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An Improved Multi-Dimensional Cmac Neural Network: Receptive Field Function And Placement, Pak-Cheung Edgar An

Doctoral Dissertations

The standard CMAC has been shown to have fast learning computation as a result of modular receptive field placement, rectangular receptive field shape and a simple weight adaptation algorithm. The standard CMAC, however, suffers from slow convergence at some critical frequency due to the rectangular receptive field shape. A linearly-tapered field, which requires a uniform placement, was used in this research. The receptive field placement of the standard CMAC becomes less uniform locally for a larger receptive field width. This dissertation suggests a new field placement which is more uniform without extra computation. Results show that the slow convergence at …

Environmental And Biological Factors Affecting Tissue Composition Of Marine Macrophytes, Zhanyang Guo

Doctoral Dissertations

The tissue nitrogen and phosphorus composition of 59 marine macrophytes from the Great Bay Estuarine System, NH-Maine and adjacent coast is affected by a variety of environmental and biological factors; by contrast, tissue carbon is more consistent. The overall mean CNP ratio of these plants was 612:29:1, which deviated significantly from that previously recorded for phytoplankton.

The C:N:P ratios within seaweeds were more closely related to functional forms than phylogenetic relationships. Brown algae had higher C:N ratios than green and red algae. This pattern primarily resulted from the very high C:N ratios within thick bladed and coarsely branched species, which …

Molecular Variation In Picea Rubens And Picea Mariana, Michael S. Bobola

Doctoral Dissertations

Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) variation was examined among samples from the entire range of red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.), the eastern complex of black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.), control-cross red-on-black hybrids, and natural populations of red and black spruce. Within-species and population variation was examined. In addition an accurate species index capable of identifying red spruce, black spruce and hybridization between the two species was developed.

The nuclear rDNA repeat unit size in Picea ranged from a minimum of 32 kbp to greater than 40 kbp, two to three fold larger than the typical angiosperm rDNA unit. At …

Semistate Systems And The Continuation Method, Barbara Dziurla-Rucinska

Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis stems from and continues the research of the author and R. Newcomb on semistate theory initiated under the joint Polish-American Program on Active Microelectronic Systems. The main theme is the development of design and analysis techniques through semistate theory, especially for systems containing hysteresis. The use of hysteresis can lead to simplified realizations, for example replacing second order systems by first order ones. Since hysteresis can often be conveniently realized by active electronic components it holds considerable promise for future integrated circuits. However the multivalued nature of hysteresis precludes the use of standard methodologies, such as that of …

Postmodernism As The Sociocultural Deconstruction Of Modernity, Steven Craig Ward

Doctoral Dissertations

This work seeks to provide a description of the theoretical positions and cultural expressions of postmodernism and to provide a sociological critique of its conclusions. The work uses the writings of the Derrida, Foucault, Lyotard, Lacan, and Baudrillard, as well as arguments in neo-pop art and postmodern architecture, as representatives of the postmodern position on the issues of referentiality, subjectivity, and rationality. Postmodernism is treated as a skeptical theoretical and cultural system which levels all ideational distinctions between belief and knowledge and truth and rhetoric. This work argues that a social or constructivist epistemology can provide a different way of …

One Writing Process: A Self-Reflective Analysis Of The Creation Of A Young Adult Novel, Thomas S. Romano

Doctoral Dissertations

To describe his process of creation, the author analyzes the journal he kept in conjunction with writing a young adult novel. Each day he wrote fiction, he used a journal to document his writing and thinking processes, invention strategies, and creation dilemmas. The author examined his planning techniques, his use of visualization and detail, the role that reading played in his writing, and the influence of people and autobiographical experience. He found that some of his most productive planning and thinking were done while away from his writing room, not consciously thinking about the novel-in-progress until ideas suddenly occurred to …

Genetic, Physiological And Anatomical Analyses Of A Wilty Mutant In Tomato (Lycopersicon Esculentum Mill, Cv Large Plum), Karen Elizabeth Rasmussen

Doctoral Dissertations

Large Plum', a tomato cultivar carrying a wilty mutation (LP-wilty), was characterized genetically, physiologically, and anatomically. Inheritance, complementation, and mapping studies of LP-wilty were performed. The mutation was found to be inherited as a single dominant gene, distinct from other wilty alleles, and was mapped to the long arm of chromosome six.

