Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Phys 401/801

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Why Bernstein Polynomials: Yet Another Explanation, Olga Kosheleva, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In many computational situations -- in particular, in computations under interval or fuzzy uncertainty -- it is convenient to approximate a function by a polynomial. Usually, a polynomial is represented by coefficients at its monomials. However, in many cases, it turns out more efficient to represent a general polynomial by using a different basis -- of so-called Bernstein polynomials. In this paper, we provide a new explanation for the computational efficiency of this basis.

How To Make A Decision Under Interval Uncertainty If We Do Not Know The Utility Function, Jeffrey Escamilla, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Decision theory describes how to make decisions, in particular, how to make decisions under interval uncertainty. However, this theory's recommendations assume that we know the utility function -- a function that describes the decision maker's preferences. Sometimes, we can make a recommendation even when we do not know the utility function. In this paper, we provide a complete description of all such cases.

Shall We Place More Advanced Students In A Separate Class?, Shahnaz Shahbazova, Olga Kosheleva, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In every class, we have students who are more advanced and students who are more behind. From this viewpoint, it seems reasonable to place more advanced students in a separate class. This should help advanced students progress faster, and it should help other students as well, since the teachers in the remaining class can better attend to their needs. However, empirically, this does not work: when we form a separate class, the overall amount of gained knowledge decreases. In this paper, we provide a possible explanation for this seemingly counterintuitive phenomenon.

Towards An Optimal Design: What Can We Recommend To Elon Musk?, Martine Ceberio, Olga Kosheleva, Vladik Kreinovich, Hung T. Nguyen

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Elon Musk's successful "move fast and break things" strategy is based on the fact that in many cases, we do not need to satisfy all usual constraints to be successful. By sequentially trying smaller number of constraints, he finds the smallest number of constraints that are still needed to succeed -- and using this smaller number of constrains leads to a much cheaper (and thus, more practical) design. In this strategy, Musk relies on his intuition -- which, as all intuitions, sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. To replace this intuition, we propose an algorithm that minimizes the worst-case cost of …

Exploring Tokenization Techniques To Optimize Patch-Based Time-Series Transformers, Gabriel L. Asher

Computer Science Senior Theses

Transformer architectures have revolutionized deep learning, impacting natural language processing and computer vision. Recently, PatchTST has advanced long-term time-series forecasting by embedding patches of time-steps to use as tokens for transformers. This study examines and seeks to enhance PatchTST's embedding techniques. Using eight benchmark datasets, we explore explore novel token embedding techniques. To this end, we introduce several PatchTST variants, which alter the embedding methods of the original paper. These variants consist of the following architectural changes: using CNNs to embed inputs to tokens, embedding an aggregate measure like the mean, max, or sum of a patch, adding the exponential …

Engr 691: Trustworthy Machine Learning, University Of Mississippi. School Of Engineering

GMAS Course Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Phys 727: Advanced Thermodynamics/Statistical Mechanics, Kevin Beach

GMAS Course Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Soc 501: Statistics, Savannah L. Kelly Ph.D.

GMAS Course Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Activated Carbon Derived From Cucumber Peel For Use As A Supercapacitor Electrode Material, Meruyert Nazhipkyzy, Gulim Kurmanbayeva, Aigerim Seitkazinova, Esin Apaydın Varol, Wanlu Li, Balaussa Dinistanova, Almagul Issanbekova, Togzhan Mashan

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Biowaste conversion into activated carbon is a sustainable and inexpensive approach that relieves the pressure on its disposal. Here, we prepared micro-mesoporous activated carbons (ACs) from cucumber peels through carbonization at 600 °C followed by thermal activation at different temperatures. The ACs were tested as supercapacitors for the first time. The carbon activated at 800 °C (ACP-800) showed a high specific capacitance value of 300 F/g at a scan rate of 5 mV/s in the cyclic voltammetry and 331 F/g at the current density of 0.1 A/g in the galvanostatic charge–discharge analysis. At the current density of 1 A/g, the …

