Digital Commons Network^™

Modeling And Analysis Of Grid-Connected Solar-Wind Hybrid Power System, Sultan Altamimi

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Renewable energies are considered to be a significant part of the energy mix to assist the existing electricity demand and the future of electrical generation. Electrical power simulation software is increasingly being used to answer and determine the source of potential problems in the actual power system. To have a better understanding of an electrical power system, it is essential to validate all the components through simulation within an environment that allows accurate modeling of all power system components. This research presents modeling and analysis of an actual grid-connected solar-wind hybrid system at University of Northern Iowa campus in Cedar …

Robotic Manufacturing Cell: An Analysis Of Variables Affecting Performance, Elvis Alicic

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Analyzing the performance of manufacturing cells is a well established concept. The justification for conducting thorough analyses of manufacturing cells comes from the known advantages it can provide, including performance improvement and production planning improvement, both current and future. This study focuses on assessing the variables affecting performance of a robotic manufacturing cell through the measure of throughput. Initially, simulation modeling is utilized to model an existing robotic cell and compare the output to actual production output from the same cell. Additionally, general regression modeling is employed to analyze the following variables and their effect on throughput: machine downtime, off-plan …

Analysis Of Covert Software Behavior, Zhen Huo

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

In general, users are isolated from the inner-workings of software. The behavior of software is analogous to a "black box," performing user-directed tasks in a predictable way. But this isolation of the inner-workings can foster both curiosity and suspicion of the goings-on "under the hood," especially when the software is closed-source, as is the case with a majority of commercial software. When talking about behaviors of software from the outside perspective of the end user, concerns are raised about issues including memory leaks, data integrity, confidential, etc. This paper discusses several techniques for scrutinizing and eliciting covert behavior of applications …

An Investigation Of Guiding Of Positrons Through Insulating Capillaries, Robert D. Dubois, K. Tökési

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Guiding of diffuse low-intensity positron and electron beams through macroscopic tapered insulating capillaries was investigated. Transmitted positrons and electrons were observed. However, further investigations are necessary to clarify whether the transmitted particles are a true indication of guiding or simply due to a range of diffuse angles of the incoming beams.

Reaction Dynamics In Double Ionization Of Helium By Electron Impact, Michael Schulz, M. F. Ciappina, T. Kirchner

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Multiple differential cross sections for double ionization of helium by electron impact were calculated within various models. using a Monte Carlo Event Generator technique, additional physics, not included in the primary calculations, are modeled and cross sections are convoluted with the experimental resolution.

Scattering Angle Dependence Of Double Differential Cross Sections For Dissociative Ionization Of H2 By Proton Impact, Michael Schulz, K. Egodapitiya, S. Sharma, A. C. Laforge

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We have measured double differential cross sections for dissociative ionization of H₂ by 75 keV proton impact for fixed energy losses as a function scattering angle. the data exhibit an oscillating pattern with a frequency about twice as large as found earlier for non-dissociative ionization. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.

Systematic Analysis Of Four-Particle Dalitz Plots For Double Ionization, Michael Schulz, D. Fischer, K. Schneider, R. Moshammer, J. Ullrich, M. F. Ciappina, T. Kirchner

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Four particle Dalitz plots for double ionization of helium by ion impact were analyzed.

Kinematically Complete Studies On Mutual Projectile And Target Ionization, X. Wang, D. Fischer, A. Kelkar, K. Schneider, Michael Schulz, B. Najjari, A. Voitkiv, M. Gudmundsson, M. Grieser, R. Moshammer, J. Ullrich

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Mutual projectile and target ionizations (MPTI) of 1MeV/amu N⁴⁺ and N⁵⁺ +He collisions have been studied in kinematically complete experiments; the data is presented in four-particle (4-D) Dalitz plots. comparison to eikonal approximation (EA) calculation results shows qualitatively good agreement.

Visualizing And Modeling Interior Spaces Of Dangerous Structures Using Lidar, Norbert H. Maerz, T. K. Assebaum, Dustin J. Williams, K. Shea, Yongjian Xi, Xiaoling Li, Ye Duan

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

LIght Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) scanning can be used to safely and remotely provide intelligence on the interior of dangerous structures for use by first responders that need to enter these structures. By scanning into structures through windows and other openings or moving the LIDAR scanning into the structure, in both cases carried by a remote controlled robotic crawler, the presence of dangerous items or personnel can be confi rmed or denied. Entry and egress pathways can be determined in advance, and potential hiding/ambush locations identifi ed. This paper describes an integrated system of a robotic crawler and LIDAR scanner. …

Structural Analysis In Multi-Relational Social Networks, Bingtian Dai, Freddy Chua, Ee Peng Lim

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Modern social networks often consist of multiple relations among individuals. Understanding the structure of such multi-relational network is essential. In sociology, one way of structural analysis is to identify different positions and roles using blockmodels. In this paper, we generalize stochastic blockmodels to Generalized Stochastic Blockmodels (GSBM) for performing positional and role analysis on multi-relational networks. Our GSBM generalizes many different kinds of Multivariate Probability Distribution Function (MVPDF) to model different kinds of multirelational networks. In particular, we propose to use multivariate Poisson distribution for multi-relational social networks.

Characterization And Electrochromic Properties Of Poly(2,3,5,6-Tetrafluoroaniline): Progress Towards A Transparent Conducting Polymer, Lavinia Astratine, Edmond Magner, John Cassidy, Tony Betts

Articles

Electrochromic films of poly(2,3,5,6-tetrafluoroaniline) (PTFA) were formed on ITO substrates from aqueous solutions utilising perchloric acid (HClO₄) as dopant. Electrochemical and spectroscopic characterization of PTFA films was performed in background electrolyte and in solutions with the addition of tetrahydrofuran. When the PTFA film was removed from its growth medium, a significant decrease in the faradaic current was observed. The faradaic response increased on addition of tetrahydrofuran which facilitates ion movement through the polymer matrix. PTFA films deposited on ITO substrate were orange and light orange in the oxidized and reduced forms, respectively. The films were ca. 25 nm …

Would Predatory Drillhole Frequency On Chione Spp. Increase Under The Suggested Climate Change Scenario? Comparing Pleistocene And Modern Rhodolith Beds, Carlos E. Cintra-Buenrostro

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The analysis of predatory drillholes allow paleontologists to reconstruct trophic relationships of ancient systems. To evaluate the potential effects of climate and sea level change on predation frequency by gastropods on bivalves, species of the genus Chione from the Gulf of California were selected because they are a commercially exploited resource - at least locally - and abundant in both modern and Pleistocene (sea level high stand of oxygen substage 5e) samples from rhodolith beds. The present study focused to answer a practical question: would predation on Chione spp. increase under the suggested climate - warming - change scenario? A …

Selective Capture Of Transcribed Sequences: A Promising Approach For Investigating Bacterium-Insect Interactions, Ruisheng An, Parwinder Grewal

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Bacterial interactions with eukaryotic hosts are complex processes which vary from pathogenic to mutualistic. Identification of bacterial genes differentially expressed in the host, promises to unravel molecular mechanisms driving and maintaining such interactions. Several techniques have been developed in the past 20 years to investigate bacterial gene expression within their hosts. The most commonly used techniques include in-vivo expression technology, signature-tagged mutagenesis, differential fluorescence induction, and cDNA microarrays. However, the limitations of these techniques in analyzing bacterial in-vivo gene expression indicate the need to develop alternative tools. With many advantages over the other methods for analyzing bacterial in-vivo gene expression, …

Extensive Reproductive Disruption, Ovarian Masculinization And Aromatase Suppression In Atlantic Croaker In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico Hypoxic Zone, Peter Thomas, Md. Saydur Rahman

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The long-term impacts on marine ecosystems of the recent dramatic worldwide increase in the incidence of coastal hypoxia are unknown. Here, we show widespread reproductive disruption in Atlantic croakers collected from hypoxic sites approximately 120 km apart in the extensive northern Gulf of Mexico continental shelf hypoxic zone. Gonadal growth and gamete production were impaired in croakers from hypoxic sites compared with fish from reference normoxic sites east of the Mississippi River Delta. Male germ cells were detected in approximately 19 per cent of croaker ovaries collected in the hypoxic region, but were absent in ovaries from normoxic sites. In …

Meaning And The Guiding Of Human Authenticity, Andrew Dwight

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

Our basic response as humans to a world we did not create is not a matter of “thought” but rather “intentionality” oriented by affectivity. Our understanding of the nature of this intentionality has profound implications for our educational design and practice, from the level of curriculum development through to individual teaching moments. The work of Bernard Lonergan seeks to understand the constituent elements of the primordial drive that leads to our sense of understanding, understanding that for Lonergan necessarily involves human agency. This paper, in two parts, considers Lonergan’s articulation of the operations of intentionality as we engage our world …

Men In Black, Martin Munoz

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

At almost every Catholic university you will undoubtedly find old photographs of a sepia colored world, grainy artifacts steeped in tradition with narratives all but forgotten, like clouds passing in a blue sky. These photographs are but a moment in time, only the instruments that captured these moments may exist, a reminder of how science has permanence in a world ruled by the machine while stories pass on like ghostly figures in an indifferent province. The stories within these photos that once were filled with hope, promise and faith are now silent; only the reverberations of their memory remain.

Gender And The Crisis In Legal Education: Remaking The Academy In Our Image, Paula A. Monopoli

Faculty Scholarship

American legal education is in the grip of what some have called an “existential crisis.” The New York Times proclaims the death of the current system of legal education. This is attributed, in part, to the incentivizing of faculty to produce increasingly abstract scholarship and the costs this imposes on pedagogy and the mentoring of students. At the same time, despite women graduating from law schools in significant numbers since the 1980s, they continue to lag behind in the most prestigious positions in academia—tenured, full professorships: From academic year 1998-99 to academic year 2007-08, the percentage of women full professors …

Would Predatory Drillhole Frequency On Chione Spp. Increase Under The Suggested Climate Change Scenario? Comparing Pleistocene And Modern Rhodolith Beds, Carlos E. Cintra-Buenrostro

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The analysis of predatory drillholes allow paleontologists to reconstruct trophic relationships of ancient systems. To evaluate the potential effects of climate and sea level change on predation frequency by gastropods on bivalves, species of the genus Chione from the Gulf of California were selected because they are a commercially exploited resource - at least locally - and abundant in both modern and Pleistocene (sea level high stand of oxygen substage 5e) samples from rhodolith beds. The present study focused to answer a practical question: would predation on Chione spp. increase under the suggested climate - warming - change scenario? A …

Analysis Of Human Skin Tissue By Raman Microspectroscopy: Dealing With The Background, Franck Bonnier, Syed Mehmood Ali, Peter Knief, Helen Lambkin, Kathleen Flynn, Vincent Mcdonagh, Claragh Healy, Thomas Lee, Fiona Lyng, Hugh Byrne

Articles

Raman microspectroscopy is widely used for molecular characterisation of tissue samples. Nevertheless, when working in vitro on tissue sections, the presence of a broad background to the spectra remains problematic and its removal requires advanced methods for pre-processing of the data. To date, research efforts have been primarily devoted to development of techniques of statistical analysis to extract the relevant information contained in the spectra. However, few attempts have been made to understand the origin of the background and to improve the protocols used for the collection of Raman spectra that could lead to the reduction or elimination of the …

