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The Interwoven Dynamics Of Climate, Fire, Resilience And Orangutan Survival In Central Kalimantan’S Peat Swamp Forest, Putu Pujiantari

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Tropical peat swamp forests are globally significant carbon reservoirs and biodiversity strongholds, yet they face escalating threats from climate change, fire, and anthropogenic disturbances. This dissertation investigates the interwoven dynamics of climate, fire, forest resilience, and orangutan survival in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, a region which was transformed by the failed Mega Rice Project and recurrent catastrophic wildfires for decades. Using a multi-scale approach that integrates remote sensing time-series analysis (2001–2024),nlandscape-scale disturbance mapping (2005–2025), and fine-scale movement ecology, this research tests three core hypotheses: (1) moisture availability is the dominant climatic driver of wildfire activity, operating through non-linear thresholds; (2) post-fire …

Beyond Semantic Matching: Integrating Graph Structures, Boolean Logic, And Interactive Aggregation In Modern Retrieval, Quan Mai

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Modern Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Information Retrieval (IR) systems have achieved remarkable success in semantic understanding; however, they continue to struggle with complex logical reasoning, structural interactions, and dynamic aggregation. This dissertation presents a comprehensive framework to enhance the structural, logical, and interactive capabilities of language models and retrieval systems across four progressive studies. First, we address the challenge of modeling dynamic conversational logic in online debates. We introduce a Sequence Graph Network (SGN) that captures the temporal and interactive exchange of ideas—such as counterarguments and reinforcements—by updating node features sequentially through a novel Sequence Graph Attention (SGA) layer. …

Soil Moisture Regime Effects On Greenhouse Gas Emissions In A Native Tallgrass Prairie In The Ozark Highlands, Thomas William Dockery

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Ozark Highlands is an ecoregion in the mid-southern portion of the United States that is characterized by a mosaic of tallgrass prairies, oak (Quercus spp.) savannas, and oak-hickory (Carya spp.) forests, which represents a unique biophysical transition zone between the relatively dry grasslands of the west and the humid forests of the southeast. Quantifying greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, namely carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), from natural, undisturbed ecosystems is critical to understanding atmospheric warming and climate-change implications. The objective of this study was to simultaneously evaluate CO2, CH4, and N2O emissions in an aquic and …

Analysis Of Clinical Health Worker Notes With Explainable Artificial Intelligence For A Better Perspective In Preventing Readmission, Christopher Scott Klimp

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Emergency Department (ED) readmissions remain a major challenge for healthcare systems, affecting both patient care quality and financial costs. Most prediction models depend largely on structured data from clinical tools that assign points to a small set of predefined factors – such as comorbidities, previous hospital visits, and behaviors such as smoking and drinking – and then sum those points to produce an overall risk score. These point-based tools leave out important information from Social Determinants of Health and a wealth of information from Community Health Workers (Community health workers (CHWs), trusted members of a community who help connect people …

Interactive Distribution Visualizer, Manish Rami

Software

An interactive tool visualizing types of distribution. Viewers can morph between a bell curve, box plot, and cumulative frequency curve.

Spatiotemporal Sycophancy: Negation-Based Gaslighting In Video Large Language Models, Ziyao Tang, Pengkun Jiao, Bin Zhu, Huiyan Qi, Jingjing Chen, Yu-Gang Jiang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Video Large Language Models (Vid-LLMs) have demonstrated remarkable performance in video understanding tasks, yet their robustness under conversational interaction remains largely underexplored. In this paper, we identify spatiotemporal sycophancy, a failure mode in which Vid-LLMs retract initially correct, visually grounded judgments and conform to misleading user feedback under negation-based gaslighting. Rather than merely changing their answers, the models often fabricate unsupported temporal or spatial explanations to justify incorrect revisions. To systematically investigate this phenomenon, we propose a negation-based gaslighting evaluation framework and introduce GasVideo-1000, a curated benchmark designed to probe spatiotemporal sycophancy with clear visual grounding and temporal reasoning requirements. …

Idioma Tutor, Oralia Mijares

Systems Manuals - 2026

The Idioma Tutor was developed specifically for individuals who desire to learn English through a non-traditional approach, eLearning. Idioma Tutor is an interactive game designed to strengthen individual’s English language adaptation, using an individual-learner approach. The game uses immediate feedback to provide self-analysis for learners. It captivates users and applies best-practices in eLearning and game development to retain and fully engage learners. This system manual outlines provides detailed information for using the Idioma Tutor. This system will be used as a catalyst to support the success of individuals who desire to learn the English language in a fun and interactive …

An Emergent Seafood Nationalism Takes Hold In The United States, Owen Temby

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper introduces the concept of ‘seafood nationalism’ to describe how, since 2024–2025, the United States increasingly uses tariffs, trade remedies, food safety enforcement and origin-based rules to favour American seafood over foreign products. Federal actions include Executive Order 14276, Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness, which directs agencies to address unfair trade practices, unsafe imports and to develop a coordinated seafood trade strategy. Additional measures include a tariff package imposing a 10% duty on nearly all seafood imports and 30% on seafood from China, as well as new anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders on warm-water shrimp. This paper presents Gulf …

Improving Urban Search And Rescue Team Coordination Through Adaptive Context Awareness, Daniel Reyes Duran

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Modern multi-agent Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) operations heavily rely on mobile geospatial Common Operating Pictures (COPs) to maintain team coordination and Situational Awareness (SA). However, the proliferation of high-frequency sensor telemetry at the tactical edge has introduced a data saturation paradox challenge: while information theoretically drives informed decision-making, unmanaged data surges induce increased operator cognitive overload and alert fatigue on mobile End-User Devices (EUDs), while downstream data-broadcasting models inherently strain edge processing and viewport environments.

To resolve these constraints, this dissertation presents a context-aware Value of Information (VoI) data-management framework integrated directly with a custom, event-driven Android Team Awareness …

Univariate And Bivariate Binary Spatial Regression Models With Application To Plant Abundance Data, Amir Hamza Akash

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Analyzing species distributions is of prime interest in ecological research. Prevalence of a species usually depends on several environmental and topographic features not all of which can be quantified or measured. Spatial random effects play an important role as a surrogate for missing features that can explain similarity in species prevalence patterns between neighboring locations. In this thesis, we focus on a dataset on abundance of plants in the southern part of South Africa. First, we build a hierarchical Bayesian model for binary regression, using the probit link, on presence/ absence of a species based on available covariates. Since the …

Unmasking Twitter Bots: An Applied Machine Learning Approach, Rayane El Raba’A, Layal Abu Daher

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

The rapid growth of social networks has led to increased challenges, such as fraud, cyberbullying, and the spread of automated accounts (bots). Detecting anomalies within these networks is essential to maintaining security and trust. This study explored machine learning algorithms: Random Forest, XGBoost, Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Logistic Regression for anomaly detection in social networks, specifically focusing on Twitter bot identification, By applying AI-driven data mining techniques to a dataset of 37,438 Twitter bot accounts dataset, the research evaluates the effectiveness of these models in detecting unusual patterns. XGBoost achieved the highest accuracy (84.9%), with an ROA_AUC of 0.87, …

Generative Endurance Logic: An Axiomatic Framework For Reasoning About Outcome-Generating Objects Under Constraints, Hafiz Burhan Ul Haq, Muhammad Nauman Irshad

Neutrosophic Systems with Applications

This paper introduces Generative Endurance Logic (GEL), a formal framework for studying objects through the outcomes they can produce. In many cases, an object cannot be judged only by a fixed truth value, score, or utility value. A rule, model, action, or strategy may behave well in one situation but fail when the context changes or when small perturbations occur. GEL addresses this issue by treating each object as a generator of outcomes. Each object a is linked to a generation map Ga:X×Ω→Y, where X is the context space, Ω is the …

Modelling Of Dust Devil Flow Dynamics: Effects Of The Sharpness Parameter On Velocity And Pressure, Deepanshu Kumar, Hossein Jafari

Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Simulation with Applications

This work discusses the development of a straightforward model of dust devils, demonstrating a method for estimating wind speed and pressure. The current model incorporates momentum equations and the mass conservation equation for steady, axisymmetric, inviscid, and incompressible flow. In this model, the radial velocity is first considered, which is restricted in both the radial and axial directions. The sharpness parameter is also incorporated into the radial velocity formulation, as described by Vatistas model. Using the radial velocity as a foundation, we derive the azimuthal and axial velocities. The study further evaluates the pressure. Notably, for large values of the …

Dynamical Behavior, Extinction And Persistence In A Stochastic Delayed Two-Strain Epidemic Model With A Generalized Crowley-Martin Incidence Rate, Amina Allali, Dounia Bentaleb, Saida Amine

Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Simulation with Applications

This paper develops and analyzes a novel delayed stochastic SIR epidemic model with two interacting strains and general incidence functions. By establishing the existence and uniqueness of a positive global solution, the well-posedness of the model under stochastic perturbations is ensured. Extinction occurs when the stochastic reproduction number falls below unity, as demonstrated through Itô calculus and martingale convergence theorems, while persistence is guaranteed under the Crowley–Martin incidence when it exceeds one. Numerical experiments based on the Positive Preserving Truncated Euler–Maruyama (PPTEM) scheme confirm the analytical predictions and highlight the influence of time delay and noise intensity on the long-term …

An Interactive Multi-Objective Programming Approach For Optimizing Fully Trapezoidal Spherical Fuzzy Linear Programming Problem With Application, Sultan S. Alodhaibi, Hissah Ibrahim Almuzini, Hamiden Abd El-Wahed Khalifa

Neutrosophic Systems with Applications

In this paper, a linear programming framework with completely uncertain parameters is investigated by employing trapezoidal spherical fuzzy numbers (TrSFNs). The proposed formulation incorporates a spherical fuzzy (SF) decision environment in which the optimization process simultaneously maximizes the degree of positive membership while minimizing the corresponding neutral and negative membership degrees. By utilizing the concept of the α -cut associated with TrSFNs, the original fully fuzzy linear programming problem is transformed into an interval-valued linear programming model with confidence levels. To rank and compare the resulting interval objective values, an interval ordering approach based on the decision maker's preferences—considering the …

Exploiting Uncertainty Of Computational Methodology In Optimizing User Interface In Human-Computer Interaction, Nada Mohamed, Alshaimaa A. Tantawy

Neutrosophic Systems with Applications

Human-computer interaction (HCI) evaluation and optimization of user interfaces (UIs) constitute a complex multi-criteria decision-making challenge, marked by conflicting evaluation dimensions, subjective expert judgments, and inherent uncertainty in user experience assessment. Traditional evaluation approaches, such as heuristic expert reviews and user satisfaction surveys, rely on sharp, binary classifications that fail to capture the gradual and overlapping nature of human cognitive and affective states. This limitation necessitates a more robust uncertainty-aware methodology that can model the true complexity of HCI evaluation. This paper proposes a hybrid mathematical model that integrates various Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) techniques of Entropy, and Simple Additive …

Li+/Na+ Hybrid Ion Conduction Mechanism In The Superionic Conductor Li3–XNaXZr2Si2Po12, Yi-Hong Wu, Xia Xie, Lei Zhu, Mu-Ran Yu, Guo-Tai Zhang, Jun-Chao Chen, Shu-Ying Sun, You-Wei Wang, Wei-Ping Tang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Hybrid ion conductors that transport multiple ionic conductive species provide a useful platform for understanding how mixed-ion transport governs ionic conductivity within a single phase. However, the controlled introduction of multiple mobile ions into solid-state electrolytes and a mechanistic understanding of their migration within the framework remain challenging. Herein, a skeleton-retained Li⁺↔Na⁺ cationic exchange was used to simultaneously induce Li⁺ and Na⁺ cations into the NASICON-type framework of Li_3–xNa_xZr₂Si₂PO₁₂ (0 < x < 3). We show that the interpenetration of NaO₆ and NaO₈ coordination polyhedra significantly influences the ionic conductivity of hybrid ion conductors. Computational …

Using Low-Frequency Vibrational Spectroscopy To Develop Analytical Profiles For Polymorphic Organic Molecular Crystals, Salvatore Zarrella

Dissertations - ALL

Low-frequency vibrational spectroscopy provides a sensitive approach for characterizing polymorphism and intermolecular dynamics in organic molecular crystals. Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) and low-frequency Raman spectroscopy probe collective lattice vibrations arising from weak intermolecular interactions, offering direct insight into crystal packing, phase stability, and structural organization that is often inaccessible to conventional diffraction and mid-infrared techniques. To interpret these modes, experimental measurements are combined with periodic solid-state density functional theory (ss-DFT), which enables vibrational assignments to specific intermolecular motions, and crystal structure prediction (CSP), which maps accessible polymorphic energy landscapes. Together, these methods form a unified experimental–computational framework for understanding molecular …

(R2174) A Stationary First-Order Autoregressive Process With New Discrete Lindley Marginal Distribution, Tégawendé Martin Kabore, Jean-Etienne Ouindllassida Ouédraogo

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

This paper introduces a new stationary first-order autoregressive integer-valued process with a marginal distribution following the New Discrete Lindley distribution, referred to as NDLINAR( 1). The process is developed to model over-dispersed count time series exhibiting a mixed behavior arising from the combination of multiple distributions. Its statistical properties are thoroughly investigated, and the parameters are estimated using conditional maximum likelihood. The asymptotic properties of the estimators are also analyzed. The performance of the proposed model is evaluated by comparing it with other existing INAR(1) processes through applications to real datasets. Results demonstrate that the NDL-INAR(1) process effectively captures the …

(R2161) Robust Optimization Of Industrial Hazardous Waste Location-Routing Problem Considering Response Actions To Environmental Risk, Sharareh Teimoori, Farhad Hosseinzadeh Lotfi, Seyyed Esmaeil Najafi, Navid Rafiei

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

The management of hazardous industrial waste has emerged as a significant global challenge due to rapid technological advancements. Industrial hazardous waste management systems must be designed not only to be cost-effective but also to minimize environmental risks. This study proposes a mixed-integer programming model for the location-routing of industrial hazardous waste that incorporates both primary and secondary environmental risks, along with suitable response actions. Furthermore, a scenario-based robust optimization model is developed to address uncertainties in the quantities of industrial hazardous waste. A case study is conducted to demonstrate the applicability and comparative performance of the nominal and robust models. …

Peptide And Peptide Bioconjugate Based Drug Development For The Treatment Of Metabolic Diseases, Nancy Cham

Dissertations - ALL

The Doyle group has coined the term ‘corrination’ to describe the conjugate modification of a peptide, protein, small molecule, or radionuclide with a corrin ring-containing molecule such as cobalamin, also known as vitamin B12 (B12), or cobinamides. By exploiting the innate chemico-physical properties of corrin ring-containing compounds, both in general and specifically via the innate dietary B12 uptake pathway in mammals, corrination has been explored for drug development and targeted/localized delivery of probes and therapeutics. Most recently, it is in the field of peptide-based therapeutics that corrination is generating significant interest, no doubt driven in part by the recent successes …

Molecular Identification Of Cryptococcus Albidus Isolated From A Gingivitis Infection In A Male From Karbala City, Iraq, Maysaa Taqi Al-Khazali, Zahraa Raheem Murshidy, Sarah Kadhim Al-Rahimy, Sura Abd Ali Kadhim Mohammed, Dhuha Ali Hussein

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

The current study presents a case of gingivitis caused by Cryptococcus albidus in a 35-year-old male from the city of Karbala in Iraq. This fungal species was identified via morphology, microscopy, additionally to the VITEK system. C. albidus was further confirmed using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique by amplifying the 18S rRNA gene as a universal primer and sequencing. Sequences analysis revealed that this strain of C. albidus had not been previously documented in the NCBI database. Hence, the newly obtained sequences were submitted to the GenBank repository and assigned the accession number OQ975882.1, marking the first report of …

Instructions To Authors, Academy Editors

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Artificial Food Colors Are Not Needed To Attract Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus Colubris) To Feeders, A. Siddiqui, R. Kannan

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Noteworthy Natural History Notes From The Neotropics, R. Kannan

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

I report some rarely observed, infrequently reported, or hitherto unrecorded ecological interactions from the neotropics. These anecdotal observations were made opportunistically during nature tours or tropical biology classes in Belize, Panama, Costa Rica, and Trinidad & Tobago, between 2014 and 2024.

