Digital Commons Network^™

Growth Of Cylindrical Micelles And Their Use To Prepare Porous Materials With Tailored Dimensions And Alignment, Mengxue Zhang, Xiaomeng Li, Chuanbing Tang, Morgan Stefik

Faculty Publications

Materials with cylindrical pores are optimal for electrochemical devices and filtration due to their straight paths with minimal tortuosity when aligned. Polymer templates have led to many individual cylindrical architectures however the independent tailoring of pore and wall dimensions has remained elusive. Here short cylindrical micelle templates (PEO-b-PS) with glassy cores enabled the fabrication of sample series with constant cylindrical pore diameter (∼63 nm) and tailored wall thickness (TiO₂, ∼45–100 nm). This ShortCyl series (aspect ratio 4.25) had modest alignment that was attributed to the low free-energy cost for misalignment. Though the plasticized micelles (DCM present) …

Changes In Mental Health Care Utilisation Before And During The Covid-19 Pandemic Among People Living With Hiv In The Usa: A Retrospective Cohort Study Using The All Of Us Dataset, Atena Pasha, Shan Qiao, Jiajia Zhang Ph.D., Ruilie Cai, Buwei He, Xueying Yang, Chen Liang Ph.D., Sharon Weissman, Xiaoming Li Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Introduction Despite the profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people living with HIV (PLWH) mental health, large-scale, real-world data on mental healthcare utilisation and associated factors among PLWH remain limited. This study explores mental healthcare utilisation and associated factors among PLWH during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods Using a retrospective cohort design, we identified and included 4575 PLWH through computational phenotyping based on relevant Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership Common Data Model concept sets from the All of Us programme between March 2018 and March 2022. Mental healthcare utilisation was measured using the yearly count of mental healthcare visits and compared …

A Novel High-Order Absorbing Boundary Condition For Elastic Multiple Scattering Problems, Jordan Gregory Sheppard

Theses and Dissertations

Elastic waves are waves that propagate by causing deformations in an elastic medium such as metal, rock, or rubber. The main characteristic of elastic wave motion is the coexistence of multiple types of waves at once in the medium, including compressional and shear wave components. This type of motion can be used to study the impacts of physical phenomena such as earthquakes. In this paper, we discuss our research on the time-harmonic scattering of elastic waves in a medium by multiple circular cylindrical obstacles that the wave cannot penetrate. Using the Helmholtz decomposition, we break down the vector-valued physical system …

Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status And Overall Survival Among Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Anna Hoppmann, Debroah M. Hurley, Stuart Cramer, Monique J. Brown Ph.D., Mph

Faculty Publications

A disadvantaged neighborhood, as represented by area-level socioeconomic status (SES) has been associated with adverse outcomes among children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in the US, but the duration of impact after ALL diagnosis is not well understood. This retrospective cohort study utilized the National Cancer Database (NCDB) to examine the impact of area-level SES on overall survival among children with ALL. Median income and education quartiles based on residential zip code were used to create a composite area-level SES variable. Individual-level variables included age, sex, race, year of diagnosis, primary payer, distance to care, rurality, time to treatment, and …

Epitaxial Electrodeposition Of Cu-Btc Metal-Organic Framework Thin Films Onto The (100), (110), And (111) Surfaces Of Single-Crystal Gold And Cuprous Oxide Buffer Layers, Xiaoting Zhang, John Z. Tubbesing, Jay A. Switzer

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have well-defined pore structures. Epitaxial MOFs can produce films with uniform pore sizes and open porosity. However, the growth of epitaxial MOF thin films has remained a challenge. Herein, we demonstrate a cathodic electrodeposition method for the epitaxial growth of a well-known MOF material, copper (II)-benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate (Cu-BTC), from solution precursors. The epitaxial electrodeposition of Cu-BTC was achieved in a Cu (NO₃)₂-H₃BTC-H₂O₂ bath using H₂O₂ reduction to deprotonate the H₃BTC molecule. The Cu-BTC films can be grown to micrometer thicknesses with Faradaic efficiencies up …

Voice As A Biomarker: Exploratory Analysis For Benign And Malignant Vocal Fold Lesions, Phillip Jenkins, Rylan Harrison, Steven Bedrick, Lisa Karstens, Bridge2ai-Voice Consortium

