Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Pennsylvania Wilds And The Rhetorical Construction Of Wilderness, Casey R. Schmitt

Sustainability Research & Practice Seminar Presentations

Professor Casey R. Schmitt, Interdisciplinary Studies, presents "The Pennsylvania Wilds and the Rhetorical Construction of Wilderness".

Pedagogical Moves Related To Analogy That Support A Unified Understanding Of Eigentheory Concepts In A Quantum Mechanics Class, Kaitlyn Stephens Serbin, Megan Wawro

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

It is beneficial for quantum mechanics students to have a unified understanding of eigentheory concepts, so they can recognize the shared structure of mathematized phenomena from the different quantum mechanical systems of spin, energy, or position and recognize those as instantiations of the same overarching concept. Quantum mechanics instructors should, therefore, provide opportunities for their class community to develop a shared unified understanding of eigentheory concepts. One such opportunity can arise by engaging students in analogizing eigentheory concepts in one context with those from another context. We investigate the pedagogical moves related to analogies that can be used by a …

Can Large-Language Models Help Us Better Understand And Teach The Development Of Energy-Efficient Software?, Ryan Hasler, Konstantin Laufer, George K. Thiruvathukal, Huiyun Peng, Kyle Robinson, Kirsten Davis, Yung-Hisang Lu, James C. Davis

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Computing systems are consuming an increasing and unsustainable fraction of society's energy footprint, notably in data centers. Meanwhile, energy-efficient software engineering techniques are often absent from undergraduate curricula. We propose to develop a learning module for energy-efficient software, suitable for incorporation into an undergraduate software engineering class. There is one major problem with such an endeavor: undergraduate curricula have limited space for mastering energy-related systems programming aspects. To address this problem, we propose to leverage the domain expertise afforded by large language models (LLMs). In our preliminary studies, we observe that LLMs can generate energy-efficient variations of basic linear algebra …

Puerto Rico Imperatives To Enact Energy And Climate Justice, Ruth Santiago, Hilda Llorens, Catalina M. De Onis

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

In the days and months following Hurricanes Irma’s and Maria’s landfall in Puerto Rico, photos and videos of the catastrophic impacts were broadcast throughout the world. These successive hurricanes in September 2017 tore down the electric grid, many of the wires, poles, and towers, and flooded substations. The almost total lack of electric service for 3.2 million people sent shockwaves throughout the archipelago as outside observers watched, horrified by the collapse of almost all other critical services dependent on electricity. Disrupted services included water supply and treatment, medical services, education, communications, and economic and business transactions. The decimated centralized transmission …

Question Answering For Electronic Health Records: Scoping Review Of Datasets And Models, Jayetri Bardhan, Kirk Roberts, Daisy Zhe Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Question answering (QA) systems for patient-related data can assist both clinicians and patients. They can, for example, assist clinicians in decision-making and enable patients to have a better understanding of their medical history. Substantial amounts of patient data are stored in electronic health records (EHRs), making EHR QA an important research area. Because of the differences in data format and modality, this differs greatly from other medical QA tasks that use medical websites or scientific papers to retrieve answers, making it critical to research EHR QA.

Objective: This study aims to provide a methodological review of existing works on …

Effects Of Longitudinal Training Walls On Two-Dimensional Flow Structure, Sediment Transport, And Bed Aggredation Using Numerical Methods And Sediment Core Analyses In Grand River, Michigan, Sumaiya Tul Siddique

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Longitudinal training walls (LTWs) are structures oriented parallelly with the main flow and separate the channel into two sub-channels. One channel acts as the main navigational channel and the other is considered a secondary side channel. The long-term effects of the LTWs on morphodynamics and deposition remain poorly understood. This study investigated the long-term effects of the LTWs on flow, sediment transport and long-term deposition of the Grand River using numerical approaches and sediment core analysis. The effects of LTWs on 2D flow dynamics and sediment transport were investigated by using numerical approaches. The long-term deposition under the influence of …

New Methods To Induce Selectivity In Electrochemical Reactions By Modifying The Electrode Surface, Enqi Feng

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Organic electrochemistry has proven to be an efficient and green method for synthesis. Although the reactions studied to date have been very successful, there is still much to explore including opportunities to introduce new modes for controlling the selectivity of the reactions. Normally, the selectivity of an electrolysis reaction is based on the redox potential of the substrates. The working potential of an electrode either automatically adjusts to the potential required or is manually set at that potential. This allows for the systematic oxidation or reduction of a series of substrates that have a broad range of oxidation or reduction …

