Digital Commons Network^™

Students' Attitudes Toward Alternative Education At Keifer Alternative Center, Patricia Blair

Urbana University Master’s Theses

No abstract provided.

Magnetic Moments And Adiabatic Magnetization Of Free Cobalt Clusters, Xiaoshan Xu, Shuangye Yin, Ramiro Moro, Walt A. De Heer

Xiaoshan Xu Papers

Magnetizations and magnetic moments of free cobalt clusters CoN (12< N <200) in a cryogenic (25 K ≤ T ≤ 100 K) molecular beam were determined from Stern-Gerlach deflections. All clusters preferentially deflect in the direction of the increasing field and the average magnetization resembles the Langevin function for all cluster sizes even at low temperatures. We demonstrate in the avoided crossing model that the average magnetization may result from adiabatic processes of rotating and vibrating clusters in the magnetic field and that spin relaxation is not involved. This resolves a longstanding problem in the interpretation of cluster beam deflection experiments with implications for nanomagnetic systems in …

Broadening Middle-School Students’ Images Of Science And Scientists, Diandra Leslie-Pelecky, Gayle A. Buck, Angela Zabawa

Diandra Leslie-Pelecky Publications

The ‘mad scientist’ stereotype is alive and well – and not an image most K-12 students can (or want to) embrace. Project Fulcrum, a National Science Foundation-funded GK-12 program, partners math, science and engineering graduate students with elementary and middle-level teachers. One project goal – broadening student images of science and scientists –is addressed by projects developed by the teacher/scientist teams that are focused on the specific needs of their students. The projects developed focus on scientists, the use of science in different types of jobs, and developing scientific skills. Pre-project research, in which teachers probe the motivation behind their …

The Stability And Oxidation Resistance Of Iron- And Cobalt-Based Magnetic Nanoparticle Fluids Fabricated By Inert-Gas Condensation, Nguyen H. Hai, Raymond Lemoine, Shaina Remboldt, Michelle A. Strand, Steve Wignall, Jeffrey E. Shield, Diandra Leslie-Pelecky

Diandra Leslie-Pelecky Publications

Magnetic nanoparticle fluids have numerous biomedical applications, including magnetic imaging, drug delivery, and hyperthemia treatment for cancer. Ideal magnetic nanoparticle fluids have well-separated, biocompatible nanoparticles with a small size distribution that form a stable colloid. We have combined inert-gas condensation, which produces nanoparticles with low polydispersity, with deposition directly into a surfactant-laden fluid to prevent agglomeration. Iron, cobalt, and iron-nitride nanoparticle fluids fabricated using inert-gas condensation have with mean particle sizes from 5-50 nm and remain stable over long periods of time. Iron and cobalt nanoparticles oxidize on exposure to air, with oxidation rates dependent on surfactant type and concentration. …

Hail To The Chief: Former Law Clerks For William Rehnquist Recall What They Learned And How He Touched Their Lives, Craig M. Bradley, Laura E. Little, John C. Englander, Celestine Richards Mcconville

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who died Sept. 3, is remembered for his disarming warmth and humor, breadth of knowledge about the law, and insistence that there is life outside the office. Few knew him better than the legions of clerks who tolled with and learned from him. Indeed, the sheer number who attended his funeral testifies to how highly he was regarded. Here, four former clerks from the decades of the 1970s, '80s and '90s write about their own particular memories of the late chief justice.

Examining The Screening Limit Of Field Effect Devices Via The Metal–Insulator Transition, X. Hong, A. Posadas, C. H. Ahn

Xia Hong Publications

The electronic screening length, the distance over which an electric field is attenuated in a material, imposes a lower physical bound on the lateral size scaling of semiconductor field effect devices. Alternatives will be needed to achieve devices whose characteristic dimensions approach a nanometer. In this work, we demonstrate the atomic-scale nature of screening at high electron densities, using the polarization field of a ferroelectric oxide, Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃, to electrostatically modulate the metallicity of ultrathin manganite La_1−xSr_xMnO₃ (LSMO) films near the metal-insulator transition. Within the screening length, the transport characteristics of LSMO vary sharply …

Fundamental Contribution Of Β-Oxidation To Polyketide Mycotoxin Production In Planta, Lori A. Maggio-Hall, Richard A. Wilson, Nancy P. Keller

