On a conjecture of Lapidus and van Frankenhuysen

In this paper it is shown that a conjecture of Lapidus and van Frankenhuysen of 2003 on the existence of a vertical line such that the density of the complex dimensions of nonlattice fractal strings with M scaling ratios off this line vanishes in the limit as M→∞, fails on the class of nonlattice self-similar fractal strings.

On increasing the effective aperture of antennas by data processing /

Includes bibliographical references (p. 58-59)

Orthogonality relations for Chebyshev polynomials,

"C00-1469-0154."

On the use of finite field based modeling in polynomial manipulation,

Vita: p. 105.

School of Nursing Class of 1984

Top Row: Suzanne P. Zeros, Leslie A. Hazle, Deborah L. Thar, Jo-Ann Uhrhammer, Susan M. Revesz, Karla M. Jackson, Laura L. Campbell, Carol T. Dekeyser, Jeanette R. Lewey, Constance B. Squibb, Kristen Eckoff, Martha J. Armantrout, Kathleen A. Duhart, Sara J. Hemming, Carrie L. Malroit, Anne Marie L. Piehl, Rita A. Dobry, Susan A. Wintermeyer

Row 2: Deborah L. Kurzeja, Elanie C. Jenkins, Mary Nehra, June Ellis, Lisa Mediodia, Mary G. Rutz, Diane L. Larson, Mark A. Kempton, Margaret M. Ulchaker, Maureen B. Schreibea, Jan E. Merrick, Holly Russell, Betsy J. hodgman, Maeve N. Boran, Theresa J. Coker, Lisa Moss, Nancy J. Deckert, Nancy R. Bailey

Row 3: Denise M. Zapinski, Michelle M. Post, Elicia baker-Rogers, Lisa A. Mast, Patricia Thomas, Karen A. Bartoluzzi, Jennifer M. Dzieciuch, Margie Von Berge, Nancy Lutz, Pamela Mrstik

Row 4: Elizabeth Doheny, Jacqueline T. Bartone, Lisa A. Pfahler, Sheryl L. Lovelace, Elizabeth A. Bazur, Janet L. Bauman, Delynn M. Dindoffer, Rebecca Waldo

Row 5: Janarl L. Harris, Jeanne M. Cancilla, Amy Garon, Alisa D. Karp, Liz Buchanan, Linda M. Ford.

Row 6: Ondreya Dillard, Linda C. Parks, Tricia Berner, Loranie A. McKaig, Susan M. Bleasdale, Heather L. Colquhoun, Valerie M. Spotts, Marcia L. Fouts

Row 7: Theresa Glick, Carrie L Giltrow, Lisa E. Chapelle, Mary H. Kiledo, Jody Kazmierczak, Patricia E. Goerke, Lisa Weingart, Laura A. Rhead, Pauletta McKivens, Nancy K. Dryer

Row 8: Mary S. Mac Taggart, Lynn M. Stephens, Ann E. Dowling, Amy L. Huntzinger, Patricia A. Schremser, Kathy Hughes, Sally Sample, Cheryl E. Easley, Rhetaugh Dumas, Janice Lindberg, Susan Boehm, Heather Hossack, Susan E. Parry, Amy D. Landau, Michele Mansour, Nancy R. Clark, Sarah Cunningham

Row 9: Rhonda B. Dean, Sandra s. Klein, Cheryl L. Goddard, Toni Rene Dawson, Sara R. Farhat, Lisa M. Kane, Kaye M. Lewandowski, Jennifer A. Blashill, Susan L. Bradley, Mary McGuiness, Ann Dameron, Karolyn L. Maron, Debra Fisher, Rebecca Vredenburg, Elaine B. Fritz, Mary A. Alphenaar, Kathy Rentenbach, Barbara J. Wolff

Row 10: Nancy L. Minegar, Mary E. Conners, Susan E. Kuzma, M. Maureen O'Conner, Elaine P. Wynter, Catherine L. Martin, Bobbi L Hall, Dawn M. Gilbert, Karen M. Kuhn, Genevieve M. Mccarthy, Anne M. Venturi, Jena Bargon, Karen Coesens, Lynne V. Duguay, Barbara A. Sterne, Jill A. Schafer, Jill A. Webster, Katharina E. Smith, Mary K. Brown

Trend analysis of statistics; theory and technique,

Includes bibliographical references.

