Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Light Meson Spectroscopy From Dalit Plot Analyses Of ΗC Decays To Η'K+K− ,Η'Π+ Π− , And Η Π + Π − Produced In Two-Photon Interactions, J. P. Lees, V. Poireau, V. Tisserand, E. Grauges, A. Palano, G. Eigen, D. N. Brown, Yu. G. Kolomensky, M. Fritsch, H. Koch, T. Schroeder, R. Cheaib, C. Hearty, T. S. Mattison, J. A. Mckenna, R. Y. So, V. E. Blinov, A. R. Buzykaev, V. P. Druzhinin, Milind Purohit, Et. Al.

Faculty Publications

We study the processes γγ → η_c → η'K⁺K⁻, η'π⁺π⁻, and ηπ⁺π⁻ using a data sample of 519 fb⁻¹ recorded with the BABAR detector operating at the SLAC PEP-II asymmetric-energy e⁺e⁻ collider at center-of-mass energies at and near the ϒ(nS) (n = 2, 3, 4) resonances. This is the first observation of the decay η_c → η'K⁺K⁻ and we measure the branching fraction Γ(η_c → η' K⁺K⁻)=(Γ(η_c → …

Knowledge-Infused Abstractive Summarization Of Clinical Diagnostic Interviews: Framework Development Study, Gaur Manas, Vamsil Aribandi, Ugur Kursuncu, Amanuel Alambo, Valerie L. Shalin, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan, Jonathan Beich, Meera Narasimhan, Amit P. Sheth

Faculty Publications

Background: In clinical diagnostic interviews, mental health professionals (MHPs) implement a care practice that involves asking open questions (eg, “What do you want from your life?” “What have you tried before to bring change in your life?”) while listening empathetically to patients. During these interviews, MHPs attempted to build a trusting human-centered relationship while collecting data necessary for professional medical and psychiatric care. Often, because of the social stigma of mental health disorders, patient discomfort in discussing their presenting problem may add additional complexities and nuances to the language they use, that is, hidden signals among noisy content. Therefore, a …

Knowledge-Infused Abstractive Summarization Of Clinical Diagnostic Interviews: Framework Development Study, Gaur Manas, Vamsi Aribandi, Ugur Kursuncu, Amanuel Alambo, Valerie L. Shalin, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan, Jonathan Beich, Meera Narasimhan, Amit P. Sheth Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Background: In clinical diagnostic interviews, mental health professionals (MHPs) implement a care practice that involves asking open questions (eg, "What do you want from your life?" "What have you tried before to bring change in your life?") while listening empathetically to patients. During these interviews, MHPs attempted to build a trusting human-centered relationship while collecting data necessary for professional medical and psychiatric care. Often, because of the social stigma of mental health disorders, patient discomfort in discussing their presenting problem may add additional complexities and nuances to the language they use, that is, hidden signals among noisy content. Therefore, a …

Solar Cell Brdf Measurement And Modeling With Out-Of-Plane Data, Todd V. Small, Samuel D. Butler, Michael A. Marciniak

Faculty Publications

In this work, a CCD-augmented complete angle scatter instrument (CASI) with a visible red laser source was used to measure the BRDF of a commercially available solar cell designed for small satellites, simultaneously capturing both in-plane and out-of-plane data with high angular resolution surrounding the specular direction. The measurements exhibited three distinct scatter features: a central specular peak, an offset specular peak, and a diffraction pattern. The two peaks were caused by different material surfaces with slightly different normal directions, and the diffraction pattern arose from periodically-spaced metal conducting bars running in one direction across the solar cell surface. The …

Reinvigorating A Technical Countering Weapons Of Mass Destruction Distance Learning Graduate Certificate Program, James C. Petrosky, Gaiven Varshney, Jeremy Slagley, Sara Shaghaghi

Faculty Publications

Current Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) demands can be divided broadly into policy and science. The science of chemical, biological, and radiological/nuclear weapons informs the limits of development, production, employment, operation, detection, risk characterization, human and material protection, and medical intervention. In short, the science of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) should precede and inform the development of policy. It is to this end that the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) CWMD program was re-established, providing a technical educational option for practitioners to understand the science behind a very technically challenging subject.

