Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Relative Importance Of Radar Variables For Nowcasting Heavy Rainfall: A Machine Learning Approach, Yi Victor Wang, Seung Hee Kim, Geunsu Lyu, Choeng-Lyong Lee, Gyuwon Lee, Ki-Hong Min, Menas C. Kafatos

Institute for ECHO Articles and Research

Highly short-term forecasting, or nowcasting, of heavy rainfall due to rapidly evolving mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) is particularly challenging for traditional numerical weather prediction models. To overcome such a challenge, a growing number of studies have shown significant advantages of using machine learning (ML) modeling techniques with remote sensing data, especially weather radar data, for high-resolution rainfall nowcasting. To improve ML model performance, it is essential first and foremost to quantify the importance of radar variables and identify pertinent predictors of rainfall that can also be associated with domain knowledge. In this study, a set of MCS types consisting of …

Preparation Of Methanediamine (Ch2(Nh2)2)—A Precursor To Nucleobases In The Interstellar Medium, Joshua H. Marks, Jia Wang, Ryan C. Fortenberry, Ralf I. Kaiser

Faculty and Student Publications

Although methanediamine (CH2(NH2)2) has historically been the subject of theoretical scrutiny, it has never been isolated to date. Here, we report the preparation of methanediamine (CH2(NH2)2)—the simplest diamine. Low-temperature interstellar analog ices composed of ammonia and methylamine were exposed to energetic electrons which act as proxies for secondary electrons produced in the track of galactic cosmic rays. These experimental conditions, which simulate the conditions within cold molecular clouds, . result in radical formation and initiate aminomethyl (ĊH2NH2) and amino (NH2) radical chemistry. Exploiting tunable photoionization reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PI-ReToF-MS) to make isomer-specific assignments, methanediamine was identified in the gas …

Colorado River Basin Water Accounts: 1-Page Summary, David E. Rosenberg

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

26 Colorado River managers and experts constructively improved basin water accounts as a framework to transition emergency reservoir operations into more sustainable, equitable, and adaptive water uses.

Compatibility Of Crude Oil Blends─Processing Issues Related To Asphaltene Precipitation, Methods Of Instability Prediction─A Review, Krzysztof Bambinek, Andrzej Przyjazny, Grzegorz Boczkaj

Natural Sciences Publications

Processing crude oil of variable composition, especially due to the need to process crude oil blends obtained from various sources, presents a tremendous process challenge. This is mainly due to the destabilization of the colloidal system manifested mostly by the precipitation of the asphaltene fraction. The precipitation of asphaltenes from crude oil is a serious problem during extraction, transport, and processing. In the latter case, engineers and scientists have spent a lot of time determining what mechanisms are conducive to the occurrence of this phenomenon. On the one hand, there was a scientific curiosity about the principles of the nanoworld …

Hamilton Cycles In Bidirected Complete Graphs, Arthur Busch, Mohammed A. Mutar, Daniel Slilaty

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

Zaslavsky observed that the topics of directed cycles in directed graphs and alternating cycles in edge 2-colored graphs have a common generalization in the study of coherent cycles in bidirected graphs. There are classical theorems by Camion, Harary and Moser, Häggkvist and Manoussakis, and Saad which relate strong connectivity and Hamiltonicity in directed "complete" graphs and edge 2-colored "complete" graphs. We prove two analogues to these theorems for bidirected "complete" signed graphs.

Phase I Activities Of The Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth Mri) In The Western Kentucky Fluorspar District, Georgina Lukoczki, Craig Dietsch, John B. Hickman, Emily Morris, Douglas C. Curl, Carrie Pulliam, Stephanie Vicroy, William M. Andrews Jr.

Report of Investigations--KGS

The Western Kentucky Fluorspar District (WKFD), which comprises the Kentucky portion of the Illinois–Kentucky Fluorspar District, is well known for the occurrence of strategically important critical mineral resources, such as fluorite (fluorspar) and rare earth elements (REEs). Due to technological advances, demand has increased for critical minerals used in cell phones, magnets in wind turbines, batteries for electric vehicles, smart weapons, and other devices and systems. The overall objective of the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) program, directed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), is to gather information that will help better understand the distribution of critical minerals in …

Association Of Chlorhexidine Use And Scaling And Root Planing With Birth Outcomes In Pregnant Individuals With Periodontitis: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Maxwell Akonde, Rajat Das Gupta, Maxwell Akonde, Mark Reynolds, Stephanie Smith-Warner, Jihong Liu Sc.D., Fouzia Tarannum, James Beck, Donald Mattison

Faculty Publications

Importance Chlorhexidine mouthwash enhances treatment effects of conventional periodontal treatment, but data on chlorhexidine as a source of heterogeneity in meta-analyses assessing the treatment of maternal periodontitis in association with birth outcomes are lacking.

