In this paper, the study of k-fold branched coverings for which the branch set is a stratified set is considered. First of all, the existence of universal k-fold branched coverings over CW-complexes with stratified branch set is proved using Brown's Representability Theorem. Next, an explicit construction of universal k-fold branched coverings over manifolds is given. Finally, some homotopy and homology groups are computed for some specific examples of Universal k-fold branched coverings.

The dissertation focuses on the structure of π-regular (regular) rings.

In this paper I formulate an explicit wavelet transform that, applied to any distribution in S^1(R^2), yields a function on phase space whose high-frequency singularities coincide precisely with the wave front set of the distribution. This characterizes the wave front set of a distribution in terms of the singularities of its wavelet transform with respect to a suitably chosen basic wavelet.

A continuous convex function on an open interval of the real line is differentiable everywhere except on a countable subset of its domain. There has been interest in the problem of characterizing those Banach spaces where the continuous functions exhibit similar differentiability properties. In this paper we show that if a Banach space E has property (H*) and B_E• is weak* sequentially compact, then E is an Asplund space. In the case where the space is weakly compactly generated, it is shown that property (H*) is equivalent for the space to admit an equivalent Frechet differentiable norm. Moreover, we define the SH* spaces, show that every SH* space is an Asplund space, and show that every weakly sequentially complete SH* space is reflexive. Also, we study the relation between property (H*) and the asymptotic norming property (ANP). By a slight modification of the ANP we define the ANP*, and show that if the dual of a Banach spaces has the ANP*-I then the space admits an equivalent Fréchet differentiability norm, and that the ANP*-II is equivalent to the space having property (H*) and the closed unit ball of the dual is weak* sequentially compact. Also, we show that in the …

In this dissertation the results of Jerrum and Sinclair on the conductance of Markov chains are used to prove that almost all generalized Steinhaus graphs are rapidly mixing and an algorithm for the uniform generation of 2 - (4k + 1,4,1) cyclic Mendelsohn designs is developed.