Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Characterization Of Hiv Diversity, Phylodynamics And Drug Resistance In Washington, Dc., Marcos Pérez-Losada, Amanda D Castel, Brittany Lewis, Michael Kharfen, Charles P Cartwright, Bruce Huang, Taylor Maxwell, Alan E Greenberg, Keith A Crandall

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sdss-Iv Manga: Spatially Resolved Star Formation Histories In Galaxies As A Function Of Galaxy Mass And Type, D. Goddard, D. Thomas, C. Maraston, K. Westfall, J. Etherington, R. Riffel, M. D. Mallmann, Z. Zheng, M. Argudo-Fernández, J. Lian, M. Bershady, K. Bundy, N. Drory, D. Law, Renbin Yan, D. Wake, A. Weijmans, D. Bizyaev, J. Brownstein, R. R. Lane, R. Maiolino, K. Masters, M. Merrifield, C. Nitschelm, K. Pan, A. Roman-Lopes, T. Storchi-Bergmann, D. P. Schneider

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We study the internal gradients of stellar population properties within 1.5 R_e for a representative sample of 721 galaxies, with stellar masses ranging between 10⁹ M_⊙ and 10^11.5 M_⊙ from the SDSS-IV MaNGA Integral-Field-Unit survey. Through the use of our full spectral fitting code firefly, we derive light- and mass-weighted stellar population properties and their radial gradients, as well as full star formation and metal enrichment histories. We also quantify the impact that different stellar population models and full spectral fitting routines have on the derived stellar population properties and the radial gradient measurements. In …

Investigating The Spatial Complexity Of Various Pke-Peks Schematics, Jacob Patterson

Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Research Publications

With the advent of cloud storage, people upload all sorts of information to third party servers. However, uploading plaintext does not seem like a good idea for users who wish to keep their data private. Current solutions to this problem in literature involves integrating Public Key Encryption and Public key encryption with keyword search techniques. The intent of this paper is to analyze the spatial complexities of various PKE-PEKS schemes at various levels of security and discuss potential avenues for improvement.

Fibonacci Or Quasi-Symmetric Phyllotaxis. Part I: Why?, Christophe Golé, Jacques Dumais, Stéphane Douady

Mathematics and Statistics: Faculty Publications

The study of phyllotaxis has focused on seeking explanations for the occurrence of consecutive Fibonacci numbers in the number of helices paving the stems of plants in the two opposite directions. Using the disk-accretion model, first introduced by Schwendener and justified by modern biological studies, we observe two dis- tinct types of solutions: the classical Fibonacci-like ones, and also more irregular configurations exhibiting nearly equal number of helices in a quasi-square pack- ing, the quasi-symmetric ones, which are a generalization of the whorled patterns. Defining new geometric tools allowing to work with irregular patterns and local transitions, we provide simple …

Fibonacci Or Quasi-Symmetric Phyllotaxis. Part Ii: Botanical Observations, Stéphane Douady, Christophe Golé

Mathematics and Statistics: Faculty Publications

Historically, the study of phyllotaxis was greatly helped by the simple description of botanical patterns by only two integer numbers, namely the number of helices (parastichies) in each direction tiling the plant stem. The use of parastichy num- bers reduced the complexity of the study and created a proliferation of generaliza- tions, among others the simple geometric model of lattices. Unfortunately, these simple descriptive method runs into difficulties when dealing with patterns pre- senting transitions or irregularities. Here, we propose several ways of addressing the imperfections of botanical reality. Using ontogenetic analysis, which follows the step-by-step genesis of the pattern, …

Minimization And Eulerian Formulation Of Differential Geometry Based Nonpolar Multiscale Solvation Models, Zhan Chen

Department of Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

In this work, the existence of a global minimizer for the previous Lagrangian formulation of nonpolar solvation model proposed in [1] has been proved. One of the proofs involves a construction of a phase field model that converges to the Lagrangian formulation. Moreover, an Eulerian formulation of nonpolar solvation model is proposed and implemented under a similar parameterization scheme to that in [1]. By doing so, the connection, similarity and difference between the Eulerian formulation and its Lagrangian counterpart can be analyzed. It turns out that both of them have a great potential in solvation prediction for nonpolar molecules, while …

