Digital Commons Network^™

Murine Flexor Tendon Repair Model With Noninvasive Assessment Of Healing With Ultrasound, Fei Rost

Theses

Flexor tendon injuries in the hands are relatively common, significantly disabling more than 100,000 people in the United States per year (Nichols 2019). The majority of flexor tendon injuries require surgical repair, but despite the advancement of technology and medicine, current treatments still yield poor outcomes. Even with prevailing treatments to improve or restore function to the affected digit(s), patients often suffer psychologically and financially in the long-term. A recent study gave a conservative estimate that flexor tendon lacerations cost the American healthcare system and taxpayers between US $240.8-409.1 million per year and emphasized the need to “focus our efforts …

Point Completion Networks And Segmentation Of 3d Mesh, Naga Durga Harish Kanamarlapudi

Theses

Deep learning has made many advancements in fields such as computer vision, natural language processing and speech processing. In autonomous driving, deep learning has made great improvements pertaining to the tasks of lane detection, steering estimation, throttle control, depth estimation, 2D and 3D object detection, object segmentation and object tracking. Understanding the 3D world is necessary for safe end-to-end self-driving. 3D point clouds provide rich 3D information, but processing point clouds is difficult since point clouds are irregular and unordered. Neural point processing methods like GraphCNN and PointNet operate on individual points for accurate classification and segmentation results. Occlusion of …

High Conductivity Metal–Carbon Nanotube Hybrid Conductors Via Chemical Vapor Deposition And Electroplating, Anthony P. Leggiero

Theses

Metal-carbon nanotube (CNT) hybrid conductors aim to combine the high conductivity of traditional metals with the low mass and temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) of carbon nanotubes. The high conductivity of copper makes it a promising candidate to combine with CNTs in a hybrid structure, but there is limited physical and electrical interaction between copper and CNTs. The use of an interfacial layer offers one method of improving the interconnection of a Cu-CNT hybrid conductor. In this dissertation, a joule heating-driven chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique is developed to deposit nanometal seeds throughout a porous, low-density (0.12 g/cm3, ~9 mg/m) …

Measuring The Population Properties Of Merging Compact Binaries With Gravitational Wave Observations, Daniel Wysocki

Theses

Since the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) made the first direct detection of gravitational waves in 2015, the era of gravitational wave astronomy has begun. LIGO and its counterpart Virgo are detecting an ever-growing sample of merging compact binaries: binary black holes, binary neutron stars, and neutron star--black hole binaries. Each individual detection can be compared against simulated signals with known properties, in order to measure the binary's properties. In order to understand the sample of detections as a whole, however, ensemble methods are needed.

The properties measured from these binary systems have large measurement errors, and the sensitivity of …

Exploration Of The Motion Graphics Educational Tools Based On The Animations ‘Virtual Property’, Hao Ge

Theses

Every user must agree with a cookie policy if they want to continue viewing a new web page. In most cases, users scan the terms and click the button. However, they often know nothing about what a web cookie is, what advantages a web cookie brings, and what a web cookie’s disadvantages are. Every coin has two sides. Web cookies save users time and enhance their experience, but they may put users on a dangerous path. A new cookie is created and stored on the computer every time users visit a new page. These cookies bring users benefits but also …

Query-Driven Global Graph Attention Model For Visual Parsing: Recognizing Handwritten And Typeset Math Formulas, Mahshad Mahdavi

Theses

We present a new visual parsing method based on standard Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for handwritten and typeset mathematical formulas. The Query-Driven Global Graph Attention (QD-GGA) parser employs multi-task learning, using a single feature representation for locating, classifying, and relating symbols. QD-GGA parses formulas by first constructing a Line-Of-Sight (LOS) graph over the input primitives (e.g handwritten strokes or connected components in images). Second, class distributions for LOS nodes and edges are obtained using query-specific feature filters (i.e., attention) in a single feed-forward pass. This allows end-to-end structure learning using a joint loss over primitive node and edge class distributions. …

A Ux Design Project For A Transparent News Platform, Keni Wu

Theses

In recent years, fake news has been dominating real news on the Internet. It misleads the public, stirs up and intensifies social conflicts. Online news readers crave the truth than ever. However, it is difficult for them to identify fake news from massive information on the Internet. This paper seeks to help online news readers make more informed and confident judgments on fact-checking by building a transparent news platform. This platform collaborates with news publishers to provide evidence and publish news articles on the desktop software. It also includes a news website which creates an engaging and understandable experience for …

Institutional Anomie Theory: Does Market Mentality Mediate Normative Flexibility?, Christopher David Cassity