History And Distribution Of The Dark Ibises (Glossy Ibis Plegadis Falcinellus And White-Faced Ibis P. Chihi) In Arkansas, R. Tumlison, P. D. Rodriguez

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) and White-faced Ibis (P. chihi) sometimes are reported simply as Dark Ibises due to difficulty in identifying them when mature characters are not clearly visible. We evaluated reports verified on citizen science websites to examine the origins and distributions of these migratory species in Arkansas. The Glossy Ibis was first documented in Arkansas in 1956, has been reported in 21 of our 75 counties, and is found more commonly in eastern Arkansas. The White-faced Ibis was first reported in Arkansas in 1971, has been reported in 41 of our 75 counties, …

History And Distribution Of Great-Tailed Grackles (Quiscalus Mexicanus) In Arkansas, R. Tumlison, V. Andersen

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Great-tailed Grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus) were reported first in southwestern Arkansas in 1969, were nesting there in 1977, and established a resident population by 1980. Nesting was reported in far northwestern Arkansas in 1986. Presently, the species is known from 44 of Arkansas’s 75 counties, those mostly in the western and central counties. Most individuals appear to be migratory, with most reports occurring in April and May. However, breeding and now resident populations have been reported in the southwestern, northwestern, and central counties, particularly in urban areas. Birds are very commonly reported to forage at fast-food establishments and truck …

Multiple Nuclear Configurations And Microtubular Arrangements In Spermatozoa Of The Western Siren, Siren Nettingi (Caudata: Sirenidae), S. E. Trauth

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

I examined the ultrastructure of spermatozoa of the Western Siren, Siren nettingi, using transmission electron microscopy. My primary objective in this study was to elucidate, for the first time, the unique morphological complexity of biflagellated sperm in this species. This study also represents my fifth addition in a series of investigations that highlight the novel nature of all aspects of spermatogenesis in this salamander I show the basic sperm transverse and sagittal design which includes a nucleus, 2 axial fibers supporting 2 undulating membranes which have 2 axonemes residing at their terminal ends, several circular mitochondria, and several electron-dense masses. …

Binucleation And Seasonal Cycle Of Sertoli Cells In The Western Lesser Siren, Siren Nettingi (Caudata: Sirenidae), S. E. Trauth

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

I examined binucleation and the seasonal cycle of Sertoli cells in the Western Siren (Siren nettingi) using light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. My primary objective in this study was to report, for the first time, the presence of double nuclei in Sertoli cells in a salamander. This study also represents the sixth contribution in a series of investigations that highlight the novel nature of all aspects of spermatogenesis in this unique salamander. My findings add to a growing list of extraordinary morphological and reproductive features that distinguish this salamander from all other vertebrates.

Distal Urogenital Anatomy And Epithelial Morphology In The Male Eastern Narrow-Mouthed Frog, Gastrophryne Carolinensis (Anura: Microhylidae), S. E. Trauth

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

I investigated the microanatomy of the distal urogenital system in male Eastern Narrow-Mouthed Frogs (Gastrophryne carolinensis) from a small sample (n = 5) collected in central Arkansas in April, May, and July (2021) and May 2022. Specifically, my primary goals were to elucidate the histology of the following: (1) the paired Wolffian (urogenital) ducts caudally from the kidneys to their merging with the urodeum of the cloaca, (2) the structure of seminal vesicles, and (3) the epithelial morphologies among the distal urogenital tract, the posterior alimentary canal, and the cloaca. My histological analysis confirmed the presence of …