Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Classifying Patient Handling Techniques To Reduce Risk Of Musculoskeletal Injury In Nursing Students, Giovanni Battaglia, Emanuel Sanchez

23rd Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2024)

Nurses suffer musculoskeletal injuries at a higher proportion than the general population due to physical strain and poor posture during patient-handling tasks; studies show that back injuries occur at a rate of 28.9 cases per 10,000 registered nurses. The purpose of this study is to apply multivariate time series classifiers (MTSCs) to classify six patient-handling tasks and the quality of subject posture (good, poor, or neutral) during these tasks. Manikins weighing 44 lbs, 66 lbs, and 110 lbs simulated patients. In this proof-of-concept study the XCM, ResNet, and MiniRocket MTSCs were trained with data collected from four non-nursing students using …

Expanding The Use Of Palladium-Catalyzed Beta-Aryl Elimination Reactions, Anna G. Tyshka, Tyler J. King, Lucas D. Day, Timothy R. Welsh

23rd Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2024)

Transition metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions involving organic boronic acids are ubiquitous throughout organic synthesis. Despite the popularity of these methods, some boronic acids, such as those with 2-heteroaryl, 2-fluoroaryl, and cyclopropyl substituents, are incompatible, as these species decompose via protodeboronation prior to their incorporation into the desired reaction. To circumvent the protodeboronation process, the organometallic intermediates typically generated via catalyst transmetallation with a boronic acid can instead be generated via β-carbon elimination Efforts will focus on solving the so-called "2-pyridyl problem" and broadening the scope of known coupling partners in a Suzuki-like reaction, then systematically expand to include other palladium- and …

Β-Decay Strength Function Of 99,100 Y, Nathaniel Jobson, A. Spyrou

23rd Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2024)

The rapid neutron capture process (r process) is responsible for the formation of numerous nuclei in the universe. To obtain better models for heavier nuclei that are part of the r process, the decay paths of 99,100Y were analyzed. This work was done using the Summing NaI(Tl) detector at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. The Iβ(E) and the Beta Gamow-Teller function (BGT) were extracted from the measured Total Absorption Spectroscopy (TAS), Sum of Segments (SEG), and Multiplicity spectrum. The Iβ(E) and the Beta Gamow-Teller function (BGT) were extracted from the measured spectra and then compared to the Quasi Random Phase …

Quantifying The Effect Of Air On Uncertainty In The Particle Accelerator, Megan Haeussler, Evelyn Martin, Zachary Doctor

23rd Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2024)

In preparation to measure environmental PFAS contamination, we are quantifying measurement uncertainties of liquid Sodium-Fluoride (NaF) standards undergoing particle induced gamma emission (PIGE). These standards are measured in the atmosphere outside of the vacuum environment of the particle accelerator at Hope College. One source of uncertainty is the dimensions of the experimental setup. If the target is even one millimeter farther away from the exit window than anticipated, the beam will lose energy as it travels through the air and will not be able to penetrate as far into the target as expected. We aim to quantify the uncertainty caused …

Structure Of Native Four-Repeat Satellite Iii Sequence With Non-Canonical Base Interactions, Erin Chen , '23, M. Trajkovski, Hyun Kyung Lee , '21, Samantha Nyovanie, Kailey N. Martin, W. L. Dean, M. Tahiliani, J. Plavec, Liliya A. Yatsunyk

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Works

Tandem-repetitive DNA (where two or more DNA bases are repeated numerous times) can adopt non-canonical secondary structures. Many of these structures are implicated in important biological processes. Human Satellite III (HSat3) is enriched for tandem repeats of the sequence ATGGA and is located in pericentromeric heterochromatin in many human chromosomes. Here, we investigate the secondary structure of the four-repeat HSat3 sequence 5′-ATGGA ATGGA ATGGA ATGGA-3′ using X-ray crystallography, NMR, and biophysical methods. Circular dichroism spectroscopy, thermal stability, native PAGE, and analytical ultracentrifugation indicate that this sequence folds into a monomolecular hairpin with non-canonical base pairing and B-DNA characteristics at concentrations …

Stream-Borne Floating Mismanaged Waste In Holland, Michigan: Focus On Foam, Sam J. Haakenson, Reina A. Duron

23rd Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2024)

Streams and storm drain systems link terrestrial roadside litter to rivers and lakes, which eventually supply floating debris to the global ocean. To better understand this linkage, we evaluated the kinds and quantity of floating mismanaged solid waste being transported in five streams within the Lake Macatawa watershed in the environs of Holland, Michigan. We deployed floating litter booms in the four smallest streams. These consisted of a rip-stop nylon sleeve encasing pool noodle floats strung on a wire rope. These were placed diagonally across the stream and anchored to fence posts set into the stream banks. In the largest …

Development Of A Consistent Proton Induced Gamma Emission Liquid 19f Standard, Jordan Craft, Ryan Mccreedy, Naomi Whitfield, Loic Rutabana

23rd Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2024)

We developed a new technique to quantify PFAS (Fluorine) contamination in water using Hope College’s particle accelerator. To do this, we created an ~2000 PPM NaF in water standard and carefully controlled the experimental configuration. We are hoping that careful control of the experimental conditions will yield a consistent 19F gamma-ray count per Coulombs from Proton Induced Gamma-ray Emission (PIGE). 3.4MeV protons have enough energy to exit the particle accelerator, travel 27 mm in air, and penetrate into the liquid standard. As protons lose energy in the liquid, nuclear reactions such as (p, p’gamma) with the 19F and 23Na nuclei …

Citdet, Jordan A. James, Heather K. Manching, Matthew R. Mattia, Kim D. Bowman, Amanda M. Hulse-Kemp, William J. Beksi

Computer Science and Engineering Datasets - Archive

The CitDet dataset is composed of images captured at the USDA Agricultural Research Service Subtropical Insects and Horticulture Research Unit in Fort Pierce, FL, USA. Data was collected between October 2021 and October 2022. 579 images were captured from different sections of the orchard using the open-source application Field Book on Android tablets. While collecting images, we faced the camera in a portrait orientation directly centered on the tree of interest. All images were taken at the edge of the soil in the tree row to simulate a ground-based robot imaging the tree while moving between two rows of trees. …

Individualized Learning As An Ai Tool: A Technical Report, Petsimnan Blessing Dayit, Kasen Holt, Nuala Roper

Student Works

The purpose of the report’s research is to test and analyze whether Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms can be used as beneficial tools for individualized learning at Lipscomb University without violating the Academic Integrity Policy. The methods section evaluates AI on the scopes of accuracy, analytical thinking, and adaptability. The results demonstrated how each platform responded to the prompts within the lines of the scope. The answers they gave were accurate, detailed, and contained various adaptations to make explanations clearer for the user. The team concluded that AI can be used at Lipscomb as a beneficial tool for students in their …

Mathematically Rigorous Deep Learning Paradigms For Data-Driven Scientific Modeling, Owen Nicholas Davis

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

This dissertation explores the crucial role of data-driven modeling in science and engineering, with a focus on developing surrogate models to accelerate large-scale computational tasks, aiding in both outer-loop functions like uncertainty quantification and expensive inner-loop tasks within broader computational frameworks. Challenges arise with increased problem dimension and sparse, noisy training data, particularly significant when constructing surrogates for very expensive computational models where acquiring sufficient high-fidelity training data is unfeasible. In such scenarios, training surrogates from an ensemble of multifidelity information sources of varying accuracy and cost becomes essential. We emphasize neural network-based modeling paradigms, which are flexible in integrating …

Immersive Japanese Language Learning Web Application Using Spaced Repetition, Active Recall, And An Artificial Intelligent Conversational Chat Agent Both In Voice And In Text, Marc Butler

MS in Computer Science Project Reports

In the last two decades various human language learning applications, spaced repetition software, online dictionaries, and artificial intelligent chat agents have been developed. However, there is no solution to cohesively combine these technologies into a comprehensive language learning application including skills such as speaking, typing, listening, and reading. Our contribution is to provide an immersive language learning web application to the end user which combines spaced repetition, a study technique used to review information at systematic intervals, and active recall, the process of purposely retrieving information from memory during a review session, with an artificial intelligent conversational chat agent both …