Objective To assess possible heterogeneity by chlorhexidine use in randomized clinical trials (RCTs) evaluating the effect of periodontal treatment (ie, scaling and root planing [SRP]) vs no treatment on birth outcomes.

Data Sources Cochrane Oral Health’s Trials Register, Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth’s Trials Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE Ovid, Embase Ovid, LILACS BIREME Virtual Health Library (Latin American and Caribbean Health Science …

A Causal-Comparative Study Of The Impact Of Meaningful Watershed Environmental Experiences On The Academic Achievement Of Middle School Students, Gina R. Mason

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Meaningful watershed educational experiences (MWEE) are student-centered, problem solving-oriented environmental educational experiences in which students investigate local environmental issues leading to civic engagement and informed action. The four components of an MWEE include issue definition, outdoor field experience, synthesis and conclusion, and action projects. While multiple benefits have been shown to be gained through participation in environmental education, this study’s aim was to observe the impact MWEEs have on academic achievement in middle school students. This quantitative, ex post facto, causal-comparative study examined the impact MWEEs had on students’ achievement scores, as measured by Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) …

Golay Codes And Quantum Contextuality, Mordecai Waegell, P. K. Aravind

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

It is shown that the codewords of the binary and ternary Golay codes can be converted into rays in RP²³ and RP¹¹ that provide proofs of the Kochen-Specker theorem in real state spaces of dimensions 24 and 12, respectively. Some implications of these results are discussed.

Creating Data From Unstructured Text With Context Rule Assisted Machine Learning (Craml), Stephen Meisenbacher, Peter Norlander

School of Business: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Popular approaches to building data from unstructured text come with limitations, such as scalability, interpretability, replicability, and real-world applicability. These can be overcome with Context Rule Assisted Machine Learning (CRAML), a method and no-code suite of software tools that builds structured, labeled datasets which are accurate and reproducible. CRAML enables domain experts to access uncommon constructs within a document corpus in a low-resource, transparent, and flexible manner. CRAML produces document-level datasets for quantitative research and makes qualitative classification schemes scalable over large volumes of text. We demonstrate that the method is useful for bibliographic analysis, transparent analysis of proprietary data, …

Arginine Methylation Of The Pgc-1Α C‑Terminus Is Temperature- Dependent, Meryl Mendoz, Mariel Mendoza, Tiffany Lubrino, Sidney Briski, Immaculeta Osuji, Janielle Cuala, Brendan Ly, Ivan Ocegueda, Harvey Peralta, Benjamin A. Garcia, Cecilia Zurita-Lopez

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

We set out to determine whether the C-terminus (amino acids 481–798) of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1 alpha (PGC-1α, UniProt Q9UBK2), a regulatory metabolic protein involved in mitochondrial biogenesis, and respiration, is an arginine methyltransferase substrate. Arginine methylation by protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) alters protein function and thus contributes to various cellular processes. In addition to confirming methylation of the C-terminus by PRMT1 as described in the literature, we have identified methylation by another member of the PRMT family, PRMT7. We performed in vitro methylation reactions using recombinant mammalian PRMT7 and PRMT1 at 37, 30, 21, 18, and 4 °C. …

A Hybrid Artificial Intelligence Model For Detecting Keratoconus, Zaid Abdi Alkareem Alyasseri, Ali H. Al-Timemy, Ammar Kamal Abasi, Alexandru Lavric, Husam Jasim Mohammed, Hidenori Takahashi, Jose Arthur Milhomens Filho, Mauro Campos, Rossen M. Hazarbassanov, Siamak Yousefi

Machine Learning Faculty Publications

Machine learning models have recently provided great promise in diagnosis of several ophthalmic disorders, including keratoconus (KCN). Keratoconus, a noninflammatory ectatic corneal disorder characterized by progressive cornea thinning, is challenging to detect as signs may be subtle. Several machine learning models have been proposed to detect KCN, however most of the models are supervised and thus require large well-annotated data. This paper proposes a new unsupervised model to detect KCN, based on adapted flower pollination algorithm (FPA) and the k-means algorithm. We will evaluate the proposed models using corneal data collected from 5430 eyes at different stages of KCN severity …