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Benign and malignant vocal fold lesions can alter voice quality and lead to significant morbidity or, in the case of malignancy, mortality. Early, noninvasive identification of these lesions using voice as a biomarker may improve diagnostic access and outcomes. In this study, we analyzed data from the initial release of the Bridge2AI-Voice dataset to evaluate which acoustic features best distinguish laryngeal cancer and benign vocal fold lesions from other vocal pathologies and healthy voice function. Seven diagnostic cohorts were grouped into two analyses: the first included participants with laryngeal cancer, benign lesions, or no voice disorder; the second included those …

Jazz Scale Patterns With Abjad And Lilypond, George K. Thiruvathukal

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Background

Jazz method books often advise students to “learn it in all keys,” yet most present examples in only one or two keys (if that, as they start from C, the easiest key, and usually stop there). For many "classically-trained" players—especially those who check fingerings, enharmonics, and voice-leading by reading—the absence of complete, notated materials is a barrier. While most scales can be internalized as Whole (W) / Half (H) step patterns, important exceptions (e.g., harmonic and melodic minor, octatonic, whole tone, and blues) are aided by having notated patterns in front of us.

Aims

To generate clear, consistent notation-first …

Assessing The Costs Of Constructed Floating Wetlands For The Treatment Of Surface Waters And Wastewater, John Awad, Christopher Walker, Declan Page, Muhammad Arslan, Sarah A. White, Terry Lucke, Simon Beecham, Ryan J. Winston, William H.J. Stonsnider, Phil Nicodemus, Chris Streb, John Van Leeuwen

Faculty Publications

The development of constructed floating wetlands (CFWs) as a nature-based solution for water treatment has progressed over the last 25 years. However, full-scale CFW adoption remains relatively limited due in part to the uncertainty regarding the costs of CFWs in terms of capital and operational expenditure (CAPEX and OPEX) and treatment capacity. This study reports on the costs of 11 international CFW schemes including the factors affecting CAPEX and OPEX and levelized costs of nitrogen and phosphorus removal. The estimated levelized CAPEX and OPEX ranged from US$15/m² to $2537/m² and from $0.5/m² y⁻¹ to $181/m² y⁻¹, respectively, for CFW schemes …

Topological Homotopy Groups, Tyler Evans

Theses and Dissertations

In general, the homotopy groups of topological spaces fail to be topological groups when endowed with the quotient topology. In this thesis, we show that for Peano continua with Abelian fundamental group, the fundamental group endowed with the quotient topology is indeed a topological group. However, this result does not extend to higher homotopy groups; that is, there exists a Peano continuum whose nth homotopy group, endowed with the quotient topology, is not a topological group. Additionally, a new characterization of the quotient topology in terms of a limit operator is introduced.

Wavelet Representation Of Singular Integral Operators, Jeremy Cummings

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The idea of representing singular integral operators as averages dyadic shifts has proven fruitful since Petermichl's representation of the Hilbert transform, and its generalization by Hyt\"onen to prove the $A_2$ conjecture. These results employ a random dyadic decomposition of the operator in terms of Haar shifts of all complexities. An alternate approach to wavelet representation was provided by Di Plinio, Wick, and Williams (2022) in which the random dyadic grids are replaced by zero-complexity wavelet projections, providing finer control of smooth operators and a more efficiently computable representation. The goal of this thesis is to provide two main generalizations of …

Soil Ethics In Practice: Harvesting Conservation Choices Among Puerto Rican Coffee Farmers, Patricia Marie Cordero-Irizarry

Theses and Dissertations

Coffee farming in Puerto Rico has declined over recent decades, partly due to deteriorating soil quality. However, the decision-making process behind farmers’ adoption of soil conservation practices remains unclear, particularly the overlooked role of soil ethics, which emphasizes the moral principles guiding human relationships with the soil. This mixed-methods study examined coffee farmers’ adoption of soil conservation practices by integrating the Values-Beliefs-Norms (VBN) theory and a newly developed Soil Ethics Survey (SES) instrument for the quantitative component, while using Decision-Making Theory and Social Cognitive Theory to qualitatively explore how farmers’ experiences and reflections shape their soil ethics. Quantitative findings revealed …

Development Of A Health Knowledge And Skill-Based Framework For The Digital Age, Evelyn Hovenga, Osama El-Hassan, Manal Almalki, Jawad Ahmed, Paul Barach, Mowafa Househ, Amr Jamal

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region is tackling a significant digital healthcare workforce skills gap by creating a computable unified digital health competency framework and repository. Digital technologies and global competency standards are leveraged to professionalize the digital health knowledge domain and facilitate the development of clear career pathways in digital health. A mixed-methods approach was employed to develop the framework. A standardized categorial structure and information model has been developed to support the creation of this computable framework for workforce evaluation and competency-based career development.

A 12,800-Year-Old Layer With Cometary Dust, Microspherules, And Platinum Anomaly Recorded In Multiple Cores From Baffin Bay, Christopher R. Moore, Vladimir A. Tselmovich, Malcolm A. Lecompte, Allen West, Stephen J. Culver, David J. Mallinson, Mohammed Baalousha M.Sc, Ph.D., James P. Kennett, William M. Napier, Michael Bizimis, Victor Adedeji, Seth R. Sutton, Gunther Kleteschka, Kurt A. Langworthy, Jesus P. Perez, Timothy Witwer, Marc D. Young, Jordan Jeffreys, Richard C. Greenwood, James A. Malley

Faculty Publications

The Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis (YDIH) posits that ~12,800 years ago Earth encountered the debris stream of a disintegrating comet, triggering hemisphere-wide airbursts, atmospheric dust loading, and the deposition of a distinctive suite of extraterrestrial (ET) impact proxies at the Younger Dryas Boundary (YDB). Until now, evidence supporting this hypothesis has come only from terrestrial sediment and ice-core records. Here we report the first discovery of similar impact-related proxies in ocean sediments from four marine cores in Baffin Bay that span the YDB layer at water depths of 0.5–2.4 km, minimizing the potential for modern contamination. Using scanning electron microscopy …

Extracting Magnetic Exchange Interactions From Magnetic Pair Distribution Function Data Via Monte Carlo Simulations, Emma Zappala

Theses and Dissertations

The magnetic pair distribution function (mPDF) is a powerful tool used to analyze diffuse magnetic scattering data in real-space. Presently, mPDF is usually used to model real-space spin configurations of materials, offering important insights into the local magnetic structure, but not to directly probe the magnetic interactions giving rise to the magnetic structure in the first place. Using Monte Carlo simulations, a robust algorithm to simulate the magnetic structure of materials, we can connect the underlying magnetic exchange parameters to the spin configurations from experimental mPDF data. We prove this concept using a simple two-dimensional Ising model and then demonstrate …

Bring Back The Blue-Book Exam: In An Age Of Ai, We Need To Return To Handwritten Assignments., Katie Day Good

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

When ChatGPT was released three years ago, its ability to mimic human writing unsettled me. I’m a professor of communication; what did it mean that my students now had access to a machine that could communicate for them? My initial unease led to a half-joke with my colleagues. Universities could survive this threat, I ventured, but only if we reverted back to 19th-century teaching methods like Socratic dialogue, oral defenses, and lengthy essay exams. This once-laughable scenario is now a serious consideration for many faculty, including me.

Like many professors, I’ve recently abandoned take-home essays in favor of blue-book exams. …

Harnessing Emergent Multiple Scattering Resonances In A Photonic Glass Structure For Photoelectrochemical Energy Conversion, Ashlyn G. Descarpentrie, Robert H. Coridan

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Light trapping nanostructures are often necessary to improve carrier collection yields in semiconductor photoelectrodes with intrinsically poor electron transport. Photonic crystal templates can generate tailorable light trapping via periodic and precise nanostructure, though this is not a scalable strategy for photoelectrochemical (PEC) applications. It is therefore critical to identify alternative mechanisms for light trapping that tolerate disorder. Light trapping in disordered media is generated by the diffusive transport caused by multiple scattering. In some cases, multiple scattering can generate resonances that resemble those observed in photonic crystals. While resonant multiple scattering is a disorder tolerant light trapping mechanism, it is …

Developing Microelectrode Arrays As Multiplex Point-Of-Care Diagnostics, Yu-Chia Chang

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Antibiotic resistance poses a significant global health challenge, particularly in urinary tract infections (UTIs), where 92% of cases exhibit resistance to at least one antibiotic, causing over 260,000 deaths annually. The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and growing awareness of the adverse effects of unnecessary antibiotic use highlight the urgent need for better UTI diagnostics. Current state-of-the-art methods are either expensive and time-consuming, or they lack specific details about the nature of the antibiotic and only determine inflammation. This hinders timely and effective treatment decisions regarding whether an antibiotic is actually necessary. Given this backdrop, there is a demand for a …

An Enzyme-Coupled Isotope Dilution Mass Spectrometry Assay For Non-Adjacent Dna Photoproducts As Intrinsic Probes For G-Quadruplexes In Vitro, Savannah Sharee Scruggs

