Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Hydrogeochemistry And Water Quality Of Echo Hills, Joel M. Kimball

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Ground water of the Echo Hills area in Clark County, Ohio was investigated for common water contaminants such as nitrate and coliform bacteria. Thirty-four water samples were collected from locations including private wells, streams and a spring. Nine of those samples were selected for nitrogen isotope analysis. Three locations were chosen for a tracer test. Additionally, well log data, historical water quality data, and GIS data were obtained from the Clark County Health Department in Springfield, Ohio. Results show that local agriculture likely has the greatest impact on ground water quality in Echo Hills especially the north-eastern portion, with local …

Polystyrene As A Medium In Reverse-Phase Separation Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Madhavi Mantha

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The purpose of the research was to design a method using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) that would separate the sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) designated by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as priority pollutants on two different kinds of polystyrene (PS) in the reversed phase. One was a zirconia-based column coated with polystyrene. The other was a polystyrene divinylbenzene (PS-DVB) column. The idea behind using these columns was to take advantage of extreme retention of PAHs by these columns by using high temperatures or temperature programming in order to reduce the amount of organic modifier in the mobile phases to perform …

Analysis And Transformation Of Post-Conditions, Abhinav Vasikarla

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Software engineers have been trying for years to develop a software synthesis system that can transform a formal specification model to a design model from which executable code can be generated. AFIT wide spectrum object modeling environment (AWESOME) is one result of their research. AWESOME presents a formal model as an abstract syntax tree. This model consists mainly of object class specifications. The methods in these classes are specified using pre and post-conditions. The intent of this thesis is to support the transformation of post-conditions to code statements. A post-condition is first categorized as dependent or independent relative to other …

Percolation-Based Techniques For Upscaling The Hydraulic Conductivity Of Semi-Realistic Geological Media, Bilal Idriss

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I tested three schemes for "upscaling" the hydraulic conductivity (K) on aquifers with bimodal K distributions. This bimodality (e.g., sand and mud deposits) was intended to capture typical geological conditions. Results were tested with a numerical model. Upscaling techniques used were inspired by schemes interpolating between arithmetic and harmonic means, but are based on percolation theory: 1) Critical path analysis (CPA), 2) Percolation path analysis (PPA, or standard scaling), and a novel scaling approach. Models chosen were both spatially correlated and uncorrelated, with important differences in critical percolation probabilities, Pc. Volume fractions Ps and 1-Ps (with Ps = sand volume …

Exploration Of Gradient-Type Poly(Arylene Ether)S Via An Abb' Monomer System, Alex V. Dolgov

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Evidence shows that a gradient like copolymer can be synthesized using nucleophilic aromatic substitution, NAS, chemistry. Using the 4-chloro-3-fluoro-4'hydroxydiphenylsulfone monomer, 5, it is possible to control the ratios of the leaving groups, in this case the fluorine and the chlorine, with the right solvent and temperature. Alternating the temperatures will alter the substitution of the leaving groups, thus forming a polymer backbone of gradient characteristics. Initial reactions to determine the relative rates of displacement of the chlorine and fluorine atoms were carried out using a model compound, 1, which possessed the chlorine and fluorine leaving groups, but not the phenol …

Extracting, Representing And Mining Semantic Metadata From Text: Facilitating Knowledge Discovery In Biomedicine, Cartic Ramakrishnan

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The information access paradigm offered by most contemporary text information systems is a search-and-sift paradigm where users have to manually glean and aggregate relevant information from the large number of documents that are typically returned in response to keyword queries. Expecting the users to glean and aggregate information has lead to several inadequacies in these information systems. Owing to the size of many text databases, search-and-sift is a very tedious often requiring repeated keyword searches refining or generalizing queries terms. A more serious limitation arises from the lack of automated mechanisms to aggregate content across different documents to discover new …

Object Similarity Through Correlated Third-Party Objects, Ting Sa

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Given a pair of objects, it is of interest to know how they are related to each other and the strength of their similarity. Many previous studies focused on two types of similarity measures: The first type is based on closeness of attribute values of two given objects, and the second type is based on how often the two objects co-occur in transactions/tuples.

