Digital Commons Network^™

Ultra-Low Power Adcs For Space Sensors And Instruments, Shea Smith

Utah Space Grant Consortium

A 28nm 0.1V 10-bit 2kS/s time domain ADC design is proposed. This design opens the doors to both low supply and low power space sensors and instruments. Due to the stringent voltage supply, unique challenges arise that are met with innovation in the sample switch and the quantizer design. These components of the ADC architecture are optimized to perform successfully at a 0.1V supply with a sample rate suitable for most sensor applications.

Assessing Thickness Accommodation Techniques For Deployable Hexagonal Origami Space Arrays, Collin Ynchausti

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Origami-based and origami-inspired designs provide paths to achieve highly compact, stowable designs, that can be deployed to large surface areas. This potential is highly beneficial to the area of space antennas and LIDAR as these require compact stowing in a launch payload, but large apertures when deployed in space. Because the engineering materials used to build these antennas are thick, thickness accommodation techniques must be applied to realize the same folding motions as the zero-thickness models. This paper presents a hexagonal twist origami pattern in thick materials using three different thickness accommodation techniques. These techniques are compared. The metrics used …

Monitoring Acute Kidney Injury Risk With Urine Oxygen Partial Pressure, Lars Lofgren

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication associated with cardiac surgery. AKI is associated with increased hospital costs, hospital length of stay (LOS), and mortality risk. The current diagnostic criteria rely on serum creatinine measurements and urine output data. Serum creatinine is not renal specific. It is known that there are factors other than renal injury that influence serum creatine concentrations. Serum creatinine levels are measured as concentrations which means large changes in fluid balance may alter the serum creatinine concentration. Urine output is not a reliable measurement of renal injury, either. During surgery it is common to administer …

Feedback Control Of Particle Positions Using Electric Fields And Chemical Gradients, Mark Mcdonald

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Programmable self-assembly is a promising route to new biomaterial and metamaterial synthesis methods. An important step towards programmable self-assembly is moving component parts to desired locations. We do this by designing and simulating a controller that modifies an external field to move particles on desired paths. We first design a controller using electric fields by modifying established methods, then we apply the insights gained from the electric field controller to a chemical controller that uses model predictive control.

Phase-Space Dynamics Of Runaway Electrons In Tokamaks, Gavin Held

Physics Capstone Projects

Nuclear fusion converts the rest mass energy of ions like the deuteron and triton into kinetic energy. In theory, this energy can be harvested from a thermonuclear reactor to provide power outputs on the scale of 500 MW. High temperatures are needed for significant fusion to occur, hence the tokamak (a modern fusion confinement device) employs strong magnetic fields to keep the ionized gas (plasma) away from the tokamak wall. However, a problem that occasionally arises in a tokamak is that during a disruption an inductive electric field is created which can accelerate electrons to relativistic speeds (these electrons are …

Standard Non-Uniform Noise Dataset, Andres Imperial, John M. Edwards

Browse all Datasets

Fixed Pattern Noise Non-Uniformity Correction through K-Means Clustering

Fixed pattern noise removal from imagery by software correction is a practical approach compared to a physical hardware correction because it allows for correction post-capture of the imagery. Fixed pattern noise presents a unique challenge for de-noising techniques as the noise does not present itself where large number statistics are effective. Traditional noise removal techniques such as blurring or despeckling produce poor correction results because of a lack of noise identification. Other correction methods developed for fixed pattern noise can often present another problem of misidentification of noise. This problem can result …

Chloroplast Genomes In Populus (Salicaceae): Comparisons From An Intensively Sampled Genus Reveal Dynamic Patterns Of Evolution, Jiawei Zhou, Shuo Zhang, Jie Wang, Hongmei Shen, Bin Ai, Wei Gao, Cuijun Zhang, Qili Fei, Daojun Yuan, Zhiqiang Wu, Luke R. Tembrock, Sen Li, Cuiha Gu, Xuezhu Liao

Aspen Bibliography

The chloroplast is one of two organelles containing a separate genome that codes for essential and distinct cellular functions such as photosynthesis. Given the importance of chloroplasts in plant metabolism, the genomic architecture and gene content have been strongly conserved through long periods of time and as such are useful molecular tools for evolutionary inferences. At present, complete chloroplast genomes from over 4000 species have been deposited into publicly accessible databases. Despite the large number of complete chloroplast genomes, comprehensive analyses regarding genome architecture and gene content have not been conducted for many lineages with complete species sampling. In this …

Developing Electron Beam Lithography At Nanoscale Device Laboratory, Din Pašić

Physics Capstone Projects

At the Nanoscale Device Laboratory, we can routinely create patterns with a minimum linewidth of 800 nm using photolithography. However, to create photonic devices, the pattern size must be smaller than the wavelength of visible light (400 to 800 nm). Dedicated electron beam writers can achieve a sub-10 nm linewidth, but this system is beyond our reach. In this project, we plan to use a Nanometer Pattern Generation System connected to a Quanta 650 scanning electron microscope to perform e-beam lithography. After setting up a computer to run the NPGS system, and establishing communications with the SEM, we experimented with …

Tutoring Ell Students In The Digital Age Of Zoom: An Abundance Of Resources, Hannah Lee

Tutor's Column

Tutoring during Covid has been a challenging adjustment, but it has brought a flood of new resources for ELL tutoring. These resources are what ELL students need to succeed and break previous patterns of ELL struggles. Nontraditional students are now able to attend the writing center more easily than before. Asynchronous tutoring is a powerful resource for language learners who struggle with grammatical concepts and errors.

Changing The Narrative: Proofreading At The Writing Center, Claire Atwood

Tutor's Column

Writing Centers have a golden rule against proofreading. It gives student’s the impression that they can send their paper in to a tutor and they’ll correct all the grammar and semantics errors for them. This does not facilitate learning on the part of the student, and diminishes a tutor’s purpose, to tutor on writing. There needs to be a switch in how we approach a proofreading request, so we don’t refuse services to any students. Tutors can find grammatical errors and use them to teach basic principles.

Lean Production And Operational Performance: The Influence Of Organizational Culture, Rick Hardcopf, Gensheng (Jason) Liu, Rachna Shah

Management Faculty Publications

The use of lean production methods to drive sustainable competitive advantage has been a cornerstone of worldwide manufacturing strategy since the early 1980’s. Unfortunately, success from using lean has been mixed. Some researchers suggest that contextual variables play a central role in explaining the inconsistent results. This study evaluates the role of one critical contextual variable, organizational culture, in realizing operational improvements from lean. We investigate the influence of four distinct organizational cultures, as well as a hybrid culture and a firm’s ability to be culturally ambidextrous, on the relationship between lean and operational performance, as measured by cost, quality, …

Environmental Racism In A Growing City: Investigating Demographic Shifts In Salt Lake City's Polluted Neighborhoods, Emma Nathel Jones

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Studies investigating the spatial distribution of environmental hazards have repeatedly demonstrated the existence of environmental racism -- the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on communities of color. We aim to contribute to research on environmental racism by asking how relationships between race and hazard exposure change over time. Our study area, Salt Lake City (SLC), UT, USA is one of the largest cities in the intermountain west and is expected to see continued population growth. SLC was 99% white from 1860-1950. 2019 census estimates indicate that SLC is becoming more racially diverse with 35.6% of the population identifying as racial …

"Let Thy Conscience Act Her Part": Republican Motherhood In Civil War Popular Song, Gianna Patchett

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

In the American Civil War, described by Christian McWhirter as a war fought to music, popular song played a significant role in the expression and processing of wartime emotions and ideologies. Civil War songs with lyrics written by women show feminine strength in tragedy, challenges due to societal expectations, and the day to day difficulties of wartime on the homefront. One concept that unites these themes is that of Republican Motherhood, an ideology developed in the Revolutionary War, but which continued to be prevalent throughout the 19^th Century. This paradigm places female experience in the context of duty, patriotism, …

Variety In Second Language Instruction: Student Engagement In Sla, Emily Borgstrom Woodruff

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio is a collection of works completed by the author during her time as a student in the Master of Second Language Teaching program at Utah State University. It highlights important aspects and experiences of foreign language education that represent the author’s personal journey of learning and teaching.

The first section is comprised of the author’s teaching perspectives which are represented through the author’s desired professional environment, her teaching philosophy statement, and the author’s professional development through teaching observations. The second section presents the author’s pedagogical research pertaining to foreign language pragmatics and music integration in the classroom. The …

A Review Of Harmful Algal Bloom Prediction Models For Lakes And Reservoirs, Jade Snyder Echard

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Anthropogenic activity has led to eutrophication in water bodies across the world. This eutrophication promotes blooms, cyanobacteria being among the most notorious bloom organisms. Cyanobacterial blooms (more commonly referred to as harmful algal blooms (HABs)) can devastate an ecosystem. Cyanobacteria are resilient microorganisms that have adapted to survive under a variety of conditions, often outcompeting other phytoplankton. Some species of cyanobacteria produce toxins that ward off predators. These toxins can negatively affect the health of the aquatic life, but also can impact animals and humans that drink or come in contact with these noxious waters. Although cyanotoxin’s effects on humans …

An In-Depth Look At Learning Computer Language Syntax In A High-Repetition Practice Environment, Stephanie Gonzales

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Students in an introductory computer science course generally have difficulty producing code that follows the arrangement rules known as syntax. Phanon was created to help students practice writing correct code that follows the rules of syntax. Previous research suggests this tool has helped students improve their exam scores and strengthen effectiveness in the course. A study was conducted to observe students while they complete the syntax exercises to find meaningful patterns in the steps the students take to complete an exercise.

Evidence to support high intrinsic load was found throughout the study, which is a measure of difficulty learning a …

Data-Driven Recommendation Of Academic Options Based On Personality Traits, Aashish Ghimire

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The choice of academic major and, subsequently, an academic institution has a massive effect on a person’s career. It not only determines their career path but their earning potential, professional happiness, etc. [1] About 40% of people who are admitted to a college do not graduate within six years. Yet, very limited resources are available for students to help make those decisions, and each guidance counselor is responsible for roughly 400 to 900 students across the United States. A tool to help these decisions would benefit students, parents, and guidance counselors.

Various research studies have shown that personality traits affect …

Summer Stream Temperature Patterns And Controls In An Irrigation Depleted Western Stream, Sara Madison Alger

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the western US, flow diversions for irrigation reduce the amount of water in rivers. Additionally, changes to the nearby landscape can reduce the amount of groundwater flow into rivers. These combined factors deplete rivers and can even completely dry up the stream channel. Depleted streams typically have warmer temperatures in the summer, which can be harmful for fish and other aquatic species. However, in these depleted streams, small amounts of colder water can buffer these impacts. These colder water inputs, or lateral inflows, can come from local springs, seepage from nearby canals, or irrigation fields. Some rivers now depend …

Investigation Of Methionine And Lysine Derivatives As A Source Of Rumen-Protected Amino Acids For Lactating Dairy Cows, Mark Avila Fagundes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Cows have a protein requirement for growth, maintenance, and lactation. In order to meet those protein requirements, dairy farmers can supplement or feed cattle with specific amino acids, the building blocks that make-up protein. However, in order for the amino acid product to be effective it must avoid degradation in the rumen and be delivered in the small intestine for absorption. Lysine and methionine have traditionally been recognized as the most limiting amino acids for lactating dairy cows. Therefore, nutrition companies have focused on finding ways to encapsulate or protect lysine and methionine from rumen microbes. The N-acetyl-L-methionine and N-acetyl-L-lysine …

Sensitivity And Estimation Of Aerodynamic, Propulsion, And Inertial Parameters For Rudderless Aircraft Using Simulation, Jaden W. Thurgood

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A technique known as system identification is often used in aircraft design and testing to understand and validate the mathematical parameters that describe the aircrafts stability and handling characteristics. System identification can be thought of as the inverse of simulation. In the world of system identification, we have a physical system that we seek to understand in more detail by monitoring the system with an array of sensors. In short, we conduct tests of an aircraft while recording the inputs and response outputs. Then we take the input and output data and run it through an algorithm that seeks to …

Accounting For Critical Attributes And Uncertainty In Flow-Ecology Relationships, Elizabeth Decker Morgan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Environmental flows are used to maintain streamflow for aquatic species in rivers while also sustaining human water requirements. While there are many approaches to develop environmental flows, they all rely on a strong conceptual understanding of flow-ecology relationships, which are often uncertain. Uncertainty in flow-ecology relationships can stem from using limited data to develop or test relationships or an incomplete understanding of the attributes inherent to each relationship, such as climate and land conditions. Accounting for these attributes and uncertainty in flow-ecology relationships is critical given mounting interest to develop and implement environmental flows at large scales, often with limited …

A Laboratory Study Of The Hydraulics Of Moderate-Sloped Stepped Chutes With A Labyrinth Crest, L. Kade Flake

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Evolving methods of dam construction and rehabilitation require unique and innovative spillways. Spillways provide passage for water impounded by a dam. Stepped chute spillways offer an efficient and economical solution for dam construction and rehabilitation. Labyrinth weirs, which allow high flow discharge within a compact footprint, are often an economical solution for the spillway crest at a chute entrance. Labyrinth weirs have recently been combined with stepped chutes in several locations. However, published literature is scarce for the flow properties and key design parameters of these combined structures.

