Digital Commons Network^™

Development Of Pharmacophore And Comfa Studies For Sigma2 Receptor Ligands, Laura Ann Wirpsza

Theses

This study describes the development of a pharmacophore and CoMIFA model for sigma 2 (σ₂) receptor ligands. CoMFA studies were performed for 32 bioactive σ₂ receptor ligands using the radioligand [H 3] (+) DTG in the presence of pentazocine. The pharmacophore was derived using Distance Comparisons (DISCOtech) from eight partially to highly active ~2 receptor ligands. All 32 compounds were calculated in three methods: AMi, HFI3~21G*, and B3LYP/3~21G* methods. These methods run in Gaussian 98 determined the geometry optimization and electrostatic charges for each molecule. CoMFA maps were developed using SYBYL ver. 7.2 to compare the electrostatic …

Dem Simulated Radial And Axial Pressure In A Cylindrical Granular Column, Meng Cui

Theses

The study of packed beds of granular spheres and their applications are of great interest to industries, and one of the most important subjects that has been studied is cylindrical beds. In 1895, H. A. Janssen discovered that in a vertical cylinder the pressure measured at the bottom does not depend upon the height of the filling in contrast to Newtonian fluids that possess linear hydrostatic pressure equilibrium. One of assumptions of his theory stated that the horizontal pressure is proportional to the vertical. In this thesis, this physical hypothesis is investigated using Discrete Element Simulations of inelastic with a …

Biomechanical Testing Of Upright Range Of Motion Versus Overhead Supine Range Of Motion, Linda Uko

Theses

Rehabilitation of an elbow, following injury, is not a well-studied subject. Clinically, there is not a general consensus on which recovery method is optimal for healing an unstable elbow. When dealing with medial collateral ligament deficiency, many authors have proposed several forearm positions that will yield proper healing of the unstable elbow. Some researchers believe that active mobilization of the elbow with the arm in a vertical position is a safe protocol for rehabilitation with the forearm oriented in a supine pronated position. It was also mentioned that the compressive forces due to the active mobilization of the arm will …

The Role Of Short Term Synamptic Plasticity In Temporal Coding Of Neuronal Networks, Lakshmi Chandrasekaran

Dissertations

Short term synaptic plasticity is a phenomenon which is commonly found in the central nervous system. It could contribute to functions of signal processing namely, temporal integration and coincidence detection by modulating the input synaptic strength. This dissertation has two parts. First we study the effects of short term synaptic plasticity in enhancing coincidence detecting ability of neurons in the avian auditory brainstem. Coincidence detection means a target neuron has a higher firing rate when it receives simultaneous inputs from different neurons as opposed to inputs with large phase delays. This property is used by birds in sound localization. When …

Projecting Land Use Changes Using Parcel-Level Data : Model Development And Application To Hunterdon County, New Jersey, Florencio C. Ballesteros Jr.

Dissertations

This dissertation is to develop a parcel-based spatial land use change prediction model by coupling various machine learning and interpretation algorithms such as cellular automata (CA) and decision tree (DT). CA is a collection of cells that evolves through a number of discrete time steps according to a set of transition rules based on the state of each cell and the characteristics of its neighboring cells. DT is a data mining and machine learning tool that extracts the patterns of decision process from observed cell behaviors and their affecting factors. In this dissertation, CA is used to predict the future …

Density Relaxation Of Granular Matter Through Monte Carlo And Granular Dynamics Simulations, Oleksandr M. Dybenko

Dissertations

Granular materials are the principal ingredients of the industrial complex involved with the handling and processing of bulk solids including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, agricultural and mining materials. Despite the enormous importance of these materials in society, their behavior is not well-understood; in fact, there is no known model available that is capable of predicting the wide range of phenomenon that have been observed. One of the most important of these is known as density relaxation. Here, a granular material undergoes an increase in solids fraction as a result of the application of discrete taps or continuous vibrations.

In this dissertation, the …

Roles Of Gap Junctions In Neuronal Networks, Joon Ha

Dissertations

This dissertation studies the roles of gap junctions in the dynamics of neuronal networks in three distinct problems. First, we study the circumstances under which a network of excitable cells coupled by gap junctions exhibits sustained activity. We investigate how network connectivity and refractory length affect the sustainment of activity in an abstract network. Second, we build a mathematical model for gap junctionally coupled cables to understand the voltage response along the cables as a function of cable diameter. For the coupled cables, as cable diameter increases, the electrotonic distance decreases, which cause the voltage to attenuate less, but the …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Plasma Enhanced Chemically Vapor Deposited Tantalum Films, Weizhong Chen

Dissertations

A low temperature inorganic plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process has been developed for the growth of Ta using tantalum pentachloride (TaC15) as the preferred precursor and hydrogen as the reactant gas. Ta coatings were deposited at substrate temperature of 370-400 °C, reactor working pressures of 0.7-2 Ton, hydrogen carrier flow rate of 10-20 sccm, hydrogen reactant flow rates of 500 sccm, and plasma power ranging from 60 to 100W. Ta coatings were characterized with respect to their chemical, structural, and morphological properties by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), x-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning …

Appropriation Of Privacy Management Within Social Networking Sites, Catherine Dwyer

Dissertations

Social networking sites have emerged as one of the most widely used types of interactive systems, with memberships numbering in the hundreds of millions around the globe. By providing tools for their members to manage an ever-changing set of relationships, social networking sites push a constant expansion of social boundaries. These sites place less emphasis on tools that limit social boundaries to enable privacy.

The rapid expansion of online social boundaries has caused privacy shockwaves. Privacy offline is enabled by constraints of time and space. Online, powerful search engines and long term digital storage means private data have no expiration …

Instabilities Of Volatile Films And Drops, Nebojsa Murisic

Dissertations

We report on instabilities during spreading of volatile liquids, with emphasis on the novel instability observed when isopropyl alcohol (IPA) is deposited on a monocrystalline silicon (Si) wafer. This instability is characterized by emission of drops ahead of the expanding front, with each drop followed by smaller, satellite droplets, forming the structures which we nickname “octopi” due to their appearance. A less volatile liquid, or a substrate of larger heat conductivity, suppress this instability. In addition, we examine the spreading of drops of water (DJW)-JPA mixtures on both Si wafers and plain glass slides, and describe the variety of contact …

Signal Transmission In Epithelial Layers, Filippo Posta

Dissertations

Cell signaling is at the basis of many biological processes such as development, tissue repair, and homeostasis. It can be carried out by different mechanisms. Here we are focusing on ligand mediated cell-to-cell signaling in which a molecule (ligand) is free to move into the extra-cellular medium. On the cell layer surface, it can bind to its molecule-specific receptors located on the cell plasma membrane. This mechanism is the subject of many experimental and theoretical studies on many model biological systems, such as the follicular epithelium of the Drosophila egg, which motivates this work.

Here, we present a general mathematical …

Data Allocation In Disk Arrays With Multiple Raid Levels, Jun Xu

Dissertations

There has been an explosion in the amount of generated data, which has to be stored reliably because it is not easily reproducible. Some datasets require frequent read and write access. like online transaction processing applications. Others just need to be stored safely and read once in a while, as in data mining. This different access requirements can be solved by using the RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) paradigm. i.e., RAIDi for the first situation and RAID5 for the second situation. Furthermore rather than providing two disk arrays with RAID 1 and RAID5 capabilities, a controller can be postulated …

Production Of Nanocrystalline Rdx By Ress : Development And Material Characterization, Victor Stepanov

Dissertations

The aim of the present work was to address the hazardous vulnerability of energetic materials to accidental initiation. An improved form of the explosive RDX with a significantly reduced sensitivity to stimuli including shock and impact was sought. The direction of this research was to investigate the effect of RDX crystal size reduction down to nano-scale dimensions on the sensitivity characteristics. Although size reduction of energetic crystals has been demonstrated often to result in a sensitivity reduction, the effect at the nano-scale particle size has not been investigated.

To generate nanocrystalline RDX a recrystallization process was developed based on rapid …

Optimal Allocation Of Blood Products, Godson A. Tetteh

Dissertations

The high cost of collection and the short shelf life of apheresis platelets demand efficient inventory management to reduce outdates and shortages. Apheresis platelets are licensed for seven days, and blood centers are keen on knowing the consequences of various product collection and distribution strategies. To reduce outdates, inventory managers typically distribute the older units first, thereby following first-in first-out (FIFO) policy; however, hospital blood banks would prefer that the blood center issues out the freshest units first, equivalent to a last-in first-out (LIFO) policy. This study addresses the optimal distribution policy to achieve a desired outdate, shortage and average …

Micro, Meso And Macro Materials Processing Using High-Speed Liquid Projectiles, Veljko Samardzic

Dissertations

The objective of this research is developmentof aknowledge base of materials processing by the impact of high-speed liquid projectiles. The work involved experimental study of generation and applications of high-speed liquid projectiles. The projectiles were generated by the launchers, which used gunpowder as an energy source. The experiments were carried out at the low (O.35g of the powder), middle (1.2g) and high (10g to 70g) levels of energy consumptions and at several different launchers modification.

Experimental investigation of effect of gun powder mass on energy of projectile was conducted for ductile and brittle targets. An array of experimental …

Dynamics Of Online Chat, Mihai Moldovan

Dissertations

Millions of people use online synchronous chat networks on a daily basis for work, play and education. Despite their widespread use, little is known about their user dynamics. For example, one does not know how many users are typically co-present and actively engaged in public interaction in the individual chat rooms of any of the numerous public Internet Relay Chat (IRC) networks found on the Internet; or what are the factors that constrain the boundaries of user activity inside those chat rooms. Failure to collect and present such data means there is a lack of a good understanding of the …

Perception Gaps And The Adoption Of Information Technology In The Clinical Healthcare Environment, Karen Hare

Dissertations

Implementation of information systems has lagged in many areas of clinical healthcare for a variety of reasons. Economics, data complexity and resistance are among the often quoted roadblocks. Research suggests that physicians play a major part in the adoption, use and diffusion of information technology (IT) in clinical settings. There are also other healthcare professionals, clinical and non-clinical, who play important roles in making decisions about the acquisition of information technology. In addition to these groups there are information technology professionals providing the services required within the healthcare field. Finally within this group are those IT professionals who have sufficient …

Modeling Inventory And Responsiveness Costs In A Supply Chain, Robert Nearier

Dissertations

Evaluation of supply chain performance is often complicated by the various interrelationships that exist within the network of suppliers. Currently many supply chain metrics cannot be analytically determined. Instead, metrics are derived from monitoring historical data, which is commonly referred to as Supply Chain Analytics. With these analytics it is possible to answer questions such as: What is the inventory cost distribution across the chain? What is the actual inventory turnover ratio? What is the cost of demand changes to individual suppliers? However, this approach requires a significant amount of historical data which must be continuously extracted from the associated …

Nucleus 2008: Diversity, Creativity, Integrity, Community, Vitaility, Ability, Opportunity, Individuality, Activity, Identity, University, New Jersey Institute Of Technology

Yearbooks

This is a digitized, downloadable version of the New Jersey Institute of Technology Nucleus.

The Impact Of Cultural Differences In Temporal Perception On Global Software Development Teams, Richard William Egan

Dissertations

This dissertation investigated the impact of cultural differences in temporal perception on globally dispersed software development teams. Literature and anecdotal evidence suggest that these temporal differences affect individual communication quality, which in turn will affect individual satisfaction and trust within global teams. Additionally, the temporal dispersion of the team was expected to affect an individual's sense of temporal disruption which, in turn, was expected to affect individual satisfaction and trust. Differences in temporal perception were expected to moderate this impact on perceived temporal disruption. A Fortune 100 Company that carried out software testing in Ireland, the United States, China and …

A Virtual Training Environment For Wheelchair Mounted Robot, Elizabeth Leichtnam

Theses

A model of a robotic manipulator designed to respond to different inputs from users with different skills or conditions is presented. This model can be adapted to different input variables and converted into joint angles which relate to movement in space of the manipulator's links. The algorithm allows for real time response and the features of the virtual environments (i.e., 3D design, stereoscopic vision) gives the designers the opportunity to use this model for training and usability evaluation according to the skills and different conditions that users could present.

Two types of virtual environments were created aiming to be used …

Altered Brain Activity In Autistic Children Versus Healthy Controls While Performing Simple Tasks Using Fmri, Donald Martin Adams Jr.

Theses

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies dealing with Autistic children have primarily been concerned with cognitive facial recognition. Recent studies have demonstrated that Autistic children, when compared to healthy matched controls, exhibit higher neuronal activity when identifying patterns or objects, but lower levels of activity in regards to facial recognition.

The objective of this study was to examine both facial and object recognition and compare them to simple sensorimotor tasks. All subjects were administered 5 stimuli each lasting 320 seconds. Subjects were instructed to use a button press box to identify between a Person/Object and an Arrow/Object. They were then …

Derivation Of The Respiratory Rate Signal From A Single Lead Ecg, Murtaza M. Lakdawala

Theses

It has been long established that respiration has an influence on heart rate, and this effect is called respiratory sinus arrhythmia. As a result, two inferences can be postulated: first respiration information can be derived from cardiac activity, and second this effect offers the potential of removing the respiration effect that suppresses cardiac information which is of clinical significance. As a result of research performed at NJIT, there is a significant amount of data on exercise and heart rate recovery, but not the associated respiration signal. The motivation of this research was to compare and implement an optimal ECG derived …

Abstraction, Extension And Structural Auditing With The Umls Semantic Network, Yan Chen

Dissertations

The Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) is a two-level biomedical terminological knowledge base, consisting of the Metathesaurus (META) and the Semantic Network (SN), which is an upper-level ontology of broad categories called semantic types (STs). The two levels are related via assignments of one or more STs to each concept of the META.

Although the SN provides a high-level abstraction for the META, it is not compact enough. Various metaschemas, which are compact higher-level abstraction networks of the SN, have been derived. A methodology is presented to evaluate and compare two given metaschemas, based on their structural properties. A consolidation …

Ontology Learning For The Semantic Deep Web, Yoo Jung An

Dissertations

Ontologies could play an important role in assisting users in their search for Web pages. This dissertation considers the problem of constructing natural ontologies that support users in their Web search efforts and increase the number of relevant Web pages that are returned. To achieve this goal, this thesis suggests combining the Deep Web information, which consists of dynamically generated Web pages and cannot be indexed by the existing automated Web crawlers, with ontologies, resulting in the Semantic Deep Web. The Deep Web information is exploited in three different ways: extracting attributes from the Deep Web data sources automatically, generating …

Mechanisms Of Ionic Current Changes Underlying Rhythmic Activity Recovery After Decentralization, Olga E. Khorkova Sherman

Dissertations

Neuronal networks capableof generating rhythmic output in the absence of patterned sensory or central inputs are widely represented in the nervous system where they support a variety of functions, from learning and memory to rhythmic motor activity such as breathing. To perfectly function in a living organism, rhythm-generating networks have to combine the capability of producing a stable output with the plasticity needed to adapt to the changing demands of the organism and environment. This dissertation used the pyloric network of the crab Cancer borealis to identify potential mechanisms that ensure stability and adaptation of rhythm generation by neuronal networks …

The Development And Evaluation Of Software To Foster Professional Development In Educational Assessment, Morgan C. Benton

Dissertations

This dissertation sought to answer the question: Is it possible to build a software tool that will allow teachers to write better multiple-choice questions? The thesis proceeded from the finding that the quality of teaching is very influential in the amount that students learn. A basic premise of this research, then, is that improving teachers will improve learning. With this foundation, the next question became what area of teaching to improve. The literature on educational assessment indicated that teachers lack competence at effective assessment, particularly in the area of multiple-choice question generation. It is likely that improvement in this area …

Multiclass Intermodal Network Model : The Use Of Combined Model On System Evaluations, Yi Deng

Dissertations

United States transportation policy has generally addressed the negative economic and social effects of the standpoint of individual transportation modes and local government involvement. Therefore, there has been an increased focus on the development of intermodal transportation. Integrating the modes and using each of them to its best advantage are strategies to optimize the existing resources and to create new capabilities.

According to the literature review performed in this research, the research in intermodal transportation system evaluation is far from mature. Most transportation performance measurements are focused on one mode rather than a whole network. In practice, the data necessary …

Propagation And Scattering Of Beam Waves In Vegetation Using Scalar Transport Theory, Michael Yu-Chi Wu

Dissertations

Vegetation is a very complex propagation medium, and multiple scattering effects play a significant role in the propagation of microwave and millimeter (mm)-wave signals through foliage. At frequencies above 1 GHz,both the coherent and incoherent field components have to be taken into account and vegetation has to be modeled as a random medium of discrete scatterers having a wide variety of sizes and shapes. Multiscattering can be studied effectively by using transport theory. In prior studies, theories have been developed for microwave and mm-wave propagation in vegetation using transport theory for continuous wave and pulsed signals. In this study, the …

Some Combinational Optimization Problems On Radio Network Communication And Machine Scheduling, Xin Wang

Dissertations

The combinatorial optimization problems coming from two areas are studied in this dissertation: network communication and machine scheduling.

In the network communication area, the complexity of distributed broadcasting and distributed gossiping is studied in the setting of random networks. Two different models are considered: one is random geometric networks, the main model used to study properties of sensor and ad-hoc networks, where ri points are randomly placed in a unit square and two points are connected by an edge if they are at most a certain fixed distance r from each other. The other model is the so-called line-of-sight networks, …