Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Theoretical Study Of Methanol Oxidation Mechanisms By Methanol Dehydrogenase Enzymes For Fuel Cell Applications, Nagesh B. Idupulapati

Doctoral Dissertations

Enzymes are considered for electrochemical generation of power in fuel cells. Methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) is one such enzyme, which has been used as an anodic catalyst for a methanol-fed biofuel cell producing enough power for small electronic device applications. In practice, however, there are power output limitations associated with this MDH fuel cell, which may potentially be eliminated or reduced if the reactivity of this enzyme during the oxidation of methanol at the molecular level is clearly understood.

Two mechanisms for the methanol oxidation process by MDH have been proposed in the literature, Addition-Elimination (A-E) and Hydride Transfer (H-T), but …

Computational Study Of Pristine And Titanium-Doped Sodium Alanates For Hydrogen Storage Applications, Gopi Krishna Phani Dathar

Doctoral Dissertations

The emphasis of this research is to study and elucidate the underlying mechanisms of reversible hydrogen storage in pristine and Ti-doped sodium aluminum hydrides using molecular modeling techniques. An early breakthrough in using complex metal hydrides as hydrogen storage materials is from the research on sodium alanates by Bogdanovic et al., in 1997 reporting reversible hydrogen storage is possible at moderate temperatures and pressures in transition metal doped sodium alanates. Anton reported titanium salts as the best catalysts compared to all other transition metal salts from his further research on transition metal doped sodium alanates. However, a few questions remained …

Text Summarization Using Concept Hierarchy, Xiaomei Huang

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation aims to create new sentences to summarize text documents. In addition to generating new sentences, this project also generates new concepts and extracts key sentences to summarize documents. This project is the first research work that can generate new key concepts and can create new sentences to summarize documents.

Automatic document summarization is the process of creating a condensed version of the document. The condensed version extracts the key contents from the original document. Most related research uses statistical methods that generate a summary based on word distribution in the document. In this dissertation, we create a summary …

Using Gis To Locate Areas For Growing Quality Coffee In Honduras, Ellen Mickle

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Abstract Small-scale coffee producers worldwide remain vulnerable to price fluctuations after the 1999-2003 coffee crisis. One way to increase small-scale farmer economic resilience is to produce a more expensive product, such as quality coffee. There is growing demand in coffee-producing and coffee-importing countries for user-friendly tools that facilitate the marketing of quality coffee. The purpose of this study is to develop a prototypical quality coffee marketing tool in the form of a GIS model that identifies regions for producing quality coffee in a country not usually associated with quality coffee, Honduras. Maps of areas for growing quality coffee were produced …

Changes In Producer Attitudes Towards Windbreaks In Eastern Nebraska, 1983 To 2009, Kim Tomczak

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Abstract Windbreaks are rows of trees or shrubs arranged on the landscape to reduce wind speed. In agricultural landscapes we find them as farmstead windbreaks, livestock windbreaks and field windbreaks. While farmstead and livestock windbreaks are well accepted by the agricultural community, field windbreaks are often viewed differently. A 1982 study of the attitudes of farmers in Eastern Nebraska indicated that many of the producers were around the age of 50 and that they used different types of windbreaks. This study repeated that survey in the same. When compared to data from 1982, farmers today are not educated about the …

Impacts Of Plant Size, Density, Herbivory, And Desease On Native Platte Thistle (Cirsium Canescens), Deidra Jacobsen

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Abstract. Based on prior field observations, we hypothesized that individual and interacting effects of plant size, density, insect herbivory, and especially fungal disease, influenced seedling and juvenile plant growth in native Platte thistle populations (Cirsium canescens Nutt.). We worked at Arapaho Prairie in the Nebraska Sandhills (May - August 2007), monitoring plant growth, insect damage, and fungal infection within different density thistle patches. In the main experiment, we sprayed half of test plants in different density patches with fungicide (Fungonil© Bonide, containing chlorothalonil) and half with a water control. Fungal infection rates were very low, so we found no difference …

Water Quality Variability In A Bioswell And Concrete Drainage Pipe, Southwest Lincoln, Nebraska, Jessica Shortino

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Abstract The goal of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness of bioswells in protecting water quality from urban runoff. The hypothesis tested in this project is that water in bioswells improves water quality. Water quality in both a bioswell and an underground concrete lined ditch, both containing ground and surface water, were tested for certain water quality parameters. These parameters consisted of: Dissolved Oxygen, pH, water temperature, weather temperature, Total Dissolved Solids, Specific Conductivity, Alkalinity, Total Dissolved Carbon, Chemical Oxygen Demand, and depth and width of the sampling site. An additional contaminant that was looked at was motor oil. …