In this thesis we study a new behavior-based similarity measure, which evaluates similarity between two objects by considering how similar their correlated third-party object sets are. Behavior-based similarity can help us find pairs of objects that have …

Performance And Complexity Co-Evaluations Of Mpeg4-Als Compression Standard For Low-Latency Music Compression, Isaac Kevin Matthew

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In this thesis compression ratio and latency of different classical audio music tracks are analyzed with various encoder options of MPEG4ALS. Different tracks of audio music tracks are tested with MPEG4-ALS coder with different options to find the optimum values for various parameters to obtain maximum compression ratio with minimum CPU time (encoder and decoder time). Optimum frame length for which the compression ratio saturates for music audio is found out by analyzing the results when different classical music tracks are experimented with various frame lengths. Also music tracks with varying sampling rate are tested and the compression ratio and …

Electrochemistry Of Trinuclear Metal Clusters Of Molybdenum And Tungsten In 1-Ethyl-3- Methylimidazolium Tetrafluoroborate, Tracey Lynn Harris

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The imidazolium based ionic liquid: 1-ethyl-3-methylimidizoliumtetrafluoroborate, (EMIBF4) was synthesized to be used as a solvent for the electrochemical investigation of molybdenum and tungsten. The electrochemical window is about 4.2V after removing traces of impurities such as Cl^- and H₂O. Electronic spectra of metal clusters [Mo₃O₂(O₂CCH₃)₆(H₂O)₃]⁺² ; [W₃O₂(O₂CCH₃)₆(H₂O)₃]⁺² ; [MoW₂O₂(O₂CCH₃)₆(H₂O)₃]⁺² and [Mo_{2 …}

Geologic Mapping Of The Changgo Dome In Southern Tibet Using Aster Imagery, Andrew Paul Folfas

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Within the thick TSS, south of the Indus-Tsangpo Suture, a series of granitic intrusions and gneissic domes crop out along the NHA. These culminations are common features that are seen in orogenic belts; therefore, understanding the nature and development of these features is an integral part of this study and other collisional orogenic studies. Changgo Dome is a granitic dominated feature that is characterized by the presence of two spectrally similar Tertiary granites. This zone is nearly inaccessible for ground mapping, thus it is an ideal setting for the use of satellite imagery as a cartographic medium. In a previous …

An Assessment Of The Allelopathic Potential Of Alliaria Petiolata, Eulondia Kathryn Barto

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Garlic mustard (GM), Alliaria petiolata, a European biennial herb invasive in North America, produces secondary metabolites that may contribute to its invasive success by allelopathically inhibiting growth of native plants. I tested this hypothesis by determining the levels, and stability, of these compounds in field soils. I also explored differences in the phytochemical profiles of GM and closely related North American species, and biogeographic differences in allelopathic effects on North American and European arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Furthermore, I exposed a North American annual herb, pale jewelweed (Impatiens pallida), and its AMF, to GM extracts in order …

Characterization Of Inert Gas Rf Plasma-Treated Indium Tin Oxide Thin Films Deposited Via Pulsed Dc Magnetron Sputtering, Amber Nicole Reed

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In this work, the effects of a post-deposition RF plasma treatment on indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films prepared with pulsed DC magnetron sputtering in argon were investigated. The parameters of the post-deposition were studied to determine what RF power and gas pressure resulted in the greatest reduction in resistivity in the films while producing the smallest increase in substrate temperature for treatments with both argon and oxygen plasmas. The as-deposited (untreated) films and the treated films were characterized using Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction to determine the effects of the post-deposition treatment on the degree of film crystallization. XPS …

Evanescent Microwave Microscopy Of Porcine Skin Tissue, Richard A. Kleismit

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This thesis describes the application of a custom designed λ/4 resonant coaxial probe to measurements of the complex permittivity of in vitro freshly excised porcine skin tissue. The dielectric properties of the organic material within the near field of the tip of the probe frustrates the electric field and measurably changes the resonant frequency and quality factor Q of the coaxial sensor, where the change in resonant frequency and quality factor of a tuned resonance is measured as a function of tip-sample separation. The design of the probe enables better spatial resolution than previously developed probes. The following studies were …

