Digital Commons Network^™

Angularity Evaluation Of Coarse Aggregates Based On Local Feature Extraction Of Point Clouds, Ma Quanzhuo, Feng Ponan, Feng Zezhong, Lei Mingyu, Wang Zhenfeng, Li Jiange

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

The morphological characteristics of coarse aggregates significantly affect the mechanical properties of asphalt mixtures and thus directly influence their road performance and durability. This paper aims to innovatively propose an evaluation method for the angularity of coarse aggregates. A three-dimensional (3D) scanner was used to acquire the surface profile information of coarse aggregates, and local angularity features were extracted through point cloud data analysis. Subsequently, a comprehensive 3D angularity evaluation index for coarse aggregates (A3D) was proposed by combining local normal vectors and curvature characteristics. The results indicate that A3D can be more accurately and independently used for angularity evaluation. …

Optimization Design And Experimental Study On Strength Of Ternary Industrial Solid Waste Mixtures, Yang Shu, Ai Yi, Sheng Shanwang, Li Chuangmin

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

This paper aims to explore whether fly ash, lithium slag, and slag powder (ternary industrial solid wastes) can effectively replace cement as cementitious materials for interlocking large-particle crushed stone bases. A uniform design table U9(94) was used to design the test scheme for the mixing ratios of ternary industrial solid waste mixtures; the correlation between the mortar strength and the ternary industrial solid waste mixtures was analyzed by Pearson correlation; with the help of the mathematical statistical software SPSS 26.0, mathematical models for the flexural strength and compressive strength of the ternary industrial solid waste mixture mortar specimens were established. …

Instructions To Authors, Academy Editors

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Laminarin-Loaded Solid-In-Oil Nanodispersion For Enhanced Non-Invasive Transdermal Immunization, Md. Shahin Ekka Sarker, Yoshirou Kawaguchi, Rie C. Wakabayashi, Noriho J. Kamiya, Muhammad Moniruzzaman, Masahiro Goto

Publications and Research

Simple and non-invasive transdermal vaccination is an attractive alternative to conventional injection-based immunization. However, the effectiveness of transdermal vaccines is often constrained by the stratum corneum barrier. Although the use of solid-in-oil (S/O) nanodispersion technology has successfully facilitated skin permeation to induce an immunological response, the antibody titers remain suboptimal. Herein, a dectin-1 selective ligand, laminarin, was used as an immunostimulatory adjuvant to enhance the immune response. S/O nanodispersions loaded with laminarin and ovalbumin (OVA) were systematically developed and characterized in terms of particle size, in vitro OVA release behavior, and skin permeation performance using excised mouse skin. In vivo …

Friction Stir Processing Of Cobalt-Chromium-Molybdenum For Improvements In Biomedical Applications, Kaleb Kiyoshi Bates

Theses and Dissertations

Friction Stir Processing (FSP) has been investigated as a means of microstructural modification aimed at improving mechanical properties such as corrosion resistance and wear resistance of biomedical-grade cobalt-chromium-molybdenum (CoCrMo) alloy. FSP was successfully completed on high-carbon ASTM F1537 CoCrMo plates with operating temperatures ranging from 630°C to 850°C by adjusting spindle speed, traverse speed, and forge force. Hardness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance testing were performed, along with Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) to analyze grain refinement and phase structure. FSP produced grain refinement up to 97% relative to the untreated baseline across the investigated temperature range, with lower processing temperatures …

Lafe0.925ti0.075o3 Perovskite Coated With Ethyl Cellulose: A High-Stability, Low-Hysteresis Platform For Advanced Humidity Sensing, Akhmad Futukhillah Fataba Alaih, Djoko Triyono, Rifqi Almusawi Rafsanjani

Makara Journal of Science

Humidity sensors are pivotal in numerous sectors, such as environmental monitoring, industrial automation, and health-care. This study presents the fabrication and detailed evaluation of an advanced humidity sensor using ethyl cellulose (EC)-coated LaFe_0.925Ti_0.075O₃ (LFTO) perovskite nanoparticles synthesized via the sol-gel method. The LFTO nanopar-ticles exhibited a mesoporous structure with an enhanced surface area, which significantly improved their moisture adsorption capabilities. The innovative application of EC coating addresses critical substrate adhesion issues, enhancing mechanical stability without compromising sensor sensitivity. Comprehensive performance evaluations revealed minimal hysteresis (

Transport And Interfacial Dynamics Of Electrochemical Formation Processes In Li-Based Batteries, Penghao Zhang

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Next-generation high-capacity batteries often rely on electrochemical formation processes rather than conventional intercalation alone. Such processes include lithium metal deposition and Li–O2 discharge-product formation, in which new phases form at the electrochemical interface during operation. As a result, the measured response reflects both electrochemical driving forces and the evolving product morphology. This coupling makes it difficult to interpret electrochemical data, microscopic observations, or model results in isolation. This dissertation examines this problem through three main studies and one preliminary extension on Li–O2 batteries and lithium metal deposition, each addressing a different factor that affects how electrochemical product formation is measured, …

Improved Method Of Evaluating Gas-Phase Air Cleaners Considering Adsorption And Desorption Mechanisms To And From Internal Test Chamber Surfaces, Casey Douglas Coffland

Dissertations and Theses

Portable air cleaners are playing an increasingly important role in managing indoor air quality in response to pressing issues like wildfire smoke events. Smoke is a complex mixture of gases and particulate matter; while established test methods exist for particulate matter, the dynamic behavior of gaseous pollutants is not well accounted for in current test methods. This is because prevailing air cleaner testing methods typically treat background losses as irreversible, whereas gases can engage in partitioning to and from test chamber surfaces. Ignoring these sorption interactions causes inaccurate estimation of an air cleaner's impact.

A new approach has been developed …

Toward A Metric For Disciplinary Learning In The Age Of Ai: The Unblooms™ Metacognitive Awareness Scale And Discernment Rate In Ai-Mediated Learning, Tina R. Austin

International Journal of Emerging and Disruptive Innovation in Education : VISIONARIUM

Telling students to “reflect on their own thinking” has become insufficient in AI-mediated learning environments. When students are rewarded for polished outputs, cognitive offloading to AI tools becomes rational, and traditional snapshot assessments (single-moment evaluations of task completion) produce false signals about whether durable learning has occurred. This problem is sharpened by the broader shift in AI learning tools toward Socratic tutors, study modes, Khan Academy's Khanmigo, and agentic systems that can shape the learner’s process over time. Lodge and Loble (2026) distinguish beneficial cognitive offloading, which frees working memory for intrinsic learning, from detrimental outsourcing, which bypasses the cognitive …

Metacognition As Disciplinary Infrastructure In Ai-Mediated Learning, Tina R. Austin, Jason Gulya, Nick Potkalitsky

International Journal of Emerging and Disruptive Innovation in Education : VISIONARIUM

Metacognition is often presented as a response to generative AI’s disruption of teaching and learning, yet the term has become too generalized to guide practice. In AI-mediated environments, asking students merely to “reflect on your thinking” is insufficient. Because AI tools can redistribute cognitive labor, their educational value depends on how students use them and whether that use supports disciplinary forms of reasoning. This essay argues that metacognition must be understood as disciplinary infrastructure: students cannot effectively monitor their thinking without understanding the epistemological and ontological demands of the field in which they are working. Classrooms therefore become sites where …

Optimizing Human Capital In Ai-Enabled Architectures: A Systems Constraint And Capability Analysis, Jeremy A. Schlegel, Jennifer Daffinee

International Journal of Emerging and Disruptive Innovation in Education : VISIONARIUM

Artificial intelligence (AI) comprises not only models, but full socio-technical systems involving data pipelines, instrumentation, human-machine interfaces, deployment architectures, and organizational processes for design, monitoring, and evaluation. Using a systems-oriented analytical framework, this paper argues that despite accelerating advances in AI capabilities, human capital remains the enduring and dominant system constraint. Human interfaces define throughput limits in areas such as prompt engineering, data-stream curation, adjudication of model outputs, and the orchestration of hybrid automation workflows including robotics, scraping, and digitization. Synthesizing emerging research across human-AI interaction, machine-learning lifecycle management, organizational adoption, and adult learning theory, we present a socio-technical evaluation …

Label-Flip Attack Detection Via Trust-Weighted Aggregation In Federated Learning For Underground Mine Security, Md Sazedur Rahman, Sanjay Madria, Samuel Frimpong

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Underground mining operations are increasingly dependent on autonomous vehicles, robotic drilling systems, and intelligent inspection platforms operating in confined, GPS-denied tunnel environments. These systems rely on distributed perception models to interpret navigation cues, hazard warnings, and environmental signals in real time. While centralized deep learning can enhance model performance, transferring raw operational data across mining sites introduces serious confidentiality and security risks. Federated Learning (FL) offers a privacy-preserving alternative by enabling collaborative model training without sharing local datasets. However, deploying FL in underground mining introduces several critical challenges: (i) Training labels may be modified either maliciously by compromised clients or …

