Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Duality Of The Weak Parallelogram Laws On Banach Spaces, Raymond Cheng, Charles B. Harris

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

This paper explores a family of weak parallelogram laws for Banach spaces. Some basic properties of such spaces are obtained. The main result is that a Banach space satisfies a lower weak parallelogram law if and only if its dual satisfies an upper weak parallelogram law, and vice versa. Connections are established between the weak parallelogram laws and the following: subspaces, quotient spaces, Cartesian products, and the Rademacher type and co-type properties.

Hyperspectral Image Classification Using A Spectral-Spatial Sparse Coding Model, Ender Oguslu, Guoqing Zhou, Jiang Li, Lorenzo Bruzzone (Ed.)

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

We present a sparse coding based spectral-spatial classification model for hyperspectral image (HSI) datasets. The proposed method consists of an efficient sparse coding method in which the l₁/l_q regularized multi-class logistic regression technique was utilized to achieve a compact representation of hyperspectral image pixels for land cover classification. We applied the proposed algorithm to a HSI dataset collected at the Kennedy Space Center and compared our algorithm to a recently proposed method, Gaussian process maximum likelihood (GP-ML) classifier. Experimental results show that the proposed method can achieve significantly better performances than the GP-ML classifier when training data …

Brust-Schiffrin Synthesis Of Catalytic Bipodal Pdpt Nanoparticles With Some Mechanistic Insights, Sangbum Han, Vara P. Sheela, Wei Cao, Balasubramanian Ramjee

Applied Research Center Publications

Brust–Schiffrin reduction of Pd and Pt precursors in the presence of resorcinarene amine surfactant led to the formation of substantially Pt rich, PdPt bimetallic nanoparticles of a V-shape or variants on the V-shape. New insights into this reaction are provided on the basis of reversed Brust–Schiffrin syntheses, DLS, UV-vis, and NMR analysis. Based on our experiments we conclude that the resorcinarene amine surfactant is part of the inverse micelle formed from TOABr and it also selectively complexes with the Pd salts prior to their reduction. Remarkably, the composition of the bipodal nanoparticles could be varied substantially by varying the reaction …

Can Education Improve The Environment? Applying The Pressure-State-Response Environmental Indicator Framework To Environmental Education Program Outcomes, Brian Johnson

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ways in which environmental education (EE) programs are contributing to environmental quality (EQ) improvement. The research applied the Pressure-State-Response (PSR) environmental indicator framework to the reported outcomes of 103 EE programs in order to 1) determine the extent to which existing EE programs are reporting EQ improvement outcomes; and 2) examine the extent to which these programs are impacting indicators in the three areas of the PSR framework. The study consisted of three research phases: evaluation synthesis, semi-structured interviews, and multiple-case study. The study found that 42 of 103 programs (41%) …

A History Of Place: Using Phytolith Analysis To Discern Holocene Vegetation Change On Sanak Island, Western Gulf Of Alaska, Cricket C. Wilbur

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study investigated a terrestrial climate proxy, phytoliths, as a complimentary approach to documenting the dynamics of present and past vegetation on Sanak Island, the largest island in a small island group in the eastern Aleutian archipelago, and as a new basis by which to interpret Holocene environmental variability in Alaska. A phytolith reference collection was established from 59 selected plant species of maritime tundra belonging to 27 families. The grass species and a sedge species produced abundant phytolith forms whereas the majority of dicotyledons in this study were trace producers of phytoliths. A paleoenvironmental reconstruction from fossil phytoliths recovered …

Development Of Dynamic Thermal Performance Metrics For Eco-Roof Systems, Seth Sinclair Moody

Dissertations and Theses

In order to obtain credit for an eco-roof in building energy load calculations the steady state and time-varying thermal properties (thermal mass with evapotranspiration) must be fully understood. The following study presents results of experimentation and modeling in an effort to develop dynamic thermal mass performance metrics for eco-roof systems. The work is focused on understanding the thermal parameters (foliage & soil) of an eco-roof, further validation of the EnergyPlus Green Roof Module and development of a standardized metric for assessing the time-varying thermal benefits of eco-roof systems that can be applied across building types and climate zones. Eco-roof foliage, …

Transparent Actuator Made With Few Layer Graphene Electrode And Dielectric Elastomer, For Variable Focus Lens, Taeseon Hwang, Hyeok-Yong Kwon, Joon-Suk Oh, Jung-Pyo Hong, Seung-Chul Hong, Youngkwan Lee, Hyouk Ryeo Choi, Kwang J. Kim, Mainul Hossain Bhuiya, Jae Do Nam

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

A transparent dielectric elastomer actuator driven by few-layer-graphene (FLG) electrode was experimentally investigated. The electrodes were made of graphene, which was dispersed inN-methyl-pyrrolidone. The transparent actuator was fabricated from developed FLG electrodes.The FLG electrode with its sheet resistance of 0.45 kΩ/sq (80 nm thick) was implemented to mask silicone elastomer. The developed FLG-driven actuator exhibited an optical transparency of over 57% at a wavenumber of 600 nm and produced bending displacement performance ranging from 29 to 946 μm as functions of frequency and voltage. The focus variation was clearly demonstrated under actuation to study its application-feasibility in …

Gpu Ray Tracing With Cuda, Thomas A. Pitkin

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

"Ray Tracing is a rendering method that generates high quality images by simulating how light rays interact with objects in a virtual scene. The ray tracing technique can accurately portray advanced optical effects, such as reflections, refractions, and shadows, but at a greater computational cost and rendering time than other rendering methods. Fortunately, technological advances in GPU computing have provided the means to accelerate the ray tracing process to produce images in a significantly shorter time. This paper attempts to clearly illustrate the difference in rendering speed and design by developing and comparing a sequential CPU and parallel GPU implementation …

Ray Traced Rendering Using Gpgpu Devices, Coby Soss

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

No abstract provided.

Alsafeer Software For Teaching Computer Literacy, Zieb Rabie Alqahtani

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

No abstract provided.

Elliptic Curves And Their Cryptographic Applications, Samuel L. Wenberg

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

"This thesis is a basic overview of elliptic curves and their applications to Cryptography. We begin with basic definitions and a demonstration that, given an elliptic curve addition, the points of an elliptic curve form a mathematical group. We then proceed to delve further into the mathematics, discussing torsion points on the group of elliptic curves before investigating the behavior of elliptic curves over finite fields wherein is given a proof of Hasse's Theorem on elliptic curves. With these tools, we discuss the discrete log problem, and the connection between elliptic curves and the field of cryptography. Finally, we look …

Using Phishing To Test Social Engineering Awareness Of Financial Employees, Rebecca M. Long

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

"Social engineering is the biggest security threat to financial institutions because it exploits the weakest link in any security system: the human element. It is proposed here that combining specialized training on social engineering followed by repeated audit tests will be more effective at lowering employee vulnerability than standard security training alone. This research developed a training module specializing in social engineering with an extra emphasis on phishing, then used phishing trials on financial employees to audit their awareness and knowledge of social engineering to determine if it lowers the vulnerability level to phishing attacks"--Document.

The Game Of Lights Out, Rebecca S. Meyer

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

"The game of Lights Out is a game with simple rules but an intriguing mathematical structure. The goal of this paper is to first introduce a basic overview of the classic game including game rules and methods for finding solutions, and then extend these concepts using many different mathematical tools. An analysis of special game moves called quiet patterns and a solution method called light chasing will be addressed. A deeper examination of the abstract structure of the game board and the implications of this structure will be started as well as suggested possibilities for further research"--Document.

GöDel's Incompleteness Theorem, Christopher Mullins

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

"This thesis gives a rigorous development of sentential logic and first-order logic as mathematical models of humanity's deductive thought processes. Important properties of each of these models are stated and proved including Compactness results (the ability to prove a statement from a finite set of assumptions), Soundness results (a proof given a set of assumptions will always be true given that set of assumptions), and Completeness results (a statement that is true given a set of assumptions must have a proof from that set of assumptions). Mathematical theories and axiomatizations or theories are discussed in a first- order logical setting. …

Characterization Of Nano-Scale Aluminum Oxide Transport Through Porous Media, Sasha Norien Norwood

Dissertations and Theses

Land application of biosolids has become common practice in the United States as an alternative to industrial fertilizers. Although nutrient rich, biosolids have been found to contain high concentrations of emerging contaminants (e.g. pharmaceuticals, personal care products) while containing a significant fraction of inorganic nano-scale colloidal materials such as oxides of iron, titanium, and aluminum.

Given their reactivity and small size, there are many questions concerning the potential migration of these nano-sized colloidal materials through the soil column and into our surface and groundwater bodies. Transport of emerging pollutants of concern through the soil column, at minimum, is impacted by …

Activities And Achievements: Progress Report 2011-2013, Center For Governance And Sustainability, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Maria Ivanova, Craig Murphy, James Gustave Speth, Christiana Figueres, Alice Odingo

Center for Governance and Sustainability Publications

We joined the University of Massachusetts Boston in the fall of 2010 to develop a new doctoral program in global governance and human security, the first of its kind in the United States. In the spring of 2011, we launched the Center for Governance and Sustainability in an effort to bring academic rigor to real-world policy challenges in environment, development, and sustainability governance.

