Digital Commons Network^™

Tracing Geochemical Sources And Health Risk Assessment Of Uranium In Groundwater Of Arid Zone Of India, P. Pandit, Atul Saini, Sabarathinam Chidambaram, Vinod Kumar, Banjarani Panda, A. L. Ramanathan, Netrananda Sahu, A. K. Singh, Rohit Mehra

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Water quality degradation and metal contamination in groundwater are serious concerns in an arid region with scanty water resources. This study aimed at evaluating the source of uranium (U) and potential health risk assessment in groundwater of the arid region of western Rajasthan and northern Gujarat. The probable source of vanadium (V) and fluorine (F) was also identified. U and trace metal concentration, along with physicochemical characteristics were determined for 265 groundwater samples collected from groundwater of duricrusts and palaeochannels of western Rajasthan and northern Gujarat. The U concentration ranged between 0.6 and 260 μg L⁻¹ with a mean …

Coevolution Of Machine Learning And Process-Based Modelling To Revolutionize Earth And Environmental Sciences: A Perspective, Mojtaba Sadegh

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Machine learning (ML) applications in Earth and environmental sciences (EES) have gained incredible momentum in recent years. However, these ML applications have largely evolved in ‘isolation’ from the mechanistic, process-based modelling (PBM) paradigms, which have historically been the cornerstone of scientific discovery and policy support. In this perspective, we assert that the cultural barriers between the ML and PBM communities limit the potential of ML, and even its ‘hybridization’ with PBM, for EES applications. Fundamental, but often ignored, differences between ML and PBM are discussed as well as their strengths and weaknesses in light of three overarching modelling objectives in …

Sunsation’S Solar Powered Picnic Table, Michelle M. Barnett, Christopher Barber, Casey Durham, David Mason

Mechanical Engineering

Team SunSation is an interdisciplinary senior design project group that was tasked with developing a semi-permanent seating area for Cal Poly's electrical engineering courtyard. The EE courtyard is populated with plastic folding tables and chairs that are slowly falling apart. Dale Dolan, the head of the EE department, requested that a table design be developed that incorporates the use of solar panels. The addition of the solar panels to the table would help promote clean renewable energy as well as provide shade to those sitting in the courtyard.

The solution that SunSation arrived at is broken up into mechanical/structural, electrical, …

Measuring Accessibility For Pedestrians, Bicyclists, And Transit Riders To Grocery Stores In The Excelsior/Outer Mission Neighborhoods Of San Francisco, Alexandra Lee-Gardner

Master's Theses

Grocery stores are an important amenity in neighborhoods and access to grocery stores is important for health and well-being. While grocery store accessibility is a popular topic of research, studies measuring access for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders are extremely rare. When a new store opened in the Excelsior/Outer Mission districts of San Francisco on a street lacking basic infrastructure for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders, the importance of this study became apparent. The Excelsior/Outer Mission neighborhood has a shocking number of collisions (over 1,100 between 2015 and 2019), elevated levels of walking, biking, and transit ridership, and minimal safe …

Updating The Bridge Construction Cost Database, Rachel Catchings, Ying Li, Ryan Griffith, Sudhir Palle

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Adopting a comprehensive suite of methods to track, analyze, and maintain data on bridge construction costs can help state transportation agencies identify and implement strategies to mitigate the influence of factors which escalate project costs. This report discusses how the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) should approach updating, maintaining, and analyzing its bridge construction cost data. Based on a review of practices introduced at other agencies and interviews with public and private industry stakeholders, the report catalogues practical strategies for improving estimating procedures and tracking cost data as well as the most important cost drivers of bridge construction. Analysis of KYTC …

Extended Weight Systems Pavement Analysis, Gayle Marks, Jon Wilcoxson, Bryan Gibson

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Kentucky established its Extended Weight Coal or Coal By-products Haul Road System (EWCHRS) in 1986. This road network includes segments of the Coal Haul Highway System on which more than 50,000 tons coal or coal byproducts were transported by motor vehicles during the previous calendar year. In the past few years, the state has introduced extended weight (EW) systems focused on petroleum products and metal commodities. Trucks can operate above posted weight limits on these networks by paying annual fees that range from $160 to $2,000. While EW networks benefit motor carriers by improving efficiency, vehicles that exceed weight limits …

Estimating And Project Management For The Construction Of A Visitor Deck At City Farm Slo, Eric Cederstrom

Construction Management

This paper will outline the process of estimating and the project management of a visitor deck that was built at City Farm of San Luis Obispo, a local non-profit. The deck was built for the purpose of providing an area for visitors to observe the agricultural land where City Farm educates the community on ecology, nutrition, and sustainable farming. The construction of the deck was completed by three fourth-year Construction Management majors: Eric Cederstrom, Lane Lagomarsino, and Brett Jones. Each project team member was responsible for their own aspect of the project planning and all members collaborated throughout the entire …

Taxi Travel Time Based Geographically Weighted Regression Model (Gwr) For Modeling Public Housing Prices In Singapore, Yi’An Wang, Fangyi Cai, Shih-Fen Cheng, Bo Wu, Kai Cao

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this research, a taxi travel time based Geographically Weighted Regression model (GWR) is proposed and utilized to model the public housing price in the case study of Singapore. In addition, a comparison between the proposed taxi data driven GWR and other models, such as ordinary least squares model (OLS), GWR model based on Euclidean distance and GWR model based on public transport travel time, have also been carried out. Results indicates that taxi travel time based GWR model has better fitting performance than the OLS model, and slightly better than the Euclidean distance-based GWR model, however, it is not …

Solar Powered Electric Bicycle, Joseph Kent Debruynkops

Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies

A solar-powered electric bike that is useful for college students.

Simulating Electric Vehicle Short-Notice Wildfire Evacuation In California Rural Communities, Gudrun Derickson

Master's Theses

The transportation sector in California has begun a shift toward adopting Electric Vehicles (EVs) as a primary source of individual and corporate mobility. The US Government and the State of California are initiating public-sector financed charging station infrastructure to help in this change-over to EVs. Automobile companies and private enterprises are also heavily investing in Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) infrastructure going forward. The state of California is subject to natural disasters such as Fire, Earthquakes, and periodic flooding. Increasing numbers of BEVs may add new challenges to mass evacuations that are often associated with natural disasters. This work focuses on …

Design And Preconstruction Services For The Construction Of A Visitor Deck At City Farm Slo, Lane Lagomarsino

Construction Management

This paper will outline the process of designing and planning the construction of a visitor deck at City Farm of San Luis Obispo, which is a local non-profit. The deck was built for the purpose of providing an area for visitors to observe the agricultural land where City Farm educates the community on ecology, nutrition, and sustainable farming. The construction of the deck was completed by three fourth-year Construction Management majors: Lane Lagomarsino, Eric Cederstrom, and Brett Jones. Each project team member was responsible for their own aspect of the project planning and all members collaborated throughout the entire building …

Design Of Self-Assembled Peptides For Wound Healing, Ka-Kyung Kim

Dissertations

According to the CDC, 15% of diabetic patients develop diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) and approximately 170,000 patients undergo non-traumatic amputation annually. DFU is a major complication of diabetes caused by non-healing full-thickness wounds through the dermis. The current treatments include blood sugar control, frequent debridement, offloading, moist wound care, infection treatment, and amputation. To achieve wound closure of DFU, appropriate wound care and antibiotic therapy are essential. Topical regimens include hydrocolloids, alginates, foam, silver-impregnated dressings, and hydrogels. Wound healing is a complex and dynamic interplay between the immune system, keratinocytes, and dermal cells (in case of cutaneous wound). Angiogenesis has …

Educational Data Mining For Predicting University Students' Performance, To Enhance University Admission Criteria, Youssef Amr Naga

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis aims to propose and evaluate possible predictors of success for incoming university students to the American University in Cairo (AUC) who wish to enroll in its engineering programs, by considering their overall grade point average (GPA) at graduation as the measure of their success (output variable). This study is composed of two phases. First, available university admission variables; i.e., gender, high school diploma, high school score, and proficiency level in the English language (the language of instruction at AUC) at the time of application are evaluated as a predictor of students’ performance using five different data mining techniques. …

Northern Sea Route As An Emerging Option For Global Transport Networks: A Policy Perspective, Stavros Karamperidis, Nikolaos Valantasis Kanellos

Articles

The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is an emerging alternative route to the Suez Canal; however, inconclusive research exists on its benefits and viability. This paper uses a two-stage Delphi approach to collect qualitative data from experts, on what actions Nordic countries[1] can undertake to prepare themselves to enter NSR and capture potential benefits deriving from trading in global transport networks. By conceptually developing a framework based on First Movers Advantage (FMA) and Dynamic Capabilities Theory (DCT), this paper empirically identifies a path to develop capabilities that could allow stakeholders to reduce logistics costs through collaborations in NSR. Our paper …

