Digital Commons Network^™

A Feature Library Approach To On-Line Image Querying And Retrieval For Topographic Applications, James Carswell

Conference papers

In this paper we address the problem of content-based image retrieval using queries on shape and topology. We focus on the particularities of image databases encountered in typical topographic applications, and present the development of a spatial data management system that enables such queries. The query uses as input user-provided sketches of the shape and spatial configuration of the object (or objects) which should appear in the images to be retrieved. The objective of the search is to retrieve images that contain a configuration of objects sufficiently similar to the one specified in the query. Our novel approach introduces the …

Liberal Studies At Longwood College: Preparing Teachers For Virginia's Future, J. D. Smith

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

The Liberal Studies Major provides future teachers studying at Longwood College with an excellent opportunity to prepare for all aspects of teaching in elementary school classrooms. In the area of mathematics and science, the Liberal Studies Major contains a total of 24 hours of mathematics and science, and prepares future K-6 classroom teachers to teach all components of the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) in these disciplines. Longwood College is currently studying how requirements can be modified within the Liberal Studies Program to make it possible for students to complete the discipline specific course work that will be necessary for …

Experiencing Science, An Introduction To "Real" Methods Of Science For The Preservice Teacher, D. L. Neely-Fisher, D. B. Hagan

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

The "scientific method" presented in the middle school classroom introduces the experimental approach of science in a way that may actually bear little resemblance to the processes actually used by working scientists. Teachers equipped with an insight into the motivations, philosophy, tools, and culture of science will better convey an accurate and positive picture of science as a critically important human endeavor. The Experiencing Science course was designed to answer the challenge of giving the pre-service teacher and decision-maker better insight into actual processes used by scientists, in the context of each of the major disciplines.

The Use Of Cooperative Groups In Learning How To Use New Software Programs, James R. Grunwald

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Many teachers lament the fact that they often need to spend too much classroom time training students how to use a particular software program before their students can use it effectively as a tool to complete other course work. Also, after completing the training process, too many students still have not mastered the basics of how to use the program effectively. The purpose of this research was to increase understanding of how the use of cooperative groups during new software training affects both the mastery of the basics of program use, as well as the amount of time needed to …

International Usability, Design Guidelines And Effectiveness Of A World Wide Web-Based Instructional Program For High School Students In A Cross-Culture Learning Environment, Hajime Hayakawa

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

The recent growth of the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) has resulted in a vast array of on-line courseware and educational Web sites. Unfortunately, as a large percentage of this information is written in English, non-English speakers are unable to access it. Information written in other languages is likewise unavailable to many native English speakers. Therefore, in order to maximize the usefulness of educational material on the Web, it is necessary to design and implement cross-cultural, bilingual or multilingual Web sites and instructional programs.

This study was designed to contribute to the area of bilingual learning on the …

Linking Printed Books To Computerized Speech, Edward D. Crook

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Adult students who experience difficulties in comprehending written (printed) language frequently are limited in their scholastic development and possible employment opportunities. These individuals, who represent a growing segment of the learning disabled population, include poor readers and dyslexics and they routinely seek help and remediation through various educational techniques. One remediation technique often used is "books on tape". Through books on tape, recorded spoken text is presented in a sequential manner to the remedial reader as he or she is reading the corresponding printed document. This dissertation reviewed the books on tape paradigm, and through the use of current computer …

Degradation Of Explosives In Solution Using Bacteria, A Fungus (Phanerochaete Chrysosporium), Titanium Dioxide, Ozone, And Electrochemical Peroxidation, Stéphane Debost

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

As a result of munitions manufacturing and decommissioning, explosive compounds have contaminated groundwater and soils at many sites throughout the U.S. and worldwide. Three of the most commonly occurring explosive contaminants are TNT, ROX, and HMX. Many processes, biological as well as physical, have been developed to remediate the contaminated material. But feasibility studies rarely take into account the three contaminants at once. We chose four of the technologies used to remediate explosives-contaminated water and studied comparatively their effectiveness and efficiency in degrading TNT, ROX, and HMX in solution at their maximal solubilities. The chosen technologies were bacterial and fungal …

Photodecolorization And Photodegradation Of Crystal Violet Adsorbed On Metal Oxide Surfaces, Reygan Mashay Freeney

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The photodecolorization and the photodegradation of the triphenylmethane dye crystal violet (basic violet 3) adsorbed on four metal oxide catalysts was studied. Crystal violet dissolved in methanol was adsorbed onto the surfaces of an anatase and rutile titanium dioxide mixture, rutile titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, and magnesium oxide, and the solvent was allowed to evaporate. The samples were irradiated using a 1000 W mercury-xenon arc lamp with glass optics as a light source. A wide spectrum and narrow regions of the spectrum were studied to determine their impact on the decolorization and degradation of crystal violet. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy was …

Digital Signal Propagation In Dispersive Media., P. M. Jordan, Ashok Puri

Physics Faculty Publications

In this article, the propagation of digital and analog signals through media which, in general, are both dissipative and dispersive is modeled using the one-dimensional telegraph equation. Input signals are represented using impulsive, Heaviside unit step, Gaussian, rectangular pulse, and both unmodulated and modulated sinusoidal pulse type boundary data. Applications to coaxial transmission lines and freshwater signal propagation, for both digital and analog signals, are included. The analysis presented here supports the finding that digital transmission in dispersive media is generally superior to that of analog. The boundary data (input signals) give rise to solutions of the telegraph equation which …

Electrooxidation Of Linear Alkyl Benzene Sulfonate (Las) On Pt Electrodes, Bi̇rgül Yazici, Si̇bel Zor

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

The electrochemical behaviour of linear alklybenzene sulfonate (LAS) on Pt electrodes was investigated in 0.05M Na_2SO_4 and in 0.1M NaCl at pH=8 by the potentiokinetic method and by electrolysis. The anodic and cathodic semilogarithmic current-potential curves were obtained between -1.6V - +1.6V. The experimental discharge potentials were determined by means of current-potential-curves obtained by electrolysis between 0-3V. The percentages of surface active material remaining in the solution after specified periods (0-6hrs) were determined for different initial concentrations of LAS (30, 150, 300 ppm) by using a potentiostat at +1.6V and by applying a potential of 20V via a direct current …

Reaction Of Tribromonitromethane With Aldehydes And Ketones In The Presence Of Zn Metal In Aqueous Medium, Ali̇ Shaker Mahasneh

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

Aldehydes and ketones react with tribromonitromethane in the presence of zinc metal dust, ammonium chloride and water to give dibromonitroalcohols in good yields.

Chlorination Of Two Turkish Lignites In Water And Water-Carbon Tetrachloride Media, Semra Karaca, Yücel Yaşar Kadioğlu, Sami̇h Bayrakçeken, M. Şahi̇n Gülaboğlu

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

The chlorine uptake of two Turkish lignites during chlorinolysis with chlorine gas in water and water-carbon tetrachloride media at ambient pressure (\cong 610 mmHg) was examined. The effects of speed of stirring (5-20s^{-1}), particle size (74-88, 150-180 and 250-425 \mu m), temperature (13-70°C) and chlorination time (0-18000 s) were studied. It is shown that the amount of chlorine uptake of both coals increased with decreasing particle size and increasing temperature.

Stabilities Of Complexes Of Scandium(Iii) And Yttrium(Iii) With Salicylic Acid, Naci̇ye Türkel, Rahmi̇ye Aydin, Ulvi̇ye Özer

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

The interactions of Sc(III) and Y(III) ions with salicyclic acid, SA (H_2L), were studied in aqueous solution by means of potentiometric and spectroscopic methods. The binding of SA occurs in Y(III):SA system, either in (1:1) or (1:2) mole ratios. The stability constants of the mono protonated complex, YHL^{2+}, and Y(HL)_2^+ type complex were calculated. The coordination of Sc(III) to SA was defined by means of Job's plot and its formation curve. The stability constants of ScL^+ and Sc(HL)L type complexes were determined by analysis of the potentiometric data; the coordination of SA to Sc(III) occurred through carboxylate and phenolic oxygens. …

Conformational Analysis Of Linear Peptide (Glu^1-Leu^2-Leu^3-Gly^4-Gly^5-Arg^6-Phe^7nh_2 ), Lütfü Demi̇r, Abdulhali̇k Karabulut, Gökhan Budak, Yusuf Şahi̇n, Nagif Sefteroğlu

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

Conformational energy-minimization of the Sea Anemone and Sea Pansy neuropeptide Pol-RFamide (Glu^1-Leu^2-Leu^3-Gly^4-Gly^5-Arg^6-Phe^7-NH_2) was carried out by molecular mechanics (MM). The linkage bonds were characterized by the torsion angles \theta, \psi and \omega and the side groups were characterized by the torsion angles \chi_1, \chi_2, \chi_3\ldots The energy-map for each monopeptide of the Pol-RFamide I was drawn in the range of -180° to 180° with increments of 20°. Conformation facilities for monopeptides were determined from these maps. These results were used in the analysis of the dipeptide (Glu^1-Leu^2). Then, the (Glu^1-Leu^2-Leu^3) tripeptide was examined using the calculated results for the dipeptide. …

Effect Of Temperature On The Electrooxidation Of Some Organic Molecules On Pt Doped Conducting Polymer Coated Electrodes, İpek Beceri̇k, Fehmi̇ Fiçicioğlu, Fi̇gen Kadirgan

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

Polymer modified electrodes are of importance as possible electrocatalysts for various electrode reactions, i.e., platinum incorporated into polypyrrole or polyaniline films are known to be good systems for the electrooxidation of various organic molecules. In this study, the effect of temperature on the electrooxidation of D. glucose and methanol on Pt doped films was investigated, apparent activation energies were calculated and the results were evaluated.

Comparative Mechanistic Studies On The Oxidation Of Aromatic And Aliphatic Hydroxyl Derivatives In An Alkaline Medium At Preanodized Pt, Au And Pt/Au Electrodes In Presence Of Redox Mediators, Sasha Kalcheva, Philip Iotov

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

The role of redox mediators obtained from Pt, Au, and Pt/Au electrodes in the process of electrocatalytic oxidation of aromatic/aliphatic hydroxyl derivatives in an alkaline medium has been studied by applying cyclic voltammetry. Phenol and glycerol were used as aromatic and aliphatic hydroxyl derivatives in the electrochemical oxidation experiments. The results revealed that the presence of redox mediators formed by preliminary electrode anodization is crucial for the process of oxidation of aromatic compounds and imposes a different oxidation route for the aliphatic hydroxyl derivatives. The effect of preanodization has been related to the formation and dissolution of the corresponding higher …

A Modified Potentiometric Method For The Estimation Of Phenol In Aqueous Systems, Farhat Huma, Muhammad Jaffar, Khalid Masud

Turkish Journal of Chemistry

A modified potentiometric titration is proposed for the estimation of phenol in aqueous systems. The method is evolved on the basis of a critical dependence of pH on log V rather than simple V, as used in conventional potentiometric titrations. The method incorporates titrants in a concentration range several orders of magnitude greater than that of phenol in the aqueous phase. Derivative potentiometric curves so obtained provide a clear exposition of the equivalence point and the overall error is found to be between \pm 1.0 and 1.5%. The range of phenol concentration investigated was from 10^{-2} to 10^{-3} M. and …

Infoharness: Managing Distributed, Heterogeneous Information, Kshitij Shah, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

Today, important information is scattered in so many places, formats, and media, that getting the right information at the right time and place is an extremely difficult task. Developing a single software product, for example, includes the creation of documents ranging from the requirements specification and project schedules to marketing presentations, multimedia tutorials, and more. Each document may be created by a different person using a different tool, and each may be stored in a different place. InfoHarness is an information integration system, platform, and tool set that addresses these problems, managing huge amounts of heterogeneous information in a distributed …

Processes Driving The Networked Economy, Amit P. Sheth, Will Van Der Aalst, I. Budak Arpinar

Kno.e.sis Publications

The authors propose that an organic workflow-process technology will power the evolution of information system architectures. The authors outline three likely stages of architectural evolution in the context of a networked economy and discuss critical gaps in the current technology with respect to their envisioned future.

Object Oriented Enterprise Modeling And Distributed Cognition At A New University: Csu Monterey Bay, Armando A. Arias Jr., Beryl L. Bellman

SSGS Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Salinity Action Plan : Wetland Vegetation Monitoring, 1998/1999, R. Gurner, G. Ogden, R. H. Froend

Research outputs pre 2011

This report represents the vegetation component of a project designed to provide on-going monitoring of wetland salinity and biological resources in wetlands of the agricultural zone of south-west Western Australia. Maintenance of wetland biological diversity in the agricultural zone is one of the major objectives of the Salinity Action Plan. Due to their low position in the landscape, wetlands are the habitat most affected by salinisation...

Adaptive Resource Management Via Modular Feedback Control, Ashvin Goel, David Steere, Calton Pu, Jonathan Walpole

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

A key feature of tomorrow’s operating systems and runtime environments is their ability to adapt. Current state of the art uses an ad-hoc approach to building adaptive software, resulting in systems that can be complex, unpredictable and brittle. We advocate a modular and methodical approach for building adaptive system software based on feedback control. The use of feedback allows a system to automatically adapt to dynamically varying environments and loads, and allows the system designer to utilize the substantial body of knowledge in other engineering disciplines for building adaptive systems. We have developed a toolkit called SWiFT that embodies this …

Feedback Based Dynamic Proportion Allocation For Disk I/O, Dan Revel, Dylan Mcnamee, Calton Pu, David Steere, Jonathan Walpole

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper we propose to use feedback control to automatically allocate disk bandwidth in order to match the rate of disk I/O to the real-rate needs of applications. We describe a model for adaptive resource management based on measuring the relative progress of stages in a producer-consumer pipeline. We show how to use prefetching to transform a passive disk into an active data producer whose progress can be controlled via feedback. Our progress-based framework allows the integrated control of multiple resources. The resulting system automatically adapts to varying application rates as well as to varying device latencies.

Lethal Sandslides From Eolian Dunes, David B. Loope, Joseph A. Mason, Lowell Dingus

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Fossil vertebrates entombed within the Upper Cretaceous Djadokhta Formation of southern Mongolia bear testimony to a heretofore unknown geologic phenomenon: mass wasting of eolian dunes during heavy rainstorms. Evaporation of shallow-penetrating rainwater led to progressive calcite accumulation in a thin layer of sand about 0.5 m below the surface of dune lee slopes. During rare heavy rainstorms, a perched water table developed at the top of calcitic zones. Positive pore water pressure led to translational slides and fast-moving sediment gravity flows that overwhelmed animals on the lee slopes of large dunes and in interdune areas.

Monitoring The 1996 Drought Using The Standardized Precipitation Index, Michael J. Hayes, Mark D. Svoboda, Donald A. Wilhite, Olga V. Vanyarkho

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Droughts are difficult to detect and monitor. Drought indices, most commonly the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), have been used with limited success as operational drought monitoring tools and triggers for policy responses. Recently, a new index, the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), was developed to improve drought detection and monitoring capabilities. The SPI has several characteristics that are an improvement over previous indices, including its simplicity and temporal flexibility, that allow its application for water resources on all timescales. In this article, the 1996 drought in the southern plains and southwestern United States is examined using the SPI. A series …

Design And Optimization Of Chromophores For Liquid Crystal And Photorefractive Applications, Kenneth D. Singer, V. Ostoverkhov, Rolfe G. Petschek

Faculty Scholarship

Organic chromophores have been exploited for a wide range of discrete optical and electronic functions as well as a growing number of combined opto-electronic functions. We are pursuing development of organic and polymer materials for a range of applications that require properties including liquid crystallinity, second order optical nonlinearity, photorefractivity and, more recently, special nonlinear optical behavior involving molecular chirality.

Journal Of Mathematics And Science: Collaborative Explorations

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

No abstract provided.

Infectious Necrotizing Enteritis And Mortality Caused By Vibrio Carachariae In Summer Flounder Paralichthys Dentatus During Intensive Culture, Bruno Soffientino, Todd Gwaltney, David R. Nelson, Jennifer L. Specker, Michael Mauel, Marta Gomez-Chiarri

Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Faculty Publications

An epizootic causing mortality among cultured summer flounder Paralichthys dentatus occurred in summer of 1998 at a land-based facility on Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, USA. The disease, flounder infectious necrotizing enteritis (FINE), was characterized by reddening around the anal area, distended abdomens filled with opaque serosanguineous fluid, enteritis and necrosis of the posterior intestine. In extreme cases of the disease, the posterior intestine was detached from the anus and was observed coming out the vent. The intestine of individuals that recovered from the dsease ended in a blind-sac; the abdomens of these fish were distended, due to food and water …

Locating Napls In Ground Water Using Partitioning Fluorescent Dyes, A. Ghanem, J. Smith, M. Elzey, T. S. Soerens, M. A. Miah, G. Thoma

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A major challenge in ground water remediation is locating nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPLs). Partitioning tracers can be used to identify NAPL sources between injection and extraction wells. NAPLs are only slightly soluble in water, pose a long-term source of groundwater contamination, and can be difficult to remove. The complexity of recovery processes requires the development of new technologies that guarantee cost effective methods for locating and quantifying NAPLs. Traditional methods like soil coring have been inefficient since they underestimate the quantity of NAPLs and are expensive. Partitioning tracer tests are some of the most recent methods developed for locating these …

Diverging Strains Near Threshold: Breakdown Of The Elastic Description Of A Charge Density Wave Model, Muhittin Mungan, Susan N. Coppersmith, Valeri M. Vinokur

Turkish Journal of Physics

We analyze the strains near threshold in 1-d charge density wave models at zero temperature and strong pinning. We show that in these models local strains diverge near the depinning threshold and characterize the scaling behavior of the phenomenon. This helps quantify when the underlying elastic description breaks down and plastic effects have to be included.