Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Logistic Curves, Extraction Costs And Peak Oil, Robert J. Brecha

Physics Faculty Publications

Debates about the possibility of a near-term maximum in world oil production have become increasingly prominent over the past decade, with the focus often being on the quantification of geologically available and technologically recoverable amounts of oil in the ground. Economically, the important parameter is not a physical limit to resources in the ground, but whether market price signals and costs of extraction will indicate the efficiency of extracting conventional or nonconventional resources as opposed to making substitutions over time for other fuels and technologies. We present a hybrid approach to the peak-oil question with two models in which the …

A Flexible Consent Management System For Master Person Indices, Aditya Pakalapati

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

In healthcare, a Master Person Index (MPI) is a system that integrates information of individual from multiple data sources. To ensure confidentiality, such systems, particularly in healthcare, need to respect individual and organizational constraints on the sharing of data. This report describes a reusable consent management system that enforces such constraints and how it has been tested in the context of the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) MPI for public health.

Effective Use Of Interactive Learning Modules In Classroom Study For Computer Science Education, Goldee Jamwal

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is spending substantial resources to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the United States. The ultimate goal of these programs is to produce students with a better knowledge of math and science and who are more likely to pursue careers in STEM fields. Interactive learning modules can be used in the classroom environment for effective learning.

This study examines the learning preferences of Logan High School (located in Logan, Utah) students and evaluates the impacts of using interactive learning modules with classroom lectures compared to other traditional methods of teaching.

Effects Of Flooding And Tamarisk Removal On Habitat For Sensitive Fish Species In The San Rafael River, Utah: Implications For Furture Restoration Efforts, Daniel Louis Keller

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Part I of this report is focused on assessment of habitat changes on the San Rafael River after the abnormally high water year in 2011. Having habitat data and aerial imagery collected in 2010 (pre-flood) provided an opportunity to assess how a flood of this magnitude changed river habitat. In 2011 we commissioned a second aerial flight of the San Rafael River to serve as post flood imagery, then used Geographic Information Systems (GIS, ArcMap 10) to analyze river changes due to tamarisk removal and flooding. Our tamarisk removal project appears to have increased the potential for spring floods to …

The First Cosmic Ray Albedo Proton Map Of The Moon, Jody K. Wilson, Harlan E. Spence, Justin Kasper, Michael Golightly, J. B. Blake, J. E. Mazur, L. W. Townsend, A. W. Case, M. D. Looper, C. Zeitlin, Nathan A. Schwadron

Physics & Astronomy

[1] Neutrons emitted from the Moon are produced by the impact of galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) within the regolith. GCRs are high-energy particles capable of smashing atomic nuclei in the lunar regolith and producing a shower of energetic protons, neutrons and other subatomic particles. Secondary particles that are ejected out of the regolith become “albedo” particles. The neutron albedo has been used to study the hydrogen content of the lunar regolith, which motivates our study of albedo protons. In principle, the albedo protons should vary as a function of the input GCR source and possibly as a result of surface …

Mathematics Educators And The “Math Wars”: Who Controls The Discourse?, David W. Stinson

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

In this editorial, the author expresses support of a colleague, Professor Jo Boaler of Stanford University, in her actions of going public with the harassment that she has experienced through professional and personal attacks by James Milgram of Stanford University and Wayne Bishop of California State University, Los Angeles.

Designing Tools For Studying The Dynamic Glycome, John F. Rakus

Chemistry Faculty Research

Glycosylation involves the post-translational addition of carbohydrates to protein molecules and is an intricate and indispensable biochemical process. Study of this complicated network of interactions is hindered by the lack of a coding template analogous to the genetic code, and by the vast structural complexity inherent to carbohydrate polymers. We use lectins (non-enzymatic carbohydrate-binding proteins of non-immunological origin) as microarray probes to identify carbohydrate features expressed on cellular surfaces. Specifically, we utilized lectin microarray technology to investigate the differences in carbohydrates expressed by the cell lines of the Nation Cancer Institute’s NCI-60 panel. Our investigation identified tissue-specific expression differences in …

Modification Of Truncated Expansion Method For Solving Some Important Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations, N. Taghizadeh, M. Mirzazadeh

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

In this paper, we implemented modification of truncated expansion method for the exact solutions of the Konopelchenko-Dubrovsky equation the (n+1)-dimensional combined sinhcosh- Gordon equation and the Maccari system. Modification of truncated expansion method is a powerful solution method for obtaining exact solutions of nonlinear evolution equations. This method presents a wider applicability for handling nonlinear wave equations.

Further Results On Fractional Calculus Of Saigo Operators, Praveen Agarwal

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

A significantly large number of earlier works on the subject of fractional calculus give interesting account of the theory and applications of fractional calculus operators in many different areas of mathematical analysis (such as ordinary and partial differential equations, integral equations, special functions, summation of series, et cetera). The main object of the present paper is to study and develop the Saigo operators. First, we establish two results that give the image of the product of multivariable H-function and a general class of polynomials in Saigo operators. On account of the general nature of the Saigo operators, multivariable H-function and …

An Approximate Analytical Algorithm For Solving The Multispecies Lotka-Volterra Equations, Abdolsaeed Alavi, Asghar Ghorbani

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

In this paper, a new efficient method called the parametric iteration method (PIM) is applied to accurately solve the multispecies Lotka–Volterra equations (MLVEs). Some cases of MLVEs are highlighted in order to show the simplicity and efficiency of the method. The results obtained in this work demonstrate that the present algorithm is a powerful analytic tool for the solution of MLVEs.

K-Total Product Cordial Labelling Of Graphs, R. Ponraj, M. Sundaram, M. Sivakumar

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

In this paper we introduce the k-Total Product cordial labelling of graphs. Also we investigate the 3-Total Product cordial labelling behaviour of some standard graphs.

Study Of Reliability With Mixed Standby Components, M. A. El-Damcese, A. N. Helmy

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

This paper deals with the reliability characteristics of two different series system configurations with mixed standby (include cold and warm standby) components. The failure rates of the primary and warm standby components are assumed to follow the Weibull distribution. The repair time distribution of each server is exponentially distributed. Moreover, we will derive the mean time-to-failure, and the steady-state availability for a special case of a serial system of two primary components, two warm standby components, and one cold standby component, when the failure and repair rate are constant.

Saturation-Dependence Of Dispersion In Porous Media, B. Ghanbarian-Alavijeh, Thomas E. Skinner, Allen Hunt

Physics Faculty Publications

In this study, we develop a saturation-dependent treatment of dispersion in porous media using concepts from critical path analysis, cluster statistics of percolation, and fractal scaling of percolation clusters. We calculate spatial solute distributions as a function of time and calculate arrival time distributions as a function of system size. Our previous results correctly predict the range of observed dispersivity values over ten orders of magnitude in experimental length scale, but that theory contains no explicit dependence on porosity or relative saturation. This omission complicates comparisons with experimental results for dispersion, which are often conducted at saturation less than 1. …

Autumn Migration Of Mississippi Flyway Mallards As Determined By Satellite Telemetry, David George G. Krementz, Kwasi Asante, Luke W. Naylor

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We used satellite telemetry to study autumn migration timing, routes, stopover duration, and final destinations of mallards Anas platyrhynchos captured the previous spring in Arkansas from 2004 to 2007. Of those mallards that still had functioning transmitters on September 15 (n = 55), the average date when autumn migration began was October 23 (SE = 2.62 d; range = September 17–December 7). For those mallards that stopped for .1 d during migration, the average stopover length was 15.4 d (SE = 1.47 d). Ten mallards migrated nonstop to wintering sites. The eastern Dakotas were a heavily utilized stopover area. The …

Solvation Energy Of Biomolecular Structures: A Study Of The Effect Of Salt On Biomolecules Through Implicit As Well As Explicit Solvation Methods, Mihir Date

All Dissertations

In the current dissertation, studies related to solvation energy of protein structures using implicit as well explicit solvation methods have been discussed. Special focus is given to explore effect of salt on the fold stability of proteins and enzymes. Salt plays a crucial role in the functioning of all proteins, enzymes and nucleic acids. Change in salt concentration of the medium has large impact on stability and activity of these biological macromolecules. Therefore exploring mechanism of salt effect on them and development of an efficient model to calculate the salt effect has fundamental as well as practical importance in the …

Conservation Needs Of Nearshore Seabirds In The Southeastern U.S. Addressed Through Habitat Use Surveys And Assessments Of Health And Mercury Concentrations, Lisa Eggert

All Dissertations

Seabirds encounter a range of natural and anthropogenic stressors in the nearshore environment and are ideal candidate species for long-term monitoring of changes to coastal systems. The mitigation of threats to nearshore seabirds requires management of essential coastal habitat and monitoring population health and trends. In this dissertation, I first evaluated intertidal habitat use for a suite of coastal species as it relates to management practices at a seabird nesting island in South Carolina. Specifically, my objectives were (1) to determine intertidal areas of high bird abundance, (2) to examine course-scale habitat characteristics and human use of intertidal areas associated …

Sensitivity Analysis In Magnetic Resonance Elastography And A Local Wavelength Reconstruction Based On Wave Direction, Christopher Gillam

