UTSA Libraries and Museums
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Item A General Procedure to Formulate 3D Elements for Finite Element Applications(2023-10-03) Shahriar, Adnan; Majlesi, Arsalan; Montoya, ArturoThis paper presents a general procedure to formulate and implement 3D elements of arbitrary order in meshes with multiple element types. This procedure includes obtaining shape functions and integration quadrature and establishing an approach for checking the generated element’s compatibility with adjacent elements’ surfaces. This procedure was implemented in Matlab, using its symbolic and graphics toolbox, and complied as a GUI interface named ShapeGen3D to provide finite element users with a tool to tailor elements according to their analysis needs. ShapeGen3D also outputs files with the element formulation needed to enable users to implement the generated elements in other programming languages or through user elements in commercial finite element software. Currently, finite element (FE) users are limited to employing element formulation available in the literature, commercial software, or existing element libraries. Thus, the developed procedure implemented in ShapeGen3D offers FEM users the possibility to employ elements beyond those readily available. The procedure was tested by generating the formulation for a brick element, a brick transition element, and higher-order hexahedron and tetrahedron elements that can be used in a spectral finite element analysis. The formulation obtained for the 20-node element was in perfect agreement with the formulation available in the literature. In addition, the results showed that the interpolation condition was met for all the generated elements, which provides confidence in the implementation of the process. Researchers and educators can use this procedure to efficiently develop and illustrate three-dimensional elements.Item A p-Refinement Method Based on a Library of Transition Elements for 3D Finite Element Applications(2023-12-14) Shahriar, Adnan; Mostafa, Ahmed JenanWave propagation or acoustic emission waves caused by impact load can be simulated using the finite element (FE) method with a refined high-fidelity mesh near the impact location. This paper presents a method to refine a 3D finite element mesh by increasing the polynomial order near the impact location. Transition elements are required for such a refinement operation. Three protocols are defined to implement the transition elements within the low-order FE mesh. Due to the difficulty of formulating shape functions and verification, there are no transition elements beyond order two in the current literature for 3D elements. This paper develops a complete set of transition elements that facilitate the transition from first- to fourth-order Lagrangian elements, which facilitates mesh refinement following the protocols. The shape functions are computed and verified, and the interelement compatibility conditions are checked for each element case. The integration quadratures and shape function derivative matrices are also computed and made readily available for FE users. Finally, two examples are presented to illustrate the applicability of this method.Item A Recombinant Multivalent Vaccine (rCpa1) Induces Protection for C57BL/6 and HLA Transgenic Mice against Pulmonary Infection with Both Species of Coccidioides(2024-01-09) Campuzano, Althea; Pentakota, Komali Devi; Liao, Yu-Rou; Zhang, Hao; Wiederhold, Nathan P.; Ostroff, Gary R.; Hung, Chiung-YuCoccidioidomycosis is caused by Coccidioides posadasii (Cp) and Coccidioides immitis (Ci), which have a 4–5% difference in their genomic sequences. There is an urgent need to develop a human vaccine against both species. A previously created recombinant antigen (rCpa1) that contains multiple peptides derived from Cp isolate C735 is protective against the autologous isolate. The focus of this study is to evaluate cross-protective efficacy and immune correlates by the rCpa1-based vaccine against both species of Coccidioides. DNA sequence analyses of the homologous genes for the rCpa1 antigen were conducted for 39 and 17 clinical isolates of Cp and Ci, respectively. Protective efficacy and vaccine-induced immunity were evaluated for both C57BL/6 and human HLA-DR4 transgenic mice against five highly virulent isolates of Cp and Ci. There are total of seven amino acid substitutions in the rCpa1 antigen between Cp and Ci. Both C57BL/6 and HLA-DR4 mice that were vaccinated with an rCpa1 vaccine had a significant reduction of fungal burden and increased numbers of IFN-γ- and IL-17-producing CD4+ T cells in the first 2 weeks post challenge. These data suggest that rCpa1 has cross-protection activity against Cp and Ci pulmonary infection through activation of early Th1 and Th17 responses.Item A Review of AI-Based Cyber-Attack Detection and Mitigation in