Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Synthesis And Characterization Of 9,10-Bis-(Iodoethynyl)Anthracene For 2d Molecular Crystals From Halogen-Bonding, Nehemiah Antoine

Honors Theses

Two-dimensional crystals have unique properties, giving them the potential to develop practical items such as electronics, biomedicine, and sensors. Our goal is to use chemical principles to synthesize molecules that spontaneously form 2D crystals with designed patterns and properties. For this, we will exploit directional, non-covalent interactions to determine what pattern will form in 2D. In this project halogen-bonding will be utilized: halogen-bonding is the interaction between the electrophilic region of a halogen and a nucleophilic region of a Lewis base. We are functionalizing anthracenes with iodine and nitrogen to form halogen bonds that enable the molecules to pack more …

Table Of Contents

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Exploring Decentralized Computing Using Solid And Ipfs For Social Media Applications, Pranav Balasubramanian Natarajan

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

As traditional centralized social media platforms face growing concerns over data privacy, censorship, and lack of user control, there has been an increasing interest in decentralized alternatives. This thesis explores the design and implementation of a decentralized social media application by integrating two key technologies: Solid and the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS). Solid, led by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, enables users to store and manage their personal data in decentralized "Pods," giving them ownership over their digital identities. IPFS, a peer-to-peer hypermedia protocol, facilitates decentralized file storage and sharing, ensuring content availability and resilience against censorship. By leveraging these technologies, the …

Machine Learning And Geostatistical Approaches For Discovery Of Weather And Climate Events Related To El Niño Phenomena, Sachi Perera

Computational and Data Sciences (PhD) Dissertations

El Nino and La Nina are worldwide environmental phenomena brought about by repetitive changes in the water temperature of the Pacific Ocean. Even though the El-Nino impact focuses on a smaller area in the Pacific Ocean near the Equator, these developments have global repercussions, where temperature and precipitation are influenced across the globe, causing droughts and floods simultaneously. In this dissertation, we first derived a drought vulnerability index for the Nile basin, identifying regions with high and low drought risk under ENSO conditions. Next, we evaluated the coherence and periodicity of the ENSO signal to detect its implications on MENA …

Categorizing The Societal Impacts From Extreme Rainfall In The New York City Metropolitan Area, Evan Belkin

ALL - Honors Theses

Numerous studies have shown that the frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events have increased significantly across the contiguous United States (CONUS) over the past several decades associated with warming global temperatures. This surge in extreme rainfall has resulted in the loss of life and property within vulnerable communities due to widespread river and flash flooding. For example, 11 of the 14 fatalities in New York City associated with Tropical Cyclone Ida’s remnants in September 2021 occurred in flooded basement apartments. The creation of a scale to differentiate extreme rainfall events with higher societal impacts from those with lower impacts …

Detection And Classification Of Diabetic Retinopathy Using Deep Learning Models, Aishat Olatunji

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Healthcare analytics leverages extensive patient data for data-driven decision-making, enhancing patient care and results. Diabetic Retinopathy (DR), a complication of diabetes, stems from damage to the retina’s blood vessels. It can affect both type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients. Ophthalmologists employ retinal images for accurate DR diagnosis and severity assessment. Early detection is crucial for preserving vision and minimizing risks. In this context, we utilized a Kaggle dataset containing patient retinal images, employing Python’s versatile tools. Our research focuses on DR detection using deep learning techniques. We used a publicly available dataset to apply our proposed neural network and …

Descriptions Of Interglacial Mastodons From Snowmass, Colorado, Connor White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Ziegler Reservoir fossil site (ZRFS) in Colorado contains over 4000 mastodon bones that date from 140,000 to 100,000 years ago. At an elevation of ~2705 meters above sea level, ZRFS represents an alpine ecosystem dated to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5. Formal descriptions of cheek teeth, mandibles, crania, and femora were completed. Statistical analyses of the upper and lower third molars, including a novel measurement of interloph(id) distances, indicate significant differences between ZRFS mastodons and Mammut pacificus, while falling within the ranges for Mammut americanum. This study agrees with the taxonomic assignment of ZRFS mastodons to Mammut …

Interpreting Shift Encoders As State Space Models For Stationary Time Series, Patrick Donkoh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Time series analysis is a statistical technique used to analyze sequential data points collected or recorded over time. While traditional models such as autoregressive models and moving average models have performed sufficiently for time series analysis, the advent of artificial neural networks has provided models that have suggested improved performance. In this research, we provide a custom neural network; a shift encoder that can capture the intricate temporal patterns of time series data. We then compare the sparse matrix of the shift encoder to the parameters of the autoregressive model and observe the similarities. We further explore how we can …

Dimensional Regularization And Two-Loop Vacuum Polarization Operator: Master Integrals, Analytic Results, And Energy Shifts, Stefano Laporta, Ulrich D. Jentschura

