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Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

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Articles 961 - 990 of 1876

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Effects Of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Exposure On Development And Sexual Differentiation In Ranid Tadpoles, Mary J. Rybitski Jan 2000

Effects Of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Exposure On Development And Sexual Differentiation In Ranid Tadpoles, Mary J. Rybitski

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The effects of AroclorRTM1242 exposure on developing amphibians were examined by exposing southern leopard frogs, Rana sphenocephala, to a contaminated diet throughout the larval period. Treatment groups consisted of an untreated control, a solvent control, 17beta-estradiol, and three PCB doses (10, 100, and 1000 mug/g). PCB accumulation and biotransformation were examined. Effects of PCB exposure on metamorphosis and sexual differentiation were assessed. PCB accumulation was not statistically different between the egg masses. Levels of PCBs in the tissues differed in a dose related manner. Within treatments, body weight appeared to be the major factor correlated with PCB concentration. Congener patterns …


Semantic Software Scouts For Information Retrieval, John J. Rehder Jan 2000

Semantic Software Scouts For Information Retrieval, John J. Rehder

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

A new concept for information storage and retrieval is proposed that links chunks of information within and among documents based on semantic relationships and uses those connections to efficiently retrieve all the information that closely matches the user's request. The storage method is semantic hypertext, in which conventional hypertext links are enriched with semantic information that includes the strength and type of the relationship between the chunks of information being linked. A retrieval method was devised in which a set of cooperating software agents, called scouts, traverse the connections simultaneously searching for requested information. By communicating with each other and …


Studies In Hard Pion Photoproduction, Christian Jens Wahlquist Jan 2000

Studies In Hard Pion Photoproduction, Christian Jens Wahlquist

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The production of high transverse momenta mesons via polarized photoproduction can be a means of determining the parton structure of the target. at the regions of highest transverse pion momenta, kT, it can be shown that short distance, direct, pion production dominates and is sensitive to the polarized quark distributions. as the produced pions transverse momenta decreases the importance of pions produced through fragmentation following photon-gluon fusion increases. This process give us sensitivity to the form of the polarized gluon distribution. Both processes are calculable with perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics (pQCD) due to the high kT of the pion produced. Numerical …


The Attempted Synthesis Of 4,4'-Bis(Dimethylamino)Azobenzene-3,3'-Disulfonylchloride As A Cap For Beta-Cyclodextrin, Katherine M. Ross Jan 2000

The Attempted Synthesis Of 4,4'-Bis(Dimethylamino)Azobenzene-3,3'-Disulfonylchloride As A Cap For Beta-Cyclodextrin, Katherine M. Ross

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.


Multi-Image Classification And Compression Using Vector Quantization, Beverly J. Thompson Jan 1999

Multi-Image Classification And Compression Using Vector Quantization, Beverly J. Thompson

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Vector Quantization (VQ) is an image processing technique based on statistical clustering, and designed originally for image compression. In this dissertation, several methods for multi-image classification and compression based on a VQ design are presented. It is demonstrated that VQ can perform joint multi-image classification and compression by associating a class identifier with each multi-spectral signature codevector. We extend the Weighted Bayes Risk VQ (WBRVQ) method, previously used for single-component images, that explicitly incorporates a Bayes risk component into the distortion measure used in the VQ quantizer design and thereby permits a flexible trade-off between classification and compression priorities. In …


Geochemistry Of Small Mountainous Rivers Of Papua New Guinea: Local Observations And Global Implications, Megan B. Raymond Jan 1999

Geochemistry Of Small Mountainous Rivers Of Papua New Guinea: Local Observations And Global Implications, Megan B. Raymond

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Small, wet mountainous rivers (runoff > 0.63 m yr" 1 , headwater elevation> 1000 m, basin area < 10,000 km2 ) contribute a disproportionate amount of sediment to the global ocean due to their steep high topography, erosive substrate, and often high precipitation. Scattered data have suggested a slight, but statistically insignificant, inverse relationship between total dissolved solid (TDS) yield (T km-2 yr-1 ) and basin area, but small to very small rivers (basin areas< 10,000 km2 ) have been poorly documented. To fill this data gap, as well as to elucidate possible links between weathering and basin hydrology, nine small wet mountainous rivers, basin areas 22 km2-2300 km2 , were sampled in late May 1997 in northeastern Papua New Guinea. TDS concentrations ranged from 75 to 148 mg L-1 , with no correlation to watershed area. The dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and particulate organic carbon (POC) values were low, with a mean DOC value of 135 f.Lmol L-1 ; POC values were lower, averaging 3lf.Lmol L- 1 • TDS data, combined with large wet mountainous river TDS data, demonstrate a significant inverse relationship between TDS yield and basin area. As a result, small wet mountainous rivers contribute a disproportionate amount of TDS, and have the highest TDS yields of any class of river. This observation is attributed to the high runoff of the sampled rivers (-2m yr-1 ), in addition to high rates of chemical weathering, which is facilitated by the erosive substrate and high rates of organic matter remineralization.


Protease Inhibitors Of The Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea Virginica, And Their Relationship To The Protozoan Pathogen, Perkinsus Marinus, Jacques L. Oliver Jan 1999

Protease Inhibitors Of The Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea Virginica, And Their Relationship To The Protozoan Pathogen, Perkinsus Marinus, Jacques L. Oliver

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.


Habitat Fragmentation In Transplanted Eelgrass (Zostera Marina) Beds: Effects On Decapods And Fish, Alfonso Vollmer Lombana Jan 1999

Habitat Fragmentation In Transplanted Eelgrass (Zostera Marina) Beds: Effects On Decapods And Fish, Alfonso Vollmer Lombana

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.


Decay Search For The Supersymmetric R(0) (Gluon Gluino) Hadron Via The Channel R(0) Going To Positive Pion Negative Pion Photino, Kevin Michael Hern Jan 1999

Decay Search For The Supersymmetric R(0) (Gluon Gluino) Hadron Via The Channel R(0) Going To Positive Pion Negative Pion Photino, Kevin Michael Hern

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

There has been recent theoretical interest in supersymmetry breaking scenarios in which the gauginos are light compared to the squarks. One prediction of these light gluino models is the existence of the R 0 hadron (gg?£). Brookhaven National Laboratory AGS Experiment 935 (E935) searched for light gluinos through the appearance of pi+pi- pairs with invariant mass Mpipi > 545 MeV/c2 in a high flux neutral beam. The search has yielded one candidate event. This event is consistent with the anticipated background of 1.4 events due to interactions of neutrons in the beam with the residual gas in the evacuated decay region. …


Electroproduction Of Omega (783) Mesons Using Clas At Jefferson Lab, Alan Clayton Coleman Jan 1999

Electroproduction Of Omega (783) Mesons Using Clas At Jefferson Lab, Alan Clayton Coleman

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Electroproduction of omega(783) mesons from a proton target has been measured in a search for so called "missing baryon resonances". A 4.0 GeV electron beam was used. The scattered electrons were measured in coincidence with the recoiling proton and the positive pion from the omega decay. Missing mass techniques were applied to identify the omega in the final state, and to reduce the rho(770) contribution. The data show the omega very clearly on a smooth background originating predominantly from three-pion phase space. Yields have been extracted, and the W and t dependencies determined. The t dependence is mostly monotonic for …


Medium- And Long-Term Changes In Fluvial Discharge To The Sea: The Yellow River Case Study, John J. Galler Jan 1999

Medium- And Long-Term Changes In Fluvial Discharge To The Sea: The Yellow River Case Study, John J. Galler

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.


Sensory Development In Settlement-Stage Larvae Of Caribbean Labrids And Scarids: A Comparative Study With Implications For Ecomorphology And Life History Strategies, Monica R. Lara Jan 1999

Sensory Development In Settlement-Stage Larvae Of Caribbean Labrids And Scarids: A Comparative Study With Implications For Ecomorphology And Life History Strategies, Monica R. Lara

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The sensory capabilities of settlement-stage fishes are unknown but this information is necessary to studies of larval settlement and recruitment. The morphology of the cephalic lateral line, eye and external olfactory organ of thirteen species of settlement-stage Caribbean labroids was described. Scanning electron images of the cephalic lateral line neuromasts, lateral line canals and olfactory epithelia and histological studies of the retinae and morphological measurements of visual acuity were used to assess the level of sensory development attained at settlement. The sensory capabilities of settlement-stage fishes are discussed in relation to the possible cues settlement-stage fishes may be using to …


Artificial Societies: A Computational Approach To Studying Combat, Rachel J. Moore Jan 1999

Artificial Societies: A Computational Approach To Studying Combat, Rachel J. Moore

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.


Fabrications And Characterizations Of Boron Containing Polyimides For Radiation Shielding, Christopher Scott Pugh Jan 1999

Fabrications And Characterizations Of Boron Containing Polyimides For Radiation Shielding, Christopher Scott Pugh

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.


The Photochemistry Of Thiobenzoyl Derivatives Of Methyl Benzylidene-Alpha-D-Glucopyranoside, Adam Louis Schreiber Jan 1999

The Photochemistry Of Thiobenzoyl Derivatives Of Methyl Benzylidene-Alpha-D-Glucopyranoside, Adam Louis Schreiber

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.


Analysis Of Mercury Coordination Environments Of Tridentate And Tetradentate Imidazole Based Ligands By X-Ray Crystallography And Nmr Spectroscopy, Geoffrey Murphy Jan 1999

Analysis Of Mercury Coordination Environments Of Tridentate And Tetradentate Imidazole Based Ligands By X-Ray Crystallography And Nmr Spectroscopy, Geoffrey Murphy

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.


Fine-Scale Strata Formation In Biologically And Physically Dominated Estuarine Systems Within The Lower Chesapeake And York River Subestuary, Timothy M. Dellapenna Jan 1999

Fine-Scale Strata Formation In Biologically And Physically Dominated Estuarine Systems Within The Lower Chesapeake And York River Subestuary, Timothy M. Dellapenna

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

To investigate the relationship between biological and physical mixing in forming strata, the lower mainstem of Chesapeake Bay has been contrasted with the York River Subestuary. By using radioisotope profiles from sediment cores, comparisons are made in terms of depth and rate of sediment mixing, deposition and accretion. Within the lower Chesapeake Bay two sites were selected as biologically dominated, both are located within the bay stem plains and are characterized by muddy sand and an abundance of large, deep-dwelling organisms. X-radiographs indicate complete biological reworking of sediments. 210Pb profiles reveal low sediment accretion rates within the mainstem sites ( …


Nitrate Reduction At The Groundwater - Salt Marsh Interface, Craig -1967 Tobias Jan 1999

Nitrate Reduction At The Groundwater - Salt Marsh Interface, Craig -1967 Tobias

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The influence of groundwater discharge on the hydrology and biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen in a fringing intertidal wetland was studied by characterizing groundwater discharge, determining N-cycling rates in cores, and examining nitrate reduction in situ using 15N enrichment and natural gradient tracer techniques. Groundwater discharge was estimated by three independent methods: Darcy's Law, a water/salt mass balance, and a subsurface tracer test. Seasonal patterns of discharge predicted by Darcy's Law and the mass balance were similar. Discharge maxima and minima occurred in April and September, respectively. The water/salt mass balance provided the more reasonable estimate of groundwater flux at high …


Molecular Phylogeny Of Lake Baikal Amphipods, Kenneth S. Macdonald Jan 1999

Molecular Phylogeny Of Lake Baikal Amphipods, Kenneth S. Macdonald

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.


Limitation Of Bacterial Growth By Dissolved Organic Matter And Iron In The Southern Ocean, Matthew J. Church Jan 1999

Limitation Of Bacterial Growth By Dissolved Organic Matter And Iron In The Southern Ocean, Matthew J. Church

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.


Environmental Stress In Hard Coral: Evaluating Lipid As An Indicator Of Sublethal Stress On Short Time Scales, David Harold Niebuhr Jan 1999

Environmental Stress In Hard Coral: Evaluating Lipid As An Indicator Of Sublethal Stress On Short Time Scales, David Harold Niebuhr

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Lipid quality was evaluated in Montastrea spp. under sediment- and heat-stressed conditions to evaluate lipid ratio as an indicator of sub-lethal stress on short time scales. The ratio of storage lipid (wax ester + triacylglyceride) to structural lipid (sterol esters + phospholipid) decreased significantly (0.25 to 0.14, p < 0.01) after experimental sedimentation. FAME analysis of colonies exposed to experimental sedimentation showed a reduction of the algal, 18:3(n-6) and 18:4(n-3), polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) in the polar lipid fraction. This loss of PUFA suggests a loss of algal membrane in sediment-stressed colonies. Lipid quality was similarly measured in M. faveolata over a 10-day period. Mean (n = 20) ratio of storage to structural lipid in M. faveolata dropped from 2.43 to a level of 0.98 immediately following a natural sedimentation event before recovering to levels of 1.4 and 2.9 on post-storm days 2 and 4, respectively. Colonies of M. annularis subject to heat-stress (35??C) exhibited no significant change in storage lipid ratio, while levels of Free Fatty Acids increased significantly from 0.012 (n = 22) to 0.156 mg lipid/g dry tissue (n = 22)(p < 0.05). FAME analysis of tissue lipids extracted from the heat-stressed colonies showed changes in the polar fraction, with significant decreases in the 18:3(n-6), 18:3(n-3), 18:4(n-3), 20:4(n-6) and 20:5(n-3) (p < 0.05) PUFA and subsequent significant increases in the saturated fatty acids, 16:0 and 18:0 (p < 0.05). These changes in lipid quantity and quality indicate possible oxidation and preferential digestion of zooxanthellar membranes. Stress experiments were repeated in M. annularis using VacutainerRTM blood collection tubes to collect micro-tissue samples without destroying skeleton of the sample colonies. A significant decrease in storage: structural lipid ratio after sedimentation was also detected using the micro-tissue technique. This study indicates that the relative abundance of lipid subclass components can indicate sub-lethal environmental stress, on short time scales, in M. annularis and M. faveolata. Furthermore, micro-tissue collection techniques permit repeated monitoring coral colonies to assess the manifestation of stress from first detection of impact at the cellular level to changes in community to changes in community structure detectable over longer time scales.


Sediment Dispersal And Sequence Development Along A Tectonically Active Margin: Late Quaternary Evolution Of The Ganges-Brahmaputra River Delta, Steven Lee Goodbred Jr. Jan 1999

Sediment Dispersal And Sequence Development Along A Tectonically Active Margin: Late Quaternary Evolution Of The Ganges-Brahmaputra River Delta, Steven Lee Goodbred Jr.

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Situated in the Bengal Basin, the Ganges-Brahmaputra river delta comprises one of the largest fluviodeltaic systems in the world, comprising ∼ 100,000 km2 of floodplain and delta plain and a 40,000 km2 subaqueous delta on the shelf. Sediment load of the Ganges-Brahmaputra river is 109 t/yr, and seasonal flooding may inundate >70% of the delta during large events. Active tectonic processes have resulted in both uplift and subsidence in this structurally complex region. These general characteristics suggest that the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta represents a heretofore undescribed delta end-member, forming along a high-yield, high-energy, tectonically active margin. to investigate this view, stratigraphic, …


Totally Nonnegative Matrices, Shaun M. Fallat Jan 1999

Totally Nonnegative Matrices, Shaun M. Fallat

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

An m-by-n matrix A is called totally nonnegative (resp. totally positive) if the determinant of every square submatrix (i.e., minor) of A is nonnegative (resp. positive). The class of totally nonnegative matrices has been studied considerably, and this class arises in a variety of applications such as differential equations, statistics, mathematical biology, approximation theory, integral equations and combinatorics. The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate several aspects of totally nonnegative matrices such as spectral problems, determinantal inequalities, factorizations and entry-wise products. It is well-known that the eigenvalues of a totally nonnegative matrix are nonnegative. However, there are many …


Experimental And Computational Techniques In Carbon-13 Nmr, Samuel John Varner Jan 1999

Experimental And Computational Techniques In Carbon-13 Nmr, Samuel John Varner

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

An efficient method for calculating NMR lineshapes from anisotropic second rank tensor interactions is presented. The algorithm produces lineshapes from asymmetric tensors by summing those from symmetric tensors. This approach significantly reduces the calculation time, greatly facilitating iterative nonlinear least squares fitting of experimental spectra. This algorithm has been modified to produce partially relaxed lineshapes and spectra of partially ordered samples.;Calculations for rapidly spinning samples show that spin-lattice relaxation time ( T1Z ) anisotropy varies with the angle between the spinning axis and the external field. When the rate of molecular motion is in the extreme narrowing limit, measurement of …


Spatial And Temporal Distributions Of Organic Matter And Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Pahs) In Surface Waters Of The York River, Va Estuary, Rebecca E. Countway Jan 1999

Spatial And Temporal Distributions Of Organic Matter And Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Pahs) In Surface Waters Of The York River, Va Estuary, Rebecca E. Countway

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.


Carbon Production And Growth Physiology Of Heterotrophic Bacteria In A Subtropical Coral Reef Ecosystem, Peter Dylan Countway Jan 1999

Carbon Production And Growth Physiology Of Heterotrophic Bacteria In A Subtropical Coral Reef Ecosystem, Peter Dylan Countway

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.


A Comparison Of Size Selectivity And Relative Efficiency Of Sea Scallop Trawls And Dredges, David B. Rudders Jan 1999

A Comparison Of Size Selectivity And Relative Efficiency Of Sea Scallop Trawls And Dredges, David B. Rudders

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.


Tidally Driven Patterns Of Nekton Distribution And Utilization Of A Tidal Freshwater Marsh At Morris Creek (Chickahominy River, Virginia), Eric Anthony Wooden Jan 1999

Tidally Driven Patterns Of Nekton Distribution And Utilization Of A Tidal Freshwater Marsh At Morris Creek (Chickahominy River, Virginia), Eric Anthony Wooden

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.


Functional And Molecular Analysis Of Antibody Affinity Maturation In Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss), Haili Zhang Jan 1999

Functional And Molecular Analysis Of Antibody Affinity Maturation In Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss), Haili Zhang

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.


A Two-Component Aggregation Model, Thomas A. Chisholm Jr Jan 1999

A Two-Component Aggregation Model, Thomas A. Chisholm Jr

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

An aggregation model which allows specification of primary particle size, density, and fractal dimension for two different particle types was written. Three stickiness values are used, the stickiness of each particle type to itself and the stickiness between particle types. Aggregation mechanisms considered include differential settling and turbulent shear. The model is used in three forms. In its simplest form, it operates on a closed system with aggregates breaking up when their size approaches the Kolmogorov scale. If the system begins with two types of primary particles, larger aggregates have uniform composition. A second version of the model includes removal …