Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Laboratory Experiences In Mathematical Biology For Post-Secondary Mathematics Students, Matthew Lewis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In addition to the memorization, algorithmic skills and vocabulary which is the default focus in many mathematics classrooms, professional mathematicians are expected to creatively apply known techniques, construct new mathematical approaches and communicate with and about mathematics. We propose that students can learn these professional, higher level skills through Laboratory Experiences in Mathematical Biology (LEMBs) which put students in the role of mathematics researcher creating mathematics to describe and understand biological data. LEMBs are constructed so they require no specialized equipment and can easily be run in the context of a college math class. Students collect data and develop mathematical …

Statistical Techniques To Model And Optimize Performance Of Scientific, Numerically Intensive Workloads, Steena Dominica Steven Monteiro

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Projecting performance of applications and hardware is important to several market segments—hardware designers, software developers, supercomputing centers, and end users. Hardware designers estimate performance of current applications on future systems when designing new hardware. Software developers make performance estimates to evaluate performance of their code on different architectures and input datasets. Supercomputing centers try to optimize the process of matching computing resources to computing needs. End users requesting time on supercomputers must provide estimates of their application’s run time, and incorrect estimates can lead to wasted supercomputing resources and time. However, application performance is challenging to predict because it is …

Tutorial For Using The Center For High Performance Computing At The University Of Utah And An Example Using Random Forest, Stephen Barton

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Random Forests are very memory intensive machine learning algorithms and most computers would fail at building models from datasets with millions of observations. Using the Center for High Performance Computing (CHPC) at the University of Utah and an airline on-time arrival dataset with 7 million observations from the U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics we built 316 models by adjusting the depth of the trees and randomness of each forest and compared the accuracy and time each took. Using this dataset we discovered that substantial restrictions to the size of trees, observations allowed for each tree, and variables …

On The Propagation Of Atmospheric Gravity Waves In A Non-Uniform Wind Field: Introducing A Modified Acoustic-Gravity Wave Equation, Ahmad Talaei

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Atmospheric gravity waves play fundamental roles in a broad-range of dynamical processes extending throughout the Earth’s neutral atmosphere and ionosphere. In this paper, we present a modified form for the acoustic-gravity wave equation and its dispersion relationships for a compressible and non-stationary atmosphere in hydrostatic balance. Importantly, the solutions have been achieved without the use of the well-known Boussinesq approximation which have been used extensively in previous studies.

We utilize the complete set of governing equations for a compressible atmosphere with non-uniform airflows to determine an equation for vertical velocity of possible atmospheric waves. This intricate wave equation is simplified …

Simple Soil Quality Tests And Organic Management Practices For Orchards In The Intermountain West, Esther Oline Thomsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Soil health is often overlooked as a long-term management strategy as growers face an increasing number of short-term management challenges in the Intermountain West. The costs of inputs are rising and water resources are becoming more limited. Soil with poor health typically requires more amendments and fertlizers to meet crop needs. Soil health tests can help reveal management practices that reduce soil health, as well as those that improve soil health. Practices known to improve soil health are reduced to no tillage, cover crop use- especially legumes, and addition of mulch and other organic materials. Soil health testing is not …

The Role Of A Beaver In Shaping Stream Channel Complexity And Thermal Heterogeneity In A Central Oregon Stream, Florence Consolati Machen

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

North American beaver (Castor canadensis) alter stream channel morphology, hydrologic processes, and instream temperature regimes, yet there are few data driven studies that investigate the effect of beaver on stream channel complexity and stream temperature regimes across multiple spatial and temporal scales. The use of beaver as a restoration tool is a method at the forefront of watershed restoration, however little is known about the implications of this restoration technique, particularly with regard to its ability to alter stream channel complexity and stream temperature. This thesis addresses two knowledge gaps with the following objectives: to quantify the role …

Computational Studies Of Microscopic Superfluidity In 4he Clusters, Angeline R. Wairegi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The onset of microscopic superfluidity has been reported in ultracold droplets of bosons (⁴He atoms or para-H₂ molecules) containing a variety of molecular dopants. The physics of these droplets involve both Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) and superfluidity. The two phenomena, while closely related, are not exactly the same. Superfluidity is fundamentally a microscopic effect and thermodynamic limit is necessary; it is still remarkable, though, that the signature of superfluidity has been reported in doped droplets consisting of as few as 4 ⁴He atoms. The studies presented here adopt a molecular vantage point to investigate the quantum mechanics …

Computational Chemistry Of Non-Covalent Interaction And Its Application In Chemical Catalysis, Vincent De Paul Nzuwah Nziko

