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Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

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Using Wenger's Social Theory Of Learning To Examine University Teachers' Understanding Of How Instructional Technology Affects Their Experience In Practice, Laura L. Adams May 2010

Using Wenger's Social Theory Of Learning To Examine University Teachers' Understanding Of How Instructional Technology Affects Their Experience In Practice, Laura L. Adams

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to take an exploratory look at how university teachers come to understand their experience in educational practice and their professional role as teachers who integrate instructional technology into their coursework using the framework provided by Wenger's Social Theory of Learning. University faculty who teach in a college of education that integrate instructional technology into their courses were important to inform this study.;Qualitative research methods were used to gather data that was collected from (1) university teachers' engagement in an annual instructional technology professional development activity and (2) eight participants who teach in a college …

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Comparing The Use Of Qpcr On Isolated Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus Dolomieu) And Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss) Hepatocytes For Estrogen Screening, Emily Breana Chambers May 2010

Comparing The Use Of Qpcr On Isolated Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus Dolomieu) And Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss) Hepatocytes For Estrogen Screening, Emily Breana Chambers

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Exposure of fish to estrogenic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EEDCs) is believed to be a contributing factor of intersex (the presence of immature oocytes in the testes) and fish kills in the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. EEDCs are often seen in the effluent of wastewater treatment plants. A simple and common way to look at the estrogenicity of water samples is to deploy Passive Organic Chemical Integrative Samplers (POCIS) and extract the hydrophilic compounds from the filters with methanol. Samplers were deployed upstream and downstream of two wastewater treatment plants, one on the Conococheague River and one on the Monocacy River, …

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Religious And Environmental Values In Pcusa And Ucc Church Camp Programs, Ross S. Bash May 2010

Religious And Environmental Values In Pcusa And Ucc Church Camp Programs, Ross S. Bash

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The association between denominational affiliation, as the independent variable, and (1) religious values, (2) environmental values, and (3) the integration of religious values and environmental values, as the dependent variables, in church camp programs of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (PCUSA) and the United Church of Christ (UCC) was examined through survey research of PCUSA and UCC church camps across the United States. The results indicated that there is a significant statistical relationship between PCUSA and UCC church camp programs by reference to denominational affiliation for all three dependent variables.

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Constraints To Participation In An Outdoor Orientation Program, Madeleine Hoden May 2010

Constraints To Participation In An Outdoor Orientation Program, Madeleine Hoden

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Outdoor orientation programs have shown success in helping students transition to college life. Research has shown that outcomes for students participating in a first year seminar include achieving higher grade point averages, higher persistence, measured by completion of a degree, and taking less time to complete a degree program. This study used Crawford, Godbey, and Jackson's hierarchical model of structural, interpersonal and intrapersonal constraints to leisure. An online survey was used to measure constraints to participation in Adventure WV. Students tended to perceive structural constraints as the most common constraints. Results indicated that female students tended to perceive intrapersonal constraints …

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Motivations, Factors And Issues Concerning Students At West Virginia University, Jeremy L. Kelly May 2010

Motivations, Factors And Issues Concerning Students At West Virginia University, Jeremy L. Kelly

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Motivations take on different forms and strengths. There are many goals that students reach for, especially graduating with a degree. Throughout the years many individuals lose interest or get side tracked. The purpose of this study was to look at the many factors that motivate students to begin their education at West Virginia University, and the reasons that they stay. The study was limited to 320 students enrolled in the Agricultural and Extension Education courses 101, 110 and 220 for the 2010 spring semester. The final set of useable surveys numbered 281 (90.9%). The students were presented an online survey, …

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Virtual Programs And Their Impact On Appalachian Ohio High Schools, Wendy Hanasky May 2010

Virtual Programs And Their Impact On Appalachian Ohio High Schools, Wendy Hanasky

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Online learning has grown so much in recent years that researchers have struggled to keep up with its evolution. Practitioners are interested not only in how many schools are using online courses, but also how these courses are being delivered and how programs are being implemented.;The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the impact of virtual programs on Appalachian Ohio school districts including: which Appalachian Ohio High Schools are using virtual programs, what programs are being used, and why these programs are in place. Rural school districts have added hardships because they are usually limited in course offerings …

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Differences In Learning Styles And Satisfaction Between Traditional Face-To-Face And Online Web-Based Sport Management Studies Students, Ellen Jo West May 2010