Electrocatalytic Valorization Of Biomass Intermediates Via 1st-Row Transition Metal Electrocatalysts, Yujie Sun

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Ph-Dependent Fluorescent Probe That Can Be Tuned For Cysteine Or Homocysteine, Yongkang Yue, Fangjun Huo, Xiaoqi Li, Ying Wen, Tao Yi, James C. Salamanca, Jorge O. Escobedo, Robert Strongin, Caixia Yin

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

The very close structural similarities between cysteine and homocysteine present a great challenge to achieve their selective detection using regular fluorescent probes, limiting the biological and pathological studies of these two amino thiols. A coumarin-based fluorescent probe was designed featuring pH-promoted distinct turn-on followed by ratiometric fluorescence responses for Cys and turn-on fluorescence response for Hcy through two different reaction paths. These specific responses demonstrate the activity differences between Cys and Hcy qualitatively for the first time. The probe could also be used for Cys and Hcy imaging in living cells.

Generation Of Vector Partially Coherent Optical Sources Using Phase-Only Spatial Light Modulators, Milo W. Hyde Iv, Santasri Bose-Pillai, David G. Voelz, Xifeng Xiao

Faculty Publications

A simple and flexible optical system for generating electromagnetic or vector partially coherent sources or beams is presented. The alternative design controls field amplitude (beam shape), coherence, and polarization using only spatial light modulators. This improvement makes the apparatus simpler to construct and significantly increases the flexibility of vector partially coherent source generators by allowing many different types of sources to be produced without changing the physical setup. The system’s layout and theoretical foundations are thoroughly discussed. The utility and flexibility of the proposed system are demonstrated by producing a vector Schell-model and non-Schell-model source. The experimental results are compared …

Potency And Properties Of Hydrazide Compounds That Inhibit The Growth Of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, Ronald Bartzatt

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Aims: To examine the properties of hydrazide compounds shown to inhibit Mycobacterium tuberculosis. To identify properties that affect efficiency of bacterial inhibition.

Study Design: Utilizing data from previous studies of compounds that inhibit Mycobacterium tuberculosis, then statistical and pattern recognition methods are applied to identify interrelationships.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Chemistry, Durham Science Center, University of Nebraska at Omaha, from January 2016 to July 2016.

Methodology: Interrelationships of pharmacological properties were identified by use of various pattern recognition techniques, such as hierarchical cluster analysis and path analysis. Molecular properties and descriptors for all compounds were …

Searches For R -Parity-Violating Supersymmetry In Pp Collisions At Square Root Of S = 8 Tev In Final States With 0-4 Leptons, V. Khachatryan, A. M. Sirunyan, Marc M. Baarmand, Vallary Bhopatkar, Stefano Colafranceschi, Marcus Hohlmann, H Kalakhety, Daniel Noonan, Tuhin S. Roy, Francisco X. Yumiceva

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

Results are presented from searches for R-parity-violating supersymmetry in events produced in pp collisions at s=8 TeV at the LHC. Final states with 0, 1, 2, or multiple leptons are considered independently. The analysis is performed on data collected by the CMS experiment corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 fb-1. No excesses of events above the standard model expectations are observed, and 95% confidence level limits are set on supersymmetric particle masses and production cross sections. The results are interpreted in models featuring R-parity-violating decays of the lightest supersymmetric particle, which in the studied scenarios can be either the …

Infrared Spectroscopy Of Symbiotic Stars. Xi. Orbits For Southern S-Type Systems: Hen 3-461, Sy Mus, Hen 3-828, And Ar Pav, Francis C. Fekel, Kenneth H. Hinkle, Richard R. Joyce, Peter R. Wood

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

Employing new infrared radial velocities, we have computed spectroscopic orbits of the cool giants in four southern S-type symbiotic systems. The orbits for two of the systems, Hen 3-461 and Hen 3-828, have been determined for the first time, while orbits of the other two, SY Mus and AR Pav, have previously been determined. For the latter two systems, we compare our results with those in the literature. The low mass of the secondary of SY Mus suggests that it has gone through a common envelope phase. Hen 3-461 has an orbital period of 2271 days, one of the longest …

Back-Flow Prevention Strategies For Stormwater Lines, Ron Evins

September 29, 2016: Adaptive Structures and Innovative Solutions

No abstract provided.

