cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
ENGLISH LEARNERS WITH LIMITED OR INTERRUPTED FORMAL EDUCATION: RISK AND RESILIENCE IN EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES
Creators: name: Browder, Christopher Todd
Publisher: name: Maryland Shared Open Access Repository
Year: 2014
Subjects: educational outcomes
English learners
limited formal schooling
resilience
secondary school
SLIFE

description: This dissertation examined the educational outcomes of high school English learner (EL) students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE) to evaluate theories that explain their educational resilience.  School system data and survey results from 165 high school ELs were analyzed to determine the degree to which ELs' homeland schooling had influenced their academic outcomes in the U.S.  Educational outcomes included English proficiency attainment and gains as well as scores on standardized tests of algebra, biology, and English language arts.  Limited formal schooling (LFS) was operationalized with three indicators for students on arrival in the U.S.: (1) gaps in years of schooling relative to grade, (2) low self-reported first language schooling, and (3) beginner-level English proficiency.  Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to estimate the relationships between the LFS indicators and the educational outcomes as well as the degree to which school-based protective factors and personal risk factors had influenced the relationships.  Protective factors included perceived pedagogical caring, social integration with non-immigrant peers, ESOL classes, out-of-school help, and extra-curricular activities.  Risk factors included high social distance, past traumatic experiences, a lack of authoritative parental support, separations from loved ones, and hours spent working in employment.  This study also examined the role students' academic self-concept played in mediating and moderating the influence of protective and risk factors in the resiliency process.  The findings showed that SLIFE had lower achievement on the standardized tests, but that it was largely due to having lower English proficiency at the time of the test.  Lower English proficiency at the time of the test was mainly attributed to arriving with lower English proficiency and lower first language literacy.  ESOL classes appeared to help students acquire English faster.  After controlling for differences in English proficiency, students' perceptions of social distance appeared to predict their academic achievement on standardized tests better than their academic self-concept and the other protective or risk factors.  This study contributes to our understanding of risk and resilience among SLIFE and may help inform interventions to support them better.
Superscaling Predictions for Neutral Current Quasielastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering
Creators: name: Martinez, M. C.
name: Caballero, J. A.
name: Donnelly, T. W.
name: Udias, J. M.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2008
Subjects: subject: Nuclear Theory (nucl-th)
subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The application of superscaling ideas to predict neutral-current (NC) quasielastic (QE) neutrino cross sections is investigated. Results obtained within the relativistic impulse approximation (RIA) using the same relativistic mean field potential (RMF) for both initial and final nucleons -- a model that reproduces the experimental (e,e') scaling function -- are used to illustrate the ideas involved. While NC reactions are not so well suited for scaling analyses, to a large extent the RIA-RMF predictions do exhibit superscaling. Independence of the scaled response on the nuclear species is very well fulfilled. The RIA-RMF NC superscaling function is in good agreement with the experimental (e,e') one. The idea that electroweak processes can be described with a universal scaling function, provided that mild restrictions on the kinematics are assumed, is shown to be valid.
description: 4 pages, 4 figures, published in PRL
Sensitivity Analysis of a Graphene Field-Effect Transistors by means of Design of Experiments
Creators: name: Spinelli, Giovanni
name: Lamberti, Patrizia
name: Tucci, Vincenzo
name: Pasadas, Francisco
name: Jiménez, David
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Graphene, due to its unique electronic structure favoring high carrier mobility, is considered a promising material for use in high-speed electronic devices in the post-silicon electronic era. For this reason, experimental research on graphene-based field-effect transistors (GFETs) has rapidly increased in the last years. However, despite the continuous progress in the optimization of such devices many critical issues remain to be solved such as their reproducibility and performance uniformity against possible variations originated by the manufacturing processes or the operating conditions. In the present work, changes of the ID-VDS characteristics of a Graphene Field-Effect Transistors, caused by a tolerance of 10% in the active channel (i.e. its length and width) and in the top oxide thickness are numerically investigated in order to assess the reliability of such devices. Design of Experiments (DoE) is adopted with the aim to identify the most influential factors on the electrical performance of the device, so that the fabrication process may be suitably optimized.
description: 13 pages,8 figures, 2 tables
Renormalization of Molecular Electronic Levels at Metal-Molecule Interfaces
Creators: name: Neaton, J. B.
name: Hybertsen, Mark S.
name: Louie, Steven G.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2006
Subjects: subject: Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
subject: Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The electronic structure of benzene on graphite (0001) is computed using the GW approximation for the electron self-energy. The benzene quasiparticle energy gap is predicted to be 7.2 eV on graphite, substantially reduced from its calculated gas-phase value of 10.5 eV. This decrease is caused by a change in electronic correlation energy, an effect completely absent from the corresponding Kohn-Sham gap. For weakly-coupled molecules, this correlation energy change is seen to be well described by a surface polarization effect. A classical image potential model illustrates trends for other conjugated molecules on graphite.
description: 4 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables
Indexing without invariants in model-based object recognition
Creators: name: Beis, Jeffrey S.
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2009

description: This thesis presents a method to efficiently recognize 3D objects from single, 2D images by the use of a novel, probabilistic indexing technique. Indexing is a two-stage process that includes an offline training stage and a runtime lookup stage. During training, feature vectors representing object appearance are acquired from several points of view about each object and stored in the index. At runtime, for each image feature vector detected, a small set of the closest model vectors is recovered from the index and used to form match hypotheses. This set of nearest neighbours provides interpolation between the nearby training views of the objects, and is used to compute probability estimates that proposed matches are correct. The overall recognition process becomes extremely efficient when hypotheses are verified in order of their probabilities. Contributions of this thesis include the use of an indexing data structure (the /cd-tree) and search algorithm (Best-Bin First search) which, unlike the standard hash table methods, remain efficient to higher index space dimensionalities. This behavior is critical to provide discrimination between models in large databases. In addition, the repertoire of 3D objects that can be recognized has been significantly expanded from that in most previous indexing work, by explicitly avoiding the requirement for special-case invariant features. Finally, an incremental learning procedure has been introduced which extracts model grouping information from real images as the system performs recognition, and adds it into the index to improve indexing accuracy. A new clustering algorithm (Weighted Vector Quantization) is used to limit the memory requirements of this continual learning process. The indexing algorithm has been embedded within a fully functional automatic recognition system that typically requires only a few seconds to recognize objects in standard sized images. Experiments with real and synthetic images are presented, using indexing features derived from groupings of line segments. Indexing accuracy is shown to be high, as indicated by the rankings assigned to correct hypotheses. Experiments with the Best-Bin First search algorithm show that, if it is acceptable to miss a small fraction of the exact closest neighbours, the regime in which Кd-tree search remains efficient can be extended, roughly from 5-dimensional to 20-dimensional spaces, and that this efficiency holds for very large numbers of stored points. Finally, experiments with the Weighted Vector Quantization algorithm show that it is possible to incorporate real image data into the index via incremental learning so that indexing performance is improved without increasing the memory requirements of the system.
Empty Cities: a Dynamic-Object-Invariant Space for Visual SLAM
Creators: name: Bescos, Berta
name: Cadena, Cesar
name: Neira, Jose
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (cs.CV)
subject: Robotics (cs.RO)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: In this paper we present a data-driven approach to obtain the static image of a scene, eliminating dynamic objects that might have been present at the time of traversing the scene with a camera. The general objective is to improve vision-based localization and mapping tasks in dynamic environments, where the presence (or absence) of different dynamic objects in different moments makes these tasks less robust. We introduce an end-to-end deep learning framework to turn images of an urban environment that include dynamic content, such as vehicles or pedestrians, into realistic static frames suitable for localization and mapping. This objective faces two main challenges: detecting the dynamic objects, and inpainting the static occluded back-ground. The first challenge is addressed by the use of a convolutional network that learns a multi-class semantic segmentation of the image. The second challenge is approached with a generative adversarial model that, taking as input the original dynamic image and the computed dynamic/static binary mask, is capable of generating the final static image. This framework makes use of two new losses, one based on image steganalysis techniques, useful to improve the inpainting quality, and another one based on ORB features, designed to enhance feature matching between real and hallucinated image regions. To validate our approach, we perform an extensive evaluation on different tasks that are affected by dynamic entities, i.e., visual odometry, place recognition and multi-view stereo, with the hallucinated images. Code has been made available on https://github.com/bertabescos/EmptyCities_SLAM.
Visibilities and Invisibilities of Wonder: A Practice-Led Exploration of Optical Image Systems
Creators: name: Feeney, Deirdre
Publisher: name: The Australian National University
Year: 2019