The Center is housed at the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, which takes pride in offering a world-class interdisciplinary education and engaging in values-driven research, demonstrating a deep commitment to making a …

Development And Figures Of Merit Of Microextraction And Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography For Forensic Characterization Of Dye Profiles On Trace Acrylic, Nylon, Polyester, And Cotton Textile Fibers, Scott James Hoy

Theses and Dissertations

Methodology for the microextraction of basic dyes on acrylic, acid dyes on nylon, disperse dyes on polyester, and reactive dyes, direct dyes, and indigo on cotton textile fibers is reported. Although these processes are destructive to the fiber evidence, the ability to analyze dye extracts from sub-millimeter fiber lengths of single fibers, coupled with detection limits in the hundred picogram range by ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) with both diode array detection (DAD) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS) makes routine forensic characterization feasible.

Microextraction, followed by UPLC, can often distinguish similar fibers containing different, but similar, dyes with the combination of …

Non-Commutative Stochastic Distributions And Applications To Linear Systems Theory, Daniel Alpay, Guy Salomon

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

In this paper, we introduce a non-commutative space of stochastic distributions, which contains the non-commutative white noise space, and forms, together with a natural multiplication, a topological algebra. Special inequalities which hold in this space allow to characterize its invertible elements and to develop an appropriate framework of non-commutative stochastic linear systems.

Towards A Formulation Of Quantum Theory As A Causally Neutral Theory Of Bayesian Inference, Matthew S. Leifer, Robert W. Spekkens

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Quantum theory can be viewed as a generalization of classical probability theory, but the analogy as it has been developed so far is not complete. Whereas themanner in which inferences aremade in classical probability theory is independent of the causal relation that holds between the conditioned variable and the conditioning variable, in the conventional quantum formalism, there is a significant difference between how one treats experiments involving two systems at a single time and those involving a single system at two times. In this article, we develop the formalism of quantum conditional states, which provides a unified description of …

Indeterminate Masses, Elements And Models In Information Fusion, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In this paper at the beginning, we make a short history of the logics, from the classical Boolean logic to the most general logic of today neutrosophic logic. We define the general logic space and give the definition of the neutrosophic logic. Then we introduce the indeterminate models in information fusion, which are due either to the existence of some indeterminate elements in the fusion space or to some indeterminate masses.

The best approach for dealing with such models is the neutrosophic logic, which is part of neutrosophy. Neutrosophic logic is connected with neutrosophic set and neutrosophic probability and statistics.

Cancer Quasispecies And Stem-Like Adaptive Aneuploidy, Domenico Napoletani, M. Signore, Daniele C. Struppa

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

In this paper we develop a theoretical frame to understand self-regulation of aneuploidy rate in cancer and stem cells. This is accomplished building upon quasispecies theory, by leaving its formal mathematical structure intact, but by drastically changing the meaning of its objects. In particular, we propose a novel definition of chromosomal master sequence, as a sequence of physically distinct whole or fragmented chromosomes, whose length is taken to be the sum of the copy numbers of each whole or fragmented chromosome. This fundamental change in the functional objects of quasispecies theory allows us to show that previously measured aneuploidy rates …

Practical Approach To Cosmological Perturbations In Modified Gravity, Alessandra Silvestri, Levon Pogosian, Roman V. Buniy

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The next generation of large scale surveys will not only measure cosmological parameters within the framework of general relativity, but will also allow for precision tests of the framework itself. At the order of linear perturbations, departures from the growth in the standard cosmological model can be quantified in terms of two functions of time and Fourier number k. We argue that in local theories of gravity, in the quasistatic approximation, these functions must be ratios of polynomials in k, with the numerator of one function being equal to the denominator of the other. Moreover, the polynomials are even and …

The Urban Heat Island And Its Influence On Precipitation In Denver, Colorado, Diana Thunen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Anthropogenic modification of the climate is an unintended yet serious effect of urbanization and it is happening in every city across the globe in the form of the urban heat island. The purpose of this study was to see if Denver, Colorado exhibits evidence of an urban heat island using meteorological data and if there has been a change in precipitation amounts since the urbanization of the city. It was concluded that Denver, Colorado does have an urban heat island that varies seasonally throughout the year with an average magnitude of 3.57°C during the day and 3.82°C at night. The …

Understanding Precision Nitrogen Stress To Optimize The Growth And Lipid Content Tradeoff In Oleaginous Green Microalgae, Curtis Adams, Valerie Godfrey, Bruce Bugbee, Brad Wahlen, Lance Seefeldt

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Nitrogen deficiency promotes lipid formation in many microalgae, but also limits growth and lipid productivity. In spite of numerous studies, there is poor understanding of the interactions of growth and lipid content, the time course of lipid accumulation and the magnitude of nitrogen deficiency required to stimulate lipid formation. These relationships were investigated in six species of oleaginous green algae, comparing high and low levels of deficiency. Nitrogen stress typically had disproportionate effects on growth and lipid content, with profound differences among species. Optimally balancing the tradeoffs required a wide range in nitrogen supply rate among species. Some species grew …