Spectroscopic Measurements Of Temperature And Plasma Impurity Concentration During Magnetic Reconnection At The Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment, Vernon Hampden Chaplin , '07, Michael R. Brown, David H. Cohen, T. Gray, C. D. Cothran

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

Electron temperature measurements during counterhelicity spheromak merging studies at the Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment (SSX) [M. R. Brown, Phys. Plasmas 6, 1717 (1999)] are presented. VUV monochromator measurements of impurity emission lines are compared with model spectra produced by the non-LTE excitation kinematics code PRISMSPECT [J. J. MacFarlane et al., in Proceedings of the Third Conference on Inertial Fusion Science and Applications (2004)] to yield the electron temperature in the plasma with 1 mu s time resolution. Average T(e) is seen to increase from 12 to 19 eV during spheromak merging. Average C III ion temperature, measured with a new ion …

Optimal Digital Content Distribution Strategy In The Presence Of Consumer-To-Consumer Channel, Yunfang Feng, Zhiling Guo, Wei-Yu Kevin Chiang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Although the online business-to-consumer (B2C) channel is the primary selling channel for digital content (e.g., videos, images, and music), modern digital technology has made possible the legal dissemination of such content over the consumer-to-consumer (C2C) channel through personal computing devices, such as PCs, mobile phones, and portable media players. This paper investigates the optimal channel structure and the corresponding pricing and service strategies for digital content distribution in order to understand the business value of introducing the C2C channel alongside the prevailing B2C channel. We identify conditions under which it is more profitable to use both B2C and C2C channels …

Pictorial Quantum Chemistry, Theory And Application Of Valency Interaction Formulas, Vif, Joseph D. Alia

Chemistry Publications

No abstract provided.

Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Contents:
Integrated Science for the Nation’s Northern Great Plains
Core Science Capabilities
Center Expertise
Highlights of Current Research Program
Our Mission
Locations of the Center and Duty Stations

Alaska Marine Mammal Stock Assessments, 2008, R. P. Angliss, B. M. Allen

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

This report provides information on the marine mammal stocks of Alaska under the jurisdiction of the National Marine Fisheries Service. Each stock assessment includes, when available, a description of the stock’s geographic range, a minimum population estimate, current population trends, current and maximum net productivity rates, optimum sustainable population levels and allowable removal levels, and estimates of annual human-caused mortality and serious injury through interactions with commercial fisheries and subsistence hunters. These data will be used to evaluate the progress of each fishery towards achieving the MMPA’s goal of zero fishery-related mortality and serious injury of marine mammals. The Stock …

Historical Review Of Elk–Agriculture Conflicts In And Around Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba, Canada, Ryan K. Brook

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Conflicts between elk (Cervus elaphus) and farmers have been occurring since the 1880s when agriculture began around what is now Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP). Initially, the conflicts were related to low elk numbers caused primarily by unregulated harvest of elk. The creation of RMNP in 1930 and the associated ban on hunting allowed elk numbers to reach critically high levels. Since farming began, elk have been associated with considerable damage to fences and crops around RMNP, with annual damage often >$240,000. Hunting on agricultural lands has been the most common approach to mitigating elk impacts, despite its limited success. …

Strengthening Relationships Between State University Extension Systems And Nuisance Wildlife Control Operators, Lynn Braband

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The land-grant university extension system is an American success story. The general mission of extension is to be a research-based information broker between the university and public stakeholders. Examples of successful long-term partnerships between extension and industry include agriculture, structural pest control, and the green industry (turfgrass and landscape management). There is, however, the potential for the development of another partnership with the relatively new industry of private sector nuisance wildlife control.

To help inform my thinking on the current status and potential of such relationships, I queried 12 wildlife extension specialists (most with extension positions at land-grant universities), 17 …

Deterring Cliff-Swallow Nesting On Highway Structures Using Bioacoustics And Surface Modifications, Jaclyn S. Conklin, Michael J. Delwiche, W. Paul Gorenzel, Robert W. Coates

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) are migratory birds that breed in colonies and frequently nest on highway structures. Protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, swallows in their active nests cannot be harmed by nesting-control methods. This causes problems and delays in maintenance of structures by divisions of many departments of transportation. We evaluated 2 aversion strategies, bioacoustic deterrents and surface modifi cations, for their effect on cliff swallow nesting behavior. The bioacoustic deterrents consisted of sonic devices that broadcast 8 unique recordings of alarm and distress calls of cliff swallows. We made surface modifications, mounting high-density …

House Cats As Predators In The Australian Environment: Impacts And Management, Christopher R. Dickman

Human–Wildlife Interactions

This paper provides an overview of the predatory activities of the house cat (Felis catus) in Australia, focusing principally on the interactions of domestic and stray cats with native species of prey. Like their free-living, or feral, counterparts, domestic cats take a broad range of prey, with small mammals, birds, and human-derived foods forming the bulk of the diet. Domestic and stray cats have contributed to declines of suburban populations of eastern barred bandicoots (Perameles gunnii) and superb lyrebirds (Menura novaehollandiae) in Victoria, Australia. The effects of cats on prey communities remain speculative. In …

Exotic Species And Monkey Paws, Michael R. Conover

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Society is divided over the question of how exotic species should be managed. As an example, consider the attitude of U.S. citizens toward 1 exotic species, mute swans (Cygnus lotor), which were imported from Europe. These birds have much going for them. Their bright, white plumage, their eagerness to swim our way for bread, and their prominence in legends has allowed them to conquer our hearts (Conover and McIvor 1993). Yet, many ecologists, wildlife biologists, and avid birders argue that we should spend time and money to eradicate mute swans from the U.S. because they are an exotic …

Home Range And Habitat Use Of Feral Hogs In Congaree National Park, South Carolina, Brad A. Friebel, Patrick G. R. Jodice

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Feral hogs (Sus scrofa) are a widespread exotic species that currently occur in most states within the United States and are common throughout the southeastern United States. We radio-collared and tracked feral hogs from April 2005 to November 2006 in Congaree National Park (CNP), South Carolina, USA. The CNP is one of the largest and most intact tracts of old-growth, bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the United States. We measured home range size and determined habitat use for male and female hogs. The mean (± SE) home range sizes for male hogs (n = 7) and female hogs …

In The News, Joe N. Caudell

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Deer hunters may shoot feral hogs (New Jersey)
Exotic species threaten Texas horned lizard
Several servals on the loose (PA, GA, WA, MI, MO, IL)
Brown tree snake causes printer paper jam
Guam ravaged by variety of invasive species: brown tree snake, rhinoceros beetle, salamander (Eurycea sp.) and a garter snake (Thamnophis sp.)
Humans stand up for themselves during bear attacks: Eagle River, Alaska, Cooper Landing, Alaska, & Logan, Utah.
The invasive monk parakeet is causing problems in Edgewater, NJ.
Starlings in Indianapolis & the Vatican

White-Tailed Deer Attacking Humans During The Fawning Season: A Unique Human–Wildlife Conflict On A University Campus, Ryan D. Hubbard, Clayton K. Nielsen

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Human–wildlife conflicts associated with suburban white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations have increased in the last 20 years. Primary threats to human health and safety associated with overabundant deer populations include deer–vehicle collisions, attacks on humans, disease, and damage to native and ornamental vegetation. During the fawning seasons (May–June) of 2005 and 2006, 13 confirmed incidences of white-tailed deer attacking humans occurred on the campus of Southern Illinois University–Carbondale. To our knowledge, no report exists that documents free-ranging does attacking humans during the fawning season. The attacks occurred at multiple locations on campus, with injuries to humans, including minor …

Development Of Wildlife Damage Management: A Personal Perspective, Walter E. Howard

Human–Wildlife Interactions

During my professional career, many changes have occurred in the management of wildlife damage and human–wildlife conflicts, including some dramatic changes in people’s attitudes. ... Vertebrate pest control has now become a sophisticated scientific field. It is recognized that the factors responsible for some species of birds and mammals becoming pests are many. A species can overpopulate due to changes in habitat, lessening of predation, lack of competition with other species, or by transmitting disease. Additionally, the National Academy of Sciences’ National Research Council Agricultural Board recognized that wildlife and other competitors of agriculture are important to the economy of …

Deer Guards And Bump Gates For Excluding White-Tailed Deer From Fenced Resources, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Nathan W. Seward, Michael J. Lavelle, Justin W. Fischer, Gregaory E. Phillips

Human–Wildlife Interactions

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) causing damage is a reoccurring theme in the realm of wildlife damage management, especially regarding human safety, disease transmission, and agricultural losses. Fences often are the only reliable long-term nonlethal means of controlling deer damage. The efficacy of fences, however, relies on their weakest link: human-operated gates. Although not overly time-consuming, the act of closing a gate appears to be a burden to individuals, resulting in open-access to an otherwise protected resource. We examined the efficacy of 2 alternatives to traditional gates to evaluate their potential to be used for excluding or containing deer. …

Gravity Effects On Capillary Flows In Sharp Corners, Enrique Ramé, Mark M. Weislogel

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

We analyze the effect of gravity on capillary flows in sharp corners. We consider gravity perpendicular and parallel to the channel axis. We analyze both steady and unsteady flows. In the steady analysis the main result is a closed form expression for the flow rate as a function of the two gravity components. Good agreement with steady experiments is offered as support of the model. The unsteady analysis is restricted to “small” values of the two gravity parameters and is accomplished using a similarity formulation. The similarity coefficients of the gravity corrections are fully determined by the coefficients of the …

Neural Network Control Of Mobile Robot Formations Using Rise Feedback, Jagannathan Sarangapani, Travis Alan Dierks

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, an asymptotically stable (AS) combined kinematic/torque control law is developed for leader-follower-based formation control using backstepping in order to accommodate the complete dynamics of the robots and the formation, and a neural network (NN) is introduced along with robust integral of the sign of the error feedback to approximate the dynamics of the follower as well as its leader using online weight tuning. It is shown using Lyapunov theory that the errors for the entire formation are as and that the NN weights are bounded as opposed to uniformly ultimately bounded stability which is typical with most …

Dynamic Channel Allocation In Wireless Networks Using Adaptive Learning Automata, Behdis Eslamnour, Maciej Jan Zawodniok, Jagannathan Sarangapani

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The bandwidth utilization of a single channel-based wireless networks decreases due to congestion and interference from other sources and therefore transmission on multiple channels are needed. In this paper, we propose a distributed dynamic channel allocation scheme for wireless networks using adaptive learning automata whose nodes are equipped with single radio interfaces so that a more suitable channel can be selected. The proposed scheme, adaptive pursuit reward-inaction, runs periodically on the nodes, and adaptively finds the suitable channel allocation in order to attain a desired performance. A novel performance index, which takes into account the throughput and the energy consumption, …

A Multi-Interface Multi-Channel Routing (Mmcr) Protocol For Wireless Ad Hoc Networks, Reghu Anguswamy, Maciej Jan Zawodniok, Jagannathan Sarangapani

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Multiple non-interfering channels are available in 802.11 and 802.15.4 based wireless networks. Capacity of such channels can be combined to achieve a better performance thus providing a higher quality of service (QoS) than for a single channel network. However, existing routing protocols often are not suited to fully take advantage of these channels. The proposed multi-interface multi-channel routing (MMCR) protocol considers various QoS parameters such as throughput, end-to-end delay, and energy utilization as a single unified cost metric and identifies the route that optimizes the cost metric and balances the traffic among the channels on a per flow basis. Multipoint …

Cs/Mth 316/516: Numerical Methods For Digital Computers - I, Ronald F. Taylor

Computer Science & Engineering Syllabi

Introduction to numerical methods used in the sciences. Methods of interpolation, data smoothing, functional approximation, numerical differentiation and integration. Solution techniques for linear and nonlinear equations. Discussion of sources of error in numerical methods. Applications to engineering, science, and applied mathematics are an integral part of the course. Special topics presented as schedule permits. 4 credit hours.

Cs 790: Optimizing Compilers For Modern Architectures, Meilin Liu

Computer Science & Engineering Syllabi

This course studies compiler optimization for modern architectures. Between parsing the input program and generating the target machine code, optimizing compilers perform a wide range of program transformations on a program to improve its performance. In this course we focus on data dependence analysis, program transformations and loop transformations, loop scheduling, and a combination of these optimizing techniques.

Cs 784: Programming Languages, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan

Computer Science & Engineering Syllabi

This course introduces concepts related to the specification and design of high-level programming languages. It discusses different programming paradigms, algebraic specification and implementation of data types, and develops interpreters for specifying operationally the various programming language features/constructs. It also introduces attribute grammar formalism and axiomatic semantics briefly. The programming assignments will be coded in Scheme.

Cs 701: Database Systems And Design I, Guozhu Dong

Computer Science & Engineering Syllabi

An introduction to database design, database system implementation issues and techniques, and advanced data models.