Analysis of the free vibration of rectangular plates with central cut-outs using the discrete Ritz method

We present an analysis of the free vibration of plates with internal discontinuities due to central cut-outs. A numerical formulation for a basic L-shaped element which is divided into appropriate sub-domains that are dependent upon the location of the cut-out is used as the basic building element. Trial functions formed to satisfy certain boundary conditions are employed to define the transverse deflection of each sub-domain. Mathematical treatments in terms of the continuities in displacement, slope, moment, and higher derivatives between the adjacent sub-domains are enforced at the interconnecting edges. The energy functional results, from the proper assembly of the coupled strain and kinetic energy contributions of each sub-domain, are minimized via the Ritz procedure to extract the vibration frequencies and. mode shapes of the plates. The procedures are demonstrated by considering plates with central cut-outs that are subjected to two types of boundary conditions. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Analytical Solution for the Elastic Lateral-Distortional Buckling of I-section Beams

Lateral-distortional buckling may occur in I-section beams with slender webs and stocky flanges. A computationally efficient method is presented in this paper to study this phenomenon. Previous studies on distortional buckling have been on the use of 3(rd) and 5(th) order polynomials to model the displacements. The present study provides an alternative way, using Fourier Series, to model the behaviour. Beams of different cross-sectional dimensions, load cases and restraint conditions are examined and compared. The accuracy and versatility of the method are verified by calibrating against the results of other published studies. The present method is believed to be a simple and efficient way of determining the buckling load and mode shapes of I-section beams that are susceptible to lateral-distortional buckling modes.

Assessing the impacts of grazing levels on bird density in woodland habitat: a Bayesian approach using expert opinion

Many studies on birds focus on the collection of data through an experimental design, suitable for investigation in a classical analysis of variance (ANOVA) framework. Although many findings are confirmed by one or more experts, expert information is rarely used in conjunction with the survey data to enhance the explanatory and predictive power of the model. We explore this neglected aspect of ecological modelling through a study on Australian woodland birds, focusing on the potential impact of different intensities of commercial cattle grazing on bird density in woodland habitat. We examine a number of Bayesian hierarchical random effects models, which cater for overdispersion and a high frequency of zeros in the data using WinBUGS and explore the variation between and within different grazing regimes and species. The impact and value of expert information is investigated through the inclusion of priors that reflect the experience of 20 experts in the field of bird responses to disturbance. Results indicate that expert information moderates the survey data, especially in situations where there are little or no data. When experts agreed, credible intervals for predictions were tightened considerably. When experts failed to agree, results were similar to those evaluated in the absence of expert information. Overall, we found that without expert opinion our knowledge was quite weak. The fact that the survey data is quite consistent, in general, with expert opinion shows that we do know something about birds and grazing and we could learn a lot faster if we used this approach more in ecology, where data are scarce. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Identification of MIMO Hammerstein systems using cardinal spline functions

A new approach to identify multivariable Hammerstein systems is proposed in this paper. By using cardinal cubic spline functions to model the static nonlinearities, the proposed method is effective in modelling processes with hard and/or coupled nonlinearities. With an appropriate transformation, the nonlinear models are parameterized such that the nonlinear identification problem is converted into a linear one. The persistently exciting condition for the transformed input is derived to ensure the estimates are consistent with the true system. A simulation study is performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method compared with the existing approaches based on polynomials. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimization of chemical plant simulation using double collocation

A method has been constructed for the solution of a wide range of chemical plant simulation models including differential equations and optimization. Double orthogonal collocation on finite elements is applied to convert the model into an NLP problem that is solved either by the VF 13AD package based on successive quadratic programming, or by the GRG2 package, based on the generalized reduced gradient method. This approach is termed simultaneous optimization and solution strategy. The objective functional can contain integral terms. The state and control variables can have time delays. Equalities and inequalities containing state and control variables can be included into the model as well as algebraic equations and inequalities. The maximum number of independent variables is 2. Problems containing 3 independent variables can be transformed into problems having 2 independent variables using finite differencing. The maximum number of NLP variables and constraints is 1500. The method is also suitable for solving ordinary and partial differential equations. The state functions are approximated by a linear combination of Lagrange interpolation polynomials. The control function can either be approximated by a linear combination of Lagrange interpolation polynomials or by a piecewise constant function over finite elements. The number of internal collocation points can vary by finite elements. The residual error is evaluated at arbitrarily chosen equidistant grid-points, thus enabling the user to check the accuracy of the solution between collocation points, where the solution is exact. The solution functions can be tabulated. There is an option to use control vector parameterization to solve optimization problems containing initial value ordinary differential equations. When there are many differential equations or the upper integration limit should be selected optimally then this approach should be used. The portability of the package has been addressed converting the package from V AX FORTRAN 77 into IBM PC FORTRAN 77 and into SUN SPARC 2000 FORTRAN 77. Computer runs have shown that the method can reproduce optimization problems published in the literature. The GRG2 and the VF I 3AD packages, integrated into the optimization package, proved to be robust and reliable. The package contains an executive module, a module performing control vector parameterization and 2 nonlinear problem solver modules, GRG2 and VF I 3AD. There is a stand-alone module that converts the differential-algebraic optimization problem into a nonlinear programming problem.

Application of SOA-NOLM in all-optical processing

This thesis presents experimental investigations of the use of semiconductor optical amplifiers in a nonlinear loop mirror (SOA-NOLM) and its application in all-optical processing. The techniques used are mainly experimental and are divided into three major applications. Initially the semiconductor optical amplifier, SOA, is experimentally characterised and the optimum operating condition is identified. An interferometric switch based on a Sagnac loop with the SOA as the nonlinear element is employed to realise all-optical switching. All-optical switching is a very attractive alternative to optoelectronic conversion because it avoids the conversion from the optical to the electronic domain and back again. The first major investigation involves a carrier suppressed return to zero, CSRZ, format conversion and transmission. This study is divided into single channel and four channel WDM respectively. The optical bandwidth which limits the conversion is investigated. The improvement of the nonlinear tolerance in the CSRZ transmission is shown which shows the suitability of this format for enhancing system performance. Second, a symmetrical switching window is studied in the SOA-NOLM where two similar control pulses are injected into the SOA from opposite directions. The switching window is symmetric when these two control pulses have the same power and arrive at the same time in the SOA. Finally, I study an all-optical circulating shift register with an inverter. The detailed behaviour of the blocks of zeros and ones has been analysed in terms of their transient measurement. Good agreement with a simple model of the shift register is obtained. The transient can be reduced but it will affect the extinction ratio of the pulses.

A preliminary investigation into the effects of ocular lubricants on higher order aberrations in normal and dry eye subjects

Purpose: To study the effects of ocular lubricants on higher order aberrations in normal and self-diagnosed dry eyes. Methods: Unpreserved hypromellose drops, Tears Again™ liposome spray and a combination of both were administered to the right eye of 24 normal and 24 dry eye subjects following classification according to a 5 point questionnaire. Total ocular higher order aberrations, coma, spherical aberration and Strehl ratios for higher order aberrations were measured using the Nidek OPD-Scan III (Nidek Technologies, Gamagori, Japan) at baseline, immediately after application and after 60. min. The aberration data were analyzed over a 5. mm natural pupil using Zernike polynomials. Each intervention was assessed on a separate day and comfort levels were recorded before and after application. Corneal staining was assessed and product preference recorded after the final measurement for each intervention. Results: Hypromellose drops caused an increase in total higher order aberrations (p= <0.01 in normal and dry eyes) and a reduction in Strehl ratio (normal eyes: p= <0.01, dry eyes p= 0.01) immediately after instillation. There were no significant differences between normal and self-diagnosed dry eyes for response to intervention and no improvement in visual quality or reduction in higher order aberrations after 60. min. Differences in comfort levels failed to reach statistical significance. Conclusion: Combining treatments does not offer any benefit over individual treatments in self-diagnosed dry eyes and no individual intervention reached statistical significance. Symptomatic subjects with dry eye and no corneal staining reported an improvement in comfort after using lubricants. © 2013 British Contact Lens Association.

Modeling Optical Response of Thin Films: Choice of the Refractive Index Dispersion Law

Determination of the so-called optical constants (complex refractive index N, which is usually a function of the wavelength, and physical thickness D) of thin films from experimental data is a typical inverse non-linear problem. It is still a challenge to the scientific community because of the complexity of the problem and its basic and technological significance in optics. Usually, solutions are looked for models with 3-10 parameters. Best estimates of these parameters are obtained by minimization procedures. Herein, we discuss the choice of orthogonal polynomials for the dispersion law of the thin film refractive index. We show the advantage of their use, compared to the Selmeier, Lorentz or Cauchy models.

Optimization of Rational Approximations by Continued Fractions

The paper has been presented at the 12th International Conference on Applications of Computer Algebra, Varna, Bulgaria, June, 2006.