Integration Of Multispectral Face Recognition And Multi-Ptz Camera Automated Surveillance For Security Applications, Chung-Hao Chen, Yi Yao, Hong Chang, Andreas Koschan, Mongi Abidi

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Due to increasing security concerns, a complete security system should consist of two major components, a computer-based face-recognition system and a real-time automated video surveillance system. A computer-based face-recognition system can be used in gate access control for identity authentication. In recent studies, multispectral imaging and fusion of multispectral narrow-band images in the visible spectrum have been employed and proven to enhance the recognition performance over conventional broad-band images, especially when the illumination changes. Thus, we present an automated method that specifies the optimal spectral ranges under the given illumination. Experimental results verify the consistent performance of our algorithm via …

Development Of Self-Assembling Mixed Protein Micelles With Temperature-Modulated Avidities, Allyson S.C. Soon, Michael H. Smith, Emily S. Herman, L. Andrew Lyon, Thomas H. Barker

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) are polypentapeptides that undergo hydrophobic collapse and aggregation above a specific transition temperature, T_t. ELP diblocks sharing a common “core” block (I60) but varying “outer” blocks (A80, P40) were designed, where T_t,I < T_t,A < T_t,P. The formation of ~55 nm diameter mixed micelles from these ELP diblocks was verified using dynamic light scattering (DLS), multiangle light scattering (MALS) and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). To confer affinity to the blood circulating protein fibrinogen, a fibrinogen-binding tetrapeptide sequence (GPRP) was fused to A80-I60, while P40-I60 was fused to a non-binding control (GPSP). The …

Air-Sea Dimethylsulfide (Dms) Gas Transfer In The North Atlantic: Evidence For Limited Interfacial Gas Exchange At High Wind Speed, T. G. Bell, Warren J. De Bruyn, S. D. Miller, B. Ward, K. Christensen, E. S. Saltzman

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Shipboard measurements of eddy covariance dimethylsulfide (DMS) air-sea fluxes and seawater concentration were carried out in the North Atlantic bloom region in June/July 2011. Gas transfer coefficients (k(660)) show a linear dependence on mean horizontal wind speed at wind speeds up to 11 m s(-1). At higher wind speeds the relationship between k(660) and wind speed weakens. At high winds, measured DMS fluxes were lower than predicted based on the linear relationship between wind speed and interfacial stress extrapolated from low to intermediate wind speeds. In contrast, the transfer coefficient for sensible heat did not exhibit this effect. The apparent …

Treatment Of Reverse Osmosis Brine With Advanced Oxidative Processes For Enhanced Phosphorus Removal, Petrease Patton

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Current regulations for sensitive receiving waters are approaching the limit of technology for phosphorus removal and improved methods are required. Existing methods target removal of the orthophosphate form of phosphorus, but to achieve low effluent limits other non-reactive (NRP) forms, such as condensed phosphate and organic phosphorus, must be removed as well. This could be accomplished by developing a quaternary step in wastewater treatment that utilizes reverse osmosis (RO) followed by advanced oxidation processes (AOP) on the produced brine (RO concentrate). The objective during advanced treatment is to convert NRP in the brine to reactive phosphorus for removal by traditional …

Determination Of Copper Speciation, Bioavailability And Toxicity In Saltwater Environments, Tara N. Tait

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The speciation of copper plays a strong role in determining bioavailability and toxicity upon copper exposure in marine environments. Specifically, natural organic matter (NOM) can complex with copper, influencing speciation and decreasing bioavailability. The aim of this research was to determine accurate copper speciation values using literature and new techniques and applying the techniques that reflect the most accurate speciation values to investigate the influence of NOM quantity and quality on copper speciation and toxicity. The results from this study will have implications on the development of a marine Biotic Ligand Model (BLM). Free copper was measured using a flow-through …

Revisiting The Fundamentals In The Design And Control Of Nanoparticulate Colloids In The Frame Of Soft Chemistry, Vuk Uskoković

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

This review presents thoughts on some of the fundamental features of conceptual models applied in the design of fine particles in the frames of colloid and soft chemistry. A special emphasis is placed on the limitations of these models, an acknowledgment of which is vital in improving their intricacy and effectiveness in predicting the outcomes of the corresponding experimental settings. Thermodynamics of self-assembly phenomena illustrated on the examples of protein assembly and micellization is analyzed in relation to the previously elaborated thesis that each self-assembly in reality presents a co-assembly, since it implies a mutual reorganization of the assembling system …