Digital Commons Network^™

Detection And Monitoring Of Plant Pathogens And Pests, Walter F. Mahaffee, Lindsey D. Thiessen, Kevin M. King, Robin A. Choudhury

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Inferring Binary Parameters With Dual-Line Gravitational Wave Detection From Tight Inspiraling Double Neutron Stars, Wen-Fan Feng, Jie-Wen Chen, Tan Liu, Yan Wang, Soumya D. Mohanty

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Neutron star (NS) binaries can be potentially intriguing gravitational wave sources, with both high- and low-frequency radiation from the possibly aspherical individual stars and the binary orbit, respectively. The successful detection of such a dual-line source could provide fresh insights into binary geometry and NS physics. In the absence of electromagnetic observations, we develop a strategy for inferring the spin-orbit misalignment angle using the tight dual-line double NS system under the spin-orbit coupling. Based on the four-year joint detection of a typical dual-line system with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna and Cosmic Explorer, we find that the misalignment angle and …

The Rider (2024-02-19), Natalie Lapsley

The Rider Archives

Vol.9 No.20

Functional Data Learning Using Convolutional Neural Networks, Jose Galarza, Tamer Oraby

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

In this paper, we show how convolutional neural networks (CNNs) can be used in regression and classification learning problems for noisy and non-noisy functional data (FD). The main idea is to transform the FD into a 28 by 28 image. We use a specific but typical architecture of a CNN to perform all the regression exercises of parameter estimation and functional form classification. First, we use some functional case studies of FD with and without random noise to showcase the strength of the new method. In particular, we use it to estimate exponential growth and decay rates, the bandwidths of …

Using A Two-Way Engagement Community- And Family-Centered Pedagogy To Prepare Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers In A Hispanic-Serving Institution, Olga Ramirez, Mayra Ortiz Galarza, Luis M. Fernandez

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Research on effective methods to prepare pre-service teachers (PSTs) in teaching mathematics to K-12 Latin* students has been gaining significant momentum. These efforts have focused, in part, on promoting pedagogical practices that recognize and incorporate the culture and language that K-12 Latin* students and their communities share. As teacher educators, we argue that if we are to further prepare PSTs to serve the needs of such increasingly diversifying K-12 student population, the same pedagogical focus on the learner’s cultural wealth should also be applied to the preparation of PSTs themselves, especially among Latin* PSTs in Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) like …

Swarm Intelligence Methods For Extreme Mass Ratio Inspiral Search: First Application Of Particle Swarm Optimization, Xiao-Bo Zou, Soumya D. Mohanty, Hong-Gang Luo, Yu-Xiao Liu

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Swarm intelligence (SI) methods are nature-inspired metaheuristics for global optimization that exploit a coordinated stochastic search strategy by a group of agents. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is an established SI method that has been applied successfully to the optimization of rugged high-dimensional likelihood functions, a problem that represents the main bottleneck across a variety of gravitational wave (GW) data analysis challenges. We present results from the first application of PSO to one of the most difficult of these challenges, namely the search for the Extreme Mass Ratio Inspiral (EMRI) in data from future spaceborne GW detectors such as LISA, Taiji, …

Gauss Circle Problem Over Smooth Integers, Ankush Goswami

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

For a positive integer 𝑛, let 𝑟2(𝑛) be the number of representations of 𝑛 as sums of two squares (of integers), where the convention is that different signs and different orders of the summands yield distinct representations. A famous result of Gauss shows that 𝑅(𝑥) ∶= ∑ 𝑛≤𝑥 𝑟2(𝑛) ∼ 𝜋𝑥. Let 𝑃(𝑛) denote the largest prime factor of 𝑛 and let 𝑆(𝑥, 𝑦) ∶= {𝑛 ≤ 𝑥 ∶ 𝑃(𝑛) ≤ 𝑦}. In this paper, we study the asymptotic behavior of 𝑅(𝑥, 𝑦) ∶= ∑ 𝑛∈𝑆(𝑥,𝑦) 𝑟2(𝑛) for various ranges of 2 ≤ 𝑦 ≤ 𝑥. For 𝑦 in a …

Axion-Polaritons In Quark Stars: A Possible Solution To The Missing Pulsar Problem, Efrain J. Ferrer, Vivian De La Incera

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

This paper proposes an alternative mechanism to solve the so-called missing pulsar problem, a standing paradox between the theoretical expectations about the number of pulsars that should exist in the galaxy center of the Milky Way and their absence in the observations. The mechanism is based on the transformation of incident γ rays into hybridized modes, known as axion-polaritons, which can exist inside highly magnetized quark stars with a quark matter phase known as the magnetic dual chiral density wave phase. This phase, which is favored over several other dense matter phases candidates at densities a few times nuclear saturation …

Modelling Of A Drone To Analyze Dynamic Instabilities With Its Delivery System, Eleazar Marquez, Ivan Luna

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

In the study herein, an alternative mathematical model was developed with the intention of understanding the dynamics associated with the instabilities generated by an UAV and its delivery system, particularly the coupled nonlinearities of the system, and thus provide feedback to optimize drone design. In this regard, a Newton-Euler methodology was adopted to establish the parameters of the equations of motion of the target UAV system, which consisted of a combination of a platform and delivery system operating simultaneously. Specifically, the UAV platform was modelled as a rigid body which accounted for a total of six-degrees-of-freedom, three corresponding to the …

Effect Of Foot Additional Mass On The Clinical Angles Of Knee Extension Exercise, Dumitru I. Caruntu, Alfirio Trejo, Eric Rodriguez, Camila T. Alvarez B

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

This study investigates the effect of foot additional mass on the abduction and internal rotation knee angles during knee extension exercise. Three subjects (two male and one female) performed four sets of ten repetitions of the knee extension exercise for the right leg. For the first set, the subject performed the exercise with no additional weight. For each set after, weight was added around the subject’s right foot and the subject was allowed a rest period before beginning the next set. The weights for sets 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 0.00kg (no additional weight) ,0.82kg, 1.64kg, and 2.27kg respectively. …

Predicting Oscillatory Patterns Of Mud Circulating Along The Well-Bore In Drilling Procedures: A Finite Element Model, Eleazar Marquez

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

In this paper, a mathematical model is proposed to further understand the dynamic effects [drilling] mud exerts on the drill-string assembly. The proposed model consists of a rotor subjected to various revolutions per minute (RPM’s), an axial force which accounts for the weight-on bit requirements, and a harmonic excitation simulating fluid mud circulating along the well-bore. In this regard, Euler-Bernoulli beam theory is incorporated to establish a multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) mathematical expression of a specific section of the BHA. In this regard, a finite element methodology was implemented to determine the corresponding parameters of the equation of motion and elucidate the …

Salmonella In The Environment: A Review On Ecology, Antimicrobial Resistance, Seafood Contaminations, And Human Health Implications, Mohammad Maruf Billah, Md Saydur Rahman

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Salmonella is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria that is responsible for numerous food poisoning outbreaks worldwide. With 93.8 million food-borne illnesses and 155,000 fatalities annually, it has emerged as a significant global public health issue. There are currently more than 2,500 distinct Salmonella serotypes, and more than half of them are associated with Salmonella enterica. An increasing global public health concern for humans and animals is antimicrobial resistance by Salmonella species worldwide. Salmonella infections can be lethal; conditioned with an increased prevalence of multi-drug resistant (MDR) strains in the future. The emergence of MDR Salmonella serotypes is considerably …

Computational Modelling Of A Triaxial Vibrating Sample Magnetometer, Leo Rodriguez, Arjun Sapkota, Jonathan Alvarado, Jitendra S. Tate, Wilhelmus J. Geerts

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Magnetic Field Assisted Additive Manufacturing (MFAAM) enables 3D printing of magnetic materials of various shapes which exhibit a complex anisotropy energy surface containing contributions generated from different origins such as sample, particle, and agglomerate shape anisotropy, flow and field induced anisotropy, and particle crystal anisotropy. These novel magnet shapes require the need to measure the x, y, and z components of the magnetic dipole moment simultaneously to fully understand the magnetic reversal mechanism and unravel the complex magnetic anisotropy energy surface of 3D printed magnetic composites. This work aims to develop a triaxial vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) by adding a …

