Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Demand Systems Analysis Of Energy Sources In The United States, Rafael Bakhtavoryan

Faculty Publications

This study estimates a Generalized Exact Affine Stone Index model to quantify demand structure among such energy sources as natural gas, coal, nuclear, wind, solar, and geothermal energy, employing monthly time-series data ranging from January of 2009 through December of 2020. The demand for natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy emerges as inelastic. A significant substitutability relationship is empirically established between the energy sources. All the computed expenditure elasticities are positive, with natural gas being the most sensitive and nuclear energy being the least sensitive to energy source expenditures. Pre-committed consumption is found for geothermal energy. Finally, the welfare implications …

Vitamin D3 Toxicity-Induced Hypercalcemia In Staphylococcal Arthritis: A Focus On Il-6, Ali Jabbar Abd Al-Hussain Alkawaz, Maryam Sabah Naser, Ali Jalil Obaid, Zakaria M. Al-Ghazaly

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Background: Vitamin D3  over-supplementation can induce toxicity through the development of hypercalcemia and may disturb immune modulation. This study examines the relationship between hypercalcemia  resulting from Vitamin D3 Overdose and serum Interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in patients diagnosed with staphylococcal arthritis.

Methods: Forty male patients (mean age: 31 years; range: 17–45 years) were enrolled from Dec. 2024 to Feb. 2025. Twenty cases of staphylococcal arthritis were compared with twenty healthy male controls. Serum concentrations of Vitamin D3, calcium, IL-6, and other biochemical markers (urea, creatinine, ESR, WBC, and potassium) were analyzed. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from synovial fluid and confirmed using …

Vacuum Consistent Electrochemistry In Ionic Liquid Combined With Oxide Epitaxy, Yuji Matsumoto

Journal of Electrochemistry

We introduce our state-of-the art of “vacuum consistent electrochemistry” to an investigation of the interfaces between oxides and ionic liquid (IL). Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) has been one of the powerful and sophisticated techniques to realize nanoscale preparation of high-quality epitaxial oxide thin films. On the other hand, electrochemistry is a simple, very sensitive, and non-destructive analysis technique for solid-liquid interfaces. To ensure the reproducibility in experiment of the interfaces of such epitaxial oxide films, as well as bulk oxide single-crystals, with IL, we employ a home-built PLD-electrochemical (EC) system with IL as an electrolyte. The system allows one to …

Pm Irras Studies Of Organized Molecular Films At A Gold Electrode Surface, Zhang-Fei Su, Ai-Cheng Chen, Jacek Lipkowski

Journal of Electrochemistry

This feature article illustrates the potential of polarization modulation infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM IRRAS) to provide molecular-level information about the structure, orientation and conformation of constituents of thin films at electrode surfaces. PM IRRAS relies on the surface selection rules stating that the p-polarized IR beam is enhanced, while the s-polarized beam is attenuated at the metal surface. The difference between p- and s-polarized beams eliminates the background of the solvent and provides IR spectra at a single electrode potential. In contrast, two other popular in situ IR spectroscopic techniques, namely, subtractively normalized interfacial Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (SNIFTIRS) …

Redox-Active Monolayers On Ito Prepared By Post-Amidation And Direct Esterification And Their Spectroelectrochemical Characterization, Takamasa Sagara, Sae Nakai, Ryusuke Yofu, Shota Kojin

Journal of Electrochemistry

A redox-active monolayer on an optically transparent electrode constitutes a typical platform for spectroelectrochemical sensing. The necessity for its sophistication arises from the availability of multi-dimensional sensing signals. Simultaneous monitoring of the redox current and color change synchronized with the oxidation state change significantly enhances sensitivity and selectivity. This study aimed to elucidate the modification of an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode with a viologen monolayer with an ordered orientation. Novel methods were developed to immobilize a viologen molecule bearing a carboxyl group to form assembled monolayers through a condensation reaction using 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide with N-hydroxy-succinimide (EDC/NHS). In the two methods …

