Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Evaluating Responses Of Benthic Macrofauna To Artificial Reef Presence In The Gulf Of Mexico, Douglas Faircloth

Theses and Dissertations

Artificial reef research has long concerned itself with the interactions of fishes and has tended to favor commercially valuable species. Because of this, a larger yet less known group that heavily benefits fishes have been overlooked; benthic macrofauna. Benthic macrofauna are marine invertebrates that live below the sediment-water interface and play many roles in the ecosystem. Macrofauna are important prey items, ecosystem engineers, and bioindicators, as well as being ubiquitous in the marine environment. Since macrofauna have been largely ignored in this field, not much is known regarding their interaction with the placement of artificial reefs. To try and fill …

Developing Multispectral Imaging Techniques To Determine Canopy Coverage And Carbon Storage Of Seagrasses In The Gulf Of Mexico, Ivy Michelle Hinson

Theses and Dissertations

Although seagrass beds provide global ecosystem services, coverage is in rapid decline, with the capacity of seagrasses to sequester carbon of special concern. Current seagrass monitoring methods are labor intensive and may not offer a complete picture of coverage. Remote sensing offers the ability to oversee landscapes but water in coastal environments presents challenges, as the commonly used near-infrared wavelength dissipates in water.

This project aimed to provide reliable methodology to assess seagrass coverage using multispectral imagery taken from an unmanned aerial vehicle and to provide evidence for the link between seagrass coverage and stored belowground carbon for common seagrasses …

Empirical Bayes Estimators And Borel-Tanner Distribution, Celestina Ruby Soltero

Theses and Dissertations

The motivation for this paper stems from the role Borel-Tanner (BT) distribution has as the distribution of the total outbreak number in epidemics modeled by branching processes. We briefly review Borel-Tanner distribution and its applications. In Chapter II we outline the Bayes decision problem, a construction for an Empirical Bayes (EB) estimator proposed by Liang [9] and discuss risk analysis. In Chapter III, the importance of randomization addressed and a classical construction of a monotonized EB estimator proposed by Houwalingen [14] is outlined. Lastly in Chapter IV we use R software to perform a Monte Carlo simulation and conduct a …

Removal Of As (Iii) And As (V) From Potable Water Using Zno Nanoparticles, Grecia Torreblanca Baez

Theses and Dissertations

Heavy metal and toxic element contamination of the environment has been increasing with increasing industrialization. Arsenic has become an element of particular concern because of its toxicity, which is oxidation state dependent. As(III) is observed to be much more toxic than As(V), as well the removal is more difficult than As(V) in traditional water treatment technology. In the present study, As (III) and As(V) removal was investigated using a zinc oxide nanomaterial that was synthesized using a titration/precipitation technique, and characterized using powder x-ray diffraction. In the present study, the kinetics of adsorption, the adsorption isotherms as well as the …

Global Existence And Propagation Speed For A Generalized Camassa-Holm Model With Both Dissipation And Dispersion, Qiaoyi Hu, Zhijun Qiao

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper, we study a generalized Camassa–Holm (gCH) model with both dissipation and dispersion, which has (N+1)-order nonlinearities and includes the following three integrable equations: the Camassa–Holm, the Degasperis–Procesi, and the Novikov equations, as its reductions. We first present the local well-posedness and a precise blow-up scenario of the Cauchy problem for the gCH equation. Then, we provide several sufficient conditions that guarantee the global existence of the strong solutions to the gCH equation. Finally, we investigate the propagation speed for the gCH equation when the initial data are compactly supported.

Adaptive Responses Of Animals To Climate Change Are Most Likely Insufficient, Viktoriia Radchuk, Thomas Reed, Céline Teplitsky, Martijn Van De Pol, Anne Charmantier, Christopher Hassall, Peter Adamík, Frank Adriaensen, Markus P. Ahola, Karl S. Berg

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Biological responses to climate change have been widely documented across taxa and regions, but it remains unclear whether species are maintaining a good match between phenotype and environment, i.e. whether observed trait changes are adaptive. Here we reviewed 10,090 abstracts and extracted data from 71 studies reported in 58 relevant publications, to assess quantitatively whether phenotypic trait changes associated with climate change are adaptive in animals. A meta-analysis focussing on birds, the taxon best represented in our dataset, suggests that global warming has not systematically affected morphological traits, but has advanced phenological traits. We demonstrate that these advances are adaptive …

Properties Of A Class Of Mean Dependent On A Parameter, Paul Bracken

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Some properties of a new class of binary symmetric mean Mp(a,b) which depends on two positive numbers a and b, as well as a positive parameter p, are investigated. The logarithmic mean and arithmetic mean are two members of this class. It is shown that, for all values of the parameter p, the set of p-dependent means Mp(a,b) is bounded above by the mean M∞(a,b).

