Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Valorization Of Xylan In Agroforestry Waste Streams, Harrison Appiah

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Valorization of Xylan in Agroforestry Waste Streams.

Harrison Appiah

Microwave-assisted deep eutectic solvent and gamma-valerolactone metallic chloride catalyzed conversion of xylan to furfural were investigated using a 2x3 factorial experimental design at two levels of percent microwave power, reaction time, and catalyst concentration. The levels of each factor studied were (20%, 60% microwave power, 2, 4 minutes, and 10, 20mg) respectively. The effect of three metallic chloride catalysts (LiCl, FeCl3.6H20, CuCl2) on the conversion of xylan to furfural was also investigated. The gamma-valerolactone-ferric chloride sent system exhibited the highest mean yield of furfural (56.50%). The next highest furfural yield of …

Soil Response Of Helicopter Liming In The Monongahela National Forest, Jarrett Douglas Fowler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Soils in the Monongahela National Forest (MNF) are acidic due to sandstone parent material, acid deposition, uptake of base cations by vegetation, and release of organic acids by organic matter (OM) decomposition. Increases in soil acidity have caused declines in forest health and changed species composition and nutrient status. Liming can neutralize soil acidity, but no large-scale liming projects have been done on acid forest soils in the USA. In anticipation of acquiring funding for a proposed liming project in the MNF, in 2007 and 2009 10 sites were selected to sample and analyze soils before lime was applied. In …

Sustainability Assessment Of Direct Energy Deposition (Ded) Based Hybrid Manufacturing Using Life Cycle Assessment (Lca) Method, Faujia Islam

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

As sustainability has emerged as a highlight for almost every field over the last few decades, the manufacturing field is no exception. Generally, additive manufacturing performs better than traditional manufacturing in terms of sustainability because of its lean energy- and material usage. Previous studies have compared the sustainability performance between traditional and additive manufacturing, but hybrid manufacturing was not focused upon much. In this paper, the life cycle assessment method is used to analyze and compare the energy consumption and environmental impact of direct energy deposition (DED) based hybrid manufacturing and traditional manufacturing “CNC milling” process for a turbine blade. …

Harnessing Acoustic Streaming For Bioanalysis In Microfluidics, Xiaojun Li

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In the past few decades, microfluidic technology has been developed rapidly in both fabrication methods and multifunctionality integrations, making it a powerful tool for a wider variety of biological applications. The device fabrication method has expanded from conventional polymer-based micro devices to 3D-printed micro devices, and allows multiple functions such as electric, optic, magnetic and acoustic to be integrated on a single platform. This dissertation focuses on method development of acoustic streaming-based microfluidics in bioanalysis such as immunoassay, enzyme kinetics and DNA fragmentation analysis. In this dissertation, a micromixer was developed based on acoustic streaming generated from sharp-edge structure vibration …

Analyzing Applied Calculus Student Understanding Of Definite Integrals In Real-Life Applications, Cody Hood

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

An individual’s knowledge of definite integrals can range from rote memorization to a strong foundational connection harkening back to its Riemann sum limit definition. In my research, I conducted seven task-based face-to-face interviews with Applied Calculus students. Through the use of real-life examples and guided reinvention, I analyzed ways in which these students, who all initially demonstrated rote memorization, could exhibit a Riemann sum based level of comprehension. This research was conducted in the confines of a student population with definite integral experience, but no formal instruction on limits. My results show that the lack of computational emphasis in class …

Employing Exoglycosidase And Transferase Enzymes In Capillary Nanogel Electrophoresis For The Determination Of N-Glycan Linkages And Enzyme Michaelis-Menten Constants., Lloyd Bwanali

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

As a post translational modification protein glycosylation plays a crucial role in protein signaling, binding, kinetics and folding. In disease diagnosis and prognosis, monitoring glycosylation has been identified as a biomarker. Sialylation and sialic acid linkage in N-glycans are markers of cancers including liver, pancreatic and kidney cancer. Quantification of sialic acid linkage is analytically challenging because of the diverse linkages and the presence of heterogenous branching. A capillary electrophoresis method is reported that integrates a unique combination of enzymes and lectins to modify sialylated asparagine-linked glycans (N-glycans) in real time in the capillary so that N-glycan structures containing α2–6-linked …

Transform Based Approaches For The Detection Of Astrophysical Signals, Marwan Mahfud Alkhweldi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Development of new algorithms for the detection of isolated astrophysical pulses is of interest to radio astronomers. Both Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) and several Rotating Radio Transients (RRATs) were detected through the application of a single pulse search algorithm. The conventional approach to detect astronomical pulses requires an exhaustive search for the correct dispersion measure. Its accelerated versions involve signal processing in Fourier transform space.

