Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Fundamental Studies Of Protein Ionization For Improved Analysis By Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry And Related Methods, Kevin A. Douglass

Dissertations

Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique in which a sample is converted to gas-phase ions that are subsequently separated and detected. It offers great speed, selectivity, and sensitivity during analysis, characteristics which have enabled it to become a leading method for the study of proteins. The applications of MS for these biologically significant macromolecules range from accurately determining identity and sequence to shedding light on post-translational modifications and protein-molecule interactions. As a first step towards analysis by MS, gas-phase protein ions must be formed. A common method for ionization is electrospray ionization (ESI), where a liquid sample including the …

Using Multi-Objective Value Estimation To Support Predictive Analytics For Human Service Project Management, David D. Wingard

Dissertations

Human service organizations need outcome measurement approaches that support project management for efficiency and effectiveness. While, in recent years, human services have increased their capacity to manage data and measure outcomes empirically, several barriers remain. First, current outcome measurement practices are not designed to effectively support the management of human services programs for maximum efficiency and effectiveness. Second, human services organizations need a methodology to manage programs to identified outcomes. This dissertation explored meaningful solutions to both issues. In Paper 1 (Chapter II), this dissertation assessed strengths and limitations of current outcome evaluation approaches and suggested an innovative application of …

Nanocarbons As Charge Carriers In Organic Solar Cells, Xinbo C. Lau

Dissertations

Organic photovoltaics (OPV) are an alternate to conventional silicon and thin film solar cells. They have several advantages such as simple fabrication, low material cost, light weight, and the ability to cover large areas. Typical OPV are based on bulk heterojunction structure consisting of a blend of an electron-donating semiconductor polymer and an electron-accepting molecule. Various approaches have been pursued to improve the performance of OPV: low bandgap polymers, new electron acceptors, processing additives, and tandem cell architecture.

Nanocarbons possess unique physical and chemical properties that can contribute to the enhancement of OPV performance, such as charge carrier mobility, thermal …

Increasing Adolescent Interest In Computing Through The Use Of Social Cognitive Career Theory, Osama Eljabiri

Dissertations

While empirical research efforts are sufficient to provide evidence of the role of most constructs in the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), this dissertation shifts the research focus and finds serious shortcomings in defining the construct of computer technology learning experiences design.

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate whether, and to what extent, the proposed SCCT-enhanced framework can increase self-efficacy and interest of pre-college and college students in computer-based technology through the newly proposed “Learning Experiences” construct; in particular, whether it can reduce the gender gaps.

As a result of a comprehensive literature review, the dissertation connects learning, …

Innovative Local Texture Descriptors With Application To Eye Detection, Jiayu Gu

Dissertations

Local Binary Patterns (LBP), which is one of the well-known texture descriptors, has broad applications in pattern recognition and computer vision. The attractive properties of LBP are its tolerance to illumination variations and its computational simplicity. However, LBP only compares a pixel with those in its own neighborhood and encodes little information about the relationship of the local texture with the features. This dissertation introduces a new Feature Local Binary Patterns (FLBP) texture descriptor that can compare a pixel with those in its own neighborhood as well as in other neighborhoods and encodes the information of both local texture and …

Svmaud: Using Textual Information To Predict The Audience Level Of Written Works Using Support Vector Machines, Todd Will

Dissertations

Information retrieval systems should seek to match resources with the reading ability of the individual user; similarly, an author must choose vocabulary and sentence structures appropriate for his or her audience. Traditional readability formulas, including the popular Flesch-Kincaid Reading Age and the Dale-Chall Reading Ease Score, rely on numerical representations of text characteristics, including syllable counts and sentence lengths, to suggest audience level of resources. However, the author’s chosen vocabulary, sentence structure, and even the page formatting can alter the predicted audience level by several levels, especially in the case of digital library resources. For these reasons, the performance of …

A Modeling Study Of The History-Dependence Of Conduction Delay In Unmyelinated Axons, Yang Zhang

