Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Dach1 Mutation Frequency In Endometrial Cancer Is Associated With High Tumor Mutation Burden, Mckayla J. Riggs, Nan Lin, Chi Wang, Dava W. Piecoro, Rachel W. Miller, Oliver A. Hampton, Mahadev Rao, Frederick R. Ueland, Jill M. Kolesar

Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: DACH1 is a transcriptional repressor and tumor suppressor gene frequently mutated in melanoma, bladder, and prostate cancer. Loss of DACH1 expression is associated with poor prognostic features and reduced overall survival in uterine cancer. In this study, we utilized the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN) Avatar database to determine the frequency of DACH1 mutations in patients with endometrial cancer in our Kentucky population.

METHODS: We obtained clinical and genomic data for 65 patients with endometrial cancer from the Markey Cancer Center (MCC). We examined the clinical attributes of the cancers by DACH1 status by comparing whole-exome sequencing (WES), …

Medical Marijuana And Opioids (Memo) Study: Protocol Of A Longitudinal Cohort Study To Examine If Medical Cannabis Reduces Opioid Use Among Adults With Chronic Pain, Chinazo O. Cunningham, Joanna L. Starrels, Chenshu Zhang, Marcus A. Bachhuber, Nancy L. Sohler, Frances R. Levin, Haruka Minami, Deepika E. Slawek, Julia H. Arnsten

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Introduction In the USA, opioid analgesic use and overdoses have increased dramatically. One rapidly expanding strategy to manage chronic pain in the context of this epidemic is medical cannabis. Cannabis has analgesic effects, but it also has potential adverse effects. Further, its impact on opioid analgesic use is not well studied. Managing pain in people living with HIV is particularly challenging, given the high prevalence of opioid analgesic and cannabis use. This study's overarching goal is to understand how medical cannabis use affects opioid analgesic use, with attention to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol content, HIV outcomes and adverse events. Methods and …

The Family Of Bicircular Matroids Closed Under Duality, Vaidy Sivaraman, Daniel Slilaty

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

We characterize the 3-connected members of the intersection of the class of bicircular and cobi- circular matroids. Aside from some exceptional matroids with rank and corank at most 5, this class consists of just the free swirls and their minors.

Analysis And Implementation Of The Maximum Likelihood Expectation Maximization Algorithm For Find, Angus Boyd Jameson

Student Research Projects

This thesis presents an organized explanation and breakdown of the Maximum Likelihood Expectation Maximization image reconstruction algorithm. This background research was used to develop a means of implementing the algorithm into the imaging code for UNH's Field Deployable Imaging Neutron Detector to improve its ability to resolve complex neutron sources. This thesis provides an overview for this implementation scheme, and include the results of a couple of reconstruction tests for the algorithm. A discussion is given on the current state of the algorithm and its integration with the neutron detector system, and suggestions are given for how the work and …

A Spectral Adjustment For Spatial Confounding, Yawen Guan, Garritt L. Page, Brian J. Reich, Massimo Ventrucci, Shu Yang

Department of Statistics: Faculty Publications

Adjusting for an unmeasured confounder is generally an intractable problem, but in the spatial setting it may be possible under certain conditions. In this paper, we derive necessary conditions on the coherence between the treatment variable of interest and the unmeasured confounder that ensure the causal effect of the treatment is estimable. We specify our model and assumptions in the spectral domain to allow for different degrees of confounding at different spatial resolutions. The key assumption that ensures identifiability is that confounding present at global scales dissipates at local scales. We show that this assumption in the spectral domain is …

Adaptive Ensemble Of Classifiers With Regularization For Imbalanced Data Classification, Chen Wang, Chengyuan Deng, Zhoulu Yu, Dafeng Hui, Xiaofeng Gong, Ruisen Luo

Biology Faculty Research

The dynamic ensemble selection of classifiers is an effective approach for processing label-imbalanced data classifications. However, such a technique is prone to overfitting, owing to the lack of regularization methods and the dependence on local geometry of data. In this study, focusing on binary imbalanced data classification, a novel dynamic ensemble method, namely adaptive ensemble of classifiers with regularization (AER), is proposed, to overcome the stated limitations. The method solves the overfitting problem through a new perspective of implicit regularization. Specifically, it leverages the properties of stochastic gradient descent to obtain the solution with the minimum norm, thereby achieving regularization; …

