Digital Commons Network^™

Ambulatory Biopotential Measurement, Lakshmi Chitra Penugonda

Theses

Biopotential signals measure the electrical activity of different parts of the body. Conventional bedside monitors only provide information about the body under restricted conditions. Observation and documentation of biopotential signal during daily activities and the relation to patient symptoms may be important factors for clinical decision-making. Ambulatory monitoring helps to monitor the biopotential signal of a patient in the natural environment. The effective ambulatory system can help a physician to diagnose the patient's abnormality.

In this project, a low cost and flexible ambulatory biopotential system, compared to the commercially available systems, was designed and tested. Concurrently a software program was …

Analysis Of Acceleration And Deceleration During Cyclic Exercise, Jeena Vadi

Theses

The Cyclic Exercise Protocol is a novel protocol that is designed to create a series of cyclic waves of exercise and recovery. This exercise protocol involves short bursts of exercise lasting for 60 seconds or less followed by a period of complete cardio recovery. This study involves the analysis of the acceleration and the deceleration regions of the cyclic exercise sessions. The objective of this study was to develop an algorithm to quantitatively analyze the acceleration and the deceleration regions of cyclic exercise sessions. The acceleration and the deceleration regions of cycles were split into three segments and each segment …

Relationship Between The Autonomic Nervous System And The Recovering Heart Post Exercise Using Heart Rate Variability, Pierre Asselin

Theses

The goal of this thesis is to determine if a relationship exists between the activity of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the speed of heart rate recovery post maximal exercise. The parasympathetic branch of the ANS was assessed during rest by obtaining the high frequency (HF) component of the heart rate variability (HRV) frequency spectrum. The recovery time was estimated by fitting an exponential curve to the heart rate post exercise where the exponent was used to calculate the time constant to indicate recovery time. A regression was then performed on the HF and recovery time in order to …

Non-Linear Digital Control Of A Mckibben Muscle System, Surinkumar Patel

Theses

McKibben muscles are pneumatic actuators that have potential application in the rehabilitation of persons with physical impairments. These actuators have been known to exhibit similarities in human musculoskeletal systems. In order to better understand and improve the closed - loop control of these pneumatic muscles, a physical joint model was constructed with an agonist and an antagonist muscle operating under non-linear control. With the use of LabVIEW software, compliant McKibben air muscles and Flock-of-Birds sensor, the author was able to implement and compare a standard bang-bang controller and experimental non-linear digital Proportional (P) controller. The feedback mechanism is based on …

Corporate Identity: The Reasons For Change, Kwiryun Kim

Theses

Not Included

Developing Performance Measures For A Health, Safety And Environmental Performance Report For General Mills, Inc., Jeffrey L. Hanratty

Theses

There is substantial interest in Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) performance as investors are becoming more aware of HSE issues and are beginning to index companies based on their environmental performance. Many other stakeholders are interested in the HSE performance of companies including that of General Mills. They want to be able to compare and contrast HSE performance both within and across industrial sectors. General Mills is responding to this interest and sees an opportunity to take HSE activities to the next level. This thesis reviews current HSE performance reporting trends in general industry and the food industry and proposes …

Accurate Electronic Sphygmomanometer, Darshan Rane

Theses

Not Included

Nanotechnology: An Assessment Of Current Occupational Health And Safety Issues, Brian Mcshane

Theses

Nanotechnology is a rapidly expanding field and is expected to revolutionize many existing industries and create entirely new ones. Presently, and to a greater extent in the future, there is potential for occupational exposure to free forms of these materials in research and development labs and industrial processes. Free nanomaterials may pose a significant health risk to those exposed as described by recent preliminary data on nanomaterials but also through the work addressing exposures to ultrafine particles both in the workplace and in ambient air. There are presently no published health and safety guidelines for working with nanomaterials. This paper …

Offshore Outsourcing: Is This Change In Corporate American Business As Smooth As What You Have Read?, Mary F. Tochelli

