Digital Commons Network^™

Lanthorn, Vol. 41, No. 31, December 11, 2006, Grand Valley State University

Volume 41, July 13, 2006 - June 14, 2007

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Mustang Daily: 2006 Winter Holiday Edition, December 11, 2006

Cal Poly Student Newspaper

Student newspaper of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA.

Grand Valley Forum, Volume 031, Number 20, December 11, 2006, Grand Valley State University

2006-2007, Volume 31

Grand Valley Forum is Grand Valley State's faculty and staff newsletter, published from 1976 to the present.

Why Should Primordial Perturbations Be In A Vacuum State?, Christian Armendariz-Picon

Physics - All Scholarship

In order to calculate the power spectrum generated during a stage of inflation, we have to specify the quantum state of the inflaton perturbations, which is conventionally assumed to be the Bunch-Davies vacuum. We argue that this choice is justified only if the interactions of cosmological perturbations are strong enough to drive excited states toward the vacuum. We quantify this efficiency by calculating the decay probabilities of excited states to leading order in the slow-roll expansion in canonical single-field inflationary models. These probabilities are suppressed by a slow-roll parameter and the squared Planck mass, and enhanced by ultraviolet and infrared …

Simulation And Characterization Of Tire Nonuniformity-Induced Steering Nibble Vibrations Through Integrated Subsystems Modeling, Derek Mangun

All Theses

Periodic force variations produced by nonuniform tire/wheel assemblies are known root causes of torsional steering wheel vibrations known as 'nibble'. Previous studies have sought to investigate this issue through modeling or experimentation involving the entire vehicle or specific subsystems, however a direct link between objectively measured tire force variations and the vibration levels perceived by vehicle occupants has yet to be established. Analytical models of a nonuniform tire, double-wishbone suspension system, and rack and pinion steering system are sourced from literature and integrated into a single subsystem-level model validated against experimental data obtained as part of a collaborative effort. The …

Online Resources For Late Additions To The Solar Nebula, Allen Parker

All Theses

The presence of an excess of short-lived radionuclides in the early protoplanetary disk has been inferred from studying how the distribution of the abundances, in materials like Ca-Al-rich inclusions, differ from the solar abundance distribution (SAD). The likely source of these radioactivites is a supernova that ejected material into the early solar system. This thesis will discuss the solar abundance distribution and how a supernova may have contributed a 'late addition' of material into the early solar system. In addition, we have constructed online resources for studying these topics. This thesis will outline the Solar Abundance Tool, which allows a …

Cosmological Constraints From The Sdss Luminous Red Galaxies, Max Tegmark, Daniel J. Eisenstein, Michael Strauss, David H. Weinberg, Michael R. Blanton, Joshua A. Frieman, Masataka Fukugita, James E. Gunn, Andrew J. S. Hamilton, Gillian R. Knapp, Robert C. Nichol, Jeremiah P. Ostriker, Nikhil Padmanabhan, Will J. Percival, David J. Schlegel, Donald P. Schneider, Roman Scoccimarro, Uroš Seljak, Hee-Jong Seo, Molly Swanson, Alexander S. Szalay, Michael S. Vogeley, Jaiyul Yoo, Idit Zehavi, Kevork Abazajian, Scott F. Anderson, James Annis, Neta A. Bahcall, Bruce Bassett, Andreas Berlind, John Brinkman, Tamás Budavari, Francisco Castander, Andrew Connolly, Istvan Csabai, Mamoru Doi, Douglas P. Finkbeiner, Bruce Gillespie, Karl Glazebrook, Gregory S. Hennessy, David W. Hogg, Željko Ivezić, Bhuvnesh Jain, David Johnston, Stephen Kent, Donald Q. Lamb, Brian C. Lee, Huan Lin, Jon Loveday, Robert H. Lupton, Jeffrey A. Munn, Kaike Pan, Changbom Park, John Peoples, Jeffrey R. Pier, Adrian Pope, Michael Richmond, Constance Rockosi, Ryan Scranton, Ravi K. Sheth, Albert Stebbins, Christopher Stoughton, István Szapudi, Douglas L. Tucker, Daniel E. Vanden Berk, Brian Yanny, Donald G. York

Articles

We measure the large-scale real-space power spectrum P(k) using luminous red galaxies (LRGs) in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and use this measurement to sharpen constraints on cosmological parameters from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP). We employ a matrix-based power spectrum estimation method using Pseudo-Karhunen-Lo`eve eigenmodes, producing uncorrelated minimum-variance measurements in 20 k-bands of both the clustering power and its anisotropy due to redshift-space distortions, with narrow and well-behaved window functions in the range 0.01 h/Mpc < k < 0.2 h/Mpc. Results from the LRG and main galaxy samples are consistent, with the former providing higher signal-to-noise. Our results are robust to omitting angular and radial density fluctuations and are consistent between different parts of the sky. They provide a striking confirmation of the predicted large-scale CDM power spectrum. Combining only SDSS LRG and WMAP data places robust constraints on many cosmological parameters that complement prior analyses of multiple data sets. The LRGs provide independent cross-checks on m and the baryon fraction in good agreement with WMAP. Within the context of flat CDM models, our LRG measurements complementWMAP by sharpening the constraints on the matter density, the neutrino density and the tensor amplitude by about a factor of two, giving m = 0.24±0.02 (1 ), Pmν < 0.9 eV (95%) and r < 0.3 (95%). Baryon oscillations are clearly detected and provide a robust measurement of the comoving distance to the median survey redshift z = 0.35 independent of curvature and dark energy properties. Within the CDM framework, our power spectrum measurement improves the evidence for spatial flatness, sharpening the curvature constraint tot = 1.05±0.05 from WMAP alone to tot = 1.003±0.010. Assuming tot = 1, the equation of state parameter is constrained to w = −0.94±0.09, indicating the potential for more ambitious future LRG measurements to provide precision tests of the nature of dark energy. All these constraints are essentially independent of scales k > 0.1h/Mpc and associated nonlinear complications, yet agree well with more aggressive published analyses where nonlinear modeling is crucial.

Monitor Newsletter December 11, 2006, Bowling Green State University

Monitor

Official Publication of Bowling Green State University for Faculty and Staff

The Bg News December 11, 2006, Bowling Green State University

BG News (Student Newspaper)

The BGSU campus student newspaper. December 11, 2006. Volume 97-Issue 74.

The Current Volume 17 : Issue 14, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Graphical Microcode Simulator With A Reconfigurable Datapath, Brian Vanburen

Theses

Microcode is a symbolic way to simplify control design that allows changing, testing and updating the control unit of processors. By changing the microcode, the same datapath can be used for an entirely different application, such as supporting a completely different instruction set. For these reasons, a majority of control units in modern day processors are microcoded. The object was to investigate and implement a graphical microcode simulator with a reconfigurable datapath and microcode format. By allowing a wide configuration of the datapath, many types of logical processors can be designed and simulated. The resulting implemented simulator is able to …

Realizing Privacy-Preserving Features In Hippocratic Databases, Yasin Laura-Silva, Walid G. Aref

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Murray Ledger And Times, December 11, 2006, Murray Ledger And Times

The Murray Ledger & Times

No abstract provided.

Toxicological Effects Of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds In Bluegill, Pamela Truman

All Theses

The water quality in the Reedy River basin has been shown to be impacted from the diverse and highly urbanized land uses within the watershed. The objective of this study was to examine the observed toxicological effects of EDCs that may be present in the Reedy River watershed by using a suite of biomarkers that were measured in indigenous fish to characterize the exposure and biological effects of these contaminants. Bluegill were analyzed for unnatural estrogenic effects such as: 1) Vitellogenin (VTG) 2) Activity of estrogenic compounds in bile extractions 3) UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) activity. This biomarker study provides a more …

The Impact Of A Ninth- And Tenth-Grade Academy Program On Student Attendance, Discipline, And Achievement, Sandra Wooten

All Dissertations

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of an Academy Program on freshman and sophomore attendance, suspensions out of school, PLAN and PSAT scores, and the number of students retained in ninth and tenth grades. With the Academy Program at Gaffney High School, the amount of time spent in mathematics and English language arts classes was doubled, staff development was provided, instructional methods were changed, data was analyzed to modify instruction, and successes were celebrated. School data from two years before and two years after implementation were examined to determine whether any significant differences existed. Results …

Perfluoroalkyl (Aryl) Sulfonimide Zwitterions, Hua Mei

All Dissertations

This research focuses on superacid perfluoroalkyl(aryl) sulfonimides and their derivatives as a source of stable zwitterionic salts. The strong resonance stabilization of sulfonimides imparts unexpected stability to the zwitterions.
Two types of zwitterions were investigated. The first are symmetrical diaryliodonium zwitterions (DZs) as potential photo acid generators (PAGs) for microlithography. Driven by the demand for smaller feature sizes in the microelectronics industry, microlithography using shorter wavelength light has evolved and new PAGs are of interest. New DZs are potentially useful because they have good thermal stability and may be structurally modified to alter their spectral absorption characteristics. As an extension …

The Eastern Echo, December 11, 2006, Eastern Michigan University

EMU Student Newspaper: The Normal News & The Eastern Echo

No abstract provided.

Board Of Directors Meeting Minutes (December 11, 2006), Dmacc

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

This file contains the minutes from the Des Moines Area Community College Board meeting held on December 11, 2006.

The Relationship Between Work Motivation And Leadership Practices Among Graduates Of A Master's Degree Program, Marjorie Dowd

All Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between work motivation and leadership practices among graduates of a master's degree program in education administration and supervision. The study was conducted in an effort to produce information relevant to the human resources practices of secondary school administrators and to identify potential professional development topics for school districts and college training programs. Data were collected through a quantitative research methodology. First, the study sought to determine each participant's work motivation as measured by the Work Motivation Inventory and differences among participant scores on that inventory. Secondly, the study sought to determine each participant's leadership practices …

Tribological Systems For The Evaluation Of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Sterilized Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene, John Desjardins

All Dissertations

Polymeric biomaterials are especially susceptible to changes in mechanical and surface material properties as a result of sterilization processes that involve heat, moisture and/or irradiation. This is problematic for polymeric materials used in total joint replacement bearings, as these constructs must retain their superior mechanical and tribological properties over their expected 10-20 years of implantation. A younger more active patient population has now exacerbated this longevity issue with service lifetimes of 20+ years now being expected. Supercritical phase carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) is an industrial solvent that has shown great promise as a sterilizing agent in the food industry. Recently, SC-CO2 …

Perceptions Of Service Failure, Service Recovery Strategies, And Behavioral Intentions Of Hotel Guests In Orlando, Florida, I-Hua Lin

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Numerous studies have shown a positive correlation between customer satisfactions and repurchase intention. However, service failure can put companies out of business if attention is not paid to this problem. This study explained the components of service recovery strategies used when service failure occurs in each situation in a hotel, and to link customer response to service recovery strategies to behavioral intention, as applied to the hotel industry in Orlando, Florida.

The purposes of this study were to investigate the explanatory relationships between hotel guests' sociodemographic characteristics and perceptions of (a) service failure; (b) service recovery strategies in each service …

Nonlinear Control Techniques For Robot Manipulators, Nitendra Nath

All Theses

This Masters thesis describes the design and implementation of control strategies for the following topics of research: i) Whole Arm Grasping Control for Redundant Robot Manipulators, ii) Neural Network Grasping Controller for Continuum Robots and, iii) Coordination Control for Haptic and Teleoperator Systems.

An approach to whole arm grasping of objects using redundant robot manipulators is presented. A kinematic control which facilitates the encoding of both the end-effector position, as well as body self-motion positioning information as a desired trajectory signal for the manipulator joints is developed.

An approach is presented to whole arm grasping control for continuum robots. The …

Practical Implementation And Performance Analysis On Security Of Sensor Networks, Nidhi Verma

Theses

A wireless sensor network (WSN) is a network made of thousands of sensing elements called as nodes with wireless capabilities. Their application is varied and diverse ranging from military to domestic and household. As the world of self-organizing sensor networks tip to the edge of maximum utilization, their wider deployment is adding pressure on the security front. Powerful laptops and workstations make it more challenging for small sensors. In addition, there are many security challenges in WSN, e.g- confidentiality, authentication, freshness, integrity etc. Contributions of this work are as follows: “Symmetric” security implementation: This thesis work designs a symmetric-key based …

Functional Association Between Three Archaeal Aminoacyl-Trna Synthetases, Mette Praetorius-Ibba, Corinne D. Hausmann, Molly Paras, Theresa E. Rogers, Michael Ibba

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) are responsible for attaching amino acids to their cognate tRNAs during protein synthesis. In eukaryotes aaRSs are commonly found in multi-enzyme complexes, although the role of these complexes is still not completely clear. Associations between aaRSs have also been reported in archaea, including a complex between prolyl-(ProRS) and leucyl-tRNA synthetases (LeuRS) in Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus that enhances tRNA^Pro aminoacylation. Yeast two-hybrid screens suggested that lysyl-tRNA synthetase (LysRS) also associates with LeuRS in M. thermautotrophicus. Co-purification experiments confirmed that LeuRS, LysRS, and ProRS associate in cell-free extracts. LeuRS bound LysRS and ProRS with a comparable K_{D …}

Deafdigest: Blue Edition, December 10, 2006, Barry Strassler

DeafDigest Blue 2006

No abstract provided.

On The Search For Transits Of The Planets Orbiting Gliese 876, Paul D. Shankland, Eugenio J. Rivera, Gregory Laughlin, D. L. Blank, A. Price, B. Gary, R. Bissinger, Frederick Ringwald, G. White, Gregory W. Henry, Padric Mcgee, Aaron S. Wolf, Brad Carter, S. Lee, James Biggs, Berto Monard, Michael C. B. Ashley

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

We report the results of a globally coordinated photometric campaign to search for transits by the P ~ 30 day and P ~ 60 day outer planets of the three-planet system orbiting the nearby M dwarf Gl 876. These two planets experience strong mutual perturbations, which necessitate the use of a dynamical (four-body) model to compute transit ephemerides for the system. Our photometric data have been collected from published archival sources, as well as from our photometric campaigns that were targeted to specific transit predictions. Our analysis indicates that transits by planet c (P ~ 30 days) do not currently …

Ua35/11 Arête December 2006, Honors College

Arête: Honors College at WKU Newsletter

No abstract provided.

The Acs Virgo Cluster Survey. Xiv. Analysis Of Color-Magnitude Relations In Globular Cluster Systems, Steffen Mieske, Andres Jordan, Patrick Cote

Articles

We examine the correlation between globular cluster (GC) color and magnitude using HST/ACS imaging for a sample of 79 early-type galaxies (−21.7 < MB < −15.2 mag) with accurate surfacebrightness fluctuation distances from the ACS Virgo Cluster Survey. Using the KMM mixture modeling algorithm, we find a highly significant correlation, z ≡ d(g−z) dz = −0.037 ± 0.004, between color and magnitude for the subpopulation of blue GCs in the co-added GC color-magnitude diagram of the three brightest Virgo cluster galaxies (M49, M87 and M60). The sense of the correlation is such that brighter GCs are redder than their fainter counterparts. For the single GC systems of M87 and M60, we find similar correlations; M49 does not appear to show a significant trend. There is no correlation between (g − z) and Mz for GCs belonging to the red subpopulation. The correlation g ≡ d(g−z) dg for the blue subpopulation is much weaker than z. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we attribute this finding to the fact that the blue subpopulation in Mg extends to higher luminosities than does the red subpopulation, which biases the KMM fit results. The highly significant correlation between color and Mz, however, is a real effect: this conclusion is supported by biweight fits to the same color distributions. We identify two environmental dependencies which influence the derived color-magnitude relation: (1) the slope of the color-magnitude relation decreases in significance with decreasing galaxy luminosity, although it remains detectable over the full luminosity range of our sample; and (2) the slope is stronger for GC populations located at smaller galactocentric distances. These characteristics suggest that the observed trend is, at least partially, shaped by external agents. We examine several physical mechanisms that might give rise to the observed color-magnitude relation including: (1) presence of contaminants like super-clusters, stripped galactic nuclei, or ultra-compact dwarfs; (2) accretion of GCs from low-mass galaxies; (3) stochastic effects; (4) the capture of field stars by individual GCs; and (5) GC self-enrichment. Although none of these scenarios offers a fully satisfactory explanation of the observations, we conclude that self-enrichment and field-star capture, or a combination of these processes, offer the most promising means of explaining our observations.

Fall Commencement Program, December 9, 2006, Coastal Carolina University

Commencement Programs

Program of Commencement Exercises at Coastal Carolina University.

Fall 2006 Commencement - The University Of Texas Of The Permian Basin, The University Of Texas Permian Basin

UTPB Commencement Programs

Fall 2006 Commencement - December 9, 2006