Digital Commons Network^™

Hellings And Downs Correlation Of An Arbitrary Set Of Pulsars, Bruce Allen, Joseph D. Romano

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) detect gravitational waves (GWs) via the correlations they induce in the arrival times of pulses from different pulsars. We assume that the GWs are described by a Gaussian ensemble, which models the confusion noise produced by expected PTA sources. The mean correlation h2μu(γ) as a function of the angle γ between the directions to two pulsars was predicted by Hellings and Downs in 1983. The variance σ2tot(γ) in this correlation was recently calculated [B. Allen, Variance of the Hellings-Downs correlation, Phys. Rev. D 107, 043018 (2023)] for a single noise-free pulsar pair at angle γ, …

Stability Analyses On The Effect Of Vaccination And Contact Tracing In Monkeypox Virus Transmission, Solomon Eshun, Richmond Essieku, James Ladzekpo

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Monkeypox is a significant health concern due to its potential for morbidity and occasional mortality. Vaccination and effective contact tracing play pivotal roles in controlling infectious diseases, including monkeypox. This study aims to contribute to our understanding of monkeypox dynamics by developing a comprehensive mathematical model that incorporates key factors such as vaccination, quarantining, and contact tracing. Through rigorous sensitivity analysis, we explore the impact of varying vaccination coverage and contact tracing on the disease’s dynamics. In particular, we investigate the dynamics of the disease in relation to variable vaccination coverage and contact tracing. Our findings highlight the critical role …

Regional Disparity In The Educational Impact Of Covid-19: A Spatial Difference-In-Difference Approach, Dohyo Jeong, Dohyeong Kim, Heba Mohiuddin, Seokmin Kang, Sungyeun Kim

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

The transmission of COVID-19 suddenly shifted most school classes to online lectures, and these unexpected changes often exacerbated existing imbalances by region and school. Our study used land price data as a proxy for regional wealth and empirically examined the inflation of education inequality between the areas with high and low land prices during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea. The gaps in the average high school Math and English scores between 2019 and 2020 (Y1 effect) and 2019 and 2021 (Y2 effect) are used as the main educational outcomes. We utilized the spatial difference-in-difference (DID) method to reflect the …

Effects Of Machining Parameters Of C45 Steel Applying Vegetable Lubricant With Minimum Quantity Cooling Lubrication (Mqcl), Mayur A. Makhesana, Prashant J. Bagga, Kaushik M. Patel, Jaime Taha-Tijerina

Informatics and Engineering Systems Faculty Publications

One of the most significant performance indicators for measuring the machinability of materials is tool wear and surface roughness. Choosing the best combination of cutting parameters can help reduce production costs, which is what the manufacturing industry is interested in. At the same time, industries are always looking for an alternative to conventional flood cooling since its use creates an environmental burden and health concerns for the operators. Therefore, vegetable oil-based minimum quantity cooling lubrication (MQCL) is considered a cutting environment. Sunflower oil is utilized as base fluid in MQCL and applied to the cutting zone through a nozzle. The …

Opening Up Research On The Teaching Of Reading By Looking Beyond Us Borders: What We Might Learn From Early Literacy Instruction In China, Danling Fu, Xiaodi Zhou

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

This article discusses early literacy instruction in China, including the impact of biliteracy education on Chinese society. This presentation is based on interviews with over two dozen scholars of Chinese literacy instruction, as well as primary early grades language arts classroom teachers from four different regions across China. The purpose of this examination of literacy education in China is to open our views of literacy instruction beyond US borders, especially in those countries with different language/literacy systems. Because of the rapid increase of emergent bilingual students in our schools, we need to gain a better understanding of literacy and biliteracy …

Effects Of Short-Term Exposure To A Pesticide Mixture On Free-Swimming Behavior In Goldfish, Carassius Auratus, Esmirna Cantu, Michelle Rivera, Brittney Lacy, Md. Saydur Rahman

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Highlights

• We observed effects of pesticides exposure on free-swimming behaviors in goldfish.

• Pesticides profoundly impacting natural swimming patterns.

• Behavioral analysis showed a dose- and time-dependent, decrease in distance swam.

• Vertical/horizontal spatial behavioral use both affected under exposure conditions.

Abstract

The prevalence of pesticides in the aquatic environment continues to increase due to anthropogenic activities and poses a threat to aquatic organisms. Notably, the intensive use of pesticides can cause detrimental effects (i.e., chemical stressors) on animal behavior. The aim of this study was to determine the short-term exposure effects (5-day) of an environmentally relevant pesticide mixture (low- and high-dose: metolachlor …

Forecasting Retention Among At-Risk College Freshmen Students Through Completion Of A Stem Intervention, Edna Orozco

Theses and Dissertations

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) areas are one of the fastest-growing majors in the nation, engineering, is projected to add the second largest number of new jobs from 2016 to 2026 with 140,000 new jobs (Torpey, 2018). Unfortunately, there is a disparity between enrollment and graduation rates (Chen, 2015; Lucas & Spina, 2022). According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) (2017) despite all the research done throughout decades to improve the issue of retention in STEM areas about half of the students who pursue a degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) will either leave or …

Vibration-Based Machine Learning Models For Condition Monitoring Of Railroad Rolling Stock, Sergio M. Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

One of the primary causes of rail rolling stock derailments is attributed to bearing and wheel axle failures. The health of train bearings is primarily monitored at target locations through wayside detection systems. This practice is susceptible to bearing failure and potential derailments at points in between these wayside systems. To remedy this, the University Transportation Center for Railway Safety (UTCRS) has developed a wireless onboard monitoring system that can continuously monitor the vibration response, which directly correlates to the health of bearings. This data is used to train regression-based machine learning algorithms and long-term prediction neural networks to predict …

Two-Dimensional Nanomaterials And Nanocomposites For Sensing, Separation, And Energy Applications, Md Ashiqur Rahman

Theses and Dissertations

Two-dimension (2D) nanomaterials have gained popularity for the last few decades due to their excellent mechanical, electrical and thermal properties. These unique properties of 2D nanomaterials can be exploited in various applications specially in sensor, energy, and separation devices. In this study, the sensing and energy generation performance of PVDF/PAni fiber mat systems made by the forcespinning method with and without graphene coating. The graphene-coated nanocomposites show an average output voltage of 75 mV (peak-to-peak) which is 300% higher compared to bare fiber mats and an output current of 24 mA (peak-to-peak) by gentle finger pressing. Moreover, the graphene-coated PVDF/PAni …

Manufacturing Of A Flexible Piezoelectric Nanogenerator By Functionalizing Polyvinylidene Fluoride With Lithium Tantalate And Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes For Energy Harvesting And Sensing Applications, Islam Uddin Shipu

Theses and Dissertations

Mechanical energy is one of the readily accessible green energy sources that could be employed to meet the small-scale energy requirement. In order to capture mechanical energy, power the next generation of electronic gadgets, and health monitoring flexible piezoelectric nanogenerators made of light weight polymers and carbon nanotubes have drawn a lot of attention. Lithium tantalate (LiTaO3), a ferroelectric substance, was prepared here and utilized to create a flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator (FPNG). A compact piezoelectric nanogenerator that successfully transfers mechanical energy into electricity was then created using lightweight polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT), and LiTaO3 nanoparticles. To create …

Indium Doped Zinc Stannate-Pdms Based Piezoelectric Generator For Harvesting Mechanical Energy And Sensory Application, Tamanna Zakia

Theses and Dissertations

Piezoelectric materials are comparatively new among other alternative energy sources. Harvesting waste mechanical energy through these materials can be a potential solution of the increasing energy demand. In response to applied mechanical stress, piezoelectric materials accumulate electric charges on their surface. Upon connecting with a circuit, accumulated charges can flow and generate electricity. Based on this hypothesis piezoelectric nano-generator has been fabricated. Binary semiconducting oxides such as ZnO, TiO2 and SnO2 have attracted immense interest as they have unique properties of electron mobility. However, there is always a need for specially designed semiconductors to better match with the properties. This …

Fedbiometric: Image Features Based Biometric Presentation Attack Detection Using Hybrid Cnns-Svm In Federated Learning, S M Sarwar

Theses and Dissertations

In the past few years, biometric identification systems have become popular for personal, national, and global security. In addition to other biometric modalities, facial and fingerprint recognition have gained popularity due to their uniqueness, stability, convenience, and cost-effectiveness compared to other biometric modalities. However, the evolution of fake biometrics, such as printed materials, 2D or 3D faces, makeup, and cosmetics, has brought new challenges. As a result of these modifications, several facial and fingerprint Presentation Attack Detection methods have been proposed to distinguish between live and spoof faces or fingerprints. Federated learning can play a significant role in this problem …

A Preliminary Characterization And Assessment Of Mesophotic Octocoral Microbiomes In The Western Gulf Of Mexico, Edward P. Gniffke

Theses and Dissertations

Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems are highly diverse and productive ecosystems in the western Gulf of Mexico which are composed of, in part, by octocorals (subclass Octocorallia). Despite their importance as foundational organisms octocorals are an understudied group in this region, with little known about their microbial community. Ninety-eight Octocoral samples collected from the western and northwestern Gulf of Mexico were sequenced using 16S rRNA sequencing to characterize their microbial communities. The sequenced microbiomes were generally low in diversity composed of a few core microbial taxa. Octocoral group was the main driver of microbiome composition as opposed to depth, season, region, and …

A Novel Technique To Solve Fractional Differential Equations Using Fractional-Order B-Polynomial Basis Set, Md Habibur Rahman

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis uses B-Polynomial bases to solve both one-dimensional and multi-dimensional linear and nonlinear partial differential equations and linear and nonlinear fractional differential equations. The approach involves constructing an operational matrix from the terms of these equations using Caputo's fractional derivative of fractional B-polynomials. This leads to a semi-analytical solution derived from a matrix equation, and the results obtained using this method are compared to analytical and numerical solutions presented by other authors. The method is shown to be effective in calculating approximate solutions for various differential equations and provides a higher accuracy level than finite difference methods. This technique …

Invading The Integrity Of Deep Learning (Dl) Models Using Lsb Perturbation & Pixel Manipulation, Ashraful Tauhid

Theses and Dissertations

The use of deep learning (DL) models for solving classification and recognition-related problems are expanding at an exponential rate. However, these models are computationally expensive both in terms of time and resources. This imposes an entry barrier for low-profile businesses and scientific research projects with limited resources. Therefore, many organizations prefer to use fully outsourced trained models, cloud computing services, pre-trained models are available for download and transfer learning. This ubiquitous adoption of DL has unlocked numerous opportunities but has also brought forth potential threats to its prospects. Among the security threats, backdoor attacks and adversarial attacks have emerged as …

Matrix Completion Problems For The Positiveness And Contraction Through Graphs, Louis C. Christopher

Theses and Dissertations

In this work, we study contractive and positive real matrix completion problems which are motivated in part by studies on sparce (or dense) matrices for weighted sparse recovery problems and rating matrices with rating density in recommender systems. Matrix completions problems also have many applications in probability and statistics, chemistry, numerical analysis (e.g. optimization), electrical engineering, and geophysics. In this paper we seek to connect the contractive and positive completion property to a graph theoretic property. We then answer whether the graphs of real symmetric matrices having loops at every vertex have the contractive completion property if and only if …

Simulating Motion Success With Muscle Deficiency In A Musculoskeletal Model Using Reinforcement Learning, Daniel Castillo

Theses and Dissertations

Humans possess an extraordinary ability to execute complex movements, captivating the attention of researchers who strive to develop methods for simulating these actions within a physics-based environment. Motion Capture data stands out as a crucial tool among the proven approaches to tackle this challenge. In this research, we explore the effects of decreased muscle force on the body's capacity to perform various tasks, ranging from simple walking to executing complex jumping jacks. Through a systematic reduction of the allowed force applied to individual muscles or muscle groups, we aim to identify the threshold at which the body's muscles tolerate the …

Robust And Uncertainty-Aware Software Vulnerability Detection Using Bayesian Recurrent Neural Networks, Orune Aminul

Theses and Dissertations

Software systems are prone to code defects or vulnerabilities, resulting in several cyberattacks such as hacking, identity breach and information leakage leading to system failure. Vulnerabilities in software systems have severe societal implications, including threats to public safety, financial damage, and even risks to national security. Identifying and mitigating software vulnerabilities is critical to protect organizations and societies from potential threats. Machine learning algorithms have been employed to detect and classify potential vulnerabilities in software source code automatically. However, these algorithms are not robust to noise or malicious attacks and cannot quantify uncertainty in the model’s output. Quantifying uncertainty in …

Organocatalyzed Four-Component On-Water Green Synthesis Of Spiroindolinpyranopyrazole, Tanzida Zubair

Theses and Dissertations

Although many synthetic and natural pharmaceuticals and drug-like compounds contain spiro center(s) in their structures, the synthesis of spiro centers is seen to be an exciting and difficult area of research. The synthesis of spiro compounds and their derivatives was carried out using a four-component process that included reagents like hydrazine hydrate, isatin, malononitrile, and an active methylene compound like ethyl acetoacetate. Microwave irradiation was used in a short time range (5 – 30 min) and moderate temperature (80°C), with water as a solvent, and N, N-Diisopropylethylamine (DIPEA) as a catalyst to give high yield of products. Our process complies …

Design Of Topological Structures With Desired-Shape Mid-Gap State, Elnaz Hamdarsi

Theses and Dissertations

Topological systems with their robust features are of interest in different fields including electronics, acoustics, and photonics. Systems with non-trivial topological configurations are the host of the so-called edge modes with energy eigenfrequency lying at the center of the gap and are protected by the symmetries of the structure. The eigenstates associated with these mid-gap modes are exponentially localized at the boundaries. For practical applications, it is of great interest to design systems that have a protected state not necessarily squeezed towards the edges, and in some cases, it is crucial to have it as a distributed state. Here, using …

Sulfur Cycling Connects Microbiomes And Biogeochemistry In Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Plumes, Zhichao Zhou, Patricia Q. Tran, Alyssa M. Adams, Kristopher Kieft, John A. Breier, Caroline S. Fortunato, Cody S. Sheik, Julie A. Huber, Meng Li, Gregory J. Dick, Karthik Anantharaman

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

In globally distributed deep-sea hydrothermal vent plumes, microbiomes are shaped by the redox energy landscapes created by reduced hydrothermal vent fluids mixing with oxidized seawater. Plumes can disperse over thousands of kilometers and their characteristics are determined by geochemical sources from vents, e.g., hydrothermal inputs, nutrients, and trace metals. However, the impacts of plume biogeochemistry on the oceans are poorly constrained due to a lack of integrated understanding of microbiomes, population genetics, and geochemistry. Here, we use microbial genomes to understand links between biogeography, evolution, and metabolic connectivity, and elucidate their impacts on biogeochemical cycling in the deep sea. Using …

Computational And Experimental Study On Undoped And Er-Doped Lithium Tantalate Nanofluorescent Probes, Mkhitar A. Hobosyan, Andrea Pelayo Carvajal, Bhupendra B. Srivastava, Tamanna Zakia, Mohammed Uddin, Karen S. Martirosyan, Eric Rodriguez, Kofi Nketia Ackaah-Gyasi, Nicholas Dimakis

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present a combined density functional theory (DFT) and experimental work on lithium tantalate LiTaO3 (LT) and its Er-doped counterparts. We calculate the electronic and optical properties for both LT and LT:Er+3, with Er occupying either Li or Ta sites, at 4.167 mol%. The generalized gradient approximation (GGA) calculations show that the Er-4 f bands appear closer to the conduction band bottom and to the valance band top, for the first and second doped configurations, respectively. This agrees with changes in the imaginary part of the frequency dependent dielectric function between the doped configurations. There are striking differences between the …

Open Data From The Third Observing Run Of Ligo, Virgo, Kagra, And Geo, R. Abbott, H. Abe, F. Acernese, Teviet Creighton, Mario C. Diaz, Francisco Llamas, Soma Mukherjee, Gaukhar Nurbek, Volker Quetschke, Wenhui Wang

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The global network of gravitational-wave observatories now includes five detectors, namely LIGO Hanford, LIGO Livingston, Virgo, KAGRA, and GEO 600. These detectors collected data during their third observing run, O3, composed of three phases: O3a starting in 2019 April and lasting six months, O3b starting in 2019 November and lasting five months, and O3GK starting in 2020 April and lasting two weeks. In this paper we describe these data and various other science products that can be freely accessed through the Gravitational Wave Open Science Center at https://gwosc.org. The main data set, consisting of the gravitational-wave strain time series …

Dataset Of Optical And Electronic Properties For Mos2-Graphene Vertical Heterostructures And Mos2-Graphene-Au Heterointerfaces, Sanju Gupta, Panagiota Pimenidou, Miguel Garcia, Shivanshi Das, Nicholas Dimakis

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The computational and experimental data presented in this paper refer to the research article "First-Principles Calculations Integrated with Experimental Optical and Electronic Properties for MoS2-graphene Heterostructures and MoS2-graphene-Au Heterointerfaces". The computational data includes structural information, electronic and optical properties, and data to calculate the work functions for various molybdenum disulfide and graphene heterostructures and their heterointerfaces with gold. The optical properties calculations include the frequency-dependent dielectric function, the refractive index, the reflectivity, the extinction coefficient, and the energy loss function. These properties were calculated using the independent particle approximation (IPA). As for the experimental optoelectronic properties, we measured photoluminescence spectra …

