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Missouri S&T Magazine Spring 2019, Missouri S&T Marketing And Communications Department, Miner Alumni Association

Missouri S&T Magazine

No abstract provided.

The Missouri Miner, February 27, 2019

The Missouri Miner Newspaper

No abstract provided.

Molecular Dynamics Simulations Of Substrate Release From Trypanosoma Cruzi Udp-Galactopyranose Mutase, Rodrigo Cossio-Pérez, Gustavo Pierdominici-Sottile, Pablo Sobrado, Juliana Palma

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

The enzyme UDP-galactopyranose mutase (UGM) represents a promising drug target for the treatment of infections with Trypanosoma cruzi. We have computed the Potential of Mean Force for the release of UDP-galactopyranose from UGM, using Umbrella Sampling simulations. The simulations revealed the conformational changes that both substrate and enzyme undergo during the process. It was determined that the galactopyranose portion of the substrate is highly mobile and that the opening/closing of the active site occurs in stages. Previously uncharacterized interactions with highly conserved residues were also identified. These findings provide new pieces of information that contribute to the rational design of …

Ccr5 Is A Required Signaling Receptor For Macrophage Expression Of Inflammatory Genes In Response To Viral Double-Stranded Rna, Zachary R. Shaheen, Benjamin S. Christmann, Joshua D. Stafford, Jason M. Moran, R. Mark L. Buller, John A. Corbett

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Invasion Genetics Of The Mummichog (Fundulus Heteroclitus): Recent Anthropogenic Introduction In Iberia, Teofilo Morim, Grant R. Bigg, Pedro M. Madeira, Jorge Palma, David D. Duvernell, Enric Gisbert, Regina L. Cunha, Rita Castilho

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Human activities such as trade and transport have increased considerably in the last decades, greatly facilitating the introduction and spread of non-native species at a global level. In the Iberian Peninsula, Fundulus heteroclitus, a small euryhaline coastal fish with short dispersal, was found for the first time in the mid-1970s. Since then, F. heteroclitus has undergone range expansions, colonizing the southern region of Portugal, southwestern coast of Spain and the Ebro Delta in the Mediterranean Sea. Cytochrome b sequences were used to elucidate the species invasion pathway in Iberia. Three Iberian locations (Faro, Cádiz and Ebro Delta) and 13 …

Large-Strain Strength Of Polymer-Modified Kaolinite And Fly Ash-Kaolinite Mixtures, Xin Kang, Junnan Cao, Bate Bate

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Polymers have gained gradual attention in soil stabilization as a sustainable alternative to inorganic counterparts such as cement. However, the effects of polymers on the strength of soils and soil-waste mixtures are still unclear. Meanwhile, waste recycling has been important in fostering a sustainable environment in recent decades. To solve the deficiency in knowledge, large-strain strength of polymer-modified kaolinite (KA) and Class-F fly ash-kaolinite mixtures (FAKAs) was investigated with isotropically consolidated undrained triaxial compression tests. Both synthetic polymer (polyethylene oxide, PEO) and naturally occurring biopolymers (chitosan and xanthan gum) were used. An interface model was also proposed to account for …

Infinite-Randomness Fixed Point Of The Quantum Superconductor-Metal Transitions In Amorphous Thin Films, Nicholas A. Lewellyn, Ilana M. Percher, J. J. Nelson, Javier Garcia-Barriocanal, Irina Volotsenko, Aviad Frydman, Thomas Vojta, Allen M. Goldman

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

The magnetic-field-tuned quantum superconductor-insulator transitions of disordered amorphous indium oxide films are a paradigm in the study of quantum phase transitions and exhibit power-law scaling behavior. For superconducting indium oxide films with low disorder, such as the ones reported on here, the high-field state appears to be a quantum-corrected metal. Resistance data across the superconductor-metal transition in these films are shown here to obey an activated scaling form appropriate to a quantum phase transition controlled by an infinite-randomness fixed point in the universality class of the random transverse-field Ising model. Collapse of the field-dependent resistance vs temperature data is obtained …

Recent Advances On Carrier And Exciton Self-Trapping In Strontium Titanate: Understanding The Luminescence Emissions, Miguel L. Crespillo, Joseph T. Graham, Fernando Agullo-Lopez, Yanwen Zhang, William J. Weber

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

An up-to-date review on recent results for self-trapping of free electrons and holes, as well as excitons, in strontium titanate (STO), which gives rise to small polarons and self-trapped excitons (STEs) is presented. Special attention is paid to the role of carrier and exciton self-trapping on the luminescence emissions under a variety of excitation sources with special emphasis on experiments with laser pulses and energetic ion-beams. In spite of the extensive research effort, a definitive identification of such localized states, as well as a suitable understanding of their operative light emission mechanisms, has remained lacking or controversial. However, promising advances …

The Effect Of Electrospun Fiber Diameter On Astrocyte-Mediated Neurite Guidance And Protection, Christopher D.L. Johnson, Jonathan M. Zuidema, Kathryn R. Kearns, Alianna B. Maguire, Gregory P. Desmond, Deanna M. Thompson, Ryan J. Gilbert

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The topography of electro spun fiber scaffolds modifies astrocytes toward in vivo-like morphologies and behaviors. However, little is known about how electro spun fiber diameter influences astrocyte behavior. In this work, aligned fibers with two distinct nanoscale fiber diameters (808 and 386 nm) were prepared, and the astrocyte response was measured over time. Astrocytes on the large diameter fibers showed significantly increased elongation as early as 2 h after seeding and remained significantly more elongated for up to 4 days compared to those on small diameter fibers. Astrocytes extending along larger diameter fibers were better equipped to support long neurite …

Random Subspace Projection For Predicting Biogeographical Ancestry, Tanjin Toma, Tayo Olufemi-Ajayi, Jeremy Dawson, Donald Adjeroh

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Human biogeographical ancestry estimation using genomic information is an important problem with applications in population stratification, admixture mapping, forensic ancestry inference, and in healthcare. Various studies have proposed panels of ancestry informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for distinguishing between widely separated continental populations. There has been limited investigation on identifying SNP panels for sub-continental ancestry prediction, especially given the difficult challenge of identifying SNP markers to distinguish closely associated sub-populations, for instance, within a continent. In this study, we propose an ancestry informative SNP selection algorithm exploiting the concept of random subspace projection using supervised learning. The proposed approach identifies …

Parlech: Parallel Long-Read Error Correction With Hadoop, Arghya Kusum Das, Kisung Lee, Seung Jong Park

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Long-read sequencing is emerging as a promising sequencing technology because it can tackle the short length limitation of second-generation sequencing, which has dominated the sequencing market in past years. However, it has substantially higher error rates compared to short-read sequencing (e.g., 13% vs. 0.1%), and its sequencing cost per base is typically more expensive than that of short-read sequencing. To address these limitations, we present a distributed hybrid error correction framework, called ParLECH, that is scalable and cost-efficient for PacBio long reads. For correcting the errors in the long reads, ParLECH utilizes the Illumina short reads that have the low …

Sea Level Rise And Land Subsidence In Coastal Louisiana: Forecasting, Mapping And Identification Of At-Risk Transportation Infrastructure, Sanjay Tewari, Francis Manning, Wesley Palmer

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The coast of Louisiana is under threat because of sea level rise and land subsidence. Sea water is encroaching deeper inland and as a result Louisiana is losing land at an alarming rate. The combined effect of sea level rise and land subsidence is variable spatially. This paper focuses on this combined effect in identifying the transportation infrastructure that is at risk of getting affected by the seawater inundation of the land.

This paper attempts to account for land elevation data monitored continuously at various locations along the coast of Louisiana and combining it with local sea level rise to …

Embedded Online Fish Detection And Tracking System Via Yolov3 And Parallel Correlation Filter, Shasha Liu, Xiaoyu Li, Mingshan Gao, Yu Cai, Rui Nian, Peiliang Li, Tianhong Yan, Amaury Lendasse

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Nowadays, Ocean Observatory Networks, Which Gather and Provide Multidisciplinary, Long-Term, 3d Continuous Marine Observations at Multiple Temporal Spatial Scales, Play a More and More Important Role in Ocean Investigations. in This Paper, We First Perform Image Enhancement to Produce Depth Information and Benefit Many Vision Algorithms and Advanced Image Editing. We Try to Develop a Novel Underwater Fish Detection and Tracking Strategies Combining You Only Look Once (Yolo) Latest Detection Algorithm Yolov3 Algorithm and Parallel Correlation Filter. We Demonstrated on the Nvidia Jetson Tx2 for Online Fish Detection and Tracking, Enabling a Fast System and Rapid Experimentation. It Has Been …

Examination Of The Structures, Energetics, And Vibrational Frequencies Of Small Sulfur-Containing Prototypical Dimers, (H2s)2 And H2o/H2s, Katelyn M. Dreux, Gregory S. Tschumper

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

The optimized geometries, vibrational frequencies, and dissociation energies from MP2 and CCSD(T) computations with large correlation consistent basis sets are reported for (H₂S)₂ and H₂O/H₂S. Anharmonic vibrational frequencies have also been computed with second-order vibrational perturbation theory (VPT2). As such, the fundamental frequencies, overtones, and combination bands reported in this study should also provide a useful road map for future spectroscopic studies of the simple but important heterogeneous H₂O/H₂S dimer in which the hydrogen bond donor and acceptor can interchange, leading to two unique minima with very similar energies. …

Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptor 1 Activation In Astrocytes Contributes To Neuropathic Pain, Zhoumou Chen, Timothy M. Doyle, Livio Luongo, Tally M. Largent-Milnes, Luigino Antonio Giancotti, Grant Kolar, Silvia Squillace, Serena Boccella, John K. Walker, Alexander Pendleton, Sarah Spiegel, William L. Neumann, Todd W. Vanderah, Daniela Salvemini

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Neuropathic pain afflicts millions of individuals and represents a major health problem for which there is limited effective and safe therapy. Emerging literature links altered sphingolipid metabolism to nociceptive processing. However, the neuropharmacology of sphingolipid signaling in the central nervous system in the context of chronic pain remains largely unexplored and controversial. We now provide evidence that sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) generated in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord in response to nerve injury drives neuropathic pain by selectively activating the S1P receptor subtype 1 (S1PR1) in astrocytes. Accordingly, genetic and pharmacological inhibition of S1PR1 with multiple antagonists in distinct chemical …

Underwater Acoustic Communications And Adaptive Signal Processing, Mohammadhossein Behgam

Doctoral Dissertations

"This dissertation proposes three new algorithms for underwater acoustic wireless communications. One is a new tail-biting circular MAP decoder for full tail-biting convolution (FTBC) codes for very short data blocks intended for Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT). The proposed algorithm was evaluated by ocean experiments and computer simulations on both Physical (PHY) and Media access control (MAC) layers. The ocean experimental results show that without channel equalization, the full tail-biting convolution (FTBC) codes with short packet lengths not only can perform similarly to zero-tailing convolution (ZTC) codes in terms of bit error rate (BER) in the PHY layer. Computer simulation …

Provenance And Depositional Environments Of The Upper Permian-Lowermost Triassic Fluvial And Lacustrine Sandstones, Wutonggou Low-Order Cycle, Bogda Mountains, Nw China, Dongyu Zheng

Doctoral Dissertations

"This work integrates petrographic and fieldwork studies and documents the spatial and temporal distributions of compositions and textures of the upper Permian-lowermost Triassic fluvial-lacustrine sandstones, Wutonggou low-order cycle (WTG LC), Bogda Mountains, NW China. In the first part, three petrofacies are identified on the basis of the relative abundances of quartz, feldspar, and lithics and conglomerate compositions and paleocurrent directions are documented. These data indicate that rocks of the eastern North Tianshan Suture (ENTS) and rift shoulders were the provenance lithology. Moreover, the upsection changes of petrofacies and conglomerate compositions suggest that the lithology of ENTS changed. During approximately Wuchiapingian, …

Non-Invasive Microwave And Millimeter Wave Reflectometry And Imaging For Human Skin Diagnosis And Materials Characterization, Yuan Gao

Doctoral Dissertations

"Microwave and millimeter wave reflectometry and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging techniques have been successfully applied in many applications, such as nondestructive testing and evaluation (NDT&E), security inspection and medical diagnosis. In this dissertation, the feasibility of using microwave and millimeter reflectometry and SAR imaging for burn diagnosis is investigated through both simulations and measurements, with promising results. To correctly model the interaction between electromagnetic waves and skin, the proper knowledge of the complex permittivity of healthy skin is critically important. To this end, the common used measurement methods for in vivo skin complex permittivity are reviewed and analyzed in …

Extraction Rate In Vapor Assisted Extraction Of Heavy Oil (Vapex), Vijitha Mohan, Parthasakha Neogi

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Heavy oil recovery requires either heat (SAGD) or a solvent (VAPEX) to reduce its high viscosity first and then the less viscous oil can be recovered. We show here that the existing data, on the rate of oil recovered in VAPEX process in sand packs show a square root dependence on the height of pay zone, following expectation. This dependence had remained uncertain and is of importance in oil field operations. We have used dimensional analysis and inverse viscosity-diffusivity dependence to obtain an expression for the rate that agrees well with the available sand pack data. The dimensional analysis overcomes …

Numerical Modeling Study Of A Neutron Depth Profiling (Ndp) System For The Missouri S&T Reactor, Mubarak Mohammed Albarqi

Doctoral Dissertations

”For decades, Neutron Depth Profiling has been used for the non-destructive analysis and quantification of boron in electronic materials and lithium in lithium ion batteries. NDP is one of the few non-destructive analytical techniques capable of measuring the depth profiles of light elements to depths of several microns with nanometer spatial resolution. The technique, however, is applicable only to a handful of light elements with large neutron absorption cross sections. This work discusses the possibility of coupling Particle Induced X-ray Emission spectroscopy with Neutron Depth Profiling to yield additional information about the depth profiles of other elements within a material. …

Volumetric Error Compensation For Industrial Robots And Machine Tools, Le Ma

Doctoral Dissertations

“A more efficient and increasingly popular volumetric error compensation method for machine tools is to compute compensation tables in axis space with tool tip volumetric measurements. However, machine tools have high-order geometric errors and some workspace is not reachable by measurement devices, the compensation method suffers a curve-fitting challenge, overfitting measurements in measured space and losing accuracy around and out of the measured space. Paper I presents a novel method that aims to uniformly interpolate and extrapolate the compensation tables throughout the entire workspace. By using a uniform constraint to bound the tool tip error slopes, an optimal model with …

A Critical Review Of Using High Viscosity Friction Reducers As Fracturing Fluids For Hydraulic Fracturing Applications, Mohammed Ba Geri, Abdulmohsin Imqam, Ralph E. Flori

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The primary purpose of using traditional friction reducers in stimulation treatments is to overcome the tubular drag while pumping at high flow rates. Hydraulic fracturing is the main technology used to produce hydrocarbon from extremely low permeability rock. Even though slickwater (water fracturing with few chemical additives) used to be one of the most common fracturing fluids, several concerns are still associated with its use, including usage of freshwater, high-cost operation, and environmental issues. Therefore, current practice in hydraulic fracturing is to use alternative fluid systems that are cost effective and have less environmental impact, such as fluids which utilize …

Improving Base Metal Electrowinning, Charles Ebenezer Abbey

Doctoral Dissertations

"In zinc electrowinning, Mn oxidizes to form MnO₂ on Pb-Ag anodes, cell walls and pipes. MnO₂ reduces anode corrosion but also leads to short circuits and maintenance issues. MnO₂ is thought to interact with chloride ions and produce oxidized chlorine species. The interactions between Mn and Cl are not well understood. Bench scale experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of the manganese to chloride ratio on anode corrosion rate and electrolyte chemistry using rolled Pb-Ag anodes. Increasing the average Mn/Cl^- ratio from ~7:1 to ~11:1 reduced the anode corrosion rate. Anode scales produced with Mn/Cl …

Characterization Of A Green Electric Solid Propellant For Electric Propulsion, Matthew Scott Glascock

Doctoral Dissertations

"Electric solid propellants are advanced solid chemical rocket propellants that can be controlled (ignited, throttled and extinguished) through the application and removal of an electric current. These propellants are also being considered for use in ablative pulsed plasma thruster and multimode systems. In this work, the behavior and performance of a novel green electric solid propellant operating in an electrothermal ablation-fed pulsed plasma thruster was investigated. Using an inverted pendulum micro-Newton thrust stand, the impulse bit and specific impulse of the device using the electric solid propellant were measured for short-duration and long-duration runs to end-of-life, at energy levels of …

In Situ Mechanical Characterization Of The Mixed- Mode Fracture Strength Of The Cu/Si Interface For Tsv Structures, Chenglin Wu, Congjie Wei, Yanxiao Li

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In situ nanoindentation experiments have been widely adopted to characterize material behaviors of microelectronic devices. This work introduces the latest developments of nanoindentation experiments in the characterization of nonlinear material properties of 3D integrated microelectronic devices using the through-silicon via (TSV) technique. The elastic, plastic, and interfacial fracture behavior of the copper via and matrix via interface were characterized using small-scale specimens prepared with a focused ion beam (FIB) and nanoindentation experiments. A brittle interfacial fracture was found at the Cu/Si interface under mixed-mode loading with a phase angle ranging from 16.7° to 83.7°. The mixed-mode fracture strengths were extracted …

Design And Characterization Of A Strong Positron Source At The Mstr Beam Port, Raed Atiah Alsulami

Doctoral Dissertations

“For many years, slow positron sources have found uses in diverse fields including medical physics, nuclear physics, biology, surface science, exotic atom research and space science. The purpose of this work is to design and optimize a reactor-based positron source at the Missouri University of Science and Technology Reactor (MSTR) beam port and quantify its intensity. Monte Carlo simulations using the MCNP6 code were used to model the positron production and moderation processes at the MSTR beam port. The thermal neutron flux at the beam port was determined experimentally and used in the source definition of the radiation transport simulations. …

Ferrite Characterization Techniques & Particle Simulations For Semiconductor Devices, Nicholas Erickson

Doctoral Dissertations

"This dissertation is divided into three papers, covering two major topics. The first topic, techniques for ferrite characterization, is discussed over the course of two papers. The second topic, particle simulations for semiconductor devices, is discussed in the last paper. In the first paper, the method for extracting permeability from ferrite materials is discussed for the Keysight 16454A permeability extraction fixture, where the ferrite material to be characterized is assumed to be homogeneous. Then the method is updated to account for layered materials. The updated method is verified through full-wave simulations. In the second paper, a planar printed circuit board …

Laser Welding Of Metallic Glass To Crystalline Metal In Laser-Foil-Printing Additive Manufacturing, Yingqi Li

Doctoral Dissertations

"The application of metallic glasses has been traditionally limited to parts with small dimensions and simple geometries, due to the requirement of fast cooling during the conventional process of casting. In addition, joining metallic glass to crystalline metal is of interest for many applications that require locally tailored functions and properties, but it is challenging. This research describes a promising additive manufacturing technology, i.e., laser-foil-printing, to make high-quality metallic glass parts with large dimensions and complex geometries and to fabricate multi-material components from metallic glass and crystalline metal. In this research, Zr_52.5Ti₅Al₁₀Ni_14.6Cu …

Pressure Versus Impulse Graph For Blast-Induced Traumatic Brain Injury And Correlation To Observable Blast Injuries, Barbara Rutter

Doctoral Dissertations

"With the increased use of explosive devices in combat, blast induced traumatic brain injury (bTBI) has become one of the signature wounds in current conflicts. Animal studies have been conducted to understand the mechanisms in the brain and a pressure versus time graph has been produced. However, the role of impulse in bTBIs has not been thoroughly investigated for animals or human beings.

This research proposes a new method of presenting bTBI data by using a pressure versus impulse (P-I) graph. P-I graphs have been found useful in presenting lung lethality regions and building damage thresholds. To present the animal …

Receiver Function Investigations Of Mantle Transition Zone And Crustal Structure In East Africa And Northeast Asia, Muchen Sun

Doctoral Dissertations

"In spite of numerous geophysical studies have been conducted in East Africa and Northeast Asia, the structure and evolution of the crust, upper mantle, and the mantle transition zone (MTZ) are still controversial. The MTZ discontinuities beneath the study area are imaged by stacking an unprecedented volume of receiver functions (RFs). The normal MTZ thickness beneath the Western Branch of the EARS and Tanzania Craton indicates the absence of present-day thermal upwelling from the lower mantle. In contrast, beneath the Eastern Branch, a significant MTZ thinning reveals the existence of thermal upwelling from either the upper MTZ or the lower …