Efficient Classification Of Very High Resolution Images, Mohammad I. Nouyed

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In recent decades, deep learning approaches have shown significant improvement in various image understanding tasks. However, analysis of high-resolution images remains a major challenge. In this work, we address the challenge of very high-resolution histopathological image (VHRHI) classification using a new information-theoretic discriminative patch selection approach. We show results on a high-resolution image dataset, namely, gigapixel whole slide tissue images for cancer tumors. Then we address how to efficiently classify challenging histopathology images, such as gigapixel whole-slide images for cancer diagnostics with image-level annotation. These ``weak labels'' are applied throughout the image but describe tumor regions of variable sizes and …

Foraging Economies: A Market Based Methodology For Robotic Swarm Foraging, John A. Little

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Swarm robotics involves coordinating large groups of autonomous agents to accomplish complex tasks through decentralized, adaptive behaviors, providing a robust and scalable approach suited to dynamic and unpredictable environments. While traditional swarm models frequently draw inspiration from biological systems such as ant colonies or bee foraging, other approaches use techniques from physics, control theory, and economics to achieve effective coordination. This study distinguishes itself by applying economic principles—specifically, market-driven mechanisms like auctions, utility functions based on opportunity cost, and supply-demand dynamics based on fluctuating resource values at a central base—to improve task allocation within a swarm foraging context. This approach …

Effect Of Specific Data Variations On Automated Speaker Recognition, Ethan David Meighen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Speaker recognition is not a new biometric modality but there are still many obstacles in the way in order for it to become as used as fingerprint recognition, facial recognition, and iris recognition. Many real-world environmental conditions, hardware device variations, and human behavior present serious challenges to the use of opportunistic voice or speaker samples for identification purposes. Non-idealities, identified as nuisance factors, include environmental noise, input device quality, length of utterance, sample rate variation, and unscripted data are common nuisance factors that can impact speaker recognition match score performance. The impact of the nuisance factors listed above were evaluated …

An Exploration Of Misconceptions In Introductory Physics, Christopher Mattthew Wheatley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The study of student misconceptions about physics concepts has long been an important area of inquiry in physics education research (PER). The research discussed in this dissertation builds upon the developments in PER by exploring the prevalence of consistently held undergraduate student misconceptions in introductory calculus-based physics. This thesis explores the nature of student misconceptions, mistakes, and naive answering patterns in both introductory undergraduate Newtonian mechanics and electromagnetism by applying a network analytic technique called module analysis to student responses to different concept inventories from institutions of various levels of incoming physics preparation. Each study applying these methods also demonstrates …

Quantifying Chemical Erosion In The Lithologically-Heterogenous Appalachian Valley And Ridge, Amelia Jayne Zanoni

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Quantifying chemical erosion in the lithologically-heterogenous Appalachian Valley and Ridge

Amelia J. Zanoni

The interplay between physical and chemical erosion is well understood in landscapes underlain by a uniform rock type, but many regions are underlain by a mixture of rock types with varying erosion resistance and solubility. We used measurements of stream-water chemistry to estimate chemical erosion rates in the Appalachian Valley and Ridge, a region where the mechanisms of lithologic control over topography are poorly understood. Newly acquired stream water samples were collected from 51 locations across the research area during the Fall of 2023. The sampled waters …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Synthetic Elaboration Of Β-Carbonyl Alkylboronic Esters, Mason D. Hamilton Ph.D.

