Fly Swarms and Complexity

A system is considered complex if it is composed of individual parts that abide by their own set of rules while the system, as a whole, exhibits unexpected properties. The motivation for studying complexity spurs from the fact that it is a fundamental aspect of many systems, including forest fires, earthquakes, stock markets, fish schools, plant root growth, and fly swarms. We are particularly interested in fly swarms and the possible complex properties that the swarm exhibits, arising from the individual fly interactions. Fly swarms are a relatively simple complex system, but such systems are still not fully understood. In this research, various computational models were developed to assist with the understanding of fly swarms. These models were primarily described by analyzing the average distance from the center of mass, average distance between flies, and the inertia ratios. The inertia ratios indicated asymmetric fly systems, suggesting some accuracy in such models as physical fly swarms exhibit asymmetry. A major goal of this research was to provide a mathematical definition for swarming. While an arbitrary definition was developed, future research is required to pinpoint a definite definition

Functional Analysis of Protease ADAMTS 6 during Vertebrate Eye Formation

Extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling and epithelial sheet fusion occur during the development of many different tissues, including the vertebrate eye (Lu et al., 2011) (Pai et al., 2012). During morphogenesis of the eye, the ventral hemisphere of the developing retinal tissue forms an opening called the optic fissure which must undergo epithelial fusion (Pai et al., 2012). Failure of optic fissure fusion leads to a congenital blinding disorder called coloboma (Gregory-Evans, 2004). A long standing question pertaining to the mechanism of optic fissure fusion is exactly which ECM remodeling enzymes are actively involved in dismantling the ECM to allow for fusion to occur. I hypothesize that ADAMTS 6 has some function in the fusion of the optic fissure. The expression pattern of ADAMTS 6 was characterized to determine whether it has the spatiotemporal capacity to act as an ECM remodeler for epithelial sheet fusion. Through use of RNA in situ hybridization, the expression of ADAMTS 6 was compared at chronological time points in the development of zebrafish embryos. Findings seem to contradict previous work in the lab that suggested ADAMTS 6 has little to no function in the optic fissure during fusion of the retina (Taylor et al., 2017). The comparison of ADAMTS 6’s expression pattern in wildtype and Pax2noi mutant embryos at certain time points had previously showed no changes in the optic fissure suggesting that there was no function (Taylor et al., 2017). However, optic fissure fusion of embryos injected with mRNA producing protein overexpression appears to be disrupted. Deeper analysis with different tests will need to be performed to determine the how of this mechanism

The Evolution of the Bible in the English Language

While the Bible has been accessible for thousands and thousands of centuries, the introduction of an English translation is somewhat of a fairly modern innovation. The translation of the Holy Scriptures into the vernacular was a dangerous and risky endeavor, and the proponents of giving the Bible to the masses gave their literal blood sweat and tears to accomplish their mission. From early translations by Aelfric to the King James Bible, the story of the Bible in English is a saga of determination and faith

