Digital Commons Network^™

Positive Solutions To Semilinear Elliptic Equations With Logistic-Type Nonlinearities And Harvesting In Exterior Domains, Eric Jameson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Existing results provide the existence of positive solutions to a class of semilinear elliptic PDEs with logistic-type nonlinearities and harvesting terms both in RN and in bounded domains U ⊂ RN with N ≥ 3, when the carrying capacity of the environment is not constant. We consider these same equations in the exterior domain Ω, defined as the complement of the closed unit ball in RN , N ≥ 3, now with a Dirichlet boundary condition. We first show that the existing techniques forsolving these equations in the whole space RN can be applied to the exterior domain with some …

An Introduction To Federated Learning And Its Analysis, Manjari Ganapathy

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With the onset of the digital era, data privacy is one of the most predominant issues. Decentralized learning is becoming popular as the data can remain within local entities by maintaining privacy. Federated Learning is a decentralized machine learning approach, where multiple clients collaboratively learn a model, without sharing raw data. There are many practical challenges in solving Federated Learning, which include communication set up, data heterogeneity and computational capacity of clients. In this thesis, I explore recent methods of Federated Learning with various settings, such as data distributions and data variability, used in several applications. In addition, I, specifically, …

Detection Of Snps Associated With Bone Loss Rate By Using Machine Learning Approaches, Avinash Yaganapu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Osteoporosis is one of the most common diseases seen in postmenopausal women, it decreases the bone density and quality, and later causes bone loss. Generally, bone loss occurs when bone losses its content and become porous: a sponge like substance. In most Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS), researchers perform experiments with genomic data that contains some millions of numbers of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and checks their association with the trait or disease. In this thesis, we performed two separate analyses with 2207 (of bone loss and bone gain) and 645 (of bone loss) instances separately. For predicting the SNPs …

Simulation And Analysis Of Insider Attacks, Christopher Blake Clark

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

An insider is an individual (usually an employee, contractor, or business partner) that has been trusted with access to an organization's systems and sensitive data for legitimate purposes. A malicious insider abuses this access in a way that negatively impacts the company, such as exposing, modifying, or defacing software and data.

Many algorithms, strategies, and analyses have been developed with the intent of detecting and/or preventing insider attacks. In an academic setting, these tools and approaches show great promise. To be sure of their effectiveness, however, these analyses need to be tested. While real data is available on insider attacks …

Integrating, Developing, And Testing Methods To Generate More Cohesive Approaches To Biogeographic Inference, Mallory Elizabeth Eckstut

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As a fundamental component of the developing discipline of conservation biogeography, broadscale analyses of biotic assembly and disassembly across multiple temporal and spatial scales provide an enhanced understanding of how geologic transformations and climate oscillations have shaped extant patterns of biodiversity. As with any scientific field, there are limitations in the case of biogeographic historical reconstructions. Historical reconstructions are only as robust as the theoretical underpinnings of the methods of reconstruction (including data collection, quality, analysis, and interpretation). Nevertheless, historical reconstructions of species distributions can help inform our understanding of how species respond to environmental change.

My dissertation takes a …

The Fiscal Forensics Of The Las Vegas Strip Lessons From The Financial Crisis, Dean M. Macomber

Occasional Papers

Hitting with the force of a 100-year storm, the first two years of the financial crisis caused a $5.2 billion swing from profitability to loss for the top 22 performing Las Vegas Strip properties between peak fiscal year 2007 and 2009. By fiscal year 2011 visitor count had almost climbed back to peak levels but the aggregate loss is still stubbornly high at $ -1.6 billion. Other signs of recovery trickle in but are sporadic and volatile. This article is an attempt to disaggregate the variance and look at where Las Vegas has been, where it is now and how …

Colonel John R. Bourgeois: A Biography And Analysis Of Transcription Style, Jeffrey Alan Malecki

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Colonel John R. Bourgeois (b. 1934), Director Emeritus of the United States Marine Band, "The President's Own," has acquired an international reputation in the wind band profession through his exemplary leadership of "The President's Own" as well as dynamic recording and commissioning. Notwithstanding, very little information concerning Bourgeois's life is available. Through a series of meetings, beginning in October 2008, and culminating in a three-day interview in February 2011, I have collected a substantial body of biographical data, including candid narration of important musical and personal events spanning Bourgeois's artistic life.

