Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Experiments To Measure The Effects Of Timber Harvesting Equipment On Surface Lithic Scatters, Douglas J. Baughman

All Master's Theses

The importance of cultural resource preservation cannot be overstated; however local economies are at least as important. Due to conservative archaeological site protection practices in Region 5 of the United States Forest Service, the economy of Northeastern California is being adversely affected. In an attempt to help the Forest Service make more informed management decisions and improve the Northeastern California economy, I undertook experiments on the effects of timber harvesting on lithic scatters on Modoc National Forest. The experiments involved placement of 225 glass tiles (proxy lithics) in each of three plots subject to vehicle traffic and log dragging by …

Assessment Of Hypoxia And Its Relationship With Nutrient Loads And Wind, And Implication To The Chesapeake Bay Management, Ping Wang, Harry V. Wang, Lewis Linker

Reports

Statistics are applied to analyze the correlations of summer hypoxia in the Chesapeake Bay with watershed input and wind conditions based on nearly three decades of monitoring data. The Pearson correlation coefficients indicate that the averaged summer hypoxia has strong positive correlation with watershed nutrient load and discharge, and moderate negative correlation with summer average wind speed. Nutrient inputs and the subsequent decay of organic matter are the primary factor that controls the oxygen demand causing summer hypoxia, while episodic wind can partly erode stratification and hypoxia. The interannual variation of hypoxia is mainly controlled by watershed input, but wind …

Income Inequality Measures And Statistical Properties Of Weighted Burr-Type And Related Distributions, Meznah R. Al Buqami

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, tail conditional expectation (TCE) in risk analysis, an important measure for right-tail risk, is presented. This value is generally based on the quantile of the loss distribution. Explicit formulas of several tail conditional expectations and inequality measures for Dagum-type models are derived. In addition, a new class of weighted Burr-III (WBIII) distribution is presented. The statistical properties of this distribution including hazard and reverse hazard functions, moments, coefficient of variation, skewness, and kurtosis, inequality measures, entropy are derived. Also, Fisher information and maximum likelihood estimates of the model parameters are obtained.

Cusum Generalized Variance Charts, Yuxiang Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The commonly recommended charts for monitoring the mean vector are affected by a shit in the covariance matrix. As in the univariate case, a chart for monitoring for a change in the covariance matrix should be examined first before examining the chart used to monitor for a change in the mean vector.

Solving The Optimization Control Problem For Lunar Soft Landing Using Minimization Technique, Lizeth Patricia Ocampo

Mathematics Theses

Minimizing fuel consumption in lunar missions has been a well studied and documented optimization problem. In this paper two cases of the lunar Lander are studied. The first case is the one dimensional problem where the objective is to make a vertical soft landing using the minimum amount of fuel. The second case has the same objective but an initial tangential velocity greater than zero is given making it a two dimensional problem. The first case is solved using Newton's shooting method, finite difference method (using MATLAB's embedded function bvp4c), and solving it explicitly. For the second case, a minimization …

Recurrent Flooding Study For Tidewater Virginia, Molly Mitchell, Carl Hershner, Julie Herman, Daniel E. Schatt, Emily Eggington, Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

No abstract provided.

Teaching Law And Digital Age Legal Practice With An Ai And Law Seminar: Justice, Lawyering And Legal Education In The Digital Age, Kevin D. Ashley

Articles

A seminar on Artificial Intelligence ("Al") and Law can teach law students lessons about legal reasoning and legal practice in the digital age. Al and Law is a subfield of Al/computer science research that focuses on designing computer programs—computational models—that perform legal reasoning. These computational models are used in building tools to assist in legal practice and pedagogy and in studying legal reasoning in order to contribute to cognitive science and jurisprudence. Today, subject to a number of qualifications, computer programs can reason with legal rules, apply legal precedents, and even argue like a legal advocate.

This article provides a …

A Non-Heme Diiron Monooxygenase From Salmonella Typhimurium: Biochemical Characterization Of Trna-Modifying Miae, Siai Zhang

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses

MiaE is a carboxylate bridged, non-heme diiron monooxygenase which catalyzes the O2-dependent hydroxylation of a hypermodified tRNA nucleoside at position 37 (2-methylthio-N-6-isopentenyl adenosine (37)-tRNA) [designated ms²i⁶A₃₇] to produce ms²i⁶A₃₇. In Salmonella typhimurium, synthesis of ms²i⁶A₃₇ requires a multi-step enzyme-catalyzed process that includes two other enzymes, MiaA and MiaB. Therefore, to study the hydroxylation step in this reaction pathway, all the elements within this reaction pathway (tRNA substrate, MiaA, MiaB, and MiaE) are required. In this work, methods for in vitro tRNA synthesis were developed for the biosynthesis of viable MiaA/MiaB/MiaE substrates. Additionally, the enzymes MiaA and MiaB were recombinantly cloned, …

Reducing Pb Bioaccessibility In Soil Through The Addition Of Apatite Ii, Zachary Robert Tondre

Earth & Environmental Sciences Theses

This study was an investigation of the bioaccessibility of Pb in the presence of phosphate acting as an immobilizing constituent in the form of fish bone material, specifically Apatite II. Phosphate-induced Pb immobilization refers to the process by which Pb ions replace calcium ions and form insoluble Pb-phosphate. A commercially available A-horizon soil was spiked with dried Pb-bearing paint containing various Pb forms (e.g., carbonates, sulfates, and oxides). The paints were added to the soil at 2% weight for weight (w/w). The paints (in solid form) were initially ground and sieved through a <100 micron mesh to provide a <100 μm size fraction. Once a paint was mixed with a soil, typically in duplicate, replicates were either retained or further amended with Apatite II. Soil columns were created using a series of 250 mL syringes individually filled with each paint spiked soil sample, some of which were amended with Apatite II at 5% w/w. For six months the columns were eluted regularly with Milli-Q water and at six months, subsamples were removed from the top of each soil column in order to evaluate any change in potential bioaccessibility of the Pb associated with soil. Thus, this work focuses on the bioaccessibility of Pb in a group of soil column samples based on the weak acid solubility of the Pb in the soil, and on an electron microscopic analysis of the Pb in the soils. Each soil column sample was subjected to an in vitro relative bioaccessibility assessment (RBA), in which a simulated gastric fluid (SGF) was used to simulate and project the effects of digestion on the Pb contaminated soils. The SGF was intended to mimic the acidic quality of the human stomach and yields approximate results of how much Pb could potentially be released into the acid solution through human digestion. The SGF solution was essentially composed of hydrochloric acid (HCL) adjusted to a pH of 2.5. From the soil columns, 3g of soil were removed and 1g was added to 100 mL of SGF and then tumbled for 1 hour at 37°C in a modified toxicity characteristic leaching procedure system. After this time a sample of the fluid was collected an the amount of Pb in the fluid was measured. Photomicrographs of each soil column were obtained using a scanning electron microscope with a back-scattered electron detector and an energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer. These digital images were used to determine the chemical nature of various Pb-bearing constituents within each soil sample. This study concluded that the addition of Apatite II led to a reduction in the bioaccessibility of Pb in some of the test soils, determined through differences in in vitro RBA and through the recognition of Pb-phosphate particle phases in the soil samples. Previous studies have found that the addition of Apatite II as a remediation technique for Pb contaminated soil can be successful, however this is the first time that Pb contamination of the soil has been in the form of Pb-bearing paint. Furthermore, this study is notable for identifying changes in Pb bioaccessibility of Pb derived from Pb-bearing paint over the short time-span of six months.

Chemostratigraphy Of The Mississippian-Age Barnett Formation, Fort Worth Basin, Wise County, Texas Usa, Chizoba Charity Nsianya

Earth & Environmental Sciences Theses

The Mississippian- age Barnett Formation is a shale-gas system dominated by fine grained clay- to silt -size particles deposited in the Fort Worth Basin, a peripheral foreland basin that formed during the late Paleozoic as a result of continental collision between Laurasia and Gondwana. A detailed assessment of the chemostratigraphy and depositional environment of the Barnett Formation in the northern end of Fort Worth Basin, Texas will be studied using a variety of geochemical methods. One drill core located in the south-eastern part of Wise County (Texas, USA) was scanned at high resolution (~ 2 inch interval) using a hand- …

A Model Of Short Term Surface Deformation Of Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat Constrained By Gps Geodesy, Erin Elizabeth Mcpherson

Earth & Environmental Sciences Theses

Geodetic surveying is a core volcano monitoring technique. Measurements of how the crust deforms can give valuable insight into the mechanisms and processes that drive an eruption, and the way in which they change (Odbert et al., 2012). Campaign and continuous GPS geodetic measurements on Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat are reported here from 1995 to 2010, spanning three dome growth and repose episodes extending the results of Mattioli et al. (2010). Soufriere Hills Volcano (SHV), Montserrat, in the Lesser Antilles island arc, became active in 1995, and for nearly two decades, geodetic surveys have been conducted using both continuous and …

Examining Ruthenium Chromophores For The Photochemical Reduction Of Co₂To Methanol, David J. Boston

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations

Our consumption of energy for transportation and electricity has been growing as quickly as our population. As this demand for energy increases we increase our production of carbon dioxide by the burning of fossil fuels to try and meet this increasing demand. A sustainable method to convert carbon dioxide (CO₂) to a viable liquid fuel is one potential way in which both the increasing energy demand and increasing CO₂ concentration issues can both be helped. Currently such methods being investigated include thermal, electrochemical, and photochemical processes. Because thermal conversion is not an ideal situation because of the requirement of strong …

Effect Of Oil Viscosity Change On Oil Production: Co₂ Enhanced Oil Recovery In The Permian Basin And Potential In The Gabon Basin, Christel Simon Obame Bivegue

Earth & Environmental Sciences Theses

With most oil fields around the world reaching maturation it is not uncommon for oil companies to investigate the possibility of implementing CO₂ Enhanced Oil Recovery. The injection of CO₂ in a reservoir reduces the oil viscosity within the reservoir, which can later be more easily pushed towards a producing well. Computer simulators such as BOAST NFR are key tools in order to simulate the response of a reservoir to CO₂ EOR and predict oil production. This thesis investigates an example of CO₂ EOR in the Gabon Basin where such technique has yet to be implemented. Oil production has been …

An Extremal Problem For Characteristic Functions, William T. Ross, Isabelle Chalendar, Stephan Ramon Garcia, Dan Timotin

Department of Math & Statistics Faculty Publications

Suppose E is a subset of the unit circle T and H^∞C L^∞ is the Hardy subalgebra. We examine the problem of Finding the distance from the characteristic function of E to zⁿ H^∞. This admits an alternate description as a dual extremal problem. Precise solutions are given in several important cases. The techniques used involve the theory of Toeplitz and Hankel operators as well as the construction of certain conformal mappings.

Model Spaces: A Survey, William T. Ross, Stephan Ramon Garcia

Department of Math & Statistics Faculty Publications

This is a brief and gentle introduction, aimed at graduate students, to the subject of model subspaces of the Hardy space.

An Explicit Bijection Between Semistandard Tableaux And Non-Elliptic Sl3 Webs, Heather M. Russell

Department of Math & Statistics Faculty Publications

The sl₃ spider is a diagrammatic category used to study the representation theory of the quantum group U_q(sl₃). The morphisms in this category are generated by a basis of non-elliptic webs. Khovanov- Kuperberg observed that non-elliptic webs are indexed by semistandard Young tableaux. They establish this bijection via a recursive growth algorithm. Recently, Tymoczko gave a simple version of this bijection in the case that the tableaux are standard and used it to study rotation and joins of webs. We build on Tymoczko’s bijection to give a simple and explicit algorithm for constructing all …

Direct And Reverse Carleson Measure For Hb Spaces, William T. Ross, Alain Blandigneres, Emmanuel Fricain, Frederic Gaunard, Andreas Hartmann

Department of Math & Statistics Faculty Publications

In this paper we discuss direct and reverse Carleson measures for the de Branges-Rovnyak spaces H(b), mainly when b is a non-extreme point of the unit ball of H^∞.

