Bulletin of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering (BCSEE)
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Machine Learning and Optimization for Smart Grids using the Dynamic Data Driven Applications Systems Paradigm
No full textClimate change places an immense stress on existing vulnerabilities within our current energy infrastructure via two primary challenges. First, operational management and control of smart city microgrids is becoming more challenging due to the intermittent behavior from high levels of renewable energy penetration. Second, given the increased frequency of extreme climate events and the uncertainties associated with complex energy systems, ensuring resilience against system anomalies and climate catastrophes is becoming progressively more difficult. Harvesting energy in a sustainable manner to reduce both cost and emissions while sustaining the power grid’s stability, is an active area of research to which we aim to contribute.In this thesis, we propose a novel framework for near real-time dispatch in power system planning. Our proposed framework is based on the dynamic data driven applications systems (DDDAS) paradigm and integrates modern machine learning techniques to map scenarios derived from our proposed resource-aware scenario selection (RSS) algorithm to their corresponding solutions from a mixed integer linear program (MILP). We investigate MG operation under our proposed framework at the substation level using the IEEE-18, IEEE-30, and IEEE-33 test networks. To the best of our knowledge, our approach is the first throughout the literature to: i) develop an RSS algorithm that determines the most probable operating scenarios energy system is likely to experience for flexible disaster planning, ii) integrate power flow physics, DSM practices, power quality into an alternating current (AC) unit commitment (UC) problem, and iii) implement machine learning (ML) for deploying the solutions from existing MILP dispatch models in real-time, and iv) sustain the ML model’s predictive performance in a nonstationary environment to mitigate concept drift. The proposed framework shows promising results in optimizing the design and operation plan of an MG.</p
Latent Profiles of Preschool Anxiety and Social-Emotional and Behavioral Skills in Young Children in Head Start and Title I Classrooms
No full textAnxiety disorders in early childhood are prevalent and associated with concurrent and long-term social-emotional and academic difficulties. However, limited research has examined the different patterns of anxiety symptoms among preschool-aged children, owing to the dearth of reliable and valid measures of anxiety-related constructs in younger children. The present study aimed to identify profiles of early childhood anxiety in a sample of preschool children from low-income families (N = 634 children, N = 9 schools). Children were assessed using a teacher-report questionnaire of preschool anxiety symptoms as a part of a multi-year, school-based implementation study of a social-emotional learning program. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify patterns of anxiety using the subscales of the Teacher Preschool Anxiety Scale (T-PAS) at the beginning of the academic year. Three profile types emerged: Low Overall Anxiety, High Social Anxiety/Moderate Separation Anxiety, and High Overall Anxiety. Children in the High Social Anxiety/Moderate Separation Anxiety group were younger than those in the Low Overall Anxiety group and children in the High Overall Anxiety group were more likely to have individualized education programs (IEPs) than children in the other groups. There were no sex differences between groups. Children in both elevated anxiety groups showed more underactive classroom behaviors than children in the Low Overall Anxiety group. There were no significant differences in children’s self-regulation across profiles. Children in the High Overall Anxiety group scored lower on approaches to learning than children in both of the other groups, with children in the High Social Anxiety/Moderate Separation Anxiety group also scoring lower on competence motivation than children in the Low Overall Anxiety group. Findings extend prior understanding of preschool children’s anxiety, as reported by teachers, and can inform early childhood program needs for early identification and intervention practices.</p
The AVP/AVPR1A/AVPR2 Signaling Axis as an Exploitable Target in the Treatment of Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer
No full textIn prostate cancer (PC), androgen deprivation therapy remains the gold standard for treatment of high risk or advanced disease, but unfortunately PC typically recurs as castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). CRPC is incurable and thus new therapies that exploit actionable targets are needed. Our lab identified the Arginine Vasopressin Receptor Type 1A (AVPR1A) as a therapeutic target in CRPC. AVPR1A is part of a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) family which includes Arginine Vasopressin Receptor Type 2 (AVPR2), with arginine vasopressin (AVP) as their endogenous ligand. AVPR1A stimulates intracellular calcium release through the Gα subunit Gq/11, while AVPR2 increases intracellular cAMP through the Gα subunit Gαs and canonically activates phosphokinase A (PKA).Interrogation of patient sample data sets revealed that AVP expression is upregulated in advanced metastatic forms of prostate cancer compared to less aggressive, localized disease. Additionally, CRPC cells were found to produce AVP and require AVP production for optimal proliferation. AVPR1A and AVPR2 co-expression correlating in advanced prostate cancer and CRPC production of AVP indicate a potential mechanism for CRPC growth driven by AVPR1A/AVPR2 mediated autocrine/paracrine signaling.Combined suboptimal doses of AVPR1A and AVPR2 antagonists were evaluated in vitro and synergistically inhibited CRPC cell growth as well as increased cell death with no effect on non-tumorigenic prostate epithelial cells. Additionally, inhibition of AVPR1A and AVPR2, individually or together, with selective antagonists reduced tumor size in vivo while having no obvious effect on mouse health. These findings implicate a novel mechanism for CRPC-tumor microenvironment crosstalk through cancer-produced AVP acting both on the tumor itself in an autocrine fashion and potentially in a paracrine fashion on the surrounding tumor microenvironment. This novel mechanism, the AVP/AVPR1A/AVPR2 signaling axis, is an exploitable target for repurposing clinically safe and effective compounds to treat CRPC. </p
