Digital Commons Network^™

Robust Digital Nucleic Acid Memory, Golam Md Mortuza

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The rapid growth of data generation from electronic devices has created a critical demand for efficient and sustainable data storage solutions. Traditional storage systems face challenges regarding reliability, energy consumption, and scalability, necessitating the exploration of alternative technologies. This dissertation explores the potential of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) as an alternative storage medium, along with the associated challenges and potential solutions.

This dissertation focuses on Digital Nucleic Acid Memory (dNAM), which utilizes Single Molecule Localization Microscopy (SMLM) to encode and store data within DNA structures called DNA origami. SMLM surpasses the limitations of light’s diffraction limit, enabling the imaging of biological …

Effect Of Age On The Mechanical Behavior And Molecular Structure Of Human Meniscus: An Experimental And Computational Analysis, Derek Q. Nesbitt

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The knee meniscus is a soft fibrous tissue with a high incidence of injury in older populations. Surgical treatments do not fully restore the functionality of the meniscus, and the meniscus lacks native healing capacity, leading to a 40% increase in the probability of developing osteoarthritis once torn. Meniscus injury prevention is thus paramount to reducing the onset of osteoarthritis. Despite the importance of the meniscus in joint health, its mechanical properties, and how these change with age, are poorly understood. In order to quantify these properties, and how they change with age, we performed uniaxial tensile tests on two …

Maximizing The Performance Of Geocell Reinforced Pavement Bases With High-Fines Content Soils Through Micp Treatments, Ajay Kumar Reddy Pisati

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Crushed stone and gravel have long been favored for their stability and interlocking properties in Geocell reinforced base course layers of flexible pavement structures. However, their drawbacks, such as depleting reserves, escalating permit costs, environmental compliance, and extensive quarrying impacts, have led researchers to seek alternative options like recycled and on-site materials. Within this framework, utilizing native soil emerges as a promising solution to tackle these challenges. Nevertheless, the grading specifications impose limitations on the fines content allowed in base courses, as determined by the No. 200 sieve. However, the grading specifications pose restrictions on the permissible fines content in …

Enhanced Hardware Trojan Detection In Chips By Reducing Linearity Between Features, Alfred M. S. Moussa

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Globally, there has been an increase in demand for System on Chip (SoC) applications, active medical implants, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. However, due to challenges in the global supply chain, the design, fabrication, and testing of Integrated Circuits are often outsourced to untrusted third-party entities around the world rather than a single trusted entity. This situation presents an opportunity for adversaries to compromise the device’s integrity, performance, and functionality by inserting malicious modifications known as Hardware Trojans (HTs) into the original design. HTs can also create a backdoor in the system for malicious alterations.

The problem of hardware …

Fair Layouts In Information Access Systems: Provider-Side Group Fairness In Ranking Beyond Ranked Lists, Amifa Raj

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Information access systems, such as search engines and recommender systems, often display results in ranked order based on their estimated relevance. The fairness of these rankings has received attention as an important evaluation criteria along with traditional metrics capturing constructs such as utility or accuracy. Fairness has many facets, including provider and consumer-side fairness at both group and individual levels. Research on provider-side group fairness involve concerns regarding measurement and optimization of fairness in ranking. Although there are several fair ranking metrics to measure provider-side group fairness based on various “sensitive attributes”, multiple open challenges still exist in this area …

An Experimental And Numerical Investigation Of Bimodal Particle Distributions For Enhanced Thermal Conductivity In Concentrating Solar Power Applications, Dallin Daniel Stout

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Solid particles have recently attracted substantial interest as a thermal transport medium in high-temperature energy storage and thermal energy conversion systems due to their ability to operate at high temperatures (up to 1000 °C). This is especially useful in the concentrating solar power (CSP) industry where solid particles are utilized as heat transfer media. Thermal conductivity of particles in CSP is critically important to the overall heat transfer that occurs within a heat exchanger. A cheap and effective avenue to increase the thermal conductivity of a particle distribution is by reducing its porosity by employing 2 differently sized particles. The …

Development Of Predictive Rockfall Runout Maps Based On Calibrated Rockfall Models, Olivia Tabor

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Cliffs formed in columnar jointed basalt have the proper geometry and discontinuities to initiate rockfall events. There are a number of locations in Boise, Idaho that may experience rockfall events from columnar jointed basalt cliffs. Publicly available LiDAR data coupled with site reconnaissance activities were used to develop calibrated two-dimensional rockfall models at a study site in southeast Boise. Photogrammetry was used to determine the volume of seven calibration boulders. The study site, located on Whitney Terrace, consists of a columnar jointed basalt cliff followed by a slope with a subdivision at the toe of the slope.

The two common …

Carbon/Carbon Composites For Next Generation Microvascular Solar Thermal Receivers, Matt Zuzelski

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Concentrating solar power (CSP) is a method of renewable solar power generation where the sun’s radiant energy is collected by a receiver and converted into thermal energy. This thermal energy is then passed into a heat transfer fluid and either sent to thermal storage, or a steam power plant. One path to better CSP systems is improving the operational envelope of the receiver and heat transfer fluid (HTF) system by utilizing more resilient absorbing materials, different path architectures, and HTFs with higher allowable temperatures.

A new carbon/carbon composite is being developed with the potential to function as the absorbing material …

Towards Reliable Hepatocytic Anatomy Segmentation In Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Using U-Net With Auto-Encoder, Koloud Najem Alkhamaiseh

Dissertations

Despite the advantages of minimally invasive surgeries that depend heavily on vision, the indirect access and lack of the 3D field of view of the area of interest introduce some complications in the desired procedures. Fortunately, the recorded videos from these procedures offer the opportunity for intra-operative and post-operative analyses, to improve future performance and safety.

Deep learning models for surgical video analysis could therefore support visual tasks such as identifying the critical view of safety (CVS) in laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), potentially contributing to the reduction of the current rates of bile duct injuries in LC. Most bile duct injuries …

Examining The Construct Of Collective Efficacy In Rural High School Teachers Working In A Model Professional Learning Community School, Eileen M. Feinman

Education Doctoral

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine the perceptions of 18 rural high school singleton teacher participants who worked in districts that had implemented the professional learning community (PLC) framework and to assess if there was a relationship between the teachers’ perception of collective efficacy and the PLCs—despite the potential of limiting the organizational structures within their schools. A mixed-methods explanatory sequential case study in one rural high school with the designation of a Model PLC School was used to conduct the research. The participants reported a significant positive correlation between the variables of instructional practice, student behavior, …

The Role Of Filipino Conglomerates In The Nation's Development, Jesus Felipe

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Could the country's small and medium companies be the engines of transformation that it needs to attain and sustain the 6.5-8 percent annual growth targeted in the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028? I doubt it. They have neither the knowledge nor the financial muscle to do it.

There is another group of companies that could lead the way. These are the large conglomerates of the nation. They have much better knowledge of the economy and financial power. Yet, in general, they do not innovate or export. Instead, they are into non-tradable activities (real estate, banking, distribution, insurance, construction, telecommunications and food). …

Antenatal Steroid As An Independent Risk Factor For Vitamin K2 Deficiency In Newborns: A Chinese Single-Center, Retrospective Study, Ling Liu, Chao-Hong Chen, Shi-Wen Rong, Shao-Zhu Lin, Na-Li Cai, Dang Ao

Saudi Medical Journal

Objectives: To identified vitamin K2 deficiency rate and risk factors among newborns in China and assess the importance of high-risk maternal intakes of vitamin K2. Methods: This retrospective study was performed at the Neonatology Department, the Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, China. Routinely collected mother-neonate hospitalization data from July 2020 to January 2021 were analyzed. In total, data from 200 neonates who had completed vitamin K2 tests were utilized to assess the prevalence of vitamin K2 deficiency and identify the potential risk factors. According to the vitamin K2 level, the neonates were divided into 2 groups: cases (vitamin K2 …

The Influence Of Social Media And Institutional Trust On Vaccine Hesitancy In France: Examining Direct And Mediating Processes, Christopher J. Mckinley, Elea Olivier, Jeremy K. Ward

College of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

Vaccine hesitancy (VH) remains an ongoing challenge in French society. This project explored how institutional trust and preference for information via social media (PISM) drive hesitancy. Across a large, nationally represented population, our findings show that PISM and trust are strongly correlated measures, with both independently predicting VH. Subsequent mediation tests show that social media operates as primarily an indirect contributor to VH through trust. Additional tests involving VH and non-VH typologies revealed that institutional trust consistently predicts greater general support for vaccines and reduced distrust in vaccination. Conversely, PISM directly drives vaccine distrust, with its impact on non-hesitancy fully …

Performance Improvements Of Hot Mix Asphalt Concrete Using Carbon-Based Fillers, Leonardo A. Ortega Ruiz

Theses and Dissertations

To further advance the state of the art on the performance improvements of hot mix asphalt concrete, this paper investigates the improvements to cracking damage of hot mix asphalt concrete by the addition of carbon-based fillers. There have been various studies dedicated to measuring the strength performance of asphalt mixtures modified with non-traditional fillers, but many of the current studies seem to have varying success with their results or have results that are not statistically significant. In this research, carbon black and F-516 graphite in various percentages were added into asphalt mixtures as a replacement of the traditionally used hydrated …

Forecasting Retention Among At-Risk College Freshmen Students Through Completion Of A Stem Intervention, Edna Orozco

Theses and Dissertations

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) areas are one of the fastest-growing majors in the nation, engineering, is projected to add the second largest number of new jobs from 2016 to 2026 with 140,000 new jobs (Torpey, 2018). Unfortunately, there is a disparity between enrollment and graduation rates (Chen, 2015; Lucas & Spina, 2022). According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) (2017) despite all the research done throughout decades to improve the issue of retention in STEM areas about half of the students who pursue a degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) will either leave or …

Simple Mechanically Reconfigurable Patch Antennas, Luis Alonso Hernandez Galvan

Theses and Dissertations

Reconfigurable antennas form an active subdivision of antenna and communications research primarily targeted at achieving reconfigurability in the RF, microwave, and millimeter-wave frequency regimes. Mechanical, all-electronic, material based, and optical methods are the most common approaches to achieve reconfigurability. Each method can overlap to create new and innovative approaches to enable device tunability. The sub-class of reconfigurable antennas are antennas that dynamically achieve an adaptable transformation of their frequency, radiation-pattern, polarization, and/or bandwidth characteristics to enable multiple dynamic functionalities.

In this thesis, we designed new rectangular and triangular microstrip patch array antennas operating in the 5G midband at 5GHz. These …

Design And Implementation Of A Load Sensor In A Bearing Adapter Assembly For Freight Railcar Applications, Prince E. Mensah

Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. freight rail network, which covers approximately 140,000 route miles, is commonly regarded as the largest, safest, and most economical freight system in the world. It generates more than 167,000 jobs nationwide and has additional advantages over other modes of transportation, such as lower costs for logistics, public infrastructure upkeep, and decreases in traffic congestion, highway deaths, fuel consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. Knowing the exact weight of cargo hauled by freight railcars can help avoid exceeding the loading thresholds set by the Association of American Railroads (AAR). Moreover, knowing the exact load applied to each bearing on the …

Vibration-Based Machine Learning Models For Condition Monitoring Of Railroad Rolling Stock, Sergio M. Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

One of the primary causes of rail rolling stock derailments is attributed to bearing and wheel axle failures. The health of train bearings is primarily monitored at target locations through wayside detection systems. This practice is susceptible to bearing failure and potential derailments at points in between these wayside systems. To remedy this, the University Transportation Center for Railway Safety (UTCRS) has developed a wireless onboard monitoring system that can continuously monitor the vibration response, which directly correlates to the health of bearings. This data is used to train regression-based machine learning algorithms and long-term prediction neural networks to predict …

Competencies Of Modern Musician Entrepreneurs: The Role Of Digitalization In The Music Industry, Richard A. Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

The culture creation industries are undergoing a period of accelerated digitization, globalization, and democratization. The 21st century music industry is bustling with lowered barriers to entry, increased knowledge sharing, and direct to consumer models which have resulted in a gold rush of entrepreneurial opportunities for musicians and increased competition to music firms and superstars. The music industry has been subject to innovative disruption providing valuable insight on the nuances of this paradigm shift for music entrepreneurs and scholars alike. Specifically, I explore competency factors in artist’s journey from musicians to entrepreneurs with successful self-managed careers. Employing Lazear’s Theory of Balanced …

Indium Doped Zinc Stannate-Pdms Based Piezoelectric Generator For Harvesting Mechanical Energy And Sensory Application, Tamanna Zakia

Theses and Dissertations

Piezoelectric materials are comparatively new among other alternative energy sources. Harvesting waste mechanical energy through these materials can be a potential solution of the increasing energy demand. In response to applied mechanical stress, piezoelectric materials accumulate electric charges on their surface. Upon connecting with a circuit, accumulated charges can flow and generate electricity. Based on this hypothesis piezoelectric nano-generator has been fabricated. Binary semiconducting oxides such as ZnO, TiO2 and SnO2 have attracted immense interest as they have unique properties of electron mobility. However, there is always a need for specially designed semiconductors to better match with the properties. This …

Fedbiometric: Image Features Based Biometric Presentation Attack Detection Using Hybrid Cnns-Svm In Federated Learning, S M Sarwar

Theses and Dissertations

In the past few years, biometric identification systems have become popular for personal, national, and global security. In addition to other biometric modalities, facial and fingerprint recognition have gained popularity due to their uniqueness, stability, convenience, and cost-effectiveness compared to other biometric modalities. However, the evolution of fake biometrics, such as printed materials, 2D or 3D faces, makeup, and cosmetics, has brought new challenges. As a result of these modifications, several facial and fingerprint Presentation Attack Detection methods have been proposed to distinguish between live and spoof faces or fingerprints. Federated learning can play a significant role in this problem …

A Novel Technique To Solve Fractional Differential Equations Using Fractional-Order B-Polynomial Basis Set, Md Habibur Rahman

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis uses B-Polynomial bases to solve both one-dimensional and multi-dimensional linear and nonlinear partial differential equations and linear and nonlinear fractional differential equations. The approach involves constructing an operational matrix from the terms of these equations using Caputo's fractional derivative of fractional B-polynomials. This leads to a semi-analytical solution derived from a matrix equation, and the results obtained using this method are compared to analytical and numerical solutions presented by other authors. The method is shown to be effective in calculating approximate solutions for various differential equations and provides a higher accuracy level than finite difference methods. This technique …

Matrix Completion Problems For The Positiveness And Contraction Through Graphs, Louis C. Christopher

Theses and Dissertations

In this work, we study contractive and positive real matrix completion problems which are motivated in part by studies on sparce (or dense) matrices for weighted sparse recovery problems and rating matrices with rating density in recommender systems. Matrix completions problems also have many applications in probability and statistics, chemistry, numerical analysis (e.g. optimization), electrical engineering, and geophysics. In this paper we seek to connect the contractive and positive completion property to a graph theoretic property. We then answer whether the graphs of real symmetric matrices having loops at every vertex have the contractive completion property if and only if …

Developing Control System For Manufacturing Processes, Md Shahriar Forhad

Theses and Dissertations

Process control has been a critical component in today's manufacturing industry. Industrialists nowadays want reliable control to assure precision manufacturing. Modern control systems must be more dynamic, so that any needed modifications may be made quickly to accomplish the desired product change. For innovative research and development, system customization is critical to ensure freedom for experimental works. In addition, full control of manufacturing systems is necessary to realize and implement Industry 4.0. Often, it is difficult to achieve such control due to limited access to proprietary equipment. To this end, this thesis focuses on developing a custom control platform for …

Simulating Motion Success With Muscle Deficiency In A Musculoskeletal Model Using Reinforcement Learning, Daniel Castillo

Theses and Dissertations

Humans possess an extraordinary ability to execute complex movements, captivating the attention of researchers who strive to develop methods for simulating these actions within a physics-based environment. Motion Capture data stands out as a crucial tool among the proven approaches to tackle this challenge. In this research, we explore the effects of decreased muscle force on the body's capacity to perform various tasks, ranging from simple walking to executing complex jumping jacks. Through a systematic reduction of the allowed force applied to individual muscles or muscle groups, we aim to identify the threshold at which the body's muscles tolerate the …

Robust And Uncertainty-Aware Software Vulnerability Detection Using Bayesian Recurrent Neural Networks, Orune Aminul

Theses and Dissertations

Software systems are prone to code defects or vulnerabilities, resulting in several cyberattacks such as hacking, identity breach and information leakage leading to system failure. Vulnerabilities in software systems have severe societal implications, including threats to public safety, financial damage, and even risks to national security. Identifying and mitigating software vulnerabilities is critical to protect organizations and societies from potential threats. Machine learning algorithms have been employed to detect and classify potential vulnerabilities in software source code automatically. However, these algorithms are not robust to noise or malicious attacks and cannot quantify uncertainty in the model’s output. Quantifying uncertainty in …

On The Feasibility Of Machine Learning Algorithms Towards Low-Cost Flow Cytometry, Noah Vandal

Biomedical Engineering

Utilization low cost, scalable architectures for detection of specific cells for both mass flow and minute incidence analysis is something that is attractive for the clinical researcher, in order to expand access to otherwise costly devices. We demonstrate the use of a low-cost microfluidics device that performs detection of beads and cells, both for cell counting and for discrete cell type identification. This was accomplished using polymer technology via implementation of polydimethylsiloxane microfluidics, which were created by using a 3-D printed mold, and machine learning technologies with algorithms that can inference and track analyte particles within the microfluidic of interest. …

Hydraulic Habitat Suitability For The Rio Grande Silvery Minnow At The Los Chavez Irrigation Outfall, New Mexico, Haley A. Ormsbee

Civil Engineering ETDs

It is essential to manage the Middle Rio Grande for aquatic species to preserve the native biodiversity of the river. During periods of low flow, endangered species such as the Rio Grande Silvery Minnow (RGSM) may get trapped in a drying reach without the ability to escape from isolated pools. Very little is known about how areas of refuge, such as irrigational outfall channels, buffer RGSM from stream flow intermittency. Hence, there is a crucial need to quantify available habitat for RGSM in areas of refuge. This study aims to make connections between flow regimes and physical-habitat conditions to help …

A Comparison Of Different Stomatal Density Phenotypes Of Hordeum Vulgare Under Varied Watering Regimes Reveals Superior Genotypes With Enhanced Drought Tolerance, Brittany Clare Robertson, Yong Han, Chengdao Li

Grain and Other Field Crops Research Articles

Enhancing the water-use efficiency (WUE) of barley cultivars may safeguard yield deficits during periods of low rainfall. Reduced stomatal density is linked to enhanced WUE, leading to improved drought resistance across plant genera. In this study, 10 barley varieties exhibiting a range of stomatal density phenotypes were grown under differing soil water contents to determine whether stomatal density influences the capacity of genotypes to resist low water availability. The low-stomatal-density genotype Hindmarsh showed the least impact on biomass production during early development, with a 37.13% decrease in dry biomass during drought treatment. Low-stomatal-density genotypes additionally outcompeted high-stomatal-density genotypes under water-deprivation …

Model-Free Sliding Mode Control In The Lateral And Direction Dynamics Of An Aircraft, Nicholas Hutson

Theses

Traditional control methods require extensive tuning or a derivation of a system model making them increasingly antiquated for use on new, more complex systems. Sliding Mode Control has emerged as a more effective alternative as a control method that can directly handle nonlinear systems with increased robustness while guaranteeing stability. However, it is still limited by the need for a system model for the derivation of the controller form. This work proposes a new model-free control method based on Sliding Mode Control referred to as Model-Free Sliding Mode Control where the form of the controller is only dependent on system …