Digital Commons Network^™

A Finite State Automata-Based Description Of Device States For Function Modeling Of Multi-State Technical Devices, Ahmed Mohammed Sobhan Chowdhury

Theses and Dissertations

Many modern and innovative design problems require multi-modal, reconfigurable solutions. Function modeling (FM) is a common tool used to explore solutions in early stages of mechanical engineering design. Currently, function structure representations do not abet the modeling of formally-defined reconfigurable function models as graph-based function models used in early-stage systems design usually represent only one operational mode of the system. Currently there is a need, but no rigorous formalism to model multiple possible modes in the model and logically predict the behavior of the system as it transitions between the modes. Additionally, function modeling representations will benefit from dynamically capturing …

Nonlinear Frequency Tuning Of Pre-Curved Micro-Scale Beams, Mackenzie Rae Robatin

Theses and Dissertations

Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) have many common advantages in applications due to their small size and ability to integrate with electronics. For MEMS with vibrating elements, other advantages include their tunable resonant frequencies and the frequency range in which the systems operate. Also, the damping in these devices is often so light that it is nearly negligible, resulting in sharp resonance peaks with good frequency selectivity. Most such devices are designed to operate in their linear range. However, large amplitudes are often desired in order to reduce the relative effects of noise. In such cases, due to mechanical and electrostatic nonlinear …

Evaluation Of Accumulated Strain From Both Cyclic Triaxial And Static Creep Tests On Unbound Pavement Materials, Amir Mohammad Sajjadi

Theses and Dissertations

In this research, the behavior of Limerock (LR) aggregates blended with different reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) materials were investigated as an unbound base layer. Various combinations of LR and RAP, including 100%LR, 25%RAP75%LR, 50%RAP50%LR, and 100%RAP, were evaluated. Three main experiments performed on the samples were: static creep, static triaxial test, and cyclic triaxial test. The cyclic triaxial test was performed to measure the resilient modulus (MR) of materials. The results of the static triaxial test for 100% RAP showed that the deviator stress at failure steadily increased by increasing the confining pressure, while the 100% LR showed a maximum …

Large Eddy Simulation Of Turbidity Currents In A Narrow Channel With Different Obstacle Configurations, Danial Goodarzi, Kaveh Sookhak Lari, Ehsan Khavasi, Soroush Abolfathi

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020, The Author(s). Turbidity currents are frequently observed in natural and man-made environments, with the potential of adversely impacting the performance and functionality of hydraulic structures through sedimentation and reduction in storage capacity and an increased erosion. Construction of obstacles upstream of hydraulic structures is a common method of tackling adverse effects of turbidity currents. This paper numerically investigates the impacts of obstacle’s height and geometrical shape on the settling of sediments and hydrodynamics of turbidity currents in a narrow channel. A robust numerical model based on LES method was developed and successfully validated against physical modelling measurements. This …

Parton Distribution Functions From Ioffe Time Pseudodistributions From Lattice Calculations: Approaching The Physical Point, Bálint Joó, Joseph Karpie, Kostas Orginos, Anatoly V. Radyushkin, David G. Richards, Savvas Zafeiropoulos

Physics Faculty Publications

We present results for the unpolarized parton distribution function of the nucleon computed in lattice QCD at the physical pion mass. This is the first study of its kind employing the method of Ioffe time pseudodistributions. Beyond the reconstruction of the Bjorken-x dependence, we also extract the lowest moments of the distribution function using the small Ioffe time expansion of the Ioffe time pseudodistribution. We compare our findings with the pertinent phenomenological determinations.

