Digital Commons Network^™

Discovery Of A Novel Nitric Oxide Sensing Protein, Nosp, Sajjad Hossain

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

In nature, most bacteria live in surface attached communities called bacterial biofilms. Community living is beneficial to the bacteria, as it offers heightened resistance to environmental stresses due to the production of a protective exopolymeric matrix. When the growth of a bacterial community reaches a certain threshold, some bacteria disperse to find new frontiers to occupy and repopulate. Bacterial biofilms can be beneficial as is the case with those found in our gastrointestinal tracks that help us digest food particles. However, biofilms can pose a major threat to human health when they are composed of pathogenic bacteria that cause chronic …

Integrating Mobile Agents And Distributed Sensors In Wireless Sensor Networks, Jiemin Zeng

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

As computers become more ubiquitous in the prominent phenomenon of the Internet of Things, we encounter many unique challenges in the field of wireless sensor networks. A wireless sensor network is a group of small, low powered sensors with wireless capability to communicate with each other. The goal of these sensors, also called nodes, generally is to collect some information about their environment and report it back to a base station. Depending on the nature of the nodes or the environment, they may be placed in a deterministic pattern, deployed randomly, or mobile (i.e. cars on a highway). Due to …

Impact Of Spatial Averaging On Radar Reflectivity At Internal Snowpack Layer Boundaries, N. Rutter, H.P. Marshall, K. Tape, R. Essery, J. King

CGISS Publications and Presentations

Microwave radar amplitude within a snowpack can be strongly influenced by spatial variability of internal layer boundaries. We quantify the impact of spatial averaging of snow stratigraphy and physical snowpack properties on surface scattering from near-nadir frequency-modulated continuous- wave radar at 12–18 GHz. Relative permittivity, density, grain size and stratigraphic boundaries were measured in-situ at high resolution along the length of a 9 m snow trench. An optimal range of horizontal averaging (4–6 m) was identified to attribute variations in surface scattering at layer boundaries to dielectric contrasts estimated from centimetre-scale measurements of snowpack stratigraphy and bulk layer properties. Single …

Optical Sub-Diffraction Limited Focusing For Confined Heating And Lithography, Luis M. Traverso

Open Access Dissertations

Electronics and nanotechnology is constantly demanding a decrease in size of fabricated nanoscale features. This decrease in size has become much more difficult recently due to the limited resolution of optical systems that are fundamental to many nanofabrication methods. A lot of effort has been made to fabricate devices smaller than the diffraction limit of light. Creating devices that are capable of confining fields by means of interference patterns of propagating wave modes and surface plasmon, has proven successful to confine light into smaller spot sizes.

Zone plate diffraction lenses generate spots with dimensions very close to the diffraction limit. …

In-Column Polymer Modifications: Advancing Polymer Bonded Phases, Alexis G. Huckabee

Open Access Dissertations

Glycosylation is the most common post-translational modification affecting protein activities, including delivery to cell surface, binding affinity, and mediating different physiological effects. Separations of glycoproteins and their glycoforms are essential for drug discovery and development, identification of potential disease biomarkers and quality control. The efficiency of glycoprotein separations is limited by the bonded phases, requiring advances in chromatographic materials. Such advances would improve resolution, allowing for more species to be isolated from a mixture and studied.

Our group found that submicrometer nonporous silica stationary phases with tethered polymer chains (acrylamide) give excellent hydrophilic liquid chromatography (HILIC), a common method used …

Group Transformation And Identification With Kernel Methods And Big Data Mixed Logistic Regression, Chao Pan

Open Access Dissertations

Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) is a crucial step in the life cycle of data analysis. Exploring data with effective methods would reveal main characteristics of data and provides guidance for model building. The goal of this thesis is to develop effective and efficient methods for data exploration in the regression setting.

First, we propose to use optimal group transformations as a general approach for exploring the relationship between predictor variables X and the response Y. This approach can be considered an automatic procedure to identify the best characteristic of P( Y|X) under which the relationship …

The Science Teaching Fellows Program: A Model For Online Faculty Development Of Early Career Scientists Interested In Teaching, Loretta Branacaccio-Taras, Kelly A. Gull, Claudia Ratti

Publications and Research

The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) has a history of providing a wide range of faculty development opportunities. Recently, ASM developed the Science Teaching Fellows Program (STF) for early career biologists and postdoctoral students to explore student-centered teaching and develop the skills needed to succeed in positions that have a significant teaching component. Participants were selected to STF through a competitive application process. The STF program consisted of a series of six webinars. In preparation for each webinar, participants completed a pre-webinar assignment. After each webinar, fellows practiced what they learned by completing a post-webinar assignment. In a survey used …

Peer Partnerships And Collaboration In The Classroom Setting And Their Effects On Academic Achievement, Rachael L. Foutch

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

In this action research study, the author examined the effect of student generated peer groupings on academic achievement. The study was conducted in the author’s third grade classroom, in a public school district in rural Iowa. A student grouping attitude survey was conducted for a total of 16 third grade students who participated in the study (including ten males and six females), and revealed that most students preferred to self-select their partners / group members in the content areas of science, social studies and math. Observations of three students with diverse levels of academic achievement in the context of five …

Coupled Geochemical And Nano-Petrophysical Study Of The Spraberry-Wolfcamp Trend; West Texas, U.S.A., Ryan P. Quintero

Earth & Environmental Sciences Theses - Archive

With the rise in interest of unconventional plays, efforts have moved to understand these formations across 12 orders of magnitude through nm-km scale. Recent work by others has shown the importance of the nanometer range due to the fact this is the predominant pore size within shales. In attempt to understand nanopore structure and production behavior within a shale unconventional reservoir, a number of complementary experimental methods must be employed. This research involves the use of wettability droplet analysis for micron scale assessment of wetting properties and Mercury Intrusion Capillary Pressure (MICP) analysis for pore structure characterization within the Spraberry …

Commencement Program 2016 December: College Of Engineering, The University Of Texas At Arlington

Commencement Programs, Photos, and Video

No abstract provided.

Commencement Program 2016 December: College Of Architecture, Planning And Public Affairs; School Of Social Work; University College, The University Of Texas At Arlington

Commencement Programs, Photos, and Video

No abstract provided.

Commencement Program 2016 December: College Of Education; College Of Science, The University Of Texas At Arlington

Commencement Programs, Photos, and Video

No abstract provided.

Measuring The Effectiveness Of A Two-Period Algebra Class: A Program Evaluation, Tracey K. Landry

Dissertations

This paper details a program evaluation of a two-period freshman Algebra course in a two-high school district. The study examines the degree to which the two-period course is an effective intervention for freshman math students as compared to the one-period freshman Algebra course by reviewing student assessment data, student growth indicators, and course enrollment data. In addition to quantitative data, student, teacher, and administrator perceptions of the course inform the investigation into the two-period remedial math class. The paper concludes that the two-period math program is not having the desired impact and should be reconfigured or reconsidered altogether.

An Alternative Program To Help Special Education Students Transition Back Into High School: A Program Evaluation, Janine E. Gruhn

Dissertations

This program evaluation examines the effectiveness of transitioning students from an alternative program (O’PLUS) back to a general high school setting. Research on effective alternative high schools for students with disabilities includes five components: broad academic courses, support structures that can be customized to a student’s needs, student-felt connection to the school and built in motivation, a caring adult community, and responsive school leadership (Brigharm, et. al. 2006). Students lacking these key components in an alternative setting often do not transition well, or at all, back into the high school general education environment. In this program evaluation it was found …

Targeted Professional Learning To Implement A Biliteracy Model: A Change Leadership Plan, Nicole M. Robinson

Dissertations

With the achievement gap for students with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and their non-LEP peers widening rather than closing in Brighton School District 32 (pseudonyms are used throughout this change plan), it became clear that a change of the bilingual program model was necessary. This change plan examines the need for change in the current traditional Transitional Bilingual Education program to an extended Developmental Bilingual Education model with an emphasis on teaching for biliteracy. Because altering the bilingual program model requires a significant change in teaching practices and beliefs, this plan focuses on implementing a targeted professional learning plan to …

High Order Harmonic Generation From Sf₆: Deconvolution Of Macroscopic Effects, B. P. Wilson, K. D. Fulfer, S. Mondal, X. Ren, J. Tross, E. D. Poliakoff, J. Jose, Anh-Thu Le, R. R. Lucchese, Carlos A. Trallero-Herrero

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We measure high order harmonics from the molecule SF₆ over a large range of phase matching conditions and observe several features in the harmonics that are largely independent of such macroscopic conditions. The experimental data are then compared to the quantitative rescattering theory for the generation of harmonics from three orbitals. With this comparison, we are able to assign spectroscopic features in the harmonics to contributions from 1t_1g (HOMO) and 5t_1u (HOMO-1) orbitals.

Coursenetworking And Community: Linking Online Discussion Networks And Course Success, Adrienne L. Traxler, Andrew Gavrin, Rebecca Lindell

Physics Faculty Publications

Large introductory science courses are isolating for many students, and reducing this isolation is an important factor for student retention in college. Active learning courses often build community among students as an explicit goal, but many commuter or non-traditional students have limited on-campus time. Online discussion forums provide one tool for engaging students with each other outside of class time. This study uses social network analysis with forum data from an introductory physics course to examine students' positions in the class discussion network and link it to their final course grades. We find that, contrary to expectations, there is no …

Innovative Gtfs Data Application For Transit Network Analysis Using A Graph-Oriented Method, Philippe Fortin, Catherine Morency, Martin Trépanier

Journal of Public Transportation

Public transit networks are constantly evolving in the face of frequent economic and social challenges. There exists a large knowledge base on travel demand; however, there is a shortage of information on travel supply and networks. To our knowledge, no analysis tool can, at this point, systematically characterize a network and observe changes over time in a structured and automated manner. This paper addresses this issue and proposes a graph-oriented method for developing an analysis tool that will characterize a single network and then provide the necessary means to compare two distinct networks. A time-expanded model was applied to import …

Applying Ahp And Clustering Approaches For Public Transportation Decisionmaking: A Case Study Of Isfahan City, Alireza Salavati, Hossein Haghshenas, Bahador Ghadirifaraz, Jamshid Laghaei, Ghodrat Eftekhari

Journal of Public Transportation

The main purpose of this paper is to define appropriate criteria for the systematic approach to evaluate and prioritize multiple candidate corridors for public transport investment simultaneously to serve travel demand, regarding supply of current public transportation system and road network conditions of Isfahan, Iran. To optimize resource allocation, policymakers need to identify proper corridors to implement a public transportation system. In fact, the main question is to adopt the best public transportation system for each main corridor of Isfahan. In this regard, 137 questionnaires were completed by experts, directors, and policymakers of Isfahan to identify goals and objectives in …

Qos And Trust Prediction Framework For Composed Distributed Systems, Dimuthu Undupitiya Gamage

Open Access Dissertations

The objective of this dissertation is to propose a comprehensive framework to predict the QoS and trust (i.e, the degree of compliance of a service to its specification) values of composed distributed systems created out of existing quality-aware services. We improve the accuracy of the predictions by building context-aware models and validating them with real-life case studies. The context is the set of environmental factors that affect QoS attributes (such as response time and availability), and trust of a service or a composed system. The proposed framework uses available context-QoS dependency information of individual services and information about the interaction …

Random Walks In A Sparse Random Environment, Anastasios Matzavinos, Alexander Roitershtein, Youngsoo Seol

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

We introduce random walks in a sparse random environment on ℤ and investigate basic asymptotic properties of this model, such as recurrence-transience, asymptotic speed, and limit theorems in both the transient and recurrent regimes. The new model combines features of several existing models of random motion in random media and admits a transparent physical interpretation. More specifically, a random walk in a sparse random environment can be characterized as a “locally strong” perturbation of a simple random walk by a random potential induced by “rare impurities,” which are randomly distributed over the integer lattice. Interestingly, in the critical (recurrent) regime, …

Dilation Behavior Of Thermal Spray Coatings, Miryan Lorena Bejarano

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Thermal Spray (TS) is a very versatile manufacturing process to deposit thick coatings on a variety of substrates. Coatings are used in protective (i.e. wear, chemical attack, high temperature, etc.) and functional (i.e. sensors) applications. TS coatings have a unique lamellar microstructure as a result of the overlapping of millions of molten and partially-molten particles. During processing, high deformation by impact, high temperature, and rapid solidification lead to a complex hierarchical material system that contains a high amount of microstructural defects. The presence of defects in the microstructure contribute to differences in property values in comparison to bulk materials. Thermal …

The Role Of Nanofillers In Polymer Nanocomposites, Di Xu

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Polymer nanocomposites have been widely used in many fields. By introducing nanoparticles as fillers, researchers are able to get reinforced materials and new materials with novel properties, such as stronger mechanics, enhanced optical properties and improved conductivity. Though experimental techniques have rapidly advanced to enable better control of materials at atomic level, there is still a lack of a fundamental understanding of the dynamics and structure-properties relations in polymer nanocomposites. In this thesis, we use computer simulations to study the molecular structure and connections between microstate to macro properties of a variety of nanocomposites. Our goal is to understand the …

