Digital Commons Network^™

An Analysis Of Food System Plans: A Planner's Toolkit, Jenna M. Hahn

City and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

San Luis Obispo, Monterey, And Gilroy: An Assessment Of Downtown Activity, Ellen Moore

City and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Buy Local Campaign And Program For The City Of Santa Paula, Matthew Dito

City and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Current Trends In The Marketing And Promotion Of Movies Using Social Media, Bonnie Wilcox

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this study is to provide further insight into how social media is used to most effectively market new movies.

Cal Poly Xpress Project: Exploring Interactive Storytelling Through Digital Multimedia Platforms, Eugene Bistolas

Computer Engineering

No abstract provided.

Chef Sifty, Dereck Quock

Computer Engineering

In our society today, childhood obesity has become a more prevalent problem, which needs to be fixed. Children constantly eat and snack unhealthily and parents need to understand the importance of teaching children how food affects their body and well-being. Teaching this to children at an early age will help to instill a healthy lifestyle for the child. Chef Sifty is a cooking game developed for Sifteo cubes that aims to show children the importance of nutrition while having fun. Using Sifteo’s concept of Intelligent Play, the objective of this project is to show children some healthy food and snack …

A Web-Based Approach To Music Library Management, Jason Young

Computer Engineering

This application utilizes modern standards developing in web browsers to create a desktop-like application for managing a music library online. The server side application is written in a model-view-controller style using Python backed by a MySQL database. The client side JavaScript was designed around a modular concept interfacing several third-party frameworks and libraries. By taking advantage of developing browser features such as persistent local storage, this web application was designed to handle a large library of music.

Pier Portal, Andrew Belis, Andrew (Andy) Crafts, Jeremy Depangher, Aaron Hein, Michael Machado, Aaron Poulos

Computer Engineering

This project constitutes the design, build, and test of a camera system that runs on a track along the length of a pier piling at the Cal Poly pier in Avila Beach. The goal of the camera system is to observe the abundant sea life active on the surface of the piling underwater and in the tidal zone. The camera system will stream live video to the internet, record HD video, and be controllable remotely. The track is mounted to the piling with brackets and extends from the sea floor to a few feet above the pier deck. The camera, …

Design Of Indio High School Agriculture Shop, Justin Mcbride

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Irrigation System Evaluation And Pump Efficiency, Gregory Borges

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This project encompasses the Evaluation of a drip irrigation system for a Pistachio orchard in Tulare, Ca. The project parameters were decided on by Borges Farms. After the evaluation suggestions are to be made for improving the system’s efficiency. These suggestions must be approved by the grower and show whether they are cost efficient. The irrigation system cannot be modified to fit the pump chosen.

Research for the project encompasses drip irrigation systems, irrigation pump efficiency, irrigation management, well reclamation techniques and pistachio water requirements. A Distribution Uniformity evaluation was performed to understand how sand has affected the system. I …

Downtown Hayward Performing Arts Center Implementation Plan, Lauren Barrera, Brittany Scofield

City and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Creating An Entertainment District In Downtown Santa Maria, Malcom Gould

City and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Textural Properties Of Cooked Beef Batters, Lee M. Christensen

Master's Theses

In the meat science industry the primary method used to determine the binding capabilities of a raw material is to reference the binding index created by Carpenter and Saffle (1964). This index is primarily based on the emulsification capabilities of meats and does not consider texture. As texture is one of the principal factors in determining acceptability of foods (Bourne, 1978), a testing method that captures textural attributes of raw materials is essential. This work was developed to capture raw material texture and cooking loss in a relatively quick manner.

Textural properties of cooked beef batters using two different salt …

Viscoelastic Anisotropic Finite Element Mixture Model Of Articular Cartilage Using Viscoelastic Collagen Fibers And Validation With Stress Relaxation Data, Matthew Alexander Griebel

Master's Theses

Experimental results show that collagen fibers exhibit stress relaxation under tension and a highly anisotropic distribution. To further develop the earlier model of Stender [1], the collagen constituent was updated to reflect its intrinsic viscoelasticity and anisotropic distribution, and integrated with an existing mixture model with glycosaminoglycans and ground substance matrix. A two-term Prony series expansion of the quasi-linear viscoelastic model was chosen to model the viscoelastic properties of the collagen fibers. Material parameters were determined by using the simplex method to minimize the sum of squared errors between model results and experimental stress relaxation data of tissue in tension. …

Becoming Cittaslow: A City's Journey To Becoming A Cittaslow Member, Megan Alexis Elovich

Master's Theses

The project will explore Cittaslow as an alternative to traditional urban development. Sprawl and consumption of non-local resources are discouraged with Cittaslow and preservation of culture and history become the tangible benchmarks of the community. It will explore the history of Cittaslow as a movement and an organization; as well as its influences on existing member cities and the criteria used to distinguish them from others. The City of San Luis Obispo is used as a case study to determine whether existing conditions measure up to Cittaslow criteria.

