Odonatopera exhibit a wide diversity of morphologies for an ancient group of winged insects. A morphological matrix of 463 characters is compiled for 347 extant and fossil representatives used in parsimony analyses, implemented in TNT, to document arrangements of taxonomic groups above the family level. Missing data and other challenges approaches implemented and interpretation of the results. We employ a novel approach to testing monophyly relative to quantities of missing data for each taxon. Phylogenetic reconstructions recover patterns of monophyly and trends based on missing data. We discuss the implications of our findings on missing data as well as limitations to systematics in general for Odonatoptera.

The research of this dissertation is formulated in two fields, i.e., the theoretical and computational studies of circumferential wrinkling on soft nanofibers and the swelling mechanics study of a bi-layered spherical hydrogel containing a hard core. Continuous polymer nanofibers have been massively produced by means of the low-cost, top-down electrospinning technique. As a unique surface instability phenomenon, surface wrinkling in circumferential direction is commonly observed on soft nanofibers in electrospinning. In this study, a theoretical continuum mechanics model is developed to explore the mechanisms of circumferential wrinkling on soft nanofibers under uniaxial stretching. The model is able to examine the effects of elastic properties, surface energy, and fiber radius on the critical axial stretch to trigger circumferential wrinkling and to discover the threshold fiber radius to initiate spontaneous wrinkling. In addition, nonlinear finite element method (FEM) is further adopted to predict the critical mismatch strain to evoke circumferential wrinkling in core-shell polymer nanofibers containing a hard core, as a powerful computational tool to simulate controllable wrinkling on soft nanofibers via co-electrospinning polymer nanofibers incorporated with nanoparticles as the core. The studies provide rational understanding of surface wrinkling in polymer nanofibers and technical approaches to actively tune surface morphologies of polymer nanofibers for particular applications, e.g. high-grade filtration, oil-water separation, polymer nanocomposites, wound dressing, tissue scaffolding, drug delivery, and renewable energy harvesting, conversion, and storage, etc. Furthermore, hydrogels are made of cross-linked polymer chains that can swell significantly when imbibing water and exhibit inhomogeneous deformation, stress, and, water concentration fields when the swelling is constrained. In this study, a continuum mechanics field theory is adopted to study the swelling behavior of a bi-layered spherical hydrogel containing a hard core. The problem is reduced into a two-point boundary value problem of a 2nd-order nonlinear ordinary differential equation (ODE) and solved numerically. Effects of material properties on the deformation, stress, and water concentration fields of the hydrogel are examined. The study offers a rational route to design and regulate hydrogels with tailorable swelling behavior for practical applications in drug delivery, leakage blocking, etc.

Water scarcity is a serious global issue, due to the increasing population and developing economy, and membrane technology is an essential way to address this problem. Forward osmosis (FO) is an emerging membrane process, due to its low energy consumption (not considering the draw solute regeneration). A bottleneck to advance this technology is the design of the support layer for FO membranes to minimize the internal concentration polarization. In this dissertation, we focus on the structural study and modification of the support layer for FO membranes. Firstly, we digitally reconstruct different membrane morphologies in 3D and propose a method for predicting performance in ultrafiltration operations. Membranes with analogous morphologies are later used as substrate for FO membranes. Secondly, we experimentally apply substrates with different potentially suitable morphologies as an FO support layer. We investigate their FO performance after generating a selective polyamide layer on the top, by interfacial polymerization. Among the different substrates we include standard asymmetric porous membranes prepared from homopolymers, such as polysulfone. Additionally block copolymer membrane and Anodisc alumina membrane are chosen based on their exceptional structures, with cylindrical pores at least in part. 3D digitally reconstructed porous substrates, analogous to those investigated for ultrafiltration, are then used to model the performance in FO operation. Finally, we analyze the effect of intermediate layers between the porous substrate and the interfacial polymerized layer. We investigate two materials including chitosan and hydrogel. The main results are the following. Pore-scale modeling for digital membrane generation effectively predicts the velocity profile in different layers of the membrane and the performance in UF experiments. Flow simulations confirm the advantage of finger-like substrates over sponge-like ones, when high water permeance is sought. Cylindrical pores are advantageous for mass transfer. Block copolymer substrates have cylindrical pores in the top layer and very regular pore pattern at the surface. The Anodisc alumina membrane has cylindrical pores from top to bottom. Both substrates were experimentally tested for FO application successfully. A Darcy permeability higher than 1E-20 m2 for the intermediate layer would be necessary in order to facilitate the water flow.

