Engineering Commons^™

Anthropometric Estimates For Colombian Adults, Orlando A. Corredor

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge of anthropometric dimensions is important for the design of workspaces and equipment. In a developing country, such as Colombia, no anthropometric survey for Colombian adults has yet been published. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to assemble a Colombian adult anthropometric data set sufficiently accurate for design applications. An anthropometric survey was conducted on 134 Colombian adults living in South Florida. Twenty body dimensions were measured. Moreover, an anthropometric estimation method was selected, described and validated to be used as a reference when measurement of the user population is not possible. Anthropometric estimates, using the scaling ratio method, …

Broadband Rf Current Detector, George Cabrera

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problems to be solved in this thesis were 1) development of a broadband RF preamplifier to be used with non-ferrous current probes so that the amplified signal exceeds the errors due to cable pickup, no detection is needed in this application, and 2) development of a self-contained device that amplifies and detects the output from a nonferrous current probe, providing a digital readout of the current. These instruments have been completed and are being tested for use by the National Institutes of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The self-contained current meter operates at frequencies up to 600 MHz, and …

Fault Tolerant Medical Network (Mednet), Hamid Ghassemi

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This investigation describes the development of a new fault tolerant Medical Network (MEDNET) model based on the existing Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN), Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and Intemetworking (Internet). This research includes the original design, development and testing of the required hardware and software interfaces to provide a complete Medical Network model. MEDNET ties the Doctor, the Patient, the Hospital, the Medical Lab, and the Pharmacy for near real time and fault tolerant exchange of medical information. The MEDNET model includes the following modules: 1 Central Database Server, 2. Remote Client Access, and 3. Communication Interface. This work …

Alternative Methods For Newborn Urine Sample Collection, Nancy Ann Burke

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project investigated the accuracy of laboratory results of urine samples collected from cotton balls as compared with samples collected from catheterization, preemie pampers and newborn pampers. Also, it examined the cotton ball's effect on the infant's skin upon its removal. Comparisons in test results were made concerning the Directigen test for Group B strep (GBS) and labstick analysis, using descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. The infants (21) who were tested for GBS using catheter and cotton ball samples yielded the same results.

Urine samples subjected to labstick analysis were obtained from 30 infants, the urine being extracted from preemie …

Relationship Between Technical Knowledge And Price-Perceived Quality In An Industrial Setting, Jeannie Helen Caicedo

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As proven by many studies, non-industrial consumers perceive price as a strong quality indicator. However, the applicability of this behavior to an industrial setting has been long questioned. It is hypothesized in this research that the levels of price-perceived quality will decrease in an industrial setting as the technical knowledge of the buyer increases. Judgement Sampling method was used to select the most appropriate sample for this study. Since engineers are particularly important influencers in the purchase decision process in organization, engineering students and professors were chosen as the study population. A survey was administered to a sample population that …

The Effect Of Weathering Processes On The Vertical Turbulent Dispersion Characteristics Of Crude Oil Spilled On The Sea, Donald J. Boyé

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the Exxon Valdez accident in 1987, renewed interest has come forth to better understand and predict the fate and transport of crude oil lost to marine environments. The short-term fate of an Arabian Crude oil was simulated in laboratory experiments using artificial seawater. The time-dependent changes in the rheological and chemical properties of the oil under the influence of natural weathering processes were characterized, including dispersion behavior of the oil under simulated ocean turbulence. Methodology included monitoring the changes in the chemical composition of the oil by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GCMS), toxicity evaluations for the oil dispersions by Microtox …

Gradient Based Fuzzy C-Means Algorithm, Issam J. Dagher

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A clustering algorithm based on the Fuzzy c-means algorithm (FCM) and the gradient descent method is presented. In the FCM, the minimization process of the objective function is proceeded by solving two equations alternatively in an iterative fashion. Each iteration requires the use of all the data at once. In our proposed approach one datum is presented at a time to the network and the minimization is proceeded using the gradient descent method. Compared to FCM, the experimental results show that our algorithm is very competitive in terms of speed and stability of convergence for large number of data.

Optimal Kernel Development For Real-Time Communications, Monica G. Beltran

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to develop an optimal kernel which would be used in a real-time engineering and communications system. Since the application is a real-time system, relevant real-time issues are studied in conjunction with kernel related issues. The emphasis of the research is the development of a kernel which would not only adhere to the criteria of a real-time environment, namely determinism and performance, but also provide the flexibility and portability associated with non-real-time environments. The essence of the research is to study how the features found in non-real-time systems could be applied to the real-time system …