Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Symptom Of Ethics: Rethinking Ethics In The Face Of The Machine, David J. Gunkel

Human-Machine Communication

This essay argues that it is the machine that constitutes the symptom of ethics— “symptom” understood as that excluded “part that has no part” in the system of moral consideration. Ethics, which has been historically organized around a human or at least biological subject, needs the machine to define the proper limits of the moral community even if it simultaneously excludes such mechanisms from any serious claim on moral consideration. The argument will proceed in five steps or movements. The first part will define and characterize “the symptom” as it has been operationalized in the work of Slovenian philosopher Slavoj …

Variation Of Soil Physical-Chemical Characteristics In Salt-Affected Soil In The Qarhan Salt Lake, Qaidam Basin, Hui Rong, Tan Huijuan, Li Xinrong, Wang Bingyao

Journal of Arid Land

Soil salinization has adverse effects on the soil physical-chemical characteristics. However, little is known about the changes in soil salt ion concentrations and other soil physical-chemical characteristics within the Qarhan Salt Lake and at different soil depths in the surrounding areas. Here, we selected five sampling sites (S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5) alongside the Qarhan Salt Lake and in the Xidatan segment of the Kunlun Mountains to investigate the relationship among soil salt ion concentrations, soil physical-chemical characteristics, and environmental variables in April 2019. The results indicated that most sites had strongly saline and very strongly saline conditions. The …

Effects Of Vegetation Near-Soil-Surface Factors On Runoff And Sediment Reduction In Typical Grasslands On The Loess Plateau, China, Li Panpan, Wang Bing, Yang Yanfen, Liu Guobin

Journal of Arid Land

Vegetation near-soil-surface factors can protect topsoil from erosion, however, their contributions to the reduction of soil erosion, especially under natural rainfall events, have not been systematically recognized. This study was performed to quantify the effects of near-soil-surface factors on runoff and sediment under natural rainfall events on grasslands dominated by Bothriochloa ischaemum (Linn.) Keng (BI grassland) and Artemisia gmelinii Thunb. (AG grassland) in two typical watersheds on the Loess Plateau, China in 2018. By successive removal of the plant canopy, litter, biological soil crusts (BSCs) and plant roots, we established five treatments including plant roots, plant roots+BSCs, plant roots+BSCs+litter, intact …

Adjustment Of Precipitation Measurements Using Total Rain Weighing Sensor (Trws) Gauges In The Cryospheric Hydrometeorology Observation (Choice) System Of The Qilian Mountains, Northwest China, Zhao Yanni, Chen Rensheng, Han Chuntan, Wang Lei

Journal of Arid Land

Precipitation is one of the most important indicators of climate data, but there are many errors in precipitation measurements due to the influence of climatic conditions, especially those of solid precipitation in alpine mountains and at high latitude areas. The measured amount of precipitation in those areas is frequently less than the actual amount of precipitation. To understand the impact of climatic conditions on precipitation measurements in the mountainous areas of Northwest China and the applicability of different gauges in alpine mountains, we established a cryospheric hydrometeorology observation (CHOICE) system in 2008 in the Qilian Mountains, which consists of six …

Identifying Water Vapor Sources Of Precipitation In Forest And Grassland In The North Slope Of The Tianshan Mountains, Central Asia, Chen Haiyan, Chen Yaning, Li Dalong, Li Weihong, Yang Yuhui

Journal of Arid Land

Identifying water vapor sources in the natural vegetation of the Tianshan Mountains is of significant importance for obtaining greater knowledge about the water cycle, forecasting water resource changes, and dealing with the adverse effects of climate change. In this study, we identified water vapor sources of precipitation and evaluated their effects on precipitation stable isotopes in the north slope of the Tianshan Mountains, China. By utilizing the temporal and spatial distributions of precipitation stable isotopes in the forest and grassland regions, Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model, and isotope mass balance model, we obtained the following results. (1) The …

Spatiotemporal Changes Of Eco-Environmental Quality Based On Remote Sensing-Based Ecological Index In The Hotan Oasis, Xinjiang, Yao Kaixuan, Abudureheman Halike, Chen Limei, Wei Qianqian

