Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Sexual Selection As A Tool To Improve Student Reasoning Of Evolution, Sarah K. Spier, Joseph Dauer

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

There is an emphasis on survival-based selection in biology education that can allow students to neglect other important evolutionary components, such as sexual selection, reproduction, and inheritance. Student understanding of the role of reproduction in evolution is as important as student understanding of the role of survival. Limiting instruction to survival- based scenarios (e.g., effect of food on Galapagos finch beak shape) may not provide students with enough context to guide them to complete evolutionary reasoning. Different selection forces can work in concert or oppose one another, and sexual selection can lead to the selection of trait variants that are …

Enhanced Convolutional Neural Network For Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Classification, Yahya Tashtoush, Rasha Obeidat, Abdallah Al-Shorman, Omar Darwish, Mohammad A. Al-Ramahi, Dirar Darweesh

Computer Information Systems Faculty Publications

Lung cancer is a common type of cancer that causes death if not detected
early enough. Doctors use computed tomography (CT) images to diagnose
lung cancer. The accuracy of the diagnosis relies highly on the doctor's
expertise. Recently, clinical decision support systems based on deep learning
valuable recommendations to doctors in their diagnoses. In this paper, we
present several deep learning models to detect non-small cell lung cancer in
CT images and differentiate its main subtypes namely adenocarcinoma,
large cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma. We adopted standard
convolutional neural networks (CNN), visual geometry group-16 (VGG16),
and VGG19. Besides, we …

Drone Detection Using Yolov5, Burchan Aydin, Subroto Singha

Faculty Publications

The rapidly increasing number of drones in the national airspace, including those for recreational and commercial applications, has raised concerns regarding misuse. Autonomous drone detection systems offer a probable solution to overcoming the issue of potential drone misuse, such as drug smuggling, violating people’s privacy, etc. Detecting drones can be difficult, due to similar objects in the sky, such as airplanes and birds. In addition, automated drone detection systems need to be trained with ample amounts of data to provide high accuracy. Real-time detection is also necessary, but this requires highly configured devices such as a graphical processing unit (GPU). …

The Giant Accreting Protoplanet Survey (Gaplanets): Optimization Techniques For Robust Detections Of Protoplanets, Jéa I. Adams Redai, Katherine B. Follette, Jason Wang, Clare Leonard, William Balmer, Laird M. Close, Beck Dacus, Jared R. Males, Katie M. Morzinski, Joseph Palmo, Laurent Pueyo, Elijah Spiro, Helena Treiber, Kimberly Ward-Duong, Alex Watson

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

High-contrast imaging has afforded astronomers the opportunity to study light directly emitted by adolescent (tens of megayears) and “proto” (<10 >Myr) planets still undergoing formation. Direct detection of these planets is enabled by empirical point-spread function (PSF) modeling and removal algorithms. The computational intensity of such algorithms, as well as their multiplicity of tunable input parameters, has led to the prevalence of ad hoc optimization approaches to high-contrast imaging results. In this work, we present a new, systematic approach to optimization vetted using data of the high-contrast stellar companion HD 142527 B from the Magellan Adaptive Optics Giant Accreting Protoplanet …

Trophically Integrated Ecometric Models As Tools For Demonstrating Spatial And Temporal Functional Changes In Mammal Communities, Rachel A. Short, Jenny L. Mcguire, P. David Polly, A. Michelle Lawing

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

We are in a modern biodiversity crisis that will restructure community compositions and ecological functions globally. Large mammals, important contributors to ecosystem function, have been affected directly by purposeful extermination and indirectly by climate and land-use changes, yet functional turnover is rarely assessed on a global scale using metrics based on functional traits. Using ecometrics, the study of functional trait distributions and functional turnover, we examine the relationship between vegetation cover and locomotor traits for artiodactyl and carnivoran communities. We show that the ability to detect a functional relationship is strengthened when locomotor traits of both primary consumers (artiodactyls, n …

Lidar And Deep Learning Reveal Forest Structural Controls On Snowpack, Ahmad Hojatimalekshah, Joel Gongora, Josh Enterkine, Nancy F. Glenn, T. Trevor Caughlin, Hans-Peter Marshall, Christopher A. Hiemstra

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Forest structure has a strong relationship with abiotic components of the environment. For example, canopy morphology controls snow depth through interception and modifies incoming thermal radiation. In turn, snow water availability affects forest growth, carbon sequestration, and nutrient cycling. We investigated how structural diversity and topography affect snow depth patterns across scales. The study site, Grand Mesa, Colorado, is representative of many areas worldwide where declining snowpack and its consequences for forest ecosystems are increasingly an environmental concern. On the basis of a convolution neural network model (R² of 0.64; root mean squared error of 0.13 m), we …

Modeling And Fitting Two-Way Tables Containing Outliers, David L. Farnsworth

Articles

A model is proposed for two-way tables of measurement data containing outliers. The two independent variables are categorical and error free. Neither missing values nor replication are present. The model consists of the sum of a customary additive part that can be fit using least squares and a part that is composed of outliers. Recommendations are made for methods for identifying cells containing outliers and for fitting the model. A graph of the observations is used to determine the outliers’ locations. For all cells containing an outlier, replacement values are determined simultaneously using a classical missing-data tool. The result is …

Elements Of Higher Homotopy Groups Undetectable By Polyhedral Approximation, John K. Aceti, Jeremy Brazas

Mathematics Faculty Publications

When nontrivial local structures are present in a topological space X, a common approach to characterizing the isomorphism type of the n-th homotopy group πn(X, x0) is to consider the image of πn(X, x0) in the nth Cˇ ech homotopy group πˇ n(X, x0) under the canonical homomorphism 9n : πn(X, x0) → πˇ n(X, x0). The subgroup ker(9n) is the obstruction to this tactic as it consists of precisely those elements of πn(X, x0), which cannot be detected by polyhedral approximations to X. In this paper, we use higher dimensional analogues of Spanier groups to characterize ker(9n). In particular, …

Sustainable And Organic Beekeeping In Chester County, John Pisciotta

Sustainability Research & Practice Seminar Presentations

Professor John Pisciotta, Biology - Sustainable and Organic Beekeeping in Chester County

Real-Time Hierarchical Map Segmentation For Coordinating Multi-Robot Exploration, Tianze Luo, Zichen Chen, Budhitama Subagdja, Ah-Hwee Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Coordinating a team of autonomous agents to explore an environment can be done by partitioning the map of the environment into segments and allocating the segments as targets for the individual agents to visit. However, given an unknown environment, map segmentation must be conducted in a continuous and incremental manner. In this paper, we propose a novel real-time hierarchical map segmentation method for supporting multi-agent exploration of indoor environments, wherein clusters of regions of segments are formed hierarchically from randomly sampled points in the environment. Each cluster is then assigned with a cost-utility value based on the minimum cost possible …

Correlated Dynamics Of Collective Droplet Excitations In A One-Dimensional Harmonic Trap, I. A. Englezos, Simeon I. Mistakidis, P. Schmelcher

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We Address The Existence And Dynamics Of One-Dimensional Harmonically Confined Quantum Droplets Appearing In Two-Component Mixtures By Deploying A Nonperturbative Approach. We Find That, In Symmetric Homonuclear Settings, Beyond-Lee-Huang-Yang Correlations Result In Flat-Top Droplet Configurations For Either Decreasing Intercomponent Attraction Or Larger Atom Number. Asymmetric Mixtures Feature Spatial Mixing Among The Involved Components With The More Strongly Interacting Or Heavier One Exhibiting Flat-Top Structures. Applying Quenches On The Harmonic Trap We Trigger The Lowest-Lying Collective Droplet Excitations. The Interaction-Dependent Breathing Frequency, Being Slightly Reduced In The Presence Of Correlations, Shows A Decreasing Trend For Stronger Attractions. Semianalytical Predictions Are Also …

Seismic Azimuthal Anisotropy Beneath A Fast Moving Ancient Continent: Constraints From Shear Wave Splitting Analysis In Australia, Kailun Ba, Stephen S. Gao, Jianguo Song, Kelly H. Liu

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Seismic Azimuthal Anisotropy Beneath Australia is Investigated using Splitting of the Teleseismic PKS, SKKS, and SKS Phases to Delineate Asthenospheric Flow and Lithospheric Deformation Beneath One of the Oldest and Fast-Moving Continents on Earth. in Total 511 Pairs of High-Quality Splitting Parameters Were Observed at 116 Seismic Stations. Unlike Other Stable Continental Areas in Africa, East Asia, and North America, Where Spatially Consistent Splitting Parameters Dominate, the Fast Orientations and Splitting Times Observed in Australia Show a Complex Pattern, with a Slightly Smaller Than Normal Average Splitting Time of 0.85 ± 0.33 S. on the North Australian Craton, the Fast …

Quantification Of Age-Related Changes In The Lateral Organization Of The Lipid Portion Of The Intact Membranes Isolated From The Left And Right Eye Lenses Of The Same Human Donor, Laxman Mainali, Marija Raguz, Witold Karol Subczynski

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The continuous wave EPR spin-labeling method was used to evaluate age-related changes in the amounts of phospholipids (PLs) and cholesterol (Chol) in domains present in intact, cortical, and nuclear fiber cell plasma membranes isolated separately from the left and right eye lenses of the same human donor. The relative amounts of boundary plus trapped PLs were evaluated with the PL analog 12-doxylstearic acid spin label (12-SASL) and the relative amounts of trapped Chol with the Chol analog androstane spin label (ASL). The donors ranged in age from 15 to 70 years. Both the left and right eye lenses from donors …

Nonharmonic Contributions To The High-Temperature Phonon Thermodynamics Of Cr, C. M. Bernal-Choban, Hillary L. Smith, C. N. Saunders, D. S. Kim, D. L. Abernathy, B. Fultz

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

Phonon densities of states (DOSs) of body-centered cubic chromium were measured by time-of-flight inelastic neutron scattering at temperatures up to 1493 K. Density functional theory calculations with both quasiharmonic (QH) and anharmonic (AH) methods were performed at temperatures above the Néel temperature. Features in the phonon DOSs decrease in energy (soften) substantially with temperature. A Born–von Kármán analysis using fits to the experimental DOSs reveals a softening of almost 17% of the high-transverse phonon branch between 330 and 1493 K. The low-transverse branch changes by approximately half this amount. The AH calculations capture the observed behavior of the two transverse …

Animal Welfare - Environment - Sustainable Development Nexus: Scoping Study, Janice H. Cox

Nexus – UNEP – Animal Welfare, Environment, Sustainable Development

A detailed report on the links between animal welfare, environmental health and global sustainability. Issues discussed include climate change, biodiversity, pollution and waste management, one health, sustainable development and just transitions.

Lake Whatcom Monitoring Project 2021/2022 Report, Angela Strecker, Michael Hilles, Joan Pickens, Kathryn Queen, Emily Flarry, Robert Mitchell, Robin A. Matthews, Geoffrey B. Matthews

Lake Whatcom Annual Reports

This report describes the results from the 2021/2022 Lake Whatcom monitoring program conducted by the Institute for Watershed Studies at Western Washington University (www.wwu.edu/iws).

The major objectives in 2021/2022 were to continue long-term baseline water quality monitoring in Lake Whatcom and its major tributaries; collect storm runoff water quality data from representative streams in the watershed; and continue collection of hydrologic data from Austin and Smith Creeks.

Uncertaintyfusenet: Robust Uncertainty-Aware Hierarchical Feature Fusion Model With Ensemble Monte Carlo Dropout For Covid-19 Detection, Moloud Abdar, Soorena Salari, Sina Qahremani, Hak-Keung Lam, Fakhreddine (Fakhri) Karray, Sadiq Hussain, Abbas Khosravi, U. Rajendra Acharya, Vladimir Makarenkov, Saeid Nahavandi

Machine Learning Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic has become a major global threat to human health and well-being Thus, the development of computer-aided detection (CAD) systems that are capable to accurately distinguish COVID-19 from other diseases using chest computed tomography (CT) and X-ray data is of immediate priority Such automatic systems are usually based on traditional machine learning or deep learning methods Differently from most of existing studies, which used either CT scan or X-ray images in COVID-19-case classification, we present a simple but efficient deep learning feature fusion model, called UncertaintyFuseNet, which is able to classify accurately large datasets of …

Iowa Waste Reduction Center Newsletter, February 2023, University Of Northern Iowa. Iowa Waste Reduction Center.

Iowa Waste Reduction Center Newsletter

Contents:

--- Energy Trends Workshop
--- IWRC Welcomes New Environmental Intern - Kendall Lieneman
--- ISOSWO Spring Conference Student Scholarship Applications Are Now Open
--- Iowa Minor Source Emissions Inventory Assistance
--- Industry News

The Asymptotic P-Poisson Equation As P →∞ In Carnot-Carathéodory Spaces, Luca Capogna, Gianmarco Giovannardi, Andrea Pinamonti, Simone Verzellesi

Mathematics Sciences: Faculty Publications

In this paper we study the asymptotic behavior of solutions to the subelliptic p-Poisson equation as p → +∞ in Carnot Carathéodory spaces. In particular, introducing a suitable notion of differentiability, we extend the celebrated result of Bhattacharya, DiBenedetto and Manfredi [BDM] and we prove that limits of such solutions solve in the sense of viscosity a hybrid first and second order PDE involving the ∞−Laplacian and the Eikonal equation.

Improving Automatic Melanoma Diagnosis Using Deep Learning-Based Segmentation Of Irregular Networks, Anand K. Nambisan, Akanksha Maurya, Norsang Lama, Thanh Phan, Gehana Patel, Keith Miller, Binita Lama, Jason Hagerty, Ronald Stanley, William V. Stoecker

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Deep Learning Has Achieved Significant Success in Malignant Melanoma Diagnosis. These Diagnostic Models Are Undergoing a Transition into Clinical Use. However, with Melanoma Diagnostic Accuracy in the Range of Ninety Percent, a Significant Minority of Melanomas Are Missed by Deep Learning. Many of the Melanomas Missed Have Irregular Pigment Networks Visible using Dermoscopy. This Research Presents an Annotated Irregular Network Database and Develops a Classification Pipeline that Fuses Deep Learning Image-Level Results with Conventional Hand-Crafted Features from Irregular Pigment Networks. We Identified and Annotated 487 Unique Dermoscopic Melanoma Lesions from Images in the ISIC 2019 Dermoscopic Dataset to Create a …

Constituent Loads And Trends In The Upper Illinois River Watershed: A Nonpoint Source Management Program Priority Watershed, Erin M. Grantz, Brian E. Haggard

Technical Reports

The Arkansas Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Division (ANRD) has identified the Upper Illinois River Watershed (UIRW; 11110103), a hydrologic unit code (HUC) 8 watershed, located in Northwest Arkansas for prioritization by the Nonpoint Source (NPS) Management Program. URIW encompasses the Illinois River from its headwaters to the state line with Oklahoma and has been the subject of interstate disputes over water quality for decades. Nonpoint source pollution concerns in UIRW are excess nutrients from agriculture and sediment from changes in land use/land cover (LULC).

Local, state, and national groups, including the NPS Source Management Program, have invested in …

Constituent Loads And Trends In The Upper White River Basin: A Nonpoint Source Management Program Priority Watersheds, Erin M. Grantz, Brian E. Haggard

Technical Reports

The Arkansas Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Division (ANRD) has identified the Upper White River Basin (UWRB; HUC 11010001) a hydrologic unit code (HUC) 8 watersheds, located in Northwest Arkansas, for prioritization by the Nonpoint Source (NPS) Management Program. UWRB includes Beaver Lake in its borders, the drinking water source for 1 in 6 Arkansans. Nonpoint source pollution concerns in these watersheds are excess nutrients from agriculture and sediment from changes in land use/land cover (LULC).

Local, state, and national groups, including the NPS Source Management Program, have invested in education, best management practices, and streambank restoration in the …

Selectively Modified Lactose And N-Acetyllactosamine Analogs At Three Key Positions To Afford Effective Galectin-3 Ligands †, Shuay Abdullayev, Priyanka Dipak Kadav, Purnima Bandyopadhyay, Francisco Javier Medrano, Gabriel A. Rabinovich, Tarun K. Dam, Antonio Romero, René Roy

Michigan Tech Publications

Galectins constitute a family of galactose-binding lectins overly expressed in the tumor microenvironment as well as in innate and adaptive immune cells, in inflammatory diseases. Lactose ((β-D-galactopyranosyl)-(1→4)-β-D-glucopyranose, Lac) and N-Acetyllactosamine (2-acetamido-2-deoxy-4-O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-D-glucopyranose, LacNAc) have been widely exploited as ligands for a wide range of galectins, sometimes with modest selectivity. Even though several chemical modifications at single positions of the sugar rings have been applied to these ligands, very few examples combined the simultaneous modifications at key positions known to increase both affinity and selectivity. We report herein combined modifications at the anomeric position, C-2, and O-3′ of each of the two …

A Catalog Of The Highest-Energy Cosmic Rays Recorded During Phase I Of Operation Of The Pierre Auger Observatory, A. Abdul Halim, P. Abreu, M. Aglietta, I. Allekotte, P. Allison, K. Almeida Cheminant, J. Chirinos, B. Fick, D. Nitz, I. Norwood, A. Puyleart, Et Al.

Michigan Tech Publications

A catalog containing details of the highest-energy cosmic rays recorded through the detection of extensive air showers at the Pierre Auger Observatory is presented with the aim of opening the data to detailed examination. Descriptions of the 100 showers created by the highest-energy particles recorded between 2004 January 1 and 2020 December 31 are given for cosmic rays that have energies in the range 78-166 EeV. Details are also given on a further nine very energetic events that have been used in the calibration procedure adopted to determine the energy of each primary. A sky plot of the arrival directions …

Sorption Of Representative Organic Contaminants On Microplastics: Effects Of Chemical Physicochemical Properties, Particle Size, And Biofilm Presence, Wenxuan Cui, Robert C. Hale, Yichao Huang, Et Al.

