Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Editorial - Sure Journal Vol 5, Anne M. Friel

SURE Journal: Science Undergraduate Research Experience Journal

.

Ungrading: Reflections Through A Feminist Pedagogical Lens, Erin M. Eggleston, Shelby Kimmel

Feminist Pedagogy

Ungrading is a pedagogical approach in which no grades are given on any assignments. Instead, students are provided with many opportunities to submit work and gain feedback. The goal is to shift student focus from achieving a grade to growth as a learner and a person. As instructors, our ungrading approach utilized personalized learning plans, checkpoint reflections, and student-professor learning conferences to put agency in the hands of our students. We employed this method in upper-level biology and computer science courses and provide critical reflections here regarding our experiences and the connections between this approach and feminist STEM pedagogy tenets. …

Centering Equity In Stem Teaching: Stem Ideas That Change The World, Ileana Vasu

Feminist Pedagogy

No discussion on equity/inequity makes sense without bringing power into that discussion. As instructors we need to ask questions such as “who decides and controls what knowledge is”, “whose identities are empowered and whose are erased”, “who has access and opportunity and who doesn’t”. Traditional teaching in STEM, including mathematics, assumes knowledge is objective, transmittable, repeatable to everyone. When educators follow a traditional curriculum, just like their teachers before them, they do so thinking their methods ensure equality and objectivity. These practices not only deny the role that Western patriarchal cultures have played in creating these so-called equitable practices, but …

Building Community, Competency, And Creativity In Calculus 2: Summary Of A Pilot Year Of Project Implementation, Jennifer Beichman, Candice R. Price

Feminist Pedagogy

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, instructional modes at our institution moved to fully online and remote, then fully online but on campus, and back to in-person learning in fall 2021. To combat perceived issues in student engagement, we piloted using group projects in place of exams at the natural content break points in Calculus 2.

Feminist Pedagogy In Stem: The Intersection Of Stem Pedagogy And Feminist Theory, Lesley-Ann Giddings, Candice R. Price

Feminist Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

Non-Fungible Tokens (Nfts) - Survey Of Current Applications, Evolution And Future Directions, Qaiser Razi, Aryan Devrani, Harshal Abhyankar, Gss Chalapathi, Vikas Hassija, Mohsen Guizani

Machine Learning Faculty Publications

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have become an exciting technology that provides a fresh perspective on asset ownership, provenance, and value exchange. NFTs, a blockchain-based technology, are distinct and indivisible cryptographic tokens used to confirm and record the ownership of digital and physical assets in an immutable and transparent way. The fundamental block of NFT is a smart contract built on a blockchain network. This contract contains specific information about the asset it represents, such as its unique identifier, metadata, and ownership details. The information is kept private and tamper-proof due to the decentralized and distributed structure of the blockchain, boosting faith …

Progress Towards The Development Of Asymmetric Conditions For Intramolecular Heteroatom/Dehydro-Diels-Alder Reactions For Synthesizing Furo[3,4-C] Pyranones And Anticancer Podophyllotoxins, Peter Mpaata

Theses and Dissertations

Furo[3,4-c] pyranone is a unique bicyclic molecular structure found in bioactive sesquiterpene isobolivianine and in artificial cytotoxic stilbene derivatives. The structure of furo[3,4-c] pyranone is analogous to cyclopenta[c] pyran structure found in potent cytotoxic iridoids like catapol. Chiral substrates for intramolecular hetero-Diels-Alder (IHDA) reaction have been synthesized in yields ranging from 39% to 81%. These compounds undergo [4+2] cycloaddition via ambimodal/ bispericyclic process to give a mixture of furo[3,4-c] pyranone in yields ranging 40-70% and aryl tetralin lactone derivatives. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been performed to gain insight into the mechanism leading to the formation of these compounds. …

Studi Alimentari Italiani E Geologia: Vino E Vulcani Da Diverse Prospettive, Maria Varriale Gomez

Italian Renaissance Foodways

Nel mio progetto di integrazione avanzata, mi impegnerò in un'esplorazione interdisciplinare del vino. Analizzerò il vino utilizzando gli studi alimentari italiani e la geologia, concentrandomi in particolare sugli effetti che i vulcani hanno avuto sul vino in Italia sin dal Medioevo e dal Rinascimento. Nel corso della storia, il vino è stato una parte cruciale della cultura italiana e i vulcani del paese hanno influenzato la produzione della bevanda in modi diversi come la varietà delle uve coltivate e il suo sapore basato sulla composizione del terreno vulcanico. Le numerose regioni in Italia producono vino diverso in gran parte a …

Local Atomic And Magnetic Structure Of Multiferroic (Sr,Ba)(Mn,Ti)O3, Braedon Jones

Theses and Dissertations

We present a detailed study of the local atomic and magnetic structure of the type-I multiferroic perovskite system (Sr,Ba)(Mn,Ti)O3 using x-ray and neutron pair distribution function (PDF) analysis, polarized neutron scattering, and muon spin relaxation (μSR) techniques. The atomic PDF analysis reveals widespread nanoscale tetragonal distortions of the crystal structure even in the paraelectric phase with average cubic symmetry, corresponding to incipient ferroelectricity in the local structure. Magnetic PDF analysis, polarized neutron scattering, and μSR likewise confirm the presence of short-range antiferromagnetic correlations in the paramagnetic state, which grow in magnitude as the temperature approaches the magnetic transition. We show …

Mechanical Characterization Of Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotube Forest Microelectrodes For Neural Interfacing, Spencer Mcleod Roberts

Theses and Dissertations

Silicon intracortical microelectrodes arrays (MEA) provide some of the best performance for brain computer interfaces but suffer from lifetime limitations that prevent clinical adoption. A primary contributor of lifetime limitations is the chronic foreign body response (FBR) which remains active in response to the brain tissue strain caused by implanted probes during brain micromotion. Designing probes with softer materials can reduce the chronic FBR and improve device lifetime. A high-aspect ratio CNT MEA could provide several advantages as an intracortical MEA but has yet to be mechanically characterized. CNT MEAs are infiltrated with 3 degrees of carbon infiltration and mechanically …

Limit Distributions Of Products Of Independent And Identically Distributed Random 2 × 2 Stochastic Matrices: A Treatment With The Reciprocal Of The Golden Ratio, Santanu Chakraborty

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Consider a sequence (Xn)n≥1 of i.i.d. 2×2 stochastic matrices with each Xn distributed as μ. This μ is described as follows. Let (Cn,Dn)T denote the first column of Xn and for a given real r with 012 is very challenging. Considering the extreme nontriviality of this case, we stick to a very special such r, namely, r=√5−12 (the reciprocal of the golden ratio), briefly mention the challenges in this nontrivial case, and completely identify λ for a very special situation.

Lesion Detection In Women Breast’S Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging Using Deep Learning, Sudarshan Saikia, Tapas Si, Darpan Deb, Kangkana Bora, Saurav Mallik, Ujjwal Maulik, Zhongming Zhao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women and the second foremost cause of cancer death in women after lung cancer. Recent technological advances in breast cancer treatment offer hope to millions of women in the world. Segmentation of the breast's Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DCE-MRI) is one of the necessary tasks in the diagnosis and detection of breast cancer. Currently, a popular deep learning model, U-Net is extensively used in biomedical image segmentation. This article aims to advance the state of the art and conduct a more in-depth analysis with a focus on the use …

Investigating The Geochemical Trends At The Sediment-Water Interface Of The Shallow And Eutrophic Utah Lake, Abidemi Sherif Aremu

