Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Does Cannabidiol Affect The Physical Properties Of Anhydrous Milk Fat And Palm Kernel Oil?, Joseph Cooney

Student Research Symposium

As cannabidiol (CBD) is added to more and more foods, it becomes increasingly important to study the effects that this CBD has on the physical properties of the lipids in which they are dissolved, which is the objective of this study. The viscosity, hardness, melting profile, crystal size, and solidification over time are studied for anhydrous milk fat (AMF) and palm kernel oil (PKO). Concentrations by mass of 1% and 2.5% CBD are added to each lipid, and these concentrations are tested against a pure lipid control. AMF is crystallized at 26 C, and PKO is crystallized at 22 C …

Seasonal Variations In Global Ionospheric Total Electron Content (Tec), Jason Knudsen

Student Research Symposium

As the Sun ionizes atoms and molecules in the Earth’s ionosphere, the region of atmosphere above approximately 100 km in altitude, the created ionization in this region affects many of the systems that we rely on in daily life. This includes cellular service, GPS navigation, weather forecasting, and credit card data. A good measure for the level of ionization in the ionosphere is the total electron content (TEC), which is the number of electrons in a one square meter column above a given location. The TEC over a geographic location influences the propagation of radio waves that traverse that section …

Can Superoxide-Responsive Co Delivery Molecules Be Developed?, Taylor Dittmar

Student Research Symposium

Although known for its toxicity, carbon monoxide (CO) has now been identified as producing beneficial health effects when present at low concentrations. CO is generated in the human body during the breakdown of heme. It is known for its anti-cancer, cardioprotective, and anti-inflammatory effects. To enhance these therapeutic effects, CO delivery molecules have been developed. Fluorescent flavonol-based CO delivery molecules are gaining broad interest due to their triggerable, trackable, and targetable properties. Flavonols can also be used as dual functioning molecules, with additional capabilities such as the detection of reactive oxygen species (ROS) being possible to incorporate in addition to …

Gpu Accelerated Preconditioning Of The Plasma Kinetic Equation, D. Caleb Price

Student Research Symposium

Solving the plasma kinetic equation provides higher-order moments to better approximate an accurate time evolution of plasma behavior contained in a tokamak. NIMROD seeks to produce code to simulate and model these macroscopic dynamics. Essential to this code’s efficiency is the preconditioning of matrices. I studied how compiling a GPU-enabled third-party library, SuperLU, would improve this preconditioning time for a test version of NIMROD's code. We found that the time of preconditioning decreased significantly when GPUs were allocated versus when only CPUs were, which provides understanding for the future utilization of GPUs by the NIMROD code directly.

Application Of Acceleration Data To Inertial Navigation, Eric Eastham

Student Research Symposium

In many fields, there exists a need for knowing the precise location of an object. In many cases, the Global Positioning System can be used to determine the precise location of an object, and even its speed and acceleration, to an accuracy of within 10 to 30 feet. In some cases however, such as in applications in space exploration, this is unavailable. Without reference to exterior points, inertial navigation can be a useful tool to determine an object's current location based on the prior movement and rotational changes made. The position is determined by taking the accelerations throughout the course …

Detonation Of A White Dwarf Star: Simulations Of The Sub-Chandrasekhar Type 1a Supernovae, Melissa Rasmussen

Student Research Symposium

A type Ia supernova can result from the double detonation of a white dwarf star below the Chandrasekhar mass limit. Using the hydrodynamics code Castro, we simulate this detonation by perturbing a carbon/oxygen white dwarf with an accumulated shell of helium, with a small amount of nitrogen-14. In this work, we investigate the robustness of the model. Adjusting the location of the perturbation affects whether detonation occurs. Changing the composition of the helium shell affects the speed at which it burns. The size of the reaction network used affects whether the star's core burns immediately or from a shock wave …

Representing And Analyzing The Dynamics Of An Agent-Based Adaptive Social Network Model With Partial Integro-Differential Equations, Hiroki Sayama