Poly(Arylene Ether)S With Truly Pendant Benzene Sulfonic Acid Groups, Mohamed Moustafa Abdellatif

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A series of new sulfonated poly(arylene ether)s containing one sulfonic acid group, located on a pendant phenyl sulfonyl moiety, at every repeat unit was synthesized using 3-sulfonated-3', 5'-difluorophenyl Sulfone, 4, and a variety of bisphenols. A conventional nucleophilic aromatic substitution (NAS) was utilized for the homopolymerization and copolymerization reactions. Polymerization reactions of 4 in NMP at 180 °C provided the corresponding linear sulfonated poly(arylene ether)s, s-PAEs, with number average molecular weight, M_n, ranging from 10,000 to 38,000 Daltons. All of the polymers were characterized by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning …

Availability And Toxicity Of Nickel To Lotic Periphyton And Macroinvertebrates, Stephanie Marie Bessom

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There is a lack of information regarding the bioaccumulation and toxicity of nickel (Ni) to lotic ecosystems. The objective of this study was to investigate the source, uptake, and toxicity of Ni by periphyton and macroinvertebrates (Hyalella azteca and Daphnia magna) in simulated stream ecosystems that included sediment and water. Periphyton were exposed to two types of sediment, a low-organic sandy mixture and a high organic silt, treated with varying levels of Ni. After 96 h, Ni levels in overlying water and periphyton were related to those in sediments, although differences existed between sediment types. Tests with 64Ni added to …

Analysis And Interpretation Of 2d Seismic Data Over The Ancona Gas Storage Facility, Illinois, Using Petrel Visualization Software, Nilanjan Roy

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Intriguing features of the North American mid-continent are the widespread and prominent subhorizontal seismic reflectors that are thought to be associated with thick sequences of layered rocks beneath the Phanerozoic cover of the Illinois Basin. The present investigation was an effort to identify and interpret new structural features of the pre-Paleozoic crust at the Ancona Gas Storage field in north-central Illinois. A grid of existing seismic data was reprocessed using the technique of extended correlation.

The reprocessed data was then analyzed using Schlumberger's Petrel visualization software for seismic interpretation and reconstruction of the 2D and 3D crustal geometry. The reprocessing …

Investigating Nickel Flux And Toxicity In Clay Sediments With Batch And Stream Recirculating Flume Experiments, Christina Elizabeth Cloran

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Using batch and stream recirculating flume experiments to compare and contrast one clayey sediment (Warden Ditch) and two analytical grade clay minerals (montmorillonite and kaolinite), the dynamic interactions between two aquatic stressors (suspended solids and nickel) were explored. Aldrich humic acid was incorporated to demonstrate the mitigating effects of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) on Ni toxicity. The flux of Ni between compartments (dissolved and sorbed) was quantified as a partition/distribution coefficient. The USEPA test organism Daphnia magna (neonates, < 24 h) was utilized to evaluate toxicity in dynamic non-renewal, short-term bioassays. Generally, toxicity showed a linear relationship with turbidity level. Conversely, sorption coefficients were experiment specific, making them difficult to predict and assess. Clay functioned as an adsorbent, scavenging Ni. Results support the hypotheses that solids and metals act as stressors in streams, DOC attenuates the toxicity of Ni, and Ni fluxes quickly between system compartments.

Dissolution Kinetics Of Sulfate Minerals: Linking Environmental Significance Of Mineral-Water Interface Reactions To The Retention Of Aqueous Cro42- In Natural Waters, Sweta Bose

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Dissolution as a function of solution undersaturation (Ω) was studied on both celestite and barite (001) by the aid of atomic force microscopy (AFM). Both the sulfates exhibited non-linear reactivity trends showing increasing dissolution rates with decreasing Ω. In the case of celestite, the dissolution rate non linearity was attributed to a changeover in reaction mechanism. At higher undersaturations below a critical saturation state of Ω_crit ~ 0.1, dissolution occurred both along the existing step edges and also via the creation of new steps. At conditions near saturation states dissolution took place exclusively by removal of ions from existing …

Comparison Of Two Methods Of External Scatter Dose Contributions To The Contralateral Breast, James Cutlip

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The treatment outcomes of many forms of breast cancer have become very favorable. The usual standard of successful treatment of five years without a recurrence is not adequate any longer for breast cancer. Many patients live well beyond this time interval only to have a second malignancy develop in the contralateral breast ten or twenty years later. Boice et al (1992) found that there was a correlation between the amount of dose to the contralateral breast and the likelihood of a secondary malignancy forming.

