Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Alkali Linewidths Under High Temperatures And Pressures Of 3he, Michael Parker

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Current research at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility is being conducted to study the spin structure of the neutron through collisions with polarized 3He nuclei. The helium is contained in high pressure glass vessels (called cells) along with nitrogen, rubidium, and potassium. To deduce the spin structure from collisions, we need to know the precise number density of 3He in the cell. The process of polarizing 3He through spin-exchange optical pumping requires nitrogen and alkali metal. We can use the absorption linewidths of rubidium and potassium to more accurately determine the density of helium. Throughout my research, I collected absorption …

Spectroscopic Measurements Of Meibum Compositional, Structural, And Functional Relationships To Elucidate The Role Of Meibum In Dry Eye., Anthony Chigozie Ewurum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The major aim of my dissertation was to investigate the etiology of dry eye disease which affects about 7 million people in the United States, causing symptoms that can lead to visual disturbance. Correlation between dry eye and an abnormal lipid layer of the tear film has been found. Tear film lipids originate mostly from the meibomian glands. Cholesteryl ester (CE) and Wax ester (WE) lipids make up most of the human meibum lipidome and the CE/WE ratio has been shown to decrease in patients with meibomian gland dysfunction. Model studies using synthetic CE and WE, although providing some insight, …

Extremal Problems In Graph Saturation And Covering, Adam Volk

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation considers several problems in extremal graph theory with the aim of finding the maximum or minimum number of certain subgraph counts given local conditions. The local conditions of interest to us are saturation and covering. Given graphs F and H, a graph G is said to be F-saturated if it does not contain any copy of F, but the addition of any missing edge in G creates at least one copy of F. We say that G is H-covered if every vertex of G is contained in at least one copy of H. In the former setting, we …

An Examination Of The Statistics And Risk Management Concepts Behind The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act (Ppaca) Of 2010, Scott Sinclair

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is the overarching federal law that has impacted the intricacies of the health insurance market for more than a decade. Using the supervised learning method of multiple linear regression, the relationship between the medical loss ratio rebates and predictor variables such as the state, health insurance market, and the number of insurance companies owing rebates will be analyzed, along with the actuarial value of metal tiers and geographic rating area factors in terms of their relationship to the insurance premium for a standard family of four, defined as a forty-year-old couple with …

Using Nasa's Tess Mission To Search For Extremely Low Mass White Dwarf Stars, Corinna Peña

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Extremely low-mass white dwarf stars (ELM) are white dwarf stars with a mass lower than 0.45 solar masses that could not have evolved through normal processes within the lifetime of our universe. Therefore, these objects can only be created through a common envelope phase or a stable Roche lobe overflow while in a binary. These objects have periods between a few minutes to a few hours, so they are very short lived which makes them very rare. My goal for this project was to find these ELM stars by using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) data. I analyzed this …

Nucleic Acid Editing By Adenosine Deaminase Enzymes, Josey Rae Mckinley

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

RNA editing is crucial to the genetic diversity and structural complexity of organisms. ADAR (adenosine deaminase acting on RNA) is an RNA editing enzyme that creates a mutation of adenosine to inosine. The human ADAR2 (hADAR2) enzyme is known to edit RNA; however, it contains minor sequence homology with the cytidine deaminase enzymes, APOBEC and AID, which are known to edit both DNA and RNA (11 & 12). The ability of hADAR2 to edit DNA was tested through transformation into the Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strain BY4741. DNA editing was tested by determining if the transformed yeast became resistant to the …

Design Optimal Health Insurance Policies From Multiple Perspectives, Lianlian Zhou

Theses and Dissertations

The majority of the literature about moral hazard focuses only on qualitative studies. If a health insurance plan imposes little copayment on the insured, the insured may be motivated to have more than necessary medical services, which would raise the insurer’s share of cost. This is referred to as moral hazard. Furthermore, the involvement of a third party–healthcare providers adds more complications on moral hazard. Healthcare providers and patients might choose to collaborate to benefit more from insurance reimbursement, which consequently result in unnecessary loss of the insurer. In this dissertation, we attempt to solve these issues and focus on …

Spectral Signatures Of Hydrogen Thioperoxide (Hosh) And Hydrogen Persulfide (Hssh): Possible Molecular Sulfur Sinks In The Dense Ism, Charles Z. Palmer, Ryan C. Fortenberry, Joseph S. Francisco

Faculty and Student Publications

For decades, sulfur has remained underdetected in molecular form within the dense interstellar medium (ISM), and somewhere a molecular sulfur sink exists where it may be hiding. With the discovery of hydrogen peroxide (HOOH) in the ISM in 2011, a natural starting point may be found in sulfur-bearing analogs that are chemically similar to HOOH: hydrogen thioperoxide (HOSH) and hydrogen persulfide (HSSH). The present theoretical study couples the accuracy in the anharmonic fundamental vibrational frequencies from the explicitly correlated coupled cluster theory with the accurate rotational constants provided by canonical high-level coupled cluster theory to produce rovibrational spectra for use …

