Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Learning Successful Strategies In Repeated General-Sum Games, Jacob W. Crandall

Theses and Dissertations

Many environments in which an agent can use reinforcement learning techniques to learn profitable strategies are affected by other learning agents. These situations can be modeled as general-sum games. When playing repeated general-sum games with other learning agents, the goal of a self-interested learning agent is to maximize its own payoffs over time. Traditional reinforcement learning algorithms learn myopic strategies in these games. As a result, they learn strategies that produce undesirable results in many games. In this dissertation, we develop and analyze algorithms that learn non-myopic strategies when playing many important infinitely repeated general-sum games. We show that, in …

Monitoring Pc Hardware Sounds In Linux Systems Using The Daubechies D4 Wavelet., Robert Karns Henry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Users of high availability (HA) computing require systems that run continuously, with little or no downtime. Modern PCs address HA needs by monitoring operating system parameters such as voltage, temperature, and hard drive status in order to anticipate possible system failure. However, one modality for PC monitoring that has been underutilized is sound. The application described here uses wavelet theory to analyze sounds produced by PC hard drives during standard operation. When twenty-nine hard drives were tested with the application and the results compared with the drives' Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.) data, the binomial distribution's low p-value of …

Using Prospect Theory To Investigate Decision-Making Bias Within An Information Security Context, Neil J. Schroeder

Theses and Dissertations

Information security is an issue that has increased in importance over the past decade. In this time both practitioner and academic circles have researched and developed practices and process to more effectively handle information security. Even with growth in these areas there has been little research conducted into how decision makers actually behave. This is problematic because decision makers in the Department of Defense have been observed exhibiting risk seeking behavior when making information security decisions that seemingly violate accepted norms. There are presently no models in the literature that provide sufficient insight into this phenomenon. This study used Prospect …

Electromagnetism In Gravitational Collapse, Craig Ernest Skinfill

Theses and Dissertations

A numerical approach to including electromagnetism with general relativity is developed using GRAXI as a starting point. We develop a mathematical model describing electromagnetism coupled to a scalar field in an evolving axisymmetric spacetime. As there are numerous formulations of electromagnetism, we evalute different formulations in a limited flat space case. The full curved space system is then developed, using the flat case as a guide to implementing electromagnetism. This model is then implemented using GRAXI as a code base.

Conference Web Site Redesign, Steven M. Pisarski

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Sustainable Resources was a non-profit organization based out of Boulder, CO that, at the time of this project hosted yearly conferences to help find solutions to world poverty. Although, the previous web site had a professional appearance, it was not meeting their needs with regards to usability, extensibility, and maintainability, as they had been forced to rely heavily on a transient volunteer IT labor base. The aim of this project was to address their functional and maintenance problems. The application's front-end was built in adherence to the Model -view-Controller (MVC) design pattern and implemented using the Jakarta Struts framework and …

Change Bell Ringing And Mathematics: A High School Student Excursion Into Graph Theory And Group Theory, Kristi Carlson

Honors Theses

This unit was created as a way to introduce higher level mathematics concepts to advanced high school students. All five of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Process Standards are found in this unit. For most of the unit, students work within small groups

Trust Broker: A Defense Against Identity Theft From Online Transactions, Michael George Edvalson

Theses and Dissertations

The proliferation of online services over the years has encouraged more and more people to participate in Internet activities. Many web sites request personal and sensitive information needed to deliver the desired service. Unfortunately, it is difficult to distinguish the sites that can be trusted to protect such information from those that cannot. Many attempts to make the Internet easier to use introduce new security and privacy problems. On the other hand, most attempts at creating a safe online environment produce systems that are cryptic and hard to use. The TrustBroker system is based on a specialized online repository that …

Multiple Channel Laser Beam Combination And Phasing Using Stimulated Brillouin Scattering In Optical Fibers, Brent W. Grime

Theses and Dissertations

Brightness scaling lasers using stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in optical fibers is explored. A multiple-channel amplifier approach is used to increase the total power of a laser system while avoiding a significant burden on a single channel. The work explores two approaches utilizing both SBS beam cleanup and SBS piston error conjugation. A unique beam combiner that takes advantage of the SBS beam cleanup properties of a long, gradient-index multimode fiber was designed and tested. The beam combiner was developed to combine multiple-channel laser beams simultaneously with high input and output coupling efficiency. The design for the SBS beam combiner …

Industrial Technology Education Teachers Perceptions Of National Standards For Technological Literacy In The State Of Arizona, Allan R. Mcrae

Theses and Dissertations

Today, it is becoming increasingly clear that there is a growing interest, concern, and need for technological literacy. To this end, the International Technology Education Association (ITEA) through the Technology for All Americans Project, has developed and promulgated the Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology. This effort is part of the ongoing initiative to develop technology standards on a national level, and to focus on what every student in grades K-12 should know and be able to do in order to achieve technological literacy (ITEA, 2000). The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived …

The Cherry Creek Sneak A Database Solution, Analissa Hilt

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

The purpose of the database was to provide a repository of information about the race, the racers, the sponsors and other miscellaneous information that may in the future prove to provide a better understanding of the customers of The Sneak. This project was completed with the long-term goals that the information contained in the database will be utilized to reduce registration time, recruit prior year participants to participate in future events and provide a tool to intimately understand the customers of the race.

Autologous Stem Cell Transplant: Factors Predicting The Yield Of Cd34+ Cells, Elizabeth Anne Lawson

Theses and Dissertations

Stem cell transplant is often considered the last hope for the survival for many cancer patients. The CD34+ cell content of a collection of stem cells has appeared as the most reliable indicator of the quantity of desired cells in a peripheral blood stem cell harvest and is used as a surrogate measure of the sample quality. Factors predicting the yield of CD34+ cells in a collection are not yet fully understood. Throughout the literature, there has been conflicting evidence with regards to age, gender, disease status, and prior radiation. In addition to the factors that have already been explored, …

Photochemical Reactions Of Optically Active Chiral And Achiral Organic Materials, Nicie Conley Murphy

Doctoral Dissertations

Sodium chlorate, NaClO₃, which crystallizes in the space group P2₁3, forms optically active crystals upon crystallization although the molecule itself is achiral. NaClO₃, has been shown to produce an asymmetric distribution of (+) and (-) crystals when crystallized from water while stirring. It has been discovered that beta or positron radiation can also induce asymmetric crystallization in NaClO₃ solutions. Like NaClO₃, achiral 4,4’-dimethylchalcone crystallizes in enantiomeric forms in the space group P2₁3. Kondepudi et al. provided evidence that stirred crystallizations of 4,4’-dimethylchalcone can induce a bimodal distribution of …

Study Of The N = 77 Isotones Near The Proton-Drip Line; Isomeric Decays Of 140Eu, 142Tb, 144Ho, And 146Tm, Mohammed Noor Tantawy

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, the systematics of the [pi]h₁₁/₂ [tensor] [nu]h₁₁/₂ and [pi]h₁₁/₂ [tensor] [nu]s₁/₂ isomeric configurations were studied for the odd-Z, N = 77 isotones near the proton drip line. The isomeric decays in ¹⁴⁰Eu, ¹⁴²Tb, ¹⁴⁴Ho and ¹⁴⁶Tm were measured by means of X-ray, [gamma]-ray and charged particle spectroscopy at the Recoil Mass Spectrometer at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility (HRIBF) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The spin and parity of I[pi] = 8⁺ and 5⁻ were deduced for the isomers in ¹⁴⁰ Eu and ¹⁴²Tb. New decay schemes were established, and the half-lives of the 8⁺ …

