Augmented Lagrangian method for Euler's elastica based variational models

Euler's elastica is widely applied in digital image processing. It is very challenging to minimize the Euler's elastica energy functional due to the high-order derivative of the curvature term. The computational cost is high when using traditional time-marching methods. Hence developments of fast methods are necessary. In the literature, the augmented Lagrangian method (ALM) is used to solve the minimization problem of the Euler's elastica functional by Tai, Hahn and Chung and is proven to be more efficient than the gradient descent method. However, several auxiliary variables are introduced as relaxations, which means people need to deal with more penalty parameters and much effort should be made to choose optimal parameters. In this dissertation, we employ a novel technique by Bae, Tai, and Zhu, which treats curvature dependent functionals using ALM with fewer Lagrange multipliers, and apply it for a wide range of imaging tasks, including image denoising, image inpainting, image zooming, and image deblurring. Numerical experiments demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm. Besides this, numerical experiments also show that our algorithm gives better results with higher SNR/PSNR, and is more convenient for people to choose optimal parameters. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Michael Kallstrom's works for horn and piano or electronics: a pedagogical and performance guide

Because there are limited resources for horn players who begin studying, practicing, and performing contemporary pieces for horn and electronics, this document offers a guide to the preparation and performance of the three works for horn and electronics or piano by American composer Michael Kallstrom: Eastern Brilliance, Around the Clock and Brothers in Arms. Inexperienced horn players may find the task of preparing a horn and electronics piece foreign and perplexing, and the experience of performing it with the electronic accompaniment even more disconcerting. By identifying the technical difficulties in these three works, as well as offering pedagogical suggestions to students preparing them, it is my sincere hope this document will make the preparation of these works less daunting and will inspire performers to master and to perform Kallstrom’s pieces, as well as other contemporary works for horn and electronics. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Photopolymerization of coordinated and non-coordinated ionic liquid monomers

Photopolymerization is an industrially important polymerization technique that has numerous advantages in comparison to other radical based processes. Previous work has shown that ionic liquid media can improve the efficiency of these reactions; however, the applicability of these solvents is limited by the challenging separation processes required to isolate polymer products. In this work, we present a new method of radical polymerization in which coordinated ionic liquids were synthesized from salts containing bulky, non-coordinating anions and polar vinyl monomers that functioned as coordinating ligands. These polymerizable coordinated ionic liquids offer many of the benefits of conventional ionic liquid media in radical polymerizations with the additional advantage of allowing for relatively simple product separations. This reaction technique was shown to be useful in the photopolymerization of both common and niche vinyl monomers using multiple bistriflimide salts. In addition, composite materials containing ionic liquids and polymerized ionic liquids have found increasing applications and we were also interested in the reaction behavior of the systems used in their preparation. To this end, we examined the polymerization kinetics of polymerizable ionic liquids in a non-polymerizable imidazolium ionic liquid using infrared spectroscopy. The reaction kinetics of the monomers in these systems were found to be affected by a combination of intermolecular interactions that likely affect the behavior of a variety of reactive systems in which ionic liquids are present. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

The effect of complex trauma on children in the child welfare system: exploring the relationship between complex trauma, placement, and behavior using secondary data analysis

This study used secondary data analysis to both identify and evaluate children with complex trauma who have interacted with the child protective services system. The study addressed a current gap in the literature by conducting secondary data analysis with this specific population. By using the NSCAW I dataset, two groups of children, one defined as complex-trauma likely and the other as not likely as complex trauma, were established. There was a significant difference between the average CBCL scores of externalizing behavior between the two groups. Additionally, for the complex trauma-likely specific population, disruptions in foster care placement had a statistically significant effect on externalizing behavior. Finally, a better understanding of the interaction of the variables of complex trauma, number of placements, and behavior was explored by using linear regression analysis. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Cave air and dripwater variability in Cathedral Caverns, Alabama

