Digital Commons Network^™

A Survey Of Disability Support Services In Illinois Higher Education, Courtney Diann Quinn

Masters Theses

This study explored the services and accommodations available to students with disabilities at several institutions of higher education in the state of Illinois. Focus was on the number of students with disabilities matriculating, the types of disabilities the students had, and the services colleges and universities were providing to support success among students with disabilities. A survey was distributed to disability services administrators at eighty colleges and universities in Illinois to obtain data regarding college and university demographics, and the programs and resources offered by the colleges and universities. Additional phone interviews were conducted to receive further information to supplement …

Disparity Between Boys' And Girls' Academic Achievement, Laura M. Harris

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that contribute to the disparity between the academic achievement level of boys and girls in the school setting. Current literature indicates that while boys have historically outperformed girls in the area of math, girls have all but closed this achievement gap.

One hundred and twenty-four fourth and fifth grade students (71 girls, 53 boys, predominantly Caucasian) from a school in the Midwest region of the United States participated in the study. Gender and living with a male role model were found to have no relationship with academic achievement. These results …

Integration Of A Gis Learning System Into Civil Engineering Curricula: An Evaluation, Basanta Tandon

Masters Theses

"An evaluation of a web-based e-learning system to facilitate integration of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) into the Civil Engineering curriculum was conducted. The principal goals of the evaluation were to examine the effectiveness of the learning system and to develop a preliminary model to describe how students interact with the learning system. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 80 students who participated in a geotechnical engineering laboratory session, which covered soil borrow sites. Students rated the laboratory session as significantly more effective for learning, a nd more motivational than the class text. They also rated the lab significantly more …

Oxidative Stress, Calcium Homeostasis, And Altered Gene Expression In Human Lung Epithelial Cells Exposed To Zno Nanoparticles, Chuan-Chin Huang

Masters Theses

"The influence of 20 nm ZnO nanoparticles on oxidative stress, intracellular calcium homeostasis, and gene expression was studied in human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B). ZnO caused a concentration- and time-dependent cytotoxicity while elevating oxidative stress and causing membrane damage (cellular LDH release). There was a remarkably steep relationship between concentration and toxicity at concentrations from 5 to 10 μg/ml. Exposure to ZnO increased intracellular calcium levels in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Treatment with the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine prevented cell loss and diminished the increase in intracellular calcium concentration, suggesting oxidative stress mediated cytotoxicity. Exposure to a sublethal concentration of ZnO …

Perspective-Taking In Adolescents With Asperger Syndrome And Nonverbal Learning Disorder, Caitlin Scaliatine

Masters Theses

Theory of mind is the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and other individuals, allowing us to predict the thoughts and feelings of others based on their behaviors. Research has established that individuals with Asperger syndrome (AS) experience difficulty with advanced theory of mind tasks; however, theory of mind abilities have not been evaluated for individuals with nonverbal learning disability (NVLD). The following test battery was administered to four adolescents with AS, five adolescents with NVLD, and five adolescents with neurotypical development to examine their theory of mind abilities: the Pragmatic Judgment and lriferences subtests from the Comprehensive Assessment …

Cloning, Overexpression, Purification And Characterization Of Gcp Ii Homologous Metalloprotein From Caulobacter Crescentus, Dilani Nilushika Gigiriwala Gamage

Masters Theses

A novel zinc metalloprotease gene isolated from Caulobacter crescentus (CCM) was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. A protease database search using MEROPS predicted this protein is a homolog of Glutamate Carboxypeptidase II (GCP II), a zinc metalloprotease found in humans and many other organisms. GCP II is considered as a suitable target for treating stroke, neurological disorders and a biomarker for prostate cancer. Chromatographic purification of CCM produced pure protein in milligram quantities. Molecular weight detern1ination using MALDI-TOF showed 51,582 Da and the extinction coefficient was found to be 33,007 M"1cm·1. Metal analysis and substrate profiling showed neither sufficient …

Stability Of Heme Proteins: Cytochrome C And Horseradish Peroxidase, Mini Gupta

Masters Theses

A heme protein is a metalloprotein containing the heme prosthetic group. This prosthetic group is responsible for the wide range of biological functions found in heme proteins, from oxygen transport to electron transport. Moreover, heme proteins show a fascinating range of folding architectures, leading to their interest in research on structure-function relationships. The objective of this research in bioinorganic chemistry is to study the structural stability of two heme proteins, iron cytochrome c (Fecyt) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Absorbance spectroscopy is used to monitor the structural changes in the protein environment around the heme prosthetic group.

With just a change …

Electrochemical And Spectroscopic Characterization Of A Polypyridyl Ru(Ii) Complex Containing A Fused Alloxazine, Waynie Wilson Olaprath

Masters Theses

Phenanthroline pteridinedione (pptd) is an alloxazine derivative capable of 2e/ 2H+ transfer reactions. Coordination of pptd to a Ru(II) metal center allows for the synthesis of water-soluble metal complexes capable of being reduced by as many as 6 Hatoms making them candidates to be electrochemical mediators. This thesis describes the synthesis and characterization of pptd and [Ru(bpy)2(pptd)](PF6)2(b py = 2,2-bipyridine). The dipyrido[3,2-a: 1' ,2' -c] phenazine (d ppz) and [Ru(bpy)2(d ppz) ](PF6)2 are also synthesized and studied in order to distinguish the properties of the free and coordinated pteridinedione-based pptd ligand from the well-characterized phenazine based ligand.

Detailed cyclic voltammetry, …

Molecular Structures And Pulsed Discharge Emission Studies Of Volatile Organic Compound Derivatives, Ashley Osthoff

Masters Theses

Understanding the structure and reactivity of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and their derivatives is a fundamental concern in the study of atmospheric chemistry. Recently, a series of studies were done aimed at constructing and optimizing a rapid-scan, midinfrared spectrometer in order to study the structure and intermolecular interactions of these compounds. Visible emission spectroscopy was used to optimize the pulsed discharge nozzle that would be used within the infrared spectrometer. The emission spectra of toluene and xylene were used to characterize production of free radical compounds. In addition, control programs were written in the Lab VIEW programming language …

Gender And Performance In The Mathematics' Sections Of The Illinois Standards Achievement Test And The Prairie State Achievement Exam, Lindsey Leaf

Masters Theses

Despite criticisms about their inability to assess students' learning accurately, high stakes tests are currently used in the United States to measure student and teacher progress. Because of the need for schools to demonstrate students have achieved or maintained satisfactory progress, schools in Illinois regularly administer the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISA T) and Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE), despite limitations in the statistical and technical infonnation available for both of these tests. This study examined possible gender differences on the mathematics portion of the ISA T and PSAE by gathering data from one school district in Illinois. Findings indicated …

Incremental Validity Of Wisc-Iv Factor Scores In Predicting Academic Achievement On The Wiat-Ii, Shalena R. Meis

Masters Theses

This study examined the incremental validity of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV; Wechsler, 2003) factor scores in predicting reading and math achievement on the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Second Edition (WIAT-11; Wechsler, 2002). Participants included K-12 students in a medium sized Midwestern school district who underwent an evaluation using the WISC-IV and the WIAT-II. Block entry multiple regression analyses were used to examine whether the WISC-IV factor scores substantially improved the prediction ofreading or math achievement on the WIAT-11 above and beyond the contribution made by the FSIQ. Results indicated that the WISC-IV FSIQ accounted for the majority of …

Anchorage And Bond Characteristics Of Externally Bonded Frp Laminates Used For Shear Strengthening Of Rc And Pc Girders, Carlos Andres Ortega Ordonez

Masters Theses

"In the last three decades, the use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) materials to strengthen structures externally has emerged as one of the most promising technologies in materials and structural engineering, and these materials have been gaining popularity in the civil engineering community. Externally bonded FRP sheets and laminates have been used successfully to increase flexural and shear capacity. The overall performance of the strengthened system depends heavily on the quality of the bond between the concrete and the FRP laminate. Low bond strength can cause delamination at the fiber-matrix interface and at the FRP laminate-concrete interface. As a result, …

Electricity Generation And Ethanol Production Using Iron-Reducing, Haloalkaliphilic Bacteria, Varun Paul

Masters Theses

"Microbial life in extreme environments has been studied primarily for their metabolic activities. Very few commercial or industrial applications have been known from these systems. In this study, the metabolic pathways and properties of bacteria from a haloalkaliphilic environment of Soap Lake, Washington were employed in two research applications related to energy production. In the first study, the bacterial cultures that were known to reduce iron (III) were used in a Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) reactor. Iron reducing bacteria have shown to shunt their electrons on to the surface of a carbon electrode of an MFC, and the electrons can …

Development Of An Electronic Governor System For A Small Spark Ignition Engine, Donald Ray Hibler

Masters Theses

"The use of electronic controls on engines has been widespread and has now reached the small utility engine. The evolution from carburetion to electronic fuel injection has presented opportunity to implement additional controls with the intent to improve engine control and performance. In this study, an electronic governor system is developed for use on a small twin cylinder utility engine. This system is to replace an existing mechanical governor system, and it should have the potential as a production based solution that integrates with an existing fuel injection system. It must improve the speed droop characteristics over the current mechanical …

Comparison Of Dashboard-Based And Balanced Scorecard-Based Corporate Performance Management System, Lin Zhu

Masters Theses

"Under current hypercompetitive and technology driven economic environment, more companies are using a corporate performance management (CPM) system to gain more accurate understandings of the company goals and strategies and to craft methods of achieving those goals and strategies. While CPM systems are generally implemented in two approaches: dashboard approach and scorecard approach, very few studies examine the effectiveness of each type of CPM systems implementation. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a dashboard based and a balanced scorecard based corporate performance management system. The effectiveness is examined through management effectiveness, degree of …

The Effects Of Technology On Literacy(S), Thomas Glen Petersen

Masters Theses

"One of the challenges when measuring the effects of technology on literacy(s) is finding a control group where technology; does not play a major role in the culture. The Amish successfully live in a Technocracy where mechanical/electronic tools are used only when absolutely necessary; the Amish are not dependent on them for survival. The crux of the Amish philosophy is humility, serving the community and serving God. Ironically, they have suffered tremendous repercussions for adopting a wholesome, selfless lifestyle which is contrary to most popular world views, regardless of religious or spiritual views"--Purpose, page 40.

Satellite Photography: Instrumental, Rhetorical, Affective?, Irangi Kaushalya Egodapitiya

Masters Theses

"This study examines how tsunami satellite images operate and could provoke various interpretations. The goal of this research project is to study whether the interpretation of tsunami satellite images could extend beyond scientific features to affective messages. Primarily based on the satellite images of Sri Lanka taken before and during the 2004 tsunami, this study analyses: How could mechanical satellite images, taken automatically by a machine in orbit, become an object of profound emotional meaning?; How do viewer's experiences, knowledge, and discourse affect their interpretations of mechanical artifacts?; How are tsunami satellite images connected to affective responses by viewers?; How …

The Corrosion Of Ni₃Si Alloys In Sulfuric Acid, Christopher Marc Larson

Masters Theses

"Hydrogen production from water, the world's most renewable natural resource, can provide an economical and sustainable form of energy for the future. One means to achieve this is with a nuclear reactor-based sulfur-iodine (S-I) thermochemical cycle. Currently there are few materials available, other than precious metals like gold and platinum, that possess the corrosion resistance and mechanical properties required for the sulfuric acid decomposition loop of the S-I process. However, alloys based on Ni₃Si show promise to be a more affordable, corrosion resistant materials option for this technology. In this study, the corrosion behavior of NiSi₂₂ and NiSi₂₀(Nb,Ti)₃ alloys in …

Modeling And Simulation Of Electrochemical Magneto Hydro Dynamics, Debamoy Sen

Masters Theses

"This thesis focuses on how the electrochemical magneto hydro dynamic problem is solved through numerical simulation for a two dimensional millielectrode electrochemical cell and a three dimensional microelectrode array cell. Electrochemical processes are enhanced by magnetic fields through the introduction of body forces such as Lorentz force. Through modeling and numerical simulations, experimental results can be integrated with theory. Such simulations will aid in the prediction of mass transfer limited currents and visualization of flow profiles in an electrochemical cell. The numerical solution of the equation system is made possible by the finite volume method used in the FLUENT Computational …

Investment Shell Cracking, Edward A. Druschitz

Masters Theses

"Shell cracking is the single greatest problem affecting investment casters. A clearer understanding of the factors affecting the melt profile of the wax can be gained using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to model the interaction among 1) the thermal conductivity of the wax, 2) the thermal conductivity of the shell, and 3) the temperature of the autoclave during the autoclave de-waxing cycle. The most favorable melt profile results from a high autoclave temperature (438⁰K to 458⁰K) and saturated thermal conductivity of the shell (1.36 to 1.40 Wm⁻¹k⁻¹) in conjunction with a low wax thermal conductivity (0.33 Wm⁻¹k⁻¹). These parameters reduce …

Automated Offspring Sizing In Evolutionary Algorithms, André Chidi Nwamba

Masters Theses

"Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) are a class of algorithms inspired by biological evolution. EAs are applicable to a wide range of problems; however, there are a number of parameters to set in order to use an EA. The performance of an EA is extremely sensitive to these parameter values; setting these parameters often requires expert knowledge of EAs. This prevents EAs from being more widely adopted by nonexperts. Parameter control, the automation of dynamic parameter value selection, has the potential to not only alleviate the burden of parameter tuning, but also to improve performance of EAs on a variety of problem …

Maximum Likelihood Fusion For Detection Of Led Precursors Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy, Pratik Shah

Masters Theses

"Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) pose an increasing threat to the safety of soldiers and civilians in embattled areas. The use of compounds such as RDX complicates the detection of IEDs, as these compounds are often hard to identify in the presence of contaminants such as alcohol, oils and dust. Spectroscopic techniques such as Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) and Raman have shown promise for the detection of explosive compounds; however, their accuracy is limited, as noise can cause variations in the peak strengths and locations that they utilize for classification.

The research presented in this thesis applies signal processing to the …

Analysis Of Lesion Border Segmentation Using Watershed Algorithm, Hanzheng Wang

Masters Theses

"Automatic lesion segmentation is an important part of computer-based skin cancer detection. A watershed algorithm was introduced and tested on benign and melanoma images. The average of three dermatologists' manually drawn borders was compared as the benchmark. Hair removing, black border removing and vignette removing methods were introduced in preprocessing steps. A new lesion ratio estimate was added to the merging method, which was determined by the outer bounding box ratio. In postprocessing, small blob removing and border smoothing using a peninsula removing method as well as a second order B-Spline smoothing method were included. A novel threshold was developed …

Applications Of Swarm, Evolutionary And Quantum Algorithms In System Identification And Digital Filter Design, Bipul Luitel

Masters Theses

"The thesis focuses on the application of computational intelligence (CI) techniques for two problems - system identification and digital filter design. In system identification, different case studies have been carried out with equal or reduced number of orders as the original system and also in identifying a blackbox model. Lowpass, Highpass, Bandpass and Bandstop FIR and Lowpass IIR filters have been designed using three algorithms using two different fitness functions. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Differential Evolution based PSO (DEPSO) and PSO with Quantum Infusion (PSO-QI) algorithms have been applied in this work"--Abstract, page iii.

Functional Testing Of Faults In Asynchronous Crossbar Architecture, Sriram Venkateswaran

Masters Theses

"The challenge of extending Moore's Law past the physical limits of the present semiconductor technology calls for novel innovations. Several novel nanotechnologies are being proposed as an alternative to their CMOS counterparts, with nanowire crossbar being one of the most promising paradigms. Quite recently, a new promising clock-free architecture, called the Asynchronous Crossbar Architecture has been proposed to enhance the manufacturability and to improve the robustness of digital circuits by removing various timing related failure modes. Even though the proposed clock-free architecture offers several merits, it is not free from the high defect rates induced due to nondeterministic nanoscale assembly. …

Information Flow Properties For Cyber-Physical Systems, Rav Akella

Masters Theses

"In cyber-physical systems, which are the integrations of computational and physical processes, security properties are difficult to enforce. Fundamentally, physically observable behavior leads to violations of confidentiality. This work analyzes certain noninterference based security properties to ensure that interactions between the cyber and physical processes preserve confidentiality. A considerable barrier to this analysis is the representation of physical system interactions at the cyber-level. This thesis presents encoding of these physical system properties into a discrete event system and represents the cyber-physical system using Security Process Algebra (SPA). The model checker, Checker of Persistent Security (CoPS) shows Bisimulation based NonDeducibility on …

Communication Models For Monitoring And Mobility Verification In Mission Critical Wireless Networks, Maheswaran Thiagarajan

Masters Theses

"Recent technological advances have seen wireless sensor networks emerge as an interesting research topic because of its ability to realize mission critical applications like in military or wildfire detection. The first part of the thesis focuses on the development of a novel communication scheme referred here as a distributed wireless critical information-aware maintenance network (DWCIMN), which is presented for preventive maintenance of network-centric dynamic systems. The proposed communication scheme addresses quality of service (QoS) issues by using a combination of a head-of-the-line queuing scheme, efficient bandwidth allocation, weight-based backoff mechanism, and a distributed power control scheme. A thorough analysis of …

Decision-Based Design Under Uncertainty With Intervals, Sashank Vasireddy

Masters Theses

"Design requires a series of decisions, and one of the major challenges engineering designers face is making decisions under uncertainty. The engineering designer must choose the best design among various alternatives. This work evaluates the use of utility functions to make decisions under uncertainty with both random and interval variables. Uncertainty cannot be eliminated completely, but it can be reduced. Most current methods treat only aleatory uncertainty. Here, however, both aleatory and epistemic uncertainties are addressed in the context of engineering design. Methods such as moment matching method and worst case analysis are used to incorporate uncertainty into design problems"--Abstract, …

Continuous Control Of Lunar Orbits Via Electric Propulsion, Sunil Aggarwal

Masters Theses

"To find definite answers for the presence of water on the poles of Moon, to facilitate selection of future lunar landing sites and aid in construction of architectural bases, to assist proper lunar resource utilization and to improve lunar gravity models there is a great interest and need for highly accurate, reliable and efficient lunar surface mapping and communication. This thesis is intended to aid in proper selection of orbits for future lunar missions by demonstrating the impact of using electric propulsion on the search space of feasible and useful lunar orbits. The requirements for future lunar mapping and communication …

Development Of A One Dimensional Subsurface Contaminant Transport Model With Stochastic Applications, Benjamin Waldon Johnson

Masters Theses

"Contaminant source release history is a necessary element of contaminant mass transport simulation in the saturated zone. The source release history is unknown at many sites, and many inverse models have been developed to define finite release histories. To define a likely domain of three source history parameters, a mass balancebased one dimensional approach is developed and tested by discretizing the spatial domain into bands. By incorporating the approach in a spreadsheet model, observed data is represented by both variable length and constant length bands of analysis. Each representation of observed data was tested to determine the most appropriate band …