Bourgeois's reputation has fostered the writing and publication of …

Relationships Between The Groundwaters Of Ash Meadows, Death Valley, Pahranagat Valley And The Nevada Test Site Based On Statistical Analysis And Modeling Of Trace Element Data, Sara Michelle Cox

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Relationships between the groundwaters of the Nevada Test Site, Ash Meadows, Pahranagat, and Death Valley have been studied by many people over many years. Using hydrogeochemical data from these areas (sampled and analyzed by the Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies) hydrologic subbasins were classified on the basis of trace element concentrations and compare these to previous classification systems. In addition, previously suggested flow relationships were examined on the basis of trace element concentrations, in particular those elements which are thought to behave conservatively in oxidizing environments. These efforts were made with the aid of statistical analyses such as principal …

Analysis Of A Caliche Stiffened Pile Foundation, Richard C. Stone Jr.

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Cemented carbonate deposits (known locally as "caliche") in Las Vegas have been used to support shallow and deep foundations with relatively high bearing pressures compared to soil. Most high rise structures in Las Vegas are founded on either a large mat or a long pile foundation. Recently, a new foundation type consisting of a short pile system bonded to shallow cemented layers was utilized for a large high rise building in Las Vegas and settlements during construction were recorded. The bonding of caliche layers together with short piles forms a caliche stiffened pile (CSP) foundation. The CSP foundation is unique …

A Relationship Analysis Of Restaurant Inspection Violations, Employee Behaviors, And Inspection Grades, Edward G Mckeown

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the paper is to determine whether employee behaviors or non-employee behaviors have a more significant effect on health inspection grades given by the Southern Nevada Health District. As foodborne illness outbreaks continue to rise, discovering whether the violations stem from employee behaviors or from items not related to employee behavior is essential. The results will be useful for both industry and academics in helping to establish a means for understanding where violations occur within food establishments; 205 restaurant health inspections were collected with grades other than 'A'. Behavior based violations had a higher impact on the grade. …

Basin Analysis Of The Central Grand Wash Trough, Northwest Arizona: New Insights Into A Miocene Extensional Basin, Nathan Robert Suurmeyer

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The Grand Wash trough (GWT), a Miocene extensional basin in the Lake Mead region, had been interpreted by previous workers as a rift basin. This study's objective was to test this interpretation by analyzing basin deposits using stratigraphic sections, geologic mapping, and a gravity survey. The results reveal that the structure of the GWT and its axial and foot wall derived deposits resemble those of a rift basin. However, the basin is too shallow (∼1 km) and the hanging wall alluvial fan is larger and coarser grained than those in previously described rift basins. Instead, these aforementioned characteristics are comparable …

Analysis Of Stacked Retaining Walls, Layne David Weight

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Not much literature is available which addresses the analysis of stacked retaining walls. Many designers have developed undocumented and informal methods of analysis based on geotechnical theory, practical experience and intuition; This thesis presents and compares results from eight common methods of analysis: four methods based on limit equilibrium, three based on elastic theory, and one that is a combination of limit equilibrium and elastic theory. These eight different methods were used to analyze 64 different configurations of double-stacked cantilever retaining walls, including a double-stacked configuration that failed in 1992. In all, results from a total of 512 separate analyses …

Adult Autism Policy: An Analysis Of Current Policy And Legislation In The Us, Maren A Bennett

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The topic of autism has been gradually emerging as a primary focus for research, education, charities, etc. Much of the attention has been centered on children; however, the subject of adults with autism has long been overlooked. Adults with autism need policy improvements to help gain as much independence in their daily lives as possible. It is the purpose of this thesis to identify deficiencies in service delivery and recommend policies to improve the quality of life of adults with autism. I will utilize a cross-sectional multiple case study design. Three private foundations are utilized as the case studies, along …

Analysis And Evaluation Of The Impact Of The Length Of Left-Turn Lane On Signalized Intersection Delays, Nitin Kalsi

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The most common guidelines for determining the lengths of left-turn lanes are based on probability of accommodating a left-turn traffic at least traffic 95 percent of the time. These guidelines do not directly take into account the delays caused by through traffic for potentially blocking left-turn lanes. In this research the impact of the lengths of left-turn lanes on intersection delays are considered to optimize the lengths of the left-turn lanes. Data for traffic counts, queue lengths and signal timing are collected from an intersection in Las Vegas. The methodology involves development of simulation model using Corridor Simulation (CORSIM) and …

Development Of A Gis-Based Safety Analysis System, Vidhya Kumaresan

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this study is to develop a safety analysis system that integrates crash data and roadway related information. This system is developed in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. It includes customized user interfaces to support queries to analyze data and to display results either in graphical or tabular formats. The system also affords the capabilities to export such results. The system permits analyses to be performed either at individual locations such as intersections, or for roadway segments. These analyses are based on data fields included in the crash database. The queries may be based on individual attributes …