Energy Of The Quasi-Free Electron In Repulsive Atomic And Molecular Fluids, Yevgeniy Lushtak

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The ability to predict accurately the energy V₀(ρ) of the quasi-free electron along the entire density (ρ) range of a supercritical fluid has applications in determining the ideal thermodynamic conditions for chemical reactions involving charged species. The previously established field ionization method of extracting V₀(ρ) from the fluid density dependent shift Δ(ρ) in the ionization energy of a dopant molecule has led to the discovery of a novel effect on V₀(ρ) occurring near the critical isotherm of the fluid. Unfortunately this method has limitations in determining V₀(ρ) in fluids with low critical …

On A Theorem Of Livsic, William T. Ross, Alexandru Aleman, R. T. W. Martin

Department of Math & Statistics Faculty Publications

The theory of symmetric, non-selfadjoint operators has several deep applications to the complex function theory of certain reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces of analytic functions, as well as to the study of ordinary differential operators such as Schrodinger operators in mathematical physics. Examples of simple symmetric operators include multiplication operators on various spaces of analytic functions such as model subspaces of Hardy spaces, deBranges-Rovnyak spaces and Herglotz spaces, ordinary differential operators (including Schrodinger operators from quantum mechanics), Toeplitz operators, and infinite Jacobi matrices.

In this paper we develop a general representation theory of simple symmetric operators with equal deficiency indices, and …

Chemostratigraphy Of The Upper Cretaceous From Central And South Texas With Focus On The Eagle Ford Group, Brett Huffman

Earth & Environmental Sciences Theses

The fine-grained organic-rich rocks of the Eagle Ford (Cenomanian-Turonian) were deposited during the Upper Cretaceous in the shallow waters of the Western Interior Seaway. Five drill cores recovered from two counties, four from Travis County, Texas and one from Frio County, Texas, have been scanned from between two foot and half foot intervals with a hand-held energy-dispersive x-ray fluorescence (HH-ED-XRF) spectrometer to acquire major (e.g. Ca, Si, Al) and trace (e.g. Mo, V, Ni) element data for quantitative analysis. Additionally, gamma ray logs have been analyzed for two of the cores. Major element geochemistry indicates the Eagle Ford deposited in …

Truncated Toeplitz Operators And Boundary Values In Nearly Invariant Subspaces, William T. Ross, Andreas Hartmann

Department of Math & Statistics Faculty Publications

We consider truncated Toeplitz operator on nearly invariant subspaces of the Hardy space H². Of some importance in this context is the boundary behavior of the functions in these spaces which we will discuss in some detail.

Timing, Provenance, And Paleoclimate Implications Of The Cenozoic Eolian Deposition In The Central Rocky Mountains, Usa, Jillian Rowley

Earth & Environmental Sciences Theses

This study applies detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology and sandstone petrography to constrain the timing and provenance of Cenozoic eolian sandstone in the central Rocky Mountains. Four samples, collected at the transition to eolian deposition along a west-east transect, have maximum depositional ages of 35.9±0.7 Ma, 35.4±2.0 Ma, 33±0.9 Ma, and 30±1.0 Ma, suggesting the transition initiated during the latest Eocene-earliest Oligocene and became younger eastward. A total of 766 zircon grains consist of a 17-44 Ma population, derived from the distal ignimbrite flare-up in western and southwestern North America, and a population older than 45 Ma, recycled from local Laramide …

The Electronic Properties Of Noble Metal Doped Silicon Nanocrystals Using Hybrid Density Functional Theory, Cedric Leon Mayfield

Physics Theses

One of the most challenging issues in semiconductor physics is to engineer band structures for a particular device. Contemporary photovoltaic (PV) and photoelectrochemical (PEC) devices rely on defect energy levels and nano-scaling to customize their band structures. As the length scale of a material becomes comparable to the exciton Bohr radius the free particle behavior of charge carriers transition to bound states where energy levels are quantized. In this thesis, hybrid density functional theory has been used to study the electronic properties of silicon nanocrystals (SiNCs) having 75, 150 and 300 silicon atoms. The atomic coordinates were defined by two …

Nanoscintillators For Radiation Detection, Ryan Gregory Hall

Physics Theses

In the search for faster, more effective methods for detection of and protection against radiological weapons, advances in materials for radiation detection are a critical component of any successful strategy. This work focuses on producing inexpensive, but highly sensitive, nanoparticle alternatives to existing single-crystal installations. Attention is given to particular types of promising inorganic scintillators: LaF₃, yttrium-aluminum-garnet (YAG), and SrF₂, each one an inorganic host doped with additional elements that encourage luminescent decay and increase effective Z-value. I examine the possible routes to synthesize these compounds, and the difficulties and benefits of each method. After synthesizing these materials, testing was …

Predicting A New Quaternary Photocatalyst Suitable For Pec Process To Produce Hydrogen And Determnation Of Its Structural, Electronics, And Optical Properties Using Density Functional Theory, Pranab Sarker

Physics Theses

Our present work represents a comprehensive theoretical and computational research in quest for predicting new photocatalysts suitable for photoelectrochemical process (PEC) to produce hydrogen by splitting water. We predict a new photocatalyst, CuBiW₂O₈ that exhibits some promising photocatalytic features seemed elusive to date. It is well known that all physical properties are calculated once ground state structure is known. However, knowing crystal structure is extremely challenging and was considered unpredictable before the material is synthesized. Our density functional theory (DFT) determines the crystal structure of CuBiW₂O₈ to be monoclinic which was later found energetically equivalent to its experimental counterpart. In …

Pressure Poisson Method For The Incompressible Navier-Stokes Equations Using Galerkin Finite Elements, John Cornthwaite

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis we examine the Navier-Stokes equations (NSE) with the continuity equation replaced by a pressure Poisson equation (PPE). Appropriate boundary conditions are developed for the PPE, which allow for a fully decoupled numerical scheme to recover the pressure. The variational form of the NSE with PPE is derived and used in the Galerkin Finite Element discretization. The Galerkin finite element method is then used to solve the NSE with PPE. Moderate accuracy is shown.

Revising Common Core Georgia Performance Standards Statistics Lesson Plans To Better Align With Statistical Practice, Rachel Bonilla

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, lesson plans provided by the Georgia Department of Education are revised to give students better exposure and practice working with real-life data. Three learning tasks and a performance task are presented covering a unit lesson on statistical regression. The development of Georgia statistics curriculum standards are reviewed and presented.

Primary School Teacher’S Noticing Of Students’ Mathematical Thinking In Problem Solving, Ceneida Fernández, Salvador Llinares, Julia Valls

The Mathematics Enthusiast

Professional noticing of students’ mathematical thinking in problem solving involves the identification of noteworthy mathematical ideas of students’ mathematical thinking and its interpretation to make decisions in the teaching of mathematics. The goal of this study is to begin to characterize pre-service primary school teachers’ noticing of students’ mathematical thinking when students solve tasks that involve proportional and non-proportional reasoning. From the analysis of how pre-service primary school teachers notice students’ mathematical thinking, we have identified an initial framework with four levels of development. This framework indicates a possible trajectory in the development of primary teachers’ professional noticing.

Partial Replica Location And Selection For Spatial Datasets, Yun Tian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the size of scientific datasets continues to grow, we will not be able to store enormous datasets on a single grid node, but must distribute them across many grid nodes. The implementation of partial or incomplete replicas, which represent only a subset of a larger dataset, has been an active topic of research. Partial Spatial Replicas extend this functionality to spatial data, allowing us to distribute a spatial dataset in pieces over several locations. We investigate solutions to the partial spatial replica selection problems. First, we describe and develop two designs for an Spatial Replica Location Service (SRLS), which …

Petrology, Geochemistry, And Evolution Of The Iron Skarns Along The Northern Contact Of The Eğrigöz Plutonic Complex, Western Anatolia, Turkey, Tolga Oyman, İsmet Özgenç, Murat Tokcaer, Mehmet Akbulut

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The Çatak and Küreci skarn districts are located approximately 10 km NW of Emet (Kütahya) in Western Turkey. The skarn and associated ore formations mainly occur at the contact between intrusive rocks of the Eğrigöz Plutonic Complex (EPC) and calcareous pelitic schists with limestone lenses of the Sarıcasu Formation and meta-carbonate rocks of the Arıkaya Formation. The major, trace, and rare earth element analysis of the igneous rocks indicate that they are high level, subalkaline, calc-alkaline, peraluminous to metaluminous I-type intrusions, generated in a continental arc setting. Three distinct skarn-type mineralization, differing in their host rocks and distance from the …