https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2007.001

Raison d’etre: American Journal of Undergraduate Research

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2007.002

Author(s):

C. C. Chancey

Affiliation:

American Journal of Undergraduate Research, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614-0150 USA

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Particle Beam Waist Location in Plasma Wakefield Acceleration: Introduction and Background

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2007.003

Author(s):

Adrian Down

Affiliation:

Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-7300 USA

ABSTRACT:

The role of beam waist location in interactions between a plasma and a particle beam is not yet fully understood. Nonlinear effects with the plasma make an analysis of such interactions difficult. Five simulations are presented in this report, with the waist location of a beam of ultra-relativistic electrons propagating through one meter of self-ionized lithium plasma. The simulation parameters are chosen to model the recent experiment 167 at the Stanford Linear Accelerator, relevant to the design of future plasma wakefield accelerating afterburners. It is found that beams focused near the point of entry into the plasma propagate further into the plasma and accelerate witness particles to a greater maximum energy before disintegrating. These results could indicate that ion channel formation is dependent on the drive beam waist location and that the plasma accelerating medium can have an observable effect on the focusing of the drive beam.

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Impaired Spatial Learning and Reduced MK-801 Associated Behavioral Deficits in Rodents Following Early Postnatal Exposure to Low-level Lead

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2007.004

Author(s):

Jing Guo

Affiliation:

Department of Life Sciences, University of Toronto, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4 CANADA

ABSTRACT:

The current research aimed to investigate the effects of early postnatal exposure to low-level lead on the spatial learning of Long-Evans Hooded rats tested in the Morris water maze. To explore possible neurotoxic actions of lead on the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, the non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist (+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydroxy-5h- dibenzo(a,d)cyclohepten-5,10-imine (MK-801) was used. Two-day-old pups were randomly assigned to 0.1% lead carbonate diet or control diet and weaned onto regular food on postnatal day (PND) 23. Spatial acquisition was assessed from PND 24 to PND 27. Thirty minutes prior to behavioral testing, rats received an intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of 0.1% MK-801 or saline. In the saline treatment group, Pb-exposed rats exhibited significantly longer overall mean escape latencies than those on the control diet, replicating the impaired spatial learning of Pb-exposed animals tested at a young age. Although MK-801 injection severely impaired animals’ water maze performance regardless of diet, it affected the performance of Pb-exposed animals to a lesser extent than animals on the control diet. No main effects of diet and drug were found for probe trials on PND 28 and PND 36, but interestingly, lead diet/MK-801 animals performed significantly better than control diet/MK-801 animals during the first probe trial. Unfortunately, MK-801 not only caused animals to display higher activity levels in the activity box, but also significantly impaired animals’ performance in the cued trial, suggesting non-specific sensorimotor deficits induced by MK-801 treatment might be responsible for animals’ poor performance. However, a significant drug by diet interaction in the escape latencies and the significantly better probe trial performance of Pb-exposed animals within the MK-801 treatment group imply that lead exposure actually alleviated behavioral deficits induced by MK-801 injection, providing evidence for a possible interaction between lead and MK-801 at the molecular level.

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Electrochemical Behavior of Hexacyano Iron (III/II) in Frozen Aqueous Electrolytes

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2007.005

Author(s):

Leslie S. Books, Cherie Harris, and Kasem K. Kasem

Affiliation:

Department of Natural, Information and Mathematical Sciences, Indiana University Kokomo, Kokomo, Indiana 46904-9003 USA

ABSTRACT:

Electrochemical studies in phases that have been solidified by freezing were carried out. A 5 mM [Fe(CN)6]-3/-4 [Hexacyano Iron(III/II)] in either aqueous 0.1M KCl or in Agar gel containing 0.1 M KCl Agar were the two phase systems subject to this study. Formation of pristine ice crystals (salt free) in pure aqueous electrolyte explains smaller ΔEp recorded in frozen agar than that in absence of Agar. Furthermore, greater capacitive current was observed in frozen agar compared to that in frozen aqueous electrolyte. The results also indicates that while a liquid-like layer (≈ 4 time the value of √2Dt) is formed in frozen aqueous electrolyte at electrode/ electrolyte interface, opposite observation were recorded in frozen agar electrolyte. This evident from the thin-layer electrochemical outcome generated in frozen electrolyte, and low diffusion coefficient determined under these conditions. Deviations from the liquid state behavior at room temperature were explained on the assumption that freezing created conditions similar to those caused by application of high pressure on liquid electrochemical systems. Some kinetic data related to these systems were determined and recorded.

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.017

Editorial Graphic: Our Authors by Location since June 2002

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.018

Author(s):

C. C. Chancey

Affiliation:

American Journal of Undergraduate Research, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614 USA

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Synthesis and Surfactant Studies of Dialkyl Dimethyl Quaternary Ammonium Bromide Formulations

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.019

Author(s):

Rocky Barney, Tony Stark, and Dru Delaet

Affiliation:

Department of Physical Science, Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah 84720 USA

ABSTRACT:

Quaternary ammonium salts (otherwise known as quats) are commonly used active ingredients in biocide formulations used in the anti-microbial industry. Although quats have been established to be effective biocides, there are few studies investigating the maximization of biocidal efficacy in multiple component formulations using various carbon chain lengths. Reported here is the synthesis based on the Sn2 reaction of tertiary amines with alkyl bromide. Surfactant studies of the single and dual component systems were conducted, and the evaluation is explored.

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Using Fly Ash for Removal of Hazardous Substances in Water: An Undergraduate Environmental Chemistry Research Project

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.020

Author(s):

Brianna Lambes and Shahrokh Ghaffari

Affiliation:

Ohio University-Zanesville, Zanesville, OH 43701

ABSTRACT:

Fly ash obtained from a coal burning power plant was used to separate dissolved component of unleaded fuel from water using column chromatography. The results of this study indicate complete removal of the unleaded fuel from water. Eluted water collected from fly ash packed column has no odor. A successful field test at a larger scale shows the real environmental benefit of using this approach for removal of environmentally hazardous materials.

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A Characterization of Refinable Rational Functions

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.021

Authors and Affiliations:

Paul Gustafson
Department of Mathematics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-3368 USA

Nathan Savir
Department of Mathematics, Princeton University, Princeton New Jersey 08544-1000 USA

Ely Spears
Department of Mathematics, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 5000 Wabash Avenue, Terre Haute, Indiana 47803 USA

ABSTRACT:

In recent decades, refinable functions have become increasingly popular due to their desirable properties in many applications. Rational functions, however, are not as well-behaved as some other classes of functions and have seemingly escaped notice in terms of refinability. The authors spent the summer of 2006 investigating the refinability of rational functions while attending a National Science Foundation funded Research Experience for Undergraduates program at Texas A & M University. Preliminary simplifications to the general case are presented in a chronological collection of lemmas. A complete characterization of refinable rational functions follows with an interesting connection to an open problem in number theory.

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Phosphorus Sorption by Sediments from Wetlands in the Cedar River Watershed

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.022

Author(s):

Ann Schwemm, Renee Pasker, Maureen Clayton and Ed Brown

Affiliation:

Environmental Programs, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614-0506 USA

ABSTRACT:

Excess phosphorus can lead to eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems, which can indirectly cause many species to suffer due to lower oxygen levels. The intent of this project was to determine if wetlands draining agricultural soil in the Cedar River watershed are removing phosphorus prior to empting into a tributary of the Cedar River. To determine the fate and transport of phosphorus in the wetlands, the total phosphorus (TP) of both the water and sediments was measured, and the ability for sediments to remove phosphate was also determined. The TP in the water column in the wetlands varied temporally from 700 to 1700 μg/L. Dissolved inorganic phosphate (SRP) totals were usually less than 10% of the total P, with a modest spike observed after a rainfall event. The low levels of SRP in the water led to testing of the TP levels in sediments and TP sorption capabilities. The TP of the sediment varied spatially from 500-700 μg/gdw. Sediments from the tributary (Beaver Creek) had total phosphorus levels of about 500 μg/gdw and the inlet to the wetlands varied from 300-400 μg/gdw. Depending on sampling locations, maximum sorption for sediments from the main body of the wetland ranged from 2-9 mg/gdw. Sediments from both the tributary (Beaver Creek) and the inlet to the wetlands sorbed about 7 mg/gdw. The results suggest that sediments in the wetlands are not yet saturated with phosphorus and therefore, when aerobic, can prevent phosphorus transport to rivers and streams.

