Digital Commons Network^™

Digital Twin Use Case At El Paso International Airport, Matyas Mori

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis explores the potential of implementing Digital Twin technology in airports, with a concrete use case at the Innovation Factory at El Paso International Airport. The Digital Twin model was developed using project documentation and LiDAR scanning, resulting in point cloud datasets that served as the foundation for further analysis. A comparison was conducted between reality-captured data and the model created from project documentation, highlighting the presence of noise in the field data. This analysis revealed key challenges and identified opportunities to enhance efficiency through automation. Instead of relying on a resource-intensive manual process to clean point cloud datasets …

Towards Mitigation Of The Light Network Load Performance Penalty Of The Network Link Outlier Factor (Nlof), Jaime Merin Guzman

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Detecting and localizing faults in communication networks is critical to maintaining reliable and efficient network operations. The Network Link Outlier Factor with Most Likely Link (NLOF: MLL) algorithm has demonstrated its potential to automate this task but suffers from significant performance degradation under low network load conditions, where limited network flow data reduces its ability to localize faults. This thesis proposes and evaluates the performance of a synthetic traffic generation algorithm to be used with NLOF:MLL. This algorithm strategically injects synthetic flows that supplement the insufficient real network flows, thereby improving NLOF:MLL's performance under low-load conditions. Specifically, we select network …

Hidden Layer Reshaping On Convolutional Neural Network, Alan Delgado

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies have become really popular in recent years. From ChatGPT to Tesla cars, many applications can benefit from these type of technologies. Automotive, healthcare, biomedical, cybersecurity, finances, and retail are some of the fields that take advantage of it. It has been seen that AI can solve complex problems, but there is still work to be done to optimize it. A deep learning neural network (DLNN) tries to simulate how a human brain operates. These DLNNs are made up of artificial neurons which are connected by weight that are modified when the network is trained. These networks …

Development Of Porous Separators For Lithium-Ion Batteries Via 3d Printing And Thermally Induced Phase Separation, Abraham Enchinton

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Additive manufacturing processes allow the development of custom-shape rechargeable batteries, but research in custom filaments for fused deposition modeling (FDM) of battery separators has remained limited until now. This study discusses the development and optimization of a composite thermoplastic filament feedstock to 3D print separator membranes. A number of post-processing steps - leveraging the thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) of the composite filament - are introduced in tandem with FDM to promote microporosity formation through the removal of the sacrificial diluent phase within 3D printed samples. Three distinct compositions of varying polymer/diluent ratios were developed and thoroughly investigated through thermogravimetric …

Tailoring Functional And Sensing Properties Of Polymer-Ceramic Composites Via 3d Printing, Alexis Lopez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Section 1.1. Abstract This chapter investigates the use of direct ink write (DIW) additive manufacturing to control grain orientation in non-toxic barium titanate (BTO) ceramics by blending spherical and platelet-shaped particles in the ink. A series of inks containing 0–40 wt.% BTO platelets were formulated with poly(vinyl alcohol), polyethylene glycol, poly(acrylic acid-co-maleic acid), and ammonium hydroxide to ensure printability and homogeneous dispersion. Cylindrical specimens (20 mm × 3 mm) were printed using a Hyrel 30M DIW system and subjected to de-binding (650 °C, 2 h) followed by a two-step sintering schedule (T₁: 1200–1350 °C; T₂: 700–850 °C; 24 h dwell). …

Charging Infrastructure Needs For Electric Trucks In Texas, Katerina Jilkova

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis focuses on the design of a methodology for determining the optimal location of charging stations for heavy-duty electric trucks. The work focuses primarily on long-distance trips that require charging the truck battery outside cities, where the range of charging stations is not extensive. In addition to design the algorithm, the thesis also focuses on implementing the algorithm on a specific case - the implementation of charging stations in the I-10 Freeway corridor between El Paso and San Antonio. The output of the work is not only a description of the procedure, but also an application to a real …

Navigating The Transition: Hispanic High School Graduates' Experiences With Eight-Week College Semesters, Jonathan Nickerson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study explored the transition from high school to higher education within the context of eight-week academic semesters for Hispanic students. Utilizing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and grounded in Schlossberg's Transition Theory, the research investigates the lived experiences of Hispanic high school graduates navigating accelerated college courses. The students faced challenges such as time management, transportation, and financial constraints, they also exhibit resilience and adaptability. The eight-week semester format was generally perceived positively, offering flexibility and fostering a sense of achievement.