Microgrids(2023-11-18) Beg, Omar A.; Khan, Asad Ali; Rehman, Waqas Ur; Hassan, AliIn this paper, the application and future vision of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based techniques in microgrids are presented from a cyber-security perspective of physical devices and communication networks. The vulnerabilities of microgrids are investigated under a variety of cyber-attacks targeting sensor measurements, control signals, and information sharing. With the inclusion of communication networks and smart metering devices, the attack surface has increased in microgrids, making them vulnerable to various cyber-attacks. The negative impact of such attacks may render the microgrids out-of-service, and the attacks may propagate throughout the network due to the absence of efficient mitigation approaches. AI-based techniques are being employed to tackle such data-driven cyber-attacks due to their exceptional pattern recognition and learning capabilities. AI-based methods for cyber-attack detection and mitigation that address the cyber-attacks in microgrids are summarized. A case study is presented showing the performance of AI-based cyber-attack mitigation in a distributed cooperative control-based AC microgrid. Finally, future potential research directions are provided that include the application of transfer learning and explainable AI techniques to increase the trust of AI-based models in the microgrid domain.Item A Scoping Review on Gender/Sex Differences in COVID-19 Vaccine Intentions and Uptake in the United States(SAGE Publications, 2023-10-17) Sileo, Katelyn M.; Hirani, Inara M.; Luttinen, Rebecca L.; Hayward, Matt; Fleming, Paul J.Objective: To explore the empirical literature on gender/sex differences in vaccine acceptance among U.S.-based adults and adolescents in approximately the first 2 years of the pandemic. Data source: Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, EBSCO, CINAHL, Web of Science Study inclusion and exclusion criteria: Peer-reviewed studies conducted in the U.S. with those aged 12 and older, published in English before January 12, 2022, examining the relationship between gender/sex on COVID-19 vaccine intentions and/or uptake. Data extraction: Three authors screened studies and extracted data. Data Synthesis: Univariate and multivariate results are summarized. Results: A total of 53 studies met inclusion criteria (48 intentions, 7 uptake), using mostly cross-sectional designs (92.5%) and non-random sampling (83.0%). The majority of studies supported men’s greater intentions to vaccinate compared to women, and men’s greater vaccine uptake in univariate analyses, but most multivariate analyses supported no gender differences in uptake. Few studies examined gender beyond binary categories (women/men), highlighting a gap in the studies inclusive of transgender or gender-diverse populations in analyses. Conclusion: Women may have been more hesitant to get the vaccine than men early in the pandemic, but these differences may not translate to actual behavior. Future research should include non-binary/transgender populations, explore the gender-specific reasons for hesitancy and differences by sub-populations, utilize more rigorous designs, and test gender-sensitive public health campaigns to mitigate vaccine concerns.Item A Spectral/hp-Based Stabilized Solver with Emphasis on the Euler Equations(2024-01-08) Ranjan, Rakesh; Catabriga, Lucia; Araya, GuillermoThe solution of compressible flow equations is of interest with many aerospace engineering applications. Past literature has focused primarily on the solution of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) problems with low-order finite element and finite volume methods. High-order methods are more the norm nowadays, in both a finite element and a finite volume setting. In this paper, inviscid compressible flow of an ideal gas is solved with high-order spectral/hp stabilized formulations using uniform high-order spectral element methods. The Euler equations are solved with high-order spectral element methods. Traditional definitions of stabilization parameters used in conjunction with traditional low-order bilinear Lagrange-based polynomials provide diffused results when applied to the high-order context. Thus, a revision of the definitions of the stabilization parameters was needed in a high-order spectral/hp framework. We introduce revised stabilization parameters, τsupg, with low-order finite element solutions. We also reexamine two standard definitions of the shock-capturing parameter, δ: the first is described with entropy variables, and the other is the YZβ parameter. We focus on applications with the above introduced stabilization parameters and analyze an array of problems in the high-speed flow regime. We demonstrate spectral convergence for the Kovasznay flow problem in both L1 and L2 norms. We numerically validate the revised definitions of the stabilization parameter with Sod’s shock and the oblique shock problems and compare the solutions with the exact solutions available in the literature. The high-order formulation is further extended to solve shock reflection and two-dimensional explosion problems. Following, we solve flow past a two-dimensional step at a Mach number of 3.0 and numerically validate the shock standoff distance with results obtained from NASA Overflow 2.2 code. Compressible flow computations with high-order spectral methods are found to perform satisfactorily for this supersonic inflow problem configuration. We extend the formulation to solve the implosion problem. Furthermore, we test the stabilization parameters on a complex flow configuration of AS-202 capsule analyzing the flight envelope. The proposed stabilization parameters have shown robustness, providing excellent results for both simple and complex geometries.Item Advances in Fractional-Order Neural Networks, Volume II(2023-11-29) Stamova, Ivanka; Stamov, Gani; Li, XiaodiFractional-order neural network models have become an active research subject and have attracted increasing attention in many fields [...]Item Alzheimer’s Amyloid Hypothesis and Antibody Therapy: Melting Glaciers?(2024-03-31) Høilund-Carlsen, Poul F.; Alavi, Abass; Castellani, Rudolph J.; Neve, Rachael L.; Perry, George; Revheim, Mona-Elisabeth; Barrio, Jorge R.The amyloid cascade hypothesis for Alzheimer’s disease is still alive, although heavily challenged. Effective anti-amyloid immunotherapy would confirm the hypothesis’ claim that the protein amyloid-beta is the cause of the disease. Two antibodies, aducanumab and lecanemab, have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, while a third, donanemab, is under review. The main argument for the FDA approvals is a presumed therapy-induced removal of cerebral amyloid deposits. Lecanemab and donanemab are also thought to cause some statistical delay in the determination of cognitive decline. However, clinical efficacy that is less than with conventional treatment, selection of amyloid-positive trial patients with non-specific amyloid-PET imaging, and uncertain therapy-induced removal of cerebral amyloids in clinical trials cast doubt on this anti-Alzheimer’s antibody therapy and hence on the amyloid hypothesis, calling for a more thorough investigation of the negative impact of this type of therapy on the brain.Item Alzheimer's Amyloid Hypothesis and Antibody Therapy: Melting Glaciers?(2024-03-31) Høilund-Carlsen, Poul F.; Alavi, Abass; Castellani, Rudolph J.; Neve, Rachael L.; Perry, George; Revheim, Mona-Elisabeth; Barrio, Jorge R.The amyloid cascade hypothesis for Alzheimer’s disease is still alive, although heavily challenged. Effective anti-amyloid immunotherapy would confirm the hypothesis’ claim that the protein amyloid-beta is the cause of the disease. Two antibodies, aducanumab and lecanemab, have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, while a third, donanemab, is under review. The main argument for the FDA approvals is a presumed therapy-induced removal of cerebral amyloid deposits. Lecanemab and donanemab are also thought to cause some statistical delay in the determination of cognitive decline. However, clinical efficacy that is less than with conventional treatment, selection of amyloid-positive trial patients with non-specific amyloid-PET imaging, and uncertain therapy-induced removal of cerebral amyloids in clinical trials cast doubt on this anti-Alzheimer’s antibody therapy and hence on the amyloid hypothesis, calling for a more thorough investigation of the negative impact of this type of therapy on the brain.Item An Autochthonous Susceptible Candida auris Clade I Otomycosis Case in Iran(2023-11-11) Ahmadi, Bahram; Naeimi, Behrouz; Ahmadipour, Mohammad Javad; Morovati, Hamid; de Groot, Theun; Spruijtenburg, Bram; Badali, Hamid; Meis, Jacques F.Candida auris is a newly emerging multidrug-resistant fungal pathogen considered to be a serious global health threat. Due to diagnostic challenges, there is no precise estimate for the prevalence rate of this pathogen in Iran. Since 2019, only six culture-proven C. auris cases have been reported from Iran, of which, five belonged to clade V and one to clade I. Herein, we report a case of otomycosis due to C. auris from 2017 in a 78-year-old man with diabetes mellitus type II without an epidemiological link to other cases or travel history. Short tandem repeat genotyping and whole genome sequencing (WGS) analysis revealed that this isolate belonged to clade I of C. auris (South Asian Clade). The WGS single nucleotide polymorphism calling demonstrated that the C. auris isolate from 2017 is not related to a previously reported clade I isolate from Iran. The presence of this retrospectively recognized clade I isolate also suggests an early introduction from