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.011

Editorial: Going from Good to Great

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.012

Author(s):

C. C. Chancey

Affiliation:

American Journal of Undergraduate Research, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614 USA

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Reliability of Water Quality Test Strips for Field Measurement of Nutrients Essential for Developing Mosquito Larvae

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.013

Authors and Affiliations:

Forest I. Isbell and David R. Mercer
Department of Biology, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614-0421 USA
Mohammad Z. Iqbal
Department of Earth Science, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614-0335 USA

ABSTRACT:

We tested the reliability of water quality test strips for field-analysis of nitrate and phosphate against laboratory-based standard methods for water samples drawn from a variety of natural and artificial sites used by mosquito larvae for development. Nitrate test strip measurements were compared with those from ion chromatographic analysis and an ion-selective electrode. Phosphate test strip measurements were compared to laboratory persulfate digestion followed by an ascorbic acid colorimetric assay. It was concluded that while the standard methods were the most reliable, nitrate-sensitive test strips were acceptable for measuring moderate nitrate concentrations, but phosphate-sensitive test strips were not reliable in measuring the forms of phosphorus available to mosquito larvae.

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A Different Description of a Family of Middle-α Cantor Sets

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.014

Author(s):

Mohsen Soltanifar

Affiliation:

Department Of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, K.N. Toosi University of Technology, P.O. Box 16315-1618, Tehran, IRAN

ABSTRACT:

In this note we give an explicit description of a family of middle-α Cantor sets, with α = (q – 2)/q and q = 3, 4, 5…

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Looking for the Elusive: Mining the VLA Archives for Radio Transients

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.015

Author(s):

Destry R. Saul and Geoffrey C. Bower

Affiliation:

Astronomy Department and Radio Astronomy Laboratory, University of California – Berkeley, 601 Campbell Hall, Berkeley, California 94720 USA

ABSTRACT:

Detecting extragalactic radio transients will provide valuable information on several astronomical phenomena. Orphan gamma-ray burst afterglows (OGRBAs) and radio supernovae detection will be important for the theories of stellar collapse while the detection of tidal flares and variable active galactic nuclei (AGN) will provide details on massive black holes and galactic centers. In this paper we present the results of a survey we conducted using archived observations from the Very Large Array (VLA). We did not detect any transients in this set of data and from this we computed an upper limit on the rate of radio transients above 400 μJansky at 0.23 transients per square degree per year. This rules out one of several theories on the rates of OGRBAs.

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The Structure of Digroups

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.016

Authors and Affiliations:

Catherine Crompton
Department of Mathematics, Agnes Scott College, 141 E. College Avenue, Decatur, Georgia 30030 USA

Linda Scalici
Department of Mathematics, Bucknell University, Moore Avenue, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania 17837 USA

ABSTRACT:

A digroup is an algebra defined on a set having two associative binary operations, ⊢ and ⊣. Digroups play an important role in an open problem in the theory of Leibniz algebras. We present a brief overview of digroups and a set of more general axioms for a digroup than used previously. We then consider several properties of a digroup having distinct elements a and b such that a ⊢ b = b ⊢ a, but a ⊢ b ≠ a ⊣ b.

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.006

Guest Comment: Early Years Are Important in the STEM Pipeline

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.007

Author(s):

Robert D. Koob

Affiliation:

Department of Chemistry, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614 USA

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Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations to Model the DC Electrical Behavior of Confined Layers

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.008

Authors and Affiliations:

Nathan G. Beougher, Jason McIntosh, Jason A. Djuren, and M.W. Roth
Department of Physics, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614 USA

Carlos Wexler
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211 USA

Carl Thurman
Department of Biology, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614-0421 USA

ABSTRACT:

A Molecular Dynamics (MD) computer simulation is utilized to qualitatively understand the DC electrical conduction behavior of pentadecane (CH) layers confined between two graphite slabs as related to the dynamics of the layer. At low temperatures the patch remains together and perpendicular to the confining layers. Then, as temperature is increased, tilting of the molecules begins. The molecules tend to remain straight as they tilt with increasing temperature which, in our model, affects the capacitance somewhat but the resistance little. As temperature is increased further, the molecules exhibit gauche defects which accompany patch collapse. During patch collapse, the system shows dramatic changes in its calculated DC resistance and capacitance. Calculated specific capacitance values are in remarkable agreement with recent experimental measurements. Results for two different confining layer separations are discussed as well as future work related to lipid bilayer systems.

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Visualizing Bond Types with Electron Density Models: How Informative is Electronegativity?