Exponential And Hypoexponential Distributions: Some Characterizations, George Yanev

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The (general) hypoexponential distribution is the distribution of a sum of independent exponential random variables. We consider the particular case when the involved exponential variables have distinct rate parameters. We prove that the following converse result is true. If for some n ≥ 2, X1, X2, . . . , Xn are independent copies of a random variable X with unknown distribution F and a specific linear combination of Xj ’s has hypoexponential distribution, then F is exponential. Thus, we obtain new characterizations of the exponential distribution. As corollaries of the main results, we extend some previous characterizations established recently …

The Local Stability Of A Modified Multi-Strain Sir Model For Emerging Viral Strains, Miguel Fudolig, Reka Howard

Department of Statistics: Faculty Publications

We study a novel multi-strain SIR epidemic model with selective immunity by vaccination. A newer strain is made to emerge in the population when a preexisting strain has reached equilbrium. We assume that this newer strain does not exhibit cross-immunity with the original strain, hence those who are vaccinated and recovered from the original strain become susceptible to the newer strain. Recent events involving the COVID-19 virus shows that it is possible for a viral strain to emerge from a population at a time when the influenza virus, a well-known virus with a vaccine readily available, is active in a …

Can Statcast Variables Explain The Variation In Weighted Runs Created Plus?, Ryan Kupiec

Student Research

The release of Statcast data in 2015 was revolutionary for data analysis in the game of baseball. Many analysts have begun using this data regularly, but none have used it exclusively. Often older, less reliable statistics (on-base percentage) are still used in favor of the newer statistics (weighted runs created plus). In this paper, we attempt to explain the variation in weighted runs created plus (wRC+) using Statcast variables such as exit velocity and launch angle. We find that exit velocity along with other Statcast variables, can explain as much as 70% of the variation in wRC+. Launch angle can …

The Effect Of Area Deprivation On Covid-19 Risk In Louisiana, K. C. Madhav, Evrim Oral, Susanne Straif-Bourgeois, Ariane L. Rung, Edward S. Peters

School of Public Health Faculty Publications

Background Louisiana in the summer of 2020 had the highest per capita case count for COVID-19 in the United States and COVID-19 deaths disproportionately affects the African American population. Neighborhood deprivation has been observed to be associated with poorer health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between neighborhood deprivation and COVID-19 in Louisiana. Methods The Area Deprivation Index (ADI) was calculated and used to classify neighborhood deprivation at the census tract level. A total of 17 US census variables were used to calculate the ADI for each of the 1148 census tracts in Louisiana. The …

Cellphone Laws And Teens' Calling While Driving: Analysis Of Repeated Cross-Sectional Surveys In 2013, 2015, 2017, And 2019, Li Li, Caitlin N. Pope, Rebecca R. Andridge, Julie K. Bower, Guoqing Hu, Motao Zhu

Graduate Center for Gerontology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Distracted driving among teens is a public health and safety concern. Most states in the U.S. have sought to restrict cellphone use while driving by enacting laws. This study examines the difference in prevalence of self-reported calling while driving (CWD) between states with different cellphone bans.

METHODS: Demographics and CWD data were extracted from state Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS) from 14 states in 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019. The state YRBS is conducted every 2 years with a representative sample of 9th through 12th grade students attending public school. States were grouped by type of cellphone law(s): no …

Principal Component Analysis For Predicting The Party Of The Legislators, Afsana Mimi

Publications and Research

In Spring 2020, I did a project, "Decision Tree Predicting the Party of Legislators," and construct a decision tree model to predict legislators' parties' based on their votes. We also use this model to identify legislators who frequently voted against their parties. We used the legislators' roll call votes, Office of Clerk U.S. House of Representatives Data Sets (Categorical values) collected in 2018 and 2019. In this new project, We study the 2018 and 2019 vote data using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The goal is to find a (compressed) model using unsupervised learning to distinguish the legislators' parties, and PCA …

A Brief On Optimal Transport, Austin G. Vandegriffe

Graduate Student Research & Creative Works

Optimal transport is an interesting and exciting application of measure theory to optimization and analysis. In the following, I will bring you through a detailed treatment of random variable couplings, transport plans, basic properties of transport plans, and finishing with the Wasserstein distance on spaces of probability measures with compact support. No detail is left out in this presentation, but some results have further generality and more intricate consequences when tools like measure disintegration are used. But this is left for future work.