Visualizing Routes With Ai-Discovered Street-View Patterns, Tsung Heng Wu, Md Amiruzzaman, Ye Zhao, Deepshikha Bhati, Jing Yang

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Street-level visual appearances play an important role in studying social systems, such as understanding the built environment, driving routes, and associated social and economic factors. It has not been integrated into a typical geographical visualization interface (e.g., map services) for planning driving routes. In this article, we study this new visualization task with several new contributions. First, we experiment with a set of AI techniques and propose a solution of using semantic latent vectors for quantifying visual appearance features. Second, we calculate image similarities among a large set of street-view images and then discover spatial imagery patterns. Third, we integrate …

Increased Perceived Confidence In Professional Role Skills Among Undergraduate Dietetic Students Following Simulation-Based Learning Experiences, Makenzie Barr-Porter, Elizabeth Combs, Lauren Batey, Dawn Brewer, Aaron Kyle Schwartz, Tammy Stephenson

UK CARES Faculty Publications

Simulation-based learning experiences (SBLEs) are effective for teaching healthcare students clinical and communication skills. The current study assessed self-perceived clinical and communication confidence among dietetics students completing a series of four SBLEs (3 group, 1 individual) across nine months. Dietetics students were recruited in February 2023 prior to their first SBLE. Simultaneously through the academic year, students completed clinical and communication courses. Students were invited to complete an online, anonymous self-reported survey regarding confidence with nutrition care and communication prior to their first SBLE (Time 1), prior to their third SBLE (Time 2), and following their final SBLE (Time 3). …

Unveiling Gene Interactions In Alzheimer's Disease By Integrating Genetic And Epigenetic Data With A Network-Based Approach, Keith L Sanders, Astrid M Manuel, Andi Liu, Boyan Leng, Xiangning Chen, Zhongming Zhao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a complex disease and the leading cause of dementia in older people. We aimed to uncover aspects of AD’s pathogenesis that may contribute to drug repurposing efforts by integrating DNA methylation and genetic data. Implementing the network-based tool, a dense module search of genome-wide association studies (dmGWAS), we integrated a large-scale GWAS dataset with DNA methylation data to identify gene network modules associated with AD. Our analysis yielded 286 significant gene network modules. Notably, the foremost module included the BIN1 gene, showing the largest GWAS signal, and the GNAS gene, the most significantly hypermethylated. We conducted …

Social And Behavior Factors Of Alzheimer's Disease And Related Dementias: A National Study In The Us, David Ciciora, Elizabeth Vásquez, Edward Valachovic, Lifang Hou, Yinan Zheng, Hua Xu, Xiaoqian Jiang, Kun Huang, Kelley Pettee Gabriel, Hong-Wen Deng, Mary P Gallant, Kai Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Considerable research has linked many risk factors to Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD). Without a clear etiology of ADRD, it is advantageous to rank the known risk factors by their importance and determine if disparities exist. Statistical-based ranking can provide insight into which risk factors should be further evaluated.

Methods: This observational, population-based study assessed 50 county-level measures and estimates related to ADRD in 3,155 counties in the U.S. using data from 2010 to 2021. Statistical analysis was performed in 2022-2023. The machine learning method, eXtreme Gradient Boosting, was utilized to rank the importance of these variables by …

A Connected-Component Improvement Procedure For Relative Isolation Probability Calculation, Renzo Roel P. Tan, Kazushi Ikeda

Quantitative Methods and Information Technology Faculty Publications

Due to the prevalence of natural disasters, the resilience of networks that provide essential services to the population has been studied. A recent contribution is the probability of relative isolation, which measures the likelihood of a demand node to be unreachable by supply nodes. The existing procedure for calculation is an enumerative decision-diagram-based approach that may be resource-intensive especially on occasions when time and memory constraints are imposed. In response, the study reverse-engineers the current method towards increased efficiency. The proposed solution hinges on the breadth-first search, producing connected components based on the sources. The algorithm is then benchmarked on …

Lyraquist: Language Learning Via Music App, Vivian D'Souza, Siri Avula, Mahi Patel, Tanvi Singh, Ashley Bickham

Senior Theses

Lyraquist is a new language learning mobile app that encourages the practice of a foreign language through music. Language learners can connect their Spotify Premium account to Lyraquist to listen to music in their target languages and utilize tools such as translation and vocabulary lists to facilitate language practice. Through integration with Spotify, users can import and create Spotify playlists and search the service’s entire catalog. By combining daily listening habits with several tasks associated with language learning in one place, Lyraquist hopes to be a useful language learning tool.

