Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Towards An Understanding Of The Role Of Cation Packaging On Dna Protection From Oxidative Damage, Cody E. Gay

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

In sperm chromatin, DNA exists in a highly condensed state reaching a final volume roughly twenty times that of a somatic nucleus. For the vast majority (>90%) of sperm DNA in mammals, somatic-like histones are first replaced by transition proteins which in turn are replaced by arginine-rich protamines. This near crystalline organization of the DNA in mature sperm is thought crucial for both the transport and protection of genetic information since all DNA repair mechanisms are shut down. Recent studies show that increased DNA damage is linked to dysfunctions in replacing histones with protamines resulting in mispackaged DNA. This …

Towards An Understanding Of Pharmacologically Induced Intracellular Changes In Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors: A Fluorescence Microscopy Approach, Ashley M. Loe

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Upregulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) is a well-documented response to chronic nicotine exposure. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are pentameric ligand-gated ion channels consisting of alpha (α2-10) and beta (β2-4) subunits. Nicotine, an agonist of nAChRs, alters trafficking and assembly of some subtypes of nAChRs, leading to an increase in expression of high sensitivity receptors on the plasma membrane. These physiological changes in nAChRs are believed to contribute to nicotine addiction, although the mechanism of these processes has not been resolved. Recently, many studies have converged on the idea that nicotine induces upregulation by an intracellular mechanism. In this dissertation, expression …

Organometallic Materials: Ferroceno[C]Thiophenes And 1,2-Bisthienylmetallocenes, Surya R. Banks

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Development of synthetic routes toward two general organometallic frameworks was undertaken. The first project involved synthetic attempts of substituted and unsubstituted ferroceno[c]thiophene while the second one was the synthesis of 1,2-dithienylmetallocenes. The long-term goal of this work is to lay the foundations for study of electronic, electrochromic, redox, and optical properties of thiophene-based materials integrated with organometallic systems such as ferrocene, ruthenocene and cymantrene. The synthetic pathway for the target molecule in the first project involved converting 1,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)ferrocene to 1,2-bis(thiouroniummethyl)ferrocene with thiourea under acidic conditions. Refluxing the salt in base followed by acidification resulted in 1,2-bis(mercaptomethyl)ferrocene, which is …

Green Infrastructure In The Community Ratings System: A Proposed Path To National Flood Insurance Program Recognition, Kevin Macwhorter, Kathleen Zaratzian

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

No abstract provided.

Understanding Electrical Conduction In Lithium Ion Batteries Through Multi-Scale Modeling, Jie Pan

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Silicon (Si) has been considered as a promising negative electrode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) because of its high theoretical capacity, low discharge voltage, and low cost. However, the utilization of Si electrode has been hampered by problems such as slow ionic transport, large stress/strain generation, and unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). These problems severely influence the performance and cycle life of Si electrodes. In general, ionic conduction determines the rate performance of the electrode, while electron leakage through the SEI causes electrolyte decomposition and, thus, causes capacity loss. The goal of this thesis research is to design Si …

Design, Synthesis And Physicochemical Analysis Of Ruthenium(Ii) Polypyridyl Complexes For Application In Phototherapy And Nucleic Acid Sensing, Erin Melissa Wachter

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Current chemotherapeutics exhibit debilitating side effects as a result of their toxicity to healthy tissues. Reducing these side effects by developing chemotherapeutics with selectivity for cancer cells is an active area of research. Phototherapy is one promising modality for selective treatment, where drug molecules are “turned on” when irradiated with light, reducing damage to healthy tissues by spatially restricting the areas exposed to irradiation. A second approach to improve selectivity is to exploit the differences in cancerous versus healthy cells, such as increased metabolism and/or upregulation of cell surface receptors. Ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complexes are candidates for phototherapy due to their …

Towards Catalytic Oxidative Depolymerization Of Lignin, Justin K. Mobley

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Lignin is one of the most abundant and underutilized biopolymers on earth. Primarily composed on three monolignol units (sinapyl, coniferyl, and p-coumaryl alcohol), lignin is formed through a radical pathway resulting in an assortment of linkages, of which the β-O-4 linkage is the most prevalent (up to 60% in some hardwood species). In planta, lignin plays an important role in water transport and in protecting plants from chemical and biological attack. Traditional attempts to depolymerize lignin have focused on the cleavage of β-O-4 linkages via thermal or reductive routes. However these pathways lead to low-value, unstable product mixtures. Moreover, …

The Development Of Colorimetric Assays To Determine The Identity And Frequency Of Specific Nucleobases In Dna Oligomers, Elizabeth Marie Thomas

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Colorimetric methods combined with color-changing chemical probes are widely used as simple yet effective tools for identifying and quantifying a wide variety of molecules in solution. For nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), perhaps the most commonly used colorimetric probe is potassium permanganate, which can be used to identify single-stranded pyrimidines (thymine and cytosine) in polymers. Unfortunately, permanganate is not an effective probe for identifying purines (adenine and guanine), especially in the presence of the more reactive pyrimidines. Therefore, robust methods for discriminating between the purines remain elusive, thereby creating a barrier toward developing more complex colorimetric applications. In this dissertation, …

Using Conventional And In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy Techniques To Understand Nanoscale Crystallography, Bethany M. Hudak

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a powerful tool for studying solidstate crystalline systems. With the advances in aberration correction, monochromation, and in situ capabilities, these microscopes are now more useful for addressing fundamental materials chemistry problems than ever before. This dissertation will illustrate the ways in which I have been using high-resolution imaging and in situ heating in the TEM during my Ph.D. research to investigate unique solid state chemistry questions.

This dissertation will focus on four unique crystal systems: thermoelectric skutterudite crystals, vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) grown nanowires, and hafnium dioxide nanorods. Although these systems are very different from one another, …

Interference Energy Spectrum Of The Infinite Square Well, Mordecai Waegell, Yakir Aharonov, Taylor Lee Patti

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Certain superposition states of the 1-D infinite square well have transient zeros at locations other than the nodes of the eigenstates that comprise them. It is shown that if an infinite potential barrier is suddenly raised at some or all of these zeros, the well can be split into multiple adjacent infinite square wells without affecting the wavefunction. This effects a change of the energy eigenbasis of the state to a basis that does not commute with the original, and a subsequent measurement of the energy now reveals a completely different spectrum, which we call the interference energy spectrum of …

Regional Variations Of Optimal Sowing Dates Of Maize For The Southwestern U.S., Boksoon Myoung, Seung Hee Kim, Jinwon Kim, Menas Kafatos

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Sowing date (SD) is sensitive to regional climate characteristics; thus, it is critical to systematically examine the effects of SD on crop yields for various temperature regimes. We performed a sensitivity study of SD for maize in the southwestern U.S. using the regionally extended version of the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) model. The model was run utilizing North American Regional Reanalysis at a 32 km resolution from 1991 to 2011, with an irrigation threshold at 95% of the soil water-holding capacity. Two types of SD optimizations maximizing yield potential (Yp), varying spatially or interannually, revealed that the optimal SD …

Characterizations Of Rectangular (Para)-Unitary Rational Functions, Daniel Alpay, Palle Jorgensen, Izchak Lewkowicz

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

We here present three characterizations of not necessarily causal, rational functions which are (co)-isometric on the unit circle:
(i) through the realization matrix of Schur stable systems,
(ii) the Blaschke-Potapov product, which is then employed to introduce an easy-to-use description of all these functions with dimensions and McMillan degree as parameters,
(iii) through the (not necessarily reducible) Matrix Fraction Description (MFD).
In cases (ii) and (iii) the poles of the rational functions involved may be anywhere in the complex plane, but the unit circle (including both zero and infinity). A special attention is devoted to exploring the gap between the …

The H∞ Functional Calculus Based On The S-Spectrum For Quaternionic Operators And For N-Tuples Of Noncommuting Operators, Daniel Alpay, Fabrizio Colombo, Tao Qian, Irene Sabadini, Tao Qian

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

In this paper we extend the H∞ functional calculus to quaternionic operators and to n-tuples of noncommuting operators using the theory of slice hyperholomorphic functions and the associated functional calculus, called S-functional calculus. The S-functional calculus has two versions one for quaternionic-valued functions and one for Clifford algebra-valued functions and can be considered the Riesz-Dunford functional calculus based on slice hyperholomorphicity because it shares with it the most important properties.

The S-functional calculus is based on the notion of S-spectrum which, in the case of quaternionic normal operators on a Hilbert space, is also the notion of spectrum that appears …

Wiener Algebra For The Quaternions, Daniel Alpay, Fabrizio Colombo, David P. Kimsey, Irene Sabadini

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

We define and study the counterpart of the Wiener algebra in the quaternionic setting, both for the discrete and continuous case. We prove a Wiener-Lévy type theorem and a factorization theorem. We give applications to Toeplitz and Wiener-Hopf operators.

The Spectral Theorem For Unitary Operators Based On The S-Spectrum, Daniel Alpay, Fabrizio Colombo, David P. Kimsey, Irene Sabadini

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The quaternionic spectral theorem has already been considered in the literature, see e.g. [22], [31], [32], however, except for the finite dimensional case in which the notion of spectrum is associated to an eigenvalue problem, see [21], it is not specified which notion of spectrum underlies the theorem.

In this paper we prove the quaternionic spectral theorem for unitary operators using the S-spectrum. In the case of quaternionic matrices, the S-spectrum coincides with the right-spectrum and so our result recovers the well known theorem for matrices. The notion of S-spectrum is relatively new, see [17], and has been used for …

No Return To Classical Reality, David Jennings, Matthew S. Leifer

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

At a fundamental level, the classical picture of the world is dead, and has been dead now for almost a century. Pinning down exactly which quantum phenomena are responsible for this has proved to be a tricky and controversial question, but a lot of progress has been made in the past few decades. We now have a range of precise statements showing that whatever the ultimate laws of Nature are, they cannot be classical. In this article, we review results on the fundamental phenomena of quantum theory that cannot be understood in classical terms. We proceed by rst granting quite …

Effects Of The Green Life Nature Education Program For 4th Grade Students Who Attend Bay Area Title One Schools: A Mixed-Methods Study, Jessica Blundell

Doctoral Dissertations

This explanatory sequential design mixed-methods evaluation measures the effects of the GLNE program on (a) students’ personal and social skills (b) students’ stewardship of the environment (c) students’ knowledge and understanding of science concepts. Quantitative survey data and qualitative data from a phenomenologically-based study are analyzed and compared in order to understand the impact of attending Green Life Nature Education (GLNE) program, the only Bay Area Residential Outdoor School that serves urban youth with no-cost programing.

The quantitative data from student surveys implies that in general, attending GLNE has a neutral impact on students. While there were several negative impacts …

Csce 411h: Data Modeling For Systems Development—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Inquiry Portfolio, Hongfeng Yu

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

A new course CSCE411H has been developed in 2015-2016. The course tackles the learning of traditional and emerging data modeling techniques in big data related areas from the system and application perspectives. The students have mixed background in Business, Engineering, and Art and Science with different levels. These have introduced a unique set of challenges in the development of this new course. In this inquiry portfolio, I investigated if the adjustment of assignments can benefit the team work of the students with a variety of background. Through the data collection and analysis, the investigation showed that the new assignment design …

Math 433: Nonlinear Optimization—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Adam Larios

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

My intention in this portfolio is to highlight various approaches to teaching higher-level mathematics with a programming component that I tried in a course on nonlinear optimization. There is a particular focus on students with little or no previous programming experience. Several case studies are done using "pre- and post-course" surveys which examined items such as student confidence in programming, and particular programming skills. Sample examples and sample homeworks are presented and discussed. Also presented are several materials I designed to lead students into programming and shed light on certain problems. These Materials assume some basic mathematical reasoning and knowledge, …

Turning Waste Into Compost In Napa, California, Liana D. Solis

Pomona Senior Theses

Two significant pieces of legislation in California have mandated that cities and counties must reduce their waste streams. Assembly Bill 341 establishes that California must divert 75% of its waste from landfills by the year 2020. The first bill that included composting, Assembly Bill 1826, was passed in 2014 and requires that commercial users enact composting beginning in 2016. These initiatives have led cities and counties to seek ways of implementing composting programs. Using the City of Napa as a case study, this thesis argues that a composting program can be integrated into any existing waste hauling service. Although there …

Highly Non-Concurrent Longest Paths In Lattices, Yasir Bashir, Faisal Nadeem, Ayesha Shabbir

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

In this paper we consider graphs in which any pair of vertices is missed by some longest path. We are proving the existence of such graphs in the infinite triangular, square and hexagonal lattices in the plane. Moreover, we extend our investigation to lattices on several surfaces such as the torus, the M\"obius strip and the Klein bottle.

Rectifying Curves In The $N$-Dimensional Euclidean Space, Stijn Cambie, Wendy Goemans, Iris Van Den Bussche

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

In this article, we study the so-called rectifying curves in an arbitrary dimensional Euclidean space. A curve is said to be a rectifying curve if, in all points of the curve, the orthogonal complement of its normal vector contains a fixed point. If this fixed point is chosen to be the origin, then this condition is equivalent to saying that the position vector of the curve in every point lies in the orthogonal complement of its normal vector. Here we characterize rectifying curves in the $n$-dimensional Euclidean space in different ways: using conditions on their curvatures, with an expression for …

A Note On Gorenstein Projective Complexes, Bo Lu, Liu Zhongkui

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

As we know, a complex $Q$ is projective if and only if $Q$ is exact and $\mathrm{Z}_n(Q)$ is projective in $R$-$\mathrm{Mod}$ for each $n\in\mathbb{Z}$. In this article, we show that a complex $G$ is Gorenstein projective with Hom$_R(P,G)$ and Hom$_R(G,P)$ exact for any Cartan--Eilenberg projective complex $P$ if and only if $G$ is exact and $\mathrm{Z}_n(G)$ is Gorenstein projective in $R$-$\mathrm{Mod}$ for each $n\in\mathbb{Z}$. Using the above result, a new equivalent characterization of some $\mathcal{A}$ complexes is obtained.

Fixed Point Theory In Wc--Banach Algebras, Aref Jeribi, Bilel Krichen, Bilel Mefteh

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

In this paper, we will prove some fixed point theorems for the sum and the product of nonlinear weakly sequentially continuous operators acting on a WC--Banach algebra. Our results improve and correct some recent results given by Banas and Taoudi, and extend several earlier works using the condition $(\mathcal{P})$.

On The Extended Zero Divisor Graph Of Commutative Rings, Driss Bennis, Jilali Mikram, Fouad Taraza

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

In this paper we present a new graph that is closely related to the classical zero-divisor graph. In our case two nonzero distinct zero divisors $x$ and $y$ of a commutative ring $R$ are adjacent whenever there exist two nonnegative integers $n$ and $m$ such that $x^ny^m=0$ with $x^n\neq 0$ and $y^m\neq 0$. This yields an extension of the classical zero divisor graph $\Gamma(R)$ of $R$, which will be denoted by $\overline{\Gamma}(R)$. First we distinguish when $\overline{\Gamma}(R)$ and $\Gamma(R)$ coincide. Various examples in this context are given. We show that if $\overline{\Gamma}(R) \not=\Gamma(R)$, then $\overline{\Gamma}(R)$ must contain a cycle. We …

The Sharpening Hölder Inequality Via Abstract Convexity, Gülteki̇n Tinaztepe

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

In this work, a new inequality by sharpening the well-known Hölder inequality by means of a theorem based on abstract convexity is derived.

Quadraticeigenparameter-Dependent Quantum Difference Equations, Yelda Aygar Küçükevci̇li̇oğlu

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

The main aim of this paper is to construct quantum extension of the discrete Sturm--Liouville equation consisting of second-order difference equation and boundary conditions that depend on a quadratic eigenvalue parameter. We consider a boundary value problem (BVP) consisting of a second-order quantum difference equation and boundary conditions that depend on the quadratic eigenvalue parameter. We present a condition that guarantees that this BVP has a finite number of eigenvalues and spectral singularities with finite multiplicities.

New Inequalities For Fractional Integrals And Their Applications, Hsiow Ru Hwang, Kuei Lin Tseng, Kai Chen Hsu

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

In this paper, we establish some Hermite--Hadamard-type, Bullen-type, and Simpson-type inequalities for fractional integrals. Some applications for the beta function are also given.

The Inclusion Theorems For Variable Exponent Lorentz Spaces, Öznur Kulak

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

Let $\left( \text{X,}\Sigma ,\mu \right) $ and $\left( \text{X,}\Sigma ,\nu \right) $ be measure spaces. Assume that $L^{p_{1}\left( .\right) ,q_{1}\left( .\right) }\left( X,\mu \right) $ and $L^{p_{2}\left( .\right) ,q_{2}\left( .\right) }\left( X,\nu \right) $ are two variable exponent Lorentz spaces where $p,q\in P_{0}\left( \left[ 0,l\right] \right) $. In this paper we investigated the existence of the inclusion $L^{p_{1}\left( .\right) ,q_{1}\left( .\right) }\left( X,\mu \right) $ $\subset L^{p_{2}\left( .\right) ,q_{2}\left( .\right) }\left( X,\nu \right) $ under what conditions for two measures $\mu $ and $\nu $ on $\left( X,\Sigma \right) .$

Point-Wise Slant Submanifolds In Almost Contact Geometry, Mohammad Bagher Kazemi Balgeshir

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

In this paper, we introduce point-wise slant submanifolds of almost contact and almost contact 3-structure manifolds. We characterize them, give some examples, and obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for a point-wise slant submanifold of a 3-Sasakian manifold to be a slant submanifold. Moreover, we show that there exist no proper Sasakian point-wise 3-slant submanifolds.