Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Blockchain-Based Privacy-Preserving Physical Delivery System, Shahin Zanbaghi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The internet has transformed the way we shop. Previously, most of our purchases came in the form of shopping trips to a nearby store. Now, it’s as easy as clicking a mouse. But with great convenience comes great responsibility. We have to be constantly vigilant about our personal information. This work presents a novel approach for online buyers to have a trusted, decentralized, privacy-preserved physical assets delivery solution. The proposed solution focuses on privacy-preserving personal information in delivering physical assets between sellers and buyers. Our primary approach is to prevent sellers and agents (responsible for ensuring the asset delivery is …

Understanding Freshwater Ecosystems And Human Health Implications In Recreational Water Through Microbial Characterization, Source Tracking, And Sediment-Microbe Dynamics, Danielle Gleason

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Contamination of natural aquatic ecosystems is a serious global concern as populations increase and the environment is impacted by climate change. Nonpoint source (NPS) contamination of allochthonous materials, such as sediments, nutrients, and microorganisms, is commonly introduced to a body of water through runoff and wash-off which cumulates over a large area, and is subsequently transported to surface waters (e.g., rivers, streams, lakes) and shorelines. The principal form of microbial contamination of water resources is often from fecal pollution derived from humans, domesticated animals, or wildlife, and contains a variety of human pathogens. There are also numerous factors (with limited …

On Estimation Methods In Tensor Regression Models, Mai Ghannam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, we consider two estimation problems in some tensor regression models. The first estimation problem is about the tensor coefficient in a tensor regression model with multiple and unknown change-points. We generalize some recent findings in five ways. First, the problem studied is more general than the one in context of a matrix parameter with multiple change-points. Second, we develop asymptotic results of the tensor estimators in the context of a tensor regression with unknown change-points. Third, we construct a class of shrinkage tensor estimators that encompasses the unrestricted estimator (UE) and the restricted estimator (RE). Fourth, we …

Antiviral Effects Of Metalloshielding: Differential Antiviral Activity Of Polynuclear Platinum And Cobalt Compounds, Mary Zoepfl

Theses and Dissertations

The majority of antiviral drug development has focused on virus-specific discovery targeting discrete steps in the individual life cycles. Although great strides have been made for a number of clinically relevant diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus, influenza virus, and hepatitis B, broad spectrum antivirals do not exist. Broad spectrum antivirals would offer (1) treatment for viruses without specifically-targeted antivirals, (2) treatment for viruses which have developed resistance to their available treatments, and (3) a rapidly deployable treatment option in viral epidemics. Many viruses including human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), HIV, and SARS-CoV-2. rely on heparan sulfate (HS), a highly sulfated glycosaminoglycan …

Nature And Crystallization Stages Of Spherulites Within The Obsidian: Acıgöl (Cappadocia- Nevşehir, Turkey), Bahatti̇n Güllü, Kiymet Deni̇z

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The study area comprises a part of the Central Anatolian Cenozoic volcanism within the Cappadocia Volcanic Province (CVP). Obsidian, perlite rhyolite flows, and volcanic ashes are observed in the study area and the spherulites within the obsidian are the objects of this study. The spherulites occupied within the obsidian in the form of round nodules 0.5-10 cm in diameter. The confocal Raman spectra of feldspar minerals within the spherulites are characterized by T-O-T and M-O lattice modes in the range of 100-250 cm^-1, O-T-O deformation and T-O-T lattice modes in the range of 250-350 cm^-1, and …

Second Main Theorem For Meromorphic Mappings Intersecting Moving Targets On Parabolic Manifolds, Jiali Chen, Qingcai Zhang

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

In this paper, we establish a new second main theorem for meromorphic mappings from $M$ into $\mathbb{P}(V)$ intersecting moving targets $g_{j}:M\rightarrow\mathbb{P}(V^{\ast}),\ 1\leq j\leq q,$ where $M$ is a parabolic manifold and $V$ is a Hermitian vector space. As an application, we prove the algebraic dependence problem for meromorphic mappings with moving targets in general position.

Boundedness For Variable Fractional Integral Operators And Their Commutators On Herz-Hardy Spaces With Variable Exponent, Yinping Xin

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

Let $E\subset\mathbb{R}^n$ be a bounded open set. In this paper, we establish the boundedness of variable fractional integral operators and their commutators on variable Herz-Hardy spaces $H\dot{K}^{\alpha(\cdot),q(\cdot)}_{p(\cdot)}(E)$ with three variable exponents by using the atomic decomposition.