description: This interdisciplinary practice-led project began with two investigations, both pivoting around the central material of glass. It explored whether glass, with its unique logistics of perception and ability to render invisible phenomena visible, could make visible an imperceptible process of slow change. It also endeavoured to understand how glass, in transporting its image-light across space and time evokes the experience of wonder. These two strands of enquiry were brought together through the research and development of my optical image systems, which serve as perceptual tools for exploring wonder and time. What initially began as an experience of observing slow changes in nature, transformed into a wider consideration of critical wonder, time and visibility. Critical sensibility became fundamental to my explorations of the materiality of wonder, but also crucial for the generation of wonder was a momentary interruption of this criticality by means of the imperceptible and immaterial transfer of light. My hybrid devices incorporate a wide range of old and new technologies, spanning from sixteenth century optical objects of natural magic to contemporary electronics and digital fabrication processes. I relate my efforts to the work of contemporary interdisciplinary artists Adam Brown, Attila Csorgo, Julien Maire and Olafur Eliasson and discuss specific works by Jan Dibbets, Johannes Vermeer and Anthony McCall with reference to visual strategies for directing our attention to the invisible. Historians, philosophers, theorists and a sixteenth century natural magician helped establish the framework for the development of my optical systems. Giovanni Battista Della Porta, Kate Warren, Tom Gunning and Jason Leddington informed my investigations into natural magic and wonder through their various practical and theoretical approaches; and Charles-Emile Reynaud, Jonathan Crary, Hans Jonas, Paul Virilio, Henri Bergson, Mary Ann Doane and Charlie Gere contributed to the framing of my investigations into time, materiality and visibility. The projected image systems I created, 'Hollow Lens' , 'Ghost in the Machine' and 'Object-Image', bring the visible and invisible, and material, digital and virtual into service as a means of evoking wonder and visualising time.
Amplified Quantum Transforms
Creators: name: Cornwell, David Jonathan
Publisher: name: Maryland Shared Open Access Repository
Year: 2014
Subjects: Algorithm
Amplified
Grover
Quantum
Shor
Transform

description: In this thesis we investigate two new Amplified Quantum Transforms. In particular we create and analyze the Amplified Quantum Fourier Transform (Amplified-QFT) and the Amplified-Haar Wavelet Transform. The Amplified-QFT algorithm is used to solve the Local Period Problem. We calculate the probabilities of success and compare this algorithm with the QFT and QHS algorithms. We also examine the Amplified-QFT algorithm for solving the Local Period Problem with Error Stream. We use the Amplified-Haar Wavelet Transform for solving the Local Constant or Balanced Signal Decision Problem which is a generalization of the Deutsch-Jozsa problem.
Letter from the Manager of the Royal Bank of Canada in Vernon, B.C., to the Rainbow Ranche, March 15, 1909
Creators: name: Canada, Royal Bank Of
Publisher: name: The University of British Columbia
Year: 2017

description: Letter to the Rainbow Ranche from the manager of the Royal Bank of Canada in Vernon, B.C., dated March 15, 1909, regarding the depositing of a cheque to his account.
Andreev drag effect via magnetic quasiparticle focusing in normal-superconductor nanojunctions
Creators: name: Polinák, P. K.
name: Lambert, C. J.
name: Koltai, J.
name: Cserti, J.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2006
Subjects: subject: Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)
subject: Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We study a new hybrid normal-superconductor (NS) pi-junction in which the non-local current can be orders of magnitude larger than that in earlier proposed systems. We calculate the electronic transport of this NS hybrid when an external magnetic field is applied. It is shown that the non-local current exhibits oscillations as a function of the magnetic field, making the effect tunable with the field. The underlying classical dynamics is qualitatively discussed.
description: 4 pages, 5 figures, minor changes in references, submitted to PRL
The Effect of High Elevation Weather Stations on the USDA's Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage Insurance Program
Creators: name: Feuz, Wyatt Matthew
Publisher: name: Utah State University
Year: 2021

description: This paper examines the effect of high elevation weather stations on the rainfall index used by the Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage insurance program. Weather station data for the state of Utah is used to identify high elevation weather stations and their location. Utilizing the corresponding rainfall index data, the effect of the high elevation weather stations is determined. This paper finds when high elevation weather stations begin reporting there is a jump up of 19.01–27.88 percentage points on average in the rainfall index for the corresponding grid locations. This indicates the rainfall index may not accurately represent actual precipitation amounts in areas with large elevation changes. If the measurements recorded by the rainfall index for PRF do not match actual amounts of precipitation, then the rainfall index is potentially introducing more risk and undermines the ability of PRF to effectively mitigate risk for producers.
Whose Agenda is it Anyway? U.S. News Coverage of the Honor Killing of Noor Faleh Almaleki and the Discursive Construction of Boundaries
Creators: name: Reed, Autumn Marie
Publisher: name: Maryland Shared Open Access Repository
Year: 2014
Subjects: Critical Discourse Analysis
Honor Killing
Immigration
Media Studies
Orientalism
Postcolonial Feminism