Fe-Catalyzed Sulfide Oxidation In Hydrothermal Plumes Is A Source Of Reactive Oxygen Species To The Ocean, Timothy J. Shaw, George W. Luther Iii, Richard Rosas, Véronique E. Oldham, Nicole R. Coffey, John L. Ferry, Dewamunnage M. C. Dias, Mustafa Yücel, Aubin Thibault De Chanvalon

Faculty Publications

Historically, the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the ocean has been attributed to photochemical and biochemical reactions. However, hydrothermal vents emit globally significant inventories of reduced Fe and S species that should react rapidly with oxygen in bottom water and serve as a heretofore unmeasured source of ROS. Here, we show that the Fe-catalyzed oxidation of reduced sulfur species in hydrothermal vent plumes in the deep oceans supported the abiotic formation of ROS at concentrations 20 to 100 times higher than the average for photoproduced ROS in surface waters. ROS (measured as hydrogen peroxide) were determined in hydrothermal …

Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (Dune) Near Detector Conceptual Design Report, V. Hewes, Adam Abed Abud, Roberto Acciarri, Mario Acero, Giorge Adamov, David Adams, Marco Adinolfi, Antoni Aduszkiewicz, Zubayer Ahmad, Jhanzeb Ahmed, Tyler Alion, Saul Andrew Alton, Pablo Amedo, John Anderson, Costas Andreopoulos, Michael P. Andrews, Fenompanirina Andrianala, Sofia Andringa, Nikolay Anfimov, Artur Ankowski, Roberto Petti, Et. Al.

Faculty Publications

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is an international, world-class experiment aimed at exploring fundamental questions about the universe that are at the forefront of astrophysics and particle physics research. DUNE will study questions pertaining to the preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early universe, the dynamics of supernovae, the subtleties of neutrino interaction physics, and a number of beyond the Standard Model topics accessible in a powerful neutrino beam. A critical component of the DUNE physics program involves the study of changes in a powerful beam of neutrinos, i.e., neutrino oscillations, as the neutrinos propagate a long distance. …

Intelligent Optimization Algorithm-Based Path Planning For A Mobile Robot, Qisong Song, Shaobo Li, Jing Yang, Qiang Bai, Jianjun Hu, Xingxing Zhang, Ansi Zhang

Faculty Publications

The purpose of mobile robot path planning is to produce the optimal safe path. However, mobile robots have poor real-time obstacle avoidance in local path planning and longer paths in global path planning. In order to improve the accuracy of real-time obstacle avoidance prediction of local path planning, shorten the path length of global path planning, reduce the path planning time, and then obtain a better safe path, we propose a real-time obstacle avoidance decision model based on machine learning (ML) algorithms, an improved smooth rapidly exploring random tree (S-RRT) algorithm, and an improved hybrid genetic algorithm-ant colony optimization (HGA-ACO). …

Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (Dune) Near Detector Conceptual Design Report, A. Abed Abud, B. Abi, R. Acciarri, M. A. Acero, G. Adamov, D. Adams, M. Adinolfi, A. Aduzskiewicz, Z. Ahmad, J. Ahmed, T. Alion, S. Alonso Monsalve, M. Alrashed, C. Alt, A. Alton, P. Amedo, J. Anderson, C. Andreopoulos, M. P. Andrews, F. Andrianala, Roberto Petti, Et. Al.

Faculty Publications

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is an international, world-class experiment aimed at exploring fundamental questions about the universe that are at the forefront of astrophysics and particle physics research. DUNE will study questions pertaining to the preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early universe, the dynamics of supernovae, the subtleties of neutrino interaction physics, and a number of beyond the Standard Model topics accessible in a powerful neutrino beam. A critical component of the DUNE physics program involves the study of changes in a powerful beam of neutrinos, i.e., neutrino oscillations, as the neutrinos propagate a long distance. …

Men’S Comfort In Distributing Or Receiving Hiv Self-Test Kits From Close Male Social Network Members In Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania: Baseline Results From The Step Project, Joseph K.B. Matovu, Gaspar Mbita, Akeen Hamilton, Frank Mhando, Wynton M. Sims, Noah Thompson, Albert N. Komba, Jackson Lija, Jiajia Zhang Ph.D., Thomas Van Den Akker, Dustin T. Duncan, Augustine T. Choko, Donaldson F. Conserve

Faculty Publications

Background

A variety of strategies have been used to reach men with HIV self-testing services, including social network-based HIV self-test kits distribution. However, few studies have assessed men’s comfort to distribute to or receive HIV self-test kits from close male friends within the same social network. In this study, we assessed men’s comfort to distribute to and/or receive HIV self-test kits from close male friends and associated factors among men who socialize in networks locally referred to as “camps” in Tanzania.

Methods

Data are from the baseline survey of a cluster-randomized controlled trial conducted in June 2019 with 18 social …

Recognition And Screening For Chagas Disease In The Usa, Rachel Marcus, Andres F. Henao-Martinez, Melissa Nolan Ph.D., Mph, Elizabeth Livingston, Stephen A. Klotz, Robert H. Gilman, Monica Miranda-Schaeubinger, Sheba Meymandi

Faculty Publications

Chagas disease (CD), caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is a public health concern, mainly among countries in South and Central America. However, despite the large number of immigrants from endemic countries living in the USA, awareness of CD is poor in the medical community, and therefore it is significantly underdiagnosed. To avoid the catastrophic cardiac complications of CD and to prevent maternal–fetal transmission, widespread educational programs highlighting the need for diagnosis are urgently needed.

Increasing The Spatial And Temporal Impact Of Ecological Research: A Roadmap For Integrating A Novel Terrestrial Process Into An Earth System Model, Emily Kyker-Snowman, Danica L. Lombardozzi, Gordon B. Bonan, Susan J. Cheng, Jeffrey S. Dukes, Serita D. Frey, Elin M. Jacobs, Risa Mcnellis, Joshua M. Rady, Nicholas G. Smith, R. Quinn Thomas, William R. Wieder, A. Stuart Grandy

Faculty Publications

Terrestrial ecosystems regulate Earth's climate through water, energy, and biogeochemical transformations. Despite a key role in regulating the Earth system, terrestrial ecology has historically been underrepresented in the Earth system models (ESMs) that are used to understand and project global environmental change. Ecology and Earth system modeling must be integrated for scientists to fully comprehend the role of ecological systems in driving and responding to global change. Ecological insights can improve ESM realism and reduce process uncertainty, while ESMs offer ecologists an opportunity to broadly test ecological theory and increase the impact of their work by scaling concepts through time …

Patterns And Trends Of Organic Matter Processing And Transport: Insights From The Us Long-Term Ecological Research Network, Tamara K. Harms, Peter M. Groffman, Lihini Aluwihare, Christopher Craft, William R. Wieder, Sarah E. Hobbie, Sara G. Baer, John M. Blair, Serita D. Frey, Christina K. Remucal, Jennifer A. Rudgers, Scott L. Collins, John S. Kominoski, Becky A. Ball, Lter Om Working Group

Faculty Publications

Organic matter (OM) dynamics determine how much carbon is stored in ecosystems, a service that modulates climate. We synthesized research from across the US Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network to assemble a conceptual model of OM dynamics that is consistent with inter-disciplinary perspectives and emphasizes vulnerability of OM pools to disturbance. Guided by this conceptual model, we identified unanticipated patterns and long-term trends in processing and transport of OM emerging from terrestrial, freshwater, wetland, and marine ecosystems. Cross-ecosystem synthesis combined with a survey of researchers revealed several themes: 1) strong effects of climate change on OM dynamics, 2) surprising patterns …

Does A Bottom-Up Mechanism Promote Hypoxia In The Mississippi Bight?, Virginie Sanial, Willard S. Moore, Alan M. Shiller

Faculty Publications

The Mississippi Bight, east of the Mississippi River, is a complex coastal ecosystem that, like the better-known Louisiana Shelf to the west, experiences seasonal bottom water hypoxia. However, input of allochthonous nutrients from the Mississippi River to the Mississippi Bight appears to be limited, begging the question of what drives seasonal hypoxia in this system. Prior research has suggested submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) could be an overlooked component of the Mississippi Bight biogeochemical system. We thus examined the hypothesis that SGD provides a “bottom up” driver for seasonal hypoxia in this area. We used a multi-tracer approach based on known …

Cognition-Enhanced Machine Learning For Better Predictions With Limited Data, Florian Sense, Ryan Wood, Michael G. Collins, Joshua Fiechter, Aihua W. Wood, Michael Krusmark, Tiffany Jastrzembski, Christopher W. Myers

Faculty Publications

The fields of machine learning (ML) and cognitive science have developed complementary approaches to computationally modeling human behavior. ML's primary concern is maximizing prediction accuracy; cognitive science's primary concern is explaining the underlying mechanisms. Cross-talk between these disciplines is limited, likely because the tasks and goals usually differ. The domain of e-learning and knowledge acquisition constitutes a fruitful intersection for the two fields’ methodologies to be integrated because accurately tracking learning and forgetting over time and predicting future performance based on learning histories are central to developing effective, personalized learning tools. Here, we show how a state-of-the-art ML model can …

Moving On Up: Vertical Distribution Shifts In Rocky Reef Fish Species During Climate-Driven Decline In Dissolved Oxygen From 1995 To 2009, Erin L. Meyer-Gutbrod, Li Kui, Mary Nishimoto, Linda Snook, Milton Love

Faculty Publications

Anthropogenic climate change has resulted in warming temperatures and reduced oxygen concentrations in the global oceans. Much remains unknown on the impacts of reduced oxygen concentrations on the biology and distribution of marine fishes. In the Southern California Channel Islands, visual fish surveys were conducted frequently in a manned submersible at three rocky reefs between 1995 and 2009. This area is characterized by a steep bathymetric gradient, with the surveyed sites Anacapa Passage, Footprint and Piggy Bank corresponding to depths near 50, 150 and 300 m. Poisson models were developed for each fish species observed consistently in this network of …

Erratum: Searches For Continuous Gravitational Waves From Nine Young Supernova Remnants (Apj (2015) 813 (39) Doi: 10.1088/0004-637x/813/1/39), J. Aasi, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, V. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, A. Ain, P. Ajith, Tiffany Z. Summerscales

Faculty Publications

Equation (7) of the published article (Aasi et al. 2015) is in error; it should read (Equation presented). The upper limits on ò presented in the published article are unaffected by this error. Equation (8) of the published article is in error; it should read (Equation presented) The upper limits on α presented in Figure 3 and Table 4 of the published article were computed incorrectly. The revised Figure 3 (bottom) shows the corrected upper limits on α for the G266.2-1.2 (Vela Jr.) wide search. The revised Table 4 is provided here. The correct lowest upper limit on α (quoted …

Small Studies, Big Decisions: The Role Of Pilot/Feasibility Studies In Incremental Science And Premature Scale-Up Of Behavioral Interventions, Michael William Beets, Lauren Von Klinggraeff, Robert G. Weaver, Bridget Ryan Armstrong, Sarah Burkart

Faculty Publications

Background: Careful consideration and planning are required to establish “sufficient” evidence to ensure an investment in a larger, more well-powered behavioral intervention trial is worthwhile. In the behavioral sciences, this process typically occurs where smaller-scale studies inform larger-scale trials. Believing that one can do the same things and expect the same outcomes in a larger-scale trial that were done in a smaller-scale preliminary study (i.e., pilot/feasibility) is wishful thinking, yet common practice. Starting small makes sense, but small studies come with big decisions that can influence the usefulness of the evidence designed to inform decisions about moving forward with a …

A Southwestern United States Pilot Investigation Of Triatomine–Mite Prevalence, Kyndall C. Dye-Braumuller, Hanna Waltz, Mary K. Lynn, Stephen A. Klotz, Justin O. Schmidt, Alvaro Romero, Marvin Stanley Rodriguez Aquino, Jose Ricardo Palacios Valladares, Pamela Michelle Cornejo Rivas, Melissa Nolan Ph.D., Mph

Faculty Publications

An estimated 70 million persons in the Western Hemisphere are living at risk for Chagas disease, a parasitic infection transmitted to humans by over 156 different competent triatomine insect vector species. Prior Pan American Health Organization insecticide campaigns throughout Latin America in the 1990s and 2000s demonstrated that domestic insecticide spraying had temporary effects, which resulted in the re-establishment of triatomine species within a few years. Serendipitously, our team found ectoparasitic mites parasitizing triatomines collected from the field in multiple locations in the southwestern United States, where human–triatomine interaction was high but human parasite infection remains low. Upon further investigation …

Maternal Diet In Pregnancy And Child’S Respiratory Outcomes: An Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis Of 18 000 Children, Sara M. Mensink-Bout, Evelien R. Van Meel, Johan C. De Jongste, Isabella Annesi-Maesano, Adrien M. Aubert, Jonathan Y. Bernard, Ling-Wei Chen, Cyrus Cooper, Sarah R. Crozier, Wojciech Hanke, Nicholas C. Harvey, James R. Hébert Scd, Barbara Heude, Joanna Jerzynska, Cecily C. Kelleher, John Mehegan, Fionnuala M. Mcauliffe, Catherine M. Phillips, Kinga Polanska, Caroline L. Relton, Nitin Shivappa Mbbs, Mph, Ph.D., Matthew Suderman, Vincent W.V. Jaddoe, Liesbeth Duijts

Faculty Publications

Rationale Severe fetal malnutrition has been related to an increased risk of respiratory diseases later in life, but evidence for the association of a suboptimal diet during pregnancy with respiratory outcomes in childhood is conflicting. We aimed to examine whether a pro-inflammatory or low-quality maternal diet during pregnancy was associated with child's respiratory health.

Methods We performed an individual participant meta-analysis among 18 326 mother–child pairs from seven European birth cohorts. Maternal pro-inflammatory and low-quality diets were estimated by energy-adjusted Dietary Inflammatory Index (E-DII) and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) scores. Preschool wheezing and school-age asthma were measured using …

Directly Determined Properties Of Hd 97658 From Interferometric Observations, Tyler G. Ellis, Tabetha Boyajian, Kaspar Von Braun, Roxanne Ligi, Denis Mourard, Diana Dragomir, Gail H. Schaefer, Christopher D. Farrington

Faculty Publications

We conducted interferometric observations with the CHARA Array of transiting super-Earth host HD 97658 and measured its limb-darkened angular diameter to be theta(LD) = 0.314 +/- 0.004 mas. The combination of the angular diameter with the Gaia EDR3 parallax value with zero-point correction (pi = 46.412 +/- 0.022 mas, d =21.546 +/- 0.011 pc) yields a physical radius of R-star = 0.728 +/- 0.008 R-circle dot. We also measured the bolometric flux of the star to be F-bol = 2.42 +/- 0.05 x 10(-8) erg s(-1) cm(-2), which, together with angular size, allows a measurement of the effective temperature T-eff …

The Impact Of Laser Control On The Porosity And Microstructure Of Selective Laser Melted Nickel Superalloy 718, Travis E. Shelton, Gregory R. Cobb, Carl R. Hartsfield, Benjamin M. Doane, Cayla C. Eckley, Ryan A. Kemnitz

Faculty Publications

Additively manufacturing high performance metals by laser processing represents an exciting opportunity to exploit localized properties by varying input parameters throughout the process. This work explores the solidification and microstructural properties of selectively laser melted (SLM) Inconel 718 (IN718) using unique processing parameters. By employing traditional pulsed laser physics techniques, samples were manufactured with a continuous wave laser to study a potential ubiquitous approach. While the overall power density was controlled, the power, speed, and hatch spacing were varied. The porosity and grain sizes of the samples were characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopes. The influence of processing parameters …

Robust Method Of Determining Microfacet Brdf Parameters In The Presence Of Noise Via Recursive Optimization, Michael W. Bishop, Samuel D. Butler, Michael A. Marciniak

Faculty Publications

Accurate bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) models are essential for computer graphics and remote sensing performance. The popular microfacet class of BRDF models is geometric-optics-based and computationally inexpensive. Fitting microfacet models to scatterometry measurements is a common yet challenging requirement that can result in a model being fit as one of several unique local minima. Final model fit accuracy is therefore largely based on the quality of the initial parameter estimate. This makes for widely varying material parameter estimates and causes inconsistent performance comparisons across microfacet models, as will be shown with synthetic data. We proposed a recursive optimization method …

Data-Driven Algorithm To Classify The Degree Of Isotropy In The Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function, Anne W. Werkley, Samuel D. Butler, Todd V. Small, Michael A. Marciniak

Faculty Publications

The bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) is used to describe reflectances of materials by calculating the ratio of the reflected radiance to the incident irradiance. While it was found that the isotropic models maintained symmetry about ϕ_s  =  π, such symmetry was not maintained about the θ_s  =  θ_i axis, except for close to the specular peak. This led to the development of a data-driven metric for how isotropic a BRDF measurement is. Research efforts centered around developing an algorithm that could determine material anisotropy without having to fit to models. This algorithm was tested using high …

Ocean Regime Shift Is Driving Collapse Of The North Atlantic Right Whale Population, Erin L. Meyer-Gutbrod, Charles H. Greene, Kimberley T.A. Davies, David G. Johns

Faculty Publications

Ocean warming linked to anthropogenic climate change is impacting the ecology of marine species around the world. In 2010, the Gulf of Maine and Scotian Shelf regions of the Northwest Atlantic underwent an unprecedented regime shift. Forced by climate-driven changes in the Gulf Stream, warm slope waters entered the region and created a less favorable foraging environment for the endangered North Atlantic right whale population. By mid-decade, right whales had shifted their late spring/summer foraging grounds from the Gulf of Maine and the western Scotian Shelf to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The population also began exhibiting unusually high …

Microbial Activity Responses To Water Stress In Agricultural Soils From Simple And Complex Crop Rotations, Jorg Schnecker, D. Boone Meeden, Francisco Calderon, Michel Cavigelli, R. Michael Lehman, Lisa K. Tiemann, A. Stuart Grandy

Faculty Publications

Increasing climatic pressures such as drought and flooding challenge agricultural systems and their management globally. How agricultural soils respond to soil water extremes will influence biogeochemical cycles of carbon and nitrogen in these systems. We investigated the response of soils from long-term agricultural field sites under varying crop rotational complexity to either drought or flooding stress. Focusing on these contrasting stressors separately, we investigated soil heterotrophic respiration during single and repeated stress cycles in soils from four different sites along a precipitation gradient (Colorado, MAP 421 mm; South Dakota, MAP 580 mm; Michigan, MAP 893 mm; Maryland, MAP 1192 mm); …

Encirclement Of Moving Targets Using Noisy Range And Bearing Measurements, Cammy Peterson, Puneet Jain, Randal Beard

Faculty Publications

This paper presents theoretically justified controllers that use relative range and bearing measurements to steer a team of autonomous vehicles, operating without inertial position information, to circular trajectories around a constant-acceleration, constant-velocity, or stationary target. An extended Kalman filter is used to improve the noisy relative measurements and estimate the velocity of the moving target. These estimated values are used in the control laws to encircle constant-velocity moving targets. Lyapunov techniques are utilized to show that the vehicle will converge to the desired circular formations. Additionally, cooperating vehicles are shown to converge to a circular formation with equal temporal spacing …

Re-Visiting Acoustic Sounding To Advance The Measurement Of Optical Turbulence, Steven T. Fiorino, Santasri Bose-Pillai, Kevin J. Keefer

Faculty Publications

Optical turbulence, as determined by the widely accepted practice of profiling the temperature structure constant, C²_T, via the measurement of ambient atmospheric temperature gradients, can be found to differ quite significantly when characterizing such gradients via thermal-couple differential temperature sensors as compared to doing so with acoustic probes such as those commonly used in sonic anemometry. Similar inconsistencies are observed when comparing optical turbulence strength derived via C²_T as compared to those through direct optical or imaging measurements of small fluctuations of the index of refraction of air (i.e., scintillation). These irregularities are especially apparent …

Heteroacene-Based Amphiphile As A Molecular Scaffold For Bioimaging Probes, Tharindu A. Ranathunge, Mahesh Loku Yaddehige, Jordan H. Varma, Cameron Smith, Jay Nguyen, Iyanuoluwani Owolabi, Wojciech Kolodziejczyk, Nathan I. Hammer, Glake Hill, Alex Flynt, Davita L. Watkins

Faculty Publications

The challenges faced with current fluorescence imaging agents have motivated us to study two nanostructures based on a hydrophobic dye, 6H-pyrrolo[3,2-b:4,5-b’]bis [1,4]benzothiazine (TRPZ). TRPZ is a heteroacene with a rigid, pi-conjugated structure, multiple reactive sites, and unique spectroscopic properties. Here we coupled TRPZ to a tert-butyl carbamate (BOC) protected 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)propanoic acid (bisMPA) dendron via azide-alkyne Huisgen cycloaddition. Deprotection of the protected amine groups on the dendron afforded a cationic terminated amphiphile, TRPZ-bisMPA. TRPZ-bisMPA was nanoprecipitated into water to obtain nanoparticles (NPs) with a hydrodynamic radius that was <150 nm. For comparison, TRPZ-PG was encapsulated in pluronic-F127 (Mw …

Dirac-Born-Infeld Warm Inflation Realization In The Strong Dissipation Regime, Meysam Motaharfar, Rudnei O. Ramos

Faculty Publications

We consider warm inflation with a Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) kinetic term in which both the non-equilibrium dissipative particle production and the sound speed parameter slow the motion of the inflaton field. We find that a low sound speed parameter removes, or at least strongly suppresses, the growing function appearing in the scalar of curvature power spectrum of warm inflation, which appears due to the temperature dependence in the dissipation coefficient. As a consequence of that, a low sound speed helps to push warm inflation into the strong dissipation regime, which is an attractive regime from a model building and phenomenological perspective. …