Digital Commons Network^™

Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy In The Undergraduate Curriculum, Adam R. Urbach

Chemistry Faculty Research

Circular dichroism spectropolarimetry (CD) is a method of optical spectroscopy that seems in most practical ways like UV−visible spectroscopy. The main difference between the two methods is that CD, instead of measuring the absorbance of light as a function of wavelength, measures the difference in absorbance of left versus right circularly polarized light as a function of wavelength. A CD spectrum is an observation of the structure of a chiral compound; it often serves as a “fingerprint” of the structure of biological molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. For this reason, CD has been broadly applied in biochemistry and …

On The Philosophy, History And Management Of Quality In Education (Continued From Volume 13, Number 1, 2010 And Volume 13, Number 2, 2010), Hamlet İsaxanlı

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

F.Scott Fitzgerald`S "Six Of One - An All American Story From Switzerland", Satyam S. Moorty

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

A Risk Assessment Based Model For Assessing The Environmental Sustainability Of Tourism And Recreation Areas, Peter Roe

Doctoral

Assessing the environmental quality of tourism and recreation areas is considered fundamental to the sustainable management of these resources. However, existing methodologies for such assessments rely on sets of environmental data that are often poorly linked and difficult to interpret and integrate in a holistic manner. Risk assessment is a concept that has developed to the point where it has the potential to address current limitations in environmental assessment methodologies. This thesis presents a new model for the application of risk assessment to the management and assessment of environmental sustainability in the tourism and recreation sector. This model was applied …

Laboratory Earth: A Model Of Online K-12 Teacher Coursework, David C. Gosselin, Julie Thomas, Adrienne Redmond, Cindy Larson-Miller, Sara Yendra, Ronald J. Bonnstetter, Timothy F. Slater

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Laboratory Earth, a series of three NASA-sponsored, online graduate courses for K–8 teachers, was designed to meet a variety of learning styles and appeal to teachers “motivation to learn the content and improve their teaching.” This is especially important to teachers as they seek to demonstrate “highly qualified” status to meet No Child Left Behind standards. These graduate-level courses consist of four modules of two to four lessons each. Pre- and post-course surveys indicated significant increases in teachers “(n = 51) content knowledge, science teaching efficacy beliefs (STEBI-A), sense of community within the course (LEO), and science teaching …

Syncing Up Cyberspace, Amy Oprean

New Science

When Monica Brockmeyer received a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation in 2004, her goal was to make the Internet – a vast network of servers and other computers communicating with one another – more timely and predictable. Five years and countless algorithms later, she has reached her goal with the Predictable Services Overlay Network, or PSON, an overlay system which integrates communication timeliness and predictability into the Internet.

Jumpstarting Careers In Detroit, Amy Oprean

New Science

In recent years, a growing number of entrepreneurial thinkers from different sectors of Detroit have united for the purpose of lifting the city out of its economic despair and into a new, more prosperous era. Just as the leaders and risk-takers behind these ventures are using bold, new approaches, Wayne State is empowering its students with fresh and creative outlets to advance themselves and the city where they live. From prepping medical school hopefuls with research experience to providing intensive business training to promising student entrepreneurs, Wayne State is helping some of its most promising students excel toward their goals …

New Science Volume 18, Division Of Research

New Science

Full issue to Volume 18 of New Science

Sql Querie Recommendations: A Query Fragment-Based Approach, Jayad Akbarnejad, Magdalini Eirinaki, Suju Koshy, Duc On, Neoklis Polyzotis

Faculty Publications

Relational database systems are becoming increasingly popular in the scientific community to support the interactive exploration of large volumes of data. In this scenario, users employ a query interface (typically, a web-based client) to issue a series of SQL queries that aim to analyze the data and mine it for interesting information. First-time users, however, may not have the necessary knowledge to know where to start their exploration. Other times, users may simply overlook queries that retrieve important information. In this work we describe a framework to assist non-expert users by providing personalized query recommendations. The querying behavior of the …

Personal Vs. Social, Magdalini Eirinaki

Faculty Publications

The last few years we witnessed an impressive growth in social networks and in applications that add value to their amassed information. At the same time, the continuing expansion of mobile platforms and applications (e.g. iPhone), combined with the overwhelming supply of information and services, makes effective personalization and context-awareness much required features. One may consider "personal" and "social" data management as comprising two distinct directions with conflicting characteristics. However, it can be argued that they complement each other and that in future applications they will ultimately converge. This "personal vs. social" predicament presents a number of interesting topics that …

Standardised Library Instruction Assessment: An Institution-Specific Approach, Shannon M. Staley, Nicole A. Branch, Tom L. Hewitt

Faculty and Staff Publications

Introduction
We explore the use of a psychometric model for locally-relevant, information literacy assessment, using an online tool for standardised assessment of student learning during discipline-based library instruction sessions.

Method
A quantitative approach to data collection and analysis was used, employing standardised multiple-choice survey questions followed by individual, cognitive interviews with undergraduate students. The assessment tool was administered to five general education psychology classes during library instruction sessions.

Analysis
Descriptive statistics were generated by the assessment tool. Results. The assessment tool proved a feasible means of measuring student learning. While student scores improved on every survey question, there was uneven …

High Resolution Calibration Of A Multibeam Echo Sounder, Carlo Lanzoni, Thomas C. Weber

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

Calibration can greatly increase the utility of collecting seafloor backscattering strength with multibeam echo sounders (MBES). A calibration procedure to determine high resolution, three dimensional transmit and receive beam patterns of a Reson SeaBat 7125 MBES was performed using the fresh water calibration tank at the University of New Hampshire. The measurements employed an omni-directional Reson TC4034 projector/hydrophone as a reference transducer at an acoustic distance of 13 m. The multibeam sonar system was configured for 256 beams equi-angle mode and operating frequency of 396 kHz. The transmit beam pattern was computed for across-track angular range between +/–90o in 0.1o …

The Utility Of Nanocomposites In Fire Retardancy, Linjiang Wang, Xuejun He, Charles A. Wilkie

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

Nanocomposites have been shown to significantly reduce the peak heat release rate, as measured by cone calorimetry, for many polymers but they typically have no effect on the oxygen index or the UL-94 classification. In this review, we will cover what is known about the processes by which nanocomposite formation may bring this about. Montmorillonite will be the focus in this paper but attention will also be devoted to other materials, including carbon nanotubes and layered double hydroxides. A second section will be devoted to combinations of nanocomposite formation with conventional (and unconventional) fire retardants. The paper will conclude with …

The Effect Of Boron-Containing Layered Hydroxy Salt (Lhs) On The Thermal Stability And Degradation Kinetics Of Poly (Methyl Methacrylate), Stephen Majoni, Shengpei Su, Jeanne Hossenlopp

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

A boron-containing layered hydroxy salt (LHS), ZHTMDBB, was prepared and compounded with a highly flammable synthetic polymer, poly (methyl methacrylate) {PMMA}, via melt blending: the composite structure was intercalated with poor dispersion. The effect of this LHS on the flammability, thermal stability and degradation kinetics of PMMA was investigated via cone calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. The addition of 3-10% by mass of ZHTMDBB to PMMA resulted in significant reduction of peak heat release rate (22-48%) of the polymer and improvements in thermal stability were observed in both air and nitrogen. Effective activation energies for the degradation process were evaluated using …

Converting Glx2-1 Into An Active Glyoxalase Ii, Pattraranee Limphong, Nicole E. Adams, Matthew F. Rouhier, Ross M. Mckinney, Melissa Naylor, Brian Bennett, Christopher A. Makaroff, Michael W. Crowder

Physics Faculty Research and Publications

Arabidopsis thaliana glyoxalase 2-1 (GLX2-1) exhibits extensive sequence similarity with GLX2 enzymes but is catalytically inactive with SLG, the GLX2 substrate. In an effort to identify residues essential for GLX2 activity, amino acid residues were altered at positions 219, 246, 248, 325, and 328 in GLX2-1 to be the same as those in catalytically active human GLX2. The resulting enzymes were overexpressed, purified, and characterized using metal analyses, fluorescence spectroscopy, and steady-state kinetics to evaluate how these residues affect metal binding, structure, and catalysis. The R246H/N248Y double mutant exhibited low level S-lactoylglutathione hydrolase activity, while the R246H/N248Y/Q325R/R328K mutant exhibited …

Out Of The Depths: Image Statistics Of Space, Water, And The Minuscule World, Nimit S. Dhulekar