description: This dissertation employs the method of critical discourse analysis to investigate the relationship among discourse, power, and knowledge in U.S. news coverage of the honor killing of Noor Faleh Almaleki.  Building upon Western European research on honor-killing news coverage as a site for the discursive construction of boundaries, I employ the theoretical perspectives of Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu, Edward Saїd, and postcolonial feminism to demonstrate how the social constructs of gender, sexuality, religion, race, ethnicity, culture, class, time, and space intersect to produce sharp boundaries of difference between Muslim, Middle Eastern, and South Asian migrants and dominant members of the U.S. nation.  As a result, the findings of this dissertation point to the presence of an overarching hegemonic discourse in the U.S. news' coverage of Noor's honor killing that rather than serving the interest of reducing violence against women, serves the agenda of excluding Muslim, Middle Eastern, and South Asian migrants from the U.S. nation.  Based on the findings of this study, I encourage readers to acknowledge the intricate relationship among discourse, power, and knowledge in honor-killing discourse.  Furthermore, I invite readers to recognize their role as producers and consumers of discourse, and as change-agents, who have the capacity to transform these stigmatizing honor-killing discourses into a discourse that is inclusive of all the stakeholders, women and men, affected by these crimes.
Patterns of Post-Fire Aspen Seedling Establishment, Growth, and Mortality in the Western United States
Creators: name: Kreider, Mark Regier
Publisher: name: Utah State University
Year: 2021

description: Sexual seedling establishment in aspen is increasingly recognized as an important natural regeneration pathway for the species in the western U.S. However, information on seedling abundance as well as factors influencing aspen sexual regeneration is limited and frequently anecdotal, due to historical assumptions of seedling rarity as well as difficulty identifying sexual seedlings from asexual aspen sucker regeneration. This thesis contributes to the field of aspen seedling ecology in three major ways. Chapter 1 utilizes historical aspen seedling occurrences in the western U.S. and a systematic field survey of 2018 fire footprints to explore patterns and test assumptions of aspen seedling establishment across multiple geographic scales. Chapter 2 focuses on one widespread post-fire aspen seedling establishment event in southern Utah, tracking seedlings through time to identify factors that influence survival and growth across a range of environmental conditions. Finally, Chapter 3 is reproduced from a first-authored article published in the Journal of Forestry and presents a framework for non-destructively distinguishing aspen seedlings from suckers, removing a barrier that has hampered aspen seedling research in the past. Together, these chapters expand our understanding of aspen seedling establishment in the western U.S., and highlight the important role sexual aspen establishment may play in the dispersal and recruitment of the species, both historically and in changing future conditions.
Hydrogen reduction of enriched germanium dioxide and zone-refining for the LEGEND experiment
Creators: name: Gradwohl, Kevin-Peter
name: Moras, Oskar
name: Janicskó-Csáthy, Jozsef
name: Schönert, Stefan
name: Sumathi, R. Radhakrishnan
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det)
subject: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The LEGEND experiment, now under construction, will operate a large array of Ge detectors for the search of neutrinoless double-beta decay of $^{76}$Ge. In this paper we report on the process development for the hydrogen reduction of germanium dioxide enriched in $^{76}$Ge as part of the effort to manufacture detectors for the LEGEND experiment. The process was optimized via a kinetic un-reacted shrinking model and tested with a batch of natural GeO$_2$. We completed the reduction of a batch of 23 kg isotopically enriched Ge with an average yield of 99.85%. Subsequently, the Ge was purified to intrinsic purity by zone-refining and an overall Ge yield of 99.05% was achieved. Using an intermediate underground storage, an average cosmogenic exposure of 156 h was accumulated. Special care was taken to avoid and recycle losses during the process.
description: 15 pages, 5 figues
Experimental evidence of non-Gaussian fluctuations near a critical point
Creators: name: Joubaud, Sylvain
name: Petrosyan, Artem
name: Ciliberto, Sergio
name: Garnier, Nicolas
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2008
Subjects: subject: Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)
subject: Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The orientation fluctuations of the director of a liquid crystal are measured, by a sensitive polarization interferometer, close to the Fréedericksz transition, which is a second order transition driven by an electric field. We show that near the critical value of the field the spatially averaged order parameter has a generalized Gumbel distribution instead of a Gaussian one. The latter is recovered away from the critical point. The relevance of slow modes is pointed out. The parameter of generalized Gumbel is related to the effective number of degrees of freedom.
description: submitted to PRL
Summer Stream Temperature Patterns and Controls in an Irrigation Depleted Western Stream
Creators: name: Alger, Sara Madison
Publisher: name: Utah State University
Year: 2021

description: In the western US, flow diversions for irrigation reduce the amount of water in rivers. Additionally, changes to the nearby landscape can reduce the amount of groundwater flow into rivers. These combined factors deplete rivers and can even completely dry up the stream channel. Depleted streams typically have warmer temperatures in the summer, which can be harmful for fish and other aquatic species. However, in these depleted streams, small amounts of colder water can buffer these impacts. These colder water inputs, or lateral inflows, can come from local springs, seepage from nearby canals, or irrigation fields. Some rivers now depend on these lateral inflows to maintain water instream when they are depleted. To better understand these lateral inflows, and specifically the role of seepage from nearby canals, on streamflow and temperature, we monitored the Blacksmith Fork River in northern Utah below multiple diversions for three summers. We found that lateral inflows were critical for moderating stream temperatures during hot days with high diversions and prevented temperature from reaching stressful or lethal conditions. This study provides information for local and regional water management about the impacts of summer water diversions on streamflow and stream temperature and potential consequences of changes in land and water management.
Minoritized Student Experiences with Psychoeducational Service Provision for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Creators: name: Golson, Megan E.
Publisher: name: Utah State University
Year: 2021

