Digital Commons Network^™

Cognition Is Not Content: A Structural Account Of Processing Conditions, Griselda Poe

Publications and Research

Human cognition has been described in terms of content. This description becomes insufficient once artificial systems make output observable apart from subject attribution, intention, and relational context. Under this contrast condition, what becomes visible is a layered structure in which output, reconstruction, evaluation, and termination do not necessarily coincide. The same input may register as complete under one processing condition while remaining unresolved under another. This separability means that content-based description does not merely omit an additional variable: it can mislocate a processing difference as a difference in meaning, personality, intention, ability, or attitude. This is not a proposal for …

Probing Composition Effects On The Intrinsic Energetics Of Proton Transfer In Binary (Hcl)M(H2o)N Clusters, Max R. Tucker, Sarah N. Arradondo, Olivia M. Longsworth, George C. Shields, Gregory S. Tschumper

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

This work examines the effects on intrinsic energetics as the composition of finite (HCl)_m(H₂O)n cluster families containing at least one water molecule is changed at the molecular level, where m ≥ 2 and m + n = 4 − 6, and the associated (Cl⁻)_x(H₃O⁺)_x(HCl)_m−x(H₂O)_n−x clusters resulting from the dissociation of x HCl fragments via proton transfer (PT). They are collectively labeled m:n, and xPT indicates the degree of dissociation, from 0PT (no dissociation) up to 3PT. More than 1000 unique minima …

Theoretical Study Of Electronic Properties Of Functionalized Monolayers: Cu, Ag, Au, And Pt Atomic Wires On Graphene, H-Bn Monolayer, Silicene, And Phosphorene, Mythreyee T. Aasuri, Mukesh K. Choudhary, Narender Kumar, Ravindra Pandey

Michigan Tech Publications

The structural and electronic properties of graphene, h-BN monolayer, silicene, and phosphorene monolayers functionalized with Cu, Ag, Au, and Pt atomic wires were investigated using van der Waals─corrected density functional theory. These atomic wires form stable, functionalized monolayers that exhibit physisorption on planar monolayers and chemisorption on nonplanar ones. This results in either linear or bent configurations of the atomic wires, depending on the interface strength, leading to distinct electronic states. A weaker interface induces metal-induced gap states near the Fermi level, whereas a stronger interface results in covalently hybridized states farther from the Fermi level. Analysis of the electron …

Isolation, Identification And Antibiotic-Resistance Profiling Of Bacteria Isolated From Mobile Phone Surfaces In Karbala., Kawkab Abdullah Alsaadi, Zahraa Raheem Murshidy, Dhuha Ali Hussein, Sura Abd Ali Kadhim, Kawakib Aboudi Hanoon

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Due to the diverse environments that mobile phones are exposed to via human handling they become reservoirs of microorganisms. The objective of the current study was to determine the level and character of bacterial contamination on mobile phones by identifying bacterial strains, and the degree of antimicrobial susceptibility. A cross-sectional study was conducted from April to July 2025 where phones belonging to 115 individuals were randomly chosen from various departments and units at Kerbala University and swabbed. The VITEK 2 automated system was used to identify bacterial taxa and test for antimicrobial susceptibility, and 50 of the swabs exhibited bacterial …

An Infinite Set Of One-Range Addition Theorems Without An Infinite Second Series, For Slater Orbitals And Their Derivatives, Applicable To Multiple Coordinate Systems, Jack C. Straton

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Addition theorems have been indispensable tools for the reduction of quantum transition amplitudes. They are normally utilized at the start of the process to move the angular dependence within plane waves, Coulomb potentials, and the like, into a sum over spherical harmonics that allows the angular integration to be carried out. These have historically been “two-range” addition theorems, characterized by the two-fold notation r>=Max[r1,r2] and r< =Min[r1,r2] and comprising a single infinite series. More recently, “one-range” addition theorems have been created that have no such piecewise notation, but at the cost of the introduction of another infinite series. We use a very different approach to derive an infinite set of addition theorems for Slater orbitals, hydrogenic and Hylleraas wave functions, and so on, that retain the one-range variable dependence but have, at worst, a finite second series rather than an infinite one. In addition, unlike previous addition theorems, they are applicable to more than one coordinate system. One of these addition theorems may also be used for Yukawa-like functions that may appear late in the reduction of amplitude integrals, and we show its utility for an integral that has stubbornly defied reduction to analytic form for nearly sixty years. Finally, we craft indefinite integrals of 15 half-integer Macdonald functions multiplied by (inverse) powers and negative exponentials containing squares of the integration variable.