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Known to be weaker than conventional covalent bonds, non-covalent bonds, especially hydrogen bond, has shown to be of great importance in molecular structures such as DNA, RNA, proteins and other organic frameworks. In this dissertation, we looked at non-covalent interactions other than the hydrogen bond. Replacement of the bridging hydrogen atom in a typical hydrogen bond by other atoms such a halogen, chalcogen and tetrel lead to the formation of interactions which are comparable in strength to the hydrogen bond. Unlike the hydrogen bond which arises mainly from electrostatics, these unconventional interactions mostly result from induction. Besides studying the fundamentals …

Toward A General Parametric Model For Assessing The Impact Of Video Transcoding On Objective Video Quality, Nawaf Omar N. Alsrehin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The ultimate goal of any video delivery system is to allow any user to watch any video of any kind on any display device over any type of network with a desired output, i.e., viewing codec with preferred quality of service. This could theoretically require 1032 video transcoding functions that convert any original video to any desired output. Guaranteeing a required format and preferred quality of service of the perceived video requires selecting or composing a set of transcoding functions that satisfy the requested format and preferred quality of service. An effective way to accomplish this is by allowing the …

Investigating The Effect Of Carbon Nanotube Functionalization In A Polydimethylsiloxane Composite Through Use Of A Stepped Bar Apparatus, Matthew I. Ralphs

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are used in transporting heat away from a circuit or electronic module. Composite materials are a popular research area for TIMs because they allow the desired properties to be joined in a composite to take advantage of the best properties from all the constituents involved. The composite selected for this study uses carbon nanotubes (CNT) as the filler and an elastomeric polymer for the matrix, specifically a multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) / polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composite. This study looks at chemical modification (functionalization) of the CNTin an effort to produce a better bond between the CNT and …

The Eyes Have It: Eye Tracking Data Visualizations Of Viewing Patterns Of Statistical Graphics, Trent Fawcett

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

As statistical graphics continue to expand to manage an ever growing amount of diverse data, a need to evaluate the effectiveness of graphics, both basic and complex, has arisen. Technological advancements have given a means to evaluate the effectiveness of graphs and graphical components through eye tracking systems. Eye tracking systems are likewise in need of software that will enable easy evaluation and exploration of data. The focus of this Master's Report is to evaluate the dual solution. An exploration of an eye tracker setup is made, with extensive consideration of testing statistical graphics providing a basis for continued research …

Stomatal Differences In Western Aspen And Linkage To Drought Tolerance, Brianne Palmer

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Aspen (Populus tremuloides) is the most widely distributed broadleaf forest tree in North America. However, aspen are declining rapidly in areas of the Intermountain West. Aspen in this area are prone to experiencing limited moisture and high temperatures. An important aspect of plant physiology when dealing with these stressors is stomatal function. Stomata control the rate of photosynthesis, therefore, the size and frequency of the stomata is likely to influence the survival of the species in this environment.

An unusual feature of aspen is the high frequency of triploidy in the southern portion of its range. Stomata! size …

Sexual Assault And The Doctrine Of Chances, Ryan Wallentine

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Sexual assault is a crime whose offenders often commit multiple acts and its victims experience devastating effects. The doctrine of chances is a rule of evidence that may allow evidences of these past events or circumstances to be presented in a court case given they meet certain criteria. This research argues the probability of being innocently prosecuted for rape multiple times is sufficiently low to meet at least one of the criteria for the doctrine of chances to be used in a sexual assault case. Additional implications and related areas of research are included as well.

Biodiversity Prioritization: A Comparison Of Data Types, Kari Norman

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The identification of important areas for biodiversity is essential for effective allocation of limited conservation resources. Prioritizing regions for conservation based on biodiversity is typically done using global biodiversity maps created using range map data for one or more taxa. While the use of range maps makes pragmatic sense since large-scale survey data is rarely available, it is important to understand the sensitivity of the results to the use of range map data. We studied how prioritizations may change between data types using the North American Breeding Bird survey (BBS) and BirdLife International range maps as a comparison case study. …

The Effect Of Pure Infrared Light On The Growth Of Rhodospirrilum Rubrum, Jordan Lee Wilkes

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Scientists who study aquatic ecosystems quickly notice a diversity of pathways that different microbes and organisms can use to metabolize nutrients found in common ponds or pools. Competition for vital resources, such as light and inorganic minerals, allow only certain organisms to grow in certain niches within these ecosystems. Rhodospirillum rubrum is a gram negative, photosynthetic bacteria that competes for light within aquatic ecosystems in order to survive. R. rubrum is believed to specifically absorb light for photosynthesis at wavelengths in the range of infrared light. It was found that R. rubrum indeed can grow in "dark", anaerobic environments by …

Cluster-Based Salient Object Detection Using K-Means Merging And Keypoint Separation With Rectangular Centers, Robert Buck

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The explosion of internet traffic, advent of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and increased availability of digital cameras has saturated life with images and videos. Never before has it been so important to sift quickly through large amounts of digital information. Salient Object Detection (SOD) is a computer vision topic that finds methods to locate important objects in pictures. SOD has proven to be helpful in numerous applications such as image forgery detection and traffic sign recognition. In this thesis, I outline a novel SOD technique to automatically isolate important objects from the background in images.