This study researched the hydraulics downstream of a labyrinth crest for two …

Trends In Cooperative Extension Calls From 2010 - 2019, Emily Elizabeth Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purposes of this study are to assess the most frequently addressed topics that the public has for Family Consumer Sciences (FCS) related Extension professionals and to indicate whether the topics are changing over time, with a specific interest in changes to food safety and preservation inquiries. The CES office in one county in a western state has been collecting FCS data from the years 2010 to 2019. This data is about the FCS-specific phone calls received to the office. The data was then coded and put into an Excel spreadsheet. There were a total of 5,863 phone calls with …

Predictive Modeling For Real Estate Days On Market, Jeffrey Brann

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Many forms of property valuation exist but estimation models for duration on market are not as common. This Paper examines a variety of variables as well those that would be found in a hedonistic valuation model and applies them to a predictive model estimating a property’s duration on market. A brief real estate market analysis is also provided regarding Cache County, Utah to give better clarity as to the environment in which this predictive model is performing.

Risk_Dash, A Python Framework To Model Portfolio Risk, Alexander Van Oene

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

While there are many Python packages that provide ways to do data analysis, in fact the package utilizes pandas, numpy, and scipy heavily, there are few that apply and handle common tasks that analysts face in quantifying market risk. pyfolio is one of those packages, however it forces you to utilize their infrastructure package Zipline where as risk_dash aims to provide a framework to formalize the data flow while being totally customizable for the analyst. risk_dash is comprised of classes and methods to handle the data flow and calculation of market risk metrics at the asset and portfolio level. In …

From Governess To Wife: How Women On The Fringe Of Society Upset And Restore Victorian Homes, Elsa C. Torgersen

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

In middle-class Victorian homes, wives were responsible for the care of the home, the raising of children, and the maintenance and upward mobility of her family’s social standing. She was the heart of the home and her purity and commitment to the home would not only affect her family, but also society. Yet the women who were qualified according to societal standards were a small group, carefully chosen to maintain the standards of society. In the novels Bleak House and Jane Eyre, the authors push back against strict societal expectations. They ask the audience to consider if women should …

Collaborative Classrooms: Incorporating Pragmatics And Technology In Language Learning With A Focus On Generation 1.5, Brandee Burk

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio is a compilation of work that the author accomplished during the Master of Second Language Teaching program at Utah State University (USU). It reflects the culmination of the author’s learning and teaching experiences during her coursework and as a graduate teaching assistant (GTA) in the Intensive English Language Institute (IELI).

The portfolio contains three main sections: teaching perspectives, research perspectives, and an annotated bibliography. In the first section the author explains her desired professional environment, her philosophy of teaching, as well as insights from language classroom observations she will incorporate into her teaching. The research perspectives section consists …

Short Selling Around Reverse Stock Splits, Ryan Voges

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

I examine whether short selling increases around reverse stock splits using 2019 daily short selling data instead of bimonthly short interest data required by FINRA. In my difference-in-difference analysis, I find that average short selling increases significantly for firms that reverse split their stock, relative to matched control firms that do not, around the split dates. I also find that firms that reverse split their stock experience negative cumulative abnormal returns in the 20-day period after the reverse stock splits, particularly for those firms that are heavily shorted. These results are in agreeance with existent literature and suggest that short …

Digital Scripture: An Investigation Of The Design And Use Of A Mobile Application For Reading Sacred Text, Neil Carpenter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Digital sacred text reading is rapidly growing as digital devices such as mobile smartphones are becoming more common across the globe. Although sacred text can have strong influence on identify and behavior, the effects of a digital revolution on scripture reading practices are not well understood. In particular, current research literature indicates that more information is needed about the design and use of digital sacred text applications (apps) such as mobile Bibles across different religious groups or cultures. Therefore, this study builds upon and extends previous work to analyze a religious text app, Gospel Library, which is designed and largely …

An Eulerian Perspective On Spring Migration In Mule Deer, Tatum Del Bosco

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many herbivores travel between low-elevation winter ranges and high-elevation summer sites. These seasonal movements allow them to avoid deep snow cover, ensure access to favorable habitat, and maximize food intake throughout the year. During the spring season, plants at lower elevations green up earlier at lower elevations than at higher elevations. It has been shown that individual animals will track this vegetation growth during their spring migration, which allows them to maximize forage intake coming out of the nutrient scarce winter. This phenomena has previously been studied by monitoring individual movement trajectories, but it is unknown how this pattern scales …