VIMS Articles

Microplastic pollution has attracted mounting concerns worldwide. Microplastics may concentrate organic and metallic contaminants; thus, affecting their transport, fate and organismal exposure. To better understand organic contaminant-microplastic interactions, our study explored the sorption of selected polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), α-hexabromocyclododecane (α-HBCDD), and organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) on high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyvinylchloride (PVC) microplastics under saline conditions. Sorption isotherms determined varied between chemicals and between HDPE and PVC microplastics. Log Freundlich sorption coefficients (Log K_F) for the targeted chemicals ranged from 2.01 to 5.27 L kg^-1 for HDPE, but were significantly lower for PVC, …

Fossil Fuel Divestment In U.S. Higher Education: Endowment Dependence And Temporal Dynamics, Alexander R. Barron, Rachel C. Venator, Ella V.H. Carlson, Jane K. Andrews, Junwen Ding, David Deswert

Environmental Science and Policy: Faculty Publications

Since 2012, students and others have pushed U.S. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to divest their endowments from fossil fuel producing industries. In the past decade, fossil fuel divestment has become the fastest growing divestment movement in history, with over 140 U.S. HEIs announcing divestment commitments. We conduct a quantitative analysis of the three phases of U.S. 4-year HEI divestment announcements (as well as rejections of divestment) to better understand the dynamics. Announcements began (2012-2017) with a number of schools divesting, followed by a second phase where new divestment announcements slowed. The current phase, which began around 2019, shows a renewed …

The Phangs-Jwst Treasury Survey: Star Formation, Feedback, And Dust Physics At High Angular Resolution In Nearby Galaxies, Janice C. Lee, Karin M. Sandstrom, Adam K. Leroy, David A. Thilker, Eva Schinnerer, Erik Rosolowsky, Judy Schmidt, Et Al.

Michigan Tech Publications

The PHANGS collaboration has been building a reference data set for the multiscale, multiphase study of star formation and the interstellar medium (ISM) in nearby galaxies. With the successful launch and commissioning of JWST, we can now obtain high-resolution infrared imaging to probe the youngest stellar populations and dust emission on the scales of star clusters and molecular clouds (∼5-50 pc). In Cycle 1, PHANGS is conducting an eight-band imaging survey from 2 to 21 μm of 19 nearby spiral galaxies. Optical integral field spectroscopy, CO(2-1) mapping, and UV-optical imaging for all 19 galaxies have been obtained through large programs …

Social Impacts Of Robotics On The Labor And Employment Market, Kelvin Espinal

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Robotics have been introduced into the workplace to perform tasks that human beings have traditionally fulfilled. Complementing or substituting human labor with robotics eliminates human involvement in functions attributable to hazardous environments, heavy lifting, toxic substances, and repetitive low-level tasks. On the other hand, they are meant to be more efficient and cost-effective, saving money, time, and labor. However, since the introduction of robotics in the workforce, societal opposition has been towards this branch of technology in fear of losing employment, wages, and purpose.

Previous studies have reported an overarching societal fear that adopting robotics in the workplace and industry …

Forecasting Remission Time Of A Treatment Method For Leukemia As An Application To Statistical Inference Approach, Mahmoud Mansour, Rashad El-Sagheer, Ahmed Galal Attia, Beha S. El-Desouky Prof.

Basic Science Engineering

In this paper, Weibull-Linear Exponential distribution (WLED) has been investigated whether being it is a well-fit distribution to a clinical real data. These data represent the duration of remission achieved by a certain drug used in the treatment of leukemia for a group of patients. The statistical inference approach is used to estimate the parameters of the WLED through the set of the fitted data. The estimated parameters are utilized to evaluate the survival and hazard functions and hence assessing the treatment method through forecasting the duration of remission times of patients. A two-sample prediction approach has been applied to …

From The Organismal To Biosphere Levels: Environmental Impacts On The Amphibian Microbiota, Obed Hernandez-Gomez, Jessica Hua

Natural Sciences and Mathematics | Faculty Scholarship

This review summarizes the role of environmental factors on amphibian microbiotas at the organismal, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. At the organismal-level, tissue source, disease status, and experimental manipulations were the strongest predictors of variation in amphibian microbiotas. At the population-level, habitat quality, disease status, and ancestry were commonly documented as drivers of microbiota turnover. At the community-level, studies focused on how species’ niche influence microbiota structure and function. At the ecosystem-level, abiotic and biotic reservoirs were important contributors to microbiota structure. At the biosphere-level, databases, sample banks, and semi-natural experiments were commonly used to describe microbiota assembly mechanisms …