Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Wintering American Black Duck Ecology Of Central Appalachia, Sara E. Yannuzzi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The American black duck (Anas rubripes) is a species of dabbling duck found only in the northeastern part of North America, and widely hunted until its decline. Since the 1950s, the total population has decreased by 53%. Habitat degradation and decline of wintering and breeding wetlands, historic overharvest, and interactions with the mallard (A. platyrhynchos) are attributed as some of the main causes of the black duck population’s decrease. Many policies and taxa- and habitat-specific joint ventures have since been created to aid in studying and improving North American wetlands and black duck populations throughout both their breeding and wintering …

The Use Of Item Response Theory In Survey Methodology: Application In Seat Belt Data, Mark K. Ledbetter, Norou Diawara, Bryan E. Porter

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Problem: Several approaches to analyze survey data have been proposed in the literature. One method that is not popular in survey research methodology is the use of item response theory (IRT). Since accurate methods to make prediction behaviors are based upon observed data, the design model must overcome computation challenges, but also consideration towards calibration and proficiency estimation. The IRT model deems to be offered those latter options. We review that model and apply it to an observational survey data. We then compare the findings with the more popular weighted logistic regression. Method: Apply IRT model to the observed data …

Numerical Simulation For A Rising Bubble Interacting With A Solid Wall: Impact, Bounce, And Thin Film Dynamics, Changjuan Zhang, Jie Li, Li-Shi Luo, Tiezheng Qian

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Using an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian method on an adaptive moving unstructured mesh, we carry out numerical simulations for a rising bubble interacting with a solid wall. Driven by the buoyancy force, the axisymmetric bubble rises in a viscous liquid toward a horizontal wall, with impact on and possible bounce from the wall. First, our simulation is quantitatively validated through a detailed comparison between numerical results and experimental data. We then investigate the bubble dynamics which exhibits four different behaviors depending on the competition among the inertial, viscous, gravitational, and capillary forces. A phase diagram for bubble dynamics has been produced using …

The Beauty Of Numbers In Nature: Mathematical Patterns And Principles From The Natural World [Book Review], John A. Adam

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

(First paragraph) It came as quite a shock at the time. I cannot recall exactly when it happened, but it certainly caught me by surprise. For most of my life, and certainly from elementary school (or “primary” school in the UK) through high school I had become used to seeing posters and books illustrating the “standard” map of the world: the Mercator projection. Of course, Greenwich, London, sat at longitude 0◦ (and still does!). And certainly I knew that planet Earth is spheroidal and that this flat projection distorted the shapes and areas (especially near the polar regions), but somehow …

Dimensional Analysis: Physical Insight Gained Through Algebra, John A. Adam

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Magnetron Sputtering Of Nb3Sn For Srf Cavities, Md. N. Sayeed, H. Elsayed-Ali, G. V. Eremeev, M. J. Kelley, U. Pudasaini, C. E. Reece

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Nb₃Sn is a potential candidate for surface material of SRF cavities since it can enable the cavity to operate at higher temperatures with high quality factor and at an increased accelerating gradient. Nb-Sn films were deposited using magnetron sputtering of individual Nb and Sn targets onto Nb and sapphire substrates. The as-deposited films were annealed at 1200 °C for 3 hours. The films were characterized for their structure by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), morphology by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), and composition by Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). The …

Effects Of Light Reflection On Spatial Visualization Ability And Implications For Engineering Technology Students, Petros Katsioloudis, Mildred Jones

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Results from a number of studies indicate that the type of light generated by the reflection on the surface of different types of surfaces can influence the spatial visualization ability; however, research provides inconsistent results. Considering this, a quasi-experimental study was conducted to identify the existence of statistically significant effects on spatial visualization ability as measured by the Mental Cutting Test and Sectional View drawing ability due to the impacts of light reflection. In particular, the study compared three types of light reflection; mirror, specular and diffuse and whether a significant difference exists among engineering technology students. According to the …

Transient Lattice Deformations Of Crystals Studied By Means Of Ultrafast Time-Resolved X-Ray And Electron Diffraction, Runze Li, Kyle Sundqvist, Jie Chen, H. E. Elsayed-Ali, Jie Zhang, Peter M. Rentzepis

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Ultrafast lattice deformation of tens to hundreds of nanometer thick metallic crystals, after femtosecond laser excitation, was measured directly using 8.04 keV subpicosecond x-ray and 59 keV femtosecond electron pulses. Coherent phonons were generated in both single crystal and polycrystalline films. Lattice compression was observed within the first few picoseconds after laser irradiation in single crystal aluminum, which was attributed to the generation of a blast force and the propagation of elastic waves. The different time scales of lattice heating for tens and hundreds nanometer thick films are clearly distinguished by electron and x-ray pulse diffraction. The electron and lattice …

Positive Definite Functions And Dual Pairs Of Locally Convex Spaces, Daniel Alpay, Saak Gabriyelyan

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Using pairs of locally convex topological vector spaces in duality and topologies defined by directed families of sets bounded with respect to the duality, we prove general factorization theorems and general dilation theorems for operator-valued positive definite functions.