Deciphering A Quantitative Relationship Between Rifting And Crustal Melt Fraction: Insights From The Incipient Okavango Rift Zone, Tuo Wang, Ling Chen, Stephen S. Gao, Kelly H. Liu

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Rifting and magmatism are fundamental geological processes in the evolution of the lithosphere; however, quantitative investigations of their relationship are rare. The Okavango Rift Zone (ORZ) is in the early stages of rifting and magmatic activity and thus is an ideal locale to study this relationship. We examine the relationship using two primary crustal structure parameters: crustal thickness and average Vp/Vs ratio obtained from receiver functions. Our large Vp/Vs estimates indicate the existence of melts within the crust of the ORZ. Comparing our results with those of other continental rifts, we identify a quantitative relationship between rifting and crustal melt …

A Promising Statistical Approach For Studying The Collisional Excitation Induced By Co: Application To The Cs-Co System, Amélie Godard Palluet, Richard Dawes, Ernesto Quintas-Sánchez, Adrian Batista-Planas, François Lique

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

The calculations of rate coefficients for the interpretation of molecular spectra are a recognized computationally expensive task. This is particularly true for media like comets, where the dominant species (CO, CO₂, and H₂O) have relatively high masses. Currently, no clear methodology exists to treat the collisional excitation of heavy species at low temperatures, thus limiting the number of collisional studies on such species. We present here a promising statistical approach to determine collisional rate coefficients of heavy systems as an alternative to fully quantum calculations when heavy projectiles such as CO are considered. This is illustrated …

Ambient Co2 Capture And Valorization Enabled By Tandem Electrolysis Using Solid-State Electrolyte Reactor, Yan-Bo Hua, Bao-Xin Ni, Kun Jiang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction is a promising technology for addressing global energy and environmental crises. However, its practical application faces two critical challenges: the complex and energy-intensive process of separating mixed reduction products and the economic viability of the carbon sources (reactants) used. To tackle these challenges simultaneously, solid-state electrolyte (SSE) reactors are emerging as a promising solution. In this review, we focus on the feasibility of applying SSE for tandem electrochemical CO₂ capture and conversion. The configurations and fundamental principles of SSE reactors are first discussed, followed by an introduction to its applications in these two specific areas, …

Developing Sky Plots Of Rocket Launches From Gps Scintillation Data, Ishaan Dey, Kshitija Deshpande

Beyond: Undergraduate Research Journal

Sky plots displaying GPS satellite and rocket launch trajectories are developed to determine the spatial correlation between satellites that display ionospheric scintillations and heavy thrust-producing rockets. The trajectories of three major Falcon Heavy and Artemis 1 rocket launches are used within this paper. Python code is utilized to compute and plot Ionospheric Pierce Point (IPP) coordinates which are then used to produce satellite trajectories from the receiver's point of view. Rocket latitude, longitude, and altitude data is integrated within the code to provide extensive detail into the location of the rocket in relation to GPS satellites that displayed scintillations from …

Digital Infrastructure For The Regenerative Movement: A Case Study Of The Mycelium Learning Network, Abigail Karparis

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

The regenerative movement is gaining momentum worldwide, driven by communities working to restore ecological and social systems through place-based, culturally rooted action. Yet many of the groups leading this work, especially in the Global South or in hyper-local contexts, remain digitally invisible due to structural barriers, including limited access to appropriate technology, funding constraints, and misalignment between available tools and local values. Conventional digital infrastructures often exclude or marginalize these efforts, leaving regenerative practitioners disconnected from each other and from potential sources of support.

This article explores these challenges and presents a case study response: the co-creation of accessible, relational …

Western Australia's Marine Heatwave Update - 27 June 2025, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia, Arani Chandrapavan

Marine Heatwave Notification Reports

No abstract provided.

A Battle Of Armies: Massive Attack Of Natural Enemies To The True Armyworm Mythimna Unipuncta (Haworth, 1809) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) In Forage Crops, Armando Falcon-Brindis, Raul T. Villanueva

Insecta Mundi

Understanding the interactions between plant-host-parasitoid plays a major role in insect pest management. Farmers in the southeastern United States rely on pasture systems for cattle milk and beef production, but the benefits of parasitoids and predators on major lepidopteran pests on pasture lands are still overlooked. Here, we aimed to identify and quantify the effect of parasitism on the true armyworm Mythimna unipuncta (Haworth, 1809) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) attacking teff grass Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter (Poaceae) and crabgrass Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop. (Poaceae) in western Kentucky. In early August of 2023, 547 larvae of M. unipuncta were collected from experimental …

Regional Groundwater Flow And Advective Contaminant Transport Modeling In A Typical Hydrogeological Environment Of Northern New Jersey, Toritseju Oyen, Duke Ophori

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This study develops a numerical model to simulate groundwater flow and contaminant transport in a “typical hydrogeological environment” of northern New Jersey, addressing freshwater decline. Focusing on the Lower Passaic water management area (WMA), we model chloride transport in a fractured-rock aquifer, where fracture networks control hydraulic conductivity and porosity. The urbanized setting—encompassing Montclair State University (MSU) and municipal wells—features heterogeneous groundwater systems and critical water resources, providing an ideal case study for worst-case contaminant transport scenarios. Using MODFLOW and MODPATH, we simulated flow and tracked particles over 20 years. Results show that chloride from MSU reached the Third River …

Beyond The Hype: The Fundamental Challenges Of Machine Learning-Based Android Malware Detection In Cybersecurity, Guojun Liu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Machine learning (ML) algorithms have achieved remarkable success across various domains, including cybersecurity. Inspired by these advancements, the academic security community has explored numerous ML-based approaches for Android malware detection. While ML holds significant promise in this domain, its practical deployment faces substantial challenges, including data collection, feature selection, app representation across different models, performance instability across datasets, and inherent limitations of learning-based malware detection. These challenges can lead to overly optimistic detection results and weaken the reliability of malware detection frameworks.

Android malware detection has been extensively studied using both traditional ML and deep learning (DL) approaches. Although many …

Phosphorus: From The Origins Of Life To The Origin Of An Industry, Joshua Abbatiello

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The element phosphorus is a key biogenic element that is often the limiting reagent for life. Phosphorus is quickly bound by metal divalent cations making it virtually insoluble and inert in water (forming the phosphate mineral apatite). Due to this, it becomes imperative to understand alternative pathways to increase biogenically available phosphorus in environments. To that end, this dissertation involved examining olivine as an alternative source of phosphorus to apatite, analyzing a novel grain of iron silicide found via lightning reduction in a fulgurite, and finally sought to understand the impact of phosphate mining through phosphogypsum stacks. Olivine is a …

Power Optimized Co-Registration Of Multispectral And Thermal Cameras For Real-Time Urban Pluvial Flood Monitoring, Fatemeh Rezaei

Theses - ALL

Urban pluvial flooding occurs when local precipitation intensity exceeds the capacity of natural and engineered drainage systems, resulting in dangerous and highly localized inundation that is not captured by traditional stream gaging networks. While satellite imagery and flood maps support regional-scale flood management, a critical gap remains in the real-time, spatially continuous, in-situ monitoring of urban surface flooding. To address this monitoring gap, we develop a low-power, camera-based distributed sensor network flood mapping platform, Urban Flood Observation Network (UFO-Net), featuring two co-mounted sensors: a multispectral optical (capturing RGB and Near-Infrared) and a long-wave infrared (thermal) camera. A five-band image (RGB, …

Indoor Airborne Pathogen Transmission And Control: A Role Of Environmental Factors And Material Properties, Eloise Eyo Parry-Nweye

Dissertations - ALL

The transmission of infectious airborne pathogens has severe implications on human health and economic stability. This is evidenced by the re-emergence of global pandemics with high mortality rates, various respiratory diseases, crop damage, incurred nationwide financial costs, etc. These causative pathogens, encompassing viruses, fungal spores, etc., attach to aerosol and droplet particles, enabling their aerial dispersal and leading to a cascade of detrimental events. Developing interventions to control pathogenic transmission requires an in-depth understanding of the various modes of disease transmission. However, existential gaps within the respective disease transmission modalities remained. For instance, while viruses are predominantly transmitted via aerosols, …

Enhancing Security And Healthcare Through Continuous Monitoring On Wearable Devices, Sicong Chen

Dissertations - ALL

Wearable and mobile devices are becoming deeply embedded in daily life, supporting a growing range of tasks - from communication and entertainment to health monitoring and productivity. As people increasingly rely on these devices, it is essential to ensure both the protection of the sensitive data they store and the ability to derive meaningful insights that enhance users’ well-being. This dissertation investigates how wearable and mobile devices can be leveraged to provide robust and user-friendly solutions through continuous monitoring across two critical domains: security and mental health. The foundation of this dissertation is the development of a security infrastructure, as …

Online And Offline Learning For Embodied Ai In Autonomous Systems, Kun Wu

Dissertations - ALL

Embodied Artificial Intelligence (AI), which integrates physical embodiment with intelligent decision-making, is increasingly critical in advancing autonomous systems across diverse domains such as autonomous driving and robotic manipulation. This dissertation presents a comprehensive exploration of online and offline learning approaches for Embodied AI in autonomous systems, addressing both algorithmic innovations and dataset construction to overcome fundamental challenges in perception, decision-making, and control. Through five interconnected studies, we systematically advance the state of the art in deep reinforcement learning (DRL) and imitation learning for embodied control. First, we introduce CADRE, a cascade online DRL framework for vision-based autonomous urban driving that …

On Uses For And Constructions Of Differential Graded Algebras, Henry Potts-Rubin

Dissertations - ALL

This thesis is comprised of two projects (in reverse chronological order) with the unifying theme of differential graded (dg) algebras. The first is a collaborative effort with Hugh Geller and Desiree Martin, in which we completely classify the trees and cycles whose edge ideals are minimally resolved by dg algebras. To do this, we pull from discrete Morse theory and homological algebra to give descriptions of the dg algebra structures at play. We also use a "pruning" technique due to Boocher to give a combinatorial obstruction to the existence of dg algebra structure on minimal free resolutions of edge ideals …

Advancing The Sensitivity And Precision Of Overhauser Dynamic Nuclear Polarization With A Foundation In The First Principles Of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Physics, Alexandria Guinness

Dissertations - ALL

Overhauser Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (ODNP) analyzes the translational dynamics of hydration water surrounding macromolecules as well as water in confined or tight porous environments. It requires instrumentation comprising an Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer, an Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) spectrometer, as well as a microwave power source that are not currently available as an integrated commercial system. It analyzes the translational motion of water passing through the magnetic field generated by a spin label, which lasts for tens to hundreds of picoseconds. ODNP most sensitively detects these motions when the magnetic field is chosen such that the ESR resonance frequency …

Poly(Pyridinium Salt)S Containing 9,9-Bis(4- Aminophenyl)Fluorene Moieties With Various Organic Counterions Exhibiting Both Lyotropic Liquid-Crystalline And Light-Emitting Properties, Pradip K. Bhowmik, David King, Haesook Han, Andras F. Wacha, Matti Knaapila

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Research

Main-chain conjugated and non-conjugated polyelectrolytes are an important class of materials that have many technological applications ranging from fire-retardant materials to carbon-nanotube composites, nonlinear optical materials, electrochromic materials for smart windows, and optical sensors for biomolecules. Here, we describe a series of poly(pyridinium salt)s-fluorene containing 9,9-bis(4-aminophenyl)fluorene moieties with various organic counterions that were synthesized using ring-transmutation polymerization and metathesis reactions, which are non-conjugated polyelectrolytes. Their chemical structures were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), proton (1H) and fluorine 19 (19F) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers, and elemental analysis. They exhibited polyelectrolytic behavior in dimethyl sulfoxide. Their lyotropic liquid-crystalline phases were …

Chemical And Physical Characterization Of Verbenaceae Essential Oils Using Modern Analytical Methods And Chemometrics, Aleksandra N. Hilliard

Master's Theses

Essential oils have been used for generations to treat various health issues, including mitigating insomnia, reducing stress, inflammation, and preserving foods, to mention a few. Essential oils have complex chemistry, which defines the essence of the host plant. Recently, increased commercial uses of essential oils have prompted attention at the governmental level to monitor the chemical, physical, or biological activity of essential oils. This study is an attempt to add new information for consumers to the understanding of the composition of essential oils.

Modern analytical techniques including FTIR-ATR, GC-MS, LC-MS-MS, multivariate analysis statistics, and physio-chemical techniques (electrochemistry, DPPH, TRC, and …

Grades Are Bugs, Jordan Freitas

Computer Science Faculty Works

This paper argues that grades are bugs in our educational system, undermining desired behaviors and outcomes. Grades were introduced into higher education for purposes directly at odds with the goals of inclusive pedagogy today, as well as the neuroscience of human motivation and learning. Students enter computer science programs from increasingly varied backgrounds and experiences, and face a rapidly evolving landscape of prospective career paths while higher education costs in the United States are ever increasing. Computer science educators have a responsibility to adapt and carefully re-examine typical approaches to all aspects of the learning environments we build and curricula …

Re: Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft Final 2022 Unreclaimed Sites Sampling: Ur-28 Site Evaluation Summary Report (Dated April 23, 2025), Molly Roby

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Potent Acridone Antimalarial Against All Three Life Stages Of Plasmodium, Papireddy Kancharla, Rozalia A. Dodean, Yuexin Li, Xiaowei Zhang, Sean Kelly, Jordan Charlton, Angley Binauhan, Laurize Garcia, Diana Caridha, Jane X. Kelly, Multiple Additional Authors

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

New antimalarial therapeutics ideally should target all three major life cycle stages. Here we present an acridone antimalarial chemotype that is potent against blood, liver, and mosquito stages of malaria parasites, with the potential for single-dose cure of bloodstream infections, radical cure of liver infections, and blocking of transmission to mosquitoes. Attributes of lead candidate T111 include potent in vitro activity against cultured parasites, ex vivo activity against clinical isolates, oral single dose cure in an asexual blood stage rodent model, inhibition of sexual blood stage parasites, activity against relapsing parasites in non-human primate liver cells, prevention of parasite development …

Re: Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Revised Draft Final Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites Quality Assurance Project Plan (Dated May 27, 2025), Molly Roby

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Re: Comment Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites Josephine Shaft (Ir-37) Remedial Action Work Plan (Rawp) (Dated February 6, 2025), Molly Roby

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

The Synthesis Of A Photo-Affinity Probe Library For The Fatty Acid Amide Proteome And The Endocannabinoid System Within, Robert E. Feeney Iii

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fatty acid amides are a large family of endogenous metabolites with significant biological activity, including that of the endocannabinoid system. Currently little is known about how this system of tightly regulated compounds works within humans. This work lays the foundation to explore the structure-activity relationship driving the selectivity of ligand-protein interactions involved with fatty acid amides. A library of activity-based proteomic profiling probes for fatty acid amides has been synthesized to this end. Additionally, progress towards phytocannabinoid probes has been made as well.

Development Of Lead-Free Perovskite Passivated Core/Shell Perovskite Nanocrystals With Enhanced Optoelectronic Properties And Environmental Stability, Hanjie Lin

Dissertations - ALL

All-inorganic lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) have great optoelectronic properties with promising applications in light-emitting diodes (LEDs), lasers, photodetectors, solar cells, and photocatalysis. However, the applications of perovskite NCs face many challenges, including environmental issues and poor endurability of the perovskite-based devices caused by the intrinsic toxicity of Pb and the poor stabilities of perovskites against moisture, heat and light. To address those issues of the lead halide perovskite NCs, we utilized stable lead-free perovskite as a shell to protect the lead halide perovskite NCs, as well as developed lanthanide ions (Ln3+) doped/based-lead-free perovskite NCs to enhance their optical properties, …