Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Predicting Student Graduation At A Private College, Theo Jongerius, Jennifer Schon

Celebration of Research

The purpose of this project was to accurately predict which students attending Northwestern will graduate based on information we collect on incoming students, as well as information we gain from students during their time at NWC.

Through use of the programming language Python and its machine learning libraries, I was able to develop a machine learning model that can accurately predict if a student would graduate 85% of the time.

Estimation Of Radium-226 Concentrations In Produced Water From Shale Gas, Tight Gas And Conventional Hydrocarbon Wells, Richard Frank Haaker

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

This study examined data from the United States Geological Survey Produced Water database, version 2.3 (USGS DB) and built models to estimate the concentration of radium-226 in produced water given the values of other predictor variables. The dataset had only about 254 observations that were useable. Although the USGS DB had up to 190 possible attributes, it also had extreme rates of missingness, and many of the candidate variables were highly correlated. Multiple imputation techniques were employed using the Mice, Hmisc, and RMS packages for the R language to deal with the missing data. A multiple linear regression and two …

Relationship Between Higher Education And Health Insurance Coverage And Healthcare Utilization For Black Or African American Individuals, Emma Revoir

Psychology Student Works

Higher education may decrease mortality due to higher income and health insurance availability (Buckles et al., 2016). Education can increase understanding and utilizing health insurance (Gallo et al., 2020). There is a gap in how this relationship affects racial minorities. This study aims to understand how health insurance is affected by education level for Black or African American individuals.

The Association Between Sibling Relationships And Personality, Rebecca Ramsey

Psychology Student Works

Differences in self perception (specifically aggression) was discovered in participants with siblings, and no difference of intelligence, outgoing personalities, creativity, competitiveness and family orientation (Van Volkom, Guerguis, & Kramer, 2017). Sisters were found to have more empathy than the brothers along with higher intimacy, knowledge, and emotional support (Walęcka-Matyja, 2017). There is a gap in my research between sibling jealousy and depression, sibling negativity, and intimacy in young adulthood (Hamwey & Whiteman, 2020). My study examines the similarity of personality to siblings. Some personality traits may include jealousy, outgoingness, competitiveness, and creativity.

How Quality Of Paternal Relationship Impacts Depression Development In Adulthood, Rachel Lane

Psychology Student Works

Previous studies show that paternal involvement directly correlates to a decrease in the child’s probability of developing a mental illness (O’Gara, et.al. 2019). Research shows, the more supportive and the more affection a parent gives, the less likely a child is to develop depressive tendencies (Del Barrio, et. al. 2016) There is a gap in investigating whether or not having a loving father postpones the age at which someone is diagnosed with depression. This study provides insight into paternal closeness and the age at which someone is diagnosed with depression.

The Association Between Promiscuity And Marital Satisfaction, Shelby Kate Christopher

Psychology Student Works

Research has suggested that premarital cohabitation is linked to a heightened risk of divorce and dissatisfaction if it occurs with someone other than the marriage partner (Teachman, 2004). The number of partners is linked to marital dissatisfaction for both men and women (Legkauskas & Stankevičienė, 2008). Involvement in church groups is linked to a 5x increase in likelihood of abstinence (Paul et al, 2000). Previous studies have used small sample sizes with little diversity and few men. However, my research will use a large, diverse sample size with both men and women.

The Association Between Religiosity And Alcohol Use In Adolescents, Daphny Vang

Psychology Student Works

Research has found that the age and strength of religion directly correlate to the level of alcohol consumption(Mason & Windle, 2002). Previous studies show that adult women with stronger religious beliefs consume less alcohol compared to those with weaker religious beliefs (Mattila & et al., 2001). There is a gap in investigating the relationship between religiosity and alcohol use in adolescents. This study provides insight into the relationship between religiosity and alcohol consumption with adolescents.

The Relationship Between Adults Education Level And Their Mental Health Status, Kelsey Bergan

Psychology Student Works

Research has shown that those with a higher education are more likely to seek out sources to help them with mental disorders (Ibrahim, et al., 2019; Neimeyer, et al., 2011). Previous studies have found that students with a lower GPA show signs of depression, anxiety and eating disorders (Eisenberg, Globerstein & Hunt, 2009). There is a gap in investigating the relationship between education level and an adult’s mental health experiences. This study will provide insight to the relationship between an adults education level and their mental health.