On The Efficacy Of High-Dose Ascorbic Acid As Anticancer Treatment: A Literature Survey, Florentin Smarandache, Victor Christianto

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid, ascorbate) has a controversial history in cancer treatment. Emerging evidence indicates that ascorbate in cancer treatment deserves re-examination. As research results concerning ascorbate pharmacokinetics and its mechanisms of action against tumor cells have been published, and as evidence from case studies has continued to mount that ascorbate therapy could be effective if the right protocols were used, interest among physicians and scientists has increased.

Rough Neutrosophic Digraphs With Application, Florentin Smarandache, Sidra Sayed, Nabeela Ishfaq, Muhammad Akram

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

A rough neutrosophic set model is a hybrid model which deals with vagueness by using the lower and upper approximation spaces. In this research paper, we apply the concept of rough neutrosophic sets to graphs. We introduce rough neutrosophic digraphs and describe methods of their construction. Moreover, we present the concept of self complementary rough neutrosophic digraphs. Finally, we consider an application of rough neutrosophic digraphs in decision-making.

Mental Models And Neutrosophic Cognitive Maps (Modelos Mentales Y Mapas Cognitivos Neutrosóficos), Maykel Leyva-Vazquez, Rebeca Escobar-Jara, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In this work, elements related to mental models elicitation and analysis are addressed through causal models. Issues related to the need to include indeterminacy in causal relationships through neutrophic cognitive maps are discussed. A proposal for static analysis in neutrosophic cognitive maps is presented. The following activities are included in the proposal: Calculate, measures of centrality, Classify nodes, De-neutrosification, and Ranking nodes. As future works, the incorporation of new metrics of centrality in neutrosophic cognitive maps is proposed. The inclusion of scenario analysis to the proposal is another area of future work.

Neutropsychic Personality / A Mathematical Approach To Psychology (Third Enlarged Edition), Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

Neutropsyche is the psychological theory that studies the soul or spirit using the neutrosophy and neutrosohic theories. In other words: Neutrosophic Psychological Theory. It is based on triadic neutrosophic psychological concepts of the form (A, neutA, antiA).

Neutropsychic Personality is a neutrosophic dynamic open psychological system of tendencies to feel, think, and act specific to each individual, based on

Neutrosophic Refined Memory: that restructured the division of memory into: consciousness, aconsciousness (which we introduce as a blend of consciousness and unconsciousness), and unconsciousness. Aconscious was further subdivided into preconscious, subconscious, semiconscious = semiunconscious, subunconscious, and preunconscious …

Mod Rectangular Natural Neutrosophic Numbers, Florentin Smarandache, K. Ilanthenral, W.B. Vasantha Kandasamy

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In this book authors introduce the new notion of MOD rectangular planes. The functions on them behave very differently when compared to MOD planes (square). These are different from the usual MOD planes. Algebraic structures on these MOD rectangular planes are defined and developed. However we have built only MOD interval natural neutrosophic products

Application Of Machine Learning On Fracture Interference, Dennis Wayne Chamberlain Jr.

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

A method has been developed that locates and determines well-to-well hydraulic fracture interference (frac-hit) in shale plays using hard data. This method uses Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) with designated parameters and target outputs in conjunction with graphs of gas flowrate, tubing pressure, and cumulative gas prediction. The method was created to address the significant increase in frac-hit occurrences due to the infill wells being completed in shale plays. The production data of the well is first cleaned to eliminate outliers in the initial timeframe of the well and periods of no production so that the ANN model can be accurately …

Habitat Suitability Of Restored Wetlands And An Investigation Of Sampling Bias For Freshwater Turtles In West Virginia, Alissa L. Gulette

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Loss and drainage of wetlands in the United States has been remediated in part by wetland restoration on agricultural lands through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), operated by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Freshwater turtles are important components of wetland ecosystems, where they contribute to nutrient cycling, storage, and transfer between terrestrial and aquatic systems, and function as apex predators. In 2016 and 2017, we investigated use of wetlands restored through the ACEP program in West Virginia by two common freshwater turtle species, snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) and painted turtles (Chrysemys picta), and obtained comparative data from reference wetlands. …

An Analysis Of Multiple Stressors On Resident Benthic Communities In A California Agricultural Stream, Lenwood W. Hall Jr., Ronald D. Anderson, William D. Killen, Raymond W. Allen Iii

Office of the Provost (TUN) Publications and Research

This 3-year study (2015-2017) was designed to characterize benthic communities (macroinvertebrates) and physical habitat in an agriculturally dominated waterbody in the Central Coast area of California (Santa Maria River). Benthic communities as represented by various metrics that represent richness, composition, tolerance/intolerance and trophic measures were used as response variables for the various stressors described below. Concurrent water quality evaluations, physical sediment parameters (grain size and total organic carbon [TOC]), pyrethroids, bulk metals—including simultaneously extracted metals (SEM) and acid volatile sulfides (AVS) ratios—and nutrients were measured. The relationship of various benthic metrics to physical habitat metrics, pyrethroids, metals, nutrients and sediment …

Generating Species Assemblages For Restoration And Experimentation: A New Method That Can Simultaneously Converge On Average Trait Values And Maximize Functional Diversity, David C. Laughlin, Loïc Chalmandrier, Chaitanya Joshi, Michael Renton, John M. Dwyer, Jennifer L. Funk

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

1.Restoring resilient ecosystems in an era of rapid environmental change requires a flexible framework for selecting assemblages of species based on functional traits. However, current trait‐based models have been limited to algorithms that select species assemblages that only converge on specified average trait values, and could not accommodate the common desire among restoration ecologists to generate functionally diverse assemblages.

2.We have solved this problem by applying a nonlinear optimization algorithm to solve for the species relative abundances that maximize Rao's quadratic entropy (Q) subject to other linear constraints. Rao's Q is a closed‐form algebraic expression of functional diversity …

Going Negative: The Next Horizon In Climate Engineering Law, Tracy Hester, Michael B. Gerrard

Faculty Scholarship

As the global community struggles to turn the Paris Agreement’s commitments into meaningful emission reductions and the United States turbulently reverses its climate policies, the potential role of “negative emissions technologies” and other climate engineering approaches is drawing increasingly serious attention. These technologies are engineering on the grandest scale: climate engineering seeks to offset the effects of anthropogenic climate change by either altering the solar radiation reaching the earth’s surface or changing the composition of the atmosphere itself. Specifically, negative emissions technologies would directly remove greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the ambient air and help to remove accumulated atmospheric carbon dioxide …

The Effects Of Fire On Snow Accumulation, Snowmelt And Ground Thaw On A Peat Plateau In Subarctic Canada, Elyse Mathieu

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

During the past century, the highest rates of warming have occurred at latitudes above 60^oN, where air temperatures have risen at twice the rate of other regions. In northwestern Canada, this warming has coincided with an increase in the frequency, size and severity of wildfires. The influence of such fires on the trajectory of on-going permafrost thaw is not well understood. As a consequence, the combined impacts of climate warming induced permafrost thaw and possible feedbacks arising from wildfires cannot be properly assessed. This study examines the impact of a 2.7 ha low-severity wildfire (July 2014) on water …

Abelian Subalgebras Of Maximal Dimension In Euclidean Lie Algebras, Mark Curro

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In this paper we define, discuss and prove the uniqueness of the abelian subalgebra of maximal dimension of the Euclidean Lie algebra. We also construct a family of maximal abelian subalgebras and prove that they are maximal.

Nonlinear Coupled Effects In Nanomaterials, Sia Bhowmick

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Materials at the nanoscale have different chemical, structural, and optoelectrical properties compared to their bulk counterparts. As a result, such materials, called nanomaterials, exhibit observable differences in certain physical phenomena. One such resulting phenomenon called the piezoelectric effect has played a crucial role in miniature self-powering electronic devices called nanogenerators which are fabricated by using nanostructures, such as nanowires, nanorods, and nanofilms. These devices are capable of harvesting electrical energy by inducing mechanical strain on the individual nanostructures. Electrical energy created in this manner does not have environmental limitations. In this thesis, important coupled effects, such as the nonlinear piezoelectric …

Spatial Modelling And Wildlife Health Surveillance: A Case Study Of White Nose Syndrome In Ontario, Lauren Yee

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Wildlife data is often limited by survey effort, small sample sizes, and spatial biases associated with collection and missing data. These factors can create unique challenges from a surveillance perspective when trying to extract spatial patterns of habitat suitability and disease distributions for conservation and management purposes. This thesis examined data quality from a wildlife health database in the context of spatial analysis of wildlife disease. Spatial analysis of the data to predict habitat suitability of bats and white nose syndrome afflicted bats was examined by using the MaxEnt modelling method. Methods to reduce spatial bias were examined and specific …

Synthesis, Properties, And Solid-State Structures Of A Series Of 6,13-Dicyanoheteropentacene Analogues: Towards New Liquid Crystalline Materials, L Hiscock, Kenneth E. Maly, Louise N. Dawe

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The focus of this thesis is the synthesis of novel heterocyclic pentacene analogs and the investigation of their self-organization for the development of new materials for organic electronics. The thesis consists of two interrelated projects: the first being development of an improved synthesis of a series of liquid crystalline dicyanotetraoxapentacenes (DCTOPs) while the second entails the exploratory synthesis of several novel dicyanoheteropentacene analogues and a preliminary investigation of their photophysical properties and solid-state structures. Both of these projects centre around the use of nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions on tetrafluoroterephthalonitrile.

