Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Connectivity Differences Between Gulf War Illness (Gwi) Phenotypes During A Test Of Attention, Tomas Clarke, Jessie Jamieson, Patrick Malone, Rakib U. Rayhan, Stuart Washington, John W. Vanmeter, James N. Baraniuk

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

One quarter of veterans returning from the 1990–1991 Persian Gulf War have developed Gulf War Illness (GWI) with chronic pain, fatigue, cognitive and gastrointestinal dysfunction. Exertion leads to characteristic, delayed onset exacerbations that are not relieved by sleep. We have modeled exertional exhaustion by comparing magnetic resonance images from before and after submaximal exercise. One third of the 27 GWI participants had brain stem atrophy and developed postural tachycardia after exercise (START: Stress Test Activated Reversible Tachycardia). The remainder activated basal ganglia and anterior insulae during a cognitive task (STOPP: Stress Test Originated Phantom Perception). Here, the role of attention …

Intermediate C∗-Algebras Of Cartan Embeddings, Jonathan H. Brown, Ruy Exel, Adam H. Fuller, David R. Pitts, Sarah A. Reznikoff

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

Let A be a C*-algebra and let D be a Cartan subalgebra of A. We study the following question: if B is a C*-algebra such that D B A, is D a Cartan subalgebra of B? We give a positive answer in two cases: the case when there is a faithful conditional expectation from A onto B, and the case when A is nuclear and D is a C*-diagonal of A. In both cases there is a one-to-one correspondence between the intermediate C*-algebras B, and a class of open subgroupoids of the groupoid G, where ! G is the twist …

Individual Based Model To Simulate The Evolution Of Insecticide Resistance, William B. Jamieson

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Insecticides play a critical role in agricultural productivity. However, insecticides impose selective pressures on insect populations, so the Darwinian principles of natural selection predict that resistance to the insecticide is likely to form in the insect populations. Insecticide resistance, in turn, severely reduces the utility of the insecticides being used. Thus there is a strong economic incentive to reduce the rate of resistance evolution. Moreover, resistance evolution represents an example of evolution under novel selective pressures, so its study contributes to the fundamental understanding of evolutionary theory.

Insecticide resistance often represents a complex interplay of multiple fitness trade-offs for individual …

The Derived Category Of A Locally Complete Intersection Ring, Joshua Pollitz

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Let R be a commutative noetherian ring. A well-known theorem in commutative algebra states that R is regular if and only if every complex with finitely generated homology is a perfect complex. This homological and derived category characterization of a regular ring yields important ring theoretic information; for example, this characterization solved the well-known ``localization problem" for regular local rings. The main result of this thesis is establishing an analogous characterization for when R is locally a complete intersection. Namely, R is locally a complete intersection if and only if each nontrivial complex with finitely generated homology can build a …

The T3,T4-Conjecture For Links, Katie Tucker

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

An oriented n-component link is a smooth embedding of n oriented copies of S¹ into S³. A diagram of an oriented link is a projection of a link onto R² such that there are no triple intersections, with notation at double intersections to indicate under and over strands and arrows on strands to indicate orientation. A local move on an oriented link is a regional change of a diagram where one tangle is replaced with another in a way that preserves orientation. We investigate the local moves t₃ and t₄, which are …

A “Rule-Of-Five” Framework For Models And Modeling To Unify Mathematicians And Biologists And Improve Student Learning, C. Diaz Eaton, H. C. Highlander, K. D. Dahlquist, G. Ledder, M.D. Lamar, R.C. Schugart

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

Despite widespread calls for the incorporation of mathematical modeling into the undergraduate biology curriculum, there is lack of a common understanding around the definition of modeling, which inhibits progress. In this paper, we extend the “Rule-of-Four,” initially used in calculus reform efforts, to a “Rule-of-Five” framework for models and modeling that is inclusive of varying disciplinary definitions of each. This unifying framework allows us to both build on strengths that each discipline and its students bring, but also identify gaps in modeling activities practiced by each discipline. We also discuss benefits to student learning and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Predicting Impacts Of Chemicals From Organisms To Ecosystem Service Delivery: A Case Study Of Insecticide Impacts On A Freshwater Lake, Nika Galic, Chris J. Salice, Bjorn Birnir, Randall J.F. Bruins, Virginie Ducrot, Henriette I. Jager, Andrew Kanarek, Roberto Pastorok, Richard Rebarber, Pernille Thorbek, Valery E. Forbes

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

Assessing and managing risks of anthropogenic activities to ecological systems is necessary to ensure sustained delivery of ecosystem services for future generations. Ecological models provide a means of quantitatively linking measured risk assessment end points with protection goals, by integrating potential chemical effects with species life history, ecological interactions, environmental drivers and other potential stressors. Here we demonstrate how an ecosystem modeling approach can be used to quantify insecticide-induced impacts on ecosystem services provided by a lake from toxicity data for organism-level endpoints. We used a publicly available aquatic ecosystem model AQUATOX that integrates environmental fate of chemicals and their …

Unbounded Derivations Of C*-Algebras And The Heisenberg Commutation Relation, Lara M. Ismert

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation investigates the properties of unbounded derivations on C*-algebras, namely the density of their analytic vectors and a property we refer to as "kernel stabilization." We focus on a weakly-defined derivation δ_D which formalizes commutators involving unbounded self-adjoint operators on a Hilbert space. These commutators naturally arise in quantum mechanics, as we briefly describe in the introduction.

