Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Interplay Between Structure And Chemistry Of Materials And Their Physical Properties, Alaska Subedi

Doctoral Dissertations

First principles calculations provide a powerful tool for sorting out the interplay of chemical composition and structure with the physical properties of materials. In this dissertation, I discuss the physical properties and their microscopic basis within this framework for following illustrative examples. (i) The Zintl phase hydrides, where I find H is anionic and the formation of covalent sp2 bonds in the Al/Ga/Al-Si planes, which is a highly unusual bonding configuration for these elements. (ii) PbTe, which shows strong coupling between the longitudinal acoustic and transverse optic modes that may explain its low thermal conductivity. (iii) The double perovskites BiPbZnNbO6 …

Effects Of 2000-2050 Global Climate Change On Ozone And Particulate Matter Air Quality In The United States Using Models-3/Cmaq System, Yun-Fat Lam

Doctoral Dissertations

The Models-3/Community Multi-scale Air Quality modeling system (CMAQ), coupled with Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) atmospheric General Circulation Model (GCM), fifth Generation Mesoscale Model system (MM5), and Goddard Earth Observing System-CHEMistry (GEOS-Chem), was used to simulate atmospheric concentration of ozone and particulate matter over the continental United States 12-km and 36-km (CONUS) domains at year 2000 and year 2050. In the study, GISS GCM model outputs interfaced with MM5 were utilized to supply the current and future meteorological conditions for CMAQ. The conventional CMAQ profile initial and boundary conditions were replaced by time-varied and layer-varied GEOS-Chem outputs. The future …

Towards Simulations Of Binary Neutron Star Mergers And Core-Collapse Supernovae With Genasis, Reuben Donald Budiardja

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation describes the current version of GenASiS and reports recent progress in its development. GenASiS is a new computational astrophysics code built for large-scale and multi-dimensional computer simulations of astrophysical phenomena, with primary emphasis on the simulations of neutron star mergers and core-collapse supernovae. Neutron star mergers are of high interest to the astrophysics community because they should be the prodigious source of gravitation waves and the most promising candidates for gravitational wave detection. Neutron star mergers are also thought to be associated with the production of short-duration, hard-spectral gamma-ray bursts, though the mechanism is not well understood. In …

The Maximum Clique Problem: Algorithms, Applications, And Implementations, John David Eblen

Doctoral Dissertations

Computationally hard problems are routinely encountered during the course of solving practical problems. This is commonly dealt with by settling for less than optimal solutions, through the use of heuristics or approximation algorithms. This dissertation examines the alternate possibility of solving such problems exactly, through a detailed study of one particular problem, the maximum clique problem. It discusses algorithms, implementations, and the application of maximum clique results to real-world problems. First, the theoretical roots of the algorithmic method employed are discussed. Then a practical approach is described, which separates out important algorithmic decisions so that the algorithm can be easily …

New Electrochemical And Optical Detection Methods For Biological And Environmental Applications, Royce Nicholas Dansby-Sparks

Doctoral Dissertations

Detection of chromium and vanadium is of interest for biomedical and environmental applications. The two metals have narrow limits between being essential and toxic for humans. Ultra-sensitive techniques have been studied to measure Cr and V at low concentrations found in human blood and environmental samples. Bismuth film and mercury-alloy electrodes have been developed as alternatives to traditional Hg-based electrodes for Cr and V detection. While catalytic adsorptive stripping voltammetry (CAdSV) has been used to detect Cr and V, little is known about the process. The mechanisms of CAdSV have been probed to provide a better understanding of its exceptional …

Mixture Of Factor Analyzers With Information Criteria And The Genetic Algorithm, Esra Turan

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, we have developed and combined several statistical techniques in Bayesian factor analysis (BAYFA) and mixture of factor analyzers (MFA) to overcome the shortcoming of these existing methods. Information Criteria are brought into the context of the BAYFA model as a decision rule for choosing the number of factors m along with the Press and Shigemasu method, Gibbs Sampling and Iterated Conditional Modes deterministic optimization. Because of sensitivity of BAYFA on the prior information of the factor pattern structure, the prior factor pattern structure is learned directly from the given sample observations data adaptively using Sparse Root algorithm. …

Boron And Titanium(Iv) Halide Mediated Reactions, Michael Patrick Quinn

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation summarizes research efforts focused on the use of boron and transition metal halides to form new carbon-carbon and carbon-halide bonds. The boron halide mediated alkyne-aldehyde coupling reaction to generate 1,3,5-triaryl-1,5-dihalo-1,4-dienes was reinvestigated in an attempt to explain the stereochemistry observed during changing of both the mode of addition and the reaction temperature. Either (Z,Z)-1,4-dienes or (Z,E)-1,4-dienes can be the predominant product depending on reaction conditions used. This mechanistic investigation also led to the discovery of several novel reactions. These include the stereoselective preparation of (Z)-3-chloroallylic ethers from the reaction of alkenylboron dichlorides with aryl aldehydes in the presence …

Slip Distribution Of The 1952 Kamchatka Great Earthquake Based On Near-Field Tsunami Deposits And Historical Records, Breanyn Macinnes, Robert Weiss, Joanne Bourgeois, Tatiana K. Pinegina

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

We explore the magnitude and slip distribution of the 1952 Kamchatka earthquake (M_W 8.8–9.0) using constraints from the 1952 Kamchatka tsunami. Our new field data provide more comprehensive coverage of the near-field tsunami than had been available to date. We examine the effects of internal slip distribution within complex earthquake ruptures on near-field tsunami runup and evaluate some of the limitations of this approach. Our approach compares tsunami-deposit distribution with simulated runup from tsunamis generated by different configurations of seafloor deformation from hypothetical earthquakes resembling that of the 1952 Kamchatka earthquake. We identify areas of high slip because different …

Reversible Record Breaking And Variability: Temperature Distributions Across The Globe, Amalia Anderson, Alexander Kostinski

Department of Physics Publications

Based on counts of record highs and lows, and employing reversibility in time, an approach to examining natural variability is proposed. The focus is on intrinsic variability; that is, variance separated from the trend in the mean. A variability index α is suggested and studied for an ensemble of monthly temperature time series around the globe. Deviation of 〈α〉 (mean α) from zero, for an ensemble of time series, signifies a variance trend in a distribution-independent manner. For 15 635 monthly temperature time series from different geographical locations (Global Historical Climatology Network), each time series about a …

On The Enhanced Temporal Coherency Of Radar Observations In Precipitation, A. R. Jameson, A. B. Kostinski

Department of Physics Publications

In this work, the authors present observations of enhanced temporal coherency beyond that expected using the observations of the standard deviation of the Doppler velocities and the assumption of a family of exponentially decaying autocorrelation functions. The purpose of this paper is to interpret these observations by developing the complex amplitude autocorrelation function when both incoherent and coherent backscatter are present. Using this expression, it is then shown that when coherent scatter is present, the temporal coherency increases as observed. Data are analyzed in snow and in rain. The results agree with the theoretical expectations, and the authors interpret this …

The Engaged University: Providing A Platform For Research That Transforms Society, Ali Whitmer, Laura Ogden, John Lawton, Pam Sturner, Peter M. Groffman, Laura Schneider, David Hart, Benjamin Halpern, William Schlesinger, Steve Raciti, Neil Bettez, Sonia Ortega, Lindsey Rustad, Steward Ta Pickett, Mary Killilea

Publications

Despite a growing recognition that the solutions to current environmental problems will be developed through collaborations between scientists and stakeholders, substantial challenges stifle such cooperation and slow the transfer of knowledge. Challenges occur at several levels, including individual, disciplinary, and institutional. All of these have implications for scholars working at academic and research institutions. Fortunately, creative ideas and tested models exist that provide opportunities for conversation and serious consideration about how such institutions can facilitate the dialogue between scientists and society.

Thermal History Of The Ecstall Pluton From 40Ar/39Ar Geochronology And Thermal Modeling, Sarah J. Brownlee, Paul R. Renne

Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

New ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar thermochronology results and thermal modeling support the hypothesis of Hollister et al. (2004), that reheating of the mid-Cretaceous Ecstall pluton by intrusion of the Coast Mountains Batholith (CMB) was responsible for spatially variable remagnetization of the Ecstall pluton. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages from hornblende and biotite from 12 locations along the Skeena River across the northern part of the Ecstall pluton decrease with proximity to the Quottoon plutonic complex, the nearest member of the CMB to the Ecstall pluton. The oldest ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages are found farthest from the Quottoon plutonic …

Muon-Induced Backgrounds In The Cuoricino Experiment, E. Andreotti, C. Arnaboldi, F.T. Avignone Iii, M. Balata, I. Bandac, M. Barucci, J.W. Beeman, F. Bellini, T. Bloxham, C. Brofferio, A. Bryant, C. Bucci, L. Canonica, S. Capelli, L. Carbone, M. Carrettoni, M. Clemenza, O. Cremonesi, R.J. Creswick, S. Di Domizio, M.J. Dolinski, L. Ejzak, R. Faccini, H.A. Farach, E. Ferri, F. Ferroni, E. Fiorini, L. Foggetta, A. Giachero, L. Gironi, A. Giuliani, P. Gorla, E. Guardincerri, T.D. Gutierrez, E.E. Haller, R. Kadel, K. Kazkaz, S. Kraft, L. Kogler, Yu. G. Kolomensky, C. Maiano, R.H. Maruyama, C. Martinez, M. Martinez, L. Mizouni, S. Morganti, S. Nisi, C. Nones, E.B. Norman, A. Nucciotti, F. Orio, M. Pallavicini, V. Palmieri, L. Pattavina, M. Pavan, M. Pedretti, G. Pessina, S. Pirro, E. Previtali, L. Risegari, C. Rosenfeld, C. Rusconi, C. Salvioni, S. Sangiorgio, D. Schaeffer, N.D. Scielzo, M. Sisti, A.R. Smith, C. Tomei, G. Ventura, M. Vignati

Physics

To better understand the contribution of cosmic ray muons to the CUORICINO background, 10 plastic scintillator detectors were installed at the CUORICINO site and operated during the final 3 months of the experiment. From these measurements, an upper limit of 0.0021 counts/(keV kg yr) (95% CL) was obtained on the cosmic ray-induced background in the neutrinoless double beta decay region of interest. The measurements were also compared to GEANT4 simulations.

Swift Monitoring Of Cygnus X-2: Investigating The Near-Ultraviolet-X-Ray Connection, E. S. Rykoff, E. M. Cackett, J. M. Miller

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Research Publications

The neutron star X-ray binary (NSXRB) Cyg X-2 was observed by the Swift satellite 51 times over a 4 month period in 2008 with the X-ray Telescope (XRT), UV/optical telescope, and Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) instruments. During this campaign, we observed Cyg X-2 in all three branches of the Z track (horizontal, normal, and flaring branches). We find that the NUV emission is uncorrelated with the soft X-ray flux detected with the XRT and is anticorrelated with the BAT X-ray flux and the hard X-ray color. The observed anticorrelation is inconsistent with simple models of reprocessing as the source of …

Functional Principal Components Analysis And The Capacity Coefficient, D. Burns, Joseph W. Houpt, M. J. Endres, J. T. Townsend

Joseph W. Houpt

The capacity coefficient is a well established measure of the efficiency of processing combined sources of information. It has been applied to measure cognitive processes ranging from audio-visual integration to face perception. Recently, the capacity coefficient has also been applied in various clinical situations. Typical clinical analysis, such as structural equation modeling, use scalar values or vectors with limited length as input. We explored the use of functional principal component analysis (fPCA) to allow researchers to describe the capacity coefficient, a continuous function of time, with a small set of discrete values. The fPCA approach was compared with two simple …

Imaging Of Vibrating Objects Using Speckle Subtraction, Thomas R. Moore, Ashley E. Cannaday, Sarah A. Zietlow

Student-Faculty Collaborative Research Publications

A simple method for imaging vibrational motion is proposed. The process consists of capturing two speckled images of a region illuminated by coherent radiation. One of the images is captured before the onset of motion and the other during motion. If the mean speckle intensity is below the threshold for detection or above the saturation intensity of the detector, subtracting the two images produces a high contrast image of the moving region. A theory is shown to agree well with experimental data.

On The Solution Of The Vibration Equation By Means Of The Homotopy Perturbation Method, Ahmet Yıldırım, Canan Ünlü, Syed T. Mohyud-Din

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

In this paper, we present a reliable algorithm, the homotopy perturbation method, to solve the well-known vibration equation for very large membrane which is given initial conditions. By using initial value, the explicit solutions of the equation for different cases have been derived, which accelerate the rapid convergence of the series solution. Numerical results show that the homotopy perturbation method is easy to implement and accurate when applied to differential equations. Numerical results for different particular cases of the problem are presented graphically.

Asymptotic Analysis Of The Differences Between The Stokes-Darcy System With Different Interface Conditions And The Stokes-Brinkman System, Nan Chen, Max Gunzburger, Xiaoming Wang

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We consider the coupling of the Stokes and Darcy systems with different choices for the interface conditions. We show that, comparing results with those for the Stokes-Brinkman equations, the solutions of Stokes-Darcy equations with the Beavers-Joseph interface condition in the one-dimensional and quasi-two-dimensional (periodic) cases are more accurate than are those obtained using the Beavers-Joseph-Saffman-Jones interface condition and that both of these are more accurate than solutions obtained using a zero tangential velocity interface condition. the zero tangential velocity interface condition is in turn more accurate than the free-slip interface boundary condition. We also prove that the summation of the …

Sfa Weather Station-August 2010, Arthur Temple College Of Forestry And Agriculture, Stephen F. Austin State University

Weather Station Data

No abstract provided.

Plant Sterol And Stanol Substrate Specificity Of Pancreatic Cholesterol Esterase, Andrew W. Brown, Jiliang Hang, Patrick H. Dussault, Timothy P. Carr

Patrick Dussault Publications

Consumption of plant sterols or stanols (collectively referred to as phytosterols) and their esters results in decreased lowdensity lipoprotein cholesterol, which is associated with decreased atherosclerotic risk. The mechanisms by which phytosterols impart their effects, however, are incompletely characterized. The objective of the present study is to determine if pancreatic cholesterol esterase (PCE; EC 3.1.1.13), the enzyme primarily responsible for cholesterol ester hydrolysis in the digestive tract, is capable of hydrolyzing various phytosterol esters and to compare the rates of sterol ester hydrolysis in vitro. We found that PCE hydrolyzes palmitate, oleate and stearate esters of cholesterol, stigmasterol, stigmastanol and …

Informationstechnologischer Transfer Und Integration Der Cews-Produkte Zu Einem Homogenen Web-Angebot, Timo Wandhoefer, Vivien Petras, York Sure

Timo Wandhoefer

Als Zielsetzung dieses Projektes sind die Informationsangebote des CEWS auf die bei der GESIS betriebenen Plattformen zu übertragen und durch die Anwendung von informationswissenschaftlichen Verfahren besser untereinander und mit den übrigen Produkten der GESIS zu vernetzen. Hierzu ist eine Neugestaltung der einzelnen Informationsangebote nach softwareergonomischen Kriterien vorge-sehen, die auf der Analyse des jeweiligen Angebots sowie den Anforderungen der Nutzerinnen und Nutzer basiert. Diese Ergebnisse sind in Zusammenarbeit des CEWS und der Abteilung Informatio-nelle Prozesse in den Sozialwissenschaften (IPS) der GESIS entstanden.

全球变化与陆地系统综合集成模拟 ——新一代陆地生态系统动态模型 (Dlem), 汉勤 田, 明亮 刘, 弛 张, 巍 任, 小锋 徐, 广生 陈, 超群 吕, 波 陶

Chaoqun (Crystal) Lu

人类社会从陆地生态系统获取生产和生活资料的同时也作为一种干扰形式改变着地气之间的动态平衡。这三个既独立又相互耦合的子系统共同组成了一个复杂的陆地系统。如何深入理解这一系统的过程和机制是人类应对气候变化挑战的前提条件。陆地生态系统模型作为一种集成工具，已广泛应用于全球变化研究的各个领域，但从输入数据到模型结构和过程等诸多方面仍存在很大的不确定性。近年来，随着大气和地面生态观测网络的不断完善以及遥感等空间技术的不断强大，使陆地生态系统模型进一步发展和突破成为可能。新一代多因子驱动的陆地生态系统动态模型(Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model, DLEM) 正是在这一背景下 应运而生的。本文旨在介绍DLEM的主体框架、输入输出变量、关键过程、主要功能和特点。

Cation-Specific And Anion-Specific Abraham Model Correlations For Solute Transfer Into Ionic Liquid Solvents, Laura M. Grubbs, Mariam Saifullah, Nohelli E. De La Rosa, William E. Acree Jr., Michael H. Abraham, Qichao Zhao, Jared L. Anderson

Jared L. Anderson

Data have been assembled from the published literature on the infinite dilution activity coefficients and gas solubilities of solutes dissolved in ionic liquid (IL) solvents. In total data for more than 1790 solute-IL pairs were compiled. The published experimental data were converted to gas-to-IL and water-to-IL partition coefficients, and correlated with the ion-specific equation coefficient version of the Abraham general solvation model. Ion-specific equation coefficients were calculated for 19 different cations and 12 different anions. The calculated ion-specific equation coefficients describe the experimental gas-to-IL and water-to-IL partition coefficient data to within 0.114 and 0.139 log units, respectively. Reported for the …

A Comparative Study Of Threshold-Based Feature Selection Techniques, Huanjing Wang, Taghi M. Khoshgoftaar, Jason Van Hulse

Dr. Huanjing Wang

Abstract Given high-dimensional software measurement data, researchers and practitioners often use feature (metric) selection techniques to improve the performance of software quality classification models. This paper presents our newly proposed threshold-based feature selection techniques, comparing the performance of these techniques by building classification models using five commonly used classifiers. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of different feature selection techniques, the models are evaluated using eight different performance metrics separately since a given performance metric usually captures only one aspect of the classification performance. All experiments are conducted on three Eclipse data sets with different levels of class imbalance. The …

A Comparative Study Of Filter-Based Feature Ranking Techniques, Huanjing Wang, Taghi M. Khoshgoftaar, Kehan Gao

Dr. Huanjing Wang

One factor that affects the success of machine learning is the presence of irrelevant or redundant information in the training data set. Filter-based feature ranking techniques (rankers) rank the features according to their relevance to the target attribute and we choose the most relevant features to build classification models subsequently. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of different feature ranking techniques, a commonly used method is to assess the classification performance of models built with the respective selected feature subsets in terms of a given performance metric (e.g., classification accuracy or misclassification rate). Since a given performance metric usually can …

Photoreactive Crystalline Quasiracemates, Rebecca C. Grove, Steven H. Malehorn, Meghan E. Breen, Kraig A. Wheeler

Kraig A. Wheeler

Rationally designed racemic and quasiracemic sulfonamidecinnamic acids assemble to give hydrogen-bonded dimers with coplanar alignment of neighboring olefins. The quasiracemate phase contains near inversion-related motifs with chemically distinct components forming supramolecular heterodimers that undergo asymmetric photodimerization.

Millenial-Aged Organic Carbon Subsidies To A Modern River Food Web, Steven T. Petsch, J. J. Cole, P. Raymond, J. E. Bauer, N. Caraco

Steven T. Petsch

Recent studies indicate that highly aged material is a major component of organic matter transported by most rivers. However, few studies have used natural 14C to trace the potential entry of this aged material into modern river food webs. Here we use natural abundance 14C, 13C, and deuterium (2H) to trace the contribution of aged and contemporary organic matter to an important group of consumers, crustacean zooplankton, in a large temperate river (the Hudson River, New York, USA). Zooplankton were highly 14C depleted (mean delta14C = -240 per thousand) compared to modern primary production in the river or its watershed …

Tensile Strained Iii-V Self-Assembled Nanostructures On A (110) Surface, Minjoo L. Lee, Paul J. Simmonds

Paul J. Simmonds

The vast majority of research on epitaxial quantum dots use compressive strain as the driving force for self-assembly on the (001) surface, with InAs/GaAs(001) and Ge/Si(001) being the best-known examples. In this talk, I will discuss our work on determining the feasibility of growing coherent, tensile-strained III-V nanostructures on a (110) surface. GaP on GaAs(110) was chosen as an initial test system. It is hoped that our efforts on self-assembled, tensile-strained dots on a (110) surface will lead the way to new devices exploiting the fundamental differences between the (110) and (001) surfaces. Furthermore it is anticipated that this work …

Constructing Simultaneous Hecke Eigenforms, T. Shemanske, Stephanie Treneer, Lynne H. Walling

Mathematics Faculty Publications

It is well known that newforms of integral weight are simultaneous eigenforms for all the Hecke operators, and that the converse is not true. In this paper, we give a characterization of all simultaneous Hecke eigenforms associated to a given newform, and provide several applications. These include determining the number of linearly independent simultaneous eigenforms in a fixed space which correspond to a given newform, and characterizing several situations in which the full space of cusp forms is spanned by a basis consisting of such eigenforms. Part of our results can be seen as a generalization of results of Choie-Kohnen …

Synthesis And Reactions Of A Tungsten Dioxo Complex, Deborah Bryant

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Metal dioxo complexes are largely known for their ability to epoxidize olefins. The importance of these reactions is reflected in the patents for the ARCO and Halcon processes from the late 1960's. It is very difficult to find literature that shows other indications for metal dioxo complexes.

Catalytic olefin dimerization has become significant in the realm of green chemistry for "atom economical" reactions. Many transition metals have been examined as catalysts for olefin dimerization, but the largest volume of work has been performed using group 8 transition metals, particularly nickel, palladium and platinum. This is especially true for the specific …