Differences In Learning Styles And Satisfaction Between Traditional Face-To-Face And Online Web-Based Sport Management Studies Students, Ellen Jo West

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Each student has a unique learning style or individual way of perceiving, interacting, and responding to a learning environment. The purpose of this study was to identify and compare the prevalence of learning styles among undergraduate Sport Management Studies (SMS) students at California University of Pennsylvania (Cal U). Learning style prevalence was determined for traditional face-to-face students and online web-based students and differences in learning style prevalence between these two groups were explored. Finally, differences in student satisfaction between program delivery methods were examined by using an online questionnaire designed by the researcher.;The population for this study included 247 Cal …

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Designing A Face Detection Captcha, Adam C. Day May 2010

Designing A Face Detection Captcha, Adam C. Day

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Completely Automated Tests for Telling Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHAs) are quickly becoming a standard for security in every online interface that could be the subject to spam or other exploitation. The majority of today's CAPTCHA technologies rely on text-based images, which present the user with a string of distorted characters and asks the user to type out the characters. The problem with CAPTCHAs is that they are often difficult to solve and can generally be successfully defeated using techniques such as segmentation and optical character recognition. We introduce an image face recognition based CAPTCHA which presents the user with …

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Utilization Of The Seven Principles For Good Practice In Undergraduate Education In General Chemistry By Community College Instructors, Jennifer Panther Bishoff May 2010

Utilization Of The Seven Principles For Good Practice In Undergraduate Education In General Chemistry By Community College Instructors, Jennifer Panther Bishoff

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In recent years, higher education has undergone many changes. The advent of assessment, accountability, and a newfound focus on teaching have required faculty to examine how they are teaching. Administrators and faculty are beginning to recognize that learning is not a "one size fits all" enterprise. To this end, Chickering and Gamson developed an inventory that examined faculty utilization of the Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. The seven principles included by the authors included faculty-student interaction, cooperative learning, active learning, giving prompt feedback, emphasizing time on task, communicating high expectations, and respecting diverse talents and ways of …

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Empirical Analysis Of Bwt-Based Lossless Image Compression, Kalyan Varma Bhupathiraju May 2010

Empirical Analysis Of Bwt-Based Lossless Image Compression, Kalyan Varma Bhupathiraju

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Burrows-Wheeler Transformation (BWT) is a text transformation algorithm originally designed to improve the coherence in text data. This coherence can be exploited by compression algorithms such as run-length encoding or arithmetic coding. However, there is still a debate on its performance on images. Motivated by a theoretical analysis of the performance of BWT and MTF, we perform a detailed empirical study on the role of MTF in compressing images with the BWT. This research studies the compression performance of BWT on digital images using different predictors and context partitions. The major interest of the research is in finding efficient …

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Residual Feed Intake, Body Composition And Fertility In Yearling Beef Heifers, Kevin S. Shaffer May 2010

Residual Feed Intake, Body Composition And Fertility In Yearling Beef Heifers, Kevin S. Shaffer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

One hundred thirty-seven spring born yearling beef heifers of English breed types were used to determine the relationships between residual feed intake (RFI) and growth rate, body composition, mature size, and fertility. Heifers were housed in a drylot facility during the trial and data were collected over a two-year period (year 1, n=67; year 2, n=70). Individual feed intake, body weight (BW), body condition score (BCS ), hip height (HH), and carcass ultrasound measurements (subcutaneous rib and rump fat; RIF and RUF, respectively, longissimus muscle area; LMA, and intramuscular fat; IMF ) were collected. Individual feed intakes were expressed as …

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The Alto Trombone As A Transposing Instrument, Brian Kirke Plitnik May 2010

The Alto Trombone As A Transposing Instrument, Brian Kirke Plitnik

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Coinciding with a concern for authenticity and balance in the orchestral brass section, and a renewed interest in 18th century solo trombone literature, the nearly forgotten alto trombone has enjoyed a rousing comeback in recent decades. The alto trombone has traditionally existed as a concert-pitch instrument likely due to its early use in church music as a means of doubling the voice. Standard notational practice for the modern E-Flat alto has changed little over the centuries. While performance practice in previous centuries is not verifiable, current alto trombonists are tenor trombonists first; the alto trombone is nearly always a secondary …

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Utilization Of Leaf Meal As A Potential Feed Source, Jason K. Smith May 2010

Utilization Of Leaf Meal As A Potential Feed Source, Jason K. Smith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Alternative feeds are currently utilized by producers throughout much of animal agriculture as a method of reducing feed costs. Under careful resource management, and proper understanding of their potential effects on animal performance, some deciduous tree leaves may prove to be a valuable feed resource, as substantial tonnage exists in the forests of the United States. In order to assess their value as a feed source, fall-dropped Quercus alba (white oak) and Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip poplar) leaves were collected at the Appalachian Farming Systems Research Center in Beaver, WV by the USDA-ARS. Proximate analysis and fiber determination, as well as …

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Effects Of Diadochokinetic Rate On Vocal Fundamental Frequency And Intensity In Normally Speaking Young Adults, Oya Topbas May 2010

Effects Of Diadochokinetic Rate On Vocal Fundamental Frequency And Intensity In Normally Speaking Young Adults, Oya Topbas

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

It has been commonly assumed that as people speak faster, they speak in higher vocal fundamental frequencies. Since the frequency and intensity often vary together, vocal intensity is expected to increase with speaking rate as well. The purpose of this study was to explore how speaking rate affects vocal fundamental frequency and intensity during diadochokinetic speaking tasks in normal speaking adults. Twenty-four normal young adults, 12 male and 12 female, were asked to repeat the syllables "/pLambda/, /pLambda-t[schwa]/, and /pLambda-t[schwa]-k[schwa]/" at a self-selected comfortable rate, then at a slow rate modeled about one syllable per second, and finally at their …

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Spray Cooling Simulation Implementing Time Scale Analysis And The Monte Carlo Method, Paul Joseph Kreitzer May 2010

Spray Cooling Simulation Implementing Time Scale Analysis And The Monte Carlo Method, Paul Joseph Kreitzer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Spray cooling research is advancing the field of heat transfer and heat rejection in high power electronics. Smaller and more capable electronics packages are producing higher amounts of waste heat, along with smaller external surface areas, and the use of active cooling is becoming a necessity. Spray cooling has shown extremely high levels of heat rejection, of up to 1000 W/cm 2 using water.;Simulations of spray cooling are becoming more realistic, but this comes at a price. A previous researcher has used CFD to successfully model a single 3D droplet impact into a liquid film using the level set method. …

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Further Hydrogeologic Investigations In The Davis Spring Drainage Basin, Greenbrier County, West Virginia, John Kazimierz Tudek Jr. May 2010

Further Hydrogeologic Investigations In The Davis Spring Drainage Basin, Greenbrier County, West Virginia, John Kazimierz Tudek Jr.

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

An 11 month investigation was undertaken to determine the nature of the flow system feeding Davis Spring. Davis Spring was monitored for stage, temperature and conductivity. Milligan Creek, a major infeeder to the system was also monitored. Quantitative and qualitative dye traces were performed to establish travel times through the system as well as further define drainage basin boundaries.;From tracer analysis, storm pulse travel time analysis and hydrograph peak analysis Davis Spring was determined to be an open flow conduit during most of the year. Exceptions may occur during the winter-spring when intense rain and meltwater may fill the system. …

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Basin Analysis And Aqueous Chemistry Of Fluids In The Oriskany Sandstone, Appalachian Basin, Usa, Jamie C. Skeen May 2010

Basin Analysis And Aqueous Chemistry Of Fluids In The Oriskany Sandstone, Appalachian Basin, Usa, Jamie C. Skeen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Oriskany Sandstone of the Appalachian basin is a widely distributed saline aquifer which has produced large quantities of hydrocarbons. Currently the Oriskany is host to numerous gas storage fields and is a potential target for large-scale geologic storage of CO2. Published and unpublished data of rock characteristics, pressure, temperature, and formation water geochemistry, along with new brine samples were integrated within a geographical information system to better understand the regional-scale hydrogeological regime and its relation to geologic CO2 sequestration potential. The up-dip flow of the Oriskany Sandstone formation waters is generally controlled by outcrops at high elevation to the …

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Bat Use Of Created And Natural Wetlands, Marcia L. Maslonek May 2010

Bat Use Of Created And Natural Wetlands, Marcia L. Maslonek

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Compensatory wetland mitigation is a common practice to account for wetland losses due to dredging and filling under the Clean Water Act, but successful replacement of function is rarely achieved. Small, isolated wetlands also receive no federal protection, and are usually not included in accounts of losses. Although latest reports show an increase in wetlands for the first time, this is due in large part to voluntary construction of open water ponds, while the loss of freshwater emergent wetlands continues to decline. Research on the wildlife functions of wetlands has focused on plants, invertebrates, avian or amphibian species. But wetlands …

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Topological Visualization Of Tensor Fields Using A Generalized Helmholtz Decomposition, Lierong Zhu May 2010

Topological Visualization Of Tensor Fields Using A Generalized Helmholtz Decomposition, Lierong Zhu

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Analysis and visualization of fluid flow datasets has become increasing important with the development of computer graphics. Even though many direct visualization methods have been applied in the tensor fields, those methods may result in much visual clutter. The Helmholtz decomposition has been widely used to analyze and visualize the vector fields, and it is also a useful application in the topological analysis of vector fields. However, there has been no previous work employing the Helmholtz decomposition of tensor fields. We present a method for computing the Helmholtz decomposition of tensor fields of arbitrary order and demonstrate its application. The …

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Long Term Ampk Activation Limits Obesity Induced Muscle Atrophy, Joshua C. Drake May 2010

Long Term Ampk Activation Limits Obesity Induced Muscle Atrophy, Joshua C. Drake

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The aim of this study was to identify obesity-induced alterations in regulatory mechanisms of skeletal muscle mass and how they would be altered with long term (8 weeks) AMPK-agonist treatment. 8 week old male, lean (L) wild type [body weight (BW) = 26.9 g] and ob/ob (O) [BW = 46.2 g] mice were fed an AMP kinase (AMPK) activator, beta-GPA (F), mixed at a 1% concentration within their food or normal chow as control (C) for 8 weeks. Following an overnight (12 hr) fast, all mice were sacrificed and the gastrocnemius complex was excised for analysis. Muscle mass was lower …

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Fatigue Of Polymer Composites: Life Prediction And Environmental Effects, David Brian Dittenber May 2010

Fatigue Of Polymer Composites: Life Prediction And Environmental Effects, David Brian Dittenber

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Fiber reinforced polymer composites offer significant advantages over traditional structural materials, but also many challenges, particularly with regard to their long term behavior. The fatigue performance of composites has been explored for the last few decades but it is still difficult to predict the behavior of a particular material under different loading and environmental conditions. Many researchers have worked to develop fatigue life prediction models and others to characterize the effect of environmental changes on static composite material properties, but experimental work in both of these areas can be difficult to perform and thus many observations have not been fully …

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Predicting The Gas-Condensate Extended Composition Analysis, Muzher I. Almusabeh May 2010

Predicting The Gas-Condensate Extended Composition Analysis, Muzher I. Almusabeh

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The objective of this study was to predict the extended composition of gas condensate fluid in order to enhance phase behavior prediction via equation of state. This research work introduces a systematic methodology to estimate the extended heptane plus composition by matching the mole fraction, the average molecular weight, the average specific gravity and the dew point pressure. For the extended method to be accepted, the averaging properties results should be within 3% of the lab results. A number of published compositional data have been used to verify the reliability of this methodology. Four different methods are compared and analyzed, …

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Permeability Of Hot Mix Asphalt Concrete As Affected By Binder Content, Joseph A. Giompalo May 2010

Permeability Of Hot Mix Asphalt Concrete As Affected By Binder Content, Joseph A. Giompalo

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

One of the primary objectives when constructing hot mix asphalt concrete (HMAC) is achieving the target density in order for the pavement to be impermeable. If the density is too low, water infiltration causes pavement damage from freeze-thaw and other effects caused by the presence of water. If the pavement density is too high, rutting, flushing, and shoving will occur.;This research used the Florida Method of Test for Measurement of Water Permeability of Compacted Asphalt Paving Mixtures to examine how permeability is affected by binder content and compaction level. Asphalt samples containing 5.2, 5.7, 6.2, and 6.7 percent binder at …

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Vibrant Amusement, Bretton J. Kern May 2010

Vibrant Amusement, Bretton J. Kern

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis is a description and analysis of the ceramic work of Bretton J. Kern. This thesis includes a description and images of the work as well as a discussion of the technical and conceptual content of the work.

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The Impact Of Stimulation Treatment On Eur Of Upper Devonian Formations In The Appalachian Basin, Robert R. Krcek May 2010

The Impact Of Stimulation Treatment On Eur Of Upper Devonian Formations In The Appalachian Basin, Robert R. Krcek

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study focuses on how the stimulation treatment design parameters such as the volumes of liquid injected, size and amount of proppant influence the Estimated Ultimate Recovery (EUR), in Upper Devonian formations in the Appalachian Basin. An extensive database containing completion, stimulation, and production data from the Benson formation was compiled and utilized in this study. The selection criteria for wells which were ultimately used in the study included wells with single zone completion and long production history with adequate completion data. These criteria eliminated the major uncertainty caused by multiple zone completions or inconsistent production data. Approximately 95 percent …

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Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome: Proposal For An Evidence -Based Management Plan For An Electronic Patient Record System, Mary Elizabeth Durant May 2010

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome: Proposal For An Evidence -Based Management Plan For An Electronic Patient Record System, Mary Elizabeth Durant

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The goal of this change project was to improve the diagnosis and management of women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) through the use of an electronic patient record system. PCOS is one of the top ten missed or delayed diagnoses as well as an inconsistently or mismanaged women's health issue in primary care.;The chronic care model, known pathophysiology, and evidence-based research composed the framework used in developing the diagnosis and management plan for an electronic record system in a free health care clinic.;The project was evaluated based on the following four objectives: (1) To provide an educational session at a …

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Molecular Characterization Of The Murf Gene Family: Potential Role In Rainbow Trout Muscle Degradation, Jiannan Wang May 2010

Molecular Characterization Of The Murf Gene Family: Potential Role In Rainbow Trout Muscle Degradation, Jiannan Wang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As United States and world seafood demand increases, aquaculture production becomes more important. Limited knowledge of molecular regulation of muscle growth and flesh quality hinders genetic improvement of these important traits in fish. Our goal is to enhance muscle growth and fillet quantity in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. Muscle growth is determined primarily by rate of protein turnover. Unlike mammals, rapidly growing fish have reduced protein degradation rather than increased protein synthesis. Studies in mammals showed that muscle atrophy results from increased protein breakdown, and is associated with activation of the ubiquitin proteasome pathway including induction of the muscle-specific ubiquitin …

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Microfluidic Interfaces For Coupling Hydrodynamic To Electrokinetic Flow And Microchannel Electrophoresis To Electrospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry, Brent R. Reschke May 2010

Microfluidic Interfaces For Coupling Hydrodynamic To Electrokinetic Flow And Microchannel Electrophoresis To Electrospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry, Brent R. Reschke

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Presented in this dissertation is a microfluidic interface for coupling hydrodynamic and electrokinetic flows, this interface was first studied theoretically and then experimentally to evaluate the electrophoretic extraction of a negatively charged analyte from a perpendicular hydrodynamic flow stream. Secondly the interface was used to perform the simultaneous extraction and separation of a cationic peptide and anionic proteins with low electroosmotic flow.;In addition, two important aspects of creating a microfluidic device to couple microchannel electrophoresis with mass spectrometry using electrospray ionization were also studied. These aspects included the electrospray emitter from which the electrospray originates and the incorporation of the …

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The Effect Of Ice Crystal Shape On Aircraft Contrails, Omar E. Meza Castillo May 2010

The Effect Of Ice Crystal Shape On Aircraft Contrails, Omar E. Meza Castillo

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Aircraft contrails are a common phenomenon observed in the sky. They are formed mainly of water, from the ambient atmosphere and as a by-product of the combustion process, in the form of ice crystals. They have been identified as a potential contributor to global warming. Some contrails can be long-lived and create man-made cloud cover, thus possibly altering the radiative balance of the earth. There has been a great deal of research on various aspects of contrail development, but to date, little has been done on the influence of ice crystal shapes on the contrail evolution. In-situ studies have reported …

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A Proposed Method For Evaluation Of Morphological Changes In The Condyle And Glenoid Fossa By Cone Beam Computed Tomography, Michael R. Munn May 2010

A Proposed Method For Evaluation Of Morphological Changes In The Condyle And Glenoid Fossa By Cone Beam Computed Tomography, Michael R. Munn

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The difficulty with three-dimensional analyses remains with the myriad of data that is possible to derive from a volume. The goal of this study is to report 3D changes in the temporomandibular joint in a reliable and quantifiable way. The approach included plotting specific referents on the mandibular condyle and tracking them in magnitude (mm) and direction (°) on a reference plane after superimposing the cone beams three-dimensionally on the inferior alveolar nerve canal and the lower contour of the third molar tooth germ. Two sets of measurements were compared for reliability and each measurement showed varied correlation. Linear measurements …

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