Digital Commons Network^™

Symbol-Temporal Consistency Self-Supervised Learning For Robust Time Series Classification, Kevin Garcia, Cassandra Garza, Brooklyn Berry, Yifeng Gao

Computer Science Faculty Publications

The surge in the significance of time series in digital health domains necessitates advanced methodologies for extracting meaningful patterns and representations. Self-supervised contrastive learning has emerged as a promising approach for learning directly from raw data. However, time series data in digital health is known to be highly noisy, inherently involves concept drifting, and poses a challenge for training a generalizable deep learning model. In this paper, we specifically focus on data distribution shift caused by different human behaviors and propose a self-supervised learning framework that is aware of the bag-of-symbol representation. The bag-of-symbol representation is known for its insensitivity …

Working With Physical And Virtual Manipulatives: A Systematic Review Of Affordance And Cognitive Engagement Manifested Through Implementation, Seokmin Kang, Chun-Hao Chang, Sungyeun Kim

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

Virtual tools are rapidly supplementing physical tools in classrooms. Although extensive research has compared the benefits of using virtual and physical manipulatives, few studies have systematically explored the learning benefits of using a physical and a virtual tool. As the major learning goal in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is to help students better understand scientific and mathematical concepts and processes, this study reviewed empirical studies comparing learning performance between working with physical and virtual manipulatives published between 2000 and 2022 in Education and Psychology journals. The results revealed inconsistent patterns in learning comparison across studies even with …

The B3 Scholar Seal: Designing And Implementing An Alternative To The Sobl At A Hispanic-Serving Institution In South Texas, Katherine Christoffersen, Dania López García

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications

This chapter describes how the Bilingualism, Biculturalism, and Biliteracy (B3) Institute at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) developed the B3 Scholar Seal. Since its founding, UTRGV has provided a rare example of dual language education at the university level, offering courses taught bilingually or in Spanish across diverse disciplines. However, the language of these courses was not formally recognized upon graduation. The B3 Institute developed the B3 Scholar Seal to acknowledge students who successfully complete five courses, including at least three courses taught in Spanish or bilingually and at least one course, including culturally sustaining pedagogy. In …

Disability Awareness And Inclusion, Claudia C. Gonzalez, Raquel C. Vasquez, Bruce J. Reed

School of Rehabilitation Services & Counseling Faculty Publications

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021) reported an increase in the prevalence of persons with disabilities affecting one in four people in the United States. Disability awareness and inclusion describe how a combination of understanding, acknowledgment, compassion, and acceptance can allow persons with disability the same opportunities as those without disabilities. This can be seen with the increase in persons with a disability graduating from postsecondary institutions, about 14% from 2012 to 2022 of persons over 25. This chapter covers foundational material regarding disability awareness and inclusion, including the prevalence of disability in general and in educational settings, …

Assessing Inter-Organizational Collaboration Within The Transboundary Network Governing The Conservation Of Southern Resident Killer Whales, Dane Pedersen, Owen Temby, Antonia Sohns, Evelyn Roozee, Gordon M. Hickey

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) is an endangered and charismatic species whose home range spans the Salish Sea, an ecosystem that extends across the Canada-US border. Conserving and recovering the SRKW represents a high-profile transboundary governance challenge that depends heavily on collaboration between a wide range of organizations. To better understand the factors affecting transboundary SRKW governance in the Salish Sea, this study applies a multi-dimensional trust, control, perceived risk framework to assess the inter-organizational architecture supporting collaboration. The analysis is based on key informant interviews (n=32) and surveys (n=35) conducted with policy actors working for different organizations involved …

Dataset On Indoor And Outdoor Pm2.5 Concentrations At Two Residences Using Low-Cost Sensors In The Rio Grande Valley Region Of South Texas, Kabir Bahadur Shah, Sai Deepak Pinakana, Mkhitar A. Hobosyan, Armando Montes, Amit U. Raysoni

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is one of the criteria air pollutants associated with adverse respiratory and cardiovascular health effects. This dataset contains hourly and daily averaged measurements of PM2.5 concentrations (µg/m3) collected from two residential homes in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Region of South Texas, using PurpleAir-II-SD low-cost sensor. In addition, the dataset also includes temperature (ºC) and relative humidity (%) measured by the sensors. The data was collected for one month during the summer season from indoor (kitchen) and outdoor (front yard) environments at two locations: Home-1 in Weslaco City from June 16, 2024, to July 16, 2024, …

Evaluation Of The Stability Of Argan Oil Nanoemulsions Formulated And Optimized Through Experimental Design For Dermatological Applications, Yousra Mdarhri, Ikram Bouziane, Narjisse Mokhtari, Lama Rissouli, Ahmed Touhami, Fakhita Touhami, Mohamed Chabbi

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Argan oil is a highly sought-after natural product renowned for its therapeutic and rejuvenating properties. This study focused on harnessing its dermatological bioactivity by developing stable nanoemulsions through a simple low-energy method using a single non-ionic surfactant. The composition and properties of Argan oil were analyzed using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Gas Chromatography (GC), and quality indexes, adhering to international standards. The effect of system composition on stability was evaluated using a pseudo-ternary phase diagram and Phase Inversion Composition (PIC) emulsification technique. Optimal process parameters for producing stable nanoemulsion were determined through Response Surface Methodology (RSM) analysis. The resulting nanoemulsions …

An Overview Of Emri Data Analysis, Zou Xiaobo, Soumya Mohanty, Xie Qunying, Chen Xian, Luo Honggang, Liu Yuxiao, Han Wenbiao, Jiao Jiageng, Zhang Xuehao, Zhao Shaodong

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The Extreme Mass-Ratio Inspiral (EMRI) refers to binary system with a mass ratio between 104 and 107, where the smaller object loses energy as it inspirals closer to a massive black hole, emitting gravitational waves. It is estimated that there are 105 cycles during the last year before plunge, providing rich information on the evolution of gravitational wave phases. The motion of the smaller object in the strong gravitational field of the massive black hole can reflect the surrounding spacetime structure. The massive black hole is typically located at the center of a galaxy, in which the galaxy environment leaves …

The Gaps Programme At Tng: Lxv. Precise Density Measurement Of Toi-1430 B, A Young Planet With An Evaporating Atmosphere, D. Nardiello, J. M. Akana Murphy, R. Spinelli, M. Baratella, S. Desidera, V. Nascimbeni, L. Malavolta, K. Biazzo, A. Maggio, Ryan J. Oelkers

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Context. Small-sized (< 4 R_⊕) exoplanets in tight orbits around young stars (10–1000 Myr) give us the opportunity to investigate the mechanisms that led to their formation, the evolution of their physical and orbital properties, and, in particular, their atmospheres. Thanks to the all-sky survey carried out by the TESS spacecraft, many of these exoplanets have been discovered, and have subsequently been characterized with dedicated follow-up observations.

Aims. In the context of a collaboration among the Global Architecture of Planetary Systems (GAPS) team, the TESS-Keck Survey (TKS) team, and the California Planet Search (CPS) team, we measured …

The Taylor Resolution Over A Skew Polynomial Ring, Luigi Ferraro, Desiree Martin, W. Frank Moore

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Let k be a field and let I be a monomial ideal in the polynomial ring Q = k[x1, . . . , xn]. In her thesis, Taylor introduced a complex which provides a finite free resolution for Q/I as a Q-module. Later, Gemeda constructed a differential graded structure on the Taylor resolution. More recently, Avramov showed that this differential graded algebra admits divided powers. We generalize each of these results to monomial ideals in a skew polynomial ring R. Under the hypothesis that the skew commuting parameters defining R are roots of unity, we prove as an application that …

Polar Decompositions And Spectral Properties Of Linear Operator Pencils, Slaviša Djordjević, Jaewoong Kim, Jasang Yoon

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

In this paper, we introduce the spherical polar decomposition of the linear pencil of an ordered pair T=(T1,T2) . Using this decomposition, we define the generalized spherical Aluthge transforms for the linear pencil of an ordered pair T=(T1,T2) and give spectral properties between the linear pencil and the generalized spherical Aluthge transform of it. In detail, we study whether the spectral properties of the linear pencil of an ordered pair T=(T1,T2) are invariant under the generalized spherical Aluthge transform.

Editorial Insights: Reflections On The Volume And Charge To The Field, Heather Howell, Meghan Shaughnessy, Barbara Stengal, Carrie Wilkerson Lee, Liza Bondurant, Bima Sapkota, Gregory Benoit, Yvonne Lai

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

In this, the final chapter of Section 3, the authors document an interview that took place in June of 2024, as the editorial team wrapped up reviews of the chapters submitted to this volume. The interview was led by two of the advisory board members, Meghan Shaughnessy and Barbara Stengal, and included the editorial group, Heather Howell, Carrie Wilkerson Lee, Liza Bondurant, and Bima Sapkota, and other members of the advisory board, Greg Benoit and Yvonne Lai. The motivation to create this interview-based chapter was to capture some of the authors' own learning and reflection as they brought the volume …

Generalizations Of Some Q-Product Identities Of Ramanujan And Others, Timothy J. Huber, James Mclaughlin, Dongxi Ye

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

By considering certain limiting cases of a WP-Bailey chain discovered by Andrews, and also limiting cases of certain classical summation formulae for basic hypergeometric series, we derive new expressions for certain Lambert series in terms of basic hypergeometric series. In some cases, the resulting series involve an arbitrary Bailey pair. This allows for the derivation of new basic hypergeometric expansions for some q-products and series that Ramanujan expressed in terms of Lambert series. Some of Ramanujan’s identities are extended to more general relations containing one or more free parameters.

Carbon Sequestration Through Conservation Tillage In Sandy Soils Of Arid And Semi-Arid Climates: A Meta-Analysis, Samantha Lynn Colunga, Leila Wahab, Alejandro Fierro-Cabo, Engil Isadora Pujol Pereira

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Highlights

• Under CST, SOC increased by 12.74 ± 1.46 % in sandy soils with 5 of the 6 practices contributing to this rise.
• SOC increased up to 15 years post-CST conversion, but more research is needed to assess long-term effects.
• SOC increased by 13% in soils with over 56% sand content under CST.
• SOC increased by 15% in the 0-20 cm depth under CST, with no significant increase at greater depths.
• SOC increased under CST when nitrogen was applied at rates up to 100 kg N ha⁻¹.

Abstract

This meta-analysis assessed soil organic carbon (SOC) percent changes in sandy soils, …

Examining The Presence And Effects Of Coherence And Fragmentation In The Gulf Of Maine Fishery Management Network, Derek A. Katznelson, Antonia Sohns, Dongkyu Kim, Evelyn Roozee, William Donner, Andrew M. Song, Jasper R. De Vries, Owen Temby, Gordon M. Hickey

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Natural resource management networks cohere due to mutual dependencies and fragment, in part, due to the perceived risks of interaction. However, research on these networks has tended to accept coherence a priori rather than problematizing dependence, and few studies exist on interorganizational risk perception. This article presents the results of a study operationalizing these concepts and measuring the distribution of three types of dependence (capital, legitimacy, and regulatory) and two types of perceived risk (performance and sanction) among nearly fifty stakeholder groups and organizations participating in the management of fisheries in the binational Gulf of Maine. The analysis reveals an …

Nesting Population Trend Of The Leatherback Sea Turtle In Bocas Del Toro Province And Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, Panama For The Period 2002–2022, Sonia Gutiérrez Parejo, Susan E. Piacenza, Raúl García, Cristina Ordóñez, Roldán A. Valverde

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Sea turtle biologists have made sustained efforts to understand the global status of leatherback sea turtle populations. However, despite progress in assessments, demographics, and ecology, key uncertainties persist in tracking leatherback population trends. Trend analyses have historically focused on nesting beaches, with nest counts providing a widely used index for population abundance. Here, we analysed 20 years of annual nest abundance at four main nesting beaches (Soropta, Bluff, Playa Larga and Chiriquí) in Bocas del Toro province and the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, Panama, which constitute the largest nesting leatherback sea turtle population in Central America. We conducted daily nest counts during …

Isolation And Molecular Identification Of Pathogens Causing Sea Turtle Egg Fusariosis In Key Nesting Beaches In Costa Rica, Keilor E. Cordero-Umaña, Ruth Hernando-Martínez, María Martínez-Ríos, Jaime Restrepo, Roldán A. Valverde, Laura Martín-Torrijos, Pilar Santidrián Tomillo, Javier Diéguez-Uribeondo

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The global rise of fungal pathogens presents an emerging threat to biodiversity, with significant risks to species such as endangered sea turtles. The fungal disease known as sea turtle egg fusariosis (STEF) is associated with high embryo mortality rates and represents a substantial conservation challenge. This disease is caused by two fungal species, namely Fusarium falciforme (Ff) and Fusarium keratoplasticum (Fk), and their identification is essential for guiding future efforts to address potential fungal infections, particularly on important nesting beaches such as those in Costa Rica. In this study, we conducted fungal isolations from sea turtle eggshells …

Understanding Women, Infant And Children Feeding Decisions In Emergencies: The Case Of Covid-19 And The Formula Shortage, Davida Mensah, Edmund F. Agyemang, Constance Gewa

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: The advantages of breastfeeding and its role in emergencies are undeniable. Studies show that many women in developed countries choose formula over breastmilk, even in emergencies. Nevertheless, no one knows if postpartum women under the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program turned out to breastfeed or re-lactate their infants during these crises. This study aims to better understand WIC participants' perceptions about breastfeeding their babies in emergencies.

Methods: A chi-square test of independence was used to assess the association between breastfeeding choice and demographic characteristics and potential covariates of respondents. A post hoc analysis using Dunn's multiple comparisons test …

Magnetized Neutral 2sc Color Superconductivity And Possible Origin Of The Inner Magnetic Field Of Magnetars, Shuai Yuan, Efrain J. Ferrer, Alejandro Pinero

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

In this paper, the neutral 2SC phase of color superconductivity is investigated in the presence of a magnetic field and for diquark coupling constants and baryonic densities that are expected to characterize neutron stars. Specifically, the behavior of the charged gluons Meissner masses is investigated in the parameter region of interest, taking into account, in addition, the contribution of a rotated magnetic field. It is found that up to moderately high diquark coupling constants the mentioned Meissner masses become tachyonic independently of the applied magnetic-field amplitude, hence signalizing the chromomagnetic instability of this phase. To remove the instability, the restructuring …

Effects Of Missing Data Imputation Methods On Univariate Blood Pressure Time Series Data Analysis And Forecasting With Arima And Lstm, Nicholas Niako, Jesus D. Melgarejo, Gladys E. Maestre, Kristina Vatcheva

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Missing observations within the univariate time series are common in real-life and cause analytical problems in the flow of the analysis. Imputation of missing values is an inevitable step in every incomplete univariate time series. Most of the existing studies focus on comparing the distributions of imputed data. There is a gap of knowledge on how different imputation methods for univariate time series affect the forecasting performance of time series models. We evaluated the prediction performance of autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and long short-term memory (LSTM) network models on imputed time series data using ten different imputation techniques. …

Highway Crossing Rates Of Wild Felids Before, During, And After Wildlife Crossing Structure Installation, Sarah E. Lehnen, Mitch Sternberg, Hilary M. Swarts, John H. Young Jr., Victoria Hanley, Richard J. Kline

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

In an environment increasingly dominated by roads, wildlife crossing structures (WCS) have been installed to decrease wildlife mortality and improve habitat linkages. In South Texas, vehicle collisions have been a major mortality source for the endangered ocelot ( Leopardus pardalis ). To mitigate threats to this species, eight WCS, along with associated fencing, were strategically placed along Farm‐to‐Market Road 106 (FM106), which passes through ocelot habitat. We assessed the rate of on‐roadway crossings and WCS use by GPS‐collared animals before, during, and after WCS installation using camera traps to verify WCS use. Because of the rarity of ocelots in this …

A Search Using Geo600 For Gravitational Waves Coincident With Fast Radio Bursts From Sgr 1935+2154, A. G. Abac, R. Abbott, I. Abouelfettouh, Teviet Creighton, Mario C. Diaz, Francisco Llamas Villarreal, Soma Mukherjee, Volker Quetschke, Wenhui Wang

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The magnetar SGR 1935+2154 is the only known Galactic source of fast radio bursts (FRBs). FRBs from SGR 1935+2154 were first detected by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME)/FRB and the Survey for Transient Astronomical Radio Emission 2 in 2020 April, after the conclusion of the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA Collaborations' O3 observing run. Here, we analyze four periods of gravitational wave (GW) data from the GEO600 detector coincident with four periods of FRB activity detected by CHIME/FRB, as well as X-ray glitches and X-ray bursts detected by NICER and NuSTAR close to the time of one of the …

On The Power Series Method For Solitons And Peakons Of Nonlinear Pde, Erika Olivares, Vesselin Vatchev

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

In this paper we discuss the power series method to obtain traveling wave solutions of nonlinear PDE in one space variable. The method, including a recursive procedure for the coefficients and error estimate for the partial sums, is presented for the Camassa-Holm equation. Numerical examples of approximate single soliton and single peakon solutions are included.

Review Of Supporting Secondary Teachers' Critical Disciplinary Literacies, Tim Sears

Open Educational Resources - Reviews

No abstract provided.

