Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi
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No humans here: Exploration in the digital age
Full text linkNo Humans Here connects a lineage between landscape painters of the Hudson River School and Impressionists with 3D landscape renderings from artists of the early digital age at the turn of the millennium – work that conveyed an era of unbound creativity before dwindling as populated by more and more people over time. This transition diluted elements of exploration and curiosity through actions of curation, control, and exploitation - to the point that what once was, no longer remains. The initial magic, mystery and creativity of those early explorers and inhabitants in this digital age are now merely artifacts. As global exploration began to reach its limits by the mid 20th century, the advent of digital space opened new lands to cultivate and explore. Artists of the 90’s began using modeling programs, beginning with natural landscapes and architecture as a launchpad for creativity, akin to previous eras of landscape art – with particular comparisons to the Hudson River School. These early digital worlds were void of human inhabitants due to the practical nature of digital space itself – that humans do not exist directly within, rather we (currently) interact externally – or their presence is only alluded to because of technical limitations. Unlike early American landscape paintings, users of this new medium were unconstrained by romanticized realism or religious fervor, rather, they were unbound by the vastness of their own imaginations, and fantasy and science fiction literary influences of the 20th century such as J.R.R Tolkien (1892-1973) and William Gibson (b. 1948). Additionally, the use of light, color, and visual-distortion brushstrokes of Impressionist landscape painting parallels the pixelated, low-resolution imagery of the early digital age. As of this writing, humans do not physically exist within digital space but use it as a gateway for mental projection. Digital space exists outside of time itself – records of its early history still live on online, untouched and without decay, while also constantly evolving through the present. No Humans here pays homages to the creativity of early 90's digital landscapes through nostalgia and reimagining, while also questioning hope, loss, and entropy of our digital futures.Art & DesignCollege of Liberal Art
Toward a more comprehensive approach for dissolved organic matter chemical characterization using an Orbitrap Fusion Tribrid mass spectrometer coupled with ion and liquid chromatography techniques
No full textDissolved organic matter (DOM) represents one of the largest active organic carbon pools in the global carbon cycle. Although extensively studied, only <10% of DOM has been chemically characterized into individual dissolved compounds due to its molecular complexity. This study introduced a more comprehensive DOM characterization method by coupling both ion chromatography (IC) and liquid chromatography (LC) with high mass accuracy and resolution mass spectrometry. We presented a new on-the-fly mass calibration of the Orbitrap technique by utilizing the “lock mass” function in the Orbitrap Fusion Tribrid mass spectrometer (OT-FTMS), which assures high mass accuracy at every scan by a postcolumn introduction of internal labeled standards. With both IC and LC, tested unlabeled standards of amino acids, small peptides, and organic acids were consistently below 1.0 ppm mass error, giving the OT-FTMS the potential of reaching mass accuracy of the Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. In addition to mass accuracy, a pooled quality control sample (QC) was used to increase reproducibility by applying systematic error removal using random forest (SERRF). Using an untargeted mass spectrometry approach, estuarine DOM samples were analyzed by OT-FTMS coupled to IC in negative mode and LC in positive mode detection to cover a wide range of highly cationic to highly anionic molecules. As a proof of concept, we focused on elucidating the structures of three distinct DOM compound classes with varied acidities and basicities. In UPLC-OT-FTMS, a total of 915 compounds were detected. We putatively elucidated 44 small peptides and 33 deaminated peptides of these compounds. With IC-OT-FTMS, a total of 1432 compounds were detected. We putatively elucidated 20 peptides, 268 deaminated peptides, and 188 organic acids. Except for five compounds, all putatively elucidated compounds were uniquely detected in their corresponding chromatography technique. These results highlight the need for combining these two techniques to provide a more comprehensive method for DOM characterization. Application of the combined IC and LC techniques is not limited to DOM chemical characterization. It can analyze other complex compound mixtures, such as metabolites, and anthropogenic pollutants, such as pesticides and endocrine-disrupting chemicals, in environmental and biological samples.This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (OCE1626494 and OCE-1756672 to H.A.), Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program (Grant 910) to H.A., Welch Foundation to D.B., and Fulbright Laspau scholarship to J.M.-R
