Digital Commons Network^™

Functional Annotation And Dendrogram Representation Of Gene Expression Clustering Results, Antoneta Petkova Vladimirova

Theses

The advances in genomic sciences have created vast amounts of gene expression data. To make sense of the expression information, various techniques have been applied. Clustering is among the unsupervised methods used to group the results according to gene expression level. Dendrogram visualization allows graphical representation of the clustering. The aim of this thesis is to enhance these techniques by adding another layer of functionality, namely, annotating the dendrogram with gene functional information. Presented is an application which visualizes yeast clustering results as a dendrogram along with color-coded gene keyword annotations. Gene keyword information was extracted from a major biological …

Electrohydrodynamical Manipulation Of Particles Based On Dielectrophoresis, Oleksii Vasylyschuk

Theses

The movement of matter in a non-uniform electric field, termed dielectrophoresis, is of interest to scientists of various branches: physics, chemistry, engineering, and life science. To chemists and physicists it is a science of many varied phenomena. To engineers it is a source of new and useful techniques for separating materials or improving materials’ behavior. To ecologists it provides a major means of minimizing pollution. To life scientists it offers new ways to study and manipulate cells and their subparticles, and to help unravel the nature of living systems.

The purpose of this thesis is to concentrate on some aspects …

Analysis Of Gene Expression Data Using Expressionist 3.1 And Genespring 4.2, Indu Shrivastava

Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in the gene expression analysis methods of two data mining tools, Expressionistic^TM 3.1 and GeneSpring^TM 4.2 with focus on basic statistical analysis and clustering algorithms. The data for this analysis was derived from the hybridization of Rattus norvegicus RNA to the Affymetrix RG34A GeneChip. This analysis was derived from experiments designed to identify changes in gene expression patterns that were induced in vivo by an experimