Digital Commons Network^™

Graphite Aerogels And The Formation Mechanism Of Unusual Micron-Sized Rod And Helical Structures, Clarissa Ann Wisner

Doctoral Dissertations

"Pyrolysis at 800 ºC under argon has shown that polyimide (PI), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polydicyclopentadiene (DCPD) and polybenzoxazine (PBO) aerogels are all viable alternatives to traditional resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) aerogels as precursors to amorphous carbon aerogels. Subsequent high temperature pyrolysis at 2300 ºC of such carbon aerogels under helium has shown that amorphous carbon from PI and PBO yields the highest degree of graphitization, whereas from RF aerogels yields the lowest.

Those two types of graphite aerogels include also a high concentration of micron-size columnar and helical (screw-like) structures, whose formation is favored by macroporosity and high nitrogen retention in the 800 …

Seismic Anisotropy And Mantle Flow Beneath Africa And Arabia, Ahmed Abdalla Elsheikh

Doctoral Dissertations

"In spite of numerous studies, the mechanisms for the rifting, uplifting, and volcanism on the African plate remain enigmatic. The most popular hypotheses proposed for explaining these tectonic phenomena involve edge-driven small-scale mantle convection and the thermal or dynamic effects of one or more mantle plumes. In this study we use continental scale shear-wave splitting (SWS) measurements to provide additional constraints on the various models of rifting, uplifting, and volcanism of the Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL) and the Arabian plate. The splitting of P-to-S converted phases at the core-mantle boundary on the receiver side (XKS including PKS, SKKS, and SKS) …

Synthesis Of Radioactive And Nonradioactive Nanostructures Through Radiolytic And Wet Chemistry, Jessika Viviana Rojas Marin

Doctoral Dissertations

"In this work the synthesis of non radioactive and radioactive nanoparticles (NPs) through radiolytic and wet chemistry was studied. Non radioactive NPs of rhenium, iridium, and rhodium were synthesized from aqueous solutions containing the metal salt precursors by gamma irradiation. The solutions were irradiated to generate reducing species that led to the nucleation and growth of the nanoparticles. Amorphous rhenium oxide nanoparticles with average sizes ranging from 10 nm to 55 nm were obtained. Metallic iridium and rhodium nanoparticles were produced in polyvinyl-pyrrolidone (PVP) having narrow particle size distributions and average particle sizes from 2 nm to 6 nm. The …

Turbo Equalization For Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (Mimo) Wireless Communication Systems, Longbao Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

"This dissertation investigates both of the frequency domain and time domain turbo equalization with multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) fading channels for radio frequency and underwater acoustic communications. First, a low complexity frequency domain turbo equalization (FDTE) is proposed for the MIMO systems with zero padding (ZP) or cyclic prefix (CP) inserted between the transmitted data blocks and its performance is tested on the real-world UWA communications experiments.

Second, as high speed communication system requires efficient bandwidth usage and power consumption, CP or ZP is not transmitted as auxiliary information. An inter-block interference cancelation and CP reconstruction algorithm is developed to re-arrange …

Maximum Crosstalk Estimation And Modeling Of Electromagnetic Radiation From Pcb/High-Density Connector Interfaces, Matthew Scott Halligan

Doctoral Dissertations

"This dissertation explores two topics pertinent to electromagnetic compatibility research: maximum crosstalk estimation in weakly coupled transmission lines and modeling of electromagnetic radiation resulting from printed circuit board/high-density connector interfaces. Despite an ample supply of literature devoted to the study of crosstalk, little research has been performed to formulate maximum crosstalk estimates when signal lines are electrically long. Paper one illustrates a new maximum crosstalk estimate that is based on a mathematically rigorous, integral formulation, where the transmission lines can be lossy and in an inhomogeneous media. Paper two provides a thorough comparison and analysis of the newly derived maximum …

Identifying And Overcoming The Barriers To Sustainable Construction, Cristin Szydlik

Doctoral Dissertations

"Sustainable construction has become increasingly more prevalent over the last decade. All federal and most state government buildings are mandated to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification (at the silver level at a minimum). Although sustainable construction is increasingly more common, there are still barriers to the successful completion of a sustainable project, specifically with regards to projects achieving LEED certification. There are still holes in the guidance on how to successfully achieve LEED certification. Even though government agencies have mandated LEED certification, the existing barriers are preventing buildings from achieving certification, which can delay the building …

Emission Source Microscopy For Electromagnetic Interference Source Localization, Pratik Rajesh Maheshwari

Doctoral Dissertations

"For complex and large systems with multiple sources, it is often difficult to localize the sources of radiation. Near-field electromagnetic scanning is used often for root-cause diagnosis by determining field distribution close to the PCB. In the near-field, the evanescent waves are dominant, which may lead to the misinterpretation of them being the dominant sources contributing to the far-field. Another limitation of near-field scanning is that the probe may not be able to access all locations near the PCB due to the complex geometry and high component density. Two-dimensional synthetic aperture radar is a well-known technique used for antenna diagnostic …

