Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Leveraging The Inductive Bias Of Large Language Models For Abstract Textual Reasoning, Christopher Michael Rytting

Theses and Dissertations

Large natural language models (such as GPT-2 or T5) demonstrate impressive abilities across a range of general NLP tasks. Here, we show that the knowledge embedded in such models provides a useful inductive bias, not just on traditional NLP tasks, but also in the nontraditional task of training a symbolic reasoning engine. We observe that these engines learn quickly and generalize in a natural way that reflects human intuition. For example, training such a system to model block-stacking might naturally generalize to stacking other types of objects because of structure in the real world that has been partially captured by …

Variation In Personality Among Semi-Wild Myanmar Timber Elephants, Sateesh Venkatesh

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines two personality traits: exploration and neophobia, which could influence human-elephant conflicts. Thirty-one semi-wild elephants were tested over two trials using a custom novel puzzle tube containing three tasks and three rewards. Our studies show that elephants do vary significantly between individuals in both exploration and neophobia.

A Water Budget And Solute Flux Budget For Waimea River Watershed, Kauai, Hi, U.S.A., Joseph Harold Tolworthy

Theses and Dissertations

Waimea Canyon is a deep V-shaped canyon on the island of Kauai, Hawaii in which the Waimea River and its tributaries flow. The shape and size of the canyon are noteworthy and unusual compared to its contemporary canyons on the Hawaiian Islands which are usually U-shaped or flat bottomed. This could be because there is significantly more physical erosion in Waimea Canyon compared to others. A water budget was created using ArcGIS Pro and data from the University of Hawaii’s rainfall and evapotranspiration atlases, as well as from the United States Geological Survey’s stream gage data. A mass flux was …

Nature And Origin Of The East Traverse Mountains Mega-Landslide, Northern Utah (Usa), Rodney Ryan Chadburn

Theses and Dissertations

The East Traverse Mountains are an E-W trending mountain range dividing Utah and Salt Lake valleys in northern Utah. Geologically perplexing, the nature of the East Traverse Mountains has been under investigation for 140 years. Previously, the mountain range was proposed to be a dismembered but still coherent down-faulted block that experienced 4 km of post-thrusting extension within the Charleston-Nebo thrust sheet. However, new insight on the origin of the East Traverse Mountains indicate that it is a mega landslide, roughly ~100 km3 in size, which catastrophically slid from the upper reaches of the Little-Cottonwood stock to its present-day location. …

Instrumentation And Application Of Image-Charge Detection Of Electrospray-Charged Microparticles And Microdroplets, Jiuzhi Gao

Theses and Dissertations

Image-charge detection is emerging as an important tool to analyze heavy and heterogeneous samples because of its unique advantages in measuring highly charged microparticles. Conventional image-charge detection instruments include at least three fundamental components: an ionization source, an aerodynamic particle delivery system, and an image-charge detector. Here I report research efforts that investigated the mechanisms of image-charge detection and proposed some instrumental developments of these components to suit specific research purposes. In Chapter 2, I report an investigation of the electrospray ionization (ESI) mechanism based on an observation that a certain portion of charged particles generated with an ESI source …

Methods For Generative Adversarial Output Enhancement, Michael B. Brodie

Theses and Dissertations

Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) learn to synthesize novel samples for a given data distribution. While GANs can train on diverse data of various modalities, the most successful use cases to date apply GANs to computer vision tasks. Despite significant advances in training algorithms and network architectures, GANs still struggle to consistently generate high-quality outputs after training. We present a series of papers that improve GAN output inference qualitatively and quantitatively. The first chapter, Alpha Model Domination, addresses a related subfield of Multiple Choice Learning, which -- like GANs -- aims to generate diverse sets of outputs. The next chapter, CoachGAN, …

Structures And Characteristics Of Macromolecular Interactions In Gas Phase Using Fourier-Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry, Jiewen Shen

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates non-covalent macromolecular chemistry using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) based techniques. The included studies reveal the impact of molecular structure on conformation and binding energetics. Supramolecules that might be too heavy to be dissociated in single collision-induced dissociation (CID) were dissociated using sustained off-resonance collision induced dissociation (SORI-CID) techniques. Relative binding energies and thresholds were evaluated for various macromolecular host-guest systems. Besides the non-covalent binding energies, conformation characterization was undertaken by a novel method to determine collision cross sectional areas using FTICR (CRAFTI, and multi-CRAFTI), initially developed by the Dearden lab. The systems chosen …

