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A Robust Method To Detect Concealed Weapons, Anand Gone

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Concealed weapons detection is a large problem that is faced by the Police Department nowadays. There are many disasters caused by poor detection of the weapons. Since public safety is at risk there is a need to design an efficient detector that can detect the weapons hidden under the clothing. This thesis presents a novel method for detecting concealed weapons under clothing using image processing techniques. In this thesis IR imagery is used to capture an image which works on the principle of law of black body radiation. Image thresholding is performed on the captured data using Sauvola's adaptive thresholding …

A Systematic Study Of Atomic Layer Deposition Of Platinum Nano-Scale Metallization Films And Their Application To Electrical Contacts In Porous Alumina Templates, Ngoc H. Tran

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

ln this thesis a comprehensive analysis is presented on nano-scale thin films of platinum deposited with Angstrom resolution by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) technology utilizing the Cambridge Nanotech Savannah 100 ALD system. Physical characterizations of film thickness, film morphology, and surface roughness of the deposited platinum were all performed before and after rapid thermal annealing (RTA) and as a function of forming gas annealing (FGA). Noble metal thin films of platinum were deposited on four inch wafers of p-type boron doped &100& oriented silicon (Si) substrates. The ALD film thickness was measured with a novel method utilizing the linear dependence …

A New Look At Training Motivation: A Meta-Analytic Investigation Of Differential And Incremental Validity, Kristina N. Bauer

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The extant training and educational research has not been consistent in the way motivation is measured in the context of training. Prior research has examined different types of motivation (i.e., intrinsic motivation, motivation to leam, motivation to transfer, expectancy motivation, and task value) and different timings of measurement (i.e., pretraining, during, and post-training). Accordingly, the present meta-analysis sought to elucidate the relationships between training motivation and training outcomes via three contributions: (I) examining differential relationships with four training outcomes; (2) assessing incremental validity over and above each other to the prediction of these training outcomes; and (3) investigating whether the …

Development Of Chemometric Models And Calibration Transfer For Rapid Diesel And Jet Fuel Analysis Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy, Christopher Matthew Larkin

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Fuel quality assurance and analysis, as it pertains to the United States armed forces, is crucial for maintaining operability and upholding safety regulations with respect to fuel class. Currently a great amount of effort, money and manpower are dedicated to this task as fuel analysis takes place in off-site laboratories where quality assessment and property determination is performed manually by highly qualified lab technicians. This presents the military with a logistics problem with respect to refueling, transport, and fuel storage as the typical tum-around time is 1-2 weeks. In this thesis it has been demonstrated that near-infrared spectroscopy, in conjunction …

The State Of The Region: Hampton Roads 2009, James V. Koch, Vinod Agarwal, John R. Broderick, Grace Chen, Chris Colburn, Vicky Curtis, Steve Daniel, Larry "Chip" Filer, Adrian Gheorghe, Susan Hughes, Elizabeth Janik, Yingxue Li, Feng Lian, Sharon Lomax, Linda Mcgreevy, Janet Molinaro, Jason Phenicie, Ken Plum, Gilbert Yochum

Economics Faculty Books

This is Old Dominion University's 10th annual State of the Region report. While it represents the work of many people connected in various ways to the university, the report does not constitute an official viewpoint of Old Dominion or it's president, John R. Broderick. The report maintains the goal of stimulating thought and discussion that ultimately will make Hampton Roads an even better place to live. We are proud of our region's many successes, but realize that it is possible to improve our performance. In order to do so, we must have accurate information about "where we are" and a …

Rapid Prototyping Augmented Skin Pathology For Medical Simulation And Training, Annette Castelino

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The goal of this research is to study how augmented reality technology could be applied in training medical students for better clinical practice and diagnosis in the treatment of skin conditions using skin pathology prototypes. Described within this thesis is an innovative method of producing skin abscess prototypes that augment the Standardized Patient (SP) for simulation purposes.

The method adopted is a combination of the cost-effective technique of rapid prototyping (RP) — 3D inkjet printing and 3D graphics modeling. The visual and haptic realism of these developed prototypes along with the use of moulage enable the SP to exhibit realistic …

Fault-Tolerance And Recovery In Wireless Sensor Networks, Kevin M. Somervill

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The topic of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) has gained considerable attention in the research community due to the variety of applications and interesting challenges in developing and deploying such networks. The typical WSN is significantly energy constrained and often deployed in harsh or even hostile environments, resulting in sensor nodes that are prone to failure. Failing nodes alter the topology of the network resulting in segmented routing paths and lost messages, ultimately reducing network efficiency. These issues spur the desire to develop energy-efficient, Fault-Tolerant (FT) algorithms that enable the network to persist in spite of the failed nodes. This work …

Theoretical Studies Of 2,3 -Sigmatropic Rearrangements Of Allylic Selenoxides And Selenimides, Craig A. Bayse, Sonia Antony

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Density-functional theory is used to model the endo and exo transition states for [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of allylic aryl-selenoxides and -selenimides. The endo transition state is generally preferred for selenoxides if there is no substitution at the 2 position of the allyl group. Based upon the relative energies of the endo and exo transition states, enantioselectivity of rearrangements is expected to be greatest for molecules with substitutions at the 1- or (E)-3- position of the allyl group. Ortho substitution of a nitro group on the ancillary selenoxide phenyl ring reduces the activation barriers, increases the difference between the endo and exo …

Behavioral Enhancement Of Onshore Transport By Postlarval Caribbean Spiny Lobster (Panulirus Argus), Jason S. Goldstein, Mark J. Butler Iv

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We conducted a series of laboratory experiments to examine the orientation, settlement, and metamorphosis of Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) pueruli (postlarvae) in response to cues characteristic of their nursery in back-reef tropical lagoons. Our results suggest that pueruli were attracted to coastal water sources and the metabolites of red macroalgae (Laurencia spp.) when compared with oceanic water and artificial seawater treatments. Pueruli were not attracted to waterborne cues from sea grass, were repelled by hypersaline or hyposaline water, and discerned coastal cues from water collected as far as 30 km offshore from the reef. We also conducted experiments to …

Mermin Habitually Answers Opinions, Real And Abstract, Amin Dharamsi

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

(First paragraph) Because QFT is so neglected by the public (and by many physicists), I am writing a book that presents it without equations. A draft copy of the work, The Theory That Escaped Einstein, can be found through an internet search. Feedback is appreciated.

Effects Of Non-Equilibrium Plasma On Eukaryotic Cells (Final Report: Grant Fa9550-06-1-0004), Mounir Laroussi, Fred C. Dobbs, Old Dominion University

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This document is our final report describing the research activities carried out under AFOSR Grant FA9550-06-1-0004. First, descriptions of our cold plasma generation systems are presented. Two systems, developed with past and present AFOSR support, are available in our laboratory. The first is a pulsed device capable of emitting a cold plasma plume in room air. The second is an air plasma generator the core of which is a dielectric barrier discharge excited by a high AC voltage. Following these brief descriptions we first present the effects of an atmospheric pressure air plasma on four different types of eukaryotic microalgae. …

Section Abstracts: Computer Science

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Computer Science for the 87th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 27-29, 2009, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond Virginia.

Table Of Contents, Vol. 60, No. 2, Summer 2009

Virginia Journal of Science

Table of Contents for Virginia Journal of Science, Volume 60, Number 2, Summer 2009.

Section Abstracts: Astronomy, Mathematics, And Physics & Materials Science

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Astronomy, Mathematics and Physics & Materials Science Section for the 87th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 27-29, 2009, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond VA.

Section Abstracts: Education

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Education Section for the 87th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 27-29, 2009, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.

The Moving Figure: Dialogism In Williams' The Great Figure, Tom Lavazzi

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

In recent years, Henry M. Sayre, Christopher J. MacGowan, Barbara M. Fisher, Dickran Tashjian, William Marling, and Peter Halter, among others, have written about the influence of visual artists, especially Marsden Hartley, on Williams' poetry, and, conversely, the influence of Williams' poetry on painting. These critics have variously examined the personal, cultural, aesthetic, and ontological dimensions of the visual arts background of Williams' poetry, including "The Great Figure," first published as the final poem in Sour Grapes, 1921, and well-known as the source for Charles Demuth's 1928 painting, The Figure Five in Gold. Especially relevant to …

Reactivity And Chemical Characterization Of Dissolved Organic Matter In An Estuary, Hussain A. Abdulla

OES Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation used Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹³C-NMR) data to quantify the changes of major chemical compound classes in high molecular weight (HMW, >1kDa) DOM isolated along a transect from Great Dismal Swamp through the Elizabeth River/Chesapeake Bay system to the coastal Atlantic Ocean off Virginia, USA. Results show that both carboxylic acids and aromatic compounds are lost along the transect, while amide, and carbohydrate moieties could have a mid-transect source.

Addressing the seasonal and spatial changes in the chemical composition of high molecular weight DOM using C/N ratio and δ^{13 …}

Abstracts Of Papers, 87th Annual Meeting Of The Virginia Academy Of Science, 2009

Virginia Journal of Science

Full proceedings for the 87th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 27-29, 2009, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond VA

Section Abstracts: Chemistry

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Chemistry Section for the 87th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 27-29, 2009, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond Virginia.

New Fellows: Spearman, Whitney, Booth

Virginia Journal of Science

Biographical sketches for New Fellows of the Virginia Academy of Science, 2009. M. Leroy Spearman, Donald Allen Whitney, and Susan P. Booth.

2009 Best Student Paper Awards

Virginia Journal of Science

List of student award winning papers by section from the 87th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, 2009.

Section Abstracts: Environmental Science

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Environmental Sciences Section for the 87th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 27-29, 2009, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia.

Section Abstracts: Statistics

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Statistics Section for the 87th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 27-29, 2009, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.

Virginia Junior Academy Of Science, 68th Annual Meeting Awards, 2009

Virginia Journal of Science

Awards by section for the 68th Virginia Junior Academy of Science Meeting, May 28, 2009. Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia.

Brain Tumor Progression Assessment Using Multiple Mri Volumes, Yufei Shen

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Predicting and assessing tumor progression is important in brain tumor treatment. We attempt to use machine learning techniques to achieve consistency in assessing brain tumor progression. This thesis presents a prediction method of brain tumor progression by exploring a large MR database, which contains two patients ' complete records covering all their visits in the past two years. All ten MRI series, namely, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) , diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) , fractional anisotropy (FA), fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), max eigenvalue (MAX), mid eigenvalue (MID), min eigenvalue (MIN) , post-contrast T₁-weighted, T₁- weighted, and …

An Adaptive Method For Calculating Blow-Up Solutions, Charles F. Touron

Mathematics & Statistics Theses & Dissertations

Reactive-diffusive systems modeling physical phenomena in certain situations develop a singularity at a finite value of the independent variable referred to as "blow-up." The attempt to find the blow-up time analytically is most often impossible, thus requiring a numerical determination of the value. The numerical methods often use a priori knowledge of the blow-up solution such as monotonicity or self-similarity. For equations where such a priori knowledge is unavailable, ad hoc methods were constructed. The object of this research is to develop a simple and consistent approach to find numerically the blow-up solution without having a priori knowledge or resorting …

The Effects Of Automation Expertise, System Confidence, And Image Quality On Trust, Compliance, And Performance, Randall D. Spain

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the effects of automation expertise, system confidence, and image quality on automation trust, compliance, and detection performance. One hundred and fifteen participants completed a simulated military target detection task while receiving advice from an imperfect diagnostic aid that varied in expertise (expert vs. novice) and confidence (75% vs. 50% vs. 25% vs. no aid). The task required participants to detect covert enemy targets in simulated synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. Participants reported whether a target was present or absent, their decision-confidence, and their trust in the diagnostic system's advice. Results indicated that system confidence and automation expertise …

Changing Fecundity And Reproductive Output In Females Of A Chesapeake Bay Population Of Blue Crab, Callinectes Sapidus, Shannon L. Wells

OES Theses and Dissertations

The Chesapeake Bay blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, is an important species both ecologically and as a fishery. Fishery dependent and independent data indicate that the population declined abruptly in the mid-1990s and has remained low. Previous work prior to the decline in population abundance found a significant relationship between size and fecundity for mature females. As with many heavily fished populations, this population has experienced a reduction in the size at maturity. The objectives of this study were to reassess the fecundity of the population, determine the lipid and protein energy allocated for reproduction, and to examine the concentrations …

Technology Education Teacher Supply And Demand In The United States, Johnny J. Moye

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

This research investigated the supply and demand of technology education teachers in each of the United States. The research goals guiding this study were to determine (1) the number of technology education teachers produced in the United States, (2) the number of technology education teachers employed in the United States public schools during the spring of 2009, (3) the number of vacant technology education teacher positions in United States public schools during the spring of 2009, and (4) the projected number of technology education teacher vacancies for the fall semesters of 2009, 2012, and 2014. The 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007, and …

Promotion Induced Competitive Effects: Two Essays, Rajeev Airani

Marketing Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the empirical generalizations related to retailer promotions. Two essays are developed addressing the generalizations. The first essay addresses the contradiction in the calculations of primary and secondary demand effects. A mathematical proof is developed to show that under Nested Logit modeling, competitors' gain assumption is violated. An alternative explanation is provided to calculate the primary and secondary demand effects. The second essay focuses on the empirical generalization of the neighborhood price effect. The effects of share and quality in shaping the neighborhood price effect are hypothesized and tested. Further, based on the evidence that neighborhood price …