Digital Commons Network^™

Characterizing And Improving The Fault Tolerance Of Artificial Neural Networks, Bruce Edmond Segee

Doctoral Dissertations

Artificial neural networks are networks of very simple processing elements based on an approximate model of a biological neuron. It is widely believed that because biological neural networks are tolerant of the loss of individual neurons and because there is a strong analogy between biological neural networks and artificial neural networks, then artificial neural networks must also be inherently fault tolerant. This is, unfortunately, simply not true.

Results reported in this dissertation show that in the task of function approximation the multilayer perceptron is very intolerant of faults to the extent that the loss of a single network parameter can …

On Her Mouth You Kiss Your Own: Lesbian Conversations In Exile, 1924-1936, Luita Deane Spangler

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the work of four American lesbian expatriate novelists living and writing in Paris in the years between the two World Wars. Altogether six novels are discussed: The Uncertain Feast (1924), The Happy Failure (1925), and This Way Up (1927) by Solita Solano; The Cubical City (1925) by Janet Flanner; The One Who Is Legion (1930) by Natalie Clifford Barney; and Nightwood (1936) by Djuna Barnes.

Guided by recent conjectures on the significance of sexuality and gender development proposed by such feminist theorists as Luce Irigaray and Monique Wittig, this dissertation explores these six novels for evidence of …

Techniques For Enumerating Protozoa In Saturated Subsurface Sediments, Amoret L. Bunn

Doctoral Dissertations

Three techniques were investigated for the enumeration of small (2-5 $\mu$m in diameter) flagellates and amoebae in sediments collected within and outside of a wastewater contaminated ground water plume at the U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Research site, located on Cape Cod, MA. An epifluorescent direct count technique was developed to enumerate DAPI stained protozoa on polycarbonate membrane filters. These estimates were compared to the those from the Darbyshire liquid media MPN and Singh solid media MPN techniques. In Fall 1991, sediment samples were collected to investigated the variability of the hold time of cores, total and encysted protozoan …

Gene-Encoded Surface Antigens Of Legionella Pneumophila And Their Role In Pathogenicity, Andrea S. High

Doctoral Dissertations

The pneumonial agent, Legionella pneumophila, is the predominant bacterium responsible for Legionnaires' disease. Experimentally, these organisms have demonstrated the ability to adhere to host cells without the presence of a mucopolysaccharide layer.

A recombinant plasmid, pLP 116, resulting from the ligation of a Hae III digest from the L. pneumophila, Nottingham N$\sb7$ genome and Sma I-digested pUC 19 vector was shown to encode for a 25 kilodalton (kDa) major outer membrane protein (MOMP) of L. pneumophila by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS). This protein was detected on the surface of an E. coli clone (LP 116) by immunoassays. …

The Role Of Lipoteichoic Acid And The Leukocyte Integrins In The Binding Of Group B Streptococci To Murine Peritoneal Macrophages, Anne Ragonese Sloan

Doctoral Dissertations

The macrophage has been shown to bind potentially pathogenic bacteria in the absence of serum components, but the mechanism is not well understood. The macrophage is a key component of our non-inducible defenses and this form of innate immunity is of particular importance for individuals in which the immune system may be sub-optimally functional, e.g., neonatal and geriatric individuals, and for sites in the body in which serum enhancement through opsonins is thought to be insufficient, e.g., lungs. To understand the mechanism by which mammalian innate host defenses respond to potential microbial aggression by opportunistic microorganisms, I developed two assays …

Polymer Substrates For Fiber-Optic Chemical Sensors, Amy Elizabeth Straub

Doctoral Dissertations

The primary goal of this research was to examine chemical and mechanical properties of polymers designed for a fiber optic chemical sensor based on polymer swelling. A second goal of this research was to develop a temperature sensor that could be used with other fiber optic chemical sensors.