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

We formulated and analyzed a set of partial integro-differential equations that capture the dynamics of our adaptive network model of social fragmentation involving behavioral diversity of agents. Previous results showed that, if the agents’ cultural tolerance levels were diversified, the social network could remain connected while maintaining cultural diversity. Here we converted the original agent-based model into a continuous equation-based one so we can gain more theoretical insight into the model dynamics. We restricted the node states to 1-D continuous values and assumed the network size was very large. As a result, we represented the whole system as a set …

The Effect Of Fluorinated Substitution Of Meso Phenyl Porphyrins On Porphyrin Basicity, Harsh Chheda, Rushi Patel, Maria Ballester, Victor Castro

Chemistry and Physics Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of fluorinated substitution of meso phenyl porphyrins on porphyrin basicity. The protonation of meso-Tetra(2,3,4-trifluoromethylphenyl) porphyrin (TF) and meso-Tetra(pentafluorophenyl) porphyrin (PF) will be studied through UV vis spectroscopy. Protonation is achieved by titration of each porphyrin in toluene with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA). The presence of a wavelength shift from the free base Soret to the protonated Soret will indicate the formation of a dication. The data from the UV spectra will be used to calculate the pKa values associated with each porphyrin. Based on the results, the average pKa for TF …

Jillson, Willard Rouse, 1890-1975 (Mss 682), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 682. Writings and supporting materials of Willard Rouse Jillson, State Geologist of Kentucky, author and historian. Includes manuscripts, page proofs, photographic negatives, and promotional pamphlets for his books.

Modeling The Effects Of Surface Roughness On Electron Yield, Trace Taylor, Matthew Robertson, Jr Dennison

Conference Proceedings

Surface conditions—including surface morphology, composition, contamination, and oxidation—can significantly affect electron yields and consequently spacecraft charging. The effects of surface roughness on electron yield are modeled in this study by considering four aspects of electron yield calculations: (i) simple models of rough surface geometry, (ii) the angular distributions of electrons emitted from various points on these surfaces, (iii) the likelihood of these emitted electrons escaping the rough surface, and (iv) the relative fractions of smooth and rough surfaces. Three simple periodic one-dimensional surface profiles were considered—namely rectangular, triangular, and sawtooth features; each surface profile was characterized by an aspect ratio …

State Estimation—The Role Of Reduced Models, Albert Cohen, Wolfgang Dahmen, Ron Devore

Faculty Publications

The exploration of complex physical or technological processes usually requires exploiting available information from different sources: (i) physical laws often represented as a family of parameter dependent partial differential equations and (ii) data provided by measurement devices or sensors. The amount of sensors is typically limited and data acquisition may be expensive and in some cases even harmful. This article reviews some recent developments for this “small-data” scenario where inversion is strongly aggravated by the typically large parametric dimensionality. The proposed concepts may be viewed as exploring alternatives to Bayesian inversion in favor of more deterministic accuracy quantification related …

Azo-Dye-Functionalized Polycarbonate Membranes For Textile Dye And Nitrate Ion Removal, Carrie Cockerham, Ashton Caruthers, Jeremy Mccloud, Laura Fortner, Sungmin Youn, Sean P. Mcbride

Physics Faculty Research

Challenges exist in the wastewater treatment of dyes produced by the world’s growing textiles industry. Common problems facing traditional wastewater treatments include low retention values and breaking the chemical bonds of some dye molecules, which in some cases can release byproducts that can be more harmful than the original dye. This research illustrates that track-etched polycarbonate filtration membranes with 100-nanometer diameter holes can be functionalized with azo dye direct red 80 at 1000 µM, creating a filter that can then be used to remove the entire negatively charged azo dye molecule for a 50 µM solution of the same dye, …

Desertification Risk Analysis For Wildlife In The Desert Renewable Energy Conversation Plan Area Of California, Serdar Sagdic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Desertification is one of the primary threats facing the sustainability of the Earths’s natural resources. Desertification it is an outcome of human impacts to ecosystems and alterations of climate patterns resulting in land degradation and adverse effect on natural resources, vegetation loss, soil infertility, and water scarcity. These changes influence the existence and distribution of wildlife by reducing the availability and quality of habitat that provides food, water, cover, and other life requisites. Therefore, this study aimed at evaluation of potential desertification risks on wildlife species in the Desert Renewable Energy and Conservation Plan (DRECP) area of California.

