Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Dynamics Of Prey-Prey Mutualism With Varying Carrying Capacity And Herd Behavior In The Presence Of Predator, Felix Dela Djokoto

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the dynamics of mutualistic relationships between two prey species in the presence of a predator, by taking into account herding in one species along with the influence of carrying capacities between two prey species. These mutualistic dynamics are presented by constructing two mathematical models, namely an indirect and direct mutualism model. As the strength of the symbiotic relationship increases the indirect model goes through transcritical bifurcation to Hopf bifurcation whereas in the direct mutualism model goes through saddle-node bifurcation to Hopf bifurcation.

Lipschitz Conditions On Operators And Matrices, Ryan Farrell

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lipschitz functions on the real line find various applications across mathematics, including in differential equations, optimization, and machine learning. The goal of this thesis is to investigate functions which satisfy certain Lipschitz conditions when ap- plied to operators and matrices. Our study will review two classes of such functions, the class of Operator Lipschitz functions with respect to a given matrix norm, and the class consisting of functions which do not meet Lipschitz conditions in the traditional sense but satisfy inequalities which are Lipschitz in nature – we call such conditions ”Lipschitz-like”. The thesis concludes with a survey of these …

Precision Haptics For Rehabilitation: Quantifying Directional Bias And Force Threshold Effects On Motor Learning, Conor J. Nolan

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hand rehabilitation represents a critical challenge in modern physical therapy, with significant implications for patients' quality of life and functional independence. Despite technological advancements across healthcare, traditional hand assessment methods often rely on subjective measures or lack task-specific biomechanical assessment capabilities. This thesis investigates the effects of haptic force feedback, handedness, and rotation direction on circle-tracing task completion using a within-subjects factorial design with 20 university participants examining varying resistance levels (0.0N, 0.5N, 1.2N) across different movement configurations using a 3D Systems Touch X haptic device with 0.023mm precision. Results demonstrate that moderate haptic force (0.5N) significantly enhanced spatial accuracy …

Fourier Transformation Of Non-Periodic Functions And Its Application In Computed Tomography, Sabrina Hossain

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fourier analysis plays an important role in signal processing and imaging applications,

with computed tomography (CT) being a prominent example. CT imaging relies on recon-

structing cross-sectional images of objects from multiple projections, a process deeply rooted

in the mathematical framework of the Fourier series and its extensions. This thesis explores

the mathematical principle behind CT, demonstrating how periodic and non-periodic func-

tions can be decomposed into sinusoidal components to facilitate image reconstruction. We

begin by reviewing the Fourier series and its ability to represent periodic signals, and then

extend this concept to non-periodic functions through Fourier transforms. The connection …

Analysis Of Bin Packing Variants, Kyle T. Ambrose

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Bin Packing problem is a classic and widely studied optimization problem that arises naturally in applications like manufacturing, logistics, and memory allocation, where space and resource constraints are critical. In this thesis, we first demonstrate the NP-completeness of Bin Packing via a reduction from Three-Dimensional Matching, establishing its foundational complexity. We then survey core heuristics for the one-dimensional case and extend our analysis to two and three-dimensional variants, including both offline and online strategies. Special attention is given to stochastic bin packing, where item sizes are modeled as random variables drawn from distributions such as uniform, truncated normal, and …

Investigating The Roles Of Intrinsic Point Defects And Transition Metal Doping In Monolayer And Bulk Tis2, Patrick J. Keeney

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Within this thesis, the magnetic and electronic properties of various 1T-TiS₂ systems are thoroughly examined using density functional theory (DFT) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Formation energies and electronic implications of intrinsic point defects in bulk TiS₂ and monolayer TiS₂ are analyzed by approximating a computational monolayer of TiS₂ as the surface layer of a bulk sample. This approximation is validated given that intralayer covalent bonding dominates interlayer van der Waals interactions. We conclude that the most energetically favorable intrinsic defects are Ti atoms settling above the outermost S plane and S vacancies. In addition, the …

Frustrated Quantum Magnetism: The Interplay Of Isotropic And Anisotropic Interactions With Application To Α-Rucl3, Evan M. Wilson

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We investigate how anisotropic spin interactions, including Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya and Kitaev terms, manifest across quantum spin systems ranging from a single S = 1/2 dimer to molecular spin clusters and layered magnetic materials. Beginning with an exact analysis of the spin dimer, we demonstrate how singlet–triplet mixing induced by Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction directly influences both thermodynamic observables and inelastic neutron scattering spectra. These microscopic fingerprints are then extended to trimer, tetramer, and tetrahedron geometries, where field-induced phase transitions and heat capacity anomalies reveal the interplay between isotropic Heisenberg and anisotropic Kitaev exchanges. In the frustrated zigzag honeycomb lattice, we show that a …

Copyright And Artificial Intelligence, Part 2: Copyrightability

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

This report by the United States Copyright Office addresses the legal and policy issues related to artificial intelligence (AI) and copyright as outlined in the Office’s August 2023 Notice of Inquiry (NOI).

The report will be published in several parts each one addressing a different topic. This part addresses the copyrightability of works created using generative AI. The first part, published in 2024, addresses the topic of digital replicas—the use of digital technology to realistically replicate an individual’s voice or appearance. A subsequent part will turn to the training of AI models on copyrighted works, licensing considerations, and allocation of …

Extending A Pretrained Language Model (Bert) Using An Ontological Perspective To Classify Students' Scientific Expertise Level From Written Responses, Heqiao Wang, Kevin C. Haudek, Amanda D. Manzanares, Chelsie L. Romulo, Emily A. Royse, Caterina B. Azzarello

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

The complex and interdisciplinary nature of scientific concepts presents formidable challenges for students in developing their knowledge-in-use skills. The utilization of computerized analysis for evaluating students' contextualized constructed responses offers a potential avenue for educators to develop personalized and scalable interventions, thus supporting the current teaching and learning of science. While prior research in artificial intelligence has demonstrated the effectiveness of algorithms, including Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT), in tasks like automated classifications of constructed responses, these efforts have predominantly leaned towards text-level features, often overlooking the exploration of conceptual ideas embedded in students' responses from a cognitive perspective. …

It’S Time To Stop Calling People "Stakeholders", Bethann Garramon Merkle, Evelyn Valdez-Ward, Priya Shukla, Skylar R. Bayer

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Although the term “stakeholder” has been widely used in science communication, recent expansion in the discourse around the negative connotations of the term necessitate that scientists and practitioners cease using the term. We discuss why this shift is necessary, how it affects our own praxis, and suggest resources for working through more respectful and just language. Looking to the science communication literature can help recalibrate terminology in positive ways.

Ml Model To Better Identify Instances Of Bullying Faced By Members Of The Lgbtq+ Community, Arslan Bisharat

Master's Theses

Cyberbullying poses a significant threat to online communities, with the LGBTQ+ community facing disproportionately higher rates of harassment. While existing cyberbullying detection systems have made progress in identifying general instances of online harassment, they often fail to capture the nuanced and context-dependent nature of LGBTQ+-targeted bullying. This thesis presents a novel approach to this challenge by developing SpectrumNet, an LGBTQ+-centric transformer-based model for cyberbullying detection. Our research was conducted in two phases. In Phase 1, we evaluated the effectiveness of pre-trained transformer models (RoBERTa, BERT, and GPT-2) in identifying LGBTQ+-related cyberbullying. Building on these findings, Phase 2 introduced SpectrumNet which …

Applying The Matching Law To Major League Baseball (Mlb), Christopher Watkins, Vincent Berardi

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

The application of the generalized matching equation (GME) has been detailed in a variety of sports, including football, basketball, and others. However, only a limited number of studies have focused on Major League Baseball (MLB), and they typically have examined ≤ 5 players and/or focused on a single behavior. This paper increases the generalizability of such work by using newly available, state-of-the-art data from thousands of players to explore the GME in several scenarios within three aspects of a baseball game - defense, pitching and batting. We found that the GME accurately summarized response allocation in most scenarios, with r …