Fiber optic chemical sensors have the capability for remote use, accuracy, sensitivity, selectivity, and ruggedness. Fiber optic sensors based on polymer swelling exploit the rugged features of polymers and fiber optic communications technology for use in remote sensing. A crosslinked polymer changes size in the presence of an analyte. As the polymer …

Intraspecific Variability And Phylogeny Of Sibling Species Of Simulium Venustum And S Verecundum Complexes (Diptera: Simuliidae) Revealed By The Sequence Of The Mitochondrial Large (16s) Ribosomal Rna Gene, Bai Xiong

Doctoral Dissertations

This study demonstrates that material preserved in Carnoy's solution (1:3 = glacial acetic acid:alcohol) can be amplified by the polymerase chain reaction for determination of DNA sequence. Because only a single salivary gland from the black fly larva is necessary for DNA extraction, both DNA sequence and chromosome banding data can be obtained from the same individual. This technique reduces potential contamination of the sample by foreign DNA in the gut and/or on the cuticle of the larva and eliminates the possibility of misidentified larvae in the sample. Surveys using the mitochondrial large rRNA gene revealed extensive intraspecific variation in …

Factors Controlling Fluxes Of Volatile Sulfur Compounds In Sphagnum Peatlands, William Zamboni De Mello

Doctoral Dissertations

Exchange of DMS and OCS between the surface of Sphagnum peatlands and the atmosphere were measured with dynamic (S-free sweep air) and static enclosures. DMS emission rates determined by both methods were comparable. The dynamic method provided positive OCS flux rates (emission) for measurements performed at sites containing Sphagnum. Conversely, data from the static method indicated that OCS was consumed from the atmosphere.

Short and long-term impacts of increased S deposition on fluxes of volatile S compounds (VSCs) from Sphagnum peatlands were investigated in a poor fen (Mire 239) at the Experimental Lakes Area, Ontario, Canada. Additional experiments were conducted …

Genetic And Morphological Variation And Differentiation Of South Korean Natural Populations Of Wild Soybean, Glycine Soja Sieb And Zucc, Hongrun Yu

Doctoral Dissertations

Genetic variation is the basis of crop improvement. As genetic background narrows in the cultivated germplasm, genes need to be introduced from new sources. Glycine soja is a wild relative of the cultivated soybean, glycine max (L.) Merr. It can be used in soybean breeding. Evaluation of wild soybean populations is not only necessary for use in cultivar improvement, will also provide information about origin, migration, evolution and natural selection of this species. Seeds were collected from six natural populations in South Korea to study the genetic variation and differentiation of wild soybean.

The study was divided into two parts: …

Predator-Prey Interactions Between Fish And Insects In Streams, Graham Edward Forrester

Doctoral Dissertations

Some benthic insects in streams disperse by drifting short distances downstream in the water column. While drifting they are at risk from predators, such as trout, that feed in the water column. I examined prey selection by brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis L.) in Stoney Brook, New Hampshire, U.S.A., and effects of trout on drift dispersal and benthic density of five prey taxa (mayflies: Ephemeroptera).

Effects of trout on mayflies were tested by field manipulation of trout density in replicate 35 m long sections of stream. Trout consumed all five mayflies in roughly similar numbers. Feeding rates of trout (by weight) …

A Neural Network-Based Trajectory Planner For Redundant Systems Using Direct Inverse Modeling, Franklin J. Rudolph

Doctoral Dissertations

Redundant (i.e., under-determined) systems can not be trained effectively using direct inverse modeling with supervised learning, for reasons well out-lined by Michael Jordan at MIT. There is a "loop-hole", however, in Jordan's preconditions, which seems to allow just such an architecture. A robot path planner implementing a cerebellar inspired "habituation" paradigm with such an architecture will be introduced. The system, called ARTFORMS, for "Adaptive Redundant Trajectory Formation System" uses on-line training of multiple CMACS. CMACs are locally generalizing networks, and have an a priori deterministic geometric input space mapping. These properties together with on-line learning and rapid convergence satisfy the …

Measurement Of Deforestation In The Brazilian Amazon Using Satellite Remote Sensing, David Lewis Skole

Doctoral Dissertations

A clear understanding of the role of the biota in the global carbon cycle is limited by an absence of accurate measurements of deforestation rates in the tropics. This study measures the rate and extent of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, a tropical forest biome approximately 5 $\times$ 10$\sp6$ km$\sp2$ in size and the largest extant tropical forest biome in the world. The study focuses on remote sensing measurements of deforestation rates and the area of secondary vegetation, but also utilizes tabular data to document deforestation when satellite data are not available. The analysis concludes: (1) Regression analysis of SPOT, …