A Brief On Characteristic Functions, Austin G. Vandegriffe

Graduate Student Research & Creative Works

Characteristic functions (CFs) are often used in problems involving convergence in distribution, independence of random variables, infinitely divisible distributions, and stochastics. The most famous use of characteristic functions is in the proof of the Central Limit Theorem, also known as the Fundamental Theorem of Statistics. Though less frequent, CFs have also been used in problems of nonparametric time series analysis and in machine learning. Moreover, CFs uniquely determine their distribution, much like the moment generating functions (MGFs), but the major difference is that CFs always exists, whereas MGFs can fail, e.g. the Cauchy distribution. This makes CFs more robust in …

Uganda As A Role Model For Pandemic Containment In Africa, Ahmed M. Sarki, Alex Ezeh, Saverio Stranges

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

No abstract provided.

Development Of A Statistical Model To Predict Materials’ Unit Prices For Future Maintenance And Rehabilitation In Highway Life Cycle Cost Analysis, Changmo Kim, Ghazan Khan, Brent Nguyen, Emily L. Hoang

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

The main objectives of this study are to investigate the trends in primary pavement materials’ unit price over time and to develop statistical models and guidelines for using predictive unit prices of pavement materials instead of uniform unit prices in life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) for future maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) projects. Various socio-economic data were collected for the past 20 years (1997–2018) in California, including oil price, population, government expenditure in transportation, vehicle registration, and other key variables, in order to identify factors affecting pavement materials’ unit price. Additionally, the unit price records of the popular pavement materials were …

Participatory Video As A Novel Recovery-Oriented Intervention In Early Psychosis: A Pilot Study., Arlene G Macdougall, Sahana Kukan, Elizabeth Price, Sarah Glen, Richelle Bird, Laura Powe, Joshua C. Wiener, Paul H Lysaker, Kelly K Anderson, Ross Mg Norman

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

BACKGROUND: Personal narrative plays an important role in the process of recovery from psychotic illnesses. Participatory video is a novel, active intervention that can be used as a tool for fostering narrative development among people with psychosis.

AIM: To assess the feasibility, acceptability and potential clinical utility of participatory video as an innovative tool for promoting recovery in early psychosis.

METHODS: Ten outpatients of an early psychosis intervention programme were recruited to participate in 13 biweekly workshops to plan, film and produce documentary-style videos of their experiences. Feasibility was measured through recruitment and retention. Acceptability was measured through workshop attendance …

The Impact Of The Diabetes Management Incentive On Diabetes-Related Services: Evidence From Ontario, Canada., Thaksha Thavam, Rose Anne Devlin, Amardeep Thind, Gregory S Zaric, Sisira Sarma

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

Financial incentives have been introduced in several countries to improve diabetes management. In Ontario, the most populous province in Canada, a Diabetes Management Incentive (DMI) was introduced to family physicians practicing in patient enrollment models in 2006. This paper examines the impact of the DMI on diabetes-related services provided to individuals with diabetes in Ontario. Longitudinal health administrative data were obtained for adults diagnosed with diabetes and their family physicians. The study population consisted of two groups: DMI group (patients enrolled with a family physician exposed to DMI for 3 years), and comparison group (patients affiliated with a family physician …

Creating Optimal Conditions For Reproducible Data Analysis In R With ‘Fertile’, Audrey M. Bertin, Benjamin Baumer

Statistical and Data Sciences: Faculty Publications

The advancement of scientific knowledge increasingly depends on ensuring that data-driven research is reproducible: that two people with the same data obtain the same results. However, while the necessity of reproducibility is clear, there are significant behavioral and technical challenges that impede its widespread implementation and no clear consensus on standards of what constitutes reproducibility in published research. We present fertile, an R package that focuses on a series of common mistakes programmers make while conducting data science projects in R, primarily through the RStudio integrated development environment. fertile operates in two modes: proactively, to prevent reproducibility mistakes from happening …

A Posteriori Error Estimates For Elliptic Eigenvalue Problems Using Auxiliary Subspace Techniques, Stefano Giani, Luka Grubišić, Harri Hakula, Jeffrey S. Ovall

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We propose an a posteriori error estimator for high-order p- or hp-finite element discretizations of selfadjoint linear elliptic eigenvalue problems that is appropriate for estimating the error in the approximation of an eigenvalue cluster and the corresponding invariant subspace. The estimator is based on the computation of approximate error functions in a space that complements the one in which the approximate eigenvectors were computed. These error functions are used to construct estimates of collective measures of error, such as the Hausdorff distance between the true and approximate clusters of eigenvalues, and the subspace gap between the corresponding true and approximate …

Evidence Of Nickel And Other Trace Elements And Their Relationship To Clinical Findings In Acute Mesoamerican Nephropathy: A Case-Control Analysis, Rebecca S. B. Fischer, Jason M. Unrine, Chandan Vangala, Wayne T. Sanderson, Sreedhar Mandayam, Kristy O. Murray

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Although there are several hypothesized etiologies of Mesoamerican Nephropathy (MeN), evidence has not yet pointed to the underlying cause. Exposure to various trace elements can cause the clinical features observed in MeN.

METHODS AND FINDINGS: We measured 15 trace elements, including heavy metals, in renal case-patients (n = 18) and healthy controls (n = 36) in a MeN high-risk region of Nicaragua. Toenails clippings from study participants were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. A case-control analysis was performed, and concentrations were also analyzed over participant characteristics and clinical parameters. Nickel (Ni) concentrations were significantly higher in toenails …

New Proper Orthogonal Decomposition Approximation Theory For Pde Solution Data, Sarah Locke, John R. Singler

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

In our previous work [J. R. Singler, SIAM J. Numer. Anal., 52 (2014), pp. 852- 876], we considered the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) of time varying PDE solution data taking values in two different Hilbert spaces. We considered various POD projections of the data and obtained new results concerning POD projection errors and error bounds for POD reduced order models of PDEs. In this work, we improve on our earlier results concerning POD projections by extending to a more general framework that allows for nonorthogonal POD projections and seminorms. We obtain new exact error formulas and convergence results for POD …

Profile Of Volatile Organic Compounds (Vocs) From Cold-Processed And Heat-Treated Virgin Coconut Oil (Vco) Samples, Ian Ken D. Dimzon, Grace B. Tantengco, Noel A. Oquendo, Fabian M. Dayrit

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Virgin coconut oil (VCO) can be prepared with or without heat. Fermentation and centrifuge processes can be done without the use of heat (cold process), while expelling involves heat due to friction. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from VCO samples prepared using these three methods were collected using solid phase microextraction (SPME) and analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Twenty-seven VCO samples from nine VCO producers were analyzed. The VOCs from refined, bleached, and deodorized coconut oil (RBDCO) were also obtained for comparison. Fourteen compounds were found to be common in more than 80% of the VCO samples analyzed. These included: …

Statistical Modeling Of Private Sector Participation In Disaster Risk Reduction Data, Wupeng Yin

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The impacts of disaster on the private sector are inevitable, but their risks can be managed and reduced by preventively evaluative measures. Disaster risk reduction index (DRRI) and Disaster Experience (DE) variables were investigated in a survey study in six Western Hemisphere cities within the private sector of various business sizes. Our thesis built and evaluated 16 predictive models of DRRI with 36 categorical predictors and N = 1162 observations. Four statistical methods for linear regression and five for classification as well as seven machine learning methods were utilized. We also used stepwise selection and regulation methods for variable selection. …

Development Of A Dna Methylation Multiplex Assay For Body Fluid Identification And Age Determination, Quentin Gauthier