Journal of Arid Land

The rapid economic development that the Hotan Oasis in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China has undergone in recent years may face some challenges in its ecological environment. Therefore, an analysis of the spatiotemporal changes in ecological environment of the Hotan Oasis is important for its sustainable development. First, we constructed an improved remote sensing-based ecological index (RSEI) in 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020 on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform and implemented change detection for their spatial distribution. Second, we performed a spatial autocorrelation analysis on RSEI distribution map and used land-use and land-cover change (LUCC) data …

Effects Of Climate Change And Land Use/Cover Change On The Volume Of The Qinghai Lake In China, Wang Hongwei, Qi Yuan, Lian Xihong, Zhang Jinlong, Yang Rui, Zhang Meiting

Journal of Arid Land

Qinghai Lake is the largest saline lake in China. The change in the lake volume is an indicator of the variation in water resources and their response to climate change on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) in China. The present study quantitatively evaluated the effects of climate change and land use/cover change (LUCC) on the lake volume of the Qinghai Lake in China from 1958 to 2018, which is crucial for water resources management in the Qinghai Lake Basin. To explore the effects of climate change and LUCC on the Qinghai Lake volume, we analyzed the lake level observation data and …

Toward Suicidal Ideation Detection With Lexical Network Features And Machine Learning, Ulya Bayram, William Lee, Daniel Santel, Ali Minai, Peggy Clark, Tracy Glauser, John Pestian

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

In this study, we introduce a new network feature for detecting suicidal ideation from clinical texts and conduct various additional experiments to enrich the state of knowledge. We evaluate statistical features with and without stopwords, use lexical networks for feature extraction and classification, and compare the results with standard machine learning methods using a logistic classifier, a neural network, and a deep learning method. We utilize three text collections. The first two contain transcriptions of interviews conducted by experts with suicidal (n=161 patients that experienced severe ideation) and control subjects (n=153). The third collection consists of interviews conducted by experts …

Ensemble Kernel Density Estimation, Ethan Ancell

Student Research Symposium

The problem of estimating a probability density function from data has many applications in machine learning and data science. Nonparametric estimators are useful in this context as they require relatively few assumptions on the densities. Unfortunately, standard nonparametric methods such as kernel density estimationtend to converge slowly to the true value in high dimensions as a function of the data sample size. Recent work has shown that optimally weighted ensembles of nonparametric estimators can be used to achieve a fast convergence rate when estimating information theoretic functionals such as information divergence. We explore the extension of this theory to density …

Laboratory Simulations Of Simultaneous Reduced Gravity And Ionizing Radiation Environments, Achal Duhoon, Jr Dennison

Conference Proceedings

A novel system has been developed to simulate the combined effects of reduced gravity and ionizing radiation present during spaceflight on biological and particulate samples. The miniature rotary cell culture system (mRCCS) was designed to synchronously rotate up to five independent vessels containing particulate samples suspended in fluid media, constructed using radiation tolerant, biocompatible, and vacuum compatible materials. Reduced gravity conditions were achieved when particles (e.g., 200 µm polystyrene microcarrier beads with or without adhered cell clusters) were suspended inside the vessels moving near terminal velocity in viscous fluid media with densities matched to the suspended …

Wcu Center For Civic Engagement & Social Impact - Student Basic Needs Insecurity At West Chester University, Seth Jacobson

Sustainability Research & Practice Seminar Presentations

Dr. Seth Jacobson, Director, WCU Center for Civic Engagement & Social Impact - Student Basic Needs Insecurity at West Chester University

Development Of Particle Image Velocimetry Learning Tool: Learnpiv.Org, Kevin Roberts

Student Research Symposium

Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) is an experimental measurement technique used for quantitative and visual analysis of the velocity distribution in a flow field. Researchers conduct PIV by using lasers to illuminate particles in a flow field of interest, digital cameras to record images of these illuminated particles, and PIV software to analyze the recorded images, producing a velocity vector field. Applying proper techniques to gather useful images and identifying PIV processing algorithm parameters to the collected images is a challenging task for novice PIV users who are unaware of the inner workings of PIV algorithms. Recognizing this problem, we created …

