Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

An Application Of Optical Tweezers, Patrick W. Swanson

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Educational Technology: Podcasts, Vodcasts, And Blogs In The Science Classroom, Danielle N. Thompson

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Performance And Use Evaluation Of An Electronic Book For Introductory Python Programming, Christine Alvarado, Briana B. Morrison, Barbara Ericson, Mark Guzdial, Brad Miller, David L. Ranum

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Electronic books (ebooks) provide the opportunity to go beyond the limitations of a physical page. These opportunities are particularly important for computing education, where dynamic information is a key characteristic of our domain. An electronic book can provide opportunities to program or conduct analyses that are impossible on the physical page, integrating instructional information with creative exploration. However, just because ebooks provide these opportunities does not mean that we know how students will actually use ebooks in the context of a class. Miller and Ranum have produced an electronic book for teaching introductory computing in Python. We explored how students …

Using Non-Additive Measure For Optimization-Based Nonlinear Classification, Nian Yan, Zhengxin Chen, Yong Shi, Zhenyuan Wang, Guimin Huang

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Over the past few decades, numerous optimization-based methods have been proposed for solving the classification problem in data mining. Classic optimization-based methods do not consider attribute interactions toward classification. Thus, a novel learning machine is needed to provide a better understanding on the nature of classification when the interaction among contributions from various attributes cannot be ignored. The interactions can be described by a non-additive measure while the Choquet integral can serve as the mathematical tool to aggregate the values of attributes and the corresponding values of a non-additive measure. As a main part of this research, a new nonlinear …

Ua94/6/11 Student / Alumni Personal Papers Wku Darwin Newton, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Notebooks, notes and papers written by Darwin Newton during his time as a student at WKU.

Wi-Fi Sensing Algorithms Utilizing Zigbee Rf Receiver For Use In Emergency Communications Mesh, Alexander H. Nelson

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

This thesis examines a low-power Wi-Fi sensing wake-up controller for an emergency communications mesh network; the goal of the research study is to progressively develop a prototype system that could be used in a live environment. Wireless network protocols are reviewed, in addition to a limited view of cluster analysis, in order to introduce relevant receiver concepts crucial to understanding this study. Algorithms for system implementation are developed, and pseudocode, designed to be configurable and platform-independent, is given for each. The system’s design goals are identified, followed by a discussion on approaches and optimizations in order to maximize the system’s …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Functionalized Naphthalenes And Anthracenes, Guang Zhang

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Organic electronics have received significant development in the last few decades. p- Type materials are much more in availability than n-type now. There are only a few examples of air-stable n-type materials. The design and synthesis of novel air-stable ntype materials is still a focus of research. Herein is described a study to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel electron-withdrawing group, composed of three electronwithdrawing groups connected in series, to impart material properties known to be favorable for obtaining air-stable n-types. The smaller acenes, naphthalene and anthracene, carrying these electron-withdrawing groups were prepared and studied by UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy and …

Organometallic Heterocycles And Acene-Quinone Complexes Of Ruthenium, Iron And Manganese, Uttam Raj Pokharel

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

A variety of organometallic-fused heterocycles and acene quinones were prepared and characterized. This work was divided into three parts: first, the synthesis of 5,5-fused heterocyclic complexes of tricarbonylmanganese and (1’,2’,3’,4’,5’-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)ruthenium; second, the synthesis of 1,2-diacylcyclopentadienyl p-cymene complexes of ruthenium(II); and third, synthesis of cyclopentadienyl-fused polyacenequinone complexes of ruthenium, iron and manganese.

