Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Sers And Sem-Edx Study Of The Antiviral Mechanism Of Creighton Silver Nanoparticles Against Vaccinia Virus, Catherine Binns Anders

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Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are well-recognized as antiviral agents but little is known about their mechanism of action. In this study, it was hypothesized that unfunctionalized, Creighton AgNPs of an average diameter of 11 nm will form covalent bonds with vaccinia virus (VV) mainly through the external, entry fusion complex (EFC) proteins. The EFC is housed on the external membrane of VV and contains 9-12 proteins having numerous cysteine groups, intramolecular disulfide bonds, aromatic moieties and myristic acids bound to the N-terminus of glycine residues. VV (1012 PFUs) was incubated at 37oC for one hour with Creighton AgNPs that were size …

Cathodic Deposition Of Triangular Tungsten Clusters From Ionic Liquids: An Explorative Study, Linda N. Ubadigbo

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In the present work, the triangular tungsten clusters {[W3O2(O2CCH3)6](H2O)3}(CF3SO3)2 and {[W3O2(O2CCH2CH3)6](H2O)3}(BF4)2. 5.5H2O were dissolved in both hydrophobic and hydrophilic ionic liquids (ILs) and subjected to a cathodic potential of roughly 2V. It was proposed that successful deposition of these metal clusters on a platinum electrode would yield Pt-supported anodic catalysts which could be used in ethanol fuel cells (EFCs). Visual examination of the electrode surfaces indicated that a film had been deposited, however, the surface with W3(CF3SO3)2 quickly oxidized when removed from the IL. Therefore, SEM imaging and EDX analysis of the W3(BF4)2 surface were performed. The data indicated that …

A Hardware Compact Genetic Algorithm For Hover Improvement In An Insect-Scale Flapping-Wing Micro Air Vehicle, Kathleen M. Timmerman

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Wing and airframe damage to insect scale micro air vehicles potentially cause significant losses in pose and position control precision. Although one can imagine many possible means of adapting the flight controllers to restore precise pose and position control, severe limits on computational resources available on-board an insect sized vehicle render many of them impractical. Additionally, limits on sensory capability degrade any such vehicle's ability to critique its own performance. Any adaptive solutions one would propose to recover flight trajectory precision, therefore, would require a resource light implementation, preferably without need for relatively expensive floating-point operations, along with the capability …

A Geophysical Investigation Searching For Archaeological Features At Sunwatch Indian Village, Danielle Torridi

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A near-surface geophysical survey was conducted at SunWatch Indian Village in Dayton, Ohio. The main motivations for this investigation were to evaluate geophysical methods to locate, map, and identify features associated with the SunWatch Indian Village archaeological site and to expand the area surveyed. Previous studies (Houston, 2002; Miller, 2004) have determined that burials covered with limestone slabs are relatively easy to detect and map geophysically with GPR and electrical resistivity. This was reconfirmed in this study by collecting 3D GPR data over a 'control' location previously surveyed by Houston (2002) and Miller (2004). However, similar anomalies were not observed …

Analytical Chemical Sensing Using High Resolution Terahertz/Submillimeter Wave Spectroscopy, Benjamin L. Moran

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A highly sensitive and selective Terahertz gas sensor used to analyze a complex mixture of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) has been developed. To best demonstrate analytical capabilities of a THz chemical sensor, we chose to perform analytical quantitative analysis of a certified gas mixture using a prototype gas phase chemical sensor that couples a commercial preconcentration system (Entech 7100A) to a custom high resolution THz spectrometer. A Method TO-14A certified mixture of thirty-nine VOCs was purchased. Twenty-six of the thirty-nine chemicals were identified as suitable for THz spectroscopic detection. The Entech 7100A system is designed and marketed as an inlet …

Phosphorus Mass Balance For Hypertrophic Grand Lake St. Marys, Ohio, Astrea Taylor

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A phosphorus (P) budget was created for Grand Lake St Marys (GLSM), a hypertrophic lake in Ohio with a highly agricultural watershed. Inputs totaled 71,200 ± 8,400 kg P, with tributaries contributing the majority of P inputs at 60,100 ± 4,500 kg P (84%). Other inputs included benthic flux at 9% (internal loading), point-source discharges into streams at 5%, and atmospheric deposition at 1%. Rainfall in 2011 was greater than average, which may affect results when comparing this P budget to years with average rainfall. Transport of P by two rivers draining GLSM was approximately three times greater than benthic …

Human Action Recognition By Principal Component Analysis Of Motion Curves, Daniel Stephen Chivers

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Human action recognition is used to automatically detect and recognize actions per- formed by humans in a video. Applications include visual surveillance, human-computer interaction, and robot intelligence, to name a few. An example of a surveillance application is a system that monitors a large public area, such as an airport, for suspicious activity. In human-machine interaction, computers may be controlled by simple human actions. For example, the motion of an arm may instruct the computer to rotate a 3-D model that is being displayed. Human action recognition is also an important capability of intelligent robots that interact with humans.

General …

The Biogeochemistry Of Carbon Isotopes In Local Lakes, Stephen Edward Sadurski

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Photosynthesis, respiration, and decay of organic matter all involve the transfer of carbon among the carbon-bearing species in the systems. These biogeochemical processes also fractionate the carbon isotope composition, which results in changes to the carbon isotope composition of the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) pool. This thesis presents two separate, but related studies regarding the influence of biogeochemical processes on carbon isotopes in local lakes. Crystal Lake is a small but deep glacial lake (12.5 acres, 11.9 meters). The study shows that during thermal stratification, the heaviest carbon can be found in the epilimnion near the surface, where photosynthesis dominates …

Why Is There Such A High Concentration Of Vertebrate Remains Within A Bone-Bed Along Clapp Creek, Williamsburg County, South Carolina?, Jennifer R. Soehner

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A phosphatic bone-bed occurs along Clapp Creek in Kingstree, South Carolina, within the east-central portion of the coastal plain. The location of the research site is within the Chicora Member of the Williamsburg Formation. The paleoenvironment of this site was most likely a complex estuary with microenvironments that included tidal channels, tidal deltas, tidal flats, marshes and subtidal bays. The high diversity and large time span in the bone-bed is explained by the transgressive environment and storm deposits. The phosphate content of the bone-bed is from the calcium phosphate occurring in the coprolites of carnivores and the higher concentration of …

Computational Investigations Of The Adsorption Of Molecular Hydrogen On Graphene-Based Nanopore Model, Jared Duncan

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Computational modeling using classical grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations and first-principles calculations were carried out to study the adsorption of molecular hydrogen on nanoporous carbon modeled by the slit- pore geometry. It has previously been shown that hydrogen adsorption on pristine porous carbon has dependence on pore size and that an optimum pore size, which exhibits the maximum mass uptake, exists. There have been suggestions that doping graphitic nanocarbon structures with Pd enhances their adsorption capacity. The pore-size dependence of this change in adsorption brought about by Pd and the conditions at which improvement in adsorption can occur have not …

Synthesis Of Mixed Metal Trinuclear Cluster Of Molybdenum And Tungsten And Their Electrochemistry In Ionic Liquids, Jessica Ann Davis

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Research is being done to find a material to improve the efficiency of the ethanol fuel cell by using a platinum free catalyst. Mo2WO2(O2CCH3)6 cluster was synthesized using Mo2(O2CCH3)4 dimer and Na2WO4. One ionic liquid, EMImBF4, was synthesized using methylimidazolim and chloroethane in the first step, and EMImCl and NaBF4 in the second step. The electrochemical properties of the ionic liquid and the metal cluster were studied. A potential window for the EMImBF4 was found to be 3.2 V. The ionic liquid has a wider potential window, and allowed for the observation of the redox properties of Mo2WO2(O2CCH3)6. The electrochemistry …

Characterization Of Ceramic Matrix Composite Materials Using Millimeter-Wave Techniques, Matthew Lee Bischoff

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This thesis describes studies that were carried out on Ceramic Matrix Composite (CMC) materials. These materials were provided by the Air Force Research Laboratory for evaluation in the millimeter-wave frequency region with the goal of developing Non-Destructive Evaluation techniques. This thesis centers on describing the measured reflections from an Oxide/Oxide and SiC/SiNC CMC materials. Models were derived from the Fresnel equations to account for the reflected and transmitted waves in these materials. System models were developed to describe the power coupling of the spectra measured in three separate measurement systems. Using these models the complex index of refraction was determined …

Mechanisms Of Success: Plant-Herbivore Interactions And The Invasion Of Non-Native Lonicera Species In North America, Deah Lieurance

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Invasion by non-native species is a complicated process and many hypotheses have been proposed to explain how invasive plant species are often poor competitors in their native range, but dominant in their novel range including the enemy release and novel weapons hypotheses. Additionally, many invasive species are characterized as being tolerant and/or resistant to both damage and limitations in abiotic resources. These hypotheses are based on plant-plant, plant-microbial, and plant-herbivore interactions in the invaders novel range and are not mutually exclusive. The genus Lonicera (Caprifoliaceae) includes approximately 200 species worldwide, with 18 native and 16 introduced species in North America. …

Entropy Optimal Orthogonal Matrices, Akhilesh Pathak

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The entropy of an orthogonal matrix is defined by the Gadiyar, Maini, Padma and Sharatchandra who have re-defined Hadamard matrices as the orthogonal matrices that saturate the bound for entropy. They also presented numerical results for maximal entropy for dimension n = 3; 5. We prove the results analytically for n 0(mod 4); n = 3 and construct local extremums for n = 5; 6; 10; 2p; 3p, where p is prime. We also provide cojectures on necessary conditions for optimality and optimal matrices based on the prime factorization of the order.

Friedel-Crafts Acylation Studies On 3-Alkyl-1-(Phenylsulfonyl)Indoles Using Aluminum Chloride And Bismuth Triflate, Venkateswara Reddy Karrepu

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Using the traditional catalyst, aluminum chloride in stoichiometric amounts, 3-alkyl-1-(phenylsulfonyl)indoles can be regioselectively acylated under Friedel-Crafts conditions at the C-6 position along with 10% of a minor isomer at the C-5 position. Alternatively, using catalytic amounts of the green catalyst, bismuth triflate, C-2 acylation was observed. Therefore, regioselectivity can be controlled by the nature of the Lewis acid catalyst. Moreover, this is the first-time that Friedel-Crafts acylation studies were demonstrated upon 3-alkyl-1-(phenylsulfonyl)indoles.

Behavioral Signature-Based Framework For Identifying Unsatisfiable Variable Mappings Between Digital Designs, Vaibhav Uday Tendulkar

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Throughout its design process (from specification to implementation) a digital circuit goes through a variety of structural changes. These changes are introduced primarily due to the use of automated tools in the design process. Checking whether the Boolean functions representing the two designs are equivalent is thus necessary to verify if a design implementation adheres to its specification. Combinational Equivalence Checking (CEC) - a process of determining whether two combinational design functions are equiv-alent, has been one of the most researched Boolean matching problems. The well-known CEC techniques that have been proposed adopt some kind of a formal approach such …

Smart Card Based User Authentication, Brandon James

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User authentication plays a very important role in building a secure computing system. In this thesis, we first studied and investigated existing user authentication schemes and some basic concepts of smart cards. We then proposed and implemented an improved user authentication scheme based on the smart card, specifically, Java card. We simulated a web server, and implemented the user authentication scheme with the Java card by programming a Java card applet and a Java program to send commands and receive responses from the card.

The proposed user authentication scheme has two phases: the registration phase and the user authentication phase. …

Characterization Of Ceramic Composite Materials Using Terahertz Non-Destructive Evaluation Techniques, Lindsay Owens

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The characterization of defects such as rust, voids, etc. on materials and the analysis and prediction of strain and stress induced breakdown are well known applications of non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques. THz radiation has been suggested as an effective NDE tool for use in the field of ceramics and ceramic matrix composite materials (CMC), via THz spectroscopy and imaging. The goal of this research is to monitor the progression of thermal and mechanical damage applied to the CMC materials using terahertz spectroscopic imaging in order to create a predictive model that will correlate THz imaging data of these materials to …

Terahertz Time Domain Spectroscopy And Fresnel Coefficient Based Predictive Model, Justin C. Wheatcroft

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An optical material parameter predictive model that accounts for sample to air interfaces was developed. The model predicts how a terahertz time-domain spectroscopy time domain pulse will be affected as it passes through a given thickness of a material. The model assumes a homogenous, linear, isotropic dielectric or semiconductor. The inputs to the model are the real and imaginary refractive indices across the desired frequency band. Different dielectric material's optical parameters were taken from the literature and the predicted time domain pulses were shown. It was also shown that the refractive index and absorption coefficient for samples that were optically …

Central Arctic Lithostratigraphy: Implication For Sediment Transport And Paleoceanography, Edward Augustus Council Iii

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Multiple cores from the Arctic were analyzed by XRF methods to determine the western Arctic lithostratigraphy as expressed in its geochemistry. In general, glacial and interglacial events have distinctly different chemistry. During glacial events, the sediments have elevated Ti, Fe, Rb, and Zr concentrations and depressed Sr and Mn concentrations. The opposite is true of the brown layers, where Ti, Fe, Rb and Zr are lower with higher levels of Mn and Sr. These data indicate that there are 18 chemically unique lithologic units (LUs) that exist among MIS-1 to MIS-16 age sediments. Isopach maps indicate two general depositional patterns …

Degradation Of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons In Groundwater Passing Through The Treatment Wetland At Wright-Patterson Air Force Base: Analysis Of Results Collected During 2001-'06, Annamarie F. Therrien

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Constructed wetlands are an efficient and cost effective means for chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbon remediation, and will therefore continue to gain momentum as an accepted treatment by the US EPA (U.S. EPA, 1995; Amarante, 2000; Lien, 2001; WETPOL, 2009). The treatment options for chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons (CAHs), including wetlands, capitalize on aerobic/anaerobic interfaces in which bacterially mediated reduction-oxidation reactions degrade pollutants (Li, 1997; Bradley, 1998; Lorah and Voytek, 2004; Amon, 2007; Imfeld, 2008). In August 2000, researchers at Wright State University (WSU) combined efforts with the United States Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) to construct a pilot-scale upward-flow treatment wetland …

Electronic And Structural Properties Of Silicene And Graphene Layered Structures, Patrick B. Benasutti

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Graphene is a two-dimensional nanomaterial with useful and novel properties, but it is a material that does not integrate well with the current silicon microchip infrastructure. Silicene could solve this problem, as it is made of silicon yet retains the novel properties that make graphene desirable. This thesis will outline density functional calculations of a newly proposed structure involving the combination of these two materials. The structure includes silicene layered on graphene in such a manner that it composes a superlattice. It will be examined using the ab-initio density functional theory software Quantum Espresso.

This superlattice structure is proposed to …

Surface Layer Thickness And Velocity Determined Using The Multi Channel Analysis Of Surface Waves (Masw) Method Compared With Microtremor Resonance Analysis-Federal Road, Greene County, Ohio, Daniel R. Blake

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Multi-Channel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) was performed on data collected at four locations previously occupied by 3-component broadband seismometers. The goal was to use MASW to define the velocity structure and depth to bedrock locally, and to examine how well the calculated surface layer resonance derived from this velocity structure compares with the surface layer resonance observed in the passive seismic data at that site. At the test site east of Xenia, Ohio, a clear change in lithology (glacial drift to limestone bedrock) on each of the 1-D MASW profiles is indicated by a substantial change in shear-wave velocity …

Among-Locus Heterogeneity In Genetic Diversity And Divergence In Two Pairs Of Duck Species (Genus: Anas), Kirandeep K. Dhami

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Genetic diversity and divergence at a locus are the result of interactions among the fundamental evolutionary forces of mutation, genetic drift, gene flow and natural selection. Variation in the strength of these forces can cause high heterogeneity in diversity and divergence across the genome. The overall objective of this thesis was to examine the role of population history vs. selection in generating heterogeneity in genetic diversity and differentiation. In Chapter 1, I examine the role of dispersal behavior in causing genetic differentiation and population structure within and between two morphologically distinct Australian duck species that differ in ecology and life …

Knowledge Acquisition In A System, Christopher J. Thomas

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I present a method for growing the amount of knowledge available on the Web using a hermeneutic method that involves background knowledge, Information Extraction techniques and validation through discourse and use of the extracted information.

