Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Improving Information Literacy Through Wikipedia Editing In The Chemistry Classroom: Lessons Learned, Ye Li, Charity Flener Lovitt, Anne J. Mcneil, Kristen S. Shuyler

Libraries

Assignments in which students edit Wikipedia may help students learn about the complexities of information creation and production, while engaging them in researching and writing about topics related to class content. This chapter presents two case studies that illustrate how Wikipedia-based activities can be designed to achieve both chemistry and information literacy learning outcomes. In both examples, faculty partnered with a librarian to implement the Wikipedia editing assignments. Through these experiences, those involved learned about Wikipedia and its community, and identified promising practices for project requirements based on formal and informal assessment and observations. Reflections are offered on the value …

Teaching Climate Change Concepts And The Nature Of Science: A Library Activity To Identify Sources Of Climate Change Misconceptions, Charity Flener Lovitt, Kristen S. Shuyler

Libraries

A library activity was developed in which students found information about climate science misconceptions from popular and scientific literatures. As part of the activity, students developed a rubric to evaluate the credibility and type of literature sources they found. The activity prepared students to produce an annotated bibliography of articles, which they then used to create a training document about a climate science misconception for staff at a local science center. Evaluation of annotated bibliographies showed that students were able to distinguish between popular and scholarly literature but struggled to identify primary and secondary sources within the scholarly literature. In …

Two Combinatorial Proofs Of Identities Involving Sums Of Powers Of Binomial Coefficients, John Engbers, Christopher Stocker

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

A Hybrid Segmentation And D-Bar Method For Electrical Impedance Tomography, Sarah J. Hamilton, J. M. Reyes, Samuli Siltanen, X. Zhang

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

The regularized D-bar method for electrical impedance tomography (EIT) provides a rigorous mathematical approach for solving the full nonlinear inverse problem directly, i.e., without iterations. It is based on a low-pass filtering in the (nonlinear) frequency domain. However, the resulting D-bar reconstructions are inherently smoothed, leading to a loss of edge distinction. In this paper, a novel method that combines a D-bar approach with the edge-preserving nature of total variation (TV) regularization is presented. The method also includes a data-driven contrast adjustment technique guided by the key functions (CGO solutions) of the D-bar method. The new TV-enhanced D-bar …

An Ensemble Model Of Qsar Tools For Regulatory Risk Assessment, Prachi Pradeep, Richard J. Povinelli, Shannon White, Stephen Merrill

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

Quantitative structure activity relationships (QSARs) are theoretical models that relate a quantitative measure of chemical structure to a physical property or a biological effect. QSAR predictions can be used for chemical risk assessment for protection of human and environmental health, which makes them interesting to regulators, especially in the absence of experimental data. For compatibility with regulatory use, QSAR models should be transparent, reproducible and optimized to minimize the number of false negatives. In silico QSAR tools are gaining wide acceptance as a faster alternative to otherwise time-consuming clinical and animal testing methods. However, different QSAR tools often make conflicting …

Pain Level Detection From Facial Image Captured By Smartphone, Md Kamrul Hasan, Golam Mushih Tanimul Ahsan, Sheikh Iqbal Ahamed, Rechard Love, Reza Salim

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

Accurate symptom of cancer patient in regular basis is highly concern to the medical service provider for clinical decision making such as adjustment of medication. Since patients have limitations to provide self-reported symptoms, we have investigated how mobile phone application can play the vital role to help the patients in this case. We have used facial images captured by smart phone to detect pain level accurately. In this pain detection process, existing algorithms and infrastructure are used for cancer patients to make cost low and user-friendly. The pain management solution is the first mobile-based study as far as we found …

Solving Set Cover With Pairs Problem Using Quantum Annealing, Yudong Cao, Shuxian Jiang, Debbie Perouli, Sabre Kais

