Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

2025 July 10 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Multi-Level Differentiable Moving Particles With Partition Of Unity, Jinjin He

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Representing implicit geometry with intricate features has long been a challenge. Recent advances in Implicit Neural Representations (INRs) have shown great promise in applications such as 3D reconstruction, inverse rendering, and dynamic surface evolution. These methods leverage neural networks to model complex shapes continuously, offering advantages in resolution and flexibility over traditional discrete representations. Despite their success, efficiently handling fine geometric details and evolving dynamic scenes remains an open problem.

We introduce a differentiable moving particle representation based on the multi-level partition of unity (MPU) to model dynamic implicit geometries efficiently. Our approach employs two types of particles—feature particles and …

Human Gut Commensal Alistipes Timonensis Modulates The Host Lipidome And Delivers Anti-Inflammatory Outer Membrane Vesicles To Suppress Colitis In An Il10-Deficient Mouse Model, Ethan Older, Mary K. Mitchell, Andrew Campbell, Xiaoying Lian, Michael Madden, Yuzhen Wang, Lauren E. Van De Wal, Thelma Zaw, Brandon N. Vanderveen, Rodney Tatum, E. Angela Murphy, Yan-Hua Chen, Daping Fang, Melissa Ellermann, Jie Li

Faculty Publications

Correlative studies have linked human gut microbes to specific health conditions. Alistipes is one such microbial genus negatively linked to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, the protective role of Alistipes in IBD is understudied, and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unknown. In this study, colonization of Il10-deficient mice with Alistipes timonensis DSM 27924 delays colitis development. Colonization does not significantly alter the gut microbiome composition, but instead shifts the host plasma lipidome, increasing phosphatidic acids while decreasing triglycerides. Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) derived from Alistipes are detected in the plasma of colonized mice, carrying potentially immunomodulatory metabolites into the …

Perchlorate Brine Formation From Frost At The Viking 2 Landing Site, Vincent F. Chevrier

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The presence and stability of brines on Mars’s surface remain a significant mystery in planetary exploration. Previous mechanisms proposed for brine formation include melting of ice-salt mixtures and salt deliquescence. However, melting lacks a recharge mechanism, and deliquescence is impeded by Mars’s extreme surface aridity. This study explores an underexplored process: the role of seasonal frost in brine formation. Utilizing meteorological data from the Viking 2 lander—the only mission, with Phoenix, to observe in situ water frost formation—I demonstrate that brines can form over approximately 30 sols at the end of winter as frost sublimates. The stable brines exhibit a …

Structural Analysis Of The Aileu Metamorphic Complex And The Laclo Fault Of Timor Leste, Banda Arc-Continent Collision, Emma C. Morrison

Theses and Dissertations

This study presents a structural analysis of the brittle and ductile features within the Aileu Metamorphic Complex of Timor Leste, located in the active Banda Arc–Australian continental collision zone. The deformation history of the complex is interpreted from the Permian–Jurassic deposition of sediments and basalts into intra-arc basins of Gondwana, through to the present- day collision of the Australian continental margin. This collision led to the development of the Wetar Suture and subsequent back-thrusting of the Aileu metamorphic rocks northward over the Banda forearc. Field evidence confirms that the Laclo Fault is currently active, with the most recent movement exhibiting …

Data Sonification: The Art Of Exploring Space Through Sound, Jessica Cotturone

Music: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Data sonification is a cutting-edge, interdisciplinary field that involves the transformation of data into sound. As the amount of data collected in today’s world continues to rise exponentially, new collaborations between scientists, mathematicians, and musicians are exploring the potential applications of sonification. Turning data into sound can create new avenues for interpretation and can increase accessibility for visually-impaired populations. The sonic renderings produced by this practice exist on a spectrum from sound to music and vary in their levels of objectivity and expressivity. One of the major areas where data sonification is providing a new scientific and artistic perspective is …

Virtual Reality’S Impact On Tourist Attitudes In Islamic Religious Tourism: Exploring Emotional Attachment And Vr Presence, Eman Alkhalifah, Ramy Hammady, Mahmoud Abdelrahman, Alyaa Darwish, Ella Cranmer, Ons Al-Shamaileh, Aikaterini Bourazeri, Timothy Jung

All Works

This study explores the integration of immersive technologies, specifically virtual reality (VR), to enhance tourist experiences in the rapidly expanding religious tourism sector. Despite VR’s potential, limited research has examined its impact on religious tourism. This study addresses this gap by investigating the role of emotional attachment in influencing VR presence during pre-, on-site, and postexperiences of VR-mediated religious tourism. A quantitative survey was conducted with 201 respondents who participated in VR religious tourism activities. The empirical analysis, conducted using SPSS and AMOS structural equation modeling (SEM), assessed how VR-mediated religious tourism impacts VR presence and tourist attitudes before actual …

