Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Survey Of Methods To Determine Quantum Symmetry Of Graphs, Samantha Phillips

Undergraduate Honors Theses

We introduce the theory of quantum symmetry of a graph by starting with quantum permutation groups and classical automorphism groups. We study graphs with and without quantum symmetry to provide a comprehensive view of current techniques used to determine whether a graph has quantum symmetry. Methods provided include specific tools to show commutativity of generators of algebras of quantum automorphism groups of distance-transitive graphs; a theorem that describes why nontrivial, disjoint automorphisms in the automorphism group implies quantum symmetry; and a planar algebra approach to studying symmetry.

Synthesis, Characterization, And Reactivity Of Organometallic Complexes For Catalytic Carbon-Hydrogen Bond Activation, Sophia Neglia

Honors Theses

Styrene can be produced directly from benzene and ethylene through an atom economical oxidative hydroarylation process. In this process, an electrophilic homogeneous transition metal catalyst activates the C-H bond in benzene. I propose to explore this reaction in two fronts: 1) the synthesis of electron-poor trans-spanning bidentate pyridine ligands and 2) the computational study of pyridine-functionalized bidentate diimines. The trans-spanning ligand will utilize either a Ru(II) or Co(III) metallohinge with cis-coordinated 2-ethynylpyridine ligands. The complex [(p-cym)Ru(PMe3)(C2-2-py)2] (1) where (p-cym = para-cymene and C2-2-py = 2-ethynylpyridine) can be prepared from (p-cym)Ru(PMe3)(Cl)2 and HC2-2-py in the presence of lithium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide (LiHMDS). Complex …

Understanding Shear Thinning Using Brownian Dynamics Simulation, Mackenzie Nicole Wall

Honors Theses

In this work, we study the changes in structure during the shear thinning regime using Brownian Dynamics with a simple steady-state shear flow of binary charged colloidal suspension. Previous research has analyzed the viscosity, radial distribution, elasticity and plasticity of materials with rheo-SANS experimentation; however, less research has been conducted to replicate the experiment through computer simulations. With Brownian Dynamic Simulation, this study was able to reproduce the results obtained in a recent rheo-SANS experiment and it also explored the viscosity, radial distribution, elastic and plastic behavior of a system under different parameters. The comparison of simulated data with experimental …

Molecular Dynamic Simulation Of The Complex Folding Patterns Of Apolipoprotein A1 In Various Concentrations Of Potassium Chloride, Hannah Holmberg

Honors Theses

Apopliprotein or ApoA-1 is a complex lipoprotein that functions in the removal of cholesterol from the blood, removing cholesterol from the area around white blood cells and promoting the excretion of lipids through the lymphatic system. Previous research has found that ApoA-1 shows both folded and unfolded conformations depending on the concentration of NaCl in solution in the water around it. The protein was studied using molecular dynamics simulations. Once this state of equilibrium was reached, various structural properties of the protein were measured including the radius of gyration and the radial distribution function. The goal of the project was …

Simplifying The Creation Of Virtual Topologies Using Mpi Sessions, Tom Herschberg

Honors Theses

As supercomputers have approached exascale performance, several scalability issues have emerged within MPI. These issues arise because MPI includes all processes in the World model, which consumes unacceptable amounts of time and resources at large scale. The Sessions model was developed to combat these issues by removing the requirement of MPI_COMM_WORLD, which provides a more scalable method of creating communication groups in large jobs. Additionally, the Sessions model enables the creation of virtual topologies directly from sets of processes allocated to the execution of a parallel application rather than building virtual topologies from an existing communication group such as MPI_COMM_WORLD. …

“Garden-Magic”: Conceptions Of Nature In Edith Wharton’S Fiction, Jonathan Malks

Undergraduate Honors Theses

I situate Edith Wharton’s guiding idea of “garden-magic” at the center of my thesis because Wharton’s fiction shows how a garden space could naturalize otherwise inadmissible behaviors within upper-class society while helping a character tie such behavior to a greater possibility for escape. To this end, Wharton situates gardens as idealized touchstones within the built environment of New York City, spaces where characters believe they can reach self-actualization within a version of nature that is man-made. Actualization, in this sense, stems from a character’s imaginative escape that is enabled by a perception of the garden as a kind of natural …

Determining Quantum Symmetry In Graphs Using Planar Algebras, Akshata Pisharody

Undergraduate Honors Theses

A graph has quantum symmetry if the algebra associated with its quantum automorphism group is non-commutative. We study what quantum symmetry means and outline one specific method for determining whether a graph has quantum symmetry, a method that involves studying planar algebras and manipulating planar tangles. Modifying a previously used method, we prove that the 5-cycle has no quantum symmetry by showing it has the generating property.

Scope: Building And Testing An Integrated Manual-Automated Event Extraction Tool For Online Text-Based Media Sources, Matthew Crittenden

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Building on insights from two years of manually extracting events information from online news media, an interactive information extraction environment (IIEE) was developed. SCOPE, the Scientific Collection of Open-source Policy Evidence, is a Python Django-based tool divided across specialized modules for extracting structured events data from unstructured text. These modules are grouped into a flexible framework which enables the user to tailor the tool to meet their needs. Following principles of user-oriented learning for information extraction (IE), SCOPE offers an alternative approach to developing AI-assisted IE systems. In this piece, we detail the ongoing development of the SCOPE tool, present …

Performance Implications Of Memory Affinity On Filesystem Caches In A Non-Uniform Memory Access Environment, Jacob Adams

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Non-Uniform Memory Access imposes unique challenges on every component of an operating system and the applications that run on it. One such component is the filesystem which, while not directly impacted by NUMA in most cases, typically has some form of cache whose performance is constrained by the latency and bandwidth of the memory that it is stored in. One such filesystem is ZFS, which contains its own custom caching system, known as the Adaptive Replacement Cache. This work looks at the impact of NUMA on this cache via sequential read operations, shows how current solutions intended to reduce this …

A Pain Free Nociceptor: Predicting Football Injuries With Machine Learning, Andrew Lyubovsky

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Injuries are a significant aspect of every sport, with the ability to impact a player’s career and the success of a team in their season. As sensor data is able to pick up on a player’s physical state, recently it has been analyzed for its ability to predict player injuries. We inspect the predictive power of player stats, subjective player responses, GPS data, and training load data in forecasting game injuries from an NCAA American football team during the 2019 season. Data processing techniques are used to remove noise and decrease correlated data, and as large portions of the data …

Progress Towards Electromagnetic Manipulation And Trapping Of Micro-Particles, Andrew John Beling

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis describes research to investigate the electromagnetic manipulation of microspheres and microrings. The work consists of three main thrusts: 1) the use of an electric field gradient to move dielectric microspheres, 2) the use of an AC magnetic field to move a conducting ring, and 3) the preparation of substrates for a microwave atom chip. The electrostatic movement of dielectric polyethylene microspheres was observed and recorded with a CCD imaging system. The microspheres were suspended in various liquids and placed on top of a microstrip transmission line, which consists of a conducting copper trace separated from a ground plate …

The Minimum Number Of Multiplicity 1 Eigenvalues Among Real Symmetric Matrices Whose Graph Is A Tree, Wenxuan Ding

Undergraduate Honors Theses

For a tree T, U(T) denotes the minimum number of eigenvalues of multiplicity 1 among all real symmetric matrices whose graph is T. It is known that U(T) >= 2. A tree is linear if all its vertices of degree at least 3 lie on a single induced path, and k-linear if there are k of these high degree vertices. If T′ is a linear tree resulting from the addition of 1 vertex to T, we show that |U(T′)−U(T)|

Understanding Computer Science Students' Characteristics And How They Affect Their Performance In Class, Nisreen Abdel Karim Alkhun

Theses and Dissertations

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental disorder, is characterized by significant impairments in social communication and interaction. Theories regarding the cognitive development of ASD individuals suggest that high-functioning individuals are adept at analyzing and constructing systems so they may find STEM occupations more appealing. Researchers found that young adults with ASD in STEM fields were more likely to concentrate be science or computer science majors in college than the general population. In 2001, Baron-Cohen et al. published the seminal paper on the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), a self-administered questionnaire that measures autistic traits in adults. In the paper, they established …

Algorithmic And Combinatorial Results In Selection And Computational Geometry, Ke Chen

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates two sets of algorithmic and combinatorial problems. Thefirst part focuses on the selection problem under the pairwise comparison model. For the classic “median of medians” scheme, contrary to the popular belief that smaller group sizes cause superlinear behavior, several new linear time algorithms that utilize small groups are introduced. Then the exact number of comparisons needed for an optimal selection algorithm is studied. In particular, the implications of a long standing conjecture known as Yao’s hypothesis are explored. For the multiparty model, we designed low communication complexity protocols for selecting an exact or an approximate median of …

Determination Of The Metabolism, Distribution, And Concentration Of Calcitroic Acid, Elliot Di Milo

Theses and Dissertations

Near the turn of the 20th century scientist were beginning to discover compounds thatwere essential for humans beyond the previous establish, protein, grains, and fat. This ushered in a new field of studying a class of molecules that were considered “vital amines” later shortened to vitamins. Vitamin D was the fourth of this new class of compound that was identified and over the next decades was shown to play a vital role in the homeostasis of calcium and phosphorous. The dominant active form of vitamin D is formed within the body through a series of oxidation reactions acting upon its …

Predicting Factors Of Re-Hospitalization After Medically Managed Intensive Inpatient Services In Opioid Use Disorder, Brian Kay

Theses and Dissertations

IntroductionOpioid use disorder has continued to rise in prevalence across the United States, with an estimated 2.5 million Americans ailing from the condition (NIDA, 2020). Medically managed detoxification incurs substantial costs and, when used independently, may not be effective in preventing relapse (Kosten & Baxter, 2019). While numerous studies have focused on predicting the factors of developing opioid use disorder, few have identified predictors of readmission to medically managed withdrawal at an inpatient level of care. Utilizing a high-fidelity dataset from a large multi-site behavioral health hospital, these predictors are explored.

MethodsPatients diagnosed with Opioid Use Disorder and hospitalized in …

A Simulation Framework For Traffic Safety With Connected Vehicles And V2x Technologies, Md Abu Sayed

Theses and Dissertations

With the advancement in automobile technologies, existing research shows that connected vehicle (CV) technologies can provide better traffic safety through Surrogate Safety Measure (SSM). CV technologies involves two network systems: traffic network and wireless communication network. We found that the research in the wireless communication network for CV did not interact properly with the research in SSM in transportation network, and vice versa. Though various SSM has been proposed in previous studies, a few of them have been tested in simulation software in limited extent. On the other hand, A large body of researchers proposed various communication architecture for CV …

Application Of Deep Learning For Imaging-Based Stream Gaging, Ryan Lee Vanden Boomen

Theses and Dissertations

In the field of water resources management, one vital instrument utilized is the stream gage. Stream gages monitor and record flow and water height within some water body. The United States Geological Survey maintains a network of stream gages at many locations across the country. Many of these sites are also equipped with webcams monitoring the state of the water body at the moment of measurement. Previous studies have outlined methods to approximate stream gage data remotely with limitations such as the requirement of detailed depth information for each site. This study seeks to create a process for training a …

Bottom-Up Understanding Of Informal Settlements: Perspectives Of Urban Slum Dwellers In Nima, Ghana., Bernard Apeku

Theses and Dissertations

More than a quarter of the world’s population lives in informal settlements which house a rapidly growing proportion of the inhabitants of cities in sub-Saharan Africa, such as Accra, Ghana, and in the Global South more generally. However, scholars have shown that the urban planning and urban redevelopment strategies that affect these settlements are top-down in character with minimal resident participation. These prevailing planning and redevelopment strategies are based on the outsiders’ perceptions of informal neighborhoods, rendering them quite inefficient. Therefore, to develop workable policies and strategies that will improve the living condition of informal urban settlers, it is important …

Terra Dispositions: A Lithospheric Investigation Of Wet-Matter, Alec Rovensky

Architecture Senior Theses

Human intervention of the landscape by damming, filling wetlands and over-extracting is resulting in the rapid perversion of water bodies through the desertification or flooding of terrain and the ensuing contamination of reservoirs. In turn, these changes are disrupting ecosystems, reshaping geological borders, and causing irreversible damage that poses a threat to clean water supplies. As humans exert agency over local hydrology, there is scarce consideration of the ensuing ecological consequences. This thesis aims to expose the ecological transformations of territories laced with human agency by examining the residues left by water in order to deviate from the misplaced nostalgia …

Liposomes Prevent In Vitro Hemolysis Induced By Streptolysin O And Lysenin, Marcelo Ayllon, Gamid Abatchev, Andrew Bogard, Rosey Whiting, Sarah E. Hobdey, Daniel Fologea

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The need for alternatives to antibiotics in the fight against infectious diseases has inspired scientists to focus on antivirulence factors instead of the microorganisms themselves. In this respect, prior work indicates that tiny, enclosed bilayer lipid membranes (liposomes) have the potential to compete with cellular targets for toxin binding, hence preventing their biological attack and aiding with their clearance. The effectiveness of liposomes as decoy targets depends on their availability in the host and how rapidly they are cleared from the circulation. Although liposome PEGylation may improve their circulation time, little is known about how such a modification influences their …

The Biggest Snowball Fight In Earth History: Stratigraphy, Facies Analysis, And Geochronology Of The Pocatello Formation, Matthew W. Ellison

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Snowball Earth Hypothesis details a time in Earth’s history (the Cryogenian period) where the entire planet was encapsulated by kilometer thick ice sheets for two, multi-million-year glaciations. The first, known as the Sturtian, lasted from 717 – 660 million years ago while the second, known as the Marinoan, lasted form approximately 650 – 635 million years ago. Snowball Earth was caused by a few processes that sort of built upon each other: Rodinia began splitting apart ~740 million years ago which allowed for increased rates of silicate weathering. High rates of silicate weathering resulted in CO₂ drawdown which …

Deep Learning And Optimization In Visual Target Tracking, Mohammadreza Javanmardi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Visual tracking is the process of estimating states of a moving object in a dynamic frame sequence. It has been considered as one of the most paramount and challenging topics in computer vision. Although numerous tracking methods have been introduced, developing a robust algorithm that can handle different challenges still remains unsolved. In this dissertation, we introduce four different trackers and evaluate their performance in terms of tracking accuracy on challenging frame sequences. Each of these trackers aims to address the drawbacks of their peers. The first developed method is called a structured multi-task multi-view tracking (SMTMVT) method, which exploits …

The Microfossil Association Of The Upper Part Of The Salesville Formation (Lower Missourian, Pennsylvanian) Near Mineral Wells, North-Central Texas, Billy Allen Williams

Earth & Environmental Sciences Theses

The microfossil association of the Salesville Formation (Strawn Group, Missourian, Pennsylvanian) of small foraminifers, fusulinids, conodonts, ostracodes, holothurian sclerites, and rare radiolarians, has received very little study. The upper part of the Salesville Formation, as exposed at two sections near Mineral Wells, North-Central Texas, represents deposits of the upper Salesville major cycle and is the stratigraphic interval of interest in this study whose primary objective is to evaluate the biostratigraphic significance of the microfossil association found at the two exposures of this cycle. The distribution of the early Missourian microfaunas is used to interpret the depositional environments of the major …

The Evaluation Of Environmental Contaminants Using Static Headspace Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry, Vacuum Ultraviolet Detection, Emmanuel Varona -Torres

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations

In analytical chemistry the term “headspace” refers to the vapor that forms above a sample (liquid or solid) in a closed container. Headspace (HS) sampling is the method to promote partition between volatile components from the sample matrix and then analyzed by gas chromatography (GC). HS is an excellent technique to introduce a “clean” vapor sample into the GC and avoids introduction of non-volatile components from the sample matrix and often used for determination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with minimal or no additional sample preparation. Concerns about the environmental impact of fossil fuel extraction techniques (i.e., hydraulic fracturing and …

Analysis Of Waveform Distortions Produced By Interferometer Response Functions For Future Searches Of Gravitational-Wave Signals From Core-Collapse Supernovae, Anton Gribovskiy

Physics Dissertations

Multi-messenger astronomy recently added a fundamentally new component to its wide array of observational tools: a gravitational-wave detector. A number of binary black holes mergers have already been detected by gravitational-wave interferometers and the data have been analyzed by the scientific community. Moreover, simultaneous observation of gravitational waves with electromagnetic signals led to the first observation of a binary neutron star merger. Success in gravitational-wave detection motivated the efforts to improve current detectors and initiated the design of future detectors with significantly enhanced sensitivities. The detector improvements will lead to increase of the detection range for binary star mergers and …

Using Low-Flow Sampling Data To Estimate Hydraulic Conductivity In Aquifers, Joy Kiefer

Masters Theses

Hydrogeologists sample wells to test aquifer water quality and use slug tests to estimate aquifer permeability. Robbins et al. (2009) proposed a more efficient way to obtain the goals of the two tests—the use of low-flow sampling and the use of the resulting flow rate and drawdown data to estimate aquifer hydraulic conductivity (K). The Robbins et al. method calculates K by using the slope of the best fit line from the graph of flow rate vs. drawdown for all low-flow pumping data collected at a well. When the method was applied to low-flow data from four Kalamazoo, MI, it …

Removal Of Arsenic (Iii) And Arsenic (V) From Aqueous Solution Via Solanum Lycopersicum Phytoremediation And Essential Nutrient Analysis, Grecia W. Garcia Salazar

Theses and Dissertations

ICP-OES was used to investigate the uptake of arsenic (V) and arsenic (III) from aqueous solution using tomato seedlings. The effect of arsenic on essential nutrient uptake by tomato was analyzed. The experiment was performed at three levels of arsenic: 1ppm, 2 ppm and 5 ppm [added as sodium arsenate (Na3AsO4) and arsenic trioxide (As2O3)], in nutrient solution. Plants remained in solution for two weeks. Arsenic accumulation depended on arsenic concentration in solution, when exposed to higher arsenic concentrations the plant uptake increased. The highest arsenic accumulation was found in roots, followed by stems and leaves in that order. Essential …

Design And Modeling A Tunable Non-Hermitian Acoustic Filter, Sandeep Puri

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, we explore an application of a non-Hermitian acoustic system with tunable loss in filtering specific frequencies from an upcoming signal at will. Using the commercial computational software, we design our proposed tunable filter made of a phononic super-lattice. The super-lattice consists of two sublattices connected in series. The first sublattice is Hermitian, whereas the other can be Hermitian or Non-Hermitian depending on the amount of loss induced in it. By introducing the loss in the system, we observe the generation of absorbed resonances that can be seen in the reflection spectrum. The range of the filtered frequencies …

Practical Challenges Of Using Sunn Hemp As A Cover Crop In The Lower Rio Grande Valley, Qulina Rai

Theses and Dissertations

Sunn hemp (Crotalaria junceae) is an emerging cover crop with many reported benefits such as nitrogen fixation, carbon sequestration, and suppression of weeds and nematodes. Relatively little is known about appropriate ways to inoculate sunn hemp ensuring nitrogen fixation, and diseases that affect sunn hemp within the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

Four sticking agents, peanut oil, jaggery, gum arabic, and water used to aid inoculation of Bradyrhizobium japonicum in sunn hemp was checked on nodulation. Water treatment was least effective. Peanut oil and jaggery treatment showed better performance in overall total nodules, and active nodules. Gum …