Cancer Progression in Retinoblastoma: Chemoresistance and BCOR
No full textRetinoblastoma is the most common pediatric eye cancer with 8000 new diagnoses worldwide each year. Although treatment strategies have significantly improved over the past few decades, severe post-treatment ocular complications and limited pharmacological options as secondary treatment emphasize the need for therapeutic discovery. The most significant barrier to this is our gap in knowledge regarding mechanisms underlying retinoblastoma cancer progression. Our objective is to shed insight into two major contributors to tumor progression: chemoresistance and BCOR loss. Here, we demonstrate repeated sublethal exposure of retinoblastoma to the widely used chemotherapy agent carboplatin results in generalized induction of transcriptomic reprogramming involving the PI3K-AKT pathway, ABC transporters, and metabolic regulators. We also propose a multi-faceted role for BCOR in retinoblastoma involving cell cycle and hypoxia. Altogether, these investigations provide a deeper understanding of mechanisms underlying retinoblastoma cancer progression and serve as a stepping-stone for downstream therapeutic discovery to improve patient care.</p
The Application of Non-Conventional Isotope Systematics to Diagenetically Altered Carbonate Sequences
No full textThe application of novel isotopic systematics has widespread use in geologic applications relating to diagenetic alteration. Previous studies have elucidated changes in conventional stable isotopic systematics (δ13C & δ18O), showing how meteoric or marine diagenetic horizons can be identified through geochemical indicators. Here we used a combination of more non-conventional geochemical proxies (δ11B, δ34S CAS, δ34S PW, and ∆47) to investigate a highly variable sample set of carbonates from a wide range of locations and diagenetic histories. Availability of SO4(2-) in seawater and its incorporation into carbonate minerals as CAS has allowed for an expanded understanding of diagenetic bacterial processes within carbonate sediments as they have been altered through time. In an effort to better constrain the significance of sulfur cycling and the δ34S value during recrystallization and diagenesis, shallow and deeper-water carbonate sediments were recovered from various drilling programs and legs from Ontong Java Plateau (DSDP Leg 30), The Great Australian Bight (ODP Leg 182), and The Maldives (IODP Expedition 359). Where applicable, existing porewater sulfate δ34S values were also measured. Diagenetic reactions influencing the pH of recrystallization commonly perturb the geologic record, often leaving minimal evidence visible to those collecting samples, and thus influencing reconstructions made within the scientific community. For this reason, samples from Clino, in The Bahamas, have been assessed for their primary δ11B values from present into the Miocene, anticipating large deviations from this value during diagenetic alteration. Such changes in δ11B values provide context and act as a warning to those making pH reconstructions in the deeper geologic record, having significant implications to early ocean chemistry
Conservation for Development: Protected Areas, Economics and Governance
No full textLands and seas set aside as protected areas (PAs) are the cornerstone of biodiversity conservation, but their establishment and management faces opposition by critics who claim that PAs impede local economic development. Yet, identifying opportunities for PAs to result in synergies, rather than trade-offs, with human communities is an urgent need to adequately mitigate biodiversity loss and transition society to a sustainable development pathway. This dissertation examines the contention between conservation and development (the conservation-development dilemma) through a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and mixed methods approach. Using the social-ecological systems framework, this research assesses the local economic outcomes of PAs, patterns and processes of PA governance, and links between PA economics and governance to examine PA dynamics on several scales. Chapter 1 builds on foundational literature to describe the conservation-development dilemma. Chapter 2 presents a systematic review of the relationships between PAs and local economic development, finding that most extant literature identifies positive or neutral associations. Chapter 3 explores trends in global PA governance by measuring various conceptualizations and factors of decentralization. Chapter 4 is a case study of institutional fragmentation in public budgeting for federal PA agencies in the United States. Chapter 5 bridges conservation, economics, and governance by analyzing the impacts of PA coverage and approaches to PA governance on indicators of local economic development in US counties with spatial regression models. Chapter 6 synthesizes the results of the previous chapters, discusses research and policy implications, and offers concluding thoughts and paths forward to manage the conservation-development dilemma within the context of the sustainability science approach. </p
Opioid-induced dysbiosis of maternal gut microbiota during gestation alters offspring gut microbiota and pain sensitivity
