Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Deep Features To Analyze Pulmonary Abnormalities In Chest X-Rays Due To Covid-19, Supriti Ghosh

Dissertations and Theses

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has contributed a lot since the beginning. Healthcare is no exception. Detecting anomaly/abnormality in (bio)medical image is crucial. In this thesis, we aim at detecting/screening pulmonary abnormalities due to Covid-19 in chest X-rays using deep features. We study CheXNet, DenseNet169, ResNet50 and VggNet16 to analyze CXRs to detect the evidence of Covid-19 in this research. CheXNet was primarily designed for radiologist-level pneumonia detection in Chest X-rays (CXRs). We created a benchmark dataset size of 4,716 CXRs (2,358 Covid-19 positive cases and 2,358 non-Covid cases (Healthy and Pneumonia cases)) and with k(=5) fold cross-validation technique, using the DenseNet, …

What Is Explainable Ai?: A Focus On Ethical Theory, Casey Wall

Dissertations and Theses

A lack of a standardized set of principles within the computer science community is a major issue that impacts the entire field while also creating a level of mistrust among both practitioners of computer science as well as the public. This statement is particularly true when artificial intelligence(AI) is of concern. To create trust in anything one must show that the method of creation is done in a responsible manner. To standardize a set of principles within the computer science community would be to show that the creation of programs and AI can be done responsibly, though this standardization of …

Measurement Of (Alpha, Neutron) Reactions And Development Of Analysis Tools With The Majorana Demonstrator, Tupendra Kumar Oli

Dissertations and Theses

Neutrinoless double-beta decay (0νββ) is a hypothetical nuclear transition which, if observed, would prove that neutrinos are Majorana particles. In addition, the decay rate could provide an effective neutrino mass scale. The decay violates lepton number conservation and could offer a potential path to explain the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe via leptogenesis. However, the experimental observation of this decay is very challenging and would require excellent energy resolution of detectors, low background levels, and high exposure. The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR experiment searches for this decay in 76Ge using P-type Point Contact (PPC) High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detectors. In addition, the …

Pathways Forward For Onshore Wind Energy In The State Of Maryland: A Gis Multi-Criteria Analysis, George Pisano

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

This study examines pathways forward for onshore wind energy in the State of Maryland. To meet its decarbonization goals, Maryland needs to quickly transition its electric grid away from fossil fuels. The state is currently in the process of developing offshore wind farms that have the potential to represent a significant source of renewable energy. However little progress has been made in expanding Maryland’s onshore wind energy production capacity. Using a multi-criteria GIS analysis, this study found that there is a limited but not inconsiderable area in the state that could be suitable for wind farms of varying scales that …

Nonhematopoietic Erythropoietin: A Study Of Signaling, Structure, And Behavior, Nicholas John Pekas

Dissertations and Theses

Erythropoietin (EPO) is a cytokine hormone known for initiating red blood cell proliferation by binding to its homodimer receptor (EPOR)2 in the bone marrow. Recent progress in neurobiology has shown that EPO also exerts robust neurotrophic and neuroprotective activity in the CNS. It is widely thought that EPO’s neurotrophic activity is centrally involved in its antidepressant and cognitive enhancing effects. However, EPO’s potent erythropoietic effects prevent it from being used in the clinic to treat psychiatric disorders. A chemically engineered non-erythropoietic derivative of EPO, carbamoylated EPO (CEPO), produces psychoactive effects without activating hematopoiesis. However, CEPO is expensive to produce and …

Investigating Synthetic Methods For Tio2-Nayf4 Hybrid Nanocrystals, Nurul Muttakin

Dissertations and Theses

The capacity to develop and expand the utility of a single nanostructure is one of the major issues in the field of hybrid nanocrystals. Major advancements in the fabrication of materials with multiple functionalities by combining many materials into a single nanoparticle entity are intriguing, but they still pose obstacles that must be addressed. This trend has been spurred by significant progressions in the wet-chemical synthesis of durable and easily programmable nanocrystals with various morphologies. The extent of the structural complexity of solution-based nanocrystals looks to be one of the inevitable avenues along which nanoscience will increasingly focus. We have …

Development And Characterization Of Germanium Detectors For Searching Rare-Event Physics, Rajendra Panth

Dissertations and Theses

High-purity germanium (HPGe) detector has an excellent energy resolution and low-energy detection threshold ideal for searching rare-event physics such as dark matter and neutrinoless double beta decay searches. Understanding the electrical contact properties and the Ge detector properties is key to enhancing the use of Ge detectors for a wide range of applications. Amorphous Ge (a-Ge) is one of the passivation materials used to passivate Ge detectors, which also provides the barrier height to the charge injection. Several a-Ge contact Ge detectors were fabricated and tested at the University of South Dakota (USD) and Max-Planck-Institut (MPI) für Physik in Munich …

Analyzing Cough Sounds For The Evidence Of Covid-19 Using Deep Learning Models, Muntasir Mamun

Dissertations and Theses

Early detection of infectious disease is the must to prevent/avoid multiple infections, and Covid-19 is an example. When dealing with Covid-19 pandemic, Cough is still ubiquitously presented as one of the key symptoms in both severe and non-severe Covid-19 infections, even though symptoms appear differently in different sociodemographic categories. By realizing the importance of clinical studies, analyzing cough sounds using AI-driven tools could help add more values when it comes to decision-making. Moreover, for mass screening and to serve resource constrained regions, AI-driven tools are the must. In this thesis, Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) tailored deep learning models are studied …

Cosmogenically-Induced Backgrounds In Legend, Clay Douglas Barton

Dissertations and Theses

Neutrinoless double-beta decay (0νββ) is a hypothetical nuclear decay mode. 0νββ searches are a high priority in nuclear physics. Discovery would ascertain the nature of the neutrino as the first known fundamental Majorana particle, and have far-reaching implications for physics beyond the Standard Model, including a lower bound on the effective neutrino mass scale, first direct evidence of a lepton number violating process, and insight into the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe. The next-generation LEGEND (Large Enriched Germanium Experiment for Neutrinoless ββ Decay) project will search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of 76Ge. LEGEND builds on infrastructure and technical expertise of …

2d Respiratory Sound Analysis To Detect Lung Abnormalities, Rafia Sharmin Alice

Dissertations and Theses

In this paper, we analyze deep visual features from 2D data representation(s) of the respiratory sound to detect evidence of lung abnormalities. The primary motivation behind this is that visual cues are more important in decision-making than raw data (lung sound). Early detection and prompt treatments are essential for any future possible respiratory disorders, and respiratory sound is proven to be one of the biomarkers. In contrast to state-of-the-art approaches, we aim at understanding/analyzing visual features using our Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) tailored Deep Learning Models, where we consider all possible 2D data such as Spectrogram, Mel-frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC), …

Leveraging Human-Centered Insights And Vision Transformers To Understand And Detect Online Risks In Teens' Private Social Media Conversations On Instagram, Joshua Gracie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

With the growing ubiquity of the internet and internet enabled devices, the issue of online risk and the need for safety measures against such risks has grown paramount. Many researchers have analyzed the scope and characteristics of online risk, especially with respect to demographics, yet few have studied the risky media itself. This work sets out to move the conversation from surveys and interviews to content analysis and automation through a comprehensive thematic analysis of online multi-media risks (images and videos) sent to and from teens in private messages on Instagram. These messages, along with demographic information such as age …

Multivariate Cognitive Walkthrough Of Qubitvr: An Educational Quantum Computing, Virtual Reality Application, Pauline Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Quantum computing is a promising field but understanding how it works can be challenging for a beginner. There are also not many educational resources to visualize and learn about quantum computing. To advance knowledge in this area, we have created QubitVR, which employs a Bloch sphere representation of a qubit, and supports trajectory visualizations and state equations in a virtual reality (VR) setting. We also conducted a multivariate cognitive walkthrough with subject matter experts (SMEs) on QubitVR to assess the effectiveness of trajectory visualizations and state equations in learning about quantum gates. The results were that trajectory visualizations aided users …

Algorithms For The Detection Of Resolved And Unresolved Targets In The Infrared Bands, Bruce Mcintosh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This dissertation proposes algorithms for the detection of both resolved and unresolved targets in the infrared bands. Recent breakthroughs in deep learning have spurred major advancements in computer vision, but most of the attention and progress has been focused on RGB imagery from the visual band. The infrared bands such as Long Wave Infrared (LWIR), Medium Wave Infrared (MWIR), Short Wave Infrared (SWIR) and Near Infrared (NIR) each respond differently to physical phenomena, providing information that can be used to better understand the environment. The first task addressed is that of detecting vehicles in heavy clutter in MWIR imagery. A …

Load Forecasting And Synthetic Data Generation For Smart Home Energy Management System, Mina Razghandi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

A number of recent trends, such as the increased power consumption in developed and developing countries, the dangers associated with greenhouse gases, the potential shortages of fossil fuels, and the increasing availability of solar and wind energy act as motivating factors for the development of more intelligent and efficient systems both on the power provider as well as the consumer side. One of the most important prerequisites for making efficient energy management decisions is the ability to predict energy production and consumption patterns. While long-term forecasting of average consumption had been extensively used to direct investments in the energy grid, …

Visual Question Answering: Exploring Trade-Offs Between Task Accuracy And Explainability, Aisha Urooj

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Given visual input and a natural language question about it, the visual question answering (VQA) task is to answer the question correctly. To improve a system's reliability and trustworthiness, it is imperative that it links the text (question and answer) to specific visual regions. This dissertation first explores the VQA task in a multi-modal setting where questions are based on video as well as subtitles. An algorithm is introduced to process each modality and their features are fused to solve the task. Additionally, to understand the model's emphasis on visual data, this study collects a diagnostic set of questions which …

A Human-Centered Approach To Improving Adolescent Online Sexual Risk Detection Algorithms, Afsaneh Razi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Computational risk detection has the potential to protect especially vulnerable populations from online victimization. Conducting a comprehensive literature review on computational approaches for online sexual risk detection led to the identification that the majority of this work has focused on identifying sexual predators after-the-fact. Also, many studies rely on public datasets and third-party annotators to establish ground truth and train their algorithms, which do not accurately represent young social media users and their perspectives to prevent victimization. To address these gaps, this dissertation integrated human-centered approaches to both creating representative datasets and developing sexual risk detection machine learning models to …

Examining Cooperative System Responses Against Grid Integrity Attacks, Alexander D. Parady

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Smart grid technologies are integral to society’s transition to sustainable energy sources, but they do not come without a cost. As the energy sector shifts away from a century’s reliance on fossil fuels and centralized generation, technology that actively monitors and controls every aspect of the power infrastructure has been widely adopted, resulting in a plethora of new vulnerabilities that have already wreaked havoc on critical infrastructure. Integrity attacks that feedback false data through industrial control systems, which result in possible catastrophic overcorrections and ensuing failures, have plagued grid infrastructure over the past several years. This threat is now at …

How Adolescents In The Child Welfare System Seek Support For Their Sexual Risk Experiences Online, Taylor L. Moraguez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Youth in the foster care system experience unique and challenging situations online, such as higher risks of inappropriate messaging (e.g., sexting) and unwanted solicitations from strangers. As a vulnerable group of adolescents, foster youth often use online platforms as a resource to express themselves and seek support over their sexual experiences online. This thesis analyzes how foster youth seek support online for their sexual risk experiences, including sexual abuse, sexting, and sexuality. To understand how adolescents (ages 13-17) in the child welfare system seek support for these experiences, we conducted a thematic analysis of 541 individual posts made by 121 …

How Has Technology Creating More Resilient And Sustainable Cities?, Saarah Elberhoumi

HHE 167: The Nature of the City, 2022

No abstract provided.

Urban Sustainability Through Science, Literature, And Art, Asha Griffith

HHE 167: The Nature of the City, 2022

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of The Potential Of Nanofluids Containing Different Ag Nanoparticle Size Distributions For Enhanced Solar Energy Conversion In Hybrid Photovoltaic-Thermal (Pvt) Applications, James Walshe, John Doran, George Amarandei

Articles

Hybridising photovoltaic and photothermal technologies into a single system that can simultaneously deliver heat and power represents one of the leading strategies for generating clean energy at more affordable prices. In a hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) system, the capability to modulate the thermal and electrical power output is significantly influenced by the spectral properties of the heat transfer fluid utilised. In this study, we report on one of the first experimental evaluations of the capability of a multimodal silver nanofluid containing various particle shapes and particle sizes to selectively modulate the solar energy for PVT applications. The diverse set of particle …

Panic Engine - A Game Engine, Zachary Winters

Computer Science & Engineering Student Projects

A poster about a 3D web-based game engine based on three.js and their WebGL tools created over J-Term 2022. See link in Notes field for more information.

Envisage Planner Archive, Tim Swanson

Computer Science & Engineering Student Projects

Envisage Planner is a web application designed to help students with all areas of academic planning. The developer started working on it several years ago (2020), and for the CS Senior project, he and several other CS students developed an update to it.

Iowa Waste Reduction Center Newsletter, January 2022, University Of Northern Iowa. Iowa Waste Reduction Center.

Iowa Waste Reduction Center Newsletter

Contents:

--- Upcoming Events
--- 2022 Director Address
--- IWRC Celebrates 34 Years
--- Jennifer Trent Elected as US Composting Council Vice President
--- January 31st Reporting Deadlines
--- Grain Facility PM10 PTE Due January 31, 2022
--- 6X Certification and Compliance Report for 2021
--- Minor Source Emissions Inventory Assistance
--- Industry News

Geological And Environmental Sciences - 2022, Dept. Of Geological And Environmental Sciences

Geological and Environmental Sciences News

• Greetings from the Department Chair
• Faculty Updates
• MGS Updates
• MGRRE Updates
• GEOSCIENCES ADVISORY COUNCIL
• 2022 Distinguished Alumni Sara Pearson
• Student Clubs
• In Remembrance of Dr. Alan E. Kehew (1947 – 2022)
• In Remembrance of Dr. Michael Barcelona (1949–2022)
• Awards and Honors, 2022
• Department Graduates
• Publications 2021–22
• Gifts and Donors

Developing An Ios Game Application: Magnet Hockey, Trevor D. Wysong

The Graduate Review

Mobile application development requires mindful and meticulous planning. Application design should be responsive and intuitive so that navigation feels natural for the user. All targeted devices should be offered a relatively consistent experience. To ensure this, app performance needs to be closely monitored and different screen sizes and aspect ratios need to be considered when scaling. For an app to become attractive to many people, it should either be competitive with similar apps or be unique and interesting enough to entice people to download it. A unique app should couple familiar elements with new components or twists [8]. People are …

Extending Plasma Proteome Coverage To Enable Biomarker Discovery, Jordan Bruce Burton

Wayne State University Dissertations

Two features make plasma a valued source of health information: First, plasma contains secreted proteins from all tissues in the body and can, therefore, provide information about the health status of all tissues. Second, plasma is available in large quantity using a minimally invasive procedure that is well tolerated. The status of plasma as a valued source of health information is matched by the difficulty in extracting proteome information from the samples. Using state of the art instrumentation a standard analysis of plasma yields quantitative information on approximately 300 proteins. Extreme fractionation strategies coupled with increased mass spectrometry time extends …

A C0 Finite Element Method For The Biharmonic Problem In A Polygonal Domain, Charuka Dilhara Wickramasinghe

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation studies the biharmonic equation with Dirichlet boundary conditions in a polygonal domain. The biharmonic problem appears in various real-world applications, for example in plate problems, human face recognition, radar imaging, and hydrodynamics problems. There are three classical approaches to discretizing the biharmonic equation in the literature: conforming finite element methods, nonconforming finite element methods, and mixed finite element methods. We propose a mixed finite element method that effectively decouples the fourth-order problem into a system of one steady-state Stokes equation and one Poisson equation. As a generalization to the above-decoupled formulation, we propose another decoupled formulation using a …

The State Of The Art Of Information Integration In Space Applications, Zhuming Bi, K. L. Yung, Andrew W.H. Ip., Yuk Ming Tang, Chris W.J. Zhang, Li Da Xu

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper aims to present a comprehensive survey on information integration (II) in space informatics. With an ever-increasing scale and dynamics of complex space systems, II has become essential in dealing with the complexity, changes, dynamics, and uncertainties of space systems. The applications of space II (SII) require addressing some distinctive functional requirements (FRs) of heterogeneity, networking, communication, security, latency, and resilience; while limited works are available to examine recent advances of SII thoroughly. This survey helps to gain the understanding of the state of the art of SII in sense that (1) technical drivers for SII are discussed and …

Improving Collaborative Recommendation Based On Item Weight Link Prediction, Sahraoui Kharroubi, Youcef Dahmani, Omar Nouali

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

There is a continuous information overload on the Web. The problem treated is how to have relevant items (documents, products, services, etc.) at time and without difficulty. Filtering system also called recommender systems are widely used to recommend items to users by similarity process such as Amazon, MovieLens, Cdnow, etc. In the literature, to predict a link in a bipartite network, most methods are based either on a binary history (like, dislike) or on the common neighbourhood of the active user. In this paper, we modelled the recommender system by a weighted bipartite network. The bipartite topology offers a bidirectional …