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

Here we consider using quantum annealing to solve Set Cover with Pairs (SCP), an NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem that plays an important role in networking, computational biology, and biochemistry. We show an explicit construction of Ising Hamiltonians whose ground states encode the solution of SCP instances. We numerically simulate the time-dependent Schrödinger equation in order to test the performance of quantum annealing for random instances and compare with that of simulated annealing. We also discuss explicit embedding strategies for realizing our Hamiltonian construction on the D-wave type restricted Ising Hamiltonian based on Chimera graphs. Our embedding on the Chimera graph …

A Generalized Gamma-Weibull Distribution: Model, Properties And Applications, R. S. Meshkat, H. Torabi, Gholamhossein G. Hamedani

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

We prepare a new method to generate family of distributions. Then, a family of univariate distributions generated by the Gamma random variable is defined. The generalized gamma-Weibull (GGW) distribution is studied as a special case of this family. Certain mathematical properties of moments are provided. To estimate the model parameters, the maximum likelihood estimators and the asymptotic distribution of the estimators are discussed. Certain characterizations of GGW distribution are presented. Finally, the usefulness of the new distribution, as well as its effectiveness in comparison with other distributions, are shown via an application of a real data set.

Challenges In Developing Applications For Aging Populations, Drew Marie Williams, Md O. Gani, Ivor D. Addo, Akm Jahangir Alam Majumder, Chandana Tamma, Mong-Te Wang, Chih-Hung Chang, Sheikh Iqbal Ahamed, Cheng-Chung Chu

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

Elderly individuals can greatly benefit from the use of computer applications, which can assist in monitoring health conditions, staying in contact with friends and family, and even learning new things. However, developing accessible applications for an elderly user can be a daunting task for developers. Since the advent of the personal computer, the benefits and challenges of developing applications for older adults have been a hot topic of discussion. In this chapter, the authors discuss the various challenges developers who wish to create applications for the elderly computer user face, including age-related impairments, generational differences in computer use, and the …

Learning About Modeling In Teacher Preparation Programs, Hyunyi Jung, Eryn Stehr, Jia He, Sharon L. Senk

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

This study explores opportunities that secondary mathematics teacher preparation programs provide to learn about modeling in algebra. Forty-eight course instructors and ten focus groups at five universities were interviewed to answer questions related to modeling. With the analysis of the interview transcripts and related course materials, we found few opportunities for PSTs to engage with the full modeling cycle. Examples of opportunities to learn about algebraic modeling and the participants’ perspectives on the opportunities can contribute to the study of modeling and algebra in teacher education.

On Six-Parameter Fréchet Distribution: Properties And Applications, Haitham M. Yousof, Ahmed Z. Afify, Abd El Hadi N. Ebraheim, Gholamhossein G. Hamedani, Nadeem Shafique Butt

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

This paper introduces a new generalization of the transmuted Marshall-Olkin Fréchet distribution of Afify et al. (2015), using Kumaraswamy generalized family. The new model is referred to as Kumaraswamy transmuted Marshall-Olkin Fréchet distribution. This model contains sixty two sub-models as special cases such as the Kumaraswamy transmuted Fréchet, Kumaraswamy transmuted Marshall-Olkin, generalized inverse Weibull and Kumaraswamy Gumbel type II distributions, among others. Various mathematical properties of the proposed distribution including closed forms for ordinary and incomplete moments, quantile and generating functions and Rényi and η-entropies are derived. The unknown parameters of the new distribution are estimated using the maximum …

The Transmuted Weibull-Pareto Distribution, Ahmed Z. Afify, Haitham M. Yousof, Nadeem Shafique Butt, Gholamhossein G. Hamedani

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

A new generalization of the Weibull-Pareto distribution called the transmuted Weibull-Pareto distribution is proposed and studied. Various mathematical properties of this distribution including ordinary and incomplete moments, quantile and generating functions, Bonferroni and Lorenz curves and order statistics are derived. The method of maximum likelihood is used for estimating the model parameters. The flexibility of the new lifetime model is illustrated by means of an application to a real data set.

A New Weibull-G Family Of Distributions, M. H. Tahir, Muhammad Zubair, M. Mansoor, Gauss M. Cordeiro, Morad Alizadeh, Gholamhossein Hamedani

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

Statistical analysis of lifetime data is an important topic in reliability engineering, biomedical and social sciences and others. We introduce a new generator based on the Weibull random variable called the new Weibull-G family. We study some of its mathematical properties. Its density function can be symmetrical, left-skewed, right-skewed, bathtub and reversed-J shaped, and has increasing, decreasing, bathtub, upside-down bathtub, J, reversed-J and S shaped hazard rates. Some special models are presented. We obtain explicit expressions for the ordinary and incomplete moments, quantile and generating functions, Renyi entropy, order statistics and reliability. Three useful characterizations based on truncated moments are …

Certain Characterizations Of Recently Introduced Distributions, Gholamhossein G. Hamedani, Seyed Morteza Najibi

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

Various characterizations of twenty two recently introduced distributions are presented. These characterizations are based on: (I) ration of two truncated moments; (ii) the hazard function and (iii) conditional expectations.

How Can We Have A Better Public Transportation System? –An Exploratory Agent Based Model, Boyu Liu

Pomona Senior Theses

Public transportation plays an integral part in a city's development, but transportation professionals disagree about whether it is feasible to increase the capacity of public transportation systems at a reasonable cost; and if it is, how. This study develops an agent based model that aims to answer this question and provide a framework to compare the effects of improvements in different aspects of the public transportation service. The results of this study show that it is possible to increase ridership enough to compensate for the increased operational cost, but only in certain circumstances. Interesting phenomenon that might have showed up …

Monte Carlo Approx. Methods For Stochastic Optimization, John Fowler

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis provides an overview of stochastic optimization (SP) problems and looks at how the Sample Average Approximation (SAA) method is used to solve them. We review several applications of this problem-solving technique that have been published in papers over the last few years. The number and variety of the examples should give an indication of the usefulness of this technique. The examples also provide opportunities to discuss important aspects of SPs and the SAA method including model assumptions, optimality gaps, the use of deterministic methods for finite sample sizes, and the accelerated Benders decomposition algorithm. We also give a …

Modification Of The G-Phonon Mode Of Graphene By Nitrogen Doping, Pavel V. Lukashev, Liuyan Zhao, Tula R. Paudel, Theanne Schiros, Noah Hurley, Evgeny Y. Tsymbal, Aron Pinczuk, Abhay Pasupathy, Rui He

Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience: Faculty Publications

The effect of nitrogen doping on the phonon spectra of graphene is analyzed. In particular, we employ first-principles calculations and scanning Raman analysis to investigate the dependence of phonon frequencies in graphene on the concentration of nitrogen dopants. We demonstrate that the G phonon frequency shows oscillatory behavior as a function of nitrogen concentration. We analyze different mechanisms which could potentially be responsible for this behavior, such as Friedel charge oscillations around the localized nitrogen impurity atom, the bond length change between nitrogen impurity and its nearest neighbor carbon atoms, and the long-range interactions of the nitrogen point defects. We …

Calculating Heat Of Formation Values Of Energetic Compounds: A Comparative Study, Michael S. Elioff, Jordon Hoy, John A. Bumpus

Faculty Publications

Heat of formation is one of several important parameters used to assess the performance of energetic compounds. We evaluated the ability of six different methods to accurately calculate gas-phase heat of formation (Δ _𝑓𝐻^𝑜 _298,g) values for a test set of 45 nitrogencontaining energetic compounds. Density functional theory coupled with the use of isodesmic or other balanced equations yielded calculated results in which 82% (37 of 45) of the Δ _𝑓𝐻^𝑜 _298,g values were within ±2.0 kcal/mol of the most recently recommended experimental/reference values available. This was compared to a procedure using density functional theory …

2d Seismic Data And Gas Chimney Interpretation In The South Taranaki Graben, New Zealand, Taqi Talib Alzaki

Masters Theses

"The Taranaki Basin is one of the major oil and gas producing basins offshore New Zealand. The study area covers an area of 10,000 km² in the basin, and includes 171 2D seismic lines and six wells, which are provided by the New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals. Some previous studies refer to the study area as the South Taranaki Graben.

