Digital Commons Network^™

Aspects Of The Equivalence Between The FΜ And C Vμ Terms In Lorentz-Violating Quantum Field Theory, Sapan Karki, Brett David Altschul

Faculty Publications

It is known that in Lorentz-violating effective field theory, there is a classical equivalence between certain coefficients (c and f), in spite of the fact that the operators of the two types of coefficients described appear to have opposite behaviors under CPT. This paper is a continuation of previous work extending this equivalence to the quantum level: generalizing the explicit spinorial point transformations that interconvert the c and f terms; demonstrating that the transformations do not give rise to any additional anomaly terms as the quantum level; and giving explicit prescriptions for modifying the C, P, and T operators in …

An Autoencoder-Based Deep Learning Method For Genotype Imputation, Meng Song, Jonathan Greenbaum, Joseph Luttrell Iv, Weihua Zhou, Chong Wu, Zhe Luo, Chuan Qiu, Lan Juan Zhao, Kuan-Jui Su, Qing Tian, Hui Shen, Huixiao Hong, Ping Gong, Xinghua Shi, Hong-Wen Deng, Chaoyang Zhang

Faculty Publications

Genotype imputation has a wide range of applications in genome-wide association study (GWAS), including increasing the statistical power of association tests, discovering trait-associated loci in meta-analyses, and prioritizing causal variants with fine-mapping. In recent years, deep learning (DL) based methods, such as sparse convolutional denoising autoencoder (SCDA), have been developed for genotype imputation. However, it remains a challenging task to optimize the learning process in DL-based methods to achieve high imputation accuracy. To address this challenge, we have developed a convolutional autoencoder (AE) model for genotype imputation and implemented a customized training loop by modifying the training process with a …

Divergent Effects Of Biological And Physical Processes On Dissolved Oxygen And Dissolved Inorganic Carbon Dynamics On A Eutrophied And Hypoxic Continental Shelf, Zoraida J. Quiñones-Rivera, Björn Wissel, R. Eugene Turner, Nancy N. Rabalais, Dubravko Justić, Kerri P. Finlay, Charles S. Milan

Faculty Publications

Dissolved oxygen (DO) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) represent reciprocal sides of aquatic metabolism. In closed systems, absolute DO and DIC changes follow a ~ 1 : 1 ratio, but in open systems coupling depends on mixing, air–sea gas exchange, and anaerobic respiration. To quantify DO–DIC controls in coastal waters, we evaluated their concentrations and stable isotopes together with water quality and physical conditions across the hypoxic zone off the Louisiana continental shelf in July 2002 and July 2003. This area is characterized by high yet variable productivity and strong seasonal changes in vertical stratification and river discharge. Prior to …

Development Of The Mentalizing Network Structures And Theory Of Mind In Extremely Preterm Youth, Xiaoxue Fu Ph.D., Andy Hung, Aryanne D. De Silva, Tyler Busch, Whitney I. Mattson, Kristen R. Hoskinson, Hudson Gerry, Eric E. Nelson

Faculty Publications

Adolescents born preterm (<37 weeks of gestation) are at elevated risk for deficits in social cognition and peer relationships. Theory of Mind (ToM) is a complex form of social cognition important for regulating social interactions. ToM and the underlying mentalizing network continue to develop across adolescence. The present study recruited 48 adolescents (12–17 years old) who were either born extremely preterm (EPT; <28 weeks of gestation) or full-term (FT) at birth. Cortical thickness, gray matter volume and surface area were measured in four regions of the mentalizing network: the temporoparietal junction, anterior temporal cortex, posterior superior temporal sulcus and frontal pole (mBA10). We also assessed the adolescents’ performance on a ToM task. Findings revealed both group differences and group-by-age interaction effects in the gray matter indices within the temporal lobe regions of the mentalizing network. The EPT group also performed significantly worse than the FT group on the ToM task. The cortical structural measures that discriminated the EPT and FT groups were not related to ToM performance. These results highlight altered developmental changes in brain regions underlying mentalizing functions in EPT adolescents relative to FT controls.