I present the metaphor of the "Circle of Knowledge on the Web". In this context, knowledge acquisition on the web is seen as analogous to the way scientific disciplines gradually increase the knowledge available in their field.

Here, formal models of interest domains are created automatically or manually and then validated by implicit and explicit validation methods before the statements in the created models can …

Change In Shoreline Position For Two Consecutive Years Using Lidar Along The Outer Banks, North Carolina, Rachel Marie Taylor

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The signal of shoreline change for the Outer Banks, North Carolina is non-stationary. A baseline, west of the first line of dunes, is created for each 5 km section and shore-perpendicular profiles constructed every 20 meters in the alongshore direction. The profiles are obtained from two light detection and ranging (LIDAR) surveys performed in June 22, 2006 and July 7 and 8, 2007.

For five selected sections of coast, Fourier analysis of the shoreline change signal indicates the signal is self-affine i.e. the mean is not stationary, but changes with position along the signal (Malumud and Turcotte, 1999) with a …

Optimization Of Spectrum Allocation In Cognitive Radio And Dynamic Spectrum Access Networks, Tao Zhang

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Spectrum has become a treasured commodity. However, many licensed frequency bands exclusively assigned to the primary license holders (also called primary users) remain relatively unused or under-utilized for most of the time. Allowing other users (also called secondary users) without a license to operate in these bands with no interference becomes a promising way to satisfy the fast growing needs for frequency spectrum resources. A cognitive radio adapts to the environment it operates in by sensing the spectrum and quickly decides on appropriate frequency bands and transmission parameters to use in order to achieve certain performance goals. One of the …

Factors Controlling Nickel Bioavailability And Effects On Benthic Invertebrates In Hardwater Freshwater Streams, Kevin Wayne Custer

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Sediments in aquatic ecosystems function ecologically as habitat, food, and refugia that aid in reproduction processes, and chemically as sources and sinks for contaminants. Sediment contamination from metals and organics has been linked to numerous health and ecological effects, extending from fish consumption advisories to endangered species listings. This dissertation research examines Ni bioavailability (simultaneously extracted metal (SEM)/acid volatile sulfide (AVS) models) and toxicity in five separate studies using Ni-spiked sediments in a variety of designs, and mainly with two different sediment types (low AVS, total organic carbon (TOC), and high AVS, TOC).

Two separate streamside mesocosm Ni experiments indicated …

Normal Fault Trace-Length Scaling In A Tectonic Transition Zone In Southern Sedna Planitia, Venus, Andrew W. Lyda

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In this study, fault trace-lengths of normal faults are measured in southern Sedna Planitia, Venus between 27° to 32° latitude and 336° to 343° longitude where smooth, lowland plains transition into highland regions which are broken by basin and range style tectonics. The fault trace-lengths are plotted on a cumulative number verses length plot (CNL) and fit with a power function, exponential function, and logarithmic function to determine which function best describes the trace-length distribution. A power function is the best fit with a scaling exponent of 1.73. This result is compared to previous studies of fault trace-lengths on Venus, …

Assessing The Drivers Of Adaptive Radiation In A Complex Of Gall Midges: A Multitrophic Perspective On Ecological Speciation, Jeremy J. Heath

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Natural enemies as selective forces maintaining and shaping morphological, physiological, and behavioral divergence in adaptive radiations have received very little attention. Until recently, the focus has been on primary resource competition as a major driver of trait divergence in adaptive radiations. Here I consider the role of natural enemies specifically in driving trait divergence in a complex of gall midges in the nominal species Asteromyia carbonifera (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), which appears to be in the throes of an incipient adaptive radiation on its host plant, goldenrod (Solidago). This galler uses a symbiotic fungus (Botryosphaeria dothidae) as a …