Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Dendrochemical Analysis Of Lead, Aluminum, And Calcium In Southern Appalachian American Beech., Laura Suzanne Southerland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The health of the northern hardwood forest in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia has recently gained attention from the media and environmental stakeholders. This project was designed to examine concentrations of metals, including lead, aluminum, and calcium in growth rings of an important northern hardwood species, American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) at Mount Rogers and Whitetop Mountain, Virginia. Dominant and codominant trees were sampled from sixteen research plots located at two different elevations. Samples were crossdated, divided into sections of ten-year periods, and analyzed using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Concentrations of metals were negatively correlated …

Explorations In The Classification Of Vertices As Good Or Bad., Eugenie Marie Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For a graph G, a set S is a dominating set if every vertex in V-S has a neighbor in S. A vertex contained in some minimum dominating set is called good; otherwise it is bad. A graph G has g(G) good vertices and b(G) bad vertices. The relationship between the order of G and g(G) assigns the graph to one of four classes.

Our results include a method of classifying caterpillars. Further, we develop realizability conditions for a graph G given a triple of nonnegative integers …

Radical P-Chains In L3(2)., Donald Dewayne Belcher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The McKay-Alperin-Dade Conjecture, which has not been finally verified, predicts the number of complex irreducible characters in various p-blocks of a finite group G as an alternating sum of the numbers of characters in related p-blocks of certain subgroups of G. The sub-groups involved are the normalizers of representatives of conjugacy classes of radical p-chains of G. For this reason, it is of interest to study radical p-chains. In this thesis, we examine the group L₃(2) and determine representatives of the conjugacy classes of radical p-subgroups and radical p-chains for …

Leveraging Test Measurements Into Proposing Additional Domain Tests., Radhika Turlapati

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Accuracy and efficiency are extremely critical factors for large real-time control applications. A small oversight can cause catastrophic failure of a real-time system. Thus, these applications have to be tested meticulously to prevent any catastrophe that might occur. But, testing these applications exhaustively is not tractable, mainly due to the inherent complexity of the applications and also the huge amount of inputs and outputs that these applications involve. In order to save valuable amounts of time and resources, automated testing is imperative. Also, quantitative metrics have to be provided that assess the existing quality of the system and help increase …

Distribution List Maker Program With Inter-User Capabilities Between Universities And Colleges In The Tennessee Board Of Regents School System., Allan Richard Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

E-mail is an important tool for faculty and staff at the university, college, department, and instructor levels. E-mail is a useful medium in the academic setting for corresponding at all levels. Instructors e-mail students about assignments, lectures, and urgent information: for example, postponed classes and changes in the schedule. In addition e-mail is used to let potential students know about job opportunities. Other routine uses for e-mail include group communications within academic committees and groups of students collaborating on projects.

Most users of e-mail who send messages to multiple recipients enter each recipients e-mail address into the TO: field individually …

A Data Layout Descriptor Language (Ladel)., Ashfaq Ahmed Jeelani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To transfer data between devices and main memory, standard C block I/O interfaces use block buffers of type char. C++ programs that perform block I/O commonly use typecasting to move data between structures and block buffers. The subject of this thesis, the layout description language (LADEL), represents a high-level solution to the problem of block buffer management. LADEL provides operators that hide the casting ordinarily required to pack and to unpack buffers and guard against overflow of the virtual fields. LADEL also allows a programmer to dynamically define a structured view of a block buffer's contents. This view includes the …

Quantitative Analysis Of Domain Testing Effectiveness., Narendra Koneru

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The criticality of the applications modeled by the real-time software places stringent requirements on software quality before deploying into real use. Though automated test tools can be used to run a large number of tests efficiently, the functionality of any test tool is not complege without providing a means for analyzing the test results to determine potential problem sub-domains and sub-domains that need to be covered, and estimating the reliability of the modeled system.

