Digital Commons Network^™

Magneto-Rheological Fluid Orthosis For Suppressing Tremor, Hyoung-Joo Yeo

Theses

Tremor is a common movement disorder that occurs with specific neurological conditions. This condition may seriously impact daily living activities. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the possibility of the development of a wearable technology that is capable of exerting torques at a user's joints for suppressing tremor.

This thesis is based on the concept of "smart structures" which are made of Magneto-Rheological (MR) fluid that can dynamically alter its viscosity under magnetic field. The wearable tremor suppressing orthosis needs several conditions. It should be safe, light weight, simple and small in structure, and easily attachable. An …

Thermochemical Properties Of Small Oxygenated Sulfur Hydrocarbons And Kinetics - Reaction Pathways Of Methylthiomethyl Radical With Oxygen, Fei Jin

Theses

The thermochemical properties on CH₃SCH₂OOH and the corresponding two radicals resulting from loss of H atom: CH₃SCH₂OO and CH₂SCH₂OOH are important to understand the stability, reaction paths and kinetics of reactions of dimethyl sulfide and other sulfur hydrocarbons (sulfides) in the atmosphere and combustion processes. Thermochemical properties for species and transition states in the methylthiomethyl radical (CH₃SCH₂) + O₂ reaction system are analyzed to evaluate reaction paths and kinetics under these conditions. Isodesmic working reaction are employed to determine the enthalpies of formation …

The Japanese Biological And Chemical Warfare Program In China, 1932-1945, Beata Marzena Wilk

Theses

No abstract provided.

A Proposal To Meet The Biofuels Directive In Ireland, Karl Mccarthy

Theses

In 1990 the transport sector accounted for 9,5% of all Irish emissions. By 2010 it is predicted that transport emissions will have increased by 179%, accounting for 18.8% of all emissions. It is predicted that transport emissions will therefore be around 14,000 kt in 2010. This equates to around €370 million pa in carbon taxes if and when the taxation regime is introduced. This €370 million may be used to facilitate a biofuel industry (for example, by reducing excise duty on biofuels).

The proposed carbon tax along with the EU Biofuels Directive aims to encourage the use of renewable transport …

Investigation Of Implementation Techniques For Backpropagation Neural Networks., John Culloty

Theses

Artificial neural networks are biologically inspired computational methods that have the ability to approximate discrete, real and vector valued target functions. For some problem domains this ability makes neural networks a more appealing solution than traditional computational techniques. Such problem domains typically contain a large number of parameters that are interrelated in a complex and often unknown manner. This makes rule based solutions all but impossible. However another feature of such problem domains is the presence of large volumes of real world data that can be used to tram a neural network until it learns the solution.

One of the …

Investigation Of Implementation Techniques For Backpropagation Neural Networks, John Culloty

Theses

Artificial neural networks are biologically inspired computational methods that have the ability to approximate discrete, real and vector valued target functions. For some problem domains this ability makes neural networks a more appealing solution than traditional computational techniques. Such problem domains typically contain a large number of parameters that are interrelated in a complex and often unknown manner. This makes rule based solutions all but impossible. However another feature of such problem domains is the presence of large volumes of real world data that can be used to tram a neural network until it learns the solution.

One of the …

Evaluation Of The Host Range Of Polyvalent Staphylococcal Bacteriophages To Control Mrsa (Staphylococcus Aureus) From Irish Hospitals, Mohamed Farag M. Elbreki

Theses

This study describes firstly, the assembly of a collection of a varied spectrum of staphylococci which can be used to test the efficacy of bacteriophages for the biocontrol of problematic members of this genus. The collection assembled includes a variety of multi-antibiotic resistant MRSA (methicillin resistant S. aureus) strains, hVRSA (hetero vancomycin resistant S. aureus), VRSA and also teicoplenin resistant isolates. It also included a broad range of species of coagulase-negative {non-aureus) staphylococci including S. caprea, S. haemolyticus, S. saprophyticus, S. epidermidis, S. chromogenes, S. capitis, S. hominins and S. hyicus. All strains were characterized by morphology on Baird Parker, …