description: Due to the impact of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder on students' academic, social, and behavioral outcomes, it is important students receive supportive interventions. Federal regulation requires schools identify students with disabilities like ADHD and provide them with accommodations and supports as needed. Unfortunately, the research that supports these interventions does not adequately include students from racially/ethnically minoritized groups. Due to factors like discrimination and stereotyping, racially/ethnically minoritized students may experience ADHD and ADHD services differently. This study included 35 minoritized adolescent students who receive ADHD services. Through an online survey, students reported their symptom experiences, the academic and social effects of ADHD, community and personal perceptions of ADHD, and parent roles. Students also wrote about their role in school services, what services they receive at school, and their assessment experiences. These findings support the need for diversity in ADHD research, student involvement in treatment planning, and increased knowledge and collaboration.
Defect extremal surface as the holographic counterpart of Island formula
Creators: name: Deng, Feiyu
name: Chu, Jinwei
name: Zhou, Yang
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We propose defect extremal surface as the holographic counterpart of boundary quantum extremal surface. The defect extremal surface is defined by minimizing the Ryu-Takayanagi surface corrected by the defect theory. This is particularly interesting when the RT surface crosses or terminates on the defect. In a simple set up of AdS/BCFT, we find that the defect extremal surface formula gives precisely the same results of the boundary quantum extremal surface. We provide a decomposition procedure of an AdS bulk with a defect brane to see clearly how Island formula emerges from a brane world system with gravity glued to a flat space quantum field theory.
description: 30+1 pages, 10 figures
Nonparametric Bayesian Density Estimation on Riemannian Manifolds
Creators: name: Jacobs, Justin
Publisher: name: Maryland Shared Open Access Repository
Year: 2014
Subjects: Bayesian Nonparametrics
Density Estimation
Differential Geometry
Karhunen-Loeve
Laplace-Beltrami
RKHS

description: Nonparametric density estimation on Riemannian surfaces is performed by inducing a prior through a logistic Gaussian process prior on the space of square integrable densities on that surface. By applying the Karhunen-Loeve representation for square integrable functions via the spectral basis obtained from the Laplace-Beltrami operator on the manifold, we are able to obtain two distinct methods for density estimation. The first method, called the Grid-Based method, estimates the density on a particular set of grid points dispersed on the manifold. The second method, called the Spectral Coefficient-Based method, estimates the coefficients of the Karhunen-Loeve representation. Since the posterior distribution is non-tractible in both cases, we perform a Metropolis-Hastings Markov Chain Monte Carlo to simulate a collection of random variables generated from the Grid-Based method's posterior distribution and the Spectral Coefficient-Based method's posterior distribution. For both methods, we develop the framework and methodology for estimation as well as illustrate examples on the circle and sphere and investigate the posterior consistency of both methods.
Rutgers-Eagleton Poll #164: New Jersey October 2009
Creators: name: Eagleton Center For Public Interest Polling
Publisher: name: Roper Center for Public Opinion Research
Year: 2021

description: Registered to vote (1); Governor Jon Corzine job performance (1); direction of state of New Jersey (3); state legislature job approval (1); 2009 New Jersey gubernatorial election (7); favorability of gubernatorial candidates (3); proposition to borrow $400 million to preserve open space (1); voted in 2008 presidential election (1); advertising in governor's race (1); most negative candidate for governor (1); most important problem in New Jersey (2); healthcare reform (3); corruption (32); negative advertising (19); news consumption (5); name of congressmember (1); labor union membership (1); political parties (1).
Analysis and Control of Parallel and Series Connected Modular Battery Systems
Creators: name: Kamel, Mohamed
Publisher: name: Utah State University
Year: 2021

