Digital Commons Network^™

Quantifying Surface Water And Groundwater Interactions In A High-Gradient Mountain Stream For Solute Transport, Noah M. Schmadel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A study reach in a mountain stream highly influenced by groundwater was selected to test common data collection strategies used to characterize and quantify groundwater exchange processes necessary to predict solute transport. The data types collected include: high frequency discharge estimates with the use of rating curves, dilution gauging techniques with instantaneous tracer experiments, groundwater table and stream water surface elevations, vertical head gradients, and hydraulic conductivity estimates. The first two data types were categorized as stream gauging and the remaining three data types as site characterization. The stream gauging data were used to quantify net changes in stream discharge …

A Comparison Of Soil Moisture And Hillslope-Stream Connectivity Between Aspen And Conifer-Dominated Hillslopes Of A First Order Catchment In Northern Utah, Amy R. Burke

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Mountain headwater catchments in the semi-arid Intermountain West are important sources of surface water because these high elevations receive more precipitation than neighboring lowlands. The hydrology of these mountain catchments is especially important as the region faces water shortages and conflicts. Conifer encroachment on aspen stands has been observed across the western US and can result in a decline in water yield. The overall objective of this study was to further our understanding of hillslope-stream connectivity in a headwater catchment of Northern Utah and any observable differences in this connection between aspen and conifer hillslopes. Hillslopes are the fundamental unit …

Memory Architecture Template For Fast Block Matching Algorithms On Field Programmable Gate Arrays, Shant Chandrakar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Fast Block Matching (FBM) algorithms for video compression are well suited for acceleration using parallel data-path architectures on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). However, designing an efficient on-chip memory subsystem to provide the required throughput to this parallel data-path architecture is a complex problem. This thesis presents a memory architecture template that can be parameterized for a given FBM algorithm, number of parallel Processing Elements (PEs), and block size. The template can be parameterized with well known exploration techniques to design efficient on-chip memory subsystems. The memory subsystems are derived for two existing FBM algorithms and are implemented on a …

Covert Botnet Design And Defense Analysis, Brandon Lyle Shirley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Intrusion defense system (IDS) development has been largely reactionary in nature. This is especially troubling given that botnets are capable of compromising and controlling thousands of computers before security professionals develop a mitigation technique. As new exploits are created, new mitigation techniques are developed to detect infections and, where possible, remove them. This thesis breaks from this tradition of reacting to malware. Instead, it looks at possible malicious software models through analyzing existing defense systems for exploitable weaknesses.

First, this thesis presents a new specialized botnet that circumvents current network intrusion detection mechanisms. The proposed botnet coordinates external communication among …

A Comparison Theorem For The Topological And Algebraic Classification Of Quaternionic Toric 8-Manifolds, Piotr Runge

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In order to discuss topological properties of quaternionic toric 8-manifolds, we introduce the notion of an algebraic morphism in the category of toric spaces. We show that the classification of quaternionic toric 8-manifolds with respect to an algebraic isomorphism is finer than the oriented topological classification. We construct infinite families of quaternionic toric 8-manifolds in the same oriented homeomorphism type but algebraically distinct. To prove that the elements within each family are of the same oriented homeomorphism type, and that we have representatives of all such types of a quaternionic toric 8-manifold, we present and use a method of evaluating …

Statistical Analysis Of Linear Analog Circuits Using Gaussian Message Passing In Factor Graphs, Miti Phadnis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis introduces a novel application of factor graphs to the domain of analog circuits. It proposes a technique of leveraging factor graphs for performing statistical yield analysis of analog circuits that is much faster than the standard Monte Carlo/Simulation Program With Integrated Circuit Emphasis (SPICE) simulation techniques. We have designed a tool chain to model an analog circuit and its corresponding factor graph and then use a Gaussian message passing approach along the edges of the graph for yield calculation. The tool is also capable of estimating unknown parameters of the circuit given known output statistics through backward message …

