Master of Science

thesisThe Cambrian Mount Simon Sandstone has been targeted as a major reservoir for CO2 storage in the Illinois Basin. The Mount Simon Sandstone's geologic setting, mature quartz to arkosic composition, reservoir thickness, and generally low permeability of the overlying Eau Claire Formation seal make it an attractive candidate for long-term storage potential of carbon dioxide. Injection of CO2 has been shown to cause a range of chemical alterations that may causes dissolution of existing minerals and precipitation of secondary phases that can alter the porosity and permeability of the reservoir. This study focuses on conducting detailed microscopic analysis of compositionally and texturally dissimilar Mount Simon Sandstone samples from the Illinois Basin that were experimentally exposed to CO2-rich brines for 6 months at the National Energy and Technology Laboratory in collaboration with the Indiana Geological Survey. Our objective is to examine the experimental samples to determine how porosity texture and mineral abundance influence the types of reactions that occur with CO2 injection at various scales. Petrographic and geochemical analysis coupled with Geochemist Workbench's REACT module demonstrates how porosity and permeability amounts strongly influence rates of mineral precipitation and dissolution that occur over the observed 6-month and projected 1000-year period. These results, which represent the compositional and textural heterogeneities in the formation, provide a set of criterion for evaluating CO2 injection sites and long-term storage potential in the formation

A Comparative Study of Mathematics Self-Efficacy and Anxiety Levels of Grades 10-12 Students at Thai Christian School Before and After Supplemental Practice Use of The Mathematics E-Learning Application Website Khan Academy

The purpose of this study was to determine if students’ mathematics selfefficacy could be increased and their mathematics anxiety could be reduced by adding supplemental mathematics practice using the internet-based website Khan Academy to increase mastery experiences in solving mathematics problems. The study focused on 156 Grades 10-12 students at Thai Christian School in Bangkok. A research experiment was conducted during the course of the second semester of the 2016 school year based on Bandura (1977) sources of self-efficacy (mastery experience, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, psychological factors). During the experiment, the students received weekly supplemental mathematics practice by homework recommendations from the researcher sent using the Khan Academy website. A comparison was made between the students’ mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics anxiety before and after the research experiment and after the research experiment. The research included four objectives. Objectives one and two were to determine students’ mathematics self-efficacy levels and mathematics anxiety levels at the beginning and end of the research experiment. Objectives three and four were to determine if a significant increase in mathematics self-efficacy and a significant reduction in mathematics anxiety could be achieved through the addition of supplemental mathematics exercises using the mathematics e-learning website Khan Academy. The major findings in this research were that the average students’ mathematics self-efficacy increased, and the average students’ mathematics anxiety was reduced in all three-program emphasis (mathematics science, mathematicsEnglish, English-Chinese). Overall Mathematics self-efficacy increased significantly for the entire sample and mathematics anxiety reduced significantly for the entire sample

API 682 Arrangement 2 Configurations - Considerations For Outer Seal And Support System Design

TutorialAPI 682, now in its 4th Edition, has made a concerted effort to accurately define and distinguish between different types of seal configurations available under the designation of ‘Arrangement 2’, including 2CW-CW, 2CW-CS, and 2NC-CS. While the differences between the available types of seals associated with this designation are reasonably well understood by those in the industry, there are still questions end users have when considering an Arrangement 2 seal for an application; in particular, there are specific concerns regarding reliability and integrity of dry containment seals when compared to wet buffer outer seals. The process of selecting the configuration, and the associated support system (piping plan) requires an evaluation of all aspects associated with the functionality and interaction between these elements. The tutorial will address and discuss the following aspects to consider when evaluating the outer seal design in API 682 arrangement 2 configurations

Changing perspectives on marijuana use during early adolescence and young adulthood: Evidence from a panel of cross-sectional surveys

