Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Attenuated Skeletal Muscle Metabolism Explains Blunted Reactive Hyperemia After Prolonged Sitting, Cody Anderson, Elizabeth Pekas, Michael Allen, Song-Young Park

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Introduction: Although reduced post-occlusive reactive hyperemia (PORH) after prolonged sitting (PS) has been reported as impaired microvascular function, no specific mechanism(s) have been elucidated. One potential mechanism, independent of microvascular function, is that an altered muscle metabolic rate (MMR) may change the magnitude of PORH by modifying the oxygen deficit achieved during cuff-induced arterial occlusions. We speculated that if MMR changes during PS, this may invalidate current inferences about microvascular function during PS. Objective: Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine if peripheral leg MMR changes during PS and to ascertain whether the change in the oxygen deficit …

Healthcare Facilities: Maintaining Accessibility While Implementing Security, Ryan Vilter

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

In the wake of the Tulsa, Oklahoma hospital shooting in the summer of 2022, it was made clear that more security needed to be implemented in healthcare facilities. As a result, I inquired: What is the happy balance for healthcare facilities to maintain their accessibility to the public while also implementing security measures to prevent terrorist attacks? With that base, I give recommendations in the areas of cybersecurity, physical infrastructure, and physical and mental health, based off the existing literature and data gathered from terrorist attacks against hospitals over several decades.

The Effects Of Demographics And Risk Factors On The Morphological Characteristics Of Human Femoropopliteal Arteries, Sayed Ahmadreza Razian, Majid Jadidi, Alexey Kamenskiy

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Background: Disease of the lower extremity arteries (Peripheral Arterial Disease, PAD) is associated with high morbidity and mortality. During disease development, the arteries adapt by changing their diameter, wall thickness, and residual deformations, but the effects of demographics and risk factors on this process are not clear.

Methods: Superficial femoral arteries from 736 subjects (505 male, 231 female, 12 to 99 years old, average age 51±17.8 years) and the associated demographic and risk factor variables were used to construct machine learning (ML) regression models that predicted morphological characteristics (diameter, wall thickness, and longitudinal opening angle resulting from the …

Time Evolution Is A Source Of Bias In The Wolf Algorithm For Largest Lyapunov Exponents, Kolby Brink, Tyler Wiles, Nicholas Stergiou, Aaron Likens

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Human movement is inherently variable by nature. One of the most common analytical tools for assessing movement variability is the largest Lyapunov exponent (LyE) which quantifies the rate of trajectory divergence or convergence in an n-dimensional state space. One popular method for assessing LyE is the Wolf algorithm. Many studies have investigated how Wolf’s calculation of the LyE changes due to sampling frequency, filtering, data normalization, and stride normalization. However, a surprisingly understudied parameter needed for LyE computation is evolution time. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the LyE changes as a function of evolution time …

Using Graph Theoretical Methods And Traceroute To Visually Represent Hidden Networks, Jordan M. Sahs

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Within the scope of a Wide Area Network (WAN), a large geographical communication network in which a collection of networking devices communicate data to each other, an example being the spanning communication network, known as the Internet, around continents. Within WANs exists a collection of Routers that transfer network packets to other devices. An issue pertinent to WANs is their immeasurable size and density, as we are not sure of the amount, or the scope, of all the devices that exists within the network. By tracing the routes and transits of data that traverses within the WAN, we can identify …

Reducing Loading On The Contralateral Limb Using Human-In-The-Loop Optimization, Siena Senatore

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

In most everyday activities, we head towards a specific goal by updating our choices for a more direct path. However, there are specific clinical tasks where taking the direct path is more challenging. Clinical investigations of optimizing a prosthesis involve the assessment of multiple parameter settings through trial and error rather than goal-directed optimization. We investigate if a human-in-the-loop optimization algorithm can guide manual alterations to a prosthesis-simulating device to reduce the ground reaction force on the contralateral limb. In most participants, the optimal condition reduced the loading rate on the contralateral limb compared to the initial condition tested. These …

Design And Development Of Software With A Graphical User Interface To Display And Convert Multiple Microscopic Histology Images, Sayed Ahmadreza Razian, Majid Jadidi, Alexey Kamenskiy