Theses

The software industry is one of the fastest growing industries in today's business world. The focus seems to be on the software industry now because there are so many other industries such as online retailers that are reliant on software and the information technology world. The purpose of this thesis is to extend the knowledge on current practices, methods and processes when application development is outsourced to offshore vendors. This thesis will also examine key steps to avoid when looking to outsource an application development project. Numerous risks will be discussed as well as the processes to be implemented and …

Evaluation Of Remanufacturing As A Production Alternative To Reduce The Magnitude Of Environmental Impacts Using Traci, Marielk Del Mariano Martinez

Theses

As a result of many environmental problems associated with industrial activities and manufacturing applications, several production strategies have been evaluated to reduce the magnitude of ecological impacts. Through remanufacturing, the physical form of the product is retained along with its economic value, offering a viable option to address actual ecological problems that result from production practices. One of the instruments used to evaluate process performance and product generation is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). However, to date, all software packages used to conduct LCA have failed to incorporate remanufacturing as a production alternative. The EPA's TRACI software package utilized in this …

The Role Of University Participation In Integrated Coastal Zone Management : A Case Study Of The Ria De Aviero, Amie Barbosa Figueiredo

Theses

The purpose of this investigation is to examine the efforts of the Universidade de Aveiro to create a public participation process and provide information for the management of the Ria de Aveiro, a lagoon system, in Portugal. This thesis examines whether universities are effective as coordinators and facilitators of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM). The Universidade de Aveiro, through the European Union-ICZM Demonstration Programme, spearheaded two projects, MARIA and ESGIRA-Maria, in efforts towards moving forward with ICZM in the area. A framework was created and then applied through a series of pilot-projects. Examination of the results of these pilot projects …

Labview Controlled Study Of The Propagation Properties Of Ultrasound In Synthetic Fog Environment, Aparna Venkataraman

Theses

Diagnostic ultrasound employs pulsed, high frequency sound waves that are reflected back from body tissues and processed by ultrasound receivers to create characteristic images in varied applications such as cardiology, obstetrics and gynecology neurology and urology. Ultrasound intensity is primarily affected by the changes in acoustic impedance of the medium. Literature on ultrasound indicates that the propagation of ultrasound increases gradually as the density increases from air to water. Such studies have been confined to only the three states of matter and have never discussed a fog medium.

The primary objective of this thesis study was to design a system …

Ambulatory Measurement Of Body Position, Swetha Vennamaneni

Theses

Ambulatory monitoring is playing an important role in the clinical and research field. In the modem era, physicians are showing much interest in measuring heart rate, blood pressure and many other physical and cardiac conditions and recording electrocardiogram (ECG, a popular technique for diagnosing heart related disease), while the patient is ambulatory. Heart rate, blood pressure and ECG waveform can change because of body position. In the case of the ECG, the changes caused by body position are can change the ST-T segment and also the QRS amplitude. The heart rate and blood pressure changes when there is a change …

2d Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship Modeling Of Methylphenidate Analogues Using Algorithm And Partial Least Square Regression, Noureen Wadhwaniya

Theses

Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) analysis attempts to develop a predictive model of biological activity based on molecular descriptors. 2D QSAR uses descriptors, such as topological indices, that are independent of molecular conformation. A genetic algorithm - partial least squares (GA-PLS) approach was used to identify the molecular descriptors that correlate to the biological activity (binding affinity) of a set of 80 methylphenidate analogues and to construct a predictive model. The GA code was implemented using the fitness function (1-(n-1)(1-q²)/ (n - c)), where n is the number of compounds, c is the optimal number of components, and q …

It Services Market Analysis, Linnette Perales Rivera

Theses

The IT services market represents an attractive set of markets with potential for profit. As technology matures, firms now see and accept the benefits that these technologies bring to their existing business environments. With the wide possibilities within the IT services field, service providers must now evaluate the market they desire to participate in. I have analyzed aspects such as potential market demand and entry barriers to gain a basic understanding of the competitive outlook for knowledge management, systems integration and web services. I also used concentration ratio data to calibrate and understand the level of competition experienced within these …

Video Games: Changing The Way We Think Of Home Entertainment, Eri Shulga

Theses

In this paper the various aspects of video games in modern day households will be discussed. According to marketing trends, video games will be extremely influential in the future of home entertainment, however not all gaming companies are able to understand the importance of this growing trend deep enough to make an effort in producing family-oriented¹ video games [43, par. 2]. The need for more varied video games will be discussed in this paper and examples of successful family games will be used to solidify research conclusions.

There are issues that are clearly holding the video gaming industry back …

A Management System Approach To Operational Excellence In The Energy Industry, Mark Chichester

Theses

Chevron, an international integrated energy corporation has installed the Operational Excellence Management System (OEMS) to achieve world-class performance in environmental, health, safety, efficiency, and reliability concerns. This management system is fully described in this research. It shares many attributes with the international standard for environmental management systems known as ISO 14001, although the OEMS is designed to include concerns in safety, health efficiency and reliability, in addition to environmental issues. This research investigates the comparability of the OEMS to the international standard. Through direct comparison of requirements of the standard to features of the OEMS it is determined that the …

An Investigation Into The Practicality Of Using A Digital Camera's Raw Data In Print Publishing Applications, Zuliyanti Ainul Azyan

Theses

RAW file formats were introduced to the photography industry more than five years ago. However, not much information about their functionality, capabilities, or advantages in different situations has been made available. Some digital camera users are not aware of their existence and, if they were, they would not know what to do with them. RAW file formats functions are viewed as a concern of the professional photographer and not of the average user (Fraser, 2005). RAW file formats are unprocessed digital image data ? the type available from many current digital cameras. There is no standard RAW format. Each camera …

The Current State Of The Gynecological Health Of Missouri Women And The Promotion Of Women's Health Issues In St. Charles County, Missouri, Tina Chapman

Theses

This thesis will focus on the current state of women's gynecological health in Missouri and the importance of raising the awareness of health issues among a targeted population of women in St. Charles County.

Compared to national averages, women living in Missouri suffer higher infection rates of certain sexually transmitted diseases as well as higher rates of cervical cancer. Since hundreds of thousands of women do not receive annual exan1inations that would detect these conditions, it is clear that a public information campaign is desperately needed. This project attempts to develop such a campaign.

The campaign will focus on St. …

Analytical And Synthetic Methods For Anatoxins., Janet Crowley

Theses

This thesis is focused on the potent cyanobacterial neurotoxins anatoxin-a (AN), its methyl analogue homoanatoxin-a (HMAN) and their non-toxic dihydro- and epoxydegradation products. In commencing the investigation into this area a literature review was performed in order to identify areas where more research and method development was required (Chapter 1). The review highlighted the fact that although a number of analytical methods had been developed for the analysis of AN, there were few methods for the determination of its potent homologue HMAN and their non-toxic degradation products. As these neurotoxins degrade quickly it is important to monitor their degradation products, …

Validation Of An Immunomagnetic-Electrochemiluminescence Detection System For The Detection Of Escherichia Coli 0157 In Food And Comparison With An Iso Standard Method, Eimear Carney

Theses

Rapid and sensitive methods for detecting Escherichia coli 0157 in contaminated food, water and other biological samples are important in limiting and preventing the spread of this pathogen. Traditional culture based methods for bacterial identification and detection can be time consuming and labour intensive. Modem alternative methods should be faster whilst maintaining sensitivity. Immunomagnetic separation (IMS) methodology has been investigated and appears promising for rapid bacterial detection in unrelated food and environmental samples. In this study, a commercial sensor which combined IMS with electrochemiluminescence (ECL) was evaluated for the detection of E. coli 0157 in unrelated food matrices. Emitted signals …

Harbingers, Ilena Finocchi

Theses

Not Included

Ict Integration To Second-Level Schools, Maria Hartnett

Theses

An in-depth questionnaire was sent to the twenty seven second level schools in Kerry. Results were then analysed and compared to similar results obtained by Aidan Mulkeen in his statistical report of the ICT 2002 Survey. An online class on Preparing for College was designed and developed. This class was delivered to three second level schools in Kerry who had shown an interest in taking part. None of the three schools had the ICT facilities required to accommodate such a learning environment. All students were required to fill out an online questionnaire in order to determine their reaction to the …

The Great Becoming, Sara L. Blackwell

Theses

Few questions stir as much curiosity and controversy as the question of how and why did man evolve. This culminating project strives to explore that issue creatively. Using a combination of religious overtones, myths and legends, and imagination, this project strives to be an original creation myth- a piece of fiction that answers how civilization, as we know it today, began. The story bas not been written to replace commonly accepted religious beliefs. Rather, it has been written to complement them, to question them, and to explore the very beginnings of religion itself.

The introduction to this project focuses on …

Nurses, My Family, & Elvis, Cristle Coleman-Griwach

Theses

This collection of sh01t stories will focus primarily on nurses from the turn of the last century to the present. Some of the stories are fiction and some are based on experiences of nurses I have known. There two stories unrelated to nursing, one is about bow my father helped launch Elvis Presley's career, the other is about my family.

The goal of the collection is to illustrate the different roles and personalities or nurses. The first story, "A Feather in Her Bonnet" is set in the early nineteen-hundreds. A seemingly innocent feathered bonnet on the head or a frumpy …

Guardianship And Severely Chronically Mentally Ill Adults: A Measure Of Advantages And Disadvantageous In A Pair-Matched Records Review, James H. Hoerchler

Theses

This thesis examined adults with chronic severe mental illness and the use of legal guardianship executed to protect them from harming themselves or others, while attempting to improve their overall quality of life.

The earliest manifestation of mental health law appeared in the Roman Empire. The Romans established the legal use of surrogates to handle the property and commercial affairs of disabled citizens. By the sixteenth century England had developed standards of supervision by which a guardian might supervise a disabled person. The first guardianship recorded in America was decided under English law in 1637 in Jamestown, Virginia (Goldstein, Alan …

Nurses, My Family & Elvis, Cristle Coleman-Griwach

Theses

This collection of short stories will focus primarily on nurses from the turn of the last century to the present. Some of the stories are fiction and some are based on experiences of nurses I have known. There two stories unrelated to nursing, one is about how my father helped launch El vis Presley's career, the other is about my family.

The goal of the collection is to illustrate the different roles and personalities of nurses. The first story, "A Feather in Her Bonnet" is set in the early nineteen-hundreds. A seemingly innocent feathered bonnet on the head of a …

A Baseline Assessment Of Environmental, Health, And Safety Aspects And Impacts Associated With Lithographic And Digital Printing Operations Performed Under Ideal Work Conditions, Sachin Kadam

Theses

This work examined various environmental, health, and safety aspects of two comparable printing technologies i.e. offset lithographic and electrophotographic digital printing, and evaluated their impacts on the environment and health & safety of the workers. It also studied the environmental behavior of these technologies with respect to print volume, and provides information to print manufacturers on the same so that they can use this information while deciding on technological selection. An effort has been made to bring attention of the print manufacturers towards the key environmental, health, and safety issues that will help them understand the importance of pollution prevention …

A Guide To The Management & Operation Of A Chinese Restaurant In The United States, Wen-Chiung Huang

Theses

Before writing this thesis, the reason I choose for the issue of management and operation of Chinese restaurant is not because so much mass communication was related. It is the idea of the restaurant business how it to be created by using media or people's words of mouth. It is difficult to start a new business in the foreign country. Restaurant business does the same. In the early a late age of immigration, people realized only work hard can made a better life for themselves and their next generation. They started have their own business, created job opportunity even contributed …

Policy Options To Enhance Technology Diffusion: Modeling The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Potential Of Solid-State Lighting, Amanda Slocum

Theses

Solid-state lighting (SSL) is an emerging technology that is projected to provide substantial energy savings over conventional lighting sources by 2025. There is a growing concern over the consequences of climate change, largely attributed to anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2; a greenhouse gas) from fossil fuel combustion. Currently fossil-fuel combustion accounts for 70% of electricity produced in the U.S., and end-use lighting applications alone consume approximately one-fifth of this electricity. Therefore, replacing conventional lighting sources with energy-efficient SSL has the potential to significantly reduce electricity consumption which can in turn reduce CO2 emissions. However, previous research has shown there …