All Dissertations

or the detection of early stage cancer. MRE utilizes interior data for its inverse problems, which greatly reduces the ill-posedness from which most traditional inverse problems suffer.
In this thesis, we first establish a sensitivity analysis for viscoelastic scalar medium with complex wave number and compare it with the purely elastic case. Also we estimate the smallest detectable inclusion for breast and liver, which is about twice larger than using the purely elastic model. We also found the existence of optimal frequency (50 Hz) that maximizes the detectability when the Voigt model is used.
Second, we propose a local wavelength …

Planet Formation In Transition Disks: Modeling, Spectroscopy, And Theory, Joseph Liskowsky

All Dissertations

An important field of modern astronomy is the study of planets. Literally for millennia, careful observers of the night sky have tracked these 'wanderers', with their peculiar motions initiating avenues of inquiry not able to elucidated by a study of the stars alone: we have discovered that the planets (as well as Earth) orbit the sun and that the stars are so far away, even their relative positions do not seem to shift perceptibly when Earth's position moves hundreds of millions of miles. With the advent of the telescope, and subsequent improvements upon it over the course of centuries, accelerating …

Sorption And Enantiomerization Of Current Use Chiral Pesticides, April Hall

All Dissertations

Chiral pesticides are prevalent in the environment today and are known to react selectively with chiral environmental components such as microbes, enzymes, and other naturally occurring chiral materials. In addition, chiral sorption is a process that has been occasionally investigated in the study of homochirality (the exclusive presence of one enantiomer in living organisms), but almost overlooked in environmental science. For chiral sorption to occur, the sorbent and sorbate must be chiral entities. In the environment, there are abundant natural surfaces that are chiral, including clay minerals and organic matter present in soil, sediment and aqueous solution. A knowledge of …

Sample Preparation Techniques For The Improvement Of Analytical Measurements: Capillary-Channeled Polymer Fibers Employed In Protein Solid Phase Extraction Applications And Characterization Of Active Components In Botanical Dietary Supplements, Carolyn Burdette

All Dissertations

The task of sample preparation encompasses many challenges and demands for analytical techniques. Appropriate preparative steps can be the determining factor between successful measurements and failures. Too little preparation can lead to the inability to detect analytes due to low concentrations, insufficient extraction of analytes, and/or strong matrix effects; exhaustive preparation steps increases analysis times, the potential for analyte losses, and the difficulty to obtain consistent reproducible results. Discussed here are several examples of analytical techniques where sample preparation is critical and can be used to improve existing techniques. Capillary-channeled polymer (C-CP) fibers used for solid phase extraction (SPE) protein …

Spider Mediation Of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Transport And Transformation Across Riparian Ecotones, Diana Delach

All Dissertations

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) contaminate the sediment of the Twelvemile Creek / Lake Hartwell Superfund Site, and are known to be transported throughout the resident biota via trophic transport. Riparian spiders have recently become of interest because they are terrestrial organisms that have significant PCB exposures derived from aquatic sources. Many riparian spiders primarily consume insects emerging from contaminated aquatic systems, and these spiders can have a body burden as high as 2900 ng/g lipid. These emergent insects carry contaminants out of the river and into the riparian zone where they are captured by spiders, which effectively directs the contamination towards …

Polyhedral Approximations Of Quadratic Semi-Assignment Problems, Disjunctive Programs, And Base-2 Expansions Of Integer Variables, Frank Muldoon

All Dissertations

This research is concerned with developing improved representations for special families of mixed-discrete programming problems. Such problems can typically be modeled using different mathematical forms, and the representation employed can greatly influence the problem's ability to be solved. Generally speaking, it is desired to obtain mixed 0-1 linear forms whose continuous relaxations provide tight polyhedral outer-approximations to the convex hulls of feasible solutions. This dissertation makes contributions to three distinct problems, providing new forms that improve upon published works.
The first emphasis is on devising solution procedures for the classical quadratic semi-assignment problem(QSAP), which is an NP-hard 0-1 quadratic program. …

Understanding Nanoparticle-Cell Interaction, Ran Chen

All Dissertations

Nanotechnology has revolutionalized the landscape of modern science and technology, including materials, electronics, therapeutics, bioimaging, sensing, and the environment. Along with these technological advancements, there arises a concern that engineered nanomaterials, owing to their high surface area and high reactivity, may exert adverse effects upon discharge to compromise biological and ecological systems. Research in the past decade has examined the fate of nanomaterials in vitro and in vivo, as well as the interactions between nanoparticles and biological and ecosystems using primarily toxicological and ecotoxicological approaches. However, due to the versatility in the physical and physicochemical properties of nanoparticles, and due …

The Behavior And Toxicity Of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles In Aqueous Solution, Phenny Mwaanga