New Methods To Induce Selectivity In Electrochemical Reactions By Modifying The Electrode Surface, Enqi Feng

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Organic electrochemistry has proven to be an efficient and green method for synthesis. Although the reactions studied to date have been very successful, there is still much to explore including opportunities to introduce new modes for controlling the selectivity of the reactions. Normally, the selectivity of an electrolysis reaction is based on the redox potential of the substrates. The working potential of an electrode either automatically adjusts to the potential required or is manually set at that potential. This allows for the systematic oxidation or reduction of a series of substrates that have a broad range of oxidation or reduction …

Unveiling Scientic Articles From Paper Mills With Provenance Analysis, João Phillipe Cardenuto, Daniel Moreira, Anderson Rocha

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The increasing prevalence of fake publications created by paper mills poses a significant challenge to maintaining scientific integrity. While integrity analysts typically rely on textual and visual clues to identify fake articles, determining which papers merit further investigation can be akin to searching for a needle in a haystack, as these fake publications have non-related authors and are published on non-related venues. To address this challenge, we developed a new methodology for provenance analysis, which automatically tracks and groups suspicious figures and documents. Our approach groups manuscripts from the same paper mill by analyzing their figures and identifying duplicated and …

Unveiling Scientific Articles From Paper Mills With Provenance Analysis, João Phillipe Cardenuto, Daniel Moreira, Anderson Rocha

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The increasing prevalence of fake publications created by paper mills poses a significant challenge to maintaining scientific integrity. While integrity analysts typically rely on textual and visual clues to identify fake articles, determining which papers merit further investigation can be akin to searching for a needle in a haystack, as these fake publications have non-related authors and are published on non-related venues. To address this challenge, we developed a new methodology for provenance analysis, which automatically tracks and groups suspicious figures and documents. Our approach groups manuscripts from the same paper mill by analyzing their figures and identifying duplicated and …

The Role Of Social Media Influencer In Bringing Economic Content Closer To Moroccan Youth -Youtube As An Example-, Mohammed Omar Zouhri Dr

Middle East Journal of Communication Studies

This study aims to monitor the effects of economic content published through the digital space in enhancing economic awareness among young people in Morocco, and empowering them with relevant knowledge and information in an attractive and simplified manner. The study begins by showing the extent to which young people, especially university students, interact with economic content through what social media influencers present on their YouTube channels. The study examines the nature of this content, its importance in bringing economic information closer to the public, and the extent of its ability to help a group of students improve their levels and …

Bridging The Protection Gap: Innovative Approaches To Shield Older Adults From Ai-Enhanced Scams, Ld Herrera, London Van Sickle, Ashley L. Podhradsky

Research & Publications

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly gaining popularity as individuals, groups, and organizations discover and apply its expanding capabilities. Generative AI creates or alters various content types including text, image, audio, and video that are realistic and challenging to identify as AI-generated constructs. However, guardrails preventing malicious use of AI are easily bypassed. Numerous indications suggest that scammers are already using AI to enhance already successful scams, improving scam effectiveness, speed and credibility, while reducing detectability of scams that target older adults, who are known to be slow to adopt new technologies. Through hypothetical cases analysis of two leading scams, the …

Wics Conference 2024: Creating Connections Together: Agenda And Abstracts, Daren D. Redfearn, Christopher A. Proctor

Water and Integrated Cropping Systems Conferences

WICS Conference 2024: Creating Connections Together

Agenda and Abstracts

Water Security (Quantity/Quality)

Nebraska Groundwater Quality Clearinghouse; Augustine Adjei, Martha Rhoades, and Kent Eskridge

Assessing the AquaCrop model’s accuracy for soybean under variable irrigation; Anmol Singh

Yield response of irrigated maize hybrids to water availability; Thais Murias Jardi, Saleh Taghvaeian, Chris Proctor, Daran Rudnick, and Chuck Burr

Using the DSSAT CERES-Maize model to evaluate farmers' irrigation decisions; Rintu Sen

Nutrient Management and Cycling

Effect of cover crop mixtures and crop rotation on nitrogen dynamics and crop yield in southeast Nebraska; Madhusudhan Adhikaari