Mussel Squeeze: Dissolved Oxygen And Temperature Can “Squeeze” Zebra Mussels Out Of Invaded Reservoirs, Crysta A. Gantz, Rich Miller, Steve Wells, Mark Sytsma, Angela Lee Strecker

Environmental Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) are an aquatic invasive species that cause extensive economic and ecological impacts and are a management priority in areas outside of their native range. Survivorship and distribution of zebra mussels within a waterbody are thought to be influenced by temperature and dissolved oxygen conditions, but detailed information to confirm the importance of these environmental controls is necessary to inform management efforts. We measured planktonic zebra mussel veliger density and adult survivorship in San Justo Reservoir in central California to determine distribution and timing of spawning in relation to temperature and dissolved oxygen throughout winter, spring, and …

Utilizing Remote Sensing Technology To Relocate Lubra Village And Visualize Flood Damages, Ronan Wallace

Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Honors Projects

As weather patterns change worldwide, isolated communities impacted by climate change go unnoticed and we need community and habitat-conscious solutions. In Himalayan Mustang, Nepal, indigenous Lubra village faces threats of increasing flash flooding. After every flood, residual concrete-like sediment hardens across the riverbed, causing the riverbed elevation to rise. As elevation increases, sediment encroaches on Lubra’s agricultural fields and homes, magnifying flood vulnerability. In the last monsoon season alone, the village witnessed floods swallowing several fields and damaging two homes. One solution considers relocating the village to a new location entirely. However, relocation poses a challenging task, as eight centuries …

Coordination Chemistry Of Uranyl Ions With Surface-Immobilized Peptides: An Xps Study, Esha Mishra, Cody M. Schultz, Rebecca Lai, Peter A. Dowben

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

The coordination chemistry of uranyl ions with surface immobilized peptides was studied using X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS). All the peptides in the study were modified using a six-carbon alkanethiol as a linker on a gold substrate with methylene blue as the redox label. The X-ray photoemission spectra reveal that each modified peptide interacts differently with the uranyl ion. For all the modified peptides, the XPS spectra were taken in both the absence and presence of the uranium, and their comparison reveals that the interaction depends on the chemical group present in the peptides. The XPS results show that, among all …

Chemical Elements, Flavor Chemicals, And Nicotine In Unused And Used Electronic Cigarettes Aged 5–10 Years And Effects Of Ph, Monique Williams, Wentai Luo, Kevin J. Mcwhirter, Omeka Ikegbu, Prue Talbot

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

The concentrations of elements/metals, nicotine, flavor chemicals and acids were compared in the e-liquids of unused and used first-generation electronic cigarettes (ECs) that were stored for 5–10 years. Metal analysis was performed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy; nicotine and flavor chemical analyses were performed using gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy. Of the 22 elements analyzed, 10 (aluminum, chromium, copper, iron, lead, nickel, selenium, silicon, tin, zinc) were often found in the e-liquids. Five elements had the highest average concentrations: copper (1161.6 mg/L), zinc (295.8 mg/L), tin (287.6 mg/L), nickel (71.1 mg/L), and lead (50.3 mg/L). Nicotine concentrations were always lower …

Possible Overestimation Of Nitrogen Dioxide Outgassing During The Beirut 2020 Explosion, Ashraf Farahat, Nayla El-Kork, Ramesh P. Singh, Feng Jing

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

On 4 August 2020, a strong explosion occurred near the Beirut seaport, Lebanon and killed more than 200 people and damaged numerous buildings in the vicinity. As Amonium Nitrate (AN) caused the explosion, many studies claimed the release of large amounts of NO₂ in the atmosphere may have resulted in a health hazard in Beirut and the vicinity. In order to reasonably evaluate the significance of NO₂ amounts released in the atmosphere, it is important to investigate the spatio-temporal distribution of NO₂ during and after the blast and compare it to the average day-to-day background emissions from …

Pyseg: A Python Package For 2d Material Flake Localization, Segmentation, And Thickness Prediction, Diana B. Horangic

Student Research Projects

Thin materials are of interest for their extraordinary physical, mechanical, thermal, electrical, and optical properties. Monolayers and bilayers of 2D materials can be manufactured through a variety of exfoliation methods. To determine layer thickness, Raman spectroscopy or other methods like Rayleigh scattering are used. These methods are, however, slow, and they require equipment beyond an optical microscope. A Python package that automates flake identification processes was built, with access solely to RGB data from an optical microscope assumed. My package, pyseg, localizes flakes on a substrate and then makes a rough estimate of their thickness from first principles. It can …

Uncertainty Of Icesat-2 Atl06- And Atl08-Derived Snow Depths For Glacierized And Vegetated Mountain Regions, Ellyn M. Enderlin, Colten M. Elkin, Madeline Gendreau, H.P. Marshall, Shad O'Neel, Christopher Mcneil, Caitlyn Florentine, Louis Sass

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Seasonal snow melt dominates the hydrologic budget across a large portion of the globe. Snow accumulation and melt vary over a broad range of spatial scales, preventing accurate extrapolation of sparse in situ observations to watershed scales. The lidar onboard the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation, Satellite (ICESat-2) was designed for precise mapping of ice sheets and sea ice, and here we assess the feasibility of snow depth-mapping using ICESat-2 data in more complex and rugged mountain landscapes. We explore the utility of ATL08 Land and Vegetation Height and ATL06 Land Ice Height differencing from reference elevation datasets in two …

Socio‑Economic Inequalities In Minimum Dietary Diversity Among Bangladeshi Children Aged 6–23 Months: A Decomposition Analysis, Satyajit Kundu, Pranta Das, Ashfikur Rahman, Hasan Al Banna, Kaniz Fatema, Akhtarul Islam, Shobhit Srivastava, T. Muhammad, Rakhi Dey, Ahmed Hossain

Department of Statistics: Faculty Publications

This study aimed to measure the socio-economic inequalities in having minimum dietary diversity (MDD) among Bangladeshi children aged 6–23 months as well as to determine the factors that potentially contribute to the inequity. The Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2017–2018 data were used in this study. A sample of 2405 (weighted) children aged 6–23 months was included. The overall weighted prevalence of MDD was 37.47%. The concentration index (CIX) value for inequalities in MDD due to wealth status was positive and the concentration curve lay below the line of equality (CIX: 0.1211, p < 0.001), where 49.47% inequality was contributed by wealth status, 25.06% contributed by the education level of mother, and 20.41% contributed by the number of ante-natal care (ANC) visits. Similarly, the CIX value due to the education level of mothers was also positive and the concentration curve lay below the line of equality (CIX: 0.1341, p < 0.001), where 52.68% inequality was contributed by the education level of mother, 18.07% contributed by wealth status, and 14.69% contributed by the number of ANC visits. MDD was higher among higher socioeconomic status (SES) groups. Appropriate intervention design should prioritize minimizing socioeconomic inequities in MDD, especially targeting the contributing factors of these inequities.

Predictors Of Covid-19 Vaccination Rate In Usa: A Machine Learning Approach, Syed M. I. Osman, Ahmed Sabit

WCBT Faculty Publications

In this study, we examine state-level features and policies that are most important in achieving a threshold level vaccination rate to curve the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. We employ CHAID, a decision tree algorithm, on three different model specifications to answer this question based on a dataset that includes all the states in the United States. Workplace travel emerges as the most important predictor; however, the governors’ political affiliation (PA) replaces it in a more conservative feature set that includes economic features and the growth rate of COVID-19 cases. We also employ several alternative algorithms as a robustness check. …

Secure Authentication Scheme Based On Numerical Series Cryptography For Internet Of Things, Dr Khaled Nagaty, Maha Aladin, Abeer Hamdy Dr.

Computer Science

The rapid advancement of cellular networks and wireless networks has laid a solid basis for the Internet of Things. IoT has evolved into a unique standard that allows diverse physical devices to collaborate with one another. A service provider gives a variety of services that may be accessed via smart apps anywhere, at any time, and from any location over the Internet. Because of the public environment of mobile communication and the Internet, these services are highly vulnerable to a several malicious attacks, such as unauthorized disclosure by hostile attackers. As a result, the best option for overcoming these vulnerabilities …

Crisisready's Novel Framework For Transdisciplinary Translation: Case-Studies In Wildfire And Hurricane Response, Andrew Schroeder, Caleb Dresser, Akash Yadav, Jennifer Chan, Shenyue Jia, Caroline Buckee, Satchit Balsari

Institute for ECHO Articles and Research

Extreme weather events including wildfires and hurricanes are becoming increasingly hazardous due to climate change, and often result in transient or permanent population displacements. Disaster-related disruptions in infrastructure, workforce, wages, and social networks can combine with population displacements to result in interruptions in health care access and prolonged impacts on morbidity and mortality. The data needed to make health systems and emergency management approaches more resilient to these hazards, and more responsive to the needs of affected populations, are sequestered in silos across private corporations and public agencies. In two case studies, we describe how our research team at CrisisReady …

2022 December 15 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Exposure To Atmospheric Humidity On Breakdown Field Strength Measurements Of Polymers, Megan Loveland Dewaal

Physics Capstone Projects

This study investigates the effects of absorbed water introduced via exposure to atmospheric humidity on electrostatic breakdown field strength measurements of polymers. Conducting breakdown tests under sample conditions appropriate for different applications is essential. If the breakdown field strength is overestimated for an application, an insulator may be used inappropriately in high electric fields where they are more likely to break down. Comparisons are made between: sets of pristine samples, samples that underwent a thorough vacuum bake out to remove absorbed water, and samples subject to subsequent incremental prolonged atmospheric exposure. These investigated the effects of absorbed water and determined …

Fourier Acceleration In The Linear Sigma Model, Cameron Cianci

Honors Scholar Theses

The linear sigma model is a low energy effective model of Quantum Chromodynamics. This model mimics the breaking of chiral symmetry both spontaneously and explicitly through the quark condensate and pion mass matrix respectively. Fourier acceleration is a method that can be implemented in the Hybrid Monte-Carlo algorithm which decreases autocorrelations due to critical slowing down through tuning the mass parameters in the HMC algorithm. Fourier acceleration is applied to the linear sigma model with a novel mass estimation procedure, by assuming the modes behave approximately like simple harmonic oscillators. The masses are chosen by sampling the expectation values of …

A Bayesian Susceptible-Infectious-Hospitalized-Ventilated-Recovered Model To Predict Demand For Covid-19 Inpatient Care In A Large Healthcare System, Stella Coker Watson Self Ph.D., Ms, Rongjie Huang, Shrujan Amin, Joseph Ewing, Carolina Rudisill, Alexander C. Mclain Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic has strained healthcare systems in many parts of the United States. During the early months of the pandemic, there was substantial uncertainty about whether the large number of COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization would exceed healthcare system capacity. This uncertainty created an urgent need to accurately predict the number of COVID-19 patients that would require inpatient and ventilator care at the local level. As the pandemic progressed, many healthcare systems relied on such predictions to prepare for COVID-19 surges and to make decisions regarding staffing, the discontinuation of elective procedures, and the amount of personal protective equipment (PPE) …

Preferential Stiffness And The Crack-Tip Fields Of An Elastic Porous Solid Based On The Density-Dependent Moduli Model, Hyun C. Yoon, S. M. Mallikarjunaiah, Dambaru Bhatta

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper, we study the preferential stiffness and the crack-tip fields for an elastic porous solid of which material properties are dependent upon the density. Such a description is necessary to describe the failure that can be caused by damaged pores in many porous bodies such as ceramics, concrete and human bones. To that end, we revisit a new class of implicit constitutive relations under the assumption of small deformation. Although the constitutive relationship \textit{appears linear} in both the Cauchy stress and linearized strain, the governing equation bestowed from the balance of linear momentum results in a quasi-linear partial …

Uv-Light-Tunable P-/N-Type Chemiresistive Gas Sensors Based On Quasi-1d Tis3 Nanoribbons: Detection Of Isopropanol At Ppm Concentrations, Victor V. Sysoev, Andrey V. Lashkov, Alexey Lipatov, Ilya A. Plugin, Michael Bruns, Dirk Fuchs, Alexey S. Varezhnikov, Mustahsin Adib, Martin Sommer, Alexander Sinitskii

Chemistry Department: Faculty Publications

The growing demand of society for gas sensors for energy-efficient environmental sensing stimulates studies of new electronic materials. Here, we investigated quasi-one-dimensional titanium trisulfide (TiS₃) crystals for possible applications in chemiresistors and on-chip multisensor arrays. TiS₃ nanoribbons were placed as a mat over a multielectrode chip to form an array of chemiresistive gas sensors. These sensors were exposed to isopropanol as a model analyte, which was mixed with air at low concentrations of 1–100 ppm that are below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permissible exposure limit. The tests were performed at room temperature (RT), as …

Uniqueness Of Steady State Positive Solutions To A General Elliptic System With Dirichlet Boundary Conditions, Joon Hyuk Kang

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to give conditions for the uniqueness of positive solution to a rather general type of elliptic system of the Dirichlet problem on a bounded domain Ω in Rⁿ. Also considered are the effects of perturbations on the coexistence state and uniqueness.