Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Conversion Of Domain Type Enforcement Language To The Java Security Manager, James Walker

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

With today's prevalence of Internet-connected systems storing sensitive data and the omnipresent threat of technically skilled malicious users, computer security remains a critically important field. Because of today's multitude of vulnerable systems and security threats, it is vital that computer science students be taught techniques for programming secure systems, especially since many of them will work on systems with sensitive data after graduation. Teaching computer science students proper design, implementation, and maintenance of secure systems is a challenging task that calls for the use of novel pedagogical tools. This report describes the implementation of a compiler that converts mandatory access …

An Investigation Of Waste Glass-Based Geopolymers Supplemented With Alumina, Mary U. Christiansen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

An increased consideration of sustainability throughout society has resulted in a surge of research investigating sustainable alternatives to existing construction materials. A new binder system, called a geopolymer, is being investigated to supplement ordinary portland cement (OPC) concrete, which has come under scrutiny because of the CO2 emissions inherent in its production.

Geopolymers are produced from the alkali activation of a powdered aluminosilicate source by an alkaline solution, which results in a dense three-dimensional matrix of tetrahedrally linked aluminosilicates. Geopolymers have shown great potential as a building construction material, offering similar mechanical and durability properties to OPC. Additionally, geopolymers have …

Maximum Principle Preserving High Order Schemes For Convection-Dominated Diffusion Equations, Yi Jiang

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The maximum principle is an important property of solutions to PDE. Correspondingly, it's of great interest for people to design a high order numerical scheme solving PDE with this property maintained. In this thesis, our particular interest is solving convection-dominated diffusion equation. We first review a nonconventional maximum principle preserving(MPP) high order finite volume(FV) WENO scheme, and then propose a new parametrized MPP high order finite difference(FD) WENO framework, which is generalized from the one solving hyperbolic conservation laws. A formal analysis is presented to show that a third order finite difference scheme with this parametrized MPP flux limiters maintains …

Magneto-Photonic Crystals For Optical Sensing Applications, Neluka Dissanayake

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Among the optical structures investigated for optical sensing purpose, a significant amount of research has been conducted on photonic crystal based sensors. A particular advantage of photonic crystal based sensors is that they show superior sensitivity for ultra-small volume sensing. In this study we investigate polarization changes in response to the changes in the cover index of magneto-optic active photonic band gap structures. One-dimensional photonic-band gap structures fabricated on iron garnet materials yield large polarization rotations at the band gap edges. The enhanced polarization effects serve as an excellent tool for chemical sensing showing high degree of sensitivity for photonic …

Spatial And Temporal Patterns In Ungulate-Ecosystem Interactions, Bryan D. Murray

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Ungulates are important components of a variety of ecosystems worldwide. This dissertation integrates aspects of ungulate and forest ecology to increase our understanding of how they work together in ways that are of interest to natural resource managers, educators, and those who are simply curious about nature. Although animal ecology and ecosystem ecology are often studied separately, one of the general goals of this dissertation is to examine how they interact across spatial and temporal scales. Forest ecosystems are heterogeneous across a range of scales. Spatial and temporal habitat use patterns of forest ungulates tend to be congregated in patches …

Amplitude-Versus-Angle Analysis And Wide-Angle-Inversion Of Crosswell Seismic Data In A Carbonate Reservoir, Mohamed S. Ibrahim

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Crosswell data set contains a range of angles limited only by the geometry of the source and receiver configuration, the separation of the boreholes and the depth to the target. However, the wide angles reflections present in crosswell imaging result in amplitude-versus-angle (AVA) features not usually observed in surface data. These features include reflections from angles that are near critical and beyond critical for many of the interfaces; some of these reflections are visible only for a small range of angles, presumably near their critical angle.

High-resolution crosswell seismic surveys were conducted over a Silurian (Niagaran) reef at two fields …

System Dynamics Modeling As A Quantitative-Qualitative Framework For Sustainable Water Resources Management: Insights For Water Quality Policy In The Great Lakes Region, Ali Mirchi

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Early water resources modeling efforts were aimed mostly at representing hydrologic processes, but the need for interdisciplinary studies has led to increasing complexity and integration of environmental, social, and economic functions. The gradual shift from merely employing engineering-based simulation models to applying more holistic frameworks is an indicator of promising changes in the traditional paradigm for the application of water resources models, supporting more sustainable management decisions. This dissertation contributes to application of a quantitative-qualitative framework for sustainable water resources management using system dynamics simulation, as well as environmental systems analysis techniques to provide insights for water quality management in …

Parametric Study Of Reaxff Simulation Parameters For Molecular Dynamics Modeling Of Reactive Carbon Gases, Benjamin David Jensen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Abstract

Interactive Controls Of Water Table Position And Plant Functional Types On Peat Porewater Character In Northern Bog Ecosystems: Implications For Carbon Cycling Dynamics, Aleta L. Daniels

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Northern wetlands, and particularly peatlands, have been shown to store around 30% of the world's soil carbon and thus play a significant role in the carbon cycle of our planet. Changes in climate are altering peatland hydrology and vegetation communities. These changes are possibly resulting in declines in the ability of peatlands to sequester carbon because losses through carbon oxidation and mineralization are likely to increase relative to C inputs from net primary production in a warmer, drier climate. However, the consequences of interactive effects of altered hydrology and vegetation on carbon storage are not well understood. This research evaluated …

A Study Of So2 Emissions And Ground Surface Displacements At Lastarria Volcano, Antofagasta Region, Northern Chile, Lucie Guihem Krewcun

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Lastarria volcano (Chile) is located at the North-West margin of the `Lazufre' ground inflation signal (37x45 km²), constantly uplifting at a rate of ~2.5 cm/year since 1996 (Pritchard and Simons 2002; Froger et al. 2007). The Lastarria volcano has the double interest to be superimposed on a second, smaller-scale inflation signal and to be the only degassing area of the Lazufre signal. In this project, we compared daily SO2 burdens recorded by AURA's OMI mission for 2005-2010 with Ground Surface Displacements (GSD) calculated from the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) images for 2003-2010.

We found a constant maximum displacement rate …

Application Of Remote Sensing In Aquatic Ecosystems, Foad Yousef

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

I utilized state the art remote sensing and GIS (Geographical Information System) techniques to study large scale biological, physical and ecological processes of coastal, nearshore, and offshore waters of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. These processes ranged from chlorophyll a and primary production time series analysies in Lake Michigan to coastal stamp sand threats on Buffalo Reef in Lake Superior. I used SeaWiFS (Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor) satellite imagery to trace various biological, chemical and optical water properties of Lake Michigan during the past decade and to investigate the collapse of early spring primary production. Using spatial analysis techniques, I …

Tandem-X High Resolution Dems And Their Applications To Flow Modeling, Kelly M. Wooten

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Lava flow modeling can be a powerful tool in hazard assessments; however, the ability to produce accurate models is usually limited by a lack of high resolution, up-to-date Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). This is especially obvious in places such as Kilauea Volcano (Hawaii), where active lava flows frequently alter the terrain. In this study, we use a new technique to create high resolution DEMs on Kilauea using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data from the TanDEM-X (TDX) satellite. We convert raw TDX SAR data into a geocoded DEM using GAMMA software [Werner et al., 2000]. This process can be completed in …

Characterizing The First Historic Eruption Of Nabro, Eritrea: Insights From Thermal And Uv Remote Sensing, Christine Ruth Sealing

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

June 2011 saw the first historic eruption of Nabro volcano, one of an ongoing sequence of eruptions in the Afar-Red Sea region since 2005. It halted air travel in northern Africa, contaminated food and water sources, and displaced thousands from their homes. Due to its remote location, little was known about this event in terms of the quantity of erupted products and the timing and mechanisms of their emplacement. Geographic isolation, previous quiescence and regional civil unrest meant that this volcano was effectively unmonitored at the time of eruption, and opportunities for field study are limited. Using free, publicly available …

Optical Waveguides And Structures For Short Haul Optical Communication Channels Within Printed Circuit Boards, Nicholas J. Riegel

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Optical waveguides have shown promising results for use within printed circuit boards. These optical waveguides have higher bandwidth than traditional copper transmission systems and are immune to electromagnetic interference. Design parameters for these optical waveguides are needed to ensure an optimal link budget. Modeling and simulation methods are used to determine the optimal design parameters needed in designing the waveguides. As a result, optical structures necessary for incorporating optical waveguides into printed circuit boards are designed and optimized.

Embedded siloxane polymer waveguides are investigated for their use in optical printed circuit boards. This material was chosen because it has low …

An Experience-Driven Pedagogy For The Instruction Of Software Testing In Computer Science, Christopher Duane Brown

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

In the realm of computer programming, the experience of writing a program is used to reinforce concepts and evaluate ability. This research uses three case studies to evaluate the introduction of testing through Kolb's Experiential Learning Model (ELM). We then analyze the impact of those testing experiences to determine methods for improving future courses.