U.S. Drought Monitor, December 27, 2016, Brad Rippey

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for December 27, 2016 (12/27/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Novel Models Of Visual Topographic Map Alignment In The Superior Colliculus., Ruben A Tikidji-Hamburyan, Tarek A El-Ghazawi, Jason W. Triplett

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

The establishment of precise neuronal connectivity during development is critical for sensing the external environment and informing appropriate behavioral responses. In the visual system, many connections are organized topographically, which preserves the spatial order of the visual scene. The superior colliculus (SC) is a midbrain nucleus that integrates visual inputs from the retina and primary visual cortex (V1) to regulate goal-directed eye movements. In the SC, topographically organized inputs from the retina and V1 must be aligned to facilitate integration. Previously, we showed that retinal input instructs the alignment of V1 inputs in the SC in a manner dependent on …

Mode-Sum Prescription For The Vacuum Polarization In Odd Dimensions, Peter Taylor, Cormac Breen

Articles

We present a new mode-sum regularization prescription for computing the vacuum polarization of a scalar field in static spherically-symmetric black hole spacetimes in odd dimensions. This is the first general and systematic approach to regularized vacuum polarization in higher dimensions. Remarkably, the regularization parameters can be computed in closed form in arbitrary dimensions and for arbitrary metric function $f(r)$. In fact, we show that in spite of the increasing severity and number of the divergences to be regularized, the method presented is mostly agnostic to the number of dimensions. Finally, as an explicit example of our method, we show plots …

Emily Steinhilber Column: Virginia's Leadership In Flood Resilience, Emily E. Steinhilber

News Items

No abstract provided.

Employment Proximity And Outcomes For Moving Toopportunity Families, Michael C. Lens, C. J. Gabbe

Environmental Studies and Sciences

The Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing Demonstration (MTO) randomly assigned housing vouchers to public housing residents in an experimental test of the effect of neighborhood and location on household outcomes. In terms of adult employment outcomes, the 2 treatment groups did not significantly differ from the control group. We use MTO data to examine whether spatial proximity to jobs and job growth explains this lack of treatment effect. We first estimate differences in access to jobs and job growth for the 3 MTO groups. We then use 2-stage least squares models to test relationships between employment accessibility and 2 …

An Indefinite Kähler Metric On The Space Of Oriented Lines, Brendan Guilfoyle, Wilhelm Klingenberg

Publications

The total space of the tangent bundle of a Kähler manifold admits a canonical Kähler structure. Parallel translation identifies the space T of oriented affine lines in R3 with the tangent bundle of S2. Thus the round metric on S2 induces a Kähler structure on T which turns out to have a metric of neutral signature. It is shown that the identity component of the isometry group of this metric is isomorphic to the identity component of the isometry group of the Euclidean metric on R3.

The geodesics of this metric are either planes or helicoids in R3. The signature …

Probing Quantumness With Joint Continuous Measurements Of Non-Commuting Observables, Luis Pedro García-Pintos, Justin Dressel

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

We analyze the continuous measurement of two noncommuting observables for a qubit, and investigate whether the simultaneously observed noisy signals are consistent with the evolution of an equivalent classical system. Following the approach outlined by Leggett and Garg, we show that the readouts violate macrorealistic inequalities for arbitrarily short temporal correlations. Moreover, the derived inequalities are manifestly violated even in the absence of Hamiltonian evolution, unlike for Leggett-Garg inequalities that use a single continuous measurement. Such a violation should indicate the failure of at least one postulate of macrorealism: either physical quantities do not have well-defined values at all times …

Bioremoval Of Phenol From Aqueous Solutions Using Native Caribbean Seaweed, Abel E. Navarro, Anibal Hernandez-Vega, Md Emran Masud, Loretta M. Roberson, Liz M. Diaz-Vázquez

Publications and Research

Among several Puerto Rican algae, Sargassum sp. (SG) and Chaetomorpha (CM) showed the highest phenol adsorption capacity from aqueous solutions and were used in optimized adsorption batch experiments at room temperature. The effects of pH, adsorbent dose, phenol concentration, salinity and presence of interfering substances were evaluated. Initial solution pH exhibited a strong effect, mainly on the phenol aqueous chemistry; showing the maximum adsorption at pH 10. Sorption isotherm results were modelled according to the Langmuir, Tempkin and Freundlich equations. Isotherm modelling indicated a maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) of 82.10 and 17.7 mg of phenol per gram of SG and …

Advanced Dual Beam Optical Tweezers For Undergraduate Biophysics Research, Brian Daudelin

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Optical tweezing is a modern physics technique which allows us to use the radiation pressure provided from laser beams to trap very small microscopic particles. In the last two decades optical tweezers have been used extensively in biophysics and atomic physics to study the building blocks of our world on the cellular and quantum levels. Our goal is to construct a dual beam optical tweezers for future undergraduate biophysical research. In this thesis we discuss how the construction and assembly of the dual beam optical tweezers is done from start to finish. Construction consisted of assembling a polarization maintaining laser. …

Creating The Perfect Nba Team: A Look At Per And How It Affects Wins, Gregory Hamalian

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Ever since Oakland Athletics’ general manager Billy Beane began applying analytical tools to compose a baseball team, professional sports teams have used advanced metrics to build competitive rosters. We use an exploratory data analysis strategy to find what statistics best predict team wins. Finding that the Player Efficiency Rating (PER) statistic best correlate with wins, we investigate the statistic to find its strengths and weaknesses. We look for ways to improve the statistic and adjust it to better evaluate player effectiveness. We also look for methods to best predict how the PER will change from one season to the next …

Quantifying The Dna Binding Properties Of The Binuclear Ruthenium Complex Λλ-P, Nicholas Bryden

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Threading intercalators are small molecules that bind to DNA by threading their side chains through the DNA bases to intercalate their middle planar section between the DNA base pairs. The high binding affinity and slow dissociation rates of threading intercalators have put them in the class of prospective anti-cancer drugs. In this study we explore the binding of a specific threading intercalator, a binuclear ruthenium complex ΛΛ-P (ΛΛ-[μ-bidppz(phen)4Ru2]4+) using optical tweezers. A single DNA molecule is held at a constant force and the small molecules are introduced to the system in various concentrations until equilibrium is achieved. Measurements of DNA …

Phase I Dose-Escalation Trial Of Intravaginal Curcumin In Women For Cervical Dysplasia, Leda Gattoc, Paula M. Frew, Shontell N. Thomas, Kirk A. Easley, Laura Ward, H-H Sherry Chow, Chiemi A. Ura, Lisa Flowers

Environmental & Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Background: This is a Phase I trial demonstrating safety and tolerability of intravaginal curcumin for future use in women with cervical neoplasia. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of intravaginal curcumin in healthy women. Study design: We conducted a 3+3 dose-escalation Phase I trial in a group of women aged 18–45 years. Thirteen subjects were given one of four doses of curcumin powder (500 mg, 1,000 mg, 1,500 mg, and 2,000 mg) packed in gelatin capsules, which was administered intravaginally daily for 14 days. The primary end point for this study was …

A Search For Spectral Hysteresis And Energy-Dependent Time Lags From X-Ray And Tev Gamma-Ray Observations Of Mrk 421, A. U. Abeysekara, S. Archambault, A. Archer, W. Benbow, R. Bird, M. Buchovecky, J. H. Buckley, B. Bugaev, J. V. Cardenzana, P. T. Reynolds, Et Al

