Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Gerrymandering And The Impossibility Of Fair Districting Systems, Danielle Degutz

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Voting district boundaries are often manipulated, or gerrymandered, by politicians in order to give one group of voters an unfair advantage over another during elections. To make sure a system of voting districts is not gerrymandered, the population size, the shape, and the voting efficiency of each party in each district should be taken into consideration. Following recent work of Boris Alexeev and Dustin G. Mixon, we discuss mathematical criteria for each of these three aspects, and we prove how problems arise when attempting to apply all three at once to a districting system--first to a simplified districting system and …

Domain Decomposition Methods For The Solution Of Multiple Scattering Problems, Michael Pedneault

Dissertations

This presents a Schur complement Domain Decomposition (DD) algorithm for the solution of frequency domain multiple scattering problems. Just as in the classical DD methods,(1) the ensemble of scatterers is enclosed in a domain bounded by an artificial boundary, (2) this domain is subdivided into a collection of nonoverlapping subdomains so that the boundaries of the subdomains do not intersect any of the scatterers, and (3) the solutions of the subproblems are connected via Robin boundary conditions matching on the common interfaces between subdomains. Subdomain Robin-to-Robin maps are used to recast the DD problem as a sparse linear system whose …

Storage Systems For Mobile-Cloud Applications, Nafize R. Paiker

Dissertations

Mobile devices have become the major computing platform in todays world. However, some apps on mobile devices still suffer from insufficient computing and energy resources. A key solution is to offload resource-demanding computing tasks from mobile devices to the cloud. This leads to a scenario where computing tasks in the same application run concurrently on both the mobile device and the cloud.

This dissertation aims to ensure that the tasks in a mobile app that employs offloading can access and share files concurrently on the mobile and the cloud in a manner that is efficient, consistent, and transparent to locations. …

Methods To Improve The Remediation Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Pahs) In Aerobic And Anaerobic Environments, Brian Wartell

Dissertations

Oil spills occur regularly in terrestrial environments and crude oil can contain many compounds that are highly resistant to degradation. Among these compounds are high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are not only toxic but can also be carcinogenic and/or mutagenic. The first chapter of this dissertation includes an extensive review chapter on the variables affecting the anaerobic degradation of hydrocarbons, with a particular focus on PAHs. Electron acceptors, electron donors, temperature, salinity, pH all play key roles in determining the possibility effective of effective degradation occurring. Thus, by addressing solutions, such as biostimulation, improving environmental variables for …

High-Speed Data Communications For Vehicular Networks Using Free-Space Optical Communications, Yagiz Kaymak

Dissertations

The demand for high-speed Internet access for vehicles, such as high-speed trains (HSTs) and cars, is on the rise. Several Internet access technologies that use radio frequency are being considered for vehicular networking. Radio-frequency communications technologies cannot provide high data rates due to interference, bandwidth limitations, and the inherent limited data rates of radio technology. Free-space optical communications (FSOC) is an alternative approach and a line-of-sight (LOS) technology that uses modulated light to transfer data between two free-space optical (FSO) transceivers. FSOC systems for vehicular networks are expected to provide data rates in the range of Gbps for stationary and …

Fwer Controlling Procedures In Simultaneous And Selective Inference, Li Yu

Dissertations

With increasing complexity of research objectives in clinical trials, a variety of relatively complex and less intuitive multiple testing procedures (MTPs) have been developed and applied in clinical data analysis. In order to make testing strategies more explicit and intuitive to communicate with non-statisticians, several flexible and powerful graphical approaches have recently been introduced in the literature for developing and visualizing newer MTPs. Nevertheless, some theoretical as well as methodological issues still remain to be fully addressed. This dissertation addresses several important issues arising in graphical approaches and related selective inference problems. It consists of three parts.

In the first …

Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes In Hydrophobic Drug Delivery, Kun Chen

Dissertations

The direct incorporation of carboxylated carbon nanotubes (f-CNTs) into hydrophobic drug particles during their formation via anti-solvent precipitation is presented. The approach is tested using two drugs namely antifungal agent Griseofulvin (GF) and antibiotic Sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) that have very different aqueous solubility. It is observed that the f-CNTs dispersed in the water serve as nucleating sites for crystallization and are readily incorporated into the drug particles without altering crystal structure or other properties. The results show that the hydrophilic f-CNTs dramatically enhance dissolution rate for both drugs. The increased degree of functionalization leads to higher hydrophilicity and therefore faster dissolution …

Deep Learning Methods For Mining Genomic Sequence Patterns, Xin Gao

Dissertations

Nowadays, with the growing availability of large-scale genomic datasets and advanced computational techniques, more and more data-driven computational methods have been developed to analyze genomic data and help to solve incompletely understood biological problems. Among them, deep learning methods, have been proposed to automatically learn and recognize the functional activity of DNA sequences from genomics data. Techniques for efficient mining genomic sequence pattern will help to improve our understanding of gene regulation, and thus accelerate our progress toward using personal genomes in medicine.

This dissertation focuses on the development of deep learning methods for mining genomic sequences. First, we compare …

Polya Db3: A Database Cataloging Polyadenation Sites(Pas) Across Different Species And Their Conservation, Ram Mohan Nambiar

Theses

Polyadenation is an important process occurring in the messenger RNA that involves cleavage of 3 end nascent mRNAs and addition of poly(A) tails. For this thesis,I present PolyA DB3 ,a database cataloging cleavage and polyadenylation sites (PASs) in several genomes specifically for human,mouse,rat and chicken. This database is based on deep sequencing data. PASs are mapped by the 3’ region extraction and deep sequencing (3’READS) method, ensuring unequivocal PAS identification. Large volume of data based on diverse biological samples is used to increase PAS coverage and provide PAS usage information. Strand-specific RNA-seq data were used to extend annotated 3’ ends …

Computational Intelligence In Steganography: Adaptive Image Watermarking, Xin Zhong

Dissertations

Digital image watermarking, as an extension of traditional steganography, refers to the process of hiding certain messages into cover images. The transport image, called marked-image or stego-image, conveys the hidden messages while appears visibly similar to the cover-image. Therefore, image watermarking enables various applications such as copyright protection and covert communication. In a watermarking scheme, fidelity, capacity and robustness are considered as crucial factors, where fidelity measures the similarity between the cover- and marked-images, capacity measures the maximum amount of watermark that can be embedded, and robustness concerns the watermark extraction under attacks on the marked-image. Watermarking techniques are often …

Development Of Flexible Nickel-Zinc And Nickel-Iron Batteries, Xianyang Meng

Dissertations

The fabrication of flexible nickel-zinc batteries using a facile mixing of electroactive components for electrode preparation is presented. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is found to be an effective binder by reducing concentration polarization, providing chemical/physical stability and enhancing flexibility. The zinc electrode containing PTFE maintains its original porous morphology even after hundreds of cycles while polymers such as PEO show morphology change. Each component, as well as the assembled flexible cells show desired flexibility and stability even under bending conditions.

The fabrication of flexible nickel-iron batteries using printable composite electrodes embedded with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNT) is also presented. All the metal …

An Acoustic Monitoring Method For Assessing River Dolphin Presence And Changes In The Context Of Anthropogenic Development, Charles A. Muirhead

Graduate Masters Theses

Populations of river dolphins throughout Asia are in decline as a direct result of intensified anthropogenic activity along river systems. Water development projects, land use change, contamination, and intensified fishing practices are known factors contributing to the probable extinction of the Yangtze river dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer) and declining populations of the South Asian river dolphin (Platanista gangetica spp.), Irrawady dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), and finless porpoise (Neophocaena a. asiaeorientalis). Although not yet as extensive, river system development in South America is following a similar path as that of Asia, with impacts on dolphin species likely to follow. Currently, the Amazon river …

A View From Within: Notes And Insight From An Institutional Ethnography Of The National Commission For Natural Protected Areas In Tulum, Mexico, Maxwell J. Martin

Graduate Masters Theses

National parks and protected areas are an integral component of the Mexican government’s long-term natural resource conservation strategy. They comprise over 90 million hectares throughout the country. However, the establishment and upkeep of these protected areas often incites conflict both between and among local actors. From poachers taking protected resources to indigenous peoples exercising their rights, protected areas have become a source of political, economic, and moral contention across the globe. In addition, their effectiveness in either ecological or sustainable development terms has been ambiguous at best.