other regions or an autochthonous presence. Although the majority of reported C. auris isolates worldwide are resistant to fluconazole and, to a lesser extent, to echinocandins and amphotericin B, the reported clade I isolate from Iran was susceptible to all antifungal drugs.Item An analysis of bibliometric indicators, National Institutes of Health funding, and faculty size at Association of American Medical Colleges medical schools, 1997–2007(Medical Library Association, 2008-10) Hendrix, DeanObjective: The objective of this study was to analyze bibliometric data from ISI, National Institutes of Health (NIH)–funding data, and faculty size information for Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) member schools during 1997 to 2007 to assess research productivity and impact. Methods: This study gathered and synthesized 10 metrics for almost all AAMC medical schools (n = 123): (1) total number of published articles per medical school, (2) total number of citations to published articles per medical school, (3) average number of citations per article, (4) institutional impact indices, (5) institutional percentages of articles with zero citations, (6) annual average number of faculty per medical school, (7) total amount of NIH funding per medical school, (8) average amount of NIH grant money awarded per faculty member, (9) average number of articles per faculty member, and (10) average number of citations per faculty member. Using principal components analysis, the author calculated the relationships between measures, if they existed. Results: Principal components analysis revealed 3 major clusters of variables that accounted for 91% of the total variance: (1) institutional research productivity, (2) research influence or impact, and (3) individual faculty research productivity. Depending on the variables in each cluster, medical school research may be appropriately evaluated in a more nuanced way. Significant correlations exist between extracted factors, indicating an interrelatedness of all variables. Total NIH funding may relate more strongly to the quality of the research than the quantity of the research. The elimination of medical schools with outliers in 1 or more indicators (n = 20) altered the analysis considerably. Conclusions: Though popular, ordinal rankings cannot adequately describe the multidimensional nature of a medical school's research productivity and impact. This study provides statistics that can be used in conjunction with other sound methodologies to provide a more authentic view of a medical school's research. The large variance of the collected data suggests that refining bibliometric data by discipline, peer groups, or journal information may provide a more precise assessment.Item Balancing Sustainability: An Analysis of Habitat for Humanity Affiliates in Mississippi(2024-02-15) Doleac, Alex; Langar, Sandeep; Sulbaran, TulioNon-profit organizations (NPOs) support economically disadvantaged communities by improving housing conditions and building homes, despite limited resources. With rising housing costs and poverty causing homelessness and poor housing quality, NPOs’ efforts are crucial. However, operating constraints (such as financial, policy, and others), often lead NPOs to prioritize initial costs over sustainability and environmental impacts. Therefore, this research investigated the adoption, implementation, and routinization patterns for sustainability and green efforts in Mississippi (US) by a leading NPO. The research used a two-phased combined design methodology, with the first phase involving explorative design that involved the identification of criteria that led to selecting the affiliates of Habitat for Humanity (HFH) as the unit of analysis. The selected NPO (HFH) had 38 affiliates across Mississippi, US, at the time of the study. The second phase involved a cross-sectional design, with data collected by utilizing a structured telephone survey. All collected data were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics, and thematic analysis. Twenty-five affiliates (66% response rate) participated in the study, and the results indicate that a small proportion of affiliates were actively adopting sustainability practices for projects constructed, and most were located in the southern part of the state. The research identified factors that lead to the routinization of sustainability practices, the most commonly used third-party benchmarking tools, and perceptions of NPOs towards such tools to evaluate the greenness of residential projects. Some crucial implications were identifying uneven project completion within HFH, limited adoption of green strategies, and perception of green certification as non-vital.Item Biophysical Breakthroughs Projected for the Phage Therapy of Bacterial Disease(2024-04-12) Chambers, James P.; Aldis, Miranda; Thomas, Julie A.; Gonzales, Cara