The Mh-2 Core From Project Hotspot: Description, Geologic Interpretation, And Significance To Geothermal Exploration In The Western Snake River Plain, Idaho, Jerome A. Varriale

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Harnessing the earth’s natural heat generation as an energy resource has seen increased interest in recent history. While geothermal energy is a sustainable, low-carbon emitting, and viable source of energy in certain regions, large upfront risks, including costs of exploration and deep well drilling, have kept private sector investment at bay. Lowering the risks to capital investment that are inherent to subsurface exploration can help to assuage investors and bring this well-known energy-generating technology to the masses.

A blind potential geothermal system was encountered while drilling the MH2 science drill hole, on Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. The MH-2 …

Separation Of Points And Interval Estimation In Mixed Dose-Response Curves With Selective Component Labeling, Darl D. Flake Ii

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Dose-response experiments are those that involve giving subjects different amounts of a treatment and observing the outcome. For example, plants may be given fertilizer and their growth could be measured or cancer patients could be given different doses of chemotherapy and their response could be monitored. These experiments are used to understand the relationship between the amount of, and response to, the treatment. Logistic regression models are often used to summarize data from these types of experiments. The dose-response experiment that motivated this dissertation involved treating a grain-pest with a pesticide. Some of the beetles had genes that made them …

Thermal Property Measurement Of Thin Fibers By Complementary Methods, Troy Robert Munro

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Thin fibers are prevalent in many engineering materials. Measuring how well heat transfers in such small fibers can be difficult to determine, and previous methods have led to erroneous results. This dissertation details three proposed methods to improve the measurement of the thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and volumetric heat capacity of thin fibers. Of particular interest is natural and synthetic spider silks because previously published values of the natural silk thermal conductivity was similar to copper, an excellent thermal conductor.

The three methods developed are the improved transient electrothermal technique (which was redeveloped to include radiation and convection heat losses …

A Spatiotemporal Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak Model Predicting Severity, Cycle Period, And Invasion Speed, Jacob P. Duncan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The mountain pine beetle (MPB, Dendroctonus ponderosae), a tree-killing bark beetle, has historically been part of the normal disturbance regime in lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forests. In recent years, warm winters and summers have allowed MPB populations to achieve synchronous emergence and successful attacks, resulting in widespread population outbreaks and resultant tree mortality across western North America. We develop an age-structured forest demographic model that incorporates temperature-dependent MPB infestations: the Susceptible-Infested-Juvenile (SIJ) model. Stability of equilibria is analyzed as a function of population growth rates, and indicates the existence of periodic outbreaks that intensify as growth rates …

Aligning Conservation Goals And Management Objectives For Bonneville Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus Clarki Utah) In The Logan River, Utah, Harrison E. Mohn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Rivers are often managed without informed knowledge of how sportfish use different areas of the river to reproduce, and rarely take into account the relationship between fish movement and how they are distributed within the river when making management decisions. The population of native Bonneville cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki utah) within the Logan River is the largest documented population remaining for this imperiled species, and still maintains extremely high numbers of fish in the upper river. Currently, fishing is not allowed in the upper 20 kilometers of the Logan River watershed during spawning, based on the assumption that …

Intraspecific Variation In The Response Of Elymus Elymoides To Competition From Bromus Tectorum, Rebecca K. Mann

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the western United States, thousands of acres of degraded rangelands are dominated by aggressive invasive species such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), and are seeded by managers with native plants in an attempt to restore species diversity, wildlife habitat, and ecosystem services. There are many options for obtaining seeds of native plants; for instance, they can be collected from the region where restoration is to occur, or they may be purchased through commercial producers. For a given plant species, managers may also select seeds from unique subspecies, cultivars, and populations. Genetic differentiation among these within-species groups can not only affect …

Motionscan: Towards Brain Concussion Detection With A Mobile Tablet Device, Shantanu Saxena

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis reports on a study to determine the viability of using a mobile tablet device as a brain concussion detection tool. The research builds upon the results of a prior method of collecting data for measuring motion sensitivity, where a user presses and releases a force sensor to balance a rising and falling line on a computer display. The motion sensitivity data collected using this force sensor device was shown to have less irregularity in persons with concussion. The MotionScan application, developed for this research, uses the accelerometer of a tablet device to record motor movement of a user …

Atp Usage In The Dark-Operative Protochlorophyllide Oxidoreductase, Mark S. Soffe

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Chlorophylls are essential pigment molecules that function in photosynthesis, and serve to aid in utilizing energy from sunlight to power cellular processes in plants, and other organisms. To make chlorophyll, photosynthetic organisms devote an abundance of resources and energy to ensure their appropriate construction. This process of making chlorophylls is highlighted by the penultimate step in the pathway—the conversion of protochlorophyllide (Pchlide) to chlorophyllide a (Chlide).

This conversion can be mediated in two different ways, depending on the type of organism. The first method incorporates the use of a light-activated system called the light-dependent protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase (LPOR). This system, as …

Bayesian Models For Repeated Measures Data Using Markov Chain Monte Carlo Methods, Yuanzhi Li

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Bayesian models for repeated measures data are fitted to three different data an analysis projects. Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methodology is applied to each case with Gibbs sampling and/or an adaptive Metropolis-Hastings (MH) algorithm used to simulate the posterior distribution of parameters. We implement a Bayesian model with different variance-covariance structures to an audit fee data set. Block structures and linear models for variances are used to examine the linear trend and different behaviors before and after regulatory change during year 2004-2005. We proposed a Bayesian hierarchical model with latent teacher effects, to determine whether teacher professional development (PD) …

Fake Likers Detection On Facebook, Prudhvi Ratna Badri Satya

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As billions of users have used online social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, many online services have begun adapting signals of the popularity. For example, search engines rank popular users posts in the top results. A post of a popular user is automatically delivered to the followers or likers. Popular companies in online social networks also get good reputation from people. The popularity on Facebook is measured based on the number of likes in a page. Unfortunately, some crowdsourcing websites (e.g.Microworkers.com) or supply-driven marketplaces (e.g.Fiverr.com) began offering fake liking services in which these crowd workers sent fake likes …

Translating Temporal Sql To Nested Sql, Venkata Rani

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Sequenced and nonsequenced semantics are the two previously researched semantics for the evaluation of an operation in a temporal database such as a query or data modification. Sequenced semantics evaluates an operation in each time instant using only the data alive at that time. Nonsequenced semantics, in contrast, means that an operation explicitly references and manipulates the timestamps in the data.

In this thesis we propose a new framework that shows both semantics are variants of a general temporal semantics. We present the general semantics and show how additional semantics, such as preceding semantics can be realized. The semantics are …

Interference Mitigation In Multi-Hop Wireless Networks With Advanced Physical-Layer Techniques, Yantian Hou

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

With the ever-growing number of wireless systems, the problem of spectrum scarcity is becoming more important than ever. Many devices coexist in the same frequency band, e.g., IEEE 802.11 (WiFi), 802.15.4 (ZigBee), 802.16 (WiMax), and Bluetooth in the ISM bands. Coexisting in the crowded spectrum bands inevitably leads to mutual interferences. For a wireless network, the interference could be from external sources such as microwave oven and cordless phone, or from internal nodes within multi-flow and multi-hop wireless networks. All these interferences can be detrimental to the performance of co-locating networks if they are not properly mitigated. In my dissertation, …

Confirmation Of A New Geometric And Kinematic Model Of The San Andreas Fault At Its Southern Tip, Durmid Hill, Southern California, Daniel K. Markowski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study explains the origin of the deforming structures between the San Andreas fault and the Salton Sea within the Salton Trough in Southern California. ShakeOut simulations and other studies model shaking resulting from a large rupture on the San Andreas fault. These models simulate a start at the southern fault tip of the San Andreas fault that propagates to the northwest. A secondary strand of the San Andreas fault called the East Shoreline fault is located at the southern tip of the San Andreas fault near the shoreline of the Salton Sea. Between the East Shoreline fault zone and …

Fluorescent Probes To Investigate Homologous Recombination Dynamics, Eric Parker Davenport

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As the average cell’s DNA undergoes roughly 1 million molecular lesions per day, learning about one of the repair mechanisms which fixes damaged DNA is a worthwhile endeavor. Such work may provide insights into how to treat or prevent diseases such as cancers and associated genetic disorders. Homologous recombination (HR) is one pathway which is used by cells to repair a specific type of DNA damage, double-strand breaks. While HR is a complex process involving over 25 different proteins, exactly how HR works, including its regulation, is largely unknown. One protein in particular, Rad51, forms a filament on the damaged …