Water Body Extraction From High Resolution Remote Sensing Images Based On Fused Visual Word Bags, Xin Wang, Mingjun Xu, Jian Xiao, Lizhong Xu

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Aiming at the problem that water body extraction is easily influenced by shadow or light in high resolution remote sensing images, an improved algorithm based on fusion of visual word bags is proposed. Based on the deep analysis of the characteristics of remote sensing water body targets, a spectral feature extraction approach is designed. To enhance the description ability of water body targets, a novel visual word bag fusion model based on local binary pattern and spectral feature is constructed. Based on the proposed visual word bag fusion model, a water body target classifier is presented. …

Our Streets: Increasing Equity In Active Transportation Planning Through Community Outreach, Jordan Hoy

Master's Projects and Capstones

ABSTRACT Significant research has demonstrated that active transportation infrastructure is essential for the growth and livability of San Francisco: it increases access to economic opportunities, promotes overall improved public health, encourages mobility without contributing to roadway congestion, prevents traffic injuries and fatalities, and supports the sustainability goals of the city. Despite the fact that communities of color will benefit the most from active transportation infrastructure development, historical disenfranchisement in tandem with a lack of diverse representation within public participation contributes to an inequitable distribution of walking and biking investments throughout the city of San Francisco. While research shows that Black …

Solar On Ccr: Re-Purposing Of Coal Combustion Residual Units, Doug Kilmer

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

No abstract provided.

The History Of Ccr Beneficial Use And Its Future Using Stored Ccr As The Main Source: A Strategy To Properly Profile Stored Products, Russell Brandon Stapp

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Global Opportunities And Challenges For Coal Combustion Products With A Circular Economy, Craig Heidrich, Joachim Feuerborn

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Issues Building An Autonomous Vehicle, Paul King

CONTROL 2022: 13th United Kingdom Automatic Control Council (UKACC) International Conference

No abstract provided.

The Horizontal Reactive Treatment Well (Hrx Well®): A New Remediation Technology For In Situ Contaminant Flux Control, Craig Eric Divine, Jesse Wright, Jack Wang, Margy Gentile

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Du Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, And Creative Works: Abstracts, Emma Aggeler, Elena Arroway, Daisy T. Booker, Justin Bravo, Kyle Bucholtz, Megan Burnham, Nicole Choi, Spencer Cockerell, Rosie Contino, Jackson Garske, Kaitlyn Glover, Caroline Hamilton, Haley Hartmann, Madalyne Heiken, Colin Holter, Leah Huzjak, Alyssa Jeng, Cole Jernigan, Chad Kashiwa, Adelaide Kerenick, Emily King, Abigail Langeberg, Maddie Leake, Meredith Lemons, Alec Mackay, Greer Mckinley, Ori Miller, Guy Milliman, Katherine Miromonti, Audrey Mitchell, Lauren Moak, Megan Morrell, Gelella Nebiyu, Zdenek Otruba, Toni V. Panzera, Kassidy Patarino, Sneha Patil, Alexandra Penney, Kevin Persky, Caitlin Pham, Gabriela Recinos, Mary Ringgenberg, Chase Routt, Olivia Schneider, Roman Shrestha, Arlo Simmerman, Alec Smith, Tessa Smith, Nhi-Lac Thai, Kyle Thurmann, Casey Tindall, Amelia Trembath, Maria Trubetskaya, Zachary Vangelisti, Peter Vo, Abby Walker, David Winter, Grayden Wolfe, Leah York

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Abstracts from the DU Undergraduate Showcase.

Optimization Of A Fluidized Bed Reactor For The Production Of Styrene From Ethylbenzene, Gregory Espenan

Honors Theses

In order to optimize Unit 500, a styrene production plant, the Net Present Value (NPV) was used as the objective function to ensure every optimization strategy had a positive economic effect. To optimize a chemical plant, it is important to note efficiency, economics, product specifications, and production requirements. The goal of this project was to make changes to the base case of Unit 500 to minimize the cost to produce styrene for an upstream unit. PRO/II was used to simulate various points in different unit operations throughout the process. The NPV was measured after each unit operation was simulated to …

Privacy Assessment Breakthrough: A Design Science Approach To Creating A Unified Methodology, Lisa Mckee

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

Recent changes have increased the need for and awareness of privacy assessments. Organizations focus primarily on Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA) and Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA) but rarely take a comprehensive approach to assessments or integrate the results into a privacy risk program. There are numerous industry standards and regulations for privacy assessments, but the industry lacks a simple unified methodology with steps to perform privacy assessments. The objectives of this research project are to create a new privacy assessment methodology model using the design science methodology, update industry standards and present training for conducting privacy assessments that can be …

Offensive Cyber Operations And Future Littoral Operating Concepts, Jd Work

Military Cyber Affairs

Introduction of new ground-launch cruise missile options to hold adversary naval targets at risk in order to support conventional deterrence objectives through sea control and sea denial missions is the centerpiece of proposed reorganization of Marine Littoral forces, as part of new “Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations,” and “Littoral Operations in Contested Environments” concepts. Effective distributed sea control fires against pacing threat maritime formations requires defeat of integrated air defense systems. Offensive cyber operations capabilities may be considered as a means of altering the calculus of attrition in missile fires exchanges, but due to various sensitivities it has been difficult to …

Assessment Of Contaminant Flowpaths In Airside Economization And Analysis Of Thermal Performance At Tank And Server Level For Single-Phase Immersion Cooled Data Centers, Satyam Saini

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The last two decades of 2000 have seen an explosion of utilization and reliance on digital technologies and platforms. During this time, electronic devices have undergone intense miniaturization and a corresponding rise in power densities. In parallel to these developments, data center proliferation has been driven by the increasing utility of revolutionary technologies such as Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, e-commerce and, the Internet of Things. Data centers, thus, have become the core of the modern digital age. The primary bottleneck, however, due to extensive device miniaturization and data center proliferation has always been thermal management. Many of the aforementioned technologies …

A Spatiotemporal Analysis Of Food Pantry Accessibility In Washington County, Arkansas, Coleman Warren

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Food pantries are an essential resource for impoverished and food insecure communities. Washington County, Arkansas has a food insecurity rate of 14.3% as compared to the national average of 10.9% (Feeding America, 2019). The Northwest Arkansas Food Bank has a robust pantry network in Washington County to support families and individuals who struggle with food insecurity.

We conducted a spatiotemporal analysis of food pantry accessibility in Washington County, Arkansas to evaluate the effectiveness of the food pantry network in Washington County at supporting communities with the most need. This analysis was conducted using the Two-Step Floating Catchment Area (2SFCA) method …

Design And Analysis Of Efficient Freight Transportation Networks In A Collaborative Logistics Environment, Vishal Badyal

All Dissertations

The increase in total freight volumes, reducing volume per freight unit, and delivery deadlines have increased the burden on freight transportation systems of today. With the evolution of freight demand trends, there also needs to be an evolution in the freight distribution processes. Today's freight transportation processes have a lot of inefficiencies that could be streamlined, thus preventing concerns like increased operational costs, road congestion, and environmental degradation. Collaborative logistics is one of the approaches where supply chain partners collaborate horizontally or/and vertically to create a centralized network that is more efficient and serves towards a common goal or objective. …

Blmdp: A New Bi-Level Markov Decision Process Approach To Joint Bidding Andtask-Scheduling In Cloud Spot Market, Mona Naghdehforoushha, Mehdi Dehghan Takht Fooladi, Mohammad Hossein Rezvani, Mohammad Mehdi Gilanian Sadeghi

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

In the cloud computing market (CCM), computing services are traded between cloud providers and consumers in the form of the computing capacity of virtual machines (VMs). The Amazon spot market is one of the most well-known markets in which the surplus capacity of data centers is auctioned off in the form of VMs at relatively low prices. For each submitted task, the user can offer a price that is higher than the current price. However, uncertainty in the market environment confronts the user with challenges such as the variable price of VMs and the variable number of users. An appropriate …

A Quantitative Comparison Of Algorithmic And Machine Learning Network Flow Throughput Prediction, Cayden Wagner

All Theses

Applications ranging from video meetings, live streaming, video games, autonomous vehicle operations, and algorithmic trading heavily rely on low latency communication to operate optimally. A solution to fully support this growing demand for low latency is called dual-queue active queue management (AQM). Dual-queue AQM's functionality is reduced without network traffic throughput prediction.

Perhaps due to the current popularity of machine learning, there is a trend to adopt machine learning models over traditional algorithmic throughput prediction approaches without empirical support. This study tested the effectiveness of machine learning as compared to time series forecasting algorithms in predicting per-flow network traffic throughput …