Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Effects Of Bureaucratic Corruption On The Financial Constraints Of Nigerian Small Businesses, Obinna Franklin Ezeibekwe

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

In this paper, I conduct the first empirical analysis to examine the impact of bureaucratic corruption on small business financial constraints in Nigeria. This study is also the first to compare the average treatment effect (ATE) with the local average treatment effect (LATE) framework to account for potential variations in treatment effects for small Nigerian firms with less than 100 employees. Using the bivariate probit method and two binary instruments, I find that corruption significantly increases the likelihood of financial constraints for a typical micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) by approximately 64 to 68 percentage points. When I use …

Groundwater Flow And Water Clarity At Cenotes In The Yucatan Peninsula, Laura Rossana Fracica Gonzalez

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Characterizing and predicting groundwater flow in complex karst aquifers poses significant challenges. This study explores the potential application of Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) technology for in-situ groundwater flow measurement within sinkholes (cenotes) in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Two specific questions are addressed: 1) Can ADCP determine flow within Yucatan Peninsula sinkholes? 2) Are groundwater flow vectors related to water clarity in open cenotes? The geological setting of the Yucatan Platform is characterized by horizontal sedimentary strata with highly permeable limestones and extensive karst features. The research focuses on the Holbox fracture zone, where groundwater flow dynamics remain elusive. The …

Ai-Based Defect Detection In Aerospace Ultrasonic Signals, Rami Issac Lake

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Ensuring the safety and integrity of materials and structures throughout the manufacturing cycle is a critical concern across various industries, including aerospace, automotive, oiland gas, and civil engineering. Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI) techniques allow for the examination of materials without causing damage or alteration, enabling the early detection of potential issues before materials are utilized in the field. The inspection of fuselage composites presents a particular challenge due to their complex structures, diverse materials, and differences in thickness, making defect detection a challenging yet crucial task. Moreover, defects of various types and causes can emerge across all depths of the material …

Synthesis Of Hydroxycinnamate Derivatives And Characterization Of Bioactivity As Radical Scavengers And Α-Glucosidase Inhibitors, Cate Simmermaker

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Hydroxycinnamic acids (HCAs), a class of polyphenols commonly found in regularly consumed fruits and vegetables, have been investigated for efficacy as radical scavengers and glycosidase inhibitors. These compounds could mitigate the negative health effects of free radicals in oxidative stress diseases including neurodegeneration, cancer and diabetes. The HCAs investigated were caffeic acid (1), p-coumaric acid (2), ferulic acid (3), and sinapic acid (4). The compounds were derivatized with synthetically prepared amino acid esters through a four-step synthesis including protective acetylation, chlorination of the carboxylic acid, amidation, and subsequent deprotection of all applied protecting groups. The inclusion of diverse derivative groups …

Volume 15, Connor Thompson, Emily Steffenhagen, Emily Robertson, Luis Fernando Dos Reis, Emily Farmer, Samuel Villa, Robert Allison, Zachary Chessor, Megan Borden, Austin Burnett, Larry W. Grant Jr., Tristan Marowski, Emma Moore, Pearl Siff

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Introduction Dr. Amorette Barber, Director, Office of Student Research

From the Editor Dr. Hannah Dudley-Shotwell

Artist’s Statement Connor Thompson

On Mentorship Dr. John Miller

The Meat of the Matter: Alien, Human, and Animal in Terry Bisson’s “They’re Made Out of Meat” by Emily Steffenhagen

“Please REBLOG!”: An Ethical Analysis of Doxxing, Internet Vigilantism and Racists Getting Fired by Emily Robertson

Journaling: Paper Has More Patience Than People by Luis Fernando Dos Reis

The Effects of Climate Change on the Archaeological World by Emily Farmer

Lowered Seat Height Does Not Impair Wingate Performance in Untrained Cyclists by Samuel Villa, Robert Allison, …

Temporal And Spatial Connectivity And The Impacts Of Hydropower In The Magdalena River Basin, Colombia, Serena Lynn Butler

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Tropical regions hold untapped hydropower potential, but dam construction often adversely impacts multiple dimensions of connectivity in river systems, rigorous evaluation of which is often lacking. This study investigates temporal and spatial dimensions of longitudinal and lateral connectivity in the Magdalena River Basin, Colombia, a region with ongoing and planned hydropower projects. Limited in-situ monitoring data is a common challenge in tropical rivers. To address this, we utilized satellite imagery from Landsat (via Google Earth Engine) and Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) data. We examined alterations in the flow regime over time and relative to dam construction. We also …

Evaluating Early-Life Characteristics And Responses Of Native Plant Materials For Dryland Restoration, Sophia N. Lasche

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Globally, many drylands are in need of restoration due to anthropogenic land use changes, climate change-related biodiversity loss, and broad scale degradation. Within this degradation framework, many perennial grass species and populations have been lost from drylands. A common method of restoring vital perennial grass populations is through seed-based restoration. Using seed-based restoration, or the act of adding desirable seed to a system to restore plant populations, requires a depth of knowledge on species level responses, as well as seed sources within those species. My research examines three workhorse perennial grass species and associated seed sources for dryland restoration, especially …

Photoinduced Alpha-Hydroxy C–H Alkylation Of Mono-Alcohols Via Hydrogen Atom Transfer (Hat) Of An Activated Boron-Containing Complex, Courtney Deanna Glenn

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Hydroxy (-OH) groups are one of the most abundant functional groups found in natural products and pharmaceuticals with many of these compounds containing multiple alcohol classes. The ability to selectively functionalize a specific α-OH C–H bond in the presence of other competitive sites would provide straightforward access to new, potentially bioactive compounds. In recent literature, photoredox catalysis has been implemented to perform site and stereoselective α-OH C–H functionalization of cis-diol containing substrates. Incorporating an organoboron cocatalyst into these systems have proven to be crucial in decreasing the bond dissociation energy (BDE) and increasing hydricity of the α-OH C–H bond …

Evaluating Land Cover Change And Opportunities For Bioenergy Crop Development On Surface Mine Sites In West Virginia, U.S.A., Kenzie D. Kohrs

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Surface mining can impact land cover, forests, and water quality. Current reclamation strategies include revegetation with herbaceous species due to the ease and speed of cover establishment. Herbaceous and woody biomass crops have been used in various studies to reclaim surface mines and act as an alternative to nonrenewable energy sources. The objectives of this study were to quantify the state of vegetation growth on former surface mines in West Virginia over a 9-year period and identify suitable acreage for bioenergy production. During 2011 to 2020, we found that over 40,000 acres had been converted to forest and 40,000 acres …

Estimating Inorganic Carbon Flux From Coal Mining Discharge Portals In The Bituminous Coal Field Region Of Pennsylvania, Lauren J. Rockwell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A fundamental driver of the adverse effects associated with coal mining is the interplay of water and oxygen within mined sites, leading to the creation of coal mine drainage (CMD). One often overlooked consequence of CMD is the release of geologically-bound carbon as carbon dioxide (CO₂). The interaction of CMD with carbonate rocks, specifically the presence of sulfuric acid driving the dissolution of these rocks, leads to the release of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). This study examined 25 CMD locations in an approximately 2,370 km² area within the bituminous coal field region of Pennsylvania (PA), specifically in …

(Non-) Recovery Of An Agricultural Stream From Straightening And Dredging, Aras Anderson Mann

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In recent history, natural, meandering streams have been straightened and dredged to reduce flooding. While this practice can be effective in reducing flooding locally, it often results in the degradation of stream water quality and aquatic ecosystems. A straighter channel inherently increases the stream gradient, which could increase flow velocity, shear stress, and potentially downstream sediment yield. Studies have shown that straightened, channelized streams often begin to return to a meandering pattern 35-50 years post-channelization. Yet cross-sectional surveys and air photo analysis of the stream reach in this study, Deckers Creek, indicate little to no observable trend of the stream …

Investigation Of Deoxyfluorination Of Alkyl Alcohols Using Pentafluoropyridines Through A Covalent Intermediate, Christopher Allen Bias