The complete mitochondrial genome of the leopard shark Triakis semifasciata (Triakidae)
No full textThe leopard shark Triakis semifasciata (family Triakidae) is threatened by habitat loss and targeted by recreational and commercial fishermen in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, from Oregon, USA, to the Gulf of California, Mexico. Despite environmental issues, there are few genetic and genomic resources available for this species. This study assembled the complete mitochondrial genome of T. semifasciata from a skin metagenomic sample and described it in detail. The phylogenetic position of T. semifasciata amongst closely related species was also examined using mitochondrial protein-coding genes (PCGs). The mitochondrial genome of T. semifasciata is 16,613 bp in length and consists of 13 PCGs, two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes. A 30 bp long region was identified as the origin of replication for the light strand (OL) between the trnN and trnC genes, and a 974 bp long putative control region (CR) contains the origin of replication for the heavy strand (OH). The gene order in T. semifasciata is identical to that of cofamilial species. An analysis of Ka/Ks ratios for all PCGs yielded values < 1, indicating that all PCGs experience strong purifying selection. All tRNAs exhibit a canonical ‘cloverleaf’ secondary structure except for tRNA-Ser1 which lacks the stem of the dihydrouridine (DHU) arm and in place possesses a simple loop. A phylomitogenomic maximum likelihood (ML) analysis did not support the monophyly of the family Trakidae and placed T. semifasciata in a sister position to Hemitriakis japanica. However, the aforementioned sister position was poorly supported by ML bootstrap values. This study represents a new genomic resource for this commercially and recreationally important species and confirms that mitochondrial genomes can be assembled from skin metagenomic samples as shown before in an unrelated shark species
Assessment of the impacts of subsidence on coastal flood risk using geodetic remote sensing, machine learning, and hydrological modeling
No full textA dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geospatial Computer Science.Coastal regions have been increasingly affected by floods due to heavy rainfall, storm surge, and relative sea-level rise (RSLR) in a changing climate. In particular, land subsidence, as an important cause of the RSLR, has been identified as contributing to the growing flood risk in coastal regions. InSAR has been used as a promising tool for the mapping of coastal subsidence, but the results derived from the prevalent SAR images are limited by the low spatial resolution and short satellite records. Also, previous studies have focused on the projection of direct inundation over subsiding land surface, and there is little understanding of the impacts of subsidence on the structure and performance of stormwater drainage systems. Those impacts could affect key hydrological and hydraulic processes with implications for the magnitude, duration, and frequency of urban flood events. Using the Texas Gulf Coast as the study area, this study explored the impacts of future subsidence on urban flooding through the development of an integrated framework for measuring and predicting land subsidence and evaluating its hydrological and hydraulic effects. This was achieved through research efforts across three stages: 1) the enhanced characterization of regional land subsidence through the combined use of InSAR and airborne LiDAR results; 2) the projection of spatially heterogeneous subsidence using deep leaning based on extended historical subsidence time series from the temporal fusion of InSAR and airborne LiDAR results, and 3) the simulation-based quantification of urban flood risk by incorporating subsidence-caused elevation change of drainage structures. The results of this study could provide new scientific knowledge and predictive tools to improve the characterization, prediction, and adaptation of subsidence and associated urban flood risk in coastal regions.Computing SciencesCollege of Engineerin
Improving adolescent psychosocial assessment through standardized patient simulation: An interdisciplinary quality improvement initiative
No full textAdolescent suicide and mental illness have increased at alarming rates. Healthcare professionals report a lack of skill and confidence in obtaining adolescent histories and managing confidential care due to limited training in residency. Nursing professional development practitioners face challenges of adequately preparing interdisciplinary healthcare providers to assess, identify, and intervene at all points of contact with adolescents. To increase the confidence in clinical communication skills and clinical competency, and to increase the number of social work referrals related to modifiable risk factors for adolescent patients, a Texas pediatric tertiary care center utilized standardized patient (SP) methodology to supplement traditional clinical experiences with communication-focused education based on the Home, Education, Eating, Activities, Drugs, Sexuality, Suicidality, and Safety (HEEADSSS) interviewing. This quality improvement (QI) pilot demonstrated the benefits of utilizing standardized patient methodology in communication-focused education based on the HEEADSSS interviewing. Following the SP simulations, confidence in clinical communication skills increased by 13%, clinical competency in performing comprehensive psychosocial interviews increased by 11%, use of HEEADSSS increased by 64%, and social work referrals increased by 89%. This interdisciplinary SP interviewing simulation pilot was beneficial in improving the 36 physician and nursing residents’ ability to conduct psychosocial assessments for risk factors of suicidality among adolescents.This QI project received no external funding
Habitat Provision Differs Across Subtidal Reefs Varying in Location Within the Estuarine Landscape
No full textCharacterization of the relationship between nitric oxide and serotonin in the formation of long-term memory in an invertebrate model
No full textLearning is a process by which all animals modify their behaviors to ensure increased fitness. In the mollusk Aplysia, long-term sensitization (LTS) serves as a prime example of this learning process, where defensive behaviors, such as the tail-siphon withdrawal reflex (TSWR), are heightened for prolonged periods as a result of repeated exposure to noxious stimuli, showcasing the organism's adaptation to experience. This behavioral plasticity is paralleled by neurophysiological changes, including the long-term increase in excitability (LTIE) of tail sensory neurons (TSNs), serving as neural correlates of LTS and providing a window into the cellular and molecular mechanisms sustaining this form of memory. The neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) is known to mediate LTS formation in Aplysia. 5-HT exposure alone can also induce LTS in vivo as well as LTIE in vitro. However, recent findings indicate that the neurotransmitter nitric oxide (NO) is also necessary for LTS formation. However, it is not known where exactly NO lies in the chemical pathway concerning 5-HT. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to investigate NO’s involvement in long-term memory formation in an invertebrate model. More specifically, the way two chemical messengers, NO and 5-HT, work in the brain. Our findings reveal that NO likely functions downstream of 5-HT, as evidenced by the blockage of in vivo LTS formation by L-NAME, an NO inhibitor, despite the presence of 5-HT. Further, we confirm that NO's role is not significant in in vitro long-term increase in excitability (LTIE), reinforcing its specific importance in LTS. In conclusion, our study significantly advances the understanding of LTS in Aplysia by detailing the interactions between NO and 5-HT. Our findings not only advance our understanding of LTS but also open new avenues for memory and learning research, emphasizing the complexity of neurochemical interactions in learning processes.Life SciencesCollege of Scienc
Women working overtime: The influence of the second shift discrepancy on relationship and life satisfaction
Full text linkThe second shift phenomenon can be described as the second unpaid shift of work performed by women after a full paid work shift. Women disproportionally perform more household work even when both men and women in a relationship perform the same working labor hours. With the utilization of Relationship Assessment Scale, Life Satisfaction Assessment, The Second Shift Scale, and Gender Role Stereotype Scale, we will be able to determine if the second shift is influenced by certain factors such as gender role attitudes, religiosity, political affiliation, gender, whether the couple has children, age of children, and relationship status (i.e., married, engaged, dating). We determine if the predictor values and the division of household labor influence relationship satisfaction and life satisfaction for each partner. Through various linear regression analyses, it was found that women who have (younger or older) children compared to women with no children had greater life satisfaction while women who had children predicted lower relationship satisfaction. Interestingly, couples who are not married had higher levels of second shift of household chores, and couples with higher levels of second shift emotional work led to lower women's life satisfaction. Past literature has not investigated the influence of incongruencies in actual versus aspiration second shift for partners on relationship satisfaction in the U.S; therefore, further analysis will focus on couples’ incongruencies of perceived second shift and how it influences men’s and women’s life and relationship satisfaction.Psychology & SociologyCollege of Liberal Art
Advanced computer architecture
No full textIntroduction: What is Parallel Processing? Executing tasks simultaneously using multiple processing units. Benefits of Parallel Processing, Increased throughput (more tasks completed per unit time), Reduced execution time for specific task
Advanced computer architecture
No full textWhat is an ISA? The bridge between software (instructions) and hardware (CPU). Defines the set of instructions a processor can understand and execute. Dictates how data is processed and programs are run