Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Hydrologic And Geochemical Cycling Within Karst Versus Non-Karst Basins Within The Interior Low Plateau Province Of South-Central Kentucky, David Ek

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis summarizes my research in which I investigated differences and characteristics in hydrologic, nutrient and geochemical cycling between karst versus nonkarst basins within the Interior Low Plateau Province. Field data including stream discharge, evapotranspiration, and dissolved major ion concentrations were collected for a period of one year for two basins within Mammoth Cave National Park. Twelve percent carbonate rocks underlie one basin, while the other consists of 48 percent carbonate rocks. The carbonate rock exposures within both basins exhibit karstification. The hydrologic and geochemical differences between these basins were compared to determine to what extent that cycles are modified …

Evaluating Uranium Depth Versus Socio-Economic Statistics For Residential Radon Vulnerability In Warren County, Kentucky, Anthony Iovanna

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Residences in Warren County, Kentucky, are characterized by high levels of residential radon, which is one of the radioactive daughter products of uranium. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), radon exposure causes approximately 22,000 lung cancer deaths in the United States per year. The City of Bowling Green, in Warren County, is underlain by karst, an easily soluble limestone subsurface, which allows radon gas to travel easily through cracks and fissures. Carbonate rocks under Bowling Green are underlain by the Devonian Chattanooga Shale, a low-grade uranium ore and a potential source of radon gas. A digital …

Evaluating Spatial Variability Of Precipitation In Kentucky With Exploratory Data Analysis, Daniel Taylor

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Spatial variability of precipitation is examined over the state of Kentucky and surrounding areas. The study focuses on the analysis of monthly precipitation totals from the period of 1961-2000. The purpose of the study is to develop a set of indices to represent the spatial variability of the study area for a given month. Various exploratory data analysis methods such as variography, kriging, and cluster analysis were used. The study attempts to quantify the second order (local) effects of the spatial variation of precipitation as a means to provide insight into the prediction of precipitation randomness. This task can be …

Carbon-Carbon Bond Formation Via O-Lithiointermediates, Julia Raymer

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The process of C-C bond formation via Directed ort/zo-Metalation (DoM) consists of two separate steps. Utilizing fractional equivalents of TMEDA in hydrocarbon solvents at 60°C, o-lithiation of anisole and dimethylaniline can be effected in >95% yields. The first step in the DoM process involves preparation of solid samples of these o-lithiointermediates. Completing the sequence, the second step concerns formation of a new arene-derivative bond at the reactive site. For this thesis the arene-derivative bond formed is to carbon. Various carbon electrophiles have been studied using different solvent systems, and results reveal a possible disconnect between the reaction conditions for the …

Nice Polynomials, Jonathan Groves

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

We consider the problem of finding, constructing, and classifying nice polynomials. After a short history of previous results, we present a general property of nice polynomials which leads to an important modification of the concept of equivalence classes of nice polynomials. We give several important results on nice symmetric or antisymmetric polynomials with an odd number of roots, which dramatically increase the speed of a computer search for examples. We present complete solutions to the symmetric three root case, the general three root case, and the symmetric four root case. We also give the relations between the roots and critical …

Spectroscopic Studies Of Chlorophyll A Complexes With Trinitro-Substituted Flourene Derivatives, Stephanie Smalley

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Absorption, fluorescence, and excited-state lifetime studies of chlorophyll a (Chl a) with fluorene, 2-(2,4,7-Trinitro-fluoren-9-ylideneaminooxy)-propionic acid (TFPR), 2- (2,4,7-Trinitro-fluoren-9-ylidenemethyl)-phenol, (TFPH), and 9-Isopropylidene-2,4,7- trinitro-9H-fluorene (ITNF) have been investigated. These systems were studied in acetonitrile and dichloromethane at room temperature. Absorption data were analyzed with the Nash plot. Linearity of the Nash plots proved that a 1:1 complex was formed between the donor and acceptor. Ground state binding constants (Ka) of each system were also determined from the y-intercept of these plots. Fluorescence data were analyzed with a Stern-Volmer plot. The quenching constants (Ksv) were obtained from the slope of these plots. These …

Cesium Effect: A Mild And Efficient Synthesis Of Secondary And Tertiary Phosphines, Matthew Honaker

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A mild and efficient method to synthesize a variety of secondary and tertiary, as well as disecondary and ditertiary phosphines has been developed. Using reaction conditions that include cesium hydroxide, molecular sieves, and DMF, at room temperature, a wide range of alkyl halides has been coupled to primary or secondary phosphines to yield secondary or tertiary phosphines. Included were activated and aliphatic halides, as well as base sensitive functional groups. In addition, examples of disecondary and ditertiary ligands have also been prepared using similar reaction conditions. The synthesis of a P-N-P ligand was also accomplished with these procedures. Optically active …

Atrazine Contamination In A Rural Source-Water Supply: Spa Lake, Lewisburg, Kentucky, Kathryn Seadler

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In 1998, Western Kentucky University (WKU) worked in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Drinking Water Protection Division, to investigate methods to improve source-water quality for rural-water supply systems (RWSS). Through partial funding from the EPA, WKU developed a Technical Assistance Center for Water Quality (TACWQ), which focused resources and expertise toward assisting RWSS in achieving and maintaining capacity development goals and protecting public health. The TACWQ established the Source Water Protection Initiative (SWPI) to assist RWSS in acquiring and monitoring the technical, financial and managerial capacity needed to provide safe drinking water and achieve the public health protection …

Directed Ortho Metalation In Hydrocarbon Solvents: Opposing Pi-Resonance Effects, Barry Woosley

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Hydrocarbon solvents are known to be unreactive toward organolithium reagents and do not typically support ortho-metalation reactions without the aid of a promoter. An exception would be an arene substrate having the capability to bidentate complex to the reactive alkyllithium dimer, which enables ortho-metalation to occur in high yields. A second, more limiting exception, would be that the arene substrate possesses localized lone pairs of electrons, as is the case when the directed ortho metalating group (DMG) is located in the benzyl position. The work reported here centers upon developing a third and larger class of arene substrates that are …

Determination Of Carbon Nanotube Modification By Tg-Ms And Pyrolysis-Gc/Ms, Quentin Lineberry

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Uniform dispersion of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has been one of the major impediments to the full development of the incredible suite of properties offered by CNTs, specifically single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). However, investigators at NASA Langley and the National Institute of Aerospace Research have recently obtained (SWNTs) that are soluble in select solvents, including THF, DM Ac, and ODCB. The SWNTs were exposed to reagents used in cited fullerene modification chemistry in an attempt to produce soluble SWNTs. Upon further examination, it was determined that the intended functionalization had not occurred, and some other phenomenon was responsible for the SWNTs …

A Spatial Analysis Of The Impact Of Development On Wetland Habitat In Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, Jenna Medlin

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In response to growing concerns over wetland habitat loss and the associated impact on water resources, federal and state legislation has been enacted to protect vulnerable wetland habitats from the impacts of humans. In order to examine the efficacy of current coastal resource policy and its implementation, a study was conducted in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, a coastal city of the Atlantic, focusing on the quantification of wetland habitat change over time within a specific area of interest. The study incorporated an assessment of the effects of escalating population pressures and subsequent urban development on local wetland habitats due to …

Development Of A Gene Transfer System In Clostridium Scindens Vpi 12708, Rashmi Ramasubbaiah

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Clostridium scindens VPI 12708 (previously known as Eubacterium sp. VPI 12708) is a bile-acid dehydroxylating bacterium originally isolated from the feces of a colon cancer patient. Many genes required for bile acid 7-a dehydroxylation are found on a large bile acid inducible operon (bai) that has been extensively studied. However the bai promoter, which directs expression of the bai operon, has yet to be characterized due, in part, to a lack of a functional genetic transfer system for this strain. A spontaneous rifampinresistant Clostridium scindens VPI 12708 mutant was used as a recipient to determine the efficacy of conjugation as …

Face Recognition: Study And Comparison Of Pca And Ebgm Algorithms, Sachin Katadound

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Face recognition is a complex and difficult process due to various factors such as variability of illumination, occlusion, face specific characteristics like hair, glasses, beard, etc., and other similar problems affecting computer vision problems. Using a system that offers robust and consistent results for face recognition, various applications such as identification for law enforcement, secure system access, computer human interaction, etc., can be automated successfully. Different methods exist to solve the face recognition problem. Principal component analysis, Independent component analysis, and linear discriminant analysis are few other statistical techniques that are commonly used in solving the face recognition problem. Genetic …

Development Of An Analytical Method For Distinguishing Ammonium Bicarbonate From The Products Of An Aqueous Ammonia Co2 Scrubber And The Characterization Of Ammonium Bicarbonate, Lingyu Meng

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The link between anthropogenic emissions of CO2 with increased atmospheric CO2 levels and, in turn, with increased global temperature has been well established and accepted. Using aqueous ammonia to capture CO2 and produce an inexpensive nitrogen fertilizer, ammonium bicarbonate (ABC) has been thought as a feasible approach to CO2 sequestration.

Due to the different concentrations of reactants and reaction conditions, different carbon-ammonium composites can be produced. In view of achieving a maximum of NH3 utilization in the capture of CO2, the product of ABC will be ideal. Hence the ABC in the products needs to be identified. Various analytical techniques …

Excel Sheet Based Semantic Email, Rajesekhar R. Dandolu

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

EXCEL SHEET BASED SEMANTIC EMAIL Rajesekhar R, Dandolu December 10, 2004. 47 Pages Directed by: Dr. Guangming Xing Department of Computer Science Western Kentucky University The Semantic Web is an extension of the current web in which information is given well-defined meaning, better enabling computers and people to work in cooperation. The Semantic Web envisions a portion of the World-Wide Web in which the underlying data is machine understandable and can thus be exploited for improved querying, aggregation, and interaction. Excel Sheet Based Semantic Email is a type of Semantic Web application, which deals with the understanding of emails received …