Digital Commons Network^™

Two-Level Data Augmentation With Transfer Learning For Classification Of Medical Images With Limited Data, Nihil Pudota

Master's Theses

Machine learning used in the medical industry can potentially detect cancer in humancells at an early stage. However, training the machine learning models, especially deep learning models require thousands to millions of samples in order to reach an acceptable accuracy level. It is well-know that obtaining medical data is tedious hence in most cases, medical datasets have limited number of data samples. One solution for this problem is utilizing transfer learning such as pretrained networks on another dataset. Another solution is to increase the number of training data points with data augmentation. Common data augmentation methods for images include not …

Faster Depth Estimation For Situational Awareness On Urban Streets, Sanjana Srinivas

Master's Theses

Depth estimation algorithms are useful components of computer vision systems toassess video streams on urban streets. They can provide important information about the street space and improve situational awareness for humans. Deep learning algorithms for depth estimation are slow in providing on-time street evaluation for the users. To provide situational awareness to humans, the inference time needs to be small, so that results are fresh and meaningful. This paper explores approaches like switching to efficient convolutional neural network, quantization and pruning to improve inference time with a little compromise on the performance. We explore the impact of each of these …

An Examination Of Factors Predicting Academic Engagement And Commitment Among Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics Students: The Moderating Role Of Gender, Tasanee S. Thienpothong

Master's Theses

The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of gender on the relationships between the predictor variables (i.e., sense of belonging, grit, and support systems) and academic engagement and commitment to major among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students. Specifically, this study proposed that gender would act as a moderator of these relationships such that the relationships between the predictor variables and the outcome variables would be stronger for women than for men in STEM. A total of 254 undergraduates from a university in Northern California participated in an in-person survey. Although results did not show …

Mass Timber Building Life Cycle Assessment Methodology For The U.S. Regional Case Studies, Hongmei Gu, Shaobo Liang, Francesca Pierobon, Maureen Puettmann, Indroneil Ganguly, Cindy Chen, Rachel Pasternack, Mark Wishnie, Susan Jones, Ian Maples

Publications, Reports and Presentations

The building industry currently consumes over a third of energy produced and emits 39% of greenhouse gases globally produced by human activities. The manufacturing of building materials and the construction of buildings make up 11% of those emissions within the sector. Whole-building life-cycle assessment is a holistic and scientific tool to assess multiple environmental impacts with internationally accepted inventory databases. A comparison of the building lifecycle assessment results would help to select materials and designs to reduce total environmental impacts at the early planning stage for architects and developers, and to revise the building code to improve environmental performance. The …

Analysis Of The Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystem In Guanajuato, Mexico From Complex Social Networks, Vicente Espínola-Verdín, Luis Adolfo Torres-González

Journal of Management for Global Sustainability

In Mexico, the interest in social enterprises has increased in the last 20 years as an alternative to the profit maximization approach of the company. They seek to solve a social problem, improve the conditions of the population they are targeting, modify the consumption habits of their clients, and seek social transformation through a social business model. The policies to promote entrepreneurship in the State of Guanajuato have focused mainly on the creation of traditional and, recently, technology-based enterprises with limited promotion of social entrepreneurship, which is sometimes confused with projects with low added value and without a clear strategy. …

2021 Grand River Water Quality, Allison Romanski, Madeleine Lang

Student Summer Scholars Manuscripts

2021 Grand River Water Quality Sampling

The goals of this research project were to collect repeat samples at designated reaches and under different flow conditions along the Grand River, sample the entire Grand River over a short period of time, collaborate with wastewater treatment plant labs and technicians to analyze water samples, and to calculate a Water Quality Index (WQI) for samples collected.

Seven different reaches were sampled and over 120 samples were collected between May 7th and August 12th of 2021. Water samples were collected and analyzed for nitrate, total phosphate, ammonium, chloride, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand , …

Investigating Hypersonic Plasma Sheath And Heat Ablation Effects On Rf Transmission Using Dsmc Method, Andrew J. Derubertis, Ramesh K. Agarwal

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Independent Study

The transmission and degradation of RF signals through the plasma sheath surrounding hypersonic vehicles is investigated using a DSMC flow solver method. Starfish software, made publicly available by its creator, Lubos Brieda, a professor at USC, is adapted and used to run the hypersonic flow simulations. Additionally, heat ablation materials are briefly investigated for their effect on RF transmission. The study of RF signal degradation and the viability of communications for hypersonic vehicles is of supreme importance for the future of aerospace as hypersonic travel and warfare is becoming technologically possible. Integrating over the flow solver’s resulting electron number density …

Resilient Building Design In The Age Of Covid-19, Allie Periman

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Independent Study

MEMS 500 (MEMS 5420) was an independent study course using the text “Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning” authored by McQuiston, Parker, and Spitler, Sixth Edition. The course included the material up to and including the Space Heating Load. The Cooling Load material was covered during the use of the TRACE 700 software developed by the Trane Company. The report presented herein was an additional requirement of the course.

This report explores resilient building design in the face of a pandemic as an essential consideration for researchers and building designers alike. Understanding how aerosols flow within rooms can influence building design strategies …

Pollution Threatens Water Quality In The Central Marshes Of Southern Iraq, Nadheer A. Fazaa, Jonathon C. Dunn, Mark J. Whittingham

Baghdad Science Journal

Water pollution is an issue that can be exacerbated by drought as increased concentrations of unwanted substances are a consequence of lower water levels. Polluted water that flows into natural marshlands leads to the deposition of pollutants in the interior of the marsh. Here we present evidence that the interior of the Central Marsh (CM) in southern Iraq suffers from higher levels of pollution than areas closer to the source of water entering the marsh (the Euphrates River). A 1.7m embankment that halts the flow of the Euphrates is only infrequently breached and so the CM is effectively the terminal …

Design Of L-Band Multiwavelength Laser For Tdm/Wdm Pon Application, Nani Fadzlina Naim, Muhammad Amirul Hafiz Mohamed Hashim, Suzi Seroja Sarnin, Norsuzila Ya'acob, Latifah Sarah Supian

Baghdad Science Journal

This paper presents on the design of L-Band Multiwavelength laser for Hybrid Time Division Multiplexing/ Wavelength Division Multiplexing (TDM/WDM) Passive Optical Network (PON) application. In this design, an L-band Mulltiwavelength Laser is designed as the downstream signals for TDM/WDM PON. The downstream signals ranging from 1569.865 nm to 1581.973 nm with 100GHz spacing. The multiwavelength laser is designed using OptiSystem software and it is integrated into a TDM/WDM PON that is also designed using OptiSystem simulation software. By adapting multiwavelength fiber laser into a TDM/WDM network, a simple and low-cost downstream signal is proposed. From the simulation design, it is …

Performance Analysis Of Propagation In Vhf Military Tactical Communication System, Azita Laily Yusof, Hafizi Halim, Norsuzila Ya'acob, Nur Haidah Mohd Hanapiah

Baghdad Science Journal

The main challenge of military tactical communication systems is the accessibility of relevant information on the particular operating environment required for the determination of the waveform's ideal use. The existing propagation model focuses mainly on broadcasting and commercial wireless communication with a highs transceiver antenna that is not suitable for numerous military tactical communication systems. This paper presents a study of the path loss model related to radio propagation profile within the suburban in Kuala Lumpur. The experimental path loss modeling for VHF propagation was collected from various suburban settings for the 30-88 MHz frequency range. This experiment was highly …

Recurrent Stroke Prediction Using Machine Learning Algorithms With Clinical Public Datasets: An Empirical Performance Evaluation, Fadratul Hafinaz Hassan, Mohd Adib Omar

Baghdad Science Journal

Recurrent strokes can be devastating, often resulting in severe disability or death. However, nearly 90% of the causes of recurrent stroke are modifiable, which means recurrent strokes can be averted by controlling risk factors, which are mainly behavioral and metabolic in nature. Thus, it shows that from the previous works that recurrent stroke prediction model could help in minimizing the possibility of getting recurrent stroke. Previous works have shown promising results in predicting first-time stroke cases with machine learning approaches. However, there are limited works on recurrent stroke prediction using machine learning methods. Hence, this work is proposed to perform …

