Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

On The Movement Of Beluga Whales In Cook Inlet, Alaska: Simulations Of Tidal And Environmental Impacts Using A Hydrodynamic Inundation Model, Tal Ezer, Roderick Hobbs, Lie-Yauw Oey

CCPO Publications

The population of beluga whales in Cook Inlet, Alaska, is in decline, and since 2000 these whales have been under consideration for designation as "endangered" under the Endangered Species Act (and were placed on the list in October 2008, just before this article went to press). In order to study environmental and hydrodynamic impacts on the belugas' movements and survival in the unique habitat of the inlet, a three-dimensional ocean circulation and inundation model is combined with satellite-tracked beluga whale data. Model-wale data comparisons from two whale paths during a five-day period (september 17-21, 2000) covering 10 tidal cycles suggest …

Ttl Based Packet Marking For Ip Traceback, Vamsi Paruchuri, Arjan Durresi, Sriram Chellappan

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Distributed Denial of Service Attacks continue to pose major threats to the Internet. in order to traceback attack sources (i.e., IP addresses), a well-studied approach is Probabilistic Packet Marking (PPM), where each intermediate router of a packet marks it with a certain probability, enabling a victim host to traceback the attack source. in a recent study, we showed how attackers can take advantage of probabilistic nature of packet markings in existing PPM schemes to create spoofed marks, hence compromising traceback. in this paper, we propose a new PPM scheme called TTL-Based PPM (TPM) scheme, where each packet is marked with …

The Evolution Of Thermal Reaction Norms For Growth Rate: Is Hotter Better?, Dee Ann Asbury

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Several researchers have proposed that warm-adapted organisms should outperform cold-adapted organisms because of the greater rates ofreactions at higher temperatures. This hypothesis-commonly referred to as 'hotter is better'-predicts that maximal performance should increase as the thermal optimum increases. I used published thermal reaction norms for 23 species of fish to test the hypothesis that hotter is better for individual growth rate. These studies reported a wide range of thermal optima among species. Using a phylogenetic hypothesis derived from multiple published sources, I calculated independent contrasts of thermal optima and maximal growth rates. The maximal growth rate appears unrelated to the …

Distribution And Geochemical Speciation Of Pb, Cd, Zn, Cr, And Cu In Sediments Of Major Dams In Uae, Mona Rashed Musabah Al-Alili

Theses

Assessment of availability and mobility is required to predict the behavior of heavy metals in dam's sediments, which hold up rainwater and make use of them. Therefore, a total number of ninety-three of sediments samples collected from the major dams AI-Shuweib, AI-Bih, AI-Tawiyeen and Ham dam were analyzed by several sedimentological and geochemical analyses procedures for Cu, Cd, Cr, Pb, Zn, AI, and Fe. The samples were investigated for mineralogy using X-ray diffraction analyses for non-clay and clay fractions. ICP-OES and Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) were used to measure the concentration of heavy metals. The statistical treatments and graphical presentations …

Modelling Hydrocarbons Transport In The Aquifer Of Bu Hasa Field And Evaluation Of Remediation Alternatives, Nawal Eisa Saleh Al Junaibi

Theses

The release of non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) to groundwater reservoirs is a serious and widespread environmental problem. In 2000, free phase hydrocarbon was discovered in Liwa aquifer under Bu Hasa Liquid Recovery Plant (LRP). Liwa aquifer is a shallow unconfined aquifer and represents the main water supply in the camp area of Bu Hasa field. Dissolved benzene is observed in at least one observation well in the site. This research is conducted to simulate the fate and transport of the dissolved benzene plume in the groundwater of Liwa aquifer using the finite element model (METABIOTRANS).

The mam objective of this …

Green Roofs For A Green Town: Possibilities Of Green Roof Implementation In The Town Of Normal, Lindsey Sihau, '09

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

Green roofs have been growing in popularity throughout the world. Scientists have been studying them since the 1980’s. This research project reviews the literature regarding both the benefits and barriers to green roof construction and management. Policies around the nation are then examined and analyzed. Suggestions are made regarding possible additions to the local Stormwater Management Policy that would emphasize the importance of sustainable building techniques such as green roofs, and hopefully offer incentive to their implementation.

What Impact Does Sustainable Certification Have? A Comparison Of Aquatic Nitrate And Phosphate Levels Between Two Golf Courses In The Bloomington-Normal Community, Jason Koval, '09

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

Two golf courses in the Bloomington-Normal community in central Illinois were tested for nitrate and phosphate concentrations in their ponds. One golf course (The Den) is Audubon International certified while the other golf course (Ironwood) is not. This study tries to establish if differing environmental management practices can contribute to significantly different concentrations of nutrients. It was determined that the nitrate concentration was higher at the non-certified golf course, while the phosphate concentrations at both courses were essentially negligible. The implications of these findings are discussed and were presented to both golf courses. It is the hope of this paper …

Growing Food Justice In West Bloomington, Illinois, Daniel Burke, '09

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

In some places in the United States, guns are more accessible than tomatoes. In a nation where food is in relative abundance, how can this be? Food security is the ready availability of nutritious and safe food and the assured ability to obtain it through normal sources (Morris et al 1992). Food justice asserts that no one should live without enough food because of economic constraints or social inequities. In this way, food justice frames the lack of healthy food sources in poor communities as a human rights issue (People's Grocery 2008). However, in some communities, access to fresh, healthy …

Robust Regularized Kernel Regression, Jianke Zhu, Steven C. H. Hoi, Michael R. Lyu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Robust regression techniques are critical to fitting data with noise in real-world applications. Most previous work of robust kernel regression is usually formulated into a dual form, which is then solved by some quadratic program solver consequently. In this correspondence, we propose a new formulation for robust regularized kernel regression under the theoretical framework of regularization networks and then tackle the optimization problem directly in the primal. We show that the primal and dual approaches are equivalent to achieving similar regression performance, but the primal formulation is more efficient and easier to be implemented than the dual one. Different from …

Differential Cross Sections For The Ionization Of Oriented H₂ Molecules By Electron Impact, James Colgan, Michael S. Pindzola, Francis J. Robicheaux, Christian V. Kaiser, Andrew James Murray, Don H. Madison

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

A nonperturbative close-coupling technique is used to calculate differential cross sections for the electron-impact ionization of H₂ at an energy of 35.4 eV. Our approach allows cross sections for any orientation of the molecule with respect to the incident electron beam to be analyzed. New features in the resulting cross sections are found compared with the case where the molecular orientation is averaged, and also with cross sections for He at equivalent electron kinematics. When averaged over all possible molecular orientations, good agreement is found with recent experimental results.

Retrieving Photorecombination Cross Sections Of Atoms From High-Order Harmonic Spectra, Shinichiro Minemoto, Toshihito Umegaki, Yuichiro Oguchi, Toru Morishita, Anh-Thu Le, Shinichi Watanabe, Hirofumi Sakai

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We observe high-order harmonic spectra generated from a thin atomic medium, Ar, Kr, and Xe, by intense 800-nm and 1300-nm femtosecond pulses. A clear signature of a single-atom response is observed in the harmonic spectra. Especially in the case of Ar, a Cooper minimum, reflecting the electronic structure of the atom, is observed in the harmonic spectra. We successfully extract the photorecombination cross sections of the atoms in the field-free condition with the help of an accurate recolliding electron wave packet. The present protocol paves the way for exploring ultrafast imaging of molecular dynamics with attosecond resolution.

Built-In Electric Field Assisted Spin Injection In Cr And Mn Δ-Layer Doped Aln/Gan(0001) Heterostructures From First Principles, X. Y. Cui, Julia E. Medvedeva, B. Delley, C. Stampfl, Arthur J. Freeman

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Highly spin-polarized diluted ferromagnetic semiconductors are expected to be widely used as ideal spin injectors. Here, extensive first-principles density-functional theory calculations have been performed to investigate the feasibility of using Cr- and Mn-doped wurtzite polar AlN/GaN(0001) heterostructures, with the aim to realize the appealing half-metallic character and, hence, efficient electrical spin injection. To overcome the formation of detrimental embedded clusters, we propose digital delta-layer doping perpendicular to the growth direction so as to realize enhanced performance at room temperature. The formation energy, electronic and magnetic properties, and the degree of spin polarization for both neutral and charged valence states for …

Interference Effects Due To Projectile Target Nucleus Scattering In Single Ionization Of H₂ By 75-Kev Proton Impact, Jason S. Alexander, Aaron C. Laforge, Ahmad Hasan, Z. S. Machavariani, M. F. Ciappina, R. D. Rivarola, Don H. Madison, Michael Schulz

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Doubly differential cross sections (DDCSs) for single ionization of molecular hydrogen by 75-keV proton impact have been measured and calculated as a function of the projectile scattering angle and energy loss. Interference structures are observed in the scattering angular dependence of the DDCSs, which disappear, however, at electron speeds near the projectile speed. The comparison to our calculations shows that the projectile-target nucleus interaction plays a central role. Furthermore, our data suggest that for a given scattering angle, ionization favors well-defined molecular orientations.

Spin- And Fine-Structure-Resolved Ionization Of Krypton, S. Bellm, J. Lower, R. P. Mceachran, E. Weigold, Ciarán Ryan-Anderson, Don H. Madison

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

The influence of exchange, correlation, and relativistic effects in the ionization of heavy-target atoms can be sensitively probed by kinematically complete studies involving spin-polarized electrons, in particular when the fine structure of the residual ion is resolved. We present spin asymmetries, triple differential cross sections, and branching ratios for the ionization, by 127.5-eV and 114.3-eV electrons, of ground-state krypton atoms leading to the Kr+ 4s 2S1/2, 4p5 2P1/2, and 4p5 2P3/2 states. In order to untangle contributions from different physical effects, the experimental results are compared to those from distorted-wave Born approximation calculations (non- and semirelativistic) in which bound-state and …

On Visualizing Heterogeneous Semantic Networks From Multiple Data Sources, Maureen Maureen, Aixin Sun, Ee Peng Lim, Anwitaman Datta, Kuiyu Chang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we focus on the visualization of heterogeneous semantic networks obtained from multiple data sources. A semantic network comprising a set of entities and relationships is often used for representing knowledge derived from textual data or database records. Although the semantic networks created for the same domain at different data sources may cover a similar set of entities, these networks could also be very different because of naming conventions, coverage, view points, and other reasons. Since digital libraries often contain data from multiple sources, we propose a visualization tool to integrate and analyze the differences among multiple social …

Surface Water Interaction With The Flood Plain In The Lower Virgin River, Clark County, Nevada, Jeffrie L. Pompeo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Development of existing surface water rights on the Virgin River would decrease Southern Nevada's dependency on the Colorado River. Three monitoring sites were established to examine the relationship between Virgin River surface water flows and the floodplain aquifer. Automated water level measuring devices were installed in piezometers and wells to continuously track water levels and flow direction. Pump tests were conducted to establish the hydraulic parameters of the floodplain aquifer. Water chemistry data was analyzed to help determine the correlation between the floodplain aquifer and Virgin River water. Precipitation, recharge, streamflow and ET estimates were used to discuss water budgets. …

Animated Database Courseware: Using Animations To Extend Conceptual Understanding Of Database Concepts, Meg Murray, Mario Guimaraes

Faculty Articles

Teaching abstract concepts can be best supported with supplemental instructional materials such as software animations. Visualization and animations have been shown to increase student motivation and help students develop deeper understandings. Through an NSF funded CCLI grant, a set of animations to support the teaching of database concepts is being developed and made freely available. Current modules available cover areas such as database design, interactive SQL, stored procedures and triggers, transactions and database security. In this paper, we provide an overview of the Animated Database Courseware (ADbC) as well as provide examples of how this software might be utilized in …

Side-Effects Of Pesticides On The Life Cycle Of The Mite Pathogenic Fungus Neozygites Floridana, V. W. Wekesa, M. Knapp, I. Delalibera

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The tomato red spider mite, Tetranychus evansi Baker and Pritchard, is an invasive species in Africa causing considerable damage to Solanaceous crops. The fungal pathogen Neozygites floridana Weiser and Muma from Brazil has been considered a potential candidate for introduction into Africa for the control of T. evansi. To be incorporated in the tomato production system, N. floridana has to be compatible with the pesticides used for the control of other pests and diseases. Pesticides used in tomatoes that might affect the fungus were therefore studied by the use of different methods. Two insecticides (Lambda-cyhalothrin and Methomyl), two acaricides (Propargite …

Digital Image Ballistics From Jpeg Quantization: A Followup Study, Hany Farid

Computer Science Technical Reports

The lossy JPEG compression scheme employs a quantization table that controls the amount of compression achieved. Because different cameras typically employ different tables, a comparison of an image's quantization scheme to a database of known cameras affords a simple technique for confirming or denying an image's source. This report describes the analysis of quantization tables extracted from 1,000,000 images downloaded from Flickr.com.

Effective-Range Theory For An Electron In A Short-Range Potential And A Laser Field, M. V. Frolov, N. L. Manakov, Anthony F. Starace

Anthony F. Starace Publications

The time-dependent effective-range (TDER) theory introduced by Frolov et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 053003 (2003)] and used in numerous applications for processes involving a linearly polarized intense laser field is presented in detail for the general problem of an electron, initially bound in a short-range potential, interacting with a laser field of arbitrary polarization. The TDER theory combines the well-known effective-range theory for a weakly bound electron in a short-range potential with the quasistationary, quasienergy state (QQES) or Floquet formulation for an electron interacting with a harmonic, time-dependent field, such as a monochromatic laser field. We present the basic …

Road To The Green Seal, Milos Cerovic

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Green Seal is one of the most recognized non profit organizations that work closely with companies from all over the country to provide certification of environmentally friendly products used by employees. There are many reasons for product certification process. The most obvious one is to preserve the environment and energy efficiency. Another important reason is to reduce the cost and increase the profit by using products with higher durability and less expensive packaging. Of equal importance is participation in green initiatives which allows hotels and other organizations to capture additional businesses, media exposure etc. InterContinental Chicago is the largest and …

Neural Network Output Feedback Control Of A Quadrotor Uav, Jagannathan Sarangapani, Travis Alan Dierks

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A neural network (NN) based output feedback controller for a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is proposed. The NNs are utilized in the observer and for generating virtual and actual control inputs, respectively, where the NNs learn the nonlinear dynamics of the UAV online including uncertain nonlinear terms like aerodynamic friction and blade flapping. It is shown using Lyapunov theory that the position, orientation, and velocity tracking errors, the virtual control and observer estimation errors, and the NN weight estimation errors for each NN are all semi-globally uniformly ultimately bounded (SGUUB) in the presence of bounded disturbances and NN functional …

Privacy Engine For Context-Aware Enterprise Application Services, Marion Blount, John Davis, Maria Ebling, William Jerome, Barry Leiba, Xuan Liu, Archan Misra

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Satisfying the varied privacy preferences of individuals, while exposing context data to authorized applications and individuals, remains a major challenge for context-aware computing. This paper describes our experiences in building a middleware component, the context privacy engine (CPE), that enforces a role-based, context-dependent privacy model for enterprise domains. While fundamentally an ACL-based access control scheme, CPE extends the traditional ACL mechanism with usage control and context constraints. This paper focuses on discussing issues related to managing and evaluating context-dependent privacy policies. Extensive experimental studies with a production-grade implementation and real-life context sources demonstrate that the CPE can support a large …

Efficient Client-To-Client Password Authenticated Key Exchange, Yanjiang Yang, Feng Bao, Robert H. Deng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

With the rapid proliferation of client-to-client applications, PAKE (password authenticated key exchange) protocols in the client-to-client setting become increasingly important. In this paper, we propose an efficient client-to client PAKE protocol, which has much better performance than existing generic constructions. We also show that the proposed protocol is secure under a formal security model.

Position Transformation: A Location Privacy Protection Method For Moving Objects, Dan Lin, Elisa Bertino, Reynold Cheng, Sunil Prabhakar

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

The expanding use of location-Based services has profound implications on the privacy of personal information. in this paper, we propose a framework for preserving location privacy based on the idea of sending to the service provider suitably modified location information. Agents execute data transformation, and the service provider directly processes the transformed dataset. Our technique not only prevents the service provider from knowing the exact locations of users, but also protects information about user movements and locations from being disclosed to other users who are not authorized to access this information. We also define a privacy model to analyze our …

Lsuhsc Facilities Biweekly Update: December 2008, Lsuhsc Property And Facilities Management

LSUHSC Facilities Biweekly Updates: 2008

LSUHSC Facilities Biweekly Updates from December 5 and 19, 2008.

These updates describe damage and a timeline of repairs at the LSU Health Sciences Center - New Orleans campus due to Hurricane Katrina which made landfall August 29, 2005.

Lsuhsc Facilities Daily Update: December 2008, Lsuhsc Property And Facilities Management

LSUHSC Facilities Daily Updates: 2008

LSUHSC Dailly Facilities Updates from December 2008. These updates describe damage and a timeline of repairs at the LSU Health Sciences Center - New Orleans campus due to Hurricane Katrina which made landfall August 29, 2005.

Draining A Polygon-Or-Rolling A Ball Out Of A Polygon, Greg Aloupis, Jean Cardinal, Sébastien Collette, Ferran Hurtado, Stefan Langerman, Joseph O'Rourke

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

We introduce the problem of draining water (or balls representing water drops) out of a punctured polygon (or a polyhedron) by rotating the shape. For 2D polygons, we obtain combinatorial bounds on the number of holes needed, both for arbitrary polygons and for special classes of polygons. We detail an O(n2 log n) algorithm that finds the minimum number of holes needed for a given polygon, and argue that the complexity remains polynomial for polyhedra in 3D. We make a start at characterizing the 1-drainable shapes, those that only need one hole.

Isometric Morphing Of Triangular Meshes, Prosenjit Bose, Joseph O'Rourke, Chang Shu, Stefanie Wuhrer

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

We present a novel approach to morph between two isometric poses of the same non-rigid object given as triangular meshes. We model the morphs as linear interpolations in a suitable shape space S. For triangulated 3D polygons, we prove that interpolating linearly in this shape space corresponds to the most isometric morph in R3. We extend this shape space to arbitrary triangulations in 3D using a heuristic approach.

A Pumping Lemma For Homometric Rhythms, Joseph O'Rourke, Perouz Taslakian, Godfried Toussaint

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

Homometric rhythms (chords) are those with the same histogram or multiset of intervals (distances). The purpose of this note is threefold. First, to point out the potential importance of isospectral vertices in a pair of homometric rhythms. Second, to establish a method ("pumping") for generating an infinite sequence of homometric rhythms that include isospectral vertices. And finally, to introduce the notion of polyphonic homometric rhythms, which apparently have not been previously explored.