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1. Physical Visitor Access Control and Authentication Using Blockchain, Smart Contracts and Internet of Things

   https://doi.org/10.3390/cryptography6040065  

   Stock, Frederick ; Kurt Peker, Yesem ; Perez, Alfredo J. ; Hearst, Jarel ( December 2022 , Cryptography)

   In this work we explore the use of blockchain with Internet of Things (IoT) devices to provide visitor authentication and access control in a physical environment. We propose the use of a “bracelet” based on a low-cost NodeMCU IoT platform that broadcasts visitor location information and cannot be removed without alerting a management system. We present the design, implementation, and testing of our system. Our results show the feasibility of implementing a physical access control system based on blockchain technology, and performance improvements over a similar system proposed in the literature. 

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2. Private Blockchain for Visitor Authentication and Access Control

   Chan, Ka Ying ; Lovett, Mason ; Kurt-Peker, Yesem ( December 2021 , 2021 National Symposium for NSF REU Research in Data Science, Systems, and Security (REU 2021 Symposium) - Together with 2021 IEEE BigData Conference)

   This study applies the high data integrity that comes with blockchain technology towards authentication and access control for visitors of a physical facility. The use of smart contracts on an Ethereum based implementation of the blockchain allows for smart contract code to handle both access control and visitor authentication at scale. Javascript code executed off the blockchain enables the system to interact with and parse through the blockchain data. The proposed system is scalable, applies to multiple use cases, and mitigates issues a centralized approach faces. 

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3. Ecosystem services enhanced through soundscape management link people and wildlife

   https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10156  

   Levenhagen, Mitchell J. ; Miller, Zachary D. ; Petrelli, Alissa R. ; Ferguson, Lauren A. ; Shr, Yau‐Huo ; Gomes, Dylan G. E. ; Taff, Brendan D. ; White, Crow ; Fristrup, Kurt ; Monz, Christopher ; et al ( October 2020 , People and Nature)

   Burgeoning urbanization, development and human activities have led to reduced opportunities for nature experience in quiet acoustic environments. Increasing noise affects both humans and wildlife alike.

   We experimentally altered human‐caused sound levels in a paired study using informational signs that encouraged quiet behaviours in week‐on, week‐off blocks on the trail system of Muir Woods National Monument, California, USA to test if the soundscape influences both wildlife and human experiences.

   Using continuous measurements from acoustic recording units (n = 13) spatially distributed within the park, we found signs significantly lowered sound levels by approximately 1.2 decibels (A‐weighted), thereby increasing listening area by 24% and bird availability by approximately 5.8% for every 1 decibel decrease.

   Visitor‐intercept surveys (n = 537) revealed that our mitigation increased the number of birds perceived by visitors, rankings of soundscape pleasantness, and importantly, preferences for soundscape management.

   By lowering human‐caused sound levels, we created an acoustic environment equivalent to a ~21% reduction in visitors. The positive feedback cycle we describe may lead to increased conservation support in a time when the extinction of nature experience looms.

   A freePlain Language Summarycan be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

    

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4. Examining the COVID-19 case growth rate due to visitor vs. local mobility in the United States using machine learning

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-16561-0  

   Katragadda, Satya ; Bhupatiraju, Ravi Teja ; Raghavan, Vijay ; Ashkar, Ziad ; Gottumukkala, Raju ( July 2022 , Scientific Reports)

   Travel patterns and mobility affect the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19. However, we do not know to what extent local vs. visitor mobility affects the growth in the number of cases. This study evaluates the impact of state-level local vs. visitor mobility in understanding the growth with respect to the number of cases for COVID spread in the United States between March 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020. Two metrics, namely local and visitor transmission risk, were extracted from mobility data to capture the transmission potential of COVID-19 through mobility. A combination of the three factors: the current number of cases, local transmission risk, and the visitor transmission risk, are used to model the future number of cases using various machine learning models. The factors that contribute to better forecast performance are the ones that impact the number of cases. The statistical significance of the forecasts is also evaluated using the Diebold–Mariano test. Finally, the performance of models is compared for three waves across all 50 states. The results show that visitor mobility significantly impacts the case growth by improving the prediction accuracy by 33.78%. We also observe that the impact of visitor mobility is more pronounced during the first peak, i.e., March–June 2020.

    

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5. Plant richness and blooming cover affect abundance of flower visitors and network structure in Colombian orchards

   https://doi.org/10.1111/afe.12460  

   Vaca‐Uribe, Jessica L. ; Figueroa, Laura L. ; Santamaría, Maikol ; Poveda, Katja ( July 2021 , Agricultural and Forest Entomology)

   Pollination is essential to fruit production. How plant diversity and blooming events in and around orchards affect the pollinator community and the plant‐flower‐visitor network in neotropical systems remains largely unknown.

   We surveyed the flower visitors in deciduous fruit trees and alternative blooming resources (other crops, hedgerows and weeds) in Colombia across 6 orchards over 12 months. We evaluated whether plant species richness and blooming cover influenced abundance and richness of flower visitors, as well as network‐level connectance and specialization. We also assessed the role of alternative blooming resources for the flower visitors of deciduous fruit trees.

   Overall, we found 66 taxa of flower visitors, 35 of which visited deciduous fruit trees. There was a greater abundance of flower visitors when there was higher richness of weedy species and greater blooming cover of deciduous fruit trees. Networks were less connected when there was lower crop and weedy species richness. Finally, flower visitor abundance and specialization increased when there were multiple hedgerow species in bloom with a high blooming cover.

   We highlight the importance of maintaining alternative blooming resources in and around the orchards to support deciduous fruit tree pollinators and diversity in the plant flower‐visitor network.

    

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