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Investigative Study On An Energy Theorem For Developing Testing Functions For Numerical Simulations Of Multibody Dynamic Systems, Kulasegaram Gugaratshan

Masters Theses

Multibody dynamic systems designers utilize computer software extensively to simulate the motion of mechanical systems. The governing differential equations of motion are formulated and solved numerically. The accuracy of the numerical solutions is always a concern to the analyst. There have been many investigations done around the world to check the accuracy of these simulations, and based on these investigations, many methods have been developed. These methods are usually based on energy balance equations and can be used to test the validity or the correctness of the numerical solutions. This thesis analyzes and compares these methods based on their formulation …

Real-Time Analysis And Investigation Of The Mechanism Of The Palladium On Carbon Catalyzed Isomerization Of Megestrolacetate, Charlene K. Wiglesworth

Masters Theses

Megestrol Acetate is a semi-synthetic steroid hormone of the progestin family and currently used as a drug therapy in many areas including treatments of cancers and AIDS. The final step to form the bulk drug is an isomerization using palladium on carbon with cyclohexene as an activator. This step is sensitive to catalyst quality and is hazardous to sample because of the reactivity of the catalyst. Physical and catalytic properties of the catalyst were evaluated, as were the effects of solid support and different washing strategies. Response of the reaction mixture to catalyst poisons was studied as a function of …

N-(Deoxyadenosine-8-Yl)-4-Aminobiphenyl Adduct Formation In Vitro On Tp53 Exon7 Genome: Quantitation By Lc-Esi-Ms/Ms, Paul René Knoll

Masters Theses

The p53 protein has been documented to be mutated in more than 50% of late stage bladder cancers and tobacco causes 50% of all bladder tumors. The 4- arninobiphenyl (ABP) carcinogen comprises 5 ng per cigarette in the smoke and is a known bladder carcinogen. The research goal in the present study was to compare the reactivity of rat liver S-9 fraction activated 4-arninobiphenyl with the 45-mer sense strand of the TP53 exon7 gene to the respective anti-sense strand. The specific and sensitive technique of LC-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used for quantitation. The authentic standard of N-(adenine-8yl-)-4-arninobiphenyl (A-ABP) …

Backstripping The Chesapeake Bay Impact Structure: Differentiating Regional Tectonics From Impact Effects, Travis Gary Hayden

Masters Theses

The Chesapeake Bay impact structure is a ca. 35.4 Ma old crater located on the coastal plain of Virginia along the eastern seaboard of North America. The impact generated a crater between 85 and 90 km in diameter, and over 2000 meters deep. Deposition returned to normal shortly after impact, resulting in a unique record of both the impact related and subsequent passive margin sedimentation. We use backstripping to show that the impact strongly affected sedimentation for 7 m.y. through a combination of impact derived crustal scale tectonics, dominated by the introduction and subsequent removal of a negative thermal anomaly, …

High School Siblings Of Children With Disabilities: Five Case Studies, Casey Cuttill

Masters Theses

How mothers' level of education and attitudes toward education related to their children's academic achievement was investigated in the present study. One hundred fifteen mothers of high school students participated in this study by completing a questio1maire that evaluated their level of education and their attitudes regarding the importance of education. Their children's grade point averages were also collected. Results indicated that when the mothers had less positive attitudes toward education, mothers' level of education was not related to their children's academic achievement. When mothers reported more positive attitudes toward education and had a high level of education themselves, however, …

The Virtues Of Prosocialness, Wisdom, And Hope As Predictors Of Academic Achievement In Adolescents, Michael P. Maier

Masters Theses

Currently, there is a strong emphasis on children scoring well on academic achievement tests. While the skills needed to do well on these tests are important, positive character is another factor that may be related to academic achievement. The purpose of the present study was to examine if positive character is relevant to academic achievement. Can prosocialness, hope, and wisdom predict academic achievement? Which of these virtues is most predictive? Can these virtues predict academic achievement above and beyond academic skill levels?

Illinois Standards Achievement Test scores and GP A were collected for 105 students who also completed self-report measures …

Development Of Face Recognition System Using Verilook Software Development Kit, Paras Pradhan

Masters Theses

With built-in libraries and functions, VeriLook Software Development Kit (SDK) provides interfaces for biometric face recognition systems. This research was conducted to gain experience in the development of face recognition system using VeriLook SDK. A prototype named FRECPROJ was developed using the SDK. Major functions were implemented in the prototype, including face enrollment and match using still image files, live streaming with a web camera, or video files.