Eigenvalues Of Differential Operators And Nontrivial Zeros Of L-Functions, Dongsheng Wu

Theses and Dissertations

The Hilbert-P\'olya conjecture asserts that the non-trivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function $\zeta(s)$ correspond (in a certain canonical way) to the eigenvalues of some positive operator. R. Meyer constructed a differential operator $D_-$ acting on a function space $\H$ and showed that the eigenvalues of the adjoint of $D_-$ are exactly the nontrivial zeros of $\zeta(s)$ with multiplicity correspondence. We follow Meyer's construction with a slight modification. Specifically, we define two function spaces $\H_\cap$ and $\H_-$ on $(0,\infty)$ and characterize them via the Mellin transform. This allows us to show that $Z\H_\cap\subseteq\H_-$ where $Zf(x)=\sum_{n=1}^\infty f(nx)$. Also, the differential operator …

Novel Αvβ6 Inhibitor Reduces Fibrotic Progression In Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Murine Model, Rebecca C. Viazzo Winegar

Theses and Dissertations

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is one of the most aggressive and severe interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) for which there is no cure. IPF is characterized by an excessive accumulation of fibroblasts which secrete an abundance of extracellular proteins such as collagen. These processes lead to repetitive tissue scarring and fibrosis in the lung parenchyma. As a result, lungs become rigid limiting oxygen intake and gas exchange. Once diagnosed, IPF is fatal within 2-3 years. There is no known cause or proven treatment that significantly improves outcomes. Although the cause is unknown, the current model of IPF suggests that an overactive …

Galectin-1 Improves Sarcolemma Repair And Decreases The Inflammatory Response In Lgmd2b Models, Matthew F. Rathgeber

Theses and Dissertations

Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2B (LGMD2B) is caused by mutations in the dysferlin gene, resulting in non-functional dysferlin, a key protein found in muscle membrane. Treatment options available for patients are chiefly palliative in nature and focus on maintaining ambulation. Our hypothesis is that galectin-1 (Gal-1), a soluble carbohydrate binding protein, increases membrane repair capacity, myogenic potential, M2 macrophage polarization and decreases NF-κB inflammation in dysferlin-deficient models. To test this hypothesis, we used recombinant human galectin-1 (rHsGal-1) to treat dysferlin-deficient models. We show that rHsGal-1 treatments of 48 h-72 h promotes myogenic maturation as indicated through improvements in size, myotube …

Metalearning By Exploiting Granular Machine Learning Pipeline Metadata, Brandon J. Schoenfeld

Theses and Dissertations

Automatic machine learning (AutoML) systems have been shown to perform better when they use metamodels trained offline. Existing offline metalearning approaches treat ML models as black boxes. However, modern ML models often compose multiple ML algorithms into ML pipelines. We expand previous metalearning work on estimating the performance and ranking of ML models by exploiting the metadata about which ML algorithms are used in a given pipeline. We propose a dynamically assembled neural network with the potential to model arbitrary DAG structures. We compare our proposed metamodel against reasonable baselines that exploit varying amounts of pipeline metadata, including metamodels used …

Building A Predictive Model For Stratigraphic Transitions And Lateral Facies Changes In The Cretaceous Almond Formation, Wyoming, Joseph E. Phillips

Theses and Dissertations

The Cretaceous Almond Formation, located in the Greater Green River Basin, records deposition of coastal plain fluvial sandstones and shallow marginal-marine sandstones in a net-transgressive sequence along the western margin of the Cretaceous Interior Seaway (CIS) from the late Campanian to early Maastrichtian. The Almond Formation is an important hydrocarbon reservoir, with development mainly along the Wamsutter Arch and the northeast margins of the Washakie Basin. Previous studies have primarily focused on outcrops along the eastern flank of the Rock Springs Uplift and subsurface data targeting the Wamsutter Arch. Further development of the Almond petroleum system requires extending our understanding …

Varying The Aspect Ratio Of Toroidal Ion Traps: Implications For Design, Performance, And Miniaturization, Praneeth Madushan Hettikankanange

Theses and Dissertations

A large aspect ratio leads to higher ion capacity in miniaturized ion trap mass spectrometers. The aspect ratio (AR) of an ion trap represents the ratio between an extended trapping dimension and the characteristic trapping dimension. In contrast to linear and rectilinear traps, changing the AR of a toroidal ion trap (TorIT) results in changes to the degree of curvature and shape of the trapping potential, and hence, on performance as a mass analyzer. SIMION simulations show that higher-order terms in the trapping potential vary strongly for small and moderate AR values (below ~10), with the effects asymptotically flattening for …

Segment And Intersection Crash Analysis Methodologies For Utah Highways, Camille Cherie Lunt

Theses and Dissertations

This research focuses on the Crash Analysis Methodology for Segments (CAMS) which provides a way for engineers at the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) to prioritize safety improvements on state-owned roadways. Unlike the Utah crash analysis methodologies that come before it, the CAMS focuses exclusively on segment-related crashes. The benefits of such an analysis can be found in identifying locations that have safety concerns unbiased from intersections and their related crashes. The CAMS uses UDOT data to create a spreadsheet of roadway segments and their associated crashes. Each segment is homogeneous with respect to five variables: Annual Average Daily Traffic …

The Impact Of Experiential Virtual Dinosaur Excavation Assignments On Exam Preparation And Performance Inâ An Introductory, University-Level Geology Course, Nicole Elizabeth Ortiz

Theses and Dissertations

Advocates assert that experiential/applicational learning facilitates deep understanding but there is a dearth of empirical research testing the effectiveness of experiential learning in university geology courses. Domack (1999) and Moecher (2004) document applicational assignments within geology courses. These evaluations, however, are based solely on instructor opinion and informal student comments. To evaluate the effectiveness of experiential assignments this study utilizes empirical data from control and test groups in each of two semesters of Geology 100, a general education course on dinosaurs. Control groups completed traditional research papers which were replaced by experiential assignments in the test groups. The first semester …

Numerical And Experimental Investigation Of Aeration Self Mixing By Using Pulsating And Continuous Air Flow, Ahmed Ali Alkhafaji

Theses and Dissertations

Wastewater treatment is considered one of the most common forms of pollution control in the united states. Considered as an integral part of the wastewater treatment, the aeration process is the most energy-consuming process among all the processes that take place in any wastewater treatment plant. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a wastewater treatment plant is expected to remove at least 85% of the suspended solids and dissolved organic compounds from the wastewater before discharging it to a river or a lake. The normal operation of the aeration process is by compressing air continuously to basin …

Developing Highly Reversible Li Metal Anode With Mossy/Dendritic Li Suppression In High Energy Density Batteries, Xi Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Lithium-ion battery technology has wide impact on our daily life. However, most of the commercial batteries with limited energy density are unable to meet the growing demand of electrical vehicles, portable electronic devices and other energy storage systems. Therefore, the development of new electrode materials with high energy density and reliable performance has become a critical mission for researchers. Particularly replacing graphite anode with Li metal is one of most viable approaches to break the limitation of energy density in batteries. Metallic lithium is one of the most promising anode materials, which has a high theoretical specific capacity of 3860 …

Analyzing Strain Localization, Kinematic Partitioning And Fluid Flow In The Pulo Do Lobo Metasedimentary Rocks Along The Southern Iberian Shear Zone, Andalucia, Spain, Nancy Alejandra Carman

Theses and Dissertations

The Southern Iberian Shear Zone is a regional scale ductile shear zone that placed Beja-Acebuches metabasites over metapelite and quartzite rocks of the Pulo do Lobo Formation in a transpressional deformation with components of thrust and left-lateral movement. This project evaluates factors that contributed to strain localization at a variety of scales within the Pulo do Lobo formation, including lithologic variations, microstructures, and fluid flow. Additionally, microstructural data are used to test whether kinematic partitioning accompanied strain localization. Grain scale asymmetric indicators of sigma-type clasts, S-C fabrics, and asymmetric folds indicate dominant thrust motion. Strain intensity and metamorphic grade increase …

Surface Alteration In The Ölkelduháls, Nesjavellir, And Geysir Hydrothermal Systems, Iceland: Implications For Mars, Jordan Ludyan

Theses and Dissertations

Silica- and sulfate-rich deposits observed by Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Spirit near Home Plate, Gusev crater, Mars, indicate alteration of Mars basalt by a diverse array of hydrothermal fluids and processes. Constraining the precise fluid conditions present at the time of deposition for these deposits on Mars relies on investigations of terrestrial hydrothermal systems that produce similar mineral assemblages. Alteration products and fluids collected from the Ölkelduháls, Nesjavellir, and Geysir hydrothermal areas in southern Iceland cover a wide range of end-member and intermediate fluid and alteration environments, and provide a means to compare the secondary minerals produced from different hydrothermal …

Sustainability In Construction: Using Lean Management Principles To Reduce Waste, Matthew Waite

Theses and Dissertations

The construction industry is facing many challenges. There are growing consumer demands for sustainable building. The construction industry generates a significant portion of the waste going into landfills. The construction industry has failed to keep pace with productivity in the manufacturing industry. Through adoption of Lean management principles, the construction industry can become more sustainable while increasing productivity. The literature was evaluated for three concepts: Lean management principles interaction with sustainability, the current state of sustainability in the construction industry, and the current state of Lean management principles in the construction industry. Lean management philosophies interactions with sustainability has been …

Lyerja E Kushinetave Rrëshqitëse Dhe Rrokullisëse, Natyra Kololli

Theses and Dissertations

Historia e kushinetave dhe e lubrifikimit është pothuajse aq e vjetër sa historia e njerëzimit. Forca kryesore lëvizëse që u lehtësoi njerëzve aktivitetet e përditshme, mirëpo duke ulur fërkimet. Këtu hyjnë në punë kushinetat, rëndësia e të cilave rritet me njohjen e lyerësve, e që është çështje me interes për të gjithë sepse kushinetat kanë nevojë për lubrifikim. Për të eksploruar botën, apo edhe më tej nevojiten pajisje mekanike që kërkojnë lubrifikim. Të gjithë kemi nevojë për lyerës, prandaj duhet të kemi njohuri për to sepse qoftë në shtëpitë tona ose në punë, kemi pajisje që kanë pjesë lëvizëse që …

Implementimi I Devops Strategjisë Në Kompani Të Vogla Dhe Të Mesme, Diellza Shabani

Theses and Dissertations

DevOps është një kornizë konceptuale për riintegrimin e zhvillimit dhe funksionimit të Sistemeve të Informacionit. Unë kam kryer një studim për strategjitë e ndryshme të implementimit të DevOps në kompani të ndryshme. Unë vërejta se DevOps nuk është studiuar në mënyrë adekuate në literaturën shkencore. Ekzistojnë relativisht pak kërkime në dispozicion në DevOps dhe studimet shpesh janë me cilësi të ulët. Unë gjithashtu vërejta që DevOps mbështetet nga një kulturë e bashkëpunimit, automatizimi, matje, shkëmbimi i informacionit dhe përdorimi i shërbimit në internet. DevOps përfiton nga SI dhe zhvillimi i operacioneve. Ajo gjithashtu ka efekte pozitive në zhvillimin e shërbimit …

Ndërtimi I Një "To-Do" Aplikacioni Me Teknologjinë Flutter, Emnolina Brahimi

Theses and Dissertations

Aplikacionet për telefon mobil viteve të fundit kanë filluar të zëvendësojnë shumë veprimtari që në të shkuarën i kemi bërë në mënyrë primitive te themi. Nevoja për të kursyer sa më shumë kohë, energji dhe para ka bërë që të krijohen aplikacione të ndryshme, inovative dhe mbi të gjitha aplikacione që ofrojnë zgjidhje të problemeve.

Smartphone-ët por edhe shumë pajisje të tjera elektronike si tabletet dhe smartwatch janë bërë aq të nevojshme sa që pothuajse secili person i rritur mund të posedoj një të tillë.

Duke parë kërkesën dhe nevojën në tregun tonë për zgjidhje të problemeve përmes aplikacioneve, si …

Vitrina Virtuale E Librit, Genti Sheholli

Theses and Dissertations

Zhvillimi i aplikacioneve moderne në ditët e sotme nuk është vetëm proces i ndërtimit të aplikacionit. Procesi përfshin zhvillimin e shërbimeve në anën e serverit dhe aplikacionit në anën e klientit. Teknologjitë dhe opsionet për të zhvilluar një web aplikacion janë të shumta dhe varësisht se cfarë web aplikacioni duhet të zhvillohet mund të vendosim edhe për teknologjitë në secilin aspekt.

Qëllimi i këtij web aplikacioni është hulmtimi në teknologjit të kohës që kanë marrë hov të zhvillimit në aplikacionet moderne dhe hulumtim në zhvillimin e aplikacionit me struktura moderne.

Ky web aplikacion është një sintezë e proceseve, procedurave dhe …

Analiza E Efekteve Shëndetsore Gjatë Përdorimit Të Rrjetave Pa Tela Në Kushtet E Jetës Reale, Hashim Sahiti

Theses and Dissertations

Teknologjia Wireless u ideua në 1880 nga Alexander Graham Bell dhe Sumner Tainted kur u zbulua telefoni fotografik. Në ditët e sotme, ka shumë lloje të pajisjeve pa tela që përdoren për të komunikuar. Telefoni celular dhe Rrjeti Wireless janë pjesa e jetës sonë të përditshme në të gjithë botën. Pajisja Wi-Fi lejon shkëmbimin (marrjen dhe dërgimin) e të dhënave përmes pajisjeve pa tela dhe Wi-Fi lëshojnë valë radio. Pajisjet që përdorin Wi-Fi janë kompjuterët, tabletat, celularët, audio player, aparatet fotografikë digjital si dhe pajisjet përcjellëse te kompjuterit si printerët, tastiera, miu e etj. Pajisjet pa tela janë të bazuara …

Analizimi Dhe Zhvillimi I Sistemit Për Komunikim Në Telemjekësi Duke Përdorur Teknologjinë Webrtc, Fitim Mehmeti

Theses and Dissertations

Sistemet softuerike për komunikim në përgjithësi e në veçanti telemedicina që për qëllim ka ofrimin e kujdesit shëndetsor në distancë janë duke u bërë aset i rëndësishëm në shtetet e zhvilluara. Kufizimet në kohë, vendndodhja, kushtet atmosferike, tash së fundmi edhe pandemia COVID-19 janë ndër arsyet kryesore për zhvillimin e sistemeve të tilla. Ky punim është përqëndruar në hulumtimin, analizimin dhe krahasimin e sistemeve për komunikim online, mënyra se si funksionojnë këto sisteme, gjithashtu është fokusuar në zhvillimin e një aplikacioni për komunikim me video për pacientët dhe mjekët duke përdorur teknologjinë webRTC, ky projekt do të zhvillohet në bazë …

Ndikimi I Ueb Aplikacionit Dhe Aplikacionit Për Telefonë Në Menaxhimin Dhe Shperndarjen E Informacionit Në Ditët E Sotme, Jetmir Feka

Theses and Dissertations

Në kohën tonë teknologjia po ecën me hapa shumë të shpejtë, sidomos në fushën e pajisjeve elektronike si: kompjuterët, tabletat, telefonat e mençur etj. Numri i përdoruesve të internetit dhe pajisjeve elektronike është shumë i madh dhe është në rritje të vazhdueshme. Qëllimi i këtij hulumtimi është identifikimi efektiv i strategjisë për zhvillimin e sistemit të menaxhimeve të portaleve online, si dhe efikasitetin në shpërndarjen e tyre. Një kompanie i nevojitet një sistem për menaxhim të lajmeve i cili është një element kryesor në zhvillimin e kompanisë. Shumica e kompanive mediatike sot kanë krijuar ueb-sajte online në mënyrë që punën …

Cross Dataset Evaluation For Iot Network Intrusion Detection, Anjum Farah

Theses and Dissertations

With the advent of Internet of Things (IOT) technology, the need to ensure the security of an IOT network has become important. There are several intrusion detection systems (IDS) that are available for analyzing and predicting network anomalies and threats. However, it is challenging to evaluate them to realistically estimate their performance when deployed. A lot of research has been conducted where the training and testing is done using the same simulated dataset. However, realistically, a network on which an intrusion detection model is deployed will be very different from the network on which it was trained. The aim of …

Evaluating Hydration And Artificial Aging Effects On The Paleointensity In Natural Glass, Sebastian Fearn

Theses and Dissertations

Young natural volcanic glasses have been successfully used to recover Earth’s geomagnetic field intensity (paleointensity). However, the magnetic stability and reliability of volcanic glass as a paleomagnetic recorder over geologic time is unclear. Paleointensity estimates may be influenced by natural processes that alter magnetic mineralogy. Previous results from paleointensity and rock magnetic experiments suggest that post-emplacement hydrothermal alteration can alter the magnetic remanence and can possibly cause paleointensity experiments to fail. Low-temperature hydration and natural relaxation of the glass structure over time may also adversely impact paleointensity results. In this study, rhyolitic and basaltic glass specimens underwent artificial aging and …

Polymer-Based Capacitive Gas Sensor For Machine Olfaction, Mohamed Fathy Hassan

Theses and Dissertations

Transferring human abilities and knowledge to machines has been the focus of decades of work by scientists and engineers. With the progress in computation power and algorithms such as artificial neural networks, machines have surpassed humans in complicated games like chess and the Chinese game Go. Some senses can be mimicked including touch, with pressure sensors, hearing, with microphones, and vision with charged couple device (CCD)imaging chips. Yet, relatively little progress has been made with the senses of smell and taste. Machine olfaction, the ability to detect and quantify vapors in the environment, poses a range of challenges, which if …