Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of Abiotic And Biotic Factors In Limiting Piper Abundance And Distribution In A Lowland Costa Rican Wet Forest, Haydee Hernandez-Yanez

Theses

Niche theory proposes that species are able to coexist because each specializes on a certain portion of the habitats available. Both abiotic resources and the presence or the absence of biotic factors likely influence habitat specialization, although very few previous studies of plant distribution have considered both sets of factors. I conducted an observational study in the primary forest of the La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica in which I sampled plants of the genus Piper greater than 1 cm at ground level on two different soil types along 26 transects, each 100 m long and 2 m wide. …

Boundary Between Human And Machine, Seulgi Cho

Theses

John McCathy and Peter Wright, who are technology philosophers while also being engineers, analyzed the technology of today and found that it transcends the mere role of being everyday tools, and claim that technology has such a significant existence that it can influence the emotions of humans. The products of technology such as machines that have become everyday parts of our lives are no longer simple tools, but their meanings in our lives have expanded into something more complex. The products of technology, they point out, influence and change the sense of perception and emotional state of people. But, to …

Toward Real-Time Video-Enhanced Augmented Reality For Medical Visualization And Simulation, Alexander Maxwell Bensch

Theses

In this work we demonstrate two separate forms of augmented reality environments for use with minimally-invasive surgical techniques. In Chapter 2 it is demonstrated how a video feed from a webcam, which could mimic a laparoscopic or endoscopic camera used during an interventional procedure, can be used to identify the pose of the camera with respect to the viewed scene and augment the video feed with computer-generated information, such as rendering of internal anatomy not visible beyond the image surface, resulting in a simple augmented reality environment. Chapter 3 details our implementation of a similar system to the one previously …

The Effects Of Thujone On The Function Of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors, Ahmed Salaheldin Mustafa Ali Sultan

Theses

Thujone is a natural compound found in plants such as “wormwood” and “sage” and it’s also found in the alcoholic drink “Absinthe”. Thujone has been suggested as a neurotoxic compound and reported to modulate GABAA receptors. In this study, we investigated the pharmacology of Thujone on nicotinic receptors expressed in Xenopus oocytes using the two electrode voltage clamp method. Thujone (100μM) caused an 80% inhibition of Acetylcholine (ACh) induced currents in human α7-nAChRs expressed in frog oocytes while only 30% inhibition currents in α4β2 expressed oocytes and no effect on α3β4, α3β2 and α4β4 nAChRs. The mechanisms of Thujone effect …

Assessment Of Scientific Graphical Literacy Of 10th Grade Students In Al-Ain Educational Office, United Arab Emirates, Sarah Elheir Elhassan Hamad

Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the scientific graphical literacy level of the 10th grade science students, and explore the extent to which students at 10th grade have the essential skills to process and interpret visual scientific graphs in the private and public schools in Al Ain educational Zone. This study was exploratory survey design in which an attempt was made to explore student understanding of scientific graphs. A Graphical Literacy Test was developed for this study to evaluate the student ability to interpret, and construct graphical information. 125 grade10th science students participated in the present study. Sixty …

The Impact Of Integrating Computer Simulations On The Achievement Of Grade 11 Emirati Students In Uniform Circular Motion, Mohamad Fadi N. Aoude

Theses

Education has been affected by the advancement of technology, especially computer software. This thesis focuses on the impact of computer simulations on students’ acquisition of Physics concepts related to the topic of Uniform Circular Motion. The main purpose of this thesis is to examine to what extent can computer simulations help students of grade 11 from Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE), learn factual, conceptual and procedural knowledge related to Uniform Circular Motion. It also aims to investigate how simulations affect students of different abilities in terms of their achievement in Physics. A quazi- experimental method was used, where participants …

Effective Node Clustering And Data Dissemination In Large-Scale Wireless Sensor Networks, Mariam Saeed Ai Nuaimi

Theses

The denseness and random distribution of large-scale WSNs makes it quite difficult to replace or recharge nodes. Energy efficiency and management is a major design goal in these networks. In addition, reliability and scalability are two other major goals that have been identified by researchers as necessary in order to further expand the deployment of such networks for their use in various applications. This thesis aims to provide an energy efficient and effective node clustering and data dissemination algorithm in large-scale wireless sensor networks. In the area of clustering, the proposed research prolongs the lifetime of the network by saving …

Two Blocks From Heaven, David M. Tan

Theses

Two Blocks From Heaven is a story set in the realm of human trafficking. The story follows Chen, a young Chinese prostitute in an illegal brothel above a Chinese restaurant nearby a church in the middle of an unspecified American city. Jaded, abused, and weary of this life she’s been forced to live, she takes on a deal to train the new girl, Mei, in exchange for her own freedom. Upon Mei’s arrival and befriending, Chen is faced with a choice: earn her freedom at the cost of Mei ending up like her or risk their safety by running away. …