Atg9a And Atg13 Cooperate To Drive Basal Autophagy, Daniel Morgan Poole

Theses and Dissertations

Autophagy, as the name suggests, is a cellular process of self-eating in which cytoplasmic debris is engulfed by a double membrane vesicle dubbed the autophagosome and is ultimately degraded and recycled by proteases in the lysosome. The process is initiated by a group of core ATG proteins, including a multi-pass transmembrane protein called ATG9A. Although ATG9A has been shown to be essential for both stress induced and basal autophagy, its mechanism and interaction network remain largely illusive. Our current study employs BioID proteomics to identify a network of interactors, including regulators of membrane fusion and vesicle trafficking, such as TRAPP, …

Musical Phrase Segmentation Via Grammatical Induction, Reed James Perkins

Theses and Dissertations

Procedural generation algorithms can infer rules based on a dataset of examples when each example is made up of labeled components. Unfortunately, musical sequences resist potential inclusion in these kinds of datasets because they lack explicit structural semantics. In order to algorithmically transform a musical sequence into a sequence of labeled components, a segmentation process is needed. We outline a solution to the challenge of musical phrase segmentation that uses grammatical induction algorithms, a class of algorithms which infer a context-free grammar from an input sequence. We study five different grammatical induction algorithms on three different datasets, one of which …

Dietetic Intervention In Psoriatic Arthritis: The Dieta Trial, Beatriz F. Leite, Melissa A. Morimoto, Carina M. F. Gomes, Barbara N.C. Klemz, Patrícia S. Genaro, Nitin Shivappa Mbbs, Mph, Ph.D., James R. Hébert Scd, Nágila R.T. Damasceno, Marcelo M. Pinheiro

Faculty Publications

Aim To evaluate whether dietary pattern changes, antioxidant supplementation or 5-10% weight loss could improve disease activity (skin and joint) in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Methods A total of 97 PsA patients were enrolled in this 12-week randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. Patients were randomized into three groups: Diet-placebo (hypocaloric diet + placebo supplementation); Diet-fish (hypocaloric diet + 3 g/day of omega-3 supplementation; and Placebo. Food intake (3-day registry, Healthy Eating Index (HEI), and the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII)), body composition (whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), weight and waist circumference) and disease activity (PASI, BSA, BASDAI, DAS28-ESR, DAS28-CRP and MDA) …

State-Of-The-Art Versus Deep Learning: A Comparative Study Of Motor Imagery Decoding Techniques, Olawunmi Olaboopo George, Sarthak Dabas, Abdur Sikder, Roger O. Smith, Praveen Madiraju, Nasim Yahyasoltani, Sheikh Iqbal Ahamed

Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

State-of-the-art techniques (SOTA) for motor imagery decoding have largely involved the use of common spatial patterns (CSP) and power spectral density (PSD), for feature extraction. Other frequency transforms, such as wavelets and empirical mode decomposition (EMD) have also been used but the aforementioned two have been the most popular. For classification, linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and support vector machines (SVM) have been mostly used. It is, however, worth investigating other approaches, such as deep learning, which offer a potential for improvement, but are not yet mainstream. Deep learning techniques based on neural networks (NNs) have been underexplored in motor imagery …

Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft 2022 Residential Metals Abatement Program (Rmap) Field Sampling Plan (Fsp) Butte High School – Indoor Soil (Dated March 25, 2022), Nikia Greene

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Temporal Changes And Possible Sources Of Dissolved Calcium Levels In Stream, River, And Lake Waters In Western Kentucky, Kelsie Meystedt

Scholars Week

ABSTRACT

Zebra Mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) are an exotic and invasive mollusk that spread extensively over various rivers and lakes in the United States. These mussels are known for being notorious in their “biofouling” capabilities, costing the U.S. government billions of dollars in removal operations. Recently, zebra mussel colonies were found in Kentucky Lake possibly due to human activities increasing the salinity of today’s freshwater resources. The increase in salinity from human activities may have adversely affected the ecosystems and water supplies. The Specific aim of this study was to determine the temporal trend of dissolved calcium in Kentucky Lake …

Mathematical Model Of Devil Facial Tumor Disease (Dftd) Spread In Tasmanian Devils, Abigail Collins

