrate a taxonomic, ecological, or morphological response to rapid temperature change. I anticipate a decrease in taxonomic diversity and shell volume and an increased abundance of low activity-level species, similar to the ecological impacts observed in response to Large Igneous Province eruptions in the geologic record. Clumped isotope paleotemperature reconstruction recovers …

Multi-Dimensional Visualization Strategies Using Web Scraping Tools: A Word Formation Synthesis Case Study For Russian Verbs Of Sound, John Simmons

Graduate Student Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Internet Of Medical Things: Integrating Machine Learning And Wearables For Healthcare, Jingwen Zhang

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), which integrates Internet of Things technologies into healthcare, has become a powerful tool for enhancing health monitoring and predicting clinical outcomes. By leveraging wearable devices, IoMT facilitates continuous, cost-effective, and convenient tracking of patients' health conditions over time. This dissertation applies data-driven methods to address critical clinical challenges involving wearable devices. Specifically, it focuses on three significant clinical problems: (1) indoor contact tracing for healthcare workers using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons, (2) predicting surgical outcomes using wearable data, and (3) developing robust models for surgical outcome prediction that account for patient variability using …

Internet Of Medical Things: Integrating Machine Learning And Wearables For Healthcare, Jingwen Zhang

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), which integrates Internet of Things technologies into healthcare, has become a powerful tool for enhancing health monitoring and predicting clinical outcomes. By leveraging wearable devices, IoMT facilitates continuous, cost-effective, and convenient tracking of patients' health conditions over time. This dissertation applies data-driven methods to address critical clinical challenges involving wearable devices. Specifically, it focuses on three significant clinical problems: (1) indoor contact tracing for healthcare workers using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons, (2) predicting surgical outcomes using wearable data, and (3) developing robust models for surgical outcome prediction that account for patient variability using …

Towards An Ideal Seed Coating, J M. Scott

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Coated pasture seeds have been formulated in the past based largely on "trial and error" with relatively few objective criteria being employed to define desirable formulations, A description of desirable propelties of various layers of seed coatings and of the seeds themselves is presented.

Lolium Endophyte Viability: Effect Of Seed Storage, M P. Rolston, J R. Crush, M D. Hare, K K. Moore

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The effects of seed storage on the endophyte Acremonium lolii in ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) were evaluated over 7 years. The long• term effects of 4 seed moisture contents (SMC) 8.6-13.1 %: tempemture (ambient, 5, O, -15°C) 'aitd packaging types: calico, polyethylene fi,Jm. 9-140 µm, and aluminium-polyethylene (AIP) on endophyte viability were assess·ed. • Endophyte viability was maintained by lower seed moisture content and low temperatures. In ambient warehouse conditions endophyte viability declined to zero in 12 months in calico bags,' but was maintained for 3 years at 8.6% SMC in AIP: • Endophyte viability was maintained for …

Effect Of Dormancy-Releasing Treatments On Germination Of Bahiagrass Seed, J. Jeffrey Mullahey, D S. Fisher

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Low seed germination and dormant seed in bahiagrass (Paspalum nonatutum Flugge.) necessitate high seeding rates for successful pasture establishment. A study of dormancy-releasing treatments and age of seed on germination of bahiagrass was conducted in an incubator at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center near Immokalee, Florida. Five seed treatments (Crop-Start (Solid Matrix Seed Priming, Kamterter Products Inc., Lincoln, NB), potassium nitrate (KNO3), heat/humidity, palea removed, and a check), 2 cullivars (Pensacola, Tifton 9) of bahiagrass and 2 ages (10 and 16 months) of seed were used. A significant (P<0.05) age ·x treatment interaction occurred for all response variables. Based on total germination at 28 days, % dormant seed and rate of germination, Crop-Start and heat/humidity were consistently the best treatments. Additional research on germination with dormancy-releasing treatments is needed to study the Interaction of seed age and bahiagrass cultivar.

Weed Seed Contamination: Use Of A Seed Testing Database To Identify Processing Limitations, J S. Rowarth, M P. Rolston, A A. Johnson

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

A computerised database maintained by the Official Seed Testing Station of New Zealand provided the opporlunity to survey weed seed contamination in clover and grass seed-lots. Broad-leaf weeds such as Slierardia arvensis, Stellaria ,nedia and Chenopodium album were the major contaminants in Trifolium repens seed-lots. In grass seed-lots the main contaminants were seeds of other grasses such as Bromus hordaeceus, Vulpia spp. and Holcus lanatus. Weed seeds were found to be a major reason for downgrading or rejection from certification of clover and grass seed-lots in New Zealand; this reflects strict quality control measures.

An Investigation In To The Effect Of Some Factors On The Germination Of Erodium Seeds, Myrna Johnston, Alfredo Olivares, Gladys Fernandez

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Erodiurn seeds present variable dormancy in and even within each species. Thus, it is important to know the factors that determine this variation as related to the persistence of its species. E. rnoschatmn and E. rnalacoides seeds were collected at the end of the annual cycle at La Rinconada de Maipli (33°28'S and 7S050'W). Effects of seed sour.ce (collecting in 1986, 1988 and 1990), age (keeping seeds under laboratory conditions) and maternal factors (cutting plants at early flowering) were analysed. Seeds were tested for germination capacity and germination rate at a constant temperature of 15°C on Petri dishes provided with …

Long-Term Seed Dormancy In Poa Pratensis L. Northern Norway, Trygve S. Aamlid, Dagfinn Arntzen

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Inadequate gennination has often been obseived when planting Poa pratensis L. cv. Lavang (69°N) in northern Norwegian grasslands. This investigation was intended to elucidate whether this was due lo long­term seed dormancy, Seed-lots grown in different years in northern and southern Norway and stored at O-to•c, were germinated in Jakobsen­type germinators al various combinations of temperature and light. Significant dormancy was expressed at 21 °C even after 10 years of storage. Al this constant temperature, germination was promoted by 8 h fluorescent light compared with darkness and continuous light. Al 21/ I 2°C alternating temperature, seed genninated well irrespective of …

Seed Vigour In Lucerne And White Clover, Y R. Wang, J G. Hampton

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Accelerated ageing (AA) was used to assess the seed vigour of 5 lucerne (Medicago sativa L, cv. Wairau) and 8 white clover (Trifolium repens L. cv. Grasslands Huia) seed-lots. Germination prior to AA ranged from 86-94% and 87-94% for the lucerne and white clover seed-lots respectively. All seed-lots hl\d been harvested in 1988 and were certified either as basic or first generation. Germination after 72 h at 40:t0.5°C (AA test) ranged frcim 31-76% for the lucerne seed­lots and 15-56% for che white clover seed-lots, indicating significant differences in seed.vigour among lots of both species. Time of ageing influenced …

Growing Methods For The Morphological Assessment Of White Clover Cultivars Purity, J G. Hampton, E J. Musukwa

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Three growing methods (field sward, field spaced plants, glasshouse plants) were compared for the morphological assessment of white clover (Trifolium repens L.) cultivar purity. Three cerlified (breeders, basic and first generation) seed-lots of cv. Grasslands Kopu and one first generation Kopu seed lot which had been mixed with seed of another cultivnr (10:1) were used to generate data. After analysis of variance (ANOVA), significant (P<0.05) reductions from the breeders seed lot siandnrd for leaf size, stolon number and leaf length/width ratio were recorded for the mixed seed· 101 in nil three growing methods, and for petiole length with the sward method only. With the glasshouse and spaced-plant melhods, slolon numbers of the basic and first generation seed-lots were reduced (P<0.05), while leaf size was lower (P<0.05) for the first generation seed-lot in lhe glasshouse. However, under OECD certification requirements, leaf size of the mixed seed lot was the only characler for which "off types" were detecled. Data coefficients of variation were no greater for the glasshouse method than the required OECD plot-test method.