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For forensic laboratories, the determination of body fluid origin of samples collected at a crime scene are typically presumptive and often destructive. However, given that in certain cases the presence of DNA is not in dispute and rather where the DNA came from is of primary concern, new methodologies are needed. Epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation, affect gene expression in every cell of every mammal. These DNA methylation patterns typically are observed as the addition of a methyl group on the 5’ carbon of a cytosine followed by guanine (CpG). Methylation patterns have been observed to change in response …

Implementation And Sustainment Of A Statewide Telemedicine Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Network For Federally Designated Safety-Net Clinics, Ana Bastos De Carvalho, S. Lee Ware, Feitong Lei, Heather M. Bush, Robert Sprang, Eric B. Higgins

Ophthalmology and Visual Science Faculty Publications

CONTEXT: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of incident blindness among working-age adults in the United States. Federally designated safety-net clinics (FDSC) often serve as point-of-contact for patients least likely to receive recommended DR screenings, creating opportunity for targeted interventions to increase screening access and compliance.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: With such a goal, we implemented and assessed the longitudinal performance of an FDSC-based telemedicine DR screening (TDRS) network of 22 clinical sites providing nonmydriatic fundus photography with remote interpretation and reporting. Retrospective analysis of patient encounters between February 2014 and January 2019 was performed to assess rates of …

Blood Pressure Monitoring Following Individual Carpules Of Anesthetic Utilizing Computer-Controlled Anesthetic Delivery, Kristi M. Soileau, Adam E. Degenova, Qingzhao Yu

School of Dentistry Faculty Publications

To date, no study has evaluated blood pressure following administration of each carpule given for dental procedures using a computerized dental anesthesia system. Blood pressures taken prior to performing invasive periodontal procedures were compared with those readings measured following delivery of each of up to three consecutive carpules of Marcaine or Xylocaine in varying order. Pressure differences were also adjusted for age, sex, race, and whether a prescribed anxiolytic was taken beforehand. Neither systolic nor diastolic blood pressures changed significantly as compared to initial blood pressure readings. However, compared with Whites, Hispanics, and Middle Easterners, Blacks had significantly higher systolic …

A Natural Frenet Frame For Null Curves On The Lightlike Cone In Minkowski Space ℝ⁴₂, Nemat Abazari, Martin Bohner, Ilgin Sağer, Alireza Sedaghatdoost, Yusuf Yayli

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, we investigate the representation of curves on the lightlike cone ℚ³₂ in Minkowski space ℝ⁴₂ by structure functions. In addition, with this representation, we classify all of the null curves on the lightlike cone ℚ³₂ in four types, and we obtain a natural Frenet frame for these null curves. Furthermore, for this natural Frenet frame, we calculate curvature functions of a null curve, especially the curvature function κ₂ = 0 , and we show that any null curve on the lightlike cone is a helix. Finally, we find all curves with constant curvature functions.

Analyzing Yankees And Red Sox Sentiment Over The Course Of A Season, Connor Koch

Honors Projects in Data Science

This paper investigates data collected on twitter which references the Yankees or Red Sox during the 2020 Major League Baseball (MLB) season. The objective is to analyze the sentiment of tweets referencing the Yankees and Red Sox over the course of the season. In addition, an investigation of the networks within the data and the topics that were prevalent will be conducted. The 2020 MLB season was started late because of the COVID-19 pandemic and was a season like no other. The expectation of a dataset revolving around baseball is that the topics discussed would be about baseball. The findings …

Extreme Events And Emergency Scales, Veniamin Smirnov, Zhuanzhuan Ma, Dimitri Volchenkov

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

An event is extreme if its magnitude exceeds the threshold. A choice of a threshold is subject to uncertainty caused by a method, the size of available data, a hypothesis on statistics, etc. We assess the degree of uncertainty by the Shannon's entropy calculated on the probability that the threshold changes at any given time. If the amount of data is not sufficient, an observer is in the state of Lewis Carroll's Red Queen who said "When you say hill, I could show you hills, in comparison with which you'd call that a valley". If we have enough data, the …