Digital Commons Network^™

Generalized Exponentiated Moment Exponential Distribution, Zafar Iqbal, Syed Anwer Hasnain, Muhammad Salman, Munir Ahmad, Gholamhossein Hamedani

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

Moment distributions have a vital role in mathematics and statistics, in particular in probability theory, in the perspective research related to ecology, reliability, biomedical field, econometrics, survey sampling and in life-testing. Hasnain (2013) developed an exponentiated moment exponential (EME) distribution and discussed some of its important properties. In the present work, we propose a generalization of EME distribution which we call it generalized EME (GEME) distribution and develop various properties of the distribution. We also present characterizations of the distribution in terms of conditional expectation as well as based on hazard function of the GEME random variable.

Fate Of Micropollutants During Pyrolysis Of Biosolids, John Ross

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Approximately 250 tons of organic micropollutants, including pharmaceuticals, antimicrobials, and hormones, are discharged to the environment during land application of wastewater biosolids annually. Reusing wastewater biosolids is vital to the sustainability of wastewater treatment, but current treatment processes do not remove micropollutants from biosolids in an efficient manner. Pyrolysis―the heating of biomass to temperatures between 400 and 800 °C under oxygen-free conditions―was proposed as a biosolids treatment process that could produce a beneficial soil amendment product, biochar, and remove micropollutants. The objective of this research was to determine the effect of pyrolysis temperature and residence time on the removal of …

Thermal Characterization Of Liquid Samples With Three-Dimensional On-Chip Micro Calorimeter, Hye Jeong Bak

Master's Theses (2009 -)

This thesis presents a three dimensional on-chip microfabricated calorimeter (μ-calorimeter) to extract thermal diffusivity and specific heat capacity of liquid samples. These thermal properties are used to understand thermal reaction behavior, obtain information of stability for reactant molecules, and characterize a material. Thermally characterized solvents can be utilized to investigate a solute. The μ-calorimeter introduced in this work has 3D wafer-scale structure. The μ-calorimeter consists of a reaction chamber, a nickel heater, and a resistance temperature detector (RTD) sensor. The reaction chamber enables analysis of 200 nl liquid samples. Also, its enclosed structure prevents liquid sample evaporation during an experiment. …

Parental Care In The Cuatro Ciénegas Cichlid, Herichthys Minckleyi (Teleostei: Cichlidae), Ronald G. Oldfield, M. Xavier Nieves

Faculty Scholarship

Behavioral studies have often examined parental care by measuring phenotypic plasticity of behavior within a species. Phylogenetic studies have compared parental care among species, but only at broad categories (e.g., care vs. no care). Here we provide a detailed account that integrates phylogenetic analysis with quantitative behavioral data to better understand parental care behavior in the Cuatro Ciénegas cichlid, Herichthys minckleyi. We found that H. minckleyi occurs in a clade of sexually monochromatic or weakly dichromatic monogamous species, but that male and female H. minckleyi have dramatically different reproductive coloration patterns, likely as a result of sexual selection. Furthermore, we …

Columns Fall 2014, Southern Adventist University

Alumni Newsletter

Features the article "Southern Hospitality". Each year a handful of students in need are “adopted” by community members who provide off-campus housing at little to no cost. The open hearts and homes of these Southern supporters create a unique university experience that models the grace and generosity of Jesus.

Ad Hoc Smoothing Parameter Performance In Kernel Estimates Of Gps-Derived Home Ranges, Krysten L. Schuler, Greg M. Schroeder, Jonathan A. Jenks, John G. Kie

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Accuracy of home-range estimates in animals is influenced by a variety of factors, such as method of analysis and number of locations, but animal space use is less often considered and frequently over-generalized through simulations. Our objective was to assess effect of an ad hoc (h_ad hoc)smoothing parameter in kernel analysis from two species that were predicted to have different patterns of utilization distributions across a range of sample sizes. We evaluated variation in home-range estimates with location data collected from GPS collars on two species: mule deer Odocoileus hemionus and coyotes Canis latrans. We calculated home ranges using …

Calmodulin 4 Is Dispensable For Epidermal Barrier Formation And Wound Healing In Mice, Paul W. Bible, Julianne C. Lessard, Alexnadr Kalinin, Maria I. Morasso

Computer Science Faculty publications

Calcium-mediated signals play important roles inepidermal barrier formation, skin homoeostasis and wound repair.Calmodulin 4 (Calm4) is a small, Ca2+-binding protein withstrong expression in suprabasal keratinocytes. In mice, Calm4 firstappears in the skin at the time of barrier formation, and itsexpression increases in response to epidermal barrier challenges.In this study, we report the generation of Calm4 knockout miceand provide evidence that Calm4 is dispensable for epidermalbarrier formation, maintenance and repair.

Bio-Inspired Robotic Fish With Vision Based Target Tracking, Eric Anderson

Open Access Theses

The lionfish is an invasive species that out-competes and overcrowds native sh species along the eastern seaboard of the United States and down into the Caribbean. Lionfish populations are growing rapidly. Current methods of monitoring lionfish populations are costly and time intensive. A bio-inspired robotic fish was built to use as an autonomous lionfish tracking platform. Lionfish are tracked visually using an onboard processor. Five different computer vision methods for identification and tracking are proposed and discussed. These include: background subtraction, color tracking, mixture of Gaussian background subtraction, speeded up robust feature (SURF), and CamShift based tracking. Each of these …

Using Energy-Efficient Technologies To Produce Bedding Plants And Microgreens In Protected And Controlled Environments, Joshua R. Gerovac

Open Access Theses

Gerovac, Joshua R. M.S., Purdue University, December 2014. Using Energy-Efficient Technologies to Produce Bedding Plants and Microgreens in Protected and Controlled Environments. Major Professor: Roberto G. Lopez. Production of bedding plants in commercial greenhouses (GHs) located in northern latitudes begins in late winter and continues through late spring when low outdoor temperatures generally necessitate active heating to maintain temperatures suitable for growth and development. Meanwhile, year-round production of microgreens using multi-layer systems requires sole-source (SS) photosynthetic lighting for production. Energy used to provide active heating in commercial GHs or SS lighting in multi-layer systems is second only to labor as …

The Impact Of Ice Layers On Gas Transport Through Firn At The North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling (Neem) Site, Greenland, K. Keegan, M. R. Albert, I. Baker

Dartmouth Scholarship

Typically, gas transport through firn is modeled in the context of an idealized firn column. However, in natural firn, imperfections are present, which can alter transport dynamics and therefore reduce the accuracy of reconstructed climate records. For example, ice layers have been found in several firn cores collected in the polar regions. Here, we examined the effects of two ice layers found in a NEEM, Greenland firn core on gas transport through the firn. These ice layers were found to have permeability values of 3.0 and 4.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ m², and are therefore not impermeable layers. However, …

Seasons Of The Tallgrass Prairie, Paul A. Johnsgard

University of Nebraska Press: Sample Books and Chapters

A respected author and scholar, Paul A. Johnsgard has spent a lifetime observing the natural delights of Nebraska’s woodlands, grasslands, and wetlands. Seasons of the Tallgrass Prairie collects his musings on Nebraska’s natural history and the issues of conservation facing our future.

Johnsgard crafts essays featuring snow geese, owls, hummingbirds, and other creatures against the backdrop of Great Plains landscapes. He describes prairie chickens courting during predawn hours and the calls of sandhill cranes; he evokes the magic of lying upon the prairie, hearing only the sounds of insects and the wind through the grasses. From reflections following a visit …

Recruitment Patterns Of Juvenile Fish At An Artificial Reef In The Gulf Of Mexico, Rachel Noel Arney

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

In 2011, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department deployed 4,000 culverts as an artificial reef off Port Mansfield, TX to serve as habitat for sport fish species in the Gulf of Mexico. The aim of this study was to assess juvenile fish recruitment at particular culvert densities among the reef. Standard monitoring units for the recruitment of reef fish (SMURFs) were used in this study and acted as sampling devices. SMURFs were placed at thirteen sampling stations among four different reef patch densities and sampled repeatedly from 2013-2014. Culvert densities included stations with: zero culverts, 1-50 culverts, 51-100 culverts, and …

Knowledge Of Saudi Female University Students Regarding Cervical Cancer And Acceptance Of The Human Papilloma Virus Vaccine, Ghadeer K. Al-Shaikh, Eman M. Almussaed, Amel A. Fayed, Farida H. Khan, Sadiqa B. Syed, Tahani N. Al-Tamimi, Hala N. Elmorshedy