Fungal Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions

Seed contamination with polyketide mycotoxins, including aflatoxin (AF) and sterigmatocystin (ST) produced by Aspergillus spp., is an agricultural, economic, and medical issue worldwide. Acetyl-CoA, the fundamental building block of all known fungal polyketides, is generated by a large number of biochemical pathways, including β-oxidation of fatty acids and glycolysis of sugars. We present several lines of evidence to support a major role for seed fatty acids in formation of AF and ST in A. flavus, A. parasiticus, and A. nidulans. Aspergillus strains exhibiting canonical signs of oleic acid–induced peroxisome proliferation, including increased catalase activity, β-oxidation gene expression, and …

Seasonal Migration And Home Ranges Of Female Elk In The Black Hills Of South Dakota And Wyoming, Lakhdar Benkobi, Mark A. Rumble, Cynthia H. Stubblefield, R. Scott Gamo, Joshua J. Millspaugh

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Understanding the movement and dispersion patterns of elk (Cervus elaphus) on public lands and the underlying factors that affect each will facilitate elk management and help resolve conflicts between management that benefit elk and other uses of land resources. Consequently, there is a need to identify and examine the movement and dispersion patterns of elk in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming. Our study quantified seasonal movements, determined home ranges of female elk in two areas of the Black Hills, and examined underlying factors associated with each. Elk in the northern area did not demonstrate seasonal …

Colossal Dielectric And Electromechanical Responses In Self Assembled Polymeric Nanocomposites, Cheng Huang, Q. M. Zhang, Jiang Yu Li, Manese Rabeony

Department of Engineering Mechanics: Faculty Publications

An electroactive polymer nanocomposite, in which high dielectric constant copper phthalocyanine oligomer (o-CuPc) nanoparticles are incorporated into the block polyurethane (PU) matrix by the combination of “top down” and “bottom up” approaches, was realized. Such an approach enables the nanocomposite to exhibit colossal dielectric and electromechanical responses with very low volume fraction of the high dielectric constant o-CuPc nanofillers (~3.5%) in the composite. In contrast, a simple blend of o-CuPc and PU composite with much higher o-CuPc content (~16% of o-CuPc) shows much lower dielectric and electromechanical responses.

A Model For Predicting The Evolution Of Damage In Viscoelastic Particle-Reinforced Composites, G. D. Seidel, D. H. Allen, K. L. E. Helms, S. E. Groves

Department of Engineering Mechanics: Faculty Publications

A viscoelastic cohesive zone model is employed within the framework of a finite element code to analyze a two-phase viscoelastic particle-reinforced composite material consisting of a relatively stiff aggregate embedded in a copolymer binder. The composite of interest, LX17, is noted to have a very large aggregate volume fraction and as such, aggregate grain boundaries were generated within finite element meshes along which viscoelastic cohesive zones have been embedded to model the binder. It has been observed experimentally that the majority of damage in LX17 occurs within the binder, and thus, a damage evolution law has been applied to the …

Editorial, Robert W. Stewart, Michael W. Hoffman, Stephan Weiss

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

In the past years, digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms and architectures for baseband communication systems have fuelled the delivery of applications such as 3G mobile communications and wireless LAN to mass markets. This was made possible by a tremendous growth in the performance of computational devices such as digital signal processors and FPGAs, as well as an increase in sampling rates of conversion devices to potentially several 100 MHz. While the development of both computational devices and ADCs/DACs continues, thus permitting DSP to be applied at IF sampling rates and possibly beyond, the opportunities for further enhancing radio devices by …

Comparison Of Antenna Array Systems Using Ofdm For Software Radio Via The Sibic Model, Khoi D. Le, Michael W. Hoffman, Robert D. Palmer

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

This paper investigates the performance of two candidates for software radio WLAN, reconfigurable OFDM modulation and antenna diversity, in an indoor environment. The scenario considered is a 20m × 10m × 3m room with two base units and one mobile unit. The two base units use omnidirectional antennas to transmit and the mobile unit uses either a single antenna with equalizer, a fixed beamformer with equalizer, or an adaptive beamformer with equalizer to receive. The modulation constellation of the data is QPSK and 16-QAM. The response of the channel at the mobile unit is simulated using a three-dimensional indoor WLAN …

A Novel Role For Gadd45Β As A Mediator Of Mmp-13 Gene Expression During Chondrocyte Terminal Differentiation, Kosei Ijiri, Luiz F. Zerbini, Haibing Peng, Ricardo G. Correa, Binfeng Lu, Nicole Walsh, Yani Zhao, Noboru Taniguchi, Xu-Ling Huang, Hasan H. Otu, Hong Wang, Jian Fei Wang, Setsuro Komiya, Patricia Ducy, Mahboob U. Rahman, Richard A. Flavell, Ellen M. Gravallese, Peter Oettgen, Towia A. Libermann, Mary B. Goldring

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

The growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible 45β (GADD45β) gene product has been implicated in the stress response, cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis. Here we demonstrated the unexpected expression of GADD45β in the embryonic growth plate and uncovered its novel role as an essential mediator of matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) expression during terminal chondrocyte differentiation. We identified GADD45β as a prominent early response gene induced by bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) through a Smad1/Runx2-dependent pathway. Because this pathway is involved in skeletal development, we examined mouse embryonic growth plates, and we observed expression of Gadd45β mRNA coincident with Runx2 protein …

Range Imaging Observations Of Pmse Using The Eiscat Vhf Radar: Phase Calibration And First Results, J. R. Fernandez, R. D. Palmer, P. B. Chilson, I. Haggstrom, M. T. Rietveld

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

A novel phase calibration technique for use with the multiple-frequency Range IMaging (RIM) technique is introduced based on genetic algorithms. The method is used on data collected with the European Incoherent SCATter (EISCAT) VHF radar during a 2002 experiment with the goal of characterizing the vertical structure of Polar Mesosphere Summer Echoes (PMSE) over northern Norway. For typical Doppler measurements, the initial phases of the transmitter and receiver are not required to be the same. The EISCAT receiver systems exploit this fact, allowing a multistatic configuration. However, the RIM method relies on the small phase differences between closely spaced frequencies. …

Realizing Ternary Quantum Switching Networks Without Ancilla Bits, Marek Perkowski, Guowu Yang, Xiaoyu Song, Jinzhao Wu

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper investigates the synthesis of quantum networks built to realize ternary switching circuits in the absence of ancilla bits. The results we established are twofold. The first shows that ternary Swap, ternary NOT and ternary Toffoli gates are universal for the realization of arbitrary n × n ternary quantum switching networks without ancilla bits. The second result proves that all n×n quantum ternary networks can be generated by NOT, Controlled-NOT, Multiply-Two and Toffoli gates. Our approach is constructive.

Phased-Array Design For Biological Clutter Rejection: Simulation And Experimental Validation, B.L. Cheong, Michael Hoffman, R.D. Palmer, Stephen J. Frasier, F.J. Lopez-Dekker

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

This paper highlights recent results obtained with the Turbulent Eddy Profiler (TEP), which was devel- oped by the University of Massachusetts. This unique 915-MHz radar has up to 64 spatially separated receiving elements, each with an independent receiver. The calibrated raw data provided by this array could be processed using sophisticated imaging algorithms to resolve the horizontal structures within each range gate. After collecting all of the closely spaced horizontal slices, the TEP radar can produce three- dimensional images of echo power, radial velocity, and spectral width. From the radial velocity measure- ments, it is possible to estimate the three-dimensional …

Self-Assembly Of Nanoparticles On Live Bacterium: An Avenue To Fabricate Electronic Devices, Ravi F. Saraf, Vikas Berry

Papers in Nanotechnology

Recently, hybrid structures of microorganisms with inorganic nanoscale moieties have received great interest owing to their potential in fabricating electronic systems. The electronic properties of metal nanoparticles, as a result of the singleelectron transport of current,[1] make them ideal materials for nanodevices. Concomitantly, the nanostructure of microorganisms such as bacteria,[2] viruses,[3, 4] and yeast[5] are attractive scaffolds for the templating of metal nanoparticles through the interactions of the former with surface charges and the affinity of certain metals for specific biological molecules.[2–7] However, the key challenges in building hybrid devices are 1) to pattern nanostructures without destroying the biological construct …

Fixed Point Theory For Mönch-Type Maps Defined On Closed Subsets Of Fréchet Spaces: The Projective Limit Approach, Ravi P. Agarwal, Donal O'Regan, Jewgeni H. Dshalalow

Mathematics and System Engineering Faculty Publications

New Leray-Schauder alternatives are presented for Mönch-type maps defined between Fréchet spaces. The proof relies on viewing a Fréchet space as the projective limit of a sequence of Banach spaces.

Crystallization And Preliminary X-Ray Analysis Of Na-Asp-1, A Multi-Domain Pathogenesis-Related-1 Protein From The Human Hookworm Parasite Necator Americanus, Oluwatoyin A. Asojo, Alex Loukas, Mehmet Inan, Rick Barent, Jicai Huang, Brad Plantz, Amber Swanson, Mark Gouthro, Michael M. Meagher, Peter J. Hotez

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Faculty Publications

Human hookworm infection is a major cause of anemia and malnutrition in the developing world. In an effort to control hookworm infection, the Human Hookworm Vaccine Initiative has identified candidate vaccine antigens from the infective larval stage (L3) of the parasite, including a family of pathogenesis-related-1 (PR-1) proteins known as the ancylostoma-secreted proteins (ASPs). The functions of the ASPs are unknown. In addition, it is unclear why some ASPs have one while others have multiple PR-1 domains. There are no known structures of a multi-domain ASP and in an effort to remedy this situation, recombinant Na-ASP-1 has been expressed, …

Decline And Fall Of Legislative History - Patterns Of Supreme Court Reliance In The Burger And Rehnquist Eras, The, James J. Brudney, Corey Distlear

Faculty Scholarship

Reliance on legislative history in the Court's majority opinions has fallen from nearly 50 percent during the Burger era to less than 30 percent since 1985.

Replication And Encapsidation Of Papillomaviruses In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Peter C. Angeletti

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Improvements in methodologies to recapitulate and study particular biological functions of the

papillomavirus life cycle have led to great advances in our knowledge of these viruses. Described in

this chapter are techniques that allow low-copy and high-copy replication of full-length human

papillomavirus (HPV) genomes, as well as assembly of virus-like particles, in Saccharomyces

cerevisiae (yeast). This system has several distinct advantages that make it an attractive complement

to the well-established raft-culturing system. First, yeast are inexpensive, rapid, and simple to culture

in the lab. Second, they provide an ever-widening array of genetic tools to analyze HPV functions

—most recently notable, …

Glyphosate, Other Herbicides, And Transformation Products In Midwestern Streams, 2002, William A. Battaglin, Dana W. Kolpin, Elizabeth A. Scribner, Kathryn M. Kuivila, Mark W. Sandstrom

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The use of glyphosate has increased rapidly, and there is limited understanding of its environmental fate. The objective of this study was to document the occurrence of glyphosate and the transformation product aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in Midwestern streams and to compare their occurrence with that of more commonly measured herbicides such as acetochlor, atrazine, and metolachlor. Water samples were collected at sites on 51 streams in nine Midwestern states in 2002 during three runoff events: after the application of pre-emergence herbicides, after the application of post-emergence herbicides, and during harvest season. All samples were analyzed for glyphosate and 20 other …

A Complete Species Census And Evidence For Regional Declines In Piping Plovers, Susan M. Haig, Cheron L. Ferland, Francesca J. Cuthbert, Jack Dingledine, J. Paul Goossen, Anne Hecht, Nell Mcphillips

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Complete population estimates for widely distributed species are rarely possible. However, for the third time in 10 years, an International Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) Breeding and Winter Census was conducted throughout the species range in 2001. Nearly 1,400 participants from 32 U.S. states and Puerto Rico; 9 Canadian provinces; St. Pierre and Miquelon, France; Cuba; and the Bahamas visited 2,244 sites covering 11,836 km of shoreline habitat. During the winter census, 2,389 piping plovers were observed at 33.5% of potentially occupied sites (n = 352). Of these, 56.8% had ≤10 birds present. The breeding census recorded 5,945 adults …

Hydrologic Properties Of Coal Beds In The Powder River Basin, Montana I. Geophysical Log Analysis, Roger H. Morin

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

As part of a multidisciplinary investigation designed to assess the implications of coal-bed methane development on water resources for the Powder River Basin of southeasternMontana, six wells were drilled through Paleocene-age coal beds along a 31 km east–west transect within the TongueRiver drainage basin.Analysis of geophysical logs obtained in thesewells provides insight into the hydrostratigraphic characteristics of the coal and interbedded siliciclastic rocks and their possible interaction with the local stress field.Natural gamma and electrical resistivity logswere effective in distinguishing individual coal beds. Full-waveformsonic logswere used to determine elastic properties of the coal and an attendant estimate of aquifer storage …

U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers Omaha District Monthly Drought Report, August 2005

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

Missouri River Basin Drought Overview

Pre-Settlement Drought

Drought Since 1895

Current Conditions

Drought Outlook 1

Ft. Peck, Montana

Reservoir Elevation Overview

Water Intake Overview

Access Overview

Noxious Weeds Overview

Cultural Resources Overview

Garrison, North Dakota

Reservoir Elevation Overview

Water Intake Overview

Access Overview

Boat Ramp Information

Noxious Weeds Overview

Cultural Resources Overview

Other Areas of Interest/Concern

Oahe, South Dakota

Reservoir Elevation Overview

Water Intake Overview

Access Overview

Noxious Weeds Overview

Cultural Resources Overview

Mainstem Reservoir Information, Weekly Elevation Comparison 27 JUN 2005 through 1 AUG 2005

Mainstem Reservoir Storage Comparison Water Year 2004 vs. Water Year 2005

Ft. Peck, MT …

Biological Opinion On The Operation Of The Missouri River Main Stem System, Missouri River Bank Stabilization And Navigation Project, And Operation Of The Kansas River Reservoir System

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) prepares an annual report for interested parties in accordance with reporting requirements of the "Biological Opinion (BiOp) on the Operation of the Missouri River Main Stem System, Operation and Maintenance of the Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project (BSNP), and Operation of the Kansas River Reservoir System" prepared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) dated November 30,2000 and the Amendment, thereto, dated December 16,2003.

This annual report documents the Corps threatened and endangered species conservation activities to comply with the provisions of the 2000 BiOp and the 2003 Amendment to …

On The Pricing Of Top And Drop Excess Of Loss Covers, Jean-Francois Walhin, Michel Denuit

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

A top and drop cover is a treaty that can be found on the retrocession market. It offers capacity that can be used either to protect a top layer or a working layer. The former is called a "top" and the latter is called a "drop." Using the traditional collective risk model, we demonstrate the use of a multivariate version of Panjer's algorithm to price this cover. We also compare the premium obtained within the exact model with the premiums obtained either with the Frechet bounds or with the wrong assumption of independence.

Stockholm Study Abroad: Scientific Breakthroughs And Nobel Laureates, Jana Pressler, Eric Rosenfeld, Marianne Alverbo Larsson

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Undergraduate study abroad experiences and immersive international programs serve as rich learning opportunities and substantive creative endeavors. This is particularly true for honors students. This paper describes an honors course that was developed around the idea of the scientific method, targeted at exploring scientific breakthroughs and Nobel laureates, and conducted at the site where the majority of Nobel Prizes are awarded: the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. For the “Stockholm Study Abroad” course at The Pennsylvania State University, honors students were asked to examine elements of the scientific method as the underlying framework of research studies, discuss traditional and nontraditional …

Contracting In Honors, Kambra Bolch

Honors in Practice Online Archive

A survey of the second edition of Peterson’s Honors Programs reveals that a variety of honors programs and colleges around the country employ the honors contract as one mechanism whereby students may earn honors course credit. Although there is no uniform definition of what a contract entails, one common approach is the completion of a paper, project, or other assignment in addition to a non-honors course’s requirements. Of the 360 listings in the Peterson’s guide, at least 43 public, private, two-year, and four-year programs and colleges choose to mention contracting in their listings. Contracting, therefore, appears to provide a prominent …

Engineering A Dimeric Caspase-9: A Re-Evaluation Of The Induced Proximity Model For Caspase Activation, Yang Chao, Eric N. Shiozaki, Srinivasa M. Srinivasula, Robert Fairman

Biology Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.