Digital Commons Network^™

Simulated Effects Of Varied Landscape-Scale Fuel Treatments On Carbon Dynamics And Fire Behavior In The Klamath Mountains Of California, Kevin J. Osborne

Master's Theses

I utilized forest growth model (FVS-FFE) and fire simulation software (FlamMap, Randig), integrated through GIS software (ArcMap9.3), to quantify the impacts varied landscape-scale fuel treatments have on short-term onsite carbon loss, long-term onsite carbon storage, burn probability, conditional flame length, and mean fire size. Thirteen fuel treatment scenarios were simulated on a 42,000 hectare landscape in northern California: one untreated, three proposed by the US Forest Service, and nine that were spatially-optimized and developed with the Treatment Optimization Model in FlamMap. The nine scenarios developed in FlamMap varied by treatment intensity (10%, 20%, and 30% of the landscape treated) and …

Polymorphic Variation Of The Dgat1 Gene In Cal Poly Holstein And Jersey Breeds And The Correlation Of Milk Fat Content, And Genetic Values, Andrea M. Laubscher

Master's Theses

The selection of dairy cattle is dictated by improvement of yield and composition of milk. Genotyping tests give breeders the opportunity to use previously unavailable information to increase the frequency of beneficial alleles in their herds. A QTL influencing milk yield and composition is located in the centromeric end of chromosome 14. The polymorphism being analyzed is a K232A substitution (lysine to alanine amino acid change) in exon VII of the diacylglycerol acyl transferase 1 (DGAT1) gene. DGAT1 is a key acyltranferase in triglyceride biosynthesis. DGAT1 encodes an enzyme which catalyzes the final step of mammalian triglyceride synthesis from carbohydrates. …

Response To Management Strategies In Young-Growth Giant Sequoia Stands At Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest – Remeasurement Twenty Years After Treatment, Joshua Soderlund

Master's Theses

There is limited information on how young-growth giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum [Lindl.] Buchholz)/mixed conifer stands respond to forest management strategies. An applied research study was initiated in 1989 when 35 approximately 0.1 acre (0.04 hectare) plots were installed in six young-growth giant sequoia/mixed conifer stands. The objective of this study was to determine if there was a difference after 20 years between treatments (a) thin only, (b) thin and prescribe burn, and (c) control in terms of the effect on overstory growth and yield, understory plants, tree regeneration and downed woody debris. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) for cubic-foot growth …

Impedance-Based Detection Of Tissue Using A Multi-Electrode Device, Shane Killian Fleshman

Master's Theses

Melanoma skin cancer is the abnormal growth of the melanocytes – the pigmented cells located in the epidermis. The current gold standard diagnostic technique for determining whether a lesion is cancerous involves subjectively examining suspicious lesions and performing an invasive biopsy to confirm melanoma. This method may neglect some lesions or cause scarring from biopsies that turn out to be benign. Thus, impedance-based detection using a multi-electrode device was investigated as a noninvasive technique to diagnose melanoma skin cancer. The multi-electrode device was designed with 8 equally spaced Ag/AgCl electrodes surrounding one central electrode at a 5 mm radius. The …

Reducing Moisture Damage In Asphalt Mixes Using Recycled Waste Additives, Anthony John Boyes

Master's Theses

This thesis has determined that using fly ash as a mineral filler in asphalt pavements can help strengthen and reduce asphalt moisture damage. Also, dynamic shear rheometer tests show that these additives have a stiffening effect on asphalt binder. Moisture related damage is considered one of the main causes of asphalt pavement failure. As water infiltrates a layer of asphalt, it slowly strips away asphalt binder, weakening the aggregate/binder bond. This process, combined with the cyclic loading of traffic, can lead to several different types of asphalt failure including rutting, raveling, bleeding, and cracking. For several decades, research has been …

Modeling And Analysis Of A Four-Switch Buck-Boost Dynamic Capacitor, Oscar Plasencia

Master's Theses

Modern electric power utilities are facing a variety of challenges introduced by the increasing complexity of their operation, structure, and consumer loads. One such challenge has been to supply the ever growing demand for reactive power which is essential for grid support. For this reason dynamic VAR technologies are becoming much more important to modern day power systems. A recent dynamic VAR technology known as the Dynamic Capacitor offers full quadrant capacitive VAR control through the combination of AC/AC buck and boost cells. This paper introduces a new topology deemed the “Four-Switch Buck-Boost Dynamic Capacitor” which promises to combine the …

Implementation Of Medicinal Leech Preparation To Investigate The Connection Between The Motor Neuron And Muscle Fiber Via Sharp Electrode Electrophysiology, Chandra Nikole Miller

Master's Theses

There are forty registered organophosphates in the United States and they range from pesticides and insecticides to nerve agents or neurotoxins such as sarin. Organophosphates (OP’s) have been used in chemical warfare for years and tend to lead to death due to an attack on the nervous system. Chemical assays and mass microscopy have been used to assess the concentration of OP’s in the environment, but both methods require the body to metabolize the OP first, which can be detrimental to the victim. It is crucial to come up with a method to investigate and detect these neurotoxins without causing …

Predicting The Acoustic Response Of The Golf Club & Ball Impact Using Finite Elements And The Boundary Element Method, Scott Henry Moreira

Master's Theses

An improved and repeatable method for meshing golf club heads using finite elements in TrueGrid® was developed. Using solid brick elements through the thickness of the club head instead of shell elements better represents the many thickness variations throughout each section of a club head. This method also results in a high quality mesh at the center of the club head sections while still maintaining high quality at the edges. A simulation procedure was also developed to predict the acoustic pressure at a designated point in an acoustic medium of a golf club and ball impact using the BEM and …

Dimensional Stability Of Geosynthetic Clay Liners In Landfill Applications, Gregory R. Olsen

Master's Theses

An investigation was conducted related to the dimensional stability of geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) in landfill applications. Multiple occurrences of panel separation of overlap seams in GCLs have been documented; however, explanation for the relative contribution of various mechanisms causing shrinkage has been limited. A systematic test program was conducted to determine the effects of a variety of conditions on GCL dimensional stability.

Effects of initial moisture content, permeant type, and overburden pressure were tested by subjecting various GCL products to wet-dry cycles and measuring the dimensional change with each cycle. Different GCL types were each tested under various combinations …

Impact Of Collateral Enlargement On Smooth Muscle Phenotype, Alexander Jerome Bynum

Master's Theses

Peripheral Artery Disease is a very serious disease characterized by an arterial occlusion due to atherosclerotic plaques. In response to an arterial occlusion, arteriogenesis occurs, causing smooth muscle cells to transition from a contractile to synthetic state. Also following an arterial occlusion, functional impairment was seen in the collateral circuit. An immunofluorescence protocol was developed in order to assess the impact of collateral enlargement (arteriogenesis) on smooth muscle phenotype at various time points. Smooth muscle α-actin was used to mark all smooth muscle cells, Ki-67 was used to label proliferating smooth muscle cells, and a fluorescent nuclear stain was used …

Enhancement Of Light Absorption Efficiency Of Solar Cell Using Dual, Ashton Ellaboudy

Master's Theses

In this research we study the effect of adding a single diffraction grating on top of a solar cell. We simulated the square diffraction grating, as well as triangular diffraction grating. The single square grating showed more favorable results, achieved 330% power improvement compared to 270% power improvement in the single triangular grating case.

We simulated a triangle/triangle (top-bottom) and triangular/rectangular (top-bottom) grating cases. The Triangular grating achieved higher light absorption compared to rectangular grating. The best top grating was around 200nm grating period. We realized solar cell efficiency improvement about 42.4% for the triangular rectangular (top-bottom) grating.

We studied …

Living With Emerging Contaminants: Proteomics Of 4-Nonylphenol Exposed Arrow Goby (Clevelandia Ios), Sarah Emily Johnson

Master's Theses

Alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs) are widely used in industrial and household products as surfactants. APEs degrade into more toxic ethoxylates, such as 4-nonylphenol (NP), which has been shown to be an endocrine disruptor and enhance the growth of tumor cells. Nonylphenol is wider spread in Pacific estuaries than originally thought. Organisms in Morro Bay, California contain some of the highest concentrations of NP reported, while containing few other contaminants. As a benthic mud-dwelling fish, the arrow goby (Clevelandia ios) may be exposed to high levels of NP due to high contaminant sequestration rates in anaerobic mud. While ecotoxicology suggests …

Cubesat Constellation Analysis For Data Relaying, Bradley Ryan Smalarz

Master's Theses

Current CubeSat communication technology limits the amount of time, and number of accesses with ground stations. It has been proposed to use a constellation of CubeSats to improve relay performance and increase the number of accesses between a CubeSat and ground stations. By using the spatial and temporal analysis features of STK, coupled with the STK/Matlab interface a robust tool was created to analyze the performance of CubeSat constellations based on a store-and-forward communications model which is not currently supported by the STK Engine. Utilizing the Connect messaging format through a socket connection on the local machine, a Matlab graphical …

Seasonal And Anatomical Variation In Compact Bone Remodeling In The Adult Sheep, Joseph Calcagno

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

SEASONAL AND ANATOMICAL VARIATION IN COMPACT BONE REMODELING IN THE ADULT SHEEP

Joseph Calcagno

In order to determine whether ovine compact bone is suitable for study of osteoporosis, the remodeling parameters of the untreated animal must be fully characterized. Ovine compact bone is an attractive large animal model due to its similarities in size and bone remodeling to humans. However hormonal, exercise, and dietary changes due to seasonal changes can cause treatment effects to be hidden or superimposed on existing changes in the bone. In order to determine if any seasonal or anatomical variation occurred in the compact bone …

Digitally Controlled, Modular Electronic Load, Jason L. March

Master's Theses

This project entails the design and development of a digitally controlled, modular electronic load. The proposed load is unique from existing designs because it has the added ability to increase its maximum current level by adding identical modules in parallel. Each module is designed to sink a maximum of 5A at 60V but more modules allow for more current. The cost and simplicity of the design are considered such that it can be reproduced in-house to replace, whenever possible, the resistor box for load testing of any analog circuits but more specifically power electronic circuits.

The design process as well …

Analysis Of Contrast Enhancement Methods For Infrared Images, Sprinkle Christian

Master's Theses

Contrast enhancement techniques are used widely to improve the visual quality of images. The difference in luminance reflected from two adjacent surfaces creates contrast between the surfaces in the image. The greater the contrast, the easier it is to recognize and differentiate objects in an image. Thus object contrast is an important factor in the perception of the visual quality of an image and in its usefulness for object recognition and image analysis applications.

The focus of this thesis is on studying how well different contrast enhancement techniques developed for visible spectrum photographic images work on infrared images; to determine …

Experimental Investigation Of A 2-D Air Augmented Rocket: Effects Of Nozzle Lip Thickness On Rocket Mixing And Entrainment, Trevor Allen Montre

Master's Theses

Cold-flow tests were performed using a simulated Air Augmented Rocket (AAR) operating as a mixer-ejector in order to investigate the effects of varied primary nozzle lip thickness on mixing and entrainment. The simulated primary rocket ejector was supplied with nitrogen at a maximum chamber stagnation pressure of 1712 psi, and maximum flow rate of 1.67 lb_m/s. Secondary air was entrained from a plenum, producing pressures as low as 6.8 psi and yielding maximum stagnation pressure ratios as high as 160. The primary ejector nozzles each had an area ratio of approximately 20, yielding average primary exit Mach numbers …

State Estimation For Tracking Of Tagged Sharks With An Auv, Christina Forney

Master's Theses

Presented is a method for estimating the planar position, velocity, and orientation states of a tagged shark. The method is designed for implementation on an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) equipped with a stereo-hydrophone and receiver system that detects acoustic signals transmitted by a tag. The particular hydrophone system used here provides a measurement of relative bearing angle to the tag, but does not provide the sign (+ or -) of the bearing angle. A particle filter was used for fusing measurements over time to produce a state estimate of the tag location. The particle filter combined with an active control …

Comet: Constrained Optimization Of Multiple-Dimensions For Efficient Trajectories, Michael Curt Conrad

Master's Theses

The paper describes the background and concepts behind a master’s thesis platform known as COMET (Constrained Optimization of Multiple-dimensions for Efficient Trajectories) created for mission designers to determine and evaluate suitable interplanetary trajectories. This includes an examination of the improvements to the global optimization algorithm, Differential Evolution, through a cascading search space pruning method and decomposition of optimization parameters. Results are compared to those produced by the European Space Agency’s Advanced Concept Team’s Multiple Gravity Assist Program. It was found that while discrepancies in the calculation of ΔV’s for flyby maneuvers exist between the two programs, COMET showed a noticeable …

The Influence Of Chilling And Heat Accumulation On Bloom Timing, Bloom Length And Crop Yield In Almonds (Prunus Dulcis (Mill.)), Melanie M. Covert

Master's Theses

Almonds are one of the first commercial nut trees to bloom in early spring and thus are susceptible to temperature patterns prior to and during bloom which affect bloom timing, bloom length, pollination and nut set. Data used in this project include yearly dates of 90% bloom from 1996-2006, bloom length in days and final crop yields in pounds per tree for Nonpareil and Mission varieties. Data were collected from the University of California Cooperative Extension reports on the 1993-2006 Regional Almond Variety Trials in Butte, San Joaquin and Kern Counties. Temperature pattern models in the form of Chill Hours …

A Framework For Developing And Integrating Effective Routing Strategies Within The Emergency Decision Support System, Joseph W. Yu

Master's Theses

In recent years transportation professionals have shown increasing interest in evacuation planning. With the advances in computing technologies it is possible to simulate urban transportation networks with great detail. These details from the traffic simulation model can be used for devising strategies for evacuation and emergency response in case of a disaster.

This thesis describes the modeling, calibration, and validation of the VISSIM traffic simulation model coded for downtown San Jose. The network is then used to test various evacuation scenarios to assess evacuation strategies that would be effective in case of a human-caused disaster.

The network modeled in the …

Residential Water Conservation: A Cross Comparative Analysis, Jeffrey M. Cook

Master's Theses

This thesis will explore different water conservation strategies and systems in the residential home, using the city of Irvine as a basis. The thesis will compare the financial implications between the different systems and as a return on investment. The analysis will also account for ecological and social implications on the occupants, in particular their standard of living and lifestyle changes. The thesis will explore the ability to conserve water in new residential construction and will provide a sustainable and conscientious schematic water design for the particular area of concern.

This thesis will act as a preliminary case study for …

Adhesion And Durability Of Coatings On Polypropylene Exterior Sidings, Logan Riekio Stark

Master's Theses

Plastics have become a universal material for use in a myriad of commercial and consumer products. One such product, exterior siding, is the focus of this project. Although siding products were originally made from wood, vinyl siding, which offered superior performance, was introduced in the 1950’s. More recently, polypropylene (PP) siding has been introduced; PP provides a stronger product, which allows for deeper patterns and better edge detailing. PP siding, compared to traditional wood siding, doesn’t warp, crack, or degrade as easily with extended exposure to the elements, and is cheaper to maintain. However, even plastic siding must be coated. …

Wind- Chimney (Integrating The Principles Of A Wind-Catcher And A Solar-Chimney To Provide Natural Ventilation), Fereshteh Tavakolinia

Master's Theses

WIND-CHIMNEY

Integrating the principles of a wind-catcher and a solar chimney to provide natural ventilation

Fereshteh Tavakolinia

Abstract

This paper suggests using a wind-catcher integrated with a solar-chimney in a single story building so that the resident might benefit from natural ventilation, a passive cooling system, and heating strategies; it would also help to decrease energy use, CO2 emissions, and pollution. This system is able to remove undesirable interior heat pollution from a building and provide thermal comfort for the occupant.
The present study introduces the use of a solar-chimney with an underground air channel combined with a wind-catcher, all …