A Domain-Specific Design Tool For Verifying Spacecraft System Behavior, Sravanthi Venigalla

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this report we present a graphical tool, Behavioral Analysis of Spacecraft Systems (BASS), that can be used by spacecraft designers to perform system-level behavioral analysis of small satellites. The domain-specific spacecraft meta-model is created in the visual modeling tool Generic Modeling Environment (GME) such that spacecraft designs created using the meta-model appear familiar to the spacecraft designers. Users can model scenarios that are to be verified for the design in BASS. The graphical models are assigned formal semantics facilitating the creation of formally verifiable spacecraft models. The C++ application that translates the modeling objects to equivalent mathematical representation of …

Geologic Mapping, Alluvial Stratigraphy, And Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating Of The Kanab Creek Area, Southern Utah, Michelle Carlene Summa

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

At the turn of the century, Kanab Creek incised 30-meters into its alluvium, leaving behind fluvial terraces and thick basin fill sediments exposed along arroyo walls. Research objectives were to determine the timing and causes of past valley-filling and arroyo-cutting episodes along a 20 km-long reach of Kanab Creek in southern Utah. Fluvial deposits were mapped at the 1:12,000 scale and sediments were described and dated using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon dating.

The Kanab Creek valley can be divided into a narrow, upper terraced reach and a broad lower basin fill reach near Kanab, Utah. The most prominent …

Self-Healing Cellular Automata To Correct Soft Errors In Defective Embedded Program Memories, Varun Voddi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) cells in ultra-low power Integrated Circuits (ICs) based on nanoscale Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) devices are likely to be the most vulnerable to large-scale soft errors. Conventional error correction circuits may not be able to handle the distributed nature of such errors and are susceptible to soft errors themselves. In this thesis, a distributed error correction circuit called Self-Healing Cellular Automata (SHCA) that can repair itself is presented. A possible way to deploy a SHCA in a system of SRAM-based embedded program memories (ePM) for one type of chip multi-processors is also discussed. The …

Parallelization Of Performance Limiting Routines In The Computational Fluid Dynamics General Notation System Library, Kyle Horne

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Computational Fluid Dynamics General Notation System provides a unified way in which computational fluid dynamics data can be stored, but does not support the parallel I/O capabilities now available from version five of the Hierarchical Data Format library which serves as a back end for he standard. To resolve this deficiency, a new parallel extension library has been written and benchmarked for this work which can write files compliant with the standard using parallel file access modes. When using this new library, the write performance shows an increase of four-fold in some cases when compared to the same hardware …

Defining And Meeting The Demand For Agricultural Machinery In China: A Case Study Of John Deere, Garrett W. Davis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

There has been little research conducted regarding the agricultural machinery market in China. However, current data suggest that this demand is dramatically increasing. This dissertation endeavors to generally define the current demand of the agricultural machinery market in China. There has been research conducted on multiple factors of the agricultural machinery market in China, such as land tenure rights, rural migration, government agricultural policies, and others. Through the use of limited quantitative data, market demand is analyzed and defined. By means of a qualitative case study of a successful multinational corporation, Deere & Co., how the demand is being met …

Factors Affecting Air Entrainment Of Hydraulic Jumps Within Closed Conduits, Joshua D. Mortensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

While there has been a great deal of research on air entrainment at hydraulic jumps within closed conduits, very little of the research has specifically addressed size and temperature scale effects. Influences from jump location and changing length characteristics on air entrainment have also received little attention from past research. To determine the significance of size-scale effects of air entrained by hydraulic jumps in closed conduits, air flow measurements were taken in four different-sized circular pipe models with similar Froude numbers. Each of the pipe models sloped downward and created identical flow conditions that differed only in size. Additionally, specific …

The Relationship Between Residency And Socio-Demographics To Academic Performance In Ncaa Division I Freshman Athletes, Eric Matthew Snyder