Scholars Week

Applications of disease models can lead to insight on spread of diseases, population movements, and wildlife health safety. This exploration of mathematical models sought to determine the spread of wildlife disease, specifically devil facial tumor disease (DFTD). Tasmanian devil populations have been negatively affected by DFTD. The basic SIR disease model was modified to better fit the spread of DFTD, along with a network model to inspect the rate of infectivity. It was found that the population of Tasmanian devils will continue to decrease in size and multiple populations are connected to each other. Models of wildlife disease have the …

Maize Leaf Appearance Rates: A Synthesis From The United States Corn Belt, Caio L. Dos Santos, Lori J. Abendroth, Jeffrey A. Coulter, Emerson D. Nafziger, Andrew E. Suyker, Jianming Yu, Patrick S. Schnable, Sotirios V. Archontoulis

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The relationship between collared leaf number and growing degree days (GDD) is crucial for predicting maize phenology. Biophysical crop models convert GDD accumulation to leaf numbers by using a constant parameter termed phyllochron (°C-day leaf⁻¹) or leaf appearance rate (LAR; leaf ^oC-day⁻¹). However, such important parameter values are rarely estimated for modern maize hybrids. To fill this gap, we sourced and analyzed experimental datasets from the United States Corn Belt with the objective to (i) determine phyllochron values for two types of models: linear (1-parameter) and bilinear (3-parameters; phase I and II phyllochron, and transition …

Testability Of Instrumental Variables In Linear Non-Gaussian Acyclic Causal Models, Feng Xie, Yangbo He, Zhi Geng, Zhengming Chen, Ru Hou, Kun Zhang

Machine Learning Faculty Publications

This paper investigates the problem of selecting instrumental variables relative to a target causal influence X → Y from observational data generated by linear non-Gaussian acyclic causal models in the presence of unmeasured confounders. We propose a necessary condition for detecting variables that cannot serve as instrumental variables. Unlike many existing conditions for continuous variables, i.e., that at least two or more valid instrumental variables are present in the system, our condition is designed with a single instrumental variable. We then characterize the graphical implications of our condition in linear non-Gaussian acyclic causal models. Given that the existing graphical criteria …

Characterization Of Competitive Inhibitors Of Plasmodium Falciparum Cgmp-Dependent Protein Kinase**, Tyler Eck, Mariana Laureano De Souza, Melvin Delvillar, Kutub Ashraf, Rammohan R. Yadav Bheemanaboina, Ramappa Chakrasali, Tamara Kreiss, John J. Siekierka, David P. Rotella, Purnima Bhanot, Nina M. Goodey

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Plasmodium falciparum cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PfPKG) is an enticing antimalarial drug target. Novel chemotypes are needed because existing inhibitors have safety issues that may prevent further development. This work demonstrates isoxazole-based compounds are potent ATP competitive inhibitors of PfPKG and discloses a new analogue in this series. Isoxazoles 3 and 5 had Ki values that are comparable to a known standard, 4-[2-(4-fluorophenyl)-5-(1-methylpiperidine-4-yl)-1H pyrrol-3-yl] pyridine. They also exhibited excellent selectivity for PfPKG over the human orthologue and the gatekeeper mutant T618Q PfPKG, which mimics the less accessible binding site of the human orthologue. The human orthologue's larger binding site volume is …

Solid Organic-Coated Ammonium Sulfate Particles At High Relative Humidity In The Summertime Arctic Atmosphere, Rachel M. Kirpes, Ziying Lei, Matthew Fraund, Matthew J. Gunsch, Nathaniel W. May, Tate E. Barrett, Claire E. Moffett, Andrew J. Schauer, Becky Alexander, Lucia M. Upchurch, Swarup China, Patricia K. Quinn, Ryan C. Moffet, Alexander Laskin, Rebecca J. Sheesley, Kerri A. Pratt, Andrew P. Ault

Pacific Faculty Work

The ability of atmospheric aerosols to impact climate through water uptake and cloud formation is fundamentally determined by the size, composition, and phase (liquid, semisolid, or solid) of individual particles. Particle phase is dependent on atmospheric conditions (relative humidity and temperature) and chemical composition and, importantly, solid particles can inhibit the uptake of water and other trace gases, even under humid conditions. Particles composed primarily of ammonium sulfate are presumed to be liquid at the relative humidities (67 to 98%) and temperatures (22 to 4°C) of the summertime Arctic. Under these atmospheric conditions, we report the observation of solid organic-coated …