Searching For Dark Sectors, Yiming Zhong

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

The existence of Dark Matter suggests the presence of a dark sector, consisting of particles neutral under all Standard Model forces. Various “portals†can connect the dark sector to the Standard Model sector. Two popular examples are the vector portal, which gives rise to a “dark photon†(A′), and the Higgs portal, which gives rise to a “dark Higgs†. Such dark forces appear in many well-motivated extensions of the Standard Model. In some cases, they may resolve discrepancies between experimental data and theoretical predictions, such as the muon anomalous magnetic moment. We show that dark sectors and forces can …

On Mirna-Mrna Network Extraction And Ultra-Fast Nucleotide Barcodes Clustering Algorithm, Lu Zhao

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

This thesis consists of two topics: (1) discovery of microRNA/mRNA regulatory networks on essential thrombocytosis (ET), and (2) a novel ultrafast clustering algorithm to count nucleotide barcode and amplicon reads with errors. The objective of the first study is to discover miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks related to ET, a chronic myeloproliferative disorder with an unregulated surplus of platelets. Complications of ET include stroke, heart attack, and formation of blood clots. While the genetic basis of ET has been studied to some extent, no direct diagnostic test is available to date. In this study, we aim to identify novel ET-related miRNA-mRNA regulatory …

Constrained Functional Linear Model For Multi-Loci Genetic Mapping, Jiayu Huang

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

In genome-wide association studies (GWAS), the efficient incorporation of linkage disequilibria (LD) among dense-typed linked genetic variants into analysis to improve the association power is critical yet challenging problem. Functional linear models (FLM), which impose a smoothing structure on the coefficients of correlated covariates, are advantageous in genetic mapping of multiple variants with high LD. Here we propose a novel constrained FLM (cFLM) framework to perform simultaneous association tests on a block of linked SNPs with various traits, including continuous, binary and zero-inflated count phenotypes. The new cFLM applies a set of inequality constraints on the FLM to ensure model …

Defusing Transcendental Empiricism: Deleuze, Hume, And Empiricism, Scott Leigh Kravet

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

This dissertation addresses the problem of conflating the conditions of experience with the given of experience. The conditions of experience are by definition not contents of experience. There are ideal conditions and material conditions, which we find studied respectively in transcendental idealism and the neurosciences. The given of experience is a search towards originary experiences. This conflation between condition and given also confuses the distinction between the ground of experience, which is transcendental, and the foundation of experience, which is immanent. This confusion rises to the forefront of philosophical discourse when Deleuze calls his position ‘transcendental empiricism.’ I ask the …

Weighted-Least-Squares Based Essentially Non-Oscillatory Schemes On Unstructured Meshes, Hongxu Liu

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Essentially non-oscillatory schemes and their variants, such as ENO and WENO, are widely used high-order schemes for solving partial differential equations (PDEs), especially hyperbolic conservation laws with piecewise smooth solutions. For structured meshes, these techniques can achieve high order accuracy for smooth functions while being non-oscillatory near discontinuities. For unstructured meshes, which are needed for complex geometries, similar schemes are required but they are much more challenging to design, especially for finite different schemes. We propose a new family of non-oscillatory schemes, called WLS-ENO, in the context of solving hyperbolic conservation laws using both finite volume and finite difference methods …

Partisanship, Political Information, And Money, Jeeyoung Park

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

This dissertation contains three parts - three papers. My dissertation tries to bridge the gap between two perspectives: the socio-psychological model and the rational choice model in voting behavior. The first part investigates how partisans behave in the prediction market. Using an agent-based model, my simulation results show that participants’ initial beliefs about a candidate’s winning probability, confirmation biases in accepting information, and monetary incentives strongly increase changes in participants’ beliefs about the electoral outcome captured by price volatility in the prediction market. The second part explores the microfoundation about individuals’ behavioral motivations in evaluating political candidates. My experimental results …

Torsional Stiffness And Natural Frequency Analysis Of A Formula Sae Vehicle Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Chassis Using Finite Element Analysis, Manuel Herrmann

Master's Theses

Finite element is used to predict the torsional stiffness and natural frequency response of a FSAE vehicle hybrid chassis, utilizing a carbon fiber reinforced polymer sandwich structure monocoque and a tubular steel spaceframe. To accurately model the stiffness response of the sandwich structure, a series of material tests for different fiber types has been performed and the material properties have been validated by modeling a simple three-point-bend test panel and comparing the results with a physical test. The torsional stiffness model of the chassis was validated with a physical test, too. The stiffness prediction matches the test results within 6%. …