Investigation Of High-Frequency Electron Spin Dynamics In The Kagome-Lattice Ymn6sn6 Crystal, Lovia Ofori

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Kagome magnetic crystals received a great deal of research attention in the recent past for their intriguing magnetic properties. Recently, YMn6Sn6 (Y166) has shown to exhibit several nontrivial magnetic phases (such as the Distorted Spiral (DS) phase, Transverse Conical Spiral (TCS) phase, Fan-like (FL) phase and the Forced-Ferromagnetic (FF) phase) and complex magnetic interactions. In this work, we employed very high-frequency electron paramagnetic resonance (VHF-EPR) spectroscopy to investigate the local microscopic magnetic interactions of Mn ions in the Kagome Crystal Y166 to better understand the new observed magnetic phases. Particularly, we studied the temperature-dependent EPR behavior at variable very-high microwave …

A Numerical Study Of Self-Assembling Amphiphilic Systems, Joshua Albert Sackey

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Mixing processes in ternary mixtures involve immiscible fluids such as oil and water, and a surface-active molecule called surfactant. These physical processes find applications in various fields, including enhanced oil recovery, drug delivery design systems, and the formulation of cleaning products. Even though this process has several applications, the mathematical models describing it and the numerical methods solving it are not well understood. The underlying mathematical model is a nonlinear initial-boundary value problem involving sixth-order derivatives and belongs to the class of sixth-order Cahn-Hilliard equations. Authors Sharma and Tierra recently proposed a numerical method to approximate its solutions in two …

Leveraging Publicly Available Data To Identify Candidate Intersections For Tactical Urbanism Efforts Using Geospatial Analysis, Luisa Maria Venegas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Urban strategies and countermeasures to increase pedestrian safety in low-density neighborhoods have been proposed by the Federal Highway Administration. Often municipalities have limited resources and would like to have a strategy to achieve maximum impact per dollar spent, as is the case in El Paso. El Paso's urban landscape is a mix of urban, residential, and commercial in the exurbs of the city. Most of El Paso consists of low-density industrial land, commercial strips, and residential development. A scalable and transferable approach was developed to identify intersections that have the potential to reduce traffic-related fatalities and increase pedestrian safety through …

De Novo Design Of Ablative Polymers For Aerospace Thermal Protection Systems Through An Integrated Ai-Theory-Experiment Approach, Rene Damaso Boisseau

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Novolac phenolic resin (NPR) is a widely used polymeric ablative material (PAM) for thermal protection systems (TPS) due to its high thermal decomposition temperature (TD, 500â?¯Â°C) and char yield (YC, 55â?¯wt%). However, its drawbacks (including high thermal conductivity, low mechanical properties and water uptake) prompt the need for improved PAMs. This study explores the pyrolysis behavior and char-forming capabilities of NPR and a potential alternative PAM, poly(1,6-dimethyl phenol) (PPO), through both theoretical and experimental approaches. A graph neural network (GNN) was developed to predict structure-property relationships, revealing that benzyl group positioning and oxygen atom placement significantly influence YC. PPO's para-positioned …

Generative Ai For 3d Printed Antenna Design, Jennifer Ann Chavez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This research explores the integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) with a physics-informed particle swarm optimizer (PSO) to develop 3D printable microstrip patch antennas. A neural network was trained on a dataset of microstrip patch antenna geometries and their corresponding performance metrics: return loss and gain. The PSO used a fitness function prioritizing low return loss in potential antennas, eventually yielding novel antenna geometries with parasitic components. 3D printing constraints were also hard coded into the framework, thus preventing any geometries being generated that cannot be fabricated. When simulated using Ansys HFSS, the AI generated microstrip patch antennas exceeded the …

The Depths Of Horror: Exploring The Manifestation Of Fear In The Natural World, Jordan Eugene Easley

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The horror genre is uniquely powerful in that it is one of the only hands of fiction with the ability to reach off the page and follow you. The feeling of fear originally formed in the confines of a scary story can lie dormant in the reader after the story has finished and be resurfaced later by a related trigger. On a late night after work walking through a deserted car garage, home alone in the middle of a storm, or stumbling into an abandoned hospital, the reader is imbued with an ability to detect a threat that was previously …

A Study Of Air Voids And Effective Air Voids In Hot Mix Asphalt (Hma), Dasina Francis

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Air voids are a fundamental parameter in the mix design of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA), as they directly influence performance characteristics such as durability, permeability, and aging. Typically estimated using bulk and maximum specific gravity measurements, accurate determination of air voids is critical, given that laboratory samples are compacted to target void levels. This study investigates the influence of aggregate gradation and asphalt content on air voids, effective air voids, and specific gravity parameters - including bulk, apparent, and maximum specific gravities - in both fine- and coarse-graded HMA mixtures. Experimental testing included the determination of bulk, apparent, and maximum …

2023 Annual Operations And Maintenance Report 2023 Bres Annual Summary Report For Work Completed In Quadrant 3, Butte-Silver Bow Department Of Reclamation And Environmental Services

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances In A Suburbanizing Watershed, Bailey Mullins

Master's Theses and Capstones

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent man-made chemicals that accumulate in aquatic environments due to their widespread industrial and commercial use and resistance to degradation. Understanding their spatial distribution and relative abundance in streams draining suburbanizing watersheds is crucial for effective watershed and water quality management. This study investigates how the concentrations and composition of PFAS in surface water and sediment are impacted by urbanization. PFAS were quantified in the Lamprey River watershed, a coastal watershed in southeastern New Hampshire that is experiencing ongoing suburbanization. Sampling sites include tributaries, mainstem, and estuarine areas. Surface water, sediment, and well water …

Flexible Microelectrode-Based Impedance Immunosensor For Rapid Detection Of E. Coli O157:H7, Sonatan Kumar Biswas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract Food contamination poses a significant threat to public health, the economy, and human health worldwide, occurring at any stage of the food supply chain, from farm to fork. Escherichia coli 0157:H7, recognized as one of the principal causes of foodborne illness, poses a considerable risk to food safety. The primary objective of this investigation is to devise a flexible microelectrode-based immunosensor capable of swiftly identifying E. coli O157:H7 cells without the need for incubation in a pure culture environment. In the development of the biosensor, the gold electrode (composed of 50% Au) underwent an initial coating process involving 2-aminoethanethiol/cysteamine, …

Crispr-Cas9 Integration Of Salmon Elovl2 In Zebrafish Enhances Lc-Pufa Biosynthesis And Growth Across Diets, Waleed Sami J. Al-Bachry

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fish are a rich source of EPA and DHA, which are well-known long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs). The sustainable production of these essential fatty acids poses significant challenges, mainly due to our dependence on marine fish and certain nuts. CRISPR-Cas system was utilized to insert the elongation of long-chain fatty acids-like2 (Elovl2) gene from Salmo salar into Danio rerio. Elovl2 was introduced at 10-15-minute post-fertilization, and successful integration confirmed by PCR genotyping, sequencing and expression of EGFP. Approximately 67% of injected embryos successfully exhibited EGFP and sequence results verified the gene integration of Salmo salar Elovl2 at the first start …

Variation In Stress Response Regulation Across Natural Isolates Of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Crystal Christine Crook

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The stress response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a valuable area of study for understanding cellular adaptation mechanisms that govern survival in fluctuating environments. This dissertation investigates stress response regulation in yeast through the roles of Hog1 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and the post-transcriptional regulator Mkt1, a key post-transcriptional regulator, in diverse wild yeast isolates. Hog1 is traditionally known for its central role in osmotic stress regulation in the high-osmolarity glycerol (HOG) pathway. This study expands the functional scope of Hog1 to include oxidative and ethanol-induced stress responses.

In parallel, we investigate post-transcriptional regulation of stress responses by the Mkt1 interactome, …

Simulations Of Richtmyer-Meshkov Instability Using High Order Weno Methods, Ryan Holley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Turbulent mixing due to hydrodynamic instabilities occurs in a broad spectrum of engineering, astrophysical and geophysical applications. Theory, experiment, and numerical simulation help us to understand the dynamics of interface instabilities between two fluids. This thesis presents an increasingly accurate and robust front tracking method for the numerical simulations of shock-induced turbulent mixing known as Richtmyer-Meshkov Instability (RMI). Front tracking is an adaptive computational method, where the interface instability is explicitly represented as lower dimensional manifolds moving through a rectangular grid. All the cell-center states (density, velocity and pressure) are updated using higher order weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) scheme. Performance …

Evaluating The Impact Of Work-Based Learning On Postsecondary Completion And Job Placement Of Electronics Technology Students, Amanda J. Seidenzahl

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The manufacturing industry today is facing a critical shortage in the availability of talent and skills needed in an ever-changing technological workforce. With an estimated 2.1 million jobs in the manufacturing industry predicted to be unfilled by 2030, organizations are struggling to find a workforce with the skills needed for this evolving industry (NAM, 2020; Ahmad, 2019). Employers have often suggested there is a lack of alignment between classroom experience in higher education, and work-based learning (WBL) is one option to bridge this gap (Krishnamoorthy & Keating, 2021). WBL provides real world experiences that connect learning in the classroom (Krishnamoorthy …

Automation Of Vulnerability And Patch Management: Information Extraction, Association, And Optimization, Kylie Mcclanahan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Vulnerability and patch management is an integral part of a robust cybersecurity program, yet it grows increasingly complex due to the sheer amount of data that must be analyzed. Particularly in Operational Technology (OT) environments, analysis must be done manually because of the lack of automated solutions. Additionally, there are many steps in this process, from the initial discovery of the vulnerability to the implementation of its remediation, and each step in the process requires different data in order to be performed effectively. In this work, we provide approaches and strategies to assist operators in industrial or OT environments throughout …

Development Of Si-Based Germanium-Tin Infrared Photodiode, Sylvester Amoah

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Short-wave infrared (SWIR) and mid-wave infrared (MWIR) photodetectors have attracted increasing attention for the past few decades. SWIR and MWIR detectors are used for a wide range of applications in military and civilian defense, such as future automotive night vision, video surveillance security cameras, and integrated night vision in mobile/wearable electronics. The current market-dominating IR photodetector technology is mainly developed with the costly III-V or II-V material systems, such as InGaAs, InSb, and HgCdTe. While many efforts have been made towards the hybrid integration of III-Vs or II-VIs on a Si substrate, it is highly desirable to develop an alternative …

Fish Cultivation In Fallow Season Rice Fields: Effects On Landscape Methane Emissions, Samuel Carroll

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Co-cultivation of aquatic animals and rice in the same field is a fairly common practice in various parts of the world, with a number of well-established agro-ecological benefits, such as decreasing the need for chemical pesticides and fertilizers, increasing soil organic matter, and reducing the land area needed for agricultural production. One area of environmental concern in rice production is greenhouse gas emissions. Rice production contributes about 10% of global anthropogenic methane (CH₄) emissions. Currently around 27.5% of Arkansas rice fields are flooded in the winter, which can increase CH₄ emissions in the fallow season by 45% …

Enhancing Lawyers' Well-Being And Competencies Beyond The Traditional Law School Curriculum: The Impact Of Mindfulness Education On Law Students, Thomas G.W. Telfer, Emily G. Nielsen, Sara Ahola Kohut, Elli Weisbaum

UBC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Low Speed Water Tunnel Flow Testing, Humberto Cesar Grimaldo Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Water tunnels serve as controlled environments for simulating fluid dynamics, providing an essential platform for studying flow patterns for hydrodynamic effects. This report presents a comprehensive overview and refurbishment of the water tunnel system located at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, focusing on its design, operation, calibration, and visualization capabilities for fluid dynamics research. The water tunnel, originally installed in 1995, was restored and updated with structural repairs, including resolving persistent leaks and implementing an improved drain system. A calibration process using a pitot tube and differential pressure transducer was conducted to establish accurate relationships between flow velocity …

Optimal Prediction Of Bitcoin High And Low Prices: An Exploratory Analysis, Tatiana Rice

Doctoral Dissertations (DBA)

The purpose of this paper is to provide traders with a trader friendly model that would enable them to accurately predict Bitcoin’s high price and low price so that they are able to make more informed decisions for improved risk management when trading the highly volatile asset – Bitcoin. To achieve this purpose, this paper poses the following research question: Which statistical model-frequency combination best predicts – in terms of Mean Absolute Percent Error (MAPE), Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), and Schwart Information Criterion (SIC) – Bitcoin’s high price and low price? This paper also poses the objective of ensuring that …

Methane Mitigation And Its Effects On Energy Utilization In Lactating Dairy Cattle, Shan C. Sherwood

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Improved methane (CH₄) mitigation strategies are needed to achieve the greenhouse gas emission goals of the dairy industry. The first experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of feeding black cumin (Nigella sativa) seed oil and acetate (BCA) on CH₄ production and whole-animal energy utilization. Twelve dry Jersey cows were used in a 2-period crossover design study with 28d periods. The BCA treatment was compared to a control diet with corn oil. Both BCA and corn oil were added to the base diet as a top dress. Results from this study did not show any …

Small Cereal Grain Silage Producer Practices And Key Factors To Consider For Operations, Alexa R. Simons

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The use of small grain silage to feed livestock has grown in popularity, although the more common source of silage is annual corn. A benefit of producing small cereal grain is double cropping, harvest a forage source in the spring prior to planting the summer annual crop. Although the cereal and corn silage processes are similar there are key differences within management decisions for producers. Objective one was to understand current management decisions from Nebraska producers pre- and post- fermentation surveys along with small cereal silage samples were analyzed. Some best management practices such as the dry matter (DM), DM …

Spartan Daily, May 1, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 164, Issue 40