Empowering 5g Mmwave: Leveraging Kml Placemarks For Enhanced Rf Design And Deployment Efficiency, Gustavo A. Fernandez

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

This publication explores the significance of Keyhole Markup Language (KML) in telecommunications, particularly in the context of 5G mmWave RF design and planning. With the advent of 5G mmWave technology, the demand for seamless and efficient network deployments has never been greater. The deployment of small cells and repeaters for 5G mmWave necessitates utmost precision in location accuracy and rapid information exchange during site surveys and evaluations. The challenges of mmWave frequencies, including their limited range and susceptibility to attenuation, intensify the complexity and criticality of this process. Network operators must ensure that the chosen location is devoid of obstacles …

Visualizing Oceanographic Data To Depict Long-Term Changes In Phytoplankton, Patricia S. Thibodeau, Jongsun Kim

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Oceanographic time series provide an important perspective on environmental processes in ecosystems. The Narragansett Bay Long-Term Plankton Time Series (NBPTS) in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, USA, represents one of the longest plankton time series (1959-present) of its kind in the world and presents a unique opportunity to visualize long-term change within an aquatic ecosystem. Phytoplankton represent the base of the food web in most marine systems, including Narragansett Bay. Therefore, communicating their importance to the 2.4 billion people who live within the coastal ocean is critical. We developed a protocol with the goal of visualizing the diversity and magnitude of …

Ortho-Fluoro Effect On The C–C Bond Activation Of Benzonitrile Using Zerovalent Nickel, Sébastien Lachaize, Dominique C. Gallegos, Juliana J. Antonio, Abdurrahman C. Atesin, Tülay A. Ateşin, William D. Jones

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

The effect of fluoro substitution on the C–C bond activation of aromatic nitriles has been studied by reacting a variety of fluorinated benzonitriles with the nickel(0) fragment [Ni(dippe)] and by locating the reaction intermediates and transition-state structures on the potential energy surface by using density functional theory calculations with the [Ni(dmpe)] fragment (dippe = 1,2-bis(diisopropylphosphino)ethane, dmpe = 1,2-bis(dimethylphosphino)ethane). As in the previous reports, the reaction of fluorinated benzonitriles with the [Ni(dippe)] fragment initially formed an η2-nitrile complex, which then converted to the C–CN bond activation product. Thermodynamic parameters for the equilibrium between these complexes have been determined experimentally in both …

Revision Endoscopic Gastroplasty: An Overview And Review Of Literature, Basil N. Nduma, Kelly A. Mofor, Jason Tatang, Loica Amougou, Stephen Nkeonye, Princess Chineme, Chukwuyem Ekhator, Solomon Ambe

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications

The main aim of this paper was to examine the efficacy and safety of revision endoscopic gastroplasty and some of the adverse events likely to arise from the procedure, as well as the implications for future scholarly research. The study is a systematic review in which the PRISMA protocol was used to govern the article's inclusion and exclusion criteria. The selected studies include those on revising endoscopic gastroplasty's effectiveness and safety. The studies were selected based on multiple parameters. The outcome included weight recidivism, excessive BMI loss, and absolute, total, or percentage weight loss. The outcome of this review confirmed …

The Rayleigh–Bénard Problem For Water With Maximum Density Effects, Mahanthesh Basavarajappa, Dambaru Bhatta

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Linear stability and weakly nonlinear stability analyses are developed for Rayleigh–Bénard convection in water near 3.98 °C subject to isothermal boundary conditions. The density–temperature relationship (equation of state) is approximated by a cubic polynomial, including linear, quadratic, and cubic terms. The continuity equation, the Navier–Stokes momentum equation, the equation of state, and the energy equation constitute the governing system. Linear stability analysis is used to investigate how the maximum density property of water affects the onset of convective instability and the choice of unstable wave number for four different types of boundary conditions. Then, a weakly nonlinear stability study is …

A Method For Calculating Lateral Surface Area Of Bistatic Radar Beam Overlap, James I. Murray, Fredrick A. Jenet

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

It has been shown that bistatic radars using radio telescopes as receivers can be used to increase the sensitivity of orbital debris measurements over traditional terrestrial monostatic radar. A method to calculate the lateral surface area of a bistatic radar is needed to evaluate the efficacy of a proposed bistatic radar configuration for orbital debris measurements. For over three decades, models of the orbital debris (OD) environment in low Earth orbit (LEO) have been developed to assess the risk posed by OD to spacecraft. While terrestrial radar measures debris 3 mm and larger and in situ measurements provide data for …