Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Zeros And Ones, M. Thulasidas

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Computers are notorious for their infuriatingly literal obedience. I am sure anyone who has ever worked with a computer has come across the lack of empathy on its part – it follows our instructions to the dot, yet ends up accomplishing something altogether different from what we intend. Let’s spare a thought for the way your glorified adding machine makes sense of things

Predicting Outcome For Collaborative Featured Article Nomination In Wikipedia, Meiqun Hu, Ee Peng Lim, Ramayya Krishnan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In Wikipedia, good articles are wanted. While Wikipedia relies on collaborative effort from online volunteers for quality checking, the process of selecting top quality articles is time consuming. At present, the duty of decision making is shouldered by only a couple of administrators. Aiming to assist in the quality checking cycles so as to cope with the exponential growth of online contributions to Wikipedia, this work studies the task of predicting the outcome of featured article (FA) nominations. We analyze FA candidate (FAC) sessions collected over a period of 3.5 years, and examine the extent to which consensus has been …

Concernlines: A Timeline View Of Co-Occurring Concerns, Christoph Treude, Margaret-Anne Storey

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Understanding the evolution of a software system requires understanding how information about the release history, non-functional requirements and project milestones relates to functional requirements on the software components. This short paper describes a new tool, called CONCERNLINES, that supports this cognitive process by visualizing co-occurring concerns over time.

The Effects Of Carbon Nanotubes On Cpu Cooling, Sashi Kiran Challa

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Computers today have evolved from being big bulky machines that took up rooms of space into small simple machines for net browsing and into small but complicated multi-core servers and supercomputing architectures. This has been possible due to the evolution of the processors. Today processors have reached 45nm specifications with millions of transistors. Transistors produce heat when they run. Today more than ever we have a growing need for managing this heat efficiently. It is indicated that increasing power density can cause a difficulty in managing temperatures on a chip. It is also mentioned that we need to move to …

Management Of Grassy Balds Communities In The Roan Highlands, James T. Donaldson, Nora Schubert, L. C. Huff

ETSU Faculty Works

The Highlands of Roan Mountain best exemplify that which is rare and unique within high elevation communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The Roan Highlands are protected through a landscape-level conservation initiative originally established by the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC) and the U. S. Forest Service (USFS) in 1974. The Roan massif rises more than 6,000 feet above mean sea level and straddles the border of North Carolina and Tennessee in the Pisgah and Cherokee National Forests, respectively. Among its unique aspects, the Roan supports at least 800 known plant species, 27 rare plant communities, and 33 federally or …

Fisheries Research Report No. 191 - Maximising Survival Of Released Undersize West Coast Reef Fish, Rodney C J Lenanton, Jill St John, Brent S. Wise, Ian S. Keay, D J. Gaughan

Fisheries research reports

Final FRDC Report – Project 2000/194

In Australia, most fishery managers regulate the catch of recreational fishes using size and bag limits. The effectiveness of these regulations depends on the fish surviving capture and then release back into the water. Effective management of fishing using size or bag limits therefore requires an understanding of the rates of mortality of released fish and what factors are causing mortality so that these might be alleviated. The rates and likely causes of mortality of released WA dhufish (Glaucosoma hebraicum) and snapper (Pagrus auratus), breaksea cod (Epinephelides armatus) and baldchin groper (Choerodon rubescens) off …

Development Of A New Lagrangian Float For Studying Coastal Marine Ecosystems, Alex Schwithal, Chris Roman

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

This paper presents an overview and initial testing results for a shallow water Lagrangian float designed to operate in coastal settings. The presented effort addresses the two main characteristics of the shallow coastal environment that preclude the direct of use of many successfully deep water floats, namely the higher variation of water densities near the coast compared with the open ocean and the highly varied bathymetry. Our idea is to develop a high capacity dynamic auto-ballasting system that is able to compensate for the expected seawater density variation over a broad range of water temperatures and salinities while using measurements …