All Dissertations

The dissolution and aggregation of metal oxides nanoparticles (NPs) in aqueous solution not only alter the abundance and toxicology of NPs, but also makes the effective assessment and the correct interpretation of effects of NPs on organisms challenging. The extent to which these processes (dissolution and aggregation) occur largely depend on pH, ionic strength, dissolved natural organic matter (NOM) and NPs characteristics. This study investigated the dissolution and aggregation behavior of the four metal oxide NPs (nZnO, nCuO, nFe2O3 and nTiO2) in aqueous solution as influenced by pH, ionic strength and NOM and examined the toxicity of these NPs to …

Hydrothermal Chemistry Of The M(I,Ii)/Paha/Anion System, Kari Ann Darling

Chemistry - Dissertations

This research encompasses the detailed investigation of the design and synthesis of metal organic framework (MOF) materials involving the M(I,II)/ polyazaheterocycle/anion system in order to expand our understanding of the principles which render the chemistry more controllable and predictable. In addition, this research investigates the development of properties in these classes of compounds. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that hydrothermal reaction conditions of stoichiometry, pH, and temperature can influence the identity of the products.

The structural versatility of the M(I,II)/polyazaheterocycle/anion system for M = Cu(I,II), Co(II), Ni (II), Zn (II), and Cd(II) and where the anion is F^-, …

Mechanism Of Action And Gold Nanoparticle Delivery Of Pt(Iv) Prodrugs Of Cisplatin, Yi Shi

Chemistry - Dissertations

The antitumor effects of platinum(IV) complexes, considered prodrugs for cisplatin, are believed to be due to biological reduction of Pt(IV) to Pt(II), with the reduction products binding to DNA and other cellular targets. In this work we used pBR322 DNA to capture the products of reduction of oxoplatin, c,t,c-[PtCl₂(OH)₂(NH₃)₂], 2, and a carboxylate-modified analog, c,t,c-[PtCl₂(OH)(O₂CCH₂CH₂CO₂H)(NH₃)₂], 3, by ascorbic acid (AsA) or glutathione (GSH). Since carbonate plays a significant role in the speciation of platinum …

Nucleophilic Carbon-Carbon Bond-Forming Reactions Of 2-Methylenetetrahydropyrans, Laura Jean Bateman

Chemistry - Dissertations

Reactions with 2-methylenetetrahydropyrans are underutilized in the literature, especially with respect to general methods demonstrating their nucleophilic nature. This work provides three general methods toward the synthesis of 2-β-oxygenated pyranyl substrates, which are key structural components of many biologically active polyketides and natural products.

The use of exocyclic enol ethers as nucleophiles was first demonstrated as a general process in three-component coupling reactions with secondary nucleophiles. The 2-β-hydroxy tetrahydropyran products were obtained in good to excellent yields through promotion with stoichiometric levels of titanium(IV) chloride at reduced temperatures. Only activated aldehydes or ketones worked as efficient coupling partners for this …

Polychaete Burrowing Behavior In Sand And Mud, Kevin Terrence Du Clos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Marine sediments are continually reworked by resident organisms that control the ecology, chemistry, and physical structure of these vast systems. For example, the creation of a burrow brings oxygenated water into contact with anoxic sediment, facilitating aerobic respiration and supporting a distinct population of bacteria and meiofauna. Collectively, the effects of infauna on sediments and pore waters are known as bioturbation. Studying the behavior organisms that live beneath the sediment surface (infauna) is crucial to understanding the effects of bioturbation. Infauna can be difficult to study, however, because much their activity cannot be directly observed. The purpose of this thesis …

Early Permian Seawater From The Delta18o Record Of Fossil Bivalves: Seasonality And A Latitudinal Gradient, James Andrew Beard

Earth & Environmental Sciences - Theses

The transition from a glaciated world to one that was ice-free makes the early Permian a time interval that in many ways mirrors the present, and hence there is great interest in constraining paleoclimate conditions over that transition. A common method for estimating ancient temperatures uses the oxygen isotope composition of marine carbonate, but this approach becomes significantly more complicated prior to the Cretaceous due to uncertainties about diagenesis and the isotopic composition of seawater, which has been hypothesized to be more depleted than during the Cenozoic. I use stable isotope compositions of sequentially microsampled accretionary calcite from fossil bivalves …

Trends In The Ams Education Symposium And Highlights From 2012, Rajul Pandya, Donna Charlevoix, Eugene Cordero, David Smith, Sepi Yalda

Eugene C. Cordero

The Department of Meteorology (now Atmospheric Sciences) at the University of Utah faced reductions in state funding in 2008 that reduced support for nontenured instructors at the same time that the faculty were becoming increasingly successful obtaining federally supported research grants. A faculty retreat and subsequent discussions led to substantive curriculum changes to modernize the curriculum, enhance course offerings for undergraduate and graduate students, and improve the overall efficiency of the academic program. Maintaining discipline standards and existing teaching loads were important constraints on these changes. Key features of the curriculum revisions for undergraduate majors included eliminating a very rigid …