Theses and Dissertations

The sources of phosphorus (P) in Utah Lake can be diverse, including natural and anthropogenic point and non-point sources, such as atmospheric deposition, soil erosion, and industrial and urban wastewater effluents. This study collected interface sediments, column water, porewater, and sediment cores across this vast water body. These samples were then analyzed for their mineralogic, organic, and elemental composition to characterize the geochemical nature of water and sediment at the water-sediment interface within Utah Lake. The average concentrations of P and other elements found in the column water of an individual site do not significantly differ across depth suggesting Utah …

Simulating Government Institutions In Networked Societies, Michael Richards

Theses and Dissertations

Modern human societies give rise to the expression of complex group dynamics between the members of said society due to the abundance of continued interactions. Of particular interest are how institutions affect these interactions between societal members, alter the resulting group dynamics, and impact society as a whole through their rules. Simulating these dynamics allows for greater insight into how these institutions function and allows researchers to pose interesting questions and test hypotheses within a laboratory setting. We present a novel approach to simulating institutions, particularly governments, within a networked society. This approach builds upon the Junior High Game, which …

A Closer Look At Our Ever-Changing Solar System, Erik Johnson

Natural Science Faculty

What is a planet? It's a question that was controversial when Pluto was reclassified in 2006. The definition has changed over time as people have learned more about the universe. There are still unresolved differences between the cultural usage and its various scientific uses.

Tiny Machine Learning For Underwater Image Enhancement: Pruning And Quantizaition Approach, Dr Khaled Nagaty, The British University In Egypt, Andreas Pester Dr

Computer Science

Many people have expressed an interest in underwater image processing in a variety of fields, including underwater vehicle control, archaeology, marine biological studies, etc. Underwater exploration is becoming an increasingly important element of our lives, with applications ranging from underwater marine and creature research to pipeline and communication logistics, military use, touristic and entertainment use. Underwater images suffer from poor visibility, distortion, and poor quality for a variety of causes, including light propagation. The major issue arises when these images must be captured at depths greater than 500 feet and artificial lighting needs to be provided. Efficient algorithms and models …

Dryland Vegetation Mapping Using High Spatial-Temporal Resolution Satellite Imagery In New Mexico: A Comparison Of Phenological Time-Series Transformation Methods, Pratistha Sharma

Geography ETDs

New Mexico's drylands are undergoing notable vegetation changes due to rising aridity, higher temperatures, and shifts in precipitation with changing climate. Mapping drylands through remote sensing is challenging compared to mesic systems due to the irregular patterns of rainfall-driven phenology and weaker vegetation absorption signals. This study aims to enhance vegetation mapping in New Mexico, utilizing a high-resolution, frequently revisited PlanetScope dataset with multispectral capabilities, specifically chosen for its suitability for time-series analysis. The challenge with high spatial and temporal data lies in the overwhelming volume, leading to issues like the curse of dimensionality, overfitting, data redundancy, collinearity, and visualization …

Comparative Lineament And Geomorphic Analysis Of Chaotic Terrains And Noctis Labyrinthus, Mars, Sarah A. Walton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Noctis Labyrinthus (NL) is an extensional trough network connecting the Tharsis rise and Valles Marineris on Mars. Chaotic terrains are a group of polygonally-fractured surface features commonly associated with subsidence due to rapid fluid loss within the subsurface. Polygonal surface patterns are seen at both sites, where geometric topographic highs are bounded by low troughs. Lineaments, topography, and geomorphology of NL and chaotic terrains were analyzed to determine tectonics and fluid influence in the formation and evolution of both sites. NL shows preferential fracture patterns associated with regional extension. Lineaments within chaotic terrains do not show cumulative preferential trends but …

Radio Insights Into Gamma-Ray Mysteries, Seth M. Bruzewski

Physics & Astronomy ETDs

In the time since its launch, the \textit{Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope} has provided new and unparalleled views of the $\gamma$-ray sky, dramatically increasing our understanding of sources of high-energy radiation. During that same time, however, its ``unassociated'' sources have provided a consistent mystery: approximately one third of the modern gamma-ray sky remains completely unaccounted for in other electromagnetic regimes. While some of the fainter sources simply pose challenges in achieving the necessary signal-to-noise ratio, others are well constrained and have resisted traditional investigations for years, and in some cases, for over a decade. Radio astronomy has traditionally been the best …