The DRECP …

Ignoring Species Availability Biases Occupancy Estimates In Single-Scale Occupancy Models, Graziella V. Direnzo, David A. W. Miller, Evan H. C. Grant

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

1. Most applications of single-scale occupancy models do not differentiate between availability and detectability, even though species availability is rarely equal to one. Species availability can be estimated using multi-scale occupancy models; however, for the practical application of multi-scale occupancy models, it can be unclear what a robust sampling design looks like and what the statistical properties of the multi-scale and single-scale occupancy models are when availability is less than one.
2. Using simulations, we explore the following common questions asked by ecologists during the design phase of a field study: (Q1) what is a robust sampling design for the multi-scale occupancy …

Characterizations Of Certain Classes Of Graphs And Matroids, Jagdeep Singh

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

``If a theorem about graphs can be expressed in terms of edges and cycles only, it probably exemplifies a more general theorem about matroids." Most of my work draws inspiration from this assertion, made by Tutte in 1979.

In 2004, Ehrenfeucht, Harju and Rozenberg proved that all graphs can be constructed from complete graphs via a sequence of the operations of complementation, switching edges and non-edges at a vertex, and local complementation. In Chapter 2, we consider the binary matroid analogue of each of these graph operations. We prove that the analogue of the result of Ehrenfeucht et. al. does …

Developing The Next Generation Of Heterogeneous Catalysts: Metal-Organic Framework Thin Films And Their Derivatives, Hans Christian Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are an important class of materials that are gaining increasing relevance for many fields including energy storage, CO2 capture, photovoltaics, and catalysis. MOF mediated synthesis (MOFMS) is the decomposition of a MOF to form an amorphous carbon material decorated with metal nanoparticles. MOF thin films are an area where MOFMS has not been thoroughly explored, yet they are likely to be industrially relevant due to their potential application as highly dispersed, sinter resistant supported catalysts. In this work, we have developed a method for the growth of copper- and zinc-based MOF thin films on silicon- and aluminum- …

Limited Opportunities And Numerous Barriers To Ocean Science Careers In Under-Resourced Nations, Tashiana Osborne, Charitha Pattiaratchi, Erin L. Meyer-Gutbrod

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Intra-Hour Solar Forecasting Using Cloud Dynamics Features Extracted From Ground-Based Infrared Sky Images, Guillermo Terrén-Serrano

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Due to the increasing use of photovoltaic systems, power grids are vulnerable to the projection of shadows from moving clouds. An intra-hour solar forecast provides power grids with the capability of automatically controlling the dispatch of energy, reducing the additional cost for a guaranteed, reliable supply of energy (i.e., energy storage). This dissertation introduces a novel sky imager consisting of a long-wave radiometric infrared camera and a visible light camera with a fisheye lens. The imager is mounted on a solar tracker to maintain the Sun in the center of the images throughout the day, reducing the scattering effect produced …

The Impact Of Pediatric Opioid-Related Visits On Us Emergency Departments, Angela L Stotts, Lisa Cleveland, Steven Shoptaw, James R Langabeer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: While there is significant research exploring adults' use of opioids, there has been minimal focus on the opioid impact within emergency departments for the pediatric population.

METHODS: We examined data from the Agency for Healthcare Research, the National Emergency Department Sample (NEDS), and death data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sociodemographic and financial variables were analyzed for encounters during 2014-2017 for patients under age 18, matching diagnoses codes for opioid-related overdose or opioid use disorder.

RESULTS: During this period, 59,658 children presented to an ED for any diagnoses involving opioids. The majority (68.5%) of visits were …

Simulation Of The Nonlinear Dynamics Of A Spherical Magnet In The Field Of A Second Stationary Magnet, Luke Price

Student Research Symposium

We developed a 4th order Runge-Kutta program for the problem of two uniformly magnetized spheres, one sphere orbiting a second stationary sphere, by means of their magnetic fields. There are four coupled ordinary differential equations that describe the motion of the orbiting magnet. We graphed the solutions to these equations for a range of initial conditions and determined the chaotic indicator called the Lyapunov exponent (LE) in each case. A graph of the potential energy was also made. We look at the numerical values and graphs of the four equations and see how much they differ for a range of …

The Effect Of Temperature Fluctuation On Magnetometer Readings, Brittany Payne

Student Research Symposium

The SAM-III is a 3-axis, simple aurora magnetometer that can be used to sense and study geomagnetic fluctuations. These fluctuations can provide information about auroras, solar flares, geomagnetic storms, or radio waves, among others. In line with the manufacturer’s goals of expanding a worldwide, amateur magnetometer network, one of these magnetometers is being stationed at Utah State University. This experiment specifically looks at how temperature fluctuations affect the accuracy of the magnetometer’s measurements. These results will help determine to what extent the magnetometer can be used to gather useful data and as well as decide where it should be stationed …

When Should Young Married Couples Have Children?, Morgan Anderton

Student Research Symposium

There are many young married couples who are trying to plan out their lives; one thing they’re deciding is the best time to have children. There are many things to consider when planning for a family, such as, finances, fertility rates, mental preparedness and many others. This research aims to break down these aspects of planning for a family to decide when the best time, for young married couples, is to have children. Research was studied from academic databases, interviews from mothers, therapists, and parenting blogs that provided many points of views on when to start a family. From this …

Giant Earthquakes' Effects On The Ionosphere, Aaron Houston

Student Research Symposium

The ionosphere is a part of the Earth’s atmosphere that stretches from 80 – 600 kilometers. Gases in this area are ionized which creates a range of free electrons that make up the plasma of the ionosphere. Integrating the electron density along a line between two points will give you the Total Electron Content (TEC), which is responsible for signal delays between satellites in orbit and their GPS receivers on the surface. Using this delay, the TEC in a specific region can be calculated which helps in GPS error analysis. During the earthquake in Japan on March 11, 2011, there …

The Death Penalty Is A Viable Punishment, Zane Hirning

Student Research Symposium

The death penalty is a penalty that is worthy of heinous perpetrators. Heinous crimes will be committed, and often, the perpetrator is given a punishment unworthy of the crime committed. This causes a low-risk factor when committing the crime. This can cause issues for many, including the victim’s family. The lack of worthy punishment can affect the victim's family, and it may result in outrage against the public, or a personal attack on the perpetrator or the perpetrator’s family. This creates a violent environment that can lead to other American citizens being hurt because the victim’s family took their own …

Rotoscoping Image Processing, David J. Blackstone

Student Scholar Showcase

I wrote a program to perform rotoscoping image processing. Rotoscoping is an animation technique that is used to turn real images into cartoon images. This is a lengthy process to do by hand, taking hundreds of hours. To make this job easier, I have written a program to do automated rotoscoping. This program uses many algorithms and techniques such as edge detection, blurring, directional detection, and edge tracking. What once would take hours by hand, takes seconds!

Volume 8 Full Text, Bjur Staff

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents And Front Matter, Bjur Staff

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Mapping The Impact Of A Trailway System On The Amount Of Trash Present Within Two Watersheds Of Lynchburg City, Virginia, Lillian Smith

Student Scholar Showcase

Transportation of trash debris within water systems is a prominent occurrence which has been linked to natural and artificial processes such as wind, rain, and littering. Recreational areas, such as activities along greenway trails, have been determined to be a source of debris found in waterways. This study examines whether the presence of an established recreational trail system limits trash accumulation in the entirety of a watershed. Trash data collected at Blackwater Creek, which contains an established trail system, was compared to trash data collected at Fishing Creek, containing a non-established trail system, to answer this hypothesis. A distance of …

Bat Habitat Use And Activity In Forests Of Central Louisiana, Jane M. Kunberger

LSU Master's Theses

In the southeastern U.S., where forests are the primary land cover type and trees are often harvested for production purposes, understanding how forestry practices influence bat distributions is critical for bat conservation and management. It is also important for researchers to quantify and report variation in the performance of automated recordings units (ARUs) used to survey for bats because several key features of ARUs (e.g., microphone sensitivity, triggering thresholds) can influence an ARUs ability to detect bat calls. My goals were (1) to examine the influence of forest management practices on seasonal bat species occurrence and activity in central Louisiana, …

Human-Machine Communication: Complete Volume 4

Human-Machine Communication

This is the complete volume of HMC Volume 4.