Digital Commons Network^™

An Approach To Evaluate Software Effectiveness, Timothy J. Schalick

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC) is tasked with the evaluation of operational effectiveness of new systems for the Air Force. Currently, the software analysis team within AFOTEC has no methodology to directly address the effectiveness of the software portion of these new systems. This research develops a working definition for software effectiveness, then outlines an approach to evaluate software effectiveness-- the Software Effectiveness Traceability Approach (SETA). Effectiveness is defined as the degree to which the software requirements are satisfied and is therefore application-independent. With SETA, requirements satisfaction is measured by the "degree of traceability" throughout the …

Neural Network Classification Of Environmental Samples, Jeffrey L. Blackmon

Theses and Dissertations

This research develops a general methodology for designing neural network classifiers for real-world environmental problems. This methodology is demonstrated through the design of a multi-layer perceptron to classify stainless steel and actinide samples. Neural networks, sometimes called artificial neural networks, have been shown capable of classifying complex patterns. Artificial neural networks are physiologically motivated computer algorithms which attempt to mimic the function of the large interconnected network of neurons in the human brain, which has extraordinary pattern recognition capabilities. These artificial neural networks learn to map a set of input features, elemental composition, onto a set of outputs such as …

Modeling Marine Exposure To Polychlorinated Biphenyls From Sunken Ships, Charles N. Wendt

Theses and Dissertations

In the past, the U.S. Navy has routinely conducted SINKing EXercises (SINKEX) for training, weapon effectiveness tests, and economic disposal of aging assets. Recent concern over polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) chemicals aboard such target vessels has resulted in a suspension of SINKEX. The U.S. Navy has approximately 200 vessels currently requiring such disposal. Environmental legislation and health concerns preclude selling such vessels to foreign governments or scrapping. This work attempted to model the fate and transport of these PCBs by examining their transport to coastal water and their accumulation in the marine food chain. The model includes biodegradation, upwelling, partitioning of …

Surfactant Enhanced Microbial Degradation Of Jp-8 Contaminated Soil, John D. Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

This research effort used an automated respirometer to evaluate the enhancement of JP-8 fuel biodegradation, from surfactant addition. Two nonionic surfactants, Novell 1412-7 and Alfonic 810-4.5 were chosen for addition to contaminated JP-8, microcosms at three levels of treatment. The three levels of treatment included sub-CMC, CMC, and supra-CMC concentrations for each surfactant. The Novell II, nonionic surfactant, exhibited inhibitory characteristics, and was eliminated from the study. The focus of the study was to determine if JP-8 was actually degraded, and if enhancement of JP-8 biodegradation would be achieved from surfactant addition. The respirometer was found to be repeatable within …

A Specialization Toolkit To Increase The Diversity Of Operating Systems, Calton Pu, Andrew P. Black, Crispin Cowan, Jonathan Walpole, Charles Consel

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Virus and worm attacks that exploit system implementation details can be countered with a diversified set of implementations. Furthermore, immune systems show that attacks from previously unknown organisms require effective dynamic response. In the Synthetix project, we have been developing a specialization toolkit to improve the performance of operating system kernels. The toolkit helps programmers generate and manage diverse specialized implementations of software modules. The Tempo-C specializer tool generates different versions for both compile-time and run-time specialization. We are now adapting the toolkit to improve operating system survivability against implementations attacks.

Studies Of Electrochemical Behaviors Of Cytochrome C On Pretreated Gold Electrode, Jin Luo, Lingling Wu, Shaohua Huang, Zhonghua Lin

Journal of Electrochemistry

The quasi reversible responses of both adsorbed and bulk cytochrome c at the pretreated gold electrode are observed. The adsorption behaviors and reaction kinetics have been studied using in situ FTIR spectroscopy, UV/Vis reflection spectroscopy, voltammetry, AC impedance and potential step methods. The results show that the cytochrome c can irreversibly adsorb on the gold surface in a complete monolayer and the adsorbed layer can mediate the redox reaction of the cytochrome c in the solution in the absence of promoter.

Macrophage-Mediated 15-Lipoxygenase Expression Protects Against Atherosclerosis Development, Jianhe Shen, Ed Herderick, J. Fredrick Cornhill, Eva Zsigmond, Han Seob Kim, Hartmut Kühn, Natalia V. Guevara, Lawrence Chan

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Oxidative modification of LDL increases its atherogenicity, and 15- lipoxygenase (15-LO) has been implicated in the process. To address this issue, we generated transgenic rabbits that expressed 15-LO in a macrophage- specific manner and studied their susceptibility to atherosclerosis development when they were fed a high-fat, high-cholesterol (HFHC) diet (Teklad 0533 rabbit diet 7009 with 10% corn oil and 0.25% cholesterol) for 13.5 wk. Transgenic and nontransgenic rabbits developed similar degrees of hypercholesterolemia and had similar levels of triglyceride, VLDL, LDL, and HDL. Quantitative morphometric analysis of the aortic atherosclerosis indicated that the transgenic animals (n = 19) had significantly …

Prairie Legacies - Mammals, Russell A. Benedict, Patricia W. Freeman, Hugh H. Genoways

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Few North American ecosystems have been as dramatically altered by humans as the prairies of the Great Plains. Occupying the immense interior of North America, these deceiving grassland oceans hid their complexity and diversity from many early travelers who saw this area merely as an obstacle to overcome in their westward journeys. But for the careful observer, prairies hold a tremendous quantity of life, arranged in a diverse mosaic of patches ranging in scale from minute anthills to the vastness of the Nebraska Sandhills or Kansas Flint Hills. Not only is a given ridgetop subdivided into a number of areas …

Protein-Protein And Protein-Dna Interactions At The Bacteriophage T4 Dna Replication Fork. Characterization Of A Fluorescently Labeled Dna Polymerase Sliding Clamp, Daniel J. Sexton, Theodore E. Carver, Anthony J. Berdis, Stephen J. Benkovic

Chemistry Faculty Publications

The T4 DNA polymerase holoenzyme is composed of the polymerase enzyme complexed to the sliding clamp (the 45 protein), which is loaded onto DNA by an ATP-dependent clamp loader (the 44/62 complex). This paper describes a new method to directly investigate the mechanism of holoenzyme assembly using a fluorescently labeled cysteine mutant of the 45 protein. This protein possessed unaltered function yet produced substantial changes in probe fluorescence intensity upon interacting with other components of the holoenzyme. These fluorescence changes provide insight into the role of ATP hydrolysis in holoenzyme assembly. Using either ATP or the non-hydrolyzable ATP analog, adenosine …

The Carboxyl Terminus Of The Bacteriophage T4 Dna Polymerase Is Required For Holoenzyme Complex Formation, Anthony J. Berdis, Patrice Soumillion, Stephen J. Benkovic

Chemistry Faculty Publications

To further elucidate the mechanism and dynamics of bacteriophage T4 holoenzyme formation, a mutant polymerase in which the last six carboxyl-terminal amino acids are deleted, was constructed, overexpressed, and purified to homogeneity. The mutant polymerase, designated ΔC6 exo−, is identical to wild-type exo− polymerase with respect to kcat, kpol, and dissociation constants for nucleotide and DNA substrate. However, unlike wild-type exo− polymerase, the ΔC6 exo− polymerase is unable to interact with the 45 protein to form the stable holoenzyme. A synthetic polypeptide corresponding to the carboxyl terminus of the wild-type exo− polymerase was tested as an in vitro inhibitor of …

Species Composition, Abundance, And Vertical Distribution Of The Stomiid (Pisces: Stomiiformes) Fish Assemblage Of The Gulf Of Mexico, Tracey Sutton, T. L. Hopkins

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Species composition, abundance, and vertical distribution of the stomiid fish assemblage were investigated in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, a low-latitude, oligotrophic oceanic ecosystem. Seventy-two described species, representing 18 genera, and one undescribed species were identified from 1155 trawl samples. With an additional 10 species reported elsewhere, the stomiid species number now known equals 83, making the Stomiidae the most diverse fish family in the Gulf of Mexico. The assemblage was dominated by three species,Photostomias guernei, Chauliodus sloani and Stomias affinis. These species, as well as four other common species, exhibited an asynchronous diel vertical migration pattern (450–900 …

Directory Of Water Related Courses Offered At Colleges And Universites In Arkansas, Kenneth F. Steele

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

This publication lists the water and water-related courses at several universities and colleges in Arkansas as reported during the Fall of 1996. It Is anticipated that users of this directory will extend beyond college students, and will include professionals seeking continuing education, and professors desiring to exchange information on courses. This directory is not an "absolute" source of water and water-related courses because all of the higher learning institutions in Arkansas are not listed, and, secondly, because the definition of "water and water-related" varies from institution to institution. None-the-less this directory provides a very valuable and impressive reference on water …

What's All The Fuss About?, Sherman K. Stein

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Observation Of Spatial Variability Of Diurnal Thermocline And Rain-Formed Halocline In The Western Pacific Warm Pool, Alexander Soloviev, Roger Lukas

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

High-resolution measurements of temperature and salinity were made in the near-surface layer of the ocean during the Tropical Oceans-Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment, using probes mounted on the bow of the R/V Moana Wave. Because of surface waves and pitching of the vessel, the bow probes profiled the near-surface layer of the ocean within depths of 0–4.0 m. In the near-surface layer of the ocean in the western Pacific warm pool, strong variability of temperature and salinity produced by diurnal heating and/or rain was often observed. The contoured density field revealed cases of pronounced spatial variability. The shallow …