Legal Citations: A Foundation Of Written Advocacy, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

The article advanced this formula for achieving effective appellate advocacy: “First, you seek to persuade the court of the merit of the client’s case, to create an emotional empathy for your position. Then you assist the court to reach a conclusion favorable to the client’s interest in terms of the analysis of the law and the procedural posture of the case.”

Lethal Concentration And Sporulation By Contact And Direct Spray Of The Entomopathogenic Fungus Beauveria Bassiana On Different Stages Of Nezara Viridula (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), Maribel Portilla, Minling Zhang, James Paul Glover, Gadi V.P. Reddy, Chris Johnson

Faculty Publications

The southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) is the most significant pest of soybean worldwide. The present study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of a Delta native strain NI8 of Beauveria bassiana by contact and direct spray on nymphs (2nd to 5th instar) and adults of N. viridula. Water control and four concentrations of B. bassiana were used to evaluate the survival, mortality, and molting percentage and to estimate median lethal concentration (LC50), median lethal sporulation (LS50), and resistance ratio (RR50). Direct spray at all concentrations observed the greatest reduction in survival on all life stages. …

Hydrologic Connectivity And Residence Time Affect The Sediment Trapping Efficiency And Dissolved Oxygen Concentrations Of The Atchafalaya River Basin, Daniel E. Kroes, Richard H. Day, Michael D. Kaller, Charles R. Demas, William E. Kelso, Tiffany Pasco, Raynie Harlan, Steven Roberts

Faculty Publications

Little is known about water movement, volume, or residence time (RT), and how those characteristics affect sediment trapping efficiency (TE) and dissolved oxygen concentrations (DO) in the United States' largest remaining bottomland hardwood swamp, the Atchafalaya River Basin. To better understand these dynamics, this study used bathymetry, lidar, and stage records to determine volumes in the Basin's hydrologically distinct water management units (WMUs). Discharge measurements determined flow distribution and RT. Residence time was compared with DO to identify conditions that coincided with DO increases or decreases. Suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) were used to determine TE relative to calculated and measured …

Modeling The Sorption Of Ni(Ii) And Zn(Ii) By Mn Oxide–Coated Sand: Equilibrium And Kinetic Approaches, Joshua T. Padilla, H. Magdi Selim, Lewis A. Gaston

Faculty Publications

The behavior of metal cations in oxide-dominated systems is controlled by sorption reactions, which in turn depend on pH. Descriptions of such reactions are of interest for contaminant monitoring or remediation efforts; however, widely used isotherms such as Freundlich or Langmuir neglect the effect of pH and are therefore limited in their applicability. Two pH-dependent isotherms and their kinetic analogs were developed and evaluated regarding their ability to describe equilibrium and time-dependent sorption of Ni and Zn by Mn oxide–coated sand (MOCS). The sorption of Ni and Zn by MOCS at pH 4.0, 5.5, and 7.0 was investigated using batch …

A Bibliometric Analysis Of Machine Learning Econometrics In Asset Pricing, Hector O. Zapata, Supratik Mukhopadhyay

Faculty Publications

Machine learning (ML) is a novel method that has applications in asset pricing and that fits well within the problem of measurement in economics. Unlike econometrics, ML models are not designed for parameter estimation and inference, but similar to econometrics, they address, and may be better suited for, problems of prediction. While some ML methods have been applied in econometrics for decades, their success in prediction has been limited, and examples of this abound in the asset pricing literature. In recent years, the ML literature has advanced new, more efficient, computation methods for regularization, modeling nonlinearity, and improved out-of-sample prediction. …

Confidence Intervals For Relative Intensity Of Collaboration (Ric) Indicators, Joel Emanuel Fuchs, Lawrence Smolinsky, Ronald Rousseau

Faculty Publications

Purpose: We aim to extend our investigations related to the Relative Intensity of Collaboration (RIC) indicator, by constructing a confidence interval for the obtained values. Design/methodology/approach: We use Mantel-Haenszel statistics as applied recently by Smolinsky, Klingenberg, and Marx. Findings: We obtain confidence intervals for the RIC indicator Research limitations: It is not obvious that data obtained from the Web of Science (or any other database) can be considered a random sample. Practical implications: We explain how to calculate confidence intervals. Bibliometric indicators are more often than not presented as precise values instead of an approximation depending on the database and …

High-Resolution Ribosome Profiling Reveals Translational Selectivity For Transcripts In Bovine Preimplantation Embryo Development, Linkai Zhu, Tong Zhou, Rajan Iyyappan, Hao Ming, Michal Dvoran, Yinjuan Wang, Qi Chen, R. Michael Roberts, Andrej Susor, Zongliang Jiang

Faculty Publications

High-resolution ribosome fractionation and low-input ribosome profiling of bovine oocytes and preimplantation embryos has enabled us to define the translational landscapes of early embryo development at an unprecedented level. We analyzed the transcriptome and the polysome- and non-polysome-bound RNA profiles of bovine oocytes (germinal vesicle and metaphase II stages) and early embryos at the two-cell, eight-cell, morula and blastocyst stages, and revealed four modes of translational selectivity: (1) selective translation of non-abundant mRNAs; (2) active, but modest translation of a selection of highly expressed mRNAs; (3) translationally suppressed abundant to moderately abundant mRNAs; and (4) mRNAs associated specifically with monosomes. …

Multiscale Analysis Of Cancer Service Areas In The United States, Changzhen Wang, Tracy Onega, Fahui Wang

Faculty Publications

The purpose of delineating Cancer Service Areas (CSAs) is to define a reliable unit of analysis, more meaningful than geopolitical units such as states and counties, for examining geographic variations of the cancer care markets using geographic information systems (GIS). This study aims to provide a multiscale analysis of the U.S. cancer care markets based on the 2014–2015 Medicare claims of cancer-directed surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. The CSAs are delineated by a scale-flexible network community detection algorithm automated in GIS so that the patient flows are maximized within CSAs and minimized between them. The multiscale CSAs include those comparable in …

Monitoring Asbestos Mine Remediation Using Airborne Hyperspectral Imaging System: A Case Study Of Jefferson Lake Mine, Us, Yongsik Jeong, Jaehyung Yu, Lei Wang, Huy Hoa Huynh, Hyun Cheol Kim

Faculty Publications

This study investigated an asbestos mine restoration project using Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) hyperspectral data. The distribution of an abandoned asbestos mine (AAM) and treatment area were analyzed before and after the remediation based on the spectral indices for detecting naturally occurring asbestos (NOA) indicators and encapsulation. The spectral indices were developed for NOA, host rock, and encapsulation by logistic regression models using spectral bands extracted from the random forest algorithm. The detection models mostly used VNIR spectra rather than SWIR and were statistically significant. The overall accuracy of the detection models was approximately 84%. Notably, the detection accuracy …

Tectonism Of Late Noachian Mars: Surface Signatures From The Southern Highlands, Trishit Ruj, Goro Komatsu, Gene Schmidt, Suniti Karunatillake, Kenji Kawai

Faculty Publications

Upwelling mantle plumes often instigate extensional stress within the continental crust of Earth. When stress exceeds crustal strength, extensional structures develop, reducing the effective stress and trigger magmatic processes at the crust–mantle boundary. However, such processes and their relationship to the formation of many surface structures remain poorly characterized on Mars. We identified a series of extensional structures in the southern highlands of Mars which collectively resemble continental rift zones on Earth. We further characterized these extensional structures and their surrounding region (area of ~1.8 M km²) by determining the surface mineralogy and bulk regional geochemistry of the …

Wearable Activity Tracker Use And Physical Activity Among Informal Caregivers In The United States: Quantitative Study, Asos Mahmood, Hyunmin Kim, Satish Kedia, Patrick Dillon

Faculty Publications

Background: With an increase in aging population and chronic medical conditions in the United States, the role of informal caregivers has become paramount as they engage in the care of their loved ones. Mounting evidence suggests that such responsibilities place substantial burden on informal caregivers and can negatively impact their health. New wearable health and activity trackers (wearables) are increasingly being used to facilitate and monitor healthy behaviors and to improve health outcomes. Although prior studies have examined the efficacy of wearables in improving health and well-being in the general population, little is known about their benefits among informal …

Damage Monitoring Methods For Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Joints: A Review, Wencai Li, Genevieve Palardy

Faculty Publications

As the application of composite materials in structural parts continues to increase, so does the importance to monitor the structure's health condition during their entire service life. This paper presents a comprehensive review on damage monitoring methods focusing on fiber-reinforced polymer joints: adhesively bonded, mechanically fastened, and welded. In this review, structural health monitoring (SHM) methods are classified into two major groups: intrinsic sensing (embedded at the bond line) and extrinsic sensing (placed outside the interface). Main intrinsic techniques include fiber optic sensors, piezoelectric sensors (e.g., electromechanical impedance), and nanocomposite-based monitoring. The latter has attracted significant interest in the past …

Interpreting State Statutes In Federal Court, Aaron-Andrew P. Bruhl

Faculty Publications

This Article addresses a problem that potentially arises whenever a federal court encounters a state statute. When interpreting the state statute, should the federal court use the state’s methods of statutory interpretation—the state’s canons of construction, its rules about the use of legislative history, and the like—or should the court instead use federal methods of statutory interpretation? The question is interesting as a matter of theory, and it is practically significant because different jurisdictions have somewhat different interpretive approaches. In addressing itself to this problem, the Article makes two contributions. First, it shows, as a normative matter, that federal courts …

Improving (And Avoiding) Interstate Interpretive Encounters, Aaron-Andrew P. Bruhl

Faculty Publications

State courts often encounter the statutes of other states. Any encounter with another state’s statutes raises an interesting but inconspicuous question about choice of law. In particular, the interstate encounter presents a choice of interpretive law. Despite some universal practices in statutory interpretation, there are methodological differences across jurisdictions—both at the level of overall approach and in the details of particular interpretive canons. When a state court encounters the statute of a sister state, may the forum state use its own interpretive methods or must it instead use the methods of the enacting state?

The existing doctrine on this choice-of-law …

Nomos, Narrative, And Nephi: Legal Interpretation In The Book Of Mormon, Nathan B. Oman

Faculty Publications

The Book of Mormon helped launch one of America’s most successful religions, and millions around the world accept it as scripture. It is thus one of the more influential books to have been published in the United States. Ironically, precisely because of its role in the founding of Mormonism, the text of the Book of Mormon has often been ignored. Recently, however, the Book of Mormon has begun to attract the attention of scholars whose interest in the text goes beyond either religious devotion or the academic study of Mormonism. Rather, they look to the text as a literary creation …

Privacy Qui Tam, Peter Ormerod

Faculty Publications

Privacy law keeps getting stronger, but surveillance-based businesses have proven immune to these new legal regimes. The disconnect between privacy law in theory and in practice is a multifaceted problem, and one critical component is enforcement.

Today, most privacy laws are enforced by governmental regulators—the Federal Trade Commission, the nascent California Privacy Protection Agency, and state attorneys general. An enduring impasse for proposed privacy laws is whether to supplement public enforcement by using a private right of action to authorize individuals to enforce the law.

Both of these conventional enforcement schemes have significant shortcomings. Public enforcement has proven inadequate because …

Optimizing Switching Of Non-Linear Properties With Hyperbolic Metamaterials, James A. Ethridge, John G. Jones, Manuel R. Ferdinandus, Michael J. Havrilla, Michael A. Marciniak

Faculty Publications

Hyperbolic metamaterials have been demonstrated to have special potential in their linear response, but the extent of their non-linear response has not been extensively modeled or measured. In this work, novel non-linear behavior of an ITO/SiO₂ layered hyperbolic metamaterial is modeled and experimentally confirmed, specifically a change in the sign of the non-linear absorption with intensity. This behavior is tunable and can be achieved with a simple one-dimensional layered design. Fabrication was performed with physical vapor deposition, and measurements were conducted using the Z-scan technique. Potential applications include tunable optical switches, optical limiters, and tunable components of laser sources.

Techno-Economic Sensitivity Analysis For Combined Design And Operation Of A Small Modular Reactor Hybrid Energy System, Daniel Hill, Adam Martin, Nathanael Martin-Nelson, Charles Granger, Kody Powell, John Hedengren

Faculty Publications

With increasing grid-penetration of renewable energy resources and a rising need for carbon-free dispatchable power generation, nuclear-hybrid energy systems (NHES), consisting of small modular reactors, are an increasingly attractive option for maintaining grid stability. NHES can accomplish this with a minimal carbon footprint but there are significant uncertainties that are not fully understood. This work describes and demonstrates methods for analyzing the uncertainties of potential NHES designs, including uncertain design parameters and time series as well as variations in dispatch horizon length. The proposed methods are demonstrated on a sample system with 16 design parameters, 3 uncertain time series, and …

Interband Transitions And Critical Points Of Single-Crystal Thoria Compared With Urania, Christina L. Dugan, Lu Wang, Kai Zhang, James Matthew Mann, Martin M. Kimani, Wai-Ning Mei, Peter A. Dowben, James C. Petrosky

Faculty Publications

The interband transitions of UO₂ are validated independently through cathode luminescence. A picture emerges consistent with density functional theory. While theory is generally consistent with experiment, it is evident from the comparison of UO₂ and ThO₂ that the choice of functional can significantly alter the bandgap and some details of the band structure, in particular at the conduction band minimum. Strictly ab initio predictions of the optical properties of the actinide compounds, based on density functional theory alone, continue to be somewhat elusive.

Generating Realistic Cyber Data For Training And Evaluating Machine Learning Classifiers For Network Intrusion Detection Systems, Marc W. Chalé, Nathaniel D. Bastian

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Uvite, Camg 3 (Al5mg)(Si6o18)(Bo3)3(Oh)3(Oh), A New, But Long-Anticipated Mineral Species Of The Tourmaline Supergroup From San Piero In Campo, Elba Island, Italy, Ferdinando Bosi, Cristian Biagioni, Federico Pezzotta, Henrik Skogby, Ulf Hålenius, Jan Cempírek, Frank C. Hawthorne, Aaron J. Lussier, Yassir A. Abdu, Maxwell C. Day, Mostafa Fayek, Christine M. Clark, Joel D. Grice, Darrell J. Henry

Faculty Publications

Uvite, CaMg3(Al5Mg)(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH), is a new mineral of the tourmaline supergroup. It occurs in the Facciatoia quarry, San Piero in Campo, Elba Island, Italy (42°45′04.55″N, 10°12′50.89″E) at the centre of a narrow (2-3 cm wide) vein composed of aggregates of dark brown to black tourmaline, penetrating (magnesite + dolomite)-rich hydrothermally altered metaserpentinite. Crystals are euhedral and up to 1 cm in size, brown with a vitreous lustre, conchoidal fracture and grey streak. Uvite has a Mohs hardness of 7½, a calculated density of 3.115 g/cm3 and is uniaxial (-). Uvite has trigonal symmetry, space group R3m, a = 15.9519(10) Å, c …