The Relationship Between Adolescents’ Participation In Religious/Spiritual Activities And Mental Health As An Adult, Tiara Lamb

Psychology Student Works

Many receiving mental health treatment across the U.S. see spirituality and religion as very helpful in supporting their mental state (Oxhandler et al., 2021). How often black Americans attended church in adolescence is related to how as a young adult they could spiritually handle mentally stressing situations (Alexander, 2017). There’s a gap in previous studies because most of them study specific groups rather than using a representative sample of the U.S. In addition, there is a lack of studies investigating the relationship between adolescent religiosity/spirituality and adult mental health. This study uses a representative sample and investigates the association between …

The Association Of Maternal Relationships And Acts Of Violence In Adults, Cameron Shores

Psychology Student Works

Through research it has been found that people who do not feel close to their parents are more likely to react with violence (Cano-Lozano et al., 2020). Studies have also shown that people who reported adverse relationships as children, tend to have more violence-related outcomes (Duke, 2010). There is currently a gap in explaining the association between maternal closeness and violent tendencies. This study is meant to help fill that gap and bring cognizance to the relationship between maternal closeness and violence.

Empirically Adjusted Weighted Ordered P-Values Method, Wimarsha Jayanetti, Sinjini Sikdar, N. Rao Chaganty

College of Sciences Posters

Recent advancements in high-throughput technologies have enabled simultaneous inference of thousands of genes. With the abundance of public databases, it is now possible to rapidly access the results of several genomic studies, each of which includes the significance testing results of a large number of genes. Researchers frequently aggregate genomic data from multiple studies in the form of a meta-analysis. Most traditional meta-analysis methods aim at combining summary results to find signals in at least one of the studies. However, often the goal is to identify genes that are differentially expressed in a consistent pattern across multiple studies. Recently, a …

Simplified Ranking Model For The College Football Playoff Through Weighted Ranking, Edward Buckhouse

Senior Theses

This research project looks to create a better system to rank college football teams in playoff contention. It uses surveys of coaches to create a weighted guideline to evaluate wins and losses for each team. This constructs a value for adjusted wins that is based on coaches’ data but strays away from the inherent bias that any single coach would have when ranking teams. The resulting Top 25 were then compared to the College Football Playoff final regular season rankings to gauge the success of the new system. The Adjusted Wins system that was established properly picked 13 out of …

Predicting Lower Body Soft Tissue Injuries In American Football With Gps Data, Nicholas Tice

Theses and Dissertations

It is of utmost importance to sports organizations that they keep their players as healthy as possible and contributing to the success of the team. Advancements in technology and investments by sports clubs have allowed researchers to better understand the role of load management in high-level athletes to mitigate injury risk. Through GPS tracking data provided by a collaborating Division I American college football team, we seek to predict lower body soft tissue injuries in future training sessions and reduce the number of potentially avoidable injuries within the organization. The difficulty of analyzing the injury data set is that the …

A New Application Of The Central Limit Theorem, Kenneth Winters

Selected Honors Theses

This paper discusses the Central Limit Theorem (CLT) and its applications. The paper gives an introduction to what the CLT is and how it can be applied to real life. Additionally, the paper gives a conceptual understanding of the theorem through various examples and visuals. The paper discusses the applications of the CLT in fields such as computer science, psychology, and political science. The author then suggests a new mathematical theorem as an application of the CLT and provides a proof of the theorem. The new theorem relates to expected value and probabilities of random variables and provides a link …

Period Doubling Cascades From Data, Alexander Berliner

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Orbit diagrams of period doubling cascades represent systems going from periodicity to chaos. Here, we investigate whether a Gaussian process regression can be used to approximate a system from data and recover asymptotic dynamics in the orbit diagrams for period doubling cascades. To compare the orbits of a system to the approximation, we compute the Wasserstein metric between the point clouds of their obits for varying bifurcation parameter values. Visually comparing the period doubling cascades, we note that the exact bifurcation values may shift, which is confirmed in the plots of the Wasserstein distance. This has implications for studying dynamics …

A Comparison Of Inference Methods In High-Dimensional Linear Regression, Imtiaz Ebna Mannan