Interpretable Word-Level Sentiment Analysis With Attention-Based Multiple Instance Classification Models, Chenyu Yang

Statistical Science Theses and Dissertations

In this study, our main objective is to tackle the black-box nature of popular machine learning models in sentiment analysis and enhance model interpretability. We aim to gain more insight into the decision-making process of sentiment analysis models, which is often obscure in those complex models. To achieve this goal, we introduce two word-level sentiment analysis models.

The first model is called the attention-based multiple instance classification (AMIC) model. It combines the transparent model structure of multiple instance classification and the self-attention mechanism in deep learning to incorporate the contextual information from documents. As demonstrated by a wine review dataset …

Deep Learning For Microbiome-Based Integrative Modeling And Microbial Biomarkers Identification, Sen Yang

Statistical Science Theses and Dissertations

The human microbiome, comprising trillions of microorganisms, plays a pivotal role in modulating host physiology via molecular and metabolite exchanges. One of the major challenges in this field lies in the effective integration of microbiome and metabolomics data, an achievement that holds the promise of substantially enhancing the precision of disease prediction. However, many datasets prioritize microbiome data while neglecting paired metabolome information. Additionally, the prevalent analytical tools face challenges in effectively merging these intricate datasets, leading to possible misinterpretations and reduced prediction accuracies.

To address these challenges, the first part of this research introduces the Microbiome-based Supervised Contrastive Learning …

Bitcoin Price Modeling Using Machine Learning Algorithms, Azadeh Golduzian

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

Forecasting in financial markets with various technologies is critical nowadays. The Bitcoin cryptocurrency has grown in popularity in recent years, and as a result, many people all around the world have attempted to forecast its price. To improve forecast accuracy, we must employ multiple types of data and diverse approaches. This thesis combines textual and financial data and employs statistical methods and machine learning to forecast Bitcoin's price as precisely as possible. We show the performance of each strategy using Bitcoin data at the end of each chapter.

Environmental Fate Of Sulfur In Sulphur Creek, Valles Caldera, Nm: Implications For Metal Transport And Water Quality, Daniel Lavery

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The 1.2 Ma Valles Caldera in north-central New Mexico hosts a young igneous volcanic hydrothermal system after the model proposed in Goff and Janik (2000). The Sulphur Springs area within Valles Caldera is an acid-sulfate area typical of this model, discharging acidic waters (pH 1.5-3) formed by oxidation of magmatic H₂S at the surface. We report on samples obtained from springs and streams collected between October 2021 and May 2023 in the Sulphur Creek and Alamo watersheds. Sulphur Creek receives input from Sulphur Springs and exhibits low pH (2-4) and high concentrations of Al (≤110 mg/L), Fe (≤60 …

Smart Applications And Resource Management In Internet Of Things, Zeinab Akhavan

Computer Science ETDs

Internet of Things (IoT) technologies are currently the principal solutions driving smart cities. These new technologies such as Cyber Physical Systems, 5G and data analytic have emerged to address various cities' infrastructure issues ranging from transportation and energy management to healthcare systems. An IoT setting primarily consists of a wide range of users and devices as a massive network interacting with different layers of the city infrastructure resulting in generating sheer volume of data to enable smart city services. The goal of smart city services is to create value for the entire ecosystem, whether this is health, education, transportation, energy, …

Transport And Mixing Of Water Masses Across The Southeast Caribbean Ocean Imaged By Seismic Reflection Data, Joseph Renzaglia

Earth Sciences Theses and Dissertations

The Caribbean Sea serves as a major pathway for global thermohaline circulation (THC), which is a complex and vital component of the Earth’s climate system, influencing global heat distribution and oceanic circulation. Though relatively stratified, it is the boundary layer that distributes mass and temperature between the surface waters and the deep ocean where we observe various multiscale mixing processes from mesoscale to fine-scale. In regions where bathymetry is shallower and mechanical mixing forces, such as winds and tides, are more dominant, diapycnal diffusivity is typically stronger, driving vertical mixing. This type of mixing occurs at small scales, typically as …