Development Of Electrochemical Sensors For Monitoring Glucose, Michael Nesbitt

Theses

The thesis focuses on evaluating calcium alginate as an immobilisation matrix for the oxidase enzyme glucose oxidase for the amperometric determination of glucose. The basic principles of enzymology and enzyme immobilisation is discussed followed by a review of a variety of first, second and third generation type enzyme electrodes. Amperometry as governed by the Cottrell equation and mass transfer models relating to amperometric electrodes are also considered.

Bovine serum albumin (BSA / GOx) enzyme electrode system was employed as a model to evaluate a calcium alginate immobilisation technique for glucose oxidase. The principal methods employed for enzyme immobilisation were:

• …

Hcc Architecture - Hormonal Communications And Control Architecture, Paul R. Thompson

Theses

This thesis aims to provide a novel framework for a multiagent system implementation. The major feature of the proposed architecture is the introduction of the biological concept of hormones. The hormones are passed via the communication network to convey limited global system state knowledge. The agents' response to a hormone is interpreted depending on its own local agent state. The primary focus of this thesis is the development of the particulars of the architecture. Prior work of multiagent systems research is reviewed and studied for contributions. Biological studies of hormones are employed to draw out interaction rules and analyze control …

Food And Art: A Brief History, Isaac Rivera

Theses

Not Included

Models Of Statistical Self-Similarity For Signal And Image Synthesis, Seungsin Lee

Theses

Statistical self-similarity of random processes in continuous-domains is defined through invariance of their statistics to time or spatial scaling. In discrete-time, scaling by an arbitrary factor of signals can be accomplished through frequency warping, and statistical self-similarity is defined by the discrete-time continuous-dilation scaling operation. Unlike other self-similarity models mostly relying on characteristics of continuous self-similarity other than scaling, this model provides a way to express discrete-time statistical self-similarity using scaling of discrete-time signals. This dissertation studies the discrete-time self-similarity model based on the new scaling operation, and develops its properties, which reveals relations with other models. Furthermore, it also …

Modular Display Fixture System, Young C. Lee

Theses

Not Included

Effects Of Riparian Forest Buffers On Water Quality In The Canandaigua Lake Watershed, Trish Rider

Theses

As watershed landscapes have been transformed to accommodate agriculture and urbanization, non-point source pollution has emerged as an important environmental issue, and riparian forest buffers (RFB) are recommended to control the flow of pollution into stream ecosystems. The Natural Resources Conservation Service recommends that RFBs have a width of at least 30 meters to protect water quality from surface runoff and non-point source pollution. The water quality, RFBs, and land uses within two tributaries of the Canandaigua Lake Watershed were investigated to determine if a positive correlation exists between water quality and RFB width as well as to determine if …

Experimental Investigation Of Surface Roughness Microstructures And Their Effects On Pressure Drop Characteristics In Rectangular Minichannels, Derek J. Schmitt

Theses

A literature review has been conducted on pressure drop in mini/microchannels to evaluate major discrepancies in experimental work dealing with pressure drop in these small passages. The aim of the present work is to investigate the effects of surface roughness elements on pressure drop in minichannels in an effort to determine if conventional friction factor equations are valid in predicting the friction factor in minichannels. In the present work, an experimental study is carried out to investigate the effects of surface roughness on air and water flow through rectangular channels with hydraulic diameters ranging from 325µm to 1819µm. Smooth surface …

Intrinsic Motivation In The Classroom: Increasing Learning And Retention, Emily K. Hesek

Theses

A growing body of research suggests that intrinsic motivation and self-determination are key factors in academic achievement and success. The present study investigated whether children learned and retained information better when taught a social skills lesson using a self-determining approach, rather than a traditional directive lesson plan. In particular, this study examined whether lesson plans that included choice and autonomy support would affect students' intrinsic motivation for the task, and improve their learning and retention over time. Fifty-six fourth grade students from a large suburban school district in upstate New York participated. Significant group differences were found on a pre-test …

Goal Directed Visual Search Based On Color Cues: Co-Operative Effectes Of Top-Down & Bottom-Up Visual Attention, Vishal S. Vaingankar

Theses

Focus of Attention plays an important role in perception of the visual environment. Certain objects stand out in the scene irrespective of observers' goals. This form of attention capture, in which stimulus feature saliency captures our attention, is of a bottom-up nature. Often prior knowledge about objects and scenes can influence our attention. This form of attention capture, which is influenced by higher level knowledge about the objects, is called top-down attention. Top-down attention acts as a feedback mechanism for the feed-forward bottom-up attention. Visual search is a result of a combined effort of the top-down (cognitive cue) system and …

Sam Patch Strategy, Kelley Coady

Theses

Not provided.

Closed Material Cycles And Organic Solvent Recovery, Tim De Jong

Theses

A survey was conducted of the pharmaceutical sector in Ireland to establish organic solvent usage, recovery and treatment practices. The eleven companies covered by the survey, which included several of the worlds largest multinational companies, consumed in the region of 122,000 tonnes of organic solvent in 2002. Approximately 53,000 tonnes was recovered on-site while 69,000 tonnes of virgin solvent was brought on-site to replace that which was lost through wastewater treatment, incineration, fugitive emissions and off-site treatment or reuse. The total quantity of virgin solvent consumed by the eleven companies accounted for 75.4 % of organic solvent imports to Ireland. …

Impacts Of The Alien Invasive Prosopis Juliflora (Swartz) Dc. On The Flora And Soils Of The Uae And Feasibility Of Using It In The Afforestation Of Saline Habitats, Awatif Abdulleh Khalfan Al-Rawai

Theses

The effects of the invasive exotic Prosopis juliflora shrubs on the natural plant communities were assessed in three regions (Sharja, Ras Al-Khima and Fujira) of the UAE. The effect of the P. juliflora shrubs on the associated annual and perennial plants was studied in a number of quadrats distributed under, at the margin and outside the crown of a shrub. The results indicate that the effect of P. juliflora on the associated species depends significantly on the density and size of their individuals. Large individuals and greater densities have significantly adverse effect on the associated species. All of the studied …

Effects Of Irrigation Water Salinity On Forage Growth And Qualities Of Some Salt Tolerant Species Under Uae Conditions, Mahmood Abdul Razaq Belselah

Theses

Experiments were conducted at the International Center for Bio saline Agriculture (ICBA) in Dubai to evaluate the growth and productivity of some locally grown grass species; Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana L.) var. Katambora, Pioneer, and Callide; and Panicum grass (Panicum maximum) var. Green, and Gatton over a range of irrigation levels (1 gal/hr and 1.3 gal/hr), and water salinity (5 dS/m, 10 dS/m and 15 dS/m). The effect of different quality of water in respect to the salinity levels would provide information about water use efficiencies and soil salinity over a period. Growth and biomass productivity of …

Assessment Of Organic And Inorganic Pollutants In The Offshore Sediments, Dubai, Uae., Haifa Darwish Ahmad Al Darwish

Theses

The investigated area covers the maximum fragments of Dubai offshore in the Arabian Gulf. The sediment samples were collected from fifteen stations starting by Al-Mamzar mouth and ending by Ras Ghantoot in order to assess the organic and inorganic pollutants affecting the coastal region in Dubai.

The textural class was determined through grain-size analysis and the mineral composition was identified by X-Ray diffraction. The organic pollutants were characterized through the determination of Total Organic Carbon (TOC), Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN), Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH), Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and individual polychlorinated biphenyls. On the other hand the …

The Role Of Environmental Impact Assessment In The Urban Development Process Case Study: Dubai, Uae, Abdulrahman Mohammed Al Sharid

Theses

With no doubt the Urban & Economic Development should persist in Dubai with same current rates to sustain prosperous living conditions for the inhabitants of the Emirate. These rates have exceeded the International rates in some aspects specially those related to Urban Sprawl and Power Consumption, Telecommunication Services, etc.