This thesis outlines a solution strategy and implementation of that strategy for deriving quantitative metrics from domain testing of real-time control software tested via simulation. The …

Local And Systemic Controls On Fish And Fish Habitat In South Dakota Rivers And Streams: Implications For Management, Craig L. Milewski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Assessments of the health of rivers and streams in prairie environments would improve if the role of systemic patterns and processes among geologic-climatic settings in controlling physical habitat and fish communities were better defined. My research approach was based on a premise that assessments of the health of rivers and streams in prairie environments would benefit from studies that 1) examine the moderating effects of systemic patterns and processes by comparing physical habitat continua and fish communities among geologic-climatic settings, 2) determine the relative influence of locally interacting variables (e .g., channel shape and riparian vegetation) and systemic processes in …

Population Characteristics And Sampling Methods Of Catfish For The James And Big Sioux Rivers, John E. Aterburn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Concerns about the sustainability of catfish populations that produce large fish have increased because of abundant media images of large catfish and improvements in specialized fishing equipment. This study will help biologists address these concerns by providing important information about the channel catfish lctalurus punctarus and flathead catfish Pylodictis olivaris populations of the James and Big Sioux rivers and by assessing the effectiveness of various gears used to sample catfish. I compared the number of channel catfish and flathead catfish caught on trotlines by riverine habitat type, hook type, and bait type along with electrofishing and different hoop net combinations. …

The Status And Distribution Of The Topeka Shiner Notropis Topeka In Eastern South Dakota, Carmen M. Blausey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Topeka shiner Notropis topeka is a small (< 75 mm) minnow that inhabits prairie streams in several north central plains states. Once widespread and abundant throughout its historic range, the Topeka shiner is now found only in isolated populations. Because of an 80% reduction in occurrence throughout their range, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Topeka shiner as endangered in January 1999. At the time, limited information on habitat preferences and dist1ibution existed for this species in South Dakota. The objectives of this study were to measure local habitat features and water quality conditions at the reach scale at Topeka shiner study sites, create a model using these data to determine favorable habitat conditions, and identify fish species commonly associated with Topeka shiners. Fish and habitat data were collected at 61 tributary sites of the James, Vermillion, and Big Sioux rivers from June through September in 1999 and 2000. Sample sites in 1999 were based on historic Topeka shiner records in the South Dakota Natural Heritage Database. Sample sites in 2000 were based on a draft GIS model identifying potential Topeka shiner streams. Fish were collected with seines between block nets and standard procedures were used to measure physical and hydrological features of stream reaches. Cyprinids dominated the fish community for each river basin during both sample years. Insectivores and omnivores were the dominant trophic classes for each river basin for both sample years. Fish community associations for Topeka shiners were based on two stepwise logistic regression models: abundance of individual species at each site and presence or absence of individual species at each site. The abundance model indicated that Topeka shiners were most commonly associated with orangespotted sunfish Lepomis lutrenis and tadpole madtoms Noturns gyrinus. The presence/absence model showed that Topeka shiners were typically associated with red shiners Notropis lutrenis, tadpole madtoms Noturns gyrinus, black bullheads Ameiurus melas, and bigmouth shiners Notropis dorsalis. Habitat preferences were based on three stepwise logistic regression models: physical habitat water quality, and substrate composition at the reach scale. The physical habitat model indicated that Topeka shiners are associated with stream reaches that had low animal use, overhanging vegetation, stream bank vegetation comprised of sedges/rushes, low depositional zones, and run macrohabitat. The water quality model did not indicate any favorable or preferred conditions. The substrate model indicated that Topeka shiners are associated with stream reaches that had fine gravel or cobble substrates. The results of my study will lead to a better understanding of Topeka shiner distribution and habitat, and aid federal and state agencies in making management decisions that provide for protection and preservation of this species.

Measures Of Denitrification In Selected South Dakota Semi-Permanent Prairie Pothole Wetlands, Beverly S. Klein

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wetlands are an integral part of agricultural systems in the prairie pothole regions of the North Central United States and Canadian Provinces. Little research has been done on denitrification in prairie potholes, and a better understanding of their denitrifying capability could aide in optimizing management practices near pothole areas. Most probable number (MPN) and denitrifying enzyme activity (DEA or Phase I) assays were conducted. Most probable number (MPN) measures were used to give an estimate of dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonia (DNRA) and denitrifying populations present in the wetlands. This study involved 3 selected semi-permanent prairie pothole wetlands near Madison, …

Invertebrate Egg And Plant Seed Banks In Natural, Restored, And Drained Wetlands In The Prairie Pothole Region (Usa) And Potential Effects Of Sedimentation On Recolonization Of Hydrophytes And Aquatic Invertebrates, Robert Andrew Gleason

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sediment is the major pollutant of wetlands, lakes, rivers, and estuaries in the United States and it poses unique threats to wetlands of the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR). Sediment may impact the success of wetland restorations because burial of invertebrate and plant propagules may impact hatching and germination success, and hence, may hamper successional changes throughout interannual climate cycles. Sedimentation also reduces the pool depth and volume, further exacerbating the recovery of hydrophyte communities in restored wetlands. I evaluated the potential impacts of sedimentation on prairie wetlands from several perspectives. First, I evaluated the effects of sedimentation on loss of …

Utility Of Walleyes And Saugeyes As Secondary Predators In Small South Dakota Impoundments, Mark J. Ermer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Walleye Stizostedion vitreum and saugeye (walleye x sauger S. canadense) fingerlings were concurrently stocked at equal densities into five small impoundments in 1997, 1988, and 1999 to evaluate relative survival, growth and their ability to restructure existing panfish communities. Prior to stocking, fish were differentially marked on the right or left side with freeze brands or with 700 ppm oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTC) to allow accurate identification of each fish as a walleye (fry mark) or a saugeye (fingerling mark). Spring and fall night electrofishing was used to sample the stocked percids, as well as potential competing species such as largemouth …

Performance Of Bootstrap Confidence Intervals For L-Moments And Ratios Of L-Moments., Suzanne Glass

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

L-moments are defined as linear combinations of expected values of order statistics of a variable.(Hosking 1990) L-moments are estimated from samples using functions of weighted means of order statistics. The advantages of L-moments over classical moments are: able to characterize a wider range of distributions; L-moments are more robust to the presence of outliers in the data when estimated from a sample; and L-moments are less subject to bias in estimation and approximate their asymptotic normal distribution more closely.

Hosking (1990) obtained an asymptotic result specifying the sample L-moments have a multivariate normal distribution as n approaches infinity. The standard …

A Study Of Disk Performance Optimization., Richard Scott Gray

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Response time is one of the most important performance measures associated with a typical multi-user system. Response time, in turn, is bounded by the performance of the input/output (I/O) subsystem. Other than the end user and some external peripherals, the slowest component of the I/O subsystem is the disk drive.

One standard strategy for improving I/O subsystem performance uses high-performance hardware like Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) drives to improve overall response time. SCSI hardware, unfortunately, is often too expensive to use in low-end multi-user systems. The low-end multi-user systems commonly use inexpensive Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) disk drives to …

Vertices In Total Dominating Sets., Robert Elmer Dautermann Iii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fricke, Haynes, Hedetniemi, Hedetniemi, and Laskar introduced the following concept. For a graph G = (V,E), let rho denote a property of interest concerning sets of vertices. A vertex u is rho-good if u is contained in a {minimum, maximum} rho-set in G and rho-bad if u is not contained in a rho-set. Let g denote the number of rho-good vertices and b denote the number of rho-bad vertices. A graph G is called rho-excellent if every vertex in V is rho-good, rho-commendable if g > b > 0, rho-fair if g = b, and …

Statistical Power Analysis Of Dissertations Completed By Students Majoring In Educational Leadership At Tennessee Universities, Heping Deng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to estimate the level of statistical power demonstrated in recent dissertations in the field of educational leadership. Power tables provided in Cohen's (1988) Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences were used to determine the power of the statistical tests conducted in dissertations selected from five universities in Tennessee. The meta-analytic approach was used to summarize and synthesize the findings. The population of this study consisted of all dissertations successfully defended by doctoral students majoring in educational leadership/administration at East Tennessee State University, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Tennessee State University, the University …

Mode Vertices And Mode Graphs., Jobriath Scott Kauffman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The eccentricity of a vertex, v, of a connected graph, G, is the distance to a furthest vertex from v. A mode vertex of a connected graph, G, is a vertex whose eccentricity occurs as often in the eccentricity sequence of G as the eccentricity of any other vertex. The mode of a graph, G, is the subgraph induced by the mode vertices of G. A mode graph is a connected graph for which each vertex is a mode vertex. Note that mode graphs are a generalization of self-centered graphs. This paper presents some …

Food Habits And Diet Overlap Of Age-1 And Older Walleye And White Bass In Lake Poinsett, South Dakota, Andrew B. Starostka

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

White bass Marone chysops and walleye Stizostedion vitreum coexist in several of the large glacial lakes in eastern South Dakota. I collected age-1 and older white bass and walleye in Lake Poinsett, South Dakota during May, July and September, 1998 to determine food habits and diet overlap using percent by weight to describe diets and Schoener's index (Cxy) to determine diet overlap. Macroinvertebrates were common prey items for white bass in all length groups during all sample dates. The primary macroinvertebrates consumed by white bass were corixids, amphipods and dipterans. Fish, as a group, were second in diet importance over …

Owls Of The Idaho National Engineering And Environmental Laboratory (Ineel), Natalie A. Fahler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) is a 2,315 km2 energy research and development site located on the Upper Snake River Plain of Southeast Idaho. Owl research was conducted on the site during the spring and summers of 1996-1997. Objectives were to: a) determine productivity, habitat use, and possible nest site selection factors of burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia ), b) verify the presence of small owl species including the boreal owl (Aegolius funereus), the northern saw-whet owl (A. acadicus), the western screech owl (Otus kennicottii), the flammulated owl (0. flammeolus), and the northern pygmy owl (Glaucidium gnoma), c) …

Passerine Use Of Grasslands Managed With Two Grazing Regimes On The Missouri Coteau In North Dakota, Natoma A. Schneider

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Several rotational grazing systems have been implemented on the Missouri Coteau in central and northcentral North Dakota as part of the Prairie Pothole Joint Venture (PP N). The impacts these systems have on grassland passerines are not fully understood. Objectives for this study include determining relative abundance, species composition and reproductive success of passerines as well as vegetation characteristics for rotational and traditional season-long grazing regimes. Passerine relative abundance and species richness were determined on rotational grazing systems during 1995-1997 and on season-long grazed pastures during 1996-1997 using 122 fixed, 100 m radius, point counts. Relative abundance was assessed by …

The Wind Cave National Park Elk Herd: Home Ranges, Seasonal Movements, And Alternative Control Methods, Peter Bauman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Elk (Cervus elaphus ne/soni) herd organization, movements, and home range size in Wind Cave National Park (WICA) were studied from May 1996 to August 1997. Twenty radiocollared elk ( 10 males, 10 females) were relocated by ground and aerial telemetry. Radiocollared elk were relocated two times/week, resulting in 1,595 relocations ( 410 ground, 1, 185 aerial). Coefficients of association (CA) for radiocollared cows averaged 0.005 during spring/summer 1996, 0.033 during spring/summer 1997, and 0.295 during falVwinter 1996. Coefficients of association for radiocollared bulls averaged 0.011 during spring/summer 1996, 0.015 during spring/summer 1997, and 0.075 during faIVwinter 1996. Three cow subherds …

Calibration Methodology And Multiple Tip Structure By Scanning Tunneling Microscopy., Michael Stephen Gossman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The scanning tunneling microscope has been in commercial use just over a decade. Due to its Quantum Mechanical nature, experiments in this area have been widely publicized to the scientific community. The apparatus is steadily growing easier to use, though fundamental problems are still present. In the first chapter, an address is given on the modem theory of tunneling to rationalize the conclusions Physicists made long ago about this phenomenon. The expanded theory generalizes the mathematical motivation for attempting such unique experiments and serves as a lead-in for the major components of the apparatus. Many texts do not quantize what …

Habitat Area Requirements Of Prairie Wetland Birds In Eastern South Dakota, David E. Naugle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The influence of area and vegetation structure on bird use of 830 semipermanent and seasonal wetlands (0.2-217.5 ha) was studied to evaluate vegetative needs and habitat area requirements of 20 breeding wetland bird species in eastern South Dakota in 1995-1996. Vegetative preferences of species varied, but most waterfowl and nongame species occur e4i more frequently in wetlands with intermediate cover-to-water ratios whereas five over-water nesting or secretive nongame species were found in wetlands with greater coverage of emergent vegetation. The occurrence of four nongame species that depend on vegetative structure to support the weight of their over-water nests also was …

