Statistics and Probability Commons^™

From Big Farm To Big Pharma: A Differential Equations Model Of Antibiotic-Resistant Salmonella In Industrial Poultry Populations, Rilyn Mckallip

Honors Theses

Antibiotics are used in poultry production as prophylaxis, curative treatment, and growth promotion. The first use is as prophylaxis, or prevention of common bacterial diseases. The crowded conditions in concentrated animal feeding operations necessitate management of infectious disease to ensure overall animal health and the profitability of such operations. In these farms, between 20,000 and 125,000 birds are raised in shed-like enclosures [3], with an average of less than one square foot of space per chicken [34]. Antibiotics are currently used in chicken farms to manage and prevent common bacterial diseases such as respiratory and digestive tract infections, as well …

Length Bias Estimation Of Small Businesses Lifetime, Simeng Li

Honors Theses

Small businesses, particularly restaurants, play a crucial role in the economy by generating employment opportunities, boosting tourism, and contributing to the local economy. However, accurately estimating their lifetimes can be challenging due to the presence of length bias, which occurs when the likelihood of sampling any particular restaurant's closure is influenced by its duration in operation. To address the issue, this study conducts goodness-of-fit tests on exponential/gamma family distributions and employs the Kaplan-Meier method to more accurately estimate the average lifetime of restaurants in Carytown. By providing insights into the challenges of estimating the lifetimes of small businesses, this study …

Bridging The Chasm Between Fundamental, Momentum, And Quantitative Investing, Allen Hoskins, Jeff Reed, Robert Slater

SMU Data Science Review

A chasm exists between the active public equity investment management industry's fundamental, momentum, and quantitative styles. In this study, the researchers explore ways to bridge this gap by leveraging domain knowledge, fundamental analysis, momentum, crowdsourcing, and data science methods. This research also seeks to test the developed tools and strategies during the volatile time period of 2020 and 2021.

Classification Of Land Cover On Sand Dunes, Heleyna Tucker, Micah Sterk

22nd Annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2023)

As members of the Hope College Coastal Research Group, we have studied the mechanisms for and effects of sand transport. In particular, we have worked to model vegetation coverage in West Michigan sand dune complexes in order to better understand how sand movement and resident vegetation affect one another. We use aerial drone imagery to develop machine learning algorithms for creating ground cover classification mappings in an automated way. Our team collected drone imagery ranging from high-resolution, low-altitude photographs to high-altitude stitched and rectified orthomosaics. We developed accurate ground cover classification methods for the low-altitude imagery and then explored ways …

Generating Optimal Space-Filling Designs With Particle Swarm Optimization, Rebekah Scott

Student Research Symposium

In 1935, Ronald Fisher published The Design of Experiments, establishing classical designs for various types of experiments. With the rise of computing power came optimal design, where statisticians can better customize designs according to the needs of the researchers running the experiment. This research focuses on generating optimal MaxMin space-filling designs with particle swarm optimization using various distance metrics (Manhattan, Euclidean, etc). Interestingly, changing the distance metric in the objective function had a minimal effect on the design, except for Aitchison geometry on the simplex. Space-filling designs are optimal for supporting high-order models with only a small sacrifice in prediction …

A Graphical User Interface Using Spatiotemporal Interpolation To Determine Fine Particulate Matter Values In The United States, Kelly M. Entrekin

Honors College Theses

Fine particulate matter or PM2.5 can be described as a pollution particle that has a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or smaller. These pollution particle values are measured by monitoring sites installed across the United States throughout the year. While these values are helpful, a lot of areas are not accounted for as scientists are not able to measure all of the United States. Some of these unmeasured regions could be reaching high PM2.5 values over time without being aware of it. These high values can be dangerous by causing or worsening health conditions, such as cardiovascular and lung diseases. Within …

Multilevel Optimization With Dropout For Neural Networks, Gary Joseph Saavedra

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

Large neural networks have become ubiquitous in machine learning. Despite their widespread use, the optimization process for training a neural network remains com-putationally expensive and does not necessarily create networks that generalize well to unseen data. In addition, the difficulty of training increases as the size of the neural network grows. In this thesis, we introduce the novel MGDrop and SMGDrop algorithms which use a multigrid optimization scheme with a dropout coarsening operator to train neural networks. In contrast to other standard neural network training schemes, MGDrop explicitly utilizes information from smaller sub-networks which act as approximations of the full …

A New Approach To Proper Orthogonal Decomposition With Difference Quotients, Sarah Locke Eskew, John R. Singler

