Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Geologic Mapping, Alluvial Stratigraphy, And Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating Of The Kanab Creek Area, Southern Utah, Michelle Carlene Summa

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

At the turn of the century, Kanab Creek incised 30-meters into its alluvium, leaving behind fluvial terraces and thick basin fill sediments exposed along arroyo walls. Research objectives were to determine the timing and causes of past valley-filling and arroyo-cutting episodes along a 20 km-long reach of Kanab Creek in southern Utah. Fluvial deposits were mapped at the 1:12,000 scale and sediments were described and dated using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon dating.

The Kanab Creek valley can be divided into a narrow, upper terraced reach and a broad lower basin fill reach near Kanab, Utah. The most prominent …

Statistical Analysis Of Linear Analog Circuits Using Gaussian Message Passing In Factor Graphs, Miti Phadnis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis introduces a novel application of factor graphs to the domain of analog circuits. It proposes a technique of leveraging factor graphs for performing statistical yield analysis of analog circuits that is much faster than the standard Monte Carlo/Simulation Program With Integrated Circuit Emphasis (SPICE) simulation techniques. We have designed a tool chain to model an analog circuit and its corresponding factor graph and then use a Gaussian message passing approach along the edges of the graph for yield calculation. The tool is also capable of estimating unknown parameters of the circuit given known output statistics through backward message …

Salinity Inventory And Tolerance Screening In Utah Agriculture, Austin Mccoy Hawks

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Soil salinity, a yield-limiting condition, has plagued crop production for centuries by reducing crop productivity. Research has introduced methods for successfully managing soil salinity. This research discusses the adaptation of established management methods to create new soil salinity management techniques.

One adapted technique is an automated crop screening apparatus. A new design was created and successfully used in rapidly screening two strawberry cultivars to determine their tolerance to salinity. Screening crops and determining their tolerance to yield-limiting conditions are essential in managing soil salinity.

Another salinity management tool used in this research was electromagnetic induction (EMI). EMI was used to …

Reconciling Holocene Alluvial Records In Buckskin Wash, Southern Utah, Jonathan E. Harvey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Most approaches to interpreting alluvial records in drylands fall into one of two categories: (1) The "arroyo problem," wherein workers study cycles of streambed aggradation and degradation in broad, unconstricted alluvial valleys; and (2) paleoflood hydrology, where alluvial sequences in constricted bedrock canyons are interpreted as paleoflood deposits from streams with stable channel grade and geometry. Both approaches can be valid in their end-member settings, but there is confusion about how the two record types relate in a single drainage. We address this disconnect in Buckskin Wash, an ephemeral stream that consists of a broad alluvial reach draining into a …

A Comparison Theorem For The Topological And Algebraic Classification Of Quaternionic Toric 8-Manifolds, Piotr Runge

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In order to discuss topological properties of quaternionic toric 8-manifolds, we introduce the notion of an algebraic morphism in the category of toric spaces. We show that the classification of quaternionic toric 8-manifolds with respect to an algebraic isomorphism is finer than the oriented topological classification. We construct infinite families of quaternionic toric 8-manifolds in the same oriented homeomorphism type but algebraically distinct. To prove that the elements within each family are of the same oriented homeomorphism type, and that we have representatives of all such types of a quaternionic toric 8-manifold, we present and use a method of evaluating …

Covert Botnet Design And Defense Analysis, Brandon Lyle Shirley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Intrusion defense system (IDS) development has been largely reactionary in nature. This is especially troubling given that botnets are capable of compromising and controlling thousands of computers before security professionals develop a mitigation technique. As new exploits are created, new mitigation techniques are developed to detect infections and, where possible, remove them. This thesis breaks from this tradition of reacting to malware. Instead, it looks at possible malicious software models through analyzing existing defense systems for exploitable weaknesses.

