Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Query-Based Watermarking For Xml Data, Xuan Zhou, Hwee Hwa Pang, Kian-Lee Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

As increasing amount of XML data is exchanged over the internet, copyright protection of this type of data is becoming an important requirement for many applications. In this paper, we introduce a rights protection scheme for XML data based on digital watermarking. One of the main challenges for watermarking XML data is that the data could be easily reorganized by an adversary in an attempt to destroy any embedded watermark. To overcome it, we propose a query-based watermarking scheme, which creates queries to identify available watermarking capacity, such that watermarks could be recovered from reorganized data through query rewriting. The …

A Fuzzy Logic Controller For Autonomous Wheeled Vehicles, Mohamed Trabia, Linda Z. Shi, Neil Eugene Hodge

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Autonomous vehicles have potential applications in many fields, such as replacing humans in hazardous environments, conducting military missions, and performing routine tasks for industry. Driving ground vehicles is an area where human performance has proven to be reliable. Drivers typically respond quickly to sudden changes in their environment. While other control techniques may be used to control a vehicle, fuzzy logic has certain advantages in this area; one of them is its ability to incorporate human knowledge and experience, via language, into relationships among the given quantities. Fuzzy logic controllers for autonomous vehicles have been successfully applied to address various …

Multiple Resolution Nonparametric Classifiers, David Laurence Beck

Masters Theses

Bayesian discriminant functions provide optimal classification decision boundaries in the sense of minimizing the average error rate. An operational assumption is that the probability density functions for the individual classes are either known a priori or can be estimated from the data through the use of estimating techniques. The use of Parzen- windows is a popular and theoretically sound choice for such estimation. However, while the minimal average error rate can be achieved when combining Bayes Rule with Parzen-window density estimation, the latter is computationally costly to the point where it may lead to unacceptable run-time performance. We present the …

Development Of Novel Synthetic Methods Utilizing Organometallic Reagents And Total Synthesis Of Eupomatilone 2, Chunlan Chen

Masters Theses

This dissertation summarizes the development of novel synthetic methods involving organometallic reagents and their application in the total synthesis of the natural product eupomatilone 2. These newly discovered reactions include the palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of allyl acetates with organosiloxanes and the diastereoselective synthesis of cis- and trans-a-methylene-y-lactones utilizing Baylis-Hillman adducts as precursors. Another important aspect of the research is the application of some of the methods in total synthesis of eupomatilone 2.

The new synthetic methodologies involving organometallic reagents developed in this dissertation are important transformations in modern organic synthesis. Mild reaction conditions, tolerance of various organic functional groups, and high …

Neutron Diffraction Study Of Heavy Water Intercalation In Superconducting Deuterated Sodium Cobaltate Na0.35Coo21.4d2O, Cinzia Metallo

Masters Theses

When Na-deficient Na_xCoO₂ is intercalated with water¹ or heavy water², it becomes a superconductor. The maximum critical temperature of 4.5 K is found for the composition Na_xCoO₂yD₂O (x= 0.3 and y=1.4). In spite of its low transition temperature, several similarities with high temperature superconducting cuprates have raised interest in this compound. Nevertheless, up to now, a clear understanding of the role of water has not been achieved.

Since superconductivity appears only when water is inserted in the parent compound, the goal of this research work was to understand …

Four-Dimensional Mvct Imaging And Spatial Translation Of Helical Tomotherapy Dose Distributions Using Sinogram Modification, Samuel Scott Outten

Masters Theses

Helical tomotherapy systems have the unique attribute of using sinograms as a machine input and a machine output. These sinograms have well understood properties that may allow for operational changes that simplify and/or improve radiation treatment.

In the first part of this work, the detector array output sinogram of an MVCT imaging study is used to produce images of an object at different locations along a pattern of motion and the multi-leaf collimator (MLC) control sinogram is used to translate dose distributions in space. A temporal re-binning algorithm was written that divided the MVCT sinogram projections into positional bins that …

Photochemical Route To The Production Of Fullerene Allotropes, Olga Ovchinnikova

Masters Theses

A photochemical route to the formation of two C₆₀ molecules which are bridged by one and up to eighteen carbon atoms to form bucky-dumbbell shaped molecules, i.e., C₆₀ > C < C₆₀ to C₆₀ > C = C = C = C = C = C = C = C = C = C < C₆₀, etc. is described. Irradiation of C60 in solutions of chloroform and iodine (magenta color) with pulsed laser light from the frequency tripled (355 nm) Nd:YAG laser produced a dark crimson color. Matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) negative ion mass spectroscopy was used to …

Petrogenesis Of Apollo 15 Olivine-Normative And Quartz-Normative Mare Basalts, Darren W. Schnare

Masters Theses

New data are presented for four Apollo 15 low-Ti mare basalts, two from the olivine-normative suite (15106, and 15555) and two from the quartz-normative suite (15475, and 15499). Previous studies have examined the relationships between these groups on the basis of whole-rock chemistry, many with analyses that may have been of insufficient sample-size, or of limited range of elements analyzed. To determine a relationship between these basalts, these samples have been analyzed for their mineral major-element and trace-element compositions by electron-microprobe and laser-ablation inductively-coupled-plasma mass-spectrometry, respectively.