Nitrogen inhibitors reduce nitrogen losses via ammonia volatilization, nitrous …

Enhancing Soil Texture And Bulk Density Mapping Using Soil Grids And Machine Learning: A Comparative Analysis With Observed Data, Aram Ali, Ismael O. Ismael, Hewa T. Mustafa, Diman Krwanji, Akram O. Esmail

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Digital soil mapping plays a crucial role in understanding soil variability and informing sustainable land management practices. This study focuses on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), evaluating the accuracy of SoilGrids, a global-scale soil mapping initiative, and exploring the efficacy of machine learning algorithms in refining soil properties estimations. The aim of this research was to assess and represent the physical parameters of soils effectively by comparing ground truth soil sampling data with data obtained from SoilGrids regarding clay, silt, and sand fractions and bulk density. Comparative analyses were conducted between ground truth soil sampling data and SoilGrids predictions, …

Transitioning Our Website To Libguides Cms, Samantha Duncan, Eric Resnis

Library Faculty Presentations

In this presentation, we describe how we used data from rapid and in-depth student usability testing to assist with the redesign of the library’s website as we finally transitioned to LibGuides CMS. Using the Springy tools; LibGuides, LibGuides CMS, LibCal, and LibWizard we outlined how we were able to create and carry out this highly effective testing, resulting in a better understanding of how our students navigate our site and how to improve it. During this journey, attendees were provided with the detailed and some might say lengthy process that was undertaken to achieve our goals. We did this by …

Learning Peer Support Interactions Via Bi-Lstm Graph Neural Networks For Suicide Risk Prediction, Harikrishna Marampelly

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Suicide prevention through early detection using social media data has been widely studied. However, the critical role of peer support interactions among individuals with similar mental disorders has not been deeply investigated or explored. In this study, we explore peer interactions in online communities for individuals with bipolar disorder and leverage this information to predict suicide risk levels. We propose a model that uses contextualized posts and comments along with their sentiment features. By embedding these features into a peer support network, our model captures peer interactions and predicts suicide risk levels using the bidirectional LSTM Graph Neural Networks (Bi-LSTM …

Evaluation And Lessons Learned From The Dissemination And Implementation Science Scholars Program In The National Cancer Prevention And Control Research Network, Daniela B. Friedman, Cam Escoffery, Elaine H. Morrato, Cynthia A. Thomson, Courtney N. Petagna, Freda Allyson Hucek, Mary Wangen, Aubrey Villalobos, James R. Hébert Scd, Samuel Noblet, Mayank Sakhuja, David O. Garcia, Jennifer L. Cruz, Stephanie B. Wheeler

Faculty Publications

Background:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (CPCRN) has been a leader in cancer-related dissemination & implementation (D&I) science. Given increased demand for D&I research, the CPCRN Scholars Program launched in 2021 to expand the number of practitioners, researchers, and trainees proficient in cancer D&I science methods. Methods:

The evaluation was informed by a logic model and data collected through electronic surveys. Through an application process (baseline survey), we assessed scholars’ competencies in D&I science domains/subdomains, collected demographic data, and asked scholars to share proposed project ideas. We distributed an exit survey …

Incorporating Ecosystem Information Into The Federal Fisheries Management Process, Adelle Molina

Sustainability Seminar Series

The goal of fisheries management is to maintain sustainable fisheries and preserve their value. Fisheries management councils set fishing rules and regulations based on scientific advice in the form of a stock assessment. Stock assessments collect and analyze data, produce reports on the condition or status of an exploited stock, and estimate sustainable yield. Stock assessment scientists use analytical approaches and quantitative methods to develop stock assessment models that describe the population dynamics of a stock. Traditionally, stock assessments have not accounted for either ecological interactions, such as predation, or the environment. In this presentation, I will briefly describe the …

Photoluminescence Intensity Enhancement And Stability In Cdte/Sio2 Quantum Dots Through Water Molecule Adsorption And Trap Passivation, Daniil S. Daibagya, Ivan A. Zakharchuk, Sergei A. Ambrozevich, Mikhail S. Smirnov, Anna V. Osadchenko, Oleg V. Ovchinnikov, Alexandr S. Selyukov

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

The study of the luminescence photostability for colloidal nanocrystals is an important task since the understanding of the corresponding physical processes advances new electronic devices based on semiconductor nanoparticles as well as other important applications such as biomarkers. In this paper, we provide the first study and comprehensive analysis of the photostability of the luminescent properties for colloidal CdTe/SiO₂ core/shell quantum dots prepared by an aqueous-based method. The quantum dots were exposed to continuous laser radiation during two time intervals with prolonged break in between. The photoluminescence intensity of the quantum dots increased over time under continuous laser irradiation. …

Removal Of Selenium Ions From Contaminated Aqueous Solutions By Adsorption Using Lemon Peels As A Non-Conventional Medium, Alanood A. Alsarayreh, Suha Anwer Ibrahim, Salem Jawad Alhamd, Thekra Atta Ibrahim, Mohammed Nsaif Abbas

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

The disposal of heavy metals from various activities has become a pervasive issue. The investigation of sustain-able, low-cost adsorbents for the remediation of these hazardous pollutants has been widely disregarded. This research emphasizes the recovery of selenium ions from contaminated water using lemon peels as a cost-effective adsorbent. The adsorption was explored in a batch unit under various operational parameters, including initial selenium concentration (1-90 ppm), pH (1-11), agitation speed (100-500 rpm), adsorbent dose (0.4-5.5 g), contact time (5-180 minutes), and temperature (25-55 °C). The BET surface area of the lemon peels was found to be 27.86 m²/g before adsorption …

Treatment Methods Of Unstable Expansive Soil Slope Excavation In Overlying Rock Layer In Alpine Region, Shi Xiaobo, Cui Guangyan, Mou Chao, Wen Ye, Xie Feng, Fu Xiaoyang

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

To deeply study the treatment method for instability of highway cutting slope under the condition of expansive soil overlying rock layer in an alpine region，the comprehensive treatment method of unstable slope under this bad geology was put forward based on the unstable slope project of Zhangbei‒Shangyi Expressway.The governance protection structure consisted of a rigid protection system，drainage system，thermal insulation system，flexible protection system，and waterproof system.The rigid protection system was an anti-slide pile setting at the height of 1/3 of the first grade slope，of which parameters were calculated by cutting the slope of the rock layer in the unstable area to reduce the …

Treatment And Measurement Of Water Inrush During Highway Tunnel Construction, Wang C Haojie, Feng Zhihua, Fan Haobo

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

As a special geological condition of highway tunnels，water inrush will cause difficulties in engineering construction technology and management.Unnecessary disputes and management difficulties will emerge when different construction units hold different views about the treatment measures of water inrush，which leads to distributed provisions in the specification and a long treatment period.In view of key problems about the water inrush during highway tunnel construction，including water inrush treatment concept，investigation and estimation，measurement and pricing，and on-site confirmation，this paper systematically sorted out the current regulations and other guiding documents and investigated the treatment methods of tunnel water inrush and reverse slope pumping in China ’s highway …

Review Of Evaluation Methods For Mixing Workability Of Asphalt Mixture, Dong Fuqiang, Zu Yuanzhe, Yu Xin, Chen Bei, Liu Lin

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

To clarify the evaluation methods an d research status of mixing workability of asphalt mixture， by consulting relevant research literature in China and abroad and analyzing different evaluation methods，indexes，and research findings of the workability of asphalt mixture，the applicability and evaluation effects of different workability evaluation methods were systematically summarized，and the comparative analysis and comprehensive review were made on the main influencing factors of the mixing workability.The results show that in most evaluation methods for the mixing workability of asphalt mixture，corresponding indexes are constructed to quantitatively evaluate the workability by quantifying the resistance or energy consumption in the mixing process.Besides，in some …

Research Review Of Biomass Ash As Concrete Admixture, Ma Bicong, Liang Jian, Weng Yiling

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

In order to provide a comprehensive overview of research progress in the use of biomass ash as concrete admixture，the physical and chemical properties，mechanism of action，factors affecting the production process of biomass ash，and the effects of biomass ash incorporation on the working properties，mechanical properties，and durability of concrete were studied.The results show that biomass ash has a smaller density and a larger specific surface area than traditional mineral admixture，and the total amount of active components，namely SiO2 + Al2O3 + Fe2O3 （SAF） in most biomass ashes exceeds the requirements of class F volcanic ash （≥70%）.Incorporating biomass ash can effectively improve the mechanical properties …

Compaction Characteristics Of Granular Material And Its Structural Mechanical Behavior Considering Orthotropy, Huang You, Zhang Yunbao, Liu Zhaohui, Pan Yu, Liu Zebin, Fang Ronghai

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

The orthotropy of granular materials is closely related to the compaction process and has a significant impact on the mechanical behavior of pavement structures.In this study，in order to study the effect of the compaction process on the orthotropy of granular materials，different compaction methods and compaction energies were employed to compact granular materials for pavement into specimens，and improved dynamic resilient mechanical tests were conducted.Orthotropic coefficients （α2） of typical granular materials were obtained，and the finite element method was used to conduct mechanical analysis of asphalt pavement structures considering the orthotropy of granular materials.The results show that the dry density of specimens by …

Effect Of Basalt Fiber On Strength Of Cement‑Stabilized Macadam Base, Shu Hongbo, Tang Zhengguang, Zhang Yanhong, Bu Xilian, Liang Dong

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

To study the performance of basalt fiber in improving the poor angularity of the crushed cobble base，based on the orthogonal test，this paper determined that the optimal dosage of basalt fiber in the cement-stabilized crushed cobble was 1 kg/m3 （15 mm） + 2 kg/m3 （25 mm）.Besides，unconfined compressive strength and splitting strength tests were carried out on mixtures under three working conditions including the cement-stabilized crushed cobble，cement-stabilized crushed cobble with the optimal dosage of basalt fiber，and cement-stabilized macadam （limestone machine-crushed stone ）.The results show that influenced by the aggregate angularity，the strength of the cement-stabilized macadam （limestone machine-crushed stone ） mixture is better …

Design And Simulation Of Anti‑Collision System On Independent Pile With External Composite, Liao Yuanyuan, Liu Yu, Zhu Lu, Fang Hai, Zhang Jinrui, Han Juan

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

The precise calculation of the ship-bridge collision force is necessary for the assessment of the structural safety of the bridge and the design of an effective anti-collision system.Taking the ship-bridge issue in Furong Bridge in Xiangtan City，this paper compared the collision forces from different angles and in different locations calculated through the finite element software Ansys/LS-DYNA with the results calculated through the empirical formula，thereby determining the fortification collision forces of the bridge piers.Based on the weak anti-collision ability of the bridge double-limb thin-walled pier，the paper designed and implemented a new anti-collision system combined with composite and concrete-filled steel independent piles.The …

Intelligent Recognition Technology Of Highway Cracks Based On Semantic Segmentation, Gao Liang, Rao Faqiang, Yang Zhongmin, Dai Zongsheng, Sun Hao

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

Real-time detection and timely treatment of highway cracks are crucially fundamental for vehicle safety.Rapid identification and comparison of cracks is a new method for monitoring the development and changes of geological disasters especially when they induce cracks.Therefore，this study proposed an intelligent recognition method of highway cracks based on semantic segmentation，establishing a model with dataset，neural network，calculation parameters，and evaluation indicators to rapidly identify the cracks.The results show that，firstly，when the neural network Attention U-net built in this study semantically segments highway cracks，the binary cross loss function value and accuracy rate reach 0.008 7 and 0.998 4，respectively.Secondly，compared with traditional algorithms，the semantic segmentation method shows …

Lessons Learned From 60 Years Of Pavement Trials In Continental Climate Regions Of Canada And Future Perspective, Wang Di, Li Jingxiao, Ren Xueyuan, Zhang Fan, Yuan Dongdong

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

During the early 1960 s，Canadian road authorities began using stiffer asphalt to address the issue of early rutting in the wheel track zone of asphalt pavements，which was caused by the growing traffic volumes.Pavements constructed with stiffer asphalt commonly exhibit evenly spaced transverse cracks due to the significant internal stresses caused by low temperatures and the inadequate resistance of the asphalt to cracking under such conditions.Research conducted on asphalt pavements with cracks caused by low temperatures has verified the significant impact of asphalt ’s consistency，temperature sensitivity，phase uniformity，and durability.In order to tackle the difficulties presented by the utilization of modified asphalt in …

Method Of Solving Initial Construction Cable Force Of Completed Cable‑Stayed Bridge, Xu Yufeng, Chen Si, Xie Yunfei, Zhu Mengyang

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

To solve the initial construction cable forces of a completed cable-stayed bridge，a method that combines unstressed cable length and forward-iteration is proposed.Firstly，the unstressed length of each cable is calculated according to the completed bridge state.Then，the initial cable forces are obtained by using the unstressed cable length for the forward analysis.The initial construction cable forces are adjusted by difference iteration.Finally，the initial construction cable forces are fine-tuned according to the deformation of the pylon deformation to obtain the bridge completion state that satisfies the deviation requirements.The proposed method is employed in a cable-stayed bridge with a known completion state to calculate the …