Importance Of Tropical Pasture Seed Quality And Factors Affecting It In Smallholder Farming System, H F. Chin, C C. Wong

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Most tropical pastures are associated with and confined to smaJlholder animal production in developing countries of the tropics, with the exception of Australia. At present, tropical pasture seeds are very variable and poor in quality, as tropical herbage seed production is relatively new compared with that for temperate systems. Many tropical species are relatively wild and have yet to be domesticated and selected for pasture use, let alone for seed production characteristics. The unfavourable production and storage environment of the wet tropics, coupled with a lack of appropriate technology, also contributes towards poor quality in tropical pasture seeds. In this …

The Benefits Of Seed Quality In Intensive Temperate Forage Systems, Jeffrey J. Steiner

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Seed quality has traditionally been considered to consist of two components: physiologic and genetic quality. The benefits of using high quality seeds have been widely documented and are generally not questioned. These henefits came about as a result of a first­generation of seed quality aware11ess which began more than a century ago. In intensive temperate forage production systems, the producer usually has a ready supply of high-quality seeds available for purchase. For the consumer, seed quality is not a major constraint to system productivity, However, many forage producers are not realising all of the potential benefits from using high quality …

New Realities For The Management Of Tussock Grasslands In New Zealand, I.G C. Kerr

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Concerns about the potential demise of the tussock grasslands of the Soulh Island of New Zealand have been well recorded in the scientific and official literature. Little effective action has been taken to arrest the process of land degradation that has occurred during the 125 years of utilisation of !he tussock grasslands for pastoralism. A substantial decline in the pastoral productivity and conservation value of the "unimproved" tussock grasslands has been the result, Much of the cause has been the failure of the administrators and the occupiers of the high country to understand, and act on, the evidence. Occupiers and …

Integration Of Recreation With Pastoral Use And Conservation In The High Country Of South Island, New Zealand, P H. Murray, D M. Robertson, C R. Mason

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Over 3 000 000 ha of the South Island high country is Crown (i.e. Govemmcnt)-owned land, held under pastoral lease or conservation estate. There is increasing pressure from recreationists for access to land under both tenures. Permits from Crown agents, with agreement from land occupiers, are required for commercial recreation. Access for non-commercial recreation on pastoral lease land is generally through direct negotiation with the lessee. Conflicts between high country users are occurring where recreation pressure is greatest. A case study in the Remarkables Range near the mountain resort of Queenstown, shows domination by the primary users (pastoral lessees and …

Tradition And Pastoral Sustainability- An Exercise In The Applied Human Ecology Of Mountain Rangelands, David Pitt

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The paper presents the case for regarding some traditional practices and customs as a ba��e for sustainable development in winter cold temperate rangeland pastoralism, The emphasis is on the social forms which maintain a system in which low intensity production, usufruct, kinship dynamics, co-operation, environmentally friendly practices and nomadism are maintained in the face of extreme outside pressures, A typology is elaborated including five situations: independence, coexistence, fluctuation, absorption and interaction. Case studies _are presented from the Middle East, Andes, North Africa, the Alps, the Himalaya and the former Soviet Union. Although these situations are basically historical, or at best …

Integration Of Pastoral And Non-Pastoral Uses On Temperate Rangelands With Cold Winters In Developed Countries, T J. Maxwell, W A. Laycock

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The demands of the relatively wealthy and sophisticated societies of developed countries, with their substantial amounts of leisure time and discretionary income, are having an increasing impact on temperate rangelands in a variety of ways. Some parts of these societies are concerned to protect the landscapes, habitats, wildlife and solitude that can be found there, and wish to constrain any further development within these ecosystems; others also wish .to gain ready access to these resources for hunting, recreation and sport and believe that this requires the exclusion of domesticated livestock. Temperate rangelands are frequently used as water catchments and some …