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An Experimental Study On The Buoyancy-Driven Motion Of Air Bubbles In Square Channels, Vinod Bulusu

Master's Theses and Capstones

The motion of drops and bubbles in confined domains is encountered in several applications such as oil recovery, solvent extraction, paper-making, and microfluidics, among others. In this thesis, the motion of air bubbles in square capillaries moving under the influence of gravity is studied at finite Reynolds numbers. The steady shapes, deformations, film thickness, and velocities of the bubbles as a function of the bubble size are determined experimentally. The bulk fluid phase is either Newtonian, viscoelastic, or a surfactant solution. Bubbles rising in a Newtonian fluid are nearly spherical at lower bubble volumes and become prolate losing their fore …

Optimization Of Pcb Dechlorination With Palladized Magnesium In Marine And Freshwater Sediments, Irina Calante

Master's Theses and Capstones

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are one of the most persistent and toxic pollutants in our environment today. Many rivers and lakes were heavily polluted with PCBs during the 1970s when their use and production was at their highest demand. Today, more than 30 years after they have been banned from production they continue to be one of the top priority contaminants. Their characteristic stability has made them very recalcitrant to physical, chemical and biological degradation. Remediation in soils and sediments are particularly more difficult due to the variability in the soil and sediment characteristics that affect how strongly PCBs are sorbed. …

Microvascular Endothelial Cells Of The Bovine Corpus Luteum: A Comparative Study Of The Estrous Cycle And Pregnancy, Jessica A. Cherry

Master's Theses and Capstones

Endothelial cells derived from the corpus luteum (CLENDOs) exhibit a diverse array of characteristics that seemingly complement their wide-ranging properties in luteal function and fate. Reproductive status of the animal (i.e., non-pregnant vs. pregnant) may contribute to the phenotypic/physiologic diversity of microvascular endothelial cells, but information in this regard is limited. Here, structural and functional attributes of CLENDOs derived from the estrous cycle (Days 9-12) were compared with those of pregnancy (Day 60). Initially, lectin binding properties were examined in the cells. Using fluorescent-tagged lectins for Bandeiraea simplicifolia I or concanavalin A, flow cytometric analysis indicated that lectin-binding on CLENDOs …

Early Identification Of Children With Asperger Syndrome: Communication Characteristics, Lynda D. Chouinard

Master's Theses and Capstones

Diagnosis of children within the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) category varies significantly but children with Asperger Syndrome (AS) are typically diagnosed at a much older age than those with Autism (AD). The late childhood diagnosis of AS means a possible lapse in years that the child receives appropriate intervention and support. The purpose of this retrospective study was to gain further insight into what early communication and behavior characteristics can be identified in children from birth to three years who are later diagnosed with AS.

Parents of ten children with AS and under nineteen-years old were identified to participate in …

The Expression Of Heat Shock Protein 70, Heat Shock Protein 90 And Heat Shock Factor 1 Within The Bovine Midcycle Corpus Luteum After Stimulation With Temperature In Vitro And Pgf2alpha In Vitro And In Vivo, Melissa N. Kopka

Master's Theses and Capstones

Environmental and biological stressors affect cellular function. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are molecular chaperones that safeguard cells against these stressors by protecting endogenous proteins from degradation. Heat shock factors (HSF) are their transcriptional regulators. In the present study, we evaluated whether heat (Experiment 1) or prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha; Experiments 2 and 3) induces the expression of HSP 70, HSP 90 and HSF1 in the bovine corpus luteum (CL). In summary, in vitro heat treatment elicited a later response in luteal cells by increasing HSP 70 expression at 24 hrs, while in vivo PGF2alpha treatment leads to an earlier response by …

Mothers Of Children With Developmental Disabilities: A Study Of The Meaning Of Leisure Occupations, Jennifer L. Bellen

Master's Theses and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to further our understanding of how the leisure occupations of mothers are influenced by having a child with significant developmental disabilities. Qualitative research methods specifically, a phenomenological approach was used to develop an understanding of how the mothers of children with developmental disabilities engage in leisure activities and the feelings and meanings they attach to leisure participation. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with mothers who shared their experiences regarding their leisure activities. In this study I explored time constraints, daily routines, engagement in leisure activities and the meanings attributed to them. Analysis of …

Design And Implementation Of A 10 Gigabit Ethernet Xaui Test Systems, Meghana Reddy Kundoor

Master's Theses and Capstones

10 Gigabit Ethernet has been standardized (IEEE 802.3ae), and products based on this standard are being deployed to interconnect MANs, WANs, Storage Area Networks, and very high speed LANs. The XAUI portion of the standard is primarily concerned with short range (up to 50 cm) chip-to-chip communication across printed circuit board traces. The UNH-IOL 10 Gigabit Ethernet Consortium, an industry-supported organization, performs PHY layer testing on products using a test system that has been partially implemented on a Xilinx ML321 evaluation board using the Virtex II-Pro FPGA.

A new implementation of the 10 Gigabit Ethernet XAUI test system on the …

Expression Profiling Of The Spermidine Synthase3 (Spds3) And Spermine Synthase ( Spms) Genes During The Life Of Arabidopsis, Charles F. Rice

Master's Theses and Capstones

Polyamines are low molecular weight nitrogenous compounds found in all living organisms. These omnipresent molecules have been extensively studied in plant systems and have been implicated in a number of physiological responses including growth, development, and stress response. The proposed role of polyamines in vital processes such as cell division and differentiation has sparked enthusiasm in further investigation of this relatively small biosynthetic pathway. Very little is known about the regulation of polyamine biosynthetic genes, an aspect that can elucidate further functions of these ubiquitous compounds. In the following study, the expression profiles of two of these genes, spermidine synthase3 …

Degradation Of Methyl Tert Butyl Ether, Priya Saripalli

Master's Theses and Capstones

Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) is the most common oxygenated fuel additive used in gasoline to improve combustion and reduce air emissions. MTBE is commonly found in natural water as contaminate from gasoline spills. Remediation of the contaminated water is difficult by traditional treatments. In this thesis, degradation of MTBE using Fenton's reaction was studied. The effect of pH, concentration of ferric ammonium sulfate and hydrogen peroxide on the removal efficiency of MTBE was studied and optimum conditions were determined experimentally. A maximum conversion of 90% was achieved when 0.14 M MTBE was reacted with 1.1 g/L ferric ammonium sulfate …

Analyte Rebinding Of Optimized Molecularly Imprinted Polymers In Water, Sayantan Roy

Master's Theses and Capstones

A series of non-covalent Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs) were prepared using caffeine and guanosine separately as template molecules. A wide variety of MIPs were prepared by varying a number of formulation parameters, including the template, recognition monomer, crosslinking agent and porogen types and concentrations. The specificity and selectivity of the MIPs were determined by rebinding studies in an aqueous medium using HPLC detection and the results were supported by gas adsorption experiments. Rebinding conditions, such as the pH and MIP concentration were also varied to determine the best conditions for analyte recognition. By using variety of polymerization conditions the particle …

The Effects Of Photoperiod And Water Temperature On The Reproductive Development Of Black Sea Bass, Centropristis Striata, Katie Strait

Master's Theses and Capstones

Black sea bass are a potential candidate for marine aquaculture due to their high market value, high demand, and limited seasonal supply. One of the most significant impediments to commercial production of black sea bass is the lack of a year-round supply of eggs and larvae. Further, control of reproductive development is poorly understood in this species. Black sea bass are protogynous hermaphrodites that change sex between 2-5 years of age. It is unclear why adult black sea bass undergo sex change in the wild. Therefore, the first part of study sought to determine if density is involved in sex …

Analysis Of Adc2 And Samdc1 Expression And The Effects Of Transgenic Manipulation Of Polyamine Biosynthesis On Flower Development In Arabidopsis, Vasavi Rani Challa

Master's Theses and Capstones

Polyamines are low molecular weight, aliphatic cationic molecules playing a vital role in all cellular and physiological processes such as cell growth, differentiation, abiotic stress, and somatic embryogenesis. The present study is aimed at unraveling their role during floral development in Arabidopsis thaliana by studying the temporal and spatial expression of ADC2 and SAMDC1 genes by promoter-reporter fusion analysis, and by the transgenic expression of mouse ODC and carrot SAMDC under tissue specific promoters AP1 and AP3, respectively. The expression of SAMDC1 was found to be prominent during different stages of development and in different whorls of flowers whereas ADC2 …

Mhc (B) Complex Recombinant Immune Response, Nicole Gay Wilkinson

Master's Theses and Capstones

Recombination between chicken major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I B-F and class IV B-G genes has enabled more precise identification of genes controlling immune responses. Congenic lines, each containing a unique MHC recombinant, were developed with 99.9% genetic uniformity to inbred Line UCD 003 (B17B17). A new recombinant, R13 (BF17-BG23), originated in the tenth backcross generation for R1 (BF24-BG23). Two experiments tested the R13 immune response to bovine red blood .cells (BRBC) and Rous sarcoma virus (RSV).

A single R13B17 sire mated to five R131317 dams produced progeny segregating for R13R13, R13B17, and B17B17 genotypes. These progeny were injected with …

Trigraph Latency As A Method To Infer Fatigue During Typing, Bhagirathi Nagaraju

Master's Theses and Capstones

Due to the use of computers for long durations and prolonged typing on keyboards many computer users are suffering from Repetitive Strain Injuries. In this thesis keystroke dynamics, specifically the changes in the trigraph latencies of some words are analyzed to infer fatigue during typing. These dynamics are collected using a software application and are represented as bar-graphs for data analysis. The technology developed is completely seamless and does not require any hardware modifications. The investigation here is one aspect of the integrated effort to infer fatigue from typing dynamics.

The thesis is divided into three phases. In the first …

A Comparison Of The First Fifty Words Of Typically Developing Children To The First Fifty Words Of Typically Developing Children Exposed To Manual Communication, Emily Woodacre

Master's Theses and Capstones

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of manual communication in the acquisition of the first 50 spoken words in typically-developing children. It was hypothesized that typically-developing children exposed to manual communication would have a different composition of their first 50 words compared to typically-developing children not exposed to manual communication. More specifically a greater portion of dual-functioning words and action words were predicted as a result of the visual and motor aspects of gestures and manual communication.

Twelve participants who were enrolled in a six-week baby-sign playgroup were involved in the study. Parents recorded their …

Media, Race, And Attitudes Toward People On Welfare, Stephanie Bramlett

Master's Theses and Capstones

This research gives insight to why some Americans have negative attitudes toward people on welfare. This study begins by exploring how the construct of race has manifested itself throughout televised news broadcasts and the welfare system in the United States.

This research uses a combination of content analysis, secondary research and American National Election Survey Data analysis to explain the relationship between the media and support for welfare programs. The study investigates three main hypotheses: H1: Blacks are overrepresented as perpetrators of crime in televised news broadcasts compared to the actual number of crimes committed by Blacks, H2: As trust …

Incidence Of Ticket Taxes And Fees In United States Domestic Air Travel, Joakim Karlsson

Master's Theses and Capstones

The United States is currently witnessing a vigorous debate on public funding of air transportation and the role of taxes and fees levied on airline tickets. Yet, there is remarkably little economic literature on taxation in the U.S. airline industry. Analysis of a large sample of tickets for travel in the continental United States shows that the effective tax rate has increased from 11% in 1993 to 16% in 2005. While the tax structure and levels have changed over time, this increase is largely due to a historical decline.

The theory of tax incidence asserts that economic incidence is a …

Change In Family And Peer Adverse Life Circumstances In Relation To Juvenile Firesetting, Patrick A. Roberts

Master's Theses and Capstones

Juvenile firesetting is a major problem causing millions of dollars worth of damage each year, and yet there is very little know about it. In order to address this lack of knowledge the present study examined the relationship between adverse life events and juvenile firesetting behavior. This relationship was examined using a sample of students from 17 public and 10 private schools in Southern Australia (2105 males, 1629 females). Data were collected from the students during grade 8 (mean age of 13) using the Youth Assessment Checklist, and again during grades 9 and 10.

Adverse life events were found to …

Stormwater Management Measures And Fecal Indicator Bacteria, Robert A. Wildey

Master's Theses and Capstones

This study was undertaken to address concerns that current stormwater management practices could be degrading water quality by inadvertently providing habitat, nutrients, and transport mechanisms for fecal indicator bacteria. Concentrations of Escherichia coli (EC) and Enterococcus (ENT) were evaluated in the influent, effluent, and retained water of 11 stormwater management devices. All devices received equal portions of influent from a single stormwater outfall that handled runoff from a 3.55-hectare asphalt parking lot. During storm events, influent and effluent water samples were obtained from flow-weighted composite samples, thereby representing the microbial event mean concentration. Retained water samples were obtained from grab …

Examining The Relationship Between Psychological Skills And Confidence In Goalkeepers, Amanda E. Laws

Master's Theses and Capstones

This study examined the relationships that exist between psychological skills and confidence. Analysis of the relationship took place with ice hockey, lacrosse and soccer goalkeepers. Participants (N = 1927) completed measures of psychological skills (ACSI-28) and confidence (CSCI) online. Participants deemed psychological skills as important, but rarely used them to enhance performance. Goalkeepers (N = 412) scored higher on both the personal coping resource score (M = 50.82, SD = 9.24) and confidence (M = 41.88, SD = 5.66) than non-goalkeepers on the personal coping resource score (M = 47.48, SD = 9.60) and confidence (M = 41.84, SD = …

Multi-Axial Anisotropic Material Behavior Using A Collection Of Yield Surfaces To Model The Stress-Space Coupling Phenomena, Mirjana Marusic

Master's Theses and Capstones

In the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in the San Francisco-Bay area and also the 1994 Northridge earthquake in Southern California, several buildings experienced significant damage because of inadequate member design. The existing codes of practice used for the structural design approximate the effects of nonlinear material behavior. This work formulates a nonlinear anisotropic material model for systems subjected to biaxial loading conditions such that the true nature of material degradation can be identified. This would aide structural designers in being able to predict accurate cyclic deformations under large earthquake events. The proposed model investigates anisotropic material behavior under bi-axial loading …

Temporal Expression Of Protein Mediators During Pgf2alpha-Induced Luteolysis In Sheep, Bryon F. Ricketts

Master's Theses and Capstones

To study dynamic in vivo biochemical changes within the corpus luteum (CL) during luteolysis, a physiological model mimicking the onset of natural luteolysis was established, in which sheep received sequential systemic pulses of PGF2alpha (20ug/min/lhr) at mid-luteal phase of the estrous cycle. We previously demonstrated that after one pulse of PGF2alpha, the protein levels of extracellular matrix (ECM) regulators, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) -1 and -2 decreased dramatically within one hour of PGF2alpha infusion, while matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 activity increased 4 hrs post infusion. In summary, the early and dramatic decrease in TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 proteins, accompanied by an …

Activation Of Toll-Like Receptor 2 Through Tlr2-Lrr Binding Synthetic Peptides, Christopher Benton

Master's Theses and Capstones

Bacterial sepsis and systemic inflammatory immune responses continue to be major causes of illness and death despite extensive research into the development of antimicrobial agents. There is a need for novel therapeutic reagents designed to modulate these responses. Toll-like receptor 2 plays a key role in the development of innate and adaptive immune responses to microbial products that interact with the receptor's extracellular leucine-rich repeat ligand-binding domain. In a preliminary study, five peptides were synthesized that bound to the leucine-rich repeat region of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2). We tested the hypothesis that the novel TLR 2 leucine rich repeat binding …

Patterns And Processes Of Soil Carbon Dynamics In A Northeastern United States Forest, Sarah K. Silverberg

Master's Theses and Capstones

Forest soils represent a substantial component of the terrestrial carbon cycle and are an important research area for a number of carbon cycle science initiatives. Whereas patterns of aboveground productivity have been relatively well measured and are increasingly included in regional-scale model analyses, belowground estimates are still highly uncertain and progress has been hampered by methodological difficulties. The lack of data poses a problem because belowground measurements are needed to create complete carbon budgets for terrestrial ecosystems at local, regional and global scales. Ecosystem carbon balances will help identify how and where carbon is being stored, as well as how …

A Test Of The Nutrient-Productivity Model In The Gulf Of Maine Using The Intertidal Mussel Mytilus Edulis, Meredith A. Bailey

Master's Theses and Capstones

Historical concepts of top-down control (predator-prey interactions) on rocky intertidal community structure have transitioned to studies on bottom-up effects (nutrient supply and larval transport) as significant factors affecting rocky intertidal community structure. Studies performed on rocky intertidal locations along the Gulf of Maine (GOM) at multiple sites and seasons in 2004 and 2006 examined the ecology of Mytilus edulis populations by measuring size frequency distributions, diet quality (stable isotope composition) and physiological performance of individuals using condition indices and RNA/DNA ratios. Data were correlated to satellite imagery for sea surface temperature and chlorophyll a concentration and individuals were genetically tested …

Correlating Sea Otter Density And Behavior To Habitat Attributes In Prince William Sound, Alaska: A Model For Prediction, Heather A. Coletti

Master's Theses and Capstones

As a benthic foraging marine mammal, sea otters ( Enhydra lutris) present a unique opportunity for conducting a quantitative assessment of behavior based on habitat use as well as developing a habitat based density model using GIS because of the sea otter's well defined habitat requirements. Several studies have documented sea otter behavior but none have calculated the probability of occurrence of a particular behavior based on habitat attributes. Previous predictive models of sea otter density have been constructed, however these models have excluded offshore habitat. Seven aerial surveys, that included offshore habitats, were conducted between 1995 and 2005 in …

Use Of Epa's Industrial Waste Management Evaluation Model (Iwem) To Support Beneficial Use Determinations, Jason D. Fopiano

Master's Theses and Capstones

As of now, the beneficial-use (recycling) of secondary materials (e.g. coal-fly ash) in highway construction is limited. In 1998 and 1999, the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (ASTSWMO) conducted a Beneficial-Use Survey to determine the issues that states face when evaluating potential beneficial-use applications for recycled/secondary materials. The report identified the largest obstacle as the lack of good information for use in evaluating potential risks to human health and the environment (i.e. soil and groundwater contamination) from beneficial-use applications. The absence of such data has resulted in reluctance in the beneficial-use of such materials causing them …

Quantitative Assessment Of In-Vehicle-Generated Emi In A Real-World Environment, Maxim Khankin

Master's Theses and Capstones

Interference generated by electronic equipment inside a vehicle can interfere with radio reception even though that equipment is in compliance with FCC standards. The result of that interference is an undesired reduction in radio coverage at frequencies where the interference exists.

The contribution of this work is a method for measuring electromagnetic interference (EMI) generated by in-vehicle electronic equipment when external radiation is present. The approach is to identify regions in the spectrum where externally generated signals exist and then to bypass those regions when measuring interference from in-vehicle-equipment. Using the FCC database of licensed radiation sources to identify those …

The Nonprofit Human Service Sector: Understanding An Organization's Capacity To Innovate, Rebecca Foss

Master's Theses and Capstones

This qualitative study was designed to understand how a nonprofit human service organization (NHSO) understands, perceives, and engages in innovation strategies in a turbulent environment. This study also examined how environmental factors influence an organization's capacity to innovate. These concepts are relevant for further exploration because the NHSO sector typically operates in a turbulent environment and has multiple stakeholders that mandate change and innovation.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine staff and board members from three NHSOs located in a New England city. Political economy and resource dependency theories provided a framework to the research questions and analysis. These interviews …

Volume Visualization Of Time-Varying Data Using Parallel, Multiresolution And Adaptive-Resolution Techniques, Sadaf Shams

Master's Theses and Capstones

This paper presents a parallel rendering approach that allows high-quality visualization of large time-varying volume datasets. Multiresolution and adaptive-resolution techniques are also incorporated to improve the efficiency of the rendering. Three basic steps are needed to implement this kind of an application. First we divide the task through decomposition of data. This decomposition can be either temporal or spatial or a mix of both. After data has been divided, each of the data portions is rendered by a separate processor to create sub-images or frames. Finally these sub-images or frames are assembled together into a final image or animation. After …