How Transitioning Autistic Adults Consciously Perform Neurotypical Communication, Makenna J. Allred

Theses and Dissertations

Using semi-structured interviews this research explored the experiences of transitioning autistic adults with online communication. Participants shared information about navigating online communication, highlighting specific challenges such as interpreting tone and sarcasm, managing unspoken social norms, like emoji use, and responding to ambiguous or unexpected interactions. Participants shared that misunderstandings do occur in their online communication and how they recognize those miscommunications and strategize around preventing and mitigating them. These findings reveal that while computer-mediated communication offers opportunities for connection, it also presents unique obstacles that can exacerbate feelings of frustration due to miscommunications or misunderstandings. To prevent these social frictions …

Class Groups And Selmer Groups In Special Families, Debanjana Kundu, Abhishek _

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

We explore the relationship between (3-isogeny induced) Selmer group of an elliptic curve and the (3 part of) the ideal class group, over certain non-abelian number fields.

Semitic Root Encoding: Tokenization Based On The Templatic Morphology Of Semitic Languages In Nmt, Brendan T. Hatch

Theses and Dissertations

The morphological structure of Semitic languages like Arabic and Hebrew is based on non-concatenative roots and templates. This complex word structure used by humans is obscured to neural models that use traditional tokenization algorithms. In this work, I present and evaluate Semitic Root Encoding (SRE), a tokenization method that represents Semitic words with distinct root and template stem tokens, and apply it to neural machine translation (NMT). I evaluate whether tokenization with the SRE method leads to increases in translation quality, whether it allows NMT models to hypothesize unseen word forms needed at inference, and how impervious resulting NMT models …

Neat Vs. Scruffy: How Early Ai Researchers Classified Epistemic Cultures Of Knowledge Representation, Lindsay Poirier

Statistical and Data Sciences: Faculty Publications

Accounts of the history of symbolic artificial intelligence (AI) often categorize researchers and their programs through binary oppositions: logicist versus procedural, or alternatively, neat versus scruffy. These terms were often referenced throughout the 1970s and 1980s by AI researchers at institutions in the United States and Europe to document epistemic and esthetic differences in approaches to knowledge representation. In this article, I historicize and situate these binary oppositions, showing how researchers leveraged them in discourse to demarcate the beliefs and commitments underpinning certain AI approaches. I argue that the labels helped knowledge representation scholars identify, trouble, and grapple with the …

A Veblenian Approach To Chaos Theory, Isaiah Henry

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

This paper provides a comparative analysis of Veblen's belief in disequilibrium, the field of chaos theory, and how these two frameworks connect. We explore the similarities and differences between Veblen's theories and the principles of chaos theory, including their shared emphasis on complexity and unpredictability. By analyzing the connections between Veblen's economic theories and chaos theory, we can gain a deeper understanding of the nature of disequilibrium and the complex forces that shape our world.

Re: Comment Letter For Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Superfund Operation And Maintenance (O&M) Request For Maintenance – Kelley Stormwater Channels (Dated April 22, 2025), Emma Rott

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Keynote - Data? We Don't Have Time For Data: A Realistic Look At Law Enforcement Use Of And Need For Human Trafficking Data, Doug Gilmer Phd

SMU Human Trafficking Data Conference

Drawing on over 35 years of law enforcement experience (25 years with the Department of Homeland Security), Dr. Gilmer will speak from a government and law enforcement perspective on the need and use for human trafficking data. Some agencies and components of the U.S. government, and individual states, are heavily invested in collecting data to satisfy their reporting requirements. From a law enforcement perspective, however, big human trafficking data sets are rarely examined. Data science in law enforcement is a relatively new phenomenon, and most law enforcement officers do not have the time, resources, or background to collect or analyze …

Comparative Analysis Of Matrix Factorization And Neural Collaborative Filtering For Movie Recommendation Systems, Mahyar Alinejad

Data Science and Data Mining

This paper presents a comparative study of two recommendation system approaches for predicting movie ratings: Matrix Factorization with Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD) optimization and Neural Collaborative Filtering (NCF) using Tensor Flow. The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of these methods in recommending movies to users based on the MovieLens 100K dataset. The Matrix Factorization approach utilizes latent features to model user preferences and item characteristics, optimizing parameters through SGD. On the other hand, NCF integrates traditional collaborative filtering with neural networks to capture complex user-item interactions. Experimental results demonstrate the performance of both models in terms of Root Mean …

Effects Of Elevated Temperatures On Tooth Structure During Polymerization Of Composite Resin With A Variety Of Light Sources, Enas G. Yonis

Al-Bahir

This study investigated the impact of high temperatures on dental tissues during the polymerization of optical fillings using a diode laser and two types of pulsed and continuous LED devices. Three distinct light source units were employed: a laser diode, an LEDition, and a LED.B. Temperature increases were measured at a distance of 1 mm from the thermocouple to the tip of the device. To create an experimental model, we fixed the operational voltage of the polymerization device and maintained a 1 mm gap between the terminal and the thermocouple wire. Temperature readings and thermal background (TO) measurements were taken …

Building And Demonstrating A Framework And Guide For Human-Centered Threat Modeling, Warda Usman

Theses and Dissertations

As researchers increasingly seek to understand threats faced by people rather than systems, there remains little consensus on how to study these threats in ways that are grounded in human experience. Traditional approaches to threat modeling are often designed for system vulnerabilities and offer limited guidance for eliciting or analyzing threats as understood by individuals in their social and cultural contexts. This dissertation addresses this gap by advancing human-centered threat modeling (HCTM) in security and privacy research as both a conceptual framework and through a set of empirical studies. The dissertation employs a mixed set of qualitative methods across four …

Revised Unsteady Drag Force And Its Impact On Particle Dynamics At High Reynolds Numbers, Ahmad Talaei, Timothy J. Garrett

Physics Student Research

The accurate modeling of particle motion in viscous fluids at high Reynolds numbers remains a fundamental challenge, particularly under unsteady flow conditions where nonlinear effects dominate. This study introduces a revised unsteady drag formulation, extending its applicability beyond previous studies. By integrating classical solutions of the Navier–Stokes equations, the new formulation overcomes the limitations of the Maxey–Riley–Gatignol (MRG) equation, addressing non-physical memory effects associated with Basset drag and extending its applicability to higher Reynolds numbers.

Through experimental comparisons and direct numerical simulations (DNS), the revised equation of motion is compared to the MRG equation, both during steady-state conditions and non-equilibrium …

Cannabis Concentrate Vaping Chemistry, Kaelas R. Munger, Killian M. Anreise, Robert M. Strongin

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background:

This review article addresses the vaping chemistry of manufactured cannabis concentrates—a topic that remains under-researched despite the widespread availability and growing popularity of these products. Given their current prevalence and the fact that many of the findings discussed herein are from early-stage investigations, further research is essential to fully assess the public health risks associated with concentrate use. The purpose of this article is to help begin to bridge this knowledge gap by outlining the technical challenges of studying cannabis concentrates and to present evidence-based data concerning toxicant exposures as a foundation for future investigations.

Methods:

A search of …

Draft Final 2025 Residential Metals Abatement Program (Rmap) Quality Assurance Project Plan (Qapp) Annual Update (Residential Parcels), Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Incorporating Propensity Score Weighting And Nonresposne Adjustments Into Complex Survey Data With Survival Outcomes, Xinrui Shi

Theses and Dissertations

Propensity score weighting (PSW) plays a key role in minimizing confounding in observational research, especially when estimating treatment effects for time-to-event outcomes. However, its integration into survey data with complex design – particularly data with multiple stage sampling and censoring – remains underexplored. One significant challenge in such settings is the presence of nonresponse, which can introduce additional bias and complicate the use of standard weight adjustments. Moreover, there has been limited study on how PS weights can be effectively combined with nonresponse weighting adjustments in complex survey data that include survival outcomes. This dissertation aims to extend current methodologies …

Teamwork And Artificial Intelligence (Ai) : Examining The Effects Of Teammate Identity, Deception, And Ai Literacy On Team Dynamics And Performance In Human-Human Vs. Human-Ai Teams, Jenna Korentsides

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to be integrated into collaborative work environments, understanding how humans interact with AI teammates is increasingly important. This study examined how people’s beliefs about who they are working with (whether a teammate is human or AI) can influence teamwork outcomes. Specifically, we explored how perceived teammate identity affects task performance and team experience, with a focus on trust and communication as potential mediators, and AI literacy (familiarity and comfort with AI) as a moderator. Participants completed a series of timed, collaborative problem-solving tasks using a bomb defusal simulation. Each participant worked with both a human …

Temporal Modeling And Forecasting Of Blood Glucose Dynamics In Individuals With Diabetes Mellitus, Mj Ruff

University Honors Theses

People living with Diabetes Mellitus face significant health risks, including an increased likelihood of heart disease, stroke, and fluctuations in blood glucose levels. The unpredictable nature of glucose levels can lead to dangerous conditions such as ketoacidosis and hypoglycemia. This study employs advanced time series analysis tools to forecast the glucose levels for an individual diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus.

A Proposal To Explore Geometry With Geogebra: Graphical Exploration And Formal Demonstration Of The Collinearity Of The Barycenters Of A Polygon, Saulo Mosquera Lopez, Marlio Paredes, Walter Castro

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper illustrates an example of a mathematical activity that teachers and students can replicate to create an experience that resembles professional mathematical activity. We extend the property “Consider a triangle ABC, any straight line and let A’, B’, C’ be the reflections of the points A, B, C on the straight line then the barycenters of the triangles ABC, A’BC, AB’C and ABC’ are collinear and the line of collinearity is perpendicular to the straight line” for any quadrilateral. It is proved that there are four additional triangles, for a total of eight, whose barycenters are collinear and that …

Comprehensive Insights Into The Cholesterol-Mediated Modulation Of Membrane Function Through Molecular Dynamics Simulations, Ehsaneh Khodadadi, Ehsan Khodadadi, Parth Chaturvedi, Mahmoud Moradi

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Cholesterol plays an essential role in biological membranes and is crucial for maintaining their stability and functionality. In addition to biological membranes, cholesterol is also used in various synthetic lipid-based structures such as liposomes, proteoliposomes, and nanodiscs. Cholesterol regulates membrane properties by influencing the density of lipids, phase separation into liquid-ordered (Lo) and liquid-disordered (Ld) areas, and stability of protein-membrane interactions. For planar bilayers, cholesterol thickens the membrane, decreases permeability, and brings lipids into well-ordered domains, thereby increasing membrane rigidity by condensing lipid packing, while maintaining lateral lipid mobility in disordered regions to preserve overall membrane fluidity. It modulates membrane …

Orchestrating Complexity: The Art Of Virtual Leadership In System Modelling, Vijay Kumar Sonawane, Bipllab Roy, Purnendu Bikash Acharjee, Indu Pv

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

This paper explores the dynamics of virtual leadership within global remote work environments, focusing on the application of complex system modelling to understand and enhance leadership efficacy. The application of computational modelling has been a regular feature in economics, science and technology fields, however its application in virtual leadership with linkage to sport leadership appears to be a novel concept. Adopting a multidisciplinary approach, this paper incorporates Game Theory as a conceptual framework to make the leadership model more relevant and applicable that can offer simpler understanding of complex play of leadership drivers. The model incorporates five key leadership dimensional …

On Excursions Associated With A Certain Local Time Of Simple Symmetric Random Walks, With Applications, Takahiko Fujita, Naohiro Yoshida

Journal of Stochastic Analysis

In this note, some applications of excursions associated with a certain local time of simple symmetric random walks are presented. Specifically, the excursions are applied to calculate some probability distributions of interest regarding the random walks. Furthermore, a solution of the Skorokhod embedding problem for random walks is obtained through the excursions.

Session 2: The Cases For Industry Self-Regulation And Government Regulation Of Ai, Boaz Ashkenazy, Kevin Bartholomew, Kevin De Liban, Christopher Yoo

SITIE Symposiums

In Session Two of the SITIE 2025 Symposium titled “The Cases for Industry Self-Regulation and Government Regulation of AI,” moderated by Seattle University Technology Ethics Initiative Director and Professor Onur Bakiner, the panelists discuss their perspectives and experiences with AI regulation. They share observations about the industry and delve into the topics of AI complexity, concerns around accountability, the shift to agentic AI, the current state of AI regulation, existing legal guardrails, and their outlook on AI regulation.

Session 1: Guidance From International Regulation Sources, Charlotte Tschider, Marie-Charlotte Roques-Bonnet

SITIE Symposiums

In Session One of the SITIE 2025 Symposium titled “Regulating Artificial Intelligence: From Where and When?”, Professor Mark Chinen moderated a panel featuring Professor Charlotte Tschider and Dr. Marie-Charlotte Roques-Bonnet. The discussion focused on international AI regulation, privacy, data governance, and the EU’s regulatory approach to AI oversight.

8th Annual Innovation And Technology Law Conference: Regulating Artificial Intelligence: From Where And When?, Steven Bender

SITIE Symposiums

Since 2018, the Seattle University School of Law has presented an annual late spring/summer conference on innovation and technology, shifting to a virtual conference in 2020. The virtual format fosters inclusion of national and even international speakers (as this year with Marie-Charlotte Roques-Bonnet, Data Protection/AI Consultant & Research Lead, ID side.eu, joining from France), and participation from a broad base audience, which this year included over 200 registrants who joined live or watched the recording.