Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Immediate Effects Of Cervicothoracic Manipulation Versus Stretching On Upper Trapezius Pressure Pain Thresholds And Range Of Motion In Individuals Without Neck Pain, Kevin Carr, Morgan King, Erin Oelklaus, Brendan Parry

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background and Purpose: Myofascial pain may be considered one of the most common clinical findings in patients with neck pain (NP). Motor aspects of myofascial pain include disturbed motor function and muscle weakness secondary to motor inhibition, muscle stiffness, and restricted range of motion (ROM). Currently, it is unclear which interventions may have the greatest immediate impact on pressure pain sensitivity and ROM. Several studies have demonstrated improved pressure pain thresholds (PPT) after cervical manipulation; however, it is not clear if manipulation targeted to the cervicothoracic (CT) junction will have a similar effect. Others recommend stretching as a method to …

Studies Of Flerovium And Element 115 Homologs With Macrocyclic Extractants, John Dustin Despotopulos

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Study of the chemistry of the heaviest elements, Z ≥ 104, poses a unique challenge due to their low production cross-sections and short half-lives. Chemistry also must be studied on the one-atom-at-a-time scale, requiring automated, fast, and very efficient chemical schemes. Recent studies of the chemical behavior of copernicium (Cn, element 112) and flerovium (Fl, element 114) together with the discovery of isotopes of these elements with half-lives suitable for chemical studies have spurred a renewed interest in the development of rapid systems designed to study the chemical properties of elements with Z ≥ 114. This dissertation explores both extraction …

Burdens And Benefits Of Climate Change Solutions: A Case Study Of Climate Change Skeptics And Deniers In Rural Nevada, Patricia Dutcher

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation is an ethnographic case study of climate change Doubtfuls and Dismissives with the purpose of understanding their perceptions of water use and renewable energy in the context of a changing climate. I also investigate the information sources and messages they use to understand climate change and climate change solutions. The Global Warming's Six Americas project identifies climate change Doubtfuls and Dismissives as one third of the American public, and an active voice in US climate change policy (Maibach et al, 2009; Leiserowitz et al., 2014). Doubtfuls are people with skeptical attitudes towards anthropogenic climate change, while Dismissives deny …

Numerical Analysis Of Convex Splitting Schemes For Cahn-Hilliard And Coupled Cahn-Hilliard-Fluid-Flow Equations, Amanda Emily Diegel

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation investigates numerical schemes for the Cahn-Hilliard equation and the Cahn-Hilliard equation coupled with a Darcy-Stokes flow. Considered independently, the Cahn-Hilliard equation is a model for spinodal decomposition and domain coarsening. When coupled with a Darcy-Stokes flow, the resulting system describes the flow of a very viscous block copolymer fluid. Challenges in creating numerical schemes for these equations arise due to the nonlinear nature and high derivative order of the Cahn-Hilliard equation. Further challenges arise during the coupling process as the coupling terms tend to be nonlinear as well. The numerical schemes presented herein preserve the energy dissipative structure …

Mass Table Calculations With Nuclear Density Functional Theory, Noah Watson Birge

Masters Theses

To better understand nuclei and the strong nuclear force, it is useful to analyze global nuclear properties and trends across the nuclear chart. To this end, we utilized Nuclear Density Functional Theory with Skyrme Energy Density Functionals in conjunction with high-performance computing to perform large-scale mass table calculations for even-even nuclei. Using the binding energy, pairing gap, root-mean-square radius, and deformation data from these tables we were able to analyze the two-proton and two-neutron drip lines, neutron skin depth, two-proton radioactivity, and the effect of nuclear deformation on mass filters. We used numerous energy density functionals to assess the statistical …

Injective Modules And Divisible Groups, Ryan Neil Campbell

Masters Theses

An R-module M is injective provided that for every R-monomorphism g from R-modules A to B, any R-homomorphism f from A to M can be extended to an R-homomorphism h from B to M such that hg = [equals] f. That is one of several equivalent statements of injective modules that we will be discussing, including concepts dealing with ideals of rings, homomorphism modules, short exact sequences, and splitting sequences. A divisible group G is defined when for every element x of G and every nonzero integer n, there exists y in …

Flexible Memory Allocation In Kinetic Monte Carlo Simulations, Aaron David Craig

Masters Theses

We introduce two new algorithms for Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations: the minimal and flexible allocation algorithms. The theory and computational challenges associated with K.M.C. simulations are briefly discussed. We outline the simple cubic, solid-on-solid model of epitaxial growth and analyze four methods for its simulation: the linear search, standard inverted list, minimal allocation, and flexible allocation algorithms. We then implement these algorithms, analyze their performances, and discuss implications of the results.

The Cms Pixel Luminosity Telescope Browser Interface, Mark Miller Foerster

Masters Theses

The search for and detailed study of new particles and forces with the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) of CERN is fundamentally dependent on the precise measurement of the rate at which proton-proton collisions produce any particles, the so-called luminosity. For the discovery of the Higgs candidate in 2012 the relative precision of this quantity was about 2.5%. To be able to observe deviations from Standard Model predictions for decay rates of this particle and others which can hint to new phenomena the targeted luminosity uncertainty is about 1%. Therefore, a new device, the …

A Model Of Activity And Intervention Across Social Networks, Allison Marie Heming

Masters Theses

Social network analysis is a growing field used to measure connectivity and activity of people and communities. We develop a model that creates a network and measures the overall activity of that network. We then apply interventions to this model and measure the change in overall activity. Through an optimization process we are able to determine the best course of action that minimizes or maximizes the overall activity of the network.

Numerical Methods For Solving Optimal Control Problems, Garrett Robert Rose

Masters Theses

There are many different numerical processes for approximating an optimal control problem. Three of those are explained here: The Forward Backward Sweep, the Shooter Method, and an Optimization Method using the MATLAB Optimization Tool Box. The methods will be explained, and then applied to three different test problems to see how they perform. The results show that the Forward Backward Sweep is the best of the three methods with the Shooter Method being a competitor.

Symmetry Detection In Integer Linear Programs, Jonathan David Schrock

Masters Theses

Symmetry has long been recognized as a major obstacle in integer programming. Unless properly recognized and exploited, the branch-and-bound tree generated when solving highly symmetric integer programs (IPs) can contain many identical subproblems, resulting in a waste of computational effort. Effective methods have been developed to exploit known symmetry. This thesis focuses on improving methods that compute the symmetry group of an IP. In the literature, computing the symmetry group of an IP is performed by generating a graph with a similar structure as the IP, and then computing the automorphism group of the graph. Unfortunately, these graphs may be …

Diatomic Carbon Measurements With Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy, Michael Jonathan Witte

Masters Theses

In this thesis, investigation of well-known carbon Swan spectra is of primary interest. Combustion processes and/or explosion of hydrocarbon fuels cause occurrence of the Swan band system that originates from diatomic carbon. Physical characteristics of low-temperature stars and the interstellar medium can also reveal the Swan bands. The diatomic carbon molecule shows that its lowest rotational levels are sensitive to temperature variation, and higher rotational levels are sensitive to the surrounding gas density and the radiation field. In addition, carbon is a crucial element for life and is the 4th most abundant element; therefore, it is important to ascertain accurately …

A Comparison Of Recent Results On The Unicity Conjecture Of The Markoff Equation, Brandon John Metz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In this thesis we discuss the positive integer solutions to the equation known as the Markoff equation

x² + y² + z² = 3xyz.

Each solution to the equation is a permutation of a triple (x,y,z) with [mathematical equation refer to PDF] which is called a Markoff triple and each integer of the triple is referred to as a Markoff number.

In 1913, Frobenius conjectured that given an ordered Markoff triple (x,y,z), then both x and y are uniquely determined by z. In other words, if both (x₁,y₁,z) and (x₂,y_{2 …}

Beryllium Is A Potent And Unique Gsk-3Β Inhibitor With Potential To Differentially Regulate Glycogen Synthase And Β-Catenin, Ata Ur Rahman Mohammed Abdul

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3β (GSK-3β) is an important serine/threonine kinase that phosphorylates/regulates diverse and metabolically important proteins. Some of the important substrates of GSK-3β are glycogen synthase, tau, β-catenin, cyclin D1, axin, c-jun, c-myc, Heat Shock Factor–1, BCL-3, CREB, Histone H1.5, mdm2, p21 (CIP1), pyruvate dehydrogenase and many more. De-regulation of GSK-3β has been implicated in diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, bipolar disorder and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Currently, GSK-3β is one of the most widely studied proteins and there is a great interest in developing potent and efficient GSK-3β-inhibitors for research as well as therapeutic purposes. We demonstrate that beryllium …

Situational Assessment Using Graph Comparison, Pavan Kumar Pallapunidi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In strategic operations, the assessment of any given situation is very important and may trigger the development of a mission plan. The mission plan consists of various actions that should be executed in order to successfully mitigate the situation. For a new mission plan to be designed or implemented, the effect of the previous mission plan should be accessed. These mission plans use various sensors to collect the data which can be very large and aggregate them to obtain detailed information of the situation. In order to implement an effective mission plan the current situation has to be assessed effectively. …

A Multi-Level Trust Management Scheme For The Internet Of Things, Anusha Ramanathan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The significance of the Internet of Things (IoT) in current trends is continuously rising. It is an umbrella term that signifies a network of physical devices that are embedded with electronics, software, sensors and connectivity that enable greater functions and services through the exchange of data accomplished through interconnection. The applications of the IoT are varied and numerous; they range from relatively simple home automation scenarios to the much more complex scenarios of interconnected smart cities. IoT is expected to dominate the future with huge amounts of content oriented traffic that is a result of intensive interactions between the millions …

Lead Hazard Control In Henderson, Nevada: Identifying Critical Areas And The Associated Costs, Khaye Gerazel Arcilla Rufin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Lead poisoning is a common, yet preventable childhood health problem in the United States today. Studies show statistically significant (p < .05) associations between higher childhood lead exposure and subsequent negative developmental outcomes. Since 1993, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Lead Hazard Control (LHC) Grant Program has devoted more than $1 billion in funding to several cities.

This study investigated a total of n=75 homes enrolled into the Henderson Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes Program (HLHCHHP) from December 2013 – February 2015. A logistic regression was performed to ascertain the frequency of lead-based paint (LBP) found in homes based on the year it was constructed. Of the 75 enrolled and tested for LBP, 58 homes (77.3%) were found to contain LBP and 17 homes (22.7%) did not contain LBP. The significance value of p=0.013 shows that …

A Study Of Sequential Inference For The Risk Ratio And Measure Of Reduction Of Two Binomials, Zhou Wang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The binomial distribution is one of the most commonly and widely occurring probabilistic phenomena in our lives. Since observations from independent Bernoulli trials yield a dichotomous type, the distribution of sequences provides the basis and clue for statistical formulations of a wide variety of problems.

Occasionally, the core of biomedical studies is related to the comparison and evaluation of the risks of events or outcomes of interest in comparing populations under study. For instance, one wishes to compare two groups of subjects drawn from two independent populations. Then, two sample proportions play central roles in those comparisons. One of the …

An Assessment Of New Jersey Trout Production Systems : A Movement Towards Sustainability, Luke J. Diglio

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

New Jersey supports reproducing populations of three lotic salmonids. Only Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) are native and until approximately 100 years ago, were found in abundance throughout the northern part of the state. Presently, native populations have been documented in 115 streams or stream sections and declines are thought to be in response to anthropogenically originated environmental stressors. To evaluate the deterioration extent and assess numbers of breeding non-native Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) and Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), comparisons are made between sets of historical (1968-1977) and modern (2001-2010) young-of-the-year presence/absence and abundance data …

On The 3-Dimensional Fluid-Structure Interaction Of Flexible Fibers In A Flow, Ryan Howard Allaire

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

We discuss the equilibrium configurations of a flexible fiber clamped to a spherical body and immersed in a flow of fluid moving with a speed ranging between 0 and 50 cm/s. Experimental results are presented with both two-dimensional and three-dimensional numerical simulations used to model this problem. We present the effects of flow speed and initial configuration angle between the fiber and the direction of the flow. Investigations reveal that both the orientation of the fiber and the fiber length have a significant impact on the deformation of the fiber as well as on the forces it experiences. Specifically, we …

Novel [3,3]- And [1,3]- Rearrangements Of Azole-Derived N,X-Ketene Acetals, Sefat A. Alwarsh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The formation of carbon-carbon bonds in organic chemistry is fundamentally important. One of the major reactions that chemists have widely investigated is the Claisen rearrangement. Based on the fundamental features of this rearrangement, chemists exploited the capability of the transformation and invented their own variations of Claisen-type rearrangements. Our goal in this project is to develop a novel variation of the Claisen rearrangement using azole compounds, which are common heteroaromatic ring systems that are present extensively in the biomedically important natural products. We propose here novel methodologies of preparing 2-substitution azole derivatives using aza-based Claisen rearrangement, N,X-ketene acetals that requires …

Numerical Study Of Body Shape And Wing Flexibility In Fluid Structure Interaction, Peter Nolan

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

We discuss the equilibrium configurations of fibers clamped to an ellipsoidal body and immersed in a flow ranging between 0-50 cm/s. Experimental and numerical results are presented and the effects of flow speed, body shape, and orientation of the fibers upon the equilibrium configuration are investigated. Our investigations reveal that the orientation of the fibers, the length of the length fibers, as well as, the shape of the body has a significant impact upon the bending and drag experienced by the ellipsoid-fiber system. We note that (i) less eccentric bodies experience greater drag forces and increased bending of the attached …

Characterization Of Uv-Quenching Dissolved Organic Matter In Landfill Leachate, Alicja Trzopek

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Discharge of landfill leachate to publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) is a common and preferred practice in the United States. Namely, the leachate is mixed with municipal wastewater prior to traditional secondary wastewater treatment, including physical screening, primary settling, aerobic biological degradation, secondary settling and disinfection. Recently, ultraviolet (UV) light has been increasingly applied as a disinfection method at POTWs as an alternative for traditional chlorination, because the latter can produce unwanted disinfection byproducts. However, high strength dissolved organic matter (DOM) in leachate significantly increase the UV absorbing properties of the mixed wastewater at POTWs and decrease the disinfection efficiency …

Toward The Synthesis Of [4.2.1]Di-Azabicyclic Systems, Carlos Abel Gomez

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Conformationally restricted bicyclic amines have been found to be very useful scaffolds in medicinal chemistry. Examples can be found in the chemical literature for the application of conformationally restricted diamines. These molecules can be used as enzyme inhibitors or GPCR ligands. Conformational restriction can improve affinity and selectivity toward receptors. The stereochemical diversity-oriented approach is a method that explores stereochemical effects in small molecule ligands for proteins. It is an effective strategy when the bioactive conformation of a ligand and the pharmacophore of the binding site are unknown. These concepts are applied in the design the target [4.2.1]di-azabicyclic compounds. The …

Interlace Polynomial Of A Special Eulerian Graph, Christian A. Hyra

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In a recent paper, Arratia, Bollobas and Sorkin discussed a graph polynomial defined recursively, which they call the interlace polynomial. There have been previous results on the interlace polynomials for special graphs, such as paths, cycles, and trees. Applications have been found in biology and other areas. In this research, I focus on the interlace polynomial of a special type of Eulerian graph, built from one cycle of size n and n cycle three graphs. I developed explicit formulas by implementing the toggling process to the graph. I further investigate the coefficients and special values of the interlace polynomial. Some …

The Relationship Between Extracellular Enzyme Activities, Heavy Metals And Particle Size In Soil, Diane Frances Hagmann

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The overall goal of this research is to investigate the relationship between nutrient cycling and heavy metals in soil. Extracellular enzyme activities were measured as a representation of nutrient cycling in soils collected from a heavy-metal contaminated area where four study sites lie along a gradient of increasing metal load. The site, which was previously a rail yard, is located in Liberty State Park (LSP) in Jersey City, NJ that was closed to the public about 40 years ago and remains closed. My hypothesis is that heavy metal contamination impacts the microbial communities in the soil and therefore the extent …

Nonlinear Gravitational-Wave Memory From Merging Binary Black Holes, Goran Dojcinoski

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Gravitational waves are oscillations in spacetime that propagate throughout the universe at the speed of light. They are a prediction of Einstein’s theory of General Relativity. Detectable sources of gravitational waves are typically collisions of black holes or other compact objects (neutron stars, white dwarfs). While most gravitational-wave signals are expected to be oscillatory in nature, some will exhibit a phenomenon called gravitational-wave memory. This refers to a non-oscillatory component of the gravitational wave signal that can leave a permanent distortion (or “memory” ) in a gravitational-wave detector. The nonlinear memory effect is a type of memory signal that arises …

Distinguishing Macrophage Activation States By Mass Spectrometry, Matthias Manfred Knust

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Macrophages are versatile and highly adaptive cells that are involved in a wide range of physiological processes including host defense, homeostasis or regeneration, as well as pathogenesis. They react to their microenvironment, assuming various roles based on chemical and/or physical cues, and can reversibly shift between these so-called activation states. Concurrently, the technique of immunohistochemistry is used to gain spatial information on activated macrophages on tissue sections. The aim of this work was to find mass spectral biomarkers that allow the differentiation of activation states, and establish conditions that can be used in imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) experiments to investigate …

Petrology And Weathering Environment Of Sub-Unconformity Limestone Unit: The Kessler Limestone Member Of The Bloyd Formation, Morrowan (Pennsylvanian) Northwest Arkansas, Thomas Daniels Dolan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In northwest Arkansas the thin, widespread Pennsylvanian Kessler Limestone of the Bloyd Formation is exposed in numerous locations. Comparison of various exposures shows the Kessler is heterogeneous in thickness and lithology. Thickening of the Kessler occurs southward into the Arkoma Basin where the interval has been commonly used as a horizon for natural gas exploration. The Kessler Limestone is underlain by the Dye Shale Member of the Bloyd Formation and overlain by the Trace Creek Shale of the Atoka Formation. The contact between the Kessler Limestone Member and the Trace Creek is a regional unconformity in the midcontinent, marked by …

Design And Verification Environment For High-Performance Video-Based Embedded Systems, Michael Mefenza Nentedem

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, a method and a tool to enable design and verification of computation demanding embedded vision-based systems is presented. Starting with an executable specification in OpenCV, we provide subsequent refinements and verification down to a system-on-chip prototype into an FPGA-Based smart camera. At each level of abstraction, properties of image processing applications are used along with structure composition to provide a generic architecture that can be automatically verified and mapped to the lower abstraction level. The result is a framework that encapsulates the computer vision library OpenCV at the highest level, integrates Accelera's System-C/TLM with UVM and QEMU-OS …