Tulum, Mexico exemplifies this dilemma. The site of pre-Columbian Mayan architecture, Tulum is …

Application Of Graphical Models In Protein-Protein Interactions And Dynamics, Amir Vajdi Hoojghan

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Every organism contains a few hundred to thousands of proteins. A protein is made of a sequence of molecular building blocks named amino acids. Amino acids will be referred to as residues. Every protein performs one or more functions in the cell. In order for a protein to do its job, it requires to bind properly to other partner proteins. Many genetic diseases such as cancer are caused by mutations (changes) of specific residues which cause disturbances in the functions of those proteins.

The problem of prediction of protein binding site is a crucial topic in computational biology. A protein …

Effects Of Increasing Temperature And Acidification On The Growth And Competitive Success Of Alexandrium Catenella From The Gulf Of Maine, Drajad Seto

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The increases in ocean temperature and pCO2 due to climate change are projected to affect the growth and future prevalence of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in nearshore waters, but systematic studies on the effects these climate drivers have on harmful algal species are lacking. In particular, little is known about how future climate scenarios will affect the growth of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella, which produces the toxins responsible for paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) that threaten the health and economy of coastal communities in the Gulf of Maine. I examined growth responses of A. catenella and two other naturally co-occurring …

Predicting Post-Procedural Complications Using Neural Networks On Mimic-Iii Data, Namratha Mohan

LSU Master's Theses

The primary focus of this paper is the creation of a Machine Learning based algorithm for the analysis of large health based data sets. Our input was extracted from MIMIC-III, a large Health Record database of more than 40,000 patients. The main question was to predict if a patient will have complications during certain specified procedures performed in the hospital. These events are denoted by the icd9 code 996 in the individuals' health record. The output of our predictive model is a binary variable which outputs the value 1 if the patient is diagnosed with the specific complication or 0 …

Investigations Into The Advancement Of Cryptotephra Geochemical Fingerprinting, Laura Hartman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this work is to advance new sample preparation and analytical methods for ice core tephrochronology. When a volcanic source can be accurately identified using volcanic glass particle geochemistry, it may provide a robust time reference for the ice core’s timescale. The presence of an identifiable tephra layer may also suggest atmospheric pathways at the time of deposition, or assist in reconstructing volcanic forcing of climactic state for a specific event. One of the perpetual challenges in ice core based tephrochronological work is measuring the geochemical composition of ultra-fine particles (<10 >μm). Not only is it difficult …

Development Of Explicitly Correlated And Many-Body Diagrammatic Techniques For The Investigation Of Electron-Hole Correlation In Nanomaterials, Michael Gray Bayne

Dissertations - ALL

The focus of this work is to develop theoretical methods that will accurately describe electron-electron and electron-hole correlation in nanoparticles using many-body diagrammatic techniques. Diagrammatic representation is a more complex representation of quantum mechanics, however, it becomes a more advantageous representation in its application to this work due to its ease of use. Diagrammatic techniques are essential to the ve methods presented here as they prove to be pivotal in theoretical development as well as providing useful information in extracting and visualizing fundamental physics to make useful approximations to the methods. In the projected congruent transformed Hamiltonian method with partial …

Experimental And Computational Analysis Of Relative Energetic Stabilities Of Crystalline Anhydrous Polymorphs And Pseudopolymorphs, Teresa Dierks

Dissertations - ALL

The stability of pharmaceutical solids is impacted by the properties of both active and inactive ingredients. Given that the aqueous solubility of solid-state medicinal products can be directly linked to the component properties, it is prudent to carefully study these materials to predict bioavailability and shelf stability. The relative energetic stabilities of the molecular crystals of interest are governed by both the intermolecular forces and the molecular conformations within the structure. In this research, the electronic origins of crystalline stability were investigated using a combination of solid-state density functional theory (ss-DFT) and terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). Terahertz spectroscopy of the …

Deconvolution Of Membrane Protein-Detergent Complex Interactions, Aaron Wolfe

Dissertations - ALL

Membrane proteins are important in many biological functions such as cell-cell recognition, transport, and signaling; yet the study of these proteins is stunted due to their excessive aggregation in aqueous solutions. Detergents have been extensively exploited to mitigate this aggregation, and accomplish this by protecting the hydrophobic exterior of the membrane protein with their hydrophobic tails, while the polar heads of the detergents interact with the surrounding aqueous environment. Although detergents are of fundamental importance in many membrane protein studies, their selection is primarily done by trial and error screening. In this thesis, I will describe a method to utilize …

Characterizing Ancient Chemoclines Through The Use Of Pigment Biomarkers And Sedimentary Stable Isotope Signatures, Benjamin T. Uveges

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation focuses on identifying and qualifying chemocline dynamics, namely depth and stability, in stratified aquatic systems through the use of sedimentary pigments and the stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes of organic matter. The central aim of the research comprising this volume is to identify how chemocline fluctuations are expressed in the pigment and stable isotope signatures of aquatic sediments, and how those fluctuations may have impacted nutrient cycling in past intervals of marine anoxia and mass extinction.

In order to help gauge how the depth of the chemocline may affect specific pigment signatures and concentrations in sediments, I first …

Adapting Proteins For Clinical And Industrial Use, Michelle Takacs

Dissertations - ALL

Enzymes are powerful tools that are capable of catalyzing reactions with high specificity and efficiency. Many naturally occurring enzymes are used as tools in industry and medicine, from food additives to pharmaceuticals to biofuel production. Protein engineering is used to make enzymes more readily available, to gain new or improved catalytic function, or optimize properties such as thermostability and enantioselectivity. In this thesis we will discuss the variety of ways proteins can be modified to one day be able to be put to use in industrial and clinical settings.

My goal has been to optimize proteins for industrial and clinical …

Photolysis Kinetics Of Aromatic Pollutants In Liquid And Solid Environmental Condensed Phases, Alexa Stathis

Dissertations - ALL

Condensed phases in the environment are often chemically complex. Reactivity can differ significantly depending on the physical state (i.e. solid or liquid) and composition. Many laboratory studies that investigate reaction kinetics in condensed phases are done under simplified conditions that do not accurately reflect the complexity found in the environment. I have measured photolysis rate constants of the aromatic pollutants toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes (TEX) and anthracene under environmentally-relevant conditions in order to improve fate predictions. The photolysis kinetics of TEX in water, ice and at ice surfaces were investigated using environmentally-relevant wavelengths. Previously, photolysis has not been considered a viable …

Chimera Ligand For Pili And Lectin A Protein Controls Antibiotic-Promoted Biofilm Formation, Swarming Motility, Tolerance And Persister Formation By Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Hewen Zheng

Dissertations - ALL

Throughout the human history, the fight against bacterial infections had never stopped but the remedies for bacterial infections were often insufficient and for many infectious diseases, there was no treatment available. The revolution in antimicrobial infection therapy began with the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928. However, since the first introduction of antibiotics, bacteria over time have evolved sophisticated resistant strains against almost all the available antibiotics which cause selection pressure on the bacteria to evolve their genetic makeup and develop resistance against such agents. Furthermore, bacteria can form surface attached multicellular communities known as biofilms. Bacteria residing …

Controls On Phosphorus Export From An Agricultural Watershed: Amsden Brook, Fort Fairfield, Maine Usa., Gregory J. Mcdonald

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the sources and mechanisms of phosphorus (P) mobilization during base flow within the Amsden Brook watershed, Fort Fairfield, Maine, USA. Amsden Brook is an agriculturally dominated watershed drained by a spring-fed and perennial first- to second-order stream. We characterized the P concentrations within the watershed to investigate connections between soils, stream sediment, surface water, and groundwater. Waters were monitored monthly during the 2017 snow-free period for temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, soluble reactive P (SRP), total P, strong acid anions, strong base cations, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), Al, Fe, and Mn. Phosphorus speciation within soils and sediment …

Stream Dynamics In The Headwaters Of Post-Glacial Watershed Systems, Brett Gerard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation summarizes research examining watershed processes across Northern New England, with an emphasis on the Central and Coastal regions of Maine. The research presented here focuses on the linkages between watershed geomorphic conditions, climate, and surface flow regimes driving stream channel hydraulic conditions and bed dynamics governing channel geometry. The geologic and human history of the landscape provides the context in which earth surface processes are examined within the dominant physiographic settings in Maine to describe vulnerabilities to climate change. Results are summarized to support the development of sustainability solutions for forecasted watershed management problems by natural resource management …

Exploring Specificity And Stability Of A Molecularly Imprinted Polymer, Stephen Robert Shepherd

Theses - ALL

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have numerous practical applications, including integration with quartz crystal microbalances to make specific, stable, chemical sensors, but most published research literature does not provide details concerning the specificity or stability of such an imprinted polymer. A polymer made from polyacrylic acid monomers, templated with benzoic acid, was tested for specificity with solutions of benzoic acid, acetic acid, phenol, and terephthalic acid passed through samples of uniform size under vacuum filtration. Additionally, MIP samples were also stored for extended periods of time in varied microclimates and then tested for performance, and consequently, stability. Initial conclusions indicate that …

Remote Sensing Of Icebergs In Greenland's Fjords And Coastal Waters, Jessica Scheick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increases in ocean water temperature are implicated in driving recent accelerated rates of mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet. Icebergs provide a key tool for gaining insight into ice-ocean interactions and until recently have been relatively understudied. Here we develop several methods that exploit icebergs visible in optical satellite imagery to provide insight on the ice--ocean environment and explore how iceberg datasets can be used to examine the physics of iceberg decay and parent glacier properties. First, a semi-automated algorithm, which includes a machine learning-based cloud mask, is applied to six years (2000-2002 and 2013-2015) of the Landsat archive …

Low Temperature Thermochronologic Constraints Across The East-Central Denali Fault: Evaluating Vertical Tectonics Along A Transpressive Orogen, Thomas Stuart Warfel

Theses - ALL

The Denali Fault is an active intracontinental structure located ~500 km north of the southern Alaskan plate boundary. In 2002, a M 7.9 earthquake initiated on a previously unmapped thrust fault subsidiary to the Denali Fault (Susitna Glacier Thrust) and propagated ~227 km eastward along the east-central segment of the Denali Fault and the Totschunda Fault. The objective of this thesis is to evaluate how fault geometry and rheologic strength control spatial-temporal patterns of exhumation along large-scale transpressive structures. Apatite fission track (AFT) thermochronology and apatite (U-Th)/He (AHe) dating are used on a combination of bedrock and cobble samples to …

Assessment Of Two Pedagogical Tools For Cybersecurity Education, Pranita Deshpande

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Cybersecurity is an important strategic areas of computer science, and a difficult discipline to teach effectively. To enhance and provide effective teaching and meaningful learning, we develop and assess two pedagogical tools: Peer instruction, and Concept Maps. Peer instruction teaching methodology has shown promising results in core computer science courses by reducing failure rates and improving student retention in computer science major. Concept maps are well-known technique for improving student-learning experience in class. This thesis document presents the results of implementing and evaluating the peer instruction in a semester-long cybersecurity course, i.e., introduction to computer security. Development and evaluation of …