First, this thesis presents a new specialized botnet that circumvents current network intrusion detection mechanisms. The proposed botnet coordinates external communication among …

Alternative Sampling And Analysis Methods For Digital Soil Mapping In Southwestern Utah, Colby W. Brungard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Digital soil mapping (DSM) relies on quantitative relationships between easily measured environmental covariates and field and laboratory data. We applied innovative sampling and inference techniques to predict the distribution of soil properties, soil attributes, taxonomic classes, and dominant vegetation across a 30,000-ha complex Great Basin landscape in southwestern Utah. This arid rangeland was characterized by rugged topography, diverse vegetation, and intricate geology. Environmental covariates calculated from digital elevation models (DEM) and spectral satellite data were used to represent factors controlling soil development and distribution. We investigated optimal sample size and sampled the environmental covariates using conditioned Latin Hypercube Sampling (cLHS). …

Geometry And Electronic Structure Of Doped Clusters Via The Coalescence Kick Method, Boris Averkiev

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Developing chemical bonding models in clusters is one of the most challenging tasks of modern theoretical chemistry. There are two reasons for this. The first one is that clusters are relatively new objects in chemistry and have been extensively studied since the middle of the 20th century. The second reason is that clusters require high-level quantum-chemical calculations; while for many classical molecules their geometry and properties can be reasonably predicted by simpler methods.

The aim of this dissertation was to study doped clusters and explain their chemical bonding. The research was focused on three classes of compounds: aluminum clusters doped …

A Comparison Of Soil Moisture And Hillslope-Stream Connectivity Between Aspen And Conifer-Dominated Hillslopes Of A First Order Catchment In Northern Utah, Amy R. Burke

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Mountain headwater catchments in the semi-arid Intermountain West are important sources of surface water because these high elevations receive more precipitation than neighboring lowlands. The hydrology of these mountain catchments is especially important as the region faces water shortages and conflicts. Conifer encroachment on aspen stands has been observed across the western US and can result in a decline in water yield. The overall objective of this study was to further our understanding of hillslope-stream connectivity in a headwater catchment of Northern Utah and any observable differences in this connection between aspen and conifer hillslopes. Hillslopes are the fundamental unit …

Theory Of Planned Behavior Model Fit Using Atod Prevention Program Data, Ying Jin

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

This report is to test the Theory of Planned Behavior (TpB) model fit using the data collected from the ATOD Prevention Program conducted by the Operation Snowball Program from year 2004 to 2007 in Naperville, Illinois. Measurement Model and Structural Equation Modeling are used as principal modeling methods to test internal consistency of assigned measures for each construct and the dependency between constructs respectively. The results show that the ATOD Prevention Program data does not fit the TpB model perfectly. Extra paths should be added to the original theoretical model in order to obtain a satisfactory model fit.

The Effectiveness Of Institutional Intervention At Minimizing Demographic Inertia And Improving The Representation Of Women Faculty In Higher Education, Amanda V. Bakian

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

Across all science and engineering disciplines, women currently receive 46% of the doctoral degrees granted annually. Despite gains in doctoral degrees earned by women over the past 30 years, they remain under-represented among full time tenured /tenure-track science and engineering faculty compared to their presence among degree recipients. The inequality gap is widest among full professors at 4 year research universities where women account for a mere 16% of all S&E full time full professors. Multiple hypothesis have been proposed to account for women's under-representation relative to men including those based on human capital/economic theory, feminist theory, innate biological gender …

The Pliocene/Pleistocene Evolution Of The Western Snake River Plain Near Grand View Idaho, Meagan R. Deraps

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

The Western Snake River Plain provides us with a unique opportunity to study the evolution of basaltic volcanism. In addition to studying the horizontal variation at the surface of the plain, erosion by the Snake River also allows the study of the vertical variation. With the aid of a USGS EDMAP grant we mapped the Dorsey Butte quadrangle and southern half of the Little Joe Butte quadrangle at a scale of 1 :24,000. The quadrangles are located within both the Ada and Elmore counties of southwestern Idaho, approximately 30 km west of Mountain Home and 2 km north of Grand …

Random Motion And The Diffusion Of Brine Shrimp: A Project Based Learning Unit, Rebecca Atkins

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

Over the years, there have been several trends, philosophies, and ideas about how mathematics should be taught. These have included progressive movements, essentialist movements, drill and practice, teacher-centered methodologies, student-centered methodologies, and others. However, despite these various instructional trends, research has found that mathematics teachers have basically taught the same way for years, with little or no variation with respect to the changing trends (Ward, 2001). For many students, the traditional teaching method employed in their mathematics classes is typically centered on the teacher and includes lecture in which the teacher provides the necessary definitions and notations and does several …

Using Real-World Data As A Basis For Problem-Based Learning: Investigating Preservation Biases Of Fish In Fossil Butte National Monument, Blair Larsen

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

This project examined the design and development of an online problem-based learning module to teach earth-system science to K-12 educators. The module revolved around identifying earth sphere (lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere) interactions needed to produce mass fish mortality layers found in the Green River Formation at Fossil Butte National Monument. Students investigated the unique earth sphere combinations needed to produce mass fish mortality layers, reflected on the formation of such deposits, and examined the impact of these earth spheres on the earth system. As a supplement to the course, the students also analyzed data on fossils collected from a …

Investigations Into Mapping Lava Flows In The Snake River Plain, Idaho, Vinita Ruth Hobson-Broko

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

The origin of the Snake River plain continues to be debated, but the plume model is most popular at the current time. Some theories, such as meteorite impact, have been excluded, but the remaining theories require more scrutiny.

Various methods of examining phenomena in the Snake River Plain were employed. Unsupervised classification of Landsat ETM data indicates that spectra can be used to differentiate between flows. However, photographs of flows at Craters of the Moon National Monument show wide variations in texture and color within a single flow. Vegetation grows preferentially on the smoother pahoehoe slabs and significantly impacting the …

Object Trajectory Estimation Using Optical Flow, Shuo Liu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Object trajectory tracking is an important topic in many different areas. It is widely used in robot technology, traffic, movie industry, and others. Optical flow is a useful method in the object tracking branch and it can calculate the motion of each pixel between two frames, and thus it provides a possible way to get the trajectory of objects. There are numerous papers describing the implementation of optical flow. Some results are acceptable, but in many projects, there are limitations. In most previous applications, because the camera is usually static, it is easy to apply optical flow to identify the …

Soil Organic Carbon And Site Characteristics In Aspen And Evaluation Of The Potential Effects Of Conifer Encroachment On Soil Properties In Northern Utah, Mical K. Woldeselassie

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the Intermountain West, aspen (Populus tremuloides) has declined mainly due to a combination of successional processes, fire suppression and long-term use of ungulates which has led to replacement by conifers, sagebrush or other shrub communities. Conifer encroachment is believed to cause critical changes in the ecosystem properties. In order to understand the impacts of conifer encroachment on soil properties such as soil organic carbon (SOC) storage, soil morphology, and soil chemical properties, and the implications of such changes, it is very important to assess the soil properties under the two vegetation types. The objectives of this study …

Teaching Probability Through Use Of An Applet, Melissa Gregory Jackson

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

The use of technology in the classroom is an ongoing debate by educators. Many teachers consider it to be a valuable teaching tool. Despite the many advantages, there are also drawbacks in using technology. A Java applet is a particular kind of multimedia technology proven to be useful in education. Because of students' struggles with learning basic probability in Statistics 1040, I have created a probability applet to reinforce the concept of probability. The applet was tested with two Statistics 1040 classes. The majority of students agreed that they learned more about probability from using the applet. Several of the …

On The Applicability Of Genetic Algorithms To Fast Solar Spectropolarimetric Inversions For Vector Magnetography, Brian J. Harker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The measurement of vector magnetic fields on the sun is one of the most important diagnostic tools for characterizing solar activity. The ubiquitous solar wind is guided into interplanetary space by open magnetic field lines in the upper solar atmosphere. Highly-energetic solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are triggered in lower layers of the solar atmosphere by the driving forces at the visible ``surface'' of the sun, the photosphere. The driving forces there tangle and interweave the vector magnetic fields, ultimately leading to an unstable field topology with large excess magnetic energy, and this excess energy is suddenly and …

Synthetic Studies Of Laulimalide Analogues, Ian Addison Mcalexander

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Chapter 1 provides some background information on the disease area of cancer and current modes of treatment. Chemotherapy treatment is discussed with a focus on the major cellular targets for these drugs: DNA and microtubules. For each target, classes of active compounds are described along with their mode of action. The microtubule stabilizing agent laulimalide is introduced and a case is made for analogue synthesis.

Chapter 2 describes our first generation efforts toward synthesis of des-methyl laulimalide. The target compound is divided into a northern and southern fragment with the synthesis of each fragment described. The preparation of landmark intermediates …

A Comparative Study Of The Structural Features And Kinetic Properties Of The Mofe And Vfe Proteins From Azotobacter Vinelandii, Miguel Alejandro Pabon Sanclemente

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Biological nitrogen fixation is accomplished in the bacterium Azotobacter vinelandii by means of three metalloenzymes: The molybdenum, vanadium, and iron-only nitrogenase. The knowledge regarding biological nitrogen fixation has come from studies on the Mo-dependent reaction. However, the V- and Fe-only-dependent reduction of nitrogen remains largely unknown.

By using homology modeling techniques, the protein folds that contain the metal cluster active sites for the V- and Fe-only nitrogenases were constructed. The models uncovered similarities and differences existing among the nitrogenases regarding the identity of the amino acid residues lining pivotal structural features for the correct functioning of the proteins. These differences, …

Measurement And Modeling Of Reduced-Gravity Fluid Distribution And Transport In Unsaturated Porous Plant-Growth Media, Robert Heinse

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The effect of reduced gravity on the balanced management of liquid, gaseous and ionic fluxes in unsaturated porous media remains a central challenge for plant-based bio-regenerative life support systems needed for long-duration space missions. This research investigated how shifting capillary and gravitational forces alter the sample-scale transport and distribution of fluids in mm-sized porous ceramic aggregates. Measurements in variably saturated media conducted on the International Space Station in microgravity (~1⋅10^-3 g_earth) and measurements during parabolic flight in variable gravity encompassing microgravity, terrestrial gravity and hypergravity (~1.8g_earth) were supported by numerical modeling based on fundamental, …

Novel Growth Of Ingaas/Gaas Nanostructures By Molecular Beam Epitaxy, Dong Jun Kim

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation presents an extensive study of the epitaxial growth mechanism by a novel growth method. This novel growth method was developed at Utah State University and is a modification of the Stranski-Krastanov (S-K) growth mode. Our new growth method consists of a two-step process, low temperature growth and high temperature annealing. During low temperature growth, diffusion is minimized, resulting in the deposition of a pseudomorphic epilayer. During high temperature annealing, diffusion is induced from the pseudomorphic epilayer, resulting in the transformation of the epilayer into nanostructures. Benefits of this novel growth method are a significantly smaller segregation and suppressed …

Sonication Assisted Synthesis Of Oligomannosides, Christabel Tomla Tanifum

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Oligomannosides prevalently exist as cell surface antigens. They play important roles in diseases such as viral infection and cancer, and they have been shown to be useful as candidates for vaccines. HIV, one of the most devastating modern diseases, has a high content of mannose sugars on its envelope glycoprotein gp120. Oligomannosides of the HIV virus, also called Man9, which are found on the glycoprotein gp120, have been shown to play a protective role for the HIV virus, shielding highly conserved protein domains of gp120 from proteolytic attacks. Thus gp120 plays an important role in HIV infection of cells, being …

Predicting The Growth Potential Of A Shallow, Warm-Water Sport Fishery: A Spatially Explicit Bioenergetics Approach, Samuel Kirk Dahle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Capturing the range of fish consumption and growth potential of large, heterogeneous lentic systems can be challenging due to strong gradients in productivity, the diversity of habits types present, and in some cases, site-specific water quality issues. Cutler Reservoir (Utah, USA) displays a high degree of spatial and temporal variation in physical conditions and potential water quality limitations for fish, including high summertime water temperature and large, diel fluctuations in dissolved oxygen concentrations. The combination of bioenergetics modeling and GIS spatial analysis offers a promising interface for quantifying the fish consumptive and growth potential across a spatially and temporally heterogeneous …

Fluvial Systems Tied Together Through A Common Base Level: The Geomorphic Response Of The Dirty Devil River, North Wash Creek, And The Colorado River To The Rapid Base Level Drop Of Lake Powell, Adam L. Majeski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Fluvial adjustment to base level change has its roots in the fundamental concepts of geomorphology. This thesis explores the rate of erosion and sedimentation on the Colorado and Dirty Devil rivers and North Wash Creek under the current base level changes related to the drawdown conditions of Lake Powell. Through cross section and long profile resurveys, the current state of each system is captured and added to the historic record of sedimentation in Lake Powell. All three systems are generally forming narrow and deep incised channels driven by the rapid rate of base level fall. Cross sections that deviate from …

Carbohydrate Derivatives In Antibiotics Research, Yi Liang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this study, we investigated the potential applications of carbohydrates in the development of new antibiotics. To tackle the problem of multidrug-resistant variants of M. tuberculosis (MDR-TB), we investigated the biosynthesis pathways of trehalose, which has contributed to significant drug resistance. Some new methods were developed for the synthesis of potential inhibitors (6-azido-trehalose and 6,6'-diazido-trehalose) that have been designed to imitate the intermediate molecule (trehalose 6-phosphate, TPP) of OtsA-OtsB pathway. At the same time, some new antibacterial agents based on trehalose have been synthesized. Members of the 1,2,3-triazole family have shown interesting biological properties. Steroid derivatives have been developed in …

Investigations Of Variable Importance Measures Within Random Forests, Andrew C. Merrill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Random Forests (RF) (Breiman 2001; Breiman and Cutler 2004) is a completely nonparametric statistical learning procedure that may be used for regression analysis and. A feature of RF that is drawing a lot of attention is the novel algorithm that is used to evaluate the relative importance of the predictor/explanatory variables. Other machine learning algorithms for regression and classification, such as support vector machines and artificial neural networks (Hastie et al. 2009), exhibit high predictive accuracy but provide little insight into predictive power of individual variables. In contrast, the permutation algorithm of RF has already established a track record for …

Predicting Rna Secondary Structures By Folding Simulation: Software And Experiments, Joel Omni Gillespie

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

We present a new method for predicting the secondary structure of RNA sequences. Using our method, each RNA nucleotide of an RNA Sequence is represented as a point on a 3D triangular lattice. Using the Simulated Annealing technique, we manipulate the location of the points on the lattice. We explore various scoring functions for judging the relative quality of the structures created by these manipulations. After near optimal configurations on the lattice have been found, we describe how the lattice locations of the nucleotides can be used to predict a secondary structure for the sequence. This prediction can be further …

Detecting Organic Molecules On The Surface Of Inorganic Dust Particles Using Aerosol Mass Spectrometry, Sileola B. Akinsiku

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Detection of organic molecules present on the surface of dust particles is important in homeland security, agriculture, and several other applications. The research presented reports the ability of the aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) to detect molecules on the surface of dust particles without detecting the particle core.

Experiments were carried out to detect semi-volatile organic compounds adsorbed onto the surface of particulates without interference from the dust particle core. Methyl salicylate, oleic acid, and organophosphorus pesticides such as Malathion were detected on the surface of particles representative of dust-type materials. Zeolite powders were used as aerosol support, representative of a …