Measurements were taken of stomatal conductance, root conductance, shoot water potential, and leaf water potential for 'Large Plum' and normal plants. Results suggest that both stomatal conductance and root conductance rates are reduced in the wilty mutants. In addition, shoot and leaf water potentials are more negative in …

Motivational And Cognitive Components Of Self-Presentation In Humor And Embarrassment: A Multi-Measure Approach, Mae Lynn Neyhart

Doctoral Dissertations

Different methodological approaches were taken to explore the role of situational variables and personality factors that measure the motivational component of self presentation on degree of subjects' reported feelings of threat and their response time to complete self-directed humorous or embarrassing situations. In Study 1 a questionnaire approach was utilized and qualitative as well as quantitative data was analyzed. Specifically, humorous and embarrassing situations that male and female subjects provided were compared. Relations were found between personality measures and reported degree of threat. Study 2 included a response time measure and number of times a subject made another person the …

The Effect Of Calcium On The Interaction Of Protein C With Thrombin And The Elastase Fragment Of Thrombomodulin: Analysis By Analytical Ultracentrifugation, Philip Henry Olsen

Doctoral Dissertations

The effect of Ca$\sp{2+}$ on the activation of protein C by thrombin bound to the elastase fragment of thrombomodulin (e1TM) is complex. The rate of activation increases from 0 at 0 mM Ca$\sp{2+}$ to a maximum at 0.3 mM Ca$\sp{2+}$ and decreases 25-fold upon further addition of Ca$\sp{2+}$ (Kurosawa et al., 1987). The results reported here demonstrate that thrombin, protein C and e1TM form a complex in the absence of Ca$\sp{2+}$ that falls apart with the addition of Ca$\sp{2+}$. This observation, in conjunction with the above mentioned kinetic studies, suggests that recognition of protein C by thrombin does not require …

A Statistical Study Of Narrow Bandwidth, High-Latitude Geomagnetic Pulsations, Mark Andrew Popecki

Doctoral Dissertations

This study is a survey of micropulsations at three high-latitude ground stations. Results concerning the source region of Pc1/2 waves are discussed. The study revealed a diurnal occurrence pattern for waves in the 0.1-0.4 Hz band (Pc1/2), and showed that the pattern was not due to the effects of sunlight on the ionosphere, but instead from a postnoon magnetospheric source region. The importance of He+ ions in the magnetosphere to wave growth is also indicated. Based on the diurnal and seasonal occurrence patterns of the waves above and below 0.4 Hz, it is concluded that the waves observed on the …

Values And Preventive Health Behavior: Assessment Using The Rokeach Value Survey, Response Time, And Certainty Ratings, Robert Wayne Blodgett

Doctoral Dissertations

The relation between the value college students place on health and their self-reported preventive health behavior was examined within the context of Rokeach's (1973) value system. Two broad categories of values having opposite relations with preventive health behavior were identified. Of particular interest was whether decision times and degrees of certainty regarding the importance of health, relative to other values, would facilitate the prediction of preventive health behavior scores. Knowledge of ordinal distance from health enhanced prediction, but only for certain values. Composite scores incorporating response times and certainty ratings with ordinal distance from health, however, did not improve predictions …

Summer Revisions: An Ethnographic Study Of High School Teachers In The Culture Of A Summer Writing Program, Bonnie S. Sunstein

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation uses the term "culture" as a metaphor to describe teachers as they participate in the three-week summer writing program at the University of New Hampshire. Using ethnographic methodology, it blends composition theory, anthropology, folkloristics, and psychology. In the voice of the participant observer, the study describes and interprets both the people and the event as a "readable social institution." Teachers live inside a close collegial environment, a temporary, "liminal" state, away from their home and school responsibilities. They form a dialectical relationship with the "culture" as they write and talk inside a social environment in which other teachers …

Vivencias: Writing As A Way Into A New Language And Culture, Meg Joanna Peterson-Gonzalez

Doctoral Dissertations

Because of its relation to thinking processes, writing has been used "across the curriculum" to promote learning in different subject areas. Writing allows for revision and reflection, forces authors to be more specific because of its different context, and imposes organization through conventional forms. Writing has not been used extensively however, in second language teaching. It is viewed, rather, as a skill to be practiced and its potential to catalize language learning has remained largely untapped. Writing has been used in cross-cultural training, but generally this use takes the form of journals kept in the native language, which, while valuable …

Toughening Mechanisms In Weak Matrix Ceramic Composites, Jowoong Ha

Doctoral Dissertations

"Tough behavior of ceramic matrix composites is closely related to the weak interface between fiber and matrix. The weak interfaces in composites have been provided by reducing the chemical bonding and the residual thermal stresses between constituents. A new way to introduce the weak interface by induced porosity or damaged zones, so called porosity toughening or damage toughening respectively, was proposed in this study to provide the rationale for guiding development of oxide/oxide composites. The existence of porosity toughening was examined by qualitative theoretical consideration and experiments. Porous oxide/oxide composites were fabricated using alumino-silicate fibers (Nextel 440) and magnesium alumino-silicate …

New Bio-Analytical Separations Utilizing Chiral Mobile Phase Additives In Thin Layer Chromatography And Chiral Stationary Phases In High Performance Liquid Chromatography, Jo Dee Duncan

Doctoral Dissertations

"The problem addressed by this dissertation is the separation of optical isomers in commercial as well as biological samples. The chromatographic separation of enantiomers is an important and rapidly developing field of study. Chiral separations of pharmaceutical compounds and important organic intermediates in high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and thin layer chromatography (TLC) were achieved. Two methods were employed for the direct liquid chromatographic resolution of chiral analytes: chiral stationary phases (CSPs) and chiral mobile phase additives (CMAs). Native and derivatized ß-cyclodextrins (ß-CD) were used as chiral stationary phases in reverse phase and normal phase HPLC, respectively. This study marked …

Initial Characterization Of Coagulin Polymerization And A Novel Trypsin Inhibitor From Limulus Polyphemus, Maribeth Ann Donovan

Doctoral Dissertations

In the final step of coagulation in the horseshoe crab, coagulogen (M$\sb{\rm w}$ = 19,000, from sedimentation equilibrium) is converted by discrete proteolysis into its clottable form, coagulin. Coagulogen does not have a strong tendency to self-associate. In 0.1 M ammonium bicarbonate, 50 mM Tris-HCL (pH 8.1), trypsin generated coagulin rapidly associates to form a stable, solid gel. Polymerization is pH-dependent, with reversible depolymerization occurring in acid (midpoint pH 5.4). Sedimentation velocity analysis reveals that stable intermediates remain at pH 2.5, with 30-31 s being the predominant form along with monomer (1.89 s) and larger forms ($>$60 s). Near …

Observations Of Cosmic Gamma Ray Sources And Their Contribution To The Diffuse Gamma Ray Background, Debadarshi Bhattacharya

Doctoral Dissertations

The objective of this project is to study soft $\gamma$-ray emission in the (0.1-10) MeV energy band for selected AGN and explore how much they contribute to the total diffuse $\gamma$-ray background. For this purpose, a series of imaging observations of extragalactic objects in the low-energy $\gamma$-ray region were carried out by the University of New Hampshire's Coded Aperture Directional Gamma-Ray Telescope (DGT). The DGT was successfully flown at stratospheric balloon altitudes on 1988, May 11 when observations were made of the Crab, NGC 1275, MKN 421, and NGC 4151. The measured Crab spectrum is consistent with a featureless power-law …

Playful Literacy: First-Graders As Meaning-Makers In The Literacies Of Play, The Creative Arts, And The Language Arts, Judith Macdonald Fueyo

Doctoral Dissertations

This ethnographic study of a first grade classroom examines the interdependence and synergism of multiple symbol systems. Children's oral language, their idiosyncratic use of time and space in the classroom, as well as their play and artmaking all suggest dynamic interrelationships with their writing. Simply put, the study asks, How do play, work in the creative arts, and the language arts influence each other?

Historically, language arts studies have been verbocentric. Such an exclusively verbal conception of language arts limits expressive potential in general, and in particular, limits writing development. Nearly a decade ago, Janet Emig asked writing researchers, "...for …

Success Avoidance: A Gender Neutral Theory, Geraldine Lipman King

Doctoral Dissertations

The focus of this dissertation is the development of a non-gender-specific theory of success avoidance. Because success avoidance has traditionally been viewed as a phenomenon associated with female socialization, there is an initial look at the messages given to, and responses of, men and the issue of success.

In order to provide a foundation for a more expansive theory, there is an exploration of mixed-gender groups based on quantitative and qualitative data accumulated prior to the theory's generation.

Existing motivational constructs that influenced the theory's development are acknowledged and, to various degrees, assimilated into a new orientation. Ultimately, a theory …

Synthesis And Complexation Studies Of Cyclohexane-Based Tripodands, John Damon Peabody

Doctoral Dissertations

The present work has been concerned with the design and synthesis of cyclohexane-based polypodands and physico-chemical studies of the corresponding podates formed by complexation of alkali metal ions. Of particular interest has been the drastic conformational biasing of the back-bone ligand structure which is associated with the complexation process.

A number of new tripodand ligands (11, 12, 13, 15, & 17) have been synthesized. The methodology central to these syntheses has been the alkylation of the cyclohexanetriol with the "podal" tosylates (or alkyl halide). Some of the final synthetic targets were arrived at by subsequent functional group conversions.(DIAGRAM, TABLE OR …

Endor And Eseem Studies Of A Cyanide Adduct Of Transferrin, Penny Ann Snetsinger

Doctoral Dissertations

Information about the ligand environment of the iron binding sites in a cyanide adduct of transferrin was obtained by an analysis of powder-type ENDOR and ESEEM spectra. The low-spin cyanide adduct of transferrin is formed only in the C-terminal site of the protein and is characterized by a rhombic EPR spectrum. Earlier work demonstrated that three cyanide groups are necessary to form the adduct, but it wasn't clear whether these groups were coordinated directly to the metal or to cationic sites on the protein. The ENDOR spectra of the $\sp{13}$CN adduct showed one set of $\sp{13}$C ENDOR resonances which probably …

Genetic Variability And Population Structure Of Eastern White Pine In A Two Hectare Stand, Durham, New Hampshire, Petr R. Brym

Doctoral Dissertations

The genetic structure of a two hectare stand of eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.) was studied by relating foliar allozyme composition of individual trees to tree location and age. Using starch gel electrophoresis, the trees were found to have variants for six of the seven enzymes analyzed. Trees of similar age and with common allozymes were found in clusters, suggesting that genetic structure existed in the stand. The genetic structure may have originated during establishment of several seedlings from common parents when openings were created in the canopy. Knowing that a genetic structure, such as that observed in this …

Learning To Live: Values And Experience In The Life Of A Classroom, Mary Comstock

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the question, "How are the values of the people who comprise a classroom manifested there?" The results of this ethnographic study are reported in descriptive narrative and cover events which took place in a grade five classroom over a period of four and a half months.

The body of the narrative entails events in an experiential learning environment in which the teaching of content area curriculum was accompanied by numerous field trips and other hands-on activities. Moreover, lessons intended to raise the children's awareness of environment, community, ethics and values were also taught.

This study concludes that …

Changing Energy Futures: A Systems Approach To The Adoption Of Energy Alternatives In New Hampshire, Mark Edward Diffenderfer

Doctoral Dissertations

In an attempt to develop a comprehensive approach to the study of the adoption of energy systems, this dissertation first critically examines a variety of approaches to this phenomenon, including market models of adoption, the adoption of innovations literature, and the social psychology of attitudes and behavior. Market models are seen as generally reductionistic and the argument is made that they fail to take into consideration a variety of non-cost considerations. The assumption here is that while price considerations play a role in this process, decisions are also affected by values and attitudes which are not directly incorporated into market …

A Study Of Ion Acceleration At Rocket Altitudes And Development And Calibration Of Pitch Angle Imaging Charged Particle Detectors, Gregory Paul Garbe

Doctoral Dissertations

Data obtained from the January 1988 flight of the Topaz 2 sounding rocket will be presented. It has been found that four types of ion populations were observed during this flight. During the early portions of the upleg and late portions of the downleg numerical fits of the plasma will be compared with in-situ data to show the Maxwellian behavior and derived plasma parameters. Throughout the middle portion of the flight superthermal tails (ion conics) were observed and are modeled using a bi-Maxwellian distribution function from which T$\sb{\rm perp}$ and T$\sb{\rm par}$ can be derived. Two other ion populations were …

Estimates Of Energy Expenditure In Women And A Biofeedback Device For Weight Loss, Sandra Rutter

Doctoral Dissertations

Researchers have been unable to discern the relationship between energy expenditure and obesity because there has been no reliable, unobtrusive method to capture daily activity. Single-plane accelerometers have been developed, using microcomputer technology, which may provide a means for measuring expenditure in human subjects. The Caltrac Personal Activity Computer$\sp\circler$ has shown high test-retest reliability and a strong relationship to several measures of expenditure in some laboratory tests. In Experiment 1, 40 university women (mean age = 19.15 yr) wore Caltracs during waking hours for either three or six consecutive days, with the devices programmed to count activity regardless of individual …

Development And Application Of Artificial Intelligence Strategies To Solve Infrared Spectroscopic Problems, Barry J. Wythoff

Doctoral Dissertations

The ever-increasing power of modern infrared instrumentation, coupled with the decreasing number of experienced spectroscopists has created an imbalance between information generation and interpretation capabilities. At the same time, digital computers are being developed which continue to grow in storage and processing capabilities, and shrink in cost. Clearly, the computer may serve as a valuable tool to aid the analytical chemist in interpreting spectroscopic information. This dissertation deals with the development of new approaches to exploiting computer technology to interpret infrared spectroscopic data.

A large existing expert system for functional group analysis, PAIRS, has been modified to transfer the maximum …

Breaking The Rules: Teaching And Learning Writing In The High School, Ann Bruthwell Vibert

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the development of student- and process-centered writing classrooms within the context of a traditionally structured, curriculum-centered high school. The focus of the study is on how teachers and students experience and address contradictions between assumptions implicit in writing process pedagogy and assumptions implicit in the structure and organization of the high school.

An eight-month ethnography of two high school English classrooms, the study is a descriptive narrative of the classroom and school events punctuated by the reflective comments of teachers and students in intensive and extensive interviews. The classrooms are "placed" within the school, the teachers within …

Structural And Functional Characterization Of The Yeast General Transcriptional Activator Ccr4, Thomas M. Malvar

Doctoral Dissertations

Transcription of the glucose-repressible ADH (ADH2 locus) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is controlled by two regulatory pathways. The general transcriptional factors CCR4, CRE1, and CRE2 constitute the first pathway while the second pathway is comprised of the trans-activators ADR1 and CCR1. Both ADR1 and CCR1 act through upstream activation sequences (UAS) found in the 5$\sp\prime$-regulatory region of the ADH2 structual gene. In contrast, the action of CCR4, CRE1, and CRE2 is likely to be at sequences near the TATAA element of ADH2.

The CCR4 locus was precisely mapped on the left arm of chromosome I where it had previously been localized. …

Computational Study Of Red Cell Distribution In Simple Networks, Wen-Rong Fu

Doctoral Dissertations

The distribution of red blood cells (RBC) across the vessel lumen is disturbed when blood flows through a junction. As the blood flows downstream from the junction, the RBC distribution "corrects" itself to regain its original symmetric character. A dispersion-type process has been used to model this rearrangement process in 3-dimensional branching tubes.

In this study, the disturbance in the RBC profile is quantified by tracing streamlines through the junction. The tracing technique is based on scaled-up dye studies. The computation starts at a location where the velocity profile is fully developed. Both uniform and parabolic RBC profiles are examined …