Open Multi-Agent Systems: The Free-Range-Zoo Framework And Moasei Competition, Ceferino J. Patino Iv

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The field of multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) has made significant strides in addressing sequential decision-making problems under uncertainty. However, traditional MARL frameworks assume closed-world settings with fixed agent sets, static task distributions, and unchanging environment dynamics. This thesis presents two complementary contributions that advance the state of open-world multi-agent systems research: (1) the free-range-zoo framework, an open-source environment suite for MARL in open environments featuring dynamic agent populations, evolving task sets, and changing operational frames; and (2) the MOASEI Competition, an international benchmarking event that leverages free-range-zoo to evaluate how artificial agents handle openness in complex, partially observable domains. The …

Developing A Framework To Improve Phishing Response After Detection, Kevin Umba

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Phishing belongs to the most prevalent attack vectors in the cybersecurity industry. Academia, industry, and government resources offer a wealth of information on the subject. However, insights on phishing techniques and remediations are scattered across those sources. Most governmental and academic literature focuses on user awareness, policy guidelines, or phishing training. This leaves the security practitioners underserved. Furthermore, actionable information for security operations is often unstructured or vendor-specific. The goal of the thesis is to provide a preliminary framework to guide security professionals through indicators of compromise and remediation, using a vendor-neutral approach.

Evaluation Of Sirna-Mediated Knockdown Of Heat Shock Protein 16.2 In Adult Acropora Cervicornis, Edward P. Gniffke, Benjamin D. Young, Keir J. Macartney, Michael S. Studivan, Ian C. Enochs, Erin E. Easton

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Acropora cervicornis is a critically endangered Caribbean coral species facing a precipitous decline due to disease and thermal bleaching. To combat the loss of ecologically important reef-building corals, novel molecular approaches can be used to understand mechanisms of resilience and ultimately provide a means to modulate coral performance. In this study, we tested a recently developed method for gene knockdown in adult corals that utilizes short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and the RNA interference pathway. The Heat Shock Protein 16.2 (HSP16.2) gene in fragments of adult A. cervicornis was targeted for knockdown using a single siRNA construct. RT-qPCR analysis of HSP16.2 …

The Role Of Interactions In Moiré Quantum Materials, Liangtao Peng

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Moiré quantum materials have emerged as a highly tunable platform for studying strongly interacting electrons in low dimensions. By twisting or lattice-mismatching atomically thin crystals, one can generate long-wavelength moiré superlattices that reconstruct the electronic bands, produce narrow bandwidths, and greatly enhance the importance of Coulomb interactions. As a result, these systems host a wide range of correlated phenomena, including symmetry breaking, magnetism, and superconductivity. This dissertation develops and applies Green's-function-based many-body methods to understand the role of interactions in moiré quantum materials. This dissertation consists of four chapters. The first chapter introduces moiré quantum materials and reviews the basic …

3Ω Thermal Transport In Atomically Thin Materials, Yiwei Le

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Since the discovery of graphene, research on two-dimensional (2D) materials has become a central focus of condensed matter physics. While an enormous number and variety of investigations of their electrical, optical, and mechanical properties have been undertaken, their thermal properties remain comparatively underexplored, despite the importance for understanding low-energy excitations and phase transitions. Here, we introduce an extension of the 3ω method thermal measurement technique to the 2D limit of materials. We develop analytical models of thermal transport in the 3ω geometry with boundary conditions tailored for suspended 2D flakes. We then experimentally confirm the feasibility of this approach in …

Advancing High-Energy Astrophysics Through X-Ray Spectropolarimetry And Balloon-Borne Instrumentation, Sohee Chun

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The strong gravitational field around black holes provides a unique laboratory for investigating the behavior of matter and radiation under extreme conditions. As matter accretes, the interplay between the accretion disk, hot corona, and surrounding stellar environment produces complex spectral and polarimetric X-ray signatures. Thus, X-ray spectropolarimetry has become a powerful tool for constraining the accretion geometry. Building on these advances, this dissertation integrates theoretical modeling, observational data analysis, and instrumentation development to address open questions in high-energy astrophysics. On the theoretical side, relativistic ray-tracing simulations test the truncated disk-hot inner flow accretion geometry against observations of Cygnus X-1, identifying …

Gopher: Efficient Dynamic Graph Pattern Mining Via Dag-Driven Execution, Yi Zhang, Yu Huang, Chaoqiang Liu, Haifeng Liu, Juntao Chen, Jingrui Yuan, Jianhui Yue, Xiaofei Liao, Hai Jin, Jingling Xue

Michigan Tech Publications

Graph pattern mining is essential for analyzing dynamic networks, where graphs evolve over time. To accommodate these changes, existing solutions update match sets incrementally, avoiding the need to re-mine the entire graph and achieving significant performance improvements. However, these methods suffer from inefficiencies due to redundant set intersection operations across subgraph instances, causing performance degradation. In this paper, we propose Gopher, a DAG-driven dynamic graph pattern mining system that leverages computation locality for enhanced performance. Gopher uses DAGs to represent set operations, identifying and merging common subexpressions at compile time. This reduces redundant computations during runtime. To maximize performance, we …

Optical Mechanisms Behind Vitrinite Reflectance Suppression Caused By Strong Anisotropy: A Case Study Of Contact Metamorphic Coals, An Yanfei, He Shuyang, Chen Kaixin, Gao Junhan

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective For vitrinite with weak anisotropy, which proves uniaxial and optically negative, replacing random vitrinite reflectance (R_ran) with the maximum vitrinite reflectance (R_max) allows for the accurate correction of vitrinite reflectance suppression induced by anisotropy. However, as its anisotropy intensifies, vitrinite exhibits increasingly complex optical properties, rendering it challenging to reflect the thermal metamorphic temperature of vitrinite using R_max. Methods This study investigated the strongly anisotropic vitrinite in coals and natural coke subjected to magma intrusion in the Shitai coal mine, Huaibei City, Anhui Province. Using a reflected-polarized light microscope (R-PLM), an …

Dynamic Prediction On Goaf Surface Subsidence For The Last Two Periods Based On The Erf Time Function, Ren Lianwei, Li Shihui, Wang Wenchang, Li Zhenhua, Chen Shaojie, Dun Zhilin

Coal Geology & Exploration

Background The surface subsidence induced by coal seam mining represents a continuous dynamic evolution process. Constructing a full-time perdition model for surface subsidence in goafs holds significant theoretical and practical values for the rational utilization of land resources, the safety guarantee of engineering construction, and the transformation and development of resource-based cities. Methods To accurately predict the surface subsidence in goafs during its decline and residual periods, this study proposed a prediction model based on the error function (Erf). First, the evolution characteristics of Erf were analyzed, verifying that the subsidence, as well as its velocity and acceleration, predicted using …

A Cutting Trajectory Planning Technology Driven By Coal Seam Data In A Comprehensive Mining Face, Guo Yifeng, Xue Xusheng, Ma Hongwei, Zhang Guangming, Su Hao, Qi Ailing, Nie Zhen, Ma Kexiang, Wu Xuefei

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective Currently, the insufficient full-element digitization and the prevalence of “data silos” in fully mechanized mining faces (FMMF) result in poor cutting precision and operational instability of shearers under complex undulating and abrupt geological conditions. These factors pose significant challenges to high-precision proactive trajectory planning. Methods Guided by the academic philosophy that “mining is data acquisition”, this paper proposes a coal seam data-driven cutting trajectory planning method for FMMFs. It elaborates on three core technologies: high-precision digital coal seam modeling, generative model updating and digital twin construction, and data-driven trajectory planning.To address low modeling precision, an intelligent interpolation-based digital coal …

The Invisible Shield: Why Our Stomach Doesn’T Digest Itself, Kevon Findley

Mathematics and System Engineering Student Publications

The stomach contains highly acidic gastric fluid with a very low pH.  A thin mucus lining protects the stomach from self-digestion and keeps nearby epithelial cells near a pH 7.  A weakened mucus layer is associated with conditions such as Gastritis and Peptic Ulcer Disease.

How can the protective mucus barrier be maintained and be of stable thickness?

Brainbench - Llm Evaluation, Daniella Seum, Orion Powers

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Student Publications

As large language models become more widely used, there is a growing need for reliable and consistent methods to evaluate their performance. Existing benchmarks often lack transparency, consistency across runs, or the ability to handle varied answer formats. BrainBench was developed to address these gaps by providing an automated, reproducible evaluation framework that enables fair comparison of models and deeper insight into their strengths and limitations.

Draft Uniform Federal Policyquality Assurance Project Plan Addendum, Hydrogeologic, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Reconstructing Nebraska’S Late Quaternary Paleoenvironment, Landscape Change, And Human–Environment Dynamics Using Diatoms And Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating, Gosia Mahoney

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation examines Holocene environmental change and human–environment interactions in the Nebraska Sand Hills by integrating geomorphic, paleoenvironmental, and geochronological data. It presents three complementary studies that together explore how climatic variability, local landscape processes, and human activity influenced environmental systems.

The first study reconstructs the early Holocene evolution of a dune-dammed valley in the central Sand Hills. Stratigraphic, sedimentological, and diatom evidence indicate that eolian activity resulted in a blocked fluvial system, leading to elevated groundwater levels and the formation of a wetland that later developed into a lake. Notably, this transformation occurred under relatively dry conditions, demonstrating that …

Evaluating The Applicability Of Gamess For Determining Bond Lengths And Bond Dissociation Energies Through Constructing Potential Energy Curves For H2, N2, F2, Cl2, And Br2, Iaroslavna Kovalenko, Jillian Pabalan

Research and Creativity Symposium

The applicability and limitations of the GAMESS dihydrogen potential energy curve computational tool were evaluated for the following diatomic molecules: H₂, N₂, F₂, Cl₂, and Br₂. The aug-cc-pVDZ basis set and the B3LYP density functional theory (DFT) functional were employed to ensure more accurate electronic energy results for each calculation. Potential energy curves were generated for each molecule by plotting the electronic energy as a function of interatomic distance, and the bond dissociation energies (BDEs) and radii of diatomic molecules were determined. The radii were determined to be 76 pm …

Microburst Day Potential Index: Improving Launch And Public Safety, Zachary Kopel

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Student Publications

Microbursts

•  A common convective wind event 
• Capable of causing damage from wind exceeding 30kts (NWS) 
• Cape Canaveral is a prime microburst environment 
• Can affect launch ops and daily activities by exceeding safety standards

Visualization For Formal Languages, Chris Pinto-Font, Andrew Bastien, Vincent Borrelli, Keegan Mcnear

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Student Publications

The primary goal is student comprehension of complex DFA concepts.

This project is important for students and professors because being able to visualize Deterministic Finite Automota (DFA) and how it is created and expressed can lead to better understanding of how parsing and computation works.

Reminders App Execution, Alexander Gardner

Harrisburg University Other Works

This poster highlights the creation of an Android mobile application for reminders. This app is titled It's Time, Remind! Developed with the Flutter SDK and SQLite for the local database. Firebase Authentication was utilized for user account registration, login/ logout, and profile management. Users can additionally choose to use the app without an account. Users are able to view, create, and delete reminders and notes. Reminders also notify at specified times.

Investigating The Bioactivity Of Novel Β-Diketonate Complexes, Celeste Remolina, Dylan Wolfe

Research & Creative Achievement Day

Ruthenium β-diketonate complexes have emerged as promising chemotherapeutics due to their selective bioactivity against tumors. We assessed the bioactivity of novel synthesized ruthenium β-diketonate complexes on human cancer cells as well as wild-type cells. Using cell growth assays, we screened candidate ruthenium complexes and determined the IC50 value for effective candidates. Here we present a model for ruthenium-mediated growth inhibition

Growing Large Single And Multi-Crystals From Alum Powder, Owen Paulson, Mayra G. Aguilar, Owen T. Maloney, Kole C. Koehler

Research & Creative Achievement Day

Crystal growth science is used to replicate the growth of crystals that form in nature. Channels of hot fluid with concentrations of minerals created the crystals found as gemstones. At low concentrations, no crystal grows. At high concentrations, a multitude of crystals grow. At the ideal concentration, a single, clear crystal grows. Four solution concentrations were used to create seed crystals. Those Alum seed crystals were attached to a string and suspended in various concentrations of Alum solution to find concentrations that create no crystal, a single crystal, and a multi-crystal.

Detecting Eigenvectors Of An Operator That Are Near A Specified Subspace, David Darrow, Jeffrey S. Ovall

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

In modeling quantum systems or wave phenomena, one is often interested in identifying eigenstates that approximately carry a specified property; scattering states approximately align with incoming and outgoing traveling waves, for instance, and electron states in molecules often approximately align with superpositions of simple atomic orbitals. These examples—and many others—can be formulated as the following eigenproblem: given a selfadjoint operator L on a Hilbert space H and a closed subspace W ⊂ H, can we identify all eigenvectors of L that lie approximately in W? We develop an approach to answer this question efficiently, with a userdefined tolerance and range …

Differentiable Objectives For 3d Scene Relighting Via Gradient Descent On Olat Basis Coefficients, Anson Savage

Theses and Dissertations

Designing effective lighting is an iterative and often time-consuming process. This work contributes to automatic lighting design research by presenting a render-engine agnostic optimization routine: gradient descent on RGB multipliers of one-light-at-a-time (OLAT) basis images. We compare several objective functions to accomplish lighting tasks and show that our method is capable of quickly and effectively exploring different lighting styles using either text prompts or reference images. We also present several datasets specific to lighting tasks and show that fine-tuning on these datasets can improve performance.

Mechanism Of Improved Miscibility Of Co2–Oil Systems By Multiester-Headgroup Surfactants, Ning Xu, Yanling Wang, Baojun Bai, Yu Zhang, Wenjing Shi, Zhaonian Zhang, Wenhui Ding, Peixu Ma, Zan Gao

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In the pursuit of carbon neutrality, the CO₂-enhanced oil recovery provides dual benefits by enabling both carbon sequestration and incremental oil production. However, its application is limited by high minimum miscibility pressure. CO₂-philic and oil-affinitive surfactants have emerged as an effective, low-dosage, and cost-efficient strategy to reduce the minimum miscibility pressure. In this study, macroscopic phase behavior experiments combined with molecular dynamics simulations were employed to systematically elucidate the influence of multiester-head surfactants on CO₂–oil miscibility. Using a modified pressure–volume–temperature apparatus equipped with optical power monitoring, we determined that multiester-head surfactants reduced the first-contact …

Optimization Of Pediatric Multidetector Ct Imaging Parameters Using A Machine Learning–Based Monte Carlo Simulation Model, Ali O. Masoud, Adithya Rajnaryanan, Khamis O. Amour, Ahmed M. Jusabani, Justin E Ngaile, Manoj Kumar, Mwingereza John Kumwenda Dr

Tanzania Journal of Science

This study utilized Monte Carlo (MC) simulations to optimize radiation doses in pediatric multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) head scans by analyzing key parameters like tube current (mA), tube voltage (kV), pitch, and slice thickness. The findings indicate that reducing tube current significantly lowers the Computed Tomography Dose Index (CTDIvol) and Dose Length Product (DLP), effectively minimizing patient radiation exposure. Higher pitch values (0.7–0.9) further reduced radiation by decreasing beam overlap, while using a thinner slice thickness (0.6 mm) improved dose efficiency. A comparison highlighted the effectiveness of optimization: simulated parameters kVp 100, mAs 81, pitch 0.98 yielded a CTDIvol of …

Gc-178-191 Communication App: Ai-Assisted Aac Platform​, Alex Wills, Maryam Koya

C-Day Computing Showcase

The Communication App is an accessibility-focused mobile application designed to support individuals with speech impairments, strong or unrecognized accents, and neurodivergent communication needs. The system leverages AI assisted speech-to-text (STT) and text-to-speech (TTS) technologies to enable real-time and seamless communication between users.This project aims to bridge communication gaps by providing a customizable, adaptive platform that learns user speech patterns over time. The application integrates cloud-based services, secure communication protocols, and an intuitive user interface to ensure usability, performance, and accessibility.