B.; White, Richard Allen; Serwer, PhilipPast anti-bacterial use of bacteriophages (phage therapy) is already well reviewed as a potential therapeutic response to the emergence of multidrug-resistant, pathogenic bacteria. Phage therapy has been limited by the following. (1) The success rate is too low for routine use and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. (2) Current strategies of routine phage characterization do not sufficiently improve the success rate of phage therapy. (3) The stability of many phages at ambient temperature is not high enough to routinely store and transport phages at ambient temperature. In the present communication, we present new and previous data that we interpret as introductory to biophysically and efficiently transforming phage therapy to the needed level of effectiveness. Included are (1) procedure and preliminary data for the use of native gel electrophoresis (a low-cost procedure) for projecting the therapy effectiveness of a newly isolated phage, (2) data that suggest a way to achieve stabilizing of dried, ambient-temperature phages via polymer embedding, and (3) data that suggest means to increase the blood persistence, and therefore the therapy effectiveness, of what would otherwise be a relatively low-persistence phage.Item Board Exam Test Prep: A Survey of SCAMeL Library Resources(2017-10) Johnson, Emily; Amen, BrookPurpose: The purpose of this survey is to evaluate what board exam question banks, if any, SCAMeL member libraries subscribe to and if these resources are being utilized by their campuses. Participants: Participants were members of the SCAMeL collection development group. SCAMeL consists of 17 academic health science libraries in the South Central region. We requested that one representative from each institution respond to the survey. Methodology: SCAMeL library collection development representatives were emailed a link to the survey on June 7, 2017. The survey consisted of 16 multiple choice and free text questions and was created using Qualtrics. The survey remained active until 5:00 PM CST on June 30, 2017.Item Cambridge Structural Database (WebCSD)(Issues in Science & Technology Librarianship, 2019-08-20) Hayward, MattItem Centralized versus Decentralized Cleanup of River Water Pollution: An Application to the Ganges(2023-10-07) Batabyal, Amitrajeet A.; Beladi, HamidWe exploit the public good attributes of Ganges water pollution cleanup and theoretically analyze an aggregate economy of two cities—Kanpur and Varanasi—through which the Ganges flows. Our specific objective is to study whether water pollution cleanup in these two cities ought to be provided in a centralized or in a decentralized manner. We first determine the efficient cleanup amounts that maximize the aggregate surplus from making the Ganges cleaner in the two cities. Second, we compute the optimal amount of water pollution cleanup in the two cities in a decentralized regime in which spending on cleanup is financed by a uniform tax on the city residents. Third, we ascertain the optimal amount of water pollution cleanup in the two cities in a centralized regime subject to equal provision of cleanup and cost sharing. Fourth, we show that if the two cities have the same preference for pollution cleanup, then centralization is preferable to decentralization as long as there is a spillover from pollution cleanup. Finally, we show that if the two cities have dissimilar preferences for pollution cleanup, then centralization is preferable to decentralization as long as the spillover exceeds a certain threshold.Item Come together: Engaging campus partners to respond to OER and textbook legislation in Texas(2022-10) Louis, Lisa; Davis, Sabrina; Ivie, DeeAnnNumerous pieces of legislation around textbooks, OER, and inclusive access have been passed across the United States the past few years. In Texas, SB 810-focused on transparency around OER-was passed in 2017. In 2021, Texas passed HB 1027, mandating transparency around inclusive access programs. In this panel discussion Texas Digital Library OER Ambassadors will share experiences working with their respective campus partners to implement practical and innovative solutions in response to this legislation. This panel will have a special focus on the innovative sleuthing and problem-solving necessary to craft frameworks supporting these mandates. Librarians will also shed light on the practical mechanics necessary for setting textbook legislation into motion at Texas institutions, including ensuring representation of critical players on system-wide and institutional task forces and highlighting virtues of the legislation in conversations with campus partners. The Texas Digital Library (TDL) is a collaborative consortium based in Texas and rooted in higher education. Texas Digital Library builds capacity among its membership for ensuring equitable