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVES: To assess the level of knowledge regarding cervical cancer and the acceptance of the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine among Saudi female students in health colleges. METHODS: This cross-sectional study of a convenient sample encompassed 1400 students in Health Colleges at Princess Nora Bint Abdul Rahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was conducted between December 2013 and February 2014. A self-administrated questionnaire was distributed to all participants. Data collected included socio-demographic data, knowledge of cervical cancer risk factors and clinical presentation, Pap smear, and HPV vaccine acceptance. The questionnaire reliability as tested by Cronbach’s alpha was 0.82. RESULTS: The response …

Complete Issue, Journal Editors

Southern Anthropologist

No abstract provided.

Fall 2014, Clean Water And Deep Learning In Gambia, William Maddocks, Drew Obsten

UNH International Educator Newsletter

For UNH students who have an opportunity to engage in overseas development projects, the experience can be life-changing. Andrew Obston ‘14 shares this account of his summer internship in Gambia, working with the global development group Agua Inc.

Kirk Broders Assistant Professor Of Biological Sciences, Colsa, Travels To Mexico, Kirk D. Broders

Faculty Travel Reports

I was able to make my first trip to central Mexico in August 2014, in part due to assistance from the CIE Development Grant, in order to conduct research and develop a collaborative network with agricultural scientists in Mexico. The main purpose of the travel was to initiate a new line of research focused on the evolution of plant-associated microbes with a specific focus on documenting the effect plant domestication has on the associated microbiome of a particular species the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). Central Mexico is an ideal place to study this phenomenon as it is the center of …

Write Free Or Die: Vol. 01, No. 01, Unh Writing Program

Writing Program Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Carolyn Gamtso And Patricia Halpin Travel To Ireland, Carolyn White Gamtso, Patricia A. Halpin

Faculty Travel Reports

In August 2014, we travelled together to Limerick, Republic of Ireland to participate jointly in a panel discussion at the Information Literacy Section Satellite Meeting of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) World Library and Information Congress. Hosted by the Limerick Institute of Technology, the conference’s theme was “Facing the Future: Librarians and Information Literacy in a Changing Landscape.” The topics discussed and debated (information literacy and social media; information literacy as a “meta-literacy”; information literacy and distance learning)relate directly to conversations our UNH Manchester colleagues are having about how best to teach our students the transferable critical thinking …

In-Home Counseling For Young Children Living In Poverty: An Exploration Of Counseling Competencies, Kevin A. Tate, Cinthia Lopez, Robert A. Fox, Joanna R. Love, Erica Mckinney

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

Home-based counseling is increasingly an alternative mode of providing counseling services for children and families, reduces barriers to accessing traditional counseling services, and has also been shown to be effective. As such, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and describe the competencies needed to provide such counseling services. This study yielded five categories of competencies—necessary knowledge sets, case conceptualization, counseling behaviors, flexibility in session, and professional dispositions and behaviors. We also outline implications for counseling practice, counselor education, and public policy.

The Computational Complexity Of Some Games And Puzzles With Theoretical Applications, Vasiliki Despoina Mitsou

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The subject of this thesis is the algorithmic properties of one- and two-player

games people enjoy playing, such as Sudoku or Chess. Questions asked about puzzles

and games in this context are of the following type: can we design efficient computer

programs that play optimally given any opponent (for a two-player game), or solve

any instance of the puzzle in question?

We examine four games and puzzles and show algorithmic as well as intractability

results. First, we study the wolf-goat-cabbage puzzle, where a man wants to transport

a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage across a river by using a …

Novel On-Chip Applications Using Silicon Photonics, Rania Gamal

Theses and Dissertations

The emerging field of silicon photonics offers solutions to designing CMOScompatible optical devices. By taking advantage of the immense fabrication infrastructure offered by the silicon industry, it would be possible to design optical structures that are smaller, faster, less-power consuming and cheaper than traditional, non-silicon-based optical devices. In this dissertation, the design and performance testing of two novel silicon photonic structures are presented: 1) Silicon nanowire ridge waveguide for sensing applications at the optical transmission frequency. 2) Doped silicon plasmonic structures for negative-index, epsilon-near-zero and sensing applications at the mid-infrared. For the first design, silicon nanowires are arranged in a …

Demanding Supply: Re-Envisioning The Landlord-Tenant Relationship For Optimized Perennial Energy Crop Production, Elise C. Scott, A. Bryan Endres

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

As the bioenergy industry in the U.S. expands to meet increased demands for transportation fuel under the Renewable Fuel Standard and electrical power under state Renewable Portfolio Standards and the proposed Clean Power Plan, producers of biomass will seek the ability to grow dedicated, high-yielding energy crops of a perennial nature on leased property. Given the large amount of leased farmland in the U.S., the contributions of tenant-farmers will represent a significant, though currently not well understood, segment of the biomass supply chain. Through the use of contracts as governance schemes, landowners and tenants can navigate three key challenges of …

The Most Important Current Research Questions In Urban Ecosystem Services, James Salzman, Craig Anthony (Tony) Arnold, Robert Garcia, Keith Hirokawa, Kay Jowers, Jeffrey Lejava, Margaret Peloso, Lydia Olander

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

No abstract provided.

Utility Air Regulatory Group V. Epa: A Shot Across The Bow Of The Administrative State, Amanda C. Leiter

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Transforming Family Law Through Same-Sex Marriage: Lessons From (And To) The Western World, Macarena Saez

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

No abstract provided.

Paradoxes Of Us Psychopharmacology Practice In 2013: Undertreatment Of Severe Mental Illness And Overtreatment Of Minor Psychiatric Problems, Jose De Leon

Psychiatry Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Persistence And Change In Community Composition Of Reef Corals Through Present, Past, And Future Climates, Robert Van Woesik, Peter J. Edmunds, Mehdi Adjeroud, Marissa L. Baskett, Iliana B. Baums, Ann F. Budd, Robert C.C. Carpenter, Nicholas S. Fabina, Tungyung Fan, Eric C. Franklin

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The reduction in coral cover on many contemporary tropical reefs suggests a different set of coral community assemblages will dominate future reefs. To evaluate the capacity of reef corals to persist over various time scales, we examined coral community dynamics in contemporary, fossil, and simulated future coral reef ecosystems. Based on studies between 1987 and 2012 at two locations in the Caribbean, and between 1981 and 2013 at five locations in the Indo-Pacific, we show that many coral genera declined in abundance, some showed no change in abundance, and a few coral genera increased in abundance. Whether the abundance of …

Documenting Mass Rape: Medical Evidence Collection Techniques As Humanitarian Technology, Jaimie Morse

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Aim: Emerging global networks of human rights activists, doctors, and nurses have advocated for increased collection of medical evidence in conflict-affected countries to corroborate allegations of sexual violence and facilitate prosecution in international and domestic courts. Such initiatives are part of broader shifts in human rights advocacy to document human rights violations using rigorous, standardized methodologies. In this paper, I consider three principal forms of medical evidence to document sexual violence and their use in these settings: the patient medical record, the medical certificate, and the sexual assault medical forensic exam (commonly known as the “rape kit”).

Methods: Combining archival …

In What Senses Are Free Spirits Free?, Christa Davis Acampora

Publications and Research

My broadest claim in this article is, unsurprisingly, that there are multiple senses of freedom associated with the freedom of the free spirit. These include both positive and negative senses – that is, when describing how free spirits are free, Nietzsche sometimes characterizes this as freedom to do something, and sometimes as freedom from certain kinds of constraints. In this article, I do not aim to provide an exhaustive catalogue of the different senses invoked in Nietzsche’s ‘free spirit’ texts. Instead, I wish to highlight some particular senses, including some that are less frequently discussed in the scholarly literature and …

Spatial And Temporal Characteristics Of Polarimetric Tornadic Debris Signatures, Matthew S. Van Den Broeke, Sabrina T. Jauernic

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Nonmeteorological scatter, including debris lofted by tornadoes, may be detected using the polarimetric radar variables. For the 17 months from January 2012 to May 2013, radar data were examined for each tornado reported in the domain of an operational polarimetric Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D). Characteristics of the tornadic debris signature (TDS) were recorded when a signature was present. Approximately 16% of all tornadoes reported in Storm Data were associated with a debris signature, and this proportion is shown to vary regionally. Signatures were more frequently seen with tornadoes that were rated higher on the enhanced Fujita (EF) scale, with …