Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Role Of Amino Acids In The Nitrogen Cycle Of Peatlands, Tia Scarpelli

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Future release of carbon from peatlands in response to climate change may be impacted by nitrogen limitation. The current study considers the role of amino acids as a nitrogen source in peatlands. The total free amino acid (TFAA) concentration for peats ranged from 0-2.3 µM, and leucine was the primary contributor. The dominance of sedge or ericaceous shrub plant types did not significantly impact the TFAA pool. Ammonium concentrations were much greater than TFAA and nitrate concentrations. TFAA concentrations were greatest in spring and least in fall. The springtime maxima and summer decrease in concentrations were simulated in a modeling …

Personas: A Strategy For More Inclusive And Usable Reproductive Health Tracking Technologies, Anna R. Paul

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

In this report, I argue for the inclusion of personas in the development process of technologies that are designed to allow users to collect and track their health information. Personas provide a profile of a user and their needs, goals, and contexts. This tool can help designers to better understand their users, in order to create better, more usable end products. I examine one particular self-tracking technology, smartphone applications that allow users to record information about their menstrual cycles. Many of the most popular period tracking applications available today only meet the needs of a narrow user group, resulting in …

A Computational And Theoretical Exploration Of The St. Petersburg Paradox, Alexander Olivero

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This thesis displays a sample distribution, generated from both a simulation (for large n) by computer program and explicitly calculated (for smaller n), that is not governed by the Central Limit Theorem and, in fact seems to display chaotic behavior. To our knowledge, the explicit calculation of the sample distribution function is new. This project outlines the results that have found a relation to number theory in a probabilistic game that has perplexed mathematicians for hundreds of years.

Intensity Control Of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Filaments, Matthew Crawford Paliwoda

Masters Theses

"When operated in a filamentary mode, a volume dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is known to produce patterned plasma structures. These structures are currently being explored for reconfigurable metamaterial applications. In this work the presence and intensity of a single filament, within an array of filaments, was controlled by adjusting the voltage to that filament's individual needle electrode. The current, voltage, and time-averaged normalized light intensity were measured while varying the voltage of the needle through a self-biasing resistance. For a 7.5 kV, 3.2 kHz DBD in air, the needle-controlled filament intensity varies from that of the surrounding filaments to zero …

Virtual Simulations Of Potential Vessel Discharges In Puget Sound And The Puget Sound No Discharge Zone, Teizeen Mohamedali, Mindy Roberts, Amy Jankowiak

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) evaluated the potential transport, dispersion and dilution of potential vessel sewer discharges within the draft proposed Puget Sound No Discharge Zone (NDZ). These model simulations included potential vessel sewer discharges at six locations in Puget Sound along major shipping routes. Results are presented as virtual animations of surface concentrations, allowing us to visualize the transport, circulation, and dilution of these discharges over the course of several days.

Ecology and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory jointly developed a three-dimensional hydrodynamic FVCOM (Finite Volume Coastal Ocean Model) computer model of the Salish Sea. This model is …

Validation Of An Improved Helical Diode Array And Dose Reconstruction Software Using Tg‐244 Datasets And Stringent Dose Comparison Criteria, Saeed Ahmed, Benjamin Nelms, Jakub Kozelka, Geoffrey Zhang, Eduardo Moros, Vladimir Feygelman

Physics Faculty Publications

The original helical ArcCHECK (AC) diode array and associated software for 3D measurement‐guided dose reconstruction were characterized and validated; however, recent design changes to the AC required that the subject be revisited. The most important AC change starting in 2014 was a significant reduction in the overresponse of diodes to scattered radiation outside of the direct beam, accomplished by reducing the amount of high‐Z materials adjacent to the diodes. This change improved the diode measurement accuracy, but in the process invalidated the dose reconstruction models that were assembled based on measured data acquired with the older version of the AC. …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Dicopper(Ii) Complexes With Biological Relevance, Ashley E. Hall

Masters Theses

The research discussed in this study focused on the design, synthesis, and characterization of new model complexes that mimic the type-3 enzyme, catechol oxidase, which oxidizes catechols to their corresponding quinones. Our approach focused on the design and synthesis new model complexes that contain a dicopper(II) center that can be fine-tuned in a variety of ways, such as sterics and exogeneous bridging molecules. This method allows a multitude of complexes to be created and compared to determine how the overall structure affects the catecholase activity of the complexes.

