Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Factors Influencing Persistence Of Fecal Bacteroides In Stream Water, Alyssa K. Bell

Masters Theses

Fecal contamination leads to increased risk of exposure to enteric pathogens in aquatic environments used for drinking water, recreation, and commercial shellfishing. Current indicators of fecal contamination recommended by the EPA such as E. coli and enterococcus can fall short of meeting ideal indicator criteria by having widely-varying persistence in the environment, reproducing in the environment, occurring in the gut in low and variable concentrations, and requiring time-consuming assays. Furthermore, both these indicators lack the degree of host specificity needed for use in identifying sources of fecal contamination, which is an important tool for identifying and reducing fecal inputs to …

Measuring The Value Of Air Quality: Application Of The Spatial-Hedonic Model, Seung Gyu Kim

Masters Theses

The value of air quality improvement following the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments is estimated at the county level in the lower 48 United States. This study applies a hedonic model to assess the economic benefits of air quality improvement using an instrumental variable approach that combines geographically weighted and spatial autoregression methods to account for spatial heterogeneity and spatial autocorrelation. Positive amenity values of improved air quality are found in five major clusters of areas across Eastern Kentucky and most of Georgia around Southern Appalachian area, the State of Illinois, on the border of Oklahoma and Kansas, on the …

Application Of The Green’S Function For Solutions Of Third Order Nonlinear Boundary Value Problems, Shannon Mathis Morrison

Masters Theses

Green’s functions are used to prove a collection of existence and uniqueness theorems for third order nonlinear boundary value problems. Several examples of Green’s functions for both second and third order boundary value problems are given. Various applications of the existence theorems are presented in detail.

A Study Of The Homology Of Subset Spaces And Their Connection To The K-Sat Problem In Computer Science, Oliver J. Thistlethwaite

Masters Theses

It is the purpose of this thesis to introduce an idea for studying questions of computer science via topology. We begin by describing the homology of a certain space constructed from a given subset of the power set of any finite set. We then discuss how this relates to the k-SAT problem in computer science.

We shall use computers as a tool to calculate the homology groups as well as the Euler characteristic of some of these spaces. Due to the sheer number of calcu- lations needed, doing the necessary computations by hand is both impractical and impossible.

In addition, …

Characterizing Episodic Stream Acidity During Stormflow In The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Edwin Bradley Deyton

Masters Theses

Episodic stream acidification occurs as storm events temporarily reduce acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) and pH. Stream acidification is suspected to have damaging effects on the health of aquatic ecosystems and biota. The objectives of this research are to 1) characterize stream baseflow and stormflow chemistries in three watersheds in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM), 2) understand potential mechanisms responsible for episodic acidification, and 3) understand the relationship between storm event magnitude, antecedent soil moisture condition, and the stream’s pH response. Three remote, forested, high-elevation streams (Middle Prong, Ramsey Prong, and Eagle Rocks Prong) were selected in the Middle …

Testing Heterolocalism: An Assessment Of Latino Settlement Patterns In The Southeastern United States, Kristian Dennis

Masters Theses

Previous theories of immigrant integration indicate that spatial propinquity is a necessary ingredient for a cohesive ethnic community. Wilbur Zelinsky’s heterolocalism theory suggests this is no longer the case in today’s world where technology has drastically reduced the friction of distance in human interaction. This thesis uses a mixture of quantitative and qualitative techniques to test heterolocalism’s applicability to emergent Latino communities in the Southeastern United States. The results of this research generally support Zelinsky’s theory that a growing number of ethnic communities are socially but not spatially cohesive.

Laboratory Precipitation And Geochemical Investigation Of Unstable Caco3 Polymorphs: Implications For The Origin Of Precambrian “Molar-Tooth” Microspar, Emily Elizabeth Goodman

Masters Theses

Molar-tooth (MT) microspar is a volumetrically significant, globally distributed carbonate fabric that occurs almost exclusively in Mesoproterozoic and early Neoproterozoic shallow marine successions. It occurs as uniform, equant crystals, averaging 9 –15 μm in diameter (Figure 1), that characteristically fill MT structures—interconnected networks of spheroidal, spindle, and ribbon-shaped voids that formed within unlithified sediment in shallow, subtidal environments. Cathodoluminescence (CL) analysis of MT microspar reveals two chemically distinct phases: a dully luminescent spheroidal core enclosed by a luminescent, polygonal rim. Crystal size distribution analysis of MT microspar indicates spontaneous nucleation, rapid growth and varying degrees of recrystallization by Ostwald ripening, …

Tectonics Of The Northeastern Inner Piedmont, Northwestern Nc, From Detailed Geologic Mapping, Geochronologic, Geochemical, And Petrologic Studies With Structural Analyses Of Ductile Fault Zones, Matthew Patrick Gatewood

Masters Theses

New field and laboratory data collected for the northeastern Inner Piedmont (IP) reveal the structure and composition of a portion of the southern Appalachian crystalline core, delimited the timing of orogenesis, and provide new insight into the nature of deep crustal processes during orogenesis. Previously recognized lithologies are continuous throughout the study area and comprise two distinct crystalline thrust sheets: the Marion and Brindle Creek thrust sheets, or eastern Tugaloo and western Cat Square terranes, respectively. Western IP Precambrian- Cambrian(?) metasedimentary lithologies and Ordovician metaigneous lithologies make up the Marion thrust sheet northwest of a Neoacadian suture, the Brindle Creek …

Process Mass Spectrometric Parameterization Of Butene Isomer Mixtures, Eloise Marie Joyce

Masters Theses

Process mass spectrometry was used for the simultaneous quantitation of hydrocarbon mixtures with either six or four components. The four component hydrocarbon mixture contains isomers to increase the complexity of the mixture spectrum. The differences in relative intensities of pure component electron ionization mass spectra provided a basis for quantitation. Quantitation accuracy and precision were found to decrease as the spectral similarities among the components increased.

Selection of which ions to monitor (parameterization) was critical to optimize the analysis accuracy, precision, and speed for all mixtures tested. An empirical parameterization algorithm based on comparison of pure reference spectra of mixture …

An Applied Statistical Reliability Analysis Of The Modulus Of Elasticity And The Modulus Of Rupture For Wood-Plastic Composites, Diane Goodman Perhac

Masters Theses

Wood-plastic composites (WPC) are materials comprised of wood fiber within a thermoplastic matrix and are a growing and important source of alternative wood products in the forest products industry. WPC is gaining market share in the building industry because of durability/maintenance advantages of WPC over traditional wood products and because of the removal of chromated copper arsenate (CCA) pressuretreated wood from the market. The reliability methods outlined in this thesis can be used to improve the quality of WPC and lower manufacturing costs by reducing raw material inputs and minimizing WPC waste. Statistical methods are described for analyzing both tensile …

Fast Determination Of Human Insulin And Its Deamidation Product By Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry, Teerapat Rojsajjakul

Masters Theses

Application of the electrospray ionization (ESI) technique in mass spectrometry (MS) has played an important role in analysis of biological molecules and polymers. The focus of this thesis is to assess and extend the application of this technique in the rapid determination of human insulin and its deamidation product.

Quantitative assessment of deamidation of human insulin generally invokes relatively slow chromatographic analysis. Faster cost-effective analysis using mass spectrometry with a low-resolution analyzer is challenging because the deamidation product is only one Dalton heavier than the 5808-Da protein; low-level contamination has only a small effect on the isotope envelope. Exploiting the …

Examining Regression Analysis Beyond The Mean Of The Distribution Using Quantile Regression: A Case Study Of Modeling The Internal Bond Of Medium Density Fiberboard Using Multiple Linear Regression And Quantile Regression With An Example Of Reliability Methods Using R Software, Leslie Brooke Shaffer

Masters Theses

The thesis examines the causality of the central tendency of the Internal Bond (IB) of Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) with predictor variables from the MDF manufacturing process. Multiple linear regression (MLR) models are developed using a best model criterion for all possible subsets of IB for four MDF thickness products reported in inches, e.g., 0.750”, 0.625”, 0.6875”, and 0.500”. Quantile Regression (QR) models of the median IB are also developed.

The adjusted coefficient of determination (R² _a) of the MLR models range from 72% with 53 degrees of freedom to 81% with 42 degrees of freedom, respectively. The …

Transport Critical Currents In Ybacuo-Based Coated Conductors: Angular, Magnetic Field, And Temperature Dependencies, Samuel M. Travaglini

Masters Theses

High-temperature superconductivity has been a focus of much study over the past 20 years, particularly within the cuprate class of superconductors. The effectiveness of these cuprate superconductors is limited by factors including the formation of vortices within the superconductor, orientation within external magnetic fields, the strength of these magnetic fields, temperature, and whether any doping agents have been used. Any of these factors individually can affect the transport critical current levels. In this research, YBaCuO and NdBaCuO-based coated conductors were studied in a liquid-nitrogen-cooled environment at either 77 K or 65 K. Field levels were varied between 0 T and …

Reliability Analysis Of Oriented Strand Board’S Strength With A Simulation Study Of The Median Censored Method For Estimating Of Lower Percentile Strength, Yang Wang

Masters Theses

Oriented Strand Board (OSB), an engineered wood product, has gained increased market acceptance as a construction material. Because of its growing market, the product’s manufacturing and performance have become the focus of much research. Internal Bond (IB) and Parallel and Perpendicular Elasticity Indices (EI), are important strength metrics of OSB and are analyzed in this thesis using statistical reliability methods. The data for this thesis consists of 529 destructive tests of OSB panels. They were tested from July 2005 to January 2006. These OSB panels came from a modern OSB manufacture in the Southeastern United States with the wood furnish …

Evaluation Of Ionic Liquids For Green Separation, Samuel Morton

Samuel A Morton

No abstract provided.

Industrial Symbiosis For Very Large Scale Photovoltaic Manufacturing, Joshua M. Pearce

Joshua M. Pearce

Meta-Analysis Evidence Of A Differential Risk Of The Fcrl3 -169t->C Polymorphism In White And East Asian Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients, Steven J. Schrodi, Begovich Ann, Chang Monica

Steven J Schrodi

Association between a functional promoter polymorphism (rs7528684) in the Fc receptor-like gene, FCRL3, and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been observed in 3 independent Japanese case-control sample sets ([1][2]). Studies examining the role of this polymorphism in risk of RA in 9 independent white sample sets, however, have yielded conflicting results ([3-8]). Further, a large study of Korean subjects failed to demonstrate association of this single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) with RA ([9]). Although the precise function of FCRL3, which has strong structural homology with the classic Fc receptors, is unknown, the existing data are consistent with the hypothesis that it may influence …

Pre-Conference Proceedings Of The Focus Symposium On Representation Of Context In Software Data → Information → Knowledge, Collaborative Agent Design Research Center

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

For the past 20 years commercial corporations and government agencies have suffered under the limitations of stove-piped computer software applications that function as discrete entities within a fragmented data-processing environment. In the United States of America (US) military services, lack of interoperability has been identified by numerous think tanks, advisory boards, and studies, as the primary information systems problem (e.g., Army Science Board 2000, Air Force SAB 2000 Command and Control Study, and NSB Network-Centric Naval Forces 2000). Yet, despite this level of attention, all attempts to achieve interoperability within the current data-centric information systems environment have proven to be …

Controlling Spin-Polarized Electron Transport Through A Molecule: The Role Of Molecular Conformation, L. Senapati, Ranjit Pati, S. C. Erwin

Department of Physics Publications

We investigate theoretically the spin-polarized electron transport through a complex organic molecule coupled to magnetic contacts. Our focus is on how low-energy deformations of the molecule affect the current-voltage characteristics and the magnetotransport of this molecular-scale device. We find that fairly modest deformations, costing only a few tens of meVs, can substantially change the tunneling current—by factors of 2 or more. Such deformations have still larger impact on the magnetoresistance, with small changes in molecular conformation even leading to changes in the sign of the magnetoresistance.

Interview With Dianne Stefani-Ruff, Portland Farmers Market, 2007 (Audio), Dianne Stefani-Ruff

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Dianne Stefani-Ruff by Jennifer Bennett on July 31st, 2007.

The interview index is available for download.

Nevada Risk Assessment/Management Program (Nramp) – Phase 2: Quarterly Progress Report April 1, 2007 Through June 30, 2007, Klaus J. Stetzenbach

Nevada Risk Assessment/Management Program

Work conducted this quarter consisted of continuing the detailed data and information acquisition; review of the received document contents, and interpretation of significance in light of previous DOE documents. Much of the effort was devoted to reconciling inconsistencies and contradictions in both the primary data bases and in and among the DOE published documents. These review and reconciliation efforts included regular telephone and e-mail correspondence, as well as in-person discussions with DOE NVO personnel at the April DOE Generator Conference in Las Vegas. Reconciliation efforts continued with frequent (daily) exchanges on the inventory data sets, and the engineering descriptions of …

Alternative Paths To Intelligent Systems, Jens G. Pohl

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

This paper examines the three prevalent approaches to Artificial Intelligence (AI), namely symbolic reasoning systems, connectionist systems, and emergent systems based on the principles of the subsumption theory. Distinguished by their top-down and bottom-up mechanisms all three approaches have strengths and weaknesses. While the logical reasoning approach is precise and well supported by mathematical theories and procedures, it is constrained by a largely predefined representational model. Connectionist systems, on the other hand, are able to recognize patterns even if these patterns are only similar and not identical to the patterns that they have been trained to recognize, but they have …

Knowledge Management Enterprise Services (Kmes): Concepts And Implementation Principles, Jens G. Pohl

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

The purpose of this paper is to present concepts and implementation principles related to the design and development of reusable software services that are capable of assisting users at the operational level. Knowledge Management Enterprise Services (KMES) are an implementation of the service-oriented architecture paradigm, with a focus on the exchange of data within the meaningful context of a particular application (i.e., knowledge) domain. This requires a KMES service to incorporate a high level representation of this knowledge domain in the form of an ontology that is shared among all collaborating services within the application environment and at the same …

Knowledge Management Enterprise Services (Kmes): Concepts And Implementation Principles, Jens G. Pohl

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

The purpose of this paper is to present concepts and implementation principles related to the design and development of reusable software services that are capable of assisting users at the operational level. Knowledge Management Enterprise Services (KMES) are an implementation of the service-oriented architecture paradigm, with a focus on the exchange of data within the meaningful context of a particular application (i.e., knowledge) domain. This requires a KMES service to incorporate a high level representation of this knowledge domain in the form of an ontology that is shared among all collaborating services within the application environment and at the same …

Enhancing The Face Of Service-Oriented Capabilities, Kym J. Pohl, Jens G. Pohl

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

With today’s focus toward discoverable web services, Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA) are becoming increasingly prevalent. To support an effective interaction between services and their clientele, the sophistication of the interface, or face, such services present is of critical importance. Without a rich, expressive nature, such services struggle to satisfy the industry promises of reuse, composability, and reduced inter-component dependencies. Especially relevant for domain-oriented applications, services must present sufficient levels of expression to allow for an effective exchange of relevant context. Further, such communication should be offered in an asynchronous manner to promote both work flow efficiency and limited coupling.

This paper …

Leading Neutron Energy And PT Distributions In Deep Inelastic Scattering And Photoproduction At Hera, S. Chekanov, M. Derrick, S. Magill, S. Miglioranzi, B. Musgrave, D. Nicholass, J. Repond, R. Yoshida, Margarita C. K. Mattingly, M. Jechow, N. Pavel, A. G. Yagües Molina, S. Antonelli, P. Antonioli, G. Bari, M. Basile, L. Bellagamba, M. Bindi, D. Boscherini, A. Bruni, G. Bruni, L. Cifarelli, F. Cindolo, A. Contin, M. Corradi, S. De Pasquale, G. Iacobucci, A. Margotti, R. Nania, A. Polini, L. Rinaldi

Faculty Publications

The production of energetic neutrons in ep collisions has been studied with the ZEUS detector at HERA. The neutron energy and pT2 distributions were measured with a forward neutron calorimeter and tracker in a 40 pb-1 sample of inclusive deep inelastic scattering (DIS) data and a 6 pb-1 sample of photoproduction data. The neutron yield in photoproduction is suppressed relative to DIS for the lower neutron energies and the neutrons have a steeper pT2 distribution, consistent with the expectation from absorption models. The distributions are compared to HERA measurements of leading protons. The neutron energy and transverse-momentum distributions in DIS …

Interview With Roger Allen Konka, Springwater Farm, 2007 (Audio), Roger Allen Konka

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Roger Allen Konka by Michael Schott on July 29th, 2007.

The interview index is available for download.

High Temperature Heat Exchanger Project: Quarterly Progress Report April 1, 2007 Through June 30, 2007, Anthony Hechanova

Publications (NSTD)

• Ceramatec Sulfuric Acid Decomposer. Modeling with different reacting flow channel configurations (ribbed-surface channels, hexagonal channels, and diamond-shaped channels) was performed. The probability of failure for the one channel geometry with different reacting flow channel configurations was calculated to be zero in the three principal directions for all of the cases.

• Bayonet Heat Exchanger. The Matlab code for calculating the probability of failure using a two-dimensional axisymmetric model of the bayonet decomposer was developed. The probability of failure was calculated for the inner and outer SiC walls, and the intermediate quartz wall of the decomposer and found to be …

Interview With Lyle N. Stanley, Gee Creek Farm, 2007 (Audio), Lyle N. Stanley

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Lyle N. Stanley by Aaron Veal at Portland State University on July 28th, 2007.

The interview index is available for download.

Sampling Methods In Ray-Based Global Illumination, David Cline

Theses and Dissertations

In computer graphics, algorithms that attempt to create photographic images by simulating light transport are collectively known as Global Illumination methods. The most versatile of these are based on ray tracing (following ray paths through a scene), and numerical integration using random or quasi-random sampling. While ray tracing and sampling methods in global illumination have progressed much in the last two decades, the goal of fast and accurate simulation of light transport remains elusive. This dissertation presents a number of new sampling methods that attempt to address some of the shortcomings of existing global illumination algorithms. The first part of …