Digital Commons Network^™

The Influence Of Natural And Anthropogenic Drivers On Estuarine Food Webs At Various Spatio-Temporal Scales And Levels Of Complexity, Michelle Shaffer

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Global coastal ecosystems support human life by providing critical services like food, water purification, and coastal protection, yet these ecosystems are among the most threatened due to natural and human-driven disturbances. The long-term maintenance and restoration of these ecosystems is a complex challenge for resource managers due to the wide range of factors affecting these ecosystems ecological condition over long timespans. Most studies in marine ecology evaluate ecosystem change over relatively short temporal scales (ago), often resulting in shifting baseline syndrome. To effectively manage and restore these ecosystems, resource managers must consider long-term ecosystem baselines.

The Indian River Lagoon (IRL) …

Demystifying The Hosting Infrastructure Of The Free Content Web: A Security Perspective, Mohammed Alqadhi

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This dissertation delves into the security of free content websites, a crucial internet component that presents significant security challenges due to their susceptibility to exploitation by malicious actors. While prior research has highlighted the security disparities between free and premium content websites, it has not delved into the underlying causes. This study aims to address this gap by examining the security infrastructure of free content websites. The research commences with an analysis of the content management systems (CMSs) employed by these websites and their role. Data from 1,562 websites encompassing free and premium categories is collected to identify CMS usage …

Multi-Agent Optimization Of Non-Cooperative Multimodal Mobility Systems, Md Nafees Fuad Rafi

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

While multimodal mobility systems have the potential to bring benefits to travelers, drivers, environment, and traffic congestion, such systems typically involve multiple non-cooperative decision-makers who may selfishly optimize their own objectives without considering the overall system benefits. This paper aims to investigate market-based interactions of key stakeholders (i.e., service providers, drivers, and travelers) in the context of multimodal transportation (MT) systems. We propose a unified mathematical modeling framework to capture the decentralized travelers and drivers' decision-making process and balance the spatial demand and supply by locational service pricing. Such a model allows analyses of the impact of decentralized decision-making on …

Nonlinear Dynamical Characteristics Of Electroencephalogram Signatures In Patients With Multiple Sclerosis, Christopher I. Hernandez

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The application of nonlinear analysis in studying electroencephalography (EEG) signals has been increasingly applied to patients with neurological disorders, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Various nonlinear analysis methods have been employed to investigate MS, offering unique insights into understanding, diagnosing, and treating the condition. This study utilized two nonlinear analyses, sample entropy (SampEn) and Higuchi’s fractal dimension (HFD), to explore the effects of Interferon-β (IFN-β) and dimethyl fumarate (DMF) on patients with MS. Data were collected from 175 participants at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, across three groups: IFN-β (n = 39), DMF (n = 53), and healthy controls (n …

Lithium Niobate Piezoelectric Transformers For Compact Electronics And Atmospheric Plasma Generation, Justin R. Phelps

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This work presents piezoelectric transformers for compact electronics and atmospheric plasma generation, utilizing thin-film microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and bulk machined suspended transformers based on 128˚ Y-cut lithium niobate. As electronic devices continue to miniaturize, scaling down magnetic components remains a challenge due to difficulties in generating and confining sufficiently large magnetic fields. The most common configurations exhibit efficiencies of approximately 70% and can cause interference in surrounding electronics. In this work, thin-film flexural mode piezoelectric transformers are developed for on-chip, low frequency passive voltage gain and impedance transformation. These devices exhibit efficiencies as high as 95% and voltage gain above …

Effects Of Premixing On Emissions And Flame Stabilization For A High-Pressure Reacting Jet In Crossflow, Penelope Torres Serrano

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The effects of fuel premixing on the emissions and flame stabilization characteristics of a high-pressure, axially staged combustion system are experimentally examined. The experimental facility is split into two major components. The main stage provides a high-pressure, high-temperature crossflow that is consistent for all test conditions, and the axial stage provides the reacting jet-in-crossflow, where the flame temperature is varied by equivalence ratio sweep. Methane is injected through the axial stage into a high-speed vitiated crossflow under varying conditions, ranging premixing states, for various equivalence ratios. Experimentally, it is observed that NOx emissions increase with equivalence ratio and decrease under …

Design And Development Of A Real-Time Autonomous Uav Swarm Control System, Berk Cetinsaya

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This dissertation focuses on advancing control systems and path planning techniques for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), particularly in drone swarm operations and real-time digital twin (DT) integration. The research addresses key challenges in scalability, real-time responsiveness, and system adaptability to improve the efficiency and situational awareness of UAV systems. A comprehensive review of existing methods highlights the importance of swarm intelligence and nature-inspired algorithms. The study introduces a real-time DT that integrates multiple drone video feeds into a unified 3D environment. Additionally, the Camera-based Adaptive Line Formation and Dynamic Leader-Following Optimization (CALF-DLFO) strategy enhances drone swarm coverage and reduces update …

Hydrogen Cryo-Adsorption In Silica Aerogel: Analytical Model Of Adsorption In Porous Media And Experimental Validation, Adil Riahi

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Hydrogen has incontestably gained attention as one of the best alternative energy sources to fossil fuels due to its volatility, abundance and eco-friendly attributes. The classical methods for hydrogen storage in its gaseous or liquid forms such as high-pressure tanks or cryogenic temperatures display several challenges. Hence, the need to come up with innovative methods to store and transport it is imminent. Comparative studies have demonstrated that material-based hydrogen storage has proven promising in enhancing energy efficiency. However, material selectivity is the missing part of the puzzle to achieve optimal hydrogen storage performance. This dissertation introduces a novel material for …

High-Performance, Energy-Efficient, And Scalable Accelerator Design For Emerging Machine Learning Applications, Lingxiang Yin

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The use of machine learning (ML) is pervasive in numerous application domains, such as autonomous driving, scientific computing, robotics, and among others. However, the continuous growth of ML model complexity and data size is posing unprecedented computation and communication demands on current computing systems, especially in the era of large language models. The problem is further compounded by unstructured data and technology limitations.

To address these challenges, this dissertation research explores novel accelerator designs tailored for a wide range of machine learning applications. First, this research investigates a flexible communication fabric that can enable efficient training for deep learning applications …

Shifting Educational Paradigms: An Analysis Of Evolving Student Expectations Within A Reformed Physical Chemistry Curriculum, Kevin E. Morales

Undergraduate Scholarship and Creative Works

Students often hold negative expectations when enrolling in rigorous undergraduate courses. PhysicalChemistry is a challenging upper-level course for Chemistry majors; the course has a reputation as a demandingcourse that leads to students building negative expectations. This worsened when ambiguity existed in an instructor’s pedagogy. Not addressing those initial expectations of the students abates their motivation, which does not put them in the best place to learn, leading to poor academic performance. The course syllabus is often the first interaction a student has with the course; it can be a critical tool in (re)setting students' initial expectations and allows the instructor …

Using Geographic Information Systems To Examine Unmet Healthcare Needs Among Transgender And Non-Binary Young Adults In Florida, Nino Franklin

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This study explored healthcare utilization among the Transgender and Gender Non-Binary (TGNB) population of Florida using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to visualize and analyze the spatial distribution of unmet healthcare needs. The aim was to provide a clear comparison of unmet healthcare needs across various regions, highlight areas with the highest and lowest levels of unmet needs, and understand the demographic factors influencing these disparities. Utilizing survey data from the NIH-funded U=CARE study, which involved TGNB participants aged 18-26 from diverse racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, the data were cleaned, geocoded, and analyzed within ArcGIS. Geocoded survey responses were linked to …

Concepts And Measures Of Human Intelligence And Anthropology: A Systematic Review Of Academic Literature From 1930s To 2010s, Leilani Maldonado

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis explores the evolution of intelligence research and its contextualization within historical biases. Using a meta-analysis approach, the study examines word frequencies in academic literature spanning from the 1930s to the 2010s to identify shifting trends in intelligence discourse. Eleven search terms related to intelligence were analyzed to interpret changes in academic focus over time. The findings reveal significant shifts influenced by historical events, societal movements, and advancements in technology and methodology. From the prominence of IQ measures during World War II to the rise of cognitive science in the 1960s and the emergence of emotional intelligence in the …

Improving The Robustness Of Neural Networks To Adversarial Patch Attacks Using Masking And Attribution Analysis, Atandra Mahalder

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Computer vision algorithms, including image classifiers and object detectors, play a pivotal role in various cyber-physical systems, spanning from facial recognition to self-driving vehicles and security surveillance. However, the emergence of real-world adversarial patches, which can be as simple as stickers, poses a significant threat to the reliability of AI models utilized within these systems. To address this challenge, several defense mechanisms such as PatchGuard, Minority Report, and (De)Randomized Smoothing have been proposed to enhance the resilience of AI models against such attacks. In this thesis, we introduce a novel framework that integrates masking with attribution analysis to robustify AI …

Estimating Modeling Parameters For Covid-19 Spread On Campus, Aviel S. Crigger

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Understanding the true burden of community transmission of communicable diseases like COVID-19 is crucial for effective public health response. Clinical cases, while important, only represent a fraction of the actual disease prevalence within a population. In this thesis, we investigate methods to estimate parameters that link clinical cases to the true disease prevalence using a modified compartmental model known as SICR (Susceptible, Infected, Cases, Recovered). We employ Bayesian inference and ensemble Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulations to analyze clinical case data provided by the University of Central Florida Health Center from 2020 to 2022. Our goal is to estimate …

Tracking The Reaction Networks Of Criegee Intermediates Formed In The Ozone-Assisted Oxidation Reactions Of C5 Acyclic And Endocyclic Alkenes, Arden M. Floyd

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Uni- and bi-molecular reactions involving Criegee intermediates (CIs), characteristic to alkene-ozone reactions, play an important role in synthetic organic, atmospheric, and combustion chemistry. However, difficulty in detecting key intermediates has prevented a thorough understanding of the details of the ozonolysis mechanism. To gain new insights into how alkene structure affects the CI network, the ozone assisted oxidation reactions of trans-2-pentene and cyclopentene are investigated between 320 K and 760 K in an atmospheric pressure jet stirred reactor (JSR). Molecular-beam mass spectrometry in conjunction with single photon tunable synchrotron VUV radiation is used to identify elusive intermediates by means of …

The Effects Of Nanobubbles For Gene Delivery For Osteoporosis Treatment, Abel Córdova Flores

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In recent years, the field of nanomedicine has provided promising alternatives to traditional ways of gene and drug delivery, such as nanobubbles instead of viral vectors. Manufacturing these nanomaterials is cost-effective and tends to be safer than previous forms of treatment for clinical use. In the realm of osteoporosis, a disease based around a higher rate of bone resorption to bone formation, leads to weak and brittle bones, leaving sufferers at risk for fractures, which are sudden and unexpected. These fractures are estimated to cost USD 22 Billion annually in the US alone. Reports show a significant effect on the …

Shades Of Justice: Exploring Colorism In The Hispanic Community And Its Legal Battle For Equity, Christel A. Infante

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis focuses on the racial disparity within the Hispanic and Latinx communities as injustices exist within the community and the workplace. Racial disparities in the United States have been a persistent and deeply rooted issue that has plagued the nation for centuries. Despite significant progress in civil rights and anti-discrimination legislation, disparities in areas such as education, employment, and criminal justice persist. Understanding the factors contributing to these disparities is essential for addressing systemic inequalities and fostering a more just society. The analysis of this thesis primarily focuses on the cases and ramifications of Hispanic persons within the workplace, …

An Investigation Of Students' Modes Of Thinking Concerning Linearity In Linear Algebra, Noa Levy