Soluble, tetrakis(bis(alkoxy)phenyl)-substituted DCTOPs were originally synthesised via a short synthesis complicated …

Landscape Scale Spectral-Temporal Modelling Of Bamboo-Dominated Forest Succession Within The Atlantic Forest Of Southern Brazil, Clara Greig

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Tropical and subtropical ecosystems have become vulnerable to biological invasion (i.e., bamboo) due to human induced forest fragmentation. Bamboo ecological processes have been found to impede forest development, resulting in a state of arrested succession, which has been found to significantly reduce biodiversity, thus contributing to biotic homogenization. In this study we use a semi-empirical approach to develop a community-level spatially explicit ecological process model (hybrid model) using a time-series of Landsat imagery to describe single-landscape scale ecological processes of a pervasive bamboo species (Merostachys skvortzovii) found throughout the Araucaria forest, a critically threatened subtype of Atlantic forest …

Spatial And Temporal Variability Of The Snow Environment In The Western Canadian Arctic, Philip Mann

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Snow cover in the Western Canadian Arctic is a significant input to the hydrological mass balance, it produces shelter and habitat for animals and humans, and supports interactions with vegetation and climate. The Arctic-tundra snow cover is greatly impacted by wind erosion, redistribution and deposition of snow during high wind events over the winter months. As a result, the end of winter snow cover is characterised by significant small-scale (on the order of a few meters) spatial variations in snow cover depth, density, and thus snow water equivalent (SWE), and runoff. Future climate related changes to snow cover depth and …

Permafrost Thaw-Induced Forest To Wetland Conversion: Potential Impacts On Snowmelt And Basin Runoff In Northwestern Canada, Emily Haughton

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In the discontinuous permafrost zone of northwestern Canada, snow covers the ground surface for over half the year, thus snowmelt constitutes a primary source of ecosystem moisture supply and strongly influences stream hydrographs. The peat landscapes along the southern limit of discontinuous permafrost are dominated by forested permafrost plateaus (“forest”), and treeless, permafrost-free wetlands (“wetland”). Permafrost-thaw induced transformation of this landscape has changed water flow and storage processes and therefore introduced new uncertainties on the region’s water futures. Here, I a) characterize forest and wetland water storage and flow from snowmelt, and b) evaluate how permafrost thaw-induced wetland expansion at …

Effect Of Socioeconomic And Demographic Factors On Kentucky Crashes, Aaron Berry Cambron

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

The goal of this research was to examine the potential predictive ability of socioeconomic and demographic data for drivers on Kentucky crash occurrence. Identifying unique background characteristics of at-fault drivers that contribute to crash rates and crash severity may lead to improved and more specific interventions to reduce the negative impacts of motor vehicle crashes. The driver-residence zip code was used as a spatial unit to connect five years of Kentucky crash data with socioeconomic factors from the U.S. Census, such as income, employment, education, age, and others, along with terrain and vehicle age. At-fault driver crash counts, normalized over …

Investigation Of Volatile Organic Compounds (Vocs) Detected At Vapor Intrusion Sites, Mohammadyousef Roghani

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

This dissertation investigates unexplained vapor intrusion field data sets that have been observed at hazardous waste sites, including: 1) non-linear soil gas concentration trends between the VOC source (i.e. contaminated groundwater plume) and the ground surface; and, 2) alternative pathways that serve as entry points for vapors to infiltrate into buildings and serve to increase VOC exposure risks as compared to the classic vapor intrusion model, which primarily considered foundation cracks as the route for vapor entry. The overall hypothesis of this research is that theoretical knowledge of fate and transport processes can be systematically applied to vapor intrusion field …

Introduction To "Probability", Lawrence Leemis

Arts & Sciences Book Chapters

This calculus-based introduction to probability covers all of the traditional topics, along with a secondary emphasis on Monte Carlo simulation. Examples that introduce applications from a wide range of fields help the reader apply probability theory to real-world problems. The text covers all of the topics associated with Exam P given by the Society of Actuaries. Over 100 figures highlight the intuitive and geometric aspects of probability. Over 800 exercises are used to reinforce concepts and make this text appropriate for classroom use.