Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Improving Scalability And Usability Of Parallel Runtime Environments For High Availability And High Performance Systems, Thara Angskun

Doctoral Dissertations

The number of processors embedded in high performance computing platforms is growing daily to solve larger and more complex problems. Hence, parallel runtime environments have to support and adapt to the underlying platforms that require scalability and fault management in more and more dynamic environments. This dissertation aims to analyze, understand and improve the state of the art mechanisms for managing highly dynamic, large scale applications.

This dissertation demonstrates that the use of new scalable and fault-tolerant topologies, combined with rerouting techniques, builds parallel runtime environments, which are able to efficiently and reliably deliver sets of information to a large …

Total Synthesis Of An Analog Of Hydramycin And Derivatization Of Thiol-Terminated Carbohydrates And Development Of A Glycoconjugate Too Set For The Assembly And Presentation Of Carbohydrate Ligands On Surfaces, Medhanit Woldeghiorghis Bahta

Doctoral Dissertations

2-(1,2-Dihydroxy-1-(oxiran-2-yl)ethyl)-11-hydroxy-5-methyl-1Hnaphtho[ 2,3-h]chromene-4,7,12-trione (1), a pyranoanthraquinone isolated from Streptomyces violaceus P950-4, showed a potent antibacterial and cytotoxic activity. A model synthesis for analogs 2-(1,2-dihydroxy-1-(oxiran-2-yl)ethyl)-4H-chromen- 4-one (2) and2-(1-hydroxy-1-(oxiran-2-yl)ethyl)-1H-naphtho[2,3- h]chromene-4,7,12-trione (3) was developed by Dr. David White and Dr. Sarah Headrick. A new analog, 2-(1,2-dihydroxy-1-(oxiran-2-yl)ethyl)-1H-naphtho[2,3- h]chromene-4,7,12-trione (4), was designed to be structurally more similar to hydramycin with –CH2OH functionality on the pyranone ring and anthraquinone skeleton. Therefore, it is expected to have greater anticancer activity than either analogs 2 or 3. This dissertation will cover developments, challenges and solutions in …

Fabrication And Analysis Of Polymeric Nanocomposites From Cellulose Fibrils, Qingzheng Cheng

Doctoral Dissertations

A novel process using high-intensity ultrasonication (HIUS) was developed to isolate fibrils from cellulose fibers. The geometrical characteristics of the fibrils were investigated using polarized light microscopy (PLM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Results show that small fibrils with diameter ranging from about thirty nanometers to several micrometers were peeled from the fibers. The degree of fibrillation of the fibers was significantly increased. The crystallinities or molecular structures of most of the cellulose materials were changed by HIUS treatment.

To evaluate the fibrils degradation by HIUS, a method using AFM was modified and developed to measure …

Electroanalysis Of Metals In Biological And Environmental Samples At Bismuth Electrodes, Kristie Carter Armstrong

Doctoral Dissertations

An Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) was designed for the decomposition of organic material in blood as a pretreatment for chromium analysis. Acidified porcine blood was treated with hydrogen peroxide and UV light for 60 min. The rate of decomposition was studied using UV/Vis spectroscopy. It was found that the order of the photolytic reaction with respect to hydrogen peroxide was 0.35. The pretreated blood was subsequently analyzed for chromium content by catalytic adsorptive stripping voltammetry at a bismuth film electrode. The concentration of chromium was determined to be 6.0 " 0.3 parts per billion (ppb). A bismuth bulk electrode was …

Statistical And Machine Learning Techniques Applied To Algorithm Selection For Solving Sparse Linear Systems, Erika Fuentes

Doctoral Dissertations

There are many applications and problems in science and engineering that require large-scale numerical simulations and computations. The issue of choosing an appropriate method to solve these problems is very common, however it is not a trivial one, principally because this decision is most of the times too hard for humans to make, or certain degree of expertise and knowledge in the particular discipline, or in mathematics, are required. Thus, the development of a methodology that can facilitate or automate this process and helps to understand the problem, would be of great interest and help. The proposal is to utilize …

Parametric And Non-Parametric Regression Tree Models Of The Strength Properties Of Engineered Wood Panels Using Real-Time Industrial Data, Timothy Mark Young

Doctoral Dissertations

The forest products industry is undergoing unprecedented change from international competition, increasing fiber costs, rising energy prices and falling product prices. Competitive businesses have the key ability to adapt quickly to change through improved knowledge. Among adaptations to change are better product development, improved process efficiency and superior product quality. This dissertation is directly related to improving the knowledge of forest products manufacturers by investigating data mining (DM) methods that improve the ability to quantify causality of sources of variation. A contemporary DM method related to decision theory is decision trees (DTs). DTs are designed for heterogeneous data and are …

Physical Properties Of Unconventional Superconductors, Valentina Anatolyevna Kuznetsova

Doctoral Dissertations

In the following development, we attempt to obtain basic physical properties of majority of unconventional superconductors through a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer-type weak-coupling approach. The method we adopted in our study is model-independent. The weak-coupling approach depends only on the symmetry of the coupling, not on its origin. It is known that a general analysis of physical properties of unconventional superconductors is possible, but has not been done yet. The goal of our work is to develop and test such analysis, using available experimental data.

Since paramagnetic limiting for spin-singlet superconductors can be suppressed in superconductors with broken inversion symmetry of crystal lattice, …

Towards Automatic And Adaptive Optimizations Of Mpi Collective Operations, Jelena Pjesivac-Grbovic

Doctoral Dissertations

Message passing is one of the most commonly used paradigms of parallel programming. Message Passing Interface, MPI, is a standard used in scientific and high-performance computing. Collective operations are a subset of MPI standard that deals with processes synchronization, data exchange and computation among a group of processes. The collective operations are commonly used and can be application performance bottleneck. The performance of collective operations depends on many factors, some of which are the input parameters (e.g., communicator and message size); system characteristics (e.g., interconnect type); the application computation and communication pattern; and internal algorithm parameters (e.g., internal segment size). …

Alkoxide Routes To Inorganic Materials, George Harrison Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations

An all alkoxide solution chemistry utilizing metal 2-methoxyethoxide complexes in 2-methoxyethanol was used to deposit thin-films of metal oxides on single-crystal metal oxide substrates and on biaxially textured metal substrates. This same chemistry was used to synthesize complex metal oxide nanoparticles. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy was used to study precursor solutions of the alkaline niobates and tantalates. Film crystallization temperatures were determined from X-ray diffraction patterns of powders derived from the metal oxide precursor solutions. Film structure was determined via X-ray diffraction. Film morphology was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM).

Epitaxial thin-films of strontium …

Microcantilever Surface Modification For Chem-/Bio-Sensing, Hongwei Du

Doctoral Dissertations

One focus of the microcantilever (MCL) sensing area is to develop a novel surface modification approach to increase the microcantilever bending amplitudes and thus further improve sensitivities. In this dissertation, enzyme incorporated using the Layer by-Layer (LbL) process, LbL deposition of micro-, nano-hydrogel particles and electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of micro-, nano-hydrogel particles were applied to prepare a multilayer or thin hydrogel films on the surface of microcantilevers. Prior to applying to the microcantilevers, LbL and electrophoretic deposition techniques were also applied to gold coated silicon wafer surfaces to investigate the feasibility and deposition behavior using these techniques. The multilayers prepared …

A Hyperbolic Two -Step Model Based Finite Difference Method For Studying Thermal Deformation In A Micro Thin Film Heated By Ultrashort -Pulsed Lasers, Tianchan Niu

Doctoral Dissertations

Heat transport through micro thin films plays a very important role in microtechnology applications. Many microelectronic devices have metal thin films as their key components. Microscale heat transfer is also important for the thermal processing of materials, including laser micromachining, laser patterning, laser synthesis and laser surface hardening. Hence, studying the thermal behavior of thin films is essential for predicting the performance of a microelectronic device or for obtaining the desired microstructure. Recently, it has become very popular to use ultrashort-pulsed lasers in thermal processing, which lasers have pulse durations of the order of subpicoseconds to femtoseconds, and these kinds …

Boron And Metal Halides In Organic Synthesis, Scott T. Borella

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation summarizes the recent use of organoboron and metal halides to form new carbon-carbon bonds. Several novel reactions have been discovered. These include the halovinyl alkenylation of alkoxides with alkenylboron dihalides; alkynylation of alkoxides with alkynylboron dihalides; boron trichloride and ferric chloride-mediated allylation of alkoxides. The results of these studies strongly imply a cationic mechanism, and prompted a reinvestigation of the boron trihalide mediated alkyne-aldehyde coupling reaction. The olefin stereochemistry of the resultant 1,5-dihalo-1,4-pentadienes can be influenced by controlling the reaction temperature and the sequence of reagent addition. The reaction methodology of the research described herein can be characterized …

Synthesis And Reactivity Of Titanium Amido Complexes With Relevance To Olefin Polymerization, Michael A. Blanchard

Doctoral Dissertations

Ziegler-Natta catalysts are well known in the chemical industry. They are responsible for the production of more than half of the HDPE and HDPP worldwide annually. Ziegler-Natta catalysts exist in many forms, both in homogeneous and heterogeneous types as well as both with early and late transition metal basis. While Ziegler-Natta catalysts can exist in various forms, all polymerize via the same general mechanism. Dissecting the known mechanism(s) results in three items that must be in place for polymerization to occur. First, the active metal center must be highly Lewis acidic, enough to allow coordination of approaching olefins. Second, a …

Past Fire Regimes Of Table Mountain Pine (Pinus Pungens L.) Stands In The Central Appalachian Mountains, Virginia, U.S.A., Georgina Deweese

Doctoral Dissertations

Table Mountain pine is an Appalachian endemic that occurs in a patchy distribution from Georgia to Pennsylvania and is prolific at sites with a history of fire disturbance. The purpose of this dissertation was to reconstruct the fire regimes of Table Mountain pine stands in the Jefferson National Forest, Virginia. Sections from firescarred Table Mountain pines were collected at four sites to analyze fire history, while increment cores and stand composition information were collected from macroplots within each fire history site to investigate the possible influence of fires that were more ecologically severe. Results show that fire was frequent before …

A Team-Based Approach To Social Learning Research In Natural Resource Management, Jonah Malachai Fogel

Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis responds to the need to quantify social learning and its outcomes as it relates to natural resource management. Social learning enables individuals engaging in collective action to understand each other’s perspectives, encourages integration of diverse knowledge bases, and the creation of new knowledge (Keen, Brown, & Dyball, 2005). However, the concept currently lacks a clear operational definition in natural resource management. The lack of an operational definition for social learning has stymied attempts to validate its espoused ability to improve civic discourse and, ultimately, resource governance (Pahl-Wostl & Hare, 2004). This report is composed of three papers that …

Novel Approaches To Metal Ion Sensing, Nathan Allen Carrington

Doctoral Dissertations

The primary focus of this dissertation is the development of new chemical analyses for metal ions. Approaches combining electrochemical, spectroscopic, analytical, inorganic, and materials chemistry have been used to investigate novel methods for metal ion sensing. Topics discussed in this dissertation include pyridinium-functionalized sol-gel films for the enhanced electrochemical analysis of Cr(VI), pyridinium-functionalized sol-gel monoliths for the optical determination of Cr(VI), the use of the electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance for the determination of Pd(II), novel electrochemical and spectroscopic approaches to Fe(III) sensing, and the electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance investigation of the Cr(III)-DTPA complex.

A Multi-Scale Analysis Of Disturbance Dynamics In Hardwood Forest Communities On The Cumberland Plateau, U.S.A., Justin L. Hart

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to quantify forest disturbance processes and evaluate the influence of these processes on secondary hardwood forest communities on a section of the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. The specific objectives of this study were to: (1) reconstruct the disturbance history of a secondary hardwood forest using species composition, stand structure, tree-ring data, and soil charcoal analyses, (2) quantify canopy gap formation mechanisms, (3) document canopy gap characteristics, and (4) determine the forest response to small-scale disturbance events. This information is useful to understand the importance of localized disturbances on stand development and forest successional patterns. …

Optimization Of Interfacial Interactions To Achieve The Nanoscale Dispersion Of Clay In Polymer/Clay Nanocomposites, Deepali Kumar

Doctoral Dissertations

Polymer clay nanocomposites are a promising class of multicomponent systems where incorporation of small amount of clay results in dramatic improvement of mechanical, thermal and barrier properties. However, accomplishment of these properties necessitates molecular level dispersion of the clay platelets in the polymer matrix. This thesis presents the guidelines for obtaining thermodynamically stable nanocomposites where strong specific interactions such as hydrogen bonding between the polymer and the clay can be utilized to achieve the desired goal of nanoscale dispersion of clay sheets.

In first part of the dissertation, optimization of intermolecular hydrogen bonding between the polymer and clay is carried …

Mapping The Martian Geologic Record: Studies Of The Gusev Crater Spirit Landing Site And Plagioclase Feldspar Compositions On Mars, Keith Alan Milam

Doctoral Dissertations

The flurry of activity involved in the scientific study of Mars has resulted in multiple new data sets from several missions (Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), Mars Odyssey (MO), Mars Exploration Rovers (MER), Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), and Mars Express) that provide information for unlocking the planet’s geologic and climatic history.

This three part study utilized both orbital data and laboratory experiments to examine Mars for morphologic and mineralogic evidence of aqueous activity and magmatic evolution.

The first study examined Gusev Crater, landing site for the Spirit MER rover. This work began during final landing site selection and was published just …

Synthesis Of Novel Boronated Amino Acids For Bnct An Alternate Cancer Therapy And Use Of Microwaves In Organic Synthesis, Abhijit Achyut Naravane

Doctoral Dissertations

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a binary form of cancer treatment wherein ¹⁰B nuclei, when irradiated with thermal neutrons, produce high energy transfer particles. These particles, due to their size and energy, are confined to a radius of 9-10μm, which is comparable to the size of single cell. Potential BNCT agents reported in the literature include boron-containing amino acids, nucleic acids, nucleosides, antibodies, and other biomolecules.

In recent years, microwaves have gained importance in organic chemistry. Microwave induced reactions are energy efficient, often enhance reaction rates, and generally lead to enhanced product yields. Recent studies have …

Molecular Anion Spectroscopy And Stability, Jeffrey Daniel Steill

Doctoral Dissertations

A detailed and thorough computational investigation of the SF ₆ anion is undertaken, with additional calculations of other stable SF _n anions. The calculations are used to in- terpret recent infrared multi-photon dissociation (IRMPD) experiments of SF ₆ and SF ₅ anions done with the FELIX free electron tunable infrared laser in the spectral range of 450-850 cm^-1. The vibrational spectroscopy of negative molecular ions is crucial towards understanding the dynamics of electron transfer processes, as well as providing experimental validation for computational models of molecular bonding in anions. Many molecular negative ions have been shown to exhibit …

A Comparison Of The Deck Group And The Fundamental Group On Uniform Spaces Obtained By Gluing, Raymond David Phillippi

Doctoral Dissertations

We de…ne a uniformity on a glued space under uniformly continuous attachment maps. If the component spaces are uniform coverable then the resulting glued space is uniform coverable. We consider examples including the glued uniformity on a …nite dimensional CW complex which is shown to be uniformly coverable. For one dimensional CWcomplexes, the resulting deck group is equivalent to the fundamental group. Other properties of the deck group are explored.

Stochastic Modeling Of Retail Mortgage Loans Based On Past Due, Prepaid, And Default States, Chang Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

Stochastic models were developed that provide important measures related to retail mortgages and credit cards for the management of a bank. Based on Markov theory, two models were developed that predict mortgage portfolio size and expected duration of stay in each of the states, which are defined according to the criteria of Basel Accord II and the Federal Reserve Bank. Also, to facilitate comparisons among different types of credit products and different time periods, a model was developed to generate a health index for a retail mortgage. This model could be easily extended, using multivariate regression or multivariate time series …

A Finite Difference Method For Studying Thermal Deformation In A Three-Dimensional Microsphere Exposed To Ultrashort-Pulsed Lasers, Xudong Du

Doctoral Dissertations

Ultrashort-pulsed lasers with pulse durations on the order of sub-picoseconds to femtoseconds possess the capabilities in limiting the undesirable spread of the thermal process zone in a heated sample which have been attracting worldwide interest in science and engineering. Success of ultrashort-pulsed lasers in real application relies on: (1) well characterized pulse width, intensity and experimental techniques; (2) reliable microscale heat transfer models; and (3) prevention of thermal damage. Laser damage by ultrashort-pulsed lasers occurs after the heating pulse is over since the pulse duration time is extremely short and the heat flux is essentially limited to the region within …

Spectroscopic Investigations Of Complex Transition Metal Oxides, Jinbo Cao

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I present spectroscopic studies of several model electronic and magnetic materials. Compounds of interest include VOx nanoscrolls, VOHPO4¢ 1 2H2O, and (La0:4Pr0:6)1:2Sr1:8Mn2O7. These materials are attractive systems for the investigation of optical gap tuning, lattice and charge dynamics, spin-lattice-charge coupling, and hydrogen bonding effects. I measured the optical properties of VOx nano- scrolls and the ion-exchanged derivatives to investigate the lattice and charge degrees of freedom. Selected V-O-V stretching modes sharpen and redshift with increasing amine size, which are microscopic manifestations of strain. We observed bound carrier localization in the metal exchanged nanoscrolls, indicating they are weakly …

Golden-Winged Warbler (Vermivora Chrysoptera) Demographics And Habitat Use And The Potential Effects Of Land Use Change On Golden-Winged And Cerulean Warblers (Dendroica Cerulea) In The Cumberland Mountains Of Tennessee, Lesley Penfield Bulluck

Doctoral Dissertations

The golden-winged warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) is an early successional Nearctic-Neotropical migrant songbird undergoing population declines range-wide. The Cumberland Mountains contain one of the southernmost populations where goldenwingeds occur in relatively high densities on old reclaimed surface mines. The three objectives of this research were to (1) describe the basic demography and habitat use of this population, (2) compare the demography of the Cumberland population to a population in Ontario, and (3) to model alternative land use scenarios and the impacts on both the golden-winged warbler and the cerulean warbler (Dendroica cerulean), another declining Nearctic-Neotropical migrant that …

Remote Sensing Of Impact Crater-Exposed Subsurface Lithologies And Martian Rayed Crater Systems, Livio Leonardo Tornabene

Doctoral Dissertations

Impact cratering is ubiquitous, energetic and fundamental geologic process acting on the solid planetary bodies. As a consequence, craters provide planetary scientists with useful information regarding the surface and subsurface properties of planetary bodies. Specific mineral and lithologic compositions can be ascertained via craters in two ways: 1) by the remote sensing of crater-exposed subsurface materials, or 2) by studying the differentiated meteorites (e.g., lunar, Martian, etc.) ejected from their surfaces by highenergy impacts under specific conditions. As a proof of concept for subsurface-crater mapping, remote sensing techniques were applied to a terrestrial impact structure. Visible-near infrared (VNIR), short-wavelength infrared …

Beauveria Bassiana, A Cotton Endophyte With Biocontrol Activity Against Seedling Disease, Mary Ruth Griffin

Doctoral Dissertations

Beauveria bassiana isolate 11-98 is entomopathogenic, endophytic in tomato, and has biocontrol activity against Rhizoctonia solani on tomato. The objectives of this study were to determine 1) if B. bassiana is endophytic in cotton, following seed treatment; 2) if B. bassiana can protect cotton against seedling pathogens; 3) if different conidial rates, applied to seed, alter effectiveness of B. bassiana; and 4) mechanisms of biocontrol used by B. bassiana against plant pathogens. Cotton ‘Delta Pine 436’ seed was inoculated with isolate 11-98 conidia, sown in a gnotobiotic system, and then isolated from surfacesterilized seedlings on selective medium. Using scanning …

Design And Synthesis Of Novel Sultams: A Family Of Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors And Modeling Studies Of A Rhodium Catalyst, Riyam Kafri

Doctoral Dissertations

3-Phenyl-2,3-dihydro-1,2-benzisothiazole 1,1 dioxide (NSC108406), identified as an HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitor, is chosen for lead optimization. A series of analogues are docked using SYBYL FlexiDock into both wild-type (wt) reverse transcriptase (RT) and Tyr181 --> Cys181 (Y181C) RT, from the dataset of efavirenz (Sustiva®) bound to the enzyme. Minimizations using genetic algorithms are performed, and the lowest energy conformations are evaluated. Five structures emerge as good fits either in both enzymes or only in Y181C RT. 3-(m-Cyclopropylphenyl)- and 3-(isopropylfuranyl)-2-methyl-2,3- dihydro-1,2-benzisothiazole 1,1-dioxides do not exhibit improved binding in wt RT over efavirenz. In the Y181C pocket, the furanyl ring …

Ecological Indicator Development, Integration And Knowledge Mapping, Aaron Dean Peacock

Doctoral Dissertations

The overall goals of this project were: (1) to develop a microbiological ecological indicator that would describe military land disturbance, (2) integrate previously collected ecological indicator data from five separate research teams, and (3) produce knowledge maps with the resulting information that illustrates how the selected indicators are involved in ecosystem processes. To address goal one, soil samples were obtained from four levels of military traffic (reference, light, moderate, and heavy) with an additional set of samples taken from previously damaged areas. Using the soil microbial biomass and community composition as ecological indicators, reproducible changes showed increasing traffic disturbance decreases …