Global Differential Invariants Of Nondegenerate Hypersurfaces, Yasemi̇n Sağiroğlu, Uğur Gözütok

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

Let $\{g_{ij}(x)\}_{i, j=1}^n$ and $\{L_{ij}(x)\}_{i, j=1}^n$ be the sets of all coefficients of the first and second fundamental forms of a hypersurface $x$ in $R^{n+1}$. For a connected open subset $U\subset R^{n}$ and a $C^{\infty }$-mapping $x:U\rightarrow R^{n+1}$ the hypersurface $x$ is said to be $d$-\textit{nondegenerate}, where $d\in \left\{1, 2, \ldots n\right\}$, if $L_{dd}(x)\neq 0$ for all $u\in U$. Let $M(n)=\{F:R^{n}\longrightarrow R^{n}\mid Fx=gx+b, \; g\in O(n), \; b\in R^{n}\}$, where $O(n)$ is the group of all real orthogonal $n\times n$-matrices, and $SM(n)=\{F\in M(n)\mid g\in SO(n)\}$, where $SO(n)=\left\{g\in O(n)\mid \det(g)=1\right\}$. In the present paper, it is proved that the set $\left\{g_{ij}(x), …

Globally Unsolvability Of Integro-Differential Diffusion Equation And System With Exponential Nonlinearities, Meiirkhan Borikhanov

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

In this paper, the Cauchy problem for an integro-differential diffusion equation and a system with nonlocal nonlinear sources are considered. The results on the existence of local integral solutions and the nonexistence of global weak solutions to the nonlinear integro-differential diffusion equation and system are presented.

The Interior-Boundary Strichartz Estimate For The Schrödinger Equation On The Half-Line Revisited, Bi̇lge Köksal, Türker Özsari

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

In recent papers, it was shown for the biharmonic Schrödinger equation and 2D Schrödinger equation that Fokas method-based formulas are capable of defining weak solutions of associated nonlinear initial boundary value problems (ibvps) below the Banach algebra threshold. In view of these results, we revisit the theory of interior-boundary Strichartz estimates for the Schrödinger equation posed on the right half line, considering both Dirichlet and Neumann cases. Finally, we apply these estimates to obtain low regularity solutions for the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLS) with Neumann boundary condition and a coupled system of NLS equations defined on the half line with …

Feedbacks Among Benthic Metabolism, Nitrogen Cycling, And Intense Phytoplankton Blooms In The York River Estuary, Michelle H. Woods

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Benthic-pelagic coupling is defined as the deposition of organic matter from the water column to the sediments, and the subsequent remineralization of this organic matter and release of inorganic nutrients back to the water column. This process plays an important role in determining the magnitude of benthic net community production (NCP), a metric that reflects the balance between gross primary production and respiration. Environmental factors, such as the presence or absence of intense phytoplankton blooms can influence the direction and magnitude of benthic-pelagic coupling and determine if benthic NCP is net autotrophic or heterotrophic. The objective this thesis was to …

Inclusive And Inelastic Scattering In Neutrino-Nucleus Interactions, Amy Filkins

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Neutrino-nucleus cross section measurements can provide both insights into nuclear physics and important data that can be used to improve model predictions used for neutrino oscillation physics. Two measurements of neutrino-nucleus cross sections were performed using data from the MINERvA experiment, each probing different classes of neutrino interactions. Double and single-differential flux-integrated measurements of inclusive charged current neutrino-nucleus cross sections at a peak neutrino energy of 3.5 GeV are presented as a function of the longitudinal and transverse momentum of the muon produced in the interaction. Additionally, an analysis of charged-current deep inelastic scattering (DIS) of muon neutrinos was performed …

Ecosystem Enriching And Efficient Solar Energy: Exploring The Effects Of Pollinator-Friendly Solar Facilities On Ecosystem Function And Solar Panel Efficiency, Jordan Martin

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

As the solar energy industry grows, many hundreds of thousands of acres of land will be transformed into solar panel facilities. With this large change in land use, there is the opportunity to promote biodiversity and support pollinators by using pollinator-friendly management practices at the solar facilities. This paper explores the ecological and economic effects of a pollinator-friendly solar facility compared to a turfgrass solar facility.

I hypothesized that a pollinator-friendly solar facility would be functionally equivalent in pollinator support and overall insect diversity to a pollinator-friendly non-solar field and that both sites would have far greater pollinator support and …

Barrier-Island Dynamics: Transgression, Regression, And State Changes, Justin Lee Shawler

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Barrier islands provide critical habitat for shorebirds and buffer backbarrier and inland coastal habitats and communities from the direct effects of storms and wave energy. Yet, barrier systems are under threat from these very same processes. In particular, whereas long-term barrier behavior and landward migration rate is directly related to the rate of sea-level rise, decadal to centennial barrier-island dynamics are more complicated, and often highly localized. Barrier-island dynamics—including state changes between seaward growth and landward migration—are driven by a complex interplay of forcings and interactions, including changes in longshore and cross-shore sediment fluxes, underlying geology and slope, barrier-marsh and …

Electronic Transport In Topological Superconducting Heterostructures, Joseph Jude Cuozzo

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

In this dissertation, we study Andreev transport and Josephson effects in topological superconducting heterostructures. We study consider two platforms: quantum Hall-superconductor (QH-SC) heterostructures and Josephson junctions. In the first platform, we study QH graphene-SC systems with a focus on the influence symmetry-breaking effects have on Andreev transport. In graphene, valley and spin degeneracy lead to an approximate SU(4) symmetry that is reflected in the approximate 4-fold degeneracy of graphene's Landau levels (LL). We develop an effective low-energy description of Andreev edge states that takes into account the correction to the drift velocity of the QH-SC edge modes due to SU(4) …

Civiic: Cybercrime In Virginia: Impacts On Industry And Citizens Final Report, Randy Gainey, Tancy Vandecar-Burdin, Jay Albanese, Thomas Dearden, James Hawdon, Katalin Parti

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

[First paragraph] Victimization from cybercrime is a major concern in Virginia, the US, and the world. As individuals and businesses spend more time online, it becomes increasingly important to understand cybercrime and how to protect against it. Such an understanding is dependent on valid and reliable baseline data that identifies the specific nature, extent, and outcomes of cybercrime activity. A better understanding of cybercrime activity is needed to target and prevent it more effectively, minimize its consequences, and provide support for both individual and corporate victims. Before that can occur, however, better baseline data are required, and this project was …

Protecting Blind Screen-Reader Users From Deceptive Content, Ash Dobrenen, Vikas Ashok (Mentor)

Computer & Information Science: Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Disinformation Detection and Analytics

Visually impaired people who want to use a computer rely on screen readers to independently do this. This research focuses on beginning to build a chrome extension in order to help users more safely navigate the internet using a screen reader. to begin collecting the data, a screen reader was used to help determine items in the website that might take the user somewhere they did not mean to go since the link or image was not sufficiently able to be described by the screen reader. Next, those items were tagged with ’data-attribute=”deceptive”’. After, those data-attributes were extracted and tagged …

Human Interaction With Fake News, Autumn Woodson, Sampath Jayarathna (Mentor)

Computer & Information Science: Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Disinformation Detection and Analytics

No abstract provided.

The Kanarra Fold-Thrust System -- The Leading Edge Of The Sevier Fold-Thrust Belt, Southwest Utah, William Joseph Michael Chandonia

Doctoral Dissertations

“The Jurassic to Eocene Sevier fold-thrust belt is the subject of continued scientific curiosity in tectonics, stratigraphy, and industry. Understanding its development in southwest Utah is hindered in part due to the multiple origins proposed for the Kanarra anticline, a major leading edge structure -- a drag fold along the Hurricane fault, Laramide monocline, Sevier fault propagation fold, or a combination of these -- which have confused its tectonic significance and regional context. This confusion results from the structural complexity of its exposed eastern limb, as well as displacement and burial of its crest and western limb beneath Neogene sediments …

Point Cloud-Based Mapper For Qcd Analysis, Tareq Alghamdi, Yasir Alanazi, Manal Almaeen, Nobuo Sato, Yaohang Li

The Graduate School Posters

In many scientific applications, Inverse problems are challenging. An inverse problem is the process of inferring unknown parameters from observable ones. In this poster, we present our prototype using Point Cloud-based Variational Autoencoder mapping. Data that connects parameters to detector level events is used to train the proposed model. A point cloud is used to describe a series of events that keeps the permutation invariant property and geometric correlations of the events while being flexible with the number of events in the input. The trained Point Cloud-based Variational Autoencoder functions as an effective inverse function from detector level events to …

Frameless-Finding And Refining A Sampling Frame For Surveying Recreational Fisheries: Lessons From Estimating Swedish Harvest Of Western Baltic Cod, Hege Sande, Nuno Prista, Annica De Groote, Michele Casini, Cynthia Jones, Andreas Sundelöf

OES Faculty Publications

To achieve sustainable fisheries, advice to management should be based on reliable science and unbiased data. Attaining quality data (i.e. precise and unbiased) on recreational fishing can be challenging, particularly when prior knowledge of the sector is limited and a proper sample frame of recreational fishers or vessels does not exist. In this study, a registry of access points was constructed for the Swedish south–west coast and used as a spatial sample frame in determining both effort and catches of the private boat fishery. Sampling dates, times for sampling, and access points visited were selected using probabilistic methods, ensuring unbiased …

Bio-Go-Ship: The Time Is Right To Establish Global Repeat Sections Of Ocean Biology, Sophie Clayton, Harriet Alexander, Jason R. Graff, Nicole J. Poulton, Luke R. Thompson, Heather Benway, Emmanuel Boss, Adam Martiny

OES Faculty Publications

In this article, we present Bio-GO-SHIP, a new ocean observing program that will incorporate sustained and consistent global biological ocean observations into the Global Ocean Ship-based Hydrographic Investigations Program (GO-SHIP). The goal of Bio-GO-SHIP is to produce systematic and consistent biological observations during global ocean repeat hydrographic surveys, with a particular focus on the planktonic ecosystem. Ocean plankton are an essential component of the earth climate system, form the base of the oceanic food web and thereby play an important role in influencing food security and contributing to the Blue Economy. Despite its importance, ocean biology is largely under-sampled in …

Photorespiration In Eelgrass (Zostera Marina L.): A Photoprotection Mechanism For Survival In A Co₂-Limited World, Billur Celebi-Ergin, Richard C. Zimmerman, Victoria J. Hill

OES Faculty Publications

Photorespiration, commonly viewed as a loss in photosynthetic productivity of C3 plants, is expected to decline with increasing atmospheric CO₂, even though photorespiration plays an important role in the oxidative stress responses. This study aimed to quantify the role of photorespiration and alternative photoprotection mechanisms in Zostera marina L. (eelgrass), a carbon-limited marine C3 plant, in response to ocean acidification. Plants were grown in controlled outdoor aquaria at different [CO₂]aq ranging from ~55 (ambient) to ~2121 μM for 13 months and compared for differences in leaf photochemistry by simultaneous measurements of O₂ flux and …

Catalyzing Remote Collaboration During The Covid-19 Pandemic And Beyond: Early Career Oceanographers Adopt Hybrid Open Science Framework, Johna E. Rudzin, Dax C. Soule, Justine Whitaker, Halle Berger, Sophie Clayton, Kristen E. Fogaren

OES Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced many challenges for research scientists: reduction of lab and field observation collection and in-person meetings. These new constraints forced researchers to remote work and virtual networking, dramatically influencing scientific inquiry. Such challenges are compounded for those in early stages of their career, where data collection and networking are vital to be seen as productive. However, during this trying time of remote work, we, as a collective of early-career oceanographers, were actively developing and improving on an already-existent hybrid community of practice. Through our experiences, we believe this type of framework can enhance virtual collaboration to the …

Mismatches In Scale Between Highly Mobile Marine Megafauna And Marine Protected Areas, Melinda G. Conners, Nicholas B. Sisson, Pierre D. Agamboue, Philip W. Atkinson, Alastair M.M. Baylis, Scott R. Benson, Barbara A. Block, Steven J. Bograd, Pablo Bordino, W. D. Bowen, Paul Brickle, Ignacio M. Bruno, Victoria González Carman, Cory D. Champagne, Daniel E. Crocker, Daniel P. Costa, Tiffany M. Dawson, Tomohiro Deguchi, Heidi Dewar, Philip D. Doherty, Tomo Eguchi, Angela Formia, Brendan J. Godley, Rachel T. Graham, Christian Gredzens, Kristen M. Hart, Lucy A. Hawkes, Suzanne Henderson, Robert William Henry Iii, Luis A. Hückstädt, Ladd M. Irvine, Sarah S. Kienle, Carey E. Kuhn, Damian Lidgard, Stephanie A. Loredo, Bruce R. Mate, Kristian Metcalfe, Jacob Nzegoue, Carmen K. Kouerey Oliwina, Rachel A. Orben, Kiyoaki Ozaki, Richard Parnell, Elizabeth P. Pike, Patrick W. Robinson, Howard C. Rosenbaum, Fumio Sato, Scott A. Shaffer, Donna J. Shaver, Samantha E. Simmons, Brian J. Smith, Guy-Philippe Sounguet, Robert M. Suryan, David R. Thompson, Megan Tierney, Dominic Tilley, Hillary S. Young, Victoria Warwick-Evans, Michael J. Weise, Randall S. Wells, Bradley P. Wilkinson, Matthew J. Witt, Sarah M. Maxwell