Reduction Of The Kp Hierarchy, Adrian Eugenio Torres

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will delve into the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation or KP equation and it's hierarchy. More specifically, the solition theory around it. To do so, we first explore the soliton theory for the Korteweg de-Vries equation or KdV equation by analysing it through the inverse scattering transform method and presenting it's soliton solutions. Second, we will introduce, Hirota's bilinear form, and understand its main idea. Third, introduce Sato Theory, and use it to formulate the KP hierarchy, via using pseudo-differential operators, presenting the lax operator, the dressing operator, Sato’s equation, and the zero curvature equation (Zakharov-Shabat Equation). Fourth, find the general …

A Novel Method For Intelligent Single Fault Detection Of Bearings Using Sae And Improved D–S Evidence Theory, Jianguang Lu, Huan Zhang, Xianghong Tang

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

In order to realize single fault detection (SFD) from the multi-fault coupling bearing data and further research on the multi-fault situation of bearings, this paper proposes a method based on features self-extraction of a Sparse Auto-Encoder (SAE) and results fusion of improved Dempster–Shafer evidence theory (D–S). Multi-fault signal compression features of bearings were extracted by SAE on multiple vibration sensors’ data. Data sets were constructed by the extracted compression features to train the Support Vector Machine (SVM) according to the rule of single fault detection (R-SFD) this paper proposed. Fault detection results were obtained by the improved D–S evidence theory, …

The Conical Diffraction And Adiabatic Elimination In Pt-Symmetric Systems, Mojgan Dehghani

Theses and Dissertations

Dehghani, Mojgan, The Conical Diffraction and Adiabatic Elimination in PT-Symmetric Systems. Master of Science (MS), July, 2019, 75 pp., 32 figures, references, 69 titles. Since almost two decades ago, the non-Hermitian Hamiltonians with combined parity and time-reversal symmetry, having entirely real spectra, have been outstanding candidates for characterizing the features of open systems. In this thesis, we investigate the dynamics of certain PT systems. In chapter I, we present a brief review of the fundamentals of PT-symmetric systems. Chapter II focuses on the conical diffraction in a PT-symmetric waveguide lattice. We explore the evolution of a wave packet, which forms …

Engineered Porous Media For Groundwater Contaminant Remediation: Applications Of Nano-Tio2, Sheng Yin

Theses and Dissertations

Nonmetallic Arsenic and hydrocarbon BTEX are the most common and harmful contaminants in groundwater. Many oxide, biological and metal based adsorbent materials have been investigated in the laboratory and in the field environment. These materials, especially for nano-TiO2, have been extensively studied in the laboratory due to its high efficiency and remediation outcomes. This research compared two different synthetic nano-TiO2, aggregated dendritic nano-scale anatase TiO2 and the polymorphed rutile nano-TiO2 attached to the surface of SiO2, to study the feasibility of nano-TiO2 in geoenvironmental engineering applications. Characterization of crystal structure, purity, and morphologic, microscopic features of the materials were examed …

Bubble Nucleation And Cooperativity In Duplex Stretching Of A Helicoidal Dna Model, Pawan Kumar Thapaliya

Theses and Dissertations

Denaturation of DNA means separation of dsDNA into ssDNA due to the breaking of hydrogen bond by the application of heat or another mechanical method to carry out the processes like translation,transcription, and replication. Single-molecule DNA stretching experiments displayed a force-induced transition at a force of 65pN for long dsDNA molecules. In these experiments, double stranded DNA molecules are stretched by a force applied to opposite ends of the DNA, e.g., in anatomic force microscope or an optical tweezers instrument. Here we study the thermal and force-induced denaturation of the helicoidal DNA bubble-in-the middle sequence by Monte-Carlo simulations technique. We …

Metric Geometry And The Determination Of The Bohmian Quantum Potential, Paul Bracken

