publications

2026

1. Building Responsible and Sustainable Open Data Literacy Skills for Early Career Researchers: A Decade of the SoRDS Programme

   Sonal Gandhi, Sarah Diggs, Marcela Alfaro Córdoba, and 9 more authors

   Data Science Journal, 2026

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   This paper documents a decade of the Schools of Research Data Science (SoRDS) programme, a CODATA-RDA initiative that builds foundational data science and open data skills for early-career researchers in low- and middle-income countries through a sustainable Train-the-Trainer model.

2. Optimizing egg production by trait selection and starvation in Hydra vulgaris

   Kate N. Cochran, Jack DeMartino, Marcela Alfaro-Córdoba, and 1 more author

   Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 2026

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   This paper establishes a repeatable protocol combining trait selection and a starvation regimen to substantially increase egg production in the model organism Hydra vulgaris, advancing understanding of its sexual reproduction and supporting future transgenic method development.

2024

1. Central American climate extreme trends: A statistical analysis of CLIMDEX indices

   Marcela Alfaro-Córdoba, Natalia P. Mora-Sandí, Hugo G. Hidalgo, and 1 more author

   International Journal of Climatology, 2024

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   This paper analyzes precipitation and temperature extreme trends in Central America using CLIMDEX indices, employing novel statistical techniques that account for spatial correlation to assess trend significance and detect climate change patterns from 1981-2020.

2. Classification of oils and margarines by FTIR spectroscopy in tandem with machine learning

   Cynthia Y. E. Tachie, Deborah Obiri-Ananey, Marcela Alfaro-Cordoba, and 2 more authors

   Food Chemistry, 2024

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   This paper demonstrates the combined utility of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and machine learning techniques for authenticating and classifying pure oils and margarines, while quantifying adulteration levels using regression models.

2023

1. Spatio-temporal downscaling emulator for regional climate models

   Luis A. Barboza, Sy-Wei Chou Chen, Marcela Alfaro Córdoba, and 2 more authors

   Environmetrics, 2023

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   This paper describes how to use a spatio-temporal statistical model with varying coefficients as a downscaling emulator for regional climate models, offering a computationally efficient alternative to traditional dynamical downscaling methods.

2. Costa Rican wetlands vulnerability index

   Nils Veas-Ayala, Marcela Alfaro-Córdoba, and Adolfo Quesada-Román

   Progress in Physical Geography, 2023

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   This paper develops a comprehensive vulnerability index for Costa Rican wetlands using field data from the National Wetlands Inventory, combining condition and hazard indices to assess the conservation status of 10,699 wetland polygons and identify priority areas for restoration and management.

3. Foundational Data Science Training for Health Equity Researchers at Minority Serving Institutions: A SoRDS Event

   Rebekah Quick, Marcela Alfaro Córdoba, Sarah Diggs, and 4 more authors

   In 2023 IEEE 11th International Conference on Healthcare Informatics (ICHI), 2023

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   This paper describes the adaptation of the CODATA-RDA Schools of Research Data Science (SoRDS) program to provide foundational data science training specifically for health equity researchers at minority-serving institutions in the southeastern United States.

2022

1. Influence of surface roughness on the spectroscopic characterization of jadeite and greenstones archaeological artifacts: The axe-god pendants case study

   Carla Hernández-Murillo, Sara García-Piedra, Marcela Alfaro-Córdoba, and 3 more authors

   Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 2022

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   This study demonstrates how surface roughness significantly affects infrared, Raman and X-ray fluorescence spectra of jadeite and greenstone archaeological artifacts, providing methodological guidelines for non-invasive characterization using Costa Rican axe-god pendants as a case study.

2. Ten simple rules to host an inclusive conference

   Rocío Joo, Andrea Sánchez-Tapia, Sara Mortara, and 5 more authors

   PLOS Computational Biology, 2022

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   This editorial provides practical guidelines for organizing inclusive conferences based on lessons learned from the 2021 useR! statistical computing conference, addressing barriers to participation and promoting diversity across multiple dimensions.