Mesospheric Atmospheric Gravity Wave Properties Derived From Rayleigh-Scatter Lidar Observations Above Logan, Utah, Durga Kafle

Posters

Approximately 900 nights of observations with a Rayleigh-scatter lidar at Utah State University’s Atmospheric Lidar Observatory (41.7°N, 111.8°W, 1.47 km above sea level), spanning the 11-year period from late 1993 through 2004, have been reduced to derive nighttime temperature and relative density profiles between 45 and 90 km. Of these, 150 profiles that extend to 90 km or above were used in this work, which is based mainly on relative density data with 3-km altitude resolution and 1-hour temporal resolution. This is, we believe, the first comprehensive study of monochromatic gravity waves using Rayleigh-Scatter lidar observations extending through the entire …

Electrochemically Mediated Charge Transfer Effects On Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes., Buddika Ka. Abeyweera 1980-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is based on experimental work on electrochemically mediated charge transfer effects on Single-walled carbon nanotube bundles. The study of these effects are very important towards understanding the sensitivity of gases on nanostructures like single-walled carbon nanotubes. Chapter one covers the introduction and overview of carbon nanostructures including single-walled carbon nanotubes. Chapter two covers the experimental techniques involving sample preparation, experimental setup and data acquisition. Chapter three consists of Results and the Discussions explaining the mechanisms based on charge transfer mechanism. In the final chapter, implications and the importance of the study are explained. Single-walled carbon nanotubes are used …

Understanding Sources And Consequences Of Variation In Self-Assembly, Arjun Dasgupta

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Self-assembly is the process of constructing a larger structure from small component parts that randomly collide and bond through weak interactions [2]. It is a potentially important method in the field of nanoscale manufacturing. However, because of the nature of self-assembly, randomness and the design of self-assembly compete with each other, and unforeseen things can be produced. In this thesis, the tiling assembly model of Winfree [7] was simulated. The tiling assembly model has two bonds which assemble planar nanostructures. The goal of the simulations was to determine what probabilities would produce an average degree of four (the ideal) for …

Effects Of Urbanization On Instream Habitat And Fish Assemblages In The Chattanooga Metropolitan Area, Tennessee-Georgia, Joshua Smith

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Twenty-one stream sites in the Ridge and Valley ecoregion of Tennessee and Georgia were studied in 2008 to evaluate the effects of watershed urbanization on instream environmental parameters and fish assemblages. I also investigated changes in urbanization and stream conditions at 10 sites over a 10-year period (1998-2008). Electrofishing yielded 12,329 fish, composed of 38 species from eight families. Urbanization in the study watersheds was measured (using ArcGIS 9.3; released June, 2008) by calculating the building density and percent urban land use. Correlation analysis revealed that more urbanized watersheds were characterized by increased proportions of fine sediments and pool areas, …

Understanding Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Degradation By Soil Microbial Communites: The Concentration And Distribution Of Aromatic Dioxygenase Genes, Inigo Walker Howlett

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The ability to individually identify and enumerate bacterial genes in the environment is an important development in the field of microbial ecology. Researchers are now able to quantify and map populations and communities, the presence of which could only be inferred until recently. Knowledge of this ecology is critical to understanding microbial responses to environmental pollutants, thereby contributing information useful in devising and monitoring bioremediation strategies. The following thesis therefore compares two aromatic dioxygenase genes, nidA and nahAc, which confer the ability for the bacteria carrying the genes to metabolize polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), persistent pollutant byproducts of coal coking. …

Local Effects Of Culverts On Habitat Features And Fish Assemblages In Blue Ridge Streams, Daniel Huser

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

I studied environmental conditions, fish assemblages, and culvert features in 11 headwater streams (Tennessee and Conasauga river drainages) in Cherokee National Forest (Blue Ridge ecoregion), Tennessee, May-August 2008. Culvert-related effects on instream habitat and fish assemblages were measured at 10 stream sites: five sites contained culverts with artificial bottom substrates and five sites contained culverts with natural bottom substrates. On each stream, paired sampling reaches (reach length ~35 times mean reach width, drainage area <11 km 2) were established 50 m upstream and 50 m downstream of the culvert. Reaches downstream of culverts with artificial substrates (compared to upstream reaches; related-samples t test) exhibited greater water depths, lower gravel/sediment depths, and higher percentages of bedrock and boulder substrates (P < 0.10). Reaches downstream of natural substrate culverts (compared to upstream reaches) exhibited faster current velocities (P < 0.10). Fish abundance (predominantly western blacknose dace Rhinichthys obtusus) was consistently higher downstream than upstream (P < 0.10), regardless of the culvert type. In addition, reaches downstream of artificial substrate culverts exhibited reduced species evenness compared to upstream reaches. Mark-recapture experiments on two streams documented fish movements through a natural substrate culvert (similar to those in reference areas); however, movements through a perched pipe culvert were not detected. Data collected i n the present study suggest that culverts had localized effects on instream habitat and fish assemblages, and that certain types of culverts may impede fish dispersal.

Breaking The Multi Colored Box: A Study Of Captcha, Sumit Khanna

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Communication is faster than ever. Innovations in low cost network computing have brought an era in which people can effortlessly and instantaneously view and post opinions collaboratively with others across the world. With such an infrastructure of public message boards, chat rooms and instant messaging systems, there is also a large potential for abuse by people wishing to capitalize on such open services by posting unsolicited advertisements. An entire industry has been constructed around the prevention of unsolicited electronic advertisements (SPAM). This thesis examines various techniques for preventing SPAM, focusing on Completely Automated Public Turing Tests to Tell Computers and …

Fisheries Research Report No. 192 - Determination Of A Cost Effective Methodology For Ongoing Age Monitoring Needed For The Management Of Scalefish Fisheries In Western Australia, Montgomery Craine, Ben Rome, Peter Stephenson, Brent S. Wise, D J. Gaughan, R Lenanton, Richard A. Steckis

Fisheries research reports

Final FRDC Report – Project 2004/042

Objectives

1. Determine for the 20 major WA scalefish species (4 - 5 in each bioregion) the relative accuracy of structures used to estimate age (e.g. Sectioned/whole otoliths, lengths, otolith weight, other otolith dimensions or some combination of these).

2. For each stock, examine the relative impact on the calculated age-compositions and their effect on model outputs and conclusions from varying (i) the method of ageing used (only where this is possible from available data) (ii) the number of individuals used in the samples (iii) the spatial distribution of the samples used (iv) if …

Algebraic Computing Tools In General Relativity: Energy-Momentum Tensors And Exact Solutions To The Einstein Field Equations, Sydney Joanne Chamberlin

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Maple is a mathematical software program containing packages of tools that may be used in making difficult computations. The Tensor sub-package of Maple's Differential Geometry package is a collection of commands used for making tensor computations on manifolds. We present a series of new tools for the Tensor package. Included with these tools are new commands to compute objects of geometric and physical interest -energy-momentum tensors, matter field equations, the Bel-Robinson tensor, etc. -along with tools to compute the geometric properties of these objects. Additionally, an electronic database of exact solutions to the Einstein field equations has been created for …

The Synthesis And Characterization Of Novel Microporous Hybrid Organic/Inorganic Materials, Kelly Whitenack

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Inorganic chemistry is essential to the formulation and improvement of modern materials such as catalysts, semiconductors, optical devices, super conductors, and advanced ceramic materials.¹ New areas of inorganic chemistry are constantly being explored and new and often unusual inorganic compounds are constantly being synthesized and identified.¹ Recently the field of inorganic chemistry has witnessed the synthesis and characterization of microporous metal organic framework compounds (MOFs). Microporous organic/inorganic materials have a wide range of physical properties as well as applications. The physical properties and applications drive the investigation into the synthesis and discovery of new and useful hybrid MOF …

Synthesis Of Diruthenium Complexes As Connectable Molecular Components, George Ling

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

There have been great advances in electronics and technology within the last few years. The field of nanotechnology can further improve electronics in terms of efficiency, size and costs. There exist nanowires and nanotransistors that could accomplish this, however there exists no good method of connecting the two components together. Using the bottom-up approach and chemical synthesis, the goal is to synthesize molecular jumper cables and connectable molecular components (CMCs).

The template of the CMC will have two ruthenium (Ru) metal centers connected by a conjugated, organic bridge. Coordinated to the ruthenium metal centers will be different ligands that affect …

Towards Novel Alkaline Earth Metal Pyrazolates: Opportunities In Materials Chemistry, Michael G. Bagnall

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Until recent years, the coordination chemistry of the alkaline earth metals remained relatively unexplored. Owing to the development of new synthetic methods and improved techniques for the exclusion of air and moisture, great progress has been made into our understanding of the alkaline earth metals and their compounds. These compounds are useful in a wide variety of applications, including as polymerization initiators, precursors for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for gas separation and storage. Current work in alkaline earth metal chemistry focuses on designing and tailoring ligand systems to expand their potential applications in materials chemistry. …

Ethnomathematics In The Dominican Republic: A Mathematics Education Approach To Knowledge And Emancipation, Sofia Pablo-Hoshino

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This focus of this project was to look at the extent to which ethnomathematics is being used in the mathematics curriculum in theDominican Republic. Broadly described, ethnomathematics emphasizes that the culture, history, and experiences of the students are significant and therefore should be infused into the mathematics curriculum.

I read articles and books as well as traveled to theDominican Republicto conduct qualitative research. I interviewed 32 professionals consisting of mathematics teachers, mathematics professors, and mathematics education professors from theSantiagoandSanto Domingoareas. I then volunteered at the Dominican Republic Education and Mentoring (DREAM) Project where I was able to observe and participate …

Rational Design And Synthesis Of Multifunctional Nanostructures For Biological And Medicinal Applications, Amy N. Otuonye

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Mobile Composite Material (MCM-41) was modified by the addition of various functional groups, which increase the materials’ efficiency for an assortment of applications. Mesoporous materials have demonstrated to be capable of adsorbing and releasing of model drug molecules, rhodamine 6G and ibuprofen. Mesoporous silica materials functionalized with mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTS), vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTS), aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTS), and N-(2-animoethyl)-3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (AAPTS) were used to test the adsorption and release of rhodamine 6G (R6G) and ibuprofen. The vinyl and mercaptopropyl groups adsorbed and released more rhodamine 6G than the primary and secondary amine groups. The adsorption and release of ibuprofen was the opposite of the R6G …

Book Review: Clocks In The Sky: The Story Of Pulsars, T. D. Oswalt

Publications

This document is Dr. Oswalt’s review of Clocks in the Sky: The Story of Pulsars by Geoff McNamara, Springer/Praxis, 2008 190p, 9780387765600 $29.95.

Fisheries Research Report No. 184 - Macroscopic And Microscopic Description Of Snapper (Pagrus Auratus) Gonads From Shark Bay, Western Australia, Michael C. Mackie, Gary Jackson, Nadia E. Tapp, Jeffrey V. Norriss, Adrian Thomson

Fisheries research reports

Since 1997, research on snapper (Pagrus auratus, Sparidae) in the inner gulfs of Shark Bay has focussed on providing biological information required for the management of the regionally important recreational fishery. A major component of this research has been a comprehensive investigation of snapper reproductive biology to determine size and age at maturity, the timing of the spawning season and to estimate batch fecundity. This research has necessitated a review of the macroscopic staging system used for P. auratus in Western Australian waters and the development of a more detailed microscopic system to allow accurate analyses of histological material. Based …

Going Green In The Hospitality Industry, Christina Wilson Micioni

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this research is to examine whether a hotel’s greening efforts are a reason why everyday guests or hospitality professionals choose a hotel. Do meeting planners and business travelers expect certain things while staying at a hotel? Do the personal greening activities of a guest affect their hotel stay? This will also include the housekeeping needs of the guests and why they choose the hotel. The objective of the research will be to discover whether there is guest data to support the need for hotels to become green establishments.

Identifying Biomarkers For Resistance To Novel Cisplatin Analogues In Human Lung, Breast And Prostate Cancers, Becky Michelle Hess

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Cisplatin is a common therapeutic agent used in cancer treatment. Unfortunately, resistance to cisplatin in addition to severe side effects limits its use in cancer treatment. Two novel cisplatin analogues, 4DB and 4TB were shown to have varying cytotoxicity in lung, breast and prostate cancer cells. The hypothesis for this study states that the differences in 4DB and 4TB cytotoxicity among different tissue types is due to the type and efficiency of DNA repair mechanisms involved in response to these drugs.

To test the hypothesis, proteins involved in the rate limiting step of nucleotide excision repair (NER) and mismatch repair …

Magnetic Sensors For Biodetection, Pranjali Vineet Sneha Deshpande

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The objective of thesis is to design magnetic sensor for detection of nanoparticles. Recently integrating the standard laboratory techniques into integrated system on chip is growing attention. Recent development is to combine magnetic markers and magnetoresistive sensors together in magnetic chip. In this thesis two magnetoresistive sensors were studied and designed.

By applying magnetic fields, magnetic nanoparticles can be manipulated on-chip, which can be utilized to pull the molecules to specific binding sites or to test the binding strength and distinguish between specifically and non-specifically bound molecules

Magnetoresistive sensors are compatible with the semiconductor industry which provides electronic signal directly …

The Sheep Pass Formation, A Record Of Late Cretaceous And Paleogene Extension Within The Sevier Hinterland, East-Central Nevada, Peter Alexander Druschke

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Sevier hinterland of western North America is considered by many to be an ancient proxy for the modern Andean Puna-Altiplano or Tibetan Plateau. However, controversies exist as tectonic setting and overall paleogeography of the Sevier hinterland during the Late Cretaceous and Paleogene. The Sheep Pass Formation type section within the southern Egan Range of east-central Nevada comprises a > 1 km thick sedimentary succession spanning the latest Cretaceous to Eocene, and provides a rare opportunity to test prevailing tectonic and paleogeographic models for the Sevier hinterland. New 1:12,000 scale field mapping inthe southern Egan Range indicates that up to three …

Substrate Monitoring, Contaminant Monitoring, And Educational Outreach On Quagga Mussels (Dreissena Bugensis) In Lake Mead, Nevada, Sara Ann Mueting

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The invasive species, the quagga mussel, Dreissena bugensis, was found in Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona, USA on January 6, 2007. Since then, researchers have been attempting to quantify the amount of damage these mussels will cause to the lower Colorado River basin. Three projects were implemented in this thesis to research the quagga mussel in Lake Mead. First, a study to determine which types of substrates quagga mussels will grow on preferentially was conducted. Six different substrates, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) plastic, High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) plastic, Concrete Underlayment Board (CUB), aluminum, stainless steel and fiberglass, were placed in the Boulder …

A Survey Of Monge Properties, Swetha Sethumadhavan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Monge properties play an important role in theoretical computer science. Many greedy algorithms are based on such properties, as is speedup in dynamic programming. Monge properties are simple monotonicity properties which are observed and used in various settings such as resource optimization, computational geometry, statistical sampling, computational biology and coding.

Trophic Interactions Associated With Indroduction Of The Invasive Quagga Mussel In Lake Mead, Nevada, Eric Michael Loomis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The ecology of Lake Mead is experiencing an uncertain future since the documented arrival of the invasive quagga mussel. Interactions among constituents of the food web will undoubtedly be altered over time, adversely affecting the popular sport fishery. This study is the first in Lake Mead to present historic trends in lower trophic interactions among threadfin shad and zooplankton before, and shortly after, the arrival of quagga mussels. Shad stomach content analysis revealed cladocerans and copepods were the dominant identifiable food items in Las Vegas Bay and Overton Arm of Lake Mead. Baseline energetics data through the use of stable …