Digital Commons Network^™

An Effective Image Despeckling And Reconstruction Approach Using U-Net Based Model And Comparative Analysis, M. S. Gokmen, Bilgehan Arslan, C. Bumgardner, Abdullah-Al-Zubaer Imran

Computer Science Faculty Publications

U-Net-based deep learning models have garnered significant attention in recent years due to their strong denoising capabilities in image restoration tasks. This study critically evaluates both the strengths and limitations of these models, with a particular focus on their architectural design and constituent components, in an effort to further advance denoising performance. Based on the insights derived from these analyses, a novel architecture–termed U-Tunnel-Net–is proposed. The model is trained on the UNS and Waterloo datasets, each augmented with Rayleigh-distributed speckle noise at four distinct intensity levels (σ = 0.10, 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75), and evaluated on the UNS, BSD68, and …

The Influence Of Glacial Topography On Fluvial Efficiency In The Teton Range, Wyoming (Usa), Sarah E. Johnson, Meredith Swallom, J. Ryan Thigpen, Michael M. Mcglue, Jason M. Dortch, Sean Gallen, Edward W. Woolery, Kevin M. Yeager

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

This study examines the role of topography as a dynamic boundary condition that limits the efficiency of fluvial erosion in the post-glacial Teton Range landscape. The volume of sediment currently stored in two major catchments was estimated using high-resolution LiDAR and geometric reconstructions of depth to bedrock. Seismic reflection data in Moran Bay reveals post-glacial sediment preserved behind a submerged moraine, which isolates the bay from the larger Jackson Lake depocenter. The volume of post-glacial sediment stored in the canyons and bay totals 173.82 ± 19.5336.0 (×10−3 km3), which translates to a catchment-wide sediment production rate of 0.17 ± 0.02 …

Multi-Scale Computational Mechanical Modeling Of Complex Multi-Phase Materials Systems, Naji Al-Mashrafi

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

This thesis employs finite-element–based computational methods to investigate how microstructural features and material heterogeneity govern mechanical behavior across three distinct complex systems. First, the elastic response of open-cell metallic foams is analyzed using large ensembles of model RVEs generated with the Kentucky Random Structures Toolkit (KRaSTk); finite-element homogenization reveals that effective stiffness is not dictated by relative density alone, as the skewness of ligament-length distributions—captured by the second Pearson’s coefficient—exerts a strong and previously unrecognized influence, with structures enriched in short load-bearing ligaments exhibiting consistently higher stiffness even at fixed density and connectivity. The second study examines heterogeneous polycrystalline solids …

A Predictive Quality Assurance Model For Patient-Specific Gamma Passing Rate Of Hyperarc-Based Stereotactic Radiotherapy And Radiosurgery Of Brain Metastases, Shane Mccarthy, Brent Harrison, Damodar Pokhrel

Radiation Medicine Faculty Publications

Objective: Measurement-based patient specific quality assurance (PSQA) is an increasingly debated topic among medical physicists. Developments like online adaptive radiotherapy and same-day stereotactic treatments limit the time to do measurement-based PSQA. Herein, we develop a predictive machine learning model to supplement PSQA by predicting the gamma passing rate (GPR) per stereotactic arc. This streamlines PSQA, providing planners the insight to replan potentially sub-optimal plans, to mitigate machine time inefficiencies.

Methods: 122 patients that had previously received HyperArc stereotactic radiosurgery/radiotherapy on a TrueBeam LINAC (Millenium 120 MLCs, 6MV-FFF) were used to generate a long short-term memory (LSTM) recurrent neural network to …

Ex Vivo Single-Molecule Analysis Of Ryanodine Receptor 2 Assembly In Cardiac And Neuronal Tissue, Qianye Yin, Christopher I. Richards

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Understanding receptor assembly is critical for elucidating the mechanisms underlying their function and regulation in physiological processes. While traditional in vitro single-molecule studies rely on isolating proteins from heterologous expression systems, they often fail to capture the in vivo physiological complexity involved in the organization and assembly of cell surface proteins. This protocol employs Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy (TIRFM) to study GFP-tagged Ryanodine Receptor 2 (RyR2) molecules encapsulated within nanoscale vesicles. These vesicles, generated from organs rapidly extracted from the animal, effectively provide a snapshot of the receptor's assembly state at the time of extraction, enabling detailed analysis of …

Evaluating Experiential Learning In Undergraduate Agricultural Education: A Content Analysis Of Course Syllabi From A College Of Agriculture, Tyler Newberry

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

This study evaluated the presence and depth of experiential learning within undergraduate course syllabi from the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment. Through a content analysis of 41 syllabi across five academic majors, the study examined how course objectives and assignments aligned with Kolb’s Experiential learning cycle (1984), Webb’s depth of knowledge (1997), and Joplin’s Mini to maxi Scale (1981). A structured coding instrument was used to quantify the frequency of learning elements across these three frameworks. The findings revealed that Abstract Conceptualization and Reflective Observation were the most common stages in both objectives and assignments, while Concrete Experience …

Exploiting Artificial Intelligence And Optimization For Smart Agriculture, Jackson K. Butcher

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

Dynamic integration of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a vital component for unlocking the potential of smart agriculture. Currently, limitations such as limited computational resources, poor network connectivity, and rigid treatment strategies stifle optimal agricultural outcomes. This creates a challenge of leveraging the capabilities of modern artificial intelligence to combat the natural and artificial constraints of the smart agriculture environment. The primary contribution of this thesis is the development of frameworks to alleviate the overhead data and computational demand for AI within smart agriculture settings. The first framework, iCrop+, utilizes TinyML and LoRa to guarantee high-precision …

Sedimentary Archives Of Late Quaternary Limnological, Ecological, And Environmental Change In The Eastern Sierra Nevada (California, Usa), Bailee Hodelka

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Sierra Nevada essentially serve as the headwaters of California, providing crucial freshwater to the state through seasonal snowmelt. This water supply is threatened by climate change in complex ways that are not fully understood. Geological records provide a valuable source of information on how the hydrology, limnology, and ecology of the Sierra Nevada region has responded to climate changes of the past. This dissertation presents new sedimentary and paleoecological research from Mono Lake and Convict Lake (Mono County, California) and aims to shed light on environmental changes in the eastern Sierra Nevada from ~16 ka to present.

At Mono …

Measurement Of Two-Point Energy Correlators Within Jets In P+P Collisions At Sqrt[S]=200  Gev, Star Collaboration

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Hard-scattered partons ejected from high-energy proton-proton collisions undergo parton shower and hadronization, resulting in collimated collections of particles that are clustered into jets. A substructure observable that highlights the transition between the perturbative and nonperturbative regimes of jet evolution in terms of the angle between two particles is the two-point energy correlator (EEC). In this Letter, the first measurement of the EEC at RHIC is presented, using data taken from 200 GeV p þ p collisions by the STAR experiment. The EEC is measured both for all the pairs of particles in jets and separately for pairs with like and …

Design Of The Ecce Detector For The Electron Ion Collider, J. K. Adkins

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The EIC Comprehensive Chromodynamics Experiment (ECCE) detector has been designed to address the full scope of the proposed Electron Ion Collider (EIC) physics program as presented by the National Academy of Science and provide a deeper understanding of the quark–gluon structure of matter. To accomplish this, the ECCE detector offers nearly acceptance and energy coverage along with excellent tracking and particle identification. The ECCE detector was designed to be built within the budget envelope set out by the EIC project while simultaneously managing cost and schedule risks. This detector concept has been selected to be the basis for the EIC …

Simpson's Tachytely Or Bradytely? The Importance Of Quantifying Rate Uncertainty, Rosana Zenil-Ferguson, Lee Hsiang Liow

Biology Faculty Publications

The spectacular variation in species forms and richness across space and time can be explored using sophisticated and powerful tools recently developed by evolutionary modellers. In this contribution, we ask if the classic ‘Simpsonian’ view of tachytelic (fast), horotelic (standard) and bradytelic (slow) diversification rates can be distinguished with currently available tools and data. A neglected topic here is the role that the uncertainty of diversification rate estimates plays, where the lack of in-depth uncertainty measures could hinder our ability to confidently suggest differences in speciation or extinction rates in any given comparison. We propose quantifying the relative uncertainty of …

“I Just Don’T Find It Interesting”, Jennifer L. Osterhage, Utku Caybas, Jaeyun Han, Ellen L. Usher

Biology Faculty Publications

Situated expectancy-value theory (SEVT) posits that students’ expectancies for success, task values, and perceived costs affect their performance in STEM courses. Less is known about how students’ majors and timing of course completion affect motivational processes. Using the SEVT framework, this study utilised a convergent mixed methods approach to investigate academic motivation among students (N = 646) who enrolled in introductory biology at a large public university. Survey data revealed that students majoring in Biology were more motivated than students from other majors, although academic major was not directly associated with final grade. Upper-level students reported significantly lower competence-related beliefs …

