Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Development Of A Lab-On-A-Chip Device For Rapid Nanotoxicity Assessment In Vitro, Pratikkumar Shah

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increasing useof nanomaterials in consumer products and biomedical applications creates the possibilities of intentional/unintentional exposure to humans and the environment. Beyond the physiological limit, the nanomaterialexposure to humans can induce toxicity. It is difficult to define toxicity of nanoparticles on humans as it varies by nanomaterialcomposition, size, surface properties and the target organ/cell line. Traditional tests for nanomaterialtoxicity assessment are mostly based on bulk-colorimetric assays. In many studies, nanomaterials have found to interfere with assay-dye to produce false results and usually require several hours or days to collect results. Therefore, there is a clear need for alternative tools that can …

An Alternative Goodness-Of-Fit Test For Normality With Unknown Parameters, Weiling Shi

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Goodness-of-fit tests have been studied by many researchers. Among them, an alternative statistical test for uniformity was proposed by Chen and Ye (2009). The test was used by Xiong (2010) to test normality for the case that both location parameter and scale parameter of the normal distribution are known. The purpose of the present thesis is to extend the result to the case that the parameters are unknown. A table for the critical values of the test statistic is obtained using Monte Carlo simulation. The performance of the proposed test is compared with the Shapiro-Wilk test and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. …

Exploring The Use Of Everglades Agricultural Area Canal Water As Base Medium For The Mass Production Of Algae For Biofuels, Nina N. De La Rosa

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Freshwater use is a major concern in the mass production of algae for biofuels. This project examined the use of canal water obtained from the Everglades Agricultural Area as a base medium for the mass production of algae. This water is not suitable for human consumption, and it is currently used for crop irrigation. A variety of canals were found to be suitable for water collection. Comparison of two methods for algal production showed no significant difference in biomass accumulation. It was discovered that synthetic reticulated foam can be used for algal biomass collection and harvest, and there is potential …

Techniques For Efficient Execution Of Large-Scale Scientific Workflows In Distributed Environments, Selim Kalayci

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Scientific exploration demands heavy usage of computational resources for large-scale and deep analysis in many different fields. The complexity or the sheer scale of the computational studies can sometimes be encapsulated in the form of a workflow that is made up of numerous dependent components. Due to its decomposable and parallelizable nature, different components of a scientific workflow may be mapped over a distributed resource infrastructure to reduce time to results. However, the resource infrastructure may be heterogeneous, dynamic, and under diverse administrative control. Workflow management tools are utilized to help manage and deal with various aspects in the lifecycle …

Development Of A Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Method For The Detection Of Benzodiazepines In Urine, Erika L. Doctor

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Benzodiazepines are among the most prescribed compounds for anti-anxiety and are present in many toxicological screens. These drugs are also prominent in the commission of drug facilitated sexual assaults due their effects on the central nervous system. Due to their potency, a low dose of these compounds is often administered to victims; therefore, the target detection limit for these compounds in biological samples is 10 ng/mL. Currently these compounds are predominantly analyzed using immunoassay techniques; however more specific screening methods are needed.

The goal of this dissertation was to develop a rapid, specific screening technique for benzodiazepines in urine samples …

Evidence Of Climate Variability And Tropical Cyclone Activity From Diatom Assemblage Dynamics In Coastal Southwest Florida, Emily R. Nodine

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Estuaries are dynamic on many spatial and temporal scales. Distinguishing effects of unpredictable events from cyclical patterns can be challenging but important to predict the influence of press and pulse drivers in the face of climate change. Diatom assemblages respond rapidly to changing environmental conditions and characterize change on multiple time scales. The goals of this research were to 1) characterize diatom assemblages in the Charlotte Harbor watershed, their relationships with water quality parameters, and how they change in response to climate; and 2) use assemblages in sediment cores to interpret past climate changes and tropical cyclone activity.

