Digital Commons Network^™

Hispanic Computer Brigade Silicon Valley Computer Camp, Patricia Backer, Belle Wei

Faculty Publications

Hispanic students are vastly underrepresented in computing during a time when the Hispanic population in the U.S. is growing dramatically. By 2020, Hispanics will account for 50% of the workers in California. And, by 2050, the Hispanic population is projected to triple in the United States with 25% of the U.S. population being of Hispanic origin. The College of Engineering (CoE) at San José State University proposed a new approach for recruiting Hispanic students into computing disciplines and careers through the Hispanic Computer Brigade (HCB) initiative. By forming HCBs in two local high schools, we aimed to inspire and engage …

Cell-Mediated Elastic Matrix Regeneration Toward Regression Of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms, Carmen Gacchina

All Dissertations

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) are typically fusiform (symmetric) dilations of the aortic wall most commonly arising below the renal arteries. The progression is typically associated with an activated smooth muscle cell (SMC) phenotype, diminished density of mature medial elastic fibers, and an elevated presence of matrix-degrading enzymes (e.g., matrix-metalloproteases; MMPs), which may ultimately lead to vessel rupture. Currently, no surgical or non-surgical methods are available to regress AAAs via regeneration of new elastin matrices to regain normal vessel contour, particularly due to the inherently poor elastin synthesis by adult vascular cells and absence of methods to stimulate the same. Previously, …

A Comparison Of Software Engines For Simulation Of Closed-Loop Control Systems, Sanket D. Nikam

Theses

A wide array of control system design and simulation software engines is available in market. It includes MATLAB-Simulink, LabVIEW, Maple-MapleSim, Scilab-Scicos, VisSim and Mathematica-Control Professional Suite (CPS). Among all of them MATLAB-Simulink is dominant and widely used software engine. The main aim of this study is to implement different state space control methods for non-linear Furuta pendulum system in each one of them and to compare performance against MATLAB-Simulink.

Different parameters like learning curve, interoperability, flexibility, control design tools, documentation and tech support are considered for efficiency comparison. It is shown that MapleSim has multi-body intuitive physical modeling (acausal) approach …

Axon Guided Axon Growth In Drg Neurons From The Spinal Cord Of Rat Embryos, Neha Jain

Theses

Early studies in the area of neuronal physiology and injury have shown that axons are guided by a number of physical as well as chemical cues. Although the guidance effect of initial axons and their processes on later axons has been shown from a development point of view, little light has been thrown on the subject from the injury point of view. This important ability of axons which plays a key role during development and formation of neuronal networks could become crucial in repairing damaged nerves and disrupted neuronal tracts.

In the following study, the guidance effect of an older …

Effects Of Monoclonal Anti-Abeta Antibodies On The Amyloid Beta Peptide Fibrillogenesis And Their Involvement In The Clearance Of Alzheimer's Disease Plaques, Jeffy Pilar Jimenez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of senile dementia worldwide. AD is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of memory and language skill, collapse of the cognitive function, and distortion of social behavior. As of today, the onset mechanisms of AD and cure are unknown; however, three hallmarks are commonly encountered: extra and intracellular accumulation of amyloid beta (A!) peptide plaques, formation of intracellular neurofibrillary tangles, and inevitable neuronal death. Hypothetically, a possible scenario provoking or involved in the onset of AD is a cascade effect that starts with an imbalance in the production and clearance of …

Ecotourism And Water Quality: Linking Management, Activities And Sustainability Indicators In The Caribbean, Ken Darrie Thomas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ecotourism from its genesis and founding theories has been set out to conserve and preserve the environment through sustainable operation that includes surrounding communities in efforts to reduce their poverty levels. Over the years ecotourism has been hypothesized to have departed from this ideal with several researchers, through social, qualitative analyses, have said that these non-sustainable ecotourism operations are simply due to poor management. This work sought to test this central hypothesis as a first approach to quantitatively linking ecotourism activities to management with surface water quality as the key indicator of sustainable ecotourism as a complex system through systems …

Past Proceedings: Fifth International Conference On Case Histories In Geotechnical Engineering (2004), Multiple Authors

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Development Of Seismic Safety During Pre- And Co-Seismic Periods, Arun Bapat

International Conferences on Recent Advances in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics

Since the year 2000 a large number of earthquakes have taken place. But despite advances in disaster management and seismology, till now it has not been possible to save a single life during earthquake. Issue of forewarning based on reliable seismic precursors has not been considered. Large magnitude earthquakes in India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Iran, China, Italy, and Peru etc were unexpected jolts to the disaster managers. Practically each earthquake has taken heavy death toll in India, Pakistan, Iran, and China etc. If some precursory warning were issued, it would help in saving at least some lives. The issue of earthquake …

Landslide Hazard Mapping And Assessment In Himalayas, A. K. Pachauri

International Conferences on Recent Advances in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics

Himalayas offer a good opportunity to study landslides in hard terrains. The region is a well established seismic region of Asia where earthquakes are common occurrence. The on going plate motion and its collision with Asian plate is the main triggering factor for landslides, but there are geological factors that make the slopes susceptible for landslides to be triggered during rains. The Yatra routes of Char Dham the four pilgrimage centers where millions of Hindus go each year for salvation and heaven abode have to face road blocks each rainy season. The border road organization the pioneer organization looking after …

Comparison Of Erosional Features By Tsunami And Wind Waves, B. K. Pal, M. K. Panda

International Conferences on Recent Advances in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics

The erosion features from tsunami wave and wind wave are different according to the characteristics of the two kinds of waves. The tsunami wave is a shallow water wave, even in Deep Ocean, with very long wavelength and relatively high especially near shore. It does not break when attacking the shore. It composed of run-up and run-down. The waves which can scour the offshore sea bottom and deposit the sediment mostly sand on the coast called storm or tsunami over washes. The erosion features from storm wave are caused by the breaking waves and wind-driven currents. However, the erosion features …

Spouse Program, Sally Prakash

International Conferences on Recent Advances in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics

No abstract provided.

General Report — Session 3, Dimitrios Zekkos, Adimoolam Boominathan, Adda Athanasopoulos-Zekkos

International Conferences on Recent Advances in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics

No abstract provided.

Synthetic Corpora: A Synergy Of Linguistics And Computer Animation, Jerry C. Schnepp, Rosalee Wolfe, John Mcdonald

Visual Communications and Technology Education Faculty Publications

Synthetic corpora enable the creation of computer-generated animations depicting sign language and are the complement of corpora containing videotaped exemplars. Any design for a synthetic corpus needs to accommodate linguistic processes as well as support the generation of believable, acceptable synthesized utterances. This paper explores one possibility for representing linguistic and extralinguistic processes that involve the face and reports on the outcomes of a user test evaluating the clarity of utterances synthesized by this approach.

Social Networking: A Boon To Criminals, Tejashree D. Datar, Richard Mislan

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

With the world getting more and more digitized, social networking has also found a place in the cyber world. These social networking sites (SNSs) which enable people to socialize, and build and maintain relationships are attracting attention of all kinds of people such as teens, adults, sports persons, and even businesses. But these SNSs are also getting unwanted attention from people like sexual predators, spammers, and people involved in criminal and illegal activities. This paper talks about SNSs and how these sites are exploited for criminal or illegal activity. The SNSs are discussed in detail with respect to user profiles, …

A Study On Denitrification In A Fluidized Bed Bioreactor, L. Prasanna Lakshmi, Y. Pydi Setty, K. Vimala

The 13th International Conference on Fluidization - New Paradigm in Fluidization Engineering

The work involves experimental investigation on biological denitrification in a fluidized bed reactor under anaerobic conditions using the microorganism Pseudomonas Stutzeri and plastic beads as fluidizing medium. The influence of various parameters like pH, initial nitrate concentration, Carbon/Nitrogen ratio, hydraulic retention time on nitrate-nitrogen removal rate from synthetic effluent prepared at the laboratory were studied in detail. The optimum operating conditions of pH, initial nitrate concentration, Carbon/Nitrogen ratio and flow rate obtained are 7.0–7.5, 15 mg/l, 1.5–2.0 and 4.41 x 10-5 m3/s respectively.

Comparison Of Model Evaluation Methods To Develop A Comprehensive Watershed Simulation Model, Misgana K. Muleta

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Comprehensive environmental models such as the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) are becoming an integral part of decision making processes for effective planning and management of natural resources. Before their use as decision making aid, however, models must be properly evaluated to improve their prediction accuracy and reduce the likelihood of making decisions that could lead to undesirable policy outcomes. Model evaluation refers to practices such as quality analysis of input data, sensitivity analysis, calibration and verification, and uncertainty analysis. Many methodologies have been developed for model evaluations over the years. One of the major limitations of the existing …

Teaching Sustainability Analysis In Electrical Engineering Lab Courses, David Braun

Electrical Engineering

Laboratory courses represent an incompletely tapped opportunity to teach sustainability concepts. This work introduces and evaluates a simple strategy used to teach sustainability concepts in electrical engineering laboratory courses. The technique would readily adapt to other disciplines. The paper presents assessment data and a wiki containing student sustainability analyses.

Software Algorithms To Coordinate And Improve Voltage Sag Ridethrough Capabilities Of Networked Industrial Processes, Owen Parks

All Dissertations

For those who design, operate, and troubleshoot industrial processes, electric power quality is a subject that requires much consideration. Processes that use electronic sensors, actuators, and computation devices are heavily reliant on a stable, consistent input power source. When a power quality event such as a voltage fluctuation occurs, automation equipment often behaves unpredictably and causes process malfunction or failure.
Because industrial power consumers often blame their electric utility for these events, some utilities offer process susceptibility studies as a service for their customers. During a typical study, utility technicians and engineers perform in-house tests on suspect components or systems …

Vehicle Steering Systems - Hardware-In-The-Loop Simulator, Driving Preferences, And Vehicle Intervention, Jesse Black

All Dissertations

The steering system is a critical component of all ground vehicles regardless of their propulsion source. Chassis directional control is provided by the steering system, which in turn relays valuable feedback about the road and vehicle behavior. As the primary feedback channel to the driver, the steering system also delivers the initial perception of a vehicle's handling and responsiveness to the consumer. Consequently, the steering system is an important aspect of the vehicle's evaluation and purchasing process, even if drivers are unaware of its direct influence in their decision making. With automobile purchases potentially hinging on the steering system, a …

Biodegradable Polymer Blends And Composites From Proteins Produced By Animal Co-Product Industry, Bernice Nzioki

All Theses

ABSTRACT
Development of new green materials from by-products of animal rendering industries would provide a substantial economic return to animal rendering processors. Meat and bone meal (MBM), one of the products of the rendering industry, has potential for numerous bio-based applications. This research focuses on fabrication of plastics blends made of MBM (Meat and bone meal) and UHMWPE (ultra high molecular weight polyethylene). We investigated thermal, morphological, water absorption and mechanical properties of the plastics. The plastics were compression molded and their properties were examined.
DSC thermographs of the blends indicated that the thermal properties of UHMWPE did not change …

Distracted Driving – Preliminary Analysis And Survey, Jerry G. Pigman, Kenneth R. Agent, Eric R. Green

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report primarily focuses on an attempt to document the level of driver distraction existing in Kentucky through an analysis of crash data and by conducting an observational survey of drivers. Additional research is cited as a means of comparing other studies with results from Kentucky, as well as establishing a definition of distracted driving. The status of laws related to use of cell phones in other states was summarized, and the recently passed legislation in Kentucky was noted by incorporation of the full text as an appendix.

It was determined from analysis of Kentucky data that if the three …

The Great Teakon: A 3d Video Game, Chad Cable

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The Great Teakon is an experimental 3D video game that uses gameplay as a narrative device. Players take charge of Charles Teakon, a rising film star, during the silent film era in the early 1900ʼs. But when Charles breaks his leg on set, heʼs forced into retirement and obscurity. After a 30 year hiatus, he decides to return to the film world and complete his unfinished movie. ! As the protagonist ages, so will the players - not only is this reflected in the physicality of the characters, landscape, and architecture, but the actual mechanics for interacting with the virtual …

Responses Of Problematic Algae To Algaecide Exposures, West Bishop

All Theses

Excessive growths of algae can cause significant disruption of critical water resource usages including: drinking, irrigation, recreation as well as be aesthetically displeasing. Water resource managers are often compelled to take action to mitigate these nuisance algal infestations. Algaecides can be efficient and effective management options to rapidly suppress algal blooms and restore water usages. However, laboratory and field data are required to accurately predict responses to an application as well as potential risks to non-target organisms. Laboratory experiments were used to measure the responses of problematic algae to algaecide exposures and evaluate the margin of safety to sensitive, non-target …

Comparative Studies On Oxygen Mass Transfer For The Design And Development Of A Single-Use Fermentor, Kristan L. Sorenson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Accurate experimental oxygen mass transfer coefficient, a measure of how quickly oxygen travels from a gas bubble to the bulk liquid, is important for comparing performance and for evaluating the oxygen transfer capability of a fermentor. Delays in probe response and changing gas volumes upon start-up of gassing affect the accuracy of oxygen transfer measurements. To mitigate these inaccuracies, a standard correction procedure for oxygen mass transfer data was established for highly oxygenated, well-mixed fermentation systems. Probe response time correction was generated by applying a second-order response model to dissolved oxygen probes and shown to be effective within 4%. By …

Ion-Exchange (Ix): Arsenic And Chromium Removal From Brines And Removal Of Inorganic Contaminants By Specialty Resins, Behrang Pakzadeh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Although ion exchange is highly efficient in removing inorganic contaminants, similar to other water treatment technologies, ion exchange has some drawbacks that need to be studied further. Three issues related to drawbacks of ion-exchange resins in water treatment were addressed in this research. The first issue was the influence of anionic inorganic co-contaminants including nitrate, Cr(VI), Se(VI), and As(V) on the performances of nitrate and perchlorate specialty (selective) resins in water treatment. It was found that nitrate can be removed from waters using perchlorate specialty resins, but the resin is poorly regenerated. Perchlorate was not easily removed from either nitrate …

Design Of Adaptive Collective Foraging In Swarm Robotic Systems, Hanyi Dai

Dissertations

Inspired by the collective behavior observed in biological colonies, swarm robotics is a new approach to design a distributed control algorithm in order to coordinate a group of simple robots performing a complex group task. With only limited computation and communication ability of individual robots, one of the challenges in designing such multi-robotic systems is to understand the effect of individual robots behavior on the group performance. This thesis dedicates the research to designing a set of local interaction and adaptation rule for individual robots so that optimized collective foraging performance can be achieved at group level.

The research starts …

Economics Of Using Biomass Electric Power For Energy Application Of Light Commercial Building, Madan M. Nellore

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Due to increased concern on global warming coupled with dwindling supply of conventional fuels, attention has been focus ed recently on use of renewable energy resources. The energy derived from biomass has a great potential in meeting this challenge by use of the state of art technology in gasifiers. Commercial units recently placed in the market have a potential of using the energy available in the biomass in producing electric power as well as in meeting the other building loads most efficiently, with negligible environmental effect. Woody mass, switch grass, hazzle nut shells and other biomass wastes can be utilized …

Kinetic And Finite Element Modeling For Firing Brick, Daniel Mckinney

All Theses

Kinetic modeling and simulation were used to optimize the firing cycle for brick. This was done to develop a tool for the brick industry to reduce fuel consumption and emissions during firing. A kinetic model was built using shrinkage data from dilatometer measurements and mass loss data from thermogravimetry measurements in order to predict the density as a function of temperature and time. The density of brick was related to the absorption coefficient (C/B), an ASTM standard which is related to the durability of the brick. The kinetic model was used to optimize the firing curve using a rate controlled …

Characterization And Modification Of Helmet Padding System To Improve Shockwave Dissipation, Katelyn Howay

All Theses

Currently soldiers are being exposed a much higher number of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and the resulting shockwaves. These shockwaves can cause traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) even without the occurrence of ballistic impact. The focus of this research was to reduce the amount of shockwaves soldiers are exposed to by inserting fibers and woven fabrics into a foam padding system. These fibers and fabrics facilitate the dissipation of the shockwave energy before it is able to penetrate the padding and cause TBIs.
The sound velocity of high-performance fibers, commodity fibers and woven fabric was measured using a Dynamic Modulus Tester. …

Biodegradation And Bioremediation Of Hexachlorocyclohexane Isomers, Chlorinated Ethenes, Chlorinated Benzenes And Benzene, Vijaikrishnah Elango

All Dissertations

ABSTRACT
Groundwater at an industrial site is contaminated with γ -hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and α-HCH (i.e., lindane) (0.3-0.5 ppm). Other contaminants in the 1-15 ppm range include 1,2,4-trichlorobenezene (TCB), 1,2-dichlorobenzene (DCB), 1,3-DCB, 1,4-DCB, chlorobenzene (CB), benzene, trichloroethene (TCE) and cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cDCE). The aquifer consists of a shallow layer of soil over fractured dolomite, where most of the contaminant mass resides. The objective of this study was to compare 1) anaerobic reductive dechlorination of the polychlorinated contaminants, followed by aerobic biodegradation of the daughter products (mainly DCBs, CB, and benzene); and 2) aerobic biodegradation of α- and γ-HCH, TCB, DCBs, CB and …