Review Of Coreless Axial Flux Permanent Magnet Machines With Applications Including Electric Aircraft Propulsion, Matin Vatani, Donovin D. Lewis, John F. Eastham, Dan M. Ionel

Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Research

Axial flux permanent magnet (AFPM) machines with entirely or stator coreless configurations offer significant advantages, including low rotational losses, the absence of cogging torque, minimal torque ripple, and the potential for high specific power density. Advances in permanent magnet (PM) technology and cooling techniques have enabled fully coreless AFPM machines to achieve high magnetic and current loadings without core saturation, making them suitable for high performance applications like electric aircraft propulsion. This paper reviews recent advancements in coreless AFPM machines, tracing their historical and chronological development. Various topologies, including single- and double-sided and multi-disk designs, are examined to identify the …

Two-Level Multi-Objective Design Optimization Including Torque Ripple Minimization For Stator Excited Synchronous And Flux Switching Machines, Ali Mohammadi, Oluwaseun A. Badewa, Yaser Chulaee, Dan M. Ionel

Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Research

Electric machine performance can be enhanced through torque ripple mitigation, which reduces mechanical vibrations and improves system stability and operation. This paper proposes a novel two-level optimization method for synchronous flux-switching and hybrid excitation machines, featuring an innovative multi-point spline shaping approach for torque ripple minimization. The study employs experimentally validated models based on a prototype with a similar topology. The optimization process is implemented on two distinct designs: a 20-pole inner rotor PM-excited stator machine and a 28-pole outer rotor DC-excited stator machine. Analysis results demonstrate that the proposed innovative method significantly reduces torque ripple in both configurations. Force …

Electromagnetic Design Characterization Of Synchronous Machines With Flux Switching Effect Employing Reluctance Rotors And Stators With Pms And Ac Concentrated Coils, Oluwaseun A. Badewa, Ali Mohammadi, Donovin D. Lewis, Somasundaram Essakiappan, Madhav Manjrekar, Dan M. Ionel

Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Research

This paper introduces an innovative design for a synchronous electric motor that has phase coils and permanent magnets (PM) embedded in the stator. The electric machine contains both concentrated winded phase coils in dedicated slots and spoke-type permanent magnets solely in the stator. The spoke-type magnet arrangement achieves a high flux intensity even with low remanence non-rare earth permanent magnets. As the rotor has no active electromagnetic components, the risk for demagnetization is reduced and advanced cooling applied to the stator can enable high-speed operation. The principle of operation and polarity of the motor are investigated with a unique approach …

Virtual Speeches, Real Fears: Public Speaking Anxiety In The Online Communication Classroom, Timothy J. Bill

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

While universities have explored online course offerings for decades, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this trend. The foundational communication course—a course that continues to traditionally emphasize public speaking—has felt the pandemic influence to increase opportunities for students to learn public speaking via online instruction. While scholars have learned much about the student experience of public speaking anxiety (PSA) in face-to-face settings, less is known about their experience of PSA in online courses. This dissertation explored the fears students experience when presenting online and how they view the online presentation environment.

Using Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory as a guide, this dissertation employed …

Chemoproteomic Profiling Of A Carbon-Stabilized Gold(Iii) Macrocycle Reveals Cellular Engagement With Hmox2, Sailajah Gukathasan, Chibuzor Ngozi Olelewe, Libby Ratliff, Jong H. Kim, Alyson M. Ackerman, J. Robert Mccorkle, Sean Parkin, Gunnar F. Kwakye, Jill M. Kolesar, Samuel G. Awuah

Chemistry Faculty Publications

In this work, we discovered a novel organometallic gold(III) macrocycle, Au-Mac1, that demonstrates anticancer potency in a panel of triple-negative breast cancer cells (TNBC), and based on this complex, a biotinylated-Au-Mac1 probe was designed for target identification via chemoproteomics, which uncovered the engagement of HMOX2 of the heme-energy metabolism pathway. Using orthogonal chemical biology and molecular biology approaches, including immunoblotting, flow cytometry, and cellular thermal shift assays, it was confirmed that Au-Mac1 engages HMOX2 in cells. Downstream effects of Au-Mac1 on the depletion of mitochondrial membrane proteins and bioenergetics point to the potential role of HMOX2 in cancer. Importantly, Au-Mac1 …

Electrochemical Observation And Ph Dependence Of All Three Expected Redox Couples In An Extremophilic Bifurcating Electron Transfer Flavoprotein With Fused Subunits, Debarati Das, Wassim El Housseini, Monica Brachi, Shelley D. Minteer, Anne-Frances Miller

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Bifurcating enzymes employ energy from a favorable electron transfer to drive unfavorable transfer of a second electron, thereby generating a more reactive product. They are therefore highly desirable in catalytic systems, for example, to drive challenging reactions such as nitrogen fixation. While most bifurcating enzymes contain air-sensitive metal centers, bifurcating electron transfer flavoproteins (bETFs) employ flavins. However, they have not been successfully deployed on electrodes. Herein, we demonstrate immobilization and expected thermodynamic reactivity of a bETF from a hyperthermophilic archaeon, Sulfolobus acidocaldarius (SaETF). SaETF differs from previously biochemically characterized bETFs in being a single protein, representing a …

Functional Utility Of Gold Complexes With Phosphorus Donor Ligands In Biological Systems, Adedamola S. Arojojoye, Samuel G. Awuah

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Metallo-phosphines are ubiquitous in organometallic chemistry with widespread applications as catalysts in various chemical transformations, precursors for organic electronics, and chemotherapeutic agents or chemical probes. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of the exploration of the current biological applications of Au complexes bearing phosphine donor ligands. The goal is to deepen our understanding of the synthetic utility and reactivity of Au-phosphine complexes to provide insights that could lead to the design of new molecules and enhance the cross-application or repurposing of these complexes.

Association Between Lifetime Interpersonal Violence And Post– Covid-19 Condition Among Women In Kentucky, 2020-2022, Ayşe Güler, Heather M. Bush, Katie Schill, Nurlan Kussainov, Ann L. Coker

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic increased the risk of interpersonal violence. We investigated the association between lifetime interpersonal violence experience and risk of post–COVID-19 condition (the persistence of symptoms of COVID-19 and severity of health problems associated with COVID-19 that last a few weeks, months, or years) among women with lifetime interpersonal violence experience.   Methods: Women participants aged ≥18 years in Kentucky’s Wellness, Health & You—COVID-19 study completed online quantitative surveys about the impacts of the pandemic, developing COVID-19, and symptoms of post–COVID-19 condition. We conducted cross-sectional analyses estimating rate ratios of developing COVID-19 and symptoms of post–COVID-19 condition during the …

Equatorial Flow Triangulations Of Gorenstein Flow Polytopes, Benjamin Braun, Alvaro Cornejo

Mathematics Faculty Publications

Generalizing work of Athanasiadis for the Birkhoff polytope and Reiner and Welker for order polytopes, in 2007 Bruns and Römer proved that any Gorenstein lattice polytope with a regular unimodular triangulation admits a regular unimodular triangulation that is the join of a special simplex with a triangulated sphere. These are sometimes referred to as equatorial triangulations. We apply these techniques to give purely combinatorial descriptions of previously-unstudied triangulations of Gorensten flow polytopes. Further, we prove that the resulting equatorial flow polytope triangulations are usually distinct from the family of triangulations obtained by Danilov, Karzanov, and Koshevoy via framings. We find …

The Matrixschubert Package For Macaulay2, Ayah Almousa, Sean Grate, Daoji Huang, Patricia Klein, Adam Laclair, Yuyuan Luo, Joseph Mcdonough

Mathematics Faculty Publications

We introduce the MatrixSchubert package for the computer algebra system Macaulay2. This package has tools to construct and study matrix Schubert varieties and alternating sign matrix (ASM) varieties. The package also introduces tools for quickly computing homological invariants of such varieties, finding the components of an ASM variety, and checking if a union of matrix Schubert varieties is an ASM variety.

Root Polytopes, Tropical Types, And Toric Edge Ideals, Ayah Almousa, Anton Dochtermann, Ben Smith

Mathematics Faculty Publications

We consider arrangements of tropical hyperplanes where the apices of the hyperplanes are taken to infinity in certain directions. Such an arrangement defines a decomposition of Euclidean space where a cell is determined by its ‘type’ data, analogous to the covectors of an oriented matroid. By work of Develin–Sturmfels and Fink–Rincón, these ‘tropical complexes’ are dual to regular subdivisions of root polytopes, which in turn are in bijection with mixed subdivisions of certain generalized permutohedra. Extending previous work with Joswig–Sanyal, we show how a natural monomial labeling of these complexes describes polynomial relations (syzygies) among ‘type ideals’ which arise naturally …

Ribbon Schur Functors, Keller Vandebogert

Mathematics Faculty Publications

We investigate a generalization of the classical notion of a Schur functor associated to a ribbon diagram. These functors are defined with respect to an arbitrary algebra, and in the case that the underlying algebra is the symmetric/exterior algebra, we recover the classical definition of Schur/Weyl functors, respectively. In general, we construct a family of 3-term complexes categorifying the classical concatenation/nearconcatenation identity for symmetric functions, and one of our main results is that the exactness of these 3-term complexes is equivalent to the Koszul property of the underlying algebra A. We further generalize these ribbon Schur functors to the notion …

Quantitative Bounds In A Popular Polynomial Szemerédi Theorem, Xuancheng Shao, Mengdi Wang

Mathematics Faculty Publications

We obtain polylogarithmic bounds in the polynomial Szemerédi theorem when the polynomials have distinct degrees and zero constant terms. Specifically, let $A$ .

Koszulity, Supersolvability And Stirling Representations, Ayah Almousa, Victor Reiner, Sheila Sundaram

Mathematics Faculty Publications

Supersolvable hyperplane arrangements and matroids are known to give rise to certain Koszul algebras, namely their Orlik–Solomon algebras and graded Varchenko–Gel’fand algebras. We explore how this interacts with group actions, particularly for the braid arrangement and the action of the symmetric group, where the Hilbert functions of the algebras and their Koszul duals are given by Stirling numbers of the first and second kinds, respectively. The corresponding symmetric group representations exhibit branching rules that interpret Stirling number recurrences, which are shown to apply to all supersolvable arrangements. They also enjoy representation stability properties that follow from Koszul duality.

Sharing Pizza Among A Two Power Number Of Friends, Christian Ehrenborg, Didrik Ehrenborg, Michaël Ehrenborg, Richard Ehrenborg

Mathematics Faculty Publications

We extend the work of Hirschhorn, Hirschhorn, Hirschhorn, Hirschhorn and Hirschhorn on the problem of sharing pizza among several people. More specifically, we present a class of Coxeter arrangements in an even dimension n such that if one cuts a ball containing the origin with one of these arrangements, the slices can be partitioned into 2^n/2 blocks such that each block has the same volume.

Sonic Photovoice And Critical Literacy: Listening To And Sounding What Is Me, What Is Not Me, And What Is Between, Alexander Chadwell

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

This study examined sonic photovoice, a sound-based arts research method, as a tool for developing critical literacy in middle and high school students. Participants found and recorded sounds related to three categories, “what is me,” “what is not me,” and “what is between,” composed a sound collage using the sounds, and reflected on the experience. Framed by 4EA cognition, participatory sensemaking, and relational and everyday aesthetics, the study explored how listening and sounding shaped students’ conceptions of self and reality. Data from recordings, journals, and interviews suggest that the sonic engagement can foster relational, emergent understandings of self and …

High-Resolution Geospatial Database: National Criteria-Air-Pollutant Concentrations In The Contiguous U.S., 2016–2020, Tianjun Lu, Sun-Young Kim, Julian D. Marshall

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Concentration estimates for ambient air pollution are used widely in fields such as environmental epidemiology, health impact assessment, urban planning, environmental equity and sustainability. This study builds on previous efforts by developing an updated high-resolution geospatial database of population-weighted annual-average concentrations for six criteria air pollutants (PM_2.5, PM₁₀, CO, NO₂, SO₂, O₃) across the contiguous U.S. during a five-year period (2016–2020). We developed Land Use Regression (LUR) models within a partial-least-squares–universal kriging framework by incorporating several land use, geospatial and satellite–based predictor variables. The LUR models were validated using conventional …

Igc Oral Presentation Summary: Xxv Igc Congress, S. Ray Smith, Echo Elizabeth Gotsick, J. R. Weinert-Nelson, Alayna Jacobs, Christopher D. Teutsch, Will Fleming, D. R. Woodfield, James L. Klotz, Jeff Lehmkuhler, Greg S. Halich, Brittany Davis, Brittany Hendrix, Krista Lea

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

This paper will give an overview of the XXV International Grassland Congress thematic, keynote, and plenary sessions. The theme of the XXV IGC Congress meeting was “Grasslands for Soil, Animal, and Human Health.” We had many people attending, presenting, and participating in all these sessions. Within a month after the conclusion of the Congress, the proceeding’s papers presented at the meeting will be available on the IGC app. By the end of 2023 all papers will be available for download through any search engine at internationalgrasslands.org.