access to and preservation of digital content of value to research, instruction, cultural heritage, and institutional memory. In 2020, TDL expanded its services to include support for Open Educational Resources (OER). Charged with developing a Community of Practice, TDL's OER Ambassador program provides a forum for member libraries to discuss and share challenges and achievements around OER initiatives that impact student success, retention, graduation rates, and the cost of higher education for college students in Texas. By attending this session, attendees will be able to: 1. Create a game-plan to support cross-campus collaboration in support of legislative mandates around OER and textbooks 2. Leverage OER and textbook legislation to help improve the campus experience for students 3. Connect with campus partners to navigate complex technological and infrastructure challenges posed by legislative mandates around OER and textbooksItem Development of Intensity–Duration–Frequency (IDF) Curves over the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Using CHIRPS Satellite-Based Precipitation Products(2023-12-20) Alsumaiti, Tareefa S.; Hussein, Khalid A.; Ghebreyesus, Dawit T.; Petchprayoon, Pakorn; Sharif, Hatim O.; Abdalati, WaleedThe recent flooding events in the UAE have emphasized the need for a reassessment of flood frequencies to mitigate risks. The exponential urbanization and climatic changes in the UAE require a reform for developing and updating intensity–duration–frequency (IDF) curves. This study introduces a methodology to develop and update IDF curves for the UAE at a high spatial resolution using CHIRPS (Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station) data. A bias correction was applied to the CHIRPS data, resulting in an improved capture of extreme events across the country. The Gumbel distribution was the most suitable theoretical distribution for the UAE, exhibiting a strong fit to the observed data. The study also revealed that the CHIRPS-derived IDF curves matched the shape of IDF curves generated using rain gauges. Due to orographic rainfall in the northeastern region, the IDF intensities were at their highest there, while the aridity of inland regions resulted in the lowest intensities. These findings enhance our understanding of rainfall patterns in the UAE and support effective water resource management and infrastructure planning. This study demonstrates the potential of the CHIRPS dataset for IDF curve development, emphasizes the importance of performing bias corrections, and recommends tailoring adjustments to the intended application.Item Dietary Supplementation with 23-Hydroxy Ursolic Acid Reduces the Severity and Incidence of Acute Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE) in a Murine Model of Multiple Sclerosis(2024-01-25) Asmis, Reto; Medrano, Megan T.; Chase Huizar, Carol; Griffith, Wendell P.; Forsthuber, Thomas G.23-Hydroxy ursolic acid (23-OH UA) is a potent atheroprotective and anti-obesogenic phytochemical, with anti-inflammatory and inflammation-resolving properties. In this study, we examined whether dietary 23-OH UA protects mice against the acute onset and progression of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS). Female C57BL/6 mice were fed either a defined low-calorie maintenance diet (MD) or an MD supplemented with 0.2% wgt/wgt 23-OH UA for 5 weeks prior to actively inducing EAE and during the 30 days post-immunization. We observed no difference in the onset of EAE between the groups of mice, but ataxia and EAE disease severity were suppressed by 52% and 48%, respectively, and disease incidence was reduced by over 49% in mice that received 23-OH UA in their diet. Furthermore, disease-associated weight loss was strikingly ameliorated in 23-OH UA-fed mice. ELISPOT analysis showed no significant differences in frequencies of T cells producing IL-17 or IFN-γ between 23-OH UA-fed mice and control mice, suggesting that 23-OH UA does not appear to regulate peripheral T cell responses. In summary, our findings in EAE mice strongly suggest that dietary 23-OH UA may represent an effective oral adjunct therapy for the prevention and treatment of relapsing–remitting MS.Item Episode 1: Preserving the ITC's treasured collections(University Office of Strategic Communications, 2024-05-23) Elizondo, John; Perales, MonicaThe ITC's history in San Antonio runs deep -- in fact, many of us have vivid childhood memories exploring the facility and exhibits from our K-12 school years. In the series opener, Monica Perales, ITC associate vice provost, will discuss the role the museum plays in collecting, preserving and sharing the state's diverse cultural history. Take a peek at what's in store for the museum as it prepares to move to its new temporary space in Frost Tower, located in the heart of San Antonio.
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