Modeling Neighborhoods As Fuel For Wildfire, Bryce Alan Young

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Wildfire models drive billions of dollars in risk mitigation efforts. However, the modeling community currently lacks a representative fuelscape on which to base simulations of fire spread in the built environment and the wildland-urban interface (WUI) where vegetation and structures act together as fuel for wildfire. This thesis advances wildfire risk modeling by addressing the underdeveloped representation of the built environment in existing frameworks. By identifying inconsistencies in how structure and defensible space features are defined and used across empirical studies, predictive indices, and fire spread models, this research lays the groundwork for standardized modeling approaches and feature selection (Chapter …

Bridging The Gap Between Plot-Level And Landscape-Scale Analysis For Wildfire Risk Assessment, Vanessa Leigh Niemczyk

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Remote sensing technology has advanced greatly over the past couple of decades proving its ability to aid in wildfire risk assessment and improve our understanding of forest structure and fuel inventory across the landscape. While some aerial and satellite sensors perform better than others, they all have a common weakness, their reduced ability to capture understory fuels with high detail. Terrestrial laser scanning is an emerging solution due to its understory perspective. This research leverages the beneficial aspects of both terrestrial laser scanning and various aerial- or satellite-based remote sensing platforms (aerial laser scanning, digital aerial photogrammetry, and Sentinel-2) to …

Investigating The Impact Of Aerial Firefighting On Rate Of Wildfire Spread, Lindsay Ann Wiard

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Aerial retardant drops are widely used in wildfire suppression, yet their effectiveness in slowing fire spread remains difficult to quantify at scale. This study evaluates the impact of aerial suppression on wildfire rate of spread (ROS) using a modeling framework that incorporates both observed (real) and counterfactual (synthetic) drop locations from a sample of 62 wildfires in Oregon. Synthetic drops were generated to simulate a no-suppression baseline, allowing us to compare changes in ROS in the presence and absence of suppression. We trained two random forest classifiers: one using both real and synthetic drops (the full model), and another using …

Fluvial Geomorphic Resilience In Alluvial Mountain Rivers To Large Floods, Riley T. Henson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As hydroclimatic extremes intensify, large floods increasingly reshape river systems and threaten infrastructure. Fluvial geomorphic resilience, defined as a river’s resistance to, and recovery from, flood disturbance, offers a useful framework for understanding river response and guiding management. We assessed resilience at two scales: (1) a detailed geomorphic and hydraulic analysis of the June 2022 flood on East Rosebud Creek, Montana, which was part of broader flooding in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and (2) a broad-scale comparison of 12 flood-impacted alluvial mountain rivers across North America and Europe. We quantified resistance using active channel width ratios (W_R) and …

Depth Distribution Of Liquid Water In Greenlands Firn Layer Based On L-Band Radiometry, A Snow Physics Model, And Machine Learning, Taylor D. Moon

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The accurate estimation of the amount of meltwater retained by Greenland’s firn layer and its distribution over depth is essential for assessing both the current and future mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet. When meltwater infiltrates the firn, it exists as a quantifiable volume of liquid water, measurable as the one-dimensional liquid water amount, hereafter referred to as LWA. A promising new tool for estimating LWA is L-band passive microwave satellite radiometry, which can provide twice-daily estimates using empirical models of firn microwave emission. However, this method faces two primary limitations. First, retrievals are untested against field observations and …

Investigating Non-Invasive Survey Methods And Building A Predictive Occupancy Model For Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus Histrionicus) In Western Montana And Northern Idaho, Holli Ann Holmes

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus; HADU) are an imperiled sea duck that breeds along white-water mountain streams, but challenges in surveying them have made it difficult to understand population trends in their Northern Rocky Mountain breeding population. In this study we had two objectives: (1) evaluate non-invasive survey methods for detecting HADU on their breeding grounds in Western Montana and Northern Idaho, and (2) develop an occupancy model to predict potential breeding stream use for HADU across the region. First, we assessed the efficacy of ground-based foot surveys (GBS), environmental DNA (eDNA), and camera traps to detect breeding HADU during …

Changes In Efficiency And Magnitude Of Recharge Due To Climate Change For Headwater Catchments In The Mountain West, Harrison Mcgillen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Changes to groundwater recharge and stream flow were simulated from downscaled CMIP6 global climate models in a headwater catchment of the Blackfoot River, MT. A calibrated, 3-D, coupled surface and groundwater GSFLOW model, forced with minimum and maximum temperature, and precipitation from a downscaled CMIP6 simulation was used to quantify groundwater recharge and stream flow. The model was calibrated against measured groundwater head and stream flow using observed temperature and precipitation boundary conditions. The calibrated model was then forced with downscaled temperature and precipitation from the CANESM5 model for the SSP245, 370 and 585 scenarios, as well as a manual …

Impacts Of Fire-Driven Vegetation Changes On Evapotranspiration In North American Boreal Forests, Tyler Glen Albrethsen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

A growing body of evidence suggests that land cover change could be impacting evapotranspiration (ET) trends more than the direct impacts of climate change (Dashti et al., 2022; Zhang et al., 2015). In boreal forests, one of the Earth’s most important carbon sinks (Kang et al., 2006), climate and disturbance-driven land cover change is progressing rapidly, threatening the resilience of conifer-dominated forests (Baltzer et al., 2021; Massey et al., 2023). The spread of deciduous trees and the changing structure of boreal forests likely have large implications for the magnitude and seasonality of ecosystem water fluxes (Young-Robertson et al., 2016). This …

Binoculars To Bytes: Development And Field Validation Of An Ai-Driven System For Avian Monitoring, Christian J. Dupree

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Autonomous camera-trap arrays coupled with artificial-intelligence (AI) vision can lift bird monitoring beyond the spatial, temporal, and labor limits of traditional field surveys. We present Binoculars to Bytes (B2B), an open-source pipeline that turns 180–360° time-lapse imagery into analysis-ready avian data. At Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area (Montana, USA) the system ran four-hour morning deployments during spring and fall migrations (2023–2024). A YOLO-NAS detector, incrementally refined with a “Specialized Localized Iterative Model” workflow, quadrupled local accuracy and, after confidence-based species-binning, cut false-positive rates in half. Daily AI species lists were benchmarked against contemporaneous eBird citizen-science checklists and recovered ≥ …

Jack Reacher And The Deployment Of An Airbag, Gregory A. Dilisi, Richard A. Rarick

2025 Faculty Bibliography

No abstract provided.

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

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

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

Evaluation Of The Maneuverability Of An 85m Fishing Trawler (Focusing On Dynamic Stability), Chun-Ki Lee, Su-Hyung Kim

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Most fishing vessels are less than 100 meters in length, so IMO maneuverability standards do not apply. As a result, studies on the maneuverability of fishing vessels are considerably fewer compared to those on merchant ships. However, with technological advancements, the size of fishing vessels continues to grow, and as more fishermen are on board, accidents could lead to fatal casualties. In response, the authors determined that research on the maneuverability of fishing vessels is urgently needed. Thus, the authors conducted a maneuverability evaluation on a fisheries training vessel with the hull shape of a fishing trawler, 85 meters in …

A Hybrid Image Filtering Approach For Improving Edge Detection Of Riverbed Particles With Complex Textures, Po-Wei Lin, Hsun-Chuan Chan

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The distribution of particle size in gravel-bed rivers affects the flow condition, sediment transport, and river morphology. However, conventional particle size analysis is laborious and time-consuming. To enhance the efficiency of particle size analysis, image-based methods have been widely explored, but complex particle textures increase the difficulty in identifying particle edges during image analysis. This study develops a filtering approach based on the rolling guidance filter and leverages the differences in grayscale gradients between particle edges and textures to design a guidance image tailored for the rolling guidance filter. This design enables the filter to preserve particle edges while smoothing …

Comparison Of Canopy Materials To Improve The Performance Of Sea Anchors Used For Fishing Operations, Namgu Kim, Su-Hyung Kim, Yoo-Won Lee, Kyung-Jin Ryu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Sea anchors used for fishing operations help improve catch rates by stabilizing vessel drift speeds to match tidal or ocean currents. The underwater resistance experienced by a sea anchor's canopy significantly impacts its performance, yet there has been limited research on canopy materials. This study investigates how different canopy materials can enhance sea anchor performance. Specifically, we tested sea anchors made from three fabrics: the currently used polyamide (PA) material, PA material with increased yarn density in the weft direction, and polyester (PES). Using Korean national standards, we compared the yarn density, weight, water absorption capacity, drying rate, air permeability, …

Research On Ship Track Prediction Based On Ipso-Cnn, Xiangen Bai, Nuo Chen, Xiaofeng Xu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

With the rapid development of the global economy, international imports and exports have become increasingly important. Timely and effective tracking and prediction of ship trajectories are important in the face of complex maritime traffic. Based on AIS data, this study establishes a ship trajectory prediction model combining improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) and a convolutional neural network (CNN) that uses the ship's historical navigation trajectory data to predict the future navigation trajectory. The historical ship trajectory data of the Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan were selected for the experiment, and the IPSO-CNN model experiment results were compared with those of other models. …

Determination Of Structural Factors Contributing To Protection Of Zinc Fingers In Estrogen Receptor Α Through Molecular Dynamic Simulations, Patricia B. Lutz, Wesley R. Coombs, Craig A. Bayse

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The ERα transcription factor that induces tumor growth is a potential target for breast cancer treatment. Each monomer of the ERα DNA-binding domain (ERαDBD) homodimer has two conserved (Cys)₄-type zinc fingers, ZF1 (N-terminal) and ZF2 (C-terminal). Electrophilic agents release Zn²⁺ by oxidizing the coordinating Cys of the more labile ZF2 to inhibit dimerization and DNA binding. Microsecond-length molecular dynamics (MD) simulations show that greater flexibility of ZF2 in the ERαDBD monomer leaves its Cys more solvent accessible and less shielded from electrophilic attack by sulfur-centered hydrogen bonds than ZF1 which is buried in the protein. In the …

Phytochemical Analysis, Antioxidant, And Antibacterial Properties Of Partition Fractions Of Adansonia Digitata And Annona Muricata Extracts Using Chloroform, Ethyl Acetate, Ethanol, And Aqueous Solvent Systems, Fagbohun Oyenike Bushirat, Hassan Abdusalam Adewuyi, Sakariyau Adio Waheed, Maryam Nana Musa, Timothy God-Giveth Olusegun, Ayomide Babatunde Ishola, Agumage Idoko, Adeola Victor Kolawole, Adesanmi Adefunmilayo Oluwatuyi, Sarah Ngozi Agwasim

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Adansonia digitata and Annona muricata are traditionally used medicinal plants with reported pharmacological properties. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the phytochemical composition, antioxidant activity, and antibacterial properties of partition fractions of Adansonia digitata and Annona muricata extracts obtained using chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethanol, and aqueous solvent systems. The plant extracts were successively partitioned using chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethanol, and aqueous solvent systems. Phytochemical analysis was performed using standard methods. Antioxidant activity was evaluated using FRAP and DPPH assays. Antibacterial activity was assessed using agar well diffusion and MIC determination. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids (10.2-15.6%), flavonoids …

The Importance Of Solution Studies For The Structural Characterization Of The Enterovirus 5' Cloverleaf, Morgan G. Daniels, Meagan E. Werner, Xiaobing Zuo, Steven M. Pascal

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Enteroviruses initiate genomic replication via a highly conserved mechanism that is controlled by an RNA platform, also known as the 5' cloverleaf (5'CL). Here, we present a biophysical analysis of the 5'CL conformation of three enterovirus serotypes under various ionic conditions, utilizing CD spectroscopy, size-exclusion chromatography, and small-angle X-ray scattering. In general, a tendency toward a smaller monomeric hydrodynamic radius in the presence of salts was observed, but the exact structural signature of each 5'CL varied depending upon the serotype. Rhinovirus B14 (RVB14) exhibited at least two monomeric conformations and a low propensity for dimerization, while poliovirus 1 (PV1) showed …