Theses

Institutional Anomie Theory argues instrumental crime and violence are a result of weakened social controls that are caused by an imbalance of values favoring the economy. Anomie causes a new moral standard to emerge, one that encourages normative flexibility to achieve goals. The emphasis on the economy permeates into noneconomic institutions that cause them to adopt economic principles and weakens them. The result of this process is that individuals may develop market mentality. Past research has considered normative flexibility to be embedded within market mentality. However, this assumption has not been formally tested. The concepts may be theoretically distinct and …

Cross Cultural Study On Creativity: How Do Croatian Working Professionals And Emirati Working Professionals Conceptualize Creativity?, Alice Almer

Theses

Living in very dynamic and uncertain times, we can witness the power and the necessity of utilizing creativity and innovation as they can provide solutions to complex problems. However, how we see and define creativity is influenced by many factors, and culture is one of them. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of culture on creativity conceptualization. Specifically, the objective was to find out whether the working professionals of Croatia and the working professionals of the United Arab Emirates view creativity differently. In order to investigate this, a cross-sectional study involving 109 participants from Croatia and …

A Case Study: Can 3d Printers Be Used To Address The Prosthetic Needs Of Amputees In The Dominican Republic?, Adriana Coll De Pena

Theses

With a history of recurring occupations and dictatorships, the development of the Dominican national infrastructure has been heavily interrupted by continuous transfers of power. As a result, the lack of a lean government structure is evident when studying the national healthcare system. Despite numerous organizations and agencies overseeing the needs of amputees across the country, only about 347 of the estimated 5,350 new amputees receive prosthetics per year (ARS Humano Salud, 2020; Asociación Dominicana de Rehabilitación, 2018, 2019). Although the needs of this large underserved population are not being met, the implementation of more cost-effective 3D printing technologies seems difficult …

A Reputation Score Driven E-Mail Mitigation System, Tommy Chin

Theses

E-mail inspection and mitigation systems are necessary in today's world due to frequent bombardment of adversarial attacks leverage phishing techniques. The process and accuracy in identifying a phishing attack present significant challenges due to data encryption hindering the ability to conduct signature matching, context analysis of a message, and synchronization of alerts in distributed detection systems. The author recognizes a grand challenge that the increase in the number of data analysis systems corresponds to an overall increase in the delivery time delay of an e-mail message. This work enhances PhishLimiter as a solution to combat phishing attacks using machine learning …

Smarter Simulation Placement Of Kilonova Light Curve Models For Computationally Inexpensive Surrogate Model Creation, Marko Ristic

Theses

The first detected binary neutron star merger GW170817 allowed for the simultaneous detection of gravitational and electromagnetic waves which started the era of multi-messenger astrophysics. The existence of an electromagnetic counterpart to a compact object merger allowed for a significantly deeper analysis of the merger event and much tighter resultant constraints on existing physical models of neutron stars, nuclear physics, and the Universe itself.

Multi-messenger analysis requires sophisticated source modeling. For the foreseeable future, demanding computational resource costs will result in a sparse availability of state-of-the-art neutron star merger light curve simulations. Astrophysical inference can proceed using an alternate approach …

Catalyst-Free Heteroepitaxy Of Iii-V Semiconductor Nanowires On Silicon, Graphene, And Molybdenum Disulfide, Mohadeseh Asadolahi Baboli

Theses

The research presented in this dissertation pioneered three novel nano-material systems, including vertically aligned InAlAs nanowires (NWs) on two-dimensional (2-D) graphene, InAs NWs on 2-D MoS2, and GaAsP NWs on Si using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Bottom up integratiton of NW structures enable heteroepitaxy of largely dissimilar III-V compounds on foreign substrates and provide a basis for design of high-performance devices that are otherwise inaccessible using thin- films or planar geometries. During conventional heteroepitaxy of planar geometries, strict constraints are imposed by the need to match lattice parameters, thermal expansion coefficients, and polar coherence between adjacent dissimilar materials. Semiconductor …

Interactions Of Photosensitizers With Model Membranes And Their Applications In Photodynamic Therapy, Poornima Kalyanram

Theses

Cancer is caused by the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells resulting in 1 in 6 deaths every day. The most common treatment methods include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. These techniques are invasive, aggressive, and non-specific to cancer cells. Therefore, alternative therapies which are both potent and does not interfere with the quality of living are on a rise. Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is an approved alternative remedy in the treatment of cancer. The efficacy of PDT depends on the penetration power of the photosensitizer (PS) when injected into to the site of tumor. However, due to complexity involved in …

Antipodal Robotic Grasping Using Deep Learning, Shirin Joshi

Theses

In this work, we discuss two implementations that predict antipodal grasps for novel objects: A deep Q-learning approach and a Generative Residual Convolutional Neural Network approach. We present a deep reinforcement learning based method to solve the problem of robotic grasping using visio-motor feedback. The use of a deep learning based approach reduces the complexity caused by the use of hand-designed features. Our method uses an off-policy reinforcement learning framework to learn the grasping policy. We use the double deep Q-learning framework along with a novel Grasp-Q-Network to output grasp probabilities used to learn grasps that maximize the pick success. …

Art As Alchemy: The Meaning Of Bartholomeus Spranger's Hermaphroditus And The Nymph Salmacis And Scylla And Glaucus, Peter Kos

Theses

The subject of this study is two paintings by Bartholomeus Spranger titled Glaucus and Scylla (Fig. 1) and Hermaphroditus and the Nymph Salmacis (Fig. 2). Building upon the work of scholars who have argued for a possible alchemical interpretation of at least one of the paintings in the context of its execution for Emperor Rudolf II, this study goes beyond merely suggesting an alchemical connection, and argues that the two paintings, forming a pendant pair, depict two attempts at the alchemist’s magnum opus—one a failure, the other a success. This study further argues that the paintings are not merely inert …

Scenes Of Secession: National Identity In The Art And Architecture Of Southern Slavic Crownlands Of The Late Austro-Hungarian Empire, Preston Alport Hereford

Theses

Set against the backdrop of the segmented power of the Double Monarchy of the Austro- Hungarian Empire, artistic Secession movements reminiscent of the influential movement in Vienna took shape in the smaller cities of the Southern Slavic crownland territories of the Empire. However, despite strong cultural ties to Vienna and other large artistic centers like Munich, Secession took on different ideological and artistic forms in Zagreb and Ljubljana than in the imperial capital. As the Hungarian-administered capital of Croatia-Slavonia, Zagreb was an early adopter of educational and cultural infrastructure, like schools of applied arts and new theaters, that doubly demonstrated …

Accessibility In User Reviews For Mobile Apps: An Automated Detection Approach, Murtaza Tamjeed

Theses

In recent years, mobile accessibility has become an important trend with the goal of allowing all users the possibility of using any app without many restrictions. Recent work demonstrated that user reviews include insights that are useful for app evolution. However, with the increase in the amount of received reviews, manually analyzing them is tedious and time-consuming, especially when searching for accessibility reviews. The goal of this thesis is to support the automated identification of accessibility in user reviews, to help practitioners in prioritizing their handling, and thus, creating more inclusive apps. Particularly, we design a model that takes as …

A Semi-Empirical Compact Model For Igzo Tft To Assess The Impact Of Parasitic Elements In Active Matrix Pixel Designs, Hector Alejandro Rubio Rivera

Theses

In this work, an empirical off-state model was developed for amorphous IGZO TFTs with the purpose of creating a compact model in conjunction with an existing on-state model. The implementation of the compact model was done in Verilog-A to assess the impact of parasitc elements such as source/drain series resistance, and source/drain-to-gate overlap capacitances in a 2T1C pixel circuit. A novel region of operation was presented defined as a bridge between the subthreshold and the on-state regions. Two approaches were followed to solve for the fitting parameters inside this bridge region; an analytical and an empirical approach.

The analytical solution …

Inclusive Public Terminal Device Design: A Self-Service Ticket Vending System, Zhuoyi Zhou

Theses

As information and communication technologies continue to be integrated into every aspect of people's daily lives, a wide variety of public terminal devices that provide self-service have begun to emerge in a variety of public spaces. Its rapid development covers a wide range of industries, including banking and finance, medical services, transportation, and tourism. Self-service terminals have gradually replaced manual services with their high efficiency, speed, and low cost. At first, the self-service is designed to reduce the burden on manual service and, it is efficient and can bring more benefits to the business. Under such conditions how to solve …

Evaluation Of The Premarket Tobacco Product Application For Electronic Cigarettes, Maya Lara

Theses

Use of tobacco has remained one of the most lethal pastimes within the United States. With the creation of new products, like electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), more and more individuals have begun to engage in this activity. In 2019, an epidemic surrounding the use of e-cigarettes emerged causing a multitude of users to suffer harmful respiratory illnesses. These events triggered the need for further investigation not only into the research used to analyze e-cigarettes, but also the regulation process used to validate them. E-cigarettes, like their predecessor traditional cigarettes, are regulated by the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) within the United …

Machine-Assisted Translation By Human-In-The-Loop Crowdsourcing For Bambara, Allahsera Auguste Tapo

Theses

Language is more than a tool of conveying information; it is utilized in all aspects of our lives. Yet only a small number of languages in the 7,000 languages worldwide are highly resourced by human language technologies (HLT). Despite African languages representing over 2,000 languages, only a few African languages are highly resourced, for which there exists a considerable amount of parallel digital data.

We present a novel approach to machine translation (MT) for under-resourced languages by improving the quality of the model using a paradigm called ``humans in the Loop.''

This thesis describes the work carried out to create …

Implementing And Testing Vlans In Meshed Tree Protocol, Ankush Kaul

Theses

Meshed Tree Protocol (MTP)[1][2] is being developed to overcome the performance challenges faced with older loop avoidance layer 2 protocols like Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)[3] and Rapid STP (RSTP)[5] which have high convergence time, causing a significant delay during initial convergence and subsequent re-convergence in the event of topology change or link failure. This slow convergence is not suitable for the modern high speed and dynamic networks and is being addressed with better performing protocols like MTP which uses Meshed Tree Algorithm (MTA) to form multiple overlapping trees[1]. In this thesis we will implement Virtual Local Area Network(VLAN)[4] for MTP …

Conceptual Interstellar Map And Status Panel Design, Yingshan Wu

Theses

This conceptual map and status panel based on interstellar travel with exploring the universe as a theme. Normally, the cockpit of the rocket is matched to the space station by rotating in a weightless state, which is not appropriate when the spacecraft simulates the earth's gravity in the future. In the visual effects of the science fiction movie area, most studies are using at the control panel for controlling spaceship. Differences in galactic rotation also increasing difficulty in the spaceship is finding the right angle and match to one planet or international station. The astronaut cannot easily know the ship's …

Music Note Learning Card Game Design, Ying You

Theses

Within the past several decades, Chinese people's living conditions are getting better because of the quick development in the Chinese economy. People are now paying more and more attention to children's artistic accomplishments in China. Therefore, more and more parents choose to let their children start learning musical instruments when they are young. However, the first step to learn an instrument is learning how to read and understand different note values and basic rhythm patterns. For example, in China, the traditional way of teaching basic rhythmic patterns is that the teacher demonstrates the basic rhythm pattern to a group of …

Application Of Thermal And Ultraviolet Sensors In Remote Sensing Of Upland Ducks, Matthew W. Helvey

Theses

Detection, mapping, and monitoring of wildlife populations can provide significant insight into the health and trajectory of the ecosystems they rely on. In fact, it was not until recently that the benefits of wetland ecosystems were fully understood. Unfortunately, by that point, the United States had removed more than 50% of its native wetlands. The Prairie Pothole Region in North America is the premier breeding location for ducks; responsible for producing more than 50% of the North American ducks annually. The current survey methods for obtaining duck population counts are accomplished primarily using manned flights with observers manually identifying and …

Blockchain And Smart Contracts: The Need For Better Education, Ali Alkhajeh

Theses

The study aims at understanding the current scenario of blockchain education and whether it is meeting the increasing demand of blockchain professionals in the job market. In addition, it also provided a comparison between Ethereum and Hyperledger and analyzed the one best suited for better academic curriculum design. By drawing from various sources of data, including journals, articles, reports, the study provided critical insights into the various aspects of a blockchain education. It assesses the existing curriculum on the blockchain that includes courses and programs from various renowned universities and business schools. The study reveals that although the courses are …

Building Simulation, Solar Potential And Consumption Analysis Of Residential Dwellings, In Dubai, Aysha Alremeithi, Hasan Kamal, Marwa Alraeesi

Theses

City sustainability analysis is overly broad, and people with diverse mindsets look at cities from different perspectives. As part of the city’s fabric, buildings are an integral component and hence require attention. Although the electricity consumed in buildings varies from country to country, it is equal to 30–40% of the total electricity consumption all over the world. [1]. This research targeted studying residential building simulation in Dubai, using various Green Building Codes, assessing energy consumption trends, designing solar systems with respective sizing along with conducting detailed load profile analysis and developing statistical model to directly estimate the HVAC consumption. The …

Critical Material Supply Risks And Mitigation Strategies In Clean Energy Technologies, Alexandra Leader

Theses

The pressing global issue of climate change has driven the development of clean energy technologies. The clean energy technologies addressed in this dissertation include those used to produce energy and provide mobility with reduced emissions, as well as technologies outside the energy and transportation sectors which utilize energy in a more efficient way. Many of these technologies rely on materials that are considered critical due to their importance to the technology’s functionality and their potential vulnerability to supply disruption. Supply disruptions can stem from a variety of factors such as geographical supply concentration, production in unstable areas, low ore grades, …

Current State And Development Potential Of Luxury Heritage Hospitality In Old City Center Of Split, Croatia, Lucia Koprčina

Theses

Tourism is one of the main lines of profit for Split; however there is no unified strategy reflected in one line of tourism. In order to protect that UNESCO heritage site and assure long-term industry success it is proposed to take a shift to building a luxury brand that connects all business located in the site in a unified manner. The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of the current state and context of the luxury tourism industry, specifically considering the accommodation and dining services in the old city center are of Split, Croatia. The objective is …