Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Rational Approximation Schemes For Solutions Of Abstract Cauchy Problems And Evolution Equations, Patricio Gabriel Jara

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation we study time and space discretization methods for approximating solutions of abstract Cauchy problems and evolution equations in a Banach space setting. Two extensions of the Hille-Phillips functional calculus are developed. The first result is the Hille-Phillips functional calculus for generators of bi-continuous semigroups, and the second is a C-regularized version of the Hille-Phillips functional calculus for generators of C-regularized semigroups. These results are used in order to study time discretization schemes for abstract Cauchy problems associated with generators of bi-continuous semigroups as well as C-regularized semigoups. Stability, convergence results, and error estimates for rational approximation schemes …

A Study Of Rheological And Thermodynamic Properties Of Polymer-Clay Gels And Multilayered Films, Eduard Adrian Stefanescu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The overall objective of the research presented here is to understand the nanoscopic and microscopic structures that exist in dispersions of laponite and montmorillonite in poly(ethylene oxide), (PEO) and to correlate their shear responses with the final structure and properties of multilayered nanocomposite films prepared from these dispersions. These structures were examined as a function of polymer molecular weight, polymer and clay concentrations, and type of clay used to prepare the nanocomposites. A sequence of shear and elongational rheological measurements is used to provide a more complete physical picture on the structure of polymer-clay hydrogels, while a combination of techniques …

Bioanalytical Methods For Studies Of Homocysteine And Novel Cardiovascular Disease Indicators, Arther T. Gates

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the development of analytical methods for studies of CVD biomarkers and related biomolecular indicators. Initially, spectroscopic studies were conducted to investigate the chemical reactivity of homocysteine (Hcy), an independent CVD risk factor and serological biomarker. Consequently, we proposed an alternate theory for in vivo Hcy clearance based on spontaneous pyridoxal tetrahydrothiazine (PT) formation from Hcy and pyridoxal. The validity of PT-assisted Hcy clearance was further evaluated by use of capillary electrophoretic methods, which allowed rapid monitoring of protein oligomerization in PT-protein reaction mixtures. The results of these studies suggest that PT formation is a plausible mechanism for …

Solid-Phase Synthesis Of Asymmetrically Substituted Phthalocyanines, Sultan Sibel Erdem

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Phthalocyanines (Pcs) are excellent candidates for use as fluorophores for near-infrared (near-IR) fluorescent tagging of biomolecules and as photodynamic therapy (PDT) agents. Synthesis of Pcs with asymmetrical substitution on the periphery is often difficult due to the problems during the purification of the Pc mixtures obtained. The objective of this project is to design and synthesize chemically robust near-IR fluorophores for bioanalytical applications and to develop new synthetic methods for rapid synthesis of the target compounds. A novel synthetic route was developed utilizing a hydrophilic, polyethylene glycol-based (PEG) support with different types of linkers. The Pcs were functionalized with either …

Mechanistic Investigations Of The Trans Excision-Splicing And Trans Insertion-Splicing Reaction, Perry Patrick Dotson Ii

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Group I intron-derived ribozymes are catalytic RNAs that have been engineered to catalyze a variety of different reactions, in addition to the native self-splicing reaction. One such ribozyme, derived from a group I intron of Pneumocystis carinii, can modify RNA transcripts through either the excision or insertion of RNA sequences. These reactions are mediated through the trans excision-splicing (TES) or trans insertionsplicing (TIS) reaction pathways. To increase our current understanding of these reactions, as well as their general applicability, a mechanistic and kinetic framework for the TES reaction was established. Furthermore, additional ribozymes were investigated for their ability to …

Multivariate List Decoding Of Evaluation Codes With A Gröbner Basis Perspective, Philip Busse

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Please download dissertation to view abstract.

Empirical Processes And Roc Curves With An Application To Linear Combinations Of Diagnostic Tests, Costel Chirila

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve is the plot of Sensitivity vs. 1- Specificity of a quantitative diagnostic test, for a wide range of cut-off points c. The empirical ROC curve is probably the most used nonparametric estimator of the ROC curve. The asymptotic properties of this estimator were first developed by Hsieh and Turnbull (1996) based on strong approximations for quantile processes. Jensen et al. (2000) provided a general method to obtain regional confidence bands for the empirical ROC curve, based on its asymptotic distribution.