This thesis provides detailed mapping and interpreted subsurface stratigraphy and structure of five horizons, i.e. basement top, Pakawau Group top, Kapuni Group top, Wai-iti Group top, and seafloor. It undertakes studies of the relation between the basin evolution, faults, …

Phytoforensics Tools: The Degradation And Detection Of Chlorinated Solvents In Integrated Systems, Tommy J. Goodwin Jr.

Masters Theses

"Due to decades of mismanaged pollutants entering groundwater, subsurface pollution of various compounds has become a widespread challenge. Chlorinated solvents are the most common groundwater contaminants that persist in aquifers, and remediation of these wide-spread plumes is difficult. Bioremediation, permeable reactive barriers, and phytoremediation are remedial technologies that have been developed and applied to chlorinated solvents in groundwater systems. This study integrates these technologies in different combinations to demonstrate the remediation potential of this approach. Zerovalent iron (ZVI) and bioaugmentation with a Dehalococcoides sp. (DHC) culture were applied separately and in combination for degradation of perchloroethene (PCE). Salix pentandra were …

Influences On The Successful Implementation Of The Convention On Wetlands Of International Importance (Ramsar) Among Member Countries, Aziza Saud Al Adhoobi

LSU Master's Theses

Wetlands are very dynamic ecosystems and are featured all over the world’s landscape. Recent studies suggested that wetlands are in continuous decline, both and quantity and quality and between 64-71% is the estimated global wetland loss in the 20th century (Davidson 2014; Gardner et al., 2015). Therefore, as wetland loss increases around the world, more effort to protect and restore wetland habitat, values, and services become crucial. For this reason, the Ramsar Convention was established four decades ago to highlight the severity of wetland loss and to produce guidelines that aim to guide Contracting Parties toward sustainable and efficient management …

Thin Films Of Semiconducting Polymers And Block Copolymers By Surface-Initiated Polymerization, Sang Gil Youm

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The ability to control nanoscale morphology and molecular organization in organic semiconducting polymer thin films is an important prerequisite for enhancing the efficiency of organic thin-film devices, including organic light-emitting and photovoltaic devices. The current “top-down” paradigm for making such devices is based on utilizing solution-based processing (e.g. spin-casting) of soluble semiconducting polymers. This approach typically provides only modest control over nanoscale molecular organization and polymer chain alignment. A promising alternative to using solutions of pre-synthesized semiconducting polymers pursues instead a “bottom-up” approach to prepare surface-grafted semiconducting polymer thin films by surface-initiated polymerization of small-molecule monomers. This dissertation mainly focuses …

Comparison Of Advanced Radiotherapy Techniques For Post-Mastectomy Breast Cancer Patients, David Elward Heins

LSU Master's Theses

Purpose: To determine if bolus electron conformal therapy (BECT) combined with volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and flattening filter free volumetric modulated arc therapy (FFFVMAT (6x and 10x)) can maintain equal or better dose coverage than standard volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) while reducing doses to organs at risk (OARs). Methods: BECT+VMAT, FFFVMAT (6x and 10x), and VMAT treatment plans were produced for ten post-mastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) patients previously treated at our clinic. The treatment plans were created on a commercially available treatment planning system (TPS) and all completed treatment plans were reviewed and approved by a radiation oncologist. The …

Effects Of Landscape Fragmentation On Land Loss, Weijia Cheng

LSU Master's Theses

Coastal Louisiana, the seventh largest delta on earth, is one of the most vulnerable coastal areas in the United States of America (USA) because of its land loss problem. Coastal land loss is usually caused by many complicated factors. With the rapid increase in human activities, more studies on land loss have focused on the anthropogenic elements, but less on the pattern of the landscape. It is expected that the type of spatial arrangement, such as high degree of fragmentation, would affect the degree of land erosion. A quantitative evaluation of coastal landscape fragmentation and its influences on land loss …

