Recent advances in wireless technologies have helped the proliferation of wireless devices, ranging from hand-held devices such as cellular phones to more powerful mobile computing platforms as such laptops [1]. Along with that, the end users’
applications running on these devices, ranging from text message to multimedia applications such as...
In supervised learning, label information can be provided at different levels of granularity. For small datasets, it is possible to acquire a label for each data instance. However, in the big-data regime, this fine granularity approach is prohibitively costly. For example, in semi-supervised learning, only a limited number of samples...
Pseudomonas is a diverse, ubiquitous, and widely studied genus of bacteria. As Pseudomonas species occupy a wide range of niches in the ecosystem, they have made remarkable biological impacts. Better understanding of Pseudomonas biology, genetic diversity, and functional interactions with other organisms and the environment will provide valuable insights into...
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S., and new approaches to control cancer are constantly sought. This dissertation is comprised of two parts: (i) improving the uptake and retention of gadolinium in tumors for potential gadoliniumneutron capture therapy (Gd-NCT) and (ii) integration of gemcitabine or...
Planarity has been successfully exploited to design faster and more accurate approximation algorithms for many graph optimization problems. The celebrated theorem of Kuratowski completely characterizes planar graphs as those excluding K_5 and K_{3,3} as minors. Kuratowski's theorem allows one to generalize planar graphs to H-minor-free graphs: those that exclude a...
This dissertation is concerned with the behavior of sulfur in intermediate-silicic arc magmas associated with subduction at convergent margins. In particular it focusses on oxidized, sulfur-rich magmas, the conditions at which they might reach sulfate saturation, and implications of sulfate saturation. It is divided into an investigation of natural samples...
Enabled by a rich ecosystem of Machine Learning (ML) libraries, programming using learned models, i.e., Software-2.0, has gained substantial adoption. However, we do not know what challenges developers encounter when they use ML libraries. With this knowledge gap, researchers miss opportunities to contribute to new research directions, tool builders do...
Developers frequently change the type of a program element and update all its references for performance, security, concurrency, library migration, or better maintainability. Despite type changes being a common program transformation, it is the least automated and the least studied. Manually performing type changes is tedious since the programmers have...
The general theme of this dissertation is the development of new analytical sensors to quantitatively study biological and environmental samples in aqueous and non-aqueous environments. A platinum ultramicroelectrode (UME) and a unique carbon-based pH microprobe were used to design a new SECM-based electrochemical bioassay. The Pt UME was used to...
The global demand for food is expected to double by 2050, presenting a need that is complicated by the many interrelated of pressures on the world’s natural resources from climate change, growing urban populations, and increasing development. As one of the fastest growing food production sectors, aquaculture is poised to...