The Probe, Issue 171 – November 1996

The Probe: Newsletter of the National Animal Damage Control Association

Park Service Thwarts Cat Allies, by Marilyn Davis, Native Species Network, Bodega Bay, California
Jim Miller Elected VP of Wildlife Society
ADC Aerial Hunting Accident Kills 2
Obituary: Carl R. Gustavson
HSUS Former Employee File Lawsuits
Rats Shut Down Internet at Stanford
Call for Papers: A Symposium on Mammal Trapping August 1997 in Edmonton, Alberta
Fur in Cyberspace: The Fur Institute of Canada announces it has established a site on the World Wide Web, at the following address: http://www.fur.ca.
Book Review: Beaver and Otter: Open Water Techniques, by Charles Dobbins 1992. Beaver Pond Publishing and Printing, P.O. Box 224, Greenville, …

Center For Sustainable Agricultural Systems Newsletter, November/December 1996

Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems: Newsletter (1993–2000)

Contents:

Nebraska IMPACT Project Update

North Central Region Evaluates Sustainable Agriculture Training

Annual Meetings in Nebraska to Showcase Innovative Strategies for Successful Farming

Integrated Farm Update: To Graze or Not to Graze?

USDA Announces Policy Directive Committing Agency to Sustainable Ag

Transformation of Land Grant Universities

Food Circles: A Bioregional Approach

Fund for Rural America

Ag Production and Nutrition Conference

Richard Olson Named Presidential Fellow

Wright State University College Of Engineering And Computer Science Bits And Pcs Newsletter, Volume 12, Number 9, November 1996, College Of Engineering And Computer Science, Wright State University

BITs and PCs Newsletter

A ten page newsletter created by the Wright State University College of Engineering and Computer Science that addresses the current affairs of the college.

Western Australian Salinity Action Plan, Agriculture Western Australia, Department Of Conservation And Land Management, Department Of Environmental Protection, Water And Rivers Commission

Natural resources published reports

Salinity is one of the State's most critical environmental problems, threatening major economic and social consequences. It is preventable and, in the long term, reversible. Complete elimination is not realistic, but we can dramatically reduce its impact.

Salinity is caused by replacing deep-rooted native plants with shallow-rooted crops and pastures. More rainfall passed below the root zone and accumulates as groundwater so that watertables rise. The groundwater mobilises natural salts in the soil as it rises and carries them towards the surface, eventually degrading land and streams.

Annotated Statistical Indices For Sequence Analysis, Alberto Apostolico, Mary Ellen Bock, Xuyan Xu

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Ecological Economics: Reintegrating The Study Of Humans And Nature, Robert Costanza

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Ecological economics is a transdisciplinary effort to link the natural and social sciences broadly, and especially ecology and economics. The goal is to develop a deeper understanding of the complex linkages between ecological and economic systems, and to use that understanding to develop effective policies that will lead to a world that is ecologically sustainable, has a fair distribution of resources (both among groups and generations of humans and between humans and other species), and efficiently allocates scarce resources including natural capital. This will require new approaches that are comprehensive, adaptive, integrative, multi-scale, and pluralistic, and that acknowledge the huge …

Reductive Dehalogenation Of Chlorinated Aromatic And Aliphatic Hydrocarbons Under Anaerobic Conditions, Monica Turner Togna

Dissertations

The process of reductive dehalogenation involves the removal of a halogen substituent from a molecule with the concurrent addition of electrons to the molecule, resulting in a more reduced and often less toxic product. Anaerobic bacteria have the potential to utilize hazardous chlorinated aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons as electron acceptors in metabolic reductive dehalogenation processes.

In experiments performed with chlorinated aromatic compounds a highly enriched anaerobic culture stoichiometrically converted 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP) to 4-monochlorophenol. Dehalogenation occurred only in alkaline media (pH 8-9) at concentrations of 2,4,6-TCP up to 1 mM. Data indicated that the dehalogenating organism did not fit into any …

Scaling Up Of Water-Based Organic Reactions, Chen Gu

Dissertations

Three water-based organic reactions, Diels-Alder, epoxidation of olefins, and free-radical bromination have been investigated as an approach to pollution prevention. The first two systems were scaled-up by at least a factor of 20. These reactions are of special interest to the pharmaceutical and speciality chemical industries. The photo-induced free-radical bromination of alkanes with bromine in water was studied in a two-phase system. Experimental results show that all reactions have advantages resulting from being conducted in water, such as reaction rate acceleration, reaction selectivity increase, and the absorption of water-soluble gas byproduct by solvent water.

The effects of stirring rates, temperature, …

Effect Of Vitamin Supplementation On Biodegradation Of Aliphatic Hydrocarbons And Diesel Fuel, Susmita Guptapal

Dissertations

Bioremediation of hazardous wastes is proven to be environmentally benign and most cost effective technology when proper conditions are provided. However, commercialization of this method still requires comprehensive research to enhance the degradation rate to make the technology more acceptable for implementation. In this research a unique approach to increase the rate of biodegradation by vitamins supplementation was studied.

Five vitamins, niacin, biotin, folic acid, thiamin and pantothenic acid were selected for the present study. Different short chain (C₈ and C₉), and long chain (C₁₆ and C₁₇) aliphatic hydrocarbons and diesel fuel (a mixture …

Biographical Sketch Of M. Eugene Rudd, Robert Katz, Duane H. Jaecks

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

Dr. Rudd's research in atomic collision physics has been characterized by originality and thoroughness. He has written review articles and chapters in the Encyclopedia of Physics - and elsewhere, and is a co-author on a book on atomic collisions. He has published more than 75 refereed research papers, many of which were of seminal importance. He was the first to study systematically the dependence of the probability for electron emission in ion-atom collisions on the incident ion's energy, and on the ejected electron's energy and angle of emission. In 1964 he made the first experimental observation of doubly excited atomic …

Radial Dose Distributions In The Delta-Ray Theory Of Track Structure, Francis A. Cucinotta, Robert Katz, John W. Wilson, Rajendra R. Dubey

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

The radial dose distribution from delta rays, fundamental to the delta ray theory of track structure, is recalculated. We now include the model of Rudd for the secondary electron spectrum in proton collisions. We include the effects of electron transmission through matter and the angular dependence of secondary electron emission. Empirical formulas for electron range versus electron energy are intercompared in a wide variety of materials in order to extend the track structure theory to arbitrary media. Radial dose calculations for carbon, water, silicon, and gold are discussed. As in the past, effective charge is used to scale to heavier …

Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Signals Through The Ret Receptor And Activates Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase, Carolyn A. Worby, Quinn C. Vega, Yi Zhao, Hanna H. Chao, Audrey F. Seasholtz, Jack E. Dixon

Department of Mathematics Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), a member of the transforming growth factor-β family of growth factors, was first identified by its ability to promote the survival of midbrain dopaminergic neurons in culture. We demonstrate that GDNF treatment of several neuroblastoma cell lines leads to dose-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of the RET receptor and that other transforming growth factor-β family members are not able to activate the RET receptor. GDNF treatment of neuroblastoma cells also results in increased transcription of an Elk luciferase reporter gene, suggesting that GDNF activates the mitogen-activated protein kinase signal transduction pathway.

Student Fact Book, Fall 1996, Wright State University, Office Of Student Information Systems, Wright State University

Wright State University Student Fact Books

The student fact book has general demographic information on all students enrolled at Wright State University for Fall Quarter, 1996.

Seasonal And Inter-Annual Patterns Of Sediment-Water Nutrient And Oxygen Fluxes In Mobile Bay, Alabama (Usa): Regulating Factors And Ecological Significance., Jean L. Cowan, Jonathan Pennock, Walter R. Boynton

School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering

Sediment oxygen and nutrient fluxes were measured monthly for 2 yr in Mobile Bay, Alabama, USA. Rates of sediment oxygen consumption (0.1 to 1.25 gO₂ m^-2 d^-1), ammonium flux (-22 to 181 µmol m^-2 h^-1), nitrate flux (-14 to 67 µmol m^-2 h^-1), phosphate flux (-2 to 20.4 µmol m^-2 h^-1), and dissolved silicate flux (-15 to 342 µmol m^-2 h^-1) were moderate to high compared to values for other estuaries. A step-wise regression analysis revealed that dissolved oxygen concentration and temperature in bottom-waters …

Resource Law Notes Newsletter, No. 38, Fall Issue, Aug. 1996, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Resource Law Notes: The Newsletter of the Natural Resources Law Center (1984-2002)

No abstract provided.

Diversity Of Arkansas Water Resources Research, Kenneth F. Steele

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

In order to understand, protect, and manage our water resources effectively knowledge is required from many diverse areas of science, engineering, economics, and sociology. These proceedings of the conference on the Diversity of Arkansas Water Resources Research reflect this need and demonstrate how researchers in the state are responding to water issues and problems in Arkansas. The papers in these proceedings are representative of the research in Arkansas, but are only a sample of the work being conducted by universities and government agencies in Arkansas. We are grateful that Arkansas has the expertise available to provide the information necessary to …