Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

U.S. Drought Monitor, December 31, 2013, Matthew Rosencrans

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for December 31, 2013 (12/31/13) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

A Model For The Hysteresis Observed In Gating Of Lysenin Channels, Eric Krueger, Radwan Al Faouri, Daniel Fologea, Ralph Henry, David Straub, Greg J. Salamo

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The pore-forming toxin lysenin self-inserts to form conductance channels in natural and artificial lipid membranes containing sphingomyelin. The inserted channels exhibit voltage regulation and hysteresis of the macroscopic current during the application of positive periodic voltage stimuli. We explored the bi-stable behavior of lysenin channels and present a theoretical approach for the mechanism of the hysteresis to explain its static and dynamic components. This investigation develops a model to incorporate the role of charge accumulation on the bilayer lipid membrane in influencing the channel conduction state. Our model is supported by experimental results and also provides insight into the temperature …

Evolution Of Magnetism In The Single-Crystal Honeycomb Iridates (Na1−XLiX)2Iro3, Gang Cao, Tongfei Qi, L. Li, Jsaminka Terzic, Vincent Shian Cao, Shujuan Yuan, M. Tovar, Ganpathy Murthy, Ribhu K. Kaul

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We report the successful synthesis of single crystals of the layered iridate (Na_1−xLi_x)₂IrO₃, 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.9, and a thorough study of its structural, magnetic, thermal, and transport properties. This compound allows a controlled interpolation between Na₂IrO₃ and Li₂IrO₃, while maintaining the quantum magnetism of the honeycomb Ir⁴⁺ planes. The measured phase diagram demonstrates a suppression of the Néel temperature T_N at an intermediate x, indicating that the magnetic orders in Na₂IrO₃ and Li₂IrO_{3 …}

Local Rings Of Embedding Codepth At Most 3 Have Only Trivial Semidualizing Complexes, Saeed Nasseh, Sean Sather-Wagstaff

Department of Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

We prove that a local ring R of embedding codepth at most 3 has at most two semidualizing complexes up to shift-isomorphism, namely, R itself and a dualizing R-complex if one exists.

Exponentiated Kumaraswamy-Dagum Distribution With Applications To Income And Lifetime Data, Shujiao Huang, Broderick O. Oluyede

Department of Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

A new family of distributions called exponentiated Kumaraswamy-Dagum (EKD) distribution is proposed and studied. This family includes several well known sub-models, such as Dagum (D), Burr III (BIII), Fisk or Log-logistic (F or LLog), and new sub-models, namely, Kumaraswamy-Dagum (KD), Kumaraswamy-Burr III (KBIII), Kumaraswamy-Fisk or Kumaraswamy-Log-logistic (KF or KLLog), exponentiated Kumaraswamy-Burr III (EKBIII), and exponentiated Kumaraswamy-Fisk or exponentiated Kumaraswamy-Log-logistic (EKF or EKLLog) distributions. Statistical properties including series representation of the probability density function, hazard and reverse hazard functions, moments, mean and median deviations, reliability, Bonferroni and Lorenz curves, as well as entropy measures for this class of distributions and the …

Using Software-Based Decision Procedures To Control Instruction-Level Execution, William B. Kimball

AFIT Patents

An apparatus, method and program product are provided for securing a computer system. A digital signature of an application is checked, which is loaded into a memory of the computer system configured to contain memory pages. In response to finding a valid digital signature, memory pages containing instructions of the application are set as executable and memory pages other than those containing instructions of the application are set as non-executable. Instructions in executable memory pages are executed. Instructions in non-executable memory pages are prevented from being executed. A page fault is generated in response to an attempt to execute an …

Planar Anchoring Strength And Pitch Measurements In Achiral And Chiral Chromonic Liquid Crystals Using 90-Degree Twist Cells, Christine K. Mcginn , '16, Laura I. Laderman , '15, N. Zimmermann, H.-S. Kitzerow, Peter J. Collings

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

Chromonic liquid crystals are formed by molecules that spontaneously assemble into anisotropic structures in water. The ordering unit is therefore a molecular assembly instead of a molecule as in thermotropic liquid crystals. Although it has been known for a long time that certain dyes, drugs, and nucleic acids form chromonic liquid crystals, only recently has enough knowledge been gained on how to control their alignment so that studies of their fundamental liquid crystal properties can be performed. In this article, a simple method for producing planar alignment of the nematic phase in chromonic liquid crystals is described, and this in …

Frameworks With Crystallographic Symmetry, Ciprian Borcea, Ileana Streinu

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

Periodic frameworks with crystallographic symmetry are investigated from the perspective of a general deformation theory of periodic bar-and-joint structures in R^d. It is shown that natural parametrizations provide affine section descriptions for families of frameworks with a specified graph and symmetry. A simple geometric setting for diaplacive phase transitions is obtained. Upper bounds are derived for the number of realizations of minimally rigid periodic graphs.

Retrieving Marine Inherent Optical Properties From Satellites Using Temperature And Salinitydependent Backscattering By Seawater, P. Jeremy Werdell, Bryan A. Franz, Jason T. Lefler, Wayne D. Robinson, Emmanuel Boss

Marine Sciences Faculty Scholarship

Time-series of marine inherent optical properties (IOPs) from ocean color satellite instruments provide valuable data records for studying long-term time changes in ocean ecosystems. Semi-Analytical algorithms (SAAs) provide a common method for estimating IOPs from radiometric measurements of the marine light field. Most SAAs assign constant spectral values for seawater absorption and backscattering, assume spectral shape functions of the remaining constituent absorption and scattering components (e.g., phytoplankton, non-Algal particles, and colored dissolved organic matter), and retrieve the magnitudes of each remaining constituent required to match the spectral distribution of measured radiances. Here, we explore the use of temperature- and salinity-dependent …

Nicotine Exploits A Copi-Mediated Process For Chaperone-Mediated Up-Regulation Of Its Receptors, Brandon J. Henderson, Rahul Srinivasan, Weston A. Nichols, Crystal N. Dilworth, Diana F. Gutierrez, Elisha D. W. Mackey, Sheri Mckinney, Ryan M. Drenan, Christopher I. Richards, Henry A. Lester

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Chronic exposure to nicotine up-regulates high sensitivity nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in the brain. This up-regulation partially underlies addiction and may also contribute to protection against Parkinson's disease. nAChRs containing the α6 subunit (α6* nAChRs) are expressed in neurons in several brain regions, but comparatively little is known about the effect of chronic nicotine on these nAChRs. We report here that nicotine up-regulates α6* nAChRs in several mouse brain regions (substantia nigra pars compacta, ventral tegmental area, medial habenula, and superior colliculus) and in neuroblastoma 2a cells. We present evidence that a coat protein complex I (COPI)-mediated process mediates this …

Three X-Ray Transients In M31 Oberserved With Swift, R. Voss, W. Pietsch, F. Haberl, H. Stiele, J. Greiner, G. Sala, Dieter H. Hartmann, D. Hatzidimitriou

Publications

Aims.The purpose of this study is to find transient X-ray sources in M 31, and to investigate and classify their nature.Methods.Three X-ray transients were observed with Swift. For each of the three X-ray transients we use the Swift X-ray and opticaldata together with observations from XMM-Newton and Chandra to investigate the lightcurves and the spectra of the outburst, andthereby to identify the source types. Results.The outburst of XMMU J004215.8+ 411924 lasted for about one month. The source had a hard power-law spectrum with aphoton index of 1.6. It was previously identified as a Be/X-ray binary based on the optical identification …

Amino Acid Region 1000–1008 Of Factor V Is A Dynamic Regulator For The Emergence Of Procoagulant Activity, Joesph R. Wiencek, Mahesheema Na, Jamila Hirbawi, Michael Kalafatis

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Single chain factor V (fV) circulates as an Mr 330,000 quiescent pro-cofactor. Removal of the B domain and generation of factor Va (fVa) are vital for procoagulant activity. We investigated the role of the basic amino acid region 1000-1008 within the B domain of fV by constructing a recombinant mutant fV molecule with all activation cleavage sites (Arg(709)/Arg(1018)/Arg(1545)) mutated to glutamine (fV(Q3)), a mutant fV molecule with region 1000-1008 deleted (fV(ΔB9)), and a mutant fV molecule containing the same deletion with activation cleavage sites changed to glutamine (fV(ΔB9/Q3)). The recombinant molecules along with wild type fV (fV(WT)) were transiently expressed …

Primary Care-Based Educational Interventions To Decrease Risk Factors For Metabolic Syndrome For Adults With Major Psychotic And/Or Affective Disorders: A Systematic Review, Cynthia Nover, Sarah S. Jackson

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

Background

Individuals with major psychotic and/or affective disorders are at increased risk for developing metabolic syndrome due to lifestyle- and treatment-related factors. Numerous pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions have been tested in inpatient and outpatient mental health settings to decrease these risk factors. This review focuses on primary care-based non-pharmacological (educational or behavioral) interventions to decrease metabolic syndrome risk factors in adults with major psychotic and/or affective disorders.