Since most biomarkers do not have high enough sensitivity and specificity to …

Fast Domain Wall Motion In Nanostripes With Out-Of-Plane Fields, Andrew Kunz, Sarah C. Reiff

Physics Faculty Research and Publications

Controlling domain wall motion is important due to the impact on the viability of proposed nanowire devices. One hurdle is slow domain wall speed when driven by fields greater than the Walker field due to nucleation of vortices in the wall. We present simulation results detailing the dynamics of these vortices including the nucleation and subsequent fast ejection of the vortex core leading to fast domain wall speeds. The ejection is due to the reversal of the core moments by an out-of-plane field. The technique can be used to produce domain walls of known orientation, independent of the initial state.

Aluminum-Containing Layered Double Hydroxides: The Thermal, Mechanical, And Fire Properties Of (Nano)Composites Of Poly(Methyl Methacrylate), Charles Manzi-Nshuti, Dongyan Wang, Jeanne Hossenlopp, Charles A. Wilkie

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

Hydrotalcite-like anionic clays or layered double hydroxides (LDHs) of the general formula, [M^II_1-xM^III_x(OH)₂]_intra[(CH₂=CH(CH₂)₈COO^-)_x•nH₂O]_inter, with M^III = Al and M^II = Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn, have been prepared by the co-precipitation method and used to prepare nanocomposites with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). One goal of this work was to compare the morphology, thermal, fire and mechanical properties with those of the well known PMMA–montmorillonite system. The thermal properties of these systems are greatly …

Reactivity Of (2-Alkenyl-3-Pentene-1,5-Diyl)Iron Complexes: Preparation Of Functionalized Vinylcyclopropanes And Cycloheptadienes, Rajesh K. Pandey, Lizhu Wang, Nathaniel J Wallock, Sergey V. Lindeman, William A. Donaldson

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

The reactivity of (2-alkenyl-3-pentene-1,5-diyl)iron complexes toward olefin metathesis, cycloaddition, and mild oxidations (MnO₂ or mCPBA) was examined. Cycloaddition reactions were observed to occur with modest diastereoselectivity (33−63% de). Decomplexation of the (3-pentenediyl) ligand may be accomplished by oxidation with either CAN or alkaline hydrogen peroxide to afford vinylcyclopropanecarboxylates or divinylcyclopropanecarboxylates. Reduction of the latter, followed by Cope rearrangement generates cycloheptadienylmethanols. These studies demonstrate that (2-alkenyl-3-pentene-1,5-diyl)iron complexes can serve as organometallic scaffolds for the preparation of a wide variety of structural motifs containing up to 5 contiguous stereocenters.

Application Of Impedance Spectroscopy To The Study Of Dithiocarbamate Species On Au Surfaces: Effects Of Aqueous Cu²⁺ And Mg²⁺ Ions, Tom Riha

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Self-assembled monolayers (SAM) of dithiocarbamate ligands were formed on the Au surface of an interdigitated electrode (IDE) array by reaction of amines with CS₂ in H₂O/CH₃OH solutions. Impedance spectroscopy was used to probe for the presence of each SAM as they were individually applied to the surface of the IDE by examining differences in collected impedance data after each step of the chemical application sequence. The impedance behavior of the SAM’s were then studied in the presence of aqueous Cu²⁺ and Mg2+ ions. A treated IDE array would, in theory, be able to preferentially …

Adding Simple Simulations To Video Games To Improve Realism, Leonard Kinnaird-Heether

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

In this paper a method of enhancing the realism of certain computer game types, particularly First Person Shooter games, is explored by attempting to include intelligent neutral background characters to the game environment. This method also requires that the inclusion of these background characters will not adversely affect the performance of a game by drastically increasing the computational complexity of the game. A simulation was created to show how this can be done using a group of intelligent agents based in a simulated world, and a simplified system of norms designed to influence the agents’ behavior. The agents are designed …

Kinetic, Spectroscopic, And X-Ray Crystallographic Evidence For The Cooperative Mechanism Of The Hydration Of Nitriles Catalyzed By A Tetranuclear Ruthenium-Μ-Oxo-Μ-Hydroxo Complex, Chae S. Yi, Tonya N. Zeczycki, Sergey V. Lindeman