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Histological images are widely used to assess the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Recent advancements in image analysis allow the identification of structural features on histological sections that can help advance medical device development, brain and cancer research, drug discovery, vascular mechanobiology, and many other fields. Histological slide scanners create images in SVS and TIFF formats that were designed to archive image blocks and high-resolution textual information. Because these formats were primarily intended for storage, they are often not compatible with conventional image analysis software and require conversion before they can be used in research. We have developed a user-friendly …

Optimizing Networking Topologies With Shortest Path Algorithms, Jordan Sahs

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Communication networks tend to contain redundant devices and mediums of transmission, thus the need to locate, document, and optimize networks is increasingly becoming necessary. However, many people do not know where to start the optimization progress. What is network topology? What is this “Shortest Path Problem”, and how can it be used to better my network? These questions are presented, taught, and answered within this paper. To supplement the reader’s understanding there are thirty-eight figures in the paper that are used to help convey and compartmentalize the learning process needed to grasp the materials presented in the ending sections.

In …

Encryption Decrypted, Alex Ramsey

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Encryption is a complex and bewildering process, yet it is absolutely foundational for secure and safe activities on the internet. Encryption, in its many forms, ultimately enables identity verification, password protection, secure conversation, cryptocurrency trade, and other online activities. Despite this widespread use, encryption is not a process easily explained to the layperson due to its complexity. Thus, the object of this research is to demystify the process of encryption and provide an understanding of one of the most common forms of modern encryption - RSA Encryption. This will be accomplished through the information provided on my poster as well …

Automated Tool Support - Repairing Security Bugs In Mobile Applications, Larry Singleton

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Cryptography is often a critical component in secure software systems. Cryptographic primitive misuses often cause several vulnerability issues. To secure data and communications in applications, developers often rely on cryptographic algorithms and APIs which provide confidentiality, integrity, and authentication based on solid mathematical foundations. While many advanced crypto algorithms are available to developers, the correct usage of these APIs is challenging. Turning mathematical equations in crypto algorithms into an application is a difficult task. A mistake in cryptographic implementations can subvert the security of the entire system. In this research, we present an automated approach for Finding and Repairing Bugs …

Design For Safety: Decreasing First Responder Health Risks Through Real-Time Bio-Sensor Alerts, Suzy Fendrick

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The focus of this research project is using the Design Thinking process to create an informative dashboard for first responders. Design Thinking involves empathizing with the user, defining the problems to be solved, ideation, creating prototypes, and testing. This iterate process focuses on the user, resulting in the most effective product possible. The dashboard will display real-time biosensor data from sensors in the first responders’ uniforms. This project is part of a larger project with the goal of vastly improving the safety of first responders during emergency hazardous material incidents.

Evaluating An Electronic Protocol In A Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Jeanette Rose

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

A team of clinicians at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center (CHMC) developed a standardized protocol in 2018 for the care of patients needing sedation. This protocol is ordered through the EPIC electronic health record system for patients in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). When used, electronic protocols reduce the variation in clinical decision making which can ultimately improve patient outcomes. The goal of this project is to evaluate this technology, how the protocol is being used, and how it may be improved. Actual users of the EPIC sedation protocol were the subjects of this study, including PICU physicians, physician …

Forensics Analysis For Bone Pair Matching Using Bipartite Graphs In Commingled Remains, Ryan Ernst

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Identification of missing prisoners of war is a complex and time consuming task. There are many missing soldiers whose remains have yet to be returned to their families and loved ones. This nation has a solemn obligation to its soldiers and their families who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. There are currently over 82,000 unidentified prisoners of war which are identified at a rate of 100+ per year. At this rate it would take 300+ years to complete the identification process. Previously, anthropologists used excel spreadsheets to sort through skeletal data. This project aims to streamline the …

Use Of Exploratory Data Analysis And Visualization In Identification Of Commingled Human Remains, Vivek Bhat Hosmat

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The field of Exploratory data analysis and Visualization is revolutionizing the way we perceive things. At times, Visualization is seen as a subset of Exploratory data analysis and then there are branches in Visualization, types, technologies, tools which makes one feel that Visualization is a standalone pillar. Either way, they both work well together to extract meaningful information from almost any kind of data. These fields can very well be the stepping stone for in-depth or conclusive research. They can direct research based on facts and observations rather than one’s intuition or even a brute force technique. This project was …

Data Analytics Pipeline For Rna Structure Analysis Via Shape, Quinn Nelson

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) is a cardiovirulent enterovirus from the family Picornaviridae. The RNA genome houses an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) in the 5’ untranslated region (5’UTR) that enables cap-independent translation. Ample evidence suggests that the structure of the 5’UTR is a critical element for virulence. We probe RNA structure in solution using base-specific modifying agents such as dimethyl sulfate as well as backbone targeting agents such as N-methylisatoic anhydride used in Selective 2’-Hydroxyl Acylation Analyzed by Primer Extension (SHAPE). We have developed a pipeline that merges and evaluates base-specific and SHAPE data together with statistical analyses that provides confidence …

Towards Robust Classification In Adversarial Learning Using Bayesian Games, Anna Buhman

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

A well-trained neural network is very accurate when classifying data into different categories. However, a malicious adversary can fool a neural network through tiny changes to the data, called perturbations, that would not even be detectable to a human. This makes neural networks vulnerable to influence by an attacker. Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) have been developed as one possible solution to this problem [1]. A GAN consists of two neural networks, a generator and a discriminator. The discriminator tries to learn how to classify data into categories. The generator stands in for the attacker and tries to discover the best …

Keep It Simple, Keep It Safe - Research On The Impacts Of Increasing Complexity Of Modern Enterprise Applications, Shawn Ware, David Phillips

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

As the Cybersecurity program within UNO continues to adapt to the ever-changing world of information systems and information security, the Cybersecurity Capstone has recently become an active, community-involvement project, where real-world organizations can receive valuable, useful research and information from students on their way towards a degree. This presentation encompasses two such projects from the Cybersecurity Capstone, looking at how modern, more complex systems can often increase system vulnerability.

Extension Of The Ezsmt Software System For Non-Tight Constraint Answer Set Programs, Da Shen

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Answer set programming (ASP) is a programming language that plays a critical role in the development of software applications in areas of science, humanities, and industry. Yet, it is faced with some challenges. Therefore, researchers develop a related paradigm called constraint answer set programming (CASP) to tackle several issues of ASP tools. Recently, a method is proposed to find solutions to CASP programs by using satisfiability modulo theories (SMT) solvers. SMT solvers are high-performance systems stemming from the software verification community.

This SMT-based approach is implemented in a system called EZSMT, which often outperforms its peers. Yet, it has several …

Collecting And Organizing Far-Left Extremist Data From Unstructured Internet Sources, Eric Perez

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Far-left extremism refers to a network of groups who adhere to and take direct action in accordance with one or more of the following ideas: Support for bio-centric diversity, the belief that the earth and animals are in immediate danger, and the view that the government and other parts of society are responsible for this danger and incapable/unwilling to fix the crisis and preserve the American wilderness (Chermak, Freilich, Duran, & Parkin). Far-left extremism groups self-report activities using publicly accessible, online communiqués. These activities include arson, property damage, harassment, sabotage, and theft (Loadenthal). The communiqués are structured like blog posts …

Amazon Alexa: The Best Personal Assistant Or An Eavesdropping Witch, Alisa Bohac, Michael Keck

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The prolific integration of Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices into our homes is continuously generating discussions surrounding the security and privacy of these devices. One device that has received particular attention in the past few years is the Amazon Alexa, a ‘personal assistant’ IoT device, which listens to user commands and performs certain actions. According to Amazon, “millions of Alexa devices” were sold in the 2017 Holiday period alone [1]. However, the continuous amalgamation of technology has prompted the idea that many digital devices, through their overall functionality, could be utilized by cybercriminals to digitally intrude into our personal lives [2]. Hence, …

Intelligent And Human-Aware Decision Making For Semi-Autonomous Human Rehabilitation Assistance Using Modular Robots, Anoop Mishra

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Modular Self-reconfigurable Robots (MSRs) are robots that can adapt their shape and mobility while performing their operations. We are developing an MSR called MARIO (Modular Robots for Assistance in Robust and Intelligent Operations) to assist patients with spinal cord injury in performing daily living tasks. In this research, we are investigating computational techniques that will enable MARIO to autonomously adapt its shape while performing an assistive task, and, while remaining aware of the human user’s satisfaction in receiving assistance from MARIO. We are developing semi-autonomous decision making techniques within a computational framework called shared autonomy that will adapt MARIO’s movements …

Cora: Commingled Remains And Analytics – An Open Community Ecosystem, Nicole Mcelroy, Ryan Ernst

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Anthropologists at organizations such as the DPAA (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency) have the tough job of sorting through commingled remains of fallen soldiers. Under the direction of Professor Pawaskar at the College of IS&T, Ryan Ernst and I are currently developing a web application for the DPAA that will help them inventory the bones and record all the appropriate associations. After the inventory web application is built we will begin the analysis process using graph theory and other mathematical algorithms. This will ultimately help organizations like the DPAA get closer to the end goal of identifying fallen soldiers from commingled …

Visualize To Realize: Improving Safety Of First Responders, Vikas Sahu

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The goal of this study is to improve the safety of first responders during an emergency hazardous material (hazmat) incident.

• A first responder (FR) is an individual who arrives first during a hazmat incident and takes the initiative to act in order to minimize the risk to public health and property from such incidents. Often first responders are firefighters.
• The reports of National Fire Protection Association recorded a national average of more than 30,000 firefighter injuries between 2010-16 (National Fire Protection Association, 2017).
• According to the US Fire Administration, an average fatality of 120 firefighters were recorded between 2010-16 throughout …

Designing Novel Nanostructured Permanent Magnets, Ali Al Kadhim

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Rare earth element based alloys have been the source of high performance magnetic alloys, and have played a paramount role in the development of various technologies, including: memory devices (such as credit cards, random-access memory), sensors, and various biomedical applications. However, there is a tremendous need to replace rare earth metals with material with powerful magnetic properties. Our group recently found CrTe-based materials that show very promising magnetic properties in nanostructured form. The magnetic modeling of such material in nanostructured form prior to their fabrication demonstrates their magnetic properties in bulk form. In this project, we investigate the behavior of …

Vision-Based Mobile Robotic Platform For Autonomous Landing Of Quadcopters, Timothy R. Joe

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

This project deals with the development of a vision-based control algorithm to assist quadcopters in the landing process. For demonstration purposes, the approach has been implemented in a mobile robotic platform (turtlebot). In this project, the objective is to use the mobile robot as a landing platform. The camera on-board the mobile robot detects the quadcopter (AprilTag attached to the flying robot) and keeps track of it. Based on this idea, the proposed approach estimates in real-time the landing zone. Once this zone is calculated, the mobile robot moves towards this area, stops under the quadcopter, and acts as a …

Passive Chemical Detection System For Uavs, John Hare 2185222

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

In this project we address the problem of autonomously detecting airborne gas particles using gas sensors that are mobilized using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The main hypothesis we investigate is whether a commercially available, off-the-shelf gas sensor can be suitably integrated on a UAV platform to detect ambient gas particles. The main challenges in this problem include addressing the weight constraints of the UAV’s payload and registering a consistent reading on the gas sensor in the presence of the turbulence in the air caused by the UAV’s rotors. To verify our hypothesis, we designed a passive funneling mechanism for airborne …

Optimizing Campus Mobility With A Focus On Sustainability: A Graph Theory Approach To Intra-Campus Transportation Networks, Quinn M. Nelson

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The idea of public transportation is supported by most in theory but often heavily criticized by users when put into application. There are common tensions that are related to public transportation, as described by frequent users: unreliable, too crowded, and slow. The University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO) is a growing metropolitan institution that uses a shuttle system to transport students among their three campuses daily. As of 2015, the current total student enrollment is approximately 16,000; UNO plans to enroll 20,000 students by 2020. The expected student growth is also reflected by the current construction of new buildings and expansion of …

A Modular Robotic System For Assessment And Exercise Of Human Movement, Mohan Sai Ambati

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

This project targets the problem of developing a wearable modular robotic system, for assessing human movement and providing different types of exercises for the user. The system attempts to provide not only a variety of exercises (concentric, eccentric, assisted and resisted), but also to assess the change in variability of the movement as the subject shows functional improvement. The system will not only be useful for patients with sensorimotor problem such as stroke, Parkinson’s, cerebral palsy, but also for special populations such as astronauts who spend long periods of time in space and experience muscle atrophy. In this work, a …

A Hybrid Approach To Indoor Sensor Area Localization And Coverage, Mengmeng Gai

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

This study presents a hybrid approach to indoor object detection and tracking. The test area is partitioned into regions that are covered by sensors placed on the ceilings. The approximate location of an object is determined by these sensors using RSSI. The region determination is then followed by localizing the exact location of the object using Building Information Modeling (BIM) and the 3D stereo image measurements. To determine the coverage ratio of a region for better placement of sensors, the 3D space is partitioned into 2D planes whose coverage points are determined by a newly developed software product called LOCOPac. …