Two ligands were synthesized; they contain a phenolate body, two amide groups, …

Bayesian Exponential Random Graph Models With Nodal Random Effects, Stephanie Thiemichen, Nial Friel, Alberto Caimo, Goeran Kauermann

Articles

We extend the well-known and widely used Exponential Random Graph Model (ERGM) by including nodal random effects to compensate for heterogeneity in the nodes of a network. The Bayesian framework for ERGMs proposed by Caimo and Friel (2011) yields the basis of our modelling algorithm. A central question in network models is the question of model selection and following the Bayesian paradigm we focus on estimating Bayes factors. To do so we develop an approximate but feasible calculation of the Bayes factor which allows one to pursue model selection. Two data examples and a small simulation study illustrate our mixed …

Bayesian Exponential Random Graph Modeling Of Whole-Brain Structural Networks Across Lifespan, Michel Sinke, Rick Dijkhuizen, Alberto Caimo, Cornelis Stam, Willem Otte

Articles

No abstract provided.

The Synthesis And Characterization Of Ni(Ii) And Cu(Ii) Cyanoximates, Adedamola Abraham Opalade

MSU Graduate Theses

The design of one-dimensional nickel wires were attempted. Metal complexes of hydrated Cu(II) and Ni(II) with several cyanoximates were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, thermal analysis, IR-, electronic- (solid state diffuse reflectance) spectroscopy, and the X-ray analysis (powder diffraction and single crystal studies). Hydrolysis of the HECO and HMeCO cyanoxime ligands leads to the formation of another dianionic cyanoxime – AACO2-, which forms multimetallic Cu(II) and Ni(II) complexes and oxamide as a side product. The crystal and molecular structures of 8 compounds were determined (6 metal complexes and 2 organic compounds). Two Ni metal complexes have distorted octahedral structures …

Exploration And Implementation Of Innovative Efficiencies/Devices In Beet Processing For Energy Production, Patrick Mcinerney

Theses

The imminent depletion of fossil fuels, as well as concerns for energy security and the obligation to respond to climate change has led to expanding worldwide popularity of Anaerobic Digestion (AD) of energy crops. Sugar beet is a popular AD feedstock due to its favourable characteristics; however it can be quite labour intensive requiring a range of specialist equipment to process the crop prior to undergoing AD. A crucial stage of this process involves the size reduction of beet by a mechanical chopper unit; this pretreatment breaks open the cellulose structure of the crop and increases the surface area available …

Low-Cost Fabrication Of Nanoelectrodes For Electrochemical Applications, Colm Barrett

Theses

Compared to traditional macroelectrodes, nanoscale electrodes have tremendous potential when employed in electrochemistry due to enhanced sensitivity arising from increased mass transport to the electrode and low background charging currents. Electrochemically- based diagnostic products such as sensors require sensing elements with greatly enhanced performance and nanoelectrodes offer a viable route to attaining this performance improvement.

Firstly, the fabrication of a polymer microneedle array-based sensor is described and employed to demonstrate a mediated approach for the detection of glucose in solution. This was to demonstrate the feasibility of the system for in-vivo sensing. Cyclic voltammetry was used to achieve detection of …

Structures And Nuclear Quadrupole Coupling Tensors Of 1,2-Dichloroethane, 1-Chloro-2-Fluoroethane And 2,3-Dichloropropene Studied Using Microwave Spectroscopy And Computational Chemistry, Asela Sampath Dikkumbura

Masters Theses

The Fourier-transform microwave (FTMW) spectra of 1,2-dichloroethane (12DCE), 1-chloro-2-fluoroethane (1C2FE) and 2,3-dichloropropene (23DCP) have been studied in the 6 to 18 GHz range to determine experimental rotational constants, nuclear quadrupole coupling constants (NQCC) and quartic centrifugal distortions constants. These three molecules have different spatial arrangements (anti and gauche) resulting from different relative orientations of chlorine and/or fluorine atoms about the C-C single bond. The lowest energy anti conformer of 12DCE is non-polar and it is not detectable by microwave spectroscopy, but rotational spectra of gauche-12DCE with three isotopologues, gauche-1C2FE with three isotopologues, and both anti- …

Understanding The Management Of Sustainability On One Public Midwestern College Campus, Eric Swinehart

Masters Theses

Environmental sustainability is a substantial issue within our world today that is on the forefront of policy makers' minds. Implementation of sustainability initiatives on a college campus comes in many forms and different scales, which falls upon the question of who manages all the moving pieces to make these initiatives successful. This study was designed to gain an understanding of how administrators are defining and implementing environmental sustainability initiatives on their campus, to understand their role in managing these tasks. Using a qualitative approach, the researcher interviewed a purposeful sample of four higher education administrators from one public Midwestern university. …

An Exposition Of The Eisenstein Integers, Sarada Bandara

Masters Theses

In this thesis, we will give a brief introduction to number theory and prime numbers. We also provide the necessary background to understand how the imaginary ring of quadratic integers behaves.

An example of said ring are complex numbers of the form ℤ[ω] = {a+bω ∣ a, b ∈ ℤ} where ω² + ω + 1 = 0. These are known as the Eisenstein integers, which form a triangular lattice in the complex plane, in contrast with the Gaussian integers, ℤ[i] = {a + bi ∣ a, b ∈ …

Design Of An Intrusion Detection System (Ids) And An Intrusion Prevention System (Ips) For The Eiu Cybersecurity Laboratory, Adekunle Adeyemo

Masters Theses

Cyber Security will always be a subject of discussion for a long time to come. Research has shown that there is massive growth of cyber-crime and the currently available number of Cyber Security experts to counter this is limited. Although there are multiple resources discussing Cyber Security, but access to training in practical applications is limited. As an institution, Eastern Illinois University (EIU) is set to start Masters of Science in Cyber Security in Fall 2017. Then the challenge is how EIU will expose students to the practical reality of Cyber Security where they can learn different detection, prevention and …

Assessing Habitat Compensation In The Lower Fraser River And Estuary, Megan A. Lievesley, Dan Stewart, Brad Mason, Rob Knight

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Over the last century, wetland ecosystems along the Lower Fraser River (LFR) have been heavily impacted by foreshore development and industry. Wetlands along the LFR provide important ecosystem services and habitat for wildlife such as rearing grounds for fish and staging grounds for migratory birds. For 30 years, habitat compensation has been the accepted method for offsetting habitat degradation; however, due to a lack of follow-up research and consistent baseline data it is yet to be determined if compensation projects truly replicate habitat lost. This project, funded by the National Wetland Conservation Fund, aims to (1) review, assess, and determine …

Holding The Line, To Let Shorelines Move Naturally, Kyle Loring

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

This poster will identify mechanisms for limiting the impacts of residential development on the natural functions of marine shorelines.

First, it will share the results from two recent legal cases that successfully prevented the unnecessary bulkheading of a documented surf smelt spawning beach on San Juan Island. Friends of the San Juans appealed two local permit approvals to the Shoreline Hearings Board. The local permits authorized two-tiered armoring that extended nearly 20 total feet in height and would have removed most of the vegetation that shaded the beaches and supplied insects for juvenile Chinook salmon in an area identified as …

Telling Stories: Designing Effective Data Visualization And Climate Change Communication Tools, Ilon E. Logan, Carol Macilroy

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

As a scientific community, our understanding of the potential effects of a changing climate has increased dramatically over the past decade. We are integrating multiple models with increasing sophistication and projecting impacts at the local scale. But the results of our scientific data and analysis are only as good as their presentation to the public and other decision-makers. Telling the stories of our work using technology and thoughtful, accurate, and visually compelling graphics is paramount in today’s information-rich environment. MacIlroy Consulting, Inc. and Environmental Science Associates (ESA) collaborated to develop data visualization and communication tools for the Skagit Climate Science …

Developing Locally-Driven (Shoreline) Monitoring Programs In The Salish Sea (And Beyond), David Sale

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

During the development of the Bainbridge Island Shoreline Monitoring Program (SMP), a volunteer group of scientists and engineers (Bainbridge Island Environmental Technical Advisory (ETAC)), provided the City of Bainbridge Island (COBI) City Council and staff with advice and recommendations on relevant shoreline science and the SMP. One of the recommendations was for COBI to adopt and initiate a locally–driven and -managed monitoring program to address both the effectiveness of the SMP over time, and uncertainties in knowledge of specific Bainbridge Island shoreline drivers and processes. The program would be designed to integrate past and current studies by COBI and other …

Volunteer-Assisted Monitoring Of A Significant Private Bulkhead Removal, Jeffrey Adams, Brenda Padgham, Jason David Toft, Kyra O'Neil, Kate Litle

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Monitoring efforts to restore physical and biological functions along developed shorelines can take many forms and be influenced by monitoring goals, the scope and scale of the project, and available resources. The Powel project in Port Madison on Bainbridge Island, Washington, had regional significance because of its scale (removing 1544 lineal feet of armor), the diversity of types of armor and shoreline, and its private ownership, but it lacked the funding to support a broad, long-term monitoring program. Not willing to let the opportunity pass without some effort to gather as much appropriate information as possible about the impact and …

Pacific Region Contaminants Atlas, Rob Knight, Chris Garrett, Peter Ross, Brad Mason

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

The Pacific Region Contaminants Atlas (PRCA) is an online resource created to explore environmental contaminants topics in British Columbia, Canada. The industrialized and urbanized Georgia Basin, situated in the southwestern corner of British Columbia, is one of the key areas of concern and is the current focus of this Atlas.