Book Review, Hugh H. Gibbons

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Reviews of the following books: K. S. SHRADER-FRECHETTE, Risk AND RATIONALITY (U. California Press 1991) [312 pp.] Index of Names, Index of Subjects, Notes. CIP 91-3294; ISBN 0-520-07287-1 (Cloth $39.95); ISBN 0-520-07289-8 (Pbk. $15.95). [2120 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94720.] W. KIP VisCusi, REFORMING PRODUCTS LIABILITY (Harvard U. Press 1991). [270 pp.] Appendices, bibliography, index, notes. CIP 90-23161, ISBN 0-674-75323-2 (Cloth $39.95). [79 Garden Street Cambridge, MA 02138.]

The Granite, 1992, University Of New Hampshire

The Granite – Yearbook

The yearbook of the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, 1909-1922, the University of New Hampshire, 1923-

The New Hampshire, Vol. 82, No. 26 (Dec. 10, 1991), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire.

Remote Estimation Of The Diffuse Attenuation Coefficient In A Moderately Turbid Estuary, Richard P. Stumpf, Jonathan Pennock

School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering

Abstract

Variation In A Host-Epiphyte Relationship Along A Wave Exposure Gradient, Phillip S. Levin, Arthur C. Mathieson

New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station Publications

The red alga Polysiphonia lanosa (L ) Tandy is an obligate epiphyte that primarily occurs on the fucoid brown algal basiphyte Ascophyllum nodosum (L) Le Jolis In the present study we examine how epiphytic interactions between P lanosa and A nodosum vary along a wave exposure gradient within the southern Gulf of Maine, USA P lanosa was most dense on protected shores, however because the stature of P lanosa was greater on exposed than on sheltered shores, greater biomass occurred In exposed habitats Epiphytlc P lanosa pnmanly attached to inlured vegetative bssue at exposed sites, while ~ t osc currence …

The New Hampshire, Vol. 82, No. 20 (Nov. 15, 1991), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire.

The New Hampshire, Vol. 82, No. 18 (Nov. 8, 1991), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire.

Plantsman, Oct/Nov 1991, New Hampshire Plant Growers' Association

Plantsman

A newsletter of the New Hampshire Plant Growers' Association

Potential Net Primary Productivity In South America: Application Of A Global Model, J. W. Raich, E. B. Rastetter, Jerry M. Melillo, David W. Kicklighter, P. A. Steudler, B. J. Peterson, Annette L. Schloss, Berrien Moore Iii, Charles J. Vorosmarty

All Materials

We use a mechanistically based ecosystem simulation model to describe and analyze the spatial and temporal patterns of terrestrial net primary productivity (NPP) in South America. The Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (TEM) is designed to predict major carbon and nitrogen fluxes and pool sizes in terrestrial ecosystems at continental to global scales. Information from intensively studies field sites is used in combination with continental—scale information on climate, soils, and vegetation to estimate NPP in each of 5888 non—wetland, 0.5° latitude °0.5° longitude grid cells in South America, at monthly time steps. Preliminary analyses are presented for the scenario of natural vegetation …

The New Hampshire, Vol. 82, No. 13 (Oct. 22, 1991), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire.

The New Hampshire, Vol. 82, No. 12 (Oct. 18, 1991), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire.

The New Hampshire, Vol. 82, No. 10 (Oct. 11, 1991), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire.

The New Hampshire, Vol. 82, No. 08 (Oct. 4, 1991), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire.

The Evaluation And Impact Of Coliform Bacterial And Enteric Virus Pollution In Southeastern New Hampshire, Aaron B. Margolin, Stephen H. Jones

NH Water Resources Research Center Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The New Hampshire, Vol. 82, No. 07 (Oct. 1, 1991), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire.

The New Hampshire, Vol. 82, No. 06 (Sep. 27, 1991), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire.

The New Hampshire, Vol. 82, No. 04 (Sep. 20, 1991), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire.

The New Hampshire, Vol. 82, No. 02 (Sep. 13, 1991), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire.