Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Characterization Of Cytidylyltransferase Enzyme Activity Through High Performance Liquid Chromatography, James Brault

Theses and Dissertations

The cytidylyltransferases are a family of enzymes that utilize cytidine 5â?? triphosphate (CTP) to synthesize molecules that are precursors to membrane phospholipids. There are four well known enzymes: CTP: phosphoethanolamine cytidylyltransferase (ECT), CTP: glycerol-3-phosphate cytidylyltransferase (GCT), 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol-4-phosphate cytidylyltransferase synthetase (CMS), and CTP: phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase (CCT). Previously, a radioisotope tagging method was employed to study cytidylyltransferase catalysis. Using CCT as a model, a method utilizing high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was developed to replace the radioisotope scintillation technique. The development of this new HPLC method is cheaper, more efficient, and more accurate than the previously established method.

The targets of separation …

Selection For Forage And Avoidance Of Risk By Woodland Caribou (Rangifer Tarandus Caribou) At Coarse Andlocal Scales, Madeleine T. Mcgreer, Erin E. Mallon, Lucas M. Vander Vennen, Philip A. Wiebe, James A. Baker, Glen S. Brown, Tal Avgar, Jevon Hagens, Andrew M. Kittle, Anna Mosser, Garrett M. Street, Doug E. B. Reid, Arthur R. Rodgers, Jennifer Shuter, Ian D. Thompson, Et Al.

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

The relationship between selection at coarse and fine spatiotemporal spatial scales is still poorly understood. Some authors claim that, to accommodate different needs at different scales, individuals should have contrasting selection patterns at different scales of selection, while others claim that coarse scale selection patterns should reflect fine scale selection decisions. Here we examine site selection by 110 woodland caribou equipped with GPS radio‐collars with respect to forage availability and predation risk across a broad gradient in availability of both variables in boreal forests of Northern Ontario. We tested whether caribou selection for forage and avoidance of risk was consistent …

Sdss-Iv/Manga: Spectrophotometric Calibration Technique, Renbin Yan, Christy Tremonti, Matthew A. Bershady, David R. Law, David J. Schlegel, Kevin Bundy, Niv Drory, Nicholas Macdonald, Dmitry Bizyaev, Guillermo A. Blanc, Michael R. Blanton, Brian Cherinka, Arthur Eigenbrot, James E. Gunn, Paul Harding, David W. Hogg, José R. Sánchez-Gallego, Sebastian F. Sánchez, David A. Wake, Anne-Marie Weijmans, Ting Xiao, Kai Zhang

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA), one of three core programs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-IV, is an integral-field spectroscopic survey of roughly 10,000 nearby galaxies. It employs dithered observations using 17 hexagonal bundles of 2'' fibers to obtain resolved spectroscopy over a wide wavelength range of 3600–10300 Å. To map the internal variations within each galaxy, we need to perform accurate spectral surface photometry, which is to calibrate the specific intensity at every spatial location sampled by each individual aperture element of the integral field unit. The calibration must correct only for the flux loss due …

A Deep Look At The Nuclear Region Of Ugc 5101 Through High Angular Resolution Mid-Ir Data With Gtc/Canaricam, M. Martínez-Paredes, Almudena Alonso-Herrero, Itziar Aretxaga, C. Ramos Almeida, A. Hernán-Caballero, O. González-Martín, M. Pereira-Santaella, Christopher Packham, A. Asensio Ramos, T. Díaz-Santos, Moshe Elitzur, P. Esquej, I. García-Bernete, Masatoshi Imanishi, Nancy A. Levenson, José Miguel Rodríguez Espinosa

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present an analysis of the nuclear infrared (IR, 1.6–18 μm) emission of the ultraluminous IR galaxy UGC 5101 to derive the properties of its active galactic nucleus (AGN) and its obscuring material. We use new mid-IR high angular resolution (0.3–0.5 arcsec) imaging using the Si-2 filter (λ_C = 8.7 μm) and 7.5–13 μm spectroscopy taken with CanariCam (CC) on the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio CANARIAS. We also use archival Hubble Space Telescope/NICMOS and Subaru/COMICS imaging and Spitzer/IRS spectroscopy. We estimate the near- and mid-IR unresolved nuclear emission by modelling the imaging data with GALFIT. We decompose …

Strong Variability Of The Coronal Line Region In Ngc 5548, Hermine Landt, Martin J. Ward, Katrien C. Steenbrugge, Gary J. Ferland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present the second extensive study of the coronal line variability in an active galaxy. Our data set for the well-studied Seyfert galaxy NGC 5548 consists of five epochs of quasi-simultaneous optical and near-infrared spectroscopy spanning a period of about five years and three epochs of X-ray spectroscopy overlapping in time with it. Whereas the broad emission lines and hot dust emission varied only moderately, the coronal lines varied strongly. However, the observed high variability is mainly due to a flux decrease. Using the optical [Fe vii] and X-ray O vii emission lines we estimate that the coronal line gas …

Dendrochronology And Middle Miocene Petrified Oak: Modern Counterparts And Interpretation, William E. Wright, Martin J. Streck, Christopher Baisan, W. Walton Wright, Paul Szejner

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study reports the first successful statistical crossdating among many ring width time series from petrified wood, thus providing a replicable continuous annual resolution window into tree growth and environmental influences during the middle Miocene. The petrified samples, of the genus Quercus, originated at the Stinking Water (SW) locality in Oregon, a Miocene-aged exposure associated with the Columbia River Basalts. ⁴⁰AR/³⁹AR dating on pillow basalt from the locality yielded a weighted Plateau Age of 13.79 ±0.09 Ma placing the death of the trees at the end of the Langhian Stage of the Middle Miocene (15.97±0.05 to 13.65±0.05 …

Sensor Resource Management: Intelligent Multi-Objective Modularized Optimization Methodology And Models, Boris Kovalerchuk, Leonid Perlovsky

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

The importance of the optimal Sensor Resource Management (SRM) problem is growing. The number of Radar, EO/IR, Overhead Persistent InfraRed (OPIR), and other sensors with best capabilities, is limited in the stressing tasking environment relative to sensing needs. Sensor assets differ significantly in number, location, and capability over time. To determine on which object a sensor should collect measurements during the next observation period k, the known algorithms favor the object with the expected measurements that would result in the largest gain in relative information. We propose a new tasking paradigm OPTIMA for sensors that goes beyond information gain. It …

Enriched Continental Flood Basalts From Depleted Mantle Melts: Modeling The Lithospheric Contamination Of Karoo Lavas From Antarctica, Jussi S. Heinonen, Arto V. Luttinen, Wendy A. Bohrson

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Continental flood basalts (CFBs) represent large-scale melting events in the Earth’s upper mantle and show considerable geochemical heterogeneity that is typically linked to substantial contribution from underlying continental lithosphere. Large-scale partial melting of the cold subcontinental lithospheric mantle and the large amounts of crustal contamination suggested by traditional binary mixing or assimilation-fractional crystallization models are difficult to reconcile with the thermal and compositional characteristics of continental lithosphere, however. The well-exposed CFBs of Vestfjella, western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, belong to the Jurassic Karoo large igneous province and provide a prime locality to quantify mass contributions of lithospheric and sublithospheric sources …

Foreword To The Special Centennial Publication Of The Compass, James C. Walters

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

No abstract provided.

Sigma Gamma Epsilon In Recent Years, Paula F. Even

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

Patricia L. Daniel covered the first 50 years of Sigma Gamma Epsilon’s existence in The History of Sigma Gamma Epsilon, The First Twenty-Five Years, 1915-1940 and The History of Sigma Gamma Epsilon, The Second Twenty-Five Years, 1941-1965 (Daniel, 1966a, b). Richard L. Ford’s Major Milestones in the Development of Sigma Gamma Epsilon's Core Traditions (Ford, 2012) noted the significant highlights of the Society up until recent times. This article updates the recent noteworthy events of the organization to complete the 100 year history of Sigma Gamma Epsilon. New chapters, recent conventions, the development of two new chapter awards in addition …

