Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Tracking Stellar Activity Enhancements Due To A Close-In Giant Planet In The Hd 179949 System, Levent Gurdemir

Physics Theses - Archive

We monitored CaII H and K lines (3933Å and 3968Å) of the HD 179949 system to study Planet Induced Emission (PIE) as an effect of star-planet interaction. We obtained high resolution spectra (R > 50,000) with high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N > 50 in the Ca II H and K cores) during 10 nights of observation at the McDonald Observatory. Wide band Echelle spectra covering full optical bandwidth (3,400-10,900Å) were obtained using 2.7 m Harlan J. Smith Telescope located at Mt. Locke. Detailed statistical analyses performed both for H and K cores of calcium to reveal the nature of the fluctuation in the …

Physics Of Luminescence Nanomaterials, Boon Kuan Woo

Physics Dissertations - Archive

Luminescence oxide nanoparticles have tremendous potential in revolutionizing many interesting applications in today's emerging cutting-edge optical technology such as solid state lighting, biomedical labeling, imaging, photodynamic activation and radiation detection. In the early parts of this thesis, we synthesized two types of luminescence oxide nanoparticles, namely zinc oxide and gadolinium oxide in the hope of investigating their optical properties and to gain a deeper understanding in determining the relationship in between the ZnO's surface defect emission and its excitonic emission. We also investigated the luminescence properties of rare-earth dopants such as Ce³⁺ and Eu³⁺ doped into the host gadolinium oxide …

Selected Studies Of Orbital Stability And Habitability In Star-Planet Systems, William Jason Eberle

Physics Dissertations - Archive

The study of planets remaining in orbit around one star with another starinterfering is an important topic of orbital mechanics and astrobiology. The onset of instability for a planet which is part of a stellar binary system is investigated by performing numerical simulations of the circular restricted three body problem. Synodic velocity phase space portraits are used with the hodograph in order to obtain a new criterion for determining planetary stability. The stability limits obtained via these methods agree with previous methods that were obtained based on simulations over much longer time intervals. In addition, the timely case of a …

Synthesis Of Cdte And Pbs Semiconductor Quantum Dots And Their Biological And Photochemical Applications, Xing Zhang

Physics Theses - Archive

Semiconductor quantum dots are inorganic nanoparticles with unique photophysical properties. In particular, water soluble quantum dots which have been synthesized by colloidal chemistry in aqueous environment are highly luminescent. Their huge absorption cross sections, tunable, narrow emission bands and effectiveness of surface functionality have stimulated these luminescent probes in various applications like biological sensors as well as imaging contrast agents. In this paper we will discuss several aspects about the synthesize processes of the water soluble, highly luminescent type of CdTe quantum dots and its near infrared counterpart HgxCd1-xTe, the extremely crystallized PbS quantum dots with the application of the …

Search For Standard Model Higgs In Two Photon Final State At Atlas, Hyeon Jin Kim

Physics Dissertations - Archive

The Standard Model of particle physics describes very precisely the nuclear strong and weak forces and the eletromagnetic interaction, by the exchange of vector bosons. It also describes all matter as composed of quarks and leptons and predicts their interactions. The Higgs boson is the last missing piece of the Standard Model, yet to be observed. The search for the Higgs particle is one of the most important goals of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The ATLAS electromagnetic (EM) calorimeter is a crucial subdetector system of the ATLAS detector in searching for the Higgs boson, in …

The Role Of The Y-Component Of The Interplanetary Magnetic Field In Transpolar Saturation And Ring Current Response As Found In Data And Simulation, Elizabeth Joy Mitchell

Physics Dissertations - Archive

Energy is transferred into the magnetosphere of Earth through merging of magnetic fields (Dungey cycle and lobe cell convection) and through momentum transfer across the magnetopause (viscous interactions). These processes cause enhanced plasma convection in the inner magnetosphere and ionosphere, which in turn form the ring current and the transpolar potential, respectively. These processes have been studied extensively with regard to the role of the north-south component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). The role of the dawn-dusk IMF is less well known.We use the LFM global MHD simulation, the CRCM, and data to quantify the transpolar potential and ring …