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

In a Recent Work (Koc Et Al., SIAM J. Numer. Anal. 59(4), 2163–2196, 2021), the Authors Showed that Including Difference Quotients (DQs) is Necessary in Order to Prove Optimal Pointwise in Time Error Bounds for Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) Reduced Order Models of the Heat Equation. in This Work, We Introduce a New Approach to Including DQs in the POD Procedure. Instead of Computing the POD Modes using All of the Snapshot Data and DQs, We Only Use the First Snapshot Along with All of the DQs and Special POD Weights. We Show that This Approach Retains All of the …

Rank-Based Inference For Survey Sampling Data, Akim Adekpedjou, Huybrechts F. Bindele

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

For regression models where data are obtained from sampling surveies, the statistical analysis is often based on approaches that are either non-robust or inefficient. The handling of survey data requires more appropriate techniques, as the classical methods usually result in biased and inefficient estimates of the underlying model parameters. This article is concerned with the development of a new approach of obtaining robust and efficient estimates of regression model parameters when dealing with survey sampling data. Asymptotic properties of such estimators are established under mild regularity conditions. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed method, Monte Carlo simulation experiments are …

State Gross Domestic Product Predictions Using Hierarchical Clustering And Multivariate Time Series, Austin Dae Nietfeld

Mathematics Senior Capstone Papers

This research was conducted to determine the weight certain taxes and expenditures have over state Gross Domestic Product(GDP) as well as how accurately these predictors can predict future GDP. The motivation behind this project comes from a desire to find the most efficient way to increase the GDP of states with poorer economies. This will improve the quality of life of citizens of these states. To come to a consensus as to what predictors are most influential, Hierarchical Clustering will be used to split the states into four groups. The average of each tax, expenditure and GDP from 2015-2020 will …

Regression Analysis Of Injuries On Nfl Quarterbacks, Julie Weems

Mathematics Senior Capstone Papers

Risk assessment is an important aspect of many careers such as first responders and the military. This is no different for people who play sports, especially people who are in contact sports such as football. These players’ lives can be changed forever with one bad hit. The goal of this research is to analyze the probability of an injury for the National Football League’s (NFL) quarterbacks. It is hard to predict when, what, and where an injury will occur, because of this very little work has been done on the subject matter in a general form. The goal of this …

Firefighter Safety, Haynes Mandino

Mathematics Senior Capstone Papers

There are close to 1.2 million career and volunteer firefighters across the United States. In the year 2020 alone 62 of these firefighters died and 64,875 were injured. The following research was performed to determine if the firefighter profession has become safer due to new standards and regulations. Each year the National Fire Protection Agency(NFPA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA) collect data on the number of firefighter deaths and injuries, in order to determine if the standards and regulations are keeping firefighters safe. Statistical hypothesis testing and linear regression were performed on the data to show if in fact …

Does The Three Point Shot Affect Winning Percentage, Marcamus Winn

Mathematics Senior Capstone Papers

The three-point shot, introduced in the late 1970s, is a shot that occurs typically 24 feet away from the basket at the professional level. Strategically the game of basketball was originally based on two-point field goals. Recently, there has been a noticeable trend in the popularity of the three-point shot amongst professional teams. Nowadays, three point shot attempts account for more than a third of average NBA shot selection. Statistical analysis is becoming integral to athletics. Statistics has become a critical component to the development of not only on court basketball strategies, but also team structure as well. There are …

Changing Nfl Playoff Overtime Rules To Create Equal Opportunities To Win A Game, Matthew Silvia

Honors Projects in Mathematics

The NFL has attempted to create fair overtime rules over the course of the past decade; however, this study is interested in determining what playoff overtime rule (or rules) could the NFL implement to result in outcomes where both teams have a relatively equal chance of winning a game. This study aims to find which overtime rules work best at minimizing the differences between teams who possess the ball first versus teams that kick the ball off to start an overtime period. By collecting various NFL statistics from ESPN.com and FantasyOutsiders.com, this study hopes to run multiple simulations of different …

Dynamic Equations, Control Problems On Time Scales, And Chaotic Systems, Martin Bohner

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

The unification of integral and differential calculus with the calculus of finite differences has been rendered possible by providing a formal structure to study hybrid discrete-continuous dynamical systems besides offering applications in diverse fields that require simultaneous modeling of discrete and continuous data concerning dynamic equations on time scales. Therefore, the theory of time scales provides a unification between the calculus of the theory of difference equations with the theory of differential equations. In addition, it has become possible to examine diverse application problems more precisely by the use of dynamical systems on time scales whose calculus is made up …

Using Physics-Informed Neural Networks For Multigrid In Time Coarse Grid Equations, Jonathan P. Gutierrez

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

For parallel-in-time integration methods, the multigrid-reduction-in-time (MGRIT) method has shown promising results in both improved convergence and increased computational speeds when solving evolution problems. However, one problem the MGRIT algorithm currently faces is it struggles solving hyperbolic problems efficiently. In particular, hyperbolic problems are generally solved using explicit methods and this causes issues on the coarser multigrid levels, where larger (coarser) time step sizes can violate the stability condition. In this thesis, physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) are used to evaluate the coarse grid equations in the MGRIT algorithm with the goal to improve convergence for problems with hyperbolic behavior, as …

On Characterization Of The Exponential Distribution Via Hypoexponential Distributions, George Yanev

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

The sum of independent, but not necessary identically distributed, exponential random variables follows a hypoexponential distribution. We focus on a particular case when all but one rate parameters of the exponential variables are identical. This is known as exponentially modified Erlang distribution in molecular biology. We prove a characterization of the exponential distribution, which complements previous characterizations via hypoexponential distribution with all rates different from each other.

Post-Quantum Hermite-Jensen-Mercer Inequalities, Martin Bohner, Hüseyin Budak, Hasan Kara

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Jensen-Mercer inequality, which is well known in the literature, has an important place in mathematics and related disciplines. In this work, we obtain the Hermite-Jensen-Mercer inequality for post-quantum integrals by utilizing Jensen-Mercer inequalities. Then we investigate the connections between our results and those in earlier works. Moreover, we give some examples to illustrate our main results. This is the first paper about Hermite-Jensen-Mercer inequalities for post-quantum integrals.

Supplementary Files For "Adaptive Mapping Of Design Ground Snow Loads In The Conterminous United States", Jadon Wagstaff, Jesse Wheeler, Brennan Bean, Marc Maguire, Yan Sun

Browse all Datasets

Recent amendments to design ground snow load requirements in ASCE 7-22 have reduced the size of case study regions by 91% from what they were in ASCE 7-16, primarily in western states. This reduction is made possible through the development of highly accurate regional generalized additive regression models (RGAMs), stitched together with a novel smoothing scheme implemented in the R software package remap, to produce the continental- scale maps of reliability-targeted design ground snow loads available in ASCE 7-22. This approach allows for better characterizations of the changing relationship between temperature, elevation, and ground snow loads across the Conterminous United …

Inequalities For Interval-Valued Riemann Diamond-Alpha Integrals, Martin Bohner, Linh Nguyen, Baruch Schneider, Tri Truong

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We propose the concept of Riemann diamond-alpha integrals for time scales interval-valued functions. We first give the definition and some properties of the interval Riemann diamond-alpha integral that are naturally investigated as an extension of interval Riemann nabla and delta integrals. With the help of the interval Riemann diamond-alpha integral, we present interval variants of Jensen inequalities for convex and concave interval-valued functions on an arbitrary time scale. Moreover, diamond alpha Hölder's and Minkowski's interval inequalities are proved. Also, several numerical examples are provided in order to illustrate our main results.

Oscillation Of Second-Order Half-Linear Neutral Noncanonical Dynamic Equations, Martin Bohner, Hassan El-Morshedy, Said Grace, Irena Jadlovská

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

In This Paper, We Shall Establish Some New Criteria for the Oscillation of Certain Second-Order Noncanonical Dynamic Equations with a Sublinear Neutral Term. This Task is Accomplished by Reducing the Involved Nonlinear Dynamic Equation to a Second-Order Linear Dynamic Inequality. We Also Establish Some New Oscillation Theorems Involving Certain Integral Conditions. Three Examples, Illustrating Our Results, Are Presented. Our Results Generalize Results for Corresponding Differential and Difference Equations.

Trilinear Immersed-Finite-Element Method For Three-Dimensional Anisotropic Interface Problems In Plasma Thrusters, Yajie Han, Guangqing Xia, Chang Lu, Xiaoming He

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Accurately solving the anisotropic interface problem is one of the difficulties in aerospace plasma applications. Based on cubic Cartesian meshes, this paper develops a trilinear nonhomogeneous immersed finite element (IFE) method for solving the complex anisotropic 3D elliptic interface model with nonhomogeneous flux jump. Compared with the existing 3D linear IFE spaces based on tetrahedron meshes, the newly designed trilinear IFE space for the target model simplifies the mesh generation, significantly reduces the number of mesh elements and interface elements, provides much more convenient and efficient ways for finding the intersections between interfaces and mesh edges, and decreases the errors. …

The Generalized Lyapunov Function As Ao’S Potential Function: Existence In Dimensions 1 And 2, Haoyu Wang, Wenqing Hu, Xiaoliang Gan, Ping Ao

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

By using Ao's decomposition for stochastic dynamical systems, a new notion of potential function has been introduced by Ao and his collabora-tors recently. We show that this potential function agrees with the generalized Lyapunov function of the deterministic part of the stochastic dynamical sys-tem. We further prove the existence of Ao's potential function in dimensions 1 and 2 via the solution theory of first-order partial differential equations. Our framework reveals the equivalence between Ao's potential function and Lyapunov function, the latter being one of the most significant central notions in dynamical systems. Using this equivalence, our existence proof can also …

Three Solutions For Discrete Anisotropic Kirchhoff-Type Problems, Martin Bohner, Giuseppe Caristi, Ahmad Ghobadi, Shapour Heidarkhani

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this article, using critical point theory and variational methods, we investigate the existence of at least three solutions for a class of double eigenvalue discrete anisotropic Kirchhoff-type problems. An example is presented to demonstrate the applicability of our main theoretical findings.

Second Order, Unconditionally Stable, Linear Ensemble Algorithms For The Magnetohydrodynamics Equations, John Carter, Daozhi Han, Nan Jiang

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We Propose Two Unconditionally Stable, Linear Ensemble Algorithms with Pre-Computable Shared Coefficient Matrices Across Different Realizations for the Magnetohydrodynamics Equations. the Viscous Terms Are Treated by a Standard Perturbative Discretization. the Nonlinear Terms Are Discretized Fully Explicitly within the Framework of the Generalized Positive Auxiliary Variable Approach (GPAV). Artificial Viscosity Stabilization that Modifies the Kinetic Energy is Introduced to Improve Accuracy of the GPAV Ensemble Methods. Numerical Results Are Presented to Demonstrate the Accuracy and Robustness of the Ensemble Algorithms.

An Adaptive Algorithm For `The Secretary Problem': Alternate Proof Of The Divergence Of A Maximizer Sequence, Andrew Benfante, Xiang Xu

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

This paper presents an alternate proof of the divergence of the unique maximizer sequence {𝑥∗ 𝑛} of a function sequence {𝐹𝑛(𝑥)} that is derived from an adaptive algorithm based on the now classic optimal stopping problem, known by many names but here ‘the secretary problem’. The alternate proof uses a result established by Nguyen, Xu, and Zhao (n.d.) regarding the uniqueness of maximizer points of a generalized function sequence {𝑆𝜇,𝜎 𝑛 } and relies on the strict monotonicity of 𝐹𝑛(𝑥) as 𝑛 increases in order to show divergence of {𝑥∗ 𝑛}. Towards this, limits of the exponentiated Gaussian CDF are …

Stochastic Optimization To Reduce Aircraft Taxi-In Time At Igia, New Delhi, Rajib Das, Saileswar Ghosh, Rajendra Desai, Pijus Kanti Bhuin, Stuti Agarwal

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Since there is an uncertainty in the arrival times of flights, pre-scheduled allocation of runways and stands and the subsequent first-come-first-served treatment results in a sub-optimal allocation of runways and stands, this is the prime reason for the unusual delays in taxi-in times at IGIA, New Delhi.

We simulated the arrival pattern of aircraft and utilized stochastic optimization to arrive at the best runway-stands allocation for a day. Optimization is done using a GRG Non-Linear algorithm in the Frontline Systems Analytic Solver platform. We applied this model to eight representative scenarios of two different days. Our results show that without …

Graphs Without A 2c3-Minor And Bicircular Matroids Without A U3,6-Minor, Daniel Slilaty

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

In this note we characterize all graphs without a 2C3-minor. A consequence of this result is a characterization of the bicircular matroids with no U3,6-minor.

Beginner's Analysis Of Financial Stochastic Process Models, David Garcia

HMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores the use of geometric Brownian motion (GBM) as a financial model for predicting stock prices. The model is first introduced and its assumptions and limitations are discussed. Then, it is shown how to simulate GBM in order to predict stock price values. The performance of the GBM model is then evaluated in two different periods of time to determine whether it's accuracy has changed before and after March 23, 2020.

Odd Solutions To Systems Of Inequalities Coming From Regular Chain Groups, Daniel Slilaty

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

Hoffman’s theorem on feasible circulations and Ghouila-Houry’s theorem on feasible tensions are classical results of graph theory. Camion generalized these results to systems of inequalities over regular chain groups. An analogue of Camion’s result is proved in which solutions can be forced to be odd valued. The obtained result also generalizes the results of Pretzel and Youngs as well as Slilaty. It is also shown how Ghouila-Houry’s result can be used to give a new proof of the graph- coloring theorem of Minty and Vitaver.