Clarifying Optimum Setting Temperatures And Airflow Positions For Personal Air Conditioning System On Flight, Yuna Matsumoto, Manami Kanamaru, Phan Xuan Tan, Eiji Kamioka

Baghdad Science Journal

In recent years, the demand for air travel has increased and many people have traveled by plane. Most passengers, however, feel stressed due to the limited cabin space. In order to make these passengers more comfortable, a personal air-conditioning system for the entire chair is needed. This is because the human body experiences discomfort from localized heating or cooling, and thus, it is necessary to provide appropriate airflow to each part of the body. In this paper, a personal air-conditioning system, which consists of six vertically installed air-conditioning vents, will be proposed. To clarify the setting temperature of each vent, …

Generative Adversarial Network For Imitation Learning From Single Demonstration, Tho Nguyen Duc, Chanh Minh Tran, Phan Xuan Tan, Eiji Kamioka

Baghdad Science Journal

Imitation learning is an effective method for training an autonomous agent to accomplish a task by imitating expert behaviors in their demonstrations. However, traditional imitation learning methods require a large number of expert demonstrations in order to learn a complex behavior. Such a disadvantage has limited the potential of imitation learning in complex tasks where the expert demonstrations are not sufficient. In order to address the problem, we propose a Generative Adversarial Network-based model which is designed to learn optimal policies using only a single demonstration. The proposed model is evaluated on two simulated tasks in comparison with other methods. …

Iot System On Dynamic Fish Feeder Based On Fish Existence For Agriculture Aquaponic Breeders, Murizah Kassim, Muhammad Zulhelmi Zulkifli, Norsuzila Ya'acob, Shahrani Shahbudin

Baghdad Science Journal

Maintaining and breeding fish in a pond are a crucial task for a large fish breeder. The main issues for fish breeders are pond management such as the production of food for fishes and to maintain the pond water quality. The dynamic or technological system for breeders has been invented and becomes important to get maximum profit return for aquaponic breeders in maintaining fishes. This research presents a developed prototype of a dynamic fish feeder based on fish existence. The dynamic fish feeder is programmed to feed where sensors detected the fish's existence. A microcontroller board NodeMCU ESP8266 is programmed …

Performance Analysis On Multiple Device Connections Of Small Office Home Office Network, Muhamad Nur Ashaari, Murizah Kassim, Ruhani Ab. Rahman, Abd Razak Mahmud

Baghdad Science Journal

Malaysia has been supported by one of the high-speed fiber internet connections called TM UniFi. TM UniFi is very familiar to be used as a medium to apply Small Office Home Office (SOHO) concept due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the communication vendors offer varieties of network services to fulfill customers' needs and satisfaction during the pandemic. Quality of Services is queried by most users by the fact of increased on users from time to time. Therefore, it is crucial to know the network performance contrary to the number of devices connected to the TM UniFi network. The main …

Effective Solution Of University Course Timetabling Using Particle Swarm Optimizer Based Hyper Heuristic Approach, Zahid Iqbal, Rafia Ilyas, Huah Yong Chan, Naveed Ahmed

Baghdad Science Journal

The university course timetable problem (UCTP) is typically a combinatorial optimization problem. Manually achieving a useful timetable requires many days of effort, and the results are still unsatisfactory. unsatisfactory. Various states of art methods (heuristic, meta-heuristic) are used to satisfactorily solve UCTP. However, these approaches typically represent the instance-specific solutions. The hyper-heuristic framework adequately addresses this complex problem. This research proposed Particle Swarm Optimizer-based Hyper Heuristic (HH PSO) to solve UCTP efficiently. PSO is used as a higher-level method that selects low-level heuristics (LLH) sequence which further generates an optimal solution. The proposed approach generates solutions into two phases (initial …

Deep Learning For Human Microrna Precursor Prediction: A Systematic Literature Review, Martina Ojonah

Master of Science in Information Technology Theses

The discovery of MicroRNA (miRNA) sparked medical breakthroughs, leading to the development of drugs/vaccines and biomarkers for some terminal diseases such as cancer. Due to the relatively short length of microRNAs, research has shown that discovering them on their own is a difficult task; thus, the focus has shifted to predicting precursor miRNAs, which are longer than miRNAs. Computational techniques evolve because of flaws discovered in existing designs, discoveries, and the desire to make the process as seamless as possible. Most researchers in recent studies indicated that the use of few input features and a lack of domain understanding of …

Effects Of Extra-Curricular Project-Based Learning Experiences On Self-Efficacy And Interest In Stem Fields In High School, Taihao Kevin Wan

Dissertations

As our society and systems become more technologically advanced, increasing opportunities exist for students interested to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. However, pervasive inequities have led to differences in the extent to which women and underrepresented racial/ethnic groups choose to pursue study and career pathways in STEM. Project-Based Learning (PBL) is among the most widely researched strategies suggested to support student learning and motivation and has more recently been applied to school-based efforts to increase student interest in STEM related fields. Rooted in Social Cognitive Career Theory, this study examined changes in students’ self-reported general …

Unpacking Educational Harm: Parent And Teacher Perceptions Of English Learners, Amalia Guzmán Ayala

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to: (1) provide the opportunity to Spanish-speaking parents of English Learner (EL) students to voice their perceptions regarding policies, procedures, and programs related to ELs, and (2) provide the opportunity to teachers to share their perceptions regarding the policies, procedures, and programs related to ELs. The research design for this qualitative study was exploratory and descriptive. The key findings were: (1) Hispanic Spanish-speaking parents had limited knowledge about policies, procedures, and programs related to ELs; and (2) Teacher knowledge about the policies, procedures and programs related to ELs was limited. The conclusions were: (1) …

Transforming Scientific Research: Organized Basic Research, Jiaofeng Pan, Xiao Lu, Guanghui Wang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

With the new round of global scientific and technological revolution and accelerated industrial transformation and the rapid development of interdisciplinary research, the basic research is shifting from the exploratory behavior of individual scientist to a more organized form. This article raised the conceptualizing framework of "organized basic research", revealed its characteristics and major types. The article also discussed and clarified several important issues in relate to the organized basic research, that it should stick to the goal of scientific development, it should be led by scientists, and academic freedom would always constitute as its foundation.

Promoting Organized Basic Research: Strategic Layout And Strategic Capacity In Science And Technology, Jinbo Wan, Feng Zhang, Jiaofeng Pan

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Focusing on "organized basic research", this study reviews the main experience of major countries in promoting "organized basic research" from three aspects, namely, driving scientific and technological innovation, coordinating the strategic layout, and clarifying the division of strategic capacity in science and technology. Then, from the two perspectives, i.e., task layout of five types of "organized basic research", and main orientation of strategic capacity in science and technology of three types of institution, the study analyzes the promotion ideas of "organized basic research" in China in the new era. Finally, the study puts forward the ways to improve implementation mechanism …

New Understanding On Scientific Research, Peng Du, Hua Shen, Feng Zhang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

With the continuous deepening of the nested influence of scientific research and economic society, scientific research has received unprecedented attention. At the same time, it faces bottlenecks in its own development. The scientific research itself, the scientific establishment, and the scientific policy are in a state of change. It is necessary to understand the new laws of scientific knowledge production, and re-understand the interactive relationship between science, technology, and engineering to expand the boundaries of scientific research. This article analyzes the reasons for re-understanding scientific research, expounds the new connotation of scientific research from aspects of object, function and method, …

Strategic Thinking On Deepening International Cooperation In National Natural Science Foundation Of China, Rongping Mu, Shuang Ma, Kaihua Chen, Yun Liu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

As an important channel for China to support international cooperation in basic research, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) should play a leading role in the international scientific and technological cooperation in the new era. This paper reviews the layout characteristics, achievements, and the new measures of the international cooperation projects of NSFC in the past decade, and summarizes the experiences of typical countries. It is found that the international cooperation in NSFC has formed a project layout with cooperative research, personnel exchange, and talent cultivation projects, providing important support for China's engagement in global scientific and technological …

Scientific Data Management From Perspective Of Scientific Funding Agencies, Qiuhong Zhao, Yuanrui Li, Xiuquan Deng, Chu Zhang, Baofeng Zhang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

With the development of technologies such as the acquisition, storage, analysis, and processing of scientific data, scientific research and innovation are gradually moving towards the era of big data, which takes scientific data as the basic scientific and technological resources. Moreover, the data-driven research paradigm has been widely used in the practical work of various disciplines, and the value of scientific data has increased to a prominent position of scientific research and innovation. As a result, the scientific data management responsibilities of research funding agencies are becoming increasingly important. Therefore, based on the analysis of the driving factors of the …

Practice And Enlightenment Of Foreign Main Funding Agencies In Promoting Scientists’ Engagement In Science Communication, Kunpeng Qi, Zhimin Zhang, Leipo Jia, Xi Yang, Yunxiao Zhang, Tianxiao Gao, Cong Wang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

As scientists have a deeper understanding of science than other groups, they are irreplaceable in science communication. Funding agencies, which are important part of science system, are gradually devoted to promoting scientists' engagement in science communication, in order to strengthen the mutual relationship between science and society. This study investigates the practice of several funding agencies in promoting scientists' engagement in science communication, such as proposing initiatives and policies, offering fundings, setting up awards, and providing technical supports. Based on it, this study further discusses that the roles should funding agencies take, and tries to bring up policy suggestions in …

Thinking On Strategic Research Of Dual Carbon By High-End Sci-Tech Think Tank, Dawei Song

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

As the world's largest energy produce, consume, and carbon emission country, China's road map, construction map, and timetable for achieving the dual carbon goal, i.e., peaking carbon emission and achieving carbon neutrality, have attracted worldwide attention, and to achieve such goal, China has to strategically transform its energy system. This energy strategic transformation process is essentially a process for China to build its strength in manufacture, in science and technology, and in a strong economy. High-end sci-tech think tank should take the dual carbon strategic research as an important task to play the role of gathering wisdom and offering advices, …

Development Experience Of International Open Source And Its Enlightenment To Construction Of Open Source Innovation System In China, Yuntao Long, Xiaoming Wang, Rong Gu, Yungang Bao

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Open source has become an essential innovation model for global technological progress and the construction of an open source innovation system is an important path for China to achieve self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology. As an indispensable part of the global software value chain and high-tech industry chain, China needs to improve its open source innovation ecosystem. The paper, based on a systematic review of the related development policies and successful experiences on the open source work in US and Europe, puts forward a series of policy suggestions to solve the practical problems faced by the construction of …

Fast Processing Rna-Seq On Multicore Processor, Lee Jia Bin, Nor Asilah Wati Abdul Hamid, Zurita Ismail, Mohamed Faris Laham

Baghdad Science Journal

RNA Sequencing (RNA-Seq) is the sequencing and analysis of transcriptomes. The main purpose of RNA-Seq analysis is to find out the presence and quantity of RNA in an experimental sample under a specific condition. Essentially, RNA raw sequence data was massive. It can be as big as hundreds of Gigabytes (GB). This massive data always makes the processing time become longer and take several days. A multicore processor can speed up a program by separating the tasks and running the tasks’ errands concurrently. Hence, a multicore processor will be a suitable choice to overcome this problem. Therefore, this study aims …

Submarine Cable Security And International Law, Douglas R. Burnett

International Law Studies

In this article the revolution in fiber optic submarine cable communications is placed in context with the world’s growing dependence upon critical submarine cable infrastructure. Emphasis is placed on the development of international law designed to protect submarine cables and in particular those articles in the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention that foster and safeguard the freedom to lay and repair submarine cables. Special focus is applied to the status of international submarine telecommunication cables in cases of intentional actions that damage or destroy them and the State practice and customary international law that generally classifies submarine cables …