Digital Commons Network^™

Analysis Of Java's Common Vulnerabilities And Exposures In Github's Open-Source Projects, Semiu Akanmu

Computer Science

Java developers rely on code reusability because of its time and effort reduction advantage. However, they are exposed to vulnerabilities in publicly available open-source software (OSS) projects. This study employed a multi-stage research approach to investigate the extent to which open-source Java projects are secured. The research process includes text analysis of Java’s Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) descriptions and static code analysis using GitHub’s CodeQL. This study found (a) cross-site scripting, (b) buffer overflow (though analyzed as array index out of bounds), (c) data deserialization, (d) input non-validation for an untrusted object, and (e) validation method bypass as the …

Comparison Of Non-Learned And Learned Molecule Representations For Catalyst Discovery, Qianqian Yao

Computer Science

Catalyst discovery is one very important task in storing renewable energy to address climate change and energy scarcity globally. Catalyst candidates can be represented by molecular descriptors and also can be modeled by graphs. Properties of catalyst candidates can be calculated by Density Functional Theory (DFT). Machine learning algorithms are applied to predict properties of catalyst candidates because DFT is computationally expensive. However, machine learning algorithms cannot operate over some standard molecular formats. Therefore, to represent molecules in the format that is required by machine learning algorithms is the primary task to tackle. Thus, this paper compared non-learned and learned …

Contributing Factors Promoting Success For Females In Computing: A Comparative Study, Bethlehem Gronneberg

Computer Science

Despite the growing global demand for Computer Science (CS) professionals, their high earning potential, and diversified career paths (U.S. BLS 2021, UNESCO 2017), a critical gap exists between enrollment and graduation rates among female students in computing fields across the world (Raigoza 2017, Hailu 2018, UNESCO 2017, Bennedsen and Caspersen 2007). The largest dropout point occurs during the first two years of their CS studies (Giannakos, et al., 2017). The purpose of this parallelly convergent mixed-methods research was to comparatively investigate, describe and analyze factors correlated to the experiences and perceptions of female undergraduates as it relates to their persistence …

Sentiment Analysis Of Covid-19 Vaccination Impact On Twitter Tweets Using Nlp Supervised Learning And Rnn Classification Comparison, Tanvir Ahmed

Computer Science

Twitter provides a platform for exchanging information and opinions on global concerns like the COVID-19 epidemic. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we used a collection of around 16,180 tweets to derive inferences regarding public views toward the vaccine impact once immunizations became widely available to the community. We use natural language processing and sentiment analysis techniques to uncover information regarding the public's perception of the COVID-19 vaccine. Our findings demonstrate that people are more pleased about taking COVID-19 shots than they are about some of the vaccines' side effects. We also look at people's reactions to COVID-19 safety measures after they …

An Evaluation Framework For Business Intelligence Visualization, Hankuan Zhang

Computer Science

Nowadays, data visualization is becoming an essential part of data analysis. Business Intelligence Visualization (BIV) is a powerful tool that helps modern business flows faster and smoother than ever before. However, studies on BIV evaluation are severely lacking; most evaluation studies for BIV is guided by general principles of usability, which have limited aspects covered for customers’ needs. The purpose of this research is to develop a framework that evaluates BIV, including decision-making experience. First, we did a literature review for good understanding of research progress on related fields, and established a conceptual framework. Second, we performed a user study …

Software Engineering Methodologies In Developing A Railway Condition Monitoring System, Bhavana Bhardwaj

Computer Science

With the continuous growth of rail track geometry irregularities due to aging, environmental factors, and wheel loads, rail track requires frequent maintenance. Railroads often rely on the precise and correct localization and identification of track irregularities that significantly destroy infrastructure and create life-threatening environments. Therefore, monitoring the conditions of the railroad tracks is vitally essential for ensuring safety, reliability, and cost-efficiency of operations. Consequently, agencies inspect all tracks twice a week per federal track safety regulations. However, their existing methods of track inspection are expensive, slow, require track closure, and pose a high risk to workers. The technical constraints of …

