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Building Pressure Tests Of Fiber-Reinforced Foam-Based Lightweight Concrete Precast Wall Panels, Francheska Enid Seijo Aug 2008

Building Pressure Tests Of Fiber-Reinforced Foam-Based Lightweight Concrete Precast Wall Panels, Francheska Enid Seijo

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Instrumentation and procedures for building pressure tests were designed as a means of providing new wind pressure test methods for full-scale building models. Fiber-reinforced foam-based lightweight concrete precast wall panels were studied in this investigation. Three (3) full-scale prototype buildings were tested for this purpose. To determine the material properties and design parameters for this targeted 90 pcf (1,446 kg/m3) cellular lightweight concrete and to gain overall knowledge of its behavior, some tests such as compressive strength test, pull-out strength test, and flexural strength test were performed. The wind pressure tests performed provided results for strength, maximum wind pressure the …


Criminal Psychological Profiling: A Comparative Study Of Knowledge And Perception Between Police Officers And Criminology And Criminal Justice Students, Bonnie Lynn Bevers Aug 2008

Criminal Psychological Profiling: A Comparative Study Of Knowledge And Perception Between Police Officers And Criminology And Criminal Justice Students, Bonnie Lynn Bevers

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

The purpose of this study is to examine the knowledge and perceptions of police officers from police departments in North Texas and students in the Criminology and Criminal Justice program at the University of Texas at Arlington on criminal psychological profiling. Data was obtained from a sample of graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Texas at Arlington and police officers in the Investigation Unit at Irving Police Department. Officers and students seemed to agree that criminal psychological profiling was a significant tool in the criminal justice field, while having differing perceptions of whether education or experience were more …


Micromachined Nanoporous Membranes For Blood Oxygenation Systems, Vijayakrishnan Ambravaneswaran Aug 2008

Micromachined Nanoporous Membranes For Blood Oxygenation Systems, Vijayakrishnan Ambravaneswaran

Electrical Engineering Theses - Archive

An oxygenator is a medical device that aids in the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the human blood during procedures and illnesses that may cause the interruption or cessation of blood flow in the body. Porous membranes currently used in blood-oxygenation systems are bulky, and the pores are relatively large in dimension. The control over the pore size is poor due to the fabrication techniques used. The standard deviation of the pore size and the placement of the pores deteriorate even further with decreasing pore diameter. It is because of inaccurate pore placement and poor control over the …


Improved Design Of A Piecewise Linear Network, Sayantani Pal Aug 2008

Improved Design Of A Piecewise Linear Network, Sayantani Pal

Electrical Engineering Theses - Archive

An efficient design of the Piecewise Linear Network (PLN) which maps the N dimensional input vector space into an M dimensional output vector space is presented. Several clusters are formed in the given datasets and a linear mapping is fitted for each cluster using regression and the total mapping error is calculated. We have designed this network using Self Organizing Map (SOM) clustering which uses the Euclidean distance measure. Again the same has been designed by using various weighted distance measures whose results are compared. It is observed that there is a decrease in Mean Square Error (MSE) of the …


Study Of Patch Antennas For Strain Measurement, Uday Shankar Tata Aug 2008

Study Of Patch Antennas For Strain Measurement, Uday Shankar Tata

Electrical Engineering Theses - Archive

Reliable strain measurement is important for damage detection of mechanical and civil structures. Existing wireless strain sensing technologies require a high operating voltage, bulky signal conditioning systems, and an external wireless module to transmit the sensor output. These limitations make the strain monitoring unreliable and expensive. An innovative method of measuring strain using a patch antenna is investigated in this thesis to overcome the limitations of existing strain sensing technologies. The patch antenna is made of a thin sheet of low-loss insulating material, called the dielectric substrate. The antenna pattern, i.e. a metallic patch, is printed on one side of …


Error Correction Methods For Latency-Constrained Flash Memory Systems, Priyanka Ankolekar Aug 2008

Error Correction Methods For Latency-Constrained Flash Memory Systems, Priyanka Ankolekar

Electrical Engineering Theses - Archive

Maintaining the reliability of data stored in Flash devices and reading it correctly has become a challenge as the demand for higher density is forcing aggressive shrinking of Flash architectures. For all Flash systems, especially latency-constrained NOR Flash, an on-chip error correction code (ECC) is the only viable and robust solution to this problem. This thesis investigates and optimizes low-latency error correction schemes for on-chip implementation in NOR systems using existing error correction methods as a starting point. As the first step towards doing this, a mathematical relation has been derived to compute the bit error rate (BER) of a …


Subcellular Structure Modeling And Tracking For Cell Dynamics Study, Quan Wen Aug 2008

Subcellular Structure Modeling And Tracking For Cell Dynamics Study, Quan Wen

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The introduction of sensitive and fast electronic imaging devices and the development of biological methods to tag proteins of interest by green fluorescent proteins (GFP) have made a full understanding of live cell dynamics achievable. With the latest hardware technology, such as high speed laser scanning confocal Microscopy (LSCM), it has now become critical to develop automatic quantitative data analysis tools to keep pace with and to fully exploit the functionalities of state-of-the-art hardware. One task of such tools is the motility analysis of subcellular structures. This dissertation provides a series of computational approaches for studying subcellular structure motility. Firstly, …


Enhanced Bioinformatics Data Modeling Concepts And Their Use In Querying And Integration, Feng Ji Aug 2008

Enhanced Bioinformatics Data Modeling Concepts And Their Use In Querying And Integration, Feng Ji

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

In bioinformatics research, scientists usually face the problems of modeling complex data types and integrating diverse resources. Traditional data models such as EER lack the expressing power to capture many characteristics that are common in bioinformatics data. We first propose extensions to the ER model that allow accurate representation of many of these characteristics. We then utilize these concepts in an integrative system to provide an easy-to-use interface for biologists to construct queries. Our research utilizes the enhanced conceptual modeling concepts to create a prototype mediator for querying multiple data sources. The various relationships between different biological entities are all …


Category Assignment And Relatedness In The Group Ideation Process, Jonali Baruah Aug 2008

Category Assignment And Relatedness In The Group Ideation Process, Jonali Baruah

Psychology Dissertations - Archive

Although many studies have investigated the effects of task related diversity on group performance, little empirical attention has been paid to the effect of the degree of relatedness of these tasks on the group ideation process. The present study provided a comprehensive test of the effects of task (category) assignment and relatedness on creativity of the interactive and the nominal groups in electronic brainstorming paradigm. A major area that has not been explored in the brainstorming literature is how groups perform when each member is assigned a unique category compared with having all the members jointly assigned with common categories. …


Mass Spectrometry-Based Biomolecular Recognition And Response Factor Investigations Using Electrospray Ionization, Misjudeen Raji Aug 2008

Mass Spectrometry-Based Biomolecular Recognition And Response Factor Investigations Using Electrospray Ionization, Misjudeen Raji

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

Integrins are transmembrane proteins found in almost all cells. They play vital roles in many biological processes, such as angiogenesis and signal transduction, through their interactions with different extracellular matrix ligands. These interactions are fostered by forming noncovalent bonds with the ligands. Integrin involvement in angiogenic cancer metastasis has sparked the interest of many researchers in the field of oncology. Many cutting edge research works are now focused on studying the noncovalent interactions of integrins with potential drug compounds formulated from peptide mimics and bearing the putative RGD amino acid sequence through which integrins are known to bind their ligands. …


