Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Effectiveness Of A Motion-Activated Laser Hazing Systemfor Repelling Captive Canada Geese, Scott J. Werner, Larry Clark

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Effective management techniques are needed to disperse Canada geese (Branta canadensis) and reduce the human–wildlife conflicts associated with high population densities. We evaluated the effectiveness of a motion-activated laser hazing system for repelling captive Canada geese. The system decreased occupancy of 8 pairs of geese on the treated subplot by 83% during habituation trials. When an additional pair of geese were added to the experiment, occupancy of the treated subplot decreased .92% during each of the 20 nights of the extended habituation test. Avoidance (conditioned during the test) remained ,80% of pretreatment levels during the 2 days immediately following the …

Trace Elements Status Of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) And Moose (Alces Alces) In Nova Scotia, Beth Pollock

Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre: Newsletters and Publications

The province of Nova Scotia is considered to have two moose (Alces alces) populations. In 2003, the moose of the mainland area of the province were formally listed “ENDANGERED” under the Nova Scotia Endangered Species Act. To date, the specific causes of the Mainland moose population decline have not been determined. Trace element imbalances have been considered as a potential etiology for the population decline. Liver and kidney samples were collected from white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and moose throughout Nova Scotia during the fall and winter 2000-01 to compare trace element concentrations between the two species, in relation to age, …

Enterprise Applications Of Semantic Web: The Sweet Spot Of Risk And Compliance, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

Semantic Web is in the transition from vision and research to reality. In this early state, it is important to study the technical capabilities in the context of real-world applications, and how applications built using the Semantic Web technology meet the real market needs. Beyond push from research, it is the market pull and the ability of the technology to meet real business needs that is a key to ultimate success of any technology. In this paper, we discuss the market of Risk and Compliance which presents unique market opportunity combined with challenging technical requirements. We discuss how the Semantic …

Natural Image Statistics For Digital Image Forensics, Siwei Lyu

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

We describe a set of natural image statistics that are built upon two multi-scale image decompositions, the quadrature mirror filter pyramid decomposition and the local angular harmonic decomposition. These image statistics consist of first- and higher-order statistics that capture certain statistical regularities of natural images. We propose to apply these image statistics, together with classification techniques, to three problems in digital image forensics: (1) differentiating photographic images from computer-generated photorealistic images, (2) generic steganalysis; (3) rebroadcast image detection. We also apply these image statistics to the traditional art authentication for forgery detection and identification of artists in an art work. …

A Link Bundled Auxiliary Graph Model For Constrained Dynamic Traffic Grooming In Wdm Mesh Networks, Wang Yao, Byrav Ramamurthy

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

This paper addresses the two-layer dynamic traffic grooming problem in wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) mesh optical networks subject to resource constraints and the generalized wavelength continuity (GWC) constraint. The GWC constraint is a relaxed wavelength continuity constraint which incorporates various kinds of wavelength conversion capabilities that exist in optical networks. As an improvement over the existing layered auxiliary graph (layered-AG) approach which represents each wavelength separately in the auxiliary graph, we introduce a largely simplified link bundled auxiliary graph (LBAG) model and propose the SAG-LB method to find paths and assign wavelengths for new lightpaths subject to the GWC constraint.We propose the …

Ontology Learning As A Use-Case For Neural-Symbolic Integration, Pascal Hitzler, Sebastian Bader, Artur Garcez

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

We argue that the field of neural-symbolic integration is in need of identifying application scenarios for guiding further research. We furthermore argue that ontology learning - as occurring in the context of semantic technologies - provides such an application scenario with potential for success and high impact on neural-symbolic integration.

Introduction And Recovery Of Point Defects In Electron-Irradiated Zno, F. Tuomisto, K. Saarinen, David C. Look, Gary C. Farlow

Physics Faculty Publications

We have used positron annihilation spectroscopy to study the introduction and recovery of point defects in electron-irradiated n -type ZnO. The irradiation ( E_el=2MeV , fluence 6×10¹⁷cm^-2 ) was performed at room temperature, and isochronal annealings were performed from 300 to 600 K. In addition, monochromatic illumination of the samples during low-temperature positron measurements was used in identification of the defects. We distinguish two kinds of vacancy defects: the Zn and O vacancies, which are either isolated or belong to defect complexes. In addition, we observe negative-ion-type defects, which are attributed to O interstitials or …

Manifestation Of A Ferroelectric Phase Transition, A. R. Geivandov, S.G. Yudin, V.M. Fridkin, Stephen Ducharme

Stephen Ducharme Publications

Temperature dependences of the dielectric properties of ultrathin polyvinylidene fluoride films prepared using the Langmuir-Blodgett method were studied by linear and nonlinear dielectric spectroscopy. It is shown that ultrathin Langmuir films of polyvinylidene fluoride exhibit a manifestation of a first-order ferroelectric phase transition, which can be assigned to the interaction between the spontaneous polarization and the surfaces bounding the film. As the film thickness increases, the effect of the surfaces decreases and the ferroelectric phase transition shifts to high temperatures to vanish altogether when the temperature region of the transition rises above the melting point.

Photometry Of Type Ii Cepheids. Iii. The Intermediate-Period Stars, Edward G. Schmidt, Dale Johnston, Shawn Langan, Kevin M. Lee

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We present 741 new photometric observations for 22 Cepheids with periods between 3 and 8 days. Many of the stars are probable type II Cepheids, but we have included some type I Cepheids for comparison. The shapes and stability of the shapes of the light curves, the stability of the periods, and the scatter of individual data points are discussed. Although none of these proves to be a reliable discriminator between type I and type II Cepheids, they do permit the identification of several unusual stars.

Effects Of Information And Machine Learning Algorithms On Word Sense Disambiguation With Small Datasets, Gondy Leroy, Thomas C. Rindflesch

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

Current approaches to word sense disambiguation use (and often combine) various machine learning techniques. Most refer to characteristics of the ambiguity and its surrounding words and are based on thousands of examples. Unfortunately, developing large training sets is burdensome, and in response to this challenge, we investigate the use of symbolic knowledge for small datasets. A naïve Bayes classifier was trained for 15 words with 100 examples for each. Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) semantic types assigned to concepts found in the sentence and relationships between these semantic types form the knowledge base. The most frequent sense of a word …

Influence Of Uncorrelated Defects On The Vortex Phase Diagram In Yba2Cu3O7-6 Superconducting System, Lucian M. Undreiu

Dissertations

The goal of our work is to gain more insight into the vortex dynamics in YBa₂Cu₃0_7-8 single crystals with point defects induced by 9MeV proton irradiation. The position of the critical points from the first order melting transition line can be shifted in a controlled manner with the induced disorder. In order to accomplish a comparative study, different crystals and irradiation doses were used. The results were correlated using both electrical transport and ac specific heat measurements. Special attention was given to investigating the nature of the vortex state below the lower critical point o …

The Impacts Of Sprawl On Biodiversity: The Ant Fauna Of The Lower Florida Keys, Elizabeth A. Forys, Craig R. Allen

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Sprawling development can affect species composition by increasing the rate of invasion by non-native species, and decreasing the persistence of native species. This paper briefly reviews the scientific literature on the impacts of sprawl on biological diversity, with specific emphasis on the influence of sprawl on non-native species richness. We then explore the relationship between sprawl and biodiversity using a data set of ant species collected from 46 habitat patches located in the increasingly suburbanized Florida Keys, USA. We quantified sprawl as the proximity of roads and amount of development surrounding a habitat patch. Using bait transects, we identified 24 …

University Of Minnesota, Morris, Renewable District Energy Production, University Of North Dakota. Energy And Environmental Research Center