Expanding Dimensionality In Cinema Color: Impacting Observer Metamerism Through Multiprimary Display, David L. Long

Theses

Television and cinema display are both trending towards greater ranges and saturation of reproduced colors made possible by near-monochromatic RGB illumination technologies. Through current broadcast and digital cinema standards work, system designs employing laser light sources, narrow-band LED, quantum dots and others are being actively endorsed in promotion of Wide Color Gamut (WCG). Despite artistic benefits brought to creative content producers, spectrally selective excitations of naturally different human color response functions exacerbate variability of observer experience. An exaggerated variation in color-sensing is explicitly counter to the exhaustive controls and calibrations employed in modern motion picture pipelines. Further, singular standard observer …

Evaluation Of Reproductive Strategies In Captive California Yellowtail (Seriola Dorsalis) Using Genetic Parentage Analyses, Elizabeth K. Smith, Mark Drawbridge Ms, John Hyde Phd, Geoffrey Morse Phd

Theses

A good understanding of spawning dynamics of species in aquaculture is vital in order to maximize egg production and quality as well as efficient allocation of food and space resources. The breeding program of California yellowtail (CYT; Seriola dorsalis previously Seriola lalandi) at Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute (HSWRI) is set up such that up to 30 wild caught brood fish can broadcast spawn in a group setting, just as CYT reproduce in the wild. The population of brood fish were originally caught offshore from Southern California, and are maintained under ambient sea water and natural lighting conditions. The spawning season …

Insense: A Variation And Fault Tolerant Architecture For Nanoscale Devices, John A. Frye

Theses

Transistor technology scaling has been the driving force in improving the size, speed, and power consumption of digital systems. As devices approach atomic size, however, their reliability and performance are increasingly compromised due to reduced noise margins, difficulties in fabrication, and emergent nano-scale phenomena. Scaled CMOS devices, in particular, suffer from process variations such as random dopant fluctuation (RDF) and line edge roughness (LER), transistor degradation mechanisms such as negative-bias temperature instability (NBTI) and hot-carrier injection (HCI), and increased sensitivity to single event upsets (SEUs). Consequently, future devices may exhibit reduced performance, diminished lifetimes, and poor reliability.

This research proposes …

The Role Of Electronsensory Signals On The Locomotor Performance Of The Weakly Electric Fish Apteronotus Albifrons, Oswaldo Gil-Guevara

Theses

Animal locomotion performance responds to different ecological factors that shape relevant aspects of behavior. Conspecific signals is one of these factors and operates in a wide range of contexts. In schooling fish, coordinated movement is based on visual or mechanical cues and signals. In contrast, most gymnotiforms and mormyriforms are nocturnal or live in dark waters and use electric signals for social communication. However, the effect of conspecific electric signals on locomotion and group movement is largely unknown.

Apteronotus albifrons is a well-known model in neuroethological studies of signal processing and locomotion control that relies mostly on visual inputs but …

Effect Of Endplate On The Blast Wave Profile In A Compressed Gas Shock Tube, Sudeepto Kahali

Theses

Blast related brain injuries are commonly encountered in the recent wars of Iraq and Afghanistan increased use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). An estimated 20% of veterans returning from these operations have suffered traumatic brain injuries (TBI). The mechanisms and long-term effects of the injury are not fully understood, and extensive research effort is being focused toward identifying the mechanisms of primary blast injury. When a pure shock-blast wave encounters a subject, in the absence of shrapnel, casing or gaseous products, the loading is termed as primary blast loading, and its effects can be studied using shock tubes.

The wave …

Evaluative Measures: Assessing The Effectiveness Of Exhibits And Programs In Zoos, Drew Johnson

Theses

This thesis examines program and exhibition evaluation as pertaining to zoos and aquariums in the United States from the 1960’s to the present. Research conducted for this thesis focuses on the design, implementation, and evaluation of zoological programs and exhibitions. Also examined are studies of zoo and aquarium visitors related to audience research, informal learning, and psychographics. Case studies as well as published procedural and evaluative methods from zoos and aquariums across the United States are used to identify best practices. In addition, two evaluation tool kits are presented to assist the Seneca Park Zoo with evaluative measures for exhibits …

Uncomfortable Bedfellows: Locke And The Libertarian Theory Of Property, Garrett Dimond

Theses

Libertarians, such as Robert Nozick, have often appealed to Locke’s labor theory as the basis in which to defend full ownership rights to property. My central claim is that this is a mistake. Locke, I argue, is not a comfortable libertarian bedfellow for the following three reasons. (1) Locke’s account of property neither implies rights to full ownership, nor was Locke himself committed to the view. (2) The conditions Locke's labor theory places on property rights would generate a state that more closely aligns with the welfare state than the libertarian minimal state. (3) Even when we ignore Locke’s theological …

Computational Simulation Of An Electrophysiological Human Heart Failure Model With An Early Afterdepolarization Arrhythmia Application, Mohamed Elshrif

Theses

The main purpose of this dissertation is to develop a population-based cellular model of remodeled electrophysiological properties in a single cell of a human ventricle under heart failure conditions. The developed model is used to study ventricular arrhythmia (VA) applications under heart failure (HF) conditions, such as inducing early afterdepolarizations (EADs) in single cells and initiating spiral waves in tissue. Early afterdepolarizations as well as reentrant waves are an important cause of ventricular arrhythmias in heart failure. However, the underlying transmural distribution of alterations in currents is unknown. Therefore, it is important to study the impact of remodeled transmural currents …

Branding A Professional American Football Franchise, John J. Ragone Jr.

Theses

The original intent of my thesis was to create a professional-level team identity that a community can embrace and emotionally bond with by utilizing contemporary design trends. As I researched the visual aspects of the brand strategy, it became apparent that current trends toward multiplicity of uniform designs could become a threat to an organization’s brand equity.

A corporate identity is the strategically engineered “personality” of an organization created to facilitate business objectives. How that identity is perceived and accepted supports relationship building between an organization and its audience or customers. Brand equity is developed through ease of recognition and …

Comparing Uncivil Discourse With A Conversational Intelligent Agent In Public And Private Online Settings, Mark Marcello

Theses

According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, 60% of participants of a survey said they have witnessed online abuse, and 66% of that abuse occurred via social media. This study looks at online communication, and tests if anonymity increases the amount of abuse that occurs during online communication. A quasi-experiment was developed to look for uncivil discourse using a conversational intelligent agent to create a controlled, repeatable conversational environment. The interactions with the agent occur in two settings: one in public at a kiosk, and a second in private. The researcher hypothesized that the interactions that occur …

Individual Colorimetric Observers For Personalized Color Imaging, Yuta Asano

Theses

Colors are typically described by three values such as RGB, XYZ, and HSV. This is rooted to the fact that humans possess three types of photoreceptors under photopic conditions, and human color vision can be characterized by a set of three color matching functions (CMFs). CMFs integrate spectra to produce three colorimetric values that are related to visual responses. In reality, large variations in CMFs exist among color-normal populations. Thus, a pair of two spectrally different stimuli might be a match for one person but a mismatch for another person, also known as observer metamerism.

Observer metamerism is a serious …

Spiritus, Matthew Spaull

Theses

On February 25th, 1999, The Roman Catholic Church excommunicated Father James Callan and the parishioners of Corpus Christi Church in Rochester, NY. Covered by Media nationwide, the excommunication was portrayed as the latest struggle of progressive Catholics against the more conservative Church authorities. Growing from 200 to more than 3,000 parishioners in less than a decade, Corpus Christi became home to an impressive range of social justice programs, including a health care center, a halfway house for former prisoners, a home for recovering addicts, a hospice, and a daycare center. What got Callan and the church into trouble were the …

Signature Simulation And Characterization Of Mixed Solids In The Visible And Thermal Regimes, Tyler D. Carson

Theses

Solid target signatures vary due to geometry, chemical composition and scene radiometry. Although radiative transfer models and function-fit physical models may describe certain targets in limited depth, the ability to incorporate all three of these signature variables is difficult. This work describes a method to simulate the transient signatures of mixed solids and soils by first considering scene geometry that was synthetically created using 3-d physics engines. Through the assignment of spectral data from the Nonconventional Exploitation Factors Data System (NEFDS) and other libraries, synthetic scenes are represented as a chemical mixture of particles. Finally, first principles radiometry is modeled …

Investigating Annual Variation In Fruit Quality Using Nutrient Assays And Multidimensional Fluorescence Spectroscopy, Harshita Sood

Theses

Each year, billions of birds engage in migratory behavior in response to seasonal changes. During fall migration, many birds consume nutritionally rich fruits with high energy density to satisfy their energy requirements, and rich in antioxidant capacity to alleviate oxidative stress. The goal of this study was to investigate the variation in nutritional content and antioxidant content of fruits from two different years, and compare these with trends in temperature and precipitation during the years. The fruits of 12 shrubs were collected during autumn of 2012 and 2013 in Rochester, NY. Nutrient analyses were used to measure the energy density, …

Emergence Patterns Of Common Waterhemp And Palmer Amaranth In Southern Illinois, Lucas Xavier Franca

Theses

The continued spread of glyphosate-resistant common waterhemp [Amaranthus tuberculatus (Moq.) Sauer (syn. rudis)] and Palmer amaranth [Amaranthus palmeri (S. Wats.)] have complicated weed control efforts in soybean and corn production in Illinois. A thorough understanding of the weed biology of these species is fundamental in developing effective weed management strategies. The determination of emergence patterns as well as the influence of tillage practices on soil microclimate and soil seed bank will allow control strategies to be implemented at the most effective timing. Field experiments were conducted in southern Illinois throughout the growing season of 2013 and 2014 on two separate …

Thedor Kullak's "Scenes From Childhood," Op. 62, And Op. 81: A Pedagogical Guide, Jennifer Lynn Kottke

Theses

Theodor Kullak (September 12, 1818 - March 1, 1882) composed "Scenes from Childhood," Op. 62 and Op. 81 for young piano students. This thesis is a guide for teaching these pieces to intermediate piano students. Following Kullak's biography, aspects of note-reading, fingering, rhythm, technique, and musicality are discussed and illustrated in specific examples from the music.

The Role Of Silver Carp In The Trophic Position And Diet Of River Otters In Illinois, Preston Feltrop

Theses

Invasive prey species pose a threat to ecosystems and can alter food web and community dynamics. Populations of silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), recognized with bighead carp (H. nobilis) as “Asian carp,” are growing rapidly in Illinois and may make up a large fraction of available prey for river otters (Lontra canadensis) in larger waterbodies. Asian carp occupy a considerably lower trophic level than most commonly recognized otter prey. My goals were 1) to assess the influence of consuming silver carp on the trophic position of Illinois otters using stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C), and 2) to assess …

Reliable Hardware Architectures Of Cordic Algorithm With Fixed Angle Of Rotations, Rajkumar Ramadoss

Theses

Fixed-angle rotation operation of vectors is widely used in signal processing, graphics, and robotics. Various optimized coordinate rotation digital computer (CORDIC) designs have been proposed for uniform rotation of vectors through known and specified angles. Nevertheless, in the presence of faults, such hardware architectures are potentially vulnerable. In this thesis, we propose efficient error detection schemes for two fixed-angle rotation designs, i.e., the Interleaved Scaling and Cascaded Single-rotation CORDIC. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first in providing reliable architectures for these variants of CORDIC. The former is suitable for low-area applications and, hence, we propose …

A Comparison Of Fish Communities In Southwestern Lake Ontario Tributaries From One Century Ago, Ben Carson

Theses

I evaluated a study performed by Albert Hazen Wright between 1902 and 1904, on the Tributaries of Lake Ontario in Monroe County, NY. I extracted data from Wright's original graphical analysis, and analyzed these data with Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA), to assess the value of these data for use as historical benchmarks for future studies on the same tributaries. Wright identified 52 species of fish within his distribution diagrams, eight of the species were rare species and were not analyzed with the CCA. Of the 44 remaining species analyzed, 37 matched very well between Wright's interpretations of his data, and …

Using Stochastic Differential Equations To Model Gap-Junction Gating Dynamics In Cardiac Myocytes, Will Consagra

Theses

The cell-to-cell propagation of the cardiac action potential allows for the electro-mechanical coupling of cells, which promotes the coordinated contraction of cardiac tissue, often referred to as the heartbeat. The main structures that promote electrical coupling between adjacent cardiac cells are pore-like proteins called gap junctions that line the membranes of such cells, allowing a channel for electrically charged ions to travel between cells. It is known that the conformational, and hence conducting, properties of gap-junction channels change as a function of local gap-junctional voltage and local ionic concentrations and are stochastic in nature. Many previous models of gap junctions …

Extraction Of Vegetation Biophysical Structure From Small-Footprint Full-Waveform Lidar Signals, Paul Romanczyk

Theses

The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is a continental scale environmental monitoring initiative tasked with characterizing and understanding ecological phenomenology over a 30-year time frame. To support this mission, NEON collects ground truth measurements, such as organism counts and characterization, carbon flux measurements, etc. To spatially upscale these plot-based measurements, NEON developed an airborne observation platform (AOP), with a high-resolution visible camera, next-generation AVIRIS imaging spectrometer, and a discrete and waveform digitizing light detection and ranging (lidar) system. While visible imaging, imaging spectroscopy, and discrete lidar are relatively mature technologies, our understanding of and associated algorithm development for small-footprint full-waveform …

Mer Depré, Margaret Orr

Theses

Mer Depré is an experiment to see if the essence of the experience of depression can be captured through film. Inspired by personal experiences, it invites the viewer to enter a world of darkness and anxiety.

The creation of Mer Depré began with sound. A rough soundtrack was used to create the bones of the film before visuals were laid on top. Most of the animation was done using stop motion techniques. When animating, the process was as important as the end result, and many different materials were used to create various effects. The compositing process compiled all of the …