The first examples of the convenient, versatile and symmetric cyclopentadienyl-fused heterocycle complexes of (1’,2’,3’,4’,5’-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)ruthenium(II) and tricarbonylmanganese(I) were synthesized starting from (1,2-dicarbophenoxycyclopentadienyl)sodium. The sodium salt was transmetalated using [MnBr(CO)₅] and 1/4 [Ru(μ3-Cl)(Cp*)]₄ to give [Mn(CO)₃{η⁵-C₅H₃(CO₂Ph)₂-1,2}] …

Removal Of Arsenic(Iii) From Water With A New Solid-Supported Thiol, Partha Jana

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Arsenic is a highly toxic, easily transportable and widespread contaminant in groundwater throughout the world. Arsenic causes acute toxicity by disrupting biological functions. In groundwater arsenic concentrations can reach up to a few milligrams per liter. Current regulations on arsenic content in drinking water are becoming more stringent and require the standard to be reduced to a few parts per billion. Arsenic exists as oxyanions in aqueous solution in either trivalent or pentavalent oxidation states depending on the oxidation-reduction potential and pH of the medium. Several treatment methods are available for removing arsenic from water. However, cost, operational complexity of …

Development Of Novel Chemical Tools For Proteasome Biology & A New Approach To 1-Azaspirocyclic Ring System, Lalit Kumar

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

The proteasome, a multiprotease complex, is clinically validated as an anticancer target by the FDA approval of bortezomib and carfilzomib for the treatment of multiple myeloma. The emergence of resistance to proteasome inhibitors however remains a major clinical challenge. Recently, distinct types of proteasomes termed ‘intermediate proteasomes’, which contain unconventional mixtures of catalytic subunits, have been implicated with drug resistance of tumor cells. In elucidating the role of intermediate proteasomes in drug resistance, a crucial step is to unequivocally determine the subunit composition of intermediate proteasomes in cells. With this in mind, the goal of the studies reported in this …

Water Quality Trading Markets For The Kentucky River Basin: A Point Source Profile, Ronald Childress Jr.

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This study assessed the feasibility and suitability of a Water Quality Trading (WQT) program within the Kentucky River Basin (KRB). The study’s focal point was based on five success factors of a WQT program: environmental suitability, geospatial orientation, participant availability, regulatory incentive, and economic incentive. The study utilized these five success factors, geographical characteristics, and Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMR) to assess the feasibility of a WQT program.

The assessment divided the KRB into five eight digit Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUC), North, Middle, and South Fork, Middle Basin, and Lower Basin, to determine regional impacts caused by the nutrient PSs. Individual …

Patterns Of Population Structure And Historical Dispersal In Squaloid Sharks: A Species-Level Approach Using Molecular Markers, Ana Christina Pimenta Verissimo

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Squaloids (Order Squaliformes) are a highle diverse group of mostly deepwater habitats (> 200 m). Many species are regularly caught in commercial fisheries worldwide but their low productivity and correspondingly low intrinsic rebound potentials make them particularly vulnerable to population depletion and overexploitation. of special concern to fisheries management and conservation efforts are the spiny dogfish Squalus acanthias, the leafscale gulper shark Centrophorus squamosus and the Portuguese dogfish Centroscymnus coelolepis. These taxa have recently been declared overfished in several parts of each species' distribution but management efforts have been made to recover the "stocks" without a good understanding of the …

Dark Matter Time Projection Chamber: Recent R&D Results, James B. R. Battat, S. Ahlen, M. Chernicoff

Physics Faculty Research and Scholarship

The Dark Matter Time Projection Chamber collaboration recently reported a dark matter limit obtained with a 10 liter time projection chamber filled with CF4 gas. The 10 liter detector was capable of 2D tracking (perpendicular to the drift direction) and 2D fiducialization, and only used information from two CCD cameras when identifying tracks and rejecting backgrounds. Since that time, the collaboration has explored the potential benefits of photomultiplier tube and electronic charge readout to achieve 3D tracking, and particle identification for background rejection. The latest results of this effort is described here.

Methyl Group Rotation, H-1 Spin-Lattice Relaxation In An Organic Solid, And The Analysis Of Nonexponential Relaxation, Peter A. Beckmann, Evan Schneider

Physics Faculty Research and Scholarship

We report ¹H spin-lattice relaxation measurements in polycrystalline 4,4^′-dimethoxybiphenyl at temperatures between 80 and 300 K at NMR frequencies of ω₀/2π = 8.50, 22.5, and 53.0 MHz. The data are interpreted in terms of the simplest possible Bloch-Wangsness-Redfield methyl group hopping model. Different solid states are observed at low temperatures. The ¹H spin-lattice relaxation is nonexponential at higher temperatures where a stretched-exponential function fits the data very well, but this approach is phenomenological and not amenable to theoretical interpretation. (We provide a brief literature review of the stretched-exponential function.) The Bloch-Wangsness-Redfield model applies …

Growth Diagram And Magnetic Properties Of Hexagonal Lufe2o4 Thin Films, Wenbin Wang, Zheng Gai, Miaofang Chi, Jason D. Fowlkes, Jieyu Yi, Leyi Zhu, Xuemei Cheng, David J. Keavney, Paul C. Snijders, Thomas Z. Ward, Jian Shen, Xiaoshan Xu

Physics Faculty Research and Scholarship

A growth diagram of Lu-Fe-O compounds on MgO(111) substrates using pulsed laser deposition is constructed based on extensive growth experiments. The LuFe2O4 phase can only be grown in a small range of temperature and O2 pressure conditions. An understanding of the growth mechanism of Lu-Fe-O compound films is offered in terms of the thermochemistry at the surface. Superparamagnetism is observed in the LuFe2O4 film and is explained in terms of the effect of the impurity hexagonal LuFeO3 (h-LuFeO3) phase and structural defects.

Crystal Field Splitting And Optical Bandgap Of Hexagonal Lufeo3 Films, Wenbin Wang, Hongwei Wang, Xiaoying Xu, Leyi Zhu, Lixin He, Elizabeth Wills, Xuemei Cheng, David J. Keavney, Jian Shen, Xifan Wu, Xiaoshan Xu

Physics Faculty Research and Scholarship

Hexagonal LuFeO₃ films have been studied using x-ray absorption and optical spectroscopy. The crystal splitting of Fe³⁺ is extracted as E_e′−E_e″ = 0.7 eV and E_a1′−E_e′ = 0.9 eV, and a 2.0 eV optical bandgap is determined assuming a direct gap. First-principles calculations confirm the experiments that the relative energies of crystal field splitting states do follow E_a1′>E_e′>E_e″ with slightly underestimated values and a bandgap of 1.35 eV.

Modification Of Turbulent Transport With Continuous Variation Of Flow Shear In The Large Plasma Device, David A. Schaffner, T. A. Carter, G. D. Rossi, D. S. Guice, J. E. Maggs, S. Vincena, B. Friedman

Physics Faculty Research and Scholarship

Continuous control over azimuthal flow and shear in the edge of the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) has been achieved using a biasable limiter which has allowed a careful study of the effect of flow shear on pressure-gradient-driven turbulence and transport in the LAPD. The LAPD rotates spontaneously in the ion diamagnetic direction; positive limiter bias first reduces, then minimizes (producing a near-zero shear state), and finally reverses the flow into the electron diamagnetic direction. Degradation of particle confinement is observed in the minimum shearing state and a reduction in the turbulent particle flux is observed with increasing shearing in both …

Energy Dynamics In A Simulation Of Lapd Turbulence, B. Friedman, T. A. Carter, M. V. Umansky, David A. Schaffner, B. Dudson

Physics Faculty Research and Scholarship

Energy dynamics calculations in a 3D fluid simulation of drift wave turbulence in the linear Large Plasma Device [W. Gekelman et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 62, 2875 (1991)] illuminate processes that drive and dissipate the turbulence. These calculations reveal that a nonlinear instability dominates the injection of energy into the turbulence by overtaking the linear drift wave instability that dominates when fluctuations about the equilibrium are small. The nonlinear instability drives flute- like (kk 1⁄4 0) density fluctuations using free energy from the background density gradient. Through nonlinear axial wavenumber transfer to kk 61⁄4 0 fluctuations, the nonlinear instability accesses …

Sheared-Flow Induced Confinement Transition In A Linear Magnetized Plasma, S. Zhou, W. W. Heidbrink, H. Boehmer, R. Mcwilliams, T. A. Carter, S. Vincena, B. Friedman, David A. Schaffner

Physics Faculty Research and Scholarship

A magnetized plasma cylinder (12 cm in diameter) is induced by an annular shape obstacle at the Large Plasma Device [W. Gekelman, H. Pfister, Z. Lucky, J. Bamber, D. Leneman, and J. Maggs, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 62, 2875 (1991)]. Sheared azimuthal flow is driven at the edge of the plasma cylinder through edge biasing. Strong fluctuations of density and potential (δn/n~eδφ/kTe~0.5) are observed at the plasma edge, accompanied by a large density gradient (Ln=∣∣∇lnn∣∣−1~2cm) and shearing rate (γ~300kHz). Edge turbulence and cross-field transport are modified by changing the bias voltage (Vbias) on the obstacle and the axial magnetic field …

Single-Crystal X-Ray Diffraction, Isolated-Molecule And Cluster Electronic Structure Calculations, And Scanning Electron Microscopy In An Organic Solid: Models For Intramolecular Motion In 4,4'-Dimethoxybiphenyl., Xianlong Wang, Loolita Rotkina, Hong Su, Peter A. Beckmann

Physics Faculty Research and Scholarship

This paper brings together field emission scanning electron microscopy, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and density functional electronic structure calculations in both an isolated molecule and a cluster of seven whole and fourteen half molecules of 4,4′-dimethoxybiphenyl to investigate coupled methyl-group rotation (over a barrier) and methoxy-group libration (meaning a rotation from the ground state not all the way to the transition state and back again). The structure of the isolated molecule, determined by the electronic structure calculations, is compared with the structure of the molecule found in the crystal. As the methyl group rotates from its ground state to its transition …

Constructing A Community Response Grid (Crg): The Dublin, Ohio Case Study, John Freund

CCE Theses and Dissertations

During an emergency, information availability is critical to preserving life and minimizing damages. During the emergency response, however, information may not be available to those who need it. A community response grid (CRG) can help ameliorate this lack of availability by allowing people to document and distribute emergency information to professional emergency responders (PERs). A CRG combines mobile communications services, Internet technologies, e-government applications, and social network concepts with traditional emergency response systems.

The problem that this case study investigated was how to construct a CRG for the City of Dublin, Ohio, Division of Police that works in conjunction with …

A Study Of Technological Barriers To Instructor E-Readiness In The Online Learning Environment, Glenda H. E. Gay

CCE Theses and Dissertations

A critical factor of e-learning success is the e-learning readiness of the online user. However, there is a scarcity of studies on online instructors' e-learning readiness (E-Readiness) in an online learning environment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether there were correlations among online instructor E-Readiness dimensions and factors at the design and delivery stages that affect system outcomes. In this study, the DeLone and McLean model was used as a framework for research to test E-Readiness with the System Design stage (comprising System Quality, Information Quality, and Service Quality), System Delivery stage (comprising System Use, and User …

Understanding The Value Of Enterprise Architecture For Organizations: A Grounded Theory Approach, Edwin Frank Nassiff

CCE Theses and Dissertations

There is a high rate of information system implementation failures attributed to the lack of alignment between business and information technology strategy. Although enterprise architecture (EA) is a means to correct alignment problems and executives highly rate the importance of EA, it is still not used in most organizations today. Current literature only gave anecdotal reasons why EA was not more widely adopted. This study explored the problem of EA underutilization by understanding how organizational executives value EA.

This research used the grounded theory methodology to obtain the EA perspectives of organizational executives responsible for EA. Seventeen executives were selected …

Epigenetics Of Hoxc13 Endocrine Regulation And Its Role In Gene Expression And Tumorigenesis, Sahba Kasiri

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations

HOX genes are a subgroup of homeobox containing gene superfamily and have crucial roles in cell proliferation, cell differentiation, and embryonic development. HOXC13, one of 39 identified human HOX genes, is involved in hair development and human leukemia. The regulatory mechanism that drives HOXC13 expression is mostly unknown. Our studies demonstrated that HOXC13 is transcriptionally activated by steroid hormone estrogen (17ß-estradiol; E2). The HOXC13 promoter contains several estrogen responsive elements (EREs), including ERE1 and ERE2, which are close to the transcription start site, and are associated with E2-mediated activation of HOXC13. Knockdown of estrogen receptors (ERs) ERɑ and ERß suppressed …

Photonic Crystal Fiber Interferometer For Dew Detection, Jinesh Mathew, Yuliya Semenova, Gerald Farrell

Articles

A novel method for dew detection based on photonic crystal fiber (PCF) interferometer that operates in reflection mode is presented in this paper. The fabrication of the sensor head is simple since it only involves cleaving and fusion splicing. The sensor shows good sensitivity to dew formation with a large wavelength peak shift of the interference pattern at the onset of dew formation. The device’s response to ambient humidity and temperature are also studied and reported in this paper. From our experiment it is also concluded that by attaching a thermoelectric cooler with temperature feedback, the sensor head demonstrated can …

The Generalised Zakharov-Shabat System And The Gauge Group Action, Georgi Grahovski

Articles

The generalized Zakharov-Shabat systems with complex-valued non-regular Cartan elements and the systems studied by Caudrey, Beals and Coifman (CBC systems) and their gauge equivalent are studied. This study includes: the properties of fundamental analytical solutions (FAS) for the gauge-equivalent to CBC systems and the minimal set of scattering data; the description of the class of nonlinear evolutionary equations, solvable by the inverse scattering method, and the recursion operator, related to such systems; the hierarchies of Hamiltonian structures. The results are illustrated on the example of the multi-component nonlinear Schrodinger (MNLS) equations and the corresponding gauge-equivalent multi-component Heisenberg ferromagnetic (MHF) type …

Active Tectonics And Earthquake Destructions In Caves Of Northern And Central Switzerland, Arnfried Becker, Philipp Häuselmann, Jost Eikenberg, Eric Gilli

International Journal of Speleology

The present publication focuses on the study of caves in northern and central Switzerland in order to detect and date historical earthquakes and active tectonic displacements by investigations of broken and resealed or displaced speleothems datable by U/Th and ¹⁴C. While it can be shown that these methods are potentially suitable, the ages obtained are often beyond the range of historically recorded earthquakes, and it cannot be proved that the observed and dated events are related to a seismic event. Particularly this is true for the caves in central Switzerland, where most ages in the Melchsee-Frutt region were beyond …

Chemical Defense In The Cave-Dwelling Millipede Brachydesmus Troglobius Daday, 1889 (Diplopoda, Polydesmidae), Slobodan E. Makarov, Ljubodrag V. Vujisić, Božidar P. M. Ćurčić, Bojan S. Ilić, Vele V. Tešević, Vlatka E. Vajs, Ivan M. Vučković, Bojan M. Mitić, Luka R. Lučić, Iris Ž. Đorđević

International Journal of Speleology

The troglomorphic millipede Brachydesmus troglobius Daday, 1889 (Polydesmida: Polydesmidae) secretes allomones from glands on both lateral surfaces of its body segments. The secretion was identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis with electron and chemical ionization, and was shown to be composed of a mixture of benzaldehyde, benzyl alcohol, benzoylnitrile, benzoic acid and mandelonitrile benzoate. Hydrogen cyanide was qualitatively identified by the picric acid test. This is the first identification of these compounds in a cave-dwelling polydesmid.

Diagenesis Of A Drapery Speleothem From Castañar Cave: From Dissolution To Dolomitization, Andrea Martín-Pérez, Rebeca Martín-García, Ana M. Alonso-Zarza

International Journal of Speleology

A drapery speleothem (DRA-1) from Castañar Cave in Spain was subjected to a detailed petrographical study in order to identify its primary and diagenetic features. The drapery’s present day characteristics are the result of the combined effects of the primary and diagenetic processes that DRA-1 underwent. Its primary minerals are calcite, aragonite and huntite. Calcite is the main constituent of the speleothem, whereas aragonite forms as frostwork over the calcite. Huntite is the main mineral of moonmilk which covers the tips of aragonite. These primary minerals have undergone a set of diagenetic processes, which include: 1) partial dissolution or corrosion …

Cover: Volume 41, Issue 2

International Journal of Speleology

No abstract provided.