Data Profits Vs. Privacy Rights: Ethical Concerns In Data Commerce, Amiah Armstrong

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

In today’s digital age, the collection and sale of customer data for advertising is gaining a growing number of ethical concerns. The act of amassing extensive datasets encompassing customer preferences, behaviors, and personal information raises questions of its true purpose. It is widely acknowledged that companies track and store their customer’s digital activities under the pretext of benefiting the customer, but at what cost? Are users aware of how much of their data is being collected? Do they understand the trade-off between personalized services and the potential invasion of their privacy? This paper aims to show the advantages and disadvantages …

Volumetric Reconstruction Of Ionospheric Electric Currents From Tri-Static Incoherent Scatter Radar Measurements, Jone Peter Reistad, Spencer Mark Hatch, Karl M. Laundal, Kjellmar Oksavik, Matthew David Zettergren, Heikki Vanhamaki, Ilkka I. Virtanen

Publications

We present a new technique for the upcoming tri-static incoherent scatter radar system EISCAT 3D (E3D) to perform a volumetric reconstruction of the 3D ionospheric electric current density vector field, focusing on the feasibility of the E3D system. The input to our volumetric reconstruction technique are estimates of the 3D current density perpendicular to the main magnetic field, $\mathbf{j} \perp$, and its co-variance, to be obtained from E3D observations based on two main assumptions: 1) Ions fully magnetised above the $E$ region, set to 200 km here. 2) Electrons fully magnetised above the base of our domain, set to 90 …

Seeding Effects Of Submicron Caal-No3 Ldh Particles On The Hydration And Properties Of Portland Cement And Sulfoaluminate Cement Pastes, Sukanta K. Mondal, Monday Uchenna Okoronkwo

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Layered double hydroxide (LDH) is reported to improve the durability of concretes, primarily due to its ability to exchange anionic species, including chloride, which is implicated in corrosion-driven durability issues. However, there is no comprehensive study investigating the effect of LDH on the properties of different cement systems at both early and mature ages. in this study, the early age and mature age properties of Portland cement (OPC) and calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) cement pastes seeded with submicron-sized calcium aluminum-NO3 LDH (CaAl-NO3 LDH) were investigated. the effects of the 1–5%mass dosage of LDH on the hydration of both cement systems were …

Non-Traumatic Osteonecrosis Of The Femoral Head Induced By Steroid And Alcohol Exposure Is Associated With Intestinal Flora Alterations And Metabolomic Profiles, Qing-Yuan Zheng, Ye Tao, Lei Geng, Peng Ren, Ming Ni, Guo-Qiang Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is a severe disease that primarily affects the middle-aged population, imposing a significant economic and social burden. Recent research has linked the progression of non-traumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head (NONFH) to the composition of the gut microbiota. Steroids and alcohol are considered major contributing factors. However, the relationship between NONFH caused by two etiologies and the microbiota remains unclear. In this study, we examined the gut microbiota and fecal metabolic phenotypes of two groups of patients, and analyzed potential differences in the pathogenic mechanisms from both the microbial and metabolic perspectives.

METHODS: …

On Axially Rational Regular Functions And Schur Analysis In The Clifford-Appell Setting, Daniel Alpay, Fabrizio Colombo, Antonino De Martino, Kamal Diki, Irene Sabadini

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

In this paper we start the study of Schur analysis for Cauchy–Fueter regular quaternionic-valued functions, i.e. null solutions of the Cauchy–Fueter operator in . The novelty of the approach developed in this paper is that we consider axially regular functions, i.e. functions spanned by the so-called Clifford-Appell polynomials. This type of functions arises naturally from two well-known extension results in hypercomplex analysis: the Fueter mapping theorem and the generalized Cauchy–Kovalevskaya (GCK) extension. These results allow one to obtain axially regular functions starting from analytic functions of one real or complex variable. Precisely, in the Fueter theorem two operators play a …

Artificial Sociality, Simone Natale, Iliana Depounti

Human-Machine Communication

This article proposes the notion of Artificial Sociality to describe communicative AI technologies that create the impression of social behavior. Existing tools that activate Artificial Sociality include, among others, Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, voice assistants, virtual influencers, socialbots and companion chatbots such as Replika. The article highlights three key issues that are likely to shape present and future debates about these technologies, as well as design practices and regulation efforts: the modelling of human sociality that foregrounds it, the problem of deception and the issue of control from the part of the users. Ethical, social and cultural …