Monthly monitoring of dripwater (δ18O, δD, [DIC], δ13CDIC, and pH) and air (pCO2 and δ13CCO2) chemistry from within Cathedral Caverns (Grant, AL) was conducted for 12 months (January 2015-December 2015) to better characterize the factors influencing deposition and δ18O chemistry of speleothems within the cave. Cave dripwater (δ18O and δD) isotope values for the Southeast, US are thought to be consistent with a yearly average. Cave monitoring of Cathedral Caverns, however, indicates that dripwater values are biased towards the winter season. This winter signal is emphasized through the study of the cave air pCO2, which shows a maximum during the month of October (7691 ppmV) and minimums during the colder, winter months. The max pCO2 value indicates that less CO2 is degassing from the dripwater during the hot summer months while during the colder winter months, more CO2 is degassed leaving less [DIC] to remain in the dripwater and more potential calcite deposition onto the stalagmite. The [DIC] and δ13CDIC which range from 0.6 to 6.0 mM and -4.7 to -14.7‰, respectively, show that [DIC] is at a maximum and δ13CDIC is 13C-depleted during summer months. These results indicate that the paleoclimate record in Cathedral Cavern’s speleothems and possibly most SE U.S. caves is biased towards a winter climatic signal. This conclusion is supported by: (i) a strong coupling between the timing of karst aquifer recharge (winter) and increased dripwater flow rates, (ii) cave dripwater δ18O (-5.7‰ (±0.2)) and δD (-32.1‰ (±2.6)) being similar to winter rainwater (-5.1‰ (±1.4) for δ18O and -27.8‰ (±15.1) for δD) collected at nearby Tuscaloosa, AL, and (iii) more favorable chemical conditions for calcite deposition to occur during winter months. These data illustrate that seasonal cave air exchange with the outside atmosphere is an important control on cave-specific periods of enhanced calcite deposition as well as the effect on the chemistry of dissolved inorganic carbon within the dripwater. This work demonstrates the utility of monitoring dripwater chemistry before conducting on paleoclimate reconstructions and furthermore, serves as a precursor for paleoclimate reconstruction of δ18O in speleothems from Cathedral Caverns. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

An examination of the relationship between adult psychopathy and childhood trauma in a jail sample

Psychopathy is a constellation of maladaptive personality traits such as callousness, manipulativeness, pathological lying, a lack of empathy, and superficial charm (Cleckley, 1941; Hare, 2003), which has been associated with both genetic and environmental etiological factors (e.g., Blair, Peschardt, Budhani, Mitchell, & Pine, 2006). Although genetic variation may be responsible for the many neurobiological factors associated with psychopathy, these studies clearly indicate that environmental risk factors for psychopathy should not be neglected. One such risk factor is childhood trauma, which for the purposes of this investigation will be focused on childhood physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, neglect, and witnessing domestic violence. Although we know that childhood trauma is associated with psychopathy (e.g., Verona et al., 2005; Rock, 2012), we know little about the mechanisms through which this relationship occurs. I examined the associations between five childhood trauma subtypes and total psychopathy as well as its four facets (affective, interpersonal, antisocial, lifestyle) in this study. I also investigated the possibility of insecure parental attachment, disinhibition, negative emotionality, and fearlessness as mediators, and gender, race, SES, disinhibition, and fearlessness as moderators in these associations. Two-hundred twenty men and women from the Tuscaloosa County Jail participated in the study. They completed interviews as well as questionnaires that assessed for psychopathy, trauma, and various other factors. The findings suggest that psychological abuse, physical abuse, and witnessing domestic violence all directly predict psychopathy, and that sexual abuse is negatively associated with psychopathy. There was no evidence for mediation or moderation. These results are important as they shed light on the etiology of psychopathy, and suggest that there are no differences in the association between childhood trauma and adult psychopathy, regardless of gender, race, and SES. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Voltage and power control of inverter-interfaced distributed generation systems using combined direct current vector control and droop control method

In recent years, distributed generation (DG) systems have become a signicant power source for remote areas and local loads. Almost all of the DG sources are inverter-interfaced to deliver the power to the loads in the desired form, which is ac. On the other side, most of the loads are very sensitive not only to changes in voltage levels and frequency of the power supply system, but also to harmonic distortion. Therefore, the use of diesel driven synchronous generators and similar power sources will be limited for many applications in the near future because of the high harmonic content of the output voltage when a non-linear load is applied. A solution to these limitations is to use an inverter to generate high quality sinusoidal voltages within a system which controls the instantaneous voltage. Proliferation of distributed resource (DR) units in the form of distributed generation (DG) and distributed storage (DS) has brought about the concept of the microgrid. A microgrid is dened as a cluster of DR units and loads that can operate in a) the gridconnected mode, and b) the islanded mode. Proper operation of the microgrid in both the grid-connected and islanding modes requires the implementation of high-performance power ow control and voltage regulation algorithms. Grid-connected operation consists of delivering power to the local loads and to the utility grid. In the absence of the grid, the inverters are normally operated in the island mode, in which inverters are responsible for establishing the ac bus voltage and supplying a high-quality power to the loads. This research presents a novel control strategy for parallel operation of inverters within the distributed ac power supply systems. The proposed control technique, based on the droop control method, uses only locally measurable feedback signals. This method is usually applied to achieve good active and reactive power sharing when communication between ii the inverters is dicult due to physical separation. To improve the voltage regulation and reactive power sharing, integrating the direct-current vector control (DCVC) with droop method is proposed in this thesis. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Evaluation of a community-based nurse residency program