Dissertations

Conduction delay in an axon is the time required for an action potential to propagate between two positions. It is a function of the axon’s passive membrane properties, voltage-gated ion channels and the Na+/K+ pump, and can be substantially affected by neuromodulators. The conduction delay of action potential, generated by the pyloric dilator (PD) neuron unmyel i nated motor axon in the stomatogastric nervous system, shows significant variability with ongoing bursting or Poisson stimulation. When the axon is stimulated, the mean value (Dmean) and coefficient variation of conduction delay (CV-D) slowly increase with time (slow timescale effect), and the relationship …

Particle Filtering For Frequency Estimation From Acoustic Time-Series In Dispersive Media, Nattapol Aunsri

Dissertations

Acoustic signals propagating in the ocean carry information about geometry and environmental parameters within the propagation medium. Accurately retrieving this information leads us to effectively estimate parameters that are of utmost importance in environmental studies, climate monitoring, and defense. This dissertation focuses on the development of sequential Bayesian filtering methods to obtain accurate estimates of instantaneous frequencies using Short Term Fourier Transforms within the acoustic field measured at an array of hydrophones, which can be used in a subsequent step for the estimation of propagation related parameters. We develop a particle filter to estimate these frequencies along with modal amplitudes, …

Using Structural And Semantic Methodologies To Enhance Biomedical Terminologies, Zhe He

Dissertations

Biomedical terminologies and ontologies underlie various Health Information Systems (HISs), Electronic Health Record (EHR) Systems, Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) and health administrative systems. Moreover, the proliferation of interdisciplinary research efforts in the biomedical field is fueling the need to overcome terminological barriers when integrating knowledge from different fields into a unified research project. Therefore well-developed and well-maintained terminologies are in high demand. Most of the biomedical terminologies are large and complex, which makes it impossible for human experts to manually detect and correct all errors and inconsistencies. Automated and semi-automated Quality Assurance methodologies that focus on areas that are more …

Vehicle Re-Routing Strategies For Congestion Avoidance, Juan Pan

Dissertations

Traffic congestion causes driver frustration and costs billions of dollars annually in lost time and fuel consumption. This dissertation introduces a cost-effective and easily deployable vehicular re-routing system that reduces the effects of traffic congestion. The system collects real-time traffic data from vehicles and road-side sensors, and computes proactive, individually tailored re-routing guidance, which is pushed to vehicles when signs of congestion are observed on their routes. Subsequently, this dissertation proposes and evaluates two classes of re-routing strategies designed to be incorporated into this system, namely, Single Shortest Path strategies and Multiple Shortest Paths Strategies.

These strategies are firstly implemented …

Using Prior Knowledge And Learning From Experience In Estimation Of Distribution Algorithms, Mark Walter Hauschild

Dissertations

Estimation of distribution algorithms (EDAs) are stochastic optimization techniques that explore the space of potential solutions by building and sampling explicit probabilistic models of promising candidate solutions. One of the primary advantages of EDAs over many other stochastic optimization techniques is that after each run they leave behind a sequence of probabilistic models describing useful decompositions of the problem. This sequence of models can be seen as a roadmap of how the EDA solves the problem. While this roadmap holds a great deal of information about the problem, until recently this information has largely been ignored. My thesis is that …

Polyaminocarboxylic Acids As Potential Candidates For Trivalent Actinide/Lanthanide Separations, Daniel Stephen Kissel

Dissertations

Nuclear energy, which has historically been considered an alternative energy solution in the United States, is regaining support as an efficient means of energy production. The viability of nuclear energy for the future, however, will remain suspect until issues involving the waste created are fully addressed in the next generation of advanced nuclear fuel cycles. The TALSPEAK process, developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is a classic solvent extraction technique that employs a series of analytical separations in an effort to remove radioactive contaminants from spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and recover uranium in high purity. This separation utilizes a polyaminocarboxylic …

Investigation Of Chicago Air Pollution And Meteorological Influence On Pollution Development: Physical Measurements And Multivariate Statistical Analyses, Katrina Lyn Binaku