Physical Sciences Publications

Abstract

Blazars are variable emitters across all wavelengths over a wide range of timescales, from months down to minutes. It is therefore essential to observe blazars simultaneously at different wavelengths, especially in the X-ray and gamma-ray bands, where the broadband spectral energy distributions usually peak. In this work, we report on three "target-of-opportunity" observations of Mrk 421, one of the brightest TeV blazars, triggered by a strong flaring event at TeV energies in 2014. These observations feature long, continuous, and simultaneous exposures with XMM-Newton (covering the X-ray and optical/ultraviolet bands) and VERITAS (covering the TeV gamma-ray band), along with contemporaneous …

Measurement Of The Mass Of The Top Quark In Decays With A J/Ψ Meson In Pp Collisions At 8 Tev, M M. Baarmand, Vallary Bhopatkar, Stefano Colafranceschi, Marcus Hohlmann, D Noonan, Tuhin S. Roy, Francisco X. Yumiceva, Cms Collaboration

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

A first measurement of the top quark mass in the decay channel t → (W → ℓν) (b → J/ψ + X → μ+μ− + X) is presented. The analysis uses events selected from the proton-proton collisions recorded by the CMS detector at the LHC at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb−1, with 666 t t ¯ and single top quark candidate events containing a reconstructed J/ψ candidate decaying into an oppositely-charged muon pair. The mass of the (J/ψ + ℓ) system, where ℓ is an electron or a muon …

Myofilament Calcium Sensitivity: Consequences Of The Effective Concentration Of Troponin I, Jalal K. Siddiqui, Svetlana B. Tikunova, Shane D. Walton, Bin Liu, Meredith Meyer, Pieter P. De Tombe, Nathan Neilson, Peter M. Kekenes-Huskey, Hussam E. Salhi, Paul M.L. Janssen, Brandon J. Biesiadecki, Jonathan P. Davis

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Control of calcium binding to and dissociation from cardiac troponin C (TnC) is essential to healthy cardiac muscle contraction/relaxation. There are numerous aberrant post-translational modifications and mutations within a plethora of contractile, and even non-contractile, proteins that appear to imbalance this delicate relationship. The direction and extent of the resulting change in calcium sensitivity is thought to drive the heart toward one type of disease or another. There are a number of molecular mechanisms that may be responsible for the altered calcium binding properties of TnC, potentially the most significant being the ability of the regulatory domain of TnC to …

Generation Of Flower High-Order Poincaré Sphere Laser Beams From A Spatial Light Modulator, T. H. Lu, T. D. Huang, J. G. Wang, L. W. Wang, Robert R. Alfano

Publications and Research

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a new complex laser beam with inhomogeneous polarization distributions mapping onto high-order Poincaré spheres (HOPSs). The complex laser mode is achieved by superposition of Laguerre-Gaussian modes and manifests exotic flower-like localization on intensity and phase profiles. A simple optical system is used to generate a polarization-variant distribution on the complex laser mode by superposition of orthogonal circular polarizations with opposite topological charges. Numerical analyses of the polarization distribution are consistent with the experimental results. The novel flower HOPS beams can act as a new light source for photonic applications.

A New Operational Snow Retrieval Algorithm Applied To Historical Amsr-E Brightness Temperatures, Marco Tedesco, Jeyavinoth Jeyaratnam

Publications and Research

Snow is a key element of the water and energy cycles and the knowledge of spatio-temporal distribution of snow depth and snow water equivalent (SWE) is fundamental for hydrological and climatological applications. SWE and snow depth estimates can be obtained from spaceborne microwave brightness temperatures at global scale and high temporal resolution (daily). In this regard, the data recorded by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer—Earth Orbiting System (EOS) (AMSR-E) onboard the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) AQUA spacecraft have been used to generate operational estimates of SWE and snow depth, complementing estimates generated with other microwave sensors flying on …