Digital Commons Network^™

Optimizing A Biomass Supply System: Consideration Of Pellet Quality And Transportation Under Extreme Events, Badr S. Aladwan

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation studies a framework in support biomass wood pellet supply chain. The worldwide wood pellet market is growing at a phenomenal rate. However, the economic sustainment of this business depends on how well the producers manage the uncertainty associated with biomass yield and quality. In the first part of the dissertation, we propose a two-stage stochastic programming model that optimizes different critical decisions (e.g., harvesting, storage, transportation, quality inspection, and production decisions) of a biomass-to-pellet supply system under biomass yield and quality uncertainty to economically produce pellets while accounting for the different pellet standards set forward by the U.S. …

Angular-Dependent Three-Dimensional Imaging Techniques In Multi-Pass Synthetic Aperture Radar, Jan Rainer Jamora

Theses and Dissertations

Humans perceive the world in three dimensions, but many sensing capabilities only display two-dimensional information to users by way of images. In this work we develop two novel reconstruction techniques utilizing synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data in three dimensions given sparse amounts of available data. We additionally leverage a hybrid joint-sparsity and sparsity approach to remove a-priori influences on the environment and instead explore general imaging properties in our reconstructions. We evaluate the required sampling rates for our techniques and a thorough analysis of the accuracy of our methods. The results presented in this thesis suggest a solution to sparse …

Assessment And Optimization Of Marsh Terracing For Wetland Restoration In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico Using Remote Sensing And A Wave Model Approach, Raúl Jefferson Osorio Morillo

Theses and Dissertations

Coastal Louisiana U.S. is facing wetland loss caused mainly by geologic subsidence and sea-level rise. These losses are accelerated by human activities such as the creation of canals and waterways for gas and oil extraction. Wetland loss in coastal Louisiana has encouraged to the implementation of various wetland restoration techniques. Marsh terraces are a one restoration technique consisting of segmented berms of soil that are built in inland coastal ponds. They are designed to increase marsh area, dissipate wind driven waves, encourage marsh expansion, and possibly reduce shoreline erosion. Marsh terraces have been implemented for almost 30 years; however, little …

Capturing Structure-Property Relationships Of Complex Gels With Physical And Chemical Crosslinking, Rosa Maria Badani Prado

Theses and Dissertations

Gels are used in many applications ranging from bioengineering and pharmaceuticals to food technology and soft-robotics because of their tunable physical and mechanical properties. In many of these applications, the materials need to sustain large deformation. The microstructure of gels changes significantly at large strain values, causing a deviation in the stress responses from that at low strain. The desired mechanical responses of gels can be obtained by tuning their microstructure, therefore, the structure-property relationship for gels is required to be understood for their practical applications. This dissertation discusses two types of gels, one consists of chemical crosslinking and hydrophobic …

A Probabilistic Approach To Levee Overtopping Risk Assessment, Stefan G. Flynn

Theses and Dissertations

The most common mode of levee failure, breach due to overtopping, is generally considered as a function of a complex set of contributing factors. The goal of this research is to enhance the state of the art and practice for performing levee overtopping risk assessment. For this purpose, a dataset of levee overtopping event records within the portfolio of levee systems maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is presented. The dataset is utilized with logistic regression analysis to develop a probabilistic model to calculate system response probabilities and assess risk related to levee overtopping. The presented dataset …

Wavetronix Llc, Petitioner V. Auditing Dmsion Of The Utah State Tax Commission, Respondent : Brief Of Appellee, Utah Supreme Court

Utah Supreme Court Briefs (2021– )

On petition for review from the Utah State Tax Commission, Agency No. 13-2579

Troy L. Booher J. Frederic Voros, Jr. Dick J. Baldwin ZIMMERMAN BOOHER Attorneys for Petitioner

Erin T. Middleton Assistant Solicitor General Mark E. Wainwright John C. McCarrey Assistant Attorneys General Sean D. Reyes UTAH ATTORNEY GENERAL Attorneys for Respondent