A Supervised Machine Learning Statistical Design Of Experiment Approach To Modeling The Barriers To Effective Snakebite Treatment In Ghana, Eric Nyarko, Edmund F. Agyemang, Ebenezer Kwesi Ameho, Louis Agyekum, José María Gutiérrez, Eduardo Alberto Fernandez

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Background

Snakebite envenoming is a serious condition that affects 2.5 million people and causes 81,000–138,000 deaths every year, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions. The World Health Organization has set a goal to halve the deaths and disabilities related to snakebite envenoming by 2030. However, significant challenges in achieving this goal include a lack of robust research evidence related to snakebite incidence and treatment, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to combine established methodologies with the latest tools in Artificial Intelligence to assess the barriers to effective snakebite treatment in Ghana.

Method

We used a MaxDiff statistical experiment design …

Rapid Characterization Of Exoplanet Atmospheres With The Exoplanet Transmission Spectroscopy Imager, Luke M. Schmidt, Ryan J. Oelkers, Erika Cook, Mary Anne Limbach, Darren L. Depoy, Jennifer L. Marshall, Landon Holcomb, Willians Pena, Jacob Purcell, Enrique Gonzalez Vega

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The Exoplanet Transmission Spectroscopy Imager (ETSI) amalgamates a low-resolution slitless prism spectrometer with custom multi-band filters to simultaneously image 15 spectral bandpasses between 430 and 975 nm with an average spectral resolution of R = λ / δ λ ∼ 20 . ETSI requires only moderate telescope apertures ( ∼ 2 m ), is capable of characterizing an exoplanet atmosphere in as little as a single transit, enabling the selection of the most interesting targets for further characterization with other ground and space-based observatories, and is also well suited to multi-band observations of other variable and transient objects. This enables …

Source Anisotropies And Pulsar Timing Arrays, Bruce Allen, Deepali Agarwal, Joseph D. Romano, Serena Valtolina

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) hunt for gravitational waves (GWs) by searching for the correlations that GWs induce in the time-of-arrival residuals from different pulsars. If the GW sources are of astrophysical origin, then they are located at discrete points on the sky. However, PTA data are often modeled, and subsequently analyzed, via a “standard Gaussian ensemble.” That ensemble is obtained in the limit of an infinite density of vanishingly weak, Poisson-distributed sources. In this paper, we move away from that ensemble, to study the effects of two types of “source anisotropy.” The first (a), which is often called “shot noise,” …

Intraspecific Variability Of Rice Root Knot Nematodes Across Diverse Agroecosystems For Sustainable Management, Sandip Mondal, Arnab Purohit, Anjan Hazra, Sampa Das, Manohar Chakrabarti, Matiyar Rahaman Khan, Horacio Lopez-Nicora, Dipankar Chakraborti, Abhishek Mukherjee

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

In the rice agroecosystems of Southeast Asia, rice root knot nematode (Meloidogyne graminicola) significantly impairs yield, representing a major species within the ‘graminis-group’ known for its morphological similarities with other root knot nematodes (RKNs). This study delves into the variations in reproductive potential, morphology, morphometrics, and genetic diversity among thirty RKN populations in rice across three distinct agroecological zones in Jharkhand, India. Despite notable differences in reproductive potential among the populations, morphological and morphometric correlations to reproductive potential were inconclusive. However, male and juvenile morphometrics were crucial for identifying intraspecific variability. Genetic analysis utilizing five molecular markers (ITS, …

Reinforcement Learning-Based Optimal Control Of Uncertain Nonlinear Systems, Miguel Garcia, Wenjie Dong

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper considers the optimal control of a second-order nonlinear system with unknown dynamics. A new reinforcement learning based approach is proposed with the aid of direct adaptive control. By the new approach actor-critic reinforcement learning algorithms are proposed with three neural network approximation. Simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

The Dynamic Effects Of Transformational Leadership On Employee Retention And Employability Over Time: An Agent-Based Model, Sophia R. Thomas, S. R. Aurora

Management Faculty Publications

Employee retention is a problem for organizations of all sizes. Research has shown that transformational leaders improve retention and reduce turnover; however, there has been little research on the effects of transformational leadership on retention over time while also considering employees’ changing employability. We use agent-based modeling to demonstrate these changing relationships while considering the nature of modern organizations. Our model looks at the relationships between transformational leaders, individual employability, and retention. The model uses data from earlier research to define parameters for these variables, showing how workers and leaders interact and affect employability and retention and how these effects …