Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Fine-Grained Topic Models Using Anchor Words, Jeffrey A. Lund

Theses and Dissertations

Topic modeling is an effective tool for analyzing the thematic content of large collections of text. However, traditional probabilistic topic modeling is limited to a small number of topics (typically no more than hundreds). We introduce fine-grained topic models, which have large numbers of nuanced and specific topics. We demonstrate that fine-grained topic models enable use cases not currently possible with current topic modeling techniques, including an automatic cross-referencing task in which short passages of text are linked to other topically related passages. We do so by leveraging anchor methods, a recent class of topic model based on non-negative matrix …

Electrical Characterization Of Crystalline Uo2, Tho2 And U0.71Th0.29O2, Christina L. Dugan

Theses and Dissertations

Uranium dioxide (UO₂), thorium dioxide (ThO₂), and U_xTh_1-xO₂ alloys are characterized for suitability in uranium-based neutron detectors. ThO₂ was studied for an envisioned UO₂/ThO₂ heterojunction. A U_0.71Th_0.29O₂ alloy was studied because of its resistance to oxidation and potential use in surface passivation. The U_0.71Th_0.29O₂ effective Debye temperature of 217± 24 K was measured using temperature-dependent x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS). The specific heat capacity for the U_0.71Th_0.29O₂ alloy was calculated from the Debye …

Evaluating An Educational Cybersecurity Playable Case Study, Tanner West Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The realities of cyberattacks have become more and more prevalent in the world today. Due to the growing number of these attacks, the need for highly trained individuals has also increased. Because of a shortage of qualified candidates for these positions, there is an increasing need for cybersecurity education within high schools and universities. In this thesis, I discuss the development and evaluation of Cybermatics, an educational simulation, or playable case study, designed to help students learn and develop skills within the cybersecurity discipline.

This playable case study was designed to allow students to gain an understanding of the field …

Designing Cybersecurity Competitions In The Cloud: A Framework And Feasibility Study, Chandler Ryan Newby

Theses and Dissertations

Cybersecurity is an ever-expanding field. In order to stay current, training, development, and constant learning are necessary. One of these training methods has historically been competitions. Cybersecurity competitions provide a method for competitors to experience firsthand cybersecurity concepts and situations. These experiences can help build interest in, and improve skills in, cybersecurity.

While there are diverse types of cybersecurity competitions, most are run with on-premise hardware, often centralized at a specific location, and are usually limited in scope by available hardware. This research focuses on the possibility of running cybersecurity competitions, specifically CCDC style competitions, in a public cloud environment. …

Enabling Auditing And Intrusion Detection Of Proprietary Controller Area Networks, Brent C. Stone

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation is to provide automated methods for security researchers to overcome ‘security through obscurity’ used by manufacturers of proprietary Industrial Control Systems (ICS). `White hat' security analysts waste significant time reverse engineering these systems' opaque network configurations instead of performing meaningful security auditing tasks. Automating the process of documenting proprietary protocol configurations is intended to improve independent security auditing of ICS networks. The major contributions of this dissertation are a novel approach for unsupervised lexical analysis of binary network data flows and analysis of the time series data extracted as a result. We demonstrate the utility …

A Microscopic Simulation Laboratory For Evaluation Of Off-Street Parking Systems, Yun Yuan

Theses and Dissertations

The parking industry produces an enormous amount of data every day that, properly analyzed, will change the way the industry operates. The collected data form patterns that, in most cases, would allow parking operators and property owners to better understand how to maximize revenue and decrease operating expenses and support the decisions such as how to set specific parking policies (e.g. electrical charging only parking space) to achieve the sustainable and eco-friendly parking.

However, there lacks an intelligent tool to assess the layout design and operational performance of parking lots to reduce the externalities and increase the revenue. To address …

River Bank Inducement Influence On A Shallow Groundwater Microbial Community And Its Effects On Aquifer Reactivity, Natalie June Gayner

Theses and Dissertations

Placing groundwater wells next to riverbanks to draw in surface water, known as riverbank inducement (RBI), is common and proposed as a promising and sustainable practice for municipal and public water production across the globe. However, these systems require further investigation to determine risks associated with river infiltration especially with rivers containing wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent. Since microbes drive biogeochemical transformations in groundwater and largely affect water quality, it is important to understand how the microbial communities in drinking water wells are affected by river infiltration. This study investigated if, and to what extent, the microbial community in a …