43rd Biennial Convention And Centennial Celebration The University Of Kansas: March 27-29, 2015, James C. Walters, Paula F. Even

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

Sigma Gamma Epsilon, the national honor society in the Earth Sciences, held its 43^rd Biennial Convention on the campus of the University of Kansas March 27-29, 2015 in conjunction with its centennial celebration. Alpha Chapter, Sigma Gamma Epsilon’s first chapter, hosted the events. During the convention, Dr. Anthony Walton of the Department of Geology at KU led a half-day field excursion on the Pennsylvanian Stratigraphy of Douglas County, Kansas: Glacioeustatically Modulated Cyclic Deposition on a Remarkably Smooth Shelf. This report provides a summary of the deliberations and actions of the participants at the convention and highlights of the field …

The History Of Sigma Gamma Epsilon The First Twenty-Five Years, 1915-1940, Patricia L. Daniel

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

Sigma Gamma Epsilon Honor Society for Earth Science students was founded during the spring of 1915 in the home of William H. Twenhofel, Associate Professor of Geology at The University of Kansas. ΣΓΕ was launched nationally in the fall of 1915 with the admittance of Beta Chapter of Pittsburgh University, and today there are more than 100 chapters nation- wide. Originally a "male only" fraternity for geologists, metallurgists, mining, petroleum, and ceramics engineers, for nearly three decades ΣΓΕ has been open to all Earth Science majors and is composed primarily of geology students.

In 80 years, ΣΓΕ has weathered two …

History Of Sigma Gamma Epsilon Honorary Society For Earth Scientists, The Second Twenty-Five Years, 1941-1965, Patricia L. Daniel

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

No abstract provided.

Major Milestones In The Development Of Sigma Gamma Epsilon's Core Traditions, Richard L. Ford

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Capillary Flow In Interior Corners : Perturbed Power Law Similarity Solutions, Joshua Thomas Mccraney

Dissertations and Theses

The design of fluid management systems requires accurate models for fluid transport. In the low gravity environment of space, gravity no longer dominates fluid displacement; instead capillary forces often govern flow. This thesis considers the redistribution of fluid along an interior corner. Following a rapid reduction of gravity, fluid advances along the corner measured by the column length z = L(t), which is governed by a nonlinear partial differential equation with dynamical boundary conditions. Three flow types are examined: capillary rise, spreading drop, and tapered corner. The spreading drop regime is shown to exhibit column length growth L ~ …

Coherent Network Analysis For Continuous Gravitational Wave Signals In A Pulsar Timing Array: Pulsar Phases As Extrinsic Parameters, Yan Wang, Soumya D. Mohanty, F. A. Jenet

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Supermassive black hole binaries are one of the primary targets of gravitational wave (GW) searches using pulsar timing arrays (PTAs). GW signals from such systems are well represented by parameterized models, allowing the standard Generalized Likelihood Ratio Test (GLRT) to be used for their detection and estimation. However, there is a dichotomy in how the GLRT can be implemented for PTAs: there are two possible ways in which one can split the set of signal parameters for semi-analytical and numerical extremization. The straightforward extension of the method used for continuous signals in ground-based GW searches, where the so-called pulsar phase …

Practical Teaching Method Based On Matlab In Ac Speed Regulating System Course, Qian Yang, Jinzhu Gao

All Faculty Presentations - School of Engineering and Computer Science

Because an AC speed regulating system is abstract and complex, the study on practical teaching method based on MATLAB software is quite necessary in the AC speed regulating system course at our university. The permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) vector control system is taken as an example to explain in details the practical teaching method based on MATLAB. The course content is divided into several knowledge modules based on speed regulation methods. The concept of subsystem in Simulink is introduced. Each type of speed regulating systems can be divided into several subsystems according to its functions. The control principle, system …