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Numerous studies have been completed on the academic ability of student athletes. Since the mid 1980s, the NCAA has emphasized the importance of academics and mandated more stringent requirements to be able to participate in intercollegiate athletics. These initial-eligibility standards have been successful in increasing overall graduation rates of student-athletes, but there remain a number of concerns. The purpose of the study was to determine if an NCAA D-I freshman student athlete's place of residency on campus, as opposed to off campus, while attending college during his/her freshman year had a statistically significant relationship to achievement as it relates to …

Geometry And Electronic Structure Of Doped Clusters Via The Coalescence Kick Method, Boris Averkiev

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Developing chemical bonding models in clusters is one of the most challenging tasks of modern theoretical chemistry. There are two reasons for this. The first one is that clusters are relatively new objects in chemistry and have been extensively studied since the middle of the 20th century. The second reason is that clusters require high-level quantum-chemical calculations; while for many classical molecules their geometry and properties can be reasonably predicted by simpler methods.

The aim of this dissertation was to study doped clusters and explain their chemical bonding. The research was focused on three classes of compounds: aluminum clusters doped …

Cell Phone Use And Psychosocial Development Among Emerging Adults, Torrey B. Morrill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The cell phone has rapidly become an integral, and, for some, an essential communication tool that is being used worldwide. With cell phone ownership becoming so widespread, especially among the younger generation, society is starting to see and question the impacts of cell phone use on adolescent development.

Relations between cell phone possession, cell phone use, and psychosocial and identity development were investigated using Erikson's Psychosocial Theory and Marcia's Adolescent Identity Paradigm. A sample of 705 college students, ages 18-24, completed a questionnaire that measured the amount and type of cell phone use, identity development (Extended Objective Measure of Ego …

Design, Test, And Calibration Of The Utah State University Floating Potential Probe, Jessica D. Gregory

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The ionosphere is a conducting layer in the Earth's upper atmosphere and is the nearest naturally occurring plasma environment. Inherent to all plasma environments is an electric field. Currently, the double electric field probe is the most successful instrument for measuring the electric fields of space plasmas. Utah State University/Space Dynamics Lab has developed a double electric field probe, called the Floating Potential Probe (FPP), with a slightly different instrumentation approach than what has been done previously. The FPP is one component of a suite of instruments that launched in fall of 2007 from Wallops Island, Virginia, as part of …

Alternative Sampling And Analysis Methods For Digital Soil Mapping In Southwestern Utah, Colby W. Brungard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Digital soil mapping (DSM) relies on quantitative relationships between easily measured environmental covariates and field and laboratory data. We applied innovative sampling and inference techniques to predict the distribution of soil properties, soil attributes, taxonomic classes, and dominant vegetation across a 30,000-ha complex Great Basin landscape in southwestern Utah. This arid rangeland was characterized by rugged topography, diverse vegetation, and intricate geology. Environmental covariates calculated from digital elevation models (DEM) and spectral satellite data were used to represent factors controlling soil development and distribution. We investigated optimal sample size and sampled the environmental covariates using conditioned Latin Hypercube Sampling (cLHS). …

Salinity Inventory And Tolerance Screening In Utah Agriculture, Austin Mccoy Hawks

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Soil salinity, a yield-limiting condition, has plagued crop production for centuries by reducing crop productivity. Research has introduced methods for successfully managing soil salinity. This research discusses the adaptation of established management methods to create new soil salinity management techniques.

One adapted technique is an automated crop screening apparatus. A new design was created and successfully used in rapidly screening two strawberry cultivars to determine their tolerance to salinity. Screening crops and determining their tolerance to yield-limiting conditions are essential in managing soil salinity.

