Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Multi-Scale Modeling Of Microbial Defection In The Presence Of Antibiotics, Darshan Dilip Nahar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Limited environmental resources push life into competition. In terms of microbes, we assume that the only goal is to grow and competition means to grow faster than the peers. Organisms tend to adapt to their environmental conditions and improve their efficiency in using the common resources to grow faster. While different organisms compete they engage into various social behaviors like cooperation to work together towards a common goal, e.g., production of public goods that benefits the entire population. Hence a part of the resources at hand is dedicated to participate in cooperative activities if the cost-to-benefit ratio is less than …

Pathway Pioneer: Heterogeneous Server Architecture For Scientific Visualization And Pathway Search In Metabolic Network Using Informed Search, Vipul Kantilal Oswal

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

PathwayPioneer is a website to visualize the biological models. The complex metabolic models are hard to perceive when read through text format. It is even more difficult to understand the flow of network and different subsystem or pathways. PathwayPioneer organizes different subsystems into simple graphical representation. We simplify the complex network based on subsystem and compartment. Users can do computation (flux balance analysis) through the user interface and perceive the changed model visually. Our system is one of its kind to handle large model files with quick response time.

Biologists are often interested in knowing different alternative pathways targeting a …

Soil Water Flux Estimates From Streaming Potential And Penta-Needle Heat Pulse Probe Measurements, Pawel J. Szafruga

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Growing populations, coupled with climate change and resource depletion, have heightened concern about water management. The growing need to better manage agricultural systems, including irrigation and fertilizer application, as well the lasting consequences of excess application of nitrogen and other nutrients, could be remedied with an improved method to monitor soil water movement. Despite huge technological advances, a tool to measure soil water flow at the low rates found in the field has not been developed. Current methods lack the precision to provide the needed accuracy to fully understand soil-water dynamics, as well as the ability to provide instantaneous information. …

Structure And Multi-Center Bonding: From Atomic Clusters To Solid Phase Materials, Timur R. Galeev

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The work presented in this dissertation has been focused on structure, stability, and chemical bonding of atomic clusters and solid-state compounds. The common thread was development of theoretical models and methods capable of interpreting bonding and hence, structures of these species. A major part of this work presents joint experimental and theoretical studies of a large series of doped boron clusters. The dissertation introduces a new theoretical tool for interpretation of bonding of solid phase materials in chemically intuitive terms of localized and multi-center bonds. Understanding how interactions between atoms in sub-nano clusters and solid-state compounds determine their structures, physical …

Computational Models Of Intracellular And Intercellular Processes In Developmental Biology, Ahmadreza Ghaffarizadeh

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Systems biology takes a holistic approach to biological questions as it applies mathematical modeling to link and understand the interaction of components in complex biological systems. Multiscale modeling is the only method that can fully accomplish this aim. Mutliscale models consider processes at different levels that are coupled within the modeling framework. A first requirement in creating such models is a clear understanding of processes that operate at each level. This research focuses on modeling aspects of biological development as a complex process that occurs at many scales. Two of these scales were considered in this work: cellular differentiation, the …

Hamiltonicity, Pancyclicity, And Cycle Extendability In Graphs, Deborah C. Arangno

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A significant portion of Graph Theory is devoted to determining the characteristics which guarantee the existence of long cycles.

Long cycles have roles in applications to civil engineering, chemistry, and communications, among many others, but the problem, in and of itself, of determining whether a graph has a cycle of some fixed and typically large length is one of the most important problems of both pure Mathematics and Computer Science.

A cycle containing all the vertices of the graph is called a Hamiltonian cycle, and a graph which possesses such a cycle is said to be Hamiltonian. If …

Understanding Local Perceptions And The Role Of Historical Context In Ecotourism Development: A Case Study Of St. Kitts, Amber Greening

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ecotourism is a popular tool for the conservation of fragile ecosystems and local development of the communities surrounding them. It is widely argued that the key to effective and sustainable ecotourism programs relies on the depth of community involvement and support. This research reveals a better understanding of community members’ perceptions of ecotourism and conservation, and how these perceptions potentially influence participation in current and future ecotourism projects within the villages of Cayon and Keys on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts. Data were collected through several qualitative methods including: face-to-face surveys with Cayon and Keys villagers; interviews with government …

Bay Of Bengal: Coupling Of Pre-Monsoon Tropical Cyclones With The Monsoon Onset In Myanmar, Boniface Opoku Fosu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Myanmar remained largely closed to the world through political instability for several years, when it continued to suffer terribly at the hands of nature that remained largely unknown. Of note is the period between 2008 and 2013, during which the country suffered at least eight major natural calamities that killed more than 141,000 people and affected 3.2 million. The worst of these was Cyclone Nargis in May 2008 that killed more than 130,000. With an estimated $4 billion in damages, Nargis remains the deadliest and most destructive named cyclone ever to have occurred in the North Indian Ocean. Recent studies …

Modeling The Defect Density Of States Of Disordered Sio2 Through Cathodoluminescence, Amberly Evans Jensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Spacecraft charging is the accumulation of an electrical charge on orbiting spacecraft induced by the space plasma environment and has harmful effects on the electrical functionality of a spacecraft. This is studied extensively, particularly in the Materials Physics Group (MPG) at Utah State University (USU). During charging studies performed by the MPG, another potentially problematic effect of the space plasma environment on spacecraft was observed: light emanating from the sample undergoing electron beam bombardment. Space-based observatories are one type of spacecraft on which this luminescence may occur. If the luminescence from the material caused by the space plasma is within …

Conformal Gravity And Time, Jeffrey Shafiq Hazboun

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Within the last year, two acclaimed physics experiments have probed further into the extremes of our physical understanding. The Large Hadron Collider, the largest experiment ever constructed, has detected a Higgs boson, which establishes a mass scale for the fundamental particles. The Planck mission satellite has made the most accurate measurements of the cosmic microwave background radiation, which is the oldest data about the early universe we are currently able to measure directly. The mission corroborated the proportions of dark matter and dark energy are all very close to expected values. While these experiments have helped solidify the current working …

Network Applications And The Utah Homeless Network, Michael A. Snyder

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Graph theory is the foundation on which social network analysis (SNA) is built. With the flood of "big data," graph theoretical concepts and their linear algebraic counterparts are essential tools for analysis in the burgeoning field of network data analysis, in which SNA is a subset. Here we begin with an overview of SNA. We then discuss the common descriptive measures taken on network data as well as proposing new measures specific to homeless networks. We also define a new data structure which we call the location sequence matrix. This data structure makes certain computational network analyses particularly easy. …

Climate Forcings On Groundwater Variations In Utah And The Great Basin, Kirsti A. Hakala

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Groundwater levels over northern Utah have undergone a declining trend since the 1960’s. This trend has made apparent the need to understand the relationship between climate and groundwater resources. Such necessary information is already in dire need in places such as California. At the close of 2013, California had experienced its driest year in recorded history, with severe drought continuing for the foreseeable future. Utah is the second driest state in the U.S., and therefore has been paying close attention to California’s current water crises. Water resource projections may prove to be one of the most vital pieces of information …

Statistical Modeling, Exploration, And Visualization Of Snow Water Equivalent Data, James Beguah Odei

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Due to a continual increase in the demand for water as well as an ongoing regional drought, there is an imminent need to monitor and forecast water resources in the Western United States. In particular, water resources in the Intermountain West rely heavily on snow water storage. Thus, the need to improve seasonal forecasts of snowpack and considering new techniques would allow water resources to be more effectively managed throughout the entire water-year. Many available models used in forecasting snow water equivalent (SWE) measurements require delicate calibrations.

In contrast to the physical SWE models most commonly used for forecasting, we …

Online Media Use And Adoption By Hurricane Sandy Affected Fire And Police Departments, Apoorva Chauhan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this thesis work, I examine the use and adoption of online communication media by 840 fire and police departments that were affected by the 2012 Hurricane Sandy. I began by exploring how and why these fire and police departments used (or did not use) online media to communicate with the public during Hurricane Sandy. Results show that fire and police departments used online media during Hurricane Sandy to give timely and relevant information to the public about things such as evacuations, damages, weather, and cleanup and to engage in two-way communications with their constituents. In their messages, fire and …

Information And Hardness Quantification Of Graphs: A Computational Study, Brent Dutson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

New techniques to measure the information contained within a network of interconnected nodes (such as links between computers in the Internet) have recently been developed. This work studies the relationship between the computer time needed to solve a common network problem and the information contained within the given network.

Minimizing Aggregate Movements For Interval Coverage, Aaron M. Andrews

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

We present an efficient algorithm for solving an interval coverage problem. Given n intervals of the same length on a line L and a line segment B on L, we want to move the intervals along L such that every point of B is covered by at least one interval and the sum of the moving distances of all intervals is minimized. As a fundamental computational geometry problem, it has applications in mobile sensor barrier coverage in wireless sensor networks. The previous work gave an O(n²) time algorithm for it. In this thesis, by discovering …

Multiplicity Results Of Periodic Solutions For Two Classes Of Nonlinear Problems, Kazuya Hata

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

We investigate the existences and qualitative properties of periodic solutions of the following two classes of nonlinear differential equations:

I) (Special) Relativistic Pendulum Equations (RPEs);

II) (2-coupled) Gross-Pitaevskii Equations (GPEs).

The pendulum equation describes the motion of a pendulum. According to Special Relativity, which was published by A. Einstein in 1905, causality is more fundamental than constant time-space, thus time will flow slower and space will distort to keep causality if the speed of motion is near the speed of light. In such high speed situations, the pendulum equation needs to be revised due to Special Relativity. The revised equation …

Linking Montane Soil Moisture Measurements To Evapotranspiration Using Inverse Numerical Modeling, Ling Lv

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Evapotranspiration (ET) and soil moisture play important roles in annual water delivered from snowpack to reservoirs, lakes and streams. Indeed, ET and soil moisture are key factors dictating the performance of the regional climate models in the intermountain west (IMW) of the USA. Water resources management and climate modeling require accurate prediction of ET and areal soil moisture for reliable estimates of ongoing and future water needs. This research has examined ways to estimate ET from four common vegetation types in the IMW (aspen, conifer, grass and sage) using local soil moisture measurements from an advanced instrumentation network located in …

Exploring Visitor Attitudes Toward The Proposed Greater Canyonlands National Monument: A Survey In Utah's Indian Creek Corridor, Chase C. Lamborn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In August of 2012, the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to designate the Greater Canyonlands National Monument (GCNM). The proposed 1.4 million acre national monument would surround the already present 337,570 acre Canyonlands National Park, and would include public lands/waterways from five Utah counties. The OIA’s goal for the GCNM is to preserve the landscape for quality outdoor recreation by decreasing the amount of off-highway vehicle use and to eliminate the possibility of oil/gas drilling and mining. Given the proposal highlights outdoor recreation use benefits as the main catalyst for justification of …

The Human Dimensions Of Climate Change: Smallholder Perception And Adaptation In The Loess Plateau Region Of China, Morey Burnham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Climate change poses problems for agriculture in the Global South. Smallholders in the Global South are often considered highly vulnerable to climate change as a result of their farms being located in marginal environments, their insecure land tenure and lack of technology, and their participation in unpredictable regional and world markets. Analyzing how smallholders perceive climate change and attendant risk, the factors that enable and constrain their adaptive capacity, and the social impacts of state led projects designed to mitigate the impacts of climate change may provide crucial insights for developing effective climate adaption projects and policies. This research examined …

Improving Reuse And Maintainability Of Communication Software With Conversation-Aware Aspects, Ali Raza

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Inter-process communications (IPC) are ubiquitous in today’s software systems, yet they are rarely treated as first-class programming concepts. Implementing crosscutting concerns for message-based IPC are difficult, even using aspect-oriented programming languages (AOPL) such as AspectJ. Many of these challenges are because the context of a communication-related crosscutting concern is often a conversation consisting of message sends and receives. Hence, developers typically have to implement communication protocols manually using primitive operations, such as connect, send, receive, and close. This dissertation describes an extension to AspectJ, called CommJ, with which developers can implement communication-related concerns in cohesive and loosely coupled aspects. It …

Physically Based Preconditioning Techniques Applied To The First Order Particle Transport And To Fluid Transport In Porous Media, Michael Rigley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Solving linear systems is at the heart of many scientific applications from the PreAlgebra's student solving for x and y for basic geometry problems to the computational scientist solving billions of equations with billions of variables for weather forecasting, modeling fusion reactions, or web search algorithms. In this study we look at improving the efficiency of solving large linear systems that result from two applications. The first includes linear systems that result from solving differential equations for the movement of atomic particles in particle emitting, void, and absorbing regions. The second includes solving linear systems that result from solving differential …

A Computer-Aided Training (Cat) System For Short Track Speed Skating, Chenguang Liu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Short track speed skating was adopted by the International Skating Union in 1967, and upgraded to full winter Olympic sport status in 1992. Even though its history is short compared with long track speed skating, it became popular around the world because it is more intense and more entertaining for audiences. The demands of having a CAT system for gathering and analyzing competition data automatically is raising drastically due to its growing popularity all around the world.

There have been some commercial systems for some other sports, which are able to provide extrinsic feedback information to coaches and athletes. However, …

Fault And Fluid Interactions In The Elsinore Fault-West Salton Detachment Fault Damage Zones, Agua Caliente County Park, California, Rebekah Erin Wood

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study area provides a unique opportunity to study the intersection of the Elsinore and West Salton detachment faults in southern California, effusing warm springs, and alteration products in the midst of the fault intersection. Structural mapping and compiling previous maps supply an interpretation of the fault zone geometries within the Tierra Blanca Mountains. Geochemical analysis of the crystalline basement and altered protolith help determine the effects of faulting and fluid flow in the study area. In the Tierra Blanca Mountains, the Elsinore strike-slip fault system transitions from the double-stranded Julian segment and Earthquake Valley fault in the northwest, to …

Computational Topics In Lie Theory And Representation Theory, Thomas J. Apedaile

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The computer algebra system Maple contains a basic set of commands for working with Lie algebras and matrices. The purpose of this thesis was to extend the functionality of these Maple packages in a number of important areas. First, programs for defining multiplication in several different types of algebras were created to allow users to perform a wider variety of calculations. Second, commands were created for calculating some basic properties of matrix representations of semisimple Lie algebras. This allows a user to identify a given matrix representation by a collection of integers which do not change when the basis of …

Decision Making Using Trust And Risk In Self-Adaptive Agent Organization, Kamilia Ahmadi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Interaction between agents is one of the key factors in multi-agent societies in order to cooperatively execute complex tasks which are beyond the capability of a single agent. In the self-adaptation society, agents try to keep best neighbors around themselves. Agents use history of past iterations to evaluate their neighbors and locally modify their structural links. Main characteristics of this model are its decentralization, dynamicity and no need of external control. This research at first deals with implementing self-adaptive agent organization. Then it focuses on evaluating cooperation peers in decision making. Trust as an evaluation mechanism lies at the core …

Family-Wise Error Rate Control In Quantitative Trait Loci (Qtl) Mapping And Gene Ontology Graphs With Remarks On Family Selection, Garrett Saunders

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

One of the great aims of statistics, the science of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data, is to protect against the probability of falsely rejecting an accepted claim, or hypothesis, given observed data stemming from some experiment. This is generally known as protecting against a Type I Error, or controlling the Type I Error rate. The extension of this protection against Type I Errors to the situation where thousands upon thousands of hypothesis are examined simultaneously is known as multiple hypothesis testing. This dissertation presents an improvement to an existing multiple hypothesis testing approach, the Focus Level method, specific to gene …

Gravitational Wave Astrophysics With Compact Binary Systems, Eric Addison

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of spacetime that convey information about changing gravitational fields. Large-scale detection projects are currently in operation, and more advanced detectors are being designed and built. Though we have yet to make a direct detection of a gravitational wave signal, upgrades to current detectors are expected to bring the first detections within the next year or two.

Gravitational waves will bring us information about astrophysical phenomena that is complementary to the information gained from photon-based observations (e.g., telescopes and radio receivers). One of the primary sources of gravitational waves are binary systems: two massive …

Pathway Pioneer: A Web-Based Metabolic Network Layout Extension, Harsh Dosi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The number and complexity of genome-scale metabolic networks have seen a rapid growth in the past 10 years. Today, more than 450 genome-scale metabolic reconstructions of biological systems are characterized and existing models are extended. With the growing influence of these reconstructions on biomedical and biological research, the field has observed a shift from an inward focus on method development to an outward focus on application development.

Static state analysis of metabolic networks in textual format is too cumbersome and time consuming. In addition, visualization and arrangement of these networks to facilitate their analysis is an open research problem. A …

Pathway Pioneer: A Web-Based Graphical Tool For The Organization And Flux Analysis Of Metabolic Networks, Sumit Kumar Singh

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Every so often the field of genome-scale metabolic networks undergoes radical changes, each bringing its own complexity and challenges. The existing visualization tools, owing to their inability to assist in generating layouts suitable for easy readability and conceptualization, hinder further advancement. The lack of in-depth comprehensible representation of the intricacies of interaction and arrangements within the network topology prevents researchers from being able to advance at a faster speed despite the growing number of networks and systems. The far and wide diverse standards, layout schemas and network formats of the biological realm contribute to the existing challenges of developing visualization …