An Investigation Of Severe Weather Environments In Atmospheric Reanalyses

This thesis performs an intercomparison of reanalysis datasets with the goal of determining their respective proficiency in representing severe weather environments capable of producing phenomena such as strong wind, large hail, and tornadoes. A select reanalyses is then used to investigate the climatology and trends in pertinent severe weather parameters over a three-decade period from 1986-2015. The intercomparison is performed by comparing a peer-reviewed dataset of Rapid Update Cycle 2 (RUC-2) proximity soundings to collocated soundings derived from the nearest grid point in six different modern reanalyses. These soundings are compared via various parameters related to severe weather such as: Convective available potential energy (CAPE), effective storm relative helicity (EFFSRH), and supercell composite parameter (SCP). Parameters are calculated using SHARPpy, which is an open source, peer reviewed python sounding analysis package modeled after the Storm Prediction Centerâs (SPC) Sounding and Hodograph Analysis and Research Program (SHARP). Representation of severe weather environments varies across the reanalyses and the presented results have ramifications for climatological studies that use these datasets. In particular, thermodynamic parameters such as CAPE show the widest range in variations, and this property feeds back to other parameters that incorporate thermodynamic information directly or indirectly through the effective layer. As a result, better segregation of soundings by storm type is found for fixed-layer shear parameters. Although no reanalysis can exactly reproduce the results of earlier RUC-2 studies, many of the reanalyses can broadly distinguish between environments that are significantly tornadic vs. nontornadic. Overall, the reanalyses found to have the most favorable error characteristics for severe weather environments are the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) and the Japanese 55-Year Reanalysis (JRA55). Given the results of the first objective, NARR is used to understand the climatology and trends in severe weather parameters across the contiguous United States. A suite of severe weather parameters is calculated for the full domain of NARR by taking âpseudo-soundingsâ at each grid point. It is found that the spatial distribution of average severe weather climatologies are similar to prior studies but tend to have significantly larger magnitudes. It is also found that certain severe weather parameters may be increasing over select regions, while others have either a neutral trend or are decreasing over time. The raw data used for this study, i.e. a suite of severe weather parameters for the full domain of NARR, will be made publicly available. This dataset is potentially useful to members of the climate science and atmospheric science communities. This is due in part to the large amount of computational resources and time that were required to produce this dataset

Borrowing in Context : The Importance and Artistic Implications of Chaucer\u27s Use of Sources in the Merchant\u27s Tale

In this thesis, I consider the implications of Chaucer not only as a man of his age but also as a poet who made deliberate decisions to borrow, imitate, and adapt the work of others, specifically in the context of The Merchant’s Tale. Chapter I of this thesis establishes the significance of the medieval understanding of auctor and auctoritas during the medieval literary period and, furthermore, examines Chaucer’s artistic output both during his career as a court poet and following his removal to Kent in an attempt to reach a clearer understanding of Chaucer’s use of source material when composing The Canterbury Tales. Chapter II of this thesis traces the shifting presentation of The Merchant’s Tale in source and analogue study and establishes the strong likelihood of Chaucer’s knowledge of and familiarity with the Decameron. A closing discussion of Chaucer’s use of Deschamp’s Le Miroir de Mariage and Boccaccio’s DecameronII, 10 and VII, 9 in The Merchant’s Tale leads to important conclusions regarding the importance of these sources in Chaucer and broader conclusions regarding Chaucer’s artistic aspirations as a poet

Characterization and recyclability of 304L stainless steel powder for use in the selective laser melting process

Powder-bed fusion refers to a subset of additive manufacturing (AM) methods which successively melts and solidifies selected regions within a powder bed on a layer-by-layer basis to construct components directly from computer-aided design files. Laser Powder-Bed Fusion (L-PBF) is a process among the powder-bed fusion techniques that utilizes a laser to consolidate particles into a material with little porosity. During the L-PBF process, the large energy input from the laser causes the production of ejecta in the form of laser spatter and condensate, both of which have the potential to settle in the surrounding powder bed compromising its reusability. In order to better understand the impact of ejecta on powder recyclability, samples of 304L laser spatter and condensate were characterized in terms of morphology, chemistry, and microstructure. Differences between ejecta and virgin powder were used as a basis for understanding the evolution in 304L powder properties with reuse in the L-PBF process over the course of 7 iterations, which revealed an improvement in flowability with recycling. The effects of evolving powder properties on the tensile and impact toughness properties were also assessed for capturing possible deterioration in mechanical performance. Due to the improvement in powder flowability during recycling, the effects of alterations in the particle size were further investigated using the Discrete Element Method (DEM). Through development of a mathematical definition of spreadability, differences in the particle size distribution as well as recoating velocity and layer thickness revealed changes in the powder-bed quality providing crucial knowledge of the mechanisms behind the powder spreading process --Abstract, page iv

COUNTER-UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES STUDY: SHIPBOARD LASER WEAPON SYSTEM ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR COUNTERING DRONE SWARM THREATS IN THE MARITIME ENVIRONMENT

This thesis studied engagement strategies for countering maritime drone swarm threats using a shipboard laser weapon system (LWS). The thesis examined maritime drone swarm threats to define parameters that characterize the different types of drone swarms expected in the near future. The thesis explored swarm attack formations, defined two potential heterogeneous swarm scenarios, and proposed five engagement strategies involving the order in which a shipboard laser weapon system would fire upon drones in a swarm threat. Modeling and simulation data was collected from the NPS Modeling Virtual Environments and Simulation (MOVES) Swarm Commander Tactics program to study the efficacy of swarm formation and engagement strategies. The results reinforce that the size of the swarm and formations used significantly affect the success rate of the attacking swarm. The complexity of the situation further increases when facing heterogeneous swarms. The results show that the success rate shifts severely in favor of the attacking swarm when using a simple heterogeneous decoy attack. When altering the LWS engagement strategy to counter this, there is a substantial reversal of success rate, which nearly changes the outcome in favor of the defending ship. This information amplifies the need to explore swarm attack and defense tactics that will organically develop with heterogeneous swarms and LWS use.ONR, Arlington, VA 22217Lieutenant, United States NavyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Design and Analysis of a Traveling Wave Fault Locator

The accuracy of fault location is an integral part of power system operations. Improved fault location can reduce maintenance time, increase efficiency, and save money. When a fault occurs, it sends a disturbance in the current and voltage in each direction at almost the speed of light. This disturbance is called a traveling wave, and can be used to locate faults. In efforts to increase accuracy, the use of traveling wave theory to locate faults has become more popular. This thesis goes through the process of designing and testing a traveling wave fault locator. The design includes analog and digital filtering of the traveling wave signal. The signal passes through an analog high-pass filter that eliminates the fundamental frequency component, an analog low-pass filter that eliminates aliasing, a digital lowpass filter to smooth out the signal, a differentiator to determine the signal’s time of arrival, and a peak finder to detect the exact time. Using PSCAD and MATLAB, the traveling wave relay is analyzed with single line-to-ground and line-to-line faults on a power system comparable to the IEEE 9-bus system. The results show that this fault locator is accurate within ±200 feet from the fault on a 105-mile line when optimized

Geothermal resource assessment of the Gueydan salt dome and the adjacent southeast Gueydan field, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana

The fluids heated by the high thermal conductivity and vertical geometry of salt domes in South Louisiana have the potential to be an economic source of geothermal energy. The Gueydan dome is a piercement salt diapir in Southwest Louisiana lying along the Vermilion and Acadia Parish border. Isotherms indicate a thermal anomaly at the crest of the dome with formation temperatures of 62 ˚C recorded at 1346 m, which is too cold for a geothermal prospect. The shallowest salt encountered is at a depth of 1475 m, and the surrounding strata are Cenozoic sand and clay deposits. Previous geothermal assessments in the vicinity conducted in 1979 by Gruy Federal selected prospect locations off the east and south flanks of the dome for the Frio Formation. This study assesses the shallower, brine saturated Camerina A sand of the Frio Formation to the southwest of the dome where existing uneconomic oil and gas wells are shut in. Kehle corrected formation temperatures for the Camerina A range between 129 to 153 ˚C. The regional geothermal gradient for South Louisiana is 23 ˚C/km. Using shallow temperatures as a constraint, numerical modeling of the thermal regime and a temperature depth slice interpretation from well data indicates that the salt does not aid in increasing the thermal gradient for the Camerina A but instead regionally depresses isotherms because heat transport through the salt dome is more efficient. A hingepoint in the geothermal gradient at the top of overpressure reflects an increase in geothermal gradients through the Camerina A. However, limited well control to the north and west requires conservative reservoir volumetric estimates. Therefore, the Camerina A of Southeast Gueydan Field cannot be deemed a potential prospect based on proposed minimum bulk reservoir volumetric requirements of 1 km3 (Griggs, 2004). Numerical modeling of temperature fields around salt at deeper burial depths suggests that minimum temperatures required for binary power production can be reached through the heat focusing effect of salt domes when the rest of the dome is within the 100 ˚C to 120 ˚C range of the regional temperature regime