Theses and Dissertations

Building confidence/credible intervals for the high-dimensional (p >> n) linear models have been the subject of exploration for many years. In this paper, we explore three specific setups. First, we look at the Bayesian paradigm for the LASSO model. A double-exponential prior has been applied to the regression coefficient and from that, a posterior distribution is derived to get the necessary quantiles to calculate the credible intervals for the regression coefficients. Second, we explore the de-sparsified LASSO estimates, and using its asymptotic normality, we calculate the confidence intervals for the model coefficients. Finally, we incorporate an adaptive LASSO model. To …

Associations Among Plant-Based Dietary Indexes, The Dietary Inflammatory Index, And Inflammatory Potential In Female College Students In Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study, Ghadeer S. Aljuraiban, Rachel Gibson, Leenah Al-Freeh, Sara Al-Musharaf, Nitin Shivappa Mbbs, Mph, Ph.D., James R. Hébert, Linda M. Oude, Queenie Chan

Faculty Publications

Background Saudi Arabian diets are transitioning to more Western dietary patterns that have been associated with higher levels of inflammation. Emerging evidence suggests plant-based diets are related to lower levels of inflammation; however, the definition of plant-based diets varies. Objective The purpose of this study was to identify the extent to which an overall Plant-Based Diet Index (PDI), Healthy-PDI (hPDI), and Unhealthy-PDI (uPDI) vs Energy-Adjusted Dietary Inflammatory Index correlate with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) level. Design This was a cross-sectional study carried out at King Saud University. Data on dietary intake, anthropometrics, and hs-CRP were collected. Participants/setting Female students aged …

Bright Light Treatment Of Combat-Related Ptsd: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Shawn D. Youngstedt, Christopher E. Kline, Alexandria Reynolds, Shannon K. Crowley, James B. Burch Ph.D., Nidha Khan, Seungyong Han

Faculty Publications

Introduction

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a prevalent consequence of combat with significant associated morbidity. Available treatments for PTSD have had limitations, suggesting a need to explore alternative or adjuvant treatments. Numerous rationales for bright light treatment of PTSD include its benefits for common PTSD comorbidities of depression, anxiety, and circadian misalignment and its relative ease of use with few side effects. The primary aims of this research were to examine the effects of bright light treatment for combat-related PTSD and associated morbidity. Materials and Methods

A randomized controlled trial was performed in N = 69 veterans with PTSD attributable …

Weather-Sensitive Walmart Sales Modeling, Stella Rodriguez

Honors Projects

Walmart operates thousands of stores in the U.S. and internationally with varying inventory and climates. During different weather conditions, demand for some products may increase or decrease, like umbrellas before a rainstorm. Since it is important for stores to not overstock or be out-of-stock of inventory, knowing how different weather conditions affect these weather-sensitive items would be vital for Walmart. This report details the process of data management, exploratory data analysis, modeling, and findings done on Walmart weather-sensitive sales.

A Monte Carlo Analysis Of Seven Dichotomous Variable Confidence Interval Equations, Morgan Juanita Dubose

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Department of Psychological Sciences Western Kentucky University There are two options to estimate a range of likely values for the population mean of a continuous variable: one for when the population standard deviation is known and another for when the population standard deviation is unknown. There are seven proposed equations to calculate the confidence interval for the population mean of a dichotomous variable: normal approximation interval, Wilson interval, Jeffreys interval, Clopper-Pearson, Agresti-Coull, arcsine transformation, and logit transformation. In this study, I compared the percent effectiveness of each equation using a Monte Carlo analysis and the interval range over a range …

Prognostic And Predictive Value Of Β-Blockers In The Eortc 1325/Keynote-054 Phase Iii Trial Of Pembrolizumab Versus Placebo In Resected High-Risk Stage Iii Melanoma, Oliver J. Kennedy, Michal Kicinski, Sara Valpione, Sara Gandini, Stefan Suciu, Christian U. Blank, Georgina V. Long, Victoria G. Atkinson, Stéphane Dalle, Andrew M. Haydon, Andrey Meshcheryakov, Adnan Khattak, Matteo S. Carlino, Shahneen Sandhu, James Larkin, Susana Puig, Paolo A. Ascierto, Piotr Rutkowski, Dirk Schadendorf, Rutger Koornstra, Leonel Hernandez-Aya, Anna M. Di Giacomo, Alfonsus J.M. Van Den Eertwegh, Jean Jacques Grob, Ralf Gutzmer, Rahima Jamal, Alexander C.J. Van Akkooi, Caroline Robert, Alexander M. M. Eggermont, Paul Lorigan, Mario Mandala

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background:

β-adrenergic receptors are upregulated in melanoma cells and contribute to an immunosuppressive, pro-tumorigenic microenvironment. This study investigated the prognostic and predictive value of β-adrenoreceptor blockade by β-blockers in the EORTC1325/KEYNOTE-054 randomised controlled trial.

Methods:

Patients with resected stage IIIA, IIIB or IIIC melanoma and regional lymphadenectomy received 200 mg of adjuvant pembrolizumab (n = 514) or placebo (n = 505) every three weeks for one year or until recurrence or unacceptable toxicity. At a median follow-up of 3 years, pembrolizumab prolonged recurrence-free survival (RFS) compared to placebo (hazard ratio (HR) 0.56, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.47–0.68). β-blocker use was …

Testing Aftershock Forecasts Using Bayesian Methods, Elisa Dong

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The presence of strong aftershocks can increase the seismic hazard following a large earthquake and should be considered for operational earthquake forecasting and risk management. Aftershock forecasts are generated from seismicity models during the evolution of the aftershock sequence. This work compares quantitative test results of the forecasting abilities for three competing aftershock rate models - the modified Omori law, the Epidemic Type Aftershock Sequence model, and the compound Omori law - to identify the best performing model for forecasting the largest aftershock during the early aftershock sequence. Forecasts of large aftershock probabilities are generated by either the Extreme Value …

Are Long-Period Exoplants Around Cool Stars More Common Than We Thought?, Emily Jane Safron

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Kepler mission has been the catalyst for discovery of nearly 5,000 confirmed and candidate exoplanets. The majority of these candidates orbit Sun-like stars, and have orbital periods comparable to or shorter than that of the Earth, due to the selection bias inherent in the transit method and the limitations of automated transit search algorithms. We aim to develop a richer understanding of the population of exoplanets around the lowest-mass stars, the M spectral type. We are particularly interested in exoplanets with long orbital periods, which are difficult or impossible to find using standard transit search algorithms. In our study, …

Reliever-Triggered Inhaled Glucocorticoid In Black And Latinx Adults With Asthma, Alex Colon

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Do Home Invasion Serial Killers Warrant A Distinct Classification From Other Serial Killer Location Types? A Retrospective Comparative Examination, Caroline V. Comerford

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to address the research gap in serial homicide regarding home invasion serial killers (HISKs) and add to existing policy by providing insight and approaches to assist in serial murder investigations of such killers. Data for the study was obtained from the 2019 Radford University/Florida Gulf Coast University Serial Killer Database (RU/FGCU SKD) and additional public information searches. A retrospective comparative design and proportionate stratified random sampling of 326 serial killers from the RU/FGCU SKD (2019) were used to examine the differences and classifications of HISKs and non-home invasion serial killers (non-HISKs) in three investigations: (1) common characteristics; …

Program Review: Mathematics And Statistics Department, Katherine Kime, University Of Nebraska At Kearney Department Of Mathematics And Statistics Faculty & Staff

Academic Program Reviews

No abstract provided.

Oral, Cardiovascular And Respiratory Effects Of E-Cigarettes: Synthesis Of Literature, Nareh Eshgian

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Adversarial And Data Poisoning Attacks Against Deep Learning, Jing Lin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Machine translation software, image captioning, grammar check (Grammarly), chatbot, real-time captioning and translation, music genre classification, and document classification are a few examples of deep learning applications that achieve outstanding performance in areas where traditional statistical techniques have difficulty performing classification and/or regression. Google translator has over 100 billion daily users and can translate 109 languages instantly (much faster than a human translator). AlphaGo won Lee Sedol, the eighteen-time world champion. Microsoft Team's living captioning provides accurate real-time captioning as a speaker speaks. Deep learning achieves undoubtedly remarkable performance. However, recent studies on adversarial attacks and data poisoning attacks show …

Application And Efficacy Of Color-Coded Learning Models, Parker Grossman

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Covid-19 Ramifications And Effects, Landon Ledingham

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.