Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Reliability And Validity Of Neurobehavioral Function On The Psychology Experimental Building Language Test Battery In Young Adults, Brian J. Piper, Shane Mueller, Alexander R. Geerken, Kyle L. Dixon, Gregory Kroliczak, Reid H. Olsen, Jeremy K. Miller

Michigan Tech Publications

Background. The Psychology Experiment Building Language (PEBL) software consists of over one-hundred computerized tests based on classic and novel cognitive neuropsychology and behavioral neurology measures. Although the PEBL tests are becoming more widely utilized, there is currently very limited information about the psychometric properties of these measures.

Methods. Study I examined inter-relationships among nine PEBL tests including indices of motor-function (Pursuit Rotor and Dexterity), attention (Test of Attentional Vigilance and Time-Wall), working memory (Digit Span Forward), and executive-function (PEBL Trail Making Test, Berg/Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Iowa Gambling Test, and Mental Rotation) in a normative sample (N = 189, …

Bodipy-Based Fluorescent Probes For Sensing Protein Surface-Hydrophobicity, Nethaniah Dorh, Shilei Zhu, Kamal B. Dhungana, Ranjit Pati, Fen-Tair Luo, Haiying Liu, Ashutosh Tiwari

Department of Chemistry Publications

Mapping surface hydrophobic interactions in proteins is key to understanding molecular recognition, biological functions, and is central to many protein misfolding diseases. Herein, we report synthesis and application of new BODIPY-based hydrophobic sensors (HPsensors) that are stable and highly fluorescent for pH values ranging from 7.0 to 9.0. Surface hydrophobic measurements of proteins (BSA, apomyoglobin, and myoglobin) by these HPsensors display much stronger signal compared to 8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulfonic acid (ANS), a commonly used hydrophobic probe; HPsensors show a 10- to 60-fold increase in signal strength for the BSA protein with affinity in the nanomolar range. This suggests that these HPsensors …

Ice Nucleation At The Contact Line Triggered By Transient Electrowetting Fields, Fan Yang, Raymond Shaw, Colin Gurganus, Su Kong Chong, Yoke Khin Yap

Department of Physics Publications

Supercooled water is found to have a significantly enhanced freezing temperature during transient electrowetting with electric fields of order 1 V/μm. High speed imaging reveals that the nucleation occurs randomly at the three-phase contact line (droplet perimeter) and can occur at multiple points during one freezing event. Possible nucleation mechanisms are explored by testing various substrate geometries and materials. Results demonstrate that electric field alone has no detectable effect on ice nucleation, but the moving boundary of the droplet on the substrate due to electrowetting is associated with the triggering of nucleation at a much higher temperature.

Observations Of New Particle Formation In Enhanced Uv Irradiance Zones Near Cumulus Clouds, B. Wehner, F. Werner, F. Ditas, R. A. Shaw, M. Kulmala, H. Siebert

Michigan Tech Publications

During the CARRIBA (Cloud, Aerosol, Radiation and tuRbulence in the trade wInd regime over Barbados) campaign, the interaction between aerosol particles and cloud microphysical properties was investigated in detail, which also includes the influence of clouds on the aerosol formation. During two intensive campaigns in 2010 and 2011, helicopter-borne measurement flights were performed to investigate the thermodynamic, turbulent, microphysical, and radiative properties of trade-wind cumuli over Barbados. During these flights, 91 cases with increased aerosol particle number concentrations near clouds were detected. The majority of these cases are also correlated with enhanced irradiance in the ultraviolet (UV) spectral wavelength range. …

Schneefernerhaus As A Mountain Research Station For Clouds And Turbulence, S. Risius, H. Xu, F. Di Lorenzo, H. Xi, H. Siebert, R. A. Shaw, E. Bodenschatz

Michigan Tech Publications

Cloud measurements are usually carried out with airborne campaigns, which are expensive and are limited by temporal duration and weather conditions. Ground-based measurements at high-altitude research stations therefore play a complementary role in cloud study. Using the meteorological data (wind speed, direction, temperature, humidity, visibility, etc.) collected by the German Weather Service (DWD) from 2000 to 2012 and turbulence measurements recorded by multiple ultrasonic sensors (sampled at 10 Hz) in 2010, we show that the Umweltforschungsstation Schneefernerhaus (UFS) located just below the peak of Zugspitze in the German Alps, at a height of 2650 m, is a well-suited station for …

High-Resolution Measurement Of Cloud Microphysics And Turbulence At A Mountaintop Station, H. Siebert, R. A. Shaw, J. Ditas, T. Schmeissner, S. P. Malinowski, E. Bodenschatz, H. Xu

Michigan Tech Publications

Mountain research stations are advantageous not only for long-term sampling of cloud properties but also for measurements that are prohibitively difficult to perform on airborne platforms due to the large true air speed or adverse factors such as weight and complexity of the equipment necessary. Some cloud-turbulence measurements, especially Lagrangian in nature, fall into this category. We report results from simultaneous, high-resolution and collocated measurements of cloud microphysical and turbulence properties during several warm cloud events at the Umweltforschungsstation Schneefernerhaus (UFS) on Zugspitze in the German Alps. The data gathered were found to be representative of observations made with similar …

Climatology And Atmospheric Chemistry Of The Non-Methane Hydrocarbons Ethane And Propane Over The North Atlantic, Detlev Helmig, Mauricio Muñoz, Jacques Hueber, Claudio Mazzoleni, Lynn Mazzoleni, Richard C. Owen, Maria Val-Martin, Paulo Fialho, Christian Plass-Duelmer, Paul I. Palmer, Alastair C. Lewis, Gabriele Pfister

Department of Chemistry Publications

A record spanning ten years of non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) data from the Pico Mountain Observatory (PMO), Pico Island, Azores, Portugal, was analyzed for seasonal NMHC behavior, atmospheric processing, and trends, focusing on ethane and propane. The location of this site in the central North Atlantic, at an elevation of 2225 m asl, allows these data to be used to investigate the background conditions and pollution transport events occurring in the lower free North Atlantic troposphere. The quantity ln([propane]/[ethane]) was used as an indicator of both photochemical processing and a marker for the occurrence of pollution transport events detected at the …

Switching Behaviors Of Graphene-Boron Nitride Nanotube Heterojunctions, Vyom Parashar, Corentin Durand, Boyi Hao, Rodrigo Amorim, Ravindra Pandey, Bishnu Tiwari, Dongyan Zhang, Yang Liu, An-Ping Li, Yoke Khin Yap

Department of Physics Publications

High electron mobility of graphene has enabled their application in high-frequency analogue devices but their gapless nature has hindered their use in digital switches. In contrast, the structural analogous, h-BN sheets and BN nanotubes (BNNTs) are wide band gap insulators. Here we show that the growth of electrically insulating BNNTs on graphene can enable the use of graphene as effective digital switches. These graphene-BNNT heterojunctions were characterized at room temperature by four-probe scanning tunneling microscopy (4-probe STM) under real-time monitoring of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A switching ratio as high as 10⁵ at a turn-on voltage as low …

Development Of A Bi-National Great Lakes Coastal Wetland And Land Use Map Using Three-Season Palsar And Landsat Imagery, Laura Bourgeau-Chavez, Sarah L. Endres, Michael Battaglia, Mary Ellen Miller, Elizabeth Banda, Zachary Laubach, Phyllis Higman, Pat Chow-Fraser, James Marcaccio

Michigan Tech Research Institute Publications

Methods using extensive field data and three-season Landsat TM and PALSAR imagery were developed to map wetland type and identify potential wetland stressors (i.e., adjacent land use) for the United States and Canadian Laurentian coastal Great Lakes. The mapped area included the coastline to 10 km inland to capture the region hydrologically connected to the Great Lakes. Maps were developed in cooperation with the overarching Great Lakes Consortium plan to provide a comprehensive regional baseline map suitable for coastal wetland assessment and management by agencies at the local, tribal, state, and federal levels. The goal was to provide …

Subject Assessment Of In-Vehicle Auditory Warnings For Rail Grade Crossings, Steven Landry, Jayde Croschere, Myounghoon Jeon