Optimal Control Of Coefficients For The Second Order Parabolic Free Boundary Problems, Ali Hagverdiyev

Mathematics Colloquium Series

In this talk I will discuss Inverse Stefan type free boundary problem for the second order parabolic equation arising for instance, in modeling of laser ablation of biomedical tissues, where the information on the coefficients, heat flux on the fixed boundary, and density of heat sources are missing and must be found along with the temperature and free boundary. New PDE constrained optimal control framework is employed, where the missing data and the free boundary are components of the control vector, and optimality criteria are based on the final moment measurement of the temperature and position of the free boundary. …

Phun With Phages: Discovering Novel Bacteriophages In The Soil, Julia Kutz, Ryan Dodds, Logan Dykstra, Taylor M. Rentschler, Emma Steinhardt, Megan Vangarven, Jacie Vanderwaal, Shayler Vangelder, Byron Noordewier, Sara S. Tolsma

Celebration of Research

We used three bacterial hosts: Mycobacterium smegmatis, Microbacterium foliorum, and Gordonia terrae, to isolate novel bacteriophages from soil samples. We named these phages, created high titer lysates, and purified their DNA genomes. We have archived the high titer lysates at Northwestern College and the University of Pittsburgh. The genomes of three of our phages were sequences at the University of Pittsburgh and we will be sequencing the remaining genomes this summer. Additionally, we are planning to image our phages with transmission electron microscopy at the University of Iowa or Nebraska yet this semester.

Metabolic Characterization Of Porcine Hepatocytes, Sophie Swart, Ainslie Robinson, Daiki Jonouchi, Marcus Blankespoor, Kip Cullinan, Zachary Varpness, Ryan Schulze

Celebration of Research

No abstract provided.

H(Hydrogen)-Alpha Spectral Imaging Of Z>5 Quasars, Pratik Paudel, Mari Hirota, Hyunsung Jun

Celebration of Research

We aim to measure the H-alpha line excess over the photometric continuum for distant quasi-stellar radio objects, or quasars. Supermassive black holes grow in mass through accretion of stars or gas nearby, often outshining the total stellar light of the galaxies they reside in, for quasars. On the other hand, the structure of these active galactic nuclei are hard to resolve, where we often rely on the relationship in between different light emission regions to better understand the geometry and emission mechanisms. In this work, we measure the H-alpha luminosity of 44 quasars at z>5 (light coming from less …

The Impact Of Blood Flow Restriction On Heart Rate And Muscle Activation, Janaya Battles, Rajat Singh, Daniel Swier

Celebration of Research

Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) is a rehabilitation technique used in physical therapy to improve muscle growth in patients. The technique involves using blood cuffs on the limbs to occlude blood flow within the muscles, thus limiting the buildup of muscle growth inhibitors. The current literature provides information regarding these aspects but is limited in providing information regarding the impact of BFR on neural muscular coordination. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine how various pressure levels of the BFR cuffs can impact the muscle activation of the restrained muscles and heart rate. Our results have shown that a …

Latent Classification Of Multi-Model Non-Homogeneous Continuous-Time Markov Chains, Joonha Chang

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The continuous-time Markov chain (CTMC) model and latent clustering models are commonly used to study longitudinal measures of categorical outcomes. Because of its simple but powerful Markovian property, CTMC models have been widely used in medical and public health researches. Due to limitations in the standard CTMC model, there have been some studies on non-homogeneous continuous-time Markov chain (NH-CTMC) that utilized time-dependent rates, but the progresses have been limited. NH-CTMC can be more powerful than CTMC by its default nature of time-dependent rate that can be fitted to a wider range of applications in medical studies. In this study, we …