Structural Characterization Of Two Large Icosahedral Dna Viruses And Their Capsid Assembly Mechanisms, Yuejiao Xian

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In the last three decades, many large DNA viruses were discovered and grouped into a loosely defined clade of Nucleocytoplasmic Large DNA Viruses (NCLDVs). NCLDVs infect a wide range of hosts from single cellular protists to large animals. Recently, these viruses were classified as a new phylum of Nucleocytoviricota under the kingdom of Bamfordvirae. The genomes of these Nucleocytoviricota viruses (NCVs) are remarkedly large and complicated, containing many cellular genes from all three domains of life, which raised intensive debates on their evolutionary origins. Despite being classified in the same phylum, their physical structures vary and can be roughly classified …

Frontal Functional Network Disruption Associated With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: An Fnirs-Based Minimum Spanning Tree Analysis, Seyyed Bahram Borgheai, John Mclinden, Kunal Mankodiya, Yalda Shahriari

Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Recent evidence increasingly associates network disruption in brain organization with multiple neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a rare terminal disease. However, the comparability of brain network characteristics across different studies remains a challenge for conventional graph theoretical methods. One suggested method to address this issue is minimum spanning tree (MST) analysis, which provides a less biased comparison. Here, we assessed the novel application of MST network analysis to hemodynamic responses recorded by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) neuroimaging modality, during an activity-based paradigm to investigate hypothetical disruptions in frontal functional brain network topology as a marker of the executive …

Classification Of Jacobian Elliptic Fibrations On A Special Family Of K3 Surfaces Of Picard Rank Sixteen, Thomas Hill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

K3 surfaces are an important tool used to understand the symmetries in physics that link different string theories, called string dualities. For example, heterotic string theory compactified on an elliptic curve describes a theory physically equivalent to (dual to) F-theory compactified on a K3 surface. In fact, M-theory, the type IIA string, the type IIB string, the Spin(32)/Z₂ heterotic string, and the E₈ x E₈ heterotic string are all related by compactification on Calabi-Yau manifolds.

We study a special family of K3 surfaces, namely a family of rank sixteen K3 surfaces polarized by the lattice H⊕E …

Delta Hedging Of Financial Options Using Reinforcement Learning And An Impossibility Hypothesis, Ronak Tali

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this thesis we take a fresh perspective on delta hedging of financial options as undertaken by market makers. The current industry standard of delta hedging relies on the famous Black Scholes formulation that prescribes continuous time hedging in a way that allows the market maker to remain risk neutral at all times. But the Black Scholes formulation is a deterministic model that comes with several strict assumptions such as zero transaction costs, log normal distribution of the underlying stock prices, etc. In this paper we employ Reinforcement Learning to redesign the delta hedging problem in way that allows us …

The Development And Use Of A Secondary Electron Yield Database For Spacecraft Charge Modeling, Phillip Lundgreen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Charge modeling of electron-solid interactions requires a detailed and accurate compilation of experimental data on which to base its physics and against which to test its predictions. Historically researchers used methods involving individual research or information taken from existing, vague, databases that were often found wanting. To streamline the charge modeling process, a collection of data has been assembled and categorized based upon surface morphology and contamination from various published sources and existing databases. The quality and quantity of the compilation vary widely with very little information offered with regards to surface conditions of various materials (contamination, morphology, etc. ...). …

Applied Species Delimitation In Microbial Taxa And Plants, Austin C. Koontz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Species are a fundamental concept in biology, and many subdisciplines in biology utilize species in aspects of theory and in the communication of results. Given the centrality of species in biological science, it can seem surprising that there is no universal definition amongst biologists of what, strictly speaking, a species is. In fact, there are, by some estimates, over 20 different "species concepts", and this lack of a consensus is termed "the species problem". This problem has theoretical underpinnings, but has become more relevant as advances in sequencing technologies over the past two decades have allowed researchers to probe the …

Pre-Eruptive Evolution Of Izu-Bonin Boninite Melts: Mixing, Cooling, And Crystallization, Jesse L. Scholpp

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Subduction is the geologic process in which one tectonic plate moves beneath another as it sinks into the Earth’s mantle. Subduction initiation in the Izu-Bonin Marianas system is the result of a gravitational failure during which one tectonic plate (the Pacific plate) spontaneously sinks beneath another (the Philippne Sea plate). Fluids released by the sinking plate that caused the overlying mantle to melt by reducing its meltimg temperature, forming the Izu-Bonin Mariana island arc system.