EERC Brochures and Fact Sheets

Fact sheet about a study to determine the best opportunities for incorporating biomass energy at University of Minnesota, Morris. Part of the Energy & Environmental Research Center's (EERC's) jointly sponsored research program administered by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Construction Of M^4 Run Linear Graphs By Finite Geometries, Chung Yi Suen

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

Finite projective geometries are used to obtain some series of Taguchi's linear graphs involving m^4 runs, where m is a prime or a prime power. The concept of maximal linear graph is introduced to reduce the number of nonisomorphic linear graphs. Some 81-run maximal linear graphs are given as examples. A table of 27 nonisomorphic 16-run maximal linear graphs, which is believed to be complete, is provided.

Shared Risk Link Group (Srlg)-Diverse Path Provisioning Under Hybrid Service Level Agreements In Wavelength-Routed Optical Mesh Networks, Lu Shen, Xi Yang, Byrav Ramamurthy

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

The static provisioning problem in wavelength-routed optical networks has been studied for many years. However, service providers are still facing the challenges arising from the special requirements for provisioning services at the optical layer. In this paper, we incorporate some realistic constraints into the static provisioning problem, and formulate it under different network resource availability conditions.We consider three classes of shared risk link group (SRLG)-diverse path protection schemes: dedicated, shared, and unprotected. We associate with each connection request a lightpath length constraint and a revenue value. When the network resources are not sufficient to accommodate all the connection requests, the …

Identifying Resources And Options In High-Risk Fire Areas, University Of North Dakota. Energy And Environmental Research Center

EERC Brochures and Fact Sheets

Fact sheet on the biomass resource and market assessment conducted by the North Dakota Forest Service and the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC). The assessment is intended to reduce fire risk while promoting economically beneficial uses for biomass resources.

Cofiring Biomass At The University Of North Dakota, University Of North Dakota. Energy And Environmental Research Center

EERC Brochures and Fact Sheets

Fact sheet describing an Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) project to determine the efficacy of firing biomass fuels alongside coal. The project was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and conducted in partnership with the North Dakota Department of Commerce Division of Community Services.

Cofiring Biomass With Lignite Coal, University Of North Dakota. Energy And Environmental Research Center

EERC Brochures and Fact Sheets

Fact sheet about a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant funded feasibility study to test cofiring biomass with lignite in a North Dakota State Penitentiary (NDSP) boiler. Partnership between Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC), North Dakota Department of Commerce Division of Community Services, and NDSP.

Cuoricino Status And Cuore Prospects, C. Brofferio, R. Ardito, C. Arnaboldi, D. R. Artusa, F. T. Avignone Iii, M. Balata, I. Bandac, M. Barucci, J. W. Beeman, F. Bellini, C. Bucci, S. Capelli, F. Capozzi, L. Carbone, S. Cebrian, C. Cosmelli, O. Cremonesi, R.J. Creswick, A. De Waard, M. Dolinski, H.A. Farach, F. Ferroni, E. Fiorini, G. Frossati, C. Gargiulo, E. Guardincerri, A. Giuliani, P. Gorla, T. D. Gutierrez, E.E. Haller, I. G. Irastorza, E. Longo, G. Maier, R. Maruyama, R. J. Mcdonald, S. Morganti, S. Nisi, E.B. Norman, A. Nucciotti, E. Olivieri, P. Ottonello, M. Pallavicini, V. Palmieri, E. Pasca, M. Pavan, M. Pedretti, G. Pessina, S. Pirro, E. Previtali, B. Quiter, L. Risegari, C. Rosenfeld, S. Sangiorgio, M. Sisti, A. R. Smith, Toffanin, L. Torres, G. Ventura, N. Xu

Physics

CUORE is a proposed experiment, already partially funded, to search for 0ν-DBD of ¹³⁰Te using 988 TeO₂ bolometers. It aims at reaching a sensitivity on the effective neutrino mass of the order of few tens of meV. The crucial parameter on which this expectation is based is background. Different strategies are under development to reduce as much as possible its value, among which the comprehension of CUORICINO background, a single CUORE tower running since 2003, plays an important role. Present results already achieved and studies that are underway are here presented and discussed.

Chandra Hetgs Multiphase Spectroscopy Of The Young Magnetic O Star Theta(1) Orionis C, M. Gagné, M. E. Oksala, David H. Cohen, Stephanie Korinne Tonnesen , '03, A. Ud-Doula, S. P. Owocki, R. H.D. Townsend, J. J. Macfarlane

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

We report on four Chandra grating observations of the oblique magnetic rotator theta(1) Ori C (O5.5 V), covering a wide range of viewing angles with respect to the star's 1060 G dipole magnetic field. We employ line-width and centroid analyses to study the dynamics of the X-ray - emitting plasma in the circumstellar environment, as well as line-ratio diagnostics to constrain the spatial location, and global spectral modeling to constrain the temperature distribution and abundances of the very hot plasma. We investigate these diagnostics as a function of viewing angle and analyze them in conjunction with new MHD simulations of …

(2+1) Resonance Enhanced Ionization Spectroscopy Of A State Selected Beam Of Oh Radicals, Margaret E. Greenslade, Marsha I. Lester, Dragana C. Radenovic, Andre J.A. Van Roij, David H. Parker

Chemistry

A state-selected beam of hydroxyl radicals is generated using a pulsed discharge source and hexapole field. The OH radicals are characterized by resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) spectroscopy via the nested D  and 3  Rydberg states. Simplified spectra are observed from the selected ∣M_J∣ = 3/2 component of the upper Λ-doublet level of the lowest rotational state (J = 3/2) in ground (v″ = 0) and excited(v″ = 1–3) vibrational levels of the OH X  state. Two-photon transitions are observed to the D (v′ = 0–3) and 3 (v′ …

A Framework For Supporting Quality Of Service Requirements In A Data Stream Management System, Qingchun Jiang

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations

Currently, a large class of data-intensive applications, in which data are presented in the form of continuous data streams rather than static relations, has been widely recognized in the database community. Not only is the size of the data for these applications unbounded and the data arrives in a highly bursty mode, but these applications have to conform to Quality of Service (QoS) requirements for processing continuous queries (CQs) over data streams. These characteristics make it infeasible to simply load the arriving data streams into a traditional database management system and use currently available techniques for their processing. Therefore, a …

Edge Inference For Image Interpolation, Bryan S. Morse, Neil Toronto, Dan A. Ventura

Faculty Publications

Image interpolation algorithms try to fit a function to a matrix of samples in a "natural-looking" way. This paper presents edge inference, an algorithm that does this by mixing neural network regression with standard image interpolation techniques. Results on gray level images are presented, and it is demonstrated that edge inference is capable of producing sharp, natural-looking results. A technique for reintroducing noise is given, and it is shown that, with noise added using a bicubic interpolant, edge inference can be regarded as a generalization of bicubic interpolation. Extension into RGB color space and additional applications of the algorithm are …

A Simple Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry System Using Holographic Optical Elements, Guntaka Tulasi Sridhar Reddy

Doctoral

The aim of the work reported in this thesis is to develop a simple electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) system by combining holographic optical element technology with speckly interferometry. A holographic optical element is used in an ESPI system instead of the lenses, mirrors, beam splitters and beam combiners which are usually required in a conventional system. The final ESPI system consists only of a single holographic element, laser and CCD camera. Many currently available systems are complicated and consist of expensive optics that can be difficult to align. Even the simplest require several conventional optical elements to manipulate the …

Boosted Decision Trees For Word Recognition In Handwritten Document Retrieval, Nicholas Howe, Toni M. Rath, R. Manmatha

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

Recognition and retrieval of historical handwritten material is an unsolved problem. We propose a novel approach to recognizing and retrieving handwritten manuscripts, based upon word image classification as a key step. Decision trees with normalized pixels as features form the basis of a highly accurate AdaBoost classifier, trained on a corpus of word images that have been resized and sampled at a pyramid of resolutions. To stem problems from the highly skewed distribution of class frequencies, word classes with very few training samples are augmented with stochastically altered versions of the originals. This increases recognition performance substantially. On a standard …

Selective Breeding For High Endurance Running Increases Hindlimb Symmetry, Theodore Garland Jr., Patricia W. Freeman

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Comparative studies provide correlational evidence of morphological adaptations for high locomotor performance, such as the classical indicators of cursoriality in mammals, long limbs and high metatarsal/femur ratios. More recently, enlarged femoral condyles have been suggested as an adaptation for high endurance running in the genus Homo. Asymmetry of locomotor appendages should adversely affect locomotor abilities, but this has not been studied in a rigorous evolutionary context. We used experimental evolution to test for morphological adaptations associated with high voluntary wheel running in selectively bred lines of mice. Surprisingly, the classical indicators of cursoriality had not evolved in concert with …

Implications Of Spatial Autocorrelation And Dispersal For The Modeling Of Species Distributions, Volker Bahn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Modeling the geographical distributions of wildlife species is important for ecology and conservation biology. Spatial autocorrelation in species distributions poses a problem for distribution modeling because it invalidates the assumption of independence among sample locations. I explored the prevalence and causes of spatial autocorrelation in data from the Breeding Bird Survey, covering the conterminous United States, using Regression Trees, Conditional Autoregressive Regressions (CAR), and the partitioning of variance. I also constructed a simulation model to investigate dispersal as a process contributing to spatial autocorrelation, and attempted to verify the connection between dispersal and spatial autocorrelation in species' distributions in empirical …

On The Construction Of Mixed Orthogonal Arrays Of Strength Two, Chung Yi Suen, Warren F. Kuhfeld

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

The generalized Kronecker sum was used by Wang and Wu (J. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 86 (1991) 450) and Dey and Midha (Statist. Probab. Lett. 28 (1996) 211; Proc. AP Akad. Sci. 5 (2001) 39) to construct mixed orthogonal arrays. We modify their methods to obtain several families of mixed orthogonal arrays. Some new arrays with run size less than 100 are found.

The John Muir Newsletter, Fall 2005, The John Muir Center For Environmental Studies

Muir Center Newsletters (1981-2015)

The John Muir pnr h VJ-& r? 5? UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC, STOCKTON, CA Volume 15, Number ■ YMJLMQt John Muir's World Tour (part II) Introduction by W. R. Swagerty Director, John Muir Center In the last issue of this newsletter, we introduced John Muir's World Tour of 1903-04. We continue that story here, told by Muir himself by way of his unpublished journal, a part of the John Muir Papers held by the University of the Pacific's Holt- Atherton Department of Special Collections. Part II begins where Part I ended with Journal # 48 (out of eighty-four extant in …

A Tree-Ring Oxygen Isotope Record Of Tropical Cyclone Activity, Moisture Stress, And Long-Term Climate Oscillations For The Southeastern U.S., Dana Lynette Miller

Doctoral Dissertations

Geological proxies are needed to extend the record of hurricane occurrence beyond historical observations. Tree rings preserve uniquely high resolution and precisely dated records of past environmental conditions. Oxygen isotopic compositions of alpha cellulose in seasonally-resolved components (earlywood (EW) and latewood (LW)) of tree rings of southeastern coastal plain pines predominantly reflect precipitation source and/or temperature providing a snapshot of climate activity for the region.

Tropical cyclones produce large amounts of precipitation with distinctly lower oxygen isotope ratios than typical low-latitude thunderstorms. Evidence of isotopically depleted precipitation may persist in surface and soil waters for several weeks after a large …