To insure the continuity of this economic growth, a balance should be established between consumption rates and natural component depletion. To achieve this balance, certain criteria and regulations should occur focusing on Environmental Balance and Environmental Impact Assessment which consider all permutable aspects. So as to avoid multiple negative effects in …

Structural Studies Of The Role Of Iron Oxide In Environmental Catalysis, Aisha Ali Saif Rashid Al-Nayeli

Theses

This thesis presents several fundamental studies of structure-reactivity relationships between pure iron oxides, supported and composite oxides specifically in relation to the decomposition of carbon tetrachloride, CCI₄. A series of iron oxides were synthesized and characterized using infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy to establish their composition spectroscopically, using BET surface area measurements to determine their surface areas and X-ray diffraction powder (XRD) experiments to measure their structural parameters.

A new method was then developed to decompose CCl₄ at a lower temperature than previously found, choosing the optimum catalyst. The effects of varying the temperature on the CCl₄ decomposition …

Assessment Of Brine Shrimp (Artemia Sp.) Productivity At Al Wathba Wetland Reserve, Abu Dhabi (Uae), Shaikha Salem Obaid Al Dhaheri

Theses

Al Wathba Lake was created in 1982 by accidental discharge of over-capacity treated sewage water from Al Mafraq Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWT). The lake lies on the north side of the Abu Dhabi - Al Ain truck road, approximately 40 km Southeast of Abu Dhabi Island. In 1998, the lake and its surroundings were designated as protected area, the Al Wathba Wetland Reserve, and placed under the management of the Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency (ERWDA). The reserve covers an area of approximately 5 km², and the lake system covers an area of 1.5 km^{2 …}

Material Selection For A Composite Hip Joint, Ahmed Abdullah Ali Al-Hosani

Theses

The use of biomaterials in orthopedic surgery has been successfully acceptable in the current medical practice. Total hip joint replacement (THR) is one of the most popular and successful operations in orthopedics. Total hip replacement (THR) has been using metal prosthesis for many years. However, the use of metal implants has two major disadvantages. The first disadvantage is that the stiffness of the metallic prosthesis is relatively high compared to the surrounding, load carrying bone. The elastic moduli of titanium and cobalt-chromium alloy are 110 and 210 GPa, respectively. Whereas the elastic modulus of cortical bone ranges from 15 to …

Use Of System Dynamics And Easel For Simulation Of The Software Development Process, Alicia Strupp

Theses

Team software development is a complex and mostly unpredictable process and is characterized by inefficient use of staff and calendar resources. Given the magnitude of software development costs, a deeper understanding of the process may suggest ways to improve resource utilization. Simulation modeling is a useful approach to study the dynamics of complex systems. System dynamics characterizes systems as collections of interacting, non-linear feedback loops. The foundations of system dynamics were developed at MIT in the early 1950s. Since that time, system dynamics has been applied to a large number of complex system domains. In the early 1980s, the system …

Swimming With The Fishes: Fish As A Transformational Symbol, Deale A. Hutton

Theses

Not Included

Into The Park, Joel Lederer

Theses

Not Included

International Students' Travel Decision Making Process, Tung-Wei Lee

Theses

Not Included

Design, Fabrication And Testing Of Longitudinal Wind Tunnel Balances For Micro Air Vehicle Applications, Andrew T. Walter

Theses

Over the past decade the study of Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) has generated increasing interest due to their potential military, intelligence and civilian applications. One of the primary obstacles in the development of MAVs is the lack of accurate analytical or numerical methods for determining the performance of a particular design. Experimental methods are more prevalent but are difficult to realize because of the large costs and fragility of equipment needed to capture the very small forces associated with MAVs. This research presents the design, implementation and testing of two new wind tunnel balances for capturing longitudinal aerodynamic data (lift, …