User Assisted Separation Using Tensor Factorisations, Derry Fitzgerald

Conference papers

Recent research has demonstrated that user assisted techniques, where the user provides a ”guide” version of the source to be separated, are capable of giving good sound source separation. Here the user sings or plays along with the target source, and the user input is used to guide the separation towards the source of interest. This is typically done in a factorisation framework, such as non-negative matrix factorisation. Here we extend such approaches to a tensor factorisation framework to deal with multichannel signals. Further, we demonstrate how this framework can be used to improve the output from other user assisted …

Industrial And Agricultural Applications Of Solar Heat, Brian Norton

Books/Book chapters

Mankind’s earliest use of solar energy was probably the drying of food crops to aid their preservation. Open sun drying of fruit, vegetables, fish and meats often improved or enhanced particular flavors and textures such that solely because of those attributes many dried products remain in culinary use today, as examples, dried seaweed, sun-dried tomatoes, raisins and dried pistachio nuts. Open sun drying is displaced increasingly by glazed solar dryers that (i) enable equilibrium moisture content to be reached sooner and (ii) avoid losses of the crop to insects and rodents.

A further agricultural application, the greenhouse extended the use …

The Feasibility Of Growing Switchgrass In China For Lignocellulosic Ethanol Production, Ronne Allen Adkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a perennial plant species native to the United States that is capable of adapting to a wide variety of geographic and climate conditions. There are two ecotypes of switchgrass: lowland varieties which favor areas with higher rainfall and longer growing seasons and upland varieties which favor areas with cooler and drier climate conditions with shorter growing seasons. Switchgrass has the capacity to become a significant bioenergy feedstock for lignocellulosic ethanol conversion. The purpose of this dissertation is to determine which regions in China are suitable for switchgrass production, estimate potential biomass yield, and examine the …

The Roddey Mcmillan Record - January 2012, Winthrop University

The RMR 2010-2019

The Roddey McMillan Record (RMR) is Winthrop’s monthly multicultural student publication. The RMR has been a significant voice of the minority population of the Winthrop community since its creation by Gail Harris in April 1986. It promotes awareness and understanding of issues concerning minorities for the prosperity of the entire Winthrop community. The purpose of the RMR is to shine light on the many diverse cultures at Winthrop, focusing on issues, concerns and happenings of those who represent the multicultural community on campus. The Roddey McMillan Record is named after Dr. Cynthia Roddey and Atty, Sheila McMillan. Cynthia Roddey was …

Stability Of Rock Slopes Along Raidah Escarpment Road, Asir Area, Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, Ahmed M. Youssef, Norbert H. Maerz, Abdulla A. Al-Otaibi

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Raidah Escarpment road is located north west of Abha city, Asir region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This escarpment road represents an important corridor in the area which connects different villages and tourist resorts with each other. The total length of this road section is about 9 km which passes through a highly mountainous area. The road also passes through areas of different geological hazards (rock, debris flow, soil, and weathered zones). The different environmental factors (e.g. intensive rainy summer), variable geological and structural elements (weak rocks, slide debris weak soils, shear zones, and faults) difficult road characteristics (narrow roads …

Modified Cellular Simultaneous Recurrent Networks With Cellular Particle Swarm Optimization, Tae-Hyung Kim, Donald C. Wunsch

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A cellular simultaneous recurrent network (CSRN) [1-11] is a neural network architecture that uses conventional simultaneous recurrent networks (SRNs), or cells in a cellular structure. The cellular structure adds complexity, so the training of CSRNs is far more challenging than that of conventional SRNs. Computer Go serves as an excellent test bed for CSRNs because of its clear-cut objective. For the training data, we developed an accurate theoretical foundation and game tree for the 2x2 game board. The conventional CSRN architecture suffers from the multi-valued function problem; our modified CSRN architecture overcomes the problem by employing ternary coding of the …

Ensuring Distributed Accountability For Data Sharing In The Cloud, Smitha Sundareswaran, Anna Squicciarini, Dan Lin

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Cloud computing enables highly scalable services to be easily consumed over the Internet on an as-needed basis. a major feature of the cloud services is that users' data are usually processed remotely in unknown machines that users do not own or operate. While enjoying the convenience brought by this new emerging technology, users' fears of losing control of their own data (particularly, financial and health data) can become a significant barrier to the wide adoption of cloud services. to address this problem, in this paper, we propose a novel highly decentralized information accountability framework to keep track of the actual …

Histological Evaluation Of The Biocompatibility Of Polyurea Crosslinked Silica Aerogel Implants In A Rat Model: A Pilot Study, Firouzeh Sabri, J. D. Boughter Jr., D. Gerth, O. Skalli, T. C. N. Phung, G. R. M. Tamula, Nicholas Leventis

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Background: Aerogels are a versatile group of nanostructured/nanoporous materials with physical and chemical properties that can be adjusted to suit the application of interest. In terms of biomedical applications, aerogels are particularly suitable for implants such as membranes, tissue growth scaffolds, and nerve regeneration and guidance inserts. The mesoporous nature of aerogels can also be used for diffusion based release of drugs that are loaded during the drying stage of the material. From the variety of aerogels polyurea crosslinked silica aerogels have the most potential for future biomedical applications and are explored here. Methodology: This study assessed the short and …

N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine Amide Protects Retinal Pigment Epithelium Against Methamphetamine-Induced Oxidative Stress, Nuran Ercal, Joshua W. Carey, Shakila Tobwala, Xinsheng Zhang, Atrayee Banerjee, Eylem Y. Pinarci, Humeyra Karacal

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Methamphetamine (METH), a highly addictive drug used worldwide, induces oxidative stress in various animal organs. Recent animal studies indicate that methamphetamine also induces oxidative stress in the retina, which is an em- bryonic extension of the forebrain. The aim of this study, therefore, was to evaluate the pro- tecttive effects of N-acetylcysteine amide (NACA) against oxidative stress induced by METH in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells. Our stud- ies showed that NACA protected against METH- induced oxidative stress in retinal pigment epithelial cells. Although METH significantly de- creased glutathione (GSH) levels and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondial- dehyde …

Investigation Of Polyurea-Crosslinked Silica Aerogels As A Neuronal Scaffold: A Pilot Study, Firouzeh Sabri, Judith A. Cole, M. Cody Scarbrough, Nicholas Leventis

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Background: Polymer crosslinked aerogels are an attractive class of materials for future implant applications particularly as a biomaterial for the support of nerve growth. The low density and nano-porous structure of this material combined with large surface area, high mechanical strength, and tunable surface properties, make aerogels materials with a high potential in aiding repair of injuries of the peripheral nervous system. However, the interaction of neurons with aerogels remains to be investigated. Methodology: In this work the attachment and growth of neurons on clear polyurea crosslinked silica aerogels (PCSA) coated with: poly-L-lysine, basement membrane extract (BME), and laminin1 was …

Airlift Column Photobioreactors For Porphyridium Sp. Culturing: Part Ii. Verification Of Dynamic Growth Rate Model For Reactor Performance Evaluation, Hu Ping Luo, Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Dynamic Growth Rate Model Has Been Developed to Quantify the Impact of Hydrodynamics on the Growth of Photosynthetic Microorganisms and to Predict the Photobioreactor Performance. Rigorous Verification of Such Reactor Models, However, is Rare in the Literature. in This Part of Work, Verification of a Dynamic Growth Rate Model Developed in Luo and Al-Dahhan (2004) [Biotech Bioeng 85(4): 382-393.] Was Attempted using the Experimental Results Reported in Part I of This Work and Results from Literature. the Irradiance Distribution Inside the Studied Reactor Was Also Measured at Different Optical Densities and Successfully Correlated by the Lambert-Beer Law. When Reliable Hydrodynamic …