Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Comparison Of Academic Performance Measures Of Hsta Participants With Non-Hsta Participants: Is It Possible To Narrow The African American-White Achievement Gap?, Sherron Mckendall, Alan Mckendall, Ann Chester

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Historically, African American and other underserved students encounter academic challenges in pursuit of a college degree—one of which is their performance on standardized tests. This paper analyzes College Grade Point Averages (CGPAs), ACT Composite (ACTC), and SAT Total (SATT) scores of students who participated in the Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA), an out-of-school-time (OST) program, and Non-HSTA (NHSTA) students attending West Virginia University. Traditionally, OST programs provide academic enrichment to underserved youth to increase their chances for post-secondary entry and success. Two-Way Factorial ANOVA determined if HSTA participants performed better on academic measures than their NHSTA counterparts. The ANOVAs …

First Description Of Subglacial Megalineations From The Late Paleozoic Ice Age In Southern Africa., Graham Dm Andrews, Andrew T. Mcgrady, Shannon M. Maynard

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

We identify late Paleozoic ice age (LPIA) subglacial megalineations from field and geospatial imagery of the Twyfelfontein area of northern Namibia, and present the results of a geomorphometric analysis of those data. Asymmetric 0.1–1.5 km-long megawhalebacks indicate a paleo-ice flow to the northwest. We infer that an ice stream draining the LPIA Kaokoveld ice sheet existed within the proto-Huab River valley and that was comparable to ice streams in modern Antarctica. Recognition of a paleo-ice stream in northern Namibia supports interpretations of glaciogenic sedimentary successions (Itararé Group) in southern Brazil that suggest the presence of major, terrestrial glacial outlet systems …

Automated Polarization-Dependent Multidimensional Coherent Spectroscopy Phased Using Transient Absorption, J. K. Wahlstrand, G. M. Wernsing, J. Paul, A. D. Bristow

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

: An experimental apparatus is described for multidimensional optical spectroscopy with fully automated polarization control, based on liquid crystal variable retarders. Polarization dependence of rephasing two-dimensional coherent spectra are measured in a single scan, with absolute phasing performed for all polarization configurations through a single automated auxiliary measurement at the beginning of the scan. A factor of three improvement in acquisition time is demonstrated, compared to the apparatus without automated polarization control. Results are presented for a GaAs quantum well sample and an InGaAs quantum well embedded in a microcavity

Exploring The Structure Of Misconceptions In The Force Concept Inventory With Modified Module Analysis, James Wells, Rachel Henderson, John Stewart, Gay Stewart, Jie Yang, Adrienne Traxler

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Module analysis for multiple-choice responses (MAMCR) was applied to a large sample of Force Concept Inventory (FCI) pretest and post-test responses (Npre ¼ 4509 and Npost ¼ 4716) to replicate the results of the original MAMCR study and to understand the origins of the gender differences reported in a previous study of this dataset. When the results of MAMCR could not be replicated, a modification of the method was introduced, modified module analysis (MMA). MMA was productive in understanding the structure of the incorrect answers in the FCI, identifying 9 groups of incorrect answers on the pretest and 11 groups …

Attractive Or Aggressive? A Face Recognition And Machine Learning Approach For Estimating Returns To Visual Appearance, Guodong Guo, Brad R. Humphreys, Mohammad I. Nouyed, Yang Zhou

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

A growing literature documents the presence of appearance premia in labor markets. We analyze appearance premia in a high-profile, high-pay setting: head football coaches at bigtime college sports programs. These employees face job tasks involving repeated interpersonal interaction on multiple fronts and also act as the “face” of their program. We estimate the attractiveness of each employee using a neural network approach, a pre-trained Convolutional Neural Network fine tuned for this application. This approach can eliminate biases induced by volunteer evaluators and limited numbers of photos. We also use this approach to estimate the perceived aggressiveness of each employee based …

Stock Returns And Investor Sentiment: Textual Analysis And Social Media, Zachary Mcgurk, Adam Nowak, Joshua C. Hall

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

The behavioral finance literature has found that investor sentiment has predictive ability for equity returns. This differs from standard finance theory, which provides no role for investor sentiment. We examine the relationship between investor sentiment and stock returns by employing textual analysis on social media posts. We find that our investor sentiment measure has a positive and significant effect on abnormal stock returns. These findings are consistent across a number of different models and specifications, providing further evidence against non-behavioral theories.