The first testing experience that students encounter are unit test reports in their early courses. This course demonstrates that automating and improving feedback can provide more ELM iterations. The JUnit Generation (JUG) tool also provided a positive experience for the instructor by reducing the overall workload. …

Migration Patterns Among Young Adults In The United States: Environmental, Social, And Economic Explanations, Fangming Liu

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Young adult migration is a key factor in community development. The goal of this paper is to study what kinds of places attract young adults and what kinds are losing them. Linear regression is conducted to analyze what place-specific factors explain migration patterns among young adults. These factors include economic, social, and environmental variables. This study finds that social and environmental factors are just as important as economic ones. Specifically, employment in the arts increases young adult net migration. Environmental variables, for example, natural amenities and protected federal lands are particularly important in rural settings in attracting young adults. These …

Computational Prediction Of The Sporulation Network In Clostridium Thermocellum, Changyi Jiang

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Sporulation is a process in which some bacteria divide asymmetrically to form tough protective endospores, which help them to survive in a hazardous environment for a quite long time. The factors which can trigger this process are diverse. Heat, radiation, chemicals and lacking of nutrition can all lead to the formation of endospores. This phenomenon will lead to low productivity during industrial production. However, the sporulation mechanism in a spore-forming bacterium, Clostridium theromcellum, is still unclear. Therefore, if a regulation network of sporulation can be built, we may figure out ways to inhibit this process. In this study, a …

Stilling Basin Scour Remediation Using Air Injection And Flat Plate Extension, Rachael Barlock

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) is responsible for managing over 2500 miles of waterways and hundreds of water control structures. Many of these control structures are experiencing erosion, known as scour, of the sediment downstream of the structure. Laboratory experiments were conducted in order to investigate the effectiveness of two-dimensional air diffusers and plate extensions (without air injection) on a 1/30 scale model of one of SFWMD gated spillway structures, the S65E gated spillway. A literature review examining the results of similar studies was conducted. The experimental design for this research was based off of previous work done …

Oligodeoxynucleotide Synthesis Using Protecting Groups And A Linker Cleavable Under Non-Nucleophilic Conditions, Xi Lin

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) containing latent electrophilic groups can be highly useful in antisense drug development and many other applications such as chemical biology and medicine, where covalent cross-linking of ODNs with mRNA, protein and ODN is required. However, such ODN analogues cannot be synthesized using traditional technologies due to the strongly nucleophilic conditions used in traditional deprotection/cleavage process.

To solve this long lasting and highly challenging problem in nucleic acid chemistry, I used the 1,3-dithian-2-yl-methoxycarbonyl (Dmoc) function to protect the exo-amino groups on the nucleobases dA, dC and dG, and to design the linker between the nascent ODN and solid support. …

Benson's Theorem For Partial Geometries, Ellen J. Kamischke

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

In 1970 Clark Benson published a theorem in the Journal of Algebra stating a congruence for generalized quadrangles. Since then this theorem has been expanded to other specific geometries. In this thesis the theorem for partial geometries is extended to develop new divisibility conditions for the existence of a partial geometry in Chapter 2. Then in Chapter 3 the theorem is applied to higher dimensional arcs resulting in parameter restrictions on geometries derived from these structures. In Chapter 4 we look at extending previous work with partial geometries with α = 2 to uncover potential partial geometries with higher values …

Influence Of Mechanical And Thermal Boundary Conditions On Stabilizing/Destabilizing Mechanisms In Evaporating Liquid Films, Aneet Dharmavaram Narendranath

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Liquid films, evaporating or non-evaporating, are ubiquitous in nature and technology. The dynamics of evaporating liquid films is a study applicable in several industries such as water recovery, heat exchangers, crystal growth, drug design etc. The theory describing the dynamics of liquid films crosses several fields such as engineering, mathematics, material science, biophysics and volcanology to name a few.

Interfacial instabilities typically manifest by the undulation of an interface from a presumed flat state or by the onset of a secondary flow state from a primary quiescent state or both. To study the instabilities affecting liquid films, an evaporating/non-evaporating Newtonian …

Evaluating Karner Blue Butterfly (Lycaeides Melissa Samuelis Nabokov) Habitat Selection In The State Of Wisconsin, Usa, Anna Nahuel Hess

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The federally endangered Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis Nabokov) persists in rare oak/pine grassland communities spanning across the Great Lakes region, relying on host plant wild blue lupine (Lupinus perennis). Conservation efforts since 1992 have led to the development of several programs that restore and monitor habitat. This study aims to evaluate Karner blue habitat selection in the state of Wisconsin and develop high-resolution tools for use in conservation efforts. Spatial predictive models developed during this study accurately predicted potential habitat across state properties based on soils and canopy cover, and identified ~51-100% of Karner blue occurrences based on …

Dimension Reduction For Power System Modeling Using Pca Methods Considering Incomplete Data Readings, Ting Zhao

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is a popular method for dimension reduction that can be used in many fields including data compression, image processing, exploratory data analysis, etc. However, traditional PCA method has several drawbacks, since the traditional PCA method is not efficient for dealing with high dimensional data and cannot be effectively applied to compute accurate enough principal components when handling relatively large portion of missing data. In this report, we propose to use EM-PCA method for dimension reduction of power system measurement with missing data, and provide a comparative study of traditional PCA and EM-PCA methods. Our extensive experimental …