The trace-element compositions of the main silicate phases, olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase, are consistent …

Gridfields: Model-Driven Data Transformation In The Physical Sciences, Bill Howe

Dissertations and Theses

Scientists' ability to generate and store simulation results is outpacing their ability to analyze them via ad hoc programs. We observe that these programs exhibit an algebraic structure that can be used to facilitate reasoning and improve performance. In this dissertation, we present a formal data model that exposes this algebraic structure, then implement the model, evaluate it, and use it to express, optimize, and reason about data transformations in a variety of scientific domains.

Simulation results are defined over a logical grid structure that allows a continuous domain to be represented discretely in the computer. Existing approaches for manipulating …

Variational And Partial Differential Equation Models For Color Image Denoising And Their Numerical Approximations Using Finite Element Methods, Miun Yoon

Masters Theses

Image processing has been a traditional engineering field, which has a broad range of applications in science, engineering and industry. Not long ago, statistical and ad hoc methods had been main tools for studying and analyzing image processing problems. In the past decade, a new approach based on variational and partial differential equation (PDE) methods has emerged as a more powerful approach. Compared with old approaches, variational and PDE methods have remarkable advantages in both theory and computation. It allows to directly handle and process visually important geometric features such as gradients, tangents and curvatures, and to model visually meaningful …

Faint X‐Ray Structure In The Crab Pulsar Wind Nebula, F. D. Seward, W. H. Tucker, R. A. Fesen

Dartmouth Scholarship

We report on a Chandra observation of the Crab Nebula that gives the first clear view of the faint boundary of the Crab's X-ray-emitting pulsar wind nebula. There is structure in all directions. Fingers, loops, bays, and the south pulsar jet all indicate that either filamentary material or the magnetic field is controlling the relativistic electrons. In general, spectra soften as distance from the pulsar increases but do not change rapidly along linear features. This is particularly true for the pulsar jet. The termination of the jet is abrupt; the east side is close to an [O III] optical filament, …

Development Of Methods For The Study Of Phosphoproteins, Zhaoyuan Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Characterization of phosphoproteins-including detection, identification of phosphoproteins and identification of phosphorylation sites-is mostly done with radiolabeling and proteomic techniques. Three main topics related to phosphoprotein characterization are included in this dissertation. First, large-scale characterization of the CHO (Chinese hamster ovary) cell phosphoproteome was done using two dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) separation, visualization of phosphoproteins by radiolabeling or a phosphoprotein specific dye, followed by MALDI-TOF identification. Because radiolabeling of phosphoproteins is very sensitive and straightforward to quantify, such analysis can give a clear picture of the relative phosphosphorylation of proteins present in a sample. But there are also limitations to this …

Computationally Modeling The Effects Of Surface Roughness On Soft X-Ray Multilayer Reflectors, Jedediah Edward Jensen Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Electromagnetic scattering from a rough two dimensional homogeneous scatterer has been computationally modeled. The scatterer is intended to simulate reflection from a two interface multilayer. The rough scatterer was created from Gaussian random points centered about an ideal interface. The points were connected with a third order spline interpolant which accounts for correlation between neighboring surface atoms. The scalar electric field integral equation (EFIE) and magnetic field integral equation (MFIE) were solved using the Nystrom method to obtain the reflected intensity as a function of observation angle. Verification of the accuracy of the code was obtained by means of comparison …

The Relationship Between The Minimal Rank Of A Tree And The Rank-Spreads Of The Vertices And Edges, John Henry Sinkovic

Theses and Dissertations

Let F be a field, G = (V,E) be an undirected graph on n vertices, and let S(F,G) be the set of all symmetric n × n matrices whose nonzero off-diagonal entries occur in exactly the positions corresponding to the edges of G. Let mr(F,G)be the minimum rank over all matrices in S(F,G). We give a field independent proof of a well-known result that for a tree the sum of its path cover number and minimal rank is equal to the number of vertices in the tree. The rank-spread of a vertex v of G is the difference between the …

Incorporating Electron-Transfer Functionality Into Synthetic Metalloproteins From The Bottom-Up, Jing Hong, Olesya A. Kharenko, Michael Y. Ogawa

Chemistry Faculty Publications

The alpha-helical coiled-coil motif serves as a robust scaffold for incorporating electron-transfer (ET) functionality into synthetic metalloproteins. These structures consist of a supercoiling of two or more R helices that are formed by the self-assembly of individual polypeptide chains whose sequences contain a repeating pattern of hydrophobic and hydrophilic residues. Early work from our group attached abiotic Ru-based redox sites to the most surface-exposed positions of two stranded coiled-coils and used electron-pulse radiolysis to study both intra- and intermolecular ET reactions in these systems. Later work used smaller metallopeptides to investigate the effects of conformational gating within electrostatic peptide-protein complexes. …

Generating New Specific Rna Interaction Interfaces Using C-Loops, Kirill A. Afonin, Neocles B. Leontis

Chemistry Faculty Publications

New RNA interaction interfaces are reported for designing RNA modules for directional supramolecular self-assembly. The new interfaces are generated from existing ones by inserting C-loops between the interaction motifs that mediate supramolecular assembly. C-Loops are new modular motifs recently identified in crystal structures that increase the helical twist of RNA helices in which they are inserted and thus reduce the distance between pairs of loop or loop-receptor motifs from 11 to 9 base-stacking layers while maintaining correct orientation for binding to cognate interaction interfaces. Binding specificities of C-loop-containing molecules for cognate molecules that also have inserted C-loops were found to …

Intermediate Development Of A Forested Headwater Wetland Hgm Model For Wetlands Management In Virginia, Kirk J. Havens, David O'Brien, David Stanhope, Kory Angstadt, Daniel Schatt, Donna M. Bilkovic, Carl Hershner

Reports

No abstract provided.

Electrostatic Assembly Of A Redox Catalysis System For Detection Of Glutamate, Alice Harper, Mark Anderson

Mark R. Anderson

Interfacial assemblies capable of determining glutamate by redox catalysis are prepared by electrostatic assembly of alternating layers of ferrocene poly(allylamine) polymer and glutamate oxidase on a gold electrode. Deposition of the polymer was confirmed in cyclic voltammetry measurements by the presence of a surface wave corresponding to the oxidation of the ferrocene group. In the presence of glutamate in the adjacent electrolyte solution, the current increases and approaches a pseudosteady state, consistent with redox catalysis. Electrodes modified with glutamate oxidase had a linear response to glutamate up to 0.0045 M with sensitivity of 20 μA/cm2 and a limit of detection …

Guiding Of Laser Beams In Plasmas By Radiation Cascade Compression, Serguei Y. Kalmykov, Gennady Shvets

Serge Youri Kalmykov

The near-resonant beatwave excitation of an electron plasma wave (EPW) can be employed for generating trains of few-fs electromagnetic pulses in rarefied plasmas. The EPW produces a co-moving index grating that induces a laser phase modulation at the beat frequency. Consequently, the cascade of sidebands red- and blue-shifted from the fundamental by integer multiples of the beat frequency is generated in the laser spectrum. When the beat frequency is lower than the electron plasma frequency, the phase chirp enables laser beatnote compression by the group velocity dispersion [S. Kalmykov and G. Shvets, Phys. Rev. E 73, 46403 (2006)]. In the …

Modeling An Outbreak Of Anthrax, Ron Brookmeyer

Ron Brookmeyer

Introduction

On October 2, 2001 a sixty-three-year-old Florida man who worked as a photo editor at a media publishing company was admitted to an emergency department complaining of nausea, vomiting, and fever. His symptoms began four days earlier on a recreational trip to North Carolina. The man died shortly thereafter. An astute clinician quickly made the surprising diagnosis of inhalational anthrax, which is a serious and deadly disease. The diagnosis was surprising because inhalational anthrax is extremely rare; only 18 cases were reported in the United States between 1900 and 1978. Public health officials at first believed that the Florida …

Optimizing The Expected Overlap Of Survey Samples Via The Northwest Corner Rule, Lenka Mach, Philip T. Reiss, Ioana Schiopu-Kratina

Philip T. Reiss

In survey sampling there is often a need to coordinate the selection of pairs of samples drawn from two overlapping populations so as to maximize or minimize their expected overlap, subject to constraints on the marginal probabilities determined by the respective designs. For instance, maximizing the expected overlap between repeated samples can stabilize the resulting estimates of change and reduce the costs of first contacts; minimizing the expected overlap can avoid overburdening respondents with multiple surveys. We focus on the important special case in which both samples are selected by simple random sampling without replacement (SRSWOR) conducted independently within each …

Education In The Environment: A Hands-On Student Research And Outdoor Learning Experience: Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending November 30, 2006, Environmental Education Strategy For Nevada

Reports (PLI Education)

• Forever Earth was scheduled for 17 days and benefited 307 individuals.
• Technology was successfully tested aboard Forever Earth that may allow for distance education opportunities in Clark County School District classrooms.
• Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne and Congressman Jon Porter were hosted by the National Park Service aboard Forever Earth on October 31, 2006.
• Training for Forever Earth program facilitators was conducted on November 20, 2006.
• Four Discover Mojave Outdoor World events were conducted. A partnership with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization is under development to increase participation in the program.
• Meeting held with Las Vegas developer Focus Property Group …

Interview With Alisa Kane, Office Of Sustainable Development, 2006 (Audio), Alisa Kane

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Alisa Kane by Daniel Woodward at City of Portland Office of Sustainable Development, Oregon on November 30th, 2006.

The interview index is available for download.

Measurement Of The Spin-Orbit Alignment In The Exoplanetary System Hd 189733, Joshua N. Winn, John Asher Johnson, Geoffrey W. Marcy, R. Paul Butler, Steve Vogt, Gregory W. Henry, Anna Roussanova, Matthew J. Holman, Keigo Enya, Norio Narita, Yasushi Suto, Edwin L. Turner

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

We present spectroscopy of a transit of the exoplanet HD 189733b. By modeling the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect (the anomalous Doppler shift due to the partial eclipse of the rotating stellar surface), we find the angle between the sky projections of the stellar spin axis and orbit normal to be λ = -1fdg4 ± 1fdg1. This is the third case of a "hot Jupiter" for which λ has been measured. In all three cases λ is small, ruling out random orientations with 99.96% confidence, and suggesting that the inward migration of hot Jupiters generally preserves spin-orbit alignment.

Place*: A Distributed Spatio-Temporal Data Stream Management System For Moving Objects, Xiaopeng Xiong, Hicham G. Elmongui, Xiaoyong Chai, Walid G. Aref

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

2006 Fall Engr333 Project Posters, 2006 Fall Engr333

ENGR 333

To demonstrate Calvin’s interest in alternative energy by developing a short-term plan to implement a demonstration wind turbine and a long-term plan to determine the feasibility of a larger turbine for the future.

Climate Change And Late Pliocene Acceleration Of Erosion In The Himalaya, Katharine Huntington, Ann Blythe, Kip Hodges

Ann Blythe

Studies of active mountain ranges suggest that atmospheric and geodynamic processes may be strongly coupled through erosion — a hypothesis that has led to a debate over the relative importance of climate and far-field tectonic forcing in influencing erosion. We addressed this debate by developing the detailed long-term erosional history of a transect in the central Annapurna Range of Nepal for comparison with the climate and tectonic forcing histories of the region. Patterns of apatite fission-track and muscovite 40Ar/39Ar apparent ages with elevation indicate a five-fold increase in apparent erosion rate between 2.5 and 0.9 Ma ago. The time frame …

Interview With Michael Zilis, Walker Macy, 2006 (Audio), Michael Zilis

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Michael Zilis by Gerald Bones at Portland, Oregon on November 29th, 2006.

The interview index is available for download.

Satellite Remote Sensing Of Glaciers And Ice Caps In Svalbard, Eurasian High Arctic, Gordon S. Hamilton

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Recent compilations of climate-related observations show that important changes are now underway in the High Arctic, probably as a response to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions over the last approximately 250 years. These changes include warming of the troposphere, reductions in sea ice cover, decreases in snow cover area, warming of tundra permafrost, and negative mass balances of glaciers and ice caps. In many instances, observations of change are relatively short in duration or sparse in spatial extent. The Principal Investigators will study glacier and ice cap variations over the approximately last 80 years and at a large scale on Svalbard. …

The Public Interest Test For Water Appropriations, Sandi Zellmer

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Nebraska, like most states, imposes a “public interest” review on applications for water appropriations, changes and transfers. However, Nebraska statutes do not provide any specific public interest criteria for use in evaluating applications for new water appropriations or intra-basin transfers. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 46-234, an application for a water appropriation may be refused when denial is demanded by the public interest. The director of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has the duty of determining whether the public interest demands the denial of a water appropriation, but is given no express statutory criteria to provide assistance in making …