Environmental Consequences Of Depleted Stratospheric Ozone Layer And The Biology Of Skin Cancer, Carlos Molina

Sustainability Seminar Series

The stratospheric ozone layer is Earth's “sunscreen” – protecting living things from too much ultraviolet radiation from the sun. The emission of ozone depleting substances has been damaging the ozone layer. Due to the implementation of the Montreal Protocol, which has limited, and is now probably reversing, the depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer, only modest increases in solar UV-B radiation at the surface of the Earth have occurred. For many fair-skinned populations, changing behavior with regard to exposure to the sun has also contributed to lower the exposure to UV-B radiation. The skin and eyes are the organs exposed …

Women Enrollment At Northwestern College, Josiah Bonestroo, Jennifer Schon

Celebration of Research

This project observes the enrollment rate of women at Northwestern College and why it is inconsistent. Data is used from satisfaction surveys of 2020 and 2021 enrollees, with the data being analyzed using R Studio. Types of data observed include type of visits students went on, types of scholarships, and interest in a Christian college atmosphere.

Probing Small Heat Shock Protein Chaperoning Activity Through The Interaction Between Myoglobin And Guanidine Hydrochloride, Jacob Mcdowell

Celebration of Research

Myoglobin is a small biological protein found in most muscle tissues. When in the proper form (native/folded), myoglobin can serve its primary function: binding oxygen. However, like all proteins, myoglobin can denature through a variety of processes into a form that no longer binds oxygen. One denaturant, guanidine hydrochloride (GuHCl), is the biological product of protein metabolism. Another class of biological proteins is small heat shock proteins (sHSPs), which have the function of chaperoning other proteins to prevent the denaturing process. Previously, in physical chemistry lab, we explored the GuHCl-induced denaturing of myoglobin. Former Northwestern students used fluorescence correlation spectroscopy …

Concept Design For Optical Tweezers To Be Used In Dna Research, Dylan J. Kirkeby, Gabriel Andres, Emily Grace, Karissa D. Carlson, Elizabeth Heeg, Eric Jones

Celebration of Research

Optical tweezers are a Nobel Prize-winning technology capable of trapping microscopic and sub-microscopic particles using a laser beam. There are several new and useful applications available with the use of optical tweezers. A single optical tweezers set up can cost upwards of two hundred thousand dollars; however, we have designed a cost effective set up to study damaged DNA for under thirty thousand dollars. Using this design, we applied for a grant that would give us the necessary funds to build this set up. The building process itself will be very useful hands-on time learning about the laser set up. …

Science Interest And Confidence In Middle School Aged Students, Emily Dobesh, Emily Grace, Karissa Carlson

Celebration of Research

In the middle school science classroom, students begin to decide whether or not they like science. This decision has long term impacts on their interests, future studies, and ultimately career goals. Further, the impact of this decision can be felt by the STEM field when fewer and fewer students are interested in pursuing jobs within the field. To explore the attitudes and confidence of these students towards science and math, the CURE survey and Math Anxiety Scale were adapted to gather data from a group of middle school students after attending a Middle School Science Day event. Through the research, …

Factors That Influence Graduation Rates At Northwestern College, Hailey Louw, Jennifer Schon

Celebration of Research

This project examines factors that influence graduation rates regarding behaviors and choices made in college as opposed to exogenous factors such as family income, race, etc. These factors also included responses from first-year students who took the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) survey. Using data from 2013 - 2016 freshman admissions and combining this with CIRP responses from 2014 and 2016, there were found to be five factors related to behavior at college that influenced graduation rates.

Completion of registered hours, campus involvement, and high tuition discount rates had strong, positive correlations with whether the student graduated. Student participation in …

Design And Construction Of R.C. Plane, Gabriel Andres, Dylan J. Kirkeby, Seth Druin, Nathan Mohr, Blake Pomajzl

Celebration of Research

This project was started to help students understand how to conduct a proper research project and to gain a general understanding of circuitry and aerodynamics. As undergraduate students, this was practical information and experience. Our project’s goal was to create a functioning airplane made from mainly on-hand pieces. We had to figure out how to improvise and use the resources we had creatively while troubleshooting many problems.