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Organofluorines are an omnipresent class of organic molecules, especially in pharmaceuticals. Selective fluorination of drug molecules allows for the influence of properties including metabolic activity, solubility, and intrinsic potency. Deoxyfluorinations are typically performed via generation of nucleophilic fluoride from a deoxyfluorination agent. Traditionally, diethylaminosulfur trifluoride (DAST) is the reagent of choice for these reactions, and it remains a popular reagent today. However, it has a propensity to form elimination side products and explode. Several research groups have recently developed new classes of deoxyfluorination agents including imidazole-based reagents (PhenoFluor) and sulfonyl fluorides (PyFluor) that exhibit better functional group tolerance and much …

Machine Learning And Rna Bioinformatics, Jason Rafe Miller

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The applied science of bioinformatics encompasses computational analysis of molecular biology data. Advances in genomics and DNA sequencing technology have enabled computational analysis of ribonucleic acids (RNAs), which play diverse and critical roles in most cells. To assist the study of human RNA, we trained machine learning models on RNA nucleotide sequences, devoid of domain knowledge. We built models that distinguish long non-coding lncRNA from protein-coding mRNA, and models that predict the cytoplasmic vs. nuclear preferences of lncRNAs. In a review of published lncRNA subcellular localization classifiers, we show that the commonly used validation protocol generates optimistic performance measures, and …

Exploring Crystal Polymorphism In Additive-Assisted Chemical Vapor-Deposited Transition Metal Chalcogenides And Oxides, Lawrence Kirimi Mubwika

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Crystal polymorphism is a phenomenon in which compounds with the same chemical formula can be crystallized into different crystal structures. This phenomenon can be observed in elemental materials, such as diamond and graphite, as well as in compounds, such as the trigonal (1H) or octahedral (1T) prismatic MoS₂. Crystals can also exhibit polytypism by stacking different polymorphs in a certain order, with the stacking sequence determining the variation between polytypes. Although all polymorphs and polytypes have the same chemical composition, each polymorph and polytype possesses unique electronic and physical properties.

This study explores the additive-assisted chemical vapor deposition …

Advances In Machine Learning Aided Seismic Interpretation And Inversion For Subsurface Characterization, Tobi Micheal Ore

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Geophysical data are used to “remotely sense” the subsurface to illuminate structures, stratigraphy, and features that are of interest in the exploration for energy, suitable storage for carbon dioxide, geothermal development, and environmental considerations. The interpretations of these data typically are regarded as partially an art, as it depends on the experience of the interpreter. This is further exacerbated with the big data era as this data is large and takes several days, even longer, to manually interpret. To bridge this gap of speed and subjective bias, machine learning has been successfully applied to automate the geophysical interpretation process. This …

C–H Alkylation Of Diol Substrates Using Bifunctional Boronic Acid Catalysts, Matthew Ryan Ross

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Boronic acid catalysts in combination with a Lewis base have been used in previous work to perform site-selective C–H alkylation reactions targeting the α-hydroxy C–H bond of diols through a photoredox activated hydrogen atom transfer. This is done by accessing a tetracoordinate boronic acid – Lewis base complex which then mediates the hydrogen atom transfer. The research hypothesizes that combining the boronic acid and Lewis base into one molecule not only simplifies the reaction but also has the potential to unlock C–H alkylation sites previously inaccessible. This is plausible because the Lewis base portion of the synthesized bifunctional boronic acid …

Estimating Home Range Size And Density Of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) In West Virginia, Sarah M. Pesi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Big game hunting is an important source of revenue and recreation in the United States. Of big game species, white-tailed deer (Odocileus virginianus) are the most heavily pursued. White-tailed deer are a widespread generalist species, capable of existing at high densities. Hunting is often used as the primary method of managing deer populations, particularly in the eastern United States, where there is a lack of large predators. When populations reach high densities, there can be negative effects on the environment and conflicts with humans. Managers must consider both creating adequate hunting opportunities and reducing negative impacts when managing …

An Observational Census Of Post-Merger Galaxies And Supermassive Black Hole Pair Evolution, Gregory Walsh

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Massive galaxy mergers are a fundamental consequence of the dynamic evolution of the Universe and play a central role in the evolution of galaxies. Because all massive galaxies harbor a central supermassive black hole (SMBH; M ≥ 10⁶ M_⊙), studying these merging systems with electromagnetic (EM) techniques constrains galaxy evolution models and provides a systematic means to examine the astrophysical mechanisms that facilitate the growth of SMBHs. These growing SMBHs are observable across the EM spectrum as Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). Massive galaxy mergers are a natural formation mechanism for an SMBH pair, eventually evolving into an …

On Confidence And Sense Of Belonging In Cybersecurity Students: Analysis & Prediction, Sadaf Amna Sarwari

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In recent years, there has been a rapid expansion of cybersecurity programs across higher education institutions in response to the widening skills gap in the cybersecurity job market. This study adopts quantitative and qualitative approaches to identify factors influencing West Virginia University (WVU)’s LANE Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering (LCSEE) students’ confidence and sense of belonging in the cybersecurity field. The results are based on data collected from surveys administered to LCSEE students in April 2022 and April 2023. The responses were analyzed using descriptive & inferential statistics and logistic regression techniques. Additionally, the 2023 data was utilized …

Fundamentals Of Sustainability, Eva Maleviti

Publications

Fundamentals of Sustainable Aviation is the frst textbook to survey the critical feld of sustainability within the aviation industry. Taking a systems thinking approach, it presents the foundational principles of sustainability and methodically applies them to diferent aviation sectors. Opening with the basics of sustainability, emphasising the Sustainable Development Goals, the book then considers the environmental, economic and social dimensions of aviation. The following chapters apply these insights to aviation design, supply chains, operations, maintenance and facilities. The fnal chapter examines the concept of resilience in sustainable aviation. Overall, the textbook shows how future sustainability can be achieved by making …

Simulation Of A Pick And Place System For Electronic Cards Using A Yumi Cobot, Derrick Sze, Rosula Sj Reyes, Patricia Angela R. Abu

Electronics, Computer, and Communications Engineering Faculty Publications

Collaborative Robots are one of the main drivers of Industry 4.0, which started as a vision focusing on industrial production. It addresses several challenges in the current manufacturing industry such as performing repetitive work and requiring highly skilled workers. The goal of the research is to be able to simulate a pick and place environment with electronic cards using a YuMi cobot and mobile platforms in Coppeliasim. The mobile robot is responsible for transporting the electronic cards to the target location through path planning implemented using the OMPL plug-in. After arriving at the target location, YuMi will then perform the …

Rule-In-Use For Community-Based Springs Management Faces Land Use Pressures: Lesson Learned From Manggarai District, Bernadinus Steni, Hariadi Kartodihardjo, Soeryo Adiwibowo, Ruchyat Deni Djakapermana

The Indonesian Journal of Socio-Legal Studies

The struggle for water is one of the greatest immediate risks of the climate crisis. Therefore, the institutional challenge of water management is increasingly urgent and requires a number of consensuses to succeed, including community-based natural resource management (CBNRM). A key challenge to the traditional consensus for water conservation is the increasing need for land conversion due to population growth, which in turn deflects decision-making power away from traditional institutions towards external decision-makers such as regional governments. Using Ostrom's conceptual framework of rules of use, this research examines shifting spring water management in the context of Kabupaten Manggarai. The paper …

Optimizing Sports Outcome Prediction Through Feature Engineering And Machine Learning, Vitor S. Freitas

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The challenge of predicting the outcome of a team game lies in the high complexity and dynamics of the sports data. This thesis focuses on the aspect of using feature engineering and the genetic algorithm to predict the winner and the score of various sports events. Generally, it deals with how machine learning algorithms are combined with state-of-the-art feature engineering techniques in sports datasets derived from various sports disciplines. In this thesis, five different machine learning models have been applied, classification and regression trees (CART), random forest (RF), stochastic gradient boosting (SGB), eXtreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), and extreme learning machine …

Backgrounds Study And Ai-Powered Waveform Processing For Legend Experiment, Laxman Paudel

Dissertations and Theses

Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay (0$\nu \beta \beta $) is a presumed rare nuclear decay process and is considered the most promising way to prove the Majorana nature of neutrinos, that is, neutrinos are their own antiparticles. The discovery of \zero decay would also enhance our understanding of nuclear physics, astrophysical observations, and physical processes in the early Universe. The Large Enriched Germanium Experiment for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay (LEGEND) is a phased $^{\mathrm{76}}$Ge-based 0$\nu \beta \beta $ decay experimental program, aiming for the discovery potential of a half-life of 0$\nu \beta \beta $ beyond 10$^{\mathrm{28}}$ years. The first phase, LEGEND-200, comprises 200 …

Combination Chemotherapy Optimization With Discrete Dosing, Temitayo Ajayi, Seyedmohammadhossein Hosseinian, Andrew J Schaefer, Clifton D Fuller

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Chemotherapy drug administration is a complex problem that often requires expensive clinical trials to evaluate potential regimens; one way to alleviate this burden and better inform future trials is to build reliable models for drug administration. This paper presents a mixed-integer program for combination chemotherapy (utilization of multiple drugs) optimization that incorporates various important operational constraints and, besides dose and concentration limits, controls treatment toxicity based on its effect on the count of white blood cells. To address the uncertainty of tumor heterogeneity, we also propose chance constraints that guarantee reaching an operable tumor size with a high probability in …

Molecular Understanding And Design Of Deep Eutectic Solvents And Proteins Using Computer Simulations And Machine Learning, Usman Lame Abbas

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have emerged as excellent extractants. A major challenge is the lack of an efficient tool to discover DES candidates. Currently, the search relies heavily on the researchers’ intuition or a trial-and-error process, which leads to a low success rate or bypassing of promising candidates. DES performance depends on the heterogeneous hydrogen bond environment formed by multiple hydrogen bond donors and acceptors. Understanding this heterogeneous hydrogen bond environment can help develop principles for designing high performance DESs for extraction and other separation applications. This work investigates the structure and dynamics of hydrogen bonds in hydrophobic DESs …

Conditional Constrained And Unconstrained Quantization For Probability Distributions, Megha Pandey, Mrinal Kanti Roychowdhury

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

In this paper, we present the idea of conditional quantization for a Borel probability measure P on a normed space Rk. We introduce the concept of conditional quantization in both constrained and unconstrained scenarios, along with defining the conditional quantization errors, dimensions, and coefficients in each case. We then calculate these values for specific probability distributions. Additionally, we demonstrate that for a Borel probability measure, the lower and upper quantization dimensions and coefficients do not depend on the conditional set of the conditional quantization in both constrained and unconstrained quantization.

Ivermectin, Colleen Aldous, Eleftherios Gkioulekas, Philip Oldfield

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Brillouin Zones Of Integer Lattices And Their Perturbations, Herbert Edelsbrunner, Alexey Garber, Mohadese Ghafari, Teresa Heiss, Morteza Saghafian, Mathijs Wintraecken

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

For a locally finite set, 𝐴⊆ℝ𝑑 , the 𝑘 th Brillouin zone of 𝑎∈𝐴 is the region of points 𝑥∈ℝ𝑑 for which ‖𝑥−𝑎‖ is the 𝑘 th smallest among the Euclidean distances between 𝑥 and the points in 𝐴 . If 𝐴 is a lattice, the 𝑘 th Brillouin zones of the points in 𝐴 are translates of each other, and together they tile space. Depending on the value of 𝑘 , they express medium- or long-range order in the set. We study fundamental geometric and combinatorial properties of Brillouin zones, focusing on the integer lattice and its perturbations. Our …

On The Center And The Antipode Of The Super-Yangian Of Q(1), Elena Poletaeva

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

For the queer Lie superalgebra Q(1), we explicitly describe the center of the super-Yangian Y Q(1) of Q(1) in terms of generators of Y Q(1). We also describe the square of the antipodal map on Y Q(1) and use the antipode to construct an involutive automorphism of Y Q(1).