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

In images of natural scenes, a consistent relationship exists between spectral power and spatial frequency. The power spectrum falls off with a form 1/f^p as spatial frequency f increases, with values of p approximately equal to 2. To quantify the extent to which this statistical characteristic is exhibited by other classes of images, we examined astronomical, underwater, and microscale images. It was found that this property holds for all three categories of images, although the value of p varies in the range 1.76 to 2.37. The second statistical characteristic computed was the angular spread of the power spectrum. This metric …

The Ireland Of James Anthony Froude: A Nineteenth Century Drama, Janet Murphy

Theses

Using primary material in a manner unprecedented at the time, James Anthony Froude was an English historian of the Victorian era whose histories encompassed Ireland. Among his works relating to Ireland was a ten-book study of the eighteenth century that extended from the penal era to the Union of 1800. While such scholars as W. E. H. Lecky objectified their histories by accumulating data, Froude supplemented his with anecdote, maintaining that the perfect history was told in the words and deeds of those who acted it out.

His methodology was not determinately structured: he laboured with vast quantities of primary …

A Detailed Model Atmosphere Analysis Of Cool White Dwarfs In The Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Mukremin Kilic, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al.

Publications

We present optical spectroscopy and near-infrared photometry of 126 cool white dwarfs (WDs) in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Our sample includes high proper motion targets selected using the SDSS and USNO-B astrometry and a dozen previously known ultracool WD candidates. Our optical spectroscopic observations demonstrate that a clean selection of large samples of cool WDs in the SDSS (and the SkyMapper, Pan-STARRS, and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope data sets) is possible using a reduced proper motion diagram and a tangential velocity cut-off (depending on the proper motion accuracy) of 30 km s–1. Our near-infrared observations reveal eight …

All Solid-State Mid-Ir Laser Development, Nonlinear Absorption Investigation And Laser-Induced Damage Study, Torrey J. Wagner

Theses and Dissertations

In this research, nonlinear optical absorption coefficients and laser-induced damage thresholds are measured in Ge and GaSb, which are materials that are used in IR detectors. Using a simultaneous fitting technique to extract nonlinear absorption coefficients from data at two pulse widths, two-photon and free-carrier absorption coefficients are measured in Ge and GaSb at 2.05 and 2.5 μm for the first time. At these wavelengths, nonlinear absorption is the primary damage mechanism, and damage thresholds at picosecond and nanosecond pulse widths were measured and agreed well with modeled thresholds using experimentally measured parameters. The damage threshold for a single-layer Al …

Creative Exercises In General Chemistry: A Student-Centered Assessment, Scott E. Lewis, Janet L. Shaw, Kathryn A. Freeman

Faculty Articles

Creative exercises (CEs) are a form of assessment in which students are given a prompt and asked to write down as many distinct, correct, and relevant facts about the prompt as they can. Students receive credit for each fact that they include that is related to the prompt and distinct from the other facts they list. With CEs, students have an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and the opportunity to select the information that they believe is related to the prompt. In addition, CEs encourage students to connect concepts because any relevant information presented can assist them in completing the …

Empirical Observation Of The Impact Of Traffic Oscillations On Freeway Safety, Christopher M. Monsere, Soyoung Ahn

TREC Final Reports

Traffic oscillations are typical features of congested traffic flow that are characterized by recurring decelerations followed by accelerations (stop-and-go driving). The negative environmental impacts of these oscillations are widely accepted, but their impact on traffic safety has been debated. This report describes the impact of freeway traffic oscillations on traffic safety. This study employs a matched case-control design using high resolution traffic and crash data from a freeway segment. Traffic conditions prior to each crash were taken as cases, while traffic conditions during the same periods on days without crashes were taken as controls. These were also matched by presence …

Using Simulation To Estimate Parameters And Reliability Function For Extreme Value Distribution, Makki Akram

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

This study includes Estimating scale parameter, location parameter and reliability function for Extreme Value (EXV) distribution by two methods, namely: - - Maximum Likelihood Method (MLE). Probability Weighted Moments Method (PWM). Used simulations to generate the required samples to estimate the parameters and reliability function of different sizes(n=10,25,50,100) , and give real values for the parameters areand , replicate the simulation experiments (RP=1000), and estimated the function reliability at two times (T=2,5), adopted mean square error for comparison between the results of estimators , and summarized all the results in tables especially prepared for this purpose, An analysis of the …