Gravity In Extra Dimensions Of Infinite Volume, Chad Aaron Middleton

Doctoral Dissertations

In this thesis, we discuss various aspects of the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (DGP) model in D-dimensions. Firstly, we generalize the DGP model, which consists of a delta-function type 3-brane embedded in an infinite volume bulk-space by allowing the 3-brane to have a finite thickness. We calculate the graviton propagator in the harmonic gauge both inside and outside the brane and discuss its dependence on the thickness of the brane. We obtain two infinite towers of massive modes and tachyonic ghosts. In the thin-brane limit, we recover the four-dimensional Einstein gravity behavior of the graviton propagator which was found in the delta-function treatment. …

The Ds/Cft Correspondence And Quasinormal Modes Of Black Holes, Scott Henry Ness

Doctoral Dissertations

In this thesis we discuss two aspects of quantum gravity and break it up in the following way. In part I, we discuss a scalar field theory living in de Sitter space-time. We may describe the infinite past or future as being boundaries of this space-time and, on these boundaries we construct a field theory. It has been shown by Strominger that there exists a correspondence between the bulk de Sitter space-time and the field theory living in the infinite past [1]. This may be described as a holographic principle, where information in the bulk de Sitter space-time corresponds to …

Interdisciplinary Approaches To New Chemical Analysis, David Lynn Rodman

Doctoral Dissertations

The primary focus of this dissertation is the development of new chemical analyses for inorganic, organic, and organometallic compounds. Interdisciplinary approaches combining analytical, polymer, inorganic, organic, and materials chemistry have been used to develop new analytical methods. Topics discussed in this dissertation include the development of a sol-gel based metal ion sensor, photochemical oxidation of a biomimetic Cr(III) complex, photochemical oxidation of organic ligands and other interferences in model Pd catalyst complexes, modified Fujiwara reactions for the detection of halogenated hydrocarbons, and the development of a controlled-release polymer for delivery of reagents needed for chemical sensing applications.

High Performance Parallel Approximate Eigensolver For Real Symmetric Matrices, Yihua Bai

Doctoral Dissertations

In the first-principles calculation of electronic structures, one of the most timeconsuming tasks is that of computing the eigensystem of a large symmetric nonlinear eigenvalue problem. The standard approach is to use an iterative scheme involving the solution to a large symmetric linear eigenvalue problem in each iteration. In the early and intermediate iterations, significant gains in efficiency may result from solving the eigensystem to reduced accuracy. As the iteration nears convergence, the eigensystem can be computed to the required accuracy.
Traditional real symmetric eigensolvers compute the eigensystem in three steps: 1) reduce a dense matrix to a symmetric tridiagonal …

Structural And Spectroscopic Studies Of Transition Metal Organometallic And Coordination Complexes With Reference To Catalysis, Megan Taliaferro Bragg

Doctoral Dissertations

Inorganic chemistry encompasses a variety of topics and in many ways, these advances affect a wider sphere of chemists than purely inorganic and progress in this field is interesting to many scientists. The developments presented in this dissertation are significant as they affect three issues: catalytic reactivity, ligand fluxionality, and catalyst development. Catalysis affects industrial profit, pharmaceutical development, agrochemical synthesis, spectroscopy, enzymatic activity, and polymerization.

Progress in certain areas such as the [Cp*Rh(TsDPEN)] (TsDPEN = p-toluenesulfonyldiphenylethylenediamine) has lead to a moiety that is a powerful and efficient catalyst for the reduction of C=N bonds. The precise mechanism of the …

The Development Of Building Block Methodologies To Produce Nanostructured Heterogeneous Catalysts By Design, Jason Curtis Clark

Doctoral Dissertations

Building block methods were successfully developed to demonstrate the potential of this approach to synthesizing nanostructured heterogeneous catalysts by design. The octa(trimethyltin) cuboctameric spherosilicate, Si₈O₂₀(SnMe₃)₈, was used as the building block for the synthesis of these materials. The solid state structure of this building block was characterized and compared to other solid state structures of Si₈O₁₂ containing compounds. These studies showed that this building block is composed of rigid tetrahedral units connect through a flexible siloxy bridge. The trimethyltin functionality present on this molecular precursor will react with metal …

Ac Loss And Thickness Dependence Of Critical Currents In Coated Conductors, Anota Oluwatoyin Ijaduola

Doctoral Dissertations

This program of research is directed toward understanding the physical properties of certain materials in superconductive “coated conductors.” Specifically investigated were Ni1−xWx alloys for use as substrate and thin films of YBa 2Cu3O7, a high- Tc superconductor with many attractive features. A study has been conducted on the magnetic properties of a series of biaxially textured Ni1−xWx materials with compositions x = 0, 3, 5, 6, and 9 at.% W. These materials are important as substrates for “RABiTS”-type coated conductors that incorporate high temperature superconductors for current transport. The quasi-static dc and ac …

Photo-Acoustic Analysis Of Dental Materials And Tissue, Pavlina Jetchkova Jeleva

Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of the presented study is the investigation of the feasibility of using optically generated acoustic waves for analysis of dental material below laser-ablation threshold.

The temperature rise of dental material and tissue has been modeled analytically and numerically, and measured experimentally. Following interactions with nano- and femto-second laser radiation the temperature rises at a rate of typically 1 ±C per J=cm2, along with the generation of an acoustical wave. The results from the models agree with the experiment. The acoustic measurements show differences in the acoustic signal strength and the frequency spectrum when the canal in the …

Cloning, Overexpression, Purification And Characterization On N-Terminal Metal Binding Domains 5 And 6 Of Wilsons Disease Protein, David Achila

Masters Theses

Wilsons disease is an autosomal recessive disorder of copper metabolism which results from mutations in the gene encoding for Wilson disease protein (WDP). The cytosolic N-terminus of WDP comprises six metal binding domains each containing a conserved metal binding motif, GMXCXXC. The contribution of these metal binding domains to copper homeostasis is poorly understood. We have cloned, expressed and purified residues 485 to 633 corresponding to N-terminal metal-binding domains 5 and 6 of WDP (WD5-6). Two of the 3 disease causing mutations in the N-terminal metal binding domains of WDP occur one in each of these domains and the two …

Assessing The Relationships Between The Spatial Variation In Land-Use Spatial Patterns And Surface Water Quality, Majed A. Khater

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the association between the spatial patterns of urban land uses and surface water quality parameters at the watershed outlet. The aim of the study was to understand the strength and nature of this relationship, and examine new methods of classifying and quantifying contributing urban land-uses and their spatial patterns. The hypothesis of this research was: in an urban watershed, the variation in the spatial patterns of contributing land uses will have a significant impact on the surface water quality parameters at the watershed outlet.

This relationship between urbanization and water quality is …

A Combined Routing Method For Ad Hoc Wireless Networks, Zhenhui Jiang

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

To make ad hoc wireless networks adaptive to different mobility and traffic patterns, we studied in this thesis an approach to swap from one protocol to another protocol dynamically, while routing continues. By the insertion of a new layer, we were able to make each node in the ad hoc wireless network notify each other about the protocol swap. To ensure that routing works efficiently after the protocol swap, we initialized the destination routing protocol's data structures and reused the previous routing information to build the new routing table. We also tested our approach under different network topologies and traffic …

Unsaturated Flow And Transport Of 90Sr, Co(Ii)Edta, And U(Vi) In Undisturbed Cores From The Hanford Formation, Hanford, Wa, Mary Fairfax Nichols-Pace

Doctoral Dissertations

At the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Richland, WA nuclear processing wastes, such as Sr-90, organic chelating agents such as EDTA, Co-60, and U(VI) have been detected in the vadose zone beneath the underground storage tanks. There is concern that waste released to the vadose zone could reach the groundwater and eventually flow into the Columbia River. The goal of this paper is to provide an improved understanding of coupled hydrologic and geochemical mechanisms that influence contaminant transport in the Handford vadose zone. Disturbed sediment and undisturbed sediment cores were collected from the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (ERDF) …

Robust And Efficient Localization Techniques For Cellular And Wireless Sensor Networks, Haseebulla M. Khan

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

Localization in wireless networks refers to a collection of tasks that, collectively, determines the location of a mobile user, striving to hide the effects of mobility from the user and/or application. Localization has become an important issue and has drawn considerable attention, as many applications including E-911, cargo tracking, locating patients, location-sensitive billing, etc., require knowledge of the location of user/objects. It was realized, quite a while back, that extending emergency 911-like services (E-911) to continually growing mobile population is one of the extremely important localization applications. The bulk of the proposed solutions to emergency location management in wireless environments …

Synthesis Of 123-Iodine Labeled Rofecoxib Analogues: Potential Nuclear Medicine Imaging Agents, Brandy U. Belue

Masters Theses

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a medical imaging technique which provides three-dimensional images ofliving systems after introduction ofa radiolabeled pharmaceutical. Rofecoxib (4-[ 4-methylsulphonylphenyl]-3phenylfuran-2(SH)-one) is an inhibitor of the cycloxygenase-2 enzyme, an enzyme which has been found to promote cancer cell growth. The synthesis of a no-carrier-added iodine-123 labeled rofecoxib derivative is potentially of value for the detection of cancer utilizing SPECT.

Iodine-123 labeled -(3-Iodophenyl)-4-(methanesulfonylphenyl)-SH furan-2-one, 1, and 3-(4-Iodophenyl)-4-(methanesulfonylphenyl)-5H-furan-2-one, 2, were prepared from the respective potassium organotrifluoroborate salts. The trifluoroborates were prepared from a simple six step pathway.

Development Of A Dilatant Damage Zone Along A Thrust Relay In A Low-Porosity Quartz Arenite, Jennie E. Cook

Masters Theses

A damage zone developed along a backthrust fault system in well-cemented quartz arenite of the Tuscarora Sandstone in the Alleghanian foreland thrust system consists of a network of NW-dipping thrusts that are linked by multiple higher-order faults and bound a zone of intense extensional fractures and breccias. The damage zone is unusual in that it preserves porous brittle fabrics despite formation at >5km depth. The damage zone developed at an extensional step-over between two independent, laterally propagating backthrusts. Continued displacement resulted in breaching of the relay and formation of faultbounded horses, and favored the formation of extensional fractures. The presence …

Effect Of Surface Morphology On Adsorption-Induced Bending Of Microcantilevers, Ramya Desikan

Masters Theses

Microcantilevers undergo bending due to molecular adsorption when adsorption is confined to a single surface. The origin of the adsorption-induced force is assumed to be surface stress variation due to molecular adsorption. Single crystal silicon cantilevers were etched for a series of different time periods using two different types of Potassium Hydroxide solutions in order to obtain a rough and a smooth finish on the cantilever surface. Cantilevers that approximately had the same resonance frequency in the rough and smooth etched categories were chosen for comparison in the experiment. Liquid phase adsorption of 1-Do-decan-thiol on the cantilevers having a thin …

Detection Of Enteric Viruses In East Tennessee Public Ground Water Systems, Trisha Baldwin Johnson

Masters Theses

A two-part study was conducted by University of Tennessee-Knoxville, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-National Exposure Research Laboratory to (1) develop, validate, and test a real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (real-time RT-PCR) assay for enteroviruses in ground water samples and to (2) perform the first survey of enteric viral occurrence in the karst aquifers of East Tennessee. Karst aquifers are expected to have a high susceptibility to viral contamination because of the rapid flow (100’s of m/day) and frequent occurrence of fecal indicator bacteria typically observed in these systems.

Real-time RT-PCR primers and probes specific for …