Numerical Analysis Of The Solid Particle Solar Receiver With The Influence Of An Air-Jet, Zhuoqi Chen

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This thesis develops and analyzes a three-dimensional computational model of a solid particle solar receiver (SPSR) for providing the heat source in a hydrogen production process using the sulfur iodine thermochemical water splitting reaction. In this reaction, a heat input of at least 850°C is necessary to keep high hydrogen production efficiency. Previous studies to achieve higher efficiency on a SPSR include changing particle materials, sizes, flow rates, and the geometry designs. The present study is concerned with the use of an air-jet in front of the open aperture and different operation conditions for the SPSR design optimization; The conceptual …

"Lost" As An Example Of The Orphic Mysteries: A Thematic Analysis, Rachael Wax

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Lost is a popular television show currently aired on the ABC network. The Orphic mysteries are an intricate component to the religion of Greek Mythology. This thematic analysis will work to investigate if Lost can be interpreted as a modern application of the Orphic mysteries. It will develop a theoretical perspective of Lost based upon the Orphic mysteries by reviewing literature that will uncover possible contemporary adaptations or metaphorical connections between each artifact. In-depth research will be performed on the units of analysis: Lost's individual characters, their relationships to one another, and their similarity to the characters of the Orphic …

Analysis Of The Application Of First Amendment Jurisprudence To University Student Fees *Policies, Christine Chairsell

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The allocable student activity fee represents a fee imposed by the university administration and is paid at the time that tuition is paid. The administration or the elected student government body representatives disperse these collected fees to groups that have made application for funding and have passed the review process. Sometimes students object to their mandatory activities fees being diverted to certain groups because they are either political or advocate opinions with which the students disagree. Thus, the controversy becomes a free speech challenge; The purpose of this study was to provide a historical case study about the legal controversies …

Analysis Of The Legal, Theoretical, And Practical Implications---Rumsfeld V Fair, Daryl Privott

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Congress has the power under Article 1 of the United States Constitution to "raise and support armies" and deems military recruiting on college campuses necessary for military preparedness and providing for the national defense. The Solomon Amendment was passed in 1994 and conditions the receipt of federal funds on access to college and universities for the purpose of military recruiting. This condition of federal funds led several law schools and faculty to bring suit against the Secretary of Defense claiming the Solomon Amendment violated their First Amendment rights. This case was heard in December 2005 and was ruled upon in …

Development And Empirical Analysis Of A Self-Advocacy Readiness Scale With A University Sample, Katrina R Harris

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Counseling as a profession has been criticized for disregarding the social and political issues facing clients and students (Bemak & Chung, 2005). Many students in urban environments are faced with difficulties such as poverty, racism, and oppression that impact their emotional, social, and academic growth (Bemak & Siroskey-Sabdo, 2005). Further, students in urban schools feel they have little power in a school culture dominated by the majority group in which differences in culture, class and language are often perceived as deficits (Bryan, 2005); The No Child Left Behind Act calls for increasing achievement rates for all students and bridging the …

Design Implementation And Analysis Of A Dynamic Cryptography Algorithm With Applications, Sourabh Ghose

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Cryptographers need to provide the world with a new encryption standard. DES, the major encryption algorithm for the past fifteen years, is nearing the end of its useful life. Its 56-bit key size is vulnerable to a brute-force attack on powerful microprocessors and recent advances in linear cryptanalysis and differential cryptanalysis indicate that DES is vulnerable to other attacks as well. A more recent attack called XSL, proposes a new attack against AES and Serpent. The attack depends much more critically on the complexity of the nonlinear components than on the number of rounds. Ciphers with small S-boxes and simple …

Hotel Satisfaction And Booking Channels: The Bayesian Rule And Regression Analysis, Tatiana Poliakova

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The study utilizes the Bayesian mechanism and calculates the likelihood for each of the booking channels in the study to supply to lodging operations UNLV students who will become highly satisfied with the subsequent hotel stays. Hospitality proprietary booking channels (booking by phone or booking through a hotel's own web site) are more likely to supply a highly satisfied student traveler to an operation than intermediary booking channels, such as booking through a merchant site or addressing a travel agent; Moreover, UNLV students who utilize hospitality proprietary channels tend to bring higher room revenue to a lodging operation than the …

Monte Carlo Analysis Of The Luminosity Function Of Gamma Ray Bursts, Francisco Javier Virgili

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Gamma-ray bursts are cosmological explosions that result in a massive release of radiation ranging from high-energy-gamma rays and x-rays as well as possible long lasting optical and radio tails. Bursts are a result of processes occurring in old stars and their by-products, namely black holes and neutron stars. Gamma-ray bursts tied to the deaths of stars are known as long gamma-ray bursts and are the subject of this study. Data from various missions including NASAs Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and Swift Gamma-ray Mission (Swift) shows that typical GRBs lie within a luminosity range of roughly 1049 to 1054 ergs s-1 …

Document Boundary Determination Using Structural And Lexical Analysis, Marc-Allen Cartright

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

A method of sequentially presented document determination using parallel analyses from various facets of structural document understanding and information retrieval is proposed in this thesis. Specifically, the method presented here intends to serve as a trainable system when determining where one document ends and another begins. Content analysis methods include use of the Vector Space Model, as well as targeted analysis of content on the margins of document fragments. Structural analysis for this implementation has been limited to simple and ubiquitous entities, such as software-generated zones, simple format-specific lines, and the appearance of page numbers. Analysis focuses on change in …

Gypsum Cave Revisited: Faunal And Taphonomic Analysis Of A Rancholabrean-To-Holocene Fauna In Southern Nevada, Elizabeth Marie Glowiak

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Gypsum Cave, near Las Vegas, Nevada, was excavated in 1930, yielding a Rancholabrean-to-Holocene mammalian fauna intermixed with many human artifacts. The bone assemblage, which is now housed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, contains burned and fractured bones with conspicuous grooves that have never before been studied. The objectives of this study are to (1) identify and describe the Gypsum Cave fauna, (2) interpret the taphonomy of the fauna to test the hypothesis that Gypsum Cave represents a site of interaction between Pleistocene animals and Paleo-Indians, and (3) use the Gypsum Cave fauna to better characterize the …

Behavior Analysis And Characterization Of A Tooling Material At Elevated Temperatures, Julio Malpica

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

2Phase Technologies, Inc. has developed a reconfigurable tooling system (RTS) to meet the increasing need for quick and inexpensive fabrication of composite parts as well as molding of liquid polymers and cast resins. A change of state tooling material is used in the RTS. The tooling material can be changed from liquid to solid and back to liquid for reutilization. The tooling material consists of hollow silica micro-spheres that flow in a water-silicate based solution. The material can be hardened to a solid by removing the solution with the use of vacuum and by the application of heat. The silica …

T-Theory And Analysis Of Online Algorithms, James Oravec

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Several advancements in Online Algorithms can be credited to T-theory, a field of discrete mathematics. T-theory has aided in the development of several online algorithms for the k-server problem, although the standard notation of T-theory was not used at the time of their creation; A summary of the k-server problem, and some important concepts of T-theory, are given. A number of known k-server results are restated using the established terminology of T-theory. Included is a 3-competitiveness proof, using T-theory, for the HARMONIC algorithm for two servers, which was presented in a paper by Larmore and Oravec [71]; Previously, the Knowledge …

Analysis Of A Fuel Cell-Internal Combustion Engine Series Hybrid Vehicle, Sridhar Thondikulam Raveendran

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

A theoretical analysis of a Fuel Cell - Internal Combustion Engine Series Hybrid Vehicle was conducted using ADVISOR software. ADVISOR is an open source vehicle simulation software developed by NREL. The main purpose of this work was to visualize a fuel cell (FC) - internal combustion engine (ICE) powered series hybrid vehicle with no energy storage system like a battery or an ultracapacitor. The study included plotting the fuel economy of the vehicle and dynamic response of the FC and the ICE to the load requirements under two different test conditions. 1985 Toyota pick-up truck parameters were used to model …

Local Air Leakage Measurement And Cfd Analysis Of Deformed Ducts In Residential Hvac Ducts, Dhandapani Selvaraj

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The experimental work focuses on a new technique that is developed to identify and quantify the local air leakage rates in residential HVAC ducts. The technique is based on duct pressurization test (ANSI/ASHRAE standard 152/2004) along with a zone bag to create artificial restrictions. The experiments were conducted at the Air Duct Leakage Laboratory (ADLL). ADLL, which was solely built for conducting experiments on air duct leakage, has two duct systems with different configurations. The technique was validated by comparing the results of the new technique with a baseline technique developed at ADLL. In addition, the technique was evaluated with …

On The Use Of Lognormal Distribution For Environmental Data Analysis, Devarshi Pant

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Contaminant concentration data from Superfund sites is quite often positively skewed, and the log-normal theory based statistical procedures are typically used for such data. Recent work in the environmental statistics literature, however, has shown that the use of log-normal theory based formulas, such as the H-statistic confidence interval, is problematic. The performance of the H -- UCL in the presence of non -- detects in the sample is investigated via simulated examples. When comparing mean contaminant concentration at a site with that of the background, the 2-sample t-test on log-transformed data is commonly used. A part of this thesis deals …