Pattern Recognition And Quantifying Associations Within Entities Of Data Driven Systems For Improving Model Interpretability, Arighna Roy

Computer Science

Discovering associations among entities of a system plays an important role in data science. The majority of the data science related problems have become heavily dependent on Machine Learning (ML) since the rise of computation power. However, the majority of the machine learning approaches rely on improving the performance of the algorithm by optimizing an objective function, at the cost of compromising the interpretability of the models. A new branch of machine learning focuses on model interpretability by explaining the models in various ways. The foundation of model interpretability is built on extracting patterns from the behavior of the models …

Analysis Of Sdr To Detect Long Range Rfid Badge Cloners, Brett Knecht

Computer Science

This thesis proposes a way of detecting when radio frequency identification (RFID) badge credentials are being captured through the use of software defined radio (SDR). A method for using SDR to detect when badge cloning technologies are in use on the premises is presented, tested, and analyzed. This thesis presents an overview of the problem with badge systems and a background literature review. Next, the proposed method of detection and its workings are presented. Then, the strategy for evaluating the methods performance. This is discussed by discussion and evaluation of the results. Finally, the thesis concludes with a discussion of …

Zero-Trust Architecture And Its Cost-Effectiveness On Network Security, Zillah Adahman

Computer Science

Zero-Trust Architecture (ZTA) is a ‘Never Trust, Always Verify’ concept to improve cybersecurity by eliminating trust and validating network requests continuously. ZTA replaces Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and provides solitary access to applications and data. The growth of ZTA has spiked over the years, but organizations are reluctant to invest in this security approach. Previous studies cover ways to implement ZTA, its significance, and challenges but provide limited information on available tools, prices, and the success rate of ZTA. This research shows the implementation of ZTA causes a reduction of $684K on average in risk impact over four years for …

Multi-Teacher Knowledge Distillation Using Teacher's Domain Expertise, Arafat Bin Hossain

Computer Science

Large BERT models cannot be used with low computing power and storage capacity. Knowledge Distillation solves this problem by distilling knowledge into a smaller BERT model while retaining much of the teacher’s accuracy in student. A teacher expert in predicting one class should be chosen, by student, over others for that class - we used the teacher’s domain expertise like this to train the student. We calculated per-class accuracy for the Student and the Teacher and recorded the difference between the student from the teacher for all k classes. With k differences, we calculated the median of the differences to …

Understanding The Patterns Of Microservice Intercommunication From A Developer Perspective, Anas Nadeem

Computer Science

Microservices Architecture is the modern paradigm for designing software. Based on the divide-and-conquer strategy, microservices architecture organizes the application by furnishing it with a fine-level granularity. Each microservice has a well-defined responsibility and multiple microservices communicate with each other toward a common goal. A momentous decision in designing microservices applications is the choice between orchestration or choreography-based modes as the underlying intercommunication pattern. Choreography entails that microservices work autonomously while orchestration entails that a central coordinator directs the interaction between services. We arbitrate this decision from a developer’s perspective by empirically evaluating the properties of a benchmark system mapped into …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Music Recommendations Using Cosine Similarities Of Various Combined Feature Sets Consisting Of Metadata And User Generated Tags, Shubhit Kumar

Computer Science

This paper aims to compare and evaluate the methods for recommending songs using metadata, user generated tags, metadata and tags, and metadata and top five tags. Recommendations are calculated using cosine similarities with relevant exceptions (artist filtering, tag filtering, year to decade conversion) investigated.

Chaps Online, Suman Koirala

Computer Science

This paper explores the application development phases of the online version of Cow Herd Appraisal Performance Software (CHAPS). Beef producers and Extension professionals have been using CHAPS since 1985 as a herd management tool. North Dakota State University (NDSU) Extension Service and North Dakota Beef Cattle Improvement Association (NDBCIA) developed the first version of CHAPS in 1985. There is two more development iteration of this application named CHAPS 2000 and CHAPS 2020. To modernize the CHAPS application, the NDSU Extension decided to develop an online version of the CHAPS application, and this version is called CHAPS Online. This paper focuses …

Pathologic Inflammation In Malnutrition Is Driven By Proinflammatory Intestinal Microbiota, Large Intestine Barrier Dysfunction, And Translocation Of Bacterial Lipopolysaccharide, Grace T Patterson, Elvia Y Osorio, Alex Peniche, Sara M Dann, Erika Cordova, Geoffrey A Preidis, Ji Ho Suh, Ichiaki Ito, Omar A Saldarriaga, Michael Loeffelholz, Nadim J Ajami, Bruno L Travi, Peter C Melby

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Acute malnutrition, or wasting, is implicated in over half of all deaths in children under five and increases risk of infectious disease. Studies in humans and preclinical models have demonstrated that malnutrition is linked to an immature intestinal microbiota characterized by increased prevalence of Enterobacteriaceae. Observational studies in children with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) have also observed heightened systemic inflammation and increased circulating bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS; endotoxin). However, the mechanisms that underpin the systemic inflammatory state and endotoxemia, and their pathophysiological consequences, remain uncertain. Understanding these pathophysiological mechanisms is necessary to design targeted treatments that will improve the unacceptable rate …

Hepatic Pparα Is Destabilized By Sirt1 Deacetylase In Undernourished Male Mice, Ji Ho Suh, Kang Ho Kim, Margaret E Conner, David D Moore, Geoffrey A Preidis

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The nutrient sensing nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPARα) regulates the host response to short-term fasting by inducing hepatic transcriptional programming of ketogenesis, fatty acid oxidation and transport, and autophagy. This adaptation is ineffective in chronically undernourished individuals, among whom dyslipidemia and hepatic steatosis are common. We recently reported that hepatic PPARα protein is profoundly depleted in male mice undernourished by a low-protein, low-fat diet. Here, we identify PPARα as a deacetylation target of the NAD-dependent deacetylase sirtuin-1 (SIRT1) and link this to the decrease in PPARα protein levels in undernourished liver. Livers from undernourished male mice expressed high levels …

Clinical Outcome And Gut Development After Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 Supplementation To Preterm Pigs, Kristine Holgersen, Martin Bo Rasmussen, Galen Carey, Douglas G Burrin, Thomas Thymann, Per Torp Sangild

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Elevation of circulating insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) within normal physiological levels may alleviate several morbidities in preterm infants but safety and efficacy remain unclear. We hypothesized that IGF-1 supplementation during the first 1-2 weeks after preterm birth improves clinical outcomes and gut development, using preterm pigs as a model for infants.

METHODS: Preterm pigs were given vehicle or recombinant human IGF-1/binding protein-3 (rhIGF-1, 2.25 mg/kg/d) by subcutaneous injections for 8 days (Experiment 1, n = 34), or by systemic infusion for 4 days (Experiment 2, n = 19), before collection of blood and organs for analyses.

RESULTS: In both …

Ma111 Supplement: 4 Exams, Heather P. Lippert

OER Main

This MA111 supplement is created as a supplemental tool to support student learning for those students enrolled in MA111 College Math for Aviation I. The textbook that it supports is Basic Technical Mathematics with Calculus, 11th edition by Allyn Washington and Richard Evans.

This supplement does not replace the textbooks, book homework, or online homework of these authors, but only acts to support existing materials with the aviation major in mind. No profit is made from this supplement.

The prior supplement which supports Precalculus 4th ed. by Beecher, Penna, and Bittinger, is available as an additional file below.

Glucocentric Drugs In Cardiovascular Disease Protection And Heart Failure, Khawaja M Talha, Gregg C Fonarow, Salim S Virani, Javed Butler

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Evidence for cardiovascular outcomes with older-generation antihyperglycemic drugs in the management of type 2 diabetes is based on aggregated data from prior randomized controlled trials and observational studies that were not focused on prespecified cardiovascular end points. Newer antihyperglycemic medications have undergone a rigorous evaluation of cardiovascular outcomes through randomized controlled trials since the US Food and Drug Administration imposed a mandatory requirement for all glucose-lowering drugs in 2008. The three classes of drugs that have been most extensively studied are dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors, glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists, and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, the latter two reporting significant …

Filling The Gaaapps: Generating Affirming Asian American Perinatal Psychological Services, Jennifer Yuen

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Women in the perinatal period face a unique set of mental health challenges, as they must navigate both physical changes and transitions in their life. Perinatal mental health has been linked to child outcomes, such as social emotional development, cognitive development, and physical growth. In addition, women of racial and ethnic minority groups are confronted with barriers to accessing services and are therefore less likely to utilize mental health services. While international attention has recently focused on the experiences of women of color in the perinatal period, Asian American women have been largely overlooked. This systemic literature review explores the …

Are Infrared Thermography, Automated Feeding Systems, And Heart Rate Variability Measures Capable Of Characterizing Group-Housed Sow Social Hierarchies?, Dominique Sommer

Animal Sciences

Group gestation housing is becoming standard practice in commercial swine production. Although group housing promotes behavioral variability within the breeding herd, it can cause several management challenges for producers due to the establishment of the social hierarchy. Poor performance and welfare in group housed breeding stock can be attributed to the repercussions of aggression performed between dyads. The ability to quickly identify sows in the social hierarchy could be beneficial to producers for enforcing preventative actions. Precision livestock farming tools have proven to aid animal caretakers in monitoring animal health and welfare in livestock industries.The objective of this thesis was …

Artificial Intelligence-Empowered Structural Health Monitoring, Damage Diagnosis, And Prognosis Of Metallic Structures, Zi Zhang

Civil and Environmental Engineering

etallic structures are the key backbone of the society and economy, which are often subjected to different types of loadings resulting cracking, corrosion, and other material discontinuity, and affecting structural integrity and safety. Therefore, ultrasonic guided wave (UGW) has been widely used for structural health monitoring (SHM) to gain a deep understanding of structural performance, assess the current state of structural conditions, and avoid potential catastrophic events. Despite advances in technologies and methods in data process, microdamage detection still posts great challenges in their detectability. Different from conventional physics-based methods, artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) has recently fueled profound …

The Effect Of Hemp Byproduct Supplementation On Beef Quality, Kiersten Gundersen

Animal Sciences

The supplementation of hempseed cake (hemp byproduct) could be considered an alternative protein and fiber source for ruminants such as cattle. Hempseed cake might be a successful alternative feed source due to cattle’s digestive abilities. Yet, the physiological effects caused by cannabinoids in hemp (cannabidiol [CBD] and (-)-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinaol [THC]) are of concern. However, hemp with much less than 0.3% THC on a dry matter basis can remain a potential alternative feed ingredient. The objective of this study was to evaluate the significance of hempseed cake inclusion in a late finishing ration on carcass characteristics, meat quality characteristics, retail shelf-life, proximate …

A Meta-Analysis Of Studies Addressing The Impact Of Gbh On Human, Animal Health And The Environment, Kodjo Barnor

Agribusiness and Applied Economics

The herbicide glyphosate has been tested and approved by both the FDA and the USDA, as evidenced by many published research papers, i.e., they are deemed safe for humans, animals, and the environment. However, evidence is mounting that glyphosate interferes with many metabolic processes in plants and animals, and glyphosate residues have been detected in both. The factors that influence the outcomes of previous scientific research on the potential adverse effects of GBH on human and animal health and the environment were investigated. Using DAGs and Granger causality tests, the study found that while private and public organizations were more …

Understanding Consumer Acceptance Of Multiple Red Meat Products And Perceptions Of The American Meat Science Association’S Intercollegiate Meat Judging Program Benefits From Participants, Michaella Fevold

Animal Sciences

Per capita consumption of red meat products totaled 67 kg in 2017. Given the popularity of meat, it is important for meat scientists to monitor consumers acceptance of red meat products. Consumer acceptance of red meat products is driven by meat quality characteristics such as tenderness. The objectives of the second and third chapter was to investigate the influence of beef ribeye steak weight and thickness on purchasing behaviors of consumers and to better understand the effects of frozen storage on protein degradation, lipid oxidation, meat quality, and sensory characteristics of lamb. As beef carcasses have grown over the time …

Economic Benefits Of Precision Agricultural Technologies, Mohsina Jahan

Agribusiness and Applied Economics

The purpose of this research was to build a model of profitability that can be used by individual farmers to calculate the net benefits of using precision agricultural technologies on their farms. Three case farms were selected. Partial budgeting analysis is used to calculate the net profit effect of adopting precision agricultural technology bundles. Two scenarios were compared: farms adopting precision agricultural technologies and farms not adopting. Revenues and costs that differ between the two scenarios are included in the model. A six-step process was employed and @Risk was used to account for risk. Results show that adopting PA is …

Patch-Burning Improves Forage Nutritive Value And Livestock Performance Over Rotational And Continuous Grazing Strategies, Megan Wanchuk

Range Science

Rangelands simultaneously support livestock production while maintaining ecosystem functionality. Patch-burning is a grazing management strategy with benefits for wildlife habitat and conservation. However, previous work pertaining to livestock has not examined potential benefits to livestock production. We assessed forage nutritive value, and cattle performance on patch-burning compared to continuous and rotational grazing. We also examined how prescribed fire alters forage mineral content through time since patch-burning. The recently burned patch had better forage nutritive value than patches with longer time since fire and no fire grazing methods, meeting the highest proportion of cow requirements. In 2017, a mild-drought year, cows …

Developing An Interactive Model To Integrate Human Expertise With Building Information Modelling (Bim) Software, Cyril Ahiable

Construction Management and Engineering

Considering the significant amount of time and money wasted yearly in fixing errors caused by miscommunication and inadequate information on project sites, relaying the knowledge of field experts through design software may reduce communication-based conflicts in projects. This study aimed at creating a model to integrate human field expertise in the construction process with BIM software and also explored strides made in a similar regard. The study also explored the various strides made in human expertise integration. Basement construction in Fargo-North Dakota was the construction scenario selected for scrutiny in this study. Surveys and in-person interviews were conducted with local …

Development Of Ice Releasing Epoxy-Siloxane Marine Coatings, Morgen Hagerott

Coatings and Polymeric Materials

In this study, epoxy-siloxane coatings were prepared and modified using various polysiloxane oil additives with the goal of developing an ice releasing epoxy-siloxane coating. Contact angle, surface energy, and ice adhesion tests were conducted to study the effect each oil additive had on the surface properties of the coatings. Additionally, antifouling and fouling release properties were assessed using two micro-organisms, Cellulophaga lytica and Navicula incerta, and one macro-organism, Amphibalanus Amphitrite (barnacles). The goal of which was to compare the ice and fouling releasing properties of the coatings to see if any correlations could be made between the two. One of …

Sustainable Thermosetting Polymers: Biobased Epoxy Resin Systems And Aqueous Non-Isocyanate Polyurethanes, Raul Setien

Coatings and Polymeric Materials

In recent years, there has been a desire to seek alternatives to petrochemically derived materials. These alternatives can be derived from renewable sources such as vegetable oils. However, methods for achieving sustainability are not limited to only resourcing materials from bio-based sources but can also be achieved by utilizing safer synthesis techniques, reducing cure times, and eliminating volatile organic content in thermoset coating formulations. This dissertation sets out to achieve a goal the sustainability across different fields. Epoxidized sucrose soyate is a versatile bio-based materials that is typically synthesized utilizing hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid. A proposed safer alternative utilizes …

Surface Modifying Amphiphilic Additives For The Improvement Of Fouling-Release Properties Of Siloxane-Polyurethane Coatings, Jackson Benda

Coatings and Polymeric Materials

Since mankind has navigated the world’s oceans, marine biofouling has been a persistent problem with several negative economic and environmental consequences. In modern times, the buildup of biofouling causes a significant reduction in vessel speed, leading to increased power consumption, higher costs of operation, and an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Two of the most widely used protection strategies to combat this highly complex and dynamic phenomenon include the application of biocide containing anti-fouling (AF), or more environmentally friendly non-toxic fouling-release (FR) coatings. Traditional FR coatings utilize low surface energy components such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), but often suffer mechanical failure …