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to investigate student approaches to linearity within a linear algebra context, focusing on definitional, computational, and theoretical skills. Linear algebra’s abstract nature constitutes a major challenge for a significant sector of STEM students, with the course often serving as undergraduates’ first encounter with mathematical proofs and extrapolations. The current student struggle is reflected through the prominent gap in knowledge derived from a lack of a concrete understanding of rudimentary concepts (like linearity), pivotal to student success. As such, this investigation aimed to bridge this gap by considering students’ modes of thinking regarding the elementary …

Music Recommendation Using Exemplars And Contrastive Learning, Tina Tran

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The popularity of AI audio applications is growing, it is used in chatbots, automated voice translation, virtual assistants, and text-to-speech translation. Audio classification is crucial in today’s world with a growing need to sort and classify millions of existing audio data with increasing amounts of new data uploaded over time. In the area of classification lies the difficult and lucrative problem of music recommendation. Research in music recommendation has trended over time towards collaborative-based approaches utilizing large amounts of user data. These approaches tend to deal with the cold-start problem of insufficient data and are costly to train. We look …

Frieze And Tiling Groups In The Lorentz-Minkowski Plane, Michael O. Lynch

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In this thesis, there is a presentation of the isometries from the Lorentz-Minkowski Plane and a solution to the Frieze Patterns. There is a suggestion for a solution for the Tiling Patterns. Since the construction of these mathematical structures is well understood in the Euclidean plane, one can follow a similar approach to the construction of such objects to find the unique number of groups that describe all possible frieze patterns while there is a suggestion of the number for the tiling case. There is a reflection of these results in a computational and cosmological context.

Breakfast Skipping In College Students And Its Association With Eating Behaviors, Rebekah E. May

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Background: Breakfast is important in maintaining optimal diet quality and decreasing preventable diet-related disease later in life. Breakfast skipping is highly prevalent in the college population, potentially decreasing self-regulation and diet quality and increasing habits of overeating. However, specific eating styles and diet quality have yet to be studied in breakfast skippers.

Objective: To explore and compare the characteristics of eating style, self-regulation, and diet quality among college students between a day when breakfast is skipped and a day when breakfast is consumed.

Methodology: Undergraduate students (n=103) participating in this observational crossover study completed demographics, the Self-regulation of Eating Behavior …

Analysis Of Variations In Flow-Independent Liquid Jet-In-Crossflow Injections, Michael Scott

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Liquid fuel injection is a critical mechanism for the deliverance of liquid fuel in contemporary aircraft propulsion combustion systems due to its outsized influence in providing optimal combustion conditions and improving overall aircraft efficiency and performance. Despite this, these liquid jet in crossflow (LJIC) systems are highly variable due to conditions in the jet and the surrounding airflow, leading to variability in performance behavior and inconsistency in fuel mixing and combustion efficiency. This has prompted the introduction of solid pintile obstructions of novel designs to provide a more flow-independent fuel injection scheme and decrease variability of the jet properties against …

Hybridization Kinetics Of Four-Way Junctions Localized On A Dna Scaffold, Katherine N. Taylor

Honors Undergraduate Theses

DNA computing is an ever-growing field with scientists trying to design structures that optimize logic gate communication to develop fast, biologically compatible, computational structures. We hypothesize that by using the principles of DNA computing, it is possible to design a DNA tile capable of studying localized DNA hybridization that can differentiate between oligonucleotides of different structural conformations. This includes synthetically manipulating DNA into a nanostructure that can perform Boolean logic functions to calculate the different rates of hybridization. To test our hypothesis, we designed a DNA Tile that incorporated a 4WJ using YES logic. Linear and hairpin single-stranded (ss) DNA …

Searching For Black Holes In The Galactic Center, Caden Zaccardi

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Due to the high extinction along the plane of the Milky Way towards the Galactic Center (GC), it is useful to look at objects that are bright in the near-infrared (near-IR) to obtain data with Earth-based instruments. To identify X-ray Binary (XRB) counterparts towards the GC, we used near-IR spectra from the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). After reducing the LUCI/LBT spectra with the superFATBOY (sFB) pipeline, we compared our near-IR spectra to previously matched IR and X-ray sources in the GC (DeWitt, 2011). Particularly, we looked for H and He emission lines, which indicate signs of a hard radiation field …

Keeping You In Shape: The Integration Of Fractals In The Study Of Healthy Systems, Alexandria Miller

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This work discusses the application of fractals in studying the human body as a complex system. I argue that the human body falls under the classification of a complex system and can thus be studied by applying the universalities that complex systems possess. One of these universalities is fractality, which I find to have benefits in both research regarding the human body and in treatment of the human body, in relation to patient care practices. I begin by analyzing the definition of complex systems and fractals, and how these two concepts can fit together. I then discuss differing interpretations of …

Neurodivergent Student Success In Postsecondary Education: Attitudes Toward Current Accommodations, Alexis T. Cunha

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis investigated the perceptions of accommodation efficacy held by students with neurodevelopmental disabilities at UCF (the University of Central Florida) to understand whether the current accommodations are adequate for those accessing them. Prior research has found that students with disabilities face many barriers when accessing proper accommodations.

Furthermore, even when they access them, the accommodations may fall short of what is needed. An online survey study was conducted to investigate student usage of and attitudes toward accommodations. The survey comprised five main sections: Demographics, Perceptions of Accommodations/Accommodations Received, Willingness to Disclose Disability Scale (WDD), Attitudes Toward Requesting Accommodations Scale …

Exploring I-Ready Mathematics And Its Support For Learning Fractions Of Third Grade Students, Allison Carnesale

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study explores the effectiveness of the i-Ready Mathematics program in enhancing third-grade students’ understanding of fractions through a mixed-methods approach. Utilizing an explanatory sequential design, this research combines quantitative analysis of student diagnostic and F.A.S.T. assessment scores in mathematics with qualitative observational data. The study aims to assess whether i-Ready serves as a supportive tool for fraction learning and identify behavioral factors influencing student engagement.

Conducted over a three-month period in one third grade classroom, the study followed five students engaged with i-Ready’s fraction-focused lessons. Quantitative findings indicated that most students demonstrated academic growth, as evidenced by upward trends …

Paleodemographic Research In Ancient Túcume With A Focus On Infant Mortality, Tyler J. Pilarski

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This research analyzed bioarchaeological data from the Peruvian site of Túcume in an attempt to understand what the overall mortality profile may have been like, as well as what patterns may have been seen in juvenile and infant mortality. The primary data set, which consisted of estimated age-at-death values from previously excavated skeletal remains, was examined via three different models (Life Table, 5 Year Incremental, and Categorical), as well as compared to data from two other comparable sites (Pacatnamú and Farfán). It was found that individuals at Túcume were dying in unequal proportions across the age groups, ranging from newborn …

Estimating Change Over Time In Catfish Size As A Proxy For Prehistoric Resource Use At Cape Canaveral, Otis Fields

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The Ais who lived on Cape Canaveral are no longer present to tell their stories, but they left behind artifacts that can help us learn how they managed their environmental resources. Ongoing zooarchaeological analyses from multiple prehistoric sites at Cape Canaveral have revealed a heavy reliance on marine catfishes (Ariopsis felis and Bagre marinus). This study estimates the size and weight of catfish using allometric equations from measurements of dorsal and pectoral spines and otoliths. Analyses will identify potential changes in size over time and preference in size of fish that were kept to evaluate the sustainability of …

The Effect Of Mating Pheromone 2,6-Dichlorophenol On Gene Expression In Male Lone Star Ticks (Amblyomma Americanum), Mitchell E. Dyen

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Lone star ticks (Amblyomma americanum) are tick species known for their generalist feeding habits, pursuing blood meals with little preference for specific host species. They are found in the southern and midwestern United States but have been rapidly expanding northward due to climate change and white-tailed deer population expansion. Since they are a zoonotic disease vector, their increased abundance has caused the concurrent increased prevalence of a variety of tick-borne illnesses such as tularemia, heartland virus disease, alpha-gal syndrome, ehrlichiosis, and southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI), which effect both humans and animals alike. This increased prevalence of tick-borne …