Economic Threshold For The Management Of Plutella Xylostella With Granulovirus In Cauliflower Ecosystem, S. Subramanian, R. J. Rabindra, N. Sathiah

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Resistance to chemicals and some biological control agents by Plutella xylostella has resulted in the search for alternatives, such as P. xylostella granulovirus (PlxyGV), for the management of P. xylostella. However, use of PlxyGV would be economical only if it is applied at the right crop stage and at economic threshold levels. Hence, we evaluated the field level economic threshold for application of PlxyGV at the reproductive phase of cauliflower taking into consideration both the economic threshold model and the economic optimization model. PlxyGV was found to be very effective in management of the pest and was comparable to weekly …

Peconic Bays Estuary Benthic Gis Data, Robert M. Cerrato

SoMAS Research Data

Benthic habitat maps of the estuary seafloor can increase our knowledge of the range and variability in benthic habitats, assist managers in their efforts to protect and/or restore commercially and recreationally important finfish and shellfish, link land usage (e.g. developed vs. undeveloped areas) and water quality data to benthic habitat quality, and make it possible to utilize faunal data as a long-term indicator of the overall “health” of the estuary. This study combined high-resolution sonar surveys with physical and faunal characteristics at point locations in different seafloor areas of the Peconic Bays Estuary. Sonar mapping used multibeam swath bathymetry to …

Sacred Sites As Hotspots For Biodiversity: The Three Sisters Cave Complex In Coastal Kenya, Kristian Metcalfe, Richard Ffrench-Constant, Ian Gordon

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Sacred sites, particularly in forests, often form unofficial protected areas because their biodiversity is preserved and protected by the local people looking after the sites. Here, we survey the biodiversity of the Three Sisters Cave complex, a sacred site or kaya in a fragment of East African coastal forest in south-east Kenya. We show that, despite the tiny size of this non-gazetted forest reserve, it contains many of the threatened species of both flora (121 species) and fauna (46 species) representative of Kenya's coastal forest. Following the overexploitation and widespread destruction of coastal rainforests in Kenya, such sacred sites represent …

Do New Access And Benefit Sharing Procedures Under The Convention On Biological Diversity Threaten The Future Of Biological Control?, Matthew J.W. Cock, Joop C. Van Lenteren, Jacques Brodeur, Barbara I.P. Barratt, Franz Bigler, Karel Bolckmans, Fernando L. Cônsoli, Fabian Haas, Peter G. Mason, José Roberto P. Parra

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) countries have sovereign rights over their genetic resources. Agreements governing the access to these resources and the sharing of the benefits arising from their use need to be established between involved parties [i. e. Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)]. This also applies to species collected for potential use in biological control. Recent applications of CBD principles have already made it difficult or impossible to collect and export natural enemies for biological control research in several countries. If such an approach is widely applied it would impede this very successful and environmentally safe pest …

Non-Target Effects Of The 'Push-Pull' Habitat Management Strategy: Parasitoid Activity And Soil Fauna Abundance, Charles A.O. Midega, Zeyaur R. Khan, Johnnie Van Den Berg, Callistus K.P.O. Ogol, Toby J. Bruce, John A. Pickett

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

We assessed the non-target effects of a habitat management system ('push-pull') on maize stemborer specialist natural enemy activity and soil Collembola. Two study sites in western Kenya were sampled. There were two treatments at each site, maize monocrop and 'push-pull'. The latter comprised an intercrop of maize and Desmodium, Desmodium uncinatum Jacq., with Napier grass, Pennisetum purpureum (Schumach), as a trap crop planted around the edge of the plot (spaced 1 m from main crop). Trichogramma spp. were recovered from stemborer eggs while Cotesia sesamiae and Cotesia flavipes were recovered from stemborer larvae, and Dentichasmias busseolae from pupae. Mean number …