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

The tetranuclear ruthenium-oxo-hydroxo-hydride complex {[(PCy₃)(CO)RuH]₄(μ₄-O)(μ₃-OH)(μ₂-OH)} (1) was found to be a highly cooperative catalyst for the nitrile hydration reaction. The cooperative mechanism of the hydration of benzonitrile was established by Hill inhibition kinetics. The treatment of a nitrile substrate with complex 1 led to the catalytically relevant nitrile-coordinated tetraruthenium complex 3. The X-ray structure of the nitrile-coordinated complex 3 showed a considerably “relaxed” tetrameric core structure compared to that of 1. The hydration of para-substituted benzonitriles p-X-C₆H₄CN with an electron-withdrawing …

Chiral Ionic Liquids:  Synthesis, Properties, And Enantiomeric Recognition, Shaofang Yu, Sergey V. Lindeman, Chieu D. Tran

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

We have synthesized a series of structurally novel chiral ionic liquids which have a either chiral cation, chiral anion, or both. Cations are an imidazolium group, while anions are based on a borate ion with spiral structure and chiral substituents. Both (or all) stereoisomeric forms of each compound in the series can be readily synthesized in optically pure form by a simple one-step process from commercially available reagents. In addition to the ease of preparation, most of the chiral ILs in this series are liquid at room temperature with a solid to liquid transformation temperature as low as −70 °C …

Double Carbon−Hydrogen Activation Of 2-Vinylpyridine: Synthesis Of Tri- And Pentanuclear Clusters Containing The Μ-Nc5H4Ch═C Ligand, Kazi A. Azam, Dennis W. Bennett, Mohammad R. Hassan, Daniel T. Haworth, Graeme Hogarth, Shariff E. Kabir, Sergey V. Lindeman, Luca Salassa, Sultana R. Simi, Tasneem Siddiquee

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

Reactions of 2-vinylpyridine with the triruthenium complexes [Ru₃(CO)₁₂] and [Ru₃(CO)₁₀(μ-dppm)] leads to a previously unknown double carbon−hydrogen bond activation of the β-carbon of the vinyl group to afford the pentaruthenium and triruthenium complexes [Ru₅(CO)₁₄(μ₄-C₅H₄CH═C)(μ-H)₂] (1) and [Ru₃Cl(CO)₅(μ-CO)(μ-dppm)(μ₃-NC₅H₄CH═C)(μ-H)] (2), respectively. Crystal structures reveal two different forms of bridging of the dimetalated 2-vinylpyridyl ligand, capping a square face in 1 and a triangular face in 2.

Rice Straw Fiber Polymer Composites: Thermal And Mechanical Performance, Fei Yao

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Rice straw fiber can be considered as important potential reinforcing filler for thermoplastic composite because of its lignocellulosic characteristics. It is thus of practical significance to understand and predict the thermal decomposition process of rice straw fibers. A method proposed by Málek, Šesták, and co-workers was used to investigate and model thermal decomposition process of common natural fibers with detailed analysis on rice straw system. Assuming a global model occurring within the entire degradation of natural fibers with consideration of fiber as one pseudo-component, model can be used to describe both isothermal and non-isothermal degradation process of most selected fibers …

Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry For The Analysis Of Collected Bioaerosols, Alton John Dugas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation was to demonstrate collection, detection and identification of microorganisms from bioaerosols using offline matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) for the analysis of proteins. MALDI-MS intact bacteria techniques were adapted for use with an orthogonal MALDI quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Results indicate the instrument is capable of analyzing intact whole-cells. The first phase was to evaluate three bioaerosol samplers, an Andersen N6 single-stage impactor (AI), a cyclone impactor, and a vacuum filter system. The samplers collected test bioaerosols using a constructed bioaerosol exposure chamber (BEC). The BEC allowed all three samplers to operate in parallel. Each …

Fast Marching Methods - Parallel Implementation And Analysis, Maria Cristina Tugurlan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Fast Marching represents a very efficient technique for solving front propagation problems, which can be formulated as partial differential equations with Dirichlet boundary conditions, called Eikonal equation: $F(x)|\nabla T(x)|=1$, for $x \in \Omega$ and $T(x)=0$ for $x \in \Gamma$, where $\Omega$ is a domain in $\mathbb{R}^n$, $\Gamma$ is the initial position of a curve evolving with normal velocity F>0. Fast Marching Methods are a necessary step in Level Set Methods, which are widely used today in scientific computing. The classical Fast Marching Methods, based on finite differences, are typically sequential. Parallelizing Fast Marching Methods is a step forward for …

Biotransformation Of Organic Wood Preservatives By Micro-Organisms, Diana Nasirumbi Obanda

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Wood products are treated with biocides to prevent biodegradation by bacteria, fungi, and insects. Much attention is being directed towards testing of metal-free organic preservative systems. The major disadvantage of organics is that they are biotransformed by micro-organisms in soil and wood. This study explored the biotransformation of the fungicide tebuconazole by a bacteria species (Pseudomonas fluorescens), the mold (Trichoderma harzianum), the white rot fungus (Phanerochaete chrysosporium) and the brown rot (Meruliporia incrassata). After incubation of cultures spiked with tebuconazole, samples were analyzed for chemical remaining and metabolites. M. incrassata, T. harzianum, and the bacterium all cleaved the 1, 2, …

Editorial, First Science And Policy Issue, Jscas

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Inflammation: The Key To Health And Disease, Prakash Nagarkatti Ph. D, Donald J. Dipette M. D.

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Solution Chemical Synthesis Of Nanostructured Thermoelectric Materials, Xiaohua Ji, Terry M. Tritt, Xinbing Zhao, Joe W. Kolis

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Overview Of Thermoelectric Sodium Cobaltite: NaXCo2O4, Xiaofeng Tang, Terry M. Tritt

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Phonon Scattering Effects On Thermal Conductivity Of Tinisn-Based Half-Heusler Alloys, S. Bhattacharya, T. M. Tritt, M. J. Skove, M. Russell, S. J. Poon, V. Ponnambalam, Y. Xia, N. Thadhani

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Statistical Issues In The Normalization Of Multi-Species Microarray Data, John R. Stevens, Balasubramanian Ganesan, Prerak Desai, Sweta Rajan, Bart C. Weimer

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

Several species of bacteria are involved in the production of cheese, including Lactobacillus brevis and Lactococcus lactis. A custom-designed Affymetrix microarray was recently developed to study gene expression in three organisms on a single chip. This array contains only perfect match features for the coding and non-coding regions in the genomes of all three sequences. The multi-species nature of this array version raises interesting questions regarding the preprocessing or normalization strategies for the analysis of gene expression data. We present and evaluate several possible strategies using both cDNA dilution data and experimental expression data from a repeated measures design. …

Estimation Of Submarine Groundwater Discharge From Bulk Ground Electrical Conductivity Measurements, Thomas Stieglitz, John Rapaglia, Henry Bokuniewicz

Biology Faculty Publications

The utility of bulk ground conductivity (BGC) measurements in the estimation of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) was investigated at four sites covering a range of hydrogeological settings, namely Cockburn Sound (Australia); Shelter Island (USA); Ubatuba Bay (Brazil) and Flic-en-Flac Bay (Mauritius). At each of the sites, BGC was surveyed in the intertidal zone, and seepage meters were used for direct measurements of SGD flow rates. In the presence of detectable salinity gradients in the sediment, a negative correlation between SGD and BGC was recorded. The correlation is site-specific and is dependent on both the type of sediment and the mixing …

Synthesis And Evaluation Of Cyclopropanated Carbohydrates For Cns Disorders, Jaime Talisman

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Book Review: Mac Os X, Ipod, And Iphone Forensic Analysis Dvd Toolkit, Gary C. Kessler

Publications

This document is Dr. Kessler's review of MAC OS X, iPod, and iPhone Forensic Analysis DVD Toolkit, edited by Jesse Varsalone. Syngress, 2009. ISBN: 978-1-59749-297-3.

Book Review: The Dotcrime Manifesto: How To Stop Internet Crime, Gary C. Kessler

Publications

This document is Dr. Kessler's review of The dotCrime Manifesto: How to Stop Internet Crime, by Phillip Hallam-Baker. Addison-Wesley, 2008. ISBN: 0-321-50358-9

Book Review: The Telescope: Its History, Technology, And Future, T. D. Oswalt

Publications

This document is Dr. Oswalt’s review of The Telescope : Its History, Technology, and Future by Geoff Andersen. Princeton, 2007 248p, 0691129797 $29.95, 9780691129792 $29.95.