The Photodegradation Of 2,6-Dichloro-4-Nitroaniline (Dcna) In Freshwater And Saltwater, Emily Noelle Vebrosky

LSU Master's Theses

The fungicide 2,6-dichloro-4-nitroaniline (DCNA) is applied to crops grown in areas near both freshwater and saltwater bodies and it can enter the surface waters where it is susceptible to photolysis; limited information is published on the photodegradation of DCNA. It has been shown that the salinity of seawater can influence both the overall rate of degradation of chemicals and impact the distribution and types of photoproducts generated during the photodegradation processes of a pesticide. The photodegradation of DCNA was measured in distilled water, artificial seawater, estuarine water, and phosphate buffer to determine the degree of differences in the degradation rate …

Relative Resistance To Breaking Of Pinus Taeda L. And Pinus Palustris, Cory Glenn Garms

LSU Master's Theses

Patterns from hurricane damage give an indication that longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) is more windfirm than loblolly pine (Pinus taeda). Tree windfirmess has been attributed to many factors including species and material properties like wood strength and stiffness. Because longleaf pine wood is stronger and stiffer than loblolly pine wood, this study used static winching methodology to see if these properties account for differences in windfirmness by measuring bending force required to break stems (MMAX). Stress-strain diagrams were constructed for pulled trees to explore how they behave under increasing loads. Based on these diagrams, it appears that living trees can …

Social Media Network Data Mining And Optimization, Neha Clare Jose

LSU Master's Theses

Many small social aid organizations could benefit from collaborating with other organizations on common causes, but may not have the necessary social relationships. We present a framework for a recommender system for the Louisiana Poverty Initiative that identifies member organizations with common causes and aims to forge connections between these organizations. Our framework employs a combination of graph and text analyses of the organizations' Facebook pages. We use NodeXL, a plugin to Microsoft Excel, to download the Facebook graph and to interface with SNAP, the Stanford Network Analysis Platform, for calculating network measurements. Our framework extends NodeXL with algorithms that …

Applying Deep Learning Techniques To The Analysis Of Android Apks, Robin Andrew Nix

LSU Master's Theses

Malware targeting mobile devices is a pervasive problem in modern life and as such tools to detect and classify malware are of great value. This paper seeks to demonstrate the effectiveness of Deep Learning Techniques, specifically Convolutional Neural Networks, in detecting and classifying malware targeting the Android operating system. Unlike many current detection techniques, which require the use of relatively rigid features to aid in detection, deep neural networks are capable of automatically learning flexible features which may be more resilient to obfuscation. We present a parsing for extracting sequences of API calls which can be used to describe a …

Pesticide Partitioning In Louisiana Wetland Aand Ricefield Sediment, Brendan Michael Marsh

LSU Master's Theses

Pesticides are used globally and are often found within bodies of water. The EPA investigates the potential environmental impact through computer modeling in order to help mitigate some of the regulatory burden of pesticide fate investigation. Currently when pesticides enter a water body, the Exposure Analysis Modeling System (EXAMS) estimates partitioning depth as 5 cm and assumes equal distribution. This assumption was tested with a wide variety of pesticides with varying Koc ranges and water solubilities. Savillex 150 ml Teflon tubes were filled with wetland and ricefield sediments with fresh and seawater as the aqueous phase. The seven pesticides tested …

Methodologies Utilizing Protected Oxyallyl Cations For Molecular Design, Jacob Reuben Stepherson

LSU Master's Theses

This master’s thesis discusses developments of novel organic methodologies utilizing oxyallyl cationic systems in the pursuit of highly functionalized molecular scaffolds. Chapter 1 focuses on the discovery of the oxyallyl cation intermediate, and examines reported transformations. Detailed optimization and substrate studies following exploitation of a protected 2-oxyallyl cation for nucleophilc capture comprises the information in both Chapter 2 and Chapter 3. Chapter 4 extends methodologies performed by my colleagues and establishes a tandem process using 2-silyloxypentadienyl cations to furnish complex structures. In this report, reaction design and optimization are chronicled, followed by exploration into the reactivity, mechanism, and scope of …