Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

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 …

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 …

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 …

Simple Cooling Method Improves The Quality Of Marketed Camel Milk In Northern Kenya, D. Layne Coppock, A. O. Adongo, F. Wayua, I. J. Sagalla, H. K. Walaga, C. Amboga

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Milk marketing is important for many pastoralists to generate income, especially poor households with little else to sell. Milk is accumulated at pastoral settlements and transported to local markets on foot, by pack animals, or in vehicles. Despite challenges of heat and long-distance travel, pastoralists or traders do not attempt to cool marketed milk and possibly reduce risk of spoilage. Milk spoilage is an important problem that limits urban consumer demand. Our research objective was to determine effects of water-soaked hemp (burlap), wrapped around plastic jerry cans, on reducing milk temperature and enhancing quality of marketed camel milk, a key …

Subcutaneous Administration Of Tc007 Reduces Disease Severity In An Animal Model Of Sma, Virginia B. Mattis, Marina Y. Fosso, Cheng-Wei Tom Chang, Christian L. Lorson

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Background Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is the leading genetic cause of infantile death. It is caused by the loss of functional Survival Motor Neuron 1 (SMN1). There is a nearly identical copy gene, SMN2, but it is unable to rescue from disease due to an alternative splicing event that excises a necessary exon (exon 7) from the majority of SMN2-derived transcripts. While SMNΔ7 protein has severely reduced functionality, the exon 7 sequences may not be specifically required for all activities. Therefore, aminoglycoside antibiotics previously shown to suppress stop codon recognition and promote translation read-through have been examined to increase the …

Educational Data Mining Approaches For Digital Libraries, Mimi Recker, Sherry Hsi, Beijie Xu, Rob Rothfarb

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This collaborative research project between the Exploratorium and Utah State's Department of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences investigates online evaluation approaches and the application of educational data mining to educational digital libraries and services. Much work over the past decades has focused on developing algorithms and methods for discovering patterns in large datasets, known as Knowledge Discovery from Data (KDD). Webmetrics, the application of KDD to web usage mining, is growing rapidly in areas such as e-commerce. Educational Data Mining (EDM) is just beginning to emerge as a tool to analyze the massive, longitudinal user data that are captured in …

Whispers From The Cosmos: Listeing To Gravity's Hidden Message, Shane L. Larson

Public Talks

No abstract provided.

Reduction And Characterization Of Error In Low Current Measurements, Justin Dekany, Jr Dennison, Alec Sim

Presentations

No abstract provided.

Temperature Dependence Of Electrostatic Breakdown Of Polymeric Insulators, Charles Sim, Jr Dennison

Presentations

No abstract provided.

Intra-Annual Comparison Of Mesospheric Gravity Waves Over Halley And Rothera Stations, Antarctica, Jonathan Pugmire, Michael J. Taylor, K. Nielsen, A. Wall, J. Thompson, P. D. Pautet

Graduate Student Posters

No abstract provided.

Project: F.U.N.B.O.E. (Follow-Up Nucleate Boiling On-Flight Experiment), Getaway Special Team 2009

Education and Outreach

No abstract provided.

Leading Students To Investigate Diffusion As A Model Of Brine Shrimp Movement, Brynja R. Kohler, Rebecca J. Swank, James W. Haefner, James A. Powell

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

Integrating experimental biology laboratory exercises with mathematical modeling can be an effective tool to enhance mathematical relevance for biologists and to emphasize biological realism for mathematicians. This paper describes a lab project de-signed for and tested in an undergraduate biomathematics course. In the lab, students follow and track the paths of individual brine shrimp confined in shallow salt water in a Petri dish. Students investigate the question, “Is the movement well characterized as a 2-dimensional random walk?” Through open, but directed discussions, students derive the corresponding partial differential equation, gain an understanding of the solution behavior, and model brine shrimp …

Third Grade Lesson Plan: Where Does Heat Come From?, Getaway Special Team 2009

Education and Outreach

No abstract provided.

Sixth Grade Lesson Plan: Heat Moves, Getaway Special Team 2009

Education and Outreach

No abstract provided.

Fifth Grade Lesson Plan: Solid, Liquid, And Gas, Getaway Special Team 2009

Education and Outreach

No abstract provided.

Evaluations Of Nam Forecasts On Midtropospheric Perturbation-Induced Convective Storms Over The U.S. Northern Plains, Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang, T. C. Chen, S. E. Taylor

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

In the U.S. northern plains, summer progressive convective storms that occur in weakly forced environ- ments are often coupled with short-wave perturbations that are embedded in the midlevel northwesterly flow. These midtropospheric perturbations (MPs) are capable of inducing propagating convection that contributes to a majority of the rainfall over the northern plains during July and August. There is a possibility that the difficulties of numerical weather prediction models in forecasting summer convective rainfall over the northern plains are partly attributed to their deficiency in forecasting MPs. The present study tests this possibility through examining operational forecasts by the North American …

Hydro-Economic Models: Concepts, Design, Applications, And Future Prospects, Julien Harou, Manuel Pulido-Velazquez, David E. Rosenberg, Josue Medellin-Azuara, Jay Lund, Richard Howitt

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Future water management will shift from building new water supply systems to better operating existing ones. The variation of water values in time and space will increasingly motivate efforts to address water scarcity and reduce water conflicts. Hydro-economic models represent spatially distributed water resource systems, infrastructure, management options and economic values in an integrated manner. In these tools water allocations and management are either driven by the economic value of water or economically evaluated to provide policy insights and reveal opportunities for better management. A central concept is that water demands are not fixed requirements but rather functions where quantities …

Atmospheric Mercury Concentrations And Speciation Measured From 2004 To 2007 In Reno, Nevada, Usa, Seth N. Lyman, Mae Sexauer Gustin

USU Uintah Basin Faculty Publications

Atmospheric elemental, reactive and particulate mercury (Hg) concentrations were measured north of downtown Reno, Nevada, USA from November 2004 to November 2007. Three-year mean and median concentrations for gaseous elemental Hg (Hg0) were 1.6 and 1.5 ng m−3 (respectively), similar to global mean Hg0 concentrations. The three-year mean reactive gaseous Hg (RGM) concentration (26 pg m−3) was higher than values reported for rural sites across the western United States. Well defined seasonal and daily patterns in Hg0 and RGM concentrations were observed, with the highest Hg0 concentrations measured in winter and early morning, and RGM concentrations being greatest in the …

East Canyon Reservoir Water Intake Structure Final Environmental Assessment And Finding Of No Significant Impact, United States Department Of The Interior, Bureau Of Reclamation

Environmental Assessments (UT)

The purpose of the proposed action is to authorize SWDC to build and operate facilities to deliver water to the Park City/Snyderville Basin area (Figure 1.2). The need for the proposed action is a growing demand for water in the Park City/Snyderville Basin area due to population growth and increased development of recreation facilities and vacation homes.

Self-Similar Nested Sequences On A Chaotic Attractor For Travelingwave Electrophoresis, Boyd F. Edwards

All Physics Faculty Publications

Oscillating electric potentials are applied to interdigitated arrays of cylindrical electrodes above and below a stationary conducting viscous fluid. The phases of these potentials are chosen to produce a longitudinal traveling wave that traps high-mobility ions and partially traps intermediate-mobility ions in periodic and narrowband chaotic attractors with average velocities that are commensurate with the wave speed. Stable periodic attractors have periods up to 101 times the wave period. Incommensurate broadband chaotic attractors are described by one-dimensional iterated contact-angle return maps, which feature self-similar nested sequences that converge geometrically at unstable trapped orbits. Sequences of singular angles and sequences of …

From The Big Bang To Fossil Butte: The Cosmic Biography Of An Atom, Shane L. Larson

Public Talks

No abstract provided.

Residential Water Demand Under Alternative Rate Structures: Simulation Approach, David E. Rosenberg

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Econometricians have long studied the effect of price on residential water demand and the impact on water use of the rate (tariff) structure in which price signals are embedded. This paper applies an existing deductive model of residential water use for the intermittent supply system in Amman, Jordan and simulates demand responses across a cross section of households over many uniform, increasing block, and linear price (quadratic charge) rate structures at historically low and significantly higher prices. Results show inelastic piped water demand responses for all rate structures at historically low prices similar to findings from a prior econometric study …

Analysis And Modeling Of Ducted And Evanescent Gravity Waves Observed In The Hawaiian Airglow, D. B. Simkhada, J. B. Snively, Michael J. Taylor, S. J. Franke

All Physics Faculty Publications

Short-period gravity waves of especially-small horizontal scale have been observed in the Maui, Hawaii airglow. Typical small-scale gravity wave events have been investigated, and intrinsic wave propagation characteristics have been calculated from simultaneous meteor radar wind measurements. Here we report specific cases where wave structure is significantly determined by the local wind structure, and where wave characteristics are consistent with ducted or evanescent waves throughout the mesopause region. Two of the documented events, exhibiting similar airglow signatures but dramatically different propagation conditions, are selected for simple numerical modeling case studies. First, a Doppler-ducted wave trapped within relatively weak wind flow …

Testing And Application Of Surrogate Surfaces For Understanding Potential Gaseous Oxidized Mercury Dry Deposition, Seth N. Lyman, Mae Sexauer Gustin, Eric M. Prestbo, Phillip I. Kilner, Eric Edgerton, Ben Hartsell

USU Uintah Basin Faculty Publications

Currently there is no standard method for measurement of atmospheric mercury dry deposition. While all operationally defined forms of atmospheric mercury (elemental, oxidized, and particulate) can be dry deposited, oxidized forms are of concern due to high deposition velocities, water solubility, and reactivity. This paper describes the development of a surrogate surface for characterizing potential dry deposition of gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM). Laboratory tests showed that the surface collected HgCl2, HgBr2, and HgO with equal efficiency, and deposition was not significantly influenced by temperature, humidity, or ozone concentrations. Deposition of mercury to surfaces in field deployments was correlated with GOM …

The Effect Of Negative Energy Shells On Schwarzschild Spacetime And Their Penrose Diagrams, Jeffrey Hazboun, Tevian Dray

Presentations

No abstract provided.

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 Effect Of Negative-Energy Shells On The Schwarzschild Black Hole, Jeffrey Hazboun, Tevian Dray

Faculty publications

We construct Penrose diagrams for Schwarzschild spacetimes joined by massless shells of matter, in the process correcting minor flaws in the similar diagrams drawn by Dray and ’t Hooft (Commun Math Phys 99:613–625, 1985), and confirming their result that such shells generate a horizon shift. We then consider shells with negative energy density, showing that the horizon shift in this case allows for travel between the heretofore causally separated exterior regions of the Schwarzschild geometry. These drawing techniques are then used to investigate the properties of successive shells, joining multiple Schwarzschild regions. Again, the presence of negative-energy shells leads to …

Fuel Loads, Fire Severity, And Tree Mortality In Florida Keys Pine Forests, Jay Sah, Mike S. Ross, Danielle Ogarcak, Jim R. Snyder

North American Forest Ecology Workshop

In fire dependent forested ecosystems, fire managers are greatly interested in predicting the consequences of their management-oriented prescribed burnings on post-fire tree mortality. While fire intensity is believed to be a strong predictor of tree mortality, fire behavior itself largely depends on fuel characteristics, including both their structure and spatial distribution. We examined the type and distribution of fuels, their effects on fire behavior, and the effects of fire on tree mortality in slash pine forests in the Florida Keys. We conducted a burning experiment in six blocks, and burned eleven plots, three in winter and eight in summer, over …

Overstory Dynamics In An Uncut Pine-Hardwood Stand: Lessons From Seventy Years Of Passive Management, Don Bragg, Michael G. Shelton

North American Forest Ecology Workshop

Long-term demonstration projects on experimental forests can be adapted from their original goals to provide insights into contemporary research questions. For instance, a 32.4-hectare cutover parcel on the Crossett Experimental Forest, the eventual Reynolds Research Natural Area (RRNA), was reserved in 1936 to act as a control for more intensively managed study areas. Over the last 70+ years, the RRNA has been allow to develop under 'natural' conditions that include no harvesting or other human interventions-with the notable exception of fire control. From 1937 until the most recent measurement in 2007, overall stand basal increased from about 20 to 36 …

What Drives Decomposition Rates Of Coarse Woody Debris (Cwd)?, Steffen Herrmann, Jurgen Bauhus

North American Forest Ecology Workshop

Currently increasing efforts are made to manage CWD as a habitat component and a carbon store in forest ecosystems. For this a basic understanding of patterns and rates of dead wood decomposition in different forests is crucial. The decomposition rate of CWD is mainly dependent on climatic (wood temperature, wood moisture) and substrate specific (tree species, decay stage, diameter) variables. Here, we analysed the influence of these factors using a combined approach. 1) We assessed the decay rate of Fagus sylvatica, Picea abies and Pinus sylvestris in three diameter classes (10-20 cm, 20-40 cm, >40 cm) along a climatic/altitudinal gradient …