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

A geometric approach to quantum mechanics which is formulated in terms of Finsler geometry is developed. It is shown that quantum mechanics can be formulated in terms of Finsler configuration space trajectories which obey Newton-like evolution but in the presence of an additional kind of potential. This additional quantum potential which was obtained first by Bohm has the consequence of contributing to the forces driving the system. This geometric picture accounts for many aspects of quantum dynamics and leads to a more natural interpretation. It is found for example that dynamics can be accounted for by incorporating quantum effects into …

Unexplored Diversity Of The Mesophotic Echinoderm Fauna Of The Easter Island Ecoregion, Ariadna Mecho, Erin E. Easton, Javier Sellanes, Matthias Gorny, Christopher Mah

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Easter Island ecoregion (EIE) is one of the most remote marine areas of the world and encompasses a vast and fragile ecosystem including oceanic islands and seamounts. In January 2014 and March 2016, a remotely operated vehicle was used to explore a subsurface peak off Easter Island (27.23°S, 109.48°W) and a seamount (26.92°S, 110.26°W), respectively located 10 km southwest and 98 km west of the island. More than 950 echinoderms were observed in the 5 h of video recorded during the seven dives conducted at depths between ~ 160 and 280 m. The communities of echinoderms observed at these …

Incorporating Antecedent Soil Moisture Into Streamflow Forecasting, Abdoul Oubeidillah, Glenn Tootle, Thomas Piechota

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study incorporates antecedent (preceding) soil moisture into forecasting streamflow volumes within the North Platte River Basin, Colorado/Wyoming (USA). The incorporation of antecedent soil moisture accounts for infiltration and can improve streamflow predictions. Current Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) forecasting methods are replicated, and a comparison is drawn between current NRCS forecasts and proposed forecasting methods using antecedent soil moisture. Current predictors used by the NRCS in regression-based streamflow forecasting include precipitation, streamflow persistence (previous season streamflow volume) and snow water equivalent (SWE) from SNOTEL (snow telemetry) sites. Proposed methods utilize antecedent soil moisture as a predictor variable in addition …

Thermodynamics Of Neutrons In A Magnetic Field And Its Implications For Neutron Stars, Efrain J. Ferrer, Aric Hackebill

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We investigate the effects of a magnetic field on the thermodynamics of a neutron system at finite density and temperature. Our main motivation is to deepen the understanding of the physics of a class of neutron stars known as magnetars, which exhibit extremely strong magnetic fields. Taking into account two facts, (i) the existence of a pressure anisotropy in the presence of a magnetic field and (ii) that the quantum field theory contribution to the pressure is non-negligible, we show that the maximum value that the inner magnetic field of a star can reach while being in agreement with the …

A Holistic Approach For Enhancing Distributed Education With Multi-Campus Course Delivery Methods, Mahmoud K. Quweider, Ala Qubbaj, Liyu Zhang, Fitratullah Khan, Hansheng Lei

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

To create an emerging research institution, a regional university was created that spans multiple campuses within a radius of more than one hundred miles by merging at least three current institutions. The merge allowed the university to pool its human and technical resources. Students can now pursue new degrees that were not available before at one campus or another, take a newly available technical or specialty courses, and even select their own preferred professor when a course is offered by many faculty. In order to serve students at multiple campuses that are geographically far a part, the university instituted policies …

Optimal Quantization For The Cantor Distribution Generated By Infinite Similutudes, Mrinal Kanti Roychowdhury

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Let P be a Borel probability measure on ℝ generated by an infinite system of similarity mappings {Sj : j ∈ ℕ} such that P=Σ∞j=112jP∘S−1j, where for each j ∈ ℕ and x ∈ ℝ, Sj(x)=13jx+1−13j−1. Then, the support of P is the dyadic Cantor set C generated by the similarity mappings f1, f2 : ℝ → ℝ such that f1(x) = 1/3x and f2(x) = 1/3x+ 2/3 for all x ∈ ℝ. In this paper, using the infinite system of similarity mappings {Sj : j ∈ ℕ} associated with the probability vector (12,122,...), for all n ∈ ℕ, we …

Growth Factors In The Human Body: A Conceptual Update, Estefania Alexandre, Debasish Bandyopadhyay

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Growth factors are found in most of the organisms including insects, humans, plants, etc. The name ‘growth factors’ became known when the substances were active in stimulating the growth of cells and tissues. Growth factors are regulatory species (signaling molecules mainly proteins) that are generated by the body which function in binding to receptors on the cell surface and are required to stimulate the growth in living responsive cells by triggering cellular proliferation and/or cellular differentiation pathways, as well as by regulating gene transcription in the nucleus. They are quite versatile by promoting cell growth and act in a paracrine, …

Toward The Ultrasonic Sensing Of Organic Carbon In Seagrass-Bearing Sediments, Gabriel R. Venegas, Abdullah Rahman, Kevin M. Lee, Megan S. Ballard, Preston S. Wilson

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Ten percent of all organic carbon (Corg) absorbed by the ocean each year is stored in seagrass-bearing sediments. The preservation of these carbon stores is considered a vital method to mitigate climate change. Seagrass-bearing sediments have been correlated with sediment geophysical properties yet have not been related to sediment acoustic properties. For this purpose, sediment cores were collected from a Thalassia testudinum seagrass meadow in South Texas, USA, where geophysical, acoustical, and Corg properties were measured. It is hypothesized that when deposits of Corg adsorb onto mineral surfaces and are stored in pore spaces, compliant layers between grain contacts and …

Equation Of State Of A Magnetized Dense Neutron System, Efrain J. Ferrer, Aric Hackebill

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We discuss how a magnetic field can affect the equation of state of a many-particle neutron system. We show that, due to the anisotropy in the pressures, the pressure transverse to the magnetic field direction increases with the magnetic field, while the one along the field direction decreases. We also show that in this medium there exists a significant negative field-dependent contribution associated with the vacuum pressure. This negative pressure demands a neutron density sufficiently high (corresponding to a baryonic chemical potential of 𝜇=2.25 GeV) to produce the necessary positive matter pressure that can compensate for the gravitational pull. The …

Optimal Staged Self-Assembly Of Linear Assemblies, Cameron Chalk, Eric Martinez, Robert Schweller, Luis Vega, Andrew Winslow, Tim Wylie

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

We analyze the complexity of building linear assemblies, sets of linear assemblies, and O(1)-scale general shapes in the staged tile assembly model. For systems with at most b bins and t tile types, we prove that the minimum number of stages to uniquely assemble a 1 n line is (logt n + logb n t + 1). Generalizing to O(1) n lines, we prove the minimum number of stages is O( log n tb t log t b2 + log log b log t ) and

( log n tb t log t b2 ). Next, we consider assembling sets …

The Development Of Screening Platforms To Identify Novel Anti-Infectives That Inhibit Protein Synthesis In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Casey Anne Hughes

Theses and Dissertations

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen, is a leading cause of nosocomial infections and is becoming increasingly antibiotic resistant. Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) catalyze the covalent attachment of amino acids to their cognate tRNAs and serve as validated targets for the development of new anti-infectives. In P. aeruginosa, the genome contains two genes (tyrS and tyrZ) which encode two distinct TyrRS enzymes. The genes encoding both P. aeruginosa TyrRS-Z and TyrRS-S were cloned, overexpressed in E. coli cells, and purified to homogeneity. Both forms of TyrRS were active in aminoacylation and were developed into screening platforms using scintillation proximity …

Comparative, Lithology-Based Biogeography Of Phreatophytic And Non-Phreatophytic Matrices Along A North-South Gradient Of The South Texas Sand Sheet, Christopher Joaquin Munoz

Theses and Dissertations

A 70km-long, N-S stratigraphic cross-section spanning the entirety of the South Texas Sand Sheet (STSS) has been rendered along Texas Interstate 69C. The cross-section indicates localized zones of substantial STSS thickness (>4m) as well as zones where the underlying Goliad Formation is either exposed or just below the surface (<0.5m). Spatial patterns of both phreatophytic and non-phreatophytic vegetation assemblages were analyzed by means of remote sensing and in situ herbaceous species evaluations. Biogeographic patterns were comprised of three vegetation matrices: P. glandulosa-dominated, Q. virginiana-dominated and a matrix of herbaceous plants. The geographic distribution of vegetation assemblages corresponded to specific lithological parameters and features. Namely, Q. virginiana concentration exhibited a positive linear relationship with the lithological parameter of STSS thickness (P =2.122x10-11) (α = 0.05). P. glandulosa/V. farnesiana …