Finding The Perfect Purple: An Exploration Of Glaze Making And Chemical Safety In The Pottery Studio, Kara Eppard, Michael Hough

ASPIRE 2024

This project was undertaken as an IDS-100H course linkage between ceramics and chemistry. Through time spent reviewing literature and time in the studio, a project was developed that allowed the application of technical skills of each discipline in a creative fashion. The creative focus of the project was to find a suitable purple glaze to utilize on a previously thrown pottery collection. During the project techniques in glaze making were explored. Over 25 glazes were tested, and two firing techniques were explored. Additionally, safety within the pottery studio was increased through aspects such as the development of an MSDS, and …

Paradox Lost: Wide Gape In The Ordovician Brachiopod Rafinesquina Explains How Unattached Filter-Feeding Strophomenoids Thrived On Muddy Substrates, Benjamin F. Dattilo, Rebecca L. Freeman, Kyle Hartshorn, David Peterman, Aaron Morse, David L. Meyer, Lindsay G. Dougan, James W. Hagadorn

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

Strophomenoid brachiopods had thin, concavo-convex shells, were ubiquitous colonizers of Palaeozoic muddy seafloors, and are hypothesized to have filter-fed in a concave-upward orientation. This orientation would elevate their line of commissure out of potentially lethal lophophore-clogging mud. The paradox is that epi- biont distributions on strophomenoids support a convex-upward life position, as do studies of strophome- noid stability and trace fossils formed by strophomenoid sediment-clearing. A premise of the concave-upward orientation hypothesis is a narrow gape, which causes narrow, high velocity inhalant currents, leaving strophomenoids vul- nerable to sediment entrainment. Herein we investigate the gape angle of Rafinesquina using serial …

Consumer Preferences For Wood-Pellet-Based Green Pricing Programs In The Eastern United States, Sydney Oluoch, Pankaj Lal, Andres Susaeta, Meghann Smith, Bernabas Wolde

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Co-firing wood pellets with coal is an attractive alternative energy generation method with economic, social, and environmental benefits for the US energy generation sector. One way to sustainably use wood pellets for co-firing is to create consumer-supported green pricing programs (GPPs). Our study surveyed residents of five states (Alabama, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia) to investigate preferences for the attributes of a hypothetical GPP. The study applied the Best Worst Choice method, which employs the Best Worst Scaling (BWS) and binary choice (BC) task. The BWS analysis showed that residents of all five states most value the flexibility …

Evaluating The Role Of Titanomagnetite In Bubble Nucleation: Rock Magnetic Detection And Characterization Of Nanolites And Ultra-Nanolites In Rhyolite Pumice And Obsidian From Glass Mountain, California, Stefanie Brachfeld, Kelly N. Mccartney, Julia E. Hammer, Thomas Shea, Thomas Giachetti

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We document the presence, composition, and number density (TND) of titanomagnetite nanolites and ultra-nanolites in aphyric rhyolitic pumice, obsidian, and vesicular obsidian from the 1060 CE Glass Mountain volcanic eruption of Medicine Lake Volcano, California, using magnetic methods. Curie temperatures indicate compositions of Fe2.40Ti0.60O4 to Fe3O4. Rock-magnetic parameters sensitive to domain state, which is dependent on grain volume, indicate a range of particle sizes spanning superparamagnetic (< 50–80 nm) to multidomain (>10 μm) particles. Cylindrical cores drilled from the centers of individual pumice clasts display anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility with prolate fabrics, with the highest degree of anisotropy coinciding with the highest vesicularity. Fabrics …