Another salinity management tool used in this research was electromagnetic induction (EMI). EMI was used to …

Predicting Rna Secondary Structures By Folding Simulation: Software And Experiments, Joel Omni Gillespie

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

We present a new method for predicting the secondary structure of RNA sequences. Using our method, each RNA nucleotide of an RNA Sequence is represented as a point on a 3D triangular lattice. Using the Simulated Annealing technique, we manipulate the location of the points on the lattice. We explore various scoring functions for judging the relative quality of the structures created by these manipulations. After near optimal configurations on the lattice have been found, we describe how the lattice locations of the nucleotides can be used to predict a secondary structure for the sequence. This prediction can be further …

Correlation, Paleogeography, And Provenance Of The Neoproterozoic Eastern Uinta Mountain Group, Goslin Mountain Area, Northeastern Utah, Daniel J. Rybczynski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Geologic mapping, facies analysis, sedimentary petrography, and detrital zircon analyses of undivided eastern Uinta Mountain Group stratigraphy are presented to better understand the depositional environments and tectonic setting of the Uinta Mountain Group basin. Subdivided units have been modified and correlated from previous work and include the Red Pine Shale, Hades Pass, Crouse Canyon, Outlaw Trail, and Diamond Breaks formations. Three lower-order maximum flooding surfaces associated with the lower Outlaw Trail formation, lower Hades Pass formation, and Red Pine Shale are interpreted. The relative magnitude of each lower-order transgression increases up section along with increasing diversity of palynomorph assemblages found …

Synthetic Studies Of Laulimalide Analogues, Ian Addison Mcalexander

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Chapter 1 provides some background information on the disease area of cancer and current modes of treatment. Chemotherapy treatment is discussed with a focus on the major cellular targets for these drugs: DNA and microtubules. For each target, classes of active compounds are described along with their mode of action. The microtubule stabilizing agent laulimalide is introduced and a case is made for analogue synthesis.

Chapter 2 describes our first generation efforts toward synthesis of des-methyl laulimalide. The target compound is divided into a northern and southern fragment with the synthesis of each fragment described. The preparation of landmark intermediates …

Simulation, Kriging, And Visualization Of Circular-Spatial Data, William James Morphet

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The circular dataimage is defined by displaying direction as the color at the same direction in a color wheel composed of a sequence of two-color gradients with color continuity between gradients. The resulting image of circular-spatial data is continuous with high resolution. Examples include ocean wind direction, Earth's main magnetic field, and rocket nozzle internal combustion flow. The cosineogram is defined as the mean cosine of the angle between random components of direction as a function of distance between observation locations. It expresses the spatial correlation of circular-spatial data. A circular kriging solution is developed based on a model fitted …

The Effects Of Quality And Magnitude Of Reinforcement On Choice Responding, Jessica Erin Frieder

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present study investigated the effects of a concurrent schedules arrangement, in which three dimensions of reinforcement (duration, attention, and stimuli) were manipulated, on choice responding, appropriate behavior, and problem behavior for three participants with disabilities who had escape-maintained problem behavior. Three experiments were conducted in which participants could choose between work, break, or problem behavior. In the first experiment, the choice analysis, three reinforcement dimensions were varied simultaneously for choice responses. In the second experiment, the component choice analysis, reinforcement dimensions were evaluated in isolation. In the third experiment, the effort analysis, increasing task demand requirements and how they …

Carbohydrate Derivatives In Antibiotics Research, Yi Liang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this study, we investigated the potential applications of carbohydrates in the development of new antibiotics. To tackle the problem of multidrug-resistant variants of M. tuberculosis (MDR-TB), we investigated the biosynthesis pathways of trehalose, which has contributed to significant drug resistance. Some new methods were developed for the synthesis of potential inhibitors (6-azido-trehalose and 6,6'-diazido-trehalose) that have been designed to imitate the intermediate molecule (trehalose 6-phosphate, TPP) of OtsA-OtsB pathway. At the same time, some new antibacterial agents based on trehalose have been synthesized. Members of the 1,2,3-triazole family have shown interesting biological properties. Steroid derivatives have been developed in …

Optimization Of Strongly Nonlinear Dynamical Systems Using A Modified Genetic Algorithm With Micro-Movement (Mgam), Xing Wei