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

G-quadruplexes are noncanonical secondary structures that form in guanine-rich nucleic acid sequences and are thought to be involved in the control of gene expression.1 Unfortunately, it has been difficult to prove that these structures exist in vivo because of their dynamic nature. Rather than try to develop G-quadruplex specific binders as others have done,2 our idea is to photochemically trap certain types of G-quadruplexes by irreversible photoproduct formation3–5 and then detect the stable G-quadruplex-specific photoproducts by Isotopic Dilution Mass Spectrometry (IDMS).6 This IDMS method could then be used to unambiguously confirm the presence of specific types of G-quadruplexes in vivo …

A Groundwater Flow System Investigation In The Upper Rowena Creek Drainage, Oregon, Catelee Yamei Kambur

Dissertations and Theses

Groundwater level declines are a growing concern within the upper Rowena Creek drainage, Oregon. This area is home to a small community located on the upper limb of the Columbia Hills anticline, where local residents rely on aquifers within the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) for domestic water supplies. Groundwater level declines in CRBG aquifers have been studied more extensively in the Mosier area, which lies approximately 5 miles to the northwest of Rowena, but there has been little research conducted specifically on the upper Rowena Creek drainage area. Rowena is located higher up the dip of the Columbia Hills …

Transcendental Formulas For The Coefficients Of Ramanujan's Mock Theta Functions, Gradin Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

Ramanujan's 1920 last letter to Hardy contains seventeen examples of mock theta functions, including the famous third order function f(q), which resemble modular forms of weight 1/2. This list has since been expanded by individuals such as Gordon and McIntosh and the McKay--Thompson series arising in moonshine theory. In 1964, Andrews---improving on a result of Dragonette---gave an asymptotic formula for the coefficients of f(q) and conjectured an exact formula: a conditionally convergent series that closely resembles the Hardy--Ramanujan--Rademacher formula for the partition function. A key breakthrough came in 2001, when Zwegers wrote f(q) as the holomorphic component of a vector-valued …

Absence Of Phonon Softening Across A Charge Density Wave Transition Due To Quantum Fluctuations, Yubi Chen, Terawit Kongruengkit, Andrea Capa Salinas, Runqing Yang, Yujie Quan, Fanghao Zhang, Ganesh Pokharel, Linus Kautzsch, Stephen D. Wilson, Sai Mu

Faculty Publications

Kagome metals have emerged as a frontier in condensed matter physics due to their potential to host exotic quantum states. Among these, CsV₃Sb₅ has attracted significant attention for the unusual coexistence of charge density wave (CDW) order and unconventional superconductivity, presenting an ideal system for exploring the emergent phenomena from the interplay of phonons, electronic fluctuations, and topological effects. The nature of CDW formation in CsV3Sb5 is unconventional and has sparked considerable debate. In this study, we examine the origin of the CDW state via ab initio finite-temperature simulations of the lattice dynamics. Through a comparative study …

Math 122: Precalculus Instructor Guide, Seth Lehman

Open Educational Resources

OER Instructor guide for Math 122: Precalculus at Queens College.

Extreme Value Theory View Of High Emitter Diesel Vehicles In The Us From 1991 To 2021, M. Matti Maricq, Gary A. Bishop

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Publications

Extreme value theory (EVT) is a statistical method to characterize the tails of distributions, such as high emitter vehicle emissions. The present work addresses the United States (US) diesel fleet. EVT confirms that high emitters contribute disproportionately to adverse air quality. It further reveals that high emitter emissions have responded differently to progressively tighter emissions standards compared to fleet averages. Carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC) high emitter emissions fell in concert with the fleet average after widespread implementation of the diesel oxidation catalyst to meet US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Tier 1 emissions standards, but remained unchanged after introduction …

Two Problems: Hankel Operators And Dyadic Paraproducts, Ana Čolović

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Paraproducts can be thought of "parts of a product" of two functions, that isolate particular properties of each of the functions. They have played an essential role in the study of commutators in harmonic analysis, in particular commutators of multiplication by a function and Calder\'{o}n-Zygmund operators. In complex analysis, Hankel and Toeplitz operators can be used to decompose a product of two functions. They play the same role as paraproducts in analyzing commutators of certain operators, so they can be thought of as complex analytic analogues of paraproduct operators. The thesis consists of two parts. In the first part, we …

Expanded Genetic And Functional Diversity Of Oceanic Fungi, Xuefeng Peng, David L. Valentine