The normal practice today is to use multi-leaf collimators (MLC) to modulate the photon beam in …

A Framework To Support Spatial, Temporal And Thematic Analytics Over Semantic Web Data, Matthew Steven Perry

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Spatial and temporal data are critical components in many applications. This is especially true in analytical applications ranging from scientific discovery to national security and criminal investigation. The analytical process often requires uncovering and analyzing complex thematic relationships between disparate people, places and events. Fundamentally new query operators based on the graph structure of Semantic Web data models, such as semantic associations, are proving useful for this purpose. However, these analysis mechanisms are primarily intended for thematic relationships. This dissertation proposes a framework built around the RDF data model for analysis of thematic, spatial and temporal relationships between named entities. …

Evolutionary Methodology For Optimization Of Image Transforms Subject To Quantization Noise, Michael Ray Peterson

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Lossy image compression algorithms sacrifice perfect imagereconstruction in favor of decreased storage requirements. Modelossy compression schemes, such as JPEG2000, rely upon the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) to achieve high levels of compression while minimizing the loss of information for image reconstruction. Some compression applications require higher levels of compression than those achieved through application of the DWT and entropy coding. In such lossy systems, quantization provides high compression rates at the cost of increased distortion. Unfortunately, as the amount of quantization increases, the performance of the DWT for accurate image reconstruction deteriorates. Previous research demonstrates that a genetic algorithm can …

Geological Mapping Of Orhon, Tariat, And Egiin Dawaa, Central Mongolia, Through The Interpretation Of Remote Sensing Data, Tara Alexandra Stolz

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Multi-spectral satellite data from the Advanced Spaceborn Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) and Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) were used to make interpretations regarding the surface lithology and structure of the Tariat, Egiin Dawaa, and Orhon regions in Central Mongolia. These areas experienced widespread Cenozoic volcanism. This study mapped the locations and extents of the volcanic flows, located cinder cones and faults evident in the areas, and identified a possible exposure of the Mongolian granitic batholith in the Orhon area. ER Mapper, a geospatial imaging software, was used to generate and run algorithms. Image transforms and supervised classifications were used …

The Synthesis And Characterization Of Imidazolium Lithium Phthalocyanines, John J. Kelley

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A series of 1,3-di-substituted-imidazolium lithium phthalocyanines, in which the substituents on the imidazolium nitrogens were combinations of methyl, ethyl, pentyl, hexyl, isopropyl, adamantyl or 2,4,6-trimethylphenyl groups, was synthesized. The cation exchange of a single lithium ion of dilithium phthalocyanine for a 1,3-disubstituted-imidazolium ion was performed by mixing their salts in common organic solvents under ambient conditions. This afforded a number of imidazolium lithium phthalocyanines in moderate yields. They exhibited poor solubility in most solvents. Their composition and purity were initially verified by 1H and 13C-NMR and elemental analysis. The 1H-NMR spectra also indicated that the imidazolium and lithium phthalocyanine ions …

Degradation Of Chlorinated Ethenes In Mesocosms Simulating A Constructed Wetland, At Wpafb, Ohio, Dibyendu Mukherjee

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The main purpose of this research was to study the degradation of chlorinated ethenes in upwardflowing mesocosms, simulating a constructed wetland at Wright Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) in Dayton, Ohio. This research was intended to compare biogeochemical processes and PCE degradation occurring in the mesocosms and in the field site. This research also tries to look at the effects of vegetation and season on the degradation efficiency of the mesocosms. Twelve PVC column reactors were built within the greenhouse of Wright State University in September 2005 to simulate the hydraulic conditions of a constructed wetland at WPAFB. The columns …

Estimation Of Evapotranspiration Of Cottonwood Trees In The Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, Cibola, Arizona, Amity J. Jetton

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This study used sap flow measurements and satellite imagery to estimatewater use by cottonwood (Populus fremontii S. Wats. ssp) trees in an irrigated restoration plot at Cibola National Wildlife Refuge on the Lower Colorado River. Several thousand hectares of irrigated plots of this type are planned to improve riparian habitat on the river, hence it is important to know how much water the trees require. In this study, the ET rates for 20 Freemont cottonwood trees, from an 8 ha plot, were monitored over a 30-day period. ET rates were estimated by measuring sap flow through branches of the trees. …

Algorithmic Techniques Employed In The Isolation Of Codon Usage Biases In Prokaryotic Genomes, Douglas W. Raiford Iii

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While genomic sequencing projects are an abundant source of information for biological studies ranging from the molecular to the ecological in scale, much of the information present may yet be hidden from casual analysis. One such information domain, trends in codon usage, can provide a wealth of information about an organism's genes and their expression. Degeneracy in the genetic code allows more than one triplet codon to code for the same amino acid, and usage of these codons is often biased such that one or more of these synonymous codons is preferred. Isolation of translational efficiency bias can have important …

The Impact Of Nutrient Availability And Algal Community On Carbon Isotope Fractionaion In Crystal Lake, Clark County, Ohio, April R. Wisebaker

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Crystal Lakes are a group of four interconnected lakes, located in southwestern Clark County, Ohio. Several studies have looked at separate geochemical and isotopic information at this location. However, no one has thoroughly studied the relationship between the algal community, geochemistry, and carbon isotope fractionation within Crystal Lake. The fractionation of carbon isotopes of dissolved inorganic carbonate is greatly affected by the process of photosynthesis; the amount of photosynthesis is affected by the amount of algae in the aquatic community; the amount of algae is affected by the available nutrients in system. Therefore, there should be a correlation between the …

Energy Efficient Image Video Sensor Networks, Paul Anthony Bender

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Image Video Sensor Networks are emerging applications for sensor network technologies. The relatively large size of the data collected by image video sensors presents new challenges for the sensor network in terms of energy consumption and channel capacity. We address each of these issues through the use of a high density network deployment utilizing some nodes as dedicated relay nodes.

A high density network allows network nodes to reduce their transmission power. This reduction in transmission power allows each node to conserve power and simultaneously increases the potential for spatially concurrent transmissions within the network, resulting in improved network throughputs. …

1-Alkyl-3-Methylimidazolium Bis(Pentafluoroethylsulfonyl)Imide Based Ionic Liquids: A Study Of Their Physical And Electrochemical Properties, Jennifer N. Decerbo

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Ionic liquids are an attractive possibility for battery electrolytes. Five ionic liquids were synthesized using a 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium (XMI+) cation, where the alkyl group was ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl, or hexyl, and a bis(pentafluoroethyl-sulfonyl)imide (Beti-) anion. The absorption and desorption of water, conductivities, densities, viscosities, decomposition temperatures, and electrochemical properties were studied. These ionic liquids were found to absorb less water than previously studied ionic liquids with tetrafluoroborate (BF4-) and hexafluorophosphate (PF6-) anions. Their conductivities decreased with longer alkyl chains on the imidazolium cation and were lower than ionic liquids with BF4- as the anion. The densities of the ionic liquids …

Paleoenvironment And Lateral Extent Of An Exposed Carbonate Build-Up: Horry County, South Carolina, Lisa A. Raterink

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A carbonate build-up exposed in the Intracoastal Waterway in Horry County, South Carolina is estimated to be Pleistocene to Pliocene in age. The carbonate build-up discontinuously spans approximately 12 kilometers of the waterway. Prominent formations in the area consist of the Waccamaw and the Canepatch Formation. A distinct sand layer is present laterally between the build-up and the excavated waterway bank, which consists primarily of well preserved fossil molluscs and echinoderms.

Field observations show that the carbonate build-up is bluish-gray in color and composed of shell fragments, predominantly mollusc, in a mud matrix. Thin sections analyzed, using a petrographic microscope, …