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The genetic algorithm (GA) is a popular random search and optimization method inspired by the concepts of crossover, random mutation, and natural selection from evolutionary biology. The real-valued genetic algorithm (RGA) is an improved version of the genetic algorithm designed for direct operation on real-valued variables. In this work, a modified version of a genetic algorithm is introduced, which is called a modified genetic algorithm with micro-movement (MGAM). It implements a particle swarm optimization (PSO)-inspired micro-movement phase that helps to improve the convergence rate, while employing the efficient GA mechanism for maintaining population diversity. In order to test the capability …

Dynamically Reconfigurable Systolic Array Accelerators: A Case Study With Extended Kalman Filter And Discrete Wavelet Transform Algorithms, Robert C. Barnes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Field programmable grid arrays (FPGA) are increasingly being adopted as the primary on-board computing system for autonomous deep space vehicles. There is a need to support several complex applications for navigation and image processing in a rapidly responsive on-board FPGA-based computer. This requires exploring and combining several design concepts such as systolic arrays, hardware-software partitioning, and partial dynamic reconfiguration. A microprocessor/co-processor design that can accelerate two single precision oating-point algorithms, extended Kalman lter and a discrete wavelet transform, is presented. This research makes three key contributions. (i) A polymorphic systolic array framework comprising of recofigurable partial region-based sockets to accelerate …

On The Applicability Of Genetic Algorithms To Fast Solar Spectropolarimetric Inversions For Vector Magnetography, Brian J. Harker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The measurement of vector magnetic fields on the sun is one of the most important diagnostic tools for characterizing solar activity. The ubiquitous solar wind is guided into interplanetary space by open magnetic field lines in the upper solar atmosphere. Highly-energetic solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are triggered in lower layers of the solar atmosphere by the driving forces at the visible ``surface'' of the sun, the photosphere. The driving forces there tangle and interweave the vector magnetic fields, ultimately leading to an unstable field topology with large excess magnetic energy, and this excess energy is suddenly and …

A Comparative Study Of The Structural Features And Kinetic Properties Of The Mofe And Vfe Proteins From Azotobacter Vinelandii, Miguel Alejandro Pabon Sanclemente

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Biological nitrogen fixation is accomplished in the bacterium Azotobacter vinelandii by means of three metalloenzymes: The molybdenum, vanadium, and iron-only nitrogenase. The knowledge regarding biological nitrogen fixation has come from studies on the Mo-dependent reaction. However, the V- and Fe-only-dependent reduction of nitrogen remains largely unknown.

By using homology modeling techniques, the protein folds that contain the metal cluster active sites for the V- and Fe-only nitrogenases were constructed. The models uncovered similarities and differences existing among the nitrogenases regarding the identity of the amino acid residues lining pivotal structural features for the correct functioning of the proteins. These differences, …

Water Allocation For Agricultural Use Considering Treated Wastewater, Public Health Risk, And Economic Issues, Ahmed E. Al-Juaidi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Increasing demand on limited water resources calls for more efficient and improved approaches to maximize the benefits of water use. Typically, agricultural water use has the largest share among all water use sectors. Therefore, finding the best agricultural water management alternatives to maximize profit and reduce financial and other related risks under limited water availability is essential. Treated wastewater is an important alternative source of agricultural water which has the potential to reduce the stress on freshwater sources from urban and industrial sectors. Thus, further research on optimal agricultural water management is needed to find the best management alternatives that …

Optimal Fractional Order Proportional And Integral Controller For Processes With Random Time Delays, Varsha Bhambhani

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis developed a new practical tuning method for fractional order proportional and integral controllers (FO-PI / PI^α) for varying time-delay systems like networked control systems (NCS), sensor networks, etc. Based on previously proposed FO-PI controller tuning rules using fractional Ms constrained integral gain optimization (F-MIGO), simultaneous maximization of the jitter margin and integrated time weighted absolute error (ITAE) performance for a set of hundred gain delay time-constant (KLT) systems having different time-constants and time-delay values are achieved. A multi-objective optimization algorithm is used to simultaneously maximize the ITAE factor and jitter margin of the plants at initial …