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.009

Author(s):

Heath D. Stotts and J. Conceicao

Affiliation:

Division of Natural Sciences, Northwestern Oklahoma State University, 709 Oklahoma Blvd., Alva, Oklahoma 73717 USA

ABSTRACT:

Electron densities are used to visualize pure covalent, polar covalent and ionic bonds in binary compounds. The rationale for this study stems in part from the observations that within the same bond type, for example pure covalent, a variety of bond properties exist. Simple ΔEN predictions by Pauling do not adequately explain differences within the same bond type, nor determine covalent or ionic bonding. In this study, a series of electron density maps for binary compounds have been calculated to compare the characteristics of the maps to ΔEN predictions.

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Comparing 6th Grade Science Classrooms: Inner-City versus Suburb

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.010

Author(s):

Nida Syed

Affiliation:

Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, Michigan 48128-1491 USA

ABSTRACT:

Do teachers in the inner-city have different expectations of their students than teachers in the suburbs? Ethnographic studies of the classroom such as one by Wilcox in 1982 suggest they do. Wilcox describes education as “primarily a process of cultural transmission”. In other words, schools in a particular setting or neighborhood aim to instill in their students the cultural norms and behaviors accepted and expected in that setting. This project is an ethnographic study of two sixth grade science classrooms; one in an urban inner-city Detroit, Michigan neighborhood and one in the neighboring suburb of Dearborn. The study examines the way the two classrooms are run by the teachers and their teaching styles by comparing the types of assignments that are given to students and the implications they have on the students’ learning development. Other factors such as a comparison of school funding per pupil and the effect it has on the availability of resources necessary for learning in each classroom were also examined. We found that the Dearborn school students learned how to work individually and in groups whereas the Detroit school students learned only how to work in groups. We also found that Dearborn students were encouraged to read out loud to the class individually whereas Detroit students were often read to by the teacher. 

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.001

Guest Comment: Set Theoretic Concepts in Computer Science and Engineering—A Connection between Mathematics and Computing

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.002

Author(s):

Dele Oluwade

Affiliation:

College of Science & Technology, P.O. Box 20253, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo 200005 NIGERIA

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A Joint Source-Channel Steganography Decoding Paradigm and It’s Implications on Capacity

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.003

Author(s):

Ishtiaq Saaem and Hong Man

Affiliation:

Visual Information Environment Lab (VIEL), Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030 USA

ABSTRACT:

Steganography has become extremely popular lately as a means of achieving security for many multimedia applications. However, research on stego-attack mechanisms has also kept pace with this development. Robustness to such stego-attacks usually requires a compromise in stego-capacity. In this paper we propose a joint source-channel coding paradigm for attack robustness with small overhead. We test our framework using a least significant bit based embedding algorithm and random additive attacks. Our results lead us to believe that the joint source-channel coding paradigm has significant potential in this area.

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Evaluating Arm Movement Imitation

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.004

Authors and Affiliations:

Alexandra Constantin
Baxter Hall, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts 01267 USA
Maja J. Matarić
Computer Science Department, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089 USA

ABSTRACT:

In this paper, we present a metric for assessing the quality of arm movement imitation. We develop a joint-rotational-angle-based segmentation and comparison algorithm that rates pairwise similarity of arm movement trajectories on a scale of 1-10. We describe an empirical study designed to validate the algorithm we developed, by comparing it to human evaluation of imitation. The results provide evidence that the evaluation of the automatic metric did not significantly differ from human evaluation.

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Explicit Solutions of the Wave Equation on Three Dimensional Space-Times: Two Examples with Dirichlet Boundary Conditions on a Disk

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2006.005

Author(s):

Daniel Boykis and Patrick Moylan

Affiliation:

Physics Department, The Pennsylvania State University, Abington College, Abington, Pennsylvania 19001 USA

ABSTRACT:

We study solutions of the wave equation with circular Dirichlet boundary conditions on a flat two-dimensional Euclidean space, and we also study the analogous problem on a certain curved space which is a Lorentzian variant of the 3-sphere. The curved space goes over into the usual flat space-time as the radius R of the curved space goes to infinity. We show, at least in some cases, that solutions of certain Dirichlet boundary value problems are obtained much more simply in the curved space than in the flat space. Since the flat space is the limit R → ∞ of the curved space, this gives an alternative method of obtaining solutions of a corresponding problem in Euclidean space. 

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.018

Editorial: AJUR and the Flat World

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.019

Author(s):

C. C. Chancey

Affiliation:

American Journal of Undergraduate Research, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614-0150 USA

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Aggregation of Cyanine Dye in Bilayer Vesicles of Phospholipids

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.020

Author(s):

Casey McCullough, Matthew Heywood, and Hussein Samha

Affiliation:

Division of Chemistry, Southern Utah University, 351 W. Center Street, SC 215, Cedar City, Utah 84720 USA

ABSTRACT:

The effect of phospholipid, 1,2-Dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-Phosphocholine (DPPC) on the spectroscopy of the cyanine dye, 1-ethyl-1’-octadecyl-2,2’-cyanine iodide (PIC-18), has been investigated using UV-Vis spectroscopy. Vesicles of DPPC containing PIC-18 in the molar ratio of 1:3 (dye/phospholipids) were prepared in aqueous solution. J-aggregates of PIC-18 were detected in the bilayer wall of the vesicles. When an aqueous solution of mixed PIC-18/DPPC vesicles is treated with excess DPPC vesicles that are prepared separately, the dye molecules in the mixed vesicles underwent a rapid (aggregate)n’ n (monomer) equilibrium as the  appearance of only one isosbestic point in the absorbance of the dye indicates. The equilibrium constant was calculated at room temperature (Keq = 6.7×10-2). An aggregation number of 4 was calculated for the dye in the bilayer vesicles.

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JAR1, a Dominant Gene Conferring Resistance to Amphotericin B in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.021

Author(s):

Joyce Iwema, Katherine Force, and Robin Pals-Rylaarsdam

Affiliation:

Biology Department, Trinity Christian College, 6601 West College Drive, Palos Heights, Illinois 60463 USA

ABSTRACT:

Infectious diseases are the cause of death for over 1 million people a year in the United States alone. Drug resistance in infectious microbes is an increasing problem. This study focuses on antibiotic resistance in fungal infections, using Saccharomyces cerevisiae as the model of study. Spontaneous mutations in this yeast resulted in a yeast strain with the ability to grow in the presence of the antifungal drug amphotericin B. This yeast isolate, named JAR1, was genetically analyzed to determine how many mutated genes were responsible for the resistant phenotype, and whether the allele was dominant or recessive. The results indicate that the ability of JAR1 to grow in the presence of amphotericin B is due to a single dominant mutation.

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Construction of Higher Orthogonal Polynomials Through a New Inner Product, ‹·,·›p, In a Countable Real Lp-space

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.022

Author(s):

Femi O. Oyadare

Affiliation:

Department of Mathematics, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT:

This research work places a new and consistent inner product ‹·,·›p on a countable family of the real Lp function spaces, proves generalizations of some of the inequalities of the classical inner product for ‹·,·›p provides a construction of a specie of Higher Orthogonal Polynomials in these inner-product–admissible function spaces, and ultimately brings us to a study of the Generalized Fourier Series Expansion in terms of these polynomials. First, the reputation of this new inner product is established by the proofs of various inequalities and identities, all of which are found to be generalizations of the classical inequalities of functional analysis. Thereafter two orthogonalities of ‹·,·›p (which coincide at p = 2) are defined while the Gram-Schmidt orthonormalization procedure is considered and lifted to accommodate this product, out of which emerges a set of higher orthogonal polynomials in Lp[-1,1] that reduce to the Legendre Polynomials at p = 2. We argue that this inner product provides a formidable tool for the investigation of Harmonic Analysis on the real Lp function spaces for p other than p = 2, and a revisit of the various fields where the theory of inner product spaces is indispensable is recommended for further studies.

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Noetherian Rings—Dimension and Chain Conditions

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.023

Author(s):

Abhishek Banerjee

Affiliation:

57/1/C, Panchanantala Lane, Behala, Calcutta 700034, INDIA

ABSTRACT:

In this paper we look at the properties of modules and prime ideals in finite dimensional noetherian rings. This paper is divided into four sections. The first section deals with noetherian one-dimensional rings. Section Two deals with what we define a “zero minimum rings” and explores necessary and sufficient conditions for the property to hold. In Section Three, we come to the minimal prime ideals of a noetherian ring. In particular, we express noetherian rings with certain properties as finite direct products of noetherian rings with a unique minimal prime ideal, as an analogue to the expression of an artinian ring as a finite direct product of artinian local rings. Besides, we also consider the set of ideals I in R such that M ≠ I M for a given module M and show that a maximal element among these is prime. In Section Four, we deal with dimensions of prime ideals, Krull’s Small Dimension Theorem and generalize it (and its converse) to the case of a finite set of prime ideals. Towards the end of the paper, we also consider the sets of linear dependencies that might hold between the generators of an ideal and consider the ideals generated by the coefficients in such linear relations.

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.012

Editorial: Teaching Something New — Nanoscience

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.013

Author(s):

C. C. Chancey

Affiliation:

American Journal of Undergraduate Research, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614-0150 USA

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Design, Construction and Testing of a Desktop Supersonic Wind Tunnel

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.014

Author(s):

Vi H. Rapp, Jennifer Jacobsen, Mark Lawson, Andrew Parker, Kuan Chen

Affiliation:

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 USA

ABSTRACT:

A mobile and affordable, miniature wind tunnel to aid students in studying high-speed compressible flows was constructed and tested. Millimeter-sized nozzles of different contours were fabricated to produce supersonic flows at Mach 2. The complete system consists of a converging-diverging nozzle, a load cell, pressure and temperature sensors, a tank to store high-pressure gases, and a computer-aided data acquisition system. The wind tunnel system is mounted to a cart, making it convenient to move. This test facility allows students to study and test supersonic flows in a safer environment while eliminating the high costs for a full-sized facility. Gas pressure was measured at various locations in the nozzle. A load cell consisting of four cantilever beams was constructed and used to determine the thrust of the nozzle. Data collected from each nozzle was compared to numerical simulations. In all cases, the simulations were in good agreement with the experimental data.

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Effects of a Glutamine Supplement on the Skeletal Muscle Contractile Force of Mice

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.015

Author(s):

Derek Waddell and Kim Fredricks

Affiliation:

Department of Biology, Viterbo University, 921 S. 7th Street La Crosse, Wisconsin 54601 USA

ABSTRACT:

L-glutamine is the most abundant amino acid found in human muscle and plays an important role in protein synthesis. It is, therefore, believed that by increasing L-glutamine levels, protein metabolism can be increased, resulting in skeletal muscle growth. The goal of this research was to determine if increased L-glutamine levels enhanced muscle growth in mice. Comparisons between the contractile force of the gastrocnemis muscles of a control group and a group that received the supplement through their water supply were intended to determine if muscle growth occurred. T-tests were used to compare the contractile forces of the experimental and control mice. There was a significant difference between the contractile forces of the experimental and control groups. This suggests that L-glutamine supplementation increased the muscle growth of the experimental mice.

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Optimization of the Split-Operator Method for Modeling of Quantum System Time Evolution

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.016

Author(s):

D. V. Vlasov

Affiliation:

Physics Faculty, Dept. of Theoretical Physics, Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, St.-Petersburg 191186, Russia

ABSTRACT:

A continuing and important problem in modeling physical processes deals with creating optimum calculation algorithms. These algorithms should provide the necessary precision yet not demand a lot of storage and time for evaluations. In the present paper the numerical integration of the non-stationary Schrödinger equation (NSSE) is considered. There are many numerical methods of integration of this equation to the present moment. In this paper, we explore the split-operator method (SOM) and consider a way of lessening time computing expenses in view of specificity of the given method. We also consider the choice of optimum discretization steps in coordinate and momentum space. The computer application that we outline is applicable, in method and preparation, to the solution more difficult problems, and it has been applied to simple chemical reactions. We use standard atomic units to simplify equations in the analysis that follows.

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Computer-Mediated Communication: Development of an Intranet for a University Academic Department

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.017

Author(s):

Oyenike Olufunmilayo Samantha Laoye

Affiliation:

Department of Computer Science, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

ABSTRACT:

The Intranet has been said to be one of the most important technological developments in Computer Communications. Whilst it is now a common, rapidly growing resource in the business world for the dissemination of information, it is yet to be fully explored in educational institutions. Intranets have an enormous potential to transform education in interesting and challenging ways as they offer an exciting approach for improving and facilitating innovative ways of supporting communication and also for accessing teaching and learning resources. This paper discusses the importance and usefulness of Computer-Mediated Communication in the enhancement of human communications and the focus is on the application of the Intranet (a form of Computer-Mediated Communication) in the context of campus-based university education. This is illustrated by means of a case study and a realistic example i.e. the development of an Educational Intranet (CS.IntraNet) for the Department of Computer Science, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.007

Editorial: Benchmarks for Undergraduate Science

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.008

Author(s):

C. C. Chancey

Affiliation:

American Journal of Undergraduate Research, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614-0150 USA

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Long Term Metabolic and Health Effects of a Low-Carbohydrate, High-Fat, High-Protein Diet in Mus musculus: A Nineteen Week Longitudinal Study

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.009

Author(s):

Donald Harris, Christopher Bell, Misty Retzlaff, Stephanie Toering, Elizabeth Wurdak, and David Mitchell

Affiliation:

College of St. Benedict and St. Johns University, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321 USA

ABSTRACT:

This study was designed to investigate the long-term metabolic adaptations and health effects of a low-carbohydrate, high-fat/protein diet in mice. One-month-old male ICR mice were fed a control, conventional high-carbohydrate diet (n=21) or an experimental low-carbohydrate, high-fat, high-protein diet (n=20). One pair of mice per group was euthanized at two-week intervals for five months for tissue analysis. Basic metabolic data, body and tissue weights, blood and plasma metabolite and lipid profiles, liver glycogen and protein content, and liver serine dehydratase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activities were analyzed. The low-carbohydrate group gained significantly more weight (p<0.005 after 4 weeks) than the normally growing control group. Although ketosis was initially stimulated in the low-carbohydrate group, enzyme and tissue analysis suggest that gluconeogenic activity was sufficient to alleviate the effects of severe dietary carbohydrate restriction and allow for glucose metabolism close to that demonstrated in the control group.

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Remote Sensing Calibration of Casey Lake and Silver Lake

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.010

Author(s):

Krista Ellyson and Mark D. Ecker

Affiliation:

Mathematics Department, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0506 USA

ABSTRACT:

This project examines two Iowa lakes to explore the feasibility of using remote sensing technologies for assessing water quality in lieu of actual ground samples. We demonstrate that a principal component analysis of the more than 20,000 remote sensed pixels can be used in a regression analysis to accurately predict total phosphorus levels in Casey Lake on three distinct times in the summer of 2004.

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Theoretical Considerations for a Geosynchronous, Earth-Based Gravity Wave Interferometer

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.011

Author(s):

William P. Griffin

Affiliation:

Department of Physics, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614-0150 USA

ABSTRACT:

We investigated theoretical considerations in the design of an Earth-based laser interferometer for detecting gravitational waves. Our design envisages a ground-based tracking station in communication with two geosynchronous satellites. We assumed linearized gravitational waves in a Schwarzschild spacetime geometry outside the Earth. Our initial calculations show that such a design is sufficiently sensitive to successfully detect gravitational waves near Earth.

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.001

Integrating Undergraduate Science Research: A Commentary to Undergraduate Research Faculty

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.002

Authors and Affiliations:

Larry E. Davis, Department of Biology, College of St. Benedict-St. Johns University, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321 USA

Robert L. Eves
Department of Physical Science, Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah 84720 USA

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On Solving Systems of ODEs Numerically

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.003

Author(s):

Temple H. Fay, Stephan V. Joubert, and Andrew Mkolesia

Affiliation:

Department of Mathematical Technology, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag x680, Pretoria 0001 SOUTH AFRICA

ABSTRACT:

Many beginning courses on ordinary differential equations have a computer laboratory component in which the students are asked to solve initial value problems numerically. But little attention in texts is given to the question of how accurate such solutions are. In this article we offer a simple procedure that not only can provide a measure of accuracy, but also often produces superior numerical results.

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Awareness, Partisanship and the Post-Convention Bounce: A Memory-Based Model of Post-Convention Presidential Candidate Evaluations Part II—Empirical Results

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.004

Author(s):

Justin Grimmer

Affiliation:

Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana 47933

ABSTRACT:

This paper continues an analysis, begun in the December 2004 issue, that employed panel data to estimate the effects of awareness and political partisanship on post-convention candidate evaluations. The derivation of a theoretical framework was discussed in Part 1 [1]. Empirical results using data from the US presidential election of 2000 are discussed in the present article. We find that partisans of the opposite party were more resistant to the convention message of Bush than Gore, that awareness played a greater role in determining a predicted post-convention change for Gore, and that Gore’s message was received and accepted at a higher rate than Bush’s message.

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Isometries, Tessellations and Escher, Oh My!

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.005

Author(s):

Melissa Potter and Jason M. Ribando

Affiliation:

Department of Mathematics, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614-0506 USA

ABSTRACT:

Motivated to better understand the wonderful artistry and hyperbolic tessellations of M.C. Escher’s Circle Limit prints, we study the isometries of the hyperbolic plane and create tessellations of the Poincaré disk using the Euclidean tools of compass and straightedge.

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Self Assembly of Cyanine Dye on Clay Nanoparticles

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2005.006

Author(s):

Andrew Dixon, Clint Duncan, and Hussein Samha

Affiliation:

Department of Physical Science, Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah 84720 USA

ABSTRACT:

The effect of Ca-montmorillonite (clay) on the aggregation behavior of the cyanine dye, 1,1’-diethyl-2,2’-cyanine iodide (PIC), in aqueous solutions has been investigated using UV-vis spectroscopy. The absorbance of the monomeric dye in aqueous solutions is compared with the absorbance of the aggregates formed after adding the clay. The appearance of a sharp “red-shifted” band centered at 574 nm, after the addition of clay to the aqueous solutions of the dye, indicates the formation J-aggregates on the charged surfaces of the clay particles. The spontaneous and quantitative transformation of monomers into J-aggregates was controlled by the concentration of the clay in the solution. Successive addition of clay to the dye solution causes an increase in the absorbance intensity of the J-band and consequently, a decrease in the absorbance intensity of the monomer. These changes occur linearly which suggests that the dye monomers are quantitatively being converted to J-aggregates.

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2004.019

Guest Comment: The Drake University Conference on Undergraduate Research in the Sciences

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2004.020

Author(s):

Heidi Sleister, Department of Biology, Charles Nelson, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Maria Bohorquez, Department of Chemistry

Affiliation:

Drake University, 2507 University Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50311-4505 USA

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J-Aggregates of Cyanine Dyes in Aqueous Solution of Polymers: A Quantitative Study

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2004.021

Author(s):

Wesley Tillmann and Hussein Samha

Affiliation:

Division of Chemistrym, Southern Utah University, 351 W. Center Street, SC 215 Cedar City, Utah 84720 USA

ABSTRACT:

The effect of polyvinylsulfate (PVS) on the spectroscopy of the cyanine dye, 1,1’-diethyl-2,2’-cyanine iodide (PIC), has been investigated using UV-vis spectroscopy. J-aggregates of the PIC dye were formed upon addition of PVS to the monomers of the dye in solution. The appearance of only one isosbestic point in the UV-vis spectra suggests that the dye monomers are quantitatively converted to J-aggregates and equilibrium was reached. Using Benisi-Hildebrand kinetics, aggregation number of 4 was calculated for the dye. In addition, a 1:2 mole ratio of PIC/PVS was calculated at the maximum capacity of the polymer.

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Exactness, Tor and Flat Modules Over a Commutative Ring

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2004.022

Author(s):

Abhishek Banerjee

Affiliation:

Indian Statistical Institute, 203 Barrackpore Trunk Road, Kolkata 700108 INDIA

ABSTRACT:

In this paper, we principally explore flat modules over a commutative ring with identity. We do this in relation to projective and injective modules with the help of derived functors like Tor and Ext. We also consider an extension of the property of flatness and induce analogies with the “special cases” occurring in flat modules. We obtain some results on flatness in the context of a noetherian ring. We also characterize flat modules generated by one element and obtain a necessary condition for flatness of finitely generated modules.

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Awareness, Partisanship and the Post-Convention Bounce: A Memory-Based Model of Post-Convention Presidential Candidate Evaluations Part 1—Introduction & Theoretical Analysis

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2004.023

Author(s):

Justin Grimmer

Affiliation:

Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana 47933 USA

ABSTRACT:

This paper employs panel data to estimate the effects of awareness and political partisanship on post-convention candidate evaluations. The theoretical framework proposed by John Zaller (1992) is employed; however, a functional form that differs greatly from Zaller’s proposed model is derived from Zaller’s assumption and then estimated using standard OLS regression. I find that partisans of the opposite party were more resistant to the convention message of Bush than Gore, awareness plays a greater role in determining predicted post-convention change for Gore, and that Gore’s message was received and accepted at a higher rate than Bush’s message.

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Thermal Desorption in Pure Hexane and Hexane/Butane Mixtures on Graphite

https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2004.024

Author(s):

Cary L. Pint

Affiliation:

Department of Physics, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614-0150 USA

ABSTRACT:

The results of an extensive study of desorption in hexane (monolayer and submonolayer) and hexane/butane mixtures initially adsorbed onto the graphite basal plane is presented. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are utilized to carry out atomistic simulations at temperatures 300≤T≤700 for all three cases studied. Results from submonolayer and monolayer hexane indicate that the desorption energy needed for the system to proceed with the desorption process is independent of the system’s coverage, which is in good agreement with experimental results. It is also found that simulations of desorption of hexane/butane mixtures yield a high ratio of butane molecules being desorbed from the surface at lower temperatures (300 K), suggesting a strong dependence of the desorption barrier upon alkane chain length. The results are discussed and compared to previous experimental and theoretical results.