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We Present a Complete Reevaluation of the Irreducible Two-Loop Vacuum-Polarization Correction to the Photon Propagator in Quantum Electrodynamics, i.e. with an Electron-Positron Pair in the Fermion Propagators. the Integration is Carried Out by Reducing the Integrations to a Limited Set of Master Integrals, Which Are Calculated using Integration-By-Parts Identities. Dimensional Regularization is Used in D=4-2ϵ Dimensions, and On-Mass Shell Renormalization is Employed. the One-Loop Effect is Given to Order ϵ, to Be Combined with the 1/ϵ Divergence of the Two-Loop Amplitude. Master Integrals Are Given. Final Evaluations of Two-Loop Energy Shifts for 1S, 2S, and 2P States Are Done Analytically, …

The Forget Time For Random Walks On Trees Of A Fixed Diameter, Lola R. Vescovo

Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Honors Projects

A mixing measure is the expected length of a random walk on a graph given a set of starting and stopping conditions. We study a mixing measure called the forget time. Given a graph G, the pessimal access time for a target distribution is the expected length of an optimal stopping rule to that target distribution, starting from the worst initial vertex. The forget time of G is the smallest pessimal access time among all possible target distributions. We prove that the balanced double broom maximizes the forget time on the set of trees on n vertices with diameter …

Simulacra And Historical Fidelity In Digital Recreation Of Lost Cultural Heritage: Reconstituting Period Materialities For The Period Eye, Trent Olsen, James Hutson, Charles O'Brien, Jeremiah Ratican

Faculty Scholarship

The advancement of digital technologies in art history has opened avenues for reconstructing lost or damaged cultural heritage, a need highlighted by the deteriorated state of many artworks from the 1785 Salon. Grounded in the concept of the “Period Eye” by art historian Michael Baxandall, which emphasizes understanding artworks within their original historical and cultural contexts, this study proposes a subfield focused on Reconstituting Period Materialities for the Period Eye. This methodology bridges comprehensive historical research with generative visual artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, facilitating the creation and immersive virtual reality viewing of artworks. Beyond mere visual replication, the approach aims …

The Search For Photonuclear Interactions Of Muons Utilizing Test Beam Data At The Large Hadron Collider, Miranda M. Williams

2024 Spring Honors Capstone Projects

The ATLAS Detector is one of four different types of detectors within the Large Hadron Collider and is used to study the fundamental theories of the universe. Within the ATLAS experiment, beams of known composition and energies – otherwise known as “test beams” – are one of the many methods used to study specific physical phenomena. In this study, a test beam of muons with an energy of 160 GeV was analyzed to search for evidence of photonuclear interactions. This necessitated analyzing and filtering over 50,000 total events using specific parameters that would indicate such an event had occurred. To …

Legislative Recommendations On Biometric Security And Privacy Jurisprudence, Joshua M. Morrow

All Student Scholarship

This project focuses on the prevalence of biometrics today, their various applications, and the biometric laws and legislations in place in the United States (U.S.) and Maine. Due to various threats and vulnerabilities imposing risk on collecting and using peoples’ biometric data, sufficient cyber protections related to citizens’ privacy rights, ethical control, and security of personally identifiable information (PII) must become necessary components of contemporary biometric laws and legislation. Without such explicit cyber protections, citizens participate in and comply with various technical domains and entities, such as private companies and governmental agencies, with minimal awareness or comprehension that their sensitive …

Ai And Advocacy: Maximizing Potential, Minimizing Risk, Matthew Salzano, Nicholas Fung, Ada Lin, Sofia Marchetta, Faith Colombo, Kaylah Davis, John Flynn, Carlos Fuentes, Fion Li, Malar Paavi Muthukumaran, Angelica Paramoshin, Chrisanne Pearce, Vianney Ramos, Charles St. Hilaire, Xi Zheng, Wei Zhuang

School of Communication and Journalism Faculty Publications

New Generative AI tools are revolutionizing writing and communication. This report focuses on AI and advocacy, the act of influencing public policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions. This report identifies three major opportunities and accompanying risks, plus one strong recommendation for advocates considering using AI. We argue that AI can be useful for advocates, but they must be careful to center human judgment and avoid risks that could distract from their important work or even contribute to societal harms.

