Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Information Engineering Facility (Ief) Computer Aided Software Engineering (Case) For Church Management System, Cynthia T. Dubose

Electronic Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Neural Network Analysis Of Chemical Compounds In Nonrebreathing Fisher-344 Rat Breath, Robert E. Sackett Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

This research applies statistical and artificial neural network analysis to data obtained from measurement of organic compounds in the breath of a Fisher-344 rat. The Research Triangle Institute (RTI) developed a breath collection system for use with rats in order to collect and determine volatile organic compounds (VOCs) exhaled. The RTI study tested the hypothesis that VOCs, including endogenous compounds, in breath can serve as markers to exposure to various chemical compounds such as drugs, pesticides, or carcinogens normally foreign to living organisms. From a comparative analysis of chromatograms, it was concluded that the administration of carbon tetrachloride dramatically altered …

Transforming Algebraically-Based Object Models Into A Canonical Form For Design Refinement, Charles G. Beem

Theses and Dissertations

The understandability of object-oriented design techniques and the rigor of formal methods have improved the state of software development; however, both ideas have limitations. Object-oriented techniques, which are semi-formal, can still result in incorrect designs, while formal methods are complex and require an extensive mathematical background. The two approaches can be coupled, however, to produce designs that are both understandable and verifiable, and to produce executable code. This research proposes an approach where object-oriented models are first represented algebraically in a formal specification language such as LARCH and then transformed into a canonical form suitable for design refinement. In the …

An Object-Oriented, Formal Methods Approach To Organizational Process Modeling, Vincent S. Hibdon

Theses and Dissertations

This document presents a methodology for developing an organizational process model which is based on the principles of object oriented design and formal software engineering methods. The methodology begins with the development of an object oriented Rumbaugh model (27). The Rumbaugh model is then formally specified in Z (Zed) schemas. Finally, the Z specifications are translated into an executable model in the Software Refinery Environment(TM). This model is described based on the AF wing domain and developed in this domain. The proposed methodology is then shown to produce a very general model which is extendable across almost any domain. The …

Objectism 3.0: A Software Architecture For The Development Of Portable Visual Simulation Applications, Shawn M. Hannan

Theses and Dissertations

A visual simulation software architecture is a reusable design for visual simulation applications. This thesis effort was the third stage in an ongoing refinement of such an architecture, named ObjectSim. The primary goals of this stage were to improve the architecture by eliminating its dependence on two platform-specific graphics libraries (named GL and Performer, from Silicon Graphics, Inc.), and to examine the potential for expanding the architecture to accommodate distributed simulations. The effort resulted in a new version of the architecture which allows the development of visual simulation applications which take full advantage of the aforementioned libraries without calling those …

Probabilistic Knowledge Base Validation, Howard T. Gleason

Theses and Dissertations

Our work develops a new methodology and tool for the validation of probabilistic knowledge bases throughout their lifecycle. The methodology minimizes user interaction by automatically modifying incorrect knowledge; only the occurrence of incomplete knowledge involves interaction. These gains are realized by combining and modifying techniques borrowed from rule-based and artificial neural network validation strategies. The presented methodology is demonstrated through BVAL, which is designed for a new knowledge representation, the Bayesian Knowledge Base. This knowledge representation accommodates incomplete knowledge while remaining firmly grounded in probability theory.

Reducing Lag In Virtual Displays Using Multiple Model Adaptive Estimation, David W. Kyger

Theses and Dissertations

Multiple Model Adaptive Estimation is an effective method for reducing lag in virtual environment displays. Lag in displays (the time from head motion to the appearance of the proper image on the display) is a significant detriment to realism in virtual environments. Increasing the speed of the computers which control the virtual display is not a final answer. No matter how fast the processors work, there will always be demands to do more. Predicting angular head positions (look-angles) can reduce the lag by allowing the computer to calculate the appropriate scene before it is needed on the display. Single predictors …

The Application Of Hybridized Genetic Algorithms To The Protein Folding Problem, Robert L. Gaulke

Theses and Dissertations

The protein folding problem consists of attempting to determine the native conformation of a protein given its primary structure. This study examines various methods of hybridizing a genetic algorithm implementation in order to minimize an energy function and predict the conformation (structure) of Met-enkephalin. Genetic Algorithms are semi-optimal algorithms designed to explore and exploit a search space. The genetic algorithm uses selection, recombination, and mutation operators on populations of strings which represent possible solutions to the given problem. One step in solving the protein folding problem is the design of efficient energy minimization techniques. A conjugate gradient minimization technique is …

Semantic Interpretation Of An Artificial Neural Network, Stanley D. Kinderknecht

Theses and Dissertations

Recent advances in machine learning theory have opened the door for applications to many difficult problem domains. One area that has achieved great success for stock market analysis/prediction is artificial neural networks. However, knowledge embedded in the neural network is not easily translated into symbolic form. Recent research, exploring the viability of merging artificial neural networks with traditional rule-based expert systems, has achieved limited success. In particular, extracting production (IF.. THEN) rules from a trained neural net based on connection weights provides a valid set of rules only when neuron outputs are close to 0 or 1 (e.g. the output …

Deriving Optimal Solutions From Incomplete Knowledge Bases, Shawn A. Northrop

Theses and Dissertations

Many real world domains cannot be represented using Bayesian Networks due to the need for complete probability tables and acyclic knowledge. However, Bayesian Knowledge Bases (BKBs) are a viable method for representing these incomplete domains, but very little research has been performed on inferencing with them. This paper presents three inference engines for extracting optimal solutions from three distinct BKB subclasses: singly- connected, multiply-connected with mutually exclusive cycles, and cyclic. The singly-connected inference engine has a worst case polynomial run time. Performance improvement techniques for increasing inference engine speed are discussed, in addition to a new tool for measuring incompleteness …

Design And Evaluation Of Standard Telerobotic Control Software, Kevin P. Anchor

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis represents the first implementation of a proposed Air Force standard telerobotic control architecture. This architecture was developed by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the National Institute of Standards and Technology under contract to the Air Force Materiel Command Robotics and Automation Center of Excellence (RACE) as the Unified Telerobotics Architecture Project (UTAP). The AFIT Robotics and Automation Applications Group (RAAG) Lab B facility computational structure was redesigned to be compliant with the UTAP architecture. This thesis shows that the UTAP specification to be implementable. However, if the underlying operating system does not support generic message passing, an …

Temporal Influence On Awareness, Don E. Hill

Theses and Dissertations

Grossberg's Motion Oriented Contrast Filter (MOC) was extensively analyzed (7). The output from the filter's "global motion" neuronal layer was compared to a noncausal post-processing filter developed by AFIT. Both filters were shown to incorporate a weighted, noncausal temporal range of input data in processed output. The global motion framework was then implemented using a physiologically motivated pulsed neural model - the Pulse Coupled Neural Network (PCNN). By incorporating both spatial and temporal data, the PCNN was shown to exhibit a common visual illusion, apparent motion. The existence of a physiological temporal processing range was further investigated through implementation of …

Design And Analysis Of Parallel Hierarchical Battlefield Simulation, Conrad P. Masshardt

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to determine if hierarchically partitioning a discrete event battlefield simulation reduces runtime and, if reduction exists, to characterize the run time reduction given any particular partition configuration. A hierarchical discrete event simulation of a main battle tank was constructed. Implementations were built for both a single processor and a multiprocessing machine. The implementations used the Message Passing Interface to increase portability to other parallel and distributed configurations. Three test cases were generated and run on three parallel and distributed environments, a network of Sun SparcStation 20's, a Silicon Graphics Power Challenge, and a Paragon …

Dynamic Transfer Of Control Between Manned And Unmanned Simulation Actors, Neal W. Schneider

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis continues the ongoing research at the Air Force Institute of Technology's Virtual Environments Laboratory in the area of distributed simulation. As the relevance and interest of interactive simulation as a training medium continues to grow, there is a pressing need to provide more realistic and numerous intelligent autonomous agents for simulations. As those autonomous agents mature and become more realistic, the need exists to be able to handle individual agents by taking control of them and operating them as manned agents at certain points within the simulation. The author started with a protocol proposed in a working draft …

Establishing World Wide Web Site For The Department Of Computer Science, Southern University, Baton Rouge, Chalasani Saibabu

Electronic Dissertations and Theses

The Department of Computer science was established as an instructional unit in college of sciences in 1968 at Southern University, Baton Rouge. The department serves more than 300 undergraduates and 80 graduate students in both education systems options. Academic Services or Graduate School provides the information on the Computer Science department to the requestors depending on their requests. This processing is not only taking staff time in attending the requests but also costing money to the University for mailing the Catalogs. Sometimes it may take more than a month to get the information after the process is initiated. The Chairman …

Automatic Visual Recognition Using Parallel Machines, Yui-Liang Chen

Dissertations

Invariant features and quick matching algorithms are two major concerns in the area of automatic visual recognition. The former reduces the size of an established model database, and the latter shortens the computation time. This dissertation, will discussed both line invariants under perspective projection and parallel implementation of a dynamic programming technique for shape recognition. The feasibility of using parallel machines can be demonstrated through the dramatically reduced time complexity.

In this dissertation, our algorithms are implemented on the AP1000 MIMD parallel machines. For processing an object with a features, the time complexity of the proposed parallel algorithm is O(n) …

Automatic Office Document Classification And Information Extraction, Xiaolong Hao

Dissertations

TEXPR.OS (TEXt PROcessing System) is a document processing system (DPS) to support and assist office workers in their daily work in dealing with information and document management. In this thesis, document classification and information extraction, which are two of the major functional capabilities in TEXPROS, are investigated.

Based on the nature of its content, a document is divided into structured and unstructured (i.e., of free text) parts. The conceptual and content structures are introduced to capture the semantics of the structured and unstructured part of the document respectively. The document is classified and information is extracted based on the analyses …

Application Of Approximate Graph Matching Techniques For Searching Databases Of Two-Dimensional Chemical Structures, Karen R. Pysniak

Theses

This paper proposes the application of approximate graph matching techniques for best-match searching of two-dimensional chemical structure databases based upon topology. Chemical structures are represented as labeled graphs, each atom a node in the graph and each bond an edge. By inserting; deleting and renaming nodes/edges, one structure may be transformed into another. We define similarity as the weighted sum of the costs of these edit operations. An algorithm for approximating the minimum distance between two graphs based on simulated annealing is applied. Best-match searches are performed utilizing this pre-computed distance information and applying the concepts of triangle inequality to …

Evaluable Functions In The GöDel Programming Language: Parsing And Representing Rewrite Rules, Janet Vorvick

Dissertations and Theses

The integration of a functional component into a logic language extends the expressive power of the language. One logic language which would benefit from such an extension is Gödel, a prototypical language at the leading edge of the research in logic programming. We present a modification of the Gödel parser which enables the parsing of evaluable functions in Gödel. As the first part of an extended Gödel, the parser produces output similar to the output from the original Gödel parser, ensuring that Gödel modules are properly handled by the extended-Gödel parser. Parser output is structured to simplify, as much as …

Atomic Broadcast In Heterogeneous Distributed Systems, Osman Zeineldine

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

Communication services have long been recognized as possessing a dominant effect on both performance and robustness of distributed systems. Distributed applications rely on a multitude of protocols for the support of these services. Of crucial importance are multicast protocols. Reliable multicast protocols enhance the efficiency and robustness of distributed systems. Numerous reliable multicast protocols have been proposed, each differing in the set of assumptions adopted, especially for the communication network. These assumptions make each protocol suitable for a specific environment. The presence of different distributed applications that run on different LANs and single distributed applications that span different LANs mandate …

Calibration Of The System Evaluation And Estimation Of Resources Software Estimation Model (Seer-Sem) For The Air Force Space And Missile Systems Center (Smc), Kolin D. Rathmann

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined whether calibration of the SEER-SEM impacted the effort estimates generated by the model for software developments- A historical database was provided by the Space and Missile System's Center Los Angeles, and used as the model's input data. The data was stratified into four usable platforms, military ground command and-control, military ground signal processing, military specification avionics, and military mobile. Each platform's data sets were split, the majority of points for calibration of the model, and the rest for model validation. The accuracy of SEER to this particular data set is limited, yet the model did respond to …

Air Force Materiel Command (Afmc) Modeling, Simulation, And Analysis (Ms&A) Interactive Database, Timothy J. Wagner

Theses and Dissertations

This study develops a high level, unifying taxonomy for Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis (MS&A) products for the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC). AFMC is concerned that limited resources are being expended on duplicative MS&A efforts. No mechanism exists that would confirm or deny this concern, so it was suggested that a database could be developed to catalog and track AFMC's MS&A inventory. First, it was necessary to determine the information that a decision maker needs to select a suitable MS&A product. Potential traits and characteristics were identified through review of current regulatory guidance, interviews with MS&A users, and a study …

A Comparative Evaluation Of Voice Versus Keypad Input For Manipulating Electronic Technical Data For Flight Line Maintenance Technicians, David A. Chapman, James R. Simmons

Theses and Dissertations

Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals will soon become a requirement for aircraft maintenance technicians. An important aspect in their development is the selection of an input device that will enhance, rather than impede, technician performance. The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate two types of input devices that can he used: a voice recognition input and a keypad input. Studies to date have evaluated the superiority of digital data over paper data, and advantages of using a Head Mounted Display Device over a flat screen laptop computer. No research has evaluated the input device. An experiment was conducted to determine …

Calibration Of The Software Architecture Sizing And Estimation Tool (Saset), Carl D. Vegas

Theses and Dissertations

This study attempted to analyze the effect of calibration on the performance of the SASET computer software cost estimating model. Data used for input into the model were drawn from the most current USAF SMC Software Database (SWDB). Once all the records to be used for analysis were identified, the DBMS-Calibration tool (which is part of SASET) was used to perform regression analysis on the relationship between program size (measured in SLOC) and the effort required to develop the program (measured in man-months). Productivity information reported from this tool was then input into equations used to calculate the Productivity Calibration …

A Comparison Of Methods To Allocate Tasks On A Multiprocessor System, Kelly Cousineau

Masters Theses

The task scheduling problem is defined as a sequential algorithm, with individual tasks, t₁, t₂, t₃… having associated execution times to be ported to a multiprocessor system. To determine the fastest parallel implementation is known to be an NP-complete problem, therefore heuristic techniques are employed to arrive at the best solution.

Some of the traditional methods used to solve this problem, are the list scheduling algorithm and the simulated annealing algorithm. However, evolutionary techniques are now also a consideration with the increased computation power available.

Evolutionary techniques, based on the popular theory of evolution, …

Preprocessing Of Microcirculatory Images., Mohamed S. Mansour

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis project consists of the development of a computerized image processing system to preprocess microvascular images of the mouse Latisimus Dorsi Muscle (LDM). This research has been conducted in association with the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Louisville. The input to the system is a set of 35 or more overlapping microscopic fields or sub_images containing segments of the LDM microcirculation, the output is an adjacent single montage encompassing the entire LDM microvasculature. The developed system presents practical solutions to the problems of image registration, overlap resolution, and image segmentation, in addition, the results …

Weakest Pre-Condition And Data Flow Testing, Griffin David Mcclellan

Dissertations and Theses

Current data flow testing criteria cannot be applied to test array elements for two reasons: 1. The criteria are defined in terms of graph theory which is insufficiently expressive to investigate array elements. 2. Identifying input data which test a specified array element is an unsolvable problem. We solve the first problem by redefining the criteria without graph theory. We address the second problem with the invention of the wp_du method, which is based on Dijkstra's weakest pre-condition formalism. This method accomplishes the following: Given a program, a def-use pair and a variable (which can be an array element), the …

A Multiple Discrete Pass Algorithm On A Dec Alpha 2100, Scott R. Cushman

Dartmouth College Undergraduate Theses

No abstract provided.

Simulation Of A Video-On-Demand System, Song Bac Toh

Dartmouth College Undergraduate Theses

This paper presents a simulation study of a video-on-demand system. The focus of the study is the effectiveness of different caching strategies on a video-on-demand system with two levels of cache, RAM and disks, in front of a tape library. Using an event-driven simulator, I show that caching was helpful in increasing the service capacity of the system. On-demand caching showed its advantages especially when the requests were clustered around a few popular titles (in other words, there was temporal locality).

Tias: A Transportable Intelligent Agent System, Kenneth Harker

Dartmouth College Undergraduate Theses

In recent years, there has been an explosive growth in the amount of information available to our society. In particular, the amount of information available on-line through vast networks like the global Internet has been growing at a staggering rate. This growth rate has by far exceeded the rate of growth in network speeds, as has the number of individuals and organizations seeking access to this information. There is thus a motivation to find abstract methods of manipulating this on-line data in ways that both serve the needs of end users efficiently and use network resources intelligently. In lieu of …