Automation Of Thermal Model Extraction And Optimization, Obiorah Oji Aug 2008

Automation Of Thermal Model Extraction And Optimization, Obiorah Oji

Electrical Engineering Theses - Archive

Semiconductor device model optimization is highly beneficial; it improves the accuracy with which we can predict the performance of real devices and whole circuits before they are fabricated. This helps save time and money in being able to predict undesirable circuit responses. Although, it proves to be very useful, it can become very time consuming. The goal of this thesis is to use readily available tools to enhance and automate the somewhat complex process of optimization and streamline it so that results can be analyzed quicker with the goal of generating VBIC models that accurately match the behavior of the …


The Nadir Of Alliance: The British Ultimatum Of 1890 And Its Place In Anglo-Portuguese Relations, 1147- 1945, Matthew Winslett Aug 2008

The Nadir Of Alliance: The British Ultimatum Of 1890 And Its Place In Anglo-Portuguese Relations, 1147- 1945, Matthew Winslett

History Theses - Archive

As has been stated many times before, the Anglo-Portuguese alliance is the oldest pact still currently in force in the world. It has been the bedrock cornerstone of Lisbon's foreign policy as a means of insuring Portuguese independence against Spanish incursions. Yet, despite the benefit it has given to Portugal, it has often been used by the British to extract unequal economic and political terms from Lisbon, in exchange for a promise of protection. In Portuguese history, the Ultimatum of 1890 - when Britain issued a threat of war to Lisbon over Portugal's attempt to connect its two African colonies …


Exploratory Study Of Gold Nanoshell As A Therapeutic Thermal Ablation Agent For Cancer Treatment Using Laboratory And Animal Tissue Phantoms, Yajuvendra Rathore Aug 2008

Exploratory Study Of Gold Nanoshell As A Therapeutic Thermal Ablation Agent For Cancer Treatment Using Laboratory And Animal Tissue Phantoms, Yajuvendra Rathore

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in the United States and the second leading cause of male death from cancer. Surgical removal of the prostate is associated with high risks of surgical complications and consequences such as incontinence and sexual dysfunction. In my study, I have investigated a nanoparticle-assisted photothermal therapeutic method that may be used for treatment of prostate cancer in the future. This method is minimally-invasive and uses gold nano-shells as hyperthermia agents to treat localized necrosis of cancer cells. I have conducted a feasibility study for a new class of NIR absorbing nanoparticles called Gold …


Study Of Normobaric Hyperoxia Effects During Focal Hypoxia-Ischemic Injury In Mice Using Optical Spectroscopy Measurements, Shereen Mohideen Aug 2008

Study Of Normobaric Hyperoxia Effects During Focal Hypoxia-Ischemic Injury In Mice Using Optical Spectroscopy Measurements, Shereen Mohideen

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

Optical spectroscopy has seen tremendous growth and development in recent years and has been extensively used to characterize the optical properties of biological tissues. The purpose of this study is to investigate the values of oxygen saturation and concentration of hemoglobin in mice with focal hypoxic ischemia after being recovered in normobaric hyperoxia. Mice at five different age levels were used for this purpose, in order to see the effects of hyperoxia at different developmental stages of the brain; ischemia was induced in them by ligating their right carotid artery and subjecting them to hypoxic (8% oxygen) environment for half …


Model Driven Analysis Of Optical Reflectance Spectroscopy For Detection Of Human Prostate And Kidney Cancers, Aditya Vivek Mathker Aug 2008

Model Driven Analysis Of Optical Reflectance Spectroscopy For Detection Of Human Prostate And Kidney Cancers, Aditya Vivek Mathker

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

Renal cell carcinoma is one of the most common forms of kidney cancer originating from the renal tubule. During surgery, it is difficult for the surgeons to identify the cancer tissue from the normal tissue and also the benign tumor from malignant tumor. Moreover, prostate cancer is the leading cause of death amongst men in the United States. In this study, optical reflectance spectroscopy with short source-detector separation is used as a minimally invasive technique to differentiate normal tissues from tumor lesions and also to differentiate benign from malignant tissues in renal cell carcinoma. Clinical post-operative readings were obtained using …


Comparison Of Hemodynamic Response Non-Linearity Using Simultaneous Functional Near Infrared Spectrsoscopy And Magnetic Resonance Imaging Modalities, Renuka Parlapalli Aug 2008

Comparison Of Hemodynamic Response Non-Linearity Using Simultaneous Functional Near Infrared Spectrsoscopy And Magnetic Resonance Imaging Modalities, Renuka Parlapalli

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

Blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) response, which is measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), is known to be a combination of various vascular parameters, among which deoxy-hemoglobin is argued to be a major contributor. Functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) though limited in its spatial resolution provides a promising tool to study cortical activations, due to its specificity of independent measurement of blood parameters (Oxy, De-oxy and Total Hemoglobin), high temporal resolution and ease of use. To integrate the best aspects of two imaging modalities, it becomes important to study the close relationship between the two imaging modalities. A finger …


Surgical Fluorescence Imager For Visualizing Anteriorly Placed Biliary Structures, In-Vivo During Human Cholecystectomy, Santosh Hariharan Aug 2008

Surgical Fluorescence Imager For Visualizing Anteriorly Placed Biliary Structures, In-Vivo During Human Cholecystectomy, Santosh Hariharan

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

Cholecystectomy is one of the most common procedures occurring in United States to cure gall bladder diseases. There are two means of performing this procedure, Open Cholecystectomy and Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy, the later one being more frequent. The critical issue while performing Cholecystectomy is injury to Common Bile Duct (CBD) which could cause post procedural complications. Since the CBD is under fat layer it is important to image and locate the CBD during the procedure. The novel fluorescence imager developed in this project would help visualize the CBD by using the fluorescence properties of Indocyanine Green, to be injected into the …


Study Of Nirs Based Motor Cortex Activation Patterns In Cerebral Palsy Affected Kids Using Image Based Metrics, Nayan Jaikrishna Asanani Aug 2008

Study Of Nirs Based Motor Cortex Activation Patterns In Cerebral Palsy Affected Kids Using Image Based Metrics, Nayan Jaikrishna Asanani

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

In recent years the National Institutes of Health has placed great emphasis on addressing the emergent need to accelerate translation of laboratory discoveries into clinical practice. The proposed study is very much aligned with this NIH emphasis, targeting on the translation of near infrared (NIR) brain imaging to clinical assessment for children with cerebral palsy. Over ten million Americans are affected by central nervous system disorders that result in motor deficits. Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common motor disorder of central origin in childhood and affects at least 2 children per 1000 live births every year . One of …


The Effects Of Daeps On The Development Of Different Types Of Students In Four Discipline Alternative Education Programs In A Large Urban District, Edward Nathaniel Randle Aug 2008

The Effects Of Daeps On The Development Of Different Types Of Students In Four Discipline Alternative Education Programs In A Large Urban District, Edward Nathaniel Randle

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

This quasi-experimental design described the effects of the BTEM utilized in four DAEPs in a large urban school district based on student discipline incidents, academic achievements in core course, and attendance rates. Archival data was collected from the school district's database over a three year period. The population of interest included all students who attended one of four DAEPs during the 2005-06 school year. These DAEPs were designed for first time minor offenders. Student's behavioral, academic, and attendance outcomes were analyzed for the 2005-06 school year and one year before placement and one year following placement. Descriptive, frequencies, ANOVA and …


Analysis And Design Of A Hypersonic Scramjet Engine With A Starting Mach Number Of 4.00, Kristen Nicole Roberts Aug 2008

Analysis And Design Of A Hypersonic Scramjet Engine With A Starting Mach Number Of 4.00, Kristen Nicole Roberts

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

When pressures and temperatures become so high in supersonic flight that it is no longer efficient to slow the oncoming flow to subsonic speeds for combustion, a scramjet (supersonic combustion ramjet) is used in place of a ramjet. Currently, the transition to supersonic combustion generally occurs at a freestream Mach number around 5.0 to 6.0. This research details analysis completed towards extending scramjet operability to lower Mach numbers, while maintaining performance at higher Mach numbers within the same flowpath as detailed in the Air Force solicitation AF073-058. The specific goal is to determine whether the scramjet starting Mach number can …


High Order Weighted Compact Boundary Condition, Zhengjie Wang Aug 2008

High Order Weighted Compact Boundary Condition, Zhengjie Wang

Mathematics Theses - Archive

In multi-dimension flows, we expect to have problems at the boundaries when a shock hits or reflects at the boundary wall the remedy to this would be to develop weighted boundary conditions similar to the Weighted Compact Scheme for the interior nodes, by choosing candidate stencils around the boundary nodes and assigning weights to each of these stencils with the ENO reconstruction. This would avoid spurious oscillations when shocks are encountered at the boundaries. This thesis investigates higher order weighted compact boundary conditions for Weighted Compact Scheme (WCS). WCS is a combination of Essentially Non Oscillatory Scheme and Weighted Compact …


Subsurface Investigations Using High Resolution Resistivity, Dharmateja Maganti Aug 2008

Subsurface Investigations Using High Resolution Resistivity, Dharmateja Maganti

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Electrical resistivity imaging has been proved to be well suited to produce images of subsurface conditionsbecause of the ability of the technique for detecting resistive features and discriminating subtle resistivity variations in the soil media. Electrical resistivity imaging survey was performed at E. Center Development in Duncanville, Texas. The survey was conducted using SuperSting R8/IP Multi-channel Resistivity Imaging System to image the subsurface structure. Both 2-D and 3-D electrical resistivity imaging tests were conducted using dipole-dipole array at 2 feet, 5 feet and 20 feet electrode spacing. Earth Imager 2D and Earth Imager 3D software's were then used to invert …


Sealing And Lamination Of Microfluidic Devices, Christopher Ryan Oliver Aug 2008

Sealing And Lamination Of Microfluidic Devices, Christopher Ryan Oliver

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Theses - Archive

A difficult problem facing microfluidic manufacturing of devices remains that often material requirements force device designers to choose materials that are difficult to bond, seal or enclose. Examples of these materials include the Polyolefin family such as HDPE (High Density Polyethylene), PP (Polypropylene) or high performance polymers such as PEEK (Polyetheretherketone), Acetal or Polyimide. The problem arises from the chemical resistance of the materials making them ideal for processing corrosive chemicals but the same property reduces the effectiveness of laminates, surface bonding, surface coatings and solvents. To address this problem a methodology for sealing devices made of these materials is …


Material Flow Control In A Sequence Dependent Job Shop Via Order Release And Dispatching Mechanisms, Francesco Gentile Aug 2008

Material Flow Control In A Sequence Dependent Job Shop Via Order Release And Dispatching Mechanisms, Francesco Gentile

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Material flow control on the shop floor involves the release and dispatching of orders to meet customer due dates, while minimizing operating costs. The early release of orders to the shop floor does not necessarily ensure delivery performance and often results in unnecessary shop congestion and excessive cost. Thus, determining when order release should occur and how dispatching should be accomplished is critical to the success of a manufacturing organization. Although there has been a significant amount of research in the material flow control literature regarding the job shop environment, there exists a significant void with respect to order release …


Rural And Urban Boosterism In Texas, 1880s-1930s, Laura Kathleen Bennett Aug 2008

Rural And Urban Boosterism In Texas, 1880s-1930s, Laura Kathleen Bennett

History Theses - Archive

The second half of the nineteenth century saw a "civilizing" trend across the rural and urban West. In Texas boosters launched myriad campaigns emphasizing the close of the western frontier and the emergence of a more modern society. This paper examines the methods used by Texas boosters to attract new residents and visitors. While all booster campaigns relied on access to railroads, rural and urban boosters used different tactics to lure settlers to their part of the state. Rural boosters extolled the virtues of a simple life where a man could be his own boss and where there is room …


Symbol Of Conquest, Alliance, And Hegemony: The Image Of The Cross In Colonial Mexico, Zachary Wingerd Aug 2008

Symbol Of Conquest, Alliance, And Hegemony: The Image Of The Cross In Colonial Mexico, Zachary Wingerd

History Dissertations - Archive

The universality of the cross image within the transatlantic confrontation meant not only a hegemony of culture, but of symbolism. The symbol of the cross existed in both European and American societies hundreds of years before Columbus. In both cultures, the cross was integral in religious ceremony, priestly decoration, and cosmic maps. As a symbol of life and death, of human and divine suffering, of religious and political acquiescence, no other image in transatlantic history has held such a perennial, powerful message as the cross. For colonial Mexico, which felt the brunt of Spanish initiative, the symbol of the cross …


Design Of A Signal Generator Using Current Feedback Operational Amplifiers, Akm Sydul Haque Aug 2008

Design Of A Signal Generator Using Current Feedback Operational Amplifiers, Akm Sydul Haque

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Sinusoidal, triangular and rectangular waveforms are generated using current feedback operational amplifiers. A signal generator using a Current Feedback Operational Amplifier (CFOA) was designed, simulated and fabricated. The simulated frequency of oscillation for the sinusoidal wave is 13.13 MHz to 23.94 MHz, for the triangular and the rectangular wave are 6.78 MHz to 59.5 MHz in simulation. The current feedback operational amplifier can achieve higher oscillation frequency than a voltage feedback operational amplifier. Two different types of current feedback operational amplifiers were designed. These are the double buffer current feedback operational amplifier and the double buffer current booster current feedback …


Location Privacy In Sensor Networks Against A Global Eavesdropper, Kiran K. Mehta Aug 2008

Location Privacy In Sensor Networks Against A Global Eavesdropper, Kiran K. Mehta

Computer Science and Engineering Theses - Archive

While many protocols for sensor network security provide con dentiality for the content of messages, contextual information usually remains exposed. Such contextual information can be exploited by an adversary to derive sensitive information such as the locations of monitored objects and data sinks in the eld. Attacks on these components can signi cantly undermine network applications. The existing techniques defend the leakage of location information only from an adversary who sees only local network tra c. However, a stronger adversary, the global eavesdrop- per, is realistic and can defeat all existing techniques. This paper rst formalizes the location privacy issues …


Sequential Frameworks For Statistics-Based Value Function Representation In Approximate Dynamic Programming, Huiyuan Fan Aug 2008

Sequential Frameworks For Statistics-Based Value Function Representation In Approximate Dynamic Programming, Huiyuan Fan

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Dynamic programming (DP) was derived by Bellman in 1957 as a mathematical programming method to solve multistage decision problems. The DP concept has great potential, but it only can solve small problems exactly under very limiting restrictions such as linear dynamics, quadratic cost, Gaussian random variable, etc. With advances in computational power, a new family of dynamic programming known as approximate dynamic programming (ADP) has emerged. A real-world DP problem is often high-dimensional and stochastic with continuous state variables. To handle this type of problem, ADP methods discretize/sample the continuous state space and approximate the future value (or cost-to-go) function …


Automated Integration Of Biomedical Information For The Support Of Genome-Wide Association Studies, Abhijit R. Tendulkar Aug 2008

Automated Integration Of Biomedical Information For The Support Of Genome-Wide Association Studies, Abhijit R. Tendulkar

Computer Science and Engineering Theses - Archive

Genome-wide association studies of the genetic underpinnings of complex phenotypes, and human diseases in particular, have been steadily gaining momentum over the past several years. Yet, the number of polymorphic sites in the human genome, including, but not limited to, Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) is so large that identifying the combination of these few which have a significant effect on the condition of interest remains an overwhelming task. The goal of this thesis work was to identify biologically and medically relevant SNPs which could be the best possible candidates for further association studies. In this thesis we present a new …