The resulting melts initially have the chemical compositions that are rich in silica and magnesia, and highly depleted in other elements, refered to a boninite …

Job Satisfaction And Employee Turnover Determinants In Fortune 50 Companies: Insights From Employee Reviews From Indeed.Com, Bishal Sainju

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

We explored 682176 employee reviews of Fortune 50 companies from Indeed.com using topic discovery techniques like Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) and Structural Topic Modeling (STM) to identify salient aspects in employee reviews and automatically infer latent topics that tend to drive employee satisfaction. We also studied how various satisfaction factors could be related to employee turnover. We discovered important topics in the reviews, including Management and Leadership, Advancement Opportunity, Pay and Benefits, Work-Life Balance, and Culture, which we compare to the five Job Descriptive Index (JDI) facets. Both LDA and STM discovered well-separated and distinguishable topics. We also …

Fundamental Studies Of Nanomaterial-Mediated Photothermal Effects And Novel Applications In Visual Quantitative Disease Diagnoses, Wan Zhou

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Infectious diseases and cancers frequently cause public health concerns and high burdens on health care globally. Early diagnosis of these diseases can provide an important guide on prevention, treatment, and prognosis in clinical practice. However, current laboratory diagnostic methods, such as nucleic acid- and protein-based detection methods, require sophisticated infrastructure, expensive and bulky instrumentation, well-trained personnel, and time-consuming processes, which significantly leads to high cost of detection assays and limit their wide accessibility, especially in low-resource settings. To address these issues, we have developed multiple simple, low-cost, and visual quantitative diagnostic methods based on nanomaterial-mediated photothermal effects for the detection …

Delineating Of The Utica Shale/Point Pleasant Formation Play System To Determine Influence Of The Precambrian Basement In Northeastern Ohio, Jarrod R. Bridges

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Utica Shale/Point Pleasant Formation system has recently become a highly developed unconventional target for oil and natural gas production, leading to an increased desire for knowledge of the controls on deposition of this system. Precambrian basement features have long been known to affect deposition of older strata near these features across Ohio, but the effects of far field tectonics is not fully agreed upon. Precambrian faults and lineaments are known to exist and have been mapped, but are thought to have ceased their influence on deposition by the time of the Knox unconformity during the Cambrian. In the case …

Aerial Mineral And Organic Particulate Deposition In East Texas, Sarah Caton, Sarah Caton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study determined the monthly amount, particle size distribution, and chemical composition of particulate deposition in East Texas over a one-year period. It also recognized the seasonal patterns of this deposition as well as its primary origins as either mineral or organic particulate deposition.

The study recorded the monthly mass of deposition, particle size distribution, and the chemical makeup of deposition throughout a period of twelve months at seven sampling locations. SEM-EDS technology was used in conjunction with PCI programming to measure the sizes of depositional particles throughout this time period and identify their chemical composition.

The total yearly deposition …

Pananalamin At Pagkokolorete, Benilda S. Santos

Katipunan

Ang sanaysay ay isang bugso ng pagkatuto ng may-akda hinggil sa pagkamasunurin bilang paraan upang magkapapel sa patriarkiya, at upang matutuhan ang unang leksiyon: ang sariling pamamahala sa kalinisan ng katawan. Narito ang pagmumuni-muni sa pisikal, ang pagsubheto (pagdidisiplina rin) dito sa pamamagitan ng kalinisan. Narito rin ang mga kamag-anak, ang mga minahal, at patuloy na minamahal: ang baha-bahagi nila na nasa may-akda; sila na mga tekstong buháy na naggugumiit sa kamalayan ng may-akda. Narito rin ang hika, ang sakit na naging birtud, o mutya ng kaniyang pagpasok sa mundo ng teksto. Ang mga unang pagbababad sa pagbabasa at pagsusulat. …

Comparison Of Pre-Intervention Idi Results From Stem And Non-Stem Undergraduate Students, Anne M. Lucietto, Liza Russell

Journal of Global Education and Research

The emphasis on intercultural competence is more prevalent in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) majors as the world shifts towards a more globalized economy. When entering higher education, students have differing levels of cultural interaction due to varying peer interaction, family experiences, international travel, and social media experiences. The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) has been used to develop an understanding of how students view others and the level of skills they have to interact and adapt to other cultures. Using published data focused on pre-intervention assessment, researchers compared it to data obtained from STEM students preparing for an international …

Global Citizenship Education Starts With Teacher Training And Professional Development, Evan Saperstein

Journal of Global Education and Research

In recent years, the idea of global citizenship has grown in scholarly circles and developed into a nascent discipline known as global citizenship education. As a general matter, global citizenship education strives to deepen cross-cultural understanding through the study of current transnational issues. This qualitative, interpretivist case study examined the roles and responsibilities of global studies teachers at an urban New Jersey public high school. The study included interviews with an administrator, two global studies teachers, and six students enrolled in the second sequence of a two-year course in the global studies curriculum; as well as observations and analysis of …

Machine Learning Based Predictions Of Dissolved Oxygen In A Small Coastal Embayment, Manuel Valera, Ryan K. Walter, Barbara A. Bailey, Jose E. Castillo

Physics

Coastal dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations have a profound impact on nearshore ecosystems and, in recent years, there has been an increased prevalance of low DO hypoxic events that negatively impact nearshore organisms. Even with advanced numerical models, accurate prediction of coastal DO variability is challenging and computationally expensive. Here, we apply machine learning techniques in order to reconstruct and predict nearshore DO concentrations in a small coastal embayment while using a comprehensive set of nearshore and offshore measurements and easily measured input (training) parameters. We show that both random forest regression (RFR) and support vector regression (SVR) models accurately reproduce …

Chicago Alliance For Equity In Computer Science, Steven Mcgee, Lucia Dettori, Ronald I. Greenberg, Andrew M. Rasmussen, Dale F. Reed, Don Yanek

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

In 2016, CPS enacted a high school computer science graduation requirement as a means to broaden participation in computer science. ECS is the primary course that supports enactment of this policy. With limited numbers of certified computer science teachers, CPS relied on teachers from a variety of disciplines to teach ECS. The ECS professional development program is designed to prepare teachers from all backgrounds to support student success in ECS. This study examines how the profile of ECS teachers changed and the impact of that change on teachers' experiences with ECS professional development.

Asymmetry Between Activators And Deactivators In Functional Protein Networks, Ammar Tareen, Ned S. Wingreen, Ranjan Mukhopadhyay

Physics

Are “turn-on” and “turn-off” functions in protein-protein interaction networks exact opposites of each other? To answer this question, we implement a minimal model for the evolution of functional protein-interaction networks using a sequence-based mutational algorithm, and apply the model to study neutral drift in networks that yield oscillatory dynamics. We study the roles of activators and deactivators, two core components of oscillatory protein interaction networks, and find a striking asymmetry in the roles of activating and deactivating proteins, where activating proteins tend to be synergistic and deactivating proteins tend to be competitive.

Scenario-Based Development And Verification Of Domain-Specific Languages, Bharvi Chhaya

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The use of domain-specific languages (DSLs) has increased manifold for problem solving in specific domain areas as they allow for a wider variety of expressions within their domain. Modeling using DSLs has shown high increases in productivity after accounting for the time and cost expended in developing them, making them a suitable target for improvement in order to reap higher rewards. The currently used approach for domain modeling involves the creation of an ontology which is then used to describe the domain model. This ontology encapsulates all domain knowledge and can be cumbersome to create, requiring external sources of information …

Setting Constraints On The Lunar Exosphere: A Comprehensive Analysis Of Velocity Resolved Sodium And Potassium Line Profile Measurements, Dona Chathuni P. Kuruppuaratchi

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This dissertation outlines and presents the most comprehensive set of velocity-resolved measurements of sodium D2 (5889.9509 Å) lines taken over multiple lunations spanning seven years (2011 – 2017). These data are used to study the morphology and dynamics of the lunar exosphere. Additionally, potassium D1 (7698.9646 Å) is used as a complement to sodium. The two species approach, with sodium being the main attraction, provides constraints on the critical drivers of the lunar exosphere. Observations were made at the National Solar Observatory McMath – Pierce Telescope, Kitt Peak, Arizona where I personally collected both sodium and potassium data over about …

Mcst : An App For Patron Awareness Of Covid-19 Safety Measures Instituted By Small Businesses, Jorge Torres

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Small businesses across America are having restrictions placed upon them due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those fortunate enough to remain open now face the challenge of trying to generate enough revenue to stay afloat. Small businesses, with their lack of funds, have resorted to listing their safety precautions on their front door to inform patrons. However, viewing these rules would require patrons to leave their homes. Additionally, there is no consistent set of rules being enforced by the government which is dangerous as some patrons may feel that stricter procedures be in place. These inconsistencies and lack of information can …

Global Risk Of Invasion By Bactrocera Zonata: Implications On Horticultural Crop Production Under Changing Climatic Conditions, Kumbirai M. Zingore, George Sithole, Elfatih M. Abdel-Rahman, Samira A. Mohamed, Sunday Ekesi, Chrysantus M. Tanga, Mohammed E.E. Mahmoud

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The peach fruit fly Bactrocera zonata (Saunders) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is an important invasive species causing substantial losses to the horticulture industry worldwide. Despite the severe economic impact caused by this pest in its native and invaded range, information on its potential range expansion under changing climate remains largely unknown. In this study, we employed maximum entropy (MaxEnt) modeling approach to predict the global potential climatic suitability of B. zonata under current climate and four Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) for the year 2050. Outputs from MaxEnt were merged with Spatial Production Allocation Model. A natural dispersal model using Gaussian dispersal kernel …

Modeling And Analysis Of Scheduling Problems Containing Renewable Energy Decisions, Shasha Wang

All Dissertations

With globally increasing energy demands, world citizens are facing one of society's most critical issues: protecting the environment. To reduce the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG), which are by-products of conventional energy resources, people are reducing the consumption of oil, gas, and coal collectively. In the meanwhile, interest in renewable energy resources has grown in recent years. Renewable generators can be installed both on the power grid side and end-use customer side of power systems. Energy management in power systems with multiple microgrids containing renewable energy resources has been a focus of industry and researchers as of late. Further, on-site …

Novel Low Dimensional Sensors For Rapid Disease Diagnosis And Efficient Biomolecular Detection, Bipin Sharma

All Dissertations

Nanomaterials have been used in diverse biosensing applications over the years for their unique properties compared to their ‘bulk’ counterparts. The quantum effects observed in nanomaterials of different dimensions have been exploited, in particular, for fluorescence sensing using surface plasmons. The present work is directed towards the understanding of these effects and the physics behind such plasmons and its application.

In the first chapter (Chapter 1), a succinct introduction to quantum confinement and fluorescence biosensors has been presented, followed by a brief overview of the applications of nanomaterials in biosensing. Chapter 2 focuses on the various analytical and characterization techniques …

Statistical Models For The Analysis Of Complex Data, Stefani Mokalled

All Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on developing statistical models to analyze complex data. The motivating applications in this work include infectious disease screening, engineering, and public health problems. Chapters 2 and 3 take a frequentist approach to modeling and parameter estimation while Chapters 4 and 5 proceed with Bayesian methods. Maximum likelihood estimation is implemented in a case of missing data through latent variables (Chapter 2) as well as by embedding a finite element model within the likelihood framework (Chapter 3). Two Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms are applied to estimate parameters and fit regression models using data obtained from a …

Three-Gene Pcr And High-Resolution Melting Analysis For Differentiating Vertebrate Species Mitochondrial Dna For Biodiversity Research And Complementing Forensic Surveillance, Daniel O. Ouso, Moses Y. Otiende, Maamun M. Jeneby, Joseph W. Oundo, Joel L. Bargul, Scott E. Miller, Lillian Wambua, Jandouwe Villinger

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Reliable molecular identification of vertebrate species from morphologically unidentifiable tissue is critical for the prosecution of illegally-traded wildlife products, conservation-based biodiversity research, and identification of blood-meal hosts of hematophagous invertebrates. However, forensic identification of vertebrate tissue relies on sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) ‘barcode’ gene, which remains costly for purposes of screening large numbers of unknown samples during routine surveillance. Here, we adapted a rapid, low-cost approach to differentiate 10 domestic and 24 wildlife species that are common in the East African illegal wildlife products trade based on their unique high-resolution melting profiles from COI, cytochrome b, …