Digital Commons Network^™

Designing Computer Agents With Facial Personality To Improve Human-Machine Collaboration, Brian Esley Tidball

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The development of computer agents to enhance human-computer interfaces is an evolving field of study. This study examined whether people perceive personality in static digital faces that portray expressions of emotion, and if the digital faces would influence human performance on a simple human-machine collaborative task. The first experiment measured user-perception of personality, based on the emotional expression in two sets of five static digital faces. The results from this first phase revealed that participants provided different ratings, of the Big-Five personality model sub-traits, based on the emotional expression of a static digital face. This indicates a perception of personality …

Fpga Frequency Domain Based Gps Coarse Acquisition Processor Using Fft, Cyprian D. Sajabi

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The Global Positioning System or GPS is a satellite based technology that has gained widespread use worldwide in civilian and military applications. Direct Sequence Spread spectrum (DSSS) is the method whereby the data transmitted by the satellite and received by user is kept secure, low power and relatively noise-immune. The first step required in the GPS operation is to perform a lock on the incoming signal, both with respect to time synchronization and frequency resolution. Because of the need for reduced time to lock and also reduced hardware, algorithms based in the frequency domain have been developed. These algorithms take …

Clinical Presentation Of Acute Coronary Syndrome: Does Age Make A Difference? Implications For Emergency Nursing, Iesiah M. Harris

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Accurately recognizing symptoms of Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) presents a challenge to Emergency Department (ED) nurses and physicians. Due to the variety of clinical presentations in patients, ACS is frequently missed diagnosed. Studies demonstrate that many patients present with atypical symptoms and presentation varies based on gender. There is, however, a paucity of studies on the presentation of ACS in the elderly. With the older American population growing at exponential rates, it is imperative that studies are conducted to better comprehend ACS clinical presentation in the elderly. By 2020, it is anticipated, that 20% of the population will be 65 …

Diabetes Self-Management: Patient Cognition And The Development Of Expertise, Katherine D. Lippa

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Expert decision making has been widely researched among professionals, but non-professionals make many equally complex decisions. This study uses the case of type II diabetes to explore complex decision making among non-professionals. It was hypothesized that three cognitive aspects of expertise, problem detection, functional relationships, and problem solving, would be linked with higher levels of self-management (higher adherence and lower glucose). Twenty participants with diabetes were interviewed concerning their knowledge and experiences with diabetes. Participants also completed a questionnaire concerning their self-management practices. Interviews were transcribed and thematically coded. Participants who displayed characteristics of expert cognition reported higher levels of …

A Study Of The Impact Of Hardware Design Choices On The System Impulse Response Of A Signal-Level Radar Simulation, Kelly Renee Feirstine

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The main goal of this research is to study the effect of hardware design choices at the signal-level of an end-to-end radar system. An implementation of waveform diversity concepts, or the use of various waveforms in both transmit and receive is employed. An end-to-end Matlab simulation is developed such that the system impulse response to hardware imperfections and waveform parameters such as bandwidth and frequency channel spacing can be analyzed. Multiple frequency channels as well as multiple pulses are also considered in the research.

All hardware components are nonlinear to some degree. The nonlinearities of the hardware give rise to …

Development Of A Fourier Transform Far Infrared (Ftfir) Spectrometer To Characterize Broadband Transmission Properties Of Common Materials In The Terahertz Region, William Paul Ford

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With sub-millimeter wave or terahertz devices becoming more readily available, there is interest in developing sensors in this region of the spectra. To support this interest, we have developed a Fourier Transform Far InfraRed (FTFIR) spectrometer to characterize broadband transmission and reflectance coefficients of materials. The spectrometer utilizes a broadband blackbody source, a Michelson interferometer, and silicon bolometer. The path difference in the Michelson is obtained using a linear stage and data acquisition and stage control were both implemented in a Labview programming environment. The details of the experimental setup and experimental results are presented in this thesis. The instrument …

Susceptibility Of Primary Eosinophils To Infection With Hiv-1 Strain Htlv-Iiib, Jai Govind Marathe

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Over the past two decades, much research has been done in the field of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). However, many of the aspects of pathogenesis of HIV infection and its persistence in the body, despite treatment, remain a mystery. Recent evidence suggests that HIV positive patients develop eosinophilia, especially in the later stages of infection and AIDS. Eosinophils are CD4 positive cells that have the potential to be infected by HIV. Studies have shown that an eosinophilic cell line, AML14.3D10, can be productively infected with a T-cell tropic, CXCR4-using (X4) strain of HIV-1. In this …

The Effect Of Process Variables On Microstructure In Laser-Deposited Materials, Srikanth Bontha

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The ability to predict and control microstructure in laser deposition processes requires an understanding of the thermal conditions at the onset of solidification. The focus of this work is the development of thermal process maps relating solidification cooling rate and thermal gradient (the key parameters controlling microstructure) to laser deposition process variables (laser power and velocity). The approach employs the well-known Rosenthal solution for a moving point heat source traversing an infinite substrate. Cooling rates and thermal gradients at the onset of solidification are numerically extracted from the Rosenthal solution throughout the depth of the melt pool, and dimensionless process …

A Formal Language Approach For Detecting Texture Paths And Patterns In Images, Prithviraj S. Patil

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This Master thesis considers the use of formal languages representation for image processing, especially texture patterns and determining texture paths in them. The texture paths are detected and extracted by using image processing techniques, such as image segmentation to isolate regions of interest, and then the extraction of repeating textures. The detection of the texture blocks is obtained by recursively using 27 X 27, 9 X 9, and 3 X 3 windows. Predefined repeating texture patterns are also searched for in each of the sets. For each set of texture blocks with similar or same characteristics, curve fitting techniques are …

Characterization And Interpretation Of The Cephalopod Marker Bed, Oakes Quarry Park, Fairborn, Ohio, Jessica Nicole Mcdonough

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A distinct sequence of orange-brown, fossiliferous grainstones with interbedded blue mudstones exists in the upper portion of the Silurian-aged (Llandoverian) Brassfield Formation exposure at Oakes Quarry Park, Fairborn, Ohio. The unit is locally referred to as the cephalopod marker bed as it can be easily identified and is continuous throughout the quarry. The unit varies considerably in thickness (0.3m-0.9m) and contains a variety of sedimentary structures and fossils indicative of a warm, shallow marine environment subject to wave action. Dominant fossils within the unit include echinoderms, cephalopods, bryozoans, abraded mollusks, gastropods, brachiopods, and trilobites. Less-common fossil organisms within the unit …

Simulation And Analysis Of Rfid Localization Algorithms, Zubin Shah

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Radio frequency identification (RFID) based localization systems provide a unique approach to localize mobile entities equipped with RFID readers or tagged with RFID tags. UHF RFID systems using passive tags are a good choice considering their cost, reading range, and reliability. With global acceptance and deployment of UHF RFID systems using passive tags for tracking and identification, virtually everything around us can be tagged with small and low-cost passive RFID tags. This thesis describes a Monte Carlo Localization based algorithm to localize a mobile RFID reader within a tagged environment. A software tool is developed to validate this localization process, …

Phenotypic Characterization Of Escherichia Coli Strains Taken From Human Intestinal And Urinary Tracts, Kruthi Murthy

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Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a gram negative bacterium commonly found as a commensal in the intestinal tract of humans and other warm blooded animals. The commensal strains of E. coli are non-pathogenic and do not cause an infection in the host. However, some strains of E. coli are pathogenic and can cause several diseases in humans that include neonatal meningitis, intestinal infections and urinary tract infections. Almost 80-85% of the uncomplicated urinary tract infections are caused by uropathogenic E. coli. Our project involved the characterization of 12 strains of E. coli, isolated from humans in health and disease. These …

Models Of Disordered Media And Predictions Of Associated Hydraulic Conductivity, L. Aaron Blank Jr.

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In the late 20th century there was a spill of Technetium in eastern Washington State at the US Department of Energy Hanford site. Resulting contamination of water supplies would raise serious health issues for local residents. Therefore, the ability to predict how these contaminants move through the soil is of great interest. The main contribution to contaminant transport arises from being carried along by flowing water. An important control on the movement of the water through the medium is the hydraulic conductivity, K, which defines the ease of water flow for a given pressure difference (analogous to the electrical conductivity). …

Coronary Heart Disease Risk Stratification In Full-Time Miami Valley Hospital Employees, Vicki K. Streng

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Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States (American Heart Association, 2005). The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the results of a twelve-week exercise program on coronary heart disease risk factors in full-time hospital employees. Methods: The participants were given cardiovascular, weight training, and flexibility recommendations to follow during a twelve-week period. The main heart disease risk factors measured before and after the completion of the exercise program were blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and body mass index. The information was put into the Framingham Heart Score to estimate the participants’ 10-year risk of developing …

Anti-System Parties:Policy Choices For Democracies A Study Of India's Bharatiya Janata Party And Austria's Freedom Party, Kristina M. Teater

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In the decades following WWII, countries across the globe witnessed the rise of anti-system parties. Political scientists have attributed their success to economic conditions, electoral systems, party systems and the electorate’s disaffection with mainstream parties. The analysis also suggests the influence of global factors. While the causes for success have been examined, effective policy choices for democracies have not been equally explored. This study makes the argument that by including anti-system parties in government, states are able to lessen the threat they pose to democracy. The analysis of India’s Bharatiya Janata Party and Austria’s Freedom party suggest that anti-system parties …

A Field Programmable Gate Array Architecture For Two-Dimensional Partial Reconfiguration, Fei Wang

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Reconfigurable machines can accelerate many applications by adapting to their needs through hardware reconfiguration. Partial reconfiguration allows the reconfiguration of a portion of a chip while the rest of the chip is busy working on tasks. Operating system models have been proposed for partially reconfigurable machines to handle the scheduling and placement of tasks. They are called OS4RC in this dissertation. The main goal of this research is to address some problems that come from the gap between OS4RC and existing chip architectures and the gap between OS4RC models and practical applications. Some existing OS4RC models are based on an …

Kinetics And Passive Protection Efficacy Induced By Purified Ava Human Immunoglobulin G In Rabbits Against A Bacillus Anthracis Aerosol Challenge, Jennifer Lee Plahovinsak

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The present study was conducted to determine the half-life, assess the toxicity, and passive protection efficacy of purified immunoglobulin G (IgG) from Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed (AVA) vaccinated human donors. Half-life determinations were calculated from the reportable values obtained using the anti-PA ELISA assay and the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) "ELISA for Windows" software. For toxicity evaluations animals were observed clinical for one hour post administration and for 14-days post-treatment. The protection efficacy was determined based upon the mortality results from a lethal Bacillus anthracis aerosol challenge. While no protection was achieved in this delayed exposure scenario, the study yielded …

Topology Optimization Of Engine Exhaust-Washed Structures, Mark A. Haney

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Aircraft structure subjected to elevated temperature and acoustic loading present a challenging design environment. Thermal stress in a structural component has typically been alleviated by allowing thermal expansion. However, very little work has been done which directly addresses the situation where such a prescription is not possible. When a structural component has failed due to thermally-induced tensile stresses, the answer to the question of how best to stiffen the structure is far from trivial. In this work, we demonstrate that conventional stiffening techniques, for example, those which add material to the thickness of a failing panel, may actually increase the …