Quantifying The Influences Of Abiotic And Biotic Factors On Post-Fire Vegetation In The Southwestern Us, Joseph Lafayette Crockett

Biology ETDs

The ongoing warming associated with climate change is increasing the flammability of southwestern US dry forests. As larger fractions of the landscape are impacted by high-severity fire, the potential exists for forests to convert to non-forest. Given that the forested area in the southwestern US is an important contributor of ecosystem services, quantifying limitations to vegetation establishment is critical to informing post-fire recovery efforts and understanding how ongoing climate change will limit seedling establishment in the future. To that end, this dissertation focuses on post-fire vegetation recovery of southwestern forests. First, I report on the influence of precipitation and topography …

Roadside Lidar Data Processing For Intelligent Transportation System, Md Parvez Mollah

Computer Science ETDs

Roadside LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors are recently being explored for Intelligent Transportation System aiming at safer and faster traffic management and vehicular operations. However, massive data volume, occlusion, and limited viewing angles are significant obstacles to the widespread use of roadside LiDARs. In this dissertation, we address three major challenges to enable applications of Intelligent Transportation System through roadside LiDAR data: (i) real-time transmission of the massive point-cloud data from the roadside LiDAR devices to the cloud using 5G network, (ii) mitigating sensor occlusion problem to increase coverage and detect events occurred in occluded regions of a sensor, …

Computational Study Of The Effect Of Geometry On Molecular Interactions, Sarika Kumar

Computer Science ETDs

The specificity and predictability of DNA make it an excellent programmable material and have allowed bio-programmers to build sophisticated molecular circuits. These molecular devices should be precise, correct, and function as intended. In order to implement these circuits, the challenge is to build a robust, reliable, and scalable logic circuit with ideally minimum unwanted signal release. Performing experiments are expensive and time-consuming, so modeling and analyzing these bio-molecular systems become crucial in designing molecular circuits. This dissertation aimed to develop algorithms and build computational tools for automated analysis of molecular circuits that incorporate the molecular geometry of nanostructures. Molecular circuits …

Rolling The Crypto Dice: The Interplay Of Legal Environments, Market Uncertainty, And Gambling Attitudes On Users’ Behavioral Intentions, Ayman Abdalmajeed Alsmadi, Ahmed Shuhaiber, Khaled Saleh Al-Omoush

All Works

The high volatility and inherent high-risk nature of cryptocurrency investments promote the study of the determinants of value perception and the various factors influencing individuals’ intentions regarding whether to adopt, abstain from, or continue their investments in these dynamic cryptocurrency markets. The main aim of this study is to examine the determinants of behavioral intention to continue using cryptocurrencies. In addition, it is aimed at exploring the effect of gambling attitudes on the perceived benefits and legal environment in the cryptocurrency context. An online questionnaire was developed in order to gather data from 258 respondents in the United Arab Emirates …

Volumetric Imaging Using The Pupil-Matched Remote Focusing Technique In Light-Sheet Microscopy, Sayed Hassan Dibaji Foroushani

Optical Science and Engineering ETDs

ABSTRACT

The dissertation explores innovative techniques in light sheet microscopy, a pivotal tool in biomedical imaging, to enhance its speed, resolution, and efficiency in capturing dynamic biological processes. Light sheet microscopy allows for quick 3D imaging of biological specimens ranging from cells to organs with high spatiotemporal resolution, large field-of-view, and minimal damage, making it vital for in vivo imaging.

The first project introduces a novel optical concept designed to optimize Axially Swept Light Sheet Microscopy (ASLM). This technique is crucial for imaging specimens ranging from live cells to chemically cleared organs due to its versatility across different immersion media. …