Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Modeling Sod1 Enzyme Mutations: Biochemistry Ii Lab Class Project, Jenna Bolduan, Elle K. Haumont

Research & Creative Achievement Day

Superoxide Dismutase 1 (SOD1) is an enzyme that catalyzes the detoxification of reactive oxygen species that cause damage to the body. Mutations of this protein can cause diseases, such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The structures of the SOD1 wild type and two of its deleterious mutations (A4V and L126*) were digitally modeled using the AI program AlphaFold3. Although a literature structure exists for A4V, no experimental structure data has been collected for L126*. The wild type and A4V structures were virtually identical, whereas the wild type and L126* structures had quite different features, with the mutant being smaller and …

Some Inequalities Of A Matrix And Its Modulus In Powers Acting On Unit Vectors, Fuzhen Zhang

Mathematics Colloquium Series

Given a square matrix, one can associate it with a variety of numerical values and properties—such as the trace, determinant, eigenvalues, and singular values (at the undergraduate level), and the numerical range (and numerical radius), matrix norms, and majorization inequalities involving eigenvalues and singular values (at the graduate level). These studies all serve a common goal: to describe and understand the matrix as thoroughly as possible. In this talk, we present several inequalities involving a matrix A and its operator modulus ∣A∣, particularly in the context of their powers acting on the unit sphere (i.e., unit vectors)

Using Keystroke Dynamics Behavioral Biometrics To Identify Users, Bradley F. Budach

Research & Creative Achievement Day

This study explores the use of keystroke dynamics as a behavioral biometric for user identification. Unlike physiological biometrics, such as fingerprints or facial recognition, keystroke dynamics leverages the unique typing patterns of individuals to create a distinctive signature. This research was to develop a machine learning-based system that utilizes keystroke dynamics for continuous and unobtrusive user authentication. By collecting and analyzing keystroke data from multiple users, relevant features were extracted and used to train a machine learning model to identify user keystroke signatures with an equal error rate of 0.11. This model allows for reliable and scalable authentication that can …

Experimental Impacts Into Sloped Targets, J.L.B. Anderson, Tyler S.L. Kadrie, A.L. Miller, C.J. Cline Ii

Research & Creative Achievement Day

Asymmetric craters have been ob-served on sloped surfaces on the Moon [1] and extensively across Vesta [2] and Ceres [3]. For example, Lowell Crater (Fig. 1A) is a large crater on the surface of the Moon that has a small-er crater, Lowell H, which formed when an asteroid impacted the sloped surface of Lowell’s crater rim [1]. The topography map of Lowell H (Fig. 1B) shows the original sloped crater wall, the highly asymmetric and slumped Lowell H crater, and the debris flows that formed during its collapse.

Typically, impact cratering experiments are performed into smooth, flat-lying targets as a …

A Comparison Of The Bacterial Communities Of The Yamuna River (India) And Mississippi River (Usa), Jacob Gareis, Osvaldo Martinez, Silas Bergen

Research & Creative Achievement Day

This study compared the bacteria in the Yamuna River in India and the Mississippi River in the USA. Water samples were taken from 11 sites (2 in the Mississippi River and 9 in the Yamuna River). The bacteria were identified using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Some phyla such as Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were seen in abundance regardless of country. However, principal-component analysis showed three distinct groupings: Mississippi/Ganga/Tons and other Yamuna River locations (7 sites), Yamuna River at Delhi (2 sites), Yamuna River below Glacier (2 sites) Additionally, the Yamuna River below Glacier had the highest bacterial diversity, with a Shannon …

Evaluating The Causal Effect Of Receiving Transthoracic Echocardiography On 28-Day Mortality In Mimic-Iii Intensive Care Unit Patients With Sepsis, Monserrath Velez, Jack O'Connor, Nicholas Della Pesca, Rio Baliga

Research & Creative Achievement Day

❏ Sepsis (an infection associated with vital organ dysfunction) is an emergent

medical condition estimated to occur in about 30% of intensive care unit

(ICU) patients[1] and is responsible for 20% of all deaths worldwide[2]

❏ Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE; an imaging modality that uses

ultrasound technology to record heart structure and function) is widely used in

medical treatment [3]

❏ 28-day mortality (whether or not a patient dies within 28 days after receiving a

treatment) is a measure considered to closely approximate ICU mortality[4]

Objectives

❏ Assess and quantify the causal effect of receiving a TTE on …

Plasma Profiling Reveals Proteins Specific To Primary Disease Origin Of Retroperitoneal Fibrosis, Thomas J. Pelowitz, Benjamin Hurr, Matthew Koster, Jaeyun Sung

Research & Creative Achievement Day

Retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF) is a rare inflammatory disease characterized by the formation of scar-like tissue in the retroperitoneum, which can lead to life-threatening obstructive nephropathy. RPF is typically a secondary disease, arising from various underlying conditions. Currently, no objective and highly accurate diagnostic methods exist. Identifying blood protein biomarkers specific to RPF could facilitate the development of objective minimally invasive diagnostic tests.