Methods

The authors conducted database searches of PsychINFO, MEDLINE and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, as well as manual searches and gray literature searches to identify included studies.

Results

The authors were …

Efficient And Long-Time Accurate Second-Order Methods For The Stokes-Darcy System, Wenbin Chen, Max Gunzburger, Dong Sun, Xiaoming Wan

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We propose and study two second order in time implicit-explicit methods for the coupled Stokes-Darcy system that governs flows in karst aquifers and other subsurface flow systems. the first method is a combination of a second-order backward differentiation formula and the second order Gear's extrapolation approach. the second is a combination of the second-order Adams-Moulton and second-order Adams-Bashforth methods. Both algorithms only require the solution of decoupled Stokes and Darcy problems at each time-step. Hence, these schemes are very efficient and can be easily implemented using legacy codes. We establish the unconditional and uniform in time stability for both schemes. …

Understanding Human Learning Using A Multiagent Based Unified Learning Model Simulation, Vlad T. Chiriacescu

Department of Computer Science and Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Within cognitive science, computational modeling based on cognitive architectures has been an important approach to addressing questions of human cognition and learning. Modeling issues such as limited expressivity in representing knowledge and lack of appropriate selection of model structure represent a challenge for existing architectures. Furthermore, latest research shows that the concepts of long-term memory, motivation and working memory are critical cognitive aspects but a unifying cognitive paradigm integrating those concepts hasn’t been previously achieved.

Derived from a synthesis of neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology, and education, the Unified Learning Model (ULM) provides this integration by merging a statistical learning mechanism …

U.S. Drought Monitor, December 24, 2013, Matthew Rosencrans

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for December 24, 2013 (12/24/13) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Multi-State Models For Natural History Of Disease, Amy Laird, Rebecca A. Hubbard, Lurdes Y. T. Inoue

UW Biostatistics Working Paper Series

Longitudinal studies are a useful tool for investigating the course of chronic diseases. Many chronic diseases can be characterized by a set of health states. We can improve our understanding of the natural history of the disease by modeling the sequence of visited health states and the duration in each state. However, in most applications, subjects are observed only intermittently. This observation scheme creates a major modeling challenge: the transition times are not known exactly, and in some cases the path through the health states is not known.

In this manuscript we review existing approaches for modeling multi-state longitudinal data. …

Determining The 7li(N,Gamma) Cross Section Via Coulomb Dissociation Of 8li, R. Izsak, A. Horvath, A. Kiss, Z. Seres, A. Galonsky, C. A. Bertulani, Zs Fueloep, T. Baumann, D. Bazin, K. Ieki, C. Bordeanu, N. Carlin, M. Csanád, F. Deák, Paul A. Deyoung, N. Frank, T. Fukuchi, A. Gade, D. Galaviz, C. R. Hoffman, W. A. Peters, H. Schelin, M. Thoennessen, G. I. Veres

Faculty Publications

The applicability of Coulomb dissociation reactions to determine the cross section for the inverse neutron capture reaction was explored using the reaction Li-8(gamma,n)Li-7. A 69.5 MeV/nucleon Li-8 beam was incident on a Pb target, and the outgoing neutron and Li-7 nucleus were measured in coincidence. The deduced (n,gamma) excitation function is consistent with data for the direct capture reaction Li-7(n,gamma) Li-8 and with low-energy effective field theory calculations.

Students' Perceived Utility Of Precision Taught Calculus, Rebecca-Anne Dibbs, David Glassmeyer, Wafa Yacoub

Faculty and Research Publications

The last decade of calculus research has showed students learn best when lecture is supplemented with thoughtful use of technology and group work; however, educators are given little direction of how they are to balance the already full first semester calculus class. Precision teaching is an instructional model that employs formative assessment to provide information on what topics are understood by students as well as indicate troublesome concepts. With this information, the instructor can adjust class time accordingly by incorporating supplemental activities most beneficial to students. The purpose of this interview study was to explore the perceived utility of precision …

A Search For Enhanced Very High Energy Gamma-Ray Emission From The 2013 March Crab Nebula Flare, P. T. Reynolds, Et Al

Physical Sciences Publications

In 2013 March, a flaring episode from the Crab Nebula lasting ~2 weeks was detected by Fermi-LAT (Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope). The Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) provides simultaneous observations throughout this period. During the flare, Fermi-LAT detected a 20 fold increase in flux above the average synchrotron flux >100 MeV seen from the Crab Nebula. Simultaneous measurements with VERITAS are consistent with the non-variable long-term average Crab Nebula flux at TeV energies. Assuming a linear correlation between the very high energy flux change >1 TeV and the flux …

Asymmetric Supercapacitors With Dominant Pseudocapacitance Based On Manganese Oxide Nanoflowers In A Neutral Aqueous Electrolyte, Qiang Li, Xing Sun, Karen Lozano, Yuanbing Mao

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Unique MnO2 nanoflowers (∼25 nm) composed of ultrathin K0.26MnO2 nanoflake assemblies were synthesized by a facile and green procedure. Prototype MnO2-NFs//KCl//CNTs asymmetric supercapacitors in a neutral aqueous electrolyte demonstrated pseudocapacitive dominance for the first time in addition to outstanding energy and power densities and superior cycling performance.

Comment On “Synthesis, Characterization, And Structures Of Persistent Aniline Radical Cation”: It Is A Protonated Aniline And Not An Aniline Radical Cation, Marat R. Talipov, Jeewantha S. Hewage, Sergey V. Lindeman, James R. Gardinier, Rajendra Rathore

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

The same, but different: The reaction of tri-tert-butylaniline (TBA) with AgSbF₆ in CH₂Cl₂ produces a green-colored intermediate which undergoes decomposition to form a protonated aniline (TBAH⁺SbF₆⁻). Crystals of the protonated aniline salt (see picture) were analyzed by X-ray diffraction and found to have the same crystal characteristics as the crystals of the supposed cation radical first identified in 2012.

Long Term Observations Of B2 1215+30 With Veritas, E. Aliu, S. Archambault, T. Arlen, T. Aune, M. Beilicke, W. Benbow, R. Bird, A. Bouvier, J. H. Buckley, V. Bugaev, A. Cesarini, L. Ciupik, M. P. Connolly, W. Cui, J. Dumm, M. Errando, A. Falcone, S. Federici, Q. Feng, J. P. Finley, P. Fortin, L. Fortson, A. Furniss, N. Galante, L. Gerard, G. H. Gillanders, S. Griffin, J. Grube, G. Gyuk, D. Hanna, J. Holder, G. Hughes, T. B. Humensky, P. Kaaret, M. Kertzman, Y. Khassen, D. Kieda, H. Krawczynski, F. Krennrich, M. J. Lang, A. S. Madhavan, G. Maier, P. Majumdar, S. Mcarthur, A. Mccann, P. Moriarty, R. Mukherjee, D. Nieto, A. O’Faolain De Bhroithe, P. T. Reynolds, Et Al

Physical Sciences Publications

We report on VERITAS observations of the BL Lac object B2 1215+30 between 2008 and 2012. During this period, the source was detected at very high energies (VHEs; E > 100 GeV) by VERITAS with a significance of 8.9σ and showed clear variability on timescales larger than months. In 2011, the source was found to be in a relatively bright state and a power-law fit to the differential photon spectrum yields a spectral index of 3.6 ± 0.4stat ± 0.3syst with an integral flux above 200 GeV of (8.0 ± 0.9stat ± 3.2syst) × 10−12 cm−2 s−1. No short term variability …

Molecular Hydrogen Regulated Star Formation In Cosmological Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Simulations, Robert Thompson, Kentaro Nagamine, Jason Jaacks, Jun-Hwan Choi

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Some observations have shown that star formation (SF) correlates tightly with the presence of molecular hydrogen (H₂); therefore, it is important to investigate its implication on galaxy formation in a cosmological context. In the present work, we implement a sub-grid model (hereafter H₂-SF model) that tracks the H₂ mass fraction within our cosmological smoothed particle hydrodynamics code GADGET-3 by using an equilibrium analytic model of Krumholz et al. This model allows us to regulate the SF in our simulation by the local abundance of H₂ rather than the total cold gas density, which naturally …

A Tree-Ring Based Reconstruction Of Logan River Streamflow In Northern Utah, Eric B. Allen, Tammy M. Rittenour, R. Justin Derose, Matthew F. Bekker, Roger Kjelgren, Brendan M. Buckley

Wasatch Dendroclimatology Research

[1] We created six new tree-ring chronologies in northern Utah, which were used with preexisting chronologies from Utah and western Wyoming to reconstruct mean annual flow for the Logan River, the largest tributary of the regionally important Bear River. Two reconstruction models were developed, a “Local” model that incorporated two Rocky Mountain juniper chronologies located within the basin, and a “Regional” model that also included limber pine and pinyon pine chronologies from a larger area. The Local model explained 48.2% of the variability in the instrumental record and the juniper chronologies better captured streamflow variability than Douglas-fir collected within the …

A Tree-Ring Based Reconstruction Of Logan River Streamflow, Northern Utah, Eric B. Allen, Tammy M. Rittenour, R. Justin Derose, Matthew F. Bekker, Roger Kjelgren, Brendan M. Buckley

Geosciences Faculty Publications

We created six new tree‐ring chronologies in northern Utah, which were used with preexisting chronologies from Utah and western Wyoming to reconstruct mean annual flow for the Logan River, the largest tributary of the regionally important Bear River. Two reconstruction models were developed, a “Local” model that incorporated two Rocky Mountain juniper chronologies located within the basin, and a “Regional” model that also included limber pine and pinyon pine chronologies from a larger area. The Local model explained 48.2% of the variability in the instrumental record and the juniper chronologies better captured streamflow variability than Douglas‐fir collected within the Logan …

Ambientalismos De La Vida Cotidiana: Políticas De Coalición, Reproducción Social Y Justicia Ambiental, Giovanna Di Chiro

Environmental Studies Faculty Works

This paper examines the intersectional, coalition politics forged by activists in US environmental justice and women's rights organisations. This coalitional politics articulates environmental and feminist concerns and rejects the limitations of a narrow-focused politics in favour of a more strategic, relational vision of social and environmental change. Framed by the Marxist-feminist concept of “social reproduction”, the analysis addresses the complex ways that globalised capitalism has transformed state and corporate responsibilities for social reproduction. The neoliberal policies of privatisation and deregulation have eroded the assurance of a liveable wage, affordable healthcare, decent education, breathable air, and clean water. Drawing on several …

The Apostles And Brothers Of Jesus, Andrew Sills

Department of Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

Excerpt: The Talpiot tomb, a tomb excavated outside Jerusalem in 1980 and brought to worldwide public attention in 2007, contained ten ossuaries, six of which were inscribed with names. The English equivalents of the names are Jesus son of Joseph, two Marys, a rare diminutive form of Joseph, a diminutive of Matthew, and a Judah son of Jesus. Because of the similarities between this collection of names and certain names appearing in the Christian New Testament, some are curious as to whether the Talpiot tomb may have once interred the remains of Jesus of Nazareth and some of his relatives. …

Data Management In Cloud Environments: Nosql And Newsql Data Stores, Katarina Grolinger, Wilson A. Higashino, Abhinav Tiwari, Miriam Am Capretz

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

: Advances in Web technology and the proliferation of mobile devices and sensors connected to the Internet have resulted in immense processing and storage requirements. Cloud computing has emerged as a paradigm that promises to meet these requirements. This work focuses on the storage aspect of cloud computing, specifically on data management in cloud environments. Traditional relational databases were designed in a different hardware and software era and are facing challenges in meeting the performance and scale requirements of Big Data. NoSQL and NewSQL data stores present themselves as alternatives that can handle huge volume of data. Because of the …

Atmospheric Organic Matter In Clouds: Exact Masses And Molecular Formula Identification Using Ultrahigh-Resolution Ft-Icr Mass Spectrometry, Y. Zhao, A. G. Hallar, Lynn Mazzoleni

Department of Chemistry Publications

Clouds alter the composition of atmospheric aerosol by acting as a medium for interactions between gas- and particulate-phase substances. To determine the cloud water atmospheric organic matter (AOM) composition and study the cloud processing of aerosols, two samples of supercooled clouds were collected at the Storm Peak Laboratory near Steamboat Springs, Colorado (3220 m a.s.l.). Approximately 3000 molecular formulas were assigned to ultrahigh-resolution mass spectra of the samples after using a reversed-phase extraction procedure to isolate the AOM components from the cloud water. Nitrogen-containing compounds (CHNO compounds), sulfur-containing compounds (CHOS and CHNOS compounds) and other oxygen-containing compounds (CHO compounds) with …