description: Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery technology plays a major role in modern power applications. However, intrinsic technology limitations require a battery management system (BMS) to ensure all Li-ion cells’ safety. Moreover, high-power and high-voltage applications utilize several parallel, and series connected cells, forming a large battery pack that results in unavoidable cell mismatches. Therefore, large battery packs employ cell balancing circuits, where the BMS controls their operation. Furthermore, a central power electronics converter interfaces the battery pack to the high-voltage DC rail, reducing the system’s reliability. A battery power module (BPM) has emerged as an individual battery cell connected across a low-power and low-voltage power electronics converter. However, to utilize the BPM as a building block to achieve higher power or higher voltage systems, the individual BPM’s power management strategy plays a major role. The published works rely on output voltage regulation, which degrades connecting BPMs in parallel. However, this dissertation aims to control the input current of the individual BPMs, resulting in a configurable LEGO/Meccano BPM that can be connected in series or parallel with additional BPMs.
Study of Quasi-two-body $B_{(s)}\to ϕ(f_0(980)/f_2(1270)\to)ππ$ Decays in Perturbative QCD Approach
Creators: name: Zou, Zhi-Tian
name: Yang, Lei
name: Li, Ying
name: Liu, Xin
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: High Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: In 2017, LHCb collaboration reported their first observation of the rare decays $B_s \to ϕ(f_0(980)$ $/f_2(1270) \to ) π^+π^-$ and the evidence of $B^0 \to ϕ(f_0(980)/f_2(1270)\to)π^+π^-$. Motivated by this, we study these quasi-two-body decays in the perturbative QCD approach. The branching fractions, $CP$ asymmetries and the polarization fractions are calculated. We find that within the appropriate two-meson wave functions, the calculated branching fractions are in agreement with the measurements of LHCb. Based on the narrow-width approximation, We also calculate the branching fractions of the quasi-two-body $B_{d,s}\to ϕ(f_0(980)/f_2(1270)\to) π^0π^0$ and $B_{d,s}\to ϕ(f_2(1270)\to) K^+K^-$, and hope the predictions to be tested in the ongoing LHCb and Belle II experiments. Moreover, the processes $B_{d,s}\to ϕf_2(1270)$ are also analyzed under this approximation. We note that the $CP$ asymmetries of these decays are very small, because these decays are either penguin dominant or pure penguin processes.
description: 21 Pages, 1 figure
Geometric phases and criticality in spin systems
Creators: name: Pachos, Jiannis K.
name: Carollo, Angelo C. M.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2006
Subjects: subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: A general formalism of the relation between geometric phases produced by circularly evolving interacting spin systems and their criticality behavior is presented. This opens up the way for the use of geometric phases as a tool to study regions of criticality without having to undergo a quantum phase transition. As a concrete example a spin-1/2 chain with XY interactions is presented and the corresponding geometric phases are analyzed. The generalization of these results to the case of an arbitrary spin system provides an explanation for the existence of such a relation.
description: 12 pages, 4 figures
ELLIPSOIDAL TOLERANCE REGIONS AND SIMULTANEOUS TOLERANCE INTERVALS FOR  SOME MULTIVARIATE NORMAL POPULATIONS
Creators: name: Mbodj, Malick
Publisher: name: Maryland Shared Open Access Repository
Year: 2014
Subjects: Ellipsoidal Tolerance Regions For Some Multivariate Normal Populations
Prediction Tolerance Regions For Some Multivariate Normal Populations
Rectangular Tolerance Regions For Some Multivariate Normal Populations
Simultaneous Tolerance intervals For Some Multivariate Normal Populations

description: A tolerance region for a population is a region computed using a random sample, so that the region will include a specified proportion or more of the population, with a given confidence level.  The theory of statistical tolerance regions has undergone vigorous development during the last several years. In particular, the computation of  satisfactory tolerance regions for multivariate normal populations and multivariate regression models have been investigated, and approximations have been developed for computing the required tolerance factor. The available literature in the case of multivariate normal populations deal with the derivation of ellipsoidal tolerance regions only. The present research is motivated by several observations: for ellipsoidal tolerance regions, the available numerical methods to compute the tolerance factor are unsatisfactory, and the available approximations are not always accurate. Furthermore, the literature does not address the computation of simultaneous tolerance intervals. For computing the tolerance factor required to obtain an ellipsoidal tolerance region,  an approximation coupled with Monte Carlo simulation is investigated. The methodology is developed when the unknown population covariance matrix does not have any specific structure, and when it has the intra-class covariance structure.  Numerical results show that this approach results in an accurate tolerance factor. The methodology is extended to the case of a multivariate linear regression model for obtaining an ellipsoidal tolerance region under a fixed set of values of the covariates. The second part of the research deals with the derivation of simultaneous tolerance intervals and simultaneous prediction intervals. This is motivated by the fact that an ellipsoidal tolerance region cannot provide information on the distribution of the individual components of the response vector. The case of a general covariance matrix, and that of the intra-class covariance matrix are separately considered, and the derivation of both one-sided and two-sided tolerance intervals are addressed. In the case of the intra-class covariance structure, the derivation of a tolerance rectangle is also  investigated. Numerical results are given to assess the accuracy of the proposed solutions, and illustrative examples and applications are provided.
The electric pulses induced multi-resistance states in the hysteresis temperature range of 1T-TaS2 and 1T-TaS1.6Se0.4
Creators: name: Ma, Yongchang
name: Wu, Dong
name: Lu, Cuimin
name: Petrovic, Cedomir
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The electric pulse-induced responses of 1T-TaS2 and 1T-TaS1.6Se0.4 crystals in the commensurate charge-density-wave (CCDW) phase in the hysteresis temperature range have been investigated. We observed that abrupt multiple steps of the resistance are excited by electric pulses at a fixed temperature forming multi metastable like states. We propose that the response of the system corresponds to the rearrangements of the textures of CCDW domains and the multi-resistance states or the nonvolatile resistance properties excited simply by electric pulses have profound significance for the exploration of solid-state devices.
description: 5 pages, 6 figures. Supplementary Information
Investigation of Methionine and Lysine Derivatives as a Source of Rumen-Protected Amino Acids for Lactating Dairy Cows
Creators: name: Fagundes, Mark Avila
Publisher: name: Utah State University
Year: 2021