Comparison Of Long-Term Survival Of Patients With Early-Stage Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer After Surgery Vs Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy, Alexander Chi, Wei Fang, Yeping Sun, Sinjin Wen

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

IMPORTANCE Previous comparisons of surgery and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for early-stage (ES) non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) did not account for the extent of regional lymph node examination (LNE) during surgery. OBJECTIVE To compare long-term overall survival (OS) of patients with ES NSCLC after surgery vs SBRT when the extent of regional LNE in patients undergoing surgery is thoroughly considered. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Cohort study with survival comparisons using the multivariable Cox proportional hazards model and after propensity score matching. Data from the National Cancer Database were analyzed from October 28, 2018, through April 18, 2019. Patients with …

Gwtc-1: A Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog Of Compact Binary Mergers Observed By Ligo And Virgo During The First And Second Observing Runs, B. P. Abbott

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

We present the results from three gravitational-wave searches for coalescing compact binaries with component masses above 1 M⊙ during the first and second observing runs of the advanced gravitationalwave detector network. During the first observing run (O1), from September 12, 2015 to January 19, 2016, gravitational waves from three binary black hole mergers were detected. The second observing run (O2), which ran from November 30, 2016 to August 25, 2017, saw the first detection of gravitational waves from a binary neutron star inspiral, in addition to the observation of gravitational waves from a total of seven binary black hole mergers, …

Reply To: “On The Understanding Of Current-Induced Spin Polarization Of Three-Dimensional Topological Insulators”, C. H. Li, O. M. J. Van ‘T Erve, S. Rajput, L. Li, B. T. Jonker

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A Novel Cooperative Distributed Secondary Controller For Vsi And Pq Inverters Of Ac Microgrids, F. Doost Mohammadi, H. Keshtkar, A. Dehghan Banadaki, A. Feliachi

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This paper proposes a novel cooperative secondary control strategy for microgrids which is fully distributed. There is a two-layered coordination, which exists between inverter based DGs of both types, i.e. Voltage Source Inverter (VSI) and Current Source Inverter (CSI), also called PQ inverter. In first layer of the proposed two-layered cooperative control strategy, VSIs will take care of the primary average voltage regulation by implementing the average consensus algorithm (ACA); then in the second layer of control, the PQ inverters will improve the voltage quality of the microgrid while maintaining the average voltage of buses at the same desired level. …

Electrical Detection Of Current Generated Spin In Topological Insulator Surface States: Role Of Interface Resistance, C. H. Li, O. M. J. Van ‘T Erve, C. Yan, L. Li., B. T. Jonker

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Current generated spin polarization in topological insulator (TI) surface states due to spin-momentum locking has been detected recently using ferromagnet/tunnel barrier contacts, where the projection of the TI spin onto the magnetization of the ferromagnet is measured as a voltage. However, opposing signs of the spin voltage have been reported, which had been tentatively attributed to the coexistence of trivial two-dimensional electron gas states on the TI surface which may exhibit opposite currentinduced polarization than that of the TI Dirac surface states. Models based on electrochemical potential have been presented to determine the sign of the spin voltage expected for …

Protoconch Enlargement In Western Atlantic Turritelline Gastropod Species Following The Closure Of The Central American Seaway, Stephanie Sang, Dana Suzanne Friend, Warren Douglas Allmon, Brendan Matthew Anderson

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Abstract The closure of the late Neogene interoceanic seaways between the Western Atlantic (WA) and Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP)—commonly referred to as the Central American Seaway—significantly decreased nutrient supply in the WA compared to the TEP. In marine invertebrates, an increase in parental investment is expected to be selectively favored in nutrient‐poor marine environments as prolonged feeding in the plankton becomes less reliable. Here, we examine turritelline gastropods, which were abundant and diverse across this region during the Neogene and serve as important paleoenvironmental proxies, and test whether species exhibit decreased planktotro‐ phy in the WA postclosure as compared to …