A Storm-Ai Primer With An Operationally Representative Example, Shiu-Kai Chin, Matthew Clark, Garrett Katz, Jae C. Oh, William Young

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - All Scholarship

A STORM-AI Primer with an Operationally Representative Example presents the Systems-Theoretic Technical and Operational Risk Management with Artificial Intelligence (STORM-AI) methodology, a transdisciplinary framework for establishing the trustworthiness of mission systems that may incorporate AI components. The core value proposition of STORM-AI is mission assurance—ensuring that mission systems behave with the predictability and proportionality required by senior leadership and demanded by international humanitarian law. STORM-AI achieves this by faithfully preserving commander's intent from high-level mission descriptions down to hardware-level behavioral specifications through a structured sequence of four formally grounded models: a Mission Model, a Protection (Loss Control) Model, a Security …

Toward Passwordless Document Encryption, Isaac Henry Teuscher

Theses and Dissertations

Document files with sensitive information are used across nearly every industry. In recent years, cyberattacks targeting cloud-based file transfer applications have resulted in millions of sensitive documents being exposed. Although document encryption methods exist, they are often limited in usability, security, or deployability. Password-based encryption, the most widely available option, remains vulnerable to brute-force attacks, unauthorized sharing, and human error. We address these gaps in three phases. First, we present a structured comparative framework adapted from the usability-deployability-security model to evaluate nine document encryption methods across 15 design properties, identifying the benefits and limitations of current approaches. Second, we design …

Calibration And Validation Of An Ogden Material Model For Thermoplastic Polyurethane In 3d-Printed Tensegrity Structures, Caleb C. Swain

Theses and Dissertations

This work is motivated by ongoing efforts within the Smart Materials, Adaptronics, and Shock Laboratory (SMASH Lab) at Brigham Young University (BYU) to develop variable-stiffness, external fixators using 3D-printed tensegrity structures. In the process of designing and evaluating these systems, the need arose to accurately model the nonlinear mechanical behavior of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), the primary material used in prototype fabrication. This thesis investigates how accurately a calibrated Ogden material model can predict the nonlinear mechanical response of TPU in 3D-printed tensegrity structures. Experimental data were used to calibrate the parameters of the hyperelastic constitutive model through nonlinear optimization. An …

An Access-Control Logic In Hol (Trindemossen 2), Shiu-Kai Chin

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - All Scholarship

This manual documents the embedding of an access-control logic (ACL) — as presented in the textbook Access Control, Security, and Trust: A Logical Approach (Chin and Older, 2011) — within the Cambridge Higher-Order Logic theorem prover HOL-4. The logic is a multi-agent modal logic with Kripke semantics. Its purpose is to reason about authentication, authorization, integrity, security, and trust. The inference rules of the ACL are proved to be sound. The inference rules are a command-and-control (C2) calculus. The value of the ACL is its support for rigorous, verified, and trustworthy policies for complete mediation, i.e., where all actions are …

Engineering 3d Optical Interconnects And Low-Power Radio Frequency Gaze Tracking, Blake P. Crosby

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents two independent research works in optical in- terconnects and radio-frequency (RF)-based gaze tracking. The first work demonstrates a silicon optical waveguide fabricated from four through-silicon vias (TSVs) produced using two-photon-absorption- assisted photo-electrochemical etching. Unlike conventional TSV fabrica- tion methods, this approach enables highly localized, non-line-of-sight etching in silicon using a focused femtosecond laser. Four approximately 5 μm diameter TSVs were etched through a 200 μm silicon wafer in a 7 μm by 7 μm pattern, leaving a central silicon region that functions as a waveguide. The fabricated structure achieved an aspect ratio of approxi- mately 40:1 with …

Hierarchical Parcel Swapping: A Novel Model In Turbulence, Masoomeh Behrang

Theses and Dissertations

Turbulent mixing plays a central role in a wide range of engineering and natural systems, particularly in reactive flows where turbulence--chemistry interactions strongly influence reaction rates, flame structure, and emissions. Accurately modeling these interactions remains a major challenge due to the multiscale and stochastic nature of turbulence, as well as the nonlinear coupling between transport and chemical kinetics. This dissertation develops and evaluates the Hierarchical Parcel Swapping (HiPS) model, a fully stochastic framework designed to represent turbulence-driven transport and scalar mixing without relying on traditional gradient-based closures. HiPS is investigated both as a standalone turbulence model and as a subgrid …

Rheological Protocol To Assess And Optimize Latex Coagulation Dynamics For The Thin Glove Coagulant Dipping Process, Monday U. Okoronkwo, Kok Kong Ng, Wolfram Franke, Gaurav Sant

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Many products that directly impact the quality of human life today — gloves, catheters, condoms, and baby bottle teats — are made through the latex-dipping technology. While a variety of methods have been developed – e.g., particle counting, turbidimetry, microscopy, and light scattering – which are suitable for studying the coagulation of latex at very low concentrations, much less work has focused on methods suitable for in-situ characterization of latex coagulation in concentrated solutions (e.g., as relevant to the dipping process). This paper presents a process-relevant rheological protocol for assessing and optimizing latex coagulation dynamics for the thin glove coagulant …

A Conceptual Model Of The External Costs Of Truck Overloading On Road Damage, Emissions, And Traffic Congestion: A Systematic Literature Review, Aleksius Sitepu, Sutanto Soehodho, Andyka Kusuma

Smart City

Freight transport services cannot be separated from the infrastructure and facilities involved, each of which faces its own challenges in delivering optimal performance in the logistics sector. A common challenge in Indonesia’s road sector is the presence of overloaded freight vehicles, which has become a national issue. This phenomenon has a negative impact not only on road infrastructure but also on the environment and traffic. This study aims to develop a conceptual model of the external costs caused by truck overloading practices in terms of road infrastructure damage, increased exhaust emissions, and traffic congestion through a systematic literature review. This …

Decarbonizing Electrical Substations: An Integrative Review Of Green Technologies And Sustainable Practices Across The Infrastructure Life Cycle, Sulthan Syah Ali, Mohammed Ali Berawi, Mustika Sari

Smart City

Decarbonization of electrical infrastructure s becoming increasingly important in efforts to meet climate change mitigation targets, particularly in reducing emissions from substations. However, conventional substations continue to release significant quantities of GHG emissions throughout their life cycle As an example, a typical 500 kV substation emits around 150,000 tCO2e from construction to decommissioning. In addition, the development of green substation concepts remains limited, particularly in Indonesia where standardized approaches are not yet established. In response to the need for more sustainable power infrastructure, this study aims to identify, classify, and review all types of green technologies, practices, and innovations that …

Use Of Smart Safety Devices And Artificial Intelligence And Its Impact On Workplace Injury Reduction In High-Risk Industries In Cameroon: A Qualitative Exploration Of Worker And Management Perspectives, John Atabong Zifac

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Workplace injury has been a significant concern within high-risk industries in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially Cameroon, with weak worker safety standards, poor infrastructure, lack of compliance with regulatory requirements, and a limited level of digital infrastructure contributing to a high risk of worker injury. While artificial intelligence (AI) supported smart safety technologies have revolutionized the way companies conduct workplace safety management in developed nations, little research exists on the perception of these technologies and practicality among low-resource industrial operators in Sub-Saharan Africa. This qualitative phenomenological study investigated management and employee perceptions regarding the use of AI-based smart safety devices to reduce …

Past Present, & Future: Bushwick Inlet Redevelopment, Aaryan Nair

Publications and Research

This report examines how ecosystem structure, hydrology, and material flows in Williamsburg, Brooklyn have changed from pre-colonial conditions to the present and how they are expected to evolve under future climate change. Prior to European colonization, the landscape functioned as a forest–wetland mosaic with high infiltration capacity, slow water movement, and strong nutrient retention. These conditions supported stable aquatic ecosystems and minimized pollutant transport to the East River.

Modern urbanization has fundamentally altered this system. Impervious surfaces and engineered drainage systems have shifted hydrology from infiltration-dominated to runoff-dominated pathways, producing rapid “flashy” flows and reducing water residence time.

Storm events …

A Comprehensive Review Of The A* Algorithm: Evolution, Applications, And Future Trends In Path Planning, Saleel H. Abood, Hussein M. H. Al-Khafaji, Mohanned M. H. Al-Khafaji

Journal of Soft Computing and Computer Applications

Despite being a fundamental problem to autonomous robotics and intelligent navigation systems, path planning is still a challenge. The A^* algorithm is often used among search-based techniques for optimal search performance, as it's a tradeoff of computation. The above techniques have been developed for various applications as many versions of A^* Dynamic A^* (D^*), D^* Lite, Hybrid A^*, and Anytime A^* are suggested to deal with dynamic environments, real-time constraints, and kinematic restrictions. This paper comprehensively and structurally reviews the A^* algorithm and its major extensions, encompassing historical development, methodological …

Transforming Dredged Sediment Into Reactive Clay: Critical Review Of Calcination, Reactivity, And Sustainable Valorization As Supplementary Cementitious Material, Seongho Han, Sanghwon Wi, Koochul Ji, Keun Hyeok Yang, Farshad Rajabipour, Kamal H. Khayat, Jinyoung Yoon

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Dredged sediment (DS) is generated worldwide in large volumes through routine port and waterway maintenance, yet its disposal presents environmental and economic challenges. Recently, calcined dredged sediment (CDS) has emerged as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM), offering a viable alternative to traditional SCMs, such as fly ash and slag cement. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics of raw DS and pretreatment strategies aimed at dewatering, organic matter removal, and contaminant stabilization. The effects of calcination on the production of reactive amorphous aluminosilicates are also discussed. Emphasis is placed on physicochemical changes revealed by experimental …

Literature Landscape Of Government, Academic, And Industry Efforts In Responsible, Secure, And Trustworthy Ai, Jae C. Oh, Shiu-Kai Chin, Garrett Katz, William E. Young, Matt Clark

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - All Scholarship

This report presents a systematic analysis of 54,628 AI research papers published between 2021 and 2025, examining the extent to which current government, academic, and industry efforts address the trustworthiness requirements of mission-critical AI systems. Papers were classified along two dimensions: organizational tier (from AI model to mission/business pro- cess) using NIST SP 800-39, and systems engineering lifecycle phase using ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288. Classification combined automated LLM-assisted screening with human validation, achieving inter-rater reliability measured by Krippendorff’s α and Gwet’s AC1. Only 16.8% of papers examined addressed any aspect of AI trustworthiness, reliability, or security, and virtually all were concentrated at …

Low-Carbon Concrete For Sustainable Construction: A Comprehensive Review Of Performance Characteristics, Implementation Challenges, And Decarbonization Pathways, Fazel Azarhomayun, Jingjie Wei, Kamal H. Khayat

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Reducing the carbon footprint of concrete has become a central objective in sustainable construction. Low-carbon concrete (LCC), developed primarily through clinker reduction, supplementary cementitious materials, and alternative binder strategies, offers a promising route for lowering embodied emissions while maintaining the performance requirements of structural concrete. This comprehensive review consolidates the current state of knowledge on LCC, identifies critical research and implementation gaps, and examines its material composition, mixture-design methodologies, performance characteristics, structural applications, implementation challenges, and decarbonization pathways. Single-SCM systems have been reported at clinker-replacement levels approaching 50%, although durability at these replacement levels, particularly carbonation resistance, remains system- and …

Air-Writing Recognition, Gaurang Shukla

Master’s Dissertations

Air-writing is the act of tracing characters or words in free space with a fingertip, recorded by a camera, giving a touch-free input modality for smart displays, augmented and virtual reality, and assistive interfaces. It is difficult because the finger never lifts: connecting strokes join adjacent letters with no pen-up signal to mark boundaries, and the same word varies widely in scale, position, and slant across writers. The WiTA benchmark of Kim et al. provides a large, person-disjoint dataset and a baseline that treats each clip as RGB video, recognised by a spatio-temporal 3D residual network trained with a CTC …

An Instance Segmentation Based Global Mppt Method For Pv Systems Under Partial Shading Condition, Ehab Ur Rahman, Yousef Mahmoud, Rui Bo

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Partial shading in photovoltaic (PV) systems creates multiple Local Maximum Power Points (LMPPs) on the power-voltage (P-V) curve, causing conventional Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithms to converge prematurely to suboptimal operating points and resulting in significant energy losses. This work proposes a novel vision-based framework that integrates computer vision with Global Maximum Power Point Tracking (GMPPT) to maximize energy harvesting in partially shaded PV systems. The proposed method captures real-time imagery of PV panels to identify cell-level shading patterns, which are subsequently mapped to module electrical characteristics to enable direct analytical estimation of the GMPP voltage. An instance segmentation …

Converting Co2 Into Carbon Nanotubes Via Sequential Co2 Methanation And Methane Pyrolysis, Kaiying Wang, Hao Feng, Ahmad Helaley, Xiaoqing He, Bohong Zhang, Jie Huang, Xinhua Liang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study presents a sequential thermochemical catalytic process for converting CO₂ into carbon nanotubes (CNTs), achieving nearly 99% overall CO₂ conversion and solid carbon yields of up to 49% in a single pass. The overall transformation is divided into two thermodynamically favorable steps: (1) low-temperature CO₂ methanation to CH₄ over a sol-gel-prepared Ni87Ce_6.5Zr_6.5-SG catalyst, which achieved >95% CO₂ conversion at 250 °C in a single pass, and (2) subsequent methane pyrolysis to CNTs and H₂ over a Ni@Al₂O₃-IE core-shell catalyst, which showed improved stability and carbon …