A first application of kernel stabilization for δ_D shows that a large class of abstract derivations on unbounded C*-algebras, defined by O. Bratteli and D. Robinson, also have kernel stabilization. A second application of kernel stabilization provides a sufficient condition …

Admissibility Of C*-Covers And Crossed Products Of Operator Algebras, Mitchell A. Hamidi

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In 2015, E. Katsoulis and C. Ramsey introduced the construction of a non-self-adjoint crossed product that encodes the action of a group of automorphisms on an operator algebra. They did so by realizing a non-self-adjoint crossed product as the subalgebra of a C*-crossed product when dynamics of a group acting on an operator algebra by completely isometric automorphisms can be extended to self-adjoint dynamics of the group acting on a C*-algebra by ∗-automorphisms. We show that this extension of dynamics is highly dependent on the representation of the given algebra and we define a lattice structure for an operator algebra's …

Determinants Of Incidence And Hessian Matrices Arising From The Vector Space Lattice, Saeed Nasseh, Alexandra Seceleanu, Junzo Watanabe

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

Let V = ⁿi= _o V^I bethe lattice of subspaces of the n-dimensional vector space over the finite field Fq, and let A be the graded Gorenstein algebra defined over Q which has V as a Q basis. Let F be the Macaulay dual generator for A. We explicitly compute the Hessian determinant j 2F= Xi Xj j, evaluated at the point X1 = X2 = ... = XN = 1, and relate it to the determinant of the incidence matrix between V1 and Vn-1. Our exploration is motivated by the fact that both of these matrices naturally …

Sequential Differences In Nabla Fractional Calculus, Ariel Setniker

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

We study the composition of nabla fractional differences of unequal orders, known as "sequential" nabla fractional differences. The sequential differences we examine possess different bases — specifically, we establish the outer operator as having a base larger than the inner operator by at least an integer factor of 1. Further, we consider two cases of orders: first the case when the outer difference has a larger power, and second when the inner difference has a larger power.

We develop rules for sequential nabla fractional differences and present connections between the sign of a sequential difference of a function and the …

Pascal's Triangle Modulo N And Its Applications To Efficient Computation Of Binomial Coefficients, Zachary Warneke

Honors Theses

In this thesis, Pascal's Triangle modulo n will be explored for n prime and n a prime power. Using the results from the case when n is prime, a novel proof of Lucas' Theorem is given. Additionally, using both the results from the exploration of Pascal's Triangle here, as well as previous results, an efficient algorithm for computation of binomial coefficients modulo n (a choose b mod n) is described, and its time complexity is analyzed and compared to naive methods. In particular, the efficient algorithm runs in O(n log(a)) time (as opposed to …

Operator Algebras Generated By Left Invertibles, Derek Desantis

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Operator algebras generated by partial isometries and their adjoints form the basis for some of the most well studied classes of C*-algebras. Representations of such algebras encode the dynamics of orthonormal sets in a Hilbert space.We instigate a research program on concrete operator algebras that model the dynamics of Hilbert space frames.

The primary object of this thesis is the norm-closed operator algebra generated by a left invertible $T$ together with its Moore-Penrose inverse $T^\dagger$. We denote this algebra by $\mathfrac{A}_T$. In the isometric case, $T^\dagger = T^*$ and $\mathfrac{A}_T$ is a representation of the Toeplitz algebra. Of particular interest …

Associated Primes And Syzygies Of Linked Modules, Olgur Celikbas, Mohammad T. Dibaei, Mohsen Gheibi, Arash Sadeghi, Ryo Takahaski

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

Motivated by the notion of geometrically linked ideals, we show that over a Gorenstein local ring R, if a Cohen-Macaulay R-module M of grade g is linked to an R-module N by a Gorenstein ideal c, such that AssR(M)\AssR(N) = ;, then M R N is isomorphic to direct sum of copies of R=a, where a is a Gorenstein ideal of R of grade g + 1. We give a criterion for the depth of a local ring (R;m; k) in terms of the homological dimensions of the modules linked to the syzygies of the residue eld k. As a …

A Doubly Nonlocal Laplace Operator And Its Connection To The Classical Laplacian, Petronela Radu, Kelseys Wells

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

In this paper, motivated by the state-based peridynamic frame- work, we introduce a new nonlocal Laplacian that exhibits double nonlocality through the use of iterated integral operators. The operator introduces addi- tional degrees of exibility that can allow for better representation of physical phenomena at different scales and in materials with different properties. We study mathematical properties of this state-based Laplacian, including connec- tions with other nonlocal and local counterparts. Finally, we obtain explicit rates of convergence for this doubly nonlocal operator to the classical Laplacian as the radii for the horizons of interaction kernels shrink to zero.

Intermediate Cell States In Epithelial-To-Mesenchymal Transition, Yutong Sha, Daniel Haensel, Guadalupe Gutierrez, Huijing Du, Xing Dai, Qing Nie

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

The transition of epithelial cells into a mesenchymal state (epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition or EMT) is a highly dynamic process implicated in various biological processes. During EMT, cells do not necessarily exist in ‘pure’ epithelial or mesenchymal states. There are cells with mixed (or hybrid) features of the two, which are termed as the intermediate cell states (ICSs). While the exact functions of ICS remain elusive, together with EMT it appears to play important roles in embryogenesis, tissue development, and pathological processes such as cancer metastasis. Recent single cell experiments and advanced mathematical modeling have improved our capability in identifying ICS and …

Persistence Metrics For A River Population In A Two-Dimensional Benthic-Drift Model, Yu Jin, Qihua Huang, Julia Blackburn, Mark A. Lewis

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

The study of population persistence in river ecosystems is key for understanding population dynamics, invasions, and instream flow needs. In this paper, we extend theories of persistence measures for population models in one-dimensional rivers to a benthic-drift model in two-dimensional depth- averaged rivers. We define the fundamental niche and the source and sink metric, and establish the net reproductive rate R₀ to determine global persistence of a population in a spatially heterogeneous two-dimensional river. We then couple the benthic-drift model into the two-dimensional computational river model, River2D, to study the growth and persistence of a population and its source …