Dissertations

The goal of this project was to evaluate air pollutants and meteorology in Chicago, Illinois during summers 2010, 2011, and 2012. Sixty-six collection days of air pollutant and meteorological data were completed at the Loyola University Chicago sampling station atop Mertz Hall. Trace gases, nitrogen oxides and ozone, as well as the water-soluble fraction of aerosol material were the air pollutants of focus in this study. Data analysis showed that chloride, nitrate, sulfate, and oxalate were the most frequently quantified water-soluble ions in aerosol samples, followed by acetate, formate, potassium, phosphate, calcium, and magnesium ions. Ionic ratios showed that stationary …

Numerical Investigation Of Orographic Effects On Supercell Thunderstorms, Galen M. Smith

Dissertations

Orographic effects on tornadic supercell development, propagation, and structure are investigated using the Cloud Model 1 with idealized bell-shaped mountains of various heights and geometries and a homogeneous fluid flow with a single sounding. In total, the variations of height and geometry yield 16 terrain configurations. It is found that blocking effects are dominative compared to the terrain-induced environmental heterogeneity downwind of the mountain. The isolated bell-shaped mountains tended to shift the track of the storm towards the left of storm motion; however, when the terrain was elongated the effect tended to be rightward. The terrain blocking effect also enhanced …

Investigating The Biochemical And Catalytic Properties Of Nitrile Hydratases, Salette Martinez

Dissertations

Chemical and pharmaceutical industries make extensive use of amide compounds for the manufacture of commodity chemicals (e.g., acrylamide) and drug intermediates (e.g., nicotinamide). Production of amide compounds is typically achieved by the hydration of nitrile compounds under acidic or basic conditions, high temperatures, and copper catalysts. However, the use of such chemical methods leads to the generation of unwanted by-products and toxic wastes, in addition to low product yields and high production costs. An alternative route for amide production is the use of a natural catalyst, for example nitrile hydratases (NHase, E.C. 4.2.1.84). NHase is a metalloenzyme that efficiently converts …

Glycosyl Thiocarbamates As New Building Blocks For Chemical Glycosylation, Sneha Chandrashekhar Ranade

Dissertations

Having multiple functions in biological systems e.g. fertilization, blood group determination, cell growth; carbohydrates have remained attractive subjects for the study. They are also involved in various life threatening biological processes, such as viral and bacterial infections, tumor development, etc. Understanding of these involvements/interactions of carbohydrates in such critical processes is essential for the development of carbohydrate based vaccines and therapeutics. Although carbohydrates are present abundantly in nature, their isolation is cumbersome and low yielding, which is why, the synthesis of carbohydrate units has been of interest to many scientists. Efforts have been made to make these synthetic methods more …

Optical Spectroscopic Studies Of Two Star Forming Regions, Kristen Leilani Erickson

Dissertations

The ρ Ophiuchi and Serpens molecular clouds are sites of low mass star formation. The goals of this study were to identify young stellar objects (YSOs) and estimate ages and masses in order to infer an initial mass function (IMF), investigate disk evolution, and determine the star-forming history. Optical spectroscopic surveys of an unbiased sample of candidate young stars have been completed. Optical images taken in different photometric bands were used to create color-magnitude diagrams from which sources were selected for spectroscopic observation. In combination with published data, 135 association members in ρ Ophiuchi and 63 association members plus 16 …

The Effects Of Standards-Based Grading On Student Performance In Algebra 2, Rachel Beth Rosales

Dissertations

The use of standards-based grading in American public schools is increasing, offering students, parents, and teachers a new way of measuring and communicating about student achievement and performance. Parents indicate an appreciation for this method of grading, and students at the elementary grades (K-6) have improved standardized test scores in reading and math as a result of its implementation. This study seeks to determine whether standards-based grading has the same effect on students at the high school level (grades 9-12) by comparing end-of-course test scores and posttest scores of Algebra 2 students enrolled in a standards-based graded classroom with to …

Development Of Polarization Analysis Of Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering, Xuan Gao