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Organoboron compounds are some of the most synthetically versatile compounds in organic chemistry due to the many valuable transformations of the C-B bond. This synthetic versatility combined with the pharmacophoric nature of carboxylic acids has led to an increased interest in the one-pot difunctionalization of vinyl arenes using CO₂ and pinacol boranes. Recently, much progress has been made to improve the scope and versatility of boracarboxylation reactions to now include electron-deficient and α-methyl substituted vinyl arenes. However, the potential transformations of boracarboxylated products have remained unexplored. Here, methodologies to transform the β-aryl alkylboronic ester into new C-C, C-N, and …

Extremal Graphs For Widom–Rowlinson Colorings In K-Chromatic Graphs, John Engbers, Aysel Erey

Mathematical and Statistical Science Faculty Research and Publications

The Widom–Rowlinson graph, H_WR , is the fully looped path on three vertices. Let hom(G,H_WR) be the number of graph homomorphisms from G to H_WR or, equivalently, the number of H_WR-colorings of G. We investigate extremal graphs for hom(G,H_WR) for G in the family of k-chromatic graphs subject to various connectivity requirements. In particular, we determine the graphs G maximizing hom(G,H_WR) in the families of n-vertex k-chromatic graphs, n-vertex connected k-chromatic graphs, n-vertex k-chromatic graphs with c components, n …

The Role Of Sugars In Aggregation Of The Protein Kassinin, Lillie G. Waldron

Student Summer Scholars Manuscripts

The aggregation of proteins to form amyloids is implicated in several diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, and many others. This aggregation has several stages, progressing from isolated protein molecules (monomers) to small aggregates (oligomers), which are toxic to cells, and finally to large, string-like mature aggregates. Despite this association with disease, functional amyloids, which have normal biological functions, also result from protein aggregation. Kassinin, an amphibian peptide involved in nerve signal transmission, is a model system for functional amyloid study. To compare the aggregation of functional and disease-causing amyloids, we previously synthesized a fluorine-labeled kassinin through solid-phase peptide …

Integrating Knowledge Graphs With Large Language Models For Natural Language Querying, Rakesh Kandula

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

This research explores the integration of knowledge graphs with large language models that have already been trained on a vast pool of unstructured text data. Large language models trained on this type of data have a tendency to hallucinate and produce factually inaccurate results. This behavior is primarily due to the data being trained is unstructured and huge text corpus, and large language model uses predictive text analysis methods to obtain a response. These issues can be addressed by applying Retrieval Augmented Generation and Fine-tuning to large language models, employing an underlying domainspecific knowledge graph. Integrating knowledge graph and large …

Prediction Interpretations Of Ensemble Models In Chronic Kidney Disease Using Explainable Ai, K M Tawsik Jawad

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) poses significant health and financial threat to millions of patients all around the world. The irreversible nature of this disease not just leads to comorbid diseases like Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension, Anemia, Bone Disease, Neurological Implants etc. It can permanently damage the kidney by progressing to Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) or End Stage Renal Diseases (ESRD). The risk factors of CKD become more dangerous as patients suffering from it have little to no idea about the presence of CKD in their body until it takes the shape of AKI or ESRD. There are severe economic burdens for …

A Spectrophotometric Determination Of Strontium Complexation With Methylthymol Blue, Adebayo Comlan Djanman

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the complexation behavior of methylthymol blue (MTB) with strontium, particularly focusing on its application in addressing environmental concerns related to radiotoxic 90Sr. Using spectrophotometric techniques, the binding interactions were analyzed at pH = 7.50, 9.60, and 12.20. Results indicate that MTB forms a 1:1 complex with strontium at pH = 7.50, while at pH = 9.60 and 12.20 were assumed to influence complexation due to changes in ligand deprotonation and electrostatic interactions. Equilibrium constants (K1) = 22 (± 2) and molar absorptivities, ε1 = 6.3 x 10^3 (± 0.0008) L·mol⁻¹·cm⁻¹, and ε2 = 9.73 x (± 0.2)10^3 …

Statistical Modeling Of Bankruptcy Data, Andrew Elsfelder

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

My project uses a dataset of bankrupt and non-bankrupt companies in Taiwan from 1999 to 2009. This data was collected from the Taiwan Economic Journal. The statistical methods I used to model the data are CHAID, CART, and logistic regression. The models created are tools that can predict if a company is bankrupt, or not-bankrupt based on other data about the company. I created multiple models for each of the methods to find the best model for each method. I then analyzed the output from each method. Lastly, I determined which model was the best for this data based on …