Enabling More Efficient Solar Thermal Energy Production And Storage, Allan Wilson

Poster Presentations

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) stores & transfers energy using a Thermal Energy Storage Fluid (EIA AEO 2022)

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, Spring 2024, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2 New Faculty and New Club on Campus
Page 3 2024 URSCAD Awards
Page 4 Day of Scholars 2024
Page 5 SDSU's First Representation at the Association for Anatomy's 2024
Annual Conference
Page 6-7 2024 Honor's College Convocation
Page 8 Other Student Activities
Page 9 Faculty Awards
Page 10-11 Other News
Page 12 2024 Drone Day and American Association of Geographers Convention - Hawaii
Page 13 55th Annual Geography Convention
Page 14 2024 Stethoscope Ceremony
Page 15 Open PRAIRIE Data

Coastal-Ocean And Estuarine Acidification In Long Bay, South Carolina: A Comparison Of In-Situ Water Quality Monitoring With Measured Carbonate System Parameters, Mary Olsen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One of the major water-quality issues impacting our coast and estuaries is coastal-ocean and estuarine acidification. Due to a relative dearth of data in the southeastern United States it is increasingly difficult to determine the full extent and intensity of this problem. This study provides the first characterization of coastal-ocean and estuarine acidification in Long Bay, SC by attempting to leverage long-term water quality data sets at two coastal-ocean pier sites using in-situ YSI EXO sondes deployed at both the surface and bottom waters along with two estuarine sites sampled by volunteer monitors using Orion star multi-meters. Discrete samples (120) …

Innovative Rate Design As A Free Market Solution To Climate, Resiliency, And Economic Challenges, Brendan J. Moore

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A century-old problem of electricity rate design is cost-shifting between ratepayers (Wellinghoff, J. & Tong, J., 2015). A much newer cost-shifting example of great and increasing importance happens whenever ratepayer generated “renewable energy” is sold to the grid—all too often, this is accused of being unfairly rewarded (Ritchie, 2016). ProRate resolves both these concerns and ProRate can actually be derived simply from the premise of avoiding “all” cost shifts between ratepayers (Katz, CLEPm Rewards to Arrest Demand Cost-Shifting, 2019; Katz, CLEP5 Rewards to Arrest Energy Cost-Shifting, 2019). Another major problem with the Old Utility Model is the lack of price …

High-Dimensional Mediation Analysis Of Multi-Omics Data, Sunyi Chi

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Environmental exposures such as cigarette smoking influence health outcomes through intermediate molecular phenotypes, such as the methylome, transcriptome, and metabolome. Mediation analysis is a useful tool for investigating the role of potentially high-dimensional intermediate phenotypes in the relationship between environmental exposures and health outcomes. Rapid development of high-throughput technologies have made mediation analysis of multi-omics data critical to gain groundbreaking insights into the biological mechanisms underlying the disease etiology. This dissertation aims to develop mediation analysis methods that utilize the enormous amount of multi-omics data in assessing mechanisms of disease etiology. It contains three projects where I propose advanced mediation …

Understanding The Public Reaction To Major United States Environmental Policies Through Twitter, Ryan Giammarco

Honors Projects in Data Science

An increased focus on access to general data as well as a continued lack of usable environmental data have resulted in an odd phenomenon where the public does not have the opportunity to understand their environment on a deep level. The goal of this research is to understand, as a result, how people both talk and feel about certain environmental changes, particularly those in the realm of politics. Through word clouds and sentiment analysis performed with historical Twitter data collected between 2010 and 2022, we can identify the general trends in both conversation and feeling as they relate to a …

Public Horticulture: Process And Design Of The Lincoln Botanical Garden, Brad Kindler

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Beginning in 2012, the local non-profit, The Lincoln Botanical Garden, began organizing the conceptual design and creation of a glass conservatory within a botanical garden in Lincoln, Nebraska. These proposed urban enhancements seek to fill a gap in garden amenities in the city by providing year-round access to public horticulture programming and education.

This project, Public Horticulture: Process and Design of the Lincoln Botanical Garden, documents these efforts and makes design recommendations for a themed Glacial Erratic Garden that could be constructed within the botanical garden.

Advisors: Ellen Paparozzi and Sam Wortman

The Effects Of Amphibole- And Sulfide-Producing Melts On Crustal Strength In Gabbros Of Lower Oceanic Crust In Oceanic Core Complexes, Mid-Atlantic And Southwest Indian Ridges, Trevor Hoffmann

Master's Theses

This study investigates gabbro-cored oceanic core complexes in the slow-spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) and the ultraslow spreading Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR). Dikelets are a texture found in thin section samples from these systems that form as a result of crystal-plastic deformation. Thin section samples from the Atlantis Massif, MARK Area, and 13˚-15˚ North of the MAR and the Atlantis Bank of the SWIR were observed with petrography to find these dikelets and identify what type of dikelet is present. SEM-EDS is used to identify the mineral assemblages present in the dikelets. LA-ICP-MS is used on amphibole to determine if its …

The Effect Of Agrivoltaics On Irrigation Water Consumption In Central California, London Camba