Information sharing is crucial to effective decision-making by stakeholders. This web atlas provides access to scientific and technical information to support such decision-making and presents information on successes, future needs, and continuing concerns with respect to contaminants in the Georgia Basin.

In addition, the Atlas includes a Kids’ Page, an …

A Long-Term Phytoplankton Monitoring Program For Central Puget Sound Using Particle Imaging, Gabriela Hannach, Lyndsey M. Swanson

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Puget Sound is a large and highly productive estuarine system that is vulnerable to climate change and anthropogenic impacts from a growing population. King County operates an exceptionally comprehensive, long-running monitoring program designed to assess water quality in the Puget Sound Central Basin. Data are collected year-round for a suite of physical, chemical, and biological parameters. Phyoplankton monitoring using traditional methods was added to the program in 2008 to address a significant biological data gap at the lower trophic level. Since acquisition of a FlowCAM particle imaging system in 2014 the program is generating a more extensive and robust dataset …

Protecting Puget Sound From Csos By Retrofitting Urban Neighborhoods With Green Stormwater Infrastructure, Kathryn Gwilym Pe, John Phillips, Steve Burke Pe, Peg Staeheli Fasla

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

In 2009 King County Wastewater Treatment Division (KCWTD) selected green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) as the preferred alternative for controlling combined sewer overflows (CSO) for the 1100-acre Barton combined sewer system (CSS) basin in Seattle. In 2008 KCWTD reported that the basin had an average of four overflows per year that discharge a total of four million gallons into Puget Sound. In order to reduce the overflows to no more than one CSO event per year for Washington State’s Department of Ecology compliance, KCWTD retrofitted 15 residential streets with bioretention cells in order to intercept, treat and reduce the amount of …

Green Infrastructure In The Community Ratings System: A Proposed Path To National Flood Insurance Program Recognition, Kevin Macwhorter, Kathleen Zaratzian

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

No abstract provided.

Movements Of Sub-Adult Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha) In Puget Sound, Washington, As Indicated By Hydroacoustic Tracking, Anna Kagley, Joseph Smith, Kurt L. Fresh, Kinsey Frick, Thomas P. (Thomas Peter) Quinn

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Alternative forms of migratory behavior can have substantial consequences for the growth, survival, and fitness of the individuals involved. Salmonids vary in the tendency of individuals to migrate to marine waters (anadromy) or remain in freshwater habitats. In addition, substantial variation in migratory patterns can exist among anadromous and resident species. This talk summarizes our use of hydroacoustic telemetry to investigate the movement patterns of anadromous Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha remaining in the marine waters of Puget Sound after ocean entry rather than continuing out to the coastal waters of the North Pacific Ocean, as is typical of the species. …

Waste Reduction At Western Kentucky University, Elizabeth Mcgrew

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

Handout created to show the single stream recycling trend at Western Kentucky University between 2012 and 2015.

2016 Abstracts Student Research Conference, Student Research Conference

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

No abstract provided.

A Nonparametric Statistical Approach To Analyzing Eelgrass Density Data, Traci L. Sanderson, Michelle Spani, Andrew Rippington

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

As part of continuing work in Port Gamble, WA a diver-based eelgrass survey was completed to support the application for a Hydraulic Project Approval (HPA), as required by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) for in-water work. The survey was completed following interim guidelines established by WDFW in 2008, although to fit the guidelines to the specific project some methods were modified and approved by WDFW. Collecting statistically robust data proved to be difficult, as shoot density in the eelgrass bed was highly variable. In some areas the variance was so high that power calculations estimated the …

Towards An Understanding Of The Role Of Cation Packaging On Dna Protection From Oxidative Damage, Cody E. Gay

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

In sperm chromatin, DNA exists in a highly condensed state reaching a final volume roughly twenty times that of a somatic nucleus. For the vast majority (>90%) of sperm DNA in mammals, somatic-like histones are first replaced by transition proteins which in turn are replaced by arginine-rich protamines. This near crystalline organization of the DNA in mature sperm is thought crucial for both the transport and protection of genetic information since all DNA repair mechanisms are shut down. Recent studies show that increased DNA damage is linked to dysfunctions in replacing histones with protamines resulting in mispackaged DNA. This …