Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Program Analysis Of C For Conversion To Memory-Safe Rust, Dylan Cassidy

Honors Scholar Theses

C is a memory-unsafe language, which can cause software security issues. Rust is a more recent high-performance language that has memory-safe features, which motivates developers to move software to Rust. However, given the large existing C codebase, this is a tedious task, and current approaches result in memory-unsafe blocks of code remaining unsafe after conversion. We seek to use program analysis techniques to create software that identifies blocks of C code that could be safely converted to memory-safe Rust, despite using seemingly memory- unsafe access patterns. We performed manual translation of functions within the libGeoIP C library to Rust, ensuring …

Machine Learning: Face Recognition, Mohammed E. Amin

Publications and Research

This project explores the cutting-edge intersection of machine learning (ML) and face recognition (FR) technology, utilizing the OpenCV library to pioneer innovative applications in real-time security and user interface enhancement. By processing live video feeds, our system encodes visual inputs and employs advanced face recognition algorithms to accurately identify individuals from a database of photos. This integration of machine learning with OpenCV not only showcases the potential for bolstering security systems but also enriches user experiences across various technological platforms. Through a meticulous examination of unique facial features and the application of sophisticated ML algorithms and neural networks, our project …

Large Language Models For Qualitative Research In Software Engineering: Exploring Opportunities And Challenges, Muneera Bano, Rashina Hoda, Didar Zowghi, Christoph Treude

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The recent surge in the integration of Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT into qualitative research in software engineering, much like in other professional domains, demands a closer inspection. This vision paper seeks to explore the opportunities of using LLMs in qualitative research to address many of its legacy challenges as well as potential new concerns and pitfalls arising from the use of LLMs. We share our vision for the evolving role of the qualitative researcher in the age of LLMs and contemplate how they may utilize LLMs at various stages of their research experience.

Code For Care: Hypertension Prediction In Women Aged 18-39 Years, Kruti Sheth

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The longstanding prevalence of hypertension, often undiagnosed, poses significant risks of severe chronic and cardiovascular complications if left untreated. This study investigated the causes and underlying risks of hypertension in females aged between 18-39 years. The research questions were: (Q1.) What factors affect the occurrence of hypertension in females aged 18-39 years? (Q2.) What machine learning algorithms are suited for effectively predicting hypertension? (Q3.) How can SHAP values be leveraged to analyze the factors from model outputs? The findings are: (Q1.) Performing Feature selection using binary classification Logistic regression algorithm reveals an array of 30 most influential factors at an …

Comparative Predictive Analysis Of Stock Performance In The Tech Sector, Asaad Sendi

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study compares the performance of deep learning models, including Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU), and Transformer, in predicting stock prices across five companies (AAPL, CSCO, META, MSFT, and TSLA) from July 2019 to July 2023. Key findings reveal that GRU models generally exhibit the lowest Mean Absolute Error (MAE), indicating higher precision, particularly notable for CSCO with a remarkably low MAE. While LSTM models often show slightly higher MAE values, they outperform Transformer models in capturing broader trends and variance in stock prices, as evidenced by higher R-squared (R2) values. Transformer models generally exhibit higher MAE …

Code Syntax Understanding In Large Language Models, Cole Granger

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In recent years, tasks for automated software engineering have been achieved using Large Language Models trained on source code, such as Seq2Seq, LSTM, GPT, T5, BART and BERT. The inherent textual nature of source code allows it to be represented as a sequence of sub-words (or tokens), drawing parallels to prior work in NLP. Although these models have shown promising results according to established metrics (e.g., BLEU, CODEBLEU), there remains a deeper question about the extent of syntax knowledge they truly grasp when trained and fine-tuned for specific tasks.

To address this question, this thesis introduces a taxonomy of syntax …

Side Channel Detection Of Pc Rootkits Using Nonlinear Phase Space, Rebecca Clark

Poster Presentations

Cyberattacks are increasing in size and scope yearly, and the most effective and common means of attack is through malicious software executed on target devices of interest. Malware threats vary widely in terms of behavior and impact and, thus, effective methods of detection are constantly being sought from the academic research community to offset both volume and complexity. Rootkits are malware that represent a highly feared threat because they can change operating system integrity and alter otherwise normally functioning software. Although normal methods of detection that are based on signatures of known malware code are the standard line of defense, …

Mapping Arbitrary Spiking Neural Networks To The Ravens Neuroprocessor, Jongheon Park

Masters Theses

In neuromorphic computing, a hardware implementation of a spiking neural network is used to provide improved speed and power efficiency over simulations of the networks on a traditional Von Neumann architecture. These hardware implementations employ bio-inspired architecture usually consisting of artificial neurons and synapses implemented in either analog, digital, or mixed-signal circuits. Since these hardware spiking neural networks are designed to support arbitrary networks under the constraints imposed by the available hardware resource, they have to be programmed by off-chip software with awareness of those constraints. The TENNLab research group at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville has recently developed the …

Using Pre-Trained Models For Vision-Language Understanding Tasks, Rui Cao

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

In recent years, remarkable progress has been made in Artificial Intelligence (AI), with an increasing focus on integrating AI systems into people’s daily lives. In the context of our diverse world, research attention has shifted towards applying AI to multimodal understanding tasks. This thesis specifically addresses two key modalities, namely, vision and language, and explores Vision-Language Understanding (VLU).

In the past, addressing VLU tasks involved training distinct models from scratch using task-specific data. However, limited by the amount of training data, models may easily overfit the training data and fail to generalize. A recent breakthrough is the development of Pre-trained …

Enhancing Visual Grounding In Vision-Language Pre-Training With Position-Guided Text Prompts, Alex Jinpeng Wang, Pan Zhou, Mike Zheng Shou, Shuicheng Yan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Vision-Language Pre-Training (VLP) has demonstrated remarkable potential in aligning image and text pairs, paving the way for a wide range of cross-modal learning tasks. Nevertheless, we have observed that VLP models often fall short in terms of visual grounding and localization capabilities, which are crucial for many downstream tasks, such as visual reasoning. In response, we introduce a novel Position-guided Text Prompt ( PTP ) paradigm to bolster the visual grounding abilities of cross-modal models trained with VLP. In the VLP phase, PTP divides an image into N x N blocks and employs a widely-used object detector to identify objects …

Develop An Interactive Python Dashboard For Analyzing Ezproxy Logs, Andy Huff, Matthew Roth, Weiling Liu

Faculty Scholarship

This paper describes the development of an interactive dashboard in Python with EZproxy log data. Hopefully, this dashboard will help improve the evidence-based decision-making process in electronic resources management and explore the impact of library use.

Machine Learning-Based Gps Jamming And Spoofing Detection, Alberto Squatrito

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The increasing reliance on Global Positioning System (GPS) technology across various sectors has exposed vulnerabilities to malicious attacks, particularly GPS jamming and spoofing. This thesis presents an analysis into detection and mitigation strategies for enhancing the resilience of GPS receivers against jamming and spoofing attacks. The research entails the development of a simulated GPS signal and a receiver model to accurately decode and extract information from simulated GPS signals. The study implements the generation of jammed and spoofed signals to emulate potential threats faced by GPS receivers in practical settings. The core innovation lies in the integration of machine learning …

Implementation Of Python Based High Voltage Tests For Gem Detectors, John Paul Hernandez

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Student Publications

The Compact Muon Solenoid, CMS, and other detectors at LHC are in the process of being upgraded for the HL-LHC (High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider) which will produce more than 5 times the particle interactions than of the current LHC. One upgrade to CMS is the introduction of new GEM detectors (Gaseous Electron Multiplier), GE2/1 and ME0 shown at right are new detectors to CMS and therefore must be tested thoroughly prior to being installed.

Providing Beginners With Interactive Exploration Of Error Messages In Clojure, John Walbran, Elena Machkasova

Undergraduate Research Symposium 2024

Programmers are imperfect, and will often make mistakes when programming and create a program error, for example, attempting to divide by zero. When a computer tries to run a program with an error, the program will halt and present the details of the error to the user in the form of an error message. These error messages are often very jargon-heavy, and are not designed to be palatable to a novice programmer. This creates significant friction for new programmers trying to learn programming languages. This work is a part of an ongoing project (called Babel) led by Elena Machkasova in …

A Smart Resume Builder Tool Using Generative Ai, Ivan A. Velo Castaneda, Anas Hourani, Magdalene Moy

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

Crafting a standout resume is crucial in today’s competitive job market. Not only does it create a strong first impression on employers but it also it opens the doors for endless job opportunities. Despite existing resume assistance for FHSU students on the Career Services page, there's a lack of tools for generating or streamlining the resume writing process. To address this issue, an efficient resume builder utilizing OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 model was developed specifically for FHSU students. Its key features include intuitive template selection, dynamic AI-generated content for tailored resumes, multi-format output supporting PDF and Word formats, and a user-friendly experience …

Encoding Version History Context For Better Code Representation, Huy Nguyen, Christoph Treude, Patanamon Thongtanunam

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

With the exponential growth of AI tools that generate source code, understanding software has become crucial. When developers comprehend a program, they may refer to additional contexts to look for information, e.g. program documentation or historical code versions. Therefore, we argue that encoding this additional contextual information could also benefit code representation for deep learning. Recent papers incorporate contextual data (e.g. call hierarchy) into vector representation to address program comprehension problems. This motivates further studies to explore additional contexts, such as version history, to enhance models' understanding of programs. That is, insights from version history enable recognition of patterns in …

Improving Educational Delivery And Content In Juvenile Detention Centers, Yomna Elmousalami

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Students in juvenile detention centers have the greatest need to receive improvements in educational delivery and content; however, they are one of the “truly disadvantaged” populations in terms of receiving those improvements. This work presents a qualitative data analysis based on a focus group meeting with stakeholders at a local Juvenile Detention Center. The current educational system in juvenile detention centers is based on paper worksheets, single-room style teaching methods, outdated technology, and a shortage of textbooks and teachers. In addition, detained students typically have behavioral challenges that are deemed "undesired" in society. As a result, many students miss classes …

Mechanistic Investigation Of C—C Bond Activation Of Phosphaalkynes With Pt(0) Complexes, Roberto M. Escobar, Abdurrahman C. Ateşin, Christian Müller, William D. Jones, Tülay Ateşin

Research Symposium

Carbon–carbon (C–C) bond activation has gained increased attention as a direct method for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals. Due to the thermodynamic stability and kinetic inaccessibility of the C–C bonds, however, activation of C–C bonds by homogeneous transition-metal catalysts under mild homogeneous conditions is still a challenge. Most of the systems in which the activation occurs either have aromatization or relief of ring strain as the primary driving force. The activation of unstrained C–C bonds of phosphaalkynes does not have this advantage. This study employs Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations to elucidate Pt(0)-mediated C–CP bond activation mechanisms in phosphaalkynes. Investigating the …

Preprocessing Of Astronomical Images From The Neowise Survey For Near-Earth Asteroid Detection With Machine Learning, Rachel Meyer

ELAIA

Asteroid detection is a common field in astronomy for planetary defense, requiring observations from survey telescopes to detect and classify different objects. The amount of data collected each night is continually increasing as new and better-designed telescopes begin collecting information each year. This amount of data is quickly becoming unmanageable, and researchers are looking for ways to better process this data. The most feasible current solution is to implement computer algorithms to automatically detect these sources and then use machine learning to create a more efficient and accurate method of classification. Implementation of such methods has previously focused on larger …

Fixing Your Own Smells: Adding A Mistake-Based Familiarization Step When Teaching Code Refactoring, Ivan Wei Han Tan, Christopher M. Poskitt

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Programming problems can be solved in a multitude of functionally correct ways, but the quality of these solutions (e.g. readability, maintainability) can vary immensely. When code quality is poor, symptoms emerge in the form of 'code smells', which are specific negative characteristics (e.g. duplicate code) that can be resolved by applying refactoring patterns. Many undergraduate computing curricula train students on this software engineering practice, often doing so via exercises on unfamiliar instructor-provided code. Our observation, however, is that this makes it harder for novices to internalise refactoring as part of their own development practices. In this paper, we propose a …

What Does One Billion Dollars Look Like?: Visualizing Extreme Wealth, William Mahoney Luckman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The word “billion” is a mathematical abstraction related to “big,” but it is difficult to understand the vast difference in value between one million and one billion; even harder to understand the vast difference in purchasing power between one billion dollars, and the average U.S. yearly income. Perhaps most difficult to conceive of is what that purchasing power and huge mass of capital translates to in terms of power. This project blends design, text, facts, and figures into an interactive narrative website that helps the user better understand their position in relation to extreme wealth: https://whatdoesonebilliondollarslooklike.website/

The site incorporates …

Railroad Condition Monitoring Using Distributed Acoustic Sensing And Deep Learning Techniques, Md Arifur Rahman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Proper condition monitoring has been a major issue among railroad administrations since it might cause catastrophic dilemmas that lead to fatalities or damage to the infrastructure. Although various aspects of train safety have been conducted by scholars, in-motion monitoring detection of defect occurrence, cause, and severity is still a big concern. Hence extensive studies are still required to enhance the accuracy of inspection methods for railroad condition monitoring (CM). Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) has been recognized as a promising method because of its sensing capabilities over long distances and for massive structures. As DAS produces large datasets, algorithms for precise …

Choosing A Sophisticated, Robust, And Secure Programming Language, J. Simon Richard

The Downtown Review

This paper explores which programming languages maximize the quality and efficiency of software development projects requiring high levels of sophistication, security, and stability. Of the four languages discussed in this paper—C, C++, Java, and Rust—we conclude that Rust is the best for this application.

Μakka: Mutation Testing For Actor Concurrency In Akka Using Real-World Bugs, Mohsen Moradi Moghadam, Mehdi Bagherzadeh, Raffi Takvor Khatchadourian Ph,D,, Hamid Bagheri

Publications and Research

Actor concurrency is becoming increasingly important in the real-world and mission-critical software. This requires these applications to be free from actor bugs, that occur in the real world, and have tests that are effective in finding these bugs. Mutation testing is a well-established technique that transforms an application to induce its likely bugs and evaluate the effectiveness of its tests in finding these bugs. Mutation testing is available for a broad spectrum of applications and their bugs, ranging from web to mobile to machine learning, and is used at scale in companies like Google and Facebook. However, there still is …

Llm-Adapters: An Adapter Family For Parameter-Efficient Fine-Tuning Of Large Language Models, Zhiqiang Hu, Lei Wang, Yihuai Lan, Wanyu Xu, Ee-Peng Lim, Lidong Bing, Xing Xu, Soujanya Poria, Roy Ka-Wei Lee

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The success of large language models (LLMs), like GPT-4 and ChatGPT, has led to the development of numerous cost-effective and accessible alternatives that are created by finetuning open-access LLMs with task-specific data (e.g., ChatDoctor) or instruction data (e.g., Alpaca). Among the various fine-tuning methods, adapter-based parameter-efficient fine-tuning (PEFT) is undoubtedly one of the most attractive topics, as it only requires fine-tuning a few external parameters instead of the entire LLMs while achieving comparable or even better performance. To enable further research on PEFT methods of LLMs, this paper presents LLMAdapters, an easy-to-use framework that integrates various adapters into LLMs and …

Molca: Molecular Graph-Language Modeling With Cross-Modal Projector And Uni-Modal Adapter, Zhiyuan Liu, Sihang Li, Yanchen Luo, Hao Fei, Yixin Cao, Kenji Kawaguchi, Xiang Wang, Tat-Seng Chua

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Language Models (LMs) have demonstrated impressive molecule understanding ability on various 1D text-related tasks. However, they inherently lack 2D graph perception — a critical ability of human professionals in comprehending molecules’ topological structures. To bridge this gap, we propose MolCA: Molecular Graph-Language Modeling with Cross-Modal Projector and Uni-Modal Adapter. MolCA enables an LM (i.e., Galactica) to understand both text- and graph-based molecular contents via the cross-modal projector. Specifically, the cross-modal projector is implemented as a QFormer to connect a graph encoder’s representation space and an LM’s text space. Further, MolCA employs a uni-modal adapter (i.e., LoRA) for the LM’s efficient …

Disentangling Transformer Language Models As Superposed Topic Models, Jia Peng Lim, Hady Wirawan Lauw

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Topic Modelling is an established research area where the quality of a given topic is measured using coherence metrics. Often, we infer topics from Neural Topic Models (NTM) by interpreting their decoder weights, consisting of top-activated words projected from individual neurons. Transformer-based Language Models (TLM) similarly consist of decoder weights. However, due to its hypothesised superposition properties, the final logits originating from the residual path are considered uninterpretable. Therefore, we posit that we can interpret TLM as superposed NTM by proposing a novel weight-based, model-agnostic and corpus-agnostic approach to search and disentangle decoder-only TLM, potentially mapping individual neurons to multiple …

Hypothyroid Disease Analysis By Using Machine Learning, Sanjana Seelam

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Thyroid illness frequently manifests as hypothyroidism. It is evident that people with hypothyroidism are primarily female. Because the majority of people are unaware of the illness, it is quickly becoming more serious. It is crucial to catch it early on so that medical professionals can treat it more effectively and prevent it from getting worse. Machine learning illness prediction is a challenging task. Disease prediction is aided greatly by machine learning. Once more, unique feature selection strategies have made the process of disease assumption and prediction easier. To properly monitor and cure this illness, accurate detection is essential. In order …

Random Variable Spaces: Mathematical Properties And An Extension To Programming Computable Functions, Mohammed Kurd-Misto

Computational and Data Sciences (PhD) Dissertations

This dissertation aims to extend the boundaries of Programming Computable Functions (PCF) by introducing a novel collection of categories referred to as Random Variable Spaces. Originating as a generalization of Quasi-Borel Spaces, Random Variable Spaces are rigorously defined as categories where objects are sets paired with a collection of random variables from an underlying measurable space. These spaces offer a theoretical foundation for extending PCF to natively handle stochastic elements.

The dissertation is structured into seven chapters that provide a multi-disciplinary background, from PCF and Measure Theory to Category Theory with special attention to Monads and the Giry Monad. The …

Ensuring Non-Repudiation In Long-Distance Constrained Devices, Ethan Blum

Honors Theses

Satellite communication is essential for the exploration and study of space. Satellites allow communications with many devices and systems residing in space and on the surface of celestial bodies from ground stations on Earth. However, with the rise of Ground Station as a Service (GsaaS), the ability to efficiently send action commands to distant satellites must ensure non-repudiation such that an attacker is unable to send malicious commands to distant satellites. Distant satellites are also constrained devices and rely on limited power, meaning security on these devices is minimal. Therefore, this study attempted to propose a novel algorithm to allow …