Freight Truck Traffic Associated With The Port Of Oakland: A Case Study Of Roadway Impacts, James Hinkamp

Master's Theses

The Port of Oakland (“Port”) is the 5th largest container seaport by volume in the U.S. and the largest in Northern California. Maritime shipping activity at the Port exceeds 2 million import and export twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers annually. Containers may be full or empty, but nonetheless typically require hinterland shipment and intermodal transfer between maritime and land-based freight distribution systems. The freight trucking mode (“drayage”) handles approximately 80% of all TEU throughput at the Port, thus constituting the majority of landside Port traffic. The Port is also situated adjacent to dense urban development thereby exacting certain external impacts. …

Sensitivity Of Seismic Response Of A 12 Story Reinforced Concrete Building To Varying Material Properties, Colin Leung

Master's Theses

The main objective of this investigation is to examine how various material properties, governed by code specification, affect the seismic response of a twelve- story reinforced concrete building. This study incorporates the pushover and response history analysis to examine how varying steel yield strength (Fy), 28 day nominal compressive concrete strength (f’c), modes, and ground motions may affect the base shear capacity and displacements of a reinforced concrete structure.

Different steel and concrete strengths were found to have minimal impact on the initial stiffness of the structure. However, during the post-yielding phase, higher steel and concrete compressive strengths resulted in …

Digitally-Controlled Deep Brain Stimulation Lead Implant System, Matthew Joseph Phillips

Master's Theses

Deep brain stimulation, the treatment of disorders by applying electrical stimulation to brain tissue, is a relatively new field of medicine with great potential to provide cures for neurological disorders. It utilizes a system very similar to a cardiac pacemaker and lead to electrically stimulate brain tissue. This electrical stimulation is programmed to disrupt or mask aberrant brain signals while not impeding the normal function of the brain. The advances in implantable pulse generators designed for deep brain stimulation have been remarkable, and the applications for deep brain stimulation continue to grow including multiple sclerosis (Berk, et al. 2002), severe …

Global Optimization Of Mga-Dsm Problems Using The Interplanetary Gravity Assist Trajectory Optimizer (Igato), Jason M. Bryan

Master's Theses

Interplanetary multiple gravity assist (MGA) trajectory optimization has long been a field of interest to space scientists and engineers. Gravity assist maneuvers alter a spacecraft's velocity vector and potentially allow spacecraft to achieve changes in velocity which would otherwise be unfeasible given our current technological limitations. Unfortunately, designing MGA trajectories is difficult and in order to find good solutions, deep space maneuvers (DSM) are often required which further increase the complexity of the problem. In addition, despite the active research in the field over the last 50 years, software for MGA trajectory optimization is scarce. A few good commercial, and …

Factors That Relate To Overweight And Obesity In Preschool Children: An Investigation Of Preschool Children In San Luis Obispo County, Kyla Tom

Master's Theses

In the United States the trend towards overweight and obesity has been a major health concern as it has been linked to a variety of health problems. A nation-wide initiative, “Let’s Move” created by Michelle Obama was launched in February 2010 with the goal that, in one generation; every child born will be at a healthy weight at the start of adulthood. Healthy People 2020 are national health objectives for the United States to obtain by 2020. In 2009, San Luis Obispo (SLO) County preschool children overweight and obesity rates mirrored national rates of 1 in 5 four-year-old children were …

Developing Dendrifrom Facades Using Flow Nets As A Design Aid, Jonas H. Houston

Master's Theses

This thesis highlights a method of arriving at form that minimizes the need for high end technology and complex mathematical models, yet has structural principles of load flow at the highlighted methods core. Similar to how graphical statics assisted earlier architects and engineers to arrive at form by relating form and forces, this thesis suggests a method of form finding that relates the flow of stresses within solid masses to possible load-bearing façades. Looking to nature, where an abundance of efficient structural solutions can be found, this thesis focuses on a tree-like structural form called the dendriform. In doing so, …