Zgjerueshmëria E Infrastrukturës Përmes Metodave Të Virtualizimit Të Aplikacioneve Në Nivel Të Sistemit Operativ, Altin Ukshini

Theses and Dissertations

Zhvillimi dhe menaxhimi i aplikacioneve fleksibile dhe të zgjerueshme lehtë është një sfidë operacionale dhe e dizajnimit të infrastrukturës kur kemi të bëjmë me aplikacione dhe platforma të mëdha. Virtualizimi i aplikacioneve në nivel të Sistemit Operativ (konteinerizimi) ka bërë bujë në përdorim tek infrastrukturat dhe serverët në cloud, si dhe në mënyrën se si sot zhvillohen softuerët që të jenë të zgjerueshëm në aspekt të infrastrukturës dhe fleksibilitetit të zhvillimit. Në këtë punim shtjellohet veçmas për teknologjitë e ndryshme të konteinerizimit të aplikacioneve dhe për rëndësinë që ka sot kjo teknologji në zhvillimin e softuerit dhe dizajnimin e arkitekturave …

Krahasimi Në Mes Spring Boot Framework Dhe Jee Framework, Astrit Berisha

Theses and Dissertations

Në këtë punim ne do të bëjmë dallimin dhe ngjajshmerin në mes dy framework se cila prej këtyre dy framework mundëson zhvillimin e shpejtë të aplikacioneve, zvogëlon nevojën për programim si dhe sa janë të sigurta. Meqë përdorimi i këtyre dy framework është për zhvillimin e aplikacioneve, atëherë edhe përdorimi i tyre është po aq i rëndësishëm, të cilat na tregojn se çfarë lloj programesh mund ose duhet të ndërtohet dhe si do të ndërlidhen. Gjetjet janë të bazuara në një rishikim të historisë së të dy framework, dhe veçanërisht në atë se si kane ardhur deri te zhvillimi për …

Aplikimi I Internet Of Things Në Smart City, Genita Tahiri

Theses and Dissertations

Që kur u prezantua koncepti i një Smart City, Internet of Things është konsideruar infrastruktura kryesore në një smart city. Studimi aktual përshkruan rëndësinë e teknologjive IoT në teknologji udhërrëfyesi (TRM) të një smart city. Për më tepër, rreth 200 ekspertë hulumtojnë rëndësinë dhe thelbin e komponentëve të detajuar të teknologjive IoT për një smart city. Aplikacionet e reja të IoT janë duke bërë të mundur iniciativat e Smart City në të gjithë botën. Ai siguron aftësinë për të monitoruar, menaxhuar dhe kontrolluar pajisjet në distancë, dhe për të krijuar njohuri të reja dhe informacion të zbatueshëm nga rrjedhat masive …

Analizimi Dhe Implementimi I Kornizave Të Testimit Të Automatizuar Selenium Dhe Sahi, Kaltrina Baftiu

Theses and Dissertations

Testimi është bërë pjesë integrale e ciklit të zhvillimit të softuerit (SDLC). Përmes mjeteve të automatizuara të testimit me burim të hapur, kostoja e tërë procesit të testimit, si dhe koha që duhet për të kryer procesin e testimit, është zvogëluar ndjeshëm. Qëllimi kryesor i këtij materiali hulumtues është të analizojë mjetet e testimit të internetit Selenium dhe Sahi për të krahasuar karakteristikat e tyre dhe performancën në mënyrë që një përdorues i veçantë të mund të zgjedhë një mjet që është i përshtatshëm në aspektin e përdorshmërisë dhe karakteristikat e kërkuara për një detyrë specifike. Zgjedhja e një kornize …

Siguria E Të Dhënave Në Implementimet E Iot Në Sistemet Ehealth, Iliriana Shala

Theses and Dissertations

Në jetën tonë të sotme ne gjithmonë duhet të merremi me informacionin që luan një rol të rëndësishem në jetën tonë.Njëra nga burimet kryesore të informacionit është padyshim interneti.Gjërat që na rrethojnë po veprojnë me zgjuarsi dhe po e bëjnë jetën tonë njerëzore më të mençur.Këto gjëra veprojnë me zgjuarsi pasi janë të lidhura me internetin dhe kështu quhen “Internet of Things (IoT)”.Pajisjet e IoT mbledhin dhe i shpërndajnë informatat direkt me njëra tjetrën në cloud platforma, duke e bërë të mundur grumbullimin, ruajtjen dhe analizimin e të dhënave më shpejtë dhe më saktë.IoT ofron një premtim të madh në …

Menaxhimi I Rrezikut Të Sigurisë Së Informacionit, Valon Perçuku

Theses and Dissertations

Ky punim është përpjekja ime për ta trajtuar çështjen e menaxhimit të rrezikut të sigurisë së informacionit si dhe aspektin se si rreziku perceptohet nga organizatat. Gjatë punimit nuk kam bërë ndonjë dallim të theksuar nga ajo se si organizatat apo kompanitë lokale në Kosovë operojnë krahas atyre ndërkombëtare; kjo sepse, ka pak dallim në mënyrën që operojmë. Si në Kosovë ashtu edhe ndërkombëtarisht organizatat janë të vëna përballë një rreziku që ka formën ndoshta edhe natyrën e njëjtë, përveç probabilitetit që mund të jetë më i madh bazuar në natyrën e organizatës dhe perceptimit global që ka, edhe në …

The Built Landscape And Ecological Behavior: Patterns For Readdressing Environmental Thinking In Residence Hall Design, Sarah Keogh

Theses and Dissertations

This research addresses how architectural design processes and practices are implicated and/or reflected in social constructions of ecological thinking. It is generally recognized that human behaviors are affecting climate change and giving rise to a plethora of ecological issues; yet a transformation of widespread behavior has not yet followed. This raises questions. In the field of architecture, how can the built landscape function to encourage and support sustainable behavior patterns?

Looking at universities as locations that are embedded in their urban contexts and have influence both on their surrounding communities and on year after year of students who pass through, …

Graphene-Based Materials Coated On Zeolite For The Removal Of Persistent Organic Pollutants From Water, Yan Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

Adsorption is a fast, low-cost and the most commonly implemented water treatment technology for the removal of multiple contaminations from ground water, drinking water or wastewater. Difficulties in removing persistent organic pollutants (POPs) to improve quality and safety of treated water sources require the exploration of novel and multifunctional materials. Graphene-based materials having unique structures, high specific surface areas and tailorable functional groups are promising candidates as adsorbents.

The main goal of this work is to fabricate a novel adsorbent made of GO/rGO attached on natural zeolite substrates for the removal of variably charged organic model compounds and POPs in …

Shorter And Improved Access To The Key Tetracyclic Core Of Sarpagine-Macroline-Ajmaline Indole Alkaloids: The Total Synthesis Of Alkaloids Macrocarpines A-G, Talcarpine, N(4)-Methyl-N(4),21-Secotalpinine, Deoxyperaksine, Dihydroperaksine, Talpinine, O-Acetyltalpinine, And N(4)-Methyltalpinine, Md Toufiqur Rahman

Theses and Dissertations

Extension of the asymmetric Pictet-Spengler (P-S) reaction to bulkier Nb-alkylated tryptophan derivatives resulted in a shorter and improved stereospecific access to the key bicyclo[3.3.1]nonane framework of bioactive C-19 methyl substituted sarpagine/macro-line/ajmaline indole alkaloids with excellent diastereoselectivity via internal asymmetric induction. The asymmetric Pictet-Spengler/Dieckmann protocol with bulky Nb-alkyl substituted systems enabled a more direct and two-step shorter route to this key architecture. Complete stereocontrol of the C-19 methyl function in either the α- or β-configuration was achieved which would enable one to gain rapid access to the crucial intermediates for the total synthesis of any member of this group of seventy …

Improving The Quality Of Neural Machine Translation Using Terminology Injection, Duane K. Dougal

Theses and Dissertations

Most organizations use an increasing number of domain- or organization-specific words and phrases. A translation process, whether human or automated, must also be able to accurately and efficiently use these specific multilingual terminology collections. However, comparatively little has been done to explore the use of vetted terminology as an input to machine translation (MT) for improved results. In fact, no single established process currently exists to integrate terminology into MT as a general practice, and especially no established process for neural machine translation (NMT) exists to ensure that the translation of individual terms is consistent with an approved terminology collection. …

Normally Supportive Sublattices Of Crystallographic Space Groups, Miles A. Clemens

Theses and Dissertations

Normal subgroups can be thought of as the primary building blocks for decomposing mathematicalgroups into quotient groups. The properties of the resulting quotient groups are oftenused to determine properties of the group itself. This thesis considers normal subgroups of threedimensionalcrystallographic space groups that are themselves three-dimensional crystallographicspace groups; for convenience, we refer to such a subgroup as a csg-normal subgroup. We identifypractical restrictions on csg-normal subgroups that facilitate their tabulation. First, the point groupof an csg-normal subgroup must be a normal subgroup of the crystallographic point group of thespace group, which we refer to for convenience as a cpg-normal subgroup. …

Endocytosis As An Additional Mechanism Of Glucose Transport To The Hexose Transporter In Trypanosoma Brucei, Jongsu Choi

Theses and Dissertations

Trypanosoma brucei is an extracellular kineotoplastid parasite that causes human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness. As trypanosomes undergo vector to host transition, heavy transcriptional adaptation such as metabolic shift to glycolysis and upregulated endocytosis occurs. Specifically, glycolysis in the infectious stage becomes the sole source of energy production; thus, the glucose transport mechanism in T. brucei provides one of the most promising therapeutic targets for development of new drugs to treat HAT. Despite an established trypanosome hexose transporter (THT) model for glucose transport across the plasma membrane, there remains gaps in the detailed mechanism of glucose transport …

Penetration Depth Variation In Atomic Layer Deposition On Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Forests, David Alan Kane

Theses and Dissertations

Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) of Al2O3 on tall multiwalled carbon nanotube forests shows concentration variation with the depth in the form of discrete steps. While ALD is capable of extremely conformal deposition in high aspect ratio structures, decreasing penetration depth has been observed over multiple thermal ALD cycles on 1.3 mm tall multiwalled carbon nanotube forests. SEM imaging with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy elemental analysis shows steps of decreasing intensity corresponding to decreasing concentrations of Al2O3. A study of these steps suggests that they are produced by a combination of diffusion limited delivery of precursors with increasing precursor adsorption site …

Concurrency Analysis In Javascript Programs Using Arrows, Joshua Cochrane

Theses and Dissertations

Concurrency errors are difficult to detect and correct in asynchronous programs such as those implemented in JavaScript. One reason is that it is often difficult to keep track of which parts of the program may execute in parallel and potentially share resources in unexpected, and perhaps unintended, ways. While programming constructs such as promises can help improve the readability of asynchronous JavaScript programs that were traditionally written using callbacks, there are no static tools to identify asynchronous functions that run in parallel, which may potentially cause concurrency errors.

In this work, we present a solution for implementing JavaScript programs using …

Conversion Of A Simulator Written In C++ To Js And Optimizing The Simulation Parameters Using Evolutionary Algorithms, Venkata Sivasai Pavan Kumar Lottala

Theses and Dissertations

A discrete event simulator written in C++ is converted in to Java Script, that tracks the

blood glucose level of a person in response to a timed sequence of diet and exercise activities. Its

main objective is to capture the average impact of the various diet/exercise activities on the blood

glucose level. The main aim for translation of the code in to Java Script is that the simulator can

be hosted on the Google Firebase Cloud and can be available for the public use. The optimization

of the simulator parameters such as excretionKidney_impact, glut4Impact_,

glycolysisMinImpact_, gngImpact_, peakinsulinLevel_, glycolysisMaxImpact_,

liverGlycogenBreakdownImpact_ and …

Multidecadal Variability In Climate Models And Observations, Alex Carl Oser

Theses and Dissertations

Climate change attribution and prediction using state-of-the-art models continue to garner an ever-growing focus amongst both the scientific community and public alike. Recent analyses showing discrepancies in the structure of modeled and observed decadal climate variability (DCV), therefore, have engendered efforts to not only diagnose the dynamics underpinning observed DCV, but also to characterize the behavior of DCV within climate models. In this thesis, we employ Multichannel Singular Spectrum Analysis (M-SSA) to show that while the DCV signal in observations is best described as a coherent oscillation with complex propagation across the globe, modeled DCV lacks this structure altogether. Specifically, …

The Strong Law Of Large Numbers For U-Statistics Under Random Censorship, Jan Höft

Theses and Dissertations

We introduce a semi-parametric U-statistics estimator for randomly right censored data. We will study the strong law of large numbers for this estimator under proper assumptions about the conditional expectation of the censoring indicator with re- spect to the observed life times. Moreover we will conduct simulation studies, where the semi-parametric estimator is compared to a U-statistic based on the Kaplan- Meier product limit estimator in terms of bias, variance and mean squared error, under different censoring models.

Dynamic Pricing With Variable Order Sizes For A Model With Constant Demand Elasticity, Nyles Kirk Breecher

Theses and Dissertations

We investigate a dynamic pricing model under constant demand elasticity which accounts for customers ordering multiple items at once. A closed form expression for the optimal expected revenue and pricing strategy is found. Models with the same demand are shown to have asymptotically similar expected revenue and pricing strategies, even if the order size distributions of the customers are different. Surprisingly, the relative difference between comparable models is shown to be independent of time and the magnitude of demand. Variations of the model are considered, including different low inventory behavior as well as the effect of advertising. Some numerical simulations …

Triebel-Lizorkin Spaces Estimates For Evolution Equations With Structure Dissipation, Jingchun Chen

Theses and Dissertations

This work is concerned with the long time decay estimates of the generalized heat equations and the generalized wave equations in the homogeneous Triebel-Lizorkin spaces. We first extend the known results for the generalized heat equations in the real Hardy spaces. We also extend the known results for the generalized wave equations with structure dissipation in the real Hardy spaces.

The main tools employed are the decomposition of the unit, duality property in Triebel-Lizorkin spaces and the multiplier theorems in different function spaces such as Lebesgue spaces, real Hardy spaces and Triebel-Lizorkin spaces.

Analyzing Ductile Shear Zone Network Geometries In The Grassy Portage Sill, Rainy Lake Region, Northwestern Ontario, Canada, Ernest John Thalhamer

Theses and Dissertations

The Grassy Portage Sill (GPS) is a ~2.7 Ga metagabbroic sill located in the Rainy Lake region of northwestern Ontario. The Rainy Lake region is located in the Superior Province between the metavolcanic Wabigoon subprovince to the north and the metasedimentary Quetico subprovince to the south. Two regional faults bound the region and intersect to the east, forming a wedge which defines the Rainy Lake zone. This area was regionally deformed due to oblique transpression, resulting from the Kenoran Orogeny (~2.7 Ga). The GPS is approximately 20 km long and 1-2 km wide, and has undergone heterogeneous strain along its …

Waddle - Always-Canonical Intermediate Representation, Eric Drew Fritz

Theses and Dissertations

Program transformations that are able to rely on the presence of canonical properties of the program undergoing optimization can be written to be more robust and efficient than an equivalent but generalized transformation that also handles non-canonical programs. If a canonical property is required but broken earlier in an earlier transformation, it must be rebuilt (often from scratch). This additional work can be a dominating factor in compilation time when many transformations are applied over large programs. This dissertation introduces a methodology for constructing program transformations so that the program remains in an always-canonical form as the program is mutated, …

Cost-Effective Load Scheduling For Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems, Avinash Shashikala Rajendra

Theses and Dissertations

Hybrid renewable energy systems offer great promise for the future. However, some lingering concerns regarding stability and cost efficiency still exist. If a private party installs the system and maintains full control, the party may itself alleviate some of these problems by wisely optimizing the benefits offered by the system. One of the ways to do so is to develop a schedule for their load such that the cost incurred is minimized; this is done by maximally utilizing the renewable sources of energy before using the backup options of more conventional energy sources. Creating such a schedule involves considering several …

Oxidation Of Carbon Monoxide Over Ceria And Alumina Supported Palladium Catalysts, John Davis Gary

Theses and Dissertations

Palladium catalysts on both Al2O3 and CeO2, supports were studied for efficacy in low temperature carbon monoxide oxidation. Calcination temperatures were varied between 500-900°C for alumina supported catalysts and shown to have no significant difference in activity. X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy studies revealed structural changes associated with palladium states and reacted catalysts and displayed a change from palladium oxide (PdO) to native palladium oxide (PdOx) and elemental palladium (Pd). Activity studies were conducted on all catalysts synthesized and indicated that Pd/Al2O3 achieved 100% CO conversion at 150°C when calcined at 500°C and pretreated with reduction process. Pd/CeO2 showed higher activity and …