2021

1. First evidence for an aposematic function of a very common color pattern in small insects

   Rafael Mora-Castro, Marcela Alfaro-Córdoba, Marcela Hernández-Jiménez, and 4 more authors

   PLOS ONE, 2021

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   This paper provides the first experimental evidence that the widespread black-orange-black (BOB) color pattern in small parasitoid wasps serves an aposematic (warning) function, using behavioral experiments with jumping spider predators and toxicity assays.

2. A School and a Network: CODATA-RDA Data Science Summer Schools Alumni Survey

   Louise Bezuidenhout, Sarah Drummond-Curtis, Brittany Walker, and 2 more authors

   Data Science Journal, 2021

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   This paper presents results from an alumni survey of the CODATA-RDA Schools for Research Data Science (SRDS), demonstrating the impact of residential data science training programs in building capacity and fostering networks among early career researchers from low/middle-income countries.

2020

1. Use of unconventional mixed Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol solvents for anthocyanin extraction from Purple-Fleshed sweetpotatoes

   Ainhoa Zuleta-Correa, Mari S. Chinn, Marcela Alfaro-Córdoba, and 3 more authors

   Food Chemistry, 2020

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   This paper investigates the use of unconventional acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) solvent mixtures for extracting anthocyanins from purple-fleshed sweetpotatoes, demonstrating that fermentation-derived diluted solvents can be as effective as traditional concentrated solvents while supporting sustainable biorefinery processes.

2. Aridity Trends in Central America: A Spatial Correlation Analysis

   Marcela Alfaro-Córdoba, Hugo G. Hidalgo, and Eric J. Alfaro

   Atmosphere, 2020

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   This paper analyzes temporal trends in aridity, runoff, precipitation, temperature, and potential evapotranspiration across Central America (1970-1999), introducing a spatial correlation methodology to identify extreme trend outliers and assess regional climate change significance.

2019

1. A comparison of testing methods in scalar-on-function regression

   Merve Y. Tekbudak, Marcela Alfaro-Córdoba, Arnab Maity, and 1 more author

   AStA Advances in Statistical Analysis, 2019

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   This paper compares different testing methods for scalar-on-function regression models, providing insights into their performance and practical applications in functional data analysis.

2. Spectral measure of color variation of black-orange-black (BOB) pattern in small parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae), a statistical approach

   Rafael Mora-Castro, Marcela Hernández-Jiménez, Marcela Alfaro-Córdoba, and 2 more authors

   PLOS ONE, 2019

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   This paper presents the first statistical analysis of the black-orange-black color pattern in small parasitoid wasps using microspectrophotometry and functional data analysis, revealing insights into pigment composition and evolutionary relationships among genera.

2017

1. An Intentional AI for Hanabi

   Markus Eger, Chris Martens, and Marcela Alfaro Córdoba

   In Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment, 2017

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   This paper presents an AI agent for the cooperative card game Hanabi that uses communication theory and intentionality to improve human-AI cooperation, demonstrating significantly better performance when playing with human partners compared to previous AI approaches.

2. The Use of Functional Data Analysis to Evaluate Activity in a Spontaneous Model of Degenerative Joint Disease Associated Pain in Cats

   Margaret E. Gruen, Marcela Alfaro-Córdoba, Andrea E. Thomson, and 3 more authors

   PLOS ONE, 2017

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   This paper demonstrates the use of functional data analysis to evaluate activity patterns in cats with degenerative joint disease, revealing bimodal activity patterns with morning and evening peaks that differ between weekdays and weekends.

2014

1. Iodine Quantification to Distinguish Clear Cell from Papillary Renal Cell Carcinoma at Dual-Energy Multidetector CT: A Multireader Diagnostic Performance Study

   A. Mileto, D. Marin, M. Alfaro-Córdoba, and 6 more authors

   Radiology, 2014

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   This study investigates whether dual-energy multidetector CT imaging with iodine quantification can distinguish between clear cell and papillary renal cell carcinoma subtypes.

2. Nonlinear Image Blending for Dual-Energy MDCT of the Abdomen: Can Image Quality Be Preserved If the Contrast Medium Dose Is Reduced?

   M. Alfaro-Córdoba and others

   American Journal of Roentgenology, 2014

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   This study compares the image quality of a dual-energy nonlinear image blending technique at reduced load of contrast medium with a simulated 120-kVp linear blending approach.