Fib-Sem Three-Dimensional Tomography For Characterization Of Carbon-Based Materials, Nan Nan, Jingxin Wang

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

A review on the recent advances of the three-dimensional (3D) characterization of carbon-based materials was conducted by focused ion beam-scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) tomography. Current studies and further potential applications of the FIB-SEM 3D tomography technique for carbon-based materials were discussed. The goal of this paper is to highlight the advances of FIB-SEM 3D reconstruction to reveal the high and accurate resolution of internal structures of carbon-based materials and provide suggestions for the adoption and improvement of the FIB-SEM tomography system for a broad carbon-based research to achieve the best examination performances and enhance the development of innovative carbon-based materials.

Beneath The Gypsum Dunes: Cenozoic History Of Wind And Water From A Core Drilled At White Sands, New Mexico, Jackson Bentley Jakeway

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

White Sands, New Mexico is the largest gypsum dune field on planet Earth, the result of reworking of gypsum deposits. The dunes have been well studied, but the Cenozoic history preceding the formation of the dune field has been poorly studied. A core drilled to a depth of 192 ft (58.5 m) beneath the modern dune field contains deposits from saline lakes, sandflats, perennial freshwater lakes, perennial brackish to saline lakes, and saline mudflats.

The core is composed of bottom-growth bedded gypsum, gypsum sandstone and siltstone, mixed siliciclastic-gypsum sandstones and siltstones, laminated siliciclastic mudstones, gypsum mudstones, and carbonate mudstones. Bottom-growth …

Photoluminescent Zirconium Complexes For Visible Light Photoredox Catalysis, Yu Zhang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Early transition metals like zirconium are attractive candidates for the design of luminescent molecules based on earth-abundant elements. Here, a series of zirconium complexes carrying two pyrrolyl-based ligands have been synthesized and characterized. These complexes are photoluminescent upon excitation with visible light and exhibit remarkably long emission lifetimes of hundreds of μs in solution at room temperature. Computational studies using time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) were conducted to identify the nature of the luminescent excited states as mixed intra-ligand/ligand-to-metal charge-transfer (ILCT/LMCT) states. The electrochemistry studies revealed multiple reversible redox events for each zirconium complex. Furthermore, the excited state of the …

Peatlands And Histosols In Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, West Virginia, Mitzy Leigh Schaney

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Canaan Valley in West Virginia contains a greater area of peatlands than any other locality in the mid-Atlantic Highlands. Extensive fieldwork focused on peat stratigraphy and pedology, combined with high-resolution radiocarbon dating, was used to evaluate five peatlands within Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge (CVNWR) in the central Appalachian Mountains. One hundred soil cores were profiled and described, 30 with laboratory data, including 52 radiocarbon dates. Calibrated basal peat dates among the five mapped peatlands indicate a late Pleistocene timeframe for the onset of peat genesis, ranging from ~18,600 to ~15,200 cal yr BP. The dates for peat initiation are …

Application Of Global Search Methods To Materials Prediction And Design, Adam J. Payne

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Due to increased availability and power of computational resources over the past few decades, prediction and design of novel materials using computational methods has become feasible. Simulation of material systems has become vital to the further realization of novel material systems. In order to ascertain physical properties, accurate determination and identification of stable crystalline structures is necessary. Additionally, further identification of novel properties, such as magnetic moments or orbital occupation, is necessary to further realize this goal. Global search methods provide a path to accurate prediction of these properties. In this dissertation, the Firefly algorithm and minima hopping methods are …

Compound-Specific Isotope Analysis Of Amino Acids In Biological Tissues: Applications In Forensic Entomology, Food Authentication And Soft-Biometrics In Humans, Mayara Patricia Viana De Matos

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In this work we demonstrate the power of compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) to analyze proteinaceous biological materials in three distinct forensic applications, including: 1) linking necrophagous blow flies in different life stages to their primary carrion diet; 2) identifying the harvesting area of oysters for food authentication purposes; and 3) the ability to predict biometric traits about humans from their hair.

In the first application, we measured the amino-acid-level fractionation that occurs at each major life stage of Calliphora vicina (Robineau-Desvoidy) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) blow flies. Adult blow flies oviposited on raw pork muscle, beef muscle, or chicken liver. Larvae, pupae …

Modeling Movement Of Criminals Through Burglary Scenes, Veronica L. Herrmann

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Physical evidence plays a large role in the criminal justice system and in crime scene reconstruction. The purpose of evidence is to assist in connecting a person or persons to an incidence, which helps crime scene investigators in reconstructing the events that occurred at the crime scene. This concept is mainly based off Locard's Exchange Principle, which states that there is always an association between an offender and evidence. However, without patent evidence to lead the investigators to a possible route at the scene, determining the movements taken during the commission at a scene is needed.

Engineers have used simulations …

Multidimensional Item Response Theory And The Conceptual Survey Of Electricity And Magnetism, Cabot Zabriskie, John Stewart

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Quantitative Methods in PER: A Critical Examination.] While many studies have examined the structure, validity, and reliability of the Force Concept Inventory, far less research has been performed on other conceptual instruments in widespread use in physics education research. This study performs a confirmatory analysis of the Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM) guided by a theoretical model of expert understanding of electricity and magnetism. Multidimensional Item Response Theory (MIRT) with the discrimination matrix constrained to the theoretical model was used to investigate two large datasets (N1=2014 and N2=2657) from …

Large-Area, High Spatial Resolution Land Cover Mapping Using Random Forests, Geobia, And Naip Orthophotography: Findings And Recommendations, Aaron E. Maxwell, Michael P. Strager, Timothy A. Warner, Christopher A. Ramezan, Alice N. Morgan, Cameron E. Pauley

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Despite the need for quality land cover information, large-area, high spatial resolution land cover mapping has proven to be a difficult task for a variety of reasons including large data volumes, complexity of developing training and validation datasets, data availability, and heterogeneity in data and landscape conditions. We investigate the use of geographic object-based image analysis (GEOBIA), random forest (RF) machine learning, and National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) orthophotography for mapping general land cover across the entire state of West Virginia, USA, an area of roughly 62,000 km2. We obtained an overall accuracy of 96.7% and a Kappa statistic of …

Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga Cerulea) And Associated Species Response To Operational Silviculture In The Central Appalachian Region, Gretchen Emily Nareff

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In this study, I assessed the response of Cerulean Warblers (Setophaga cerulea) and 5 additional songbird species to timber harvests prescribed through operational silviculture. The research took place in relatively contiguous mature deciduous forests in 4 states in the central Appalachian region—Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, USA.

For the first part of the study, I collected Cerulean Warbler abundance and territory data through point counts and territory mapping, respectively. I used the point count data to model Cerulean Warbler abundance pre- and post-harvest at 5 study areas (Kentucky [n=1], Virginia [n=2], West Virginia [n=2]) and post-harvest at …

How To Search For Life In Martian Chemical Sediments And Their Fluid And Solid Inclusions Using Petrographic And Spectroscopic Methods, Kathleen C. Benison

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Abundant resources and efforts have been employed in the search for life on Mars. Satellites, landers, and rovers have tested atmospheric gases, general sediment and rock compositions, and images of Mars surface in an effort to detect biosignatures left by any possible modern or ancient life. Chloride and sulfate minerals suggestive of past acid saline lakes have been found on Mars. In terrestrial acid brine environments, these minerals trap microorganisms and organic compounds and preserve them within fluid inclusions and as solid inclusions for long geologic time periods. Some cells remain viable, especially in the isolated, microscopic aqueous environments of …

Electrochemical Detection Of Fentanyl Using Screen-Printed Carbon Electrodes With Confirmatory Analysis Of Fentanyl And Its Analogs In Oral Fluid Using Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry, Colby E. Ott

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Utilizing screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs), a fast, simple, and sensitive approach toward the detection, identification, and quasi-quantitation of fentanyl was achieved both in an electrochemical cell and as a drop on the electrode surface. Electro-oxidation of fentanyl at the electrode was demonstrated using adsorptive stripping square-wave voltammetry between -0.5 V and +1.6 V with 100 mM Tris-HCl buffer at pH 8.5 as supporting electrolyte. Parameter optimization was conducted during method development to include supporting electrolyte and pH, electrochemical technique, pre-treatment and equilibration time, and various surface modifications. The simplest method utilizing an unmodified SPCE was determined to be appropriate for …

Exploring The Diffuse Neutral Hydrogen In And Around Nearby Galaxies, Amy Sardone

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

We explore the environment of 36 nearby galaxies in neutral hydrogen (H I) as part of the MeerKAT H I Observations of Nearby Galactic Objects; Observing Southern Emitters (MHONGOOSE) survey with the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT), and the Imaging Galaxies Intergalactic and Nearby En- vironment (IMAGINE) survey with the Parkes Radio Telescope. We obtained deep observations of each of these galaxies, reaching column density detection sensitivities as low as NHI ∼ 1e17 cm^−2, which allowed us to quantify the amount of diffuse H I in both samples of galaxies. This allows us to search for evidence of …

Browsing Via Sonification, Taylor C. Cutlip

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Based on unexpected results in her previous research, Dr. Frances Van Scoy became inspired to develop a tool that allows the user to navigate spaces using auditory instead of visual cues to detect objects or anomalies in a given space in an effort to overcome the encountered obstacles. This problem report details the work of one of her grad students in exploring different open source software for developing the tool as well as research into gestures and other considerations when furthering this research into the third dimension at a future date.

Autonomous Systems With Reuse: A Survey On The State-Of-The-Practice, Denny Laverne Hood Iii

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This problem report presents the results of an anonymous online survey that was used to collect information about software systems that use model-based software engineering, contain autonomy and where software reuse plays an important role. Recent advancements in computation ability and the emergence of decision-making algorithms have increased interest in and use of autonomy in applications areas such as aeronautics, automotive, military, and space industries. In these application domains, autonomy is used to reduce costs, reduce reaction times, and improve performance. Due to the emerging nature of autonomy, very little research has been done regarding the level of autonomy of …

Three Essays On Water Economics, Fahad Alzahrani

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This dissertation consists of three essays that explore the impacts of changes in public water quality, reliability, and raw water source. The first essay explores the relationship between episodes of contaminated drinking water and health care expenditures in the United States. Using panel data from 48 contiguous states from 2000 to 2011 and spatial econometrics modeling methods, the results indicate that there is positive and statistically significant impact on per capita health care expenditures from the percentage of a state’s population exposed to contamination episodes. The second essay examines the problem of water supply reliability due to aging infrastructure of …

X-Ray Fluorescence Applications In Mudrock Characterization: Investigations Into Middle Devonian Stratigraphy, Appalachian Basin, Usa, Keithan Garrett Martin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Mudrocks are characterized by nanometer-scale pore sizes and nano-darcy permeability, which plays a significant role in hydrocarbon flow during production. Resulting from these characteristics, mudrocks were exclusively considered a source rock, which charged overlying, more porous mediums. Hydraulic fracturing, a technology used to create artificial fractures to liberate hydrocarbons from the reservoir, enabled natural gas to be produced from mudrock reservoirs economically. Over the last fifteen years, this technology motivated research efforts to understand reservoir characteristics of mudrock. These investigations significantly improved our knowledge of mudrock systems, but have also highlighted key areas that are undeveloped and/or where conflicting hypotheses …

Deep Learning For Image Restoration And Robotic Vision, Yixin Du

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Traditional model-based approach requires the formulation of mathematical model, and the model often has limited performance. The quality of an image may degrade due to a variety of reasons: It could be the context of scene is affected by weather conditions such as haze, rain, and snow; It's also possible that there is some noise generated during image processing/transmission (e.g., artifacts generated during compression.). The goal of image restoration is to restore the image back to desirable quality both subjectively and objectively. Agricultural robotics is gaining interest these days since most agricultural works are lengthy and repetitive. Computer vision is …