Michigan Tech Publications

Human factors research has played an important role in reducing the incidents of vehicle-train collisions at rail grade crossings over the past 30 years. With the growing popularity of in-vehicle infotainment systems and GPS devices, new opportunities arise to cost-efficiently and effectively alert drivers of railroad crossings and to promote safer driving habits. To best utilize this in-vehicle technology, 32 auditory warnings (16 verbal, 7 train-related auditory icons, and 9 generic earcons) were generated and presented to 31 participants after a brief low-fidelity driving simulation. Participants rated each sound on eight dimensions deemed important in previous auditory warning literature. Preliminary …

Perturbations Of The Optical Properties Of Mineral Dust Particles By Mixing With Black Carbon: A Numerical Simulation Study, B. V. Scarnato, S. China, K. Nielsen, C. Mazzoleni

Michigan Tech Publications

Field observations show that individual aerosol particles are a complex mixture of a wide variety of species, reflecting different sources and physico-chemical transformations. The impacts of individual aerosol morphology and mixing characteristics on the Earth system are not yet fully understood. Here we present a sensitivity study on climate-relevant aerosols optical properties to various approximations. Based on aerosol samples collected in various geographical locations, we have observationally constrained size, morphology and mixing, and accordingly simulated, using the discrete dipole approximation model (DDSCAT), optical properties of three aerosols types: (1) bare black carbon (BC) aggregates, (2) bare mineral dust, and (3) …

Using An Obcd Approach And Landsat Tm Data To Detect Harvesting On Nonindustrial Private Property In Upper Michigan, Riccardo Tortini, Audrey L. Mayer, Pieralberto Maianti

College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Publications

Forest dynamics influence climate, biodiversity, and livelihoods at multiple scales, yet current resource policy addressing these dynamics is ineffective without reliable land use land cover change data. The collective impact of harvest decisions by many small forest owners can be substantial at the landscape scale, yet monitoring harvests and regrowth in these forests is challenging. Remote sensing is an obvious route to detect and monitor small-scale land use dynamics over large areas. Using an annual series of Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) images and a GIS shapefile of property boundaries, we identified units where harvests occurred from 2005 to 2011 using …

Extracellular Expression Of Alkaline Phytase In Pichia Pastoris: Influence Of Signal Peptides, Promoters And Growth Medium, Mimi Yang, Sasha Teymorian, Philip Olivares, Pushpalatha P.N. Murthy

Michigan Tech Publications

Alkaline phytase isolated from pollen grains of Lilium longiflorum (LlALP) possesses unique catalytic and thermal stability properties that suggest it has the potential to be used as a feed supplement. However, substantial amounts of active enzymes are needed for animal feed studies and endogenous levels of LlALP in lily pollen are too low to provide the required amounts. Active rLlALP2 (coded by LlAlp2, one of two isoforms of alkaline phytase cDNA identified in lily pollen) has been successfully expressed in intracellular compartments of Pichia pastoris, however enzyme yields have been modest (25-30 mg/L) and purification of the enzyme has been …

Molecular Characterization Of Free Tropospheric Aerosol Collected At The Pico Mountain Observatory: A Case Study With A Long-Range Transported Biomass Burning Plume, K. Dzepina, C. Mazzoleni, Paulo Fialho, Swarup China, B. Zhang, R. C. Owen, D. Helmig, D. Helmig, S. Kumar, Judith Perlinger, L. Kramer, M. P. Dziobak, M. T. Ampadu, S. Olsen, D. J. Wuebbles, Lynn Mazzoleni

Department of Chemistry Publications

Free tropospheric aerosol was sampled at the Pico Mountain Observatory located at 2225 m above mean sea level on Pico Island of the Azores archipelago in the North Atlantic. The observatory is located ~ 3900 km east and downwind of North America, which enables studies of free tropospheric air transported over long distances. Aerosol samples collected on filters from June to October 2012 were analyzed to characterize organic carbon, elemental carbon, and inorganic ions. The average ambient concentration of aerosol was 0.9 ± 0.7 μg m−3. On average, organic aerosol components represent the largest mass fraction of the total measured …

Rapid Response Tools And Datasets For Post-Fire Modeling: Linking Earth Observations And Process-Based Hydrological Models To Support Post-Fire Remediation, Mary Ellen Miller, Michael Billmire, William J. Elliot, K. A. Endsley, P. R. Robichaud

Michigan Tech Research Institute Publications

Preparation is key to utilizing Earth Observations and process-based models to support post-wildfire mitigation. Post-fire flooding and erosion can pose a serious threat to life, property and municipal water supplies. Increased runoff and sediment delivery due to the loss of surface cover and fire-induced changes in soil properties are of great concern. Remediation plans and treatments must be developed and implemented before the first major storms in order to be effective. One of the primary sources of information for making remediation decisions is a soil burn severity map derived from Earth Observation data (typically Landsat) that reflects fire induced changes …

Life-Cycle Energy And Ghg Emissions Of Forest Biomass Harvest And Transport For Biofuel Production In Michigan, Fengli Zhang, Dana M. Johnson, Jinjiang Wang

College of Business Publications

High dependence on imported oil has increased U.S. strategic vulnerability and prompted more research in the area of renewable energy production. Ethanol production from renewable woody biomass, which could be a substitute for gasoline, has seen increased interest. This study analysed energy use and greenhouse gas emission impacts on the forest biomass supply chain activities within the State of Michigan. A life-cycle assessment of harvesting and transportation stages was completed utilizing peer-reviewed literature. Results for forest-delivered ethanol were compared with those for petroleum gasoline using data specific to the U.S. The analysis from a woody biomass feedstock supply perspective uncovered …

Ice Nucleation By Water-Soluble Macromolecules, B. G. Pummer, C. Budke, S. Augustin-Bauditz, D. Niedermeier, L. Felgitsch, C. J. Kampf, R. G. Huber, K. R. Liedl, T. Loerting, T. Moschen, M. Schauperl, M. Tollinger, C. E. Morris, H. Wex, H. Grothe, U. Pöschl, T. Koop, J. Fröhlich-Nowoisky

Michigan Tech Publications

Cloud glaciation is critically important for the global radiation budget (albedo) and for initiation of precipitation. But the freezing of pure water droplets requires cooling to temperatures as low as 235 K. Freezing at higher temperatures requires the presence of an ice nucleator, which serves as a template for arranging water molecules in an ice-like manner. It is often assumed that these ice nucleators have to be insoluble particles. We point out that also free macromolecules which are dissolved in water can efficiently induce ice nucleation: the size of such ice nucleating macromolecules (INMs) is in the range of nanometers, …

Sensing Based On Fano-Type Resonance Response Of All-Dielectric Metamaterials, Elena Semouchkina, Ran Duan, George Semouchkin, Ravindra Pandey

Michigan Tech Publications

A new sensing approach utilizing Mie resonances in metamaterial arrays composed of dielectric resonators is proposed. These arrays were found to exhibit specific, extremely high-Q factor (up to 15,000) resonances at frequencies corresponding to the lower edge of the array second transmission band. The observed resonances possessed with features typical for Fano resonances (FRs), which were initially revealed in atomic processes and recently detected in macro-structures, where they resulted from interference between local resonances and a continuum of background waves. Our studies demonstrate that frequencies and strength of Fano-type resonances in all-dielectric arrays are defined by interaction between local Mie …

Using The Landsat Data Archive To Assess Long-Term Regional Forest Dynamics Assessment In Eastern Europe, 1985-2012, S. Turubanova, P. Potapov, A. Krylov, A. Tyukavina, Jessica L. Mccarty, V. C. Radeloff, M. C. Hansen

Michigan Tech Research Institute Publications

Abstract. Dramatic political and economic changes in Eastern European countries following the dissolution of the “Eastern Bloc” and the collapse of the Soviet Union greatly affected land-cover and land-use trends. In particular, changes in forest cover dynamics may be attributed to the collapse of the planned economy, agricultural land abandonment, economy liberalization, and market conditions. However, changes in forest cover are hard to quantify given inconsistent forest statistics collected by different countries over the last 30 years. The objective of our research was to consistently quantify forest cover change across Eastern Europe from 1985 until 2012 using the complete Landsat …

The Catalan Case Of Armstrong's Conjecture On Simultaneous Core Partitions Read More: Https://Epubs.Siam.Org/Doi/10.1137/130950318, Richard Stanley, Fabrizio Zanello

Department of Mathematical Sciences Publications

A beautiful recent conjecture of D. Armstrong predicts the average size of a partition that is simultaneously an s-core and a t-core, where s and t are coprime. Our goal is to prove this conjecture when t = s + 1. These simultaneous (s, s + 1)-core partitions, which are enumerated by Catalan numbers, have average size ((s+1)/3)/2.