Diatom assemblages …

Habitat Use Of The Key Largo Woodrat (Neotoma Floridana Smalli), Lauren J. Barth

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Key Largo woodrats are an endangered subspecies with an extremely limited habitat. This study sought to understand woodrat habitat preferences in order to guide management. Woodrats build stick nests from natural and artificial materials, so nest distribution and nest occupancy were used as indicators of preference. Distribution was determined by nest surveys, and remote cameras were used to assess occupancy. Forest structure, human disturbance, nest, and animal presence metrics were also collected. More nests were found along abandoned roads than along forest transects and more artificial nests were occupied than natural nests. These findings indicate that woodrats prefer areas with …

Development Of Presumptive And Confirmatory Analytical Methods For The Simultaneous Detection Of Multiple Improvised Explosives, Kelley L. Peters

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) due to ease of synthesis and improved controls placed on commercial/military explosives. Commonly used materials for IED preparations include fertilizers and industrial chemicals containing oxidizers such as ClO₃^-, ClO₄^-, and NO₃^-, as well as other less stable compounds, such as peroxides. Due to these materials having a wide range of volatility, polarity, and composition, detection can be challenging, increasing the amount of time before any analytical information on the identity of the explosive can …

3d Navigation With Six Degrees-Of-Freedom Using A Multi-Touch Display, Francisco Raul Ortega

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the introduction of new input devices, such as multi-touch surface displays, the Nintendo WiiMote, the Microsoft Kinect, and the Leap Motion sensor, among others, the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) finds itself at an important crossroads that requires solving new challenges. Given the amount of three-dimensional (3D) data available today, 3D navigation plays an important role in 3D User Interfaces (3DUI). This dissertation deals with multi-touch, 3D navigation, and how users can explore 3D virtual worlds using a multi-touch, non-stereo, desktop display.

The contributions of this dissertation include a feature-extraction algorithm for multi-touch displays (FETOUCH), a multi-touch and gyroscope …

Novel Approaches For The Synthesis Of C-5 Modified Pyrimidine Nucleosides, Yong Liang

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The antiviral or anticancer activities of C-5 modified pyrimidine nucleoside analogues validate the need for the development of their syntheses. In the first half of this dissertation, I explore the Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction of allylphenylgermanes with aryl halides in the presence of SbF₅/TBAF to give various biaryls by transferring multiple phenyl groups, which has also been applied to the 5-halo pyrimidine nucleosides for the synthesis of 5-aryl derivatives. To avoid the use of organometallic reagents, I developed Pd-catalyzed direct arylation of 5-halo pyrimidine nucleosides. It was discovered that 5-aryl pyrimidine nucleosides could be synthesized by Pd-catalyzed direct arylation …

Text Analytics Of Social Media: Sentiment Analysis, Event Detection And Summarization, Chao Shen

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the last decade, large numbers of social media services have emerged and been widely used in people's daily life as important information sharing and acquisition tools. With a substantial amount of user-contributed text data on social media, it becomes a necessity to develop methods and tools for text analysis for this emerging data, in order to better utilize it to deliver meaningful information to users.

Previous work on text analytics in last several decades is mainly focused on traditional types of text like emails, news and academic literatures, and several critical issues to text data on social media have …

New Bivariate Lifetime Distributions Based On Bath-Tub Shaped Failure Rate, Mengying Li

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A class of lifetime distributions which has received considerable attention in modelling and analysis of lifetime data is the class of lifetime distributions with bath-tub shaped failure rate functions because of their extensive applications. The purpose of this thesis was to introduce a new class of bivariate lifetime distributions with bath-tub shaped failure rates (BTFRFs). In this research, first we reviewed univariate lifetime distributions with bath-tub shaped failure rates, and several multivariate extensions of a univariate failure rate function. Then we introduced a new class of bivariate distributions with bath-tub shaped failure rates (hazard gradients). Specifically, the new class of …

Household Preferences For Financing Hurricane Risk Mitigation: A Survey Based Empirical Analysis, Damon Fitzgerald

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

After a series of major storms over the last 20 years, the state of financing for U.S. natural disaster insurance has undergone substantial disruptions causing many federal and state backed programs against residential property damage to become severally underfunded. In order to regain actuarial soundness, policy makers have proposed a shift to a system that reflects risk-based pricing for property insurance. We examine survey responses from 1394 single-family homeowners in the state of Florida for support of several natural disaster mitigation policy reforms. Utilizing a partial proportional odds model we test for effects of location, risk perception, socio-economic and housing …

Numerical Modeling Of The Effects Of Hydrologic Conditions And Sediment Transport On Geomorphic Patterns In Wetlands, Mehrnoosh Mahmoudi

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focused on developing a numerical model of spatial and temporal changes in bed morphology of ridge and slough features in wetlands with respect to hydrology and sediment transport when a sudden change in hydrologic condition occurs. The specific objectives of this research were: (1) developing a two-dimensional hydrology model to simulate the spatial distribution of flow depth and velocity over time when a pulsed flow condition is applied, (2) developing a process-based numerical model of sediment transport coupled with flow depth and velocity in wetland ecosystems, and (3) use the developed model to explore how sediment transport may …

Sources, Fate And Transformation Of Organic Matter In Wetlands And Estuaries, Chao Ya

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a complex mixture of organic compounds and represents the largest reservoirs of carbon (C) on earth. Particulate organic matter (POM) is another important carbon component in C cycling and controls a variety of biogeochemical processes. Estuaries, as important interfaces between land and ocean, play important roles in retaining and transforming such organic matter (OM) and serve as both sources and sinks of DOM and POM. There is a diverse array of both autochthonous and allochthonous OM sources in wetland/estuarine ecosystems. A comprehensive study on the sources, transformation and fate of OM in such ecosystems is …

Analysis Of White Latex Paints Using Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy For Forensic Applications, Melissa Zwilling

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The analysis of white latex paint is a problem for forensic laboratories because of difficulty in differentiation between samples. Current methods provide limited information that is not suitable for discrimination. Elemental analysis of white latex paints has resulted in 99% discriminating power when using LA-ICP-MS; however, mass spectrometers can be prohibitively expensive and require a skilled operator. A quick, inexpensive, effective method is needed for the differentiation of white latex paints.

In this study, LIBS is used to analyze 24 white latex paint samples. LIBS is fast, easy to operate, and has a low cost. Results show that 98.1% of …

Development Of A Methodology That Couples Satellite Remote Sensing Measurements To Spatial-Temporal Distribution Of Soil Moisture In The Vadose Zone Of The Everglades National Park, Luis G. Perez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Spatial-temporal distribution of soil moisture in the vadose zone is an important aspect of the hydrological cycle that plays a fundamental role in water resources management, including modeling of water flow and mass transport. The vadose zone is a critical transfer and storage compartment, which controls the partitioning of energy and mass linked to surface runoff, evapotranspiration and infiltration. This dissertation focuses on integrating hydraulic characterization methods with remote sensing technologies to estimate the soil moisture distribution by modeling the spatial coverage of soil moisture in the horizontal and vertical dimensions with high temporal resolution.

The methodology consists of using …

Synthesis Of A Pbtx-2 Photoaffinity And Fluorescent Probe And An Alternative Synthetic Route To Photoaffinity Probes, Ryan T. Cassell

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A natural phenomenon characterized by dense aggregations of unicellular photosynthetic marine organisms has been termed colloquially as red tides because of the vivid discoloration of the water. The dinoflagellate Karenia brevis is the cause of the Florida red tide bloom.

K. brevis produces the brevetoxins, a potent suite of neurotoxins responsible for substantial amounts of marine mammal and fish mortalities. When consumed by humans, the toxin causes Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning (NSP). The native function of brevetoxin within the organism has remained mysterious since its discovery. There is a need to identify factors which contribute to and regulate toxin production within …

Freshwater Resource Supply Modeling For Developed And Undeveloped Watersheds, Kelly C. Gustafson

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Globally, the current state of freshwater resource management is insufficient and impeding the chance at a sustainable future. Human interference within the natural hydrologic cycle is becoming dangerously irreversible and the need to redefine resource managerial approaches is imminent.

This research involves the development of a coupled natural-human freshwater resource supply model using a System Dynamics approach. The model was applied to two case studies, Somalia, Africa and the Phoenix Active Management Area in Arizona, USA. It is suggested that System Dynamic modeling would be an invaluable tool for achieving sustainable freshwater resource management in individual watersheds. Through a series …

Application Of Biomarkers And Compound Specific Stable Isotopes For The Assessment Of Hydrology As A Driver Of Organic Matter Dynamics In The Everglades Ecosystem, Ding He

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Everglades is a sub-tropical coastal wetland characterized among others by its hydrological features and deposits of peat. Formation and preservation of organic matter in soils and sediments in this wetland ecosystem is critical for its sustainability and hydrological processes are important divers in the origin, transport and fate of organic matter. With this in mind, organic matter dynamics in the greater Florida Everglades was studied though various organic geochemistry techniques, especially biomarkers, bulk and compound specific δ¹³C and δD isotope analysis. The main objectives were focused on how different hydrological regimes in this ecosystem control organic matter …

Time Trends And Predictors Of Initiation For Cigarette And Waterpipe Smoking Among Jordanian School Children: Irbid, 2008-2011, Karma L. Mckelvey Phd

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Smoking prevalence among adolescents in the Middle East remains high while rates of smoking have been declining among adolescents elsewhere. The aims of this research were to (1) describe patterns of cigarette and waterpipe (WP) smoking, (2) identify determinants of WP smoking initiation, and (3) identify determinants of cigarette smoking initiation in a cohort of Jordanian school children.

Among this cohort of school children in Irbid, Jordan, (age ≈ 12.6 at baseline) the first aim (N=1,781) described time trends in smoking behavior, age at initiation, and changes in frequency of smoking from 2008-2011 (grades 7 – 10). The second aim …

Paleoenvironments And Geochemical Signals From The Late Barremian To The Middle Aptian In A Tethyan Marginal Basin, Northeast Spain: Implications For Carbon Sequestration In Restricted Basins, Yosmel Sanchez Hernandez Mr.

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The hallmark of oceanic anoxic event 1a (OAE1a) (early Aptian ~125 Ma) corresponds to worldwide deposition of black shales with total organic carbon (TOC) content > 2% and a d¹³C positive excursion up to ~5‰. OAE1a has been related to large igneous province volcanism and dissociation of methane hydrates during the Lower Cretaceous. However, the occurrence of atypical, coeval and diachronous organic-rich deposits associated with OAE1a, which are also characterized by positive spikes of the d¹³C in epicontinental to restricted marine environments of the Tethys Ocean, indicates localized responses decoupled from complex global forcing factors.

The present …

Adaptation Preferences And Responses To Sea Level Rise And Land Loss Risk In Southern Louisiana: A Survey-Based Analysis, Sandra Maina

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Currently, southern Louisiana faces extreme land loss that could reach an alarming rate of about one football sized swath of land every hour. The combined effect of land subsidence and predicted sea level rise threaten the culture and livelihood of the residents living in this region. As the most vulnerable coastal population in Louisiana, the communities of south Terrebonne Parish are called to adapt by accommodating, protecting, or retreating from the impacts of climate change. For effective preparation planning, the state of Louisiana needs to 1) understand the adaptation preferences and responses of these residents and 2) involve these vulnerable …

Integrity-Based Kernel Malware Detection, Feng Zhu

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Kernel-level malware is one of the most dangerous threats to the security of users on the Internet, so there is an urgent need for its detection. The most popular detection approach is misuse-based detection. However, it cannot catch up with today's advanced malware that increasingly apply polymorphism and obfuscation. In this thesis, we present our integrity-based detection for kernel-level malware, which does not rely on the specific features of malware.

We have developed an integrity analysis system that can derive and monitor integrity properties for commodity operating systems kernels. In our system, we focus on two classes of integrity properties: …

Proton Form Factor Puzzle And The Cebaf Large Acceptance Spectrometer(Clas) Two-Photon Exchange Experiment, Dipak Rimal

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The electromagnetic form factors are the most fundamental observables that encode information about the internal structure of the nucleon. The electric ($G_{E}$) and the magnetic ($G_{M}$) form factors contain information about the spatial distribution of the charge and magnetization inside the nucleon. A significant discrepancy exists between the Rosenbluth and the polarization transfer measurements of the electromagnetic form factors of the proton. One possible explanation for the discrepancy is the contributions of two-photon exchange (TPE) effects. Theoretical calculations estimating the magnitude of the TPE effect are highly model dependent, and limited experimental evidence for such effects exists. Experimentally, the TPE …

The Ecology And Economics Of Seagrass Community Structure, Bryan Dewsbury

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Coastline communities have experienced a marked increase in human populations over the last few decades. This increase in population places disproportionate pressure on coastal ecosystems to provide economic services to support local economies. At the same time, overuse of these services can aid in the destruction of the ecosystems responsible for them. Seagrass ecosystems are mainly found near coastlines, and are typically a chief provider of some of these economic goods and services. Many previous studies have documented the ecological functions of this seagrasses. Unfortunately, our increasing knowledge of seagrass structure and function has not been fully incorporated into economic …

Spatio-Temporal Analysis Of Chilling Events In Mangrove Forests Of South Florida, Bina Thapa

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Chilling events are infrequent but important disturbances in subtropical Florida. When temperatures drop to near freezing, significant mortality often accrues in mangrove forests. Chilling events play a role in maintaining structural diversity in mangrove forests, and in limiting mangrove poleward distribution. I examined the spatio-temporal distribution of chilling events in mangrove forests of southern Biscayne Bay by using Landsat TM5 images since 1989. Damage was usually confined to dwarf mangrove forest, especially when chilling temperatures were moderate and short in duration. However, damage from extended and severe freezes such as in January 2010 impacted larger trees as well. Recovery is …

Characterization Of Rhizobial Diversity And Relationship Of Rhizobial Partner And Legume Performance In Four South Florida Pine Rockland Soils, Vanessa Sánchez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pine rocklands are endangered ecosystems unique to south Florida, the Bahamas and Cuba. As a result of their karstic calcium carbonate­rich soil, these systems are limited in phosphorus and nitrogen, making symbiotic associations critical to plant growth. Four leguminous species (Cajanus cajan, Chamaecrista fasciculata, Tephrosia angustissima, and Abrus precatorious) were used to determine the relationship between rhizobial partners and plant performance, and the symbiosis related gene nifH was amplified to characterize the diversity of rhizobial symbionts. Plants were grown in soils from four different south Florida pine rocklands, and a salinity treatment was added to determine …

Influence Of Chemical Composition And Water On The Bulk Modulus Of Pyrope, Shu Huang

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Garnets are major silicates from the upper mantle to the transition zone. Elastic properties of garnets are essential to interpret the variation of seismic velocities at different depths and construct a model of the Earth’s composition. Due to the chemical flexibility at octahedron sites of the crystal structures, garnets usually exist with multiple components and have many composition variations. Pyrope is an important member in the garnet group. Fe²⁺-Mg²⁺ substitution in pyrope is one of the common solid solutions. We have synthesized and measured three synthetic solid solutions samples (Py₈₃Alm₁₇, Py₅₄Alm …

Two-Bit Pattern Analysis For Quantitative Information Flow, Ziyuan Meng

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Protecting confidential information from improper disclosure is a fundamental security goal. While encryption and access control are important tools for ensuring confidentiality, they cannot prevent an authorized system from leaking confidential information to its publicly observable outputs, whether inadvertently or maliciously. Hence, secure information flow aims to provide end-to-end control of information flow. Unfortunately, the traditionally-adopted policy of noninterference, which forbids all improper leakage, is often too restrictive. Theories of quantitative information flow address this issue by quantifying the amount of confidential information leaked by a system, with the goal of showing that it is intuitively “small” enough to be …