Dissertations

Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) is a powerful technique in condensed matter physics for studying the electronic excitations in novel materials of interest. In currently operating hard x-ray RIXS instruments the energy and momentum transfers are measured while the outgoing polarization is not measured due to significant technical challenges. But the outgoing polarization of the scattered photons provides valuable information (excitation symmetry) about the states involved in the scattering which is difficult to determine without polarization analysis. Polarization analysis has proved extremely valuable in soft x-ray RIXS, and so a polarization analysis system is being developed to fill the technical …

Estimation And Inference For Spatial And Spatio-Temporal Mixed Effects Models, Casey M. Jelsema

Dissertations

One of the most common goals of geostatistical analysis is that of spatial prediction, in other words: filling in the blank areas of the map. There are two popular methods for accomplishing spatial prediction. Either kriging, or Bayesian hierarchical models. Both methods require the inverse of the spatial covariance matrix of the data. As the sample size, n, becomes large, both of these methods become impractical. Reduced rank spatial models (RRSM) allow prediction on massive datasets without compromising the complexity of the spatial process. This dissertation focuses on RRSMs, particularly situations where the data follow non-Gaussian distributions.

The manner in …

Gene Regulatory Network Analysis And Web-Based Application Development, Yi Yang

Dissertations

Microarray data is a valuable source for gene regulatory network analysis. Using earthworm microarray data analysis as an example, this dissertation demonstrates that a bioinformatics-guided reverse engineering approach can be applied to analyze time-series data to uncover the underlying molecular mechanism. My network reconstruction results reinforce previous findings that certain neurotransmitter pathways are the target of two chemicals - carbaryl and RDX. This study also concludes that perturbations to these pathways by sublethal concentrations of these two chemicals were temporary, and earthworms were capable of fully recovering. Moreover, differential networks (DNs) analysis indicates that many pathways other than those related …

A Geographical Approach For Integrating Belief Networks And Geographic Information Sciences To Probabilistically Predict River Depth, Nathan Lee Hopper

Dissertations

Geography is, traditionally, a discipline dedicated to answering complex spatial questions. Although spatial statistical techniques, such as weighted regressions and weighted overlay analyses, are commonplace within geographical sciences, probabilistic reasoning, and uncertainty analyses are not typical. For example, belief networks are statistically robust and computationally powerful, but are not strongly integrated into geographic information systems. This is one of the reasons that belief networks have not been more widely utilized within the environmental sciences community. Geography’s traditional method of delivering information through maps provides a mechanism for conveying probabilities and uncertainties to decision makers in a clear, concise manner. This …

Design And Synthesis Of Flexible And Functional Polybenzoxazine Thin Films, Austin David Baranek

Dissertations

Polybenzoxazines offer the unique ability to incorporate a variety of properties and functionality into a single polymer network through simple synthetic techniques. However, within benzoxazine materials exist certain drawbacks of which brittleness is the primary issue when exploring thin film applications. This brittleness leads to poor mechanical stability and would reduce the lifetime of any device sought after. It is, however, through the simplistic nature of the benzoxazine monomer synthesis that the mechanical stability could be addressed chemically, avoiding the complications of using rubber toughening agents or plasticizers. The monomer synthesis offers tailorability of both the phenol and amine to …

Client-Based Qos Monitoring And Evaluation Architecture For Network Infrastructure And Services, Ammar Mohammed Kamel

Dissertations

Providing an efficient Quality-of-Service (QoS) measurement model is a challenging problem in today’s mobile computing and telecommunications networks. Currently, most of QoS techniques utilize service measurements that are collected by the network elements (i.e., network-side monitoring) to evaluate the network performance. However, this process does not take into account the service performance from the clients' perspective and might contradict with the Service Level Agreement (SLA). In order to overcome the limitations of service-side QoS monitoring, a number of research studies have been conducted to present alternative architectures and algorithms for client-side QoS service assessment in computer networks. The client-side QoS …

An Insight Into Asymmetric Synthesis And Bioorganic Applications Of Novel Cα- Methyl-Lysine, - Proline, - Nipocotic Acid Analogues, Souvik Banerjee

Dissertations

Prochiral malonic diesters consisting of a quaternary carbon center have been successfully converted into a different set of tBoc-Fmoc-α2,2-methyllysine-OH analogues through chiral malonic half-ester intermediates achieved via enzymatic (Pig Liver Esterase, PLE) hydrolysis. The selection of chiral half-ester intermediates, which vary from 1 to 6 methylene units in the side chain, are achieved in high optical purity (92% - 97% ee) and in good yields (65% - 72%). The PLE hydrolysis of malonic diesters with a variety of side chain lengths observed to obey the Jones’s PLE model as evidenced from the stereochemical configurations of the resulting chiral half-esters. The …

Synergy Of The Developed 6d Bim Framework And Conception Of The Nd Bim Framework And Nd Bim Process Ontology, Shawn Edward O'Keeffe

Dissertations

The author developed a unified nD framework and process ontology for Building Information Modeling (BIM). The research includes a framework developed for 6D BIM, nD BIM, and nD ontology that defines the domain and sub-domain constructs for future nD BIM dimensions. The nD ontology defines the relationships of kinds within any new proposed dimensional domain for BIM. The developed nD BIM framework and ontology takes into account the current 2D-5D BIM dimensions. There is a synergy between the 6D and nD framework that allows the nD framework and ontology to be utilized as a unified template for future dimensional development. …

Development Of Correction Algorithm For Pulsed Terahertz Computed Tomography (Thz-Ct), Suman Mukherjee

Dissertations

For last couple of decades, there has been a considerable improvement in Terahertz (THz) science, technology, and imaging. In particular, the technique of 3-D computed tomography has been adapted to the THz range. However, it has been widely recognized that a fundamental limitation to THz computed tomography imaging is the refractive effects of the sample under study. The finite refractive index of materials in the THz range can severally refract THz beams which probe the internal structure of a sample during the acquisition of tomography data. Refractive effects lead to anomalously high local absorption coefficients in the reconstructed image near …

Structural Indicators For Effective Quality Assurance Of Snomed Ct, Ankur Agrawal

Dissertations

The Standardized Nomenclature of Medicine -- Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT -- further abbreviated as SCT) has been endorsed as a premier clinical terminology by many national and international organizations. The US Government has chosen SCT to play a significant role in its initiative to promote Electronic Health Record (EH R) country-wide. However, there is evidence suggesting that, at the moment, SCT is not optimally modeled for its intended use by healthcare practitioners. There is a need to perform quality assurance (QA) of SCT to help expedite its use as a reference terminology for clinical purposes as planned for EH R …

Application Of Iron Complexes As Catalysts In C-O And C-C Bond Forming Reactions, Pushkar Sudhakar Shejwalkar

Dissertations

‘Green Chemistry’ is a philosophy that encourages chemists in research and industry to reduce toxic waste for cleaner and safer chemical production. Oxidation reactions are commonly used in industry and are traditionally achieved by methods that involve toxic metals (such as chromium) and solvents, generating considerable waste compared to the value of the final product. The Mukaiyama Aldol reaction is another organic reaction that utilizes metals as Lewis acid catalysts. The principles of Green Chemistry suggest that chemical reactions should be performed with a maximum of efficiency and with a minimum of side product formation, accompanied by a minimal use …

Siloles Bearing Coordination-Active 2,5-Substituents: Synthesis, Reactivity, Structural And Spectral Properties., James Bryan Carroll

Dissertations

Siloles, or silacyclopentadienes and other group 14 metalloles are structurally analogous to their all-carbon analogue, cyclopentadiene, except for the heavy group 14 element (i.e., Si, Ge, Sn, and Pb) in the 1-position. The placement of the heavy element in this position allows for unique properties, such as high electron affinity, mobility, and bathochromically shifted optical spectra, as compared to cyclopentadienes, and the relatively low-lying lowest-unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) helps to account for these properties. The substituents about the silole have a significant impact on the electronics and properties observed, with 2,5-substituents inducing the most substantive changes. Even as many 2,5-substituents …