Undergraduate Theses

An agricultural system where solar energy generation and agricultural systems are used together for mutual benefit, agrivoltaics reduces loss of water due to evaporation, particularly in drylands. Central California has faced extreme droughts, and water has become a scarce resource. However, the wide-scale use of agrivoltaics has been limited due to lack of knowledge about agrivoltaics and also the lack of funding for start-up agrivoltaics projects. Therefore, this research investigated the potential for agrivoltaics in Central California to reduce irrigation water consumption using a review of multiple crop studies using agrivoltaics to determine an optimal crop for agrivoltaics and a …

Modeling Sex-Specific Changes In Myocardial Fibrosis, Grace Martin

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Heart disease the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. Cardiac fibrosis, or accumulation of extracellular matrix proteins in the heart, can occur after a heart attack and increase the risk for further complications. Current treatments for heart disease do not include extracellular matrix regulators, partly due to the complicated signaling network responsible for the production of these proteins. By using a computational model of the signaling network in cardia fibroblasts, the relationship between particular molecules and downstream extracellular matrix production can be examined.

Biological sex is an important factor for cardiac health and …

Using Machine Learning To Identify Hate Speech And Offensive Language On Twitter., Mayara Lorens, Thayene Lorens

BSc (Hons) in Computing in IT

The central theme of this project is the application of Machine Learning to identify both hate speech and offensive language on Twitter. We chose this topic for its ethical relevance in the technological environment and its business potential. This topic raises concerns such as cyberbullying and the existence of a hostile environment for users. For this reason, we sought to implement four different models to create an automated system capable of identifying and categorizing whether specific content is offensive, non-offensive or neutral.

Developing A Convolutional Neural Network (Cnn) Model For Facial Expression Recognition (Fer), Danrlei Martins, Leonardo Diesel

ICT

This Capstone Project focused on developing an accurate Facial Expression Recognition (FER) model by leveraging deep learning techniques, specifically Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). The objective was to explore, design, and implement custom architectures and evaluate their performance against existing work. The process involved several stages, such as data preprocessing, data augmentation, architecture design, hyperparameter tuning, and performance assessment using metrics like accuracy and F1-score while utilizing the FER-2013 dataset for training. The resulting FER model exhibited competitive accuracy levels and generalization capabilities, opening up opportunities for real-time implementation and application across various domains.

Development Of A High-Resolution Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy Apparatus For The Study Of Methane And Other Astrochemical Molecules., S M Shah Riyadh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research documents steps towards building a novel spectroscopic technique, namely, cavity-enhanced double-resonance (CEDR) spectroscopy, for investigating methane (CH₄) and other molecules with significance in astrochemistry. These efforts focus on tackling the complexities of their ro-vibrational energy levels and the inefficiencies in analyzing vibrational spectra, particularly for molecules with high symmetry and strong intramolecular interactions. In the CEDR spectroscopy, the first photon, generated by a continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator (CW-OPO) locked to a Doppler-free saturation absorption line, excites the molecule from its ground level to a selected excited ro-vibrational (rotational-vibrational) level, e.g., that of the asymmetric CH-stretch mode. …

Chemical Analysis Of Hemp-Infused Supplements Using High Performance Liquid Chromatography And Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Julie A. Milbrand

Forensic Science Master's Projects

Hemp and marijuana consumption in the United States can be dated back many centuries as being an essential component of the medicinal, industrial, and recreational markets while maintaining its extremely controversial status amongst the scientific and political communities. While researchers suggest that the plant in which both hemp and marijuana are derived from, Cannabis Satvia, contains more than 600 chemicals, the vast majority of research has been conducted on cannabinoids, which account for about 60 of them. Major phytochemicals from cannabis include its psychoactive agent, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and non-psychoactive cannabidiol (CBD), cannabigerol (CBG), and many others. Employing the use …

Greening The Green: Examining The Resource Use Of Golf Courses With Suggestions On How To Improve Their Sustainability, Kaelan Addison Lestock '24

Honor Scholar Theses

Golf is a journey full of challenges, requiring each player to strive for precision, rather than merely a game of getting a small, dimpled ball in a cup hundreds of yards away in the fewest strokes possible The game is both physical and mental; it tests one’s focus, decision making, and resilience. Those who play competitively rarely feel as though they are competing against another player, instead their opponent is the course. And for those who play recreationally, the game can be a time to reconnect with nature, foster both old and new friendships, or enjoy the pursuit for perfection. …

A Chemical And Historical Analysis Of Beer: Discovering Brewing Styles And Beer Stages, Alexander Taylor '24

Honor Scholar Theses

This interdisciplinary project is designed to explore both the compositional qualities of beer during the brewing process and its impact on society from a cultural, economic, and social viewpoint. Comparing various styles of beer against each other in a historical, societal, and chemical lens allows for a deeper understanding of what creates a beer’s identity, and what makes it different from other styles. Here we analyzed two different styles of beer, a bock lager and a saison ale, in order to determine their chemical composition through their developmental stages to their final product. Based on previously published research and extended …