Through this research, it was realized that a typical face recognition system performs enrollment, verification and identification functions. A single image consisting of a single face is enrolled and the enrolled template …

The Circle And The Cross: The Self-Destructive Nature Of Evil In Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene, Scott De Young

Masters Theses

The theme of good and evil is at the forefront of Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene'; can virtue survive and overcome vice? Because this theme is widely prevalent in The Faerie Queene, it is fittingly prevalent in the existing scholarship on The Faerie Queene. When commenting on the workings of evil in The Faerie Queene, most scholars tend to focus on either the historical or literary influences on Spenser’s evil characters, or they focus on the manner in which evil poses a threat to good. I am in no way arguing against these scholars. My contention, though, …

Business Risk In Early Design: An Approach, Rahul Basavaraj Patil

Masters Theses

"The Business Risk in Early Design (B-RED) method is a tool used to determine the potential risks in business, in the early business development stages. In order to launch a successful business in today's competitive market environment, the business should equip itself to face the risks involved in business. If the potential risks are identified even before the launch of the business, then there is an opportunity to avert risks with little or no impact to the budget and schedule. The B-RED method presented in this thesis helps entrepreneurs and people with little or no experience in business to identify …

Adaptive Modulation For Cognitive Radios, Gaurav Sharma

Masters Theses

"This thesis examines the benefits of using adaptive modulation in terms of spectral efficiency and probability of bit error for cognitive radio networks. In channels that fluctuate dynamically over time, systems that are based upon the conventional methods of fixed modulation formats do not perform well. Adaptive modulation provides many parameters that can be adjusted relative to the channel fading, including data rate, transmit power, instantaneous BER, symbol rate, and channel code rate or scheme. In this thesis, a systematic study on the increase in spectral efficiency obtained by optimally varying combinations of the modulation formats for a cognitive radio …

Fourier-Transform Microwave Spectroscopy Of Cyclopropylmethylgermane And Van Der Waals Complexes Of Fluorinated Methanes, Michal M. Serafin

Masters Theses

Background theory and instrumentation utilized in the Fourier-transform microwave spectroscopy technique is first introduced followed by the structural and dynamic determination of cyclopropylmethylgermane and two weakly bound van der Waals complexes (difluoromethane-OCS, and fluoromethane-OCS). The minimum energy configuration has been determined for cyclopropylmethylgermane molecule, which has been shown to be the gauche configuration. Internal rotation parameters have been obtained from the rotational spectra of cyclopropylmethylgermane. The rotational spectra have been acquired for difluoromethanecarbonyl sulfide and fluoromethane-carbonyl sulfide and experimental structures have been determined for these weakly bound complexes. Evidence for a very low barrier to internal rotation has been observed …

Synthetic Studies Towards The Stellettins, Tung Yin Lin

Masters Theses

The synthesis of the stellettins, differing in the side chain at the C-13 position of the tricyclic region, was attempted by attaching the C-ring to a Wieland-Miescher ketone core using 1,3-bisphosphonoacetone. The decalin precursor was prepared in 35% from condensing ethyl acetate with acrolein, and a MnO2 oxidation, but too little material was obtained to cyclize this into the decalin. An alternative route involving a 2-step Robinson annulation of 2-methyl-1,3 cyclohexanedione with ethyl or methyl vinyl ketone and L-phenylalanine catalysis, followed by protecting C-9 carbonyl with acetal, gave 29% and 14% yields respectively.

1,3-Bisphosphonoacetone was prepared m a 3-step synthesis …

Federal Renewable-Energy Research And Development Funding And Innovation, Darrin B. Johnson

Masters Theses

Energy is the largest industry on the planet and necessary for the sustainability of life. As the world's stores of nonrenewable-energy begin to deplete at an increasing rate, the research on feasible sources of renewable-energy becomes essential. The objective of this study is to evaluate the relationship between federal funding for activities of energy research and development for renewable-energy sources and the resulting number of renewable-energy patent applications. Panel and ordinary least squares estimations are applied. Data consists of nineteen countries spanning the years from 1985 through 1997. Results indicate a weak and statistically insignificant relationship between federal renewable-energy R&D …

A Survey Of Carrion And Burying Beetles (Coleoptera:Silphidae) In Mchenry County, Illinois, David Suhrbur

Masters Theses

This study compared the occurrence of beetles in the family Silphidae using historical collection records with that of field collections from five different sites within McHenry County. The five sites include: Glacial Park, Woodstock, Silver Creek, Rush Creek, and Coral Woods. Historically, 11 known silphid species have been found in McHenry County, compared with seven species found during this study' collection period.