Translanguaging In Mandarin Instruction, Xiaodi Zhou, Xiaochen Du

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

Mandarin has become a growing focus of language instruction in recent decades, and there have been many different approaches, from foreign language education to bilingual education, to dual-language immersion. In many such Mandarin instructional spaces, teachers adhere to the prescribed monolingual policy. In recent years, some have even experimented with creative pedagogy like skits and interactive boardgames, often relying on gestures in order to make their instruction comprehensible. Even with these multimodal approaches, students are still confined to leverage only the limited social and linguistic resources of the curriculum. Given current classroom necessities, there has been a shift to translanguaging …

A Finite Element Model For Hydro-Thermal Convective Flow In A Porous Medium: Effects Of Hydraulic Resistivity And Thermal Diffusivity, S. M. Mallikarjunaiah, Dambaru Bhatta

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

In this article, a finite element model is implemented to analyze hydro-thermal convective flow in a porous medium. The mathematical model encompasses Darcy’s law for incompressible fluid behavior, which is coupled with a convection-diffusion-type energy equation to characterize the temperature in the porous medium. The current investigation presents an efficient, stable, and accurate finite element discretization for the hydro-thermal convective flow model. The well-posedness of the proposed discrete Galerkin finite element formulation is guaranteed due to the decoupling property and the linearity of the numerical method. Computational experiments confirm the optimal convergence rates for a manufactured solution. Several numerical results …

Conditional Optimal Sets And The Quantization Coefficients For Some Uniform Distributions, Evans Nyanney, Megha Pandey, Mrinal Kanti Roychowdhury

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Bucklew and Wise (1982) showed that the quantization dimension of an absolutely continuous probability measure on a given Euclidean space is constant and equals the Euclidean dimension of the space, and the quantization coefficient exists as a finite positive number. By giving different examples, in this paper, we have shown that the quantization coefficients for absolutely continuous probability measures defined on the same Euclidean space can be different. We have taken uniform distribution as a prototype of an absolutely continuous probability measure. In addition, we have also calculated the conditional optimal sets of n-points and the nth conditional quantization errors …

Accessing Reactive Metal Hydrides Through Designed Heterometallic Bridges, Fernando Gonzalez, Edgardo De Leon, Manar M. Shoshani

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

A methodology to access reactive hydride moieties is highly desirable, yet limited. Multimetallic hydride fragments are notable for their heightened reactivity and catalysis, but deliberate access to these species is lacking. In this highlight, we discuss recent developments by our group in the design of a new heterometallic complex that invokes an architecture designed to provide modular access to reactive hydride moieties by leveraging metal hydrides in combination with pendent donors to a model heterotrimetallic Ni–(Al–H)2 complex. An amplification of insertion-based reactivity has been examined in the hydrofunctionalization of quinolines, and our complex substantially outperformed the parent aluminum hydride LAlH …

Sparse Bayesian Variable Selection In High‐Dimensional Logistic Regression Models With Correlated Priors, Zhuanzhuan Ma, Zifei Han, Souparno Ghosh, Liucang Wu, Min Wang

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

In this paper, we propose a sparse Bayesian procedure with global and local(GL) shrinkage priors for the problems of variable selection and classification in high-dimensional logistic regression models. In particular, we consider two types of GL shrinkage priors for the regression coefficients, the horseshoe (HS)prior and the normal-gamma (NG) prior, and then specify a correlated prior for the binary vector to distinguish models with the same size. The GL priors are then combined with mixture representations of logistic distribution to construct a hierarchical Bayes model that allows efficient implementation of a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) to generate samples from …

Machine Learning For Wireless Network Throughput Prediction, Gustavo A. Fernandez

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper analyzes a dataset containing radio frequency (RF) measurements and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) captured at 1876.6MHz with a bandwidth of 10MHz from an operational 4G LTE network in Nigeria. The dataset includes metrics such as RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power), which measures the power level of reference signals; RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality), an indicator of signal quality that provides insight into the number of users sharing the same resources; RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator), which gauges the total received power in a bandwidth; SINR (Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio), a measure of signal quality considering both …

On Modeling Arterial Blood Flow With Or Without Solute Transport And In Presence Of Atherosclerosis, Daniel N. Riahi, Saulo Orizaga

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

In this article, we review previous studies of modeling problems for blood flow with or without transport of a solute in a section of arterial blood flow and in the presence of atherosclerosis. Moreover, we review problems of bio-fluid dynamics within the field of biophysics. In most modeling cases, the presence of red blood cells in the plasma is taken into account either by using a two-phase flow approach, where blood plasma is considered as one phase and red blood cells are counted as another phase, or by using a variable viscosity formula that accounts for the amount of hematocrit …

The Rider (2024-01-29), Natalie Lapsley

The Rider Archives

Vol.9 No.17

Aspects Of Glucose Metabolism In Anoikis-Induced Colorectal Cells, Sophia Leslie, Kyle Doxtater, Samantha Lopez, Yamile Abuchard, Bilal B. B. Hafeez, Tamer Oraby, Timothy Loy, Subhash Chauhan, Manish Tripathi

Research Symposium

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most lethal cancer, and its survival rate drops from 90% to 14% when the condition is contained within the colon vs. when found at distant sites within the body. This is concerning because the disease will develop metastasis in 40-50% of patients. Metastasis is a multistep process in which cancer cells gain anoikis resistance to survive after detaching from primary locations and traveling through the circulatory and lymphatic systems to distant target organs. Thus, understanding the molecular drivers involved in glucose metabolism and its role in the anoikis process could be vital for improving …

Leveraging Secondary Data To Study Alzheimer's Disease Risk Factors In Minority Populations, Ney Alliey-Rodriguez, Ramya Kunta, Angel Jose, Lily Putegnat, Cristian Maestre

Research Symposium

Background: Alzheimer’s Disease is the leading cause of dementia in the aging population, and minority groups like Latinos have 3 to 5 times more risk to develop dementias than the overall US population. Several studies have examined for possible causes of this increased risk, but lack of comprehensive information plus a reduced number of minority samples available in those studies have hindered the answers.

Methods: We examined South Texas Medicare/Medicaid data as well as the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center dataset, looking for comorbidities and risk factors related to neurodegeneration in different minority groups. Correlation and regression analyses were used to …

Determining Critical Nodes In Optimal Cost Attacks On Networked Infrastructures, Ishfaq Ahmad, Addison Clark, Muhammad Ali, Hansheng Lei, David Ferris, Alex Aved

Informatics and Engineering Systems Faculty Publications

A wide range of critical infrastructures are connected via wide area networks as well as the Internet-of-Thing (IoT). Apart from natural disasters, these infrastructures, providing services such as electricity, water, gas, and Internet, are vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Clearly, damages to these infrastructures can have dire consequences on economics, health services, security and safety, and various business sectors. An infrastructure network can be represented as a directed graph in which nodes and edges denote operation entities and dependencies between entities, respectively. A knowledgeable attacker who plans to harm the system would aim to use the minimum amount of effort, cost, …

Association Of Variability And Hypertensive Peaks In 24-H Blood Pressure With Cardiovascular Risk And Mortality, Jesus D. Melgarejo, Luis J. Mena, Kristina P. Vatcheva, Jose A. Garcia, Dhrumil Patil, Claudia Satizabal, Carlos A. Chavez, Rosa V. Pirela, Gustavo Calmon, Joseph H. Lee, Joseph D. Terwilliger, Sudha Seshadri, Gladys E. Maestre

Research Symposium

Background: Blood pressure (BP) variability relates to cardiovascular (CV) diseases and one unexplored mechanism may involve hypertensive peaks caused by high BP variability. OBJECTIVES: To test this hypothesis, we studied the association of cumulative hypertensive peaks (CHP) in 24-h systolic BP with CV risk.

Methods: A total of 1212 participants from the Maracaibo Aging Study (mean age, 66; women, 67.2%) underwent 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring and were followed between 1998 and 2010. BP variability was the 24-h average real variability (ARV). CHP in systolic BP (expressed as %) was the number of systolic BP measures ≥125 mmHg (based on …

Low Complexity Radio Frequency Interference Mitigation For Radio Astronomy Using Large Antenna Array, Zaid Bin Tariq, Teviet Creighton, Louis Percy Dartez, Naofal Al-Dhahir, Murat Torlak

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

With the ongoing growth in radio communications, there is an increased contamination of radio astronomical source data, which hinders the study of celestial radio sources. In many cases, fast mitigation of strong radio frequency interference (RFI) is valuable for studying short lived radio transients so that the astronomers can perform detailed observations of celestial radio sources. The standard method to manually excise contaminated blocks in time and frequency makes the removed data useless for radio astronomy analyses. This motivates the need for better radio frequency interference (RFI) mitigation techniques for array of size M antennas. Although many solutions for mitigating …

Gwtc-2.1: Deep Extended Catalog Of Compact Binary Coalescences Observed By Ligo And Virgo During The First Half Of The Third Observing Run, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, Teviet Creighton, Mario C. Diaz, Francisco Llamas, Soma Mukherjee, Volker Quetschke, Wenhui Wang

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The second Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog, GWTC-2, reported on 39 compact binary coalescences observed by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors between 1 April 2019 15∶00 UTC and 1 October 2019 15∶00 UTC. Here, we present GWTC-2.1, which reports on a deeper list of candidate events observed over the same period. We analyze the final version of the strain data over this period with improved calibration and better subtraction of excess noise, which has been publicly released. We employ three matched-filter search pipelines for candidate identification, and estimate the probability of astrophysical origin for each candidate event. While GWTC-2 used …

A Simulation Model Analysis In The Us-Mexico Border, Carlo A. Zorola, Hiram Moya, Aditya Akundi

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Supply Chain (SC) is the flow of goods or services between supply and demand points. New or innovative strategies in SC have been researched and developed to deal with disruptive events, such as COVID-19, hurricanes, geopolitical, and even climate change. These challenges create supply imbalances, logistical challenges, and policy restrictions for transborder commerce. The DHS has implemented the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program in both the US-Mexico and US-Canada border. These lanes are dedicated queues for commercial vehicles. In 2022, the government of Nuevo León, México, opened a dedicated lane just for Tesla´s northbound commercial traffic. There has been …

The Oral-Microbiome-Brain Axis: A Thorough Review On The Relationship Between Periodontitis And Alzheimer’S Disease And A Proposed Innovative Application Of Biomagnetism As A Means Of Alternative Therapy., Taha Al Hassan, Noah Al-Hassan, Maria Quiñones-Peña, Juan Lopez-Alvarenga, Seratna Guadarrama-Beltran

MEDI 9331 Scholarly Activities Clinical Years

The relationship between periodontitis and Alzheimer's disease (AD) has garnered significant attention due to the potential influence of chronic oral inflammation on neurodegenerative processes. Our hypothesis is supported by the oral-microbiome-brain axis and highlights the possibility that chronic periodontitis contributes to cognitive decline by promoting systemic inflammation and neuroinflammation, mediated by specific pathogenic microorganisms within the oral microbiome. Our findings reveal a strong association between elevated levels of Porphyromonas gingivalis and Treponema denticola, red complex bacteria, and markers of systemic inflammation, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Additionally studies have demonstrated that beta amyloid plaque in rat …

Mangroves Of The Warm Temperate Northwest Atlantic, Daniel A. Friess, Ena L. Suárez, Anna R. Armitage, Cheryl Doughty, Laura C. Feher, Ilka C. Feller, Alejandro Fierro, Kara R. Radabaugh, Lorae T. Simpson, William C. V Vervaeke, Carlos Zamora-Tovar

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The ‘Mangroves of the Warm Temperate Northwest Atlantic’ province is a regional ecosystem subgroup (level 4 unit of the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology). It includes the marine ecoregions of Carolinian and Northern Gulf of Mexico. The biota is characterized by 3 species of mangroves: Avicennia germinans, Laguncularia racemosa, and Rhizophora mangle, and 1 mangrove associate Conocarpus erectus, though not all species are equally distributed throughout the province. Mangroves in this province cross the USA and Mexico and are quite unique, as they exist at the latitudinal range limit of the mangrove ecosystem. The majority of mangroves in this province are …