Search For Charged Lepton Flavor Violating Decays Of ϒ (1s), S. Patra, V. Bhardwaj, K. Trabelsi, I. Adachi, H. Aihara, S. Al Said, D. M. Asner, H. Atmacan, T. Aushev, R. Ayad, V. Babu, S. Bahinipati, P. Behera, K. Belous, J. Bennett, M. Bessner, B. Bhuyan, T. Bilka, A. Bobrov

Faculty and Student Publications

We present a search for the charged lepton-flavor-violating decays ϒ(1S) →ℓ±ℓ′∓ and radiative charged lepton-flavour-violating decays ϒ(1S) → γℓ±ℓ′∓ [ℓ,ℓ′ = e, μ, τ] using the 158 million ϒ(2S) sample collected by the Belle detector at the KEKB collider. This search uses ϒ(1S) mesons produced in ϒ(2S) → π+π− ϒ(1S) transitions. We do not find any significant signal, so we provide upper limits on the branching fractions at the 90% confidence level. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Exploring Tunable Magnetization And High-Temperature Ferromagnetism In Ternary Transition Metal-Based Chalcogenides, Hector Iturriaga

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The discovery of long-range magnetic ordering in ultrathin transition metal-based compounds shows great promise for the development of nanoscale memory and spintronic devices. Composed of cost-effective materials and boasting from strong chemical and thermal stability at low dimensions, van der Waals (vdW) ternary transition metal chalcogenide magnets like CrSiTe3 (CST), Fe2.7GeTe2 (FGT), and Mn3Si2Te6 (MST), provide not only possible energy solutions, but also a broad platform to explore the versatile magnetic character of this family of compounds. Although they have great potential, it has been found that their long-range magnetic ordering exists at temperatures far too low (the highest of …

Control And Calibration Strategies For Quantum Simulation, Paul M. Kairys

Doctoral Dissertations

The modeling and prediction of quantum mechanical phenomena is key to the continued development of chemical, material, and information sciences. However, classical computers are fundamentally limited in their ability to model most quantum effects. An alternative route is through quantum simulation, where a programmable quantum device is used to emulate the phenomena of an otherwise distinct physical system. Unfortunately, there are a number of challenges preventing the widespread application of quantum simulation arising from the imperfect construction and operation of quantum simulators. Mitigating or eliminating deleterious effects is critical for using quantum simulation for scientific discovery. This dissertation develops strategies …

Characterization Of The Initial Explosive Phases Of The 2021 Eruption At La Soufriere, St. Vincent, Sydney Walters

Honors Theses

The Soufriere Volcano on St. Vincent Island, in the Lesser Antilles volcanic arc, is one of the most active subaerial volcanos in the Caribbean, erupting both explosively and effusively at least 7 times in the last 500 years. In December of 2020, the volcano began erupting effusively, showing no evidence of degassing and on April 9^th of 2021, it transitioned to an explosive eruption that continued until April 22, with more than 30 eruptions classified as Vulcanian and sub-Plinian. Scoria samples from three units (U1-U3) erupted in the first 48-72 hours of the explosive eruptive phase were analyzed in …

Ransomware And Malware Sandboxing, Byron Denham

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The threat of ransomware that encrypts data on a device and asks for payment to decrypt the data affects individual users, businesses, and vital systems including healthcare. This threat has become increasingly more prevalent in the past few years. To understand ransomware through malware analysis, care must be taken to sandbox the ransomware in an environment that allows for a detailed and comprehensive analysis while also preventing it from being able to further spread. Modern malware often takes measures to detect whether it has been placed into an analysis environment to prevent examination. In this work, several notable pieces of …

A Versatile Python Package For Simulating Dna Nanostructures With Oxdna, Kira Threlfall

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The ability to synthesize custom DNA molecules has led to the feasibility of DNA nanotechnology. Synthesis is time-consuming and expensive, so simulations of proposed DNA designs are necessary. Open-source simulators, such as oxDNA, are available but often difficult to configure and interface with. Packages such as oxdna-tile-binding pro- vide an interface for oxDNA which allows for the ability to create scripts that automate the configuration process. This project works to improve the scripts in oxdna-tile-binding to improve integration with job scheduling systems commonly used in high-performance computing environments, improve ease-of-use and consistency within the scripts compos- ing oxdna-tile-binding, and move …

An Investigation Into, And The Construction Of, An Operable Windows Notifier, Grey Hixson

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Office of Sustainability at the University of Arkansas identified that building occupants that have control over operable windows may open them at inappropriate times. Windows opened in a building with a temperature and air differential leads to increased HVAC operating costs and building occupant discomfort. This led the Associate Vice Chancellor of Facilities at the University of Arkansas to propose the construction of a mobile application that a building occupant can use to make an informed decision before opening their window. I have formulated a series of research objectives in conjunction with the Director of the Office of Sustainability …

Using Bluetooth Low Energy And E-Ink Displays For Inventory Tracking, David Whelan

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The combination of Bluetooth Low energy and E-Ink displays allow for a low energy wire-less display. The application of this technology is far reaching especially given how the Bluetooth Low Energy specification can be extended. This paper proposes an extension to this specification specifically for inventory tracking. This extension combined with the low energy E-Ink display results in a smart label that can keep track of additional meta data and inventory counts for physical inventory. This label helps track the physical inventory and can help mitigate any errors in the logical organization of inventory.

Side-Channel Analysis On Post-Quantum Cryptography Algorithms, Tristen Teague

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The advancements of quantum computers brings us closer to the threat of our current asymmetric cryptography algorithms being broken by Shor's Algorithm. NIST proposed a standardization effort in creating a new class of asymmetric cryptography named Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC). These new algorithms will be resistant against both classical computers and sufficiently powerful quantum computers. Although the new algorithms seem mathematically secure, they can possibly be broken by a class of attacks known as side-channels attacks (SCA). Side-channel attacks involve exploiting the hardware that the algorithm runs on to figure out secret values that could break the security of the system. …

Comparison Of Carbon Footprints Of School Lunches In Dangriga, Belize, And Northwest Arkansas, Lauren Greenwood

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The original purpose of this study was to investigate differences in carbon footprints of school lunches by comparing a school in Arkansas, USA, and a school in Belize. Due to complications imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the purpose was revised to gathering preliminary data about the school lunch program at a school in Northwest Arkansas; data were to be used to estimate CO2-equivalent emissions for cafeteria energy use, meal ingredients from the two most popular meals served, and food transportation at the last point in the supply chain (food service delivery to school). This study highlights the intersection of food …

Potato Processing In The Home: Sustainability And Nutritional Impacts, Aubin Payne

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Potatoes are the world's fourth most consumed crop. Their versatility and long shelf-life make them a staple food for millions of people worldwide. Still, the increasing consumption of highly processed potato products in developed countries has damaged the public's appreciation of potatoes as a valuable source of essential nutrients. Additionally, as public awareness of environmental sustainability increases, the average consumer is more likely to value processing methods that mitigate environmental damage.

Researchers simulated several home storage and processing conditions to find out how nutrition and environmental impact are affected by the home processing timeline. Then, a nutrient analysis, life cycle …

Sensory Comparison Of Beer Carbonated Using Forced Carbonation And The Carbo Rock-It, Michala Smith

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Craft brewing is a growing market which represents over 12% of beer produced in the United States. Dr. G Scott Osborn, PE invented the Carbo Rock-It™ to improve the carbonation process for craft breweries. The invention allows for shorter carbonation time and uses less CO₂, saving companies money and time. Because of the lack of gas losses through bubbling, Osborn theorized that the Carbo Rock-It could also prevent the “stripping of the nose” that can occur in traditional forced carbonation. Existing research supports the mechanism, as beer flavor and aroma volatiles have been detected during the release of …

Impact Of A Cattle Crossing On Water Quality Along A Tributary Of The Muddy Fork Of The Illinois River, Northwest Arkansas, Nicholas Valentini

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cattle are known to have an effect on water quality in various bodies of water. Studying how cattle impact water quality along various streams and tributaries is important to understanding how certain water parameters may be affected at the individual farm level. It is known that unrestricted access to a cattle crossing has been shown to increase the occurrence of downstream pollutants such as E. coli, ammonium, total kjeldahl nitrogen, total suspended solids, total phosphorus, and turbidity. However, many studies focus on large-scale operations and neglect the individual farm level. In this study, samples were collected twice for each …

How Flow Regime Affects Predator-Prey Relationships Of Stream Darter And Shiner Species, Anna E. Richardson

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Analysis of the interactions between abiotic and biotic factors of environments and ecosystems is a highly valued area of research. This study focuses on the interactions between the biotic component of predation and foraging of certain stream fish species and the abiotic component of the flow regime that those species reside in. Gut content analysis followed by statistical calculations in the form of t-tests and chi -quared tests were performed on two fish species who both inhabited a stream with a groundwater flashy flow regime as well as a stream with a runoff flashy flow regime. The research showed that …

Justification For An Apparel-Based Sustainability Course At The University Of Arkansas, Sydney Taylor

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

The University of Arkansas' Apparel Merchandising and Product Development program does not currently offer a course on sustainability in the apparel and textile sector. Due to a lack of sustainability information, students may not have a thorough understanding of their degree. If students had the opportunity to learn about current sustainability-related topics before entering the workforce, they would have a new perspective and a deeper understanding of the industry, allowing them to potentially make good change.

By elaborating on the need for an apparel-based sustainability course to be offered at the University of Arkansas in the Apparel Merchandising and Product …

“Translation Of Hdac6 Pet Imaging Using [18f]Ekz-001 – Cgmp Production And Measurement Of Hdac6 Target Occupancy In Nhps” – A Review, Dania Rahal

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Honors Theses

The inhibition of histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) has been reported to alleviate the effects of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. The brain-penetrant PET radioligand [¹⁸F]EKZ-001 has high affinity and selectivity towards HDAC6 and therefore suggests great promise in therapeutic treatment studies and development for neurodegenerative diseases. “Translation of HDAC6 PET imaging using [¹⁸F]EKZ-001 – cGMP production and measurement of HDAC6 target occupancy in NHPs” has achieved an effective, fully automated method of producing [¹⁸F]EKZ-001 in compliance with current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) to support the translation of [¹⁸F]EKZ-001 PET for …

Implementing The Cms+ Sports Rankings Algorithm In A Javafx Environment, Luke Welch

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Every year, sports teams and athletes get cut from championship opportunities because of their rank. While this reality is easier to swallow if a team or athlete is distant from the cut, it is much harder when they are right on the edge. Many times, it leaves fans and athletes wondering, “Why wasn’t I ranked higher? What factors when into the ranking? Are the rankings based on opinion alone?” These are fair questions that deserve an answer. Many times, sports rankings are derived from opinion polls. Other times, they are derived from a combination of opinion polls and measured performance. …

Land-Use And Potential Effects On The Western Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma Mavortium), Emily Zappia

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Humans have altered 40% of land across the globefor cropland, rangeland, and pastureland, which, in turn, affects amphibious species like the western tiger salamander (Ambystoma mavortium; WTS)and their viable habitats.Since intensive agriculture increased throughout eastern Nebraska in the 1980’s, the distribution ofA. mavortiumhas declined and the species can no longer be found in the southeast corner of the state, while populations are thriving in the pastures of the Sandhills region. Here we explorethe potential factors contributing to the decline ofA. mavortiumthrough the analysis of climaticand soil characteristic data across the geographic distribution of WTS. Data indicated that precipitation rates, soil …

Reintroduction Of The Grey Wolf, Cody Willers

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

A comprehensive literature review of the topic of the reintroduction of the grey wolf (Canis lupus) into the lower 48 states has been conducted to determine the viability of the grey wolf as a method for managing the overgrowth of medium to large ungulate populations. Due to the overgrowth of medium to large ungulate populations without the presence of the grey wolf, detrimental environmental impacts were being seen on many ecosystems such as Yellowstone in North America. Through predation and the fear of predation, the presence of the grey wolf in these ecosystems can provide a solution to the negative …

Wildfires & Prescribed Fires: Do They Impact Soil Quality?, Kate Nelson

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Globally, climate change has had an adverse effect on natural phenomena and ecosystem trends, including drastically increasing the number of wildfires that occur annually. As a result, the number of wildfires in the western United States have doubled since 1984. More specifically, ideal wildfire conditions have also prolonged the wildfire season in California. The objectives of this study were to determine if wildfires had an effect on soil quality and determine if wildfires and prescribed fires had different impacts on soil quality in northern California. A literature review was conducted to address the knowledge gaps and understand the perceived changes …

Noise Pollution And Its Effects On Human Mental And Physical Health, Seth Anderson

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Noise pollution is defined as unwanted sound, capable of causing both mental and physical harm. In order to see if there was a correlation between increasing noise pollution (dB) and (a) increasing Negative Affect Score (NAS), (b) decreasing Positive Affect Score (PAS), and (c) increasing Resting Heart Rate (RHR), research was conducted. Participants were taken to four different testing locations, each with a corresponding dB level, and asked to (a) have their Resting Heart Rate (RHR) taken and (b) fill out a questionnaire based on the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) psychological measure. At the conclusion of this study, …

The Effects Of Human Activity On Reintroduced Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis) Populations, Justine Cherovsky

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Since the decimation of North America’s bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) populations due to human impacts, translocations have been the primary conservation strategy to repopulate the native habitat. Following the extirpation of the species in Nebraska, bighorns were reintroduced with the hope to establish a stable population, but nearly four decades of management has resulted in large-scale die-offs and unstable herds. Ongoing human impacts have created similar results across the country as reintroductions struggle to establish independent bighorn herds. A systematic literature review was conducted to analyze current human related effects, evaluate the effectiveness of management practices, and compare these findings …