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Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

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Selected Topics In Video Coding And Computer Vision, Congxia Dai Dec 2007

Selected Topics In Video Coding And Computer Vision, Congxia Dai

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Video applications ranging from multimedia communication to computer vision have been extensively studied in the past decades. However, the emergence of new applications continues to raise questions that are only partially answered by existing techniques. This thesis studies three selected topics related to video: intra prediction in block-based video coding, pedestrian detection and tracking in infrared imagery, and multi-view video alignment.;In the state-of-art video coding standard H.264/AVC, intra prediction is defined on the hierarchical quad-tree based block partitioning structure which fails to exploit the geometric constraint of edges. We propose a geometry-adaptive block partitioning structure and a new intra prediction …

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Accessibility Of Wvu Websites For Individuals With Vision Impairments, Sarah Jacobin Dec 2007

Accessibility Of Wvu Websites For Individuals With Vision Impairments, Sarah Jacobin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Recently, several major corporations have been sued because their websites are inaccessible to individuals with disabilities. For a website to be accessible, people with disabilities should be able to navigate and interact with the site. Individuals who are blind or have vision impairments have difficulty accessing websites because they commonly use assistive technology to interpret content. This study is the first comprehensive study assessing the accessibility of WVU websites for individuals with disabilities, specifically individuals with visual impairments and comparing those results to those of two comparable universities in other areas of the country. Compliance with specifications of website accessibility …

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Methods Of Season Extension For Market Gardeners, Natalie R. Bumgarner Dec 2007

Methods Of Season Extension For Market Gardeners, Natalie R. Bumgarner

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Season extension methods have been used in many climates and crops for centuries on all scales of vegetable production. Our research compared the effect of six season extension methods on soil and ambient temperatures and yields of warm and cool season vegetables in organic production. The methods under investigation in field plots were row cover, row cover with water tubes, low tunnel, low tunnel with water tubes, and a control for comparison, which were all replicated three times in field plots. The cold frame, and cold frame with water buffer treatments were replicated once in separate structures. Radishes, lettuce, peppers, …

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Reproductive Consequences Of Exposure To Sediment Extracts From The South Branch Of The Potomac River On Japanese Medaka (Oryzias Latipes), Seth R. Davis Dec 2007

Reproductive Consequences Of Exposure To Sediment Extracts From The South Branch Of The Potomac River On Japanese Medaka (Oryzias Latipes), Seth R. Davis

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

An intersex condition, defined as the presence of oocytes in the testes of male gonochoristic fish, has been observed in smallmouth bass in the South Branch of the Potomac River, West Virginia, which indicates exposure to exogenous estrogens. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC's) are generally hydrophobic and would tend to be found within the sediment of aquatic environments. Few studies have attempted to show the effects of exposure to EDC's on fish using sediment chemical extracts. We have developed a mass sediment extraction technique using 2 solvents (hexane, ethyl acetate:acetone 50:50) to determine the effects of extracted chemicals from three sites …

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Capacity -Based Parameter Optimization Of Bandwidth Constrained Cpm, Rohit Iyer Seshadri Dec 2007

Capacity -Based Parameter Optimization Of Bandwidth Constrained Cpm, Rohit Iyer Seshadri

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Continuous phase modulation (CPM) is an attractive modulation choice for bandwidth limited systems due to its small side lobes, fast spectral decay and the ability to be noncoherently detected. Furthermore, the constant envelope property of CPM permits highly power efficient amplification. The design of bit-interleaved coded continuous phase modulation is characterized by the code rate, modulation order, modulation index, and pulse shape. This dissertation outlines a methodology for determining the optimal values of these parameters under bandwidth and receiver complexity constraints. The cost function used to drive the optimization is the information-theoretic minimum ratio of energy-per-bit to noise-spectral density found …

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Sociodemographic And Health -Related Risks For Loneliness And Outcome Differences By Loneliness Status In A Sample Of Older U.S. Adults, Laurie A. Theeke Dec 2007

Sociodemographic And Health -Related Risks For Loneliness And Outcome Differences By Loneliness Status In A Sample Of Older U.S. Adults, Laurie A. Theeke