Side-Effects Of Pesticides On The Life Cycle Of The Mite Pathogenic Fungus Neozygites Floridana, V. W. Wekesa, M. Knapp, I. Delalibera

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The tomato red spider mite, Tetranychus evansi Baker and Pritchard, is an invasive species in Africa causing considerable damage to Solanaceous crops. The fungal pathogen Neozygites floridana Weiser and Muma from Brazil has been considered a potential candidate for introduction into Africa for the control of T. evansi. To be incorporated in the tomato production system, N. floridana has to be compatible with the pesticides used for the control of other pests and diseases. Pesticides used in tomatoes that might affect the fungus were therefore studied by the use of different methods. Two insecticides (Lambda-cyhalothrin and Methomyl), two acaricides (Propargite …

Dragon Age: Origins - Maps & Benchmark Problems, Nathan R. Sturtevant, Bioware Corp

Moving AI Lab: 2D Maps and Benchmark Problems

Maps extracted from Dragon Age: Origins with help and explicit permission from BioWare Corp. for use and distribution as benchmark problems.

Contains 156 maps and benchmark problem sets.

Fungal Entomopathogens: New Insights On Their Ecology, Fernando E. Vega, Mark S. Goettel, Meredith Blackwell, David Chandler, Mark A. Jackson, Siegfried Keller, Masanori Koike, Nguya K. Maniania, Arnulfo Monzón, Bonnie H. Ownley, Judith K. Pell, Drauzio E.N. Rangel, Helen E. Roy

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

An important mechanism for insect pest control should be the use of fungal entomopathogens. Even though these organisms have been studied for more than 100 y, their effective use in the field remains elusive. Recently, however, it has been discovered that many of these entomopathogenic fungi play additional roles in nature. They are endophytes, antagonists of plant pathogens, associates with the rhizosphere, and possibly even plant growth promoting agents. These findings indicate that the ecological role of these fungi in the environment is not fully understood and limits our ability to employ them successfully for pest management. In this paper, …

A Heteroskedastic Error Covariance Matrix Estimator Using A First-Order Conditional Autoregressive Markov Simulation For Deriving Asympotical Efficient Estimates From Ecological Sampled Anopheles Arabiensis Aquatic Habitat Covariates, Benjamin G. Jacob, Daniel A. Griffith, Ephantus J. Muturi, Erick X. Caamano, John I. Githure, Robert J. Novak

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Background. Autoregressive regression coefficients for Anopheles arabiensis aquatic habitat models are usually assessed using global error techniques and are reported as error covariance matrices. A global statistic, however, will summarize error estimates from multiple habitat locations. This makes it difficult to identify where there are clusters of An. arabiensis aquatic habitats of acceptable prediction. It is therefore useful to conduct some form of spatial error analysis to detect clusters of An. arabiensis aquatic habitats based on uncertainty residuals from individual sampled habitats. In this research, a method of error estimation for spatial simulation models was demonstrated using autocorrelation indices and …

Atmospheric Mercury Concentrations And Speciation Measured From 2004 To 2007 In Reno, Nevada, Usa, Seth N. Lyman, Mae Sexauer Gustin

USU Uintah Basin Faculty Publications

Atmospheric elemental, reactive and particulate mercury (Hg) concentrations were measured north of downtown Reno, Nevada, USA from November 2004 to November 2007. Three-year mean and median concentrations for gaseous elemental Hg (Hg0) were 1.6 and 1.5 ng m−3 (respectively), similar to global mean Hg0 concentrations. The three-year mean reactive gaseous Hg (RGM) concentration (26 pg m−3) was higher than values reported for rural sites across the western United States. Well defined seasonal and daily patterns in Hg0 and RGM concentrations were observed, with the highest Hg0 concentrations measured in winter and early morning, and RGM concentrations being greatest in the …

Clean-Energy Policy Community Town Hall: Part A, Al Gore, Harry Reid, T. Boone Pickens, Cathy Zoi

National Clean Energy Summit

Moderator: John D. Podesta, President & CEO, Center for American Progress Action Fund

Special Remarks By President Bill Clinton, Bill Clinton

National Clean Energy Summit

Special remarks by President Bill Clinton

Roundtable: Building The Clean-Energy Economy: Part B, Neal Smatresk, Harry Reid, Al Gore, John D. Podesta

National Clean Energy Summit

Moderator: Tim Wirth, Former Colorado Senator, United Nations Foundation

2009 National Clean Energy Summit Event Video Highlights And Press Tour Photos

National Clean Energy Summit

Video highlights & press tour photos

Thermal Tolerance Of The Coffee Berry Borer Hypothenemus Hampei: Predictions Of Climate Change Impact On A Tropical Insect Pest, Juliana Jaramillo, Adenirin Chabi-Olaye, Charles Kamonjo, Alvaro Jaramillo, Fernando E. Vega, Hans Michael Poehling, Christian Borgemeister

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Coffee is predicted to be severely affected by climate change. We determined the thermal tolerance of the coffee berry borer , Hypothenemus hampei, the most devastating pest of coffee worldwide, and make inferences on the possible effects of climate change using climatic data from Colombia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. For this, the effect of eight temperature regimes (15, 20, 23, 25, 27, 30, 33 and 35°C) on the bionomics of H. hampei was studied. Successful egg to adult development occurred between 20-30°C. Using linear regression and a modified Logan model, the lower and upper thresholds for development were estimated at …

Testing And Application Of Surrogate Surfaces For Understanding Potential Gaseous Oxidized Mercury Dry Deposition, Seth N. Lyman, Mae Sexauer Gustin, Eric M. Prestbo, Phillip I. Kilner, Eric Edgerton, Ben Hartsell

USU Uintah Basin Faculty Publications

Currently there is no standard method for measurement of atmospheric mercury dry deposition. While all operationally defined forms of atmospheric mercury (elemental, oxidized, and particulate) can be dry deposited, oxidized forms are of concern due to high deposition velocities, water solubility, and reactivity. This paper describes the development of a surrogate surface for characterizing potential dry deposition of gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM). Laboratory tests showed that the surface collected HgCl2, HgBr2, and HgO with equal efficiency, and deposition was not significantly influenced by temperature, humidity, or ozone concentrations. Deposition of mercury to surfaces in field deployments was correlated with GOM …

White Lupin Leads To Increased Maize Yield Through A Soil Fertility-Independent Mechanism: A New Candidate For Fighting Striga Hermonthica Infestation?, Laure Weisskopf, Pollycarp Akello, Roxane Milleret, Zeyaur R. Khan, Fritz Schulthess, Jean Michel Gobat, Renée Claire Le Bayon

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Nitrogen (N)-deficiency and lack of phosphorus (P) availability are major constraints to maize yields in Western Kenya. In a two-season field study in the lake Victoria basin, we tested the capacity of white lupin (Lupinus albus (L.), cv. Ultra), as a nitrogen-fixing crop with a highly efficient P-acquisition capacity, to increase maize yields when used as a companion or cover crop, or as a source of organic matter. Each experiment was performed on three different fields (Vertisols) differing in N/P availability, previous cropping history and in levels of infestation by the parasitic weed Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth. Our results show …

Dynamics Of Cocoa Pollination: Tools And Applications For Surveying And Monitoring Cocoa Pollinators, E. A. Frimpong, I. Gordon, P. K. Kwapong, B. Gemmill-Herren

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Pollinators are important natural agents for fruit and seed formation in most tree crops and the use of appropriate sampling methods is fundamental in studying their population. A study to develop surveying and monitoring protocols for cocoa pollinators was undertaken in Ghana. Yellow, white and blue UV-bright painted pan traps (UVPPT), McPhail traps and motorized aspirators were used to sample pollinators of cocoa for 13 successive months, after 6 days assessment of the effectiveness of the traps and diurnal active period of the pollinators. The peak pollinating period of cocoa by ceratopogonid midges was between 07.00 and 12.00h, as previously …

Influence Of Temperature On Virulence Of Fungal Isolates Of Metarhizium Anisopliae And Beauveria Bassiana To The Two-Spotted Spider Mite Tetranychus Urticae, David Mugisho Bugeme, Markus Knapp, Hamadi Iddi Boga, Anthony Kibira Wanjoya, Nguya Kalemba Maniania

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Twenty-three isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sokorin and three isolates of Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin (Ascomycota: Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) were assessed for their virulence against the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae). Based on the screening results, nine isolates of M. anisopliae and two isolates of B. bassiana were tested for their virulence against young adult (1- to 2-day-old) female T. urticae at constant temperatures of 20, 25, 30 and 35°C. At all temperatures tested, all the fungal isolates were pathogenic to T. urticae but mortality varied with isolates and temperatures. Fungal isolates were more virulent at 25, 30 …

Ordway Weather And Water Data 2009, Macalester College

Ordway Weather Data

Contains daily readings for the year indicated. The values include: PAR umol/s/m2, avg wind dir degree, avg windspeed mph, Avg Max Windspeed mph, Avg airtemp C, Avg RH %, Avg BP mmHg, Avg DailyRain in, Avg Rain Duration sec, Avg RainIntensity in/h, Avg Water Temp F, Avg sp cond mS/cm, avg pH, Avg Turb NTU+, Avg ODOSat %, Avg ODO mg/L, Water station PAR umol/s/m2, Avg Water Level m. File format: CSV.

Understanding The Physical Properties That Control Protein Crystallization By Analysis Of Largescale Experimental Data, W. Nicholson Price Ii, Yang Chen, Samuel K. Handelman, Helen Neely, Philip Manor, Richard Karlin, Rajesh Nair, Jinfeng Liu, Michael Baran, John Everett, Saichiu N. Tong, Farhad Forouhar, Swarup S. Swaminathan, Thomas Acton, Rong Xiao, Joseph R. Luft, Angela Lauricella, George T. Detitta, Burkhard Rost, Gaetano T. Montelione, John T. Hunt

Law Faculty Scholarship

Crystallization is the most serious bottleneck in high-throughput protein-structure determination by diffraction methods. We have used data mining of the large-scale experimental results of the Northeast Structural Genomics Consortium and experimental folding studies to characterize the biophysical properties that control protein crystallization. This analysis leads to the conclusion that crystallization propensity depends primarily on the prevalence of well-ordered surface epitopes capable of mediating interprotein interactions and is not strongly influenced by overall thermodynamic stability. We identify specific sequence features that correlate with crystallization propensity and that can be used to estimate the crystallization probability of a given construct. Analyses of …

Determinants Of Atmospheric Mercury Concentrations In Reno, Nevada, U.S.A., Seth N. Lyman, Mae Sexauer Gustin

USU Uintah Basin Faculty Publications

Concentrations of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM) and particulate-bound mercury (PBM) were measured along with ancillary variables 9 km east of downtown Reno, Nevada, U.S.A. from November 2006 through March 2009. Mean two-year (February 2007 through January 2009) GEM, GOM, and PBM concentrations were 2.0 ± 0.7 ng m− 3 (± standard deviation), 18 ± 22 pg m− 3, and 7 ± 7 pg m− 3, respectively. Data collected were compared with observations made at another location just north of the city at 169 m higher elevation. At both locations higher concentrations of GEM and PBM occurred …

Fault Formation In Porous Sedimentary Rocks At High Strain Rates, Wendy R.O. Key

Canyonlands Research Bibliography

No abstract provided.

Maze Maps & Benchmark Problems, Nathan R. Sturtevant

Moving AI Lab: 2D Maps and Benchmark Problems

Contains 60 maps of size 512x512 and benchmark problem sets. These maps are algorithm-generated mazes with corridor widths of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, or 32. There are 10 maps and problem sets for each corridor size.