Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Silver Bow Creek Butte Area Npl Site 3rd Quarter 2023 Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit Interim Site-Wide Surface Water Monitoring Data Report. Consent Decree- Civil Action No. Cv 89- 039-Bu-She, Josh Bryson

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Brain-Inspired Spatio-Temporal Learning With Application To Robotics, Thiago André Ferreira Medeiros

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The human brain still has many mysteries and one of them is how it encodes information. The following study intends to unravel at least one such mechanism. For this it will be demonstrated how a set of specialized neurons may use spatial and temporal information to encode information. These neurons, called Place Cells, become active when the animal enters a place in the environment, allowing it to build a cognitive map of the environment. In a recent paper by Scleidorovich et al. in 2022, it was demonstrated that it was possible to differentiate between two sequences of activations of a …

Thermocatalytic Plasma-Assisted Dry Reforming Of Methane Over Ni/Al2o3 Catalyst, Tyler Wong

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Plasma catalysis is an advantageous approach that combines the effects of plasma with the enhancements of a catalyst. By utilizing a nickel catalyst in the plasma discharge zone of a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), it can give an enhancement to the electrical field, boost microdischarges, and increase conversion and selectivity rates of CH₄ and CO₂ in the dry reforming of methane (DRM) reaction.

Industrial application of nickel catalysts in DBD Plasma DRM process are limited by poor stability, which is caused by the sintering of active metal particles and coke deposition on the catalyst surface. In this work, …

Using Quantitative And Kinetic Proteomics To Explore Proteostasis, Nathan Raul Zuniga Pina

Theses and Dissertations

Every cell consists of carefully orchestrated biomolecules such as lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins. To maintain internal stability (homeostasis), cells maintain the right amount of these molecules at the right time and at the right place. This process is especially true for proteins since they are the foundation functional units within the cell. Proteins form structures and perform chemistry that bestows cells overarching functional roles. Cells maintain protein homeostasis (proteostasis) by modulating synthesis, folding, and degradation processes (turnover) to maintain the abundance levels for all proteins. This is the foundational kinetic model of proteostasis that is covered in this work, and …

High-Performance Computing In Covariant Loop Quantum Gravity, Pietropaolo Frisoni

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This Ph.D. thesis presents a compilation of the scientific papers I published over the last three years during my Ph.D. in loop quantum gravity (LQG). First, we comprehensively introduce spinfoam calculations with a practical pedagogical paper. We highlight LQG's unique features and mathematical formalism and emphasize the computational complexities associated with its calculations. The subsequent articles delve into specific aspects of employing high-performance computing (HPC) in LQG research. We discuss the results obtained by applying numerical methods to studying spinfoams' infrared divergences, or ``bubbles''. This research direction is crucial to define the continuum limit of LQG properly. We investigate the …

Using Stromatolites To Rethink The Precambrian-Cambrian Pre-Flood/Flood Boundary, Ken P. Coulson

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

The 550-meter-thick upper Cambrian (Furongian Epoch) Notch Peak Formation of western Utah has over a dozen horizons of meter- to multiple-meter-thick sequences of stromatolites that have been correlated with similar stromatolitic beds in the Drum Mountains to the north and the Wah Wah mountains to the south, providing a total geographic distribution greater than 2,600 square kilometres. Cambrian stromatolitic beds have also been described from other areas in North America that circumscribe what appears to be the ancient coast of the North American craton associated with Laurentia. A total of 24 different locations span North America starting in Newfoundland, traveling …

Orthocone Cephalopods As Paleocurrent Indicators In The Ordovician Kimmswick Formation Of Northeastern Missouri, Zachary Aaron Klein

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

The intent of this project is to map and analyze orientations of large orthocone cephalopods in the Late Ordovician Kimmswick Formation to determine whether they indicate traceable current directions. The Kimmswick Formation is a medium-to-coarsely-grained crystalline limestone which is highly fossiliferous, with bedding varying from massive to cross-bedded, and ranging from 10-30 meters in thickness in the project region. Numerous orthocone cephalopods (of the genera Endoceras and Cameroceras) can be observed within the lower Kimmswick in several locations in Northeastern Missouri, especially near Imperial and Frankford. A total of 21 orientations along a six-kilometer corridor near Imperial have been …

Can Radiocarbon Dating Fit A Biblical Timescale?, Marshall Jordan

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

Abstract

The trace amounts of C14 in ancient human bones imply that these people died up to 50 thousand years ago. This assumes that the concentration of C14 in the atmosphere has remained constant at today's concentration. Such ages are incompatible with the record of Genesis which places Noah’s Flood about 4500 years ago, less than one half-life for C14. The trace amounts of C14 in coals buried by the Flood show that the atmospheric concentration of C14 at the time of the Flood was about 1% of today’s concentration. So C14 can be used to date ancient carbon using …

Unresolved Issues In Hypothetical Fish-To-Amphibian Evolution, David Prentice

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

This is a poster presentation bringing together multiple problems with the idea that some ancestral fish evolved into some ancestral amphibian.

The Lamarckian idea that "form follows function" has been thoroughly falsified. The only explanation for characteristics of an organism's phenotype is the content of its genotype rather than its need for new features.

The new creatures would have to undergo random mutations in their DNA to produce at least thirteen major changes. They would have to (1) leave the water and come onto land, (2) acquire two radically different types of vertebrae (rhachitomous and lepospondylous); (3) acquire segmented backbones …

Quantum Computing In Creation Geoscience, Mark Mcguire, Kathryn Mcguire

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

Quantum computing has great potential in speeding up many problems. Rather than stepping “down” from a classical Newtonian realm into the more complicated quantum realm we use the same processes as the phenomena being researched.

In geoscience, quantum computing has many potential applications. For example, quantum computing can be used for simulations of radiometric dating. By simulating the decomposition of atoms, a better idea of how these decompose can be created. Simulating typical, unaccelerated decomposition would be the first step in this area of research. This can be done by creating a qbit (quantum bit) for each atom and connecting …

Gastropod Evolutionary Phylogeny, Priscilla Doran, Neal A. Doran

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

This research seeks to investigate a correlation between the first appearance order date (FAD) and predicted evolutionary phylogeny of gastropods. Using a Spearman Correlation, 17 data sets of gastropods were analyzed, with a no significant correlation found between the first appearance date and predicted evolutionary date for the fossils.

Icr (2013-2023): A Decade Of Advancing The Flood-Ice Age Model, Leo (Jake) Hebert Iii

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

I am proposing a poster that summarizes the last decade of paleoclimate research conducted at the Institute for Creation Research, and the ways this research has strengthened the case for the Flood-Ice Age model. The poster also discusses two research projects that I have started but as yet have not been able to finish. Here is the poster abstract:

In 1990 the Institute for Creation Research published Michael Oard’s monograph An Ice Age Caused by the Genesis Flood, which showed that warm post-Flood oceans and residual post-Flood volcanism provide the necessary conditions for an Ice Age. ICR then published additional …

Re-Evaluating The Measurements Of Radioactive Decay, Charles A. Wolcott Jr.

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

Studies investigating the validity of radiometric dating methods have raised many questions with results of methods showing ages of samples well outside the mainstream story line and a prospect of accelerated decay rates during the Flood. However, the measurements of the rates themselves have not been analyzed. This study examines a mathematical analysis of how the half-life of isotopes U-238, K-40, Rb-87, and C-14 have been measured and calls for a closer inspection of the process. The primary tool for measuring the half-life is the Geiger Counter, which only has a 20% efficiency rate, [1] while observation times of individual …

Physical Evidence For A Post-Flood Lacustrine Depositional Environment For Hopi/Bidahochi Lake, Nate Loper

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

Geologists both within and outside the creation community have long proposed a breached dam and lake spillover hypothesis for the formation of Grand Canyon in whole or in part. One major lake system pointed to has been dubbed Hopi Lake or Lake Bidahochi, with supporting evidence found within the Bidahochi Formation. The Bidahochi Formation in eastern Arizona overlies the Chinle Formation in many places and is described as a Miocene-Pliocene lacustrine deposit. As such, several creation geologists assign this to a depositional environment during the post-Flood Ice Age. Yet, there is a small group within the creation community who tend …

A Creationist Model Of Impacts Throughout The Solar System, Trevor Holt

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

The Biblical Creationist movement has been scant in attempts to explain features throughout the Solar System such as craters, water ice and other ices, possible flowing water, icy satellites, planet rings, and the asteroids and comets. It has been assumed that much of this was part of the initial Creation. I maintain that the initial Creation was considered “very good” and would not have included destructive items and hence would not show the results of impacts. A model has been developed which can explain all these features being caused by impacts over a short time period The Biblical foundations are …

Fe Analysis Of Tsunami Generation During The Genesis Flood, Tim Lewis, John Baumgardner

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

Within the framework of catastrophic plate tectonics, large tsunamis are a plausible mechanism for producing fossil-bearing sediments of the Flood rock record. The focus of this research is to model the behavior of an overriding slab in response to a rapidly subducting plate with the aim of understanding in more detail the tsunami generation process. Key to this process is the locking and unlocking of the overriding and subducting slabs. The unlocking results in the rapid rise of the sea bottom and generation of a tsunami. Several key questions arise in this context that the model seeks to answer. What …

The Regression Of The Flood In Virginia, James C. Rakestraw, Jim Melnick

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

The geology, tectonics, and hydraulics of the regression of the Flood formed much of the geomorphology of Virginia. Opportunities to view and study geology and geomorphology are available through visiting parks, traveling on public roads, and viewing geographic information system (GIS) resources.

Virginia is part of the North American Plate. A series of “blocks” of basement rocks within the plate underlie the geomorphological provinces of Virginia. These “blocks” form a series of steps between the Atlantic Ocean Basin and the Blue Ridge. The “Fall Line” found in Virginia is a fault between two blocks of basement rock. The basement rocks …

Modeling The Process Of Rapid Geomagnetic Reversal During The Genesis Flood, Eric T. Katzaman, John Baumgardner

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

Remnant magnetization in the Earth’s igneous rocks document that the Earth’s magnetic field reversed its polarity many times during the Genesis Flood. Previous creationist research has argued that strong convective buoyancy within the Earth’s liquid outer core during the Flood can cause the expulsion of magnetic flux outward from the core into the overlying mantle which produces rapid reversals of the Earth’s surface dipolar magnetic field. This poster reports the status of our efforts to model this dynamic process in 3D spherical geometry using a magnetohydrodynamic numerical solver.

Geologic Analysis Of Ice Age Simulation Results, Elizabeth G. Sultan, Steven M. Gollmer

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

Ice ages are believed to have occurred at least 5 times in the past, with each glacial period lasting tens of thousands of years and interglacial periods lasting up to 400,000 years. It is hypothesized, however, that the Genesis Flood would have provided the conditions necessary to trigger an ice age within a few hundred years, that could account for the glacial deposits we find worldwide. This research project compared the output data from a 360-year ModelE2.1.2 run of an ice age simulation, to the geologic record of the last glacial maximum (LGM). The simulation was inputted with conditions based …

K-Feldspar Sand Grain Rounding In Eolian And Subaqueous Transportation, Elizabeth G. Sultan, Emma Henze

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

This project’s aim is to compare the rounding of K-feldspar grains in eolian and subaqueous conditions. It was hypothesized that K-feldspar grains in a subaqueous environment are cushioned enough by surrounding water to prevent the rounding observed in eolian environments. The experiment was conducted by use of eolian and subaqueous simulations originally developed by Calvin Anderson for comparing muscovite flakes in these respective environments. It was expected that an eolian environment will produce rounded grains within a few weeks, and an aqueous environment will take a minimum of months to produce fully rounded grains. The resulting data from this project …

Dynamic Recrystallization And Grain Size Effects On Catastrophic Motion Of The Earth’S Mantle During The Flood: Advancement Of Material Models, Heechen Cho, John Baumgardner, Maria Lee, Caleb Miller, Mark Horstemeyer

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

This presentation reports a numerical study to investigate the mechanical effects of dynamic recrystallization (DRX) and the grain size on the speed of flow of rock inside the earth’s solid mantle during the Genesis Flood. The strength, or viscosity, of its constituent minerals is key to understanding and modeling the dynamics of the mantle correctly. A mineral’s strength is strongly influenced by the crystal size, its lattice defects (vacancies and dislocations), and other microscale and crystal-scale phenomena. Since the viscosity difference of the earth’s deep mantle between the present day and during the Flood cataclysm is approximately 10 orders of …

Diverse Assemblage Of Arthropods In Amber From Upper Cretaceous Tarheel Formation Near Goldsboro, North Carolina, Dana J. Goodnight

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

A relatively unexplored Upper Cretaceous (early Campanian) amber-bearing lignite deposit in Goldsboro, North Carolina has yielded a diverse assemblage of arthropods. Preliminary cataloging of approximately 175 biological inclusions obtained from the site include microscopic and macroscopic representatives from two subphyla of arthropoda (Chelicerata and Hexapoda) and at least 9 orders of insects (Blattodea, Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Psocoptera, Thysanoptera, and Archaeognatha). In addition to animal inclusions, the Goldsboro amber often contains abundant plant matter, fungal mycelia, enhydros, and air bubbles. The inclusions depicted by micrographs in this poster presentation have not been formally classified and systematically described. Only an …

The Layered Castile Probably Originated From Salt Magma, Stef J. Heerema, Gert-Jan Van Heugten, Timothy Clarey

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

The Castile Formation is situated in the Delaware Basin in New Mexico and Texas on top of thousands of meters of oil-containing sedimentary rock (the Delaware Mountain Group). The up to 550-meter-thick formation is composed of laminae of mostly anhydrite and calcite (Kirkland, 2003) and contains oil itself as well. The overlying Salado Salt Formation covers a wider area, including the Central Basin Platform and the Midland Basin in Texas, with a thickness up to 600 meters.