Volcanic Processes And Human Exposure As Elements To Build A Risk Model For Volcan De Fuego, Guatemala, Rüdiger P. Escobar Wolf

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The activity of Fuego volcano during the 1999 - 2013 eruptive episode is studied through field, remote sensing and observatory records. Mapping of the deposits allows quantifying the erupted volumes and areas affected by the largest eruptions during this period. A wide range of volcanic processes results in a diversity of products and associated deposits, including minor airfall tephra, rockfall avalanches, lava flows, and pyroclastic flows. The activity can be characterized by long term, low level background activity, and sporadic larger explosive eruptions. Although the background activity erupts lava and ash at a low rate (~ 0.1 m3/s), the persistence …

Probabilistic Modeling Of Rainfall Induced Landslide Hazard Assessment In San Juan La Laguna, Sololá, Guatemala, Patrice F. Cobin

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The municipality of San Juan La Laguna, Guatemala is home to approximately 5,200 people and located on the western side of the Lake Atitlán caldera. Steep slopes surround all but the eastern side of San Juan. The Lake Atitlán watershed is susceptible to many natural hazards, but most predictable are the landslides that can occur annually with each rainy season, especially during high-intensity events. Hurricane Stan hit Guatemala in October 2005; the resulting flooding and landslides devastated the Atitlán region. Locations of landslide and non-landslide points were obtained from field observations and orthophotos taken following Hurricane Stan. This study used …

A Comparison Of Pixel-Based Versus Object Oriented Analysis Of Landslides Using Historical Remote Sensing Data, Ren N. Keyport

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

With recent advances in remote sensing processing technology, it has become more feasible to begin analysis of the enormous historic archive of remotely sensed data. This historical data provides valuable information on a wide variety of topics which can influence the lives of millions of people if processed correctly and in a timely manner. One such field of benefit is that of landslide mapping and inventory. This data provides a historical reference to those who live near high risk areas so future disasters may be avoided. In order to properly map landslides remotely, an optimum method must first be determined. …

Evaluation And Monitoring Of Ash (Fraxinus Spp.) Tolerant To Long-Term Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus Planipennis [Coleoptera: Buprestidae]) Exposure, Kathryn G. Hietala

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Invasive insects that successfully establish in introduced areas can significantly alter natural communities. These pests require specific establishment criteria (e.g. host suitability) that, when known, can help quantify potential damage to infested areas. Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis [Coleoptera: Buprestidae]) is an invasive phloem-feeding pest which is responsible for the death of millions of ash trees (Fraxinus spp. L.). Over 200 surviving ash trees were previously identified in the Huron-Clinton Metroparks located in southeast Michigan. Trees were assessed over a four year period and a hierarchical cluster analysis was performed on dieback, vigor, and presence of signs and …

Three Hundred Years Of The St. Petersburg Paradox, Keguo Huang

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The St. Petersburg Paradox was first presented by Nicholas Bernoulli in 1713. It is related to a gambling game whose mathematical expected payoff is infinite, but no reasonable person would pay more than $25 to play it. In the history, a number of ideas in different areas have been developed to solve this paradox, and this report will mainly focus on mathematical perspective of this paradox. Different ideas and papers will be reviewed, including both classical ones of 18th and 19th century and some latest developments. Each model will be evaluated by simulation using Mathematica.

Development And Characterization Of Fluorescent Ph Sensors Based On Porous Silica And Hydrogel Support Matrices, Qili Hu

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The hydrogen ion activity (pH) is a very important parameter in environment monitoring, biomedical research and other applications. Optical pH sensors have several advantages over traditional potentiometric pH measurement, such as high sensitivity, no need of constant calibration, easy for miniaturization and possibility for remote sensing. Several pH indicators has been successfully immobilized in three different solid porous materials to use as pH sensing probes.

The fluorescent pH indicator fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate (FITC) was covalently bound onto the internal surface of porous silica (pore size ~10 nm) and retained its pH sensitivity. The excited state pK* _a of FITC in porous silica …

Studies Of Functionalized Nanoparticles For Smart Self-Assembly And As Controlled Drug Delivery, Xiaochu Ding

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

This dissertation is related to the studies of functionalized nanoparticles for self-assembly and as controlled drug delivery system. The whole topic is composed of two parts. In the first part, the research was conducted to design and synthesize a new type of ionic peptide-functionalized copolymer conjugates for self-assembly into nanoparticle fibers and 3D scaffolds with the ability of multi-drug loading and governing the release rate of each drug for tissue engineering. The self-assembly study confirmed that such peptide-functionalized amphiphilic copolymers underwent different self-assembly behavior. The bigger nanoparticles were more easily assembled into nanoparticle fibers and 3D scaffolds with larger pore …