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Marine protected areas (MPAs), particularly large MPAs, are increasing in number and size around the globe in part to facilitate the conservation of marine megafauna under the assumption that large-scale MPAs better align with vagile life histories; however, this alignment is not well established. Using a global tracking dataset from 36 species across five taxa, chosen to reflect the span of home range size in highly mobile marine megafauna, we show most MPAs are too small to encompass complete home ranges of most species. Based on size alone, 40% of existing MPAs could encompass the home ranges of the smallest …

Microbial Labilization And Diversification Of Pyrogenic Dissolved Organic Matter, Aleksandar I. Goranov, Andrew S. Wozniak, Kyle W. Bostick, Andrew R. Zimmerman, Siddhartha Mitra, Patrick G. Hatcher

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

With the increased occurrence of wildfires around the world, interest in the chemistry of pyrogenic organic matter (pyOM) and its fate in the environment has increased. Upon leaching from soils by rain events, significant amounts of dissolved pyOM (pyDOM) enter the aquatic environment and interact with microbial communities that are essential for cycling organic matter within the different biogeochemical cycles. To evaluate the biodegradability of pyDOM, aqueous extracts of laboratory-produced biochars were incubated with soil microbes, and the molecular changes to the composition of pyDOM were probed using ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry (Fourier transform–ion cyclotron resonance–mass spectrometry). Given that solar irradiation …

Taming The Data In The Internet Of Vehicles, Shahab Tayeb

Mineta Transportation Institute

As an emerging field, the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) has a myriad of security vulnerabilities that must be addressed to protect system integrity. To stay ahead of novel attacks, cybersecurity professionals are developing new software and systems using machine learning techniques. Neural network architectures improve such systems, including Intrusion Detection System (IDSs), by implementing anomaly detection, which differentiates benign data packets from malicious ones. For an IDS to best predict anomalies, the model is trained on data that is typically pre-processed through normalization and feature selection/reduction. These pre-processing techniques play an important role in training a neural network to optimize …

Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion (Mbrsd) Assessment – Final Report, Jerry D. Wiggert, Brandy N. Armstrong, M. Kemal Cambazoglu, Sandeep Kalathupurath Kuttan

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this project is to provide managers at the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR) with the scientific information needed to accurately address public concerns regarding the potential effects of the Louisiana Coastal Master Plan / Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion (MBrSD) on the jurisdictional waters and resources of Mississippi. The stated design purpose of the MBrSD is to reconnect and re-establish the deltaic sediment deposition process between the Mississippi River and the Breton Sound Basin through a diversion that will deliver up to 75,000 cfs of sediment-laden freshwater. The report presented herein provides …

Detecting Road Intersections Automatically From Satellite Images Using A Deep Learning Approach, Fatmaelzahraa Eltaher, Luis Miralles-Pechuán, Jane Courtney, Susan Mckeever

Datasets

Automatic detection of road intersections is an important task in various domains such as navigation, route planning, traffic prediction, and road network extraction. Road intersections range from simple three-way T-junctions (degree 3) to complex large-scale junctions with many branches. The location of intersections and their complexity is an important consideration in route planning, such as the requirement to avoid complex intersections on pedestrian journeys. This is relevant to vulnerable road users such as People with Blindness or Visually Impairment (PBVI) or children. Route planning applications, however, do not give information about the location or complexity of intersections as this information …

Impact Of Prairie Restoration On Geochemistry And Microbial Communities In Groundwater, Kayla Koenig

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Prairie restoration is important for reversing the loss of biodiversity and repairing ecosystem functions humanity is dependent on diverse ecosystems. This study looks at the impact of the beginning phases of prairie restoration on groundwater geochemistry and microbial communities the relationship between them. This research project studied the geochemistry and microbial communities in five wells before, during, and after the beginning phases of the first year of a prairie restoration on the Northern Illinois University campus. Water samples were collected bimonthly for a year and analyzed on an Ion Chromatograph. Microbial samples were collected monthly and underwent DNA extraction, amplification, …