description: Cows have a protein requirement for growth, maintenance, and lactation. In order to meet those protein requirements, dairy farmers can supplement or feed cattle with specific amino acids, the building blocks that make-up protein. However, in order for the amino acid product to be effective it must avoid degradation in the rumen and be delivered in the small intestine for absorption. Lysine and methionine have traditionally been recognized as the most limiting amino acids for lactating dairy cows. Therefore, nutrition companies have focused on finding ways to encapsulate or protect lysine and methionine from rumen microbes. The N-acetyl-L-methionine and N-acetyl-L-lysine are amino acid derivatives and developmental forms of amino acids for dairy cows.Three separate nutrition studies were conducted to investigate the use of lysine and methionine acetylated derivatives as sources of amino acids for lactating dairy cows. The initial study investigated milk production responses of lactating dairy cows when supplemented with N-acetyl-L-methionine. Supplementation of N-acetyl-L-methionine increased milk fat concentration and yield and 3.5% fat-corrected milk yield. Results from the first study suggest that N-acetyl-L-methionine did not impact rumen metabolism, but increased milk fat concentration by providing methyl donors to the mammary gland, resulting in increases in milk fat yield.The second study investigated lactational performance of dairy cows when supplemented with Nε-acetyl-L-lysine, Nα, ε-acetyl-L-lysine, or AjiPro®-L as a source of rumen-protected lysine. Feeding the Nα, ε-acetyl-L-lysine and AjiPro®-L diets decreased dry matter intake. Milk yield was not altered by rumen-protected lysine supplementation. Findings from the study suggest that supplementing Nα, ε-acetyl-L-lysine to dairy cows decreases dry matter intake, but maintained milk yield leading to improved milk production efficiency. The final study evaluated the bio availability and lactational performance of dairy cows supplemented with N-acetyl-L-methionine. Overall, milk production parameters were not affected by N-acetyl-L-methionine supplementation. Bioavailability was higher for diets with N-acetyl-L-methionine compared with the control diet. Residue of N-acetyl-L-methionine was not detected in plasma, milk, liver, or muscle samples. Overall, findings suggest that N-acetyl-L-methionine is deacetylated and absorbed as methionine into the bloodstream of cows, supplying lactating dairy cows with a bioavailable source of rumen-protected methionine.
Michel Foucault's anti-ontologies
Creators: name: Leininger-Ogawa, Michael
Publisher: name: The Australian National University
Year: 2018
Subjects: subject: B2430.F724 L45 2012
subject: Foucault, Michel, 1926-1984 Criticism and interpretation
subject: Ontology