3d Electromagnetic Simulation Tool Exposure For Undergraduate Electrical Engineers: Incorporation Into An Analog Filters Course, Bobby B. Pheng

Master's Theses

With the growth of wireless communications, comes the need for engineers knowledgeable in 3D electromagnetic (EM) simulation of high-frequency circuits. To give electrical engineering students a better understanding of the behavior of electromagnetic fields, experiments including the use of 3D EM simulation software were proposed. Most students get lost in differential equations, curls, and divergences; this thesis aims to remedy that by exposing them to 3D EM simulation, which may motivate them toward further study in electromagnetics. Also, experience using EMPro is very beneficial for future RF/microwave/antenna engineers, as use of 3D EM simulation is becoming a requirement for this …

Development Of A Protocol To Measure Gene Expression In The Mouse Tibia, Daniel Hoover

Biomedical Engineering

Numerous molecular factors active in bone tissue direct fracture repair and remodeling which can be altered by disease conditions such as Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) and Osteoporosis. Methods of molecular biology are commonly applied to investigate the expression and role of these molecular factors. This project presents a robust three-step protocol for examining gene expression in the mouse tibia. The protocol begins with isolating RNA from a flash frozen tibia sample. The isolated RNA is reverse transcribed into cDNA. Finally, PCR is performed to indentify expressed genes. Establishing this protocol will allow further research into the mechanisms of bone remodeling …

Mac's Fiesta: A Foreign Language Game For The Sifteo Platform, Karina Cordon

Computer Engineering

Mac’s Fiesta is a Spanish learning game designed on the Sifteo gaming platform for children ages four and up. The Sifteo gaming platform provides a new way of interacting with computers by giving users a set of tangible and interactive cubes. Each Sifteo cube has a clickable colored screen and can sense motion and adjacent blocks. Games on this platform are designed to encourage the development of core thinking skills. This project aims to explore how Sifteo cubes can be used for language learning as well as observe how effective they are as educational tools.

Riley The Cat, Nicholas Zankich

Computer Engineering

There are many toys that exist that are comfort objects. Generally these are toys that are soft such as blankets, stuffed animals, and pillows. Robotic toys also exist such as games, interactive books, and instruments. There exists a crossover market that includes Furbys, Tomagachi pets, and Fur Real Friends. While being very popular, I believe that this crossover isn’t perfect, and that there is a lot of room for improvement. Riley (Figure 1) was created to make something that is both completely a robot and a comfort object.

Barrel Racer's Calculator, Hollie Kucera

Electrical Engineering

Barrel racing is a rodeo event in which a horse and rider attempt to complete a clover-leaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time. This sport combines the horsemanship skills of a rider and the horse’s athletic ability to safely and successfully maneuver around the three barrels (three fifty-five gallon metal drums) placed in an arena.

In barrel racing, the purpose is to make the run as fast as possible. An electric eye and timing system keep track of the time. The time starts when the horse and rider cross in between the electric eyes and ends when the …

Phase Splitter Guitar Effects Pedal, Jerry Gough

Electrical Engineering

The goal of this project was to create a unique type of guitar distortion effects pedal. The initial plan was to use a Hilbert Transformer, also called a Phase Splitter, to produce a vibrato type distortion. Later during the circuit design phase, it appeared that a tremolo effect could be easily implemented in addition to the vibrato. Both the tremolo and vibrato effects were implemented in the final design. Although there are many different types of vibrato and tremolo pedals already in existence, it does not appear that any current designs use a Hilbert Transformer or phase splitter. Hopefully, this …

Music Driven Graphical Visualization System, Glenn Bruner

Electrical Engineering

In today’s society, we are able to enjoy listening to music on an assortment of high-tech devices such as home computers, or multimedia players, or personal audio players. A common characteristic of typical audio media players is that they lack the ability to provide visual stimulation in addition to the provided audio stimulus. Large public events, such as concerts, could be enhanced if they included visual effects in addition to audio stimulation. The goal of this project is to provide a graphical visualization that is automatically synchronized to an audio signal with a goal of enhancing the overall musical experience. …

Foce Intermodule Communications System, Roland Quiros

Electrical Engineering

Done in conjunction with Chad Kecy of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Reasearch Institute (MBARI), this project is an expansion of the Free Ocean Carbon Emission (FOCE) project. This iteration created a communications protocol between the different modules in an expandable array of PIC24-based boards.

Gpu-Accelerated Point-Based Color Bleeding, Ryan Daniel Schmitt

Master's Theses

Traditional global illumination lighting techniques like Radiosity and Monte Carlo sampling are computationally expensive. This has prompted the development of the Point-Based Color Bleeding (PBCB) algorithm by Pixar in order to approximate complex indirect illumination while meeting the demands of movie production; namely, reduced memory usage, surface shading independent run time, and faster renders than the aforementioned lighting techniques.

The PBCB algorithm works by discretizing a scene’s directly illuminated geometry into a point cloud (surfel) representation. When computing the indirect illumination at a point, the surfels are rasterized onto cube faces surrounding that point, and the constituent pixels are combined …

A Conservation Plan For Reservoir Canyon Natural Reserve, San Luis Obispo, Ca, Brian M. Provenzale

Master's Theses

My thesis project is to create a conservation plan for the Reservoir Canyon Natural Reserve (RCNR) in San Luis Obispo, California. It is a professional project for the City of San Luis Obispo with the goal of eventual adoption by the City Council. The plan was motivated by City policy, which advises creating conservation plans for open spaces, and by a particular need to address management issues in RCNR that include plant and wildlife conservation, trail access, erosion, electrical utility easements, and other legal matters. The project consists of two main components: the conservation plan and a companion paper. The …

A Kinetic Study Of Anti-Vegf-A Polyclonal Antibodies And Anti-Vegf-A Ssdna Aptamers, Heather A. Hedeen

Master's Theses

A new detection reagent that could possibly augment or replace antibodies research and diagnosis methods are aptamers. Aptamers are ssDNA, RNA or polypeptide constructs that function like active antibodies. Antibodies and aptamers both specifically bind to selected target molecules, and as such they enable the detection or targeting of the presence or absence of a specific antigen.

In order to ensure that ssDNA aptamers perform similarly to antibodies, anti-VEGF-A polyclonal antibody and anti-VEGF-A ssDNA aptamer were evaluated against vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) using Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR). It was hypothesized that the anti-VEGF-A aptamer had the same, if …

Teaching Introductory Programming Concepts: A Comparison Of Scratch And Arduino, Anne Beug

Master's Theses

Computing has become an integral part of modern America. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that between 2008 and 2018, the United States will have 1.4 million job openings in computing fields [1]. Since the early 2000's (just after the "dot com bust"), the number of students enrolled in computing majors (Computer Science, Computer Engineering, etc.) dropped precipitously by over 50%, only starting to rise again in 2009 [2]. One way to rectify to this gap between demand and supply is to start training students in computational thinking during high school. While the Computer Science Advanced Placement AB test has …

Estimated Sales And Investment Costs To Produce And Retail Gelato In The Petaluma Area, Katherine Camozzi

Agribusiness

Recent events in the California dairy have left many dairy producers with high feed costs, low profits, and low (sometimes negative) margins. Some producers have transitioned to producing value-added or artisanal dairy products to help increase the revenues earned from farm milk, particularly in Sonoma County. Because limited research exists on the business opportunities in response to a rapidly growing market for value-added products, this project explores the feasibility of starting a gelato production and retail business in the Petaluma area. To assess business feasibility, a consumer survey was created to estimate the percent of residents and non-residents who would …

Open Pulled Straw (Ops) Vitrification Of Mus Musculus Morula And Blastocyst Survival In Two Common Cryopreservation Medias, Gina Marie Cirimele

Animal Science

The objectives of this study were to: (1) determine an optimal cryoprotectant of mice embryos; and (2) determine whether morula or blastocyst stage is ideal for vitrification in both medias. One experiment was performed using two different medias for vitrification with open pulled straws (OPS) with morulae and blastocysts. In the first protocol, we called V, embryos were exposed to 10% ethylene glycol (EG) for 5 minutes, then 40% ethylene glycol and 0.6 M galactose for about 30 seconds, loaded into an OPS, and plunged into liquid nitrogen. In the second protocol, we called VG, embryos were exposed to 7.5% …

Efficiency Of Two Cryopreservation Methods Using Direct In-Straw Rehydration After Repeated Vitrification Of Mouse Embryos, Ashley Morgan Payne

Animal Science

Experiments were conducted to determine which of two direct in-straw rehydration methods was optimal for obtaining high survival of mouse embryos after repeated vitrification. The first vitrification method compared was a one-step design, designated “House method,” where embryos were equilibrated in 3.5 M ethylene glycol for 3 min before rapid plunge vitrification in 7 M ethylene glycol/0.5 M glucose/18% w/v Ficoll 70. The second method was the commercially available BoviPRO Embryo Vitrification Kit ^TM(MiniTube of America, Verona, WI), which first exposed embryos to 1.4 M glycerol for 5 min, then 1.4 M glycerol/3.6 M ethylene glycol for 5 min, …