A secondary data analysis study was conducted to determine if newly graduated nurses benefited from participation in a 1-year University Health System Consortium/American Association of Colleges of Nursing (UHC/AACN) nurse residency program in a community hospital. The sample included data collected from 121 newly graduated nurses who completed the Casey-Fink Graduate survey at the start of program, 6 months into the program, and again at the end of the year-long program. Data included in the study span 3 years from 2012 to 2015. Participation in a community-based nurse residency provided several benefits to newly graduated nurses. There were statistically significant improvements in participants’ level of comfort with communication skills, leadership capacity, ability to organize and prioritize care, and technical skills performance. Most of the participants reported decreased levels of stress and high levels of perceived support. Study participants’ professional satisfaction scores did not reach statistical significance but did improve slightly during the program. Turnover of participants in the study site program decreased from 37% prior to program implementation to less than 4% in 2014. Potential cost savings of the nurse residency program for the study site added up to approximately $5 million. The results of this study contribute to the limited number of studies on this topic. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Structural modeling and volumetric reservoir estimations of the cretaceous derdere and karababa reservoirs in the Çemberlitaş oil field, southeastern Turkey

The Adiyaman region is located in the frontal belt of the southeastern Anatolia fold and thrust belt in Turkey. The region is in the northwestern continuation of the Zagros fold-thrust belt and contains several small-to-medium size oil fields. These oil fields are characterized by structural traps located in east-west trending anticlinal structures along the frontal belt. One of these oil fields is the Çemberlitaş oil field which produce from fractured and dolomitized reservoirs of the Karababa and the Derdere formations of the Cretaceous Mardin group carbonates. This study focuses on delineating the structural geometry and evolution of the Çemberlitaş Anticline and the reservoir characteristics in the Çemberlitaş oil field based on interpretation of available 2-D seismic reflection profiles, conventional wire-line well log data, and check shot surveys. The subsurface geometry suggests that the production in the oil field is from the hanging wall anticlines within the blind leading imbricate thrust system caused by Cretaceous break-forward sequence of thrusting which involves Karababa and Derdere formations. Within the study area, there are thrust faults branching from a horizontal detachment surface in a break-forward sequence of thrusting which is suggested by decreasing dip angle of thrust faults from north to south. The subsurface geometry also demonstrates the presence of high-angle Cretaceous normal faults to the south of the leading-edge thrust of the Cretaceous contractional structures. These normal faults were most likely formed during the Cretaceous subduction due to flexural bending of the subducting slab. Three strike-slip faults are identified in the subsurface as the tear faults of the thrust system developed contemporaneously with the north–south contractional deformation in Late Cretaceous. They align parallel to the tectonic transport direction, and separate thrust sheets into different thrust blocks. Break-forward sequence of thrusting in the study area developed asymmetric hanging wall anticlines and footwall synclines and resulted in structural thickening of the Cretaceous Derdere and Karababa formations at overlapping parts of the thrust sheets. These areas present ideal production well locations due to their structural thickening and possibly fault sealing. Therefore, production possibility is higher at these overlapping thrust sheets due to increasing net pay zone thickness and volume of reservoirs. Thrust blocks which were separated from each other with tear faults caused compartmentalization of the reservoirs into productive and non-productive blocks. It is suggested here that these tear faults may be acting as lateral seals in the Çemberlitaş oil field. Recoverable original oil in place in the Çemberlitaş oil field was estimated into three different volumes according to porosity values obtained from well logs. Low estimate (P90) (Ø≥ 9%), high estimate (P10) (Ø≥ 4%) and best estimate (P50) (Ø≥ 6%) are estimated at 10,817,098 STB, 33,769,395 STB, and 19,157,391 STB respectively, while total oil remaining in the field was estimated at 5,649,127 STB. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Evaluation of the Pensacola relative ceramic chronology by percentage stratigraphy seriation

In parts of the Southeastern United States, including south Alabama, relative ceramic chronologies for prehistoric archaeological sequences are based on descriptive type-variety systems of classification that have remained unevaluated by seriation methods. This project assesses the chronological utility of the type-variety classification for Pensacola archaeological culture ceramics through the application of seriation methods to collections from three extensively excavated sites on Mobile Bay. Chronological utility is defined here by application of the popularity principle with evidence of introduction, increase, and decrease in ceramic type-varieties through time as ordered by stratigraphic superposition. Lyman et al. (1998) refer to this combined method of frequency seriation and stratigraphic sequence as percentage stratigraphy, which establishes a relative chronology based on a testable stylistic progression of ceramic types through time. Decorated pottery from Shell Bank (1BA81), Andrews Place (1MB1), and D’Olive Creek (1BA196 and 1BA251) was sorted by previously established type-varieties and a seriation performed using the Excel macro created by Tim Hunt and Carl Lipo. The results demonstrate the care with which Rick Fuller, Noel Stowe, Ian Brown, and Ashley Dumas devised and refined the ceramic chronology through the years, despite the lack of evaluative seriation prior to this thesis. Although not all types seriate and there is still some ambiguity in the early and late phases of the sequence, the overall scheme is highly effective. This thesis provides refinement to the relative ceramic chronology and emphasizes the types that seriate best and should thus be used to define ceramic phases. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries