Science Program Research Articles

DMGM: deformable-mechanism based cervical cancer staging via MRI multi-sequence * *This work was financially aided by the Natural Science Foundation of China (U1934221, 61773323), and Sichuan Science and Technology Program (2019YFG0345, 2019YJ0210).

Objective. This study aims to leverage a deep learning approach, specifically a deformable convolutional layer, for staging cervical cancer using multi-sequence MRI images. This is in response to the challenges doctors face in simultaneously identifying multiple sequences, a task that computer-aided diagnosis systems can potentially improve due to their vast information storage capabilities. Approach. To address the challenge of limited sample sizes, we introduce a sequence enhancement strategy to diversify samples and mitigate overfitting. We propose a novel deformable ConvLSTM module that integrates a deformable mechanism with ConvLSTM, enabling the model to adapt to data with varying structures. Furthermore, we introduce the deformable multi-sequence guidance model (DMGM) as an auxiliary diagnostic tool for cervical cancer staging. Main results. Through extensive testing, including comparative and ablation studies, we validate the effectiveness of the deformable ConvLSTM module and the DMGM. Our findings highlight the model’s ability to adapt to the deformation mechanism and address the challenges in cervical cancer tumor staging, thereby overcoming the overfitting issue and ensuring the synchronization of asynchronous scan sequences. The research also utilized the multi-modal data from BraTS 2019 as an external test dataset to validate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology presented in this study. Significance. The DMGM represents the first deep learning model to analyze multiple MRI sequences for cervical cancer, demonstrating strong generalization capabilities and effective staging in small dataset scenarios. This has significant implications for both deep learning applications and medical diagnostics. The source code will be made available subsequently.

Investigating Students’ Perception with an Online Dynamic Earth Course during COVID-19: A Quantitative Inquiry

This study investigated Earth science students’ experiences with online education during the COVID-19 pandemic at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in the US. We used an existing survey from the online education literature, the Online Learning Environment Survey (OLES), which consists of three instruments: (a) community of inquiry (CoI), (b) Institutional Support (IS), and (c) Self-Directed Online Learning Scale (SDOLS). The survey rating subscales ordered from highest to lowest are autonomous learning, asynchronous online learning, institutional support, teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence, respectively, indicating interest for the online learning environment. Among all of the subscales, the asynchronous online category was rated the highest by the students. The data were then analyzed using Rasch modeling. According to the Rasch analyses, asynchronous online teaching represents the most favorable course delivery technique for geoscience education. Overall, the survey data show a general interest in online delivery and the effectiveness of the modality, thus indicating potential for evolving into an online Earth science program. Finally, also discussed are possible future extensions of the research (e.g., extending the research to other introductory online geoscience courses).

Teacher and Student Experiences in a Gender-Inclusive Secondary Computer Science Program

A significant gender gap continues to exist within computer science (CS) education, despite a nationwide emphasis in the U.S. on increasing CS education equity and access. To explore this issue, we conducted an ethnographic case study within a classroom at Forest View High School (FVHS, pseudonym) where girls’ participation in CS was consistently higher than state averages over 12 years. We sought to understand teacher and student experiences within this gender-inclusive program. Data were collected over three months through observations, interviews, course documents, and reflections. Results indicate three strategies for supporting a more gender-inclusive classroom: (1) Providing personalized and relevant learning experiences; (2) modeling a growth mindset; and (3) creating a welcoming environment. Implications for practice include providing assignment choice, providing opportunities to learn from failure, and building personal relationships with students. Overall, teachers can act as agents of social change within the CS classroom, and play an essential, central role in broadening participation and equity initiatives. However, this work must also be supported by administrators, counselors, and other school stakeholders to be effective for enacting change.

Examining talk moves of science teacher’s through communicative approach

ABSTRACT Background Teachers are expected to take actions that support students’ ideas and create a network of ideas between different ideas when classroom discourse is based on an interactive dialogic communicative approach. Despite this emphasis, it is unknown how well existing discourse approaches and moves used in science education research correspond with the discourse cultures that teachers currently engage in. Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify the teacher’s talk moves during the whole class discussion, how the teacher decides the moves, and the communicative approach used in tandem with the talk moves. Sample A fifth-grade science teacher working in a primary school in Turkey and her students were the participants of the study. Design and methods A case study was used to understand how the teacher’s talk moves laid the groundwork for the communicative approach, how she transitioned from one approach to another, and the reasons for this transition. Results The dialogue begins with the teacher’s move of laying the foundation. The teacher allows students to express their ideas on this basis and synthesizes the different ideas of the students. It can be inferred that the teacher considers the limitations of the Science program when determining the content to be taught and therefore adopts an authoritative approach. Although an environment in which students can express their ideas freely was established in an effort to create a pool of ideas, student interaction was observed at a minimum. The only exception to this observed pattern is when students initiate the discussion of the ideas. This move showed that a student-initiated dialogue was ‘drifted’ towards predetermined content by the teacher’s move. Conclusion In-service training ensures that teachers are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to create dialogic learning environments that will support students in expressing their ideas, interacting with each other, and learning together.

Performance Analysis of Multi-Tote Storage and Retrieval Autonomous Mobile Robot Systems

Multi-tote storage and retrieval (MTSR) autonomous mobile robots can carry multiple product totes, store and retrieve them from different shelf rack tiers, and transport them to a workstation where the products are picked to fulfill customer orders. In each robot trip, totes retrieved during the previous trip must be stored. This leads to a mixed storage and retrieval route. We analyze this mixed storage and retrieval route problem and derive the optimal travel route for a multiblock warehouse by a layered graph algorithm, based on storage first-retrieval second and mixed storage and retrieval policies. We also propose an effective heuristic routing policy, the closest retrieval (CR) sequence policy, based on a local shortest path. Numerical results show that the CR policy leads to shorter travel times than the well-known S-shape policy, whereas the gap with the optimal mixed storage and retrieval policy in practical scenarios is small. Based on the CR policy, we model the stochastic behavior of the system using a semiopen queuing network (SOQN). This model can accurately estimate average tote throughput time and system throughput capacity as a function of the number of robots in the system. We use the SOQN and corresponding closed queuing network models to optimize the total annual cost as a function of the warehouse shape, the number of robots, and tote buffer positions on the robots for a given average tote throughput time and throughput capacity. Compared with robots that retrieve a single tote per trip, an MTSR system with at least five buffer positions can achieve lower operational costs while meeting given average tote throughput time and tote throughput capacity constraints. Funding: This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant 72372088] and the Shenzhen Science and Technology Program [Grant GJHZ20220913143003006]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/trsc.2023.0397 .

Protecting More Than Just Books: A Curricula Study of Traditional Cultural Expression in U.S. LIS Programs

More and more, librarians’ day-to-day job responsibilities include working with Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs) and their divergent needs. Nevertheless, TCEs—and their specialized care—lack adequate attention and appropriate training in Library and Information Science (LIS) pedagogy. This indicates that LIS students may be less prepared to ethically work on TCE-related inquiries in the future. This study conducts a curricula content analysis of 35 ALA-accredited Master of Library and Information Science (MSLIS) programs to preliminarily assess the current state of TCE-related topics represented in LIS programs. Through investigating course descriptions, the research evaluates the depth and breadth to which LIS students’ coursework incorporates topics related to TCEs and their care. The synthesized findings demonstrate that only a small number of LIS programs even offer TCE-centric courses; of these, very few programs explicitly require students to take them. Failure to integrate TCEs into the core curriculum results in students being unprepared for the corresponding challenges in their prospective workplaces, especially as most TCEs are not covered by copyright law. The implication of this study could be a fruitful and rigorous invitation for LIS educators to revise their LIS curriculum to keep pace with the ever-evolving information needs that arise in contemporary library contexts for diverse populations.

The application of UDL and SoTL to health care education

AbstractIn this chapter, we use the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) to explore the application of universal design for learning (UDL) (CAST 2018) to health care education. We begin by setting a historical context of health care education. Next, we provide an overview of UDL, a review of the literature of UDL in health care education, and then discuss one institution's exploration of applying UDL in health science and other program teaching practices, arguing that UDL's main concepts can be effectively applied to health care education to create inclusive and effective learning experiences.

Factors affecting the students’ knowledge sharing through social media technologies: A structural equation modeling approach

This study investigates factors affecting students’ knowledge sharing over social media platforms. An online survey was conducted on 1470 distance education students, enrolled in an online Master of Library and Information Science program in a public sector university, Islamabad, Pakistan. Using the theory of reasoned action and factors, namely, trust, facilitation conditions, perceived reciprocal benefits, and individual creativity, a comprehensive research model was developed. Following the positivist paradigm, a quantitative survey research design was employed to conduct this study. Using IBM-SPSS and AMOS (version 21.0), structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the data, testing hypotheses, and research model. The research findings disclosed that the students used different social media platforms for knowledge sharing. Subjective norms and trust positively influenced students’ knowledge sharing behaviour intention. Facilitation conditions and behaviour intention were found to be key factors in students’ knowledge sharing through social media. Among the factors, student behavioural intention was found to be the most influential factor. However, attitude, perceived reciprocal benefits, and individual creativity did not influence knowledge sharing. Overall, the research model measured significant students’ knowledge sharing over social media platforms. There is a dearth of literature about the factors influencing knowledge sharing over social media from the Pakistani perspective. This study addressed the hitherto under-researched issue and developed a theoretical framework by extending the theory of reasoned action for social media-driven knowledge sharing from the Pakistani distance education students’ perspective.

To Test or Not to Test? The Graduate Record Examinations: Predictive Validity toward Graduate Study Success on Research Masters’ Programs in a Large European University

Graduate admissions committees in Europe have a challenging task of selecting students from an increasingly large pool of candidates with diverse application files. Graduate standardized testing can ease the comparison of application files. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) is predictive of several dimensions of graduate success on English-taught research masters’ programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics at a large European university. The data from 167 masters’ students were collected. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. All GRE scales predicted Graduate Grade Point Average. Individual GRE scales predicted internship grade and supervisors’ assessments of students’ research performance and the content of their research report. None of the individual GRE scales predicted supervisors’ assessments of students’ practical skills, but the three GRE scales taken together improved the explanatory power of the model. The structure and style of students’ research reports was not predicted by the GRE. All relationships were held after accounting for socioeconomic status. Overall, the GRE appeared as a reasonable predictor of graduate study success. Both the benefits and drawbacks of the implementation of the GRE in European masters’ programs are discussed, as well as the legal limitations.

Exploring undergraduate paramedic students’ understanding and experiences of person-centred care while on practice placement

Objective To explore paramedic students’ understanding and experience of the perceived facilitators and barriers to implementing person-centred care in urgent and emergency practice-based placement situations. Aim To explore paramedic students’ understanding of this concept and how it may be applied to clinical practice. Methods A non-probability convenience sample of participants was drawn from a second-year undergraduate Bachelor of Science (Hons) programme in Paramedic Science, at a United Kingdom university. The programme was underpinned by the Person-centred Practice Framework. Undergraduate paramedic students participated in face-to-face, audio-recorded, semi-structured interviews. A qualitative reflexive thematic analysis was then conducted to identify themes arising from the data. Results Ten participants were interviewed. Four key themes emerged from the data: (1) realising person-centred prerequisites which have two sub-themes – curriculum and reality of practice, (2) challenge of high-acuity calls, (3) developing a rapport with vulnerable people and, (4) factors in the macro environment. Conclusion Paramedic students witnessed moments of person-centred practice and were enabled to reflect on their learning experiences in positive ways, by working with paramedics/practice educators. However, their person-centred ideals were constantly challenged as students negotiated to work in complex, dynamic situations and in a health system under pressure.

Academic survival: student retention in sport and exercise sciences

ABSTRACT Retention of higher education students is of major concern within the United Kingdom due to the financial and reputational impact on institutions, financial and personal impact on students and loss of potential skills and knowledge within society. Student background characteristics are acknowledged as the initial factors influencing retention within various models, however subject specific understanding is limited. This study aimed to identify pre-enrolment factors associated with student retention in Sport, Health and Exercise Science programmes. Student retention at department and programme level were calculated by ‘time to event’ analysis using Kaplan–Meier survival trend curves and log rank (Mantel–Cox) analysis for; gender, age, locality to the university, highest qualification on entry and participation of local areas in higher education (POLAR4) classifications. Results identified that male students, students from low Higher Education participation neighbourhoods and students who enter Higher Education without A-Level or foundation qualifications were at an increased risk of degree non-completion. Importantly, these characteristics were also disproportionally high in the student populations considered here. It is imperative that initiatives to improve retention, particularly in these populations, are sought and implemented at department level to improve student and institutional outcomes.

Relationship between young learners’ L2 proficiency and subject knowledge: evaluating a CLIL programme in China

While CLIL programmes have been extensively researched for their impact on L2 learning outcomes, the relationship between young learners’ L2 proficiency and subject knowledge has received less attention. This study aimed to address this research gap by examining the science content knowledge of two cohorts of Grade 5 students (n = 100) from two primary schools in China, with one school implementing a CLIL science programme and the other offering a conventional science programme. The study also investigated the correlation between science achievement and L2 proficiency, measured by assessing learners’ English speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills using the Cambridge Young Learners English Tests. Science knowledge was evaluated with a tailored test aligned with the National Science Curriculum. Results indicated no statistically significant differences in science achievement between CLIL and non-CLIL students, with the former achieving higher mean scores. We also found a significant positive correlation between science knowledge and overall L2 proficiency. Notably, receptive language skills significantly correlated with science scores, while productive language skills did not. These findings provide positive evidence for the potential effectiveness of CLIL programmes in the primary education setting in China.

Strategi Pembiasaan Akhlak Terpuji Melalui Mata Pelajaran Akidah Akhlak di Madrasah Ibtidaiyah

This research aims to analyze the commendable morals that are taught through moral aqidah lessons, and the habituation strategies for students at Madrasah Ibtidaiyah. The method used in this research is a descriptive qualitative research method. This research was carried out at MI Hajar Abyadl, North Sangatta. There were ten subjects consisting of school principals, teachers and students. The results of the research show that the commendable morals that are taught through moral aqidah subjects are; Shaking hands by kissing older people (polite), praying before and after studying, praying before and after eating (tawakkal), performing the Dluha prayer, performing the midday prayer in congregation, muroja'ah memorize the Al-Qur 'an and Hadith (diligent), cooperation (helping each other), apologizing when you make a mistake (humble), sharing food with friends (generous), doing assignments (responsible), not cheating on exams (honest), and not mocking friends (tolerance). The strategies for habituating commendable morals through the Moral Aqidah subject are: providing an example, giving advice, making habits, and giving punishment. This strategy then collaborates in moral learning, science, leadership, entrepreneurship, and school programs.

From citizen science to AI models: Advancing cetacean vocalization automatic detection through multi-annotator campaigns

Continuous underwater Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) has emerged as a strong tool for cetacean research. To handle the vast volume of collected data, it is essential to employ automated detection and classification methods. The recent advancement of deep learning, involving model training and testing, requires a large amount of labeled data. These labels are derived through the manual annotation of audio files often reliant on human experts. Based on an annotation campaign focusing on blue whale calls in the Indian Ocean involving 19 novice annotators and one expert in bioacoustics, this study explores the integration of novice annotators in marine bioacoustics research, through citizen science programs, which could drastically increase the size of labeled datasets and enhance the performance of detection and classification models. The analysis reveals distinctive annotation profiles influenced by the complexity of vocalizations and the annotators' strategies, ranging from conservative to permissive. To address the challenges of annotation discrepancies, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) are trained on annotations from both novices and the expert. The results show variations in model performance. Our work highlights the importance of annotation guidelines encouraging a more conservative approach to improve overall annotation quality. In an effort to optimize the potential of multi-annotation and mitigate the presence of noisy labels, two annotation aggregation methods (majority voting and soft labeling) are proposed and tested. The results demonstrate that both methods, particularly when a sufficient number of annotators are involved, significantly improve model performance and reduce variability: the standard deviation of the area under PR and ROC curves fall under 0.02 for both vocalizations with 13 aggregated annotators, while it was at 0.17 and 0.21 for the Blue Whale Dcalls and 0.05 and 0.04 for the SEIO PBW vocalizations with all annotators separately. Moreover, these aggregation methods enable the training of models using non-expert annotations that achieve performance of models trained with expert annotations. These findings suggest that crowdsourced annotations from novice annotators can be a viable alternative to expert annotations.

Factors Influencing Utilization of Biometrics in Private Banks in Mombasa County

Purpose: The overall goal of the research was to analyze factors influencing utilization of biometrics in the private banks in Mombasa County. Methodology: The study adopted a descriptive research design because it provided a clear outcome and the characteristics associated with it at a specific point in time. The target population for the study was 120 respondents from 20 private registered banks in Mombasa County. The study adopted stratified sampling method to select the respondents from the population. The study obtained primary data through a structured questionnaire. Responses in the questionnaires were tabulated, coded and processed using a computer Statistical Package for Social Science program. The relationship between the dependent variable and the independent variables were tested using multiple linear regression models. The data was analyzed and conclusions drawn. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used whereby the data was presented through tables Findings: The findings of the study showed that legal systems holds a positive linear relationship (r=0.412; p<0.01) and significant association with utilization of biometrics in private banks. Moreover, the results indicates a p-value of 0.003 which is less than 0.01 implying that the association is highly significant. Based on the research and analysis, the study concludes that legal systems, technology maturity, demographic factors, and staff competency have a significant effect on utilization of biometrics in private banks within Mombasa County. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The research was anchored on technology acceptance model. To ensure efficient utilization of biometrics within private banks in Mombasa County, it is recommended that organizations follow established legislation. Subsequently, banks should update their staff on legislation surrounding biometrics use and security.

Brand Image Terhadap Customer Loyalty melalui Customer Satisfaction pada Pengguna Produk Tupperware di Kota Bandung

This research aims to evaluate the impact of brand image dimensions on customer loyalty through customer satisfaction regarding Tupperware brand food & beverage container products, especially in the city of Bandung. Data collection was carried out through interviews with respondents aged 17-40 years and who had experience using and purchasing Tupperware products. Participation in this research involved 90 respondents using cross-sectional data collection techniques or one shot study. Data analysis used a quantitative descriptive approach, normality test, multiple linear regression, and Sobel test with the help of statistical software program of social science (SPSS) version 26. Of the ten hypotheses proposed, eight of them were strengthened by empirical findings. These results indicate that customer satisfaction can act as a link between the impact of brand image dimensions (brand strength, brand uniqueness, and brand liking) and customer loyalty. In conclusion, this research can provide benefits for companies and management related to Tupperware products and similar food & beverage container industries in developing relevant strategies to improve the quality of these attributes. Keywords: Brand Image, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Loyalty

Exoplanet transit spectroscopy with JWST NIRSpec: diagnostics and homogeneous case study of WASP-39 b

ABSTRACT The JWST has ushered in a new era of exoplanet transit spectroscopy. Among the JWST instruments, the Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) has the most extensive set of configurations for exoplanet time-series observations. The NIRSpec Prism and G395H grating represent two extremes in NIRSpec instrument modes, with the Prism spanning a wider spectral range (0.6–5.3 µm) at lower resolution (R ∼ 100) compared to G395H (2.87–5.14 µm; R ∼ 2700). In this work, we develop a new data reduction framework, JexoPipe, to conduct a homogeneous assessment of the two NIRSpec modes for exoplanet spectroscopy. We use observations of the hot Saturn WASP-39 b obtained as part of the JWST Transiting Exoplanet Early Release Science programme to assess the spectral quality and stability between the two instrument modes at different epochs. We explore the noise sources, effect of saturation, and offsets in transmission spectra between the different instrument modes and also between the two G395H NRS detectors. We find an inter-detector offset in G395H of ∼40–50 ppm, consistent with recent studies. We find evidence for correlated noise in the Prism white light curve. We find the G395H spectrum to be of higher precision compared to the Prism spectrum at the same resolution. We also compare the JexoPipe spectra with those reported from other pipelines. Our work underscores the need for robust assessment of instrument performance and identification of optimal practices for JWST data reduction and analyses.

Impact of tumour stroma-immune interactions on survival prognosis and response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in bladder cancer

The tumour stroma is associated with unfavourable prognosis in diverse solid tumours, but its prognostic and predictive value in bladder cancer (BCa) is unclear. In this multicentre, retrospective study, we included 830 patients with BCa from six independent cohorts. Differences in overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were investigated between high-tumour stroma ratio (TSR) and low-TSR groups. Multi-omics analyses, including RNA sequencing, immunohistochemistry, and single-cell RNA sequencing, were performed to study stroma-immune interactions. TSR prediction models were developed based on pelvic CT scans, and the best performing model was selected based on receiver operator characteristic analysis. Compared to low-TSR tumours, high-TSR tumours were significantly associated with worse OS (HR=1.193, 95% CI: 1.046-1.361, P=0.008) and CSS (HR=1.337, 95% CI: 1.139-1.569, P<0.001), and lower rate of pathological complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). High-TSR tumours exhibited higher infiltration of immunosuppressive cells, including Tregs and tumour-associated neutrophils, while low-TSR tumours exhibited higher infiltration of immune-activating cells such as CD8+ Teff and XCR1+ dendritic cells. The TSR prediction model was developed by combining the intra-tumour and tumour base radiomics features, and showed good performance to predict high-TSR, as indicted by area under the curve of 0.871 (95% CI: 0.821-0.921), 0.821 (95% CI: 0.731-0.911), and 0.801 (95% CI: 0.737-0.865) in the training, internal validation, and external validation cohorts, respectively. In patients with low predicted TSR, 92.3% (12/13) achieved pCR, while only 35.3% (6/17) of patients with high predicted TSR achieved pCR. The tumour stroma was found to be significantly associated with clinical outcomes in patients with BCa as a result of tumour stroma-immune interactions. The radiomics prediction model provided non-invasive evaluation of TSR and was able to predict pCR in patients receiving NAC for BCa. This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 82373254 and 81961128027), Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. 2023A1515010258), Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province (Grant No. 2023B1212060013). Science and Technology Program of Guangzhou (SL2022A04J01754), Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital Clinical Research 5010 Program (Grant No. SYS-5010Z-202401).

1 Million Turtles: empowering communities to save Australian freshwater turtles

ABSTRACT Australian freshwater turtle populations have declined substantially, with consequent losses to aquatic ecosystem functions. A leading hypothesis is that turtles have declined through lost recruitment caused by high nest predation by invasive foxes. The ‘fox hypothesis’ is supported by experiments showing that nest predation rates exceed 95% in many regions. Furthermore, population surveys have repeatedly found absences of juvenile turtles, and headstarting experiments have successfully replaced those juveniles in some species. We are currently leading a nationwide citizen science program, ‘1 Million Turtles’ (1millionturtles.com), to engage local communities to protect turtles from threats like nest predation using a suite of novel approaches. Our key innovation is to leverage community passion and interest for turtles to create positive conservation impacts via a nationwide support network. We provide a data collection tool and framework (TurtleSAT) and self-guided training in conservation methods. We assist with guidance for gaining licencing and permission, and applying for grants. We are evaluating our approach through both the impacts on turtle populations as well as through surveys of our engaged citizen scientists. Ultimately, we aim to create a science-supported, national grassroots conservation model where community champions can lead their own evidence-based approaches to help wildlife.

Varied hydrological regime of a semi-arid coastal wetland

Abstract Coastal wetlands are transitional ecosystems between land and sea. Participants of citizen science programs have detected frequent floods in wetlands, as well as small pools that appear and then disappear. Considering that it is not clear whether their main hydrologic drivers are of marine or continental origin, we studied the El Culebrón wetland located in the Chilean semi-arid zone. El Culebrón is strongly influenced by extreme rain events. This wetland also experiences seasonal changes in its water stage (WS). A high mean sea level agreed with 41% of the WS rises. High intensity storm surges coincided with 53% of WS peaks. A small tsunami in 2022 impacted the WS, and another very intense tsunami flooded it in 2015. An apparent diurnal cycle in the WS was discarded due to an instrumental artifact. The combination of the aforementioned factors provided an explanation for 91% of the WS rises. The probable and novel mechanism for sea level and storm surge influence on WS is the formation of a sand barrier between the coastal lagoon and the sea. As a whole, El Culebrón receives varied influences from both the sea and the mainland, but it seems to be more dependent on freshwater sources.