With the increasing popularity of information technology, especially electronic imaging techniques, large amount of high dimensional data such as 3D shapes become pervasive in science, engineering and even people's daily life, in the recent years. Though the data quantity is huge, the extraction of relevant knowledge on those data is still limited. How to understand data in a meaningful way is generally an open problem. The specific challenges include finding adequate mathematical representations of data and designing proper algorithms to process them. The existing tools for analyzing high-dimensional data, including 3D shape data, are found to be insufficient as they usually suffer from many factors, such as misalignments, noise, and clutter. This thesis attempts to develop a framework for processing, analyzing and understanding high-dimensional data, especially 3D shapes, by proposing a set of statistical tools including theory, algorithms and optimization applied to practical problems. In particular, the following aspects of shape analysis are considered: 1. A framework adopting the SRNF representation, based on parallel transport of deformations across surfaces in the shape space, leads to statistical analysis on shape data. Three main analyses are conducted under this framework: (1) computing geodesics when either two end surfaces or the starting surface and an initial deformation are given; (2) parallel transporting deformation across surfaces; and (3) sampling random surfaces. 2. Computational efficiency plays an important role in performing statistical shape analysis on large datasets of 3D objects. To speed up the previous method, a framework with numerical solution is introduced by approximating the inverse mapping, and it reduces the computational cost by an order of magnitude. 3. The geometrical and morphological information, or their shapes, of 3D objects can be analyzed explicitly using boundaries extracted from original image scans. An alternative idea is to consider variability in shapes directly from their embedding images. A novel framework is proposed to unify three important tasks, registering, comparing and modeling images. 4. Finally, the spatial deformations learned from registering images are modeled using the GRID based decomposition. This specific model provides a way to decompose a large deformation into local and fundamental ones so that shape differences between images are easily interpretable. We conclude this thesis with conclusions drawn in this research and discuss potential future directions of statistical shape analysis in the last chapter, both from methodological and application aspects. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Statistics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2015. / March 20, 2015. / Parallel transport, Pattern Recognition, Registration, Riemannian geometry, shape analysis, Statistics / Includes bibliographical references. / Anuj Srivastava, Professor Directing Dissertation; Eric P. Klassen, University Representative; Fred W. Huffer, Committee Member; Wei Wu, Committee Member; Jinfeng Zhang, Committee Member.

Morphological segmentation is segmentation of words into morphemes - smallest units carrying meaning. It is a low level Natural Language Processing task. Since morphological segmentation is sometimes used as method of preprocessing, achieving better results on this task may help NLP algorithms to better solve various problems, especially in scenarios involving small amount of data, and it may also also help the linguistic research. We propose a novel ensemble algorithm for morphological segmentation of Czech lemmas which makes use of the DeriNet derivation tree dataset. As a sideproduct we also created suggestions for improvements of the DeriNet dataset.

Magister Artium - MA / This thesis .investigates the function of a topicalized constituent .in the narrative non-direct speech texts .in 2 Kings. Many traditional BH grammarians described the :function of a topicalized constituent as "emphasis". Recent BH grammarians pointed out that extralinguistic factors like the total communicative context should also be considered in the description of a function for a topicalized constituent. The shift from the structural to a more pragmatic approach is illustrated in this study. The pragmatic approach proved to be not only possible, but also advantageous to the study of function in BH. The aim of this study was to test the viability and results of the various theories and categories of the BH linguists. This study also researched whether their linguistic approaches are indeed an improvement on the descriptions as defined by the traditional grammarians. In other words, to see whether and in which way more recent studies of BH could aid the understanding of the function of a topicalized constituent in BH word order. The methodology utilized in this study is briefly outlined as follows: 1. This study examined the description of word order in terms of the traditional and more recent approaches. The categories used to describe the function of a topicalized constituent were our main focus. At the end we compiled a theoretical frame of reference that we regard as representative of modem attempts to acquire a more refined comprehension of BH word order. A theoretical linguistic framework was formulated which could be used in our description of a sentence in BH in 2 · Kings. This attempt could be described as eclectic because it used the diverse perceptions from the various linguistic approaches. Richter's theoretical linguistic framework (with its limitations) together with contributions of Van der Merwe, Buth and Gross were used as a basis for the description of the sentences. 3. Sentences were analysed systematically and holistically at the different levels of description, namely morphology, morphosyntax, sentence syntax, semantics and pragmatics. Because of the difficulty in defining semantics and with pragmatics still in disarray, this study defined some semantic-pragmatic concepts it worked with. 4. In the description of sentences we incorporated and tested the viability of the different categories of various grammarians. By carefully considering the context of each sentence, this study posed the question: which, if any; of the categories could adequately describe the semantic-pragmatic function of a topicalized constituent in 2 Kings.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Radio galaxies are some of the most unusual and powerful objects in the Universe and are therefore vital for so many reasons. Studies of Radio-Loud Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) gives us the potential to enhance our understanding of the key processes leading to the ejection of material, connection to the central engine and how the jets are launched. Besides, the energetic input of these sources is thought to have an impact in the star formation history and properties of the ISM and ICM; thus by studying them, we can improve our understanding of their formation, evolution and their environment.