description: The works of 20th century French philosopher-historian Michel Foucault often operate in two areas. On the one hand, Foucault's works are histories that operate through specific structures of investigation. On the other, most of these works make a handful of remarks that are, if not methodological, then at the very least, theoretical and which provide a framework for the historical research conducted. Much of the secondary literature written about Foucault's work takes one of two directions at this juncture. On one side, the content of the historical investigations is often used to either support or question either the theoretical remarks or the structure of the investigations themselves. On the other side, the secondary literature often takes these theoretical comments, which are often sparse in both occurrence and detail, and elaborates upon these as the keys to the structure of the historical investigations and even Foucault's thought itself. This thesis will attempt to mediate between the structure of the historical investigations and the theoretical pronouncements made by Foucault. Theoretical comments will be measured against the structure of the historical investigations, giving them their specific weight; the historical investigations will be measured against the theoretical comments in order to highlight their specific structure. This is an important process for assessing Foucault's works precisely because of the distance that often separates the structure of the investigations from the theoretical comments. However, due to the greater weight given in Foucault's oeuvre to historical investigations and the structures that they employ, as evidenced by their quantity and rigour, our examination of a number of his works will pursue more closely these structures of historical investigation. What we find through our examination is that Foucault's works display an anti-ontology visible throughout the variations in their structure. This thesis will attempt to describe these approaches from The Order of Things to The Use of Pleasure and The Care of the Self.
Pressure dependence of the magnetization of URu2Si2
Creators: name: Pfleiderer, C.
name: Mydosh, J. A.
name: Vojta, M.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2006
Subjects: subject: Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
subject: Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The ground state of URu2Si2 changes from so-called hidden order (HO) to large-moment antiferromagnetism (LMAF) upon applying hydrostatic pressure in excess of 14 kbar. We report the dc-magnetization M(B,T,p) of URu2Si2 for magnetic fields B up to 12 T, temperatures T in the range 2 to 100 K, and pressure p up to 17 kbar. Remarkably, characteristic scales such as the coherence temperature T*, the transition temperature T0, and the anisotropy in the magnetization depend only weakly on the applied pressure. However, the discontinuity in dM/dT at T0, which measures the magnetocaloric effect, decreases nearly 50 % upon applying 17 kbar for M and B parallel to the tetragonal c-axis, while it increases 15-fold for the a-axis. Our findings suggest that the HO and LMAF phases have an astonishing degree of similarity in their physical properties, but a key difference is the magnetocaloric effect near T0 in the basal plane.
Computational Methods in Finite Mixtures using Approximate Information and Regression Linked to the Mixture Mean
Creators: name: Raim, Andrew Martin
Publisher: name: Maryland Shared Open Access Repository
Year: 2014
Subjects: approximate information
complete data
finite mixture
multinomial
overdispersion
regression

description: Finite mixture distributions are used in applications because of their ability to support heterogeneity. They also present interesting analytical challenges, often requiring special consideration in the selection of an appropriate model, inference of unknown parameters, and identifiability.  The main contributions of this thesis are providing an approximation to the information matrix of a finite mixture of an arbitrary member of the exponential family, and a novel extension of the generalized linear model (GLM) with an underlying finite mixture distribution. Our approximation is equivalent to a complete data information matrix, which helps to explain previously noted connections between approximate scoring and the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm, and is further generalized to mixtures of an arbitrary member of the exponential family. To obtain convergence between exact and approximate information requires a clustered sampling assumption so that observations are sampled from the same (unknown) subpopulation of the mixture, providing an analogue to trials of a multinomial observation. We also consider a logistic regression model using a binomial finite mixture, so that the regression model is linked to the mixture mean. This significant extension of GLM appears promising for many potential applications such as modeling overdispersion in the data. Because the mixture mean is a composite parameter which does not appear explicitly in the likelihood, model formulation and inference pose both theoretical and computational challenges. We propose a random effects model with effects drawn from a set representing enforcement of the link. Initial results show that the model is effective at capturing extra variability while supporting the regression of interest.
Sonic Boom Loudness Reduction Through Localized Supersonic Aircraft Equivalent-Area Changes
Creators: name: Abraham, Troy A.
Publisher: name: Utah State University
Year: 2021

description: The NASA University Leadership Initiative (ULI) titled “Adaptive Aerostructures for Revolutionary Civil Supersonic Transportation” looks to study the feasibility of distributed structural adaptivity on a supersonic aircraft for maintaining acceptable en-route sonic boom loudness during overland flight. The ULI includes a team of industry and university partners that are working together to develop and implement the systems necessary to accomplish this goal.
The Utah State University Aerolab is a member of this ULI team and has been tasked with developing and using low-fidelity supersonic aerodynamic and sonic boom predictions tools to rapidly study the effects of localized geometry changes on a supersonic aircraft’s sonic boom loudness. The current work utilizes the equivalent-area distribution of a supersonic aircraft to study the effects of these localized geometry changes.
The speed of these low-fidelity tools gives them an advantage over the higher fidelity computational methods such as CFD. The low-fidelity tools used in the current work allow for the study of thousands of geometric changes over a variety of flight conditions in a relatively small amount of time. The results of these studies provide areas of sensitivity that can be used in the higher fidelity CFD work as well as initial actuator and structural design.
Modeling sidelobe response for ground-based mm-wavelength telescopes with the geometrical theory of diffraction
Creators: name: Adler, Alexandre E.
name: Gudmundsson, Jon E.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Accurate optical modeling is important for the design and characterisation of current and next-generation experiments studying the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). Geometrical Optics (GO) cannot model diffractive effects. In this work, we discuss two methods that incorporate diffraction, Physical Optics (PO) and the Geometrical Theory of Diffraction (GTD). We simulate the optical response of a ground-based two-lens refractor design shielded by a ground screen with time-reversed simulations. In particular, we use GTD to determine the interplay between the design of the refractor's forebaffle and the sidelobes caused by interaction with the ground screen.
description: 12 pages, 10 figures, Part of SPIE Proceedings Volume 11453, Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy X