Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Extending The Season For Sustainability In Utah, Britney Hunter

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The importance of providing fresh produce on a local level is becoming a widespread consideration among people concerned with the character of their food. For regions without an opportune growing climate, extending the growing season can drastically advance productivity. High tunnels are one way to effectively and profitably extend the growing season in cold climates. The benefits of growing in a high tunnel go beyond raising the temperature. High tunnels contribute to higher quality small fruits and vegetables. The benefits of growing in high tunnels have been explored in other states and could be exploited by Utah growers. Utah's climate …

X-Ray Emission From O Stars, David H. Cohen

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

Young O stars are strong, hard, and variable X-ray sources, properties which strongly affect their circumstellar and galactic environments. After ~1 Myr, these stars settle down to become steady sources of soft X-rays. I use high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy and MHD modeling to show that young O stars like theta-1 Ori C are well explained by the magnetically channeled wind shock scenario. After their magnetic fields dissipate, older O stars produce X-rays via shock heating in their unstable stellar winds. Here too I use X-ray spectroscopy and numerical modeling to confirm this scenario. In addition to elucidating the nature and cause …

Teaching Time Savers: The Exam Practically Wrote Itself!, Michael E. Orrison Jr.

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

When I first started teaching, creating an exam for my upper division courses was a genuinely exciting process. The material felt fresh and relatively unexplored (at least by me), and I remember often feeling pleasantly overwhelmed with what seemed like a vast supply of intriguing and engrossing exam-ready problems. Crafting the perfect exam, one that was noticeably inviting, exceedingly fair, and unavoidably illuminating, was a real joy.

Histopathological Assessment And Comparison Sedimentation And Phosphate Stress On The Staghorn Coral, Acropora Cervicornis, Erin Christine Hodel

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Traditional coral reef monitoring efforts lack assessment of coral health at tissue and cellular levels. This thesis investigated tissue, cellular, and gross morphological responses of the Caribbean staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis, to elevated sedimentation and phosphate using state-of-the-art histological techniques. Branch fragments of A. cervicornis were collected offshore Broward County, FL, acclimated for 12 weeks, subjected to a 4-week experimental period, and given a 1-week recovery period in laboratory aquaria. Treatments consisted of high doses (200 mg cm^-2 day^-1) of sedimentation (S), phosphate (4 μM) (P), and a combination of these two (S + P), in …

Molecules That Target Beta-Amyloid, Cliff I. Stains, Kalyani Mondal, Indraneel Ghosh

Cliff Stains Publications

The devastating effects of Alzheimer’s and related amyloidogenic diseases have inspired the synthesis and evaluation of numerous ligands to understand the molecular mechanism of the aggregation of the beta-amyloid peptide. Our review focuses on the current knowledge in this field with respect to molecules that have been demonstrated to interact with either oligomeric or fibrillar forms of the beta-amyloid peptide. We describe natural proteins, peptides, peptidomimetics, and small molecules that have been found to interfere with beta-amyloid aggregation. We also detail recent efforts in selecting molecules that target beta-amyloid isolated from antibody, protein, and peptide libraries. These new molecules will …

Alkoxide Routes To Inorganic Materials, George Harrison Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations

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

Epitaxial thin-films of strontium …

Route Validation Using Radio Frequency Identification, William T. Watson

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, radio frequency identification (RFID) has been proposed and implemented in a variety of applications where tracking objects, animals or people is desirable. This paper proposes a novel approach to the application of RFID tech- nology in those applications where it is possible to validate a person or an object's passive contact with a given or arbitrary set of fixed points along a predefined route. The notable departure from the typical application of RFID technology is that in this scheme, the transponders are permanently installed while the interrogator is affixed to a person or object that travels the …

Recounting Determinants For A Class Of Hessenberg Matrices, Arthur T. Benjamin, Mark A. Shattuck

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

We provide combinatorial interpretations for determinants which are Fibonacci numbers of several recently introduced Hessenberg matrices. Our arguments make use of the basic definition of the determinant as a signed sum over the symmetric group.

Gravity-Driven Thin Liquid Films With Insoluble Surfactant: Smooth Traveling Waves, Rachel Levy, Michael Shearer, Thomas P. Witelski

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

The flow of a thin layer of fluid down an inclined plane is modified by the presence of insoluble surfactant. For any finite surfactant mass, traveling waves are constructed for a system of lubrication equations describing the evolution of the free-surface fluid height and the surfactant concentration. The one-parameter family of solutions is investigated using perturbation theory with three small parameters: the coefficient of surface tension, the surfactant diffusivity, and the coefficient of the gravity-driven diffusive spreading of the fluid. When all three parameters are zero, the nonlinear PDE system is hyperbolic/degenerateparabolic, and admits traveling wave solutions in which the …

Effective Structure Theorems For Quadratic Spaces Via Height, Lenny Fukshansky

CMC Faculty Publications and Research

Lecture given at the Second International Conference on The Algebraic and Arithmetic Theory of Quadratic Forms, December 2007.

The Development Of A Quality Risk Management Solution Designed To Facilitate Compliance With The Risk-Based Qualification, Validation And Change Control Gmp Requirement Of The Eu, Kevin O'Donnell

Doctoral

This research work was concerned with investigating the risk-based regulatory requirements that are currently in place in the European Union governing the manufacture of medicinal products. The main goal of this research was to develop a practical Quality Risk Management methodology that served as a solution for facilitating compliance with the EU GMP requirements in the area of risk-based Qualification, Validation and Change Control, and which was fully in line with the principles and guidance of ICH Q9, on Quality Risk Management. Following extensive testing and evaluation activities with a range of key stakeholders including the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector in …

Video On The Semantic Sensor Web, Cory Andrew Henson, Amit P. Sheth, Prateek Jain, Josh Pschorr, Terry Rapoch

Kno.e.sis Publications

Millions of sensors around the globe currently collect avalanches of data about our world. The rapid development and deployment of sensor technology is intensifying the existing problem of too much data and not enough knowledge. With a view to alleviating this glut, we propose that sensor data, especially video sensor data, can be annotated with semantic metadata to provide contextual information about videos on the Web. In particular, we present an approach to annotating video sensor data with spatial, temporal, and thematic semantic metadata. This technique builds on current standardization efforts within the W3C and Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and …

Impact Of Crop Rotations And Winter Cover Crops On Vegetative Cover, Aboveground Biomass, And Soil Organic Matter Under No-Till In Western Tennessee, Nicholas Phillip Ryan

Masters Theses

We investigated, under long-term no-till in western Tennessee, the effects of rotating the low-input crops cotton and soybeans with the high-input crop corn, compared to continuous monocultures of cotton and soybeans, and of using the winter cover crops (WCCs) winter wheat and hairy vetch, compared to winter fallow, on key indicators of soil health concerning vegetative cover and labile SOM. The line-transect method was used to measure percent vegetative cover. Dry weight of surface crop residue and aboveground living plant biomass (WCCs and winter weeds) was obtained. The living plant biomass was analyzed for carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) by …

Time-Adaptive Numerical Simulation For High Speed Networks, Suman Kumar, Seung Jong Park, S. Sitharama Iyengar, Jung Han Kimn

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

As the bandwidth of networks is increasing exponentially, the computational cost to simulate such type of networks is also growing in a similar fashion. This paper presents a scalable simulation method, called time-adaptive numerical simulation, which can be used to represent dynamics of high-speed networks using fluid-based models. The new method dynamically adjusts the size of a time step for a numerical solver which solves a system of differential equations representing dynamics of protocols and nodes' behaviors. The simulation results show that the time-adaptive-method reduces the computational time while achieving the same accuracy compared to that of a fixed step-size …

Research Issues And Overview Of Economic Models In Mobile-P2p Networks, Anirban Mondal, Sanjay Kumar Madria, Masaru Kitsuregawa

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

The mobile-P2P paradigm is becoming increasingly popular. Existing mobile-P2P solutions largely do not consider economic incentive models for enticing peer participation without eliminating free-riders and for effectively handling mobile resource constraints such as energy. This paper presents an executive summary of the existing solutions and an overview of some of the important issues for handling problems in mobile-P2P networks using economic models. We also present our perspectives on building 'real' mobile-P2P applications using economic models. © 2007 IEEE.

Sybil Attack Detection In A Hierarchical Sensor Network, Jian Yin, Sanjay Kumar Madria

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Sybil attack is a particularly harmful threat to sensor networks where a single sensor node illegitimately claims multiple identities. a malicious node may generate an arbitrary number of additional node identities using only one physical device. the Sybil attack can disrupt normal functioning of the sensor network, such as the multipath routing, used to explore the multiple disjoint paths between source-destination pairs. But the Sybil attack can disrupt it when a single adversary presents multiple identities, which appear on the multiple paths. Digital certificates are a way to prove identities, but they are not suitable for the sensor network …

Energy Efficient Removal Of Tds From Ro Reject And Cooling Tower Blowdown, Heath Himstedt, Meredith Bruick, Matthew Correnti, Seth Huber, Pettus Kincannon, Mai Sayarath

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Semantic Web For Health Care And Biomedical Informatics, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

No abstract provided.

Quantum Properties Of Light Emitted By Dipole Nano-Laser, Talal Ghannam

Dissertations

Recent technological advances allow entire optical systems to be lithographically implanted on small silicon chips. These systems include tiny semiconductor lasers that function as light sources for digital optical signals. Future advances will rely on even smaller components. At the theoretical limit of this process, the smallest lasers will have an active medium consisting of a single atom (natural or artificial). Several suggestions for how this can be accomplished have already been published, such as nano-lasers based on photonic crystals and nano wires. In particular, the "dipole nanolaser" consists of a single quantum dot functioning as the active medium. It …

Diagnostics For Choosing Between Log-Rank And Wilcoxon Tests, Ruvie Lou Maria Custodio Martinez

Dissertations

Two commonly used tests for comparison of survival curves are the generalized Wilcoxon procedure of Gehan (1965) and Breslow (1970) and the Log-rank test proposed by Mantel (1966) and Cox (1972). In applications, the Log-rank test is used after checking for validity of the proportional hazards (PH) assumption, with Wilcoxon being the fallback method when the PH assumption fails.

However, the relative performance of the two procedures depend not just on the PH assumption but also on the pattern of differences between the two curves. We will show that the crucial factor is whether the differences tend to occur early …

An Integrated Social Actor And Service Oriented Architecture (Soa) Approach For Improved Electronic Health Record (Ehr) Privacy And Confidentiality In The Us National Healthcare Information Network (Nhin), Gondy Leroy, Elliot Sloane, Steven Sheetz

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

The emerging US National Healthcare Information Network (NHIN) will improve healthcare’s efficacy, efficiency, and safety. The first-generation NHIN being developed has numerous advantages and limitations. One of the most difficult aspects of today’s NHIN is ensuring privacy and confidentiality for personal health data, because family and caregivers have multiple complex legal relationships to a patient. A Social Actor framework is suggested to organize and manage these legal roles, but the Social Actor framework would be very difficult to implement in today’s NHIN. Social Actor Security Management could, however, be effectively implemented using Service Oriented Architectures (SOAs), which are rapidly becoming …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Stilbenoids And Their Aza-Analogs As Photoluminescent Materials For The Detection Of Nerve Agent Mimics, Chun Wang

Dissertations

A novel series of stilbenoids and their aza analogs were synthesized, characterized and used as photoluminescent components in the detection of nerve agents. Their structure-property relationship was elucidated through UV-visible and fluorescence spectroscopy. The research in this thesis is driven by the hypothesis that the two-block sensor system consisting of a receptor incorporated ruthenium complex and a fluorescent signal molecule of stilbenoids, is capable of detecting chemical warfare agents. The sensor anchored onto nanoparticles and subsequently the nanoparticles were arranged through mediated self-assembly. While photo-induced electron transfer is a well-known mechanism for sensor design, the described system showed that photo-induced …

Diagnosis Of The July 6, 2002 Ogallala, Nebraska Flash Flood, David B. Radell, Mark R. Anderson, John W. Stoppkotte, James R. Mccormick

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

During the early morning hours of 6 July 2002, a mesoscale convective system (MCS) traversed southwestern Nebraska and produced more than 40 cm of precipitation, resulting in a flash flood that closed Interstate 80 and caused one fatality near Ogallala, Nebraska. Regional climatology yields that this flash flood ranked first in precipitation amount for a 24 hour period over the past one hundred years. Synoptic and mesoscale features similar to other flash flooding events and conducive to extremely heavy precipitation were in place over the Central Plains, including a weak upper level ridge, high precipitable water values (180% of normal), …

A General Boosting Method And Its Application To Learning Ranking Functions For Web Search, Zhaohui Zheng, Hongyuan Zha, Tong Zhang, Olivier Chapelle, Keke Chen, Gordon Sun

Kno.e.sis Publications

We present a general boosting method extending functional gradient boosting to optimize complex loss functions that are encountered in many machine learning problems. Our approach is based on optimization of quadratic upper bounds of the loss functions which allows us to present a rigorous convergence analysis of the algorithm. More importantly, this general framework enables us to use a standard regression base learner such as decision trees for fitting any loss function. We illustrate an application of the proposed method in learning ranking functions for Web search by combining both preference data and labeled data for training. We present experimental …

Generalized Multiagent Learning With Performance Bound, Bikramjit Banerjee, Jing Peng

Department of Computer Science Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We present new Multiagent learning (MAL) algorithms with the general philosophy of policy convergence against some classes of opponents but otherwise ensuring high payoffs. We consider a 3-class breakdown of opponent types: (eventually) stationary, self-play and "other" (see Definition 4) agents. We start with ReDVaLeR that can satisfy policy convergence against the first two types and no-regret against the third, but it needs to know the type of the opponents. This serves as a baseline to delineate the difficulty of achieving these goals. We show that a simple modification on ReDVaLeR yields a new algorithm, RV σ(t), that achieves no-regret …

Stochastic Models For In-Silico Event-Based Biological Network Simulation, Preetam Ghosh

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations

The multi-scale biological system model is a new research direction to capture the dynamic measurements of complex biological systems. The current statistical thermodynamic models can not scale to this challenge due to the explosion of state-spaces of the system, where a biological organ may have billions of cells, each with millions of molecule types and each type may have a few million molecules. We seek to propose a phenomenological theory that will require a smaller number of state variables to address this multi-scaling problem. Discrete Markov statistical process is used to understand the system dynamics in the networking community for …

Evaluation Of Robocode As A Teaching Tool For Computer Programming, Arnold Hensman

Conference Papers

Robocode began as an educational tool to aid in learning Java programming. It has since evolved into something of a phenomenon, as the prospect of creating simple to complex virtual tanks appears to pose an attractive challenge to both novice and expert programmers alike. What started out as a teaching tool has grown into a worldwide network of competitors, all keen to prove that their ‘bot’ stands out from the crowd. Competitions are well organised and many Robocode events are a PR dream for the computing companies that sponsor them. Without a doubt, this easy to use application has sparked …

A New Family Of Pr Two Channel Filter Banks, Jian-Ao Lian

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

A new family of multidimensional dimensional (MD) perfect reconstruction (PR) two channel filter banks with finite impulse response (FIR) filters induced from systems of biorthogonal MD scaling functions and wavelets are introduced. One of the advantages of this construction is that the biorthogonal scaling functions and wavelets are easy to establish due to the interpolatory property of the scaling functions to start with. The other advantage is that all filters can be centrosymmetric or bi-linear phase. Examples of two dimensional (2D) bi-linear phase PR twochannel FIR filter banks will be demonstrated.

2007 Annual Report

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Publications

Contents:
Letter to Governor Heineman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Commissioners and Administrators . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Financial Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Recreation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …

Rss Management: An Rss Reader To Manage Rss Feeds That Efficiently And Effectively Pulls And Filters Feeds With Minimal Bandwidth Consumption, Brian Cooper

Theses and Dissertations

In the early 2000s, RSS (Really Simple Syndication) was launched into cyber space and rapidly gained fame by existing as the underlying technology that fueled millions of web logs (blogs). Soon RSS feeds appeared for news, multimedia podcasting, and many other types of information on the Internet. RSS introduced a new way to syndicate information that allowed anyone interested to subscribe to published content and pull the information to an aggregator, (RSS reader application), at their discretion. RSS made it simple for people to keep up with online content without having to continuously check websites for new content. This new …