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background. Loneliness is a prevalent problem for older adults and has been shown to be associated with negative physical, psychological, and social variables. There has been limited research focusing on the relationship of loneliness to health. There is a gap in the literature when it comes to understanding how the problem of loneliness relates to the health of older adults in the United States.;Purpose. The purpose of this study was to address this gap in the literature through the testing of two models, the first model represented the postulated risks for loneliness and the second model represented the postulated outcomes …

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Design And Real-Time Control Of Shipboard Power System Testbed, Pradeep Pant Dec 2007

Design And Real-Time Control Of Shipboard Power System Testbed, Pradeep Pant

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The objective of this thesis is to design and test a small scale testbed for the all-electric shipboard power distribution system. Shipboard power system is increasingly becoming more reconfigurable, and multi-agent systems are developed to automate routine operation and emergency reconfiguration. Underlying algorithms of these systems have been verified using software simulation tools. However, these simulators run in soft realtime by using simple mathematical models to represent the physical system. These models do not incorporate every aspect of the physical system. A testbed provides a cost effective physical environment to verify these algorithms and control techniques in the real world. …

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Modeling Sediment Movement In Forested Watersheds Using Hill-Slope Attributes, Gregory W. Hamons Dec 2007

Modeling Sediment Movement In Forested Watersheds Using Hill-Slope Attributes, Gregory W. Hamons

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The amount of sediment delivered to stream channels and the determination of the topographical attributes responsible for the origination and transfer of sediment were investigated in a central Appalachian mixed hardwood forest from 2002 through 2005. Two study watersheds were chosen within the Indian Run watershed in north central West Virginia. One remained undisturbed (control) and the other underwent road construction and tree harvesting operations (treatment). Sediment samples were collected from silt fences which were installed along both sides of the stream channels in both watersheds to ensure all sediment material delivered from adjacent hill-slopes was captured and collected. Sediment …

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Parametric Design Of A Coal Mine Refuge Chamber, Michael A. Fasouletos Aug 2007

Parametric Design Of A Coal Mine Refuge Chamber, Michael A. Fasouletos

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In 2006 several coal mine tragedies led to safety legislation to provide post accident protection to coal miners. One of the key aspects of this legislation was providing refuge areas where miners could await rescue if they could not escape the mine. These refuge areas were to be designed to sustain life for four days, providing the miners with adequate oxygen, carbon dioxide scrubbing, food, water, and reasonable temperature control. A parametric study has been performed to provide further definition of the requirements in order to design an optimal portable refuge chamber with little or no electricity to enhance the …

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Biolayer Modeling And Optimization For The Sparrow Biosensor, Ke Feng Aug 2007

Biolayer Modeling And Optimization For The Sparrow Biosensor, Ke Feng

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Biosensor direct detection of molecular binding events is of significant interest in applications from molecular screening for cancer drug design to bioagent detection for homeland security and defense. The Stacked Planar Affinity Regulated Resonant Optical Waveguide (SPARROW) structure based on coupled waveguides was recently developed to achieve increased sensitivity within a fieldable biosensor device configuration. Under ideal operating conditions, modification of the effective propagation constant of the structure's sensing waveguide through selective attachment of specific targets to probes on the waveguide surface results in a change in the coupling characteristics of the guide over a specifically designed interaction length with …

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Combining Complementary Formal Verification Strategies To Improve Performance And Accuracy, David R. Owen Aug 2007

Combining Complementary Formal Verification Strategies To Improve Performance And Accuracy, David R. Owen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Software is increasingly complex and is used in increasingly critical applications. Sophisticated techniques are available for verifying that software systems work correctly, but these techniques can be very difficult and expensive to use. Researchers have developed tools to automatically verify software models, but using these tools can still be very costly, in terms of manual effort and expertise required to build accurate models and to formally specify required properties, and also in terms of the time and memory required to run these tools. Much work has been done to simplify the process of building software models and to improve the …

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Insulin-Induced Endothelial Cell Proliferation And Viability In Stretched Murine Skin And Cell Culture, Carl D. Shrader Jr. Aug 2007

Insulin-Induced Endothelial Cell Proliferation And Viability In Stretched Murine Skin And Cell Culture, Carl D. Shrader Jr.