Disdrometer Network Observations Of Finescale Spatial–Temporal Clustering In Rain, A. R. Jameson, M. L. Larsen, A. Kostinski

Department of Physics Publications

The spatial clustering of drops is a defining characteristic of rain on all scales from centimeters to kilometers. It is the physical basis for much of the observed variability in rain. The authors report here on the temporal–spatial 1-min counts using a network of 21 optical disdrometers over a small area near Charleston, South Carolina. These observations reveal significant differences between spatial and temporal structures (i.e., clustering) for different sizes of drops, which suggest that temporal observations of clustering cannot be used to infer spatial clustering simply using by an advection velocity as has been done in past studies. It …

On The Variability Of Drop Size Distributions Over Areas, A. R. Jameson, M. L. Larsen, A. B. Kostinski

Department of Physics Publications

Past studies of the variability of drop size distributions (DSDs) have used moments of the distribution such as the mass-weighted mean drop size as proxies for the entire size distribution. In this study, however, the authors separate the total number of drops N_t from the DSD leaving the probability size distributions (PSDs); that is, DSD = N_t × PSD. The variability of the PSDs are then considered using the frequencies of size [P(D)] values at each different drop diameter P(P_D | D) over an ensemble of observations collected using a …

Recent Advancement On The Optical Properties Of Two-Dimensional Molybdenum Disulfide (Mos2) Thin Films, Mingxiao Ye, Dustin Winslow, Dongyan Zhang, Ravindra Pandey, Yoke Khin Yap

Department of Physics Publications

The emergence of two-dimensional (2D) materials has led to tremendous interest in the study of graphene and a series of mono- and few-layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs). Among these TMDCs, the study of molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) has gained increasing attention due to its promising optical, electronic, and optoelectronic properties. Of particular interest is the indirect to direct band-gap transition from bulk and few-layered structures to mono-layered MoS₂, respectively. In this review, the study of these properties is summarized. The use of Raman and Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy of MoS₂ has become a reliable technique for differentiating …

An Approach For Verifying Biogenic Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories With Atmospheric Co₂ Concentration Data, Stephen M. Ogle, Kenneth Davis, Thomas Lauvaux, Andrew Schuh, Dan Cooley, Tristram O. West, Linda S. Heath, Natasha L. Miles, Scott Richardson, F. Jay Breidt, James E. Smith, Jessica L. Mccarty, Kevin R. Gurney, Pieter Tans, A. Scott Denning

Michigan Tech Research Institute Publications

Verifying national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories is a critical step to ensure that reported emissions data to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are accurate and representative of a country's contribution to GHG concentrations in the atmosphere. Furthermore, verifying biogenic fluxes provides a check on estimated emissions associated with managing lands for carbon sequestration and other activities, which often have large uncertainties. We report here on the challenges and results associated with a case study using atmospheric measurements of CO₂ concentrations and inverse modeling to verify nationally-reported biogenic CO₂ emissions. The biogenic CO₂ emissions inventory was …

A Comprehensive Laboratory Study On The Immersion Freezing Behavior Of Illite Nx Particles: A Comparison Of 17 Ice Nucleation Measurement Techniques, N. Hiranuma, S. Augustin-Bauditz, H. Bingemer, C. Budke, J. Curtius, A. Danielczok, K. Diehl, K. Dreischmeier, M. Ebert, F. Frank, N. Hoffmann, K. Kandler, A. Kiselev, T. Koop, T. Leisner, O. Möhler, B. Nillius, A. Peckhaus, D. Rose, S. Weinbruch, H. Wex, Y. Boose, P. J. Demott, J. D. Hader, T. C.J. Hill, Z. A. Kanji, G. Kulkarni, E. J.T. Levin, C. S. Mccluskey, M. Murakami, B. J. Murray, D. Niedermeier

Michigan Tech Publications

Immersion freezing is the most relevant heterogeneous ice nucleation mechanism through which ice crystals are formed in mixed-phase clouds. In recent years, an increasing number of laboratory experiments utilizing a variety of instruments have examined immersion freezing activity of atmospherically relevant ice-nucleating particles. However, an intercomparison of these laboratory results is a difficult task because investigators have used different ice nucleation (IN) measurement methods to produce these results. A remaining challenge is to explore the sensitivity and accuracy of these techniques and to understand how the IN results are potentially influenced or biased by experimental parameters associated with these techniques. …

Intercomparing Different Devices For The Investigation Of Ice Nucleating Particles Using Snomax® As Test Substance, H. Wex, S. Augustin-Bauditz, Y. Boose, C. Budke, J. Curtius, K. Diehl, A. Dreyer, F. Frank, S. Hartmann, N. Hiranuma, E. Jantsch, Z. A. Kanji, A. Kiselev, T. Koop, O. Möhler, D. Niedermeier, B. Nillius, M. Rösch, D. Rose, C. Schmidt, I. Steinke, F. Stratmann

Michigan Tech Publications

Seven different instruments and measurement methods were used to examine the immersion freezing of bacterial ice nuclei from Snomax® (hereafter Snomax), a product containing ice-active protein complexes from non-viable Pseudomonas syringae bacteria. The experimental conditions were kept as similar as possible for the different measurements. Of the participating instruments, some examined droplets which had been made from suspensions directly, and the others examined droplets activated on previously generated Snomax particles, with particle diameters of mostly a few hundred nanometers and up to a few micrometers in some cases. Data were obtained in the temperature range from -2 to -38 °C, …

Regulating Drivers’ Aggressiveness By Sonifying Emotional Data, Maryam Fakhrhosseini, Paul Kirby, Myounghoon Jeon

Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences Publications

There have been efforts within the area of cognitive and behavioral sciences to mitigate drivers’ emotion to decrease the associated traffic accidents, injuries, fatalities, and property damage. In this study, we targeted aggressive drivers and try to regulate their emotion through sonifying their emotional data. Results are discussed with an affect regulation model and future research.

Analysis And Visualization Of Flow Fields Using Information-Theoretic Techniques And Graph-Based Representations, Jun Ma

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

Three-dimensional flow visualization plays an essential role in many areas of science and engineering, such as aero- and hydro-dynamical systems which dominate various physical and natural phenomena. For popular methods such as the streamline visualization to be effective, they should capture the underlying flow features while facilitating user observation and understanding of the flow field in a clear manner.

My research mainly focuses on the analysis and visualization of flow fields using various techniques, e.g. information-theoretic techniques and graph-based representations. Since the streamline visualization is a popular technique in flow field visualization, how to select good streamlines to capture flow …

Bias-Corrected Maximum Likelihood Estimation Of The Parameters Of The Weighted Lindley Distribution, Wentao Wang

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

This report discusses the calculation of analytic second-order bias techniques for the maximum likelihood estimates (for short, MLEs) of the unknown parameters of the distribution in quality and reliability analysis. It is well-known that the MLEs are widely used to estimate the unknown parameters of the probability distributions due to their various desirable properties; for example, the MLEs are asymptotically unbiased, consistent, and asymptotically normal. However, many of these properties depend on an extremely large sample sizes. Those properties, such as unbiasedness, may not be valid for small or even moderate sample sizes, which are more practical in real data …

Double Vault Composting Latrines In Rural Paraguay : Feasible Construction And Optimal Use, Paul T. Pebler

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

Water resource depletion and sanitation are growing problems around the world. A solution to both of these problems is the use of composting latrines, as it requires no water and has been recommended by the World Health Organization as an improved sanitation technology. However, little analysis has been done on the decomposition process occurring inside the latrine, including what temperatures are reached and what variables most affect the composting process. Having better knowledge of how outside variables affect composting latrines can aid development workers on the choice of implementing such technology, and to better educate the users on the appropriate …