Pattern Discovery In Dna Using Stochastic Automata, Shweta Shweta

Master's Projects

We consider the problem of identifying similarities between different species of DNA. To do this we infer a stochastic finite automata from a given training data and compare it with a test data. The training and test data consist of DNA sequence of different species. Our method first identifies sentences in DNA. To identify sentences we read DNA sequence one character at a time, 3 characters form a codon and codons form proteins (also known as amino acid chains).Each amino acid in proteins belongs to a group. In total we have 5 groups’ polar, non-polar, acidic, basic and stop codons. …

Optimizing A Game Of Chinese Checkers, Nicholas Fonseca

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Chinese Checkers is a multi-player strategy game in which game play can become surprising complex as the game progresses. In spite of this game's complexity, questions involving games with multiple players have received little research attention. This paper considers the three player case and discusses how to describe short games. By utilizing these tendencies for short games, a heuristic function can be defined which associates a player's possible move with a heuristic value. These heuristic values guide a search algorithm which searches through all the possible moves made in a game. To guide this discussion for three player games, the …

A Critical Analysis Of Random Response Techniques, Emanuel Zanzerkia

Honors Program Theses and Projects

In order to understand and make informed decision on sensitive topics such as domestic violence and drug use, interviews have been used to collect data. However it is difficult to assess how truthful respondents are since they may not feel at ease revealing the truth to an interviewer. Surveyors of sensitive issues face the problem that respondents may be reluctant to answer truthfully since the respondent may feel pressured socially or may fear the repercussions of their truthful answer. Processes known as random response techniques have been introduced to allow interviewers the ability to extract information they need for a …

Postural Responses To Perturbations Of The Vestibular System During Walking In Healthy Young And Older Adults, Jung Hung Chien

Theses & Dissertations

It has been shown that approximate one-third of US adults aged 40 years and older (69 million US citizens) have some type of vestibular problems. These declining abilities of the vestibular system affect quality of life. Difficulties in performing daily activities (dressing, bathing, getting in and out of the bed and etc.) have been highly correlated to loss of balance due to vestibular disorders. The exact number of people affected by vestibular disorders is still difficult to quantify. This might be because symptoms are difficult to describe and differences exist in the qualifying criteria within and across studies. Thus, it …

Proactive Environmental Strategies: Managing A Corporate Culture Shift Toward Sustainability, Mark E. Calub

Master's Projects and Capstones

The roles and responsibilities of Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) professionals have expanded over the last several decades. Initially focused solely on reducing a firm's ecological impact, many EHS professionals are now tasked with managing a firm's cultural shift towards sustainability. EHS professionals need to develop proactive environmental strategies that further interconnect the environmental, social, and economic performance goals of the firm. Using a concept analysis and integrative literature review approach, the research examines the evolving role of corporate environmental management and evaluates strategic management tools for environmental compliance, environmental performance, and corporate sustainability. The research reveals that the role …

Monitoring Biodiversity Of San Francisco Peninsula Grasslands Using Lepidoptera As A Bioindicator, Jonathan B. Sifuentes-Winter

Master's Projects and Capstones

San Francisco Peninsula grasslands have seen an influx of non-native invasive species starting in the 1500’s, threatening ecological stability by reducing biological diversity. To combat these invasive species, multiple public agencies have begun to adopt an integrated pest management (IPM) approach. This ecologically-based approach to pest management utilizes three controversial techniques, which are presently used or are under consideration for use on the San Francisco Peninsula: herbicide application, conservation grazing, and prescribed fire. In this paper, I will evaluate the use of the taxa Lepidoptera as a bioindicator of biodiversity to assess the environmental impacts of these techniques. The application …

Antiviral Peptide Nanocomplexes As Potential Therapeutics For The Treatment Of Infectious Diseases, Jinjin Zhang

Theses & Dissertations

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is recognized as a major burden in global public health, which can be further exacerbated by several cofactors such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Currently, there is no vaccine for HCV. The emergence of potent and highly specific direct-acting antivirals (DAA) has marked a new era in HCV therapy, however, the remaining issues like affordability, genotype dependency, and potential resistance still necessitate the development of additional therapeutic approaches to be used instead or in combination with DAA.