In this study, blood plasma samples were collected from 45 participants spanning 5 different primary causes of RPF, including idiopathic cases where no underlying condition was identified. Six participants without significant diseases at the time of sample collection …

Geomorphic Monitoring Of Cedar Valley Creek: Investigating The Impact Of Restoration Projects And Stream Systems Over Time, Kyle Borske

Research & Creative Achievement Day

Streams and rivers are dynamic systems shaped by natural forces, but can be influenced by human intervention. This project focuses on Cedar Valley Creek to examine how geomorphic processes such as erosion, deposition, and sediment transport have been influenced over time by restoration efforts. By collecting data during field surveys, areas of instability will be identified and the effectiveness of the restoration project will be determined. This will give an understanding of the long term impacts of restoration projects and further insight on how to artificially maintain stream health.

An Exploration Of Simple Methods For The Purification And Separation Of Natural Curcuminoids, Eion S. Hinkle

Research & Creative Achievement Day

The separation of curcumin from other naturally occurring curcuminoids, such as demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin, presents significant challenges due to their similar chemical structures. Conventional methods like column chromatography are energetically and environmentally costly, requiring large amounts of solvents and extended processing times. Alternatively, preparatory scale high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) offers high precision but necessitates expensive equipment, making it less accessible for routine laboratory use. This research explores simpler and more sustainable approaches to purify curcumin, aiming to reduce both the environmental impact and the financial burden associated with traditional separation techniques.

Impact Of Containerization On The Performance Web Applications With Docker, Amin Elkhalifa

Research & Creative Achievement Day

This study aims to evaluate the performance impact of running a web application as a Docker container compared to running it natively. As Docker gains popularity in industry, it becomes increasingly important to understand the performance impact of containerization. This study aims to provide data that contributes to the decision-making process of building performance-sensitive applications. Gathering data consisted of building a web application, exposing an API endpoint, running tests and measuring the relevant performance metrics – CPU utilization and network response time – both in a native environment and within a Docker container. These findings confirm the introduction of overhead …

Using Multilayer Perceptron (Mlp) To Predict Crop Yields, Thomas M. Donnelly

Research & Creative Achievement Day

This study aimed to develop a Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) that accurately predicts crop yields within 10% of ground truth in 80% of cases using weather data, region, soil type, temperature, fertilizer, irrigation, days taken to harvest, and rail fall. The dataset has 1 million unique data points and 10 columns. In order to process the data, all Boolean data had to be converted to integers, Numerical data standardized, while Categorical data was checked for non-null values. The model will be trained using a random selection of 90% of the data for training and 10% for testing. The effectiveness of the …

Using Fluorimetry And Colorimetry For Quantitative Analysis For Biomaterial-Derived Carbon Dots, Kahun N. Vue

Research & Creative Achievement Day

The pursuit of sustainability in nanomaterial synthesis has led to the exploration of biomaterial-derived carbon dots (CDs) as an eco-friendly alternative to conventional methods. This study investigates the synthesis, characterization, and application of CDs derived from various biomaterials, including shrimp shells, food waste, cellulose, keratin, and saccharides. By employing hydrothermal, microwave, and ultrasound-assisted synthesis techniques, this research aims to develop a green, cost-effective approach to producing CDs while reducing environmental impact.

Previous work used shrimp shells as a starting material for a green CD. This work starts with shrimp shells to ensure reproducibility. In the future, novel materials like food …

An Implementation And Comparison Of Nat64 Using Ebpf And The Jool Kernel Module., Arvinder S. Dhanoa

Research & Creative Achievement Day

IPv4 exhaustion has been a prevalent problem for years, as organizations and service providers have fought against the scarcity of IPv4 address space on the internet. NAT64 is increasingly deployed as a solution to this problem. As a result, it becomes increasingly important that the deployment of NAT64 technologies is easy and performant. Numerous implementations of NAT64 technologies already exist, and some new implementations use eBPF as well. In this research, we implemented a CLAT with an eBPF TC classifier and compared its performance to Jool, a widely used kernel module. We did this using a series of virtual machines …

Cryptology With Bitcoin And Blockchain Applications, Seth D. Bergmann

OER Textbooks

This book is intended to be used for a first course in cryptography for computer science students. It assumes that the student has had at least one programming course and a discrete structures or discrete math course. This book places an emphasis on algorithms and the internals of cryptographic systems.

The book begins with some classical cryptographic algorithms used for confidentiality. Then it exposes modern cryptographic algorithms for confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity. Both private key (symmetric) and public key (asymmetric) algorithms are covered. This book also describes the workings of the most common cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, as well as blockchain technology. …

Diverse Dust Sources And Warming Trigger Cyanobacteria Abundance In Freshwater Ecosystems In The Western United States, Juan Manuel González-Olalla, Janice Brahney

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

The rise in global temperature and the increase in atmospheric transport and deposition of dust linked to greater aridity, land abandonment, and wildfires, are placing significant stress on freshwater microbial communities. Temperature increases and the nutrients contained in the dust may independently and together alter the metabolism and structure of these communities. However, dust chemistry is widely variable, and pre-existing lake conditions will likely influence the response of the algal and microbial communities to added nutrients and temperature stress. To fill this gap of knowledge, we tested the metabolic and structural response of phytoplankton in two aquatic ecosystems in the …

2025 April 24 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Hplc Method Development For The Separation And Quantification Of Common Pain Relievers, Dylan Pritchett, Joshua Lewis, Jennifer Firestine

2025 Student Academic Showcase

Over-the-counter pain relievers often contain multiple active ingredients that can be analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). A method developed and optimized to separate acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine from these tablets. The contents of Excedrin pain relievers and the generic counterpart from Walgreens, Walmart, and CVS were tested. Optimization examined multiple mobile phases, temperatures, and run times for the procedure. The results were compared to analytically prepared standards as well as the packaging information, with the primary goal of creating a reproducible and efficient protocol for HPLC instrumentation. The method successfully separated the contents of all materials reliably within …

Extraterrestrial - Why They're Almost Certainly Out There, Marcus Brown

2025 Student Academic Showcase

This was an essay I did for my English Composition II class. It’s evaluating an argument from a TED talk of my choice. The TED talk I chose for this writing project was "Extraterrestrial’s - Why They’re Almost Certainly Out There” by Chris Crowe talking about the many exoplanets out there in our universe and beyond. The presentation explains the different sizes, the atmosphere, and the number of exoplanets capable of hosting life. The statistics were used in this analysis like the amount of hydrogen dioxide on each exoplanet. I had to determine if Chris Crowe did a good job …

A Hybrid Deep Learning-Based Approach For Visual Field Test Forecasting, Ashkan Abbasi, Sowjanya Gowrisankaran, Wei-Chun Lin, Xubo Song, Bhavna Josephine Antony, Gadi Wollstein, Joel Schuman, Hiroshi Ishikawa

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

OBJECTIVE: Longitudinal assessment of visual field (VF) testing is essential in glaucoma management. Conventional VF forecasting methods require numerous prior tests, while deep learning techniques have shown promising results with fewer tests. This study introduces a hybrid deep learning framework to enhance flexibility and accuracy in VF test forecasting.

DESIGN: A retrospective longitudinal study using deep learning-based VF forecasting models.

SUBJECTS AND CONTROLS: A total of 1750 subjects (healthy and glaucoma patients) with 19 437 Humphrey VF (24-2 Swedish Interactive Threshold Algorithm) tests collected from longitudinal glaucoma cohorts at the University of Pittsburgh and New York University.

METHODS: Three deep …

The Conditioning Of Reservoir Computing And Ng-Rc For Forecasting And The Effects Of Temporal Overparameterization, Daniel Jensen

Theses and Dissertations

Reservoir computing and "Next-generation reservoir computing" built on nonlinear vector autoregression are algorithms for predicting time series given past observations. Both algorithms have been successful in predicting some chaotic dynamical systems, but this success is not theoretically well understood. This paper considers the conditioning of both algorithms and the nature of the solutions found. With either algorithm, the least squares problem which is solved to give parameters as a function of the time series data is ill-conditioned, leading to parameter non-identifiability. Both algorithms fall into the class of "sloppy models." Standard practice to regularize either algorithm includes a bias towards …

Conformable Regulator Problems With Fixed Delay, Seth Baur, Joseph E. Smith, Nick Wintz

2025 Student Academic Showcase

In this project, we consider processes guided by a conformable derivative first introduced by Khalil et al in 2014. This time-weighted derivative has many of the same properties as the classical derivative but lacks the semigroup property for the exponential. Here, we study a conformable linear system where the state and control are subject to the same fixed delay. Our process is also subject to wear and tear, represented by a cost functional. Our goal is to find an optimal control that minimizes this cost. This control is propagated by a quasi-Ricatti equation, which itself includes a time delay. Finally, …

Applications For The Conformable Information Filter, Sophia Hungerford, Joseph E. Smith, Nick Wintz

2025 Student Academic Showcase

In this project, we offer application to our previously constructed information filter. The information filter is an algorithm used to estimate the information of a process corrupted in some way. The information filter is mathematically similar to the Kalman filter, widely used in navigation. Unlike the Kalman filter, the information filter propagates backwards in time and is more effective in smoothing. Here, our corrupted system is in terms of conformable derivative introduced by Khalil et al. in 2014. This time-weighted derivative shares many of the same properties as the classical derivative but lacks the usual semigroup property associated with the …

Sexually Transmitted Infection (Sti) Incidence And Risk Factors Among People With Hiv (Pwh): Insights From A 13-Year Cohort Study In South Carolina, Salome-Joelle Gass, Shujie Chen, Jiajia Zhang Ph.D., Bankole Olatosi

Faculty Publications

The Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative aims to reduce new HIV infections by 90% by 2030 in the United States (US). However, rising sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates exacerbate the bidirectional infection risk between HIV and STIs. Most research on STIs among people with HIV (PWH) has focused on high-risk groups, resulting in limited data on broader populations. This study addresses that gap by examining the incidence and risk factors for gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis in a statewide cohort of PWH in South Carolina. Data from South Carolina’s HIV and STI surveillance systems were linked, and all PWH aged …

Romance Scam Victimization: A Survey-Based Examination Of Financial, Psychological, And Reporting Factors, Ld Herrera

Research & Publications

Romance scams are a growing type of cybercrime in which perpetrators develop and exploit fraudulent romantic relationships with victims to obtain financial resources. These schemes cause substantial economic and psychological damage, yet they are significantly underreported. Official 2022 reports indicate only \$1.3 billion lost to romance scams in the US, but the true financial toll is likely much higher.

Using survey data from 366 victims, this study examines the financial and psychological toll of romance scams, reporting patterns, obstacles to seeking help, and victims' perceptions of received help. Most of the victims (60.9\%) did not seek help from any source, …

2025 Acssc Program, Acssc Planning Committee

Annual Celebration for Student Scholarship and Creativity

No abstract provided.

Melting Ice, Moving Minds, Andres Cabrero

Montserrat Student Scholarship

Ice Watch is a large-scale public installation by Olafur Eliasson that brings melting glacial ice into busy city spaces to make the effects of climate change both visible and urgent.. Eliasson wants people to physically feel the reality of climate change, not just learn about it. He uses art to turn abstract data into a real, emotional experience. Climate change can feel distant, and even somewhat invisible. By putting giant blocks of ice in public, the project helps people face the problem in a physical, immediate way.

There's A Method To This Physics Madness, Hanna J. Ross

Physics and Astronomy Presentations

Physics tends to be seen by the general public as scary and unattainable, especially for students who are non-STEM majors. However, at Ursinus College (as well as many other institutions) the professors employ the use of specific problem-solving strategy instruction to mitigate these fears and further general problem solving skills. This study reviews previous experiments evaluating the merit of this strategy and analyzes its results as it relates to Physics on Screen, a physics class at Ursinus geared specifically towards non-majors.

Basketball Jump Shot Correction Using Computer Vision, Matthew Moran

Mathematics & Computer Science Student Scholarship

Matthew Moran ’25, Computer Science major

Faculty mentor: Dr. Martin Hellwig, Mathematics and Computer Science

Basketball has evolved significantly over the years, with players continuously striving to improve their shooting accuracy and efficiency. As the game becomes more data-driven, advancements in artificial intelligence and computer vision have provided new methods for analyzing and correcting shooting mechanics that allow players to improve their game. Using deep learning, this research aims to fill a gap in these advancements, which is looking at the position of the shooters fingers relative to the ball. Doing so can improve stability and overall shooting performance.

Designing A Statistical Plan For Measuring Self-Efficacy Using A 2k Factorial Design​, Rachel A. Hart, Eugene H. Thompson

Mathematics, Computer Science & Statistics Presentations

This study focuses on designing a statistical plan that measures the effects of self-efficacy using a 2k factorial design. Specifically, we simulated data on physical, mental, spiritual, and social health, so we could focus on their interaction with self-efficacy. By using ANOVA to see the main and interaction effects, we can see the impact of individual autonomy on health. Our findings show the need for experimental data on the demographic of interest, peri-and post-menopausal women.

Analyzing The Sentiment Of Feminist And Non-Feminist Works, Jasmine Borie, Megan G. Falschlehner

Mathematics, Computer Science & Statistics Presentations

This presentation focuses on a group of texts that advocate for a change in the current belief system. These texts are the Feminist Manifesto, Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I a Woman?, and Civilization and Its Discontents. These first two texts advocate for women’s rights, while Freud’s book is focused on civilization’s decline and how our understanding of community can affect this. Through our presentation, we want to examine the differences in sentiment and language between the feminist texts and Freud’s texts to pinpoint whether or not sentiment changes when advocating for different beliefs.