Modelling Water Fluxes In Plants: From Tissues To Biosphere, Maurizio Mencuccini, Stefano Manzoni, Bradley O. Christoffersen

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Contents Summary 1207 I. Introduction 1207 II. A brief history of modelling plant water fluxes 1208 III. Main components of plant water transport models 1208 IV. Stand-scale water fluxes and coupling to climate and soil 1213 V. Water fluxes in terrestrial biosphere models and feedbacks to community dynamics 1215 VI. Outstanding challenges in modelling water fluxes in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum 1217 Acknowledgements 1218 References 1218 SUMMARY: Models of plant water fluxes have evolved from studies focussed on understanding the detailed structure and functioning of specific components of the soil-plant-atmosphere (SPA) continuum to architectures often incorporated inside eco-hydrological and terrestrial biosphere …

Existence And Classification Of Solutions To Nonlinear Elliptic Equations, Haseeb E. Ansari

Theses and Dissertations

The so-called Lane-Emden equation is a model in astrophysics, useful to problems in analysis and conformal geometry, and is closely related to the Yamabe Problem and the Uniformization Theorem. We discuss several important results for the equation, which include proving that the equation admits a distribution solution if and only if p is greater than the Serrin exponent, that classical solutions admit the form of a "bubble function" if p is equal to the Sobolev exponent, and no classical solutions exist for p less than the Sobolev exponent. A new proof of an extended result is also included.

Mobile Solar Energy Environmental Control System With Remote Accessibility, Luis S. Garay

Theses and Dissertations

The proposed system, Mobile Solar Energy Environmental Control System with Remote Accessibility (mSEECS w/ RA), is based on the utilization of an already available Energy Storage Unit (ESU) in a Transport Unit System (TUS) to harness solar energy to provide a system to enhance the environment, safety and security of a TUS in a stationary or a mobile state by monitoring and controlling the operation of its onboard systems, and provide remote accessibility to know the state of affairs at any time. To relate to a real world application, the battery (ESU) of a vehicle (TUS) is underutilized …

Object Enhancement, Noise Reduction, Conversion And Collection Of Spatiotemporal Image Data, Michael Izaguirre Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

In this report, a variety of cellular dynamics are enhanced and analyzed utilizing various algorithms and filter for contrast enhancement. This report will also illustrate the underlying complexities of processing compressed data received from certain type of sensors, their default applications, various methods in converting compressed data to compatible universal uncompressed formats allowed in scientific applications, various methods of image and video capture, guidelines in ethical image manipulation, various methods of frame extraction, and analyzing/processing video images. These methods and processes purposely utilize freeware and public domain software to lower the cost of reproducibility for all.

Effects Of Elevated Temperature On Gonadal Functions, Cellular Apoptosis, And Oxidative Stress In Atlantic Sea Urchin (Arbacia Punctulata), Jackson B. Johnstone

Theses and Dissertations

Increasing surface sea water temperatures effect on growth, reproduction and development in marine organisms. Sea urchins are excellent indicator species and ideal model organisms to focus on. In this study, I tested the effect of higher temperatures on reproductive functions, heat shock protein (HSP, a chaperone protein produced by cells in response to heat stress) and nitrotyrosine protein (NTP, an indicator of reactive nitrogen species, RNS) expressions, cellular apoptosis, and ceolomic fluid (CF, a body fluid which regulates important physiological processes) conditions in Atlantic sea urchin at three different temperatures. Ten sea urchins were placed in each of six aquariums …

A Snapshot Of The Age, Growth, And Reproductive Status Of Gray Triggerfish (Balistes Capriscus, Gmelin 1789) On Three Artificial Reefs In The Northwest Gulf Of Mexico, Adam M. Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Age, growth, and reproductive status of gray triggerfish (Balistes capriscus) were identified from 2015-2016 on artificial reefs in the northwest Gulf of Mexico. Individuals ranged from 232-432 mm fork length with and a mean fork length of 319 mm. Individuals from age 0.2 to 5.2 yrs were observed with a weight to length relationship of Wg = 1.1 x -104 x FL2.7 (r2 = 0.94, n = 112), where FL = fork length (mm) and Wg = weight (g). A von Bertalanffy growth equation of Lt = 326(1 - e - 0.9 (t + 1.71)) was calculated irrespective …