Recently, the antiviral peptide C5A (in our studies designated as p1) and its cationic derivative p41 have been identified …

Extracting Windows Event Logs Using Memory Forensics, Matthew Veca

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Abstract Microsoft’s Windows Operating System provides a logging service that collects, filters and stores event messages from the kernel and applications into log files (.evt and .evtx). Volatility, the leading open source advanced memory forensic suite, currently allows users to extract these events from memory dumps of Windows XP and Windows 2003 machines. Currently there is no support for users to extract the event logs (.evtx) from Windows Vista, Win7 or Win8 memory dumps, and Volatility users have to rely on outside software in order to do this. This thesis discusses a newly developed evtxlogs.py plugin for Volatility, which allows …

Response Of Fishes To Restoration Projects In Bayou St. John Located Within The City Of New Orleans, Louisiana, Including Hydrological Characterization And Hydrodynamic Modelling, Patrick W. Smith

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Quantifying the impacts of restoration on coastal waterways is crucial to understanding their effectiveness. Here, I look at the impacts of multiple restoration projects on urban waterways within the city limits of New Orleans, LA, with an emphasis on the response of fishes. First I report the effects of two projects designed to improve exchange down estuary on the hydrologic characteristics of Bayou St. John (BSJ). Within BSJ, flow is dominated by subtidal wind driven processes. Removal of an outdated flood control structure did not appear to alter exchange in BSJ, but removal combined with sector gate openings did. I …

Characterizing Far-Infrared Laser Emissions And The Measurement Of Their Frequencies, Michael Jackson, Lyndon R. Zink

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

The generation and subsequent measurement of far-infrared radiation has found numerous applications in high-resolution spectroscopy, radioastronomy, and Terahertz imaging. For about 45 years, the generation of coherent, far-infrared radiation has been accomplished using the optically pumped molecular laser. Once far-infrared laser radiation is detected, the frequencies of these laser emissions are measured using a three-laser heterodyne technique. With this technique, the unknown frequency from the optically pumped molecular laser is mixed with the difference frequency between two stabilized, infrared reference frequencies. These reference frequencies are generated by independent carbon dioxide lasers, each stabilized using the fluorescence signal from an external, …

Speedups And Orbit Equivalence Of Finite Extensions Of Ergodic Zᵈ-Actions, Aimee S.A. Johnson, D. M. Mcclendon

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Works

We classify n-point extensions of ergodic Zᵈ-actions up to relative orbit equivalence and establish criteria under which one n-point extension of an ergodic Zᵈ-action can be sped up to be relatively isomorphic to an n-point extension of another ergodic Zᵈ-action. Both results are characterized in terms of an algebraic object associated to each n-point extension which is a conjugacy class of subgroups of the symmetric group on n elements.

Photooxidation Reactions Of Small-Chain Methyl Esters, Aerosol Photoelectron Spectroscopy, And The Photodissociation Of Ethylenediamine, Giel Muller

Master's Theses

Research conducted at the University of San Francisco is presented within this masters thesis, including the Cl-initiated photooxidation reactions of methyl propanoate, methyl butanoate, and methyl valerate (pentanoate), the aerosol photoelectron spectroscopy of isoprene and gamma-valerolactone, and the TPEPICO investigation of ethylenediamine. Experiments were conducted at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Advanced Light Source (ALS), the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center in Hsinchu City (NSRRC), and the University of Stockton in California, respectively.

The Role Of The State, Multinational Oil Companies, International Law & The International Community: Intersection Of Human Rights & Environmental Degradation Climate Change In The 21st Century Caused By Traditional Extractive Practices, The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous People And Universal Jurisdiction To Resolve The Accountability Issue, Marcela Cabrera Luna

Master's Theses

Local, national and international conventions that protect indigenous sovereignty and their territories, where many of the resources are extracted from by multinational corporations (MNCs) particularly oil, the number one commodity of the world and cause of climate change, continue to be jeopardized because of the lack of a clear international legal framework that can protect them and potentially hold multinationals accountable for their actions. These practices are causing not only environmental issues to the indigenous and surrounding communities, but climate change is in fact, the real human rights issue of the 21^st century and it affects everyone. By using …