No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Influenza is a seasonal viral disease affecting over 1 billion people annually around the globe, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO). The influenza virus has been around for decades causing multiple pandemics and encouraging researchers to perform extensive analysis of its evolutionary patterns. Current research uses phylogenetic trees as the basis to guide population genetics and other phenotypic characteristics when describing the evolution of the influenza genome. Phylogenetic trees are one form of representing the evolutionary trends of sequenced genomes, but that do not capture the multidimensional complexity of mutational pathways. We suggest representing antigenic drifts within influenza A/H1N1 hemagglutinin (HA) protein as a graph, $G = (V, E)$, where $V$ is the set of vertices representing each possible sequence and $E$ is the set of edges representing single amino acid substitutions. Each transition is characterized by a Malthusian fitness model incorporating the genetic adaptation, vaccine similarity, and historical epidemiological response using mortality as the metric where available. Applying reinforcement learning with the vertices as states, edges as actions, and fitness as the reward, we learn the high likelihood mutational pathways and optimal policy, without exploring the entire space of the graph, $G$. Our average predicted versus actual sequence distance of $3.6 \pm 1.2$ amino acids indicates that our novel approach of using naive Q-learning can assist with influenza strain predictions, thus improving vaccine selection for future disease seasons. / Master of Science / Influenza is a seasonal virus affecting over 1 billion people annually around the globe, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO). The effectiveness of influenza vaccines varies tremendously by the type (A, B, C or D) and season. Of note is the pandemic of 2009, where the influenza A H1N1 virus mutants were significantly different from the chosen vaccine composition. It is pertinent to understand and predict the underlying genetic and environmental behavior of influenza virus mutants to be able to determine the vaccine composition for future seasons, preventing another pandemic. Given the recent 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, which is also a virus that affects the upper respiratory system, novel approaches to predict viruses need to be investigated now more than ever. Thus, in this thesis, I develop a novel approach to predicting a portion of the influenza A H1N1 viruses using machine learning.

CONVERGENCE OF PATHS Within the vast urban fabrics live many threads of paths. These paths weave in, out, diagonal, above and underground forming city blocks that we well know. Events happen when these paths interact. They either weave into each other or separate into many. Sometimes a force or desire within the urban layout is so strong that cuts through the threads and weaves a new path that needs to be discovered. The thorn threads become the manifesto of the desire and the spectacle of event. A place is created. When a singular path reaches a point of convergence with another path, their energy merge and transforms into a moment. There is a desire of purposely converge and communicate these paths into unexpected spatial encounters. At the point of convergence, strangers paths merge into each other blending all together into a spider wed of logical confusion, they briefly loose orientation, change form and ultimately experience an event in common. / Master of Architecture

Surface water-groundwater interaction can provide various stream functions including temperature regulation, nutrient cycling, pollutant attenuation, and habitat creation. However previous literature is divided on the extent and conditions of these benefits. This dissertation has explored the dominance of hydraulic conductivity (K) on hyporheic hydraulics and implications to hyporheic zone functions through a series of modeling studies and field experiments. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software was used to model the effect of varying K on weir-induced hyporheic exchange hydraulics and heat transport. Fundamental shifts in hydraulics and temperature dynamics occurred at threshold K's. Surface water began noticeably sinking into the bed above a threshold of K=10-3 m/s and inertial forces caused deviation from Darcy's Law. The heat transport model indicated net downstream surface water cooling from weir-induced exchange was maximized by maximizing K (flow-limited function) and thermal heterogeneity increased with K, particularly above K=10-5 m/s. Results suggest that using CFD to predict surface water-groundwater interaction may be important to accurately predict hyporheic hydraulics and functions dependent on flow-rate or residence time. The importance of macropores to hyporheic transport through meander bends was explored. Transport velocities, hydraulic head gradients, and solute transport rates through the meander bend were increased by macropores. Results indicate that macropores can dictate solute or pollutant transport through meander bends and in the hyporheic zone, which in turn may influence biogeochemical cycling and pollutant attenuation. Surface-connected macropores along streams were studied as hydrologically important subsurface heterogeneities for surface water-groundwater interaction. Macropores were common geomorphic features in the Appalachian province of southwestern Virginia, and were inundated during storm events over a one-year period. Banks with macropores experienced increased hydraulic head fluctuations, temperature fluctuations, and K. Macropores increased bank storage rates and solute transport between the channel and riparian groundwater zones, which in turn may influence biogeochemical cycling, pollutant attenuation, and hyporheic habitat. Macropores may be important to hyporheic flow and solute transport in a wide range of conditions and may broaden the portion of the landscape in which hyporheic exchange is important. Future work is needed to further assess the impacts of macropores on hyporheic functions and explore new methods to map and quantify macropore geometries and inter-connectivity. / Ph. D.