University of North Carolina at Greensboro
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Tropical cyclone activity over the past 1200 years at the Pelican Cays, Belize
Full text linkTropical cyclone (TC) models indicate that continued planet warming will likely increase the global proportion of powerful TCs (specifically Categories 4 and 5 hurricanes), increasingly jeopardizing low-lying coastal communities and resources such as the Pelican Cays, Belize. The combination of increased coastal development and continued relative sea-level rise puts these communities at even higher risk of damage from TCs. The short TC observational record for the western Caribbean hampers the extensive study of TC activity on centennial time-scales, which hinders our ability to fully understand past TC climatology and improve the accuracy of TC models. To better assess TC risk, paleotempestological studies are necessary to put future scenarios in perspective. Here, we present a high-resolution reconstruction of coarser-grained sediment deposits associated with TC (predominately = Category 2 hurricanes) passages over the past 1200 years from Elbow and Lagoon Cays, two coral reef- bounded lagoons at the northern and southern end of the Pelican Cays; the most southern Belizean paleo-tempestological site to date. Coincident timing of historic storms with statistically significant coarser-grained deposits within cay lagoon sediment cores allows us to determine which historic TCs likely generated event layers (tempestites) archived in the sediment record. Our compilation frequency analysis indicates one active interval (above-normal TC activity) from 1740-1950 CE and one quiet interval (below-normal TC activity) from 850-1018 CE. The active and quiet intervals in the Pelican Cays composite record are anticorrelated with those from nearby and re-analyzed TC records to the north, including the Great Blue Hole (~100 km north) and the Northeast Yucatan (~380 km northwest). This site-specific anticorrelation in TC activity along the western Caribbean indicates that we cannot rely on any one single TC record to represent regional TC activity. However, we cannot discount that these anticorrelated periods between the western Caribbean sites are due to randomness. To confirm that the anticorrelation in TC activity among sites from the western Caribbean is indeed a function of climate change and not randomness, an integration of more records and TC model simulations over the past millennium is necessary to assess the significance of centennial-scale variability in TC activity recorded in reconstructions from the western Caribbean
Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) enhancement using hybrid gold nanoparticle-carbon nanodot substrate for herbicides and mercury detection
Full text linkFunctionalized nanomaterials are increasingly being utilized for development and innovation in a wide range of industrial fields. Specifically, functional organic/inorganic hybrid nanomaterials and nanocomposites, which have both physicochemical properties of organic and inorganic materials, has potential for use as advanced nanomaterials in various fields. Briefly, hybrid materials are a result of constituting with two or more components, which can interact weakly through van der Waals, electrostatic, or hydrogen bonds between the organic and inorganic components or they can be held together by strong interactions, such as covalent or ionic-covalent bonds. Hybrid nanoparticles not only have the characteristics of both inorganic and organic nanomaterials but can also have unique properties that surpass those of the original components. Carbon nanomaterials have received considerable attention as SERS-active substrates. Compared with conventional semiconductor quantum dots and semiconductors, carbon nanodots have benefits of low toxicity, excellent biocompatibility, low cost, and simple synthesis. Thus, there is an emerging opportunity to design and create multi-functional hybrid nanomaterials based on carbon nanomaterials with various organic/inorganic materials at the nanoscale or molecule level, for the electronics, catalysis, sensors and energy conversion and storage application. Interaction of light with metal nanostructures show unique properties given rise to an emergent field called plasmonic. Plasmonic is an optical phenomenon that is very sensitive to the near surface dielectric constant (refractive index, RI) and refers to interaction between free electrons and electro-magnetic fields in metallic materials. Interaction between adsorbed molecules and surface of plasmonic nanostructures have important influence on SERS. SERS substrates should have abundant free electrons, which is beneficial for the creation of plasmonic hot-spots and ultimately leads to the increase in Raman intensity. Typical metals as SERS substrates are gold and silver nanostructures because they have LSPR-related absorption bands covering most of, visible and near-infrared (NIR) wavelength regimes, which used to excite Raman modes. This dissertation includes three research thrusts using hybrid carbon nanomaterials. 1) We investigate SERS using a hybrid gold nanoparticles@carbon nanodots substrate for herbicide detection. The hybrid SERS substrate shows excellent signal uniformity compared to AuNPs or CNDs alone. Also, the AuNPs@CNDs illustrates remarkable key parameters of SERS sensor including, repeatability, reproducibility, and stability, which provide the promising application of SERS sensor for ultra-sensitive determination of organic compounds in water and food. 2) We applied 4-Mercaptopyridine (MPY)-functionalized AuNPs@CNDs for mercury detection. The lowest concentration that our MPY-functionalized AuNPs@CNDs nanosensor can detect is 0. 05 nM, which is lower than concentration of Hg2+ in drinking water permitted by WHO (6ppb). The sensor had good reproducibility and repeatability and sensitivity for mercury detection. 3) We determine the localization and characteristics of nanoparticles inside cells for sensing application, using hyperspectral-enhanced dark field microscopy (HEDFM). We selected AuNPs and AuNPs@CNDs as a candidate for HEDFM evaluation owing to their unique plasmonic properties. We reported that nano hybrid Unascends and AuNPs can be applied for HEDFM evaluation of herbicides in cell specimen. We hope this research can promote the development of new hybrid materials and composites for sensing of toxic materials in water and foods, so we can benefit human health and environment
Recognition of Nurse Activities in Endotracheal Suctioning Procedures: A Comparative Analysis Using LightGBM and Other Algorithms
Full text linkThis research is based on the 6th ABC Challenge which focuses on leveraging Human Activity Recognition (HAR) systems to enhance Endotracheal Suctioning (ES) procedures. The challenge’s objective is to accurately identify the activities performed by nurses based on the dataset. The dataset comprising skeleton data and video recordings of healthcare professionals performing ES procedures is collected and preprocessed. Informative features capturing joint angles, velocities, and spatial relationships are extracted. These features are then used as inputs to three different prediction models GBDT, XGBoost, and LightGBM. Our experimental results demonstrate that LightGBM outperforms the other models with the highest accuracy of 0.819, followed by XGBoost (0.807) and GBDT (0.763) on the Nurse Care Activity Recognition Challenge benchmark dataset. These findings contribute to advancing nurse activity recognition and have implications for improving healthcare monitoring and workflow management. Given the outstanding performance of LightGBM, we chose to submit our results using this algorithm for the challenge. The code is available at https://github.com/mobaaa12/Endotracheal-Suctioning-Procedure-Recognition
A qualitative study of the lived experiences, practices, and perceptions of McKinney-Vento liaisons across North Carolina
Full text linkStudents who are highly mobile typically change schools frequently and are in danger of learning loss (Aratani, 2009). There are innumerable issues that confront homeless families. The loss of housing for these families affects all aspects of a child’s education. Significant populations of homeless children who attend school have experienced or will experience some type of trauma that may affect cognition, behavior, and relationships (Van Der Kolk, 2014). The McKinney-Vento Act is the federal policy mandated in 1986 and reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015. The Act designates services provided to children and youth experiencing homelessness to ensure educational access. An important facet of this legislation was the identification of a McKinney-Vento Liaison (MVL) in each school district to develop, review, and revise policies that are a barrier to a student’s educational access. The MVL is designated to facilitate strategies for families experiencing homelessness and has an extensive list of responsibilities. Although there is significant research on homelessness and the effectiveness or the ineffectiveness of the McKinney-Vento Legislation, there has been less research on the lived experiences of McKinney-Vento Liaisons and the challenges of the position. My interest in this study was to learn more about and share the experiences of McKinney-Vento Liaisons regarding the important role they play in supporting unhoused children and youth. The McKinney-Vento Liaison can be a lifeline for families navigating the school system during a period when school may be the only stable part of their existence. Through this interview-based qualitative study, I sought to listen to MVLs and their accounts of their lived experiences and perceptions, and of turning legislative policy into practice. The question motivating my study was: What are the experiences and perceptions of McKinney-Vento Liaisons regarding their work with homeless youth and families? To answer this question, I conducted semi-structured interviews with 7 liaisons who worked in different regions in North Carolina. I found in my study that McKinney-Vento Liaisons’ multiplicity of roles impacts their ability to fully engage families. I also discovered that the participants did not receive training prior to assuming the position, though they received assistance and professional development from the State Coordinator’s Office once they were in the role. In addition, my participants reported that they are ultimately responsible for a district’s students who are experiencing homelessness, but they must develop partnerships and collaborations to assist homeless families effectively. Another significant finding was that they lacked fiscal resources specifically dedicated to McKinney-Vento students. I conclude my dissertation by offering recommendations for practice, such as the development of a tiered operating practice protocol that MVLs might use to quickly assess families’ needs
Physical activity and health : an agrarian perspective
Full text linkThe agrarian lifestyle represents a long-standing way of life, especially for farmers who live and/or work on small farms carry out physically demanding tasks to maintain their livelihood. Few studies have investigated the relationship between farming, physical activity, health, and well-being, though there is a small body of evidence that suggests agriculturally based lifestyles are positively associated with physical activity, as farmers are likely to leverage the human capacity for physical labor in their daily lives. This study employed mixed methods to explore the relationship between farming, physical activity, health, and well-being. Results revealed that farmers engaged in labor-intensive lifestyle practices that promoted their physical activity. Specifically, farmers indicated farm work required continuous movement throughout the day such that farm work provided the greatest contribution to physical activity when compared to transportation or recreational activity. Participants (n=55) averaged 1447.09 } 1013.36 minutes of occupational physical activity per week, while total weekly physical activity across three domains (work, transportation, and leisure) revealed an average of 1875.45 } 1416.45 activity minutes per week. Additional insights from this study revealed that farmers experienced unique challenges and benefits to their health. Farmers believed physical injury and psychological stress were among the greatest challenges to their health, while a sense of purpose, access to the outdoors, and ability to consume nutritious foods were believed to be health-promoting benefits of their lifestyle. These results make it possible to conclude that although farming presents certain challenges, farmers clearly indicated that farming promoted their PA, health and wellbeing. Findings from this study will be shared with farmers and used for continued research into the relationship between lifestyle, physical activity, and health
Letter from C. D. Smith to Jacob Siler, December 17th, 1860
No full textThe following manuscript is a letter written from Conaro Drayton (C. D.) Smith to Jacob Siler in December of 1860, just four months before the Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter, South Carolina that began the American Civil War. This transcription and its attendant annotations, explanatory material, and bibliography were prepared by students in ENGL 618: Research Methods in English, the required gateway class for the MA in English at Western Carolina University
Jacob Siler’s Letter to Governor Reid, December 1, 1854
Full text linkThis document is a letter written by Jacob Siler, a former Agent of the State1 (1839-40) working within North Carolina and nearby states, and sent to North Carolina Governor David Settle Reid. In the letter, Siler lists the different expenses and services which he performed for the government and for which he is requesting payment. A significant portion of the listed services involve the taking and cancelling of bonds, which can vary in their use purpose but are generally documents issued when an entity borrows or lends money to another. This transcription and its attendant annotations, explanatory material, and bibliography were prepared by students in ENGL 618: Research Methods in English, the required gateway class for the MA in English at Western Carolina University
Jacob Siler’s Letter to William H. Thomas, December 18, 1854
Full text linkThis manuscript is a letter written by Jacob Siler, a former Agent of the State (1839-40) working within North Carolina and nearby states, and sent to William Holland Thomas. In the letter Jacob Siler is protesting both duplicate land certificates being given, as well as the lands themselves that are being given to him and his Entry takers. He states that they are entitled to lands that have not yet been sold or surveyed by the state. This transcription and its attendant annotations, explanatory material, and bibliography were prepared by students in ENGL 618: Research Methods in English, the required gateway class for the MA in English at Western Carolina University
Data augmentation based methods for estimating the parameters of the Feller-Pareto Distribution: Theory and applications
Full text linkIn income and wealth data modeling Pareto distribution and its several variants play an important role. Both univariate and multivariate variations of this model have been extensively used as a suitable model for various non-negative socio-economic variables, for pertinent details, see Arnold (2015). In this article, weconsider the most general Feller-Pareto (FP, in short) distribution, which subsumes all four types of Pareto distributions and show that it can be represented as a mixture of a conditional generalized gamma and an unconditional gamma distribution. Using this strategy, we consider a data augmentation based method (under the envelope of Bayesian paradigm) to estimate the parameters of the FP distribution. This mixture representation allows us to easily derive conditional Jeffery’s type non informative priors. For illustrative purposes, one data set is considered to exhibit the utility of the proposed method
Costume Designing UNCG Theatre's Spring 2024 Production of Tartuffe
Full text linkOver the last three years, I have been assigned to many varying costume practicums in the costume shop at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Through those assignments I have built mermaid tails and created a pair of pants that I then went on to distress and destroy (per the design). I have also made a head piece in the shape of a mohawk with triangles of fabric, and built and altered numerous costume pieces that have been worn by characters from fairies to princes, to rockstars and more. As a culmination of my degree and all the skills I have learned through costume practicums and design and technology courses, I was assigned to be the Costume Designer for the School of Theatre’s Spring 2024 production of Moliere’s Tartuffe as my capstone project in the THR 498-02 course