Evaluating The Role Of Titanomagnetite In Bubble Nucleation: Novel Applications Of Low Temperature Magnetic Analysis And Textural Characterization Of Rhyolite Pumice And Obsidian From Glass Mountain, California, Kelly N. Mccartney, Julia E. Hammer, Thomas Shea, Stefanie Brachfeld, Thomas Giachetti

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Nucleation of H2O vapor bubbles in magma requires surpassing a chemical supersaturation threshold via decompression. The threshold is minimized in the presence of a nucleation substrate (heterogeneous nucleation, < 50 MPa), and maximized when no nucleation substrate is present (homogeneous nucleation, >100 MPa). The existence of explosively erupted aphyric rhyolite magma staged from shallow (< 100 MPa) depths represents an apparent paradox that hints at the presence of a cryptic nucleation substrate. In a pair of studies focusing on Glass Mountain eruptive units from Medicine Lake, California, we characterize titanomagnetite nanolites and ultrananolites in pumice, obsidian, and vesicular obsidian (Brachfeld et al., 2024, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GC011336), calculate titanomagnetite crystal number densities, and compare titanomagnetite abundance with the physical properties of pumice to evaluate hypotheses on the timing of titanomagnetite crystallization. Titanomagnetite crystals with grain sizes of approximately 3–33 nm are identified in pumice samples from the thermal unblocking of low-temperature thermoremanent magnetization. The titanomagnetite number densities for pumice are 10¹⁸ to 10²⁰ m⁻³, comparable to number densities in pumice and obsidian obtained from room temperature methods (Brachfeld et al., 2024, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GC011336). This range exceeds reported bubble number densities (BND) within the pumice from the same eruptive units (average BND ∼4 × 10¹⁴ m⁻³). The similar abundances of nm-scale titanomagnetite crystals in …

Hydroclimatic Trends And Streamflow Response To Recent Climate Change: An Application Of Discrete Wavelet Transform And Hydrological Modeling In The Passaic River Basin, New Jersey, Usa, Felix Oteng Mensah, Clement Aga Alo, Duke Ophori

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The exigency of the current climate crisis demands a more comprehensive approach to addressing location-specific climate impacts. In the Passaic River Basin (PRB), two bodies of research—hydroclimatic trend detection and hydrological modeling—have been conducted with the aim of revealing the basin’s hydroclimate patterns as well as the hydrologic response to recent climate change. In a rather novel application of the wavelet transform tool, we sidelined the frequently used Mann–Kendal (MK) trend test, to identify the hidden monotonic trends in the inherently noisy hydroclimatic data. By this approach, the use of MK trend test directly on the raw data, whose results …

Iowa Waste Reduction Center Newsletter, April 2024, University Of Northern Iowa. Iowa Waste Reduction Center.

Iowa Waste Reduction Center Newsletter

Contents:

--- Office of International Engagement Thanks Volunteers
--- A Quick Glance at EPA’s New PFAS Regulations
--- Strategic Goals Workshop Update
--- Celebrating Earth Day 2024

Joint Environmental And Social Benefits From Diversified Agriculture, Laura Vang Rasmussen, Ingo Grass

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

Agricultural simplification continues to expand at the expense of more diverse forms of agriculture. This simplification, for example, in the form of intensively managed monocultures, poses a risk to keeping the world within safe and just Earth system boundaries. Here, we estimated how agricultural diversification simultaneously affects social and environmental outcomes. Drawing from 24 studies in 11 countries across 2655 farms, we show how five diversification strategies focusing on livestock, crops, soils, noncrop plantings, and water conservation benefit social (e.g., human well-being, yields, and food security) and environmental (e.g., biodiversity, ecosystem services, and reduced environmental externalities) outcomes. We found that …

Unearthing The Past: A Comprehensive Study Of Natural And Anthropogenic Changes At An Archaeological Site Through Hydrogeologic Connectivity Utilizing Gis, Mehlich Ii Phosphorus Extractant, And Ph, Dana L. F. Herren

Theses

This thesis aims to thoroughly analyze the Mehlich II Phosphorus Extractant and pH levels at the Bains Gap Village Site in Anniston, AL., while examining the impact of various environmental factors and human activities on them. Phosphorus is often used in archaeology as an indicator of human activity. Soil core samples were collected to analyze anomalies in phosphorus levels.

To establish any relationships, phosphorus and pH levels from soil cores were correlated with findings from past excavation units and features. The potential effects of hydrogeologic connectivity on soil phosphorus and pH levels were investigated. Geospatial technologies were used to manage …

Demographic Data Analysis For Measuring Economic Impact Of The Branch Of Nashville, Tessa Pendleton, Annie Wardroup, Nicole Speyrer, Kimberly Amaya Hernandez

[Archive] Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

As part of the Global Honors Scholars Collaborative, researchers aggregated data from The Belmont Data Collaborative to analyze the three primary ZIP codes (37211, 37013, 37217) served by The Branch of Nashville. These communities include immigrant and refugee populations, whom The Branch supports through its food bank, English classes, and further comprehensive care. Future program development will rely on the analysis of the current client base and eventual assessment of The Branch’s economic impact on the surrounding community. The goal of this research for The Branch of Nashville is twofold: (1) analyze the existing demographics within the above ZIP codes …

Effects Of Heterogeneous Data Sets And Time-Lag Measurement Techniques On Cosmological Parameter Constraints From Mg Ii And C Iv Reverberation-Mapped Quasar Data, Shulei Cao, Michal Zajaček, Bożena Czerny, Swayamtrupta Panda, Bharat Ratra

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Previously, we demonstrated that Mg II and C IV reverberation-mapped quasars (RM QSOs) are standardizable and that the cosmological parameters inferred using the broad-line region radius–luminosity (R–L) relation are consistent with those determined from better-established cosmological probes. With more data expected from ongoing and future spectroscopic and photometric surveys, it is imperative to examine how new QSO data sets of varied quality, with their own specific luminosity and time-delay distributions, can be best used to determine more restrictive cosmological parameter constraints. In this study, we test the effect of adding 25 OzDES Mg II RM QSOs as well …

Predicting Biomolecular Properties And Interactions Using Numerical, Statistical And Machine Learning Methods, Elyssa Sliheet

Mathematics Theses and Dissertations

We investigate machine learning and electrostatic methods to predict biophysical properties of proteins, such as solvation energy and protein ligand binding affinity, for the purpose of drug discovery/development. We focus on the Poisson-Boltzmann model and various high performance computing considerations such as parallelization schemes.

Revolutionizing Access To Justice: The Role Of Ai-Powered Chatbots And Retrieval-Augmented Generation In Legal Self-Help, Ayyoub Ajmi

Faculty Works

Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) present numerous opportunities to routinize and make the law more accessible to self-represented litigants, notably through AI chatbots employing natural language processing for conversational interactions. These chatbots exhibit legal reasoning abilities without explicit training on legal-specific datasets. However, they face challenges processing less common and more specific knowledge from their training data. Additionally, once trained, their static status makes them susceptible to knowledge obsolescence over time. This article explores the application of retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) to enhance chatbot accuracy, drawing insights from a real-world implementation developed for a court system to support self-help litigants.

A New Canvas Of Learning: Enhancing Formal Analysis Skills In Ap Art History Through Ai-Generated Islamic Art, Krista Carpino, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

This study explores the use of AI art generators to enhance formal analysis skills in AP Art History students, with a focus on Islamic Art and Architecture. Students, often entering the course with high academic achievements, find the unique challenge of articulating detailed visual descriptions of artworks. The study’s approach involves using AI image-generation websites, like wepik.com, where students create AI images resembling Islamic artworks studied in class. This method aims to refine their descriptive skills, focusing on visual evidence rather than relying on identifying details. The choice of Islamic Art, markedly different from other historical periods covered in the …