Technology Enhancement In Hotel Guestroom, Chee Wah Peter Too

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This is an exploratory research paper looking on various types of technology, facilities enhancement and devices adopted by hoteliers for their guestrooms to meet the ever increasing demand and expectations from their guests. This paper also explores the technologies and devices that owners use to leverage on business sustainability for their operations. As part of the corporate social responsibility, hotel owners are exploring the opportunities to increase these activities through the use of modern technology and devices to reduce damage to the environment such as using energy saving devices in their properties. Business and leisure travelers who are environmentally conscious …

2010 September, Office Of Communications & Marketing, Morehead State University.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for September of 2010.

Inherent Poetry Of Meaning, Matt Gerrelts

Pro Rege

No abstract provided.

Sol-Gel Synthesis And Characterisation Of Novel Metal Oxide Nanomaterials For Photocatalytic Applications, Nicholas T. Nolan

Doctoral

This thesis presents a study of the effect of chemical modifiers and dopants on both the anatase to rutile transformation and also the photocatalytic efficiency of semiconductor nanomaterials. The main focus of the work is based on the crystallisation and phase transformation of the widely investigated semiconductor metal oxide, titanium dioxide (TiO2) Of the three polymorphs associated with titanium dioxide, anatase is widely regarded as the most effective photocatalyst. Typically anatase will transform to rutile in the temperature range 600 – 700 °C however, modification of a titanium precursor with a chelating agent can result in extended transformation temperature. The …

A Case Study In The Application Of An Agent-Based Approach In The Formulation Of Policies For Uk Transport Emission Reduction, Araz Taeihagh, René Bañares-Alcántara

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The increased complexity in our socio-economical systems requires the development of new tools to support a better understanding of the intricacies involved in addressing problems associated with such systems. We believe that by introducing a systematic approach for exploring alternative policies we can improve the decomposition of these problems, decrease the required time for analysis and formulate more effective polices. A case in policy formulation and analysis in the transport sector for achieving CO2 emission targets in the UK is presented; this solution is based on a previously proposed framework (Taeihagh et al., 2009a). The results obtained from the analysis …

Engaging Students In Information Storage Management Courses, Vladan Jovanovic, Timur Mirzoev, Lee Toderick, Rick Homkes, Mark Stockman

Computing: Faculty Publications

This panel will elaborate on faculty experiences with specific ways used to engage students in the Information Storage and Management, formerly Storage Technology, and the Virtualization coursework. The emphasize of the discussion will be on the mechanisms used in engaging students in learning and on experiences with various activities helpful for varying learning preferences/modes. All invited panelists are experienced faculty involved with subject matter courses via EMC’s Academic Alliance program. The resources made available via this alliance and through exchange among the faculty involved in teaching related subjects in IT and CS programs will be discussed and evaluated. The impact …

New Biologically Active Compounds From Kenyan Propolis, Assya Petrova, Milena Popova, Christina Kuzmanova, Iva Tsvetkova, Hristo Naydenski, Eliud Muli, Vassya Bankova

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

From propolis samples from Kenya, two new arylnaphtalene lignans were isolated, tetrahydrojusticidin B 1 and 6-methoxydiphyllin 2, along with four known phenolic compounds 5-8, found for the first time in propolis. The structures of the compounds were elucidated based on their spectral properties. The geranylstilbenes 7 and 8 demonstrated antibacterial activity against S. aureus, and the geranylflavon macarangin 6 possessed antiradical activity against DPPH radicals. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Concurrent Sexual Partnerships Do Not Explain The Hiv Epidemics In Africa: A Systematic Review Of The Evidence, Larry Sawers, Eileen Stillwaggon

Economics Faculty Publications

The notion that concurrent sexual partnerships are especially common in sub-Saharan Africa and explain the region’s high HIV prevalence is accepted by many as conventional wisdom. In this paper, we evaluate the quantitative and qualitative evidence offered by the principal proponents of the concurrency hypothesis and analyze the mathematical model they use to establish the plausibility of the hypothesis.

We find that research seeking to establish a statistical correlation between concurrency and HIV prevalence either finds no correlation or has important limitations. Furthermore, in order to simulate rapid spread of HIV, mathematical models require unrealistic assumptions about frequency of sexual …