Elements: A Unified Framework For Supporting Low And High Order Numerical Methods For Multi-Physics Material Dynamics Simulations, Jacob Moore

Theses and Dissertations

Many complexities arise when writing software for computational physics. The choice of underlying data structures, physics model representation, and numerical methods used for the solver all add to the overall complexity of a code and significantly affect the simulation speed and accuracy of the solution. This work has integrated multiple recently developed software tools into a unified framework called ELEMENTS. ELEMENTS contains tools to address the complexities of data representation and numerical methods implementation for computational physics applications. ELEMENTS consists of multiple software packages: Elements, MATAR, Swage, Geometry, and SLAM. MATAR is a performance portability and productivity implementation of data-oriented …

Cable Manipulation With A Tactile-Reactive Gripper, Yu She, Shaoxiong Wang, Siyuan Dong, Neha Sunil, Alberto Rodriguez, Edward Adelson

School of Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Cables are complex, high-dimensional, and dynamic objects. Standard approaches to manipulate them often rely on conservative strategies that involve long series of very slow and incremental deformations, or various mechanical fixtures such as clamps, pins, or rings. We are interested in manipulating freely moving cables, in real time, with a pair of robotic grippers, and with no added mechanical constraints. The main contribution of this paper is a perception and control framework that moves in that direction, and uses real-time tactile feedback to accomplish the task of following a dangling cable. The approach relies on a vision-based tactile sensor, GelSight, …

Plant Dna Repair And Agrobacterium T−Dna Integration, Stanton B. Gelvin

Department of Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Agrobacterium species transfer DNA (T−DNA) to plant cells where it may integrate into plant chromosomes. The process of integration is thought to involve invasion and ligation of T-DNA, or its copying, into nicks or breaks in the host genome. Integrated T−DNA often contains, at its junctions with plant DNA, deletions of T−DNA or plant DNA, filler DNA, and/or microhomology between T-DNA and plant DNA pre-integration sites. T−DNA integration is also often associated with major plant genome rearrangements, including inversions and translocations. These characteristics are similar to those often found after repair of DNA breaks, and thus DNA repair mechanisms have …

Decision Based Learning Course Design & Implementation For Introductory Statistics, Austin Heath

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Researchers in multiple industries (biomedicine, engineering, etc.) cite the selection of an appropriate statistical test as a common problem. Experts draw on a framework of conceptual and procedural knowledge to navigate when to use statistical methods. Students also struggle determining the correct statistical method to use for a given research question. This is because they lack the opportunity to practice recognizing a host of features in each research question that provide clues for experts as to which method is most appropriate. “Decision Based Learning” (DBL) is a teaching method designed to help teachers and students address this struggle. In this …

Summer Commencement: August 6, 2021, University Of North Dakota

UND Commencement Programs

UND Summer Commencement program from August 6, 2021.

Robust Nonlinear Tracking Control For Unmanned Aircraft In The Presence Of Wake Vortex, Petr Kazarin, Vladimir Golubev, William Mackunis, Claudia Moreno

Publications

The flight trajectory of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be significantly affected by external disturbances such as turbulence, upstream wake vortices, or wind gusts. These effects present challenges for UAV flight safety. Hence, addressing these challenges is of critical importance for the integration of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS), especially in terminal zones. This work presents a robust nonlinear control method that has been designed to achieve roll/yaw regulation in the presence of unmodeled external disturbances and system nonlinearities. The data from NASA-conducted airport experimental measurements as well as high-fidelity Large Eddy Simulations of the …

Comparative Efficacy, Safety, Tolerability, And Effectiveness Of Antipsychotics In The Treatment Of Dementia-Related Psychosis (Drp): A Systematic Literature Review, Ismaeel Yunusa, N. Rashid, V. Abler, Krithika Rajagopalan

Faculty Publications

Objectives

To evaluate the comparative efficacy, safety, tolerability, and effectiveness of atypical antipsychotics (AAPs) for the treatment of dementia related psychosis (DRP) in older adults.

Methods

In this systematic literature review (SLR), we qualitatively synthesized evidence on the comparative efficacy (based on neuropsychiatric inventory), tolerability (weight gain), and safety (cerebrovascular adverse events [CVAE], cardiovascular events, mortality, somnolence, extrapyramidal symptoms [EPS]) of AAPs used to treat DRP. We also assessed effectiveness based on all-cause discontinuations and discontinuations due to lack of efficacy or adverse events (AE). Published articles from through March 2021 from PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Cochrane databases evaluated. We …

Interactions Between Humans, Crocodiles, And Hippos At Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe, Ivan Marowa, Joshua Matanzima, Tamuka Nhiwatiwa

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Human–wildlife conflicts (HWCs) are on the increase due to shrinking space that results in increased competition for land, water, and other natural resources between humans and wildlife. Investigating the occurrence of HWCs is important in that the results can be used to formulate better management policies and strategies. In this paper, we describe the nature of HWCs emerging between humans and the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) and between humans and the African hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius; hippo) on Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe. Lake Kariba is the second largest manmade lake by volume in the world. Conflicts involving humans …

The_Instaprep_Project: A Social Marketing Intervention On Instagram To Increase Oral Hiv Prophylaxis In Black Men Who Have Sex With Men, James Q. Simmons

Dissertations

Incidence of HIV diagnoses is higher in Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) than any other socio-demographic population in the United States. BMSM account for 26% of all new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. yet make up an estimated 1% of the U.S population. In 2017, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicted 50% of BMSM would be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime. Oral HIV pre-exposure prophylactic (PrEP) medications developed to prevent sexual transmission of HIV are 95-99% effective. However, Blacks represent only 10% of PrEP prescriptions. Targeted Social Marketing initiatives on Instagram need to be …

Confronting Space Debris Through The Regime Evolution Approach, Gershon Hasin

International Law Studies

This article examines the complex policy problem of space debris and elaborates a proposal for a bottom-up cooperative regime for its mitigation. While debris proliferation generates costs and threatens the safety of personnel and equipment, this policy problem is compounded by the realization that debris constitutes a by-product of desirable space activities which facilitate national progress and domestic increases in values. It is further complicated by increased private participation, conflicting interests of participants, and a global order susceptible to outlier behavior.

Scholars attempting to tackle this policy problem have failed to appreciate the complex legislative process through which international rules …

Residential Water Meters As Edge Computing Nodes: Disaggregating End Uses And Creating Actionable Information At The Edge, Nour A. Attallah, Jeffery S. Horsburgh, Arle S. Beckwith Jr., Robb J. Tracey

Publications

We present a new, open source, computationally capable datalogger for collecting and analyzing high temporal resolution residential water use data. Using this device, execution of water end use disaggregation algorithms or other data analytics can be performed directly on existing, analog residential water meters without disrupting their operation, effectively transforming existing water meters into smart, edge computing devices. Computation of water use summaries and classified water end use events directly on the meter minimizes data transmission requirements, reduces requirements for centralized data storage and processing, and reduces latency between data collection and generation of decision-relevant information. The datalogger couples an …

Is Immediate Flexibility Present In A Vocal Mimic, The Gray Catbird (Dumetella Carolinensis), Across An Urban Gradient?, Shannon K. Eppert

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Increasing urbanization has increased anthropogenic noise levels near developed areas. Urban noise is high amplitude and low-frequency, and these frequencies can overlap with the signals animals use to communicate, including bird songs. Many urban birds sing higher minimum frequencies in urban areas, which avoids some masking by noise, but the mechanism behind this difference is not well understood. Immediate flexibility is the ability to alter song in real-time in the presence of sudden noise, allowing for avoidance of masking and better signal transmission. I investigated if male catbirds increased signal transmission in the presence of anthropogenic versus high-frequency noise playback …

Transparent Capacitive And Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers For Tactile Feedback With 3d Displays, Emily Anne Laughlin

Theses and Dissertations

3D display technology is limited by the user's ability to interact with displays without being connected to external equipment. In order to feel tactile feedback in conjunction with displays, ultrasonic sound pressure fields have been created; however, ceramic transducers interfere with the user's immersive experience. We have created transparent ultrasonic transducers using capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) and piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (PMUT) technology that allow the user to remain immersed in the experience while interacting with the display. Individual transparent piezoelectric transducers made with indium tin oxide (ITO) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) generate 66.9dB with 91.6% transparency. Samples were …

Rapid Computation Of Effective Conductivity Of 2d Composites By Equivalent Circuit And Spectral Methods., Ben J. Ransom, Dean R. Wheeler

Faculty Publications

This work presents models for homogenizing or finding the effective transport or mechanical properties of microscale composites formed from highly contrasting phases described on a grid. The methods developed here are intended for engineering applications where speed and geometrical flexibility are a premium. A canonical case that is mathematically challenging and yet can be applied to many realistic materials is a 4-phase 2-dimensional periodic checkerboard or tiling. While analytic solutions for calculating effective properties exist for some cases, versatile methods are needed to handle anisotropic and non-square grids. A reinterpretation and extension of an existing analytic solution that utilizes equivalent …

Development Of Standard Operating Procedure With Modified Method To Quantify Benzene And Other Volatile Organic Compounds In Air Samples Using Gas Chromatography, Heather Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU) Department of Environmental Science has recently invested in a gas chromatograph which can be used to analyze air samples for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX). The goal of this project was to develop a standard operating procedure (SOP) and modify the current method for the detection of VOCs associated with oil and gas drilling activity to accommodate the equipment and capabilities of SFASU Environmental Assessment Lab. This study aims to provide the framework for future research in air quality monitoring in the Eagle Ford Shale area. An …

An Investigation Of The Feasibility Of Markov Chain-Based Predictive Maintenance Models In Integrated Vehicle Health Management Of Military Ground Fleets, Bouteina Driouche

Theses and Dissertations

Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) systems use models and algorithmic techniques to process Condition-based Data (CBD) to offer prognostic information and actionable imperatives in support of Condition-based Maintenance (CBM) for the system. IVHM technology was first introduced by NASA to gather data, diagnose, detect, and predict faults, and support operational and post-maintenance activities in space vehicles. Eventually, it expanded to other vehicle types such as aircraft, ships, and land vehicles [1]. In recent years, the United States Army has been implementing a policy of CBM to transition from preventive to predictive maintenance [2]. One of the many challenges faced by …

Tunable Electronic And Magnetic Properties In 2d-Wse2 Monolayer Via Vanadium (V) Doping And Chalcogenide (Se) Vacancies: A First-Principle Investigations, Dinesh Thapa

Theses and Dissertations

The first-principles density functional theory (DFT) was implemented to investigate the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of vanadium (V) substituted and chalcogen (Se) vacancies in tungsten diselenide (WSe 2 ) monolayer, novel two dimensional (2D) monolayer (ML) structures in binary compounds ZnX (X= As, Sb, and Bi), and novel 2D electrides on transition metal-rich mono-oxide or chalcogenides, based on Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) exchange functional employed in Vienna Ab-Initio Simulation Packages (VASP). The inherent defect in 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) contains unavoidable substitutional defects and a certain amount of chalcogen vacancies. This type of defect affects the electronic and magnetic properties …

Optical Probing Of Spatial Structural Abnormalities In Cells/Tissues Due To Cancer, Drug-Effect, And Brain Abnormalities Using Mesoscopic Physics-Based Spectroscopic Techniques, Prakash Adhikari

Theses and Dissertations

The quantitative measurement of structural alterations at the nanoscale level is important for understanding the physical states of weakly disordered optical mediums such as cells/tissues. Progress in certain diseases, such as cancer or abnormalities in the brain, is associated with the nanoscale structural alterations at basic building blocks of the cells/tissues. Elastic light scattering, especially at visible wavelengths range provides non-invasive ways to probe the cells/tissues up to nanoscale level. Therefore, a mesoscopic physics-based open light scattering technique with added finer focusing, partial wave spectroscopy (PWS), is developed to probe nanoscale changes. Then, molecular-specific light localization technique, a close scattering …

Thermal Experimentation Of Pa6 And Pa66 Thermoplastic Through Transmission Laser Welding, Sarajane Hill

Theses and Dissertations

Thermoplastic welding utilizes a fiber laser to join samples that are clamped together. Laser energy is transferred through the natural sample to the interface with the opaque sample where heat energy creates a weld through conduction and radiation heat transfer modes. The overall goal of this research is to understand the effect of heat source loading on PA6 and PA66 thermoplastic materials from laser through transmission welding that is used to join natural and opaque materials. The welding process is studied through a combination of finite element simulation, experimentation, and design of experiment modeling. The results of temperature profile and …

Finding Bert’S Idiomatic Key, Vasudevan Nedumpozhimana, John Kelleher

Conference papers

Sentence embeddings encode information relating to the usage of idioms in a sentence. This paper reports a set of experiments that combine a probing methodology with input masking to analyse where in a sentence this idiomatic information is taken from, and what form it takes. Our results indicate that BERT’s idiomatic key is primarily found within an idiomatic expression, but also draws on information from the surrounding context. Also, BERT can distinguish between the disruption in a sentence caused by words missing and the incongruity caused by idiomatic usage.

Application Of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (Libs) To The Expansion Of Strontium (Sr) Analysis Options And To Used Engine Oil, Ayed M. Binzowaimil

Theses and Dissertations

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a technique that allows quantitative and qualitative analysis of many materials. In this study, the LIBS analysis options for strontium mixture powders is expanded by increasing the number of usable strontium atomic transitions to avoid incorrect results due to spectral congestion or high strontium concentrations. The research employs double-sided tape affixed to a glass slide to hold the sample where the powder is poured onto one surface of the tape and excess dust that has not adhered is removed. This method minimizes the sample quantity needed and keeps the sample on the slide during experimentation, …

Superconductivity In Two-Dimensions From The Hubbard Model To The Su-Schrieffer-Heeger Model, Dipayan Roy

Theses and Dissertations

We study unconventional superconductivity in two-dimensional systems. Unbiased numerical calculations within two-dimensional Hubbard models have found no evidence for long-range superconducting order. Most of the two-dimensional theories suggest that the superconducting state can be obtained by destabilizing an antiferromagnetic or spin-liquid insulating state. An antiferromagnet is a half-filled system because each site has one electron or hole. However, in anisotropic triangular lattices, numerical calculation finds pairing enhancement at quarter-filling but no long-range superconducting order. Many organic superconductors are dimerized in nature. Such a dimer lattice is effectively half-filled because each dimer has one electron or hole. Some theories suggest that …

Regeneration Potential And Habitat Suitability Modeling Of Three Imperiled Southeastern U.S. Woody Plants, Clayton Warren Hale

Theses and Dissertations

Presented within this thesis are three studies on three rare and imperiled Southeastern woody plant species: mountain stewartia (Stewartia ovata), Atlantic white-cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides), and Miller's witch-alder (Fothergilla milleri). This work contributes to the ecological understanding of these three species allowing for better-informed conservation decision-making. Machine learning habitat suitability models are presented for mountain stewartia and Miller's witch-alder. These models can direct limited conservation dollars and manpower towards areas of the highest habitat suitability. This work also utilizes field-based data to assess the habitat needs, species associations, and regeneration potential of both Atlantic white-cedar and Miller's witch-alder. Understanding the habitat …

Thermal Degradation Kinetics Of Aromatic Ether Polymers, Keith O. Cobb Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Fluorinated polymers of substantial high performance such as perfluorocyclobutyl (PFCB) and fluorinated aryl vinyl ether (FAVE) polymers can readily be synthesized by thermal [2+2] cyclopolymerization as a melt or by classical polycondensation. These fluoropolymers naturally possess high thermal and chemical resistance, low conductivity properties, and other mechanical properties. In this work, a method using 0th order kinetics is proposed and thermal degradation studies were conducted on six different aromatic ether-based polymers to gauge trends in activation energy barrier and differences in thermal stability by 0th order degradation kinetics. The activation barrier (E_a) obtained can give accurate insight into the stability …