The emergence of new technologies and improved computing power helped to introduce a renewed vitality in morphological research in recent decades. This is especially apparent in the new advances made in understanding the evolutionary morphology of the skeletal system in extinct and extant squamate reptiles. The new data generated as a result of the recent increase in attention are relevant not only for systematic analyses but also are valuable in their own right for contributing to holistic perspectives on organismal evolution, mosaic evolution in the rates of change in different anatomical systems, and broader patterns of macroevolution. A global community of morphological researchers now can share data through online digital collections, but opportunities for continued advance are hindered because we lack even basic data on patterns of variation of the skeletal system for virtually all squamate lineages. Most work on skeletal morphology of squamates is based on a sample size of n=1; this is an especially noticeable phenomenon for studies relying on X-ray computed tomography technology. We need new collections of skeletal specimens, both material and digital, and new approaches to the study of skeletal morphology. Promising areas for continued research include the recent focus on skeletal elements not traditionally included in morphological studies (especially systematic analyses based upon morphological data) and efforts to elucidate patterns of variation and phylogenetically informative features of disarticulated skeletal elements. Anat Rec, 297:344-348, 2014.

Here we present the first detailed morphological study of the auditory region of a tremarctine bear, the South American giant short-faced bear Arctotherium angustidens. We compared 19 specimens of A. angustidens with other tremarctines and ursines. Through the use of CT scans, we confirmed the presence of a recesus epitympanicus and an anterior incomplete septum of uncertain homology, not related with the septum bullae nor with the longitudinal septum formed by the ecto- and the entotympanic. A secondary crus formed by the lateral semicircular canal (LSC) with the posterior semicircular canal (PSC) of the inner ear was observed in A. angustidens, A. bonariense, Tremarctos ornatus, Ursus spelaeus, and Ursus arctos. This secondary crus was not previously reported for ursids. We also observed that the intraspecific variation in the auditory region of A. angustidens is related to 1) the position of the foramen postglenoideum, 2) the anterior projection of the bulla tympanica over the foramen lacerum and over the opening of the Eustachian tube (medial process of the bulla tympanica), and 3) the projection of the bulla tympanica over the posterior surface of the processus postglenoideus (tympanic process). In addition to this variation, we also identified the presence of interspecific variation in the external auditory region among Tremarctinae and Ursidae. These differences are related to the size of the processus mastoideus and the processus paraoccipitalis, the position of the foramen postglenoideum, and the presence/absence of contact between the bulla tympanica and the processus paraoccipitalis.

Conventional melt transesterification successfully synthesized high molecular weight segmented copolyesters.  The cycloaliphatic monomers 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol (CBDO) and dimethyl-1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylate (DMCD) afforded sterically hindered, ester carbonyls in high-Tg polyester precursors.   Reaction between the polyester polyol precursor and a primary or secondary alcohol at melt polymerization temperatures revealed reduced transesterification of the polyester hard segment as a result of enhanced steric hindrance adjacent to the ester linkages.  Subsequent polymerization of a 4,000 g/mol polyol with monomers comprising the low-Tg block yielded high molecular weight polymers that exhibited enhanced mechanical properties compared to a non-segmented copolyester control.  Atomic force microscopy uncovered unique needle-like, interconnected, microphase separated surface morphologies, and small-angle X-ray scattering confirmed the presence of bulk microphase separation. This new synthetic strategy enabled selective control of ionic charge placement into the hard segment or soft segment block of segmented copolyesters using melt transesterification.  The ionic placement impacted the microphase-separated morphology, which influenced its thermomechanical properties and resulting mechanical performance.  Melt transesterification of low-Tg, sodium sulfonated copolyesters achieved up to 15 mol% ionic content.  The 10 and 15 mol% sodium sulfonated copolyesters exhibited water-dispersibility, which enabled cation dialysis exchanges to divalent metal cations.  The sulfonated copolyesters containing divalent metal cations exhibited enhanced rubbery plateau moduli to higher temperatures.   Novel trialkylphosphonium ionic liquids chain extenders enabled the successful synthesis of poly(ethylene glycol)-based, cationic polyurethanes with pendant phosphoniums in the hard segments (HS).  Aqueous size exclusion chromatography (SEC) confirmed the charged polyurethanes, which varied the phosphonium alkyl substituent length (ethyl and butyl) and cationic HS content (25, 50, 75 mol%), achieved high absolute molecular weights.  Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) demonstrated the triethylphosphonium (TEP) and tributylphosphonium (TBP) polyurethanes displayed similar thermomechanical properties, including increased rubbery plateau moduli and flow temperatures.  Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) emphasized the significance of ion-dipole interaction on hydrogen bonding. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) supported microphase separated morphologies in the trialkylphosphonium polyurethanes, despite the presence of ionic interactions. Sorption isotherm experiments revealed TBP polyurethanes displayed similar water sorption profiles to the noncharged analogue and lower water absorptivity compared to TEP.  The phosphonium polyurethanes displayed significantly improved tensile strain; however, lower tensile stress of the TEP polyurethane was presumably due to absorbed water.  In addition, we also explored applications of the trialkylphosphonium polyurethanes as nucleic acid delivery vectors and demonstrated their abilities to form colloidally stable polyplexes in salt-containing media. / Ph. D.