Early Life History Of Yellow Perch In Eastern South Dakota Lakes, Shannon Fisher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Yellow perch Perea flavescens are a popular South Dakota sportfish; however, inconsistent recruitment creates highly variable and unpredictable perch fishery quality. Before fishery managers can begin to develop and assess strategies to stabilize yellow perch recruitment, a better understanding of their early life history is required. I selected two natural lakes with differing yellow perch population types and monitored brood stock, spawning habits, and larval and juvenile life history patterns during 1995 and 1996. Pelican Lake was selected as a representative yellow perch population exhibiting inconsistent recruitment and Pickerel Lake as a population with relatively consistent recruitment. Yellow perch tended …

Effects Of Wind Turbines On Nongame Birds In Conservation Reserve Program Grasslands In Southwestern Minnesota, Krecia L. Leddy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One concern of wind power development for electrical energy generation has been the potential for bird collisions with wind turbines. The effects of wind turbines on nongame bird composition and density in Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grasslands was evaluated in summer 1995 along Buffalo Ridge in southwestern Minnesota. Bird density in CRP fields with wind turbines was compared with that found in cropland, pastureland, woodland, and CRP grasslands without the presence of wind turbines. Bird species composition and density were determined within fixed width (40 m) transects. Nongame bird species richness and density were greater in woodlands and CRP grasslands …

Preprocessing Of Microcirculatory Images., Mohamed S. Mansour

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis project consists of the development of a computerized image processing system to preprocess microvascular images of the mouse Latisimus Dorsi Muscle (LDM). This research has been conducted in association with the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Louisville. The input to the system is a set of 35 or more overlapping microscopic fields or sub_images containing segments of the LDM microcirculation, the output is an adjacent single montage encompassing the entire LDM microvasculature. The developed system presents practical solutions to the problems of image registration, overlap resolution, and image segmentation, in addition, the results …

Bioenergetics Of Walleye In Lake Oahe, South Dakota, Scott D. Bryan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The food habits, caloric density, and population dynamics of walleye Stizostedion vitreum were determined in 1993 and 1994 and combined with information on energetics and growth to determine the trophic interactions of walleyes in Lake Oahe, South Dakota. Monofilament gill nets were set at three depths in the water column (bottom, suspended, and surface) from May through September, 1994 to determine the effect of gill net placement on catch rates of walleyes. Catch per unit effort of walleyes was greater in bottom nets during July (5.2/net-h) than any other month or net location. In addition, 25- and 38-mm mesh sizes …

Raptor Use Of The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Richard Wayne Hansen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Raptors are high trophic-level predators, and thus sensitive to environmental change. I conducted a basic ecological study of raptors using the Idaho National Environmental Laboratory (INEL), in southeastern Idaho, between 1991 and 1993 to assess effects of human activity on the site. Results were compared to previous raptor studies conducted on the INEL from 1974-1976 and in 1982, as well as with studies of rough-legged hawks, long-eared owls, and burrowing owls conducted during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Road-side raptor surveys were conducted from January through May in 1992 and 1993. Principle species recorded were rough-legged hawks, red-tailed hawks, …

Winter/Spring Population Characteristics Of White-Tailed Deer In An Agricultural/Wetland Complex In Northeastern South Dakota, Brian J. Kernohan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Habitat preference, cover characteristics of corn, movements, and sexual segregation patterns of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were evaluated at Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge (SLNWR) in winter (January - March) and spring (April - June), 1993 and 1994. An average of 20 radio-collared deer were monitored per season, which resulted in 4, 058 relocations. Habitat preference was assessed using 95 and 50% home range contours that were estimated using an adaptive kernel method. Agricultural crops (i.e., corn [Zea mays], row crops other than corn [e.g., soybeans [Glycine max]], small grains [e. g., wheat [Triticum aestivum]], and alfalfa [Medicago sativa]) were …