Context-Aware Affective Behavior Modeling And Analytics, Md Taufeeq Uddin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Affective computing (AC) is a sub-domain of AI that has the potential to assist people by assessing mental states and making appropriate recommendations to patients, loved ones, caregivers, and domain experts. Humans usually produce an enormous amount of data (such as face videos) every day. One of the major challenges for affective computer vision is to efficiently deal with high volumes of data to facilitate automated model development. To cope with this challenge, we developed computer vision algorithms that measure the expressivity of the human face from video data. More precisely, the developed algorithms can map complex affect information from …

Patterns, Drivers, And Implications Of Postfire Delayed Tree Mortality In Temperate Conifer Forests Of The Western United States, Sebastian Busby, Cody Evers, Andrés Holz

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Conifer forest resilience may be threatened by increasing wildfire activity and compound disturbances in western North America. Fire refugia enhance forest resilience, yet may decline over time due to delayed mortality—a process that remains poorly understood at landscape and regional scales. To address this uncertainty, we used high-resolution satellite imagery (5-m pixel) to map and quantify delayed mortality of conifer tree cover between 1 and 5 years postfire, across 30 large wildfires that burned within three montane ecoregions in the western United States. We used statistical models to explore the influence of burn severity, topography, soils, and climate moisture deficit …

Protecting American Children: A Social-Ecological Analysis Of Pactp4, Julia Rossmiller

Student Works

The quantity of pesticides used annually in the United States exceeds one billion pounds every year, and the amount is only rising. The current law that governs the use of pesticides—The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), permits the use of 72 known pesticides that have been proven harmful and are banned in other countries. Research links the usage of pesticides to the health of individuals, families, and whole communities within the environment. Moreover, dangerous pesticides have been shown to disproportionately affect children, agricultural workers, people of color, and low-income communities. Despite the mounting evidence that confirms the adverse …

Shared Genomic Segments Analysis Identifies Mhc Class I And Class Iii Molecules As Genetic Risk Factors For Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, Cecile N. Avery, Nicole D. Russell, Cody J. Steely, Aimee O. Hersh, John F. Bohnsack, Sampath Prahalad, Lynn B. Jorde

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a complex rheumatic disease encompassing several clinically defined subtypes of varying severity. The etiology of JIA remains largely unknown, but genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified up to 22 genes associated with JIA susceptibility, including a well-established association with HLA-DRB1. Continued investigation of heritable risk factors has been hindered by disease heterogeneity and low disease prevalence. In this study, we utilized shared genomic segments (SGS) analysis on whole-genome sequencing of 40 cases from 12 multi-generational pedigrees significantly enriched for JIA. Subsets of cases are connected by a common ancestor in large extended pedigrees, increasing the …

Identifying A Group Of Factors Predicting Cognitive Impairment Among Older Adults, Longgang Zhao, Yuan Wang, Eric Mishio Bawa, Zichun Meng, Jingkai Wei, Sarah Newman-Norlund, Tushar Trivedi, Hatice Hasturk, Roger Newman-Norlund, Julius Fridriksson Ph.D., Anwar T. Nerchant

Faculty Publications

Background

Cognitive impairment has multiple risk factors spanning several domains, but few studies have evaluated risk factor clusters. We aimed to identify naturally occurring clusters of risk factors of poor cognition among middle-aged and older adults and evaluate associations between measures of cognition and these risk factor clusters.

Methods

We used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III (training dataset, n = 4074) and the NHANES 2011–2014 (validation dataset, n = 2510). Risk factors were selected based on the literature. We used both traditional logistic models and support vector machine methods to construct a composite score …

2024 April 11 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Machine Learning Techniques For Intermediate Mass Gap Lepton Partner Searches At The Large Hadron Collider, Bhaskar Dutta, Tathagata Ghosh, Alyssa Horne, Jason Kumar, Sean Palmer, Pearl Sandick, Marcus Snedeker, Patrick Stengel, Joel W. Walker

Michigan Tech Publications

We consider machine learning techniques associated with the application of a boosted decision tree (BDT) to searches at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) for pair-produced lepton partners which decay to leptons and invisible particles. This scenario can arise in the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), but can be realized in many other extensions of the Standard Model (SM). We focus on the case of intermediate mass splitting (∼30 GeV) between the dark matter (DM) and the scalar. For these mass splittings, the LHC has made little improvement over LEP due to large electroweak backgrounds. We find that the use of …