Evolutionists claim an origin of the 10,000 km³ Castile Formation by evaporation of salty ocean water in a continental basin over 209,000 …

Hydrogen Bond Activation Of Donor Acceptor Cyclopropanes, Matthew H.J. Pamenter

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Donor acceptor cyclopropanes (DACs) are versatile organic building blocks used in the synthesis of many pharmaceutically relevant heterocycles. The combination of a high ring strain cyclopropane core and vicinal donor and acceptor substituents cause DACs to behave like 1,3-zwitterions. Recently, DACs have been activated by a hydrogen bond donor solvent in place of a Lewis acid catalyst, allowing the elimination of heavy metals commonly used in these transformations. Hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) as a hydrogen bond donor cosolvent was found to cause a downfield shift of the DACs electrophilic carbon in the 13C NMR spectrum. This indicates increased electrophilicity at this position …

Exploring The Impact Of Signal Quality Enhancement On Heart Sound Classification Models, Davoud Shariat Panah, Andrew Hines, Susan Mckeever

Articles

Limited cardiology resources increase the urgency for automated heart disease screening for the general public. Heart sound diagnostic models have been recently employed as a cost-effective solution for the initial screening of heart disease. Noise in heart sound recordings, however, can reduce the performance of such data-driven models. Various quality enhancement approaches have been adopted to alleviate the destructive impact of noise on model performance. One approach is universal noise reduction which applies denoising techniques to recordings, irrespective of their noise level. The second approach is targeted noise reduction, which applies denoising solely to recordings deemed to need it, based …

Development Of An App For The Kalamazoo Nature Center, Ernest Au

Honors Theses

Kalamazoo Nature Center (KNC), which has been recognized by its peers as one of the top nature centers in the country, is home to over 14 miles of hiking trails winding through woods, wetlands, and prairies. There are numerous places/plots in KNC that have an interesting and impressive history besides being home to a variety of animals and hundreds of wildflowers and other plant life. To improve the visitor’s experience at KNC, we will design a software app via the senior capstone project at the department of Computer Science at WMU. As the first step towards establishing a reference model …

Formulation Of Causality-Preserving Quantum Time Of Arrival Theory, Denny Lane B. Sombillo, Neris I. Sombillo

Physics Faculty Publications

We revisit the quantum correction to the classical time of arrival to address the unphysical instantaneous arrival in the limit of zero initial momentum. In this study, we show that the vanishing of arrival time is due to the contamination of the causality-violating component of the initial wave packet. Motivated by this observation, we propose to update the temporal collapse mechanism in Galapon (2009) [18] to incorporate the removal of causality-violating spectra of the arrival time operator. We found that the quantum correction to the classical arrival time is still observed. Thus, our analysis validates that the correction is an …

Game-Theoretic Approaches To Optimal Resource Allocation And Defense Strategies In Herbaceous Plants, Molly R. Creagar

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Empirical evidence suggests that the attractiveness of a plant to herbivores can be affected by the investment in defense by neighboring plants, as well as investment in defense by the focal plant. Thus, allocation to defense may not only be influenced by the frequency and intensity of herbivory but also by defense strategies employed by other plants in the environment. We incorporate a neighborhood defense effect by applying spatial evolutionary game theory to optimal resource allocation in plants where cooperators are plants investing in defense and defectors are plants that do not. We use a stochastic dynamic programming model, along …

The Development And Evolution Of The Soil Health Nutrient Tool (Aka Haney Test) After Ten Years Of Implementation In A Commercial Agricultural Laboratory, Lance Michael Gunderson

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

The growing focus on soil health and regenerative agriculture has brought about the need for new integrated approaches for the analysis of soil. Prior, commercial agricultural laboratories relied on methods to measure chemical properties of the soil, such as pH and nutrients. The Soil Health Nutrient Tool (aka. Haney Test) developed by Dr. Rick Haney (USDA-ARS Blackland Research and Extension Station, Temple, TX) integrates chemical and biological properties to provide a more holistic understanding of soil fertility management. Following adoption by commercial laboratories in 2013, criticisms regarding variability in measurements and lack of calibration were apparent. In this research, we …

Formal Concept Analysis For Image Classification And Machine Learning Models For Anti-Crispr Protein Discovery In Bioinformatics, Minal Khatri

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This study investigates two critical areas in bioinformatics: enhancing transparency in medical image analysis and advancing the discovery of Anti-CRISPR (Acr) proteins, which have potential in developing more precise and controlled CRISPR-Cas gene editing tools. While CNN’s are increasingly applied in critical fields like medical diagnosis, understanding their decision-making process remains a challenge. Although visualization techniques like Saliency maps offer insights into CNN’s decision-making for individual images, they do not explicitly establish a relationship between the high-level features learned by CNN’s and the class labels across dataset. To bridge this gap, Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) framework is leveraged as a …