No full textThere has been a rapid increase in neonates born with a history of prenatal opioid exposure. How prenatal opioid exposure affects pain sensitivity in offspring is of interest, as this may perpetuate the opioid epidemic. While few studies have reported hypersensitivity to thermal pain, potential mechanisms have not been described. This study posits that alterations in the gut microbiome may underly hypersensitivity to pain in prenatally methadone-exposed 3-week-old male offspring, which were generated using a mouse model of prenatal methadone exposure. Fecal samples collected from dams and their offspring were subjected to 16s rRNA sequencing. Thermal and mechanical pain were assessed using the tail flick and Von Frey assays. Transcriptomic changes in whole brain samples of opioid or saline-exposed offspring were investigated using RNA-sequencing, and midbrain sections from these animals were subjected to qPCR profiling of genes related to neuropathic and inflammatory pain pathways. Prenatal methadone exposure increased sensitivity to thermal and mechanical pain and elevated serum levels of IL-17a. Taxonomical analysis revealed that prenatal methadone exposure resulted in significant alterations in fecal gut microbiota composition, including depletion of
Lactobacillus
,
Bifidobacterium
, and
Lachnospiracea sp
and increased relative abundance of
Akkermansia, Clostridium sensu stricto 1
, and
Lachnoclostridium
. Supplementation of the probiotic VSL#3 in dams rescued hypersensitivity to thermal and mechanical pain in prenatally methadone-exposed offspring. Similarly, cross-fostering prenatally methadone-exposed offspring to control dams also attenuated hypersensitivity to thermal pain in opioid-exposed offspring. Modulation of the maternal and neonatal gut microbiome with probiotics resulted in transcriptional changes in genes related to neuropathic and immune-related signaling in whole brain and midbrain samples of prenatally methadone-exposed offspring. Together, our work provides compelling evidence of the gut-brain-axis in mediating pain sensitivity in prenatally opioid-exposed offspring
Investigating Biological Responses to Anthropogenic Light and Sound in a Coastal Bay
No full textAnimals living in urbanized environments must navigate many novel environmental stressors. Light and noise pollution are two increasingly pervasive pollutants in the urban environment that extend far from their original sources. With two studies, I investigated the biological responses of both pollutants in a bay off the coast of Miami, FL. The first study investigated the impact of artificial light at night (ALAN) on elasmobranch melatonin concentrations and body condition. Consistent with our predictions, nurse sharks sampled in high ALAN areas exhibited significantly lower melatonin levels compared to individuals sampled in low ALAN areas, whereas melatonin levels measured in blacktips did not differ between ALAN areas. Body condition did not differ between ALAN areas for either species. These results demonstrate, for the first time in sharks, that ALAN may suppress melatonin levels in wild sharks. Moreover, results suggest the effects of ALAN on shark physiology may be influenced by species-specific mobility; specifically, species that are highly resident to areas of high ALAN will be more prone to this anthropogenic pollutant compared to highly mobile species that readily move between areas of high and low ALAN. The second study investigated the spatial and temporal patterns in biologic and anthropogenic noise. I found that hydrophones closer to the city of Miami had higher sound pressure levels (SPL) than ones farther from the city. Dolphin vocalizations were higher in locations farther from Miami. The presence of boat noise significantly decreased the presence of sound produced by fish and snapping shrimp. SPL in Biscayne Bay were lowest in 2020 for all frequency bands. This study revealed the value of manually inspecting sound files versus relying solely on sound pressure level data to evaluate marine soundscapes. These recordings provide an important baseline for the anthropogenic and biologic soundscapes in Biscayne Bay. Overall, this thesis provides evidence of potentially negative relationships between two pervasive pollutants and four different classes of animals.</p
111Dogmatism, Seemings, and Non-deductive Inferential Justification
No full textDogmatism holds that an experience or seeming that p can provide prima facie immediate justification for believing p in virtue of its phenomenology. Dogmatism about perceptual justification has appealed primarily to proponents of representational theories of perceptual experience. Call dogmatism that takes perceptual experience to be representational "representational phenomenal dogmatism." As we show, phenomenal seemings play a crucial role in dogmatism of this kind. Despite its conventional appeal to representational theorists, dogmatism is not by definition committed to any particular view of perceptual experience. Naïve realists and disjunctivists who hold that perceptual experience is a perceptual relation of direct acquaintance can also endorse dogmatism. Indeed, we argue that they ought to do so. Otherwise, they cannot maintain that relationalism about perceptual experience has an epistemic advantage compared to the representational view. We then show that even if we grant that relationalism has this advantage, only dogmatism that takes perceptual experience to be representational can be extended to account for non-deductive inferential justification. As an account of the latter is required to avoid succumbing to skepticism, relationalism, we argue, does not have the epistemic advantage its defenders claim it has
Injury prevention: An evidence-based public health approach
No full textUnintentional injury is the leading cause of death and disability in Americans aged 1 to 44 years. For decades, trauma has been viewed as an accidental occurrence resulting largely from chance. In recent years, experts in trauma surgery and injury prevention have changed that paradigm, viewing trauma as a disease with modifiable and nonmodifiable risk factors. Using a public health approach, we can investigate the root causes of injury and study them in a scientific manner to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with this disease process. In this chapter, we discuss the history of injury prevention, evidence-based public health approaches, and specific evidence-based programs available for common mechanisms of injury