In this dissertation, we present several new transform-based approaches for the detection and analysis of astrophysical signals with the latest being the most effective and advanced of all. It is implemented in several steps. First, …

Arrow Spaces: A Unified Algebraic Approach To Euclidean Geometry And Inner Product Spaces, Hussin M. Albahboh

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Given a postulated set of points, an algebraic system of axioms is proposed for an ``arrow space". An arrow is defined to be an ordered set of two points (T,H), named respectively Tail and Head. The set of arrows is an arrow space. The arrow space is axiomatically endowed with an arrow space ``pre-inner product" which is analogous to the inner product of an inner product vector space over R. Using this arrow space pre-inner product, various properties of the arrow space are derived and contrasted with the properties of a vector space over R. The axioms …

Magnetic Properties Of Lsmo/Sto Thin Films: Magnetocaloric, Spin Dynamics And Magnetic Viscosity Investigations, Navid Mottaghi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

While other films are discussed, this dissertation will focus on detailed studies of the dc and ac bulk magnetometry in a characteristic 7.6 nm thin film of La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ grown on SrTiO₃ (001). The dc bulk magnetometry measurements show that the sample is magnetically inhomogeneous. Temperature variation of magnetization (M vs. T) was measured in zero-field-cooled and field-cooled protocols to determine the blocking temperature T_B in different applied magnetic fields. The field variation of T_B is interpreted as the presence of embedded spin clusters of 1.4 nm. Moreover, the M vs. …

Algebraic, Analytic, And Combinatorial Properties Of Power Product Expansions In Two Independent Variables., Mohamed Ammar Elewoday

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Let $F(x,y)=I+\hspace{-.3cm}\sum\limits_{\substack{p=1\\m+n=p}}^{\infty}\hspace{-.3cm}A_{m,n}x^my^n$ be a formal power series, where the coefficients $A_{m,n}$ are either all matrices or all scalars. We expand $F(x,y)$ into the formal products $\prod\limits_{\substack{p=1\\m+n=p}}^{\infty}\hspace{-.3cm}(I+G_{m,n}x^m y^n)$, $\prod\limits_{\substack{p=1\\m+n=p}}^{\infty}\hspace{-.3cm}(I-H_{m,n}x^m y^n)^{-1}$, namely the \textit{ power product expansion in two independent variables} and \textit{inverse power product expansion in two independent variables} respectively. By developing new machinery involving the majorizing infinite product, we provide estimates on the domain of absolute convergence of the infinite product via the Taylor series coefficients of $F(x,y)$. This machinery introduces a myriad of "mixed expansions", uncovers various algebraic connections between the $(A_{m,n})$ and the $(G_{m,n})$, and uncovers various algebraic …

Huntingtin Aggregation At Interfaces Associated With Membranes And Organelles, Adewale Vincent Adegbuyiro

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Huntington’s Disease (HD) is a genetic neurodegenerative disease caused by the expansion of polyglutamine (polyQ) domain within the first exon (exon1) of the huntingtin (htt) protein. Due to this mutation within the polyQ domain, htt aggregates into various toxic species such as oligomers, fibrils, and other amorphous aggregates. While the aggregation of htt strongly correlates with polyQ length, other factors, e.g. interaction with membranes or organelles and posttranslational modifications (PTMs), modulate aggregation. The first 17 N-terminal amino acids (Nt17) that precede the polyQ in htt-exon1 enhances aggregation and facilitated binding of htt to membranous organelles, promoting morphological changes and disfunction. …

Petrographic And Core Analysis Of The Jurassic Norphlet Formation: A Case Study In The Lithofacies Control Of Diagenesis And Porosity In The Flomaton Field, Al, Jarrett Thomas Smith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This study includes a sedimentologic and petrographic study of cores and thin-sections from the Jurassic Norphlet Formation in the Flomaton Field in southern Alabama to define a specific paragenetic history of each facies encountered and to identify key controls on reservoir quality. Eolian dune, nearshore, sand flat, and wadi facies were likely encountered in Norphlet core and thin-section samples that displayed a high degree of heterogeneity between them in terms of porosity, grain contacts, cement abundance/type, intergranular volume, and overall diagenetic processes. These distinct petrographic differences suggest that the paragenesis in the Flomaton Field is primarily facies controlled. The eolian …

Development Of Eccentric Black Hole Binary Searches In The Ligo And Pta Regimes, Belinda D. Cheeseboro

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In the past several years, a plethora of gravitational wave events have been detected leading to better understanding of binary black holes, binary neutron stars, and neutron star black hole binaries. All of these transient detections have helped us better understand the dynamics of these systems as well as the populations of these objects, but each of these sources was detected with models that neglected eccentricity. Eccentricity is one of several potential markers for determining the formation of binary systems. Detecting gravitational waves from eccentric sources can better our understanding of such systems and help constrain theories about their formation. …

Application Of 3d Seismic Signal And Geomechanical Attributes For Subsurface Fracture Characterization: A Case Study In Clearfield County, Central Pennsylvania, Iman F. Zulkapeli

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Hydrocarbon exploration in unconventional reservoirs is highly risky due to the nature of the reservoirs and the variability in fractures and reservoir geomechanical properties in the subsurface. The reservoir needs to be fully characterized to avoid any complication such as frac hit, wellbore failure, blowout, or even a dry hole. The Clearfield reservoir produces an exceptionally low amount of gas, compared to the neighboring region in the proximity, which has been poorly understood. This raises the question as to what causes the reservoir to have low productivity.

This study focuses on the natural fracture characterization using high-quality 3D seismic signal …

Refining The Sedimentology And Geochemistry Of The Mid-Permian Blaine Formation Of The Rebecca K. Bounds Core From Greeley County, Kansas, Brigitte Petras

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Red siliciclastics and evaporites of Permian Nippewalla Group in mid-continental US were deposited in western equatorial Pangea. Previous studies of these rocks record Permian air temperatures as high as 73 °C, saline lake waters with a pH as low as ~1, and sedimentology that shows arid conditions. This current study conducts detailed sedimentological observations and geochemical analyses of the Blaine Formation of the Nippewalla Group. The Rebecca K. Bounds core from west-central Kansas is used to interpret the depositional environments and diagenetic history of the Blaine Formation.

The lithologies of the Blaine Formation, listed in order of most to least …

Pulsar Noise Processes And Emission Physics, Brent Jacob Shapiro-Albert

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Precision pulsar timing can be used to study many different astrophysically interesting phenomena, from the emission mechanism of pulsars to the detection of nanohertz gravitational waves. These analyses span topics such as studying the single pulses of pulsars and analyzing years of pulsar timing data from pulsar timing arrays (PTAs). Single-pulse studies allow us to glean information on the emission physics of pulsars on their shortest timescales, while PTA observations of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) allow us to not only study the pulsars themselves, but also probe the interstellar medium (ISM) and constrain the noise in the data for precision pulsar …

Fundamentals And Applications Of Charge Transfer Dissociation Mass Spectrometry, Zachary Joseph Sasiene

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The recent surge in the analysis of biomolecules has driven the need for robust, versatile, sensitive, and accurate techniques such as tandem mass spectrometry for compound structural elucidation. Many fragmentation techniques have been developed over the years, but each has their own limitations, such as the loss of post-translational modifications (PTMs), inability to fragment singly charged precursor ions or cost prohibitiveness. To help fill this gap, a novel fragmentation technique called charge transfer dissociation (CTD) has been developed to fragment stored precursor ions through radical-driven fragmentation processes using kiloelectronvolt reagent cations. CTD has shown success in the analysis of proteins, …

Ecology Of Freshwater Turtles And Other Wetland Wildlife In A North-Central West Virginia Watershed, Darien N. Lozon

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The goal of wetland mitigation in the United States is to achieve a no-net-loss of wetlands; however, mitigated wetlands must be monitored to ensure wetland function is comparable to natural wetlands. In this study, relationships between land use practices and freshwater turtle abundance, wetland connectivity, and heavy metal bioaccumulation were investigated. In Chapter 1, a summary of pre-restoration species abundance and diversity is provided for anurans, birds, benthic macroinvertebrates, fishes, small mammals, plants, and turtles in riparian wetlands along Ruby Run, a tributary of Deckers Creek in north-central West Virginia, USA. These data provide a baseline for comparison after mitigation …

Variations In Produced Water Chemistry And Relation To Regional Geology And Production In The Marcellus Shale, Northcentral West Virginia, Jonathan M. Brady

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

An investigation of 74 Marcellus Shale wells across northcentral West Virginia indicates changes in produced water chemistry and quantity can be related to geologic conditions based on well logs and core data. These changes are determined by reviewing multiple produced water analyses for individual wells for periods up to ten years. Results show variations among the areas in this study. From west to east across central Harrison County to central Taylor County, then north into Monongalia County, gamma-ray logs show increasing intensity, especially in the middle and lower Marcellus. XRD mineralogy from core data shows increasing clay content from west …

Equilibrium And Non-Equilibrium Ultrafast Carrier Transport And Dynamics In Chalcopyrite Semiconductors, Rishmali Thanuja Sooriyagoda

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Chalcopyrite crystals in the II-IV-V₂ family have received significant interest due to their high nonlinearity, composition-tunable bandgaps, wide transparency windows, and high damage threshold. These semiconductors have been explored for electromagnetic (EM) screening, spintronic and photovoltaic applications, making them good optical and optoelectronic materials. This thesis uses terahertz spectroscopy to understand optical, electronic, and vibrational dynamical processes in CdGeP₂, ZnGeP₂ and CdSiP₂ chalcopyrite semiconductors.

We have employed Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy to investigate temperature-dependent ground-state properties of bulk chalcopyrite crystals that can be related to electronic transport and electron-lattice interactions. The complex spectra provide refraction and …

Enabling Technologies For Medicinal Chemistry And Synthesis: I. Cannabinoids; Ii. Illudalic Acid; Iii. Microwave Chemistry, Harvey Fulo

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Innovations in synthetic organic chemistry such as methodology improvements, new chemical transformations and technology development significantly impact medicinal chemistry and continue to drive the drug discovery process. Here, new cyclization strategies to the pharmaceutically underexplored 3,3-dimethylcyclopentane-fused aromatic rings are described. One approach highlighted oxidative cycloisomerization, intermolecular [2+2+2] cyclotrimerization and 5-exo-dig cyclization providing indanoylindole cannabinoids that possess high affinity for human CB₂ receptors at nanomolar concentration and good selectivity index. Another featured a [4+2]-type benzannulation reaction which enabled the 5-step synthesis of illudalic acid — compared to the current available sequences (≥16 steps) — and its equipotent and LAR-selective analogs. …

Analysis Of Cell Signaling Perturbations In Response To Chronic Localized Infections, Amber Nicole Prince

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The tissue-level response to pathogens involves an intricate series of signal transduction events, influenced by immune and healing mediators that alert the host to danger and eliminate the infection. Disruptions to normal signaling events can compromise the host’s ability to respond and lead to the development of chronic infections that cannot be resolved without clinical intervention. Prolonged inflammation due to chronic infection can damage tissues and compromise healing processes, thus, the interactions of immune and healing mediators in signaling cascades are intimately linked to tissue health outcomes. Studying signaling networks relevant to these responses provided a more thorough understanding of …

Single And Multi-Photon Laser Induced Fluorescence For Electric Thruster And Fusion Applications, Thomas E. Steinberger

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Single and Multi-photon Laser Induced Fluorescence for Electric Thruster and Fusion Applications

Thomas Edward Steinberger

Laser-based diagnostics are increasingly sought after to investigate a variety of plasmas due to their non-perturbative capabilities. Specifically, laser induced fluorescence (LIF) provides a highly localized and precise spectroscopic technique to measure absolute density, temperature, and bulk flow. In this work, LIF and two-photon absorption laser induced fluorescence (TALIF) are used to investigate electric propulsion and fusion-relevant plasmas, respectively. Ion velocity distribution functions (IVDF) of singly ionized atomic iodine (I II) are measured for the first time and lineshape characteristics are presented for the diagnosis …

Experimental Investigations Of Contact Friction And Transport Properties Of Monolayer And Bilayer Graphene, Prakash Gajurel

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Results obtained from experimental investigations of contact friction in monolayer and bilayers graphene and the related effects on their transport properties are presented here along with their discussion and interpretation. For this purpose, chemical vapor deposited (CVD) graphene samples on SiO₂/Si were prepared. The samples were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Summaries of the results are given below.

Defects-controlled friction in graphene is of technological importance but the underlying mechanism remains a subject of debate. The new results obtained from the analysis of lateral force microscopy images revealed that the contact …

Association Of Incident Cancer To Low-Value Care And Healthcare Cost Burden Among Elderly Medicare Beneficiaries, Chibuzo Iloabuchi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In the United States (US), 25% of healthcare spending is considered wasteful because it is spent reimbursing low-value care. Low-value care is the utilization of healthcare services, medical tests, and procedures that have unclear or no clinical benefit to patients but still exposes them to risk. World-wide, low-value care imposes a significant economic burden on patients, payers, governments, and society. Cancer care among older adults > 65 years is one of the biggest drivers of healthcare expenditure in the US and accounts for nearly 40% of all spending, and low-value care among cancer patients is prevalent and contributes to the financial …

Effect Of Oxidative Breakers On Organic Matter Degradation, Contaminant Mobility And Critical Mineral Release During Shale-Fracturing Fluid Interactions In The Marcellus Shale, Shaun Donmoyer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Production of oil and gas from organic-rich shale formations has become viable through advancements in multi-stage hydraulic fracturing. The decline of shale gas production after the initial days of fracturing operations coupled with falling oil and gas prices, has pushed industry operators to use new chemical additives as an attempt to increase hydrocarbon production. The implementation of highly reactive fracturing fluids that include strong oxidizing agents, pose as a potential solution to increase well productivity. Strong oxidizing chemicals commonly known in fracturing operations as breakers, are used to improve the viscosity of gel-based fluids after the proppant is transported into …

Improving Characterization Of Small Molecules Using Enhanced Molecular Reaction And Ionization Techniques, Sandra N. Majuta

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Metabolomics is an emerging “omics” field, which is comprised of the study of small molecule metabolites in biological systems. It can be argued that the abundances of metabolites within biological samples, such as tissue and plasma, are indicative of various physiological states. Thus, metabolomics analysis has the potential in the clinical scientific field to be an effective tool for early disease diagnosis as well as for proposing and monitoring new treatments for diseases. However, full characterization of the metabolome complement is often hampered by the wide diversity of metabolites, which also exhibit an extremely large concentration range in biological samples. …

Topic Modeling And Cultural Nature Of Citations, Marie Coraline Dumaz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Ever since the beginning of research journals, the number of academic publications has been increasing steadily. Nowadays, especially, with the new importance of online open-access journals and databases, research papers are more easily available to read and share. It also becomes harder to keep up with novelties and grasp an idea of the general impact of a given researcher, institution, journal, or field. For this reason, different bibliometric indicators are now routinely used to classify and evaluate the impact or significance of individual researchers, conferences, journals, or entire scientific communities. In this thesis, we provide tools to study trends in …

Ensemble Encoder-Decoder Models For Predicting Land Transformation, Pariya Pourmohammadi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In studying dynamic and complex processes which are influenced by a system of inter-connected driving variables, it is crucial to apply models that can learn the complexity of the interactions. Land transformation is one of such complex processes, prediction of which can help to mitigate severe climate situations and improve the resiliency of communities. In this study, a multi-spectral set of data cubes is used to capture various characteristics of a geographic region. Based on the data cube, a feature space is constructed using socio-economic attributes, terrain characteristics, and landscape traits of the study region. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional convolutional neural …

Bypassing The Blood-Brain Barrier: A Physical And Pharmacological Approach For The Treatment Of Metastatic Brain Tumors, Samuel A. Sprowls

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This dissertation (a) provided an in depth literature review of methods to disrupt the BBB/BTB and improve therapeutic distribution to brain tumors, (b) evaluated the use of azacitidine as a single agent therapy for the treatment of brain metastasis of breast cancer and a potential molecular mechanism by which brain tropic cells are sensitized to hypomethylating agents, (c) determined the impact cannabidiol has on P-glycoprotein mediated efflux at the blood-brain barrier and its potential for use as a single agent treatment for metastatic brain tumors, (d) developed a preclinical radiation therapy protocol for use in small animals and in vitro …