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

We developed a novel in vivo model utilizing acute stretch to investigate endothelial cell (EC) proliferation as a marker of vascular growth in healing SKH1 mouse skin. We also used human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) as an in vitro model system to validate postulated tissue insulin-mediated signal transduction pathway(s) using paradigms that would prove lethal in the animal model.;Dorsal distally based flaps of skin were stretched for 3 min using linear (skin hook) plus hemispherical load cycling (inflated subcutaneous silicone catheter). Unstretched, wounded skin along the back and sternum served as postoperative controls. Laser Doppler flowmetry demonstrated a three-fold …

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Factors That Influence The Effectiveness Of Assessment Plans In The Improvement And Sustainment Phase In Colleges And Universities, Christopher A. Mccullough Aug 2007

Factors That Influence The Effectiveness Of Assessment Plans In The Improvement And Sustainment Phase In Colleges And Universities, Christopher A. Mccullough

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Assessment in higher education has become increasingly important throughout the past 20 years. Institutions of higher education engage in student outcomes assessment for a plethora of purposes.;The researcher conducted this study to investigate current assessment practices at the undergraduate program level. The researcher determined the effectiveness of assessment plans within specific disciplines at institutions that have implemented and sustained their assessment plans. The researcher also identified the degree to which related institutional commitments and resources were provided to support assessment the assessment process. Faculty satisfaction with the assessment plan was also examined.

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Utility Of The Structured Inventory Of Malingered Symptomatology (Sims) And The Assessment Of Depression Inventory (Adi) In Screening For Malingering Among Disability Seeking Outpatients, Carl B. Clegg Aug 2007

Utility Of The Structured Inventory Of Malingered Symptomatology (Sims) And The Assessment Of Depression Inventory (Adi) In Screening For Malingering Among Disability Seeking Outpatients, Carl B. Clegg

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Sixty-four individuals undergoing a social security disability evaluation were administered the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS), Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology (SIMS), and Assessment of Depression Inventory (ADI). Individual results were classified as honest or suspected malingering based on SIRS scores. In addition, 63 individuals from the community were randomly assigned to complete the SIMS and the ADI honestly or as if they were malingering depression. Both malingering groups had significantly higher mean scores on the SIMS Total and ADI Feigning scales than both honest groups. The scores of the malingering groups did not significantly differ. In the clinical …

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The Effect Of Moisture Addition With A Mold Inhibitor On Feed Manufacture, Pellet Quality, And Broiler Performance, John M. Hott Aug 2007

The Effect Of Moisture Addition With A Mold Inhibitor On Feed Manufacture, Pellet Quality, And Broiler Performance, John M. Hott

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Commercial broilers are typically fed pelleted diets because of the resulting improvements in bird performance and ease of transportation. Feed and feed manufacturing costs account for 60--70% of the total costs incurred in a broiler production system. Feed manufacturers are constantly searching for ways to decrease production costs while maintaining high pellet quality. Moisture addition at the mixer has been shown to increase pellet quality and decrease pellet mill energy consumption. However, past literature has incorporated high moisture addition levels that may be impractical in an industrial setting. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of moisture …

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College Students' Perceptions Of Dialects, Leigh Smitley Aug 2007

College Students' Perceptions Of Dialects, Leigh Smitley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this investigation was to determine college students' perceptions of their own dialects and 4 specific dialects common to the English language. To determine this, the investigator developed a 3-part survey (Appendices H, I, J). On Part I, respondents completed identifying information. On Part II, they rated 9 general Likert Scale items related to dialect. On Part III, they completed the same semantic differential scale for speakers who represented 4 different dialects: Appalachian-American, Eastern-American, General-American, and African-American. There were 2 speakers for each dialect, i.e., 1 male and 1 female.;On Part I, respondents who completed a 3-part survey …

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Management Perceptions Of Off-Highway Vehicle Use On National Forest System Lands In Appalachia, Katherine A. Thompson Aug 2007

Management Perceptions Of Off-Highway Vehicle Use On National Forest System Lands In Appalachia, Katherine A. Thompson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Because of recent changes in the USDA Forest Service (USFS) travel management regulations, all National Forests are required to create a travel management atlas that includes a motor vehicle use map by 2009. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of OHV use, issues, and management among USFS District Rangers on National Forests in the Appalachian region, and to determine the differences in perceptions of those District Rangers based on the level of OHV recreation opportunities provided on their Districts. Having this information available will help managers make decisions about how to update their travel management plans. …

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Marine Paleoecology Of The Eads Mill Member, Hinton Formation, Upper Mississippian, West Virginia And Virginia, Timothy Vance Aug 2007

Marine Paleoecology Of The Eads Mill Member, Hinton Formation, Upper Mississippian, West Virginia And Virginia, Timothy Vance

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

During the Late Mississippian, the Eads Mill Member of the upper Hinton Formation was formed during the last marine transgression before deposition of the Princeton Sandstone. Five outcrops extending northward from southwest Virginia into southern West Virginia were sampled, and constituent fossil genera were identified in the lab. Seven guilds were recognized and similar taxa were grouped together based on their morphology and life habits. Binary presence/absence data were compiled for all guilds at each sampled unit, and processed using four multivariate techniques in order to identify any underlying paleoecological signal. All techniques yielded a strong trend in the data …

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Relationship Between Food Insecurity And Overweight In Preschool-Aged Children In Rural West Virginia, Melissa Webber Aug 2007

Relationship Between Food Insecurity And Overweight In Preschool-Aged Children In Rural West Virginia, Melissa Webber

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The prevalence of overweight among adults and children continues to increase. The purpose of this study was to evaluate demographic factors that may be associated with an increase in a child's weight status. Subjects were children aged 2 to 6 years old in two southern West Virginia counties, McDowell and Mercer. Children were weighed and measured, and BMI was calculated. Parents or other caregivers were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding child's age, household food security, and parents' age, height and weight, education level, and hours worked per week.;A positive association between food insecurity and overweight among children was present …

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Integrating Participatory Gis And Political Ecology To Study Flood Vulnerability In The Limpopo Province Of South Africa, Nthaduleni S. Nethengwe Aug 2007

Integrating Participatory Gis And Political Ecology To Study Flood Vulnerability In The Limpopo Province Of South Africa, Nthaduleni S. Nethengwe

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation research examines differential flood vulnerability in the Thulamela municipality of the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The study employs a triangulation of methods within a Participatory GIS methodology. Political ecology is the conceptual framework. The main premise of this research is that household flood vulnerability is socially constructed in that it is mediated by locally contingent political, socio-economic and environmental factors. As a result, conventional solutions that focus mainly on the physical event are ineffective and costly because they ignore local knowledge about flood hazards and flood coping mechanisms that have been disrupted or destroyed. The study integrates …

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Alterations In Progesterone Catabolic Enzymes By Insulin, Caleb Owens Lemley Aug 2007

Alterations In Progesterone Catabolic Enzymes By Insulin, Caleb Owens Lemley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The current experiments were conducted to determine if insulin could alter the progesterone catabolic enzymes, cytochrome P450 2C and 3A in vitro, utilizing a mouse hepatocyte cell-line, or in vivo, utilizing the ovariectomized ewe as a model. The objectives of the in vitro work were to determine if a four hour challenge with insulin, glucagon or a combination of both insulin and glucagon would lead to a reduction in the relative abundance of CYP2C39 or CYP3A13 mRNA, as well as a decrease in the enzymatic activities of CYP3A and CYP2C subfamilies. A dose dependent decrease (P < 0.05) in CYP2C and CYP3A activity was observed in hepatocytes challenged with increasing concentrations of insulin, while a challenge with glucagon had no effect on cytochrome P450 2C or 3A activity. Cytochrome P450 2C activity was decreased (P < 0.05) during exposure of cells to 1.0 nM insulin and 0.1 nM glucagon as well as 0.1 nM insulin and 1.0 nM glucagon. Cells cultured with 1.0 nM insulin and 0.1 nM glucagon showed a trend ( P < 0.10) for a decrease in CYP3A activity. The relative abundance of CYP2C39 and CYP3A13 mRNA showed no response to insulin, glucagon or a combination of insulin and glucagon exposure. These data support a model in which the known insulin-induced decrease in progesterone catabolism is a result of a reduction in CYP2C and CYP3A activity. The objectives of the in vivo experiment, utilizing ovariectomized ewes, were to determine if supplementing feed with either sodium acetate or sodium propionate altered insulin secretion, hepatic activity of cytochrome P450 2C and 3A, and/or progesterone clearance. Sixteen ovariectomized ewes were fed 3 kg/d for 10 d, a diet consisting of 50% corn silage, 38% triticale haylage, 12% soy bean meal, and 200 mL of 3.5 M sodium acetate (energy control n = 8) or 2.0 M sodium propionate (gluconeogenic substrate; n = 8). Insulin concentrations were determined directly before feeding and at 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, 240, and 300 min. Progesterone clearance from peripheral circulation was measured by giving a 5 mg injection of progesterone into the left jugular vein and collecting blood via the right jugular vein at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 15, 20 and 30 min afterwards. Liver biopsies were taken one hour after feeding and used for determination of cytochrome P450 2C and 3A activities. Insulin concentrations in ewes supplemented with sodium propionate were elevated (P < 0.05) at 15, 30 and 60 minutes after feeding compared to the sodium acetate group. Cytochrome P450 2C and 3A activity were decreased (P ≤ 0.05) 1 h after feeding in the sodium propionate treatment relative to sodium acetate treatment. Clearance of progesterone from the peripheral circulation, one hour after feeding, was similar between treatment groups, as well as the average fractional rate constant of progesterone clearance (k). Elucidating a mechanism to decrease progesterone catabolism, thereby increasing concentrations of progesterone, seems a logical approach to ameliorate high rates of embryonic loss without compromising dry matter intake.

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Factors That Influence An Individual's Decision To Teach Agricultural Education, Lee Ann Hall Aug 2007

Factors That Influence An Individual's Decision To Teach Agricultural Education, Lee Ann Hall

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that influence an individual's decision to teach agricultural education. A descriptive research design, in the form of a census survey, was used to collect data for this study. The population included individuals who completed their student teaching from 2002-2005 while attending one of five universities in the eastern United States. The five most influential factors identified by the respondents included (in order of influence): their agriculture teacher, agricultural background, FFA involvement, high school agricultural program involvement, and family. Individuals who did not teach agriculture made their decision based on the …

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Error Resilient Image Transmission Using T-Codes And Edge-Embedding, Premchander Reddy Aug 2007

Error Resilient Image Transmission Using T-Codes And Edge-Embedding, Premchander Reddy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Current image communication applications involve image transmission over noisy channels, where the image gets damaged. The loss of synchronization at the decoder due to these errors increases the damage in the reconstructed image. Our main goal in this research is to develop an algorithm that has the capability to detect errors, achieve synchronization and conceal errors.;In this thesis we studied the performance of T-codes in comparison with Huffman codes. We develop an algorithm for the selection of best T-code set. We have shown that T-codes exhibit better synchronization properties when compared to Huffman Codes. In this work we developed an …

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Uav Based Distributed Automatic Target Detection Algorithm Under Realistic Simulated Environmental Effects, Shanshan Gong Aug 2007

Uav Based Distributed Automatic Target Detection Algorithm Under Realistic Simulated Environmental Effects, Shanshan Gong

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Over the past several years, the military has grown increasingly reliant upon the use of unattended aerial vehicles (UAVs) for surveillance missions. There is an increasing trend towards fielding swarms of UAVs operating as large-scale sensor networks in the air [1]. Such systems tend to be used primarily for the purpose of acquiring sensory data with the goal of automatic detection, identification, and tracking objects of interest. These trends have been paralleled by advances in both distributed detection [2], image/signal processing and data fusion techniques [3]. Furthermore, swarmed UAV systems must operate under severe constraints on environmental conditions and sensor …

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Performance Of Compact Mobile Emissions Monitoring System For Real-Time On-Board Emissions Measurement, Chandima S. Jayasinghe Aug 2007

Performance Of Compact Mobile Emissions Monitoring System For Real-Time On-Board Emissions Measurement, Chandima S. Jayasinghe

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the Compact Mobile Emissions Monitoring System (CMEMS) in an engine dynamometer test cell equipped with laboratory grade analyzers, and under real-world testing conditions. The CMEMS was evaluated in the test cell with the engine operating under transient (FTP) and steady state conditions and results were compared with laboratory data.;In response to the Consent Decrees, which were entered into by some of the heavy duty engine manufactures and the United States, several in-use portable emissions measurement systems (PEMS) have been developed, and some of them are commercially available. However, most …

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Study Of An Error In Engine Ecu Data Collected For In-Use Emissions Testing And Development And Evaluation Of A Corrective Procedure, Petr Sindler Aug 2007

Study Of An Error In Engine Ecu Data Collected For In-Use Emissions Testing And Development And Evaluation Of A Corrective Procedure, Petr Sindler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A study was conducted to evaluate and correct possible inaccuracies in in-use emissions measurements, which were made with Portable Emissions Measurement Systems (PEMS). West Virginia University developed a PEMS termed the Mobile Emissions Measurement System (MEMS) for measurement of heavy duty on road diesel emissions and reporting them in brake specific units (g/bhp-hr). In particular, the study focused on inaccuracies in the engine Electronic Control Unit (ECU) broadcast data logged by the Dearborn Protocol Adapter (DPA) and the Data Link Monitor (DLM) software. Data for this study were collected both in the West Virginia University's Engine Emission Research Laboratory with …

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Web-Based Inventory Management System For The West Virginia State Police, Robert M. Horwatt May 2007

Web-Based Inventory Management System For The West Virginia State Police, Robert M. Horwatt

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis describes the conversion of a DOS-based database system to meet very specific web-based database requirements of the West Virginia State Police. The need for conversion was proposed by the West Virginia State Police in January of 2007. The conversion process given here: allows for normalization of all data; to make the process of inventory management easier for employees of the West Virginia State Police (WVSP); enumerates inventory management problems currently being faced by the WVSP; presents a brief explanation of databases and the database model being used; and provides the initial requirements, specifications for this system These requirements …

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Specifying Security Requirements Improvement For Ieee Standard 830, Jacob D. Mccarty May 2007

Specifying Security Requirements Improvement For Ieee Standard 830, Jacob D. Mccarty

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This paper presents a concept on how the software requirements specifications template provided by IEEE Standard 830 could be updated to ensure that security is analyzed during the early stages of the software development lifecycle. This improved security requirement in the software requirements specifications will ensure that software developers will have a more clear understanding of how to protect digital information.

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Power Market Analysis Tool For Congestion Management, Silpa Parnandi May 2007

Power Market Analysis Tool For Congestion Management, Silpa Parnandi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The privatization and deregulation of electricity markets has increased competition and electricity may be produced and consumed in amounts that would cause the transmission system to operate beyond transfer limits---the system is congested. Hence, congestion management is a fundamental transmission management problem. In this thesis, a power market analysis tool is designed for congestion management. The tool creates an interface between PowerWorld (c), a professional software tool to compute power flows, and MATLAB RTM. The tool helps in analyzing power flow results, batch-processing of large case studies, and providing the user with options to manage congestions. A graphical user interface …

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Tattooing And High-Risk Behavior Among Adolescents, Tiffany Lynn Stickel May 2007

Tattooing And High-Risk Behavior Among Adolescents, Tiffany Lynn Stickel

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

High-risk behavior in the domains of tobacco, alcohol, and drug use, and sexual behavior were investigated in relation to tattoo presence/absence among adolescents aged 18-22 years. Adolescents' motivations to become tattooed were also explored. Participants included 400 tattooed and non-tattooed (147 male, 253 female) students at West Virginia University. Self-report questionnaires, which included items from the 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) as well as items derived by the investigator, were used to assess risk-taking behavior, tattoo presence/absence, and motives for obtaining/not obtaining tattoos. A significant relationship between high-risk behavior and tattooing was found using crosstabulation and chi-square analyses, …

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