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Thermal Characterization of Printable Wood Composite and Life Cycle Assessment of a Novel Wood-Based 3D-Printed Exterior Wall
No full textThe construction industry is poised to increase productivity and lower the cost of housing by using additive manufacturing (3D-printing). This study characterizes the thermal properties of a recycled wood-based 3D printable composite. The work includes developing a low-cost guarded hot plate apparatus, and comparing it to other thermal testing methods. The thermal properties are then used to predict the resultant life cycle energy performance for a wall made of this material. Analysis includes comparing the 3D composite wall against traditional building materials such as structurally insulated panels and standard wood-framed walls. The results include designs for a cost-effective apparatus to measure thermal conductivity and thermal characterization of the 3D printed wood composite. The energy performance analysis found the 3D composite wall to be one of the lowest energy consuming wall types available.masters, M.S., Mechanical Engineering -- University of Idaho - College of Graduate Studies, 2021-1
THE ROLE OF OLFACTORY AND VISUAL CUES IN THE HOST SELECTION BEHAVIOR OF BIOCONTROL CANDIDATE SPECIALIST HERBIVORES FOR THE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF AN INVASIVE PLANT
No full textPre-release host range assessment of weed biological control agent (BCA) candidates typically rely on no-choice and choice feeding, oviposition, and development tests. However, these tests may exclude an environmentally safe BCA candidates from consideration if they can develop on nontargets that they would not colonize post-release because of the behavioral barriers. An accurate assessment of the post-release host range should, therefore, consider the host selection behavior. The seedpod weevil Ceutorhynchus peyerimhoffi and root-crown weevil Ceutorhynchus rusticus are two BCA candidates for the invasive Eurasian mustard Isatis tinctoria. Here, to assess the environmental safety of these weevils to native North American Brassicaceae plant species, I examined the behavioral response of C. peyerimhoffi to floral olfactory and visual cues, and C. rusticus to foliar olfactory and visual cues of I. tinctoria and selected native North American and Eurasian Brassicaceae plant species that supported larval development in previous oviposition and developmental tests. Results indicate that C. peyerimhoffi distinguishes I. tinctoria from the other tested confamilial plant species, including federally listed, threatened and endangered Boechera hoffmannii, during host finding using olfactory and visual cues. Ceutorhynchus rusticus is also able to distinguish I. tinctoria from the other tested nontargets using olfactory cues primarily and visual cues to some degree during the host finding. Based on these data, it appears unlikely that C. peyerimhoffi and C. rusticus would be drawn to the tested native North American confamilial plant species post-release, illustrating the utility of this approach as a component of environmental safety assessments of weed BCAs.masters, M.S., Plant, Soil and Entomological Sciences -- University of Idaho - College of Graduate Studies, 2021-1
Assessing Mobile Device Location Behavior to Enable Building Mobile Ad Hoc Networks of Trusted Nodes
No full textContext—Mobile computing and communication devices are ubiquitous and can form mobile ad hoc networks (MANets). This may be particularly useful when device density may provide communications when Cellular, WAN, or LAN infrastructure is unavailable. Problem— Trust is subjective in the sense that the trustor determines the evaluation criteria on which to judge a potential trustee. Assessing the trust of MANet nodes is an ongoing research problem. Previous mobile ad-hoc network (MANet) trust research focuses on the behavior of nodes already operating in a MANet or on recommendations of other nodes. Previous trust research does not consider node location behavior as a potential avenue for measuring trust before allowing a node to join the MANet. Solution—This dissertation provides an objective metric for calculating node trust based on the capability, commitment, and consistency of node geographic behavior. In this dissertation, I describe an approach to measure node behavior defined as repeated and lasting physical presence in geographic locations to calculate a trust value. The approach measures node presence at geographic locations for at least a minimum duration repeatedly over time as defined by a MANet operator. This approach provides a way for MANet operators to qualify node behavior prior to deploying the node in a MANet, and to monitor node behavior to ensure conformance to MANet manager’s expectations for that behavior. Contributions—1: Created a novel method for building trust based on location behavior on mobile nodes (MACH-T). 2: Designed, implemented, and tested an algorithm and corresponding software implementation for MACH-T. 3: Designed and performed six experiments for evaluating MACH-T and evaluated MACH-T’s performance under difference scenarios using real location data in the first five experiments and synthetic data in the sixth. Results—I found that MACH-T can build a useful and reliable trust measure, and corresponding confidence measure, based on mobile node location data. MANet operators could use MACH-T to measure trust of mobile nodes based on location behaviors.doctoral, Ph.D., Computer Science -- University of Idaho - College of Graduate Studies, 2021-1
Using modeling to understand structure-function relationships in proteins
No full textProteins are critical to the function of cells and to life. It is well established that changes to the DNA sequence (genotype) of a protein can have a significant impact on how they function or interact within the cell. Understanding the mapping between changes in a protein genotype and how those changes modify an organism phenotype is a largely unsolved problem in biology. Solving this problem will require integration of experimental methods with computational and mathematical approaches. In this thesis, we utilize both computational and mathematical methodologies. We start by using statistical methods to investigate potential physical features that can explain epistasis in proteins. Here we find a number of intuitive features that play a role, but we can only explain ~30% of the observed epistasis in both protein binding and folding. Next, we use molecular dynamics to inform statistical models and predict the spectral sensitivity of opsin proteins with high accuracy. Following that, we investigate a suite of fast methods for predicting protein-protein binding affinity, finding their performance to be largely context dependent. Lastly, we explore using two different molecular modeling techniques to calculate free energies and build a watch list of antibody escape mutations for the current COVID-19 pandemic.doctoral, Ph.D., Physics -- University of Idaho - College of Graduate Studies, 2021-1
Irradiation Induced Phase Change in Low Enriched Uranium-Molybdenum Fuel as it Relates to Microstructure
No full textUranium-molybdenum (U-Mo) is a metallic fuel studied for decades for use in research and test reactors to replace the currently used highly enriched uranium (HEU) with low enriched uranium (LEU). As part of the Material Management and Minimization (M3) program, all civilian sources of HEU must be replaced with materials enriched to less than 20% 235U. The combined effort of computational and experimental work is required to make this goal a reality. Herein, the current gaps in knowledge and empirical data necessary for computational model improvement are highlighted, collected, and analyzed. To complement this data collection, an experiment measuring the elastic modulus of U-Mo is designed using the Resonant Ultrasonic Spectroscopy Laser (RUSL)measurement technique, and the results are predicted. Based on a novel use of molecular dynamics (MD) calculated radiation diffusion and the theory of a critical fission rate where phase reversion occurs, the change in the current phases in U-Mo will happen in the ongoing Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT) experiment. This experiment will relate changes in the material elastic modulus to crystallographic phase change and inform computational methods by providing unique data to these studies.doctoral, Ph.D., Nuclear Engineering -- University of Idaho - College of Graduate Studies, 2021-1
Application of Modal Decomposition Techniques to Study Flow Behavior in Aneurysms
No full textAneurysms are localized expansions of weakened blood vessels that can be debilitating or fatal in some cases upon rupture. Previous studies have shown that aneurysm formation, growth, and rupture are complex processes influenced by factors from different disciplines like biology, material science, and fluid dynamics. Fluid mechanics is one of these factors that is important in better understanding aneurysm behavior and may lead to design of better treatment methods. However, analyzing flows in aneurysms can be challenging as the flows exhibit complex spatial and temporal behavior. For this investigation, there are two overarching goals: 1) to quantify the spatial and temporal behavior of the large-scale flow structures in aneurysms for a range of inflow conditions and two different aneurysm models, and 2) to quantify the observed flow features using modal decomposition techniques. For this study, two different, idealized, rigid, sidewall aneurysm models were used, one with a low risk of rupture and another with a high risk of rupture. An in-house experimental setup was developed using a ViVitro Labs pump system where non-dimensional inflow conditions such as Womersley number () and Reynolds number () were varied to match conditions typically found in the human circulatory system. An aqueous glycerin solution was used to match the index of refraction of the models. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) was used to measure the flow field in the aneurysm models. The hardware synchronization-based alias imaging approach was used to capture the behavior of large-scale flow structures at different phases in the flow cycle. Advanced analysis methods such as Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) and Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) were utilized to identify the spatial and temporal behavior of the large-scale flow structures in the aneurysm. This investigation showed that large-scale flow structures in the aneurysm are influenced by changes in , , and morphology. The complex behavior of large-scale flow structures, in turn, influences the path and strength of these vortical structures, their growth and decay, and the impinging location and wall shear stress distribution. These variations in high-shear stress zones and impinging locations can be correlated to high and low risk of rupture in the studied aneurysm models. POD provided an optimal modal description of the observed large-scale flow structures. POD analysis showed the interplay of modes and highlighted how the large-scale structure evolves during the different phases of flow and impacts fluid dynamics parameters. Furthermore, the mathematical description of the flow fields defined by POD modes also provided a method to qualitatively compare the observed flow features in aneurysm studies. In contrast, the DMD modes are not optimal, but they provided critical information about the dynamics of flows and the spatial-temporal behavior of the flow structures. DMD provided frequencies and growth rates of the spatial structures. DMD analysis clearly demonstrated that the large-scale flow features and dynamics are influenced by the , , and aneurysm shapes. We also developed a framework for using DMD with traditional velocity field measurements and a low-frame rate setting for this investigation. This framework allowed us to observe high-frequency flow features despite using low-frame rate PIV systems. Finally, this study also showed that both POD and DMD provide flow information at any desired phase in the flow cycle, saving considerable experimental time compared to phase-locked measurements.doctoral, Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering -- University of Idaho - College of Graduate Studies, 2021-1
Arbor Notes February 2021
No full textThis April publication includes the subject headings: Is it a Yucca?; Message from the President; Calendar of Upcoming Events; Paul Warnick Arboretum Scholarship Endowment; Arboretum Associates Donor Roll; Re-siding the Arboretum Barn; Report from the Horticulturis
Survey of Microbiota on commercially available Dry-Aged Beef
No full textDry-aging is the process of holding meat for extended periods of time, in a refrigerated system, without protective packaging thus exposing the meat to all environment factors within that system. One of those factors is the presences of bacterial and fungal organisms, which may contribute to development of unique flavors observed in dry-aged products. It is commonly believed among meat specialist and butchers that mold growth contributes to the many unique flavors associated with dry-aged beef. The objective of this thesis is to identify microbial populations, bacterial and fungal, found on wet and dry-aged strips loins from commercial dry-aging facilities and access the potential influence of eating quality they may have on dry-aged beef. Beef bone-in strip loins (N = 60) were dry-aged at 10 commercial dry-aging facilities for 45 days. Six strip loins were also wet-aged as a control at the same time. Following the 45-day aging period, 200 milligrams of surface crust were aseptically removed from each strip loin prior to DNA extraction. The 16S rRNA gene (bacteria) and the ITS1 domain (fungi) were amplified using a targeted polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for each sample. Sample amplicons were then cleaned, quantified, pooled and sequenced using a paired-end 300 base-pair protocol for 600 cycles on an Illumina MiSeq sequencing platform. Sequencing data were analyzed in R version 3.6.1; taxonomy was assigned using the SILVA 16S rRNA version 138 (bacteria) and the UNITE version 8.2 (fungi). Relative abundances of taxa were then calculated to characterize the respective microbial communities by location. Microbial DNA was found at all locations, including locations using UV light. Microbial communities, bacterial and fungal, were unique and complex for each dry-aging facility. The organisms observed are commonly thought of as meat spoilage organism. However, the presence of some organisms of these organisms may be beneficial to the dry-aging process observed.masters, M.S., Animal and Veterinary Science -- University of Idaho - College of Graduate Studies, 2021-0