Introduction. Prior research has often overlooked potential cohort differences in marijuana views and use across adolescence and young adulthood. To begin to address this gap, we conduct an exploratory examination of marijuana views and use among American youth using a panel of cross-sectional surveys. Method. Findings are based on repeated, cross-sectional data collected annually from adolescents (ages 12-17; n = 230,452) and young adults (ages 18-21; n = 120,588) surveyed as part of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health between 2002 and 2014. For each of the birth years between 1986 and 1996, we combined a series of nationally representative cross-sections to provide multi-year data strings designed to approximate nationally representative cohorts. Results. Compared to youth born in the mid-to-late 1980s, youth born in the mid-1990s reported significantly higher levels of marijuana disapproval during the early adolescent years (Age 14: 1988 = 64.7%, 1994 = 70.4%) but lower levels of disapproval during the young adult years (Age 19: 1988 = 32.0%, 1994 = 25.0%; Age 20: 1988 = 27.9%, 1994 = 19.7%). Moreover, the prevalence of marijuana use among youth born in 1994 was significantly lower—compared to youth born in 1988—at age 14 (1988: 11.39%, 1994: 8.19%) and significantly higher at age 18 (1988: 29.67%, 1994: 34.83%). This pattern held even when adjusting for potential confounding by demographic changes in the population across the study period. Conclusions. We see evidence of changes in the perceptions of marijuana use among youth born during the late twentieth century.2018-01-0

The Diptera of Panama. I. Annotated catalog of the Tipulomorpha of Panama

There are 214 species of the suborder Tipulomorpha (Diptera) known from Panama. Of these, 162 species were described by the noted American entomologist, Charles Paul Alexander, from Panama during the period from 1912 through 1979. Panama hosts two of the four families found within the Tipulomorpha: Limoniidae (197 species) and Tipulidae (17 species). We have records of only three species from multiple provinces (n = 2) within Panama and 211 species from just one province. The vast majority of the latter are known from a single location within their respective provinces. There are 142 endemic species (66.4%) included in Panama’s Tipulomorpha fauna, with the remainder being found elsewhere in South America (48 species), Central America (44), Mexico (23 species), the Caribbean (14 species), and the United States (4 species). Whereas, this taxonomic group has benefited from collecting in the Canal Zone and the popular western highlands in Chiriqui Province, we know little or nothing of the distribution of species within the country, their natural history, or their relationship to water quality. Existen 214 especies del suborden Tipulomorpha (Diptera) conocidas de Panamá. Charles Paul Alexander describió 162 especies durante el período comprendido entre 1912 y 1979. Panamá alberga dos de las cuatro familias encontradas dentro de Tipulomorpha: Limoniidae (197 especies) y Tipulidae (17 especies). Tenemos registros de solo tres especies de múltiples provincias (n = 2) dentro de Panamá y 211 especies de una sola provincia. La gran mayoría de estos últimos son conocidos desde un solo lugar con sus respectivas provincias. Hay 142 especies endémicas (66.4%) incluidas en la fauna de Tipulomorpha de Panamá, y el resto se encuentra en Sudamérica (48 especies), otras partes de América Central (44), México (23 especies), el Caribe (14 especies) y Estados Unidos (4 especies). Considerando que, este grupo taxonómico se ha beneficiado de la recolección en la Zona del Canal y las tierras altas occidentales populares en la provincia de Chiriquí, sabemos poco o nada de la distribución de las especies dentro del país, su historia natural, o su relación con la calidad del agua

The Trichoptera of Panama XIII. Further new country records for caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera) from the Republic of Panama

The Republic of Panama currently includes 414 recorded species of Trichoptera. Herein we add two new genera (Hydroptilidae: Angrisanoia Ozdikmen, 2008 and Mayatrichia Mosely, 1937) and 17 new country records (Philopotamidae: Chimarra (C.) tapanti Blahnik, Wormaldia bolivari Muñoz-Quesada and Holzenthal, and Wormaldia zunigae Muñoz-Quesada and Holzenthal; Hydropsychidae: Centromacronema pygmaeum Botosaneanu; Hydroptilidae: Brysopteryx esparta Harris and Holzenthal, Byrsopteryx solisi Harris and Holzenthal, Costatrichia falsa Santos, Takiya, and Nessimian, Mayatrichia illobia Harris and Holzenthal, Metrichia amplitudinis Bueno-Soria and Holzenthal, Ochrotrichia boquillas Moulton and Harris, O. conformalis Bueno-Soria and Holzenthal, O. quinealensis Bueno-Soria and Holzenthal, and O. unica Bueno-Soria and Santiago; Leptoceridae: Triaenodes morai Holzenthal and Andersen; Odontoceridae: Marilia kingsolveri Bueno-Soria and Rojas-Ascencio; and, Helicopsychidae: Helicopsyche alajuela Johanson and Holzenthal and Helicopsyche breviterga Flint) to Panama’s caddisfly fauna. The newly recorded taxa increase Panama’s total known caddisfly fauna to 431 species, distributed among 15 families and 55 genera. These results are part of an ongoing effort to characterize the caddisfly fauna of Panama, and to evaluate the aquatic insect diversity of the country’s major watersheds (cuencas). La República de Panamá actualmente incluye 414 especies registradas de Trichoptera. Aquí agregamos dos nuevos géneros (Hydroptilidae: Angrisanoia Ozdikmen, 2008 y Mayatrichia Mosely, 1937) y 17 nuevos registros para el país (Philopotamidae: Chimarra (C.) tapanti Blahnik, Wormaldia bolivari Muñoz-Quesada y Holzenthal, y Wormaldia zunigae Muñoz-Quesada y Holzenthal; Hydropsychidae: Centromacronema pygmaeum Botosaneanu; Hydroptilidae: Brysopteryx esparta Harris y Holzenthal, Byrsopteryx solisi Harris y Holzenthal, Costatrichia falsa Santos, Takiya, y Nessimian, Mayatrichia illobia Harris y Holzenthal, Metrichia amplitudinis Bueno-Soria y Holzenthal, Ochrotrichia boquillas Moulton y Harris, Ochrotrichia conformalis Bueno-Soria y Holzenthal, Ochrotrichia quinealensis Bueno-Soria y Holzenthal, y Ochrotrichia unica Bueno-Soria y Santiago; Leptoceridae: Triaenodes morai Holzenthal y Andersen; Odontoceridae: Marilia kingsolveri Bueno-Soria y Rojas- Ascencio; y, Helicopsychidae: Helicopsyche alajuela Johanson y Holzenthal y Helicopsyche breviterga Flint) a la fauna de Trichoptera de Panamá. Los taxones recien reportados aumentan el total de la fauna de Trichoptera de Panamá a 431 especies, distribuidas en 15 familias y 55 géneros. Estos resultados son parte de un esfuerzo continuo para caracterizar la fauna de Trichoptera y para evaluar la diversidad de insectos acuáticos de las principales cuencas hidrográficas (cuencas) de Panamá

A foundation for multi-level modelling

Multi-level modelling allows types and instances to be mixed in the same model, however there are several proposals for how metamodels can support this. This paper proposes a meta-circular basis for meta-modelling and shows how it supports two leading approaches to multi-level modelling

Iris : a solution for executing handwritten code

This paper presents a novel approach to executing handwritten code, the solution coined Iris. My research falls within the field of mobile app development, handwriting recognition, optical and intelligent character recognition (OCR & ICR), machine learning, as well as various Computer Science-related fields such as domain specific languages, or DSLs. The solution outlined in this paper details a system where one can author code using only a writing utensil (such as a pen), scratch paper (such as a napkin), and a smart phone. Iris leverages the power of the cloud to process an image of handwritten code and return the result to the user. Ultimately, my results show that Iris was able to accurately execute handwritten scripts with various levels of observed accuracy. Future work includes adding more layers of machine learning as well as further pre-processing images prior to OCR