Deformations and D-branes

I discuss the relation of Hochschild cohomology to the physical states in the closed topological string. This allows a notion of deformation intrinsic to the derived category. I use this to identify deformations of a quiver gauge theory associated to a D-branes at a singularity with generalized deformations of the geometry of the resolution of the singularity. An explicit map is given from noncommutative deformations (ie, B-fields) to terms in the superpotential.Comment: 33 pages, uses utarticle.cls, dcpic.sty; v2: minor corrections and refs adde

Comparing Computational Methods by Stretching Diatomic Molecules

A comparison of functionals was done by comparing full electron density profiles along the bond axis of H2 and N2. Additionally, based on the success of the (HF)-DFT method, the goal of this project was to compare the mRKS method to (HF)-DFT

High-Speed Rail: An Opportunity for Texas Eminent Domain Reform

With the Texas Central’s high-speed rail fast approaching in Texas, legislators have been presented with an opportunity to reform Texas’ eminent domain laws. The controversial urban-versus-rural project has brought eminent domain policy to the limelight. The Texas Legislature can capitalize on lessons learned from the State’s bout with the Trans-Pecos Pipeline by protecting condemnees and incentivizing good faith efforts by condemnors. This Article proposes five possible reforms for eminent domain law in Texas. First, the Texas Legislature should protect condemnees by aligning their appraisal disclosure requirements with condemnors, who have no duties to disclose appraisals. Second, legislative changes would allow attorney’s fees to be awarded to a condemnee when a condemnor’s offer is significantly lower than the actual value of the property. Third, legislative changes would inform condemnees of exactly which pieces of land that condemnors have the power to take when condemnors make their offer. Fourth, this Article proposes sensible protections for Texas homesteads. Last, this Article explores legislative and judicial blocks that can be used by opponents of the rail

The Financial Health Of R2, Land-Grant Universities: The Relationship Of Government Appropriations And Other Major Revenue Streams On Overall Financial Health

College and university administrators must be able to process large amounts of financial information quickly and be able to communicate information about financial performance to governing boards. Financial ratio analysis provides a framework for administrators to identify financial and operational concerns as well as variances from institutional plans and policies. Modern financial ratio analysis in the higher education industry relies on a set of standard ratios that comprise the Composite Financial Index (CFI). With more frequent debilitating economic events such as the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic and the predicted enrollment cliff on the horizon, college and university administrators must be able to interpret financial information quickly and be able to respond strategically to aid in the continuity of operations and to ensure the financial health of the institution under extraordinary circumstances. This study examined the relationship of institutional financial health as measured by the CFI to four major revenue streams in six high-research, land-grant institutions over a five-year period leading into the COVID-19 pandemic. This research found that the four revenue streams of interest did not have any statistically significant relationships to institutional financial health, however, that there was a statistically significant increase in financial health between fiscal years 2020 and 2021

Cavity optomechanics in gallium phosphide microdisks

We demonstrate gallium phosphide (GaP) microdisk optical cavities with intrinsic quality factors $> 2.8\times10^{5}$ and mode volumes $< 10 (\lambda/n)^3$, and study their nonlinear and optomechanical properties. For optical intensities up to $8.0\times10^4$ intracavity photons, we observe optical loss in the microcavity to decrease with increasing intensity, indicating that saturable absorption sites are present in the GaP material, and that two-photon absorption is not significant. We observe optomechanical coupling between optical modes of the microdisk around 1.5 $\mu$m and several mechanical resonances, and measure an optical spring effect consistent with a theoretically predicted optomechanical coupling rate $g_0/2\pi \sim 30$ kHz for the fundamental mechanical radial breathing mode at 488 MHz.Comment: Published Versio

Design and Construction Of a Full-Scale Lateral Impact Testing Facility

The goal of this work is to design and construct a full scale lateral impact testing facility that is capable of recreating the damage that would be created by an overheight vehicle collision. This was accomplished by impacting a test specimen with an 8000 lbs. impact cart. The impact cart is raised on an elevated track and allowed to roll down the track with a change in height of 10 ft. This change in height is what provides the impact force necessary to recreate an overheight vehicle collision. The track is constructed out of wood and is designed to withstand both the gravity and lateral loads that the impact cart will cause. The impact cart consists of a concrete block surrounded in plate steel on a cart frame. The cart itself was designed to withstand multiple impacts so that it can be used for more than a single test. The supported system for the test specimen consists of gravity supports and lateral supports. The lateral support, or backstop, prevents the test specimen from sliding during testing and insures the most accurate representation of actual conditions that would occur during an overheight vehicle collision. The facility must be capable of testing a variety of specimens in order to fully utilize the potential of such a facility

An Investigation of Language Acquisition as an Antecedent to Pro-Social Development for Secondary Students at Risk for Behavior Disorders

Moral development in youth is of importance to both researchers and to educational professionals seeking to shape the pro-social moral development of young people. This study investigated a new theory of moral development based on literature from neuroscience, linguistics, and cognitive psychology. The purpose of this study was to research functional language acquisition’s potential as an antecedent to the development of pro-social moral development among a purposeful sample of alternative school students. This study answered four questions: What gaps, if any, exist between typical language development and the language development of the participants of the study as measured by a functional language sampling assessment? Given a picture of a social event with shared activities, will the participants make pro-social or antisocial connections among the agents? When cartooning to visually represent a participant’s understanding of possible moral transgressions, does the participant’s drawing and writing show a social, cognitive, and/or a language gap between what the participant draws and writes and what the participant tells about the concepts? Will participants show a difference in language function when the task requires higher and/or lower levels of cognition? To answer these questions, language samples were gathered from study participants using a verbal prompt, shared referent (pictures), and cartooning. Participants were ten alternative school students. Four students with significant behavior problems comprised the Core Group. Five of their higher achieving peers comprised the Comparison Group. An additional student with significant behavior and academic issues provided a Confirmation Case. All of the students in the study were found to have pre-language levels of language function across all tasks. Further, none of the students made consistently pro-social connections in their stories for agents depicted in APRICOT I and APRICOT II pictures. Students’ cartooned stories showed gaps between their cartooning and what they said orally. This study suggests alternative school students may have significant functional language deficits and that the behavioral programs at such schools fail to provide students the pro-social moral concepts needed for pro-social moral development. Additionally, they may benefit from the introduction of opportunities for functional language acquisition rarely offered by current curricula

Fungal Biofilms

Fungal Biofilm

An Examination of Motivation to Change and Neural Alcohol Cue Reactivity Following a Brief Intervention.

Background: Brief interventions represent a promising psychological intervention targeting individuals with heavy alcohol use. Motivation to change represents an individual's openness to engage in a behavior change strategy and is thought to be a crucial component of brief interventions. Neuroimaging techniques provide a translational tool to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms underlying potential mediators of treatment response, including motivation to change. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effect of a brief intervention on motivation to change drinking behavior and neural alcohol taste cue reactivity. Methods: Non-treatment-seeking heavy drinkers were randomized to receive a brief drinking intervention (n = 22) or an attention-matched control (n = 24). Three indices of motivation to change were assessed at baseline and after the intervention or control session: importance, confidence, and readiness. Immediately following the intervention or control session, participants also underwent an functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during which they completed an alcohol taste cues paradigm. Results: There was a significant effect of the brief intervention on increasing ratings of importance of changing drinking behavior, but not on ratings of confidence or readiness to change. Ratings of importance after the intervention or control session were associated with neural alcohol taste cue reactivity, but notably, this effect was only significant for participants who received the intervention. Individuals in the intervention condition showed a positive association between ratings of importance and activation in the precuneus, posterior cingulate, and insula. Conclusions: The brief drinking intervention was successful at improving one dimension of motivation to change among non-treatment-seeking heavy drinkers. The brief intervention moderated the relationship between ratings of importance and brain activation in circuitry associated with interoceptive awareness and self-reflection. Together, findings represent an initial step toward understanding the neurobiological mechanisms through which a brief intervention may improve motivation to change