Percentages of silphid species at each site was calculated, as well as total number of individuals sampled, and two indices of diversity (Shannon-Weiner and Simpson's) were applied to both current and historical collection data. The historical collection (when …

Differences Among Students With Or Without Severe Discrepancy Between Predicted And Actual Achievement: Does Severe Discrepancy Matter?, Melissa (Bergan) Mcclelland

Masters Theses

This study investigated the differences between students with severe discrepancy and those without according to the Reynolds ( 1984) regression-based discrepancy formula. The sample included 264 students who were referred for an initial special education evaluation of !earning problems. Differences between these two groups were examined across gender, age, cognitive variables, and achievement. Results revealed that no significant gender or age differences were found in the presence of a severe discrepancy. However, statistically significant negative correlations were found between Full Scale IQ, and all of the differences between predicted and actual achievement scores with small to medium effect sizes (-1 …

Teaching Children In Head Start Phonological Awareness Skills Of Alliteration And Rhyming, Matthew J. Sidarous

Masters Theses

Phonological awareness has received considerable recognition in the past few decades as a strong predictor of reading. Phonological awareness is the understanding that oral language can be divided into smaller components and manipulated. A wealth of studies has supported the predictive power of phonological awareness on reading achievement. However, research has been conflicted as to the best method to improve phonological awareness. The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether or not two different phonological awareness techniques utilizing rhyme and alliteration were useful in the acquisition of phonological awareness in at - risk children attending a Head Start …

Application Of Multi-Modal Fusion Techniques For Corrosion Detection And Characterization In Aging Aircraft Components, Soumya De

Masters Theses

"The United States Air Force (USAF) recently estimated that corrosion maintenance costs exceed $800M per year. Given this, it is desirable to reduce the amount of "find it-fix it" corrosion maintenance activities. One method is to introduce a damage tolerance approach for corrosion detection. In order for this to become a reality, a comprehensive snapshot of corrosion present must be generated.

This thesis presents a data fusion process to perform uni- and multi-modal nondestructive testing and evaluation of corrosion under paint and in lap joints for volumetric characterization. The process for analyzing a given structure includes: 1) the acquisition of …

Image Analysis Techniques For Vertebra Anomaly Detection In X-Ray Images, Mohammed Das

Masters Theses

"In this research, imaging techniques are investigated for the analysis and detection of abnormalities in cervical and lumbar vertebrae. Detecting vertebra anomalies pertaining to osteoarthritis such as claw, traction and anterior osteophytes can aide in treatment plans for the patient. New size invariant features were developed for the detection of claw, traction and anterior osteophytes in cervical spine vertebrae. Using a K-means clustering and nearest centroid classification approach, the results were generated that were capable of discriminating cervical vertebrae for presence of anomalies related to osteophytes. The techniques developed can be integrated into systems based on querying spine images to …

Preserd - Privacy Ensured Service Discovery In Mobile Peer-To-Peer Environment, Santhosh Muthyapu

Masters Theses

"In mobile peer-to-peer networks many service discovery protocols have been proposed. Most of these protocols disregard the exposure of the participating peers' privacy details, although they consider the security issues. In these methods, the participating peers must provide their identities, during the service discovery process, to be authorized to utilize the service. However, a peer might not be willing to reveal its identity until it identifies the service providing peer. So these peers face a problem; should the requesting peer or the service providing peer reveal the identity first, and hence, this is similar to the chicken-and-egg problem. The protocol …

Individual-Based Artificial Ecosystems For Design And Optimization, Shivakar Vulli

Masters Theses

"Individual-based modeling has gained popularity over the last decade, mainly due to the paradigm's proven ability to address a variety of problems seen in many disciplines, including modeling complex systems from bottom-up, providing relationship between component level and system level parameters, and discovering the emergence of system-level behaviors from simple component level interactions. Availability of computational power to run simulation models with thousands to millions of agents is another driving force in the widespread adoption of individual-based modeling. This thesis proposes an individual-based modeling approach for solving engineering design and optimization problems using artificial ecosystems"--Abstract, page iii.

Formulating Hedging Strategies For Financial Risk Mitigation In Competitive U.S. Electricity Markets, Karthik Viswanathan

Masters Theses

"The challenges currently facing participants in the competitive electricity markets are unique and staggering: unprecedented price volatility, fluctuations in the demand, a lack of historical market data on which to test the new modeling approaches, increased competition and continuously changing regulatory structure...Electricity plant owners and purchasers of electricity may benefit from various techniques to manage price volatility. For electricity, however, no futures market is actively traded. The electricity forward market in NYMEX is in its nascent stage and is low in liquidity. Producers and purchasers of electricity may find cross-hedging electricity with natural gas futures contracts to be effective in …

An Economic Incentive Based Routing Protocol Incorporating Quality Of Service For Mobile Peer-To-Peer Networks, Anil Jade

Masters Theses

"Economic incentive models are becoming increasingly popular in Mobile Peer to Peer Networks (M-P2P). These models entice node participation to combat free riding and to effectively manage constraint resources in the network. Due to the dynamic topology of the M-P2P network, the connections between the peers become unpredictable and therefore, reliable routing becomes important. Many routing protocols proposed earlier (such as DSR, AODV) are based on best effort data traffic policy, such as the shortest route selection (hop minimization). Using economic models to find a cost effective optimal route from the source to the destination, while considering Quality of Service …

Dynamic Equations With Piecewise Continuous Argument, Christian Keller

Masters Theses

"We extend the theory of differential equations with piecewise continuous argument to general time scales. Linear and quasi-linear systems of functional dynamic equations with alternating retarding and advanced argument will be investigated and conditions for globally asymptotic stability of those systems will be stated and proven. Furthermore, oscillation criteria for linear first-order equations with piecewise continuous argument will be established"--Abstract, page iii.

Textural Analysis Of A Rhyolite Dike Of The Southern Oklahoma Aulacogen At Medicine Park, Oklahoma, Sean Patrick O'Donnell

Masters Theses

"Detailed analysis of the modal abundance and crystal size distribution (CSD) of glomerocrystic quartz and alkali feldspar phenocrysts in a porphyritic "rhyolite" dike at Medicine Park, Oklahoma were integrated with known phase relationships in the system SiO₂-NaAlSi₃O₈-KAlSi₃-O₈-H₂O to constrain the history of this intrusion"--Abstract, page iv.

Application Of Artificial Neural Networks And Colored Petri Nets On Earthquake Resilient Water Distribution Systems, Nandini Kavanal Balakrishnan

Masters Theses

"Water distribution systems are important lifelines and a critical and complex infrastructure of a country. The performance of this system during unexpected rare events is important as it is one of the lifelines that people directly depend on and other factors indirectly impact the economy of a nation. In this thesis a couple of methods that can be used to predict damage and simulate the restoration process of a water distribution system are presented. Contributing to the effort of applying computational tools to infrastructure systems, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is used to predict the rate of damage in the pipe …

Co-Evolutionary Automated Software Correction: A Proof Of Concept, Joshua Lee Wilkerson

Masters Theses

"The task of ensuring that a software artifact is correct can be a very time consuming process. To be able to say that an algorithm is correct is to say that it will produce results in accordance with its specifications for all valid input. One possible way to identify an incorrect implementation is through the use of automated testing (currently an open problem in the field of software engineering); however, actually correcting the implementation is typically a manual task for the software developer. In this thesis a system is presented which automates not only the testing but also the correction …

Probabilistic Analysis Of Defect Tolerance In Asynchronous Nano Crossbar Architecture, Shikha Chaudhary

Masters Theses

"Among recent advancements in technology, nanotechnology is particularly promising. Most researchers have begun to focus their efforts on developing nano scale circuits. Nano scale devices such as carbon nano tubes (CNT) and silicon nano wires (SiNW) form the primitive building blocks of many nano scale logic devices and recently developed computing architecture. One of the most promising nanotechnologies is crossbar-based architecture, a two-dimensional nanoarray, formed by the intersection of two orthogonal sets of parallel and uniformly-spaced CNTs or SiNWs. Nanowire crossbars offer the potential for ultra-high density, which has never been achieved by photolithography. In an effort to improve these …

Modeling Kinetics Of Hydrolysis Of Three Pesticides In Laboratory Waters, Michelle Kim Marincel

Masters Theses

"Pesticides and pesticide degradates found in drinking water sources are of particular concern to human health. When treated and disinfected at a drinking water plant, pesticides etridiazole, metribuzin, and diazinon undergo many treatment processes including lime softening, where the water pH is raised to 10 for calcium removal or 11 for magnesium removal. This thesis focuses on modeling the kinetics of hydrolysis of three pesticides that have the potential to undergo hydrolysis in drinking water plants. Linearly and non-linearly regressed first order and non-linearly regressed second order models were applied to the experimental data and compared to limited literature values. …

Formation Control Of Car-Like Mobile Robots, Shweta Annapurani Panimadai Ramaswamy

Masters Theses

"A traditional tracking and control design approach already available in literature is derived and discussed for a car-like mobile robot. It involves a decoupled design involving two separate algorithms, one for velocity control design and another for torque control design. Weak interactions among the algorithms and separate designs make the robot performance optimization and the formation stability difficult to achieve. So, a new tracking and control architecture wherein the conventional elements are replaced by a single component that performs all the functions and hence called the integrated tracking and control scheme is used"--Abstract, page iii.

Electromagnetic Modeling Of Distributed Coaxial Cable Crack Sensors In Reinforced Concrete Members, Mei Wang

Masters Theses

"Distributed crack sensors were recently developed with coaxial cables that are composed of inner and outer conductors as well as dielectric layer in between. These sensors were designed based on the change in topology of the cable outer conductor structure under strain effects. Various tests of reinforced concrete (RC) beams and columns indicated that the newly designed sensors are 10~50 times more sensitive than commercial cables to the longitudinal elongation applied on their cable structures. The spatial resolution of the sensors is approximately 50 mm. Limited numerical simulations with the transmission line theory and the finite difference time domain model …