Robot-Based 3d Printing, Aaron Hoffman

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Details of a large-format 3D printer created to print experimental materials, test multi-axis print techniques, and quickly print large objects. The printer consists of a 7-axis robotic arm and pellet extruder, which are controlled by a PC. Experimental materials such as recycled polymers or carbon-fiber reinforced materials can be easily tested with the pellet format of the extruder. The printer can perform different printing techniques and can be used to experiment with material properties when using these techniques with different polymers. The print surface is around 5 times larger than the average commercial 3D printer, and the robotic arm provides …

Wetting Transition Of 3d-Printed Surface Features, Delia Weitzel

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project aims to build on the previous research of prior students in the study of the wetting transition of a textured, 3D-printed surface. The surfaces studied will be constructed by a resin printer in the lab and will be composed of an array of uniform, microscopic pillars. Features of the textured surface, such as pillar diameter, pillar spacing, and pillar height, will be varied to study the impact on the wetting transition of water, oil, and a combination of water and oil. The wetting transition is defined as a transition from a state where the surface cavities are occupied …

Tropical Fish Study In Tahiti, French Polynesia, Miranda Brainard, Caitlyn Swango, Paityn Houglan, Richard Londraville

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In May of 2023, I embarked on an exciting research journey to Moorea, French Polynesia, alongside fellow students and faculty members from the University of Akron and Syracuse University. This expedition was part of the university-sponsored Tropical Vertebrate Biology course, where we delved into the exploration of various tropical species inhabiting the island, including sea urchins, geckos, and my primary focus, the blackspotted rockskipper.

My research team, composed of my co-authors and me, was particularly intrigued by the unique refuge-seeking behavior displayed by blackspotted rockskippers. These amphibious fish are renowned for their remarkable ability to inhabit tide pools and rocky …

Robust Inverse Parameter Fitting Of Thermal Properties From The Laser-Based Angstrom Method In The Presence Of Measurement Noise Using Physics-Informed Neural Networks (Pinns), Shanmukhi Sripada, Aalok U. Gaitonde, Justin A. Weibel, Amy M. Marconnet

CTRC Research Publications

The two-dimensional laser-based Ångstrom method measures the in-plane thermal properties for anisotropic film-like materials. It involves periodic laser heating at the center of a suspended film sample and records its transient thermal response by infrared imaging. These spatiotemporal temperature data must be analyzed to extract the unknown thermal conductivity values in the orthotropic directions, an inverse parameter fitting problem. Previous demonstration of the metrology technique used a least-squares fitting method that relies on numerical differentiation to evaluate the second-order partial derivatives in the differential equation describing transient conduction in the physical system. This fitting approach is susceptible to measurement noise, …

A Comparison Of Lexical Tokenization Methods, Nathan Culmer

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this project was to compare tokenization methods, or methods of breaking up a text into meaningful parts for use in natural language processing. The effectiveness of several commonly used tokenization methods were investigated, including morpheme tokenization, which takes into account the linguistic features of the language. In addition, I proposed and implemented a new technique to consider the capitalization pattern of a word in the tokenization process, in order to allow this process to include more natural language features. The effectiveness of these methods was compared by using them in a sentiment analysis model for various datasets, …

Classification Models Using Python In Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Beyza Ceylan

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Companies, industries, and places of business use artificial intelligence and statistics to predict the characteristics of their employees and staff. Data collected from these individuals is also used to make decisions about them regarding their work life, such as promotions, salaries, or within the hiring process. Two models that are commonly used throughout the field of psychology and specifically in industrial/organizational psychology are the linear regression and the logistic regression. Examining different classification models using Python shows the potential that there may be different models that are more accurate in their predictions of employee success, including a Random Forest model …

Corrosion Inhibitors: Mitigating The Degradation Of Rebar, Jake R. Hughes

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Our conjecture was twofold: first, that two compounds historically used as food preservatives could act as environmentally friendly inhibitors against rebar corrosion, and second, that molecular properties have a quantifiable influence on inhibition efficiency (%IE). To evaluate the two compounds, cyclic potentiodynamic polarization was used to determine corrosion current density (i_corr) and %IE. The “green” inhibitor candidates included sodium metabisulfite and ascorbic acid, which yielded maximum %IE values of -123900% and 91%, respectively. Results indicated that sodium metabisulfite is not a suitable inhibitor, while ascorbic acid showed potential to extend reinforced concrete’s design life without posing health or …

The Amethyst Compiler, David Britton

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Amethyst is a custom programming language, whose compiler translates Amethyst source code into textual LLVM IR, which can, in turn, be compiled by LLVM back-ends to produce executable binaries. This paper explores compiler concepts and implementation details for the Amethyst compiler, describes the LLVM architecture, and provides an overview of some Amethyst language features.

Autonomous Robot For Indoor Enhanced Living (Ariel), Prabhjot Kaur

Wayne State University Dissertations

The global population is aging rapidly, with the total percentage of older adults (65 years and older) projected to increase from 10\% of the total population in 2022 to 16\% by 2050, according to the World Population Prospectus 2022 issued by the United Nations. For certain parts of the world such as Europe and North America, this translates to 1 in every 4 persons is projected to be 65 years or older by 2060. This trend raises concerns about providing quality long-term care for the older population. Moreover, according to the 2021 survey by the American Association of Retired Persons …

Crossing The “Valley Of Death”: How Climate Technology Entrepreneurs Navigate Relationships With Venture Capital Investors, Allison Lucas

Wayne State University Dissertations

As the world faces the ongoing and intensifying impacts of climate change, a group of innovative changemakers known as climate tech entrepreneurs (CTEs) are working on climate adaptation, mitigation, and/or resilience efforts by brining innovative technologies to the global market (UNFCC, 2018; Endeavor 2022). To realize the full potential of these technologies—tools, techniques, specialized knowledge or skillsets—they must be developed, deployed, and implemented at scale (IPCC, 2000). To do this, CTEs require external funding support, especially during a crucial period of the start-up lifecycle known as the “valley of death”. In this period between development and commercialization, production costs and …

Security Information And Event Management Optimization Using Deep Federated Learning In Cloud-Based Autonomous Cyber-Physical Systems, Mohamed Mounir Moussa

Wayne State University Dissertations

The integration of cloud-based technologies into Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) is reshaping the field by combining Deep Federated Learning (DFL), Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), and cloud-dew computing. This solution leverages cloud-based resource provisioning, which is crucial for allocating scalable and efficient computational resources in a dynamic manner. These resources are essential for managing the intricate data and computing requirements of distributed systems, especially in the intelligent vehicle sector. This provisioning facilitates the efficient control of route mapping and cybersecurity in Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs), guaranteeing the ability to process and make decisions in real-time.The research evaluates the …

A Hybrid Bi-Lstm And Rbm Approach For Advanced Underwater Object Detection, Manimurugan S, Karthikeyan P, Narmatha C, Majed M. Aborokbah, Anand Paul, Subramaniam Ganesan, Rajendran T, Mohammad Ammad-Uddin

School of Public Health Faculty Publications

This research addresses the imperative need for efficient underwater exploration in the domain of deep-sea resource development, highlighting the importance of autonomous operations to mitigate the challenges posed by high-stress underwater environments. The proposed approach introduces a hybrid model for Underwater Object Detection (UOD), combining Bi-directional Long Short-Term Memory (Bi-LSTM) with a Restricted Boltzmann Machine (RBM). Bi-LSTM excels at capturing long-term dependencies and processing sequences bidirectionally to enhance comprehension of both past and future contexts. The model benefits from effective feature learning, aided by RBMs that enable the extraction of hierarchical and abstract representations. Additionally, this architecture handles variable-length sequences, …

Tractor Test 2282: John Deere 9rt 590 Diesel, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data. EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES Purpose The purpose of …

Tractor Test #2286: Claas 960 Terra Trac, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data. EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES Purpose The purpose of …