Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Tokai To Kamioka: A 2nd Generation Long Baseline Neutrino Experiment, Jessica Danielle Brinson

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Femtosecond Laser Written Volumetric Diffractive Optical Elements And Their Applications, Jiyeon Choi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the first demonstration of femtosecond laser written waveguides in 1996, femtosecond laser direct writing (FLDW) has been providing a versatile means to fabricate embedded 3-D microstructures in transparent materials. The key mechanisms are nonlinear absorption processes that occur when a laser beam is tightly focused into a material and the intensity of the focused beam reaches the range creating enough free electrons to induce structural modification. One of the most useful features that can be exploited in fabricating photonic structures is the refractive index change which results from the localized energy deposition. The laser processing system for FLDW can …

Development And Implementation Of High-Throughput Snp Genotyping In Barley, Timothy J. Close, Prasanna R. Bhat, Stefano Lonardi, Yonghui Wu, Nils Rostoks, Luke Ramsay, Arnis Druka, Nils Stein, Jan T. Svensson, Steve Wanamaker, Serdar Bozdag, Mikeal L. Roose, Matthew J. Moscou, Shiaoman Chao, Rajeev K. Varshney, Peter Szucs, Kazuhiro Sato, Patrick M. Hayes, David E. Matthews, Andris Kleinhofs, Gary J. Muehlbauer, Joseph Deyoung, David F. Marshall, Kavitha Madishetty, Raymond D. Fenton, Pascal Condamine, Andreas Graner, Robbie Waugh

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

Background

High density genetic maps of plants have, nearly without exception, made use of marker datasets containing missing or questionable genotype calls derived from a variety of genic and non-genic or anonymous markers, and been presented as a single linear order of genetic loci for each linkage group. The consequences of missing or erroneous data include falsely separated markers, expansion of cM distances and incorrect marker order. These imperfections are amplified in consensus maps and problematic when fine resolution is critical including comparative genome analyses and map-based cloning. Here we provide a new paradigm, a high-density consensus genetic map of …

Compartmentalized Approach To The Assembly Of Physical Maps, Serdar Bozdag, Timothy J. Close, Stefano Lonardi

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Physical maps have been historically one of the cornerstones of genome sequencing and map-based cloning strategies. They also support marker assisted breeding and EST mapping. The problem of building a high quality physical map is computationally challenging due to unavoidable noise in the input fingerprint data.

Results

We propose a novel compartmentalized method for the assembly of high quality physical maps from fingerprinted clones. The knowledge of genetic markers enables us to group clones into clusters so that clones in the same cluster are more likely to overlap. For each cluster of clones, a local physical map is first …

Parameter Identification Of A Separately Excited Dc Motor Via Inverse Problem Methodology, Mounir Hadef, Mohamed Rachid Mekideche

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Identification is considered to be among the main applications of inverse theory and its objective for a given physical system is to use data which is easily observable, to infer some of the geometric parameters which are not directly observable. In this paper, a parameter identification method using inverse problem methodology is proposed. The minimisation of the objective function with respect to the desired vector of design parameters is the most important procedure in solving the inverse problem. The conjugate gradient method is used to determine the unknown parameters, and Tikhonov's regularization method is then used to replace the original …

Prediction Of The Pressure-Induced Phase Transition In Gaas By The Positron Affinity, Belabbes Soudini

Turkish Journal of Physics

The thermalized positron charge distribution is calculated as a function of pressure variation in GaAs. Calculations have been carried out via the independent particle method (IPM) coupled with the empirical pseudopotential method (EPM). Initial results show a clear asymmetrical positron charge distribution relative to the bond center. From this positron affinity we have calculated the ionicity character with respect to the pressure variation using our empirical formula. Our results show an agreement with the thermochemical phase diagram proposed by Phillips.

Structural And Magnetic Properties Of Mg_{0.8-X}M_{0.2}Ni_Xfe_2o_4 (M = Zn, Mn) Ferrite Powders, Mansour Al-Haj

Turkish Journal of Physics

Structural and magnetic properties of Mg_{0.8-x}M_{0.2}Ni_xFe_2O_4 (M = Zn, Mn; x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8) ferrite powders, prepared by solid state reaction method, were studied. The variations of lattice parameter, X-ray density, crystallite size, saturation magnetization, effective number of Bohr magneton, and coercivity with Ni content were investigated. The role of grain size was found to be crucial in the behavior of coercivity.

Hierarchical Modeling: Biogeochemical Processes And Mechanisms That Drive Clay Nano-And Microfabric Development, Kenneth J. Curry, Richard H. Bennett, Paula J. Smithka, Matthew H. Hulbert

Faculty Publications

Conceptual scientific models of clay and clay fabric development can be constructed profitably by considering chemical and physical systems in terms of an ordered hierarchy. We develop here a hierarchical model of early stages of marine sediment development identifying processes and focusing on mechanisms. While the focus of our model is on mechanisms, the physical aspects of the hierarchy are cast in terms of the nanometer (nanofabric) level of organization of sediment fabric. This level is nested below the micrometer (microfabric) level that includes aggregates of clay signatures and is nested above the molecular level that includes edges and faces …

Development Of A Carbon-Carbon Sandwich Composite With A Cellulose, Matt Brown

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The development of a carbon-carbon sandwich composite with a cellulose derived core was developed and its properties investigated. This type of hybrid composite has never been made before. The goal was to combine the high temperature properties of carbon-carbon composites with the low weight of sandwich composites. In order to create a material with superior thermal properties and a high specific strength a carbon-carbon sandwich composite was developed utilizing a carbonized wood core. The composite was successfully constructed using an industrial grade carbon glue to hold two layers of carbon fiber weave on the top and bottom of the core. …

A Comparison Of Cationic Surfactant Immobilized Ion Exchange Membranes In Their Application For Use In Extraction Of 4-Nitophenol, Robert Derrek Brown

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Solid Phase Extraction has replaced distillation and liquid-liquid extraction as the most widely used method for extraction from solution. Though traditional SPE has seen great success, its downfalls are that it requires meticulous preparation procedures requiring funtionalized silanes and silica or polymerization courses. An alternative is ion exchange membranes to which long carbon chain ionic surfactants have been attached. The S1000 membrane ion exchange capacity was measured to be approximately 110 micro-equil/disc while the P81 membrane was 150 micro-equil/disc. Octadecyltri-methylammonium surfactant was immobilized on the membrane surface, qualitated through the use of ATR-FTIR, and quantified through elemental analysis. Kinetic adsorption …

Modeling Thip;Ate Enzyme Chemistry With Cysteine At A High Ph, Emily Michelle Turner

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Thiolate is a highly reactive species critical to the function of many enzymes. We attempted to model the chemistry of two of these enzymes with cysteine in solution at a high pH. To study cysteine proteases, we increased the pH of a cysteine and 4- nitrophenylacetate solution to create a visible color change when thiolyzed that was monitored through UV-Vis spectroscopy to determine rate constants. To study transferases, we attempted to model two reactions. The first was a methyl transfer from guanine to cysteine which mimicked O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase. The second was activation of halogenated hydrocarbons by a mechanism similar to …

Concept Learning By Example Decomposition, Sameer Joshi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For efficient understanding and prediction in natural systems, even in artificially closed ones, we usually need to consider a number of factors that may combine in simple or complex ways. Additionally, many modern scientific disciplines face increasingly large datasets from which to extract knowledge (for example, genomics). Thus to learn all but the most trivial regularities in the natural world, we rely on different ways of simplifying the learning problem. One simplifying technique that is highly pervasive in nature is to break down a large learning problem into smaller ones; to learn the smaller, more manageable problems; and then to …

The Schur Transformation For Nevanlinna Functions: Operator Representations, Resolvent Matrices, And Orthogonal Polynomials, Daniel Alpay, A. Dijksma, H. Langer

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

A Nevanlinna function is a function which is analytic in the open upper half plane and has a non-negative imaginary part there. In this paper we study a fractional linear transformation for a Nevanlinna function n with a suitable asymptotic expansion at ∞, that is an analogue of the Schur transformation for contractive analytic functions in the unit disc. Applying the transformation p times we find a Nevanlinna function np which is a fractional linear transformation of the given function n. The main results concern the effect of this transformation to the realizations of n and np, by which we …

Proceedings Of The 121st Annual Meeting Of The Iowa Academy Of Science [Program, 2009], Iowa Academy Of Science

Iowa Academy of Science Documents

Contents:

Welcome from our Campus Host --- 3
Program Summary/Timeline --- 4
General Session Presentations --- 6
Symposia Presentations --- 9
Special Events --- 12
Awards Luncheon --- 13
President's Banquet --- 13
ESTA Awards Banquet --- 13
IAS Annual Business Meeting --- 14
Iowa Junior Academy of Science --- 16
Field Trips --- 17
Senior Poster Program --- 19
Section Meeting Programs and Oral Presentations (Alphabetical by Section) --- 24
Abstracts (by Section) --- 31
Author Index --- 65

Combinatorics Of Ramanujan-Slater Type Identities, James Mclaughlin, Andrew Sills

Department of Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

We provide the missing member of a family of four q-series identities related to the modulus 36, the other members having been found by Ramanujan and Slater. We examine combinatorial implications of the identities in this family, and of some of the identities we considered in Identities of the Ramanujan-Slater type related to the moduli 18 and 24.

Mechanisms Of Cytotoxicity Of Diepoxybutane, Epichlorohydrin And 1-(Chloroethenyl)Oxirane, Rebecca D. Kamins

Honors Theses

Diepoxybutane (DEB), epichlorohydrin (ECH), and 1-(chloroethenyl)oxirane (COX) are small molecules that can form DNA interstrand cross-links. All three of these compounds are, or are metabolites of, industrial chemicals linked to cancer. Additionally, DEB is a metabolite of treosulfan, an anti-cancer drug. We are trying to determine why some of these compounds cause cancer and some can also cure cancer. To do so, we are attempting to link cytotoxicity, cross-linking efficiency, and apoptotic potential of the three compounds to see if any correlations exist. The purpose of this project was to quantify apoptotic potential of DEB, ECH and COX. This was …

The Effects Of Exogenous Insulin And Exercise On Glucose And Lactate Metabolism In The Brown Anole, Anolis Sagrei, Kristen Marie Hitchcox

Honors Theses

Blood glucose homeostasis is tightly regulated in mammals. Insulin and exercise both stimulate glucose uptake into muscle cells via the GLUT4 transporter protein by independent pathways. Insulin triggers a tyrosine kinase pathway, but the mechanism stimulated by exercise is unknown. Discovering the mechanism may provide new therapeutic techniques for people with diabetes mellitus. While mammals have been studied extensively, research on a different model may elucidate aspects of this lesser known pathway. Reptiles rapidly deplete glycogen stores during bursts of activity and produce lactate as a byproduct of anaerobic metabolism. Lactate undergoes gluconeogenesis within muscle tissue, rather than liver tissue, …

Changes In Apoptotic Gene Expression Induced By Dna Cross-Linkers, Jordanne B. Dunn

Honors Theses

The Millard Research Laboratory is interested in the cytotoxic mechanisms of the bifunctional alkylators diepoxybutane (DEB), epichlorohydrin (ECH), and (1-chloroethenyl) oxirane (COX). Studies performed in the laboratory examine the dual nature of these DNA cross-linking compounds that can act as carcinogens or anti-cancer agents. The mechanisms through which these compounds induce cell death are explored in this study. Cells either undergo cell death due to necrosis or apoptosis. HL-60 cells were treated with varying concentrations of DEB, ECH, or COX. A caspase 3/7 assay was used to test for induction of apoptosis in the treated cells at varying incubation times. …

Factors Influencing Conservation Success Or Failure In Tiger Range States, Megan C. Saunders

Honors Theses

Tigers are currently found in 13 countries. Three of eight recognized subspecies are extinct and the other subspecies are considered endangered throughout their range. Major threats to tigers include habitat and prey loss and poaching. Most studies of tiger decline, to date, have explored direct threats. This study uses a range-wide approach to explore possible underlying drivers of tiger decline. I used recent tiger population estimates and identified 6 biological measures and 27 socioeconomic measures to ask why some countries are more successful in conserving tigers than others. Data were analyzed using correlation and regression analyses in SPSS. Higher rates …

Learning The Lay Of Their Land: Data Recording By Maine Land Trusts, Patrick John Roche

Honors Theses

Land trusts have led the recent, rapid expansion in private land conservation in the US. As they have grown, many questions have emerged as to the value of their conservation efforts, especially in the long-term. To address this data gap, studies have evaluated easement restrictions and the characteristics of land trust protected property. I take a novel approach by investigating the data that land trusts record about their protected properties and its impact on their capacity to protect conservation values. I surveyed 55 land trusts operating in Maine about data they record in baseline documentation reports. A majority (82%) had …

Diagnostics For Ultracold Plasma Experiments, Lauren Rand

Honors Theses

The goal of this experiment was to observe the effects of variations of experimental conditions on the ultracold plasma that formed as a result. The wavelength and power of the ionizing laser were varied to change the electron temperature and plasma density. The delay between the ionizing laser and the field ionization pulse was changed as well. In each case, plasma evolution and the resulting distribution of Rydberg states were observed. It was found that both electron temperature and plasma density directly affected the plasma lifetimes. However, neither electron temperature nor plasma density nor delay length had an effect on …

Ultrafast Carrier Dynamics Of An Inas/Gaas Semiconductor Quantum Dot Absorber, Gillian Emma Madden

Theses

High-speed semiconductor quantum dot saturable absorbers have dramatically improved lasers to generate ultrafast optical pulses with a diverse range of applications. The carrier escape and relaxation dynamics of an InAs/GaAs quantum dot absorber waveguide were investigated using a heterodyne pump-probe spectroscopy technique. The measurements of the absorption recovery of the quantum dot waveguide were performed under applied reverse bias utilising both single-colour and two-colour pump probe spectroscopy. The study revealed differences in the intradot relaxation dynamics related to the initial population of the ground state or the excited state of the quantum dots. It was concluded that phonon mediated recovery …

Fluoride And Phosphate Glass Whispering Gallery Micro-Resonators, Jonathan Ward

Theses

This PhD work focuses on spherical microlasers made from commercial and experimental laser glasses. The laser light in a microsphere is confined in a region called a whispering gallery mode, which has unique properties that allow for many nonlinear effects to be observed with only sub-mW pump powers. Efficient coupling of light into the microsphere is attained by using adiabatically tapered fibres fabricated using various heating methods including a CO₂ laser, a sapphire tube furnace and electric heaters. However, the best result is obtained using a fibre pulling rig with an oxy-butane torch as the heat source. This system …

Some Results On Cubic Graphs, Evan Morgan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Pursuing a question of Oxley, we investigate whether the edge set of a graph admits a bipartition so that the contraction of either partite set produces a series-parallel graph. While Oxley's question in general remains unanswered, our investigations led to two graph operations (Chapters 2 and 4) which are of independent interest. We present some partial results toward Oxley's question in Chapter 3. The central results of the dissertation involve an operation on cubic graphs called the switch; in the literature, a similar operation is known as the edge slide. In Chapter 2, the author proves that we can transform, …

Homological Width And Turaev Genus, Adam Lowrance

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Khovanov homology and knot Floer homology are generalizations of the Jones polynomial and the Alexander polynomial respectively. They are bigraded Z-modules, and their underlying polynomials are recovered by taking the graded Euler characteristic. The two homologies share many characteristics, however their relationship has yet to be fully understood. In both Khovanov homology and knot Floer homology, the two gradings can be combined into a single diagonal grading. Homological width is a measure of the support of the homology with respect to the diagonal grading. In this thesis, we show that the homological width of Khovanov homology and knot Floer homology …

Exploring Impact Of Educational And Economic Factors On National Intellectual Productivity Using Machine Learning Methods, Canon Fazenbaker

Theses and Dissertations

The patent process is representative of a nationwide means for innovations and new ideas to be recognized. The U.S. Patents Office, since its inception in 1790, has issued nearly five million patents. These patents span from the U.S. Patent #1, which was for an improvement "in the making of Pot ash and Pearl ash by a new Apparatus and Process" to today's patents which deal with technologies and mediums that were unimaginable at the Patent Offices' inception. The purpose of this study is to determine what social and economic factors at the federal level have the highest impact on national …

Will Quants Rule The (Legal) World?, Edward K. Cheng

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Professor Ian Ayres, in his new book, Super Crunchers, details the brave new world of statistical prediction and how it has already begun to affect our lives. For years, academic researchers have known about the considerable and at times surprising advantages of statistical models over the considered judgments of experienced clinicians and experts. Today, these models are emerging all over the landscape. Whether the field is wine, baseball, medicine, or consumer relations, they are vying against traditional experts for control over how we make decisions. For the legal system, the take-home of Ayres's book and the examples he describes is …

Development Of A Distributed Artificial Neural Network For Hydrologic Modeling, Rebecca Logsdon

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Hydrological models are used to represent the rainfall-runoff and pollutant transport mechanisms within watersheds. Accurate representation of these dynamic and complex natural processes within a watershed is an important step in managing and protecting a watershed Artificial neural network (ANN) models are often used in hydrologic modeling. Typical ANN models are trained to use lumped data. However, watershed characteristics used as inputs in hydrological modeling are spatially and often temporally dynamic. Therefore, a lumped model does not have the ability to represent changes in spatial dynamics of a watershed. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop and test …

Preferential Utilization Of Nadph As The Endogenous Electron Donor For Nad(P)H:Quinone Oxidoreductase 1 (Nqo1) In Intact Pulmonary Arterial Endothelial Cells, Robert D. Bongard, Brian J. Lindemer, Gary S. Krenz, Marilyn P. Merker

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

The goal was to determine whether endogenous cytosolic NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) preferentially uses NADPH or NADH in intact pulmonary arterial endothelial cells in culture. The approach was to manipulate the redox status of the NADH/NAD⁺ and NADPH/NADP⁺ redox pairs in the cytosolic compartment using treatment conditions targeting glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway alone or with lactate, and to evaluate the impact on the intact cell NQO1 activity. Cells were treated with 2-deoxyglucose, iodoacetate, or epiandrosterone in the absence or presence of lactate, NQO1 activity was measured in intact cells using duroquinone as the electron acceptor, and …

Enso And Variability Of The Antarctic Peninsula Pelagic Marine Ecosystem, Valerie J. Loeb, Eileen E. Hofmann, John M. Klinck, Osmund Holm-Hansen, Warren B. White

CCPO Publications

The West Antarctic Peninsula region is an important source of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in the Southern Ocean. From 1980-2004 abundance and concentration of phytoplankton and zooplankton, krill reproductive and recruitment success and seasonal sea ice extent here were significantly correlated with the atmospheric Southern Oscillation Index and exhibited three- to five-year frequencies characteristic of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability. This linkage was associated with movements of the Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front and Boundary, a changing influence of Antarctic Circumpolar Current and Weddell Sea waters, and eastward versus westward flow and mixing processes that are consistent with forcing by …