Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Electron Energy Dependent Charging Effects Of Multilayered Dielectric Material, Gregory Wilson, Jr Dennison, Amberly Evans Jensen, Justin Dekany

Graduate Student Publications

Measurements of the charge distribution in electron-bombarded, thin-film, and multilayer dielectric samples showed that charging of multilayered materials evolves with time and is highly dependent on incident energy; this is driven by electron penetration depth, electron emission, and material conductivity. Based on the net surface potential’s dependence on beam current, electron range, electron emission, and conductivity, measurements of the surface potential, displacement current, and beam energy allow the charge distribution to be inferred. To take these measurements, a thin-film disordered SiO2 structure with a conductive middle layer was charged using 200-eV and 5-keV electron beams with regular 15-s pulses at …

Designing Your Home For Maximum Natural Lighting, P. Bytheway, Roslynn Brain

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

There are many benefits to having more natural light in your home. The most obvious of these are the savings you can achieve with a reduced utility bill. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (2012), about 10% of household electricity usage comes from lighting. The more natural light you have in your house, the less lights you have to turn on, and the less electricity you use. Another benefit, also related to energy use, is natural light can help heat homes. One of the best reasons to design your home for natural light involves the health benefits gained through …

Meat-Wise Eating Habits, J. Haycock, K. Anderson, Roslynn Brain

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Whether from a cow, pig, bird, fish, or other domestic or game animal, meat is universally enjoyed as part of the cultural culinary experience. It is also an excellent source of protein, which is important for a healthy body. Many people who eat meat, however, are not aware of the impact their consumption has on the environment. This guide provides a set of quick facts and action tools to make wiser choices concerning meat consumption.

Freestores: What, Why, And How, T. Durr, Roslynn Brain

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Everyone seems to generate some sort of unwanted possession over the years, whether it be clothes they no longer wear, appliances they no longer use, or books they no longer read. While throwing unwanted items like this away in the trash is convenient and simple, it adds to the amount of solid waste found in landfills and the natural environment. Furthermore, it wastes potentially valuable resources that could be used by others.

A viable alternative to disposing of unwanted possessions in the trash is to donate them to a freestore to be used by others, or if one does not …

A Study Of Nonlinear Dynamics In Mathematical Biology, Joseph Ferrara

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We first discuss some fundamental results such as equilibria, linearization, and stability of nonlinear dynamical systems arising in mathematical modeling. Next we study the dynamics in planar systems such as limit cycles, the Poincaré-Bendixson theorem, and some of its useful consequences. We then study the interaction between two and three different cell populations, and perform stability and bifurcation analysis on the systems. We also analyze the impact of immunotherapy on the tumor cell population numerically.

Performance Evaluation And Comparison Of Distributed Messaging Using Message Oriented Middleware, Naveen Mupparaju

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Message Oriented Middleware (MOM) is an enabling technology for modern event- driven applications that are typically based on publish/subscribe communication [Eugster03]. Enterprises typically contain hundreds of applications operating in environments with diverse databases and operating systems. Integration of these applications is required to coordinate the business process. Unfortunately, this is no easy task. Enterprise Integration, according to Brosey et al. (2001), "aims to connect and combines people, processes, systems, and technologies to ensure that the right people and the right processes have the right information and the right resources at the right time"[Brosey01]. Communication between different applications can be achieved …

Singular Value Inequalities: New Approaches To Conjectures, Peter Chilstrom

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Singular values have been found to be useful in the theory of unitarily invariant norms, as well as many modern computational algorithms. In examining singular value inequalities, it can be seen how these can be related to eigenvalues and how several algebraic inequalities can be preserved and written in an analogous singular value form. We examine the fundamental building blocks to the modern theory of singular value inequalities, such as positive matrices, matrix norms, block matrices, and singular value decomposition, then use these to examine new techniques being used to prove singular value inequalities, and also look at existing conjectures.

Annual Patterns Of Atmospheric Pollutions And Episodes Over Cairo Egypt, Y. Aboel Fetouh, Hesham El-Askary, Mohamed El Raey, Mohamed Allali, W. A. Sprigg, Menas Kafatos

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The Nile Delta major cities, particularly Cairo, experienced stagnant air pollution episodes, known as Black Cloud, every year over the past decade during autumn. Low-elevated thermal inversion layers play a crucial role in intensifying pollution impacts. Carbon monoxide, ozone, atmospheric temperature, water vapor, and methane measurements from the tropospheric emission spectrometer (TES) on board the Aura have been used to assess the dominant component below the inversion layer. In this study, time series analysis, autocorrelations, and cross correlations are performed to gain a better understanding of the connections between those parameters and their local effect. Satellite-based data were obtained for …

Convex Cones Of Generalized Positive Rational Functions And Nevanlinna-Pick Interpolation, Daniel Alpay, Izchak Lewkowicz

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Scalar rational functions with a non-negative real part on the right half plane, called positive, are classical in the study of electrical networks, dissipative systems, Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation and other areas. We here study generalized positive functions, i.e with a non-negative real part on the imaginary axis. These functions form a Convex Invertible Cone, cic in short, and we explore two partitionings of this set: (i) into (infinitely many non-invertible) convex cones of functions with prescribed poles and zeroes in the right half plane and (ii) each generalized positive function can be written as a sum of even and odd parts. …

Voltage-Controlled Enzyme-Catalyzed Glucose–Gluconolactone Conversion Using A Field-Effect Enzymatic Detector, Siu Tung Yau, Yan Xu, Yang Song, Ye Feng, Jiapeng Wang

Chemistry Faculty Publications

The field-effect enzymatic detection (FEED) technique was used to control the kinetics of the enzymatic conversion of glucose to gluconolactone. The glucose–gluconolactone conversion occurring at an enzyme-immobilized electrode, a well-studied process, was confirmed using mass spectrometry. Electrochemical studies showed that the glucose oxidation current depends on the gating voltage VG and the ion concentration of the sample solution. Additionally, the depletion of glucose in the sample also showed a dependence on VG. FEED was used to detect H2O2 on the zepto-molar level in order to show the ultrasensitive detection capability of the technique. These results, while providing evidence for the …

Peroxynitrite Activity Of Hemin-Functionalized Reduced Graphene Oxide, Raluca Oprea, Serban F. Peteu, Palaniappan Subramanian, Wang Qi, Emmanualle Pichonat, Henri Happy, Mekki Bayachou, Rabah Boukherroub, Sabine Szunerits

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Conducting interfaces modified with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) have shown improved electrochemical response for different analytes. The efficient formation of functionalized rGO based materials is thus of current interest for the development of sensitive and selective biosensors. Herein, we report a simple and environmentally friendly method for the formation of a hemin-functionalized rGO hybrid nanomaterial that exhibits remarkable sensitivity to peroxynitrite (ONOO−) in solution. The hemin-functionalized rGO hybrid nanomaterial was formed by mixing an aqueous solution of graphene oxide (GO) with hemin and sonicating the suspension for 5 h at room temperature. In addition to playing a key role in …

A Study Of Different Modeling Choices For Simulating Platelets Within The Immersed Boundary Method, Varun Shankar, Grady B. Wright, Aaron L. Fogelson, Robert M. Kirby

Mathematics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Immersed Boundary (IB) method is a widely-used numerical methodology for the simulation of fluid–structure interaction problems. The IB method utilizes an Eulerian discretization for the fluid equations of motion while maintaining a Lagrangian representation of structural objects. Operators are defined for transmitting information (forces and velocities) between these two representations. Most IB simulations represent their structures with piecewise linear approximations and utilize Hookean spring models to approximate structural forces. Our specific motivation is the modeling of platelets in hemodynamic flows. In this paper, we study two alternative representations – radial basis functions (RBFs) and Fourier-based (trigonometric polynomials and spherical …

Localized Bases For Kernel Spaces On The Unit Sphere, E. Fuselier, T. Hangelbroek, F. J. Narcowich, J. D. Ward, G. B. Wright

Mathematics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Approximation/interpolation from spaces of positive definite or conditionally positive definite kernels is an increasingly popular tool for the analysis and synthesis of scattered data and is central to many meshless methods. For a set of N scattered sites, the standard basis for such a space utilizes N globally supported kernels; computing with it is prohibitively expensive for large N. Easily computable, well-localized bases with “small-footprint” basis elements—i.e., elements using only a small number of kernels—have been unavailable. Working on S², with focus on the restricted surface spline kernels (e.g., the thin-plate splines restricted to the sphere), we …

Ioana's Superrigidity Theorem And Orbit Equivalence Relations, Samuel Coskey

Mathematics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We give a survey of Adrian Ioana’s cocycle superrigidity theoremfor profinite actions of Property (T) groups and its applications to ergodic theory and set theory in this expository paper. In addition to a statement and proof of Ioana’s theorem, this paper features the following: (i) an introduction to rigidity, including a crash course in Borel cocycles and a summary of some of the best-known superrigidity theorems; (ii) some easy applications of superrigidity, both to ergodic theory (orbit equivalence) and set theory (Borel reducibility); and (iii) a streamlined proof of Simon Thomas’s theorem that the classification of torsion-free abelian groups of …

Navigating The Seas Of Mathematics Education: New Waves In Research To Improve Student Learning, Jinfa Cai, Sasha Wang

Mathematics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This issue focuses on research in the domain of mathematics education. Although mathematics has been a subject of study for many centuries, mathematics education is a relatively new field of scholarly inquiry, having been established as an independent field of research only in the early twentieth century. The most significant milestone was the establishment of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) in 1908. Since 1969, ICMI has organized the International Congress on Mathematical Education, a quadrennial international meeting whose aim is to present the current states and trends in mathematics education research and in the practice of mathematics teaching …

Mapping And Decomposing Scale-Dependent Soil Moisture Variability Within An Inner Bluegrass Landscape, Carla Landrum

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

There is a shared desire among public and private sectors to make more reliable predictions, accurate mapping, and appropriate scaling of soil moisture and associated parameters across landscapes. A discrepancy often exists between the scale at which soil hydrologic properties are measured and the scale at which they are modeled for management purposes. Moreover, little is known about the relative importance of hydrologic modeling parameters as soil moisture fluctuates with time. More research is needed to establish which observation scales in space and time are optimal for managing soil moisture variation over large spatial extents and how these scales are …

Oxidative Damage To Dna In Alzheimer's Disease, Sony Soman

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Previous studies from our laboratory and others show a significant increase in levels of both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA and RNA oxidation in vulnerable brain regions in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Although total DNA oxidation is increased in AD it remains unclear whether oxidative damage is widespread throughout the genome or is concentrated to specific genes. To test the hypothesis that specific genes are more highly oxidized in the progression of AD, we propose to quantify the percent oxidative damage in genes coding for proteins shown to be altered in the progression of AD using quantitative/real-time polymerase chain …

Optimal Estimation For Global Ground-Level Fine Particulate Matter Concentrations, Aaron Van Donkelaar, Randall V. Martin, Robert J. D. Spurr, Eason Drury, Lorraine A. Remer, Robert C. Levy, Jun Wang

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

We develop an optimal estimation (OE) algorithm based on top-of-atmosphere reflectances observed by the MODIS satellite instrument to retrieve near-surface fine particulatematter (PM_2.5). The GEOS-Chem chemical transport model is used to provide prior information for the Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) retrieval and to relate total column AOD to PM_2.5. We adjust the shape of the GEOS-Chem relative vertical extinction profiles by comparison with lidar retrievals from the CALIOP satellite instrument. Surface reflectance relationships used in the OE algorithm are indexed by land type. Error quantities needed for this OE algorithm are inferred by comparison with AOD …

Prelude To Seven Slots: Filling And Subsequent Modification Of Seven Broad Canyons In The Navajo Sandstone, South-Central Utah, David B. Loope, Ronald J. Goble, Joel P. L. Johnson

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Within a four square kilometer portion of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, seven distinct slot canyons cut the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone. Four of the slots developed along separate reaches of a trunk stream (Dry Fork of Coyote Gulch), and three (including canyons locally known as “Peekaboo” and “Spooky”) are at the distal ends of south-flowing tributary drainages. All these slot canyons are examples of epigenetic gorges—bedrock channel reaches shifted laterally from previous reach locations. The previous channels became filled with alluvium, allowing active channels to shift laterally in places and to subsequently re-incise through bedrock elsewhere. New evidence, based on optically …

Computer Programming To Advance Gravitational Lensing, Alex Roche

Undergraduate Review

The purpose of this research was to create a computer code that would numerically test a Poisson equation relating the mass distribution of a lens galaxy cluster to weak gravitational shear. Einstein’s theory of general relativity predicts that space-time is bent by massive objects, and in weak gravitational lensing, galaxy clusters act as lenses. The observable result is that galaxies far behind the gravitational lens will appear slightly more elliptical than they actually are. The ellipticity of the background galaxies is quantifiable and is directly related to the weak gravitational shear, and the shear is used to determine the mass …

Abiotic Nitrate And Nitrite Reactivity With Iron Oxide Minerals, Prakash Dhakal

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Under iron (Fe³⁺)-reducing conditions where aqueous Fe²⁺ and unreduced solid Fe³⁺-oxides commonly coexist, soil Fe²⁺ oxidation has been shown to be coupled with nitrate (NO₃^-) reduction. One possible secondary reaction is the involvement of NO₃^- and nitrite (NO₂^-) with Fe-oxide minerals found in many natural environments. Yet, spectroscopic measurements and kinetic data on reactivity of NO₃^- and NO₂^- with Fe-containing oxide minerals such as goethite (a-FeOOH), and magnetite (Fe₃O­₄) are not found in the literature. The reactivity of …

Comparison Of Post-Detonation Combustion In Explosives Incorporating Aluminum Nanoparticles: Influence Of The Passivation Layer, William K. Lewis, C. G. Rumchik, M. J. Smith, K. A. Shiral Fernando, Christopher A. Crouse, Jonathan E. Spowart, Elena A. Guliants, Christopher E. Bunker

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Aluminum nanoparticles and explosive formulations that incorporate them have been a subject of ongoing interest due to the potential of aluminum particles to dramatically increase energy content relative to conventional organic explosives. We have used time-resolved atomic and molecular emission spectroscopy to monitor the combustion of aluminum nanoparticles within the overall chemical dynamicsof post-detonation fireballs. We have studied the energy release dynamics of hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) charges incorporating three types of aluminum nanoparticles: commercial oxide-passivated nanoparticles, oleic acid-capped aluminum nanoparticles (AlOA), and nanoparticles in which the oxide shell of the particle has been functionalized with an acrylic monomer and copolymerized into …

Optimal Estimation For Global Ground-Level Fine Particulate Matter Concentrations, Aaron Van Donkelaar, Randall V. Martin, Robert J. D. Spurr, Easan Drury, Lorraine A. Remer, Robert C. Levy, Jun Wang

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

We develop an optimal estimation (OE) algorithm based on top-of-atmosphere reflectances observed by the MODIS satellite instrument to retrieve near-surface fine particulatematter (PM2.5). The GEOS-Chem chemical transport model is used to provide prior information for the Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) retrieval and to relate total column AOD to PM2.5. We adjust the shape of the GEOS-Chem relative vertical extinction profiles by comparison with lidar retrievals from the CALIOP satellite instrument. Surface reflectance relationships used in the OE algorithm are indexed by land type. Error quantities needed for this OE algorithm are inferred by comparison with AOD observations taken by a …

Numerical Studies Of The Generalized L₁ Greedy Algorithm For Sparse Signals, Fangjun Arroyo, Edward Arroyo, Xiezhang Li, Jiehua Zhu

Department of Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

The generalized l₁ greedy algorithm was recently introduced and used to reconstruct medical images in computerized tomography in the compressed sensing framework via total variation minimization. Experimental results showed that this algorithm is superior to the reweighted l₁-minimization and l₁ greedy algorithms in reconstructing these medical images. In this paper the effectiveness of the generalized l₁ greedy algorithm in finding random sparse signals from underdetermined linear systems is investigated. A series of numerical experiments demonstrate that the generalized l₁ greedy algorithm is superior to the reweighted l₁-minimization and l₁ greedy algorithms …

One Earth, Take Care, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Conservation/Energy Alternatives

Bibliography and photographs of a display of government documents from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Unlocking The Secrets Of Al-Tobermorite In Roman Seawater Concrete, Marie D. Jackson, Sejung R. Chae, Sean R. Mulcahy, Cagla Meral, Rae Taylor, Penghui Li, Abdul-Hamid Emwas, Juhyuk Moon, Seyoon Yoon, Gabriele Vola, Hans-Rudolf Wenk, Paulo J.M. Monteiro

Geology Faculty Publications

Ancient Roman syntheses of Al-tobermorite in a 2000-year-old concrete block submerged in the Bay of Pozzuoli (Baianus Sinus), near Naples, have unique aluminum-rich and silica-poor compositions relative to hydrothermal geological occurrences. In relict lime clasts, the crystals have calcium contents that are similar to ideal tobermorite, 33 to 35 wt%, but the low-silica contents, 39 to 40 wt%, reflect Al³⁺ substitution for Si⁴⁺ in Q² (1Al), Q³ (1Al), and Q3 (2 Al) tetrahedral chain and branching sites. The Al-tobermorite has a double silicate chain structure with long chain lengths in the b [020] crystallographic direction, and …

Impacts Of Artificial Reef Addition On The Nekton Community Of Louisiana Marsh Ponds: A Before-After-Control-Impact Analysis, Kari Elizabeth Klotzbach

LSU Master's Theses

Louisiana’s coastal estuaries are dynamic, highly variable environments that provide nursery areas for numerous recreationally and commercially important species. Louisiana’s coastline is constantly changing due to natural and anthropogenic processes, and it is important to know how nektonic species are impacted by such changes. This study sought to assess the effects of introducing a hard substrate artificial reef on the nekton community of a Louisiana estuary. A before-after-control-impact (BACI) design was used to assess the impacts of artificial reef addition on nektonic fishes and crustaceans in four shallow marsh ponds near Empire, Louisiana. Marsh ponds were sampled by purse seine …

Quantum Phase Transitions In Disordered Magnets, David Nozadze

Doctoral Dissertations

"We study the effects of quenched weak disorder on quantum phase transitions in disordered magnets. The presence of disorder in the system can lead to a variety of exotic phenomena, e.g., the smearing of transitions or quantum Griffiths singularities. Phase transitions are smeared if individual spatial regions can order independently of the bulk system. In paper I, we study smeared quantum phase transitions in binary alloys A₁₋ₓBₓ that are tuned by changing the composition x. We show that in this case the ordered phase is extended over all compositions x < 1. We also study the composition dependence of observables. In paper II, we investigate the influence of spatial disorder correlations on smeared phase transitions. As an experimental example, we demonstrate in paper III, that the composition-driven ferromagnetic-toparamagnetic quantum phase transition in Sr₁₋ₓCaₓ RuO₃ is smeared. When individual spatial regions cannot order but fluctuate slowly, the phase transition is characterized by strong singularities in the quantum Griffiths phase. In paper IV, we develop a theory of the quantum Griffiths phases in disordered ferromagnetic metals. We show that the quantum Griffiths singularities are stronger than the usual power-law quantum Griffiths singularities in insulating magnets. In paper V, we present an efficient numerical method for studying quantum phase transitions in disordered systems with O(N) order parameter symmetry in the large-N limit. Our algorithm solves iteratively the large-N self-consistent equations for the renormalized distances from criticality. Paper VI is devoted to the study of transport properties in the quantum Griffiths phase associated with the antiferromagnetic quantum phase transition in a metal. We find unusual behavior of transport properties which is in contrast to the normal Fermi-liquid behavior"--Abstract, page v.

Development Of 11 Polymorphic Microsatellite Markers For Xylocarpus Granatum (Meliaceae) Using Next-Generation Sequencing Technology, Yuki Tomizawa, Yoshimi Shinmura, Alison K S Wee, Koji Takayama, Takeshi Asakawa, Orlex Baylen Yllano, Severino G. Salmo Iii, Erwin Riyanto Ardli, Nguyen Xuan Tung, Norhaslinda Binti Malekal, Onrizal Onrizal, Sankararamasubramanian H. Meenakshisundaram, Sarawood Sungkaew, Mohd Nazre Saleh, Bayu Adjie, Khin Khin Soe, Emiko Oguri, Noriaki Murakami, Yasuyuki Watano, Shigeyuki Baba, Edward L. Webb, Tadashi Kajita

Environmental Science Faculty Publications

Human impacts have seriously damaged mangroves, and conservation of mangroves will require information on local and regional population genetic structures. Here, we report the development and polymorphism of eleven novel microsatellite markers, developed using next- generation sequencing on 56 samples of widespread man- grove species Xylocarpus granatum (Meliaceae) from nine populations across the Indo-West Pacific region. All loci were found to be polymorphic, with the number of alleles per locus ranging from four to 19. In a population from Sabah (Malaysia), the mean observed and expected heterozygosity per locus was 0.59 and 0.58, respectively. No null allele, significant linkage disequilibrium …

Accelerated Data Delivery Architecture, Michael L. Grecol

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper introduces the Accelerated Data Delivery Architecture (ADDA). ADDA establishes a framework to distribute transactional data and control consistency to achieve fast access to data, distributed scalability and non-blocking concurrency control by using a clean declarative interface. It is designed to be used with web-based business applications. This framework uses a combination of traditional Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) combined with a distributed Not Only SQL (NoSQL) database and a browser-based database. It uses a single physical and conceptual database schema designed for a standard RDBMS driven application. The design allows the architect to assign consistency levels to entities …