Faculty Publications

Background

Fungi are known members of marine microbiomes that can act as saprotrophs, parasites, and pathogens. Although a few studies utilizing cultivation-based methods and metabarcoding have been conducted, the diversity, ecological roles, and functional activities of fungi in the open ocean remain vastly underexplored. This gap in knowledge is particularly notable in oxygen minimum zones (OMZ) of the ocean, which have expanded over the past 50 years, affecting marine ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles. The eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean (ETNP) is the largest oxygen minimum zone where fungi have been implicated in the production of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous …

Breast Cancer Survival Rates And Determinants In Ethiopia: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Of Longitudinal Studies, Abenezer M. Tafese, Meseker T. Fentie, Beminate L. Seifu, Angwach A. Asnake, Bikiltu D. Dirbaba, Abdisa G. Jara, Elsabeth Tizazu Asare, Brandon George

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer mortality among women in Ethiopia, accounting for 32% of new cancer cases and 17.6% of cancer deaths. Despite its growing burden, comprehensive data on survival rates and contributing factors remain limited. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to synthesize existing data on breast cancer survival in Ethiopia and identify key determinants influencing outcomes.

METHODS: A comprehensive systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, and CINAHL to identify studies on breast cancer survival in Ethiopia published between January 2014 and August 2024. Eligible …

Volumetric Imaging Of Cellular Dynamics Using Light-Sheet Microscopy: From Subcellular Structures To Whole Organisms, Md Nasful Huda Prince

Optical Science and Engineering ETDs

Advancing biomedical imaging requires platforms that combine high-resolution, speed, and stability across biological scales. This dissertation presents three innovations designed to address limitations of conventional light-sheet and oblique plane imaging. First, we introduce Reflected Inline Detection in Epi-Oblique Plane Microscopy (RIDE-OPM), a compact and drift-resistant system that eliminates a tertiary detection path while maintaining alignment flexibility, enabling robust long-term live imaging. Second, we present a high-speed Axially Swept Light-Sheet Microscopy (ASLM) platform for cleared tissues, using dual foci and synchronized sweeping to achieve isotropic sub-micron resolution at up to 40 frames-per-second, a fourfold improvement over standard ASLM. Integrated with a …

Energy-Stable And Efficient Finite Element Schemes For The Shliomis Model Of Ferrofluid Flows, Guo Dong Zhang, Kejia Pan, Xiaoming He, Xiaofeng Yang

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, we aim to design two energy-stable and efficient finite element schemes for simulating the ferrofluid flows based on the well-known Shliomis model. The model is a highly nonlinear, coupled, multi-physics system, consisting of the Navier–Stokes equations, magnetostatic equation, and magnetization field equation. We propose two reliable numerical algorithms with the following desired features: linearity and unconditional energy stability. Several key techniques are used to achieve the required features, including the auxiliary variable method, consistent terms method, prediction-correction method, and semi-implicit stabilization method. The first scheme is based on a hybrid continuous/discontinuous finite elements spatial approximation, and the …

Using Published Undergraduate Biomechanics Research On Hydra Mouth Opening To Train Undergraduates, Stephen Hackler, T. Goel, Jonah Pacis , '25, Eva-Maria S. Collins

Biology Faculty Works

Biophysics research is exciting because physical approaches to biology can provide novel insights, and it is challenging because it requires knowledge and skills from multiple disciplines. We have developed an undergraduate biophysics laboratory module that teaches fundamental skills such as time-lapse microscopy, image analysis, programming, critical reading of scientific literature, and basics of scientific writing and peer review. The module is accessible to students who are familiar with introductory statistics, cell biology, and differential calculus. We used published research on the biomechanics of Hydra mouth opening as a framework because it describes a stunning biological phenomenon: Hydra, a freshwater …

A Study Of Complex Analysis After Whittaker And Watson, Crystal Steed

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

The goal of this report is to provide solutions to the exercises found in chapter five of the book titled, A Course of Modern Analysis: An Introduction to the General Theory of Infinite Processes and of Analytic Functions with an Account of the Principal Transcendental Functions by E.T. Whittaker and G.N. Watson. The fifth chapter is titled, "The Fundamental Properties of Analytic Functions; Taylor's, Laurent's and Liouville's Theorems." This report solves the end-of-chapter exercises in addition to providing details for some in-chapter exercises, which are left to the reader. Many of these exercises are results from famous mathematicians.