Plant Uptake Of Environmental Contaminants: Applications In Phytoscreening, Matthew Alan Limmer

Doctoral Dissertations

"Plants interact directly with their surroundings, extracting nutrients and water from the subsurface to support growth and development of the plant. Through the roots, plants also exude and uptake numerous chemicals. Many of the pathways can also be used by environmental contaminants to be translocated to above ground plant tissues. Such uptake of contaminants has proven useful in remediation and phytoscreening - the use of plants to delineate contaminant plumes. Sampling of trees at contaminated field sites has been used to identify areas of groundwater contaminated with a variety of chlorinated solvents. The use of plants as contaminant biosensors requires …

Phosphate-Doped Borosilicate Enamel Coating Used To Protect Reinforcing Steel From Corrosion, Xiaoming Cheng

Doctoral Dissertations

"Phosphate-doped sodium borosilicate glasses were developed for enamel coatings to provide corrosion protection for reinforcing steel in concrete. Phosphates have low solubilities in borosilicate glasses, generally less than about 4 mol%, and are incorporated mainly as isolated PO₄^3- and P₂O₇^4- anions, along with some borophosphate bonds. With the addition of P₂O₅, the silicate network is repolymerized and tetrahedral borates are converted to trigonal borates, because the phosphate anions scavenge sodium ions from the borosilicate network. The addition of Al₂O₃ significantly increases the solubility of P₂O …

Modeling And Estimation Of Crosstalk Across A Channel With Multiple, Non-Parallel Coupling And Crossings Of Multiple Aggressors In Practical Pcbs, Arun Reddy Chada

Doctoral Dissertations

"In Section 1, the focus is on alleviating the modeling challenges by breaking the overall geometry into small, unique sections and using either a Full-Wave or fast equivalent per-unit-length (Eq. PUL) resistance, inductance, conductance, capacitance (RLGC) method or a partial element equivalent circuit (PEEC) for the broadside coupled traces that cross at an angle. The simulation challenge is resolved by seamlessly integrating the models into a statistical simulation tool that is able to quantify the eye opening at BERs that would help electrical designers in locating crosstalk sensitive regions in the high speed backplane channel designs.

Section 2 investigates the …

Effect Of Solid Solutions And Second Phases On The Thermal Conductivity Of Zirconium Diboride Ceramics, Gregory John Kenneth Harrington

Doctoral Dissertations

"The research presented in this dissertation is focused on the thermal conductivity (k) of ZrB₂ ceramics. The goal was to develop a better understanding of how various solid solutions and second phases affect the thermal and electrical transport in ZrB₂, with a focus on the effect of C, W, and ZrC. The first study showed C additions improved densification and it was proposed that the reduction of boria was the impetus for this result. Boron carbide was formed by the reaction of excess C with reduced B and its formation was mitigated by the addition of ZrH …

Study And Pilot Test On A Novel Eor Method - Coupling Ppg Conformance Control And Surfactant Flooding, Farag Awadh Muhammed

Doctoral Dissertations

"The interest in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods has re-emerged in recent years; however, significant challenges remain for the widespread deployment of these methods. One major downside to the successful application of EOR technologies in mature reservoirs is conformance problems (e.g. heterogeneity). To mitigate these problems, a novel EOR method which couple preformed particle gel (PPGs) conformance treatment with traditional surfactant flooding in one process is introduced.

This dissertation provides a comprehensive study for the proposed method. A series of laboratory tests were carried out to understand the chemical interaction between PPGs and surfactants. A new method to evaluate PPGs …

Energy Aware And Privacy Preserving Protocols For Ad Hoc Networks With Applications To Disaster Management, Mayank Raj

Doctoral Dissertations

"Disasters can have a serious impact on the functioning of communities and societies. Disaster management aims at providing efficient utilization of resources during pre-disaster (e.g. preparedness and prevention) and post-disaster (e.g. recovery and relief) scenarios to reduce the impact of disasters. Wireless sensors have been extensively used for early detection and prevention of disasters. However, the sensor's operating environment may not always be congenial to these applications. Attackers can observe the traffic flow in the network to determine the location of the sensors and exploit it. For example, in intrusion detection systems, the information can be used to identify coverage …

Thermal-Fluid Modeling Of The Missouri S&T Reactor, Susan Maria Sipaun

Doctoral Dissertations

"Thermal-fluid modeling of the Missouri University of Science and Technology Reactor (MSTR) was carried out using a computational fluid dynamics code (CFD), STAR-CCM+. First, a three-dimensional parallel-plate model was developed, and the cosine-shaped heat flux was applied to the MSTR core. Simulation results for fluid flow under natural convection condition show coolant temperature and velocity as a function of core power. A characteristic equation for the parallel-plate model was obtained based on Forchheimer's flow equation. The inertial resistance tensor and viscous resistance tensor were found to be 281005 kg/m^4 and 7121.6 kg/m^3 respectively. The MSTR core was then defined as …

Carbon Dioxide - Heavy Oil Systems: Thermodynamics, Transport And Interfacial Stability, Truynh Quoc My Duy Tran

Doctoral Dissertations

"Conventional oil recovery leaves behind around 67% of original oil in place for light oils and all of it for heavy oils. The carbon dioxide flooding process is the cheapest among the recovery methods for the next stage. The interest here lies in recovering heavy oil. When CO₂ dissolves in oil, it increases the volume of oil, squeezes it out of narrow capillaries and the viscosity of oil drops by up to an order of magnitude. Starting with the available data with and without CO₂ in heavy oil, the free volume theory is used to predict these physical …

Impact Of Slickwater Fracturing Fluid Compositions On The Petrophysical Properties Of Shale And Tightsand, Yongpeng Sun

Doctoral Dissertations

"A tight reservoir always requires hydraulic fracturing before production to increase production rate. The additives in hydraulic fluids are highly considerable for a successful stimulation. A friction reducer is often used to reduce the flowing friction in the wellbore during hydraulic fracturing. Extensive researches have been conducted to examine the extent it can reduce the fluid friction in tubings; however, no research has been reported on its behavior in a reservoir, which is related to the fracture extension. A breaker is also pumped into the formation to degrade the friction reducer. However, it is not clear that what is the …

Cross, Crucifix, Culture: An Approach To The Constitutional Meaning Of Confessional Symbols, Frederick Mark Gedicks, Pasquale Annicchino

Faculty Scholarship

In the United States and Europe the constitutionality of government displays of confessional symbols depends on whether the symbols also have nonconfessional secular meaning (in the U.S.) or whether the confessional meaning is at least absent (in Europe). Yet both the United States Supreme Court (USSCt) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) lack a workable approach to determining whether secular meaning is present or confessional meaning absent.

The problem is that the government can nearly always articulate a possible secular meaning for the confessional symbols that it uses, or argue that the confessional meaning is passive and ineffective. …

Personal Selling: A Humanist Perspective, William R. Gruver, Timothy W. Sweeney

AMTP Proceedings 2014

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2014,

Comparison Of Semi-Automated And Manual Measurements Of Carotid Intima-Media Thickening, Oscar Mac Ananey, G Mellotte, V Maher

Articles

Carotid intima-media thickening (CIMT) is a marker of both arteriosclerotic and atherosclerotic risks. Technological advances have semiautomated CIMT image acquisition and quantification. Studies comparing manual and automated methods have yielded conflicting results possibly due to plaque inclusion in measurements. Low atherosclerotic risk subjects (n = 126) were recruited to minimise the effect of focal atherosclerotic lesions on CIMT variability. CIMT was assessed by high-resolution B-mode ultrasound (Philips HDX7E, Phillips, UK) images of the common carotid artery using both manual and semiautomated methods (QLAB, Phillips, UK). Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the mean differences of paired measurements (Bland-Altman method) were used …

Comparison Of Core Control And Geophysical Investigations, Silica Sand Deposits, Dawmat Al Jandal, Al Jawf At Saudi Arabia, Ghassan Salem Alsulaimani

Masters Theses

"This thesis is a summary of a comprehensive geophysical investigation in southern Dawmat Al Jandal, Al Jawf in Saudi Arabia. This research demonstrates that the acquisition of both core control and geophysical data is superior to the acquisition of core control alone. Coring is expensive and is limited in subsurface coverage. Geophysical surveying, however, is a relatively rapid and cost-effective means of deriving information about the subsurface between core holes. Ground penetrating radar (GPR), Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW), and Seismic Refraction methods were used as exploration techniques to locate surficial mineral deposits within the study area.

During the …

Trim68 Negatively Regulates Ifn-B Production By Degrading Trk Fused Gene, A Novel Driver Of Ifn-B Downstream Of Anti-Viral Detection Systems, Claire Wynne, Elisa Lazzari, Siobhan Smith, Eoghan Mccarthy, Joan Ni Gabhann, Lara Kallai, Rowan Higgs, Sally Ann Cryan, Christine Byron, Caroline Jefferies

Articles

In recent years members of the tripartite motif-containing (TRIM) family of E3 ubiquitin ligases have been shown to both positively and negatively regulate viral defence and as such are emerging as compelling targets for modulating the anti-viral immune response. In this study we identify TRIM68, a close homologue of TRIM21, as a novel regulator of Toll-like receptor (TLR)- and RIG-I-like receptor (RLR)-driven type I IFN production. Proteomic analysis of TRIM68-containing complexes identified TRK-fused gene (TFG) as a potential TRIM68 target. Overexpression of TRIM68 and TFG confirmed their ability to associate, with TLR3 stimulation appearing to enhance the interaction. TFG is …

Globalization, Culture, And Online Distance Learning, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Globalization, the Internet, and access to telecommunication networks have increased the demand for education and educational quality across the globe. The reasons for this demand explains Carnoy (2005) are two-fold: The first is economic, the rising payoffs to higher education in a global, science-based, knowledge intensive economy make university training more of a “necessity” to get “good” jobs, which in turn, changes the stakes at lower levels of schooling and the demand for high-quality secondary schools. The second reason is socio-political: Demographics and democratic ideals increase pressure on universities to provide access to groups that traditionally have not attended university. …

Teaching And Transforming Through Stories: An Exploration Of Macro- And Micro-Narratives As Teaching Tools, Jaclyn R. Devine, Todd Quinn, Paulita Aguilar

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Narratives are one of the most powerful teaching tools available, and as Clark and Rossiter (2008) argue, “constructing a coherent narrative is how, in fact, we learn” (p. 66). We investigate the role of narrative in adult learning in library instructional contexts, introducing the concepts of micro-narratives and macro-narratives, and illustrating these ideas using relevant teaching examples. Macro-narratives are stories that are common across many cultures and contain universal themes and lessons. Micro-narratives are stories that are uniquely relevant to the members of a particular group. We argue that both types can be used to create meaningful library learning experiences.

Illinois State University Annuitants Association Newsletter, Winter 2014, Illinois State University, Annuitants Association

ISUAA News

Illinois State University Annuitants Association newsletter

The Political Foundations Of Miranda V. Arizona And The Quarles Public Safety Exception, Aaron J. Ley, Gordie Verhovek

Political Science Faculty Publications

When Dzhokhar Tsernaev was taken into custody after the Boston Marathon bombing, the Obama Administration’s Justice Department moved to invoke the Quarles Public Safety Exception rather than inform the accused of his rights. A widespread debate about the utility of informing all suspects of their Miranda rights ensued. In this article, we use the Congressional Record to examine the political foundations of the Miranda rule, the Congressional response to Miranda, and the development of the Public Safety Exception announced in Quarles v. New York. We argue that, prior to the Miranda decision, there was widespread and robust political debate in …

Help Wanted: American Drone Program Needs Multifaceted Support To Be Effective, S. Hall

Journal of Strategic Security

The U.S. drone program in Pakistan faces strong resistance in Pakistan. Because the program solely seeks to eliminate terrorist groups and leaders through bombing campaigns, with no built in social support, the local population’s anti-American sentiment has reached the highest level in history. This angry mood against U.S. drone programs is spreading throughout the Islamic world. To counter this anti-American sentiment, and increase the drone program’s effectiveness, the U.S. must invest in multifaceted, socio-economic support efforts to educate the population and rebuild the gratuity, trust, and commitment of Pakistan’s people to the “War on Terror.”

Future Challenges In Drone Geopolitics, Matthew Crosston

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

The Strategy Of Drone Warfare, Mike Fowler

Journal of Strategic Security

There is a budding controversy with the combat use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA). Also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), there is a growing literature critiquing the use of RPAs, often using the pejorative term “drone.” RPAs seem to get the blame for a variety of complaints about policy and employment that have little to do with the airframe or its processes. While all of the military functions of an RPA can and are done by manned aircraft, the RPAs must endure additional scrutiny. The decision to employ RPAs requires additional considerations at both the strategic and operational levels …

Lost In Debate: The Safety Of Domestic Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Yeonmin Cho

Journal of Strategic Security

The United States is poised to integrate commercial unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the national airspace and enable government entities to use UAS in a more expedient manner. This policy change, mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, offers new economic, social and scientific opportunities as well as enhanced law enforcement capacity. However, such benefits will be accompanied by concerns over misuse and abuse of the new technologies by criminals and terrorists. Privacy has been the focus of public debate over the more widespread use of UAS. This paper examines a variety of issues …

Developing And Reassessment Of Consumer Based Brand Equity Model In Sport (Case Study Of Soccer Clubs In Iranian Premier League), Mahdi Bigdely, Habib Honari, Rahman Aqayi, Mahdi Aghazadeh

AMTP Proceedings 2014

The main purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable model for evaluation of brand equity in sport teams in Iran. In this research, considering the importance and vital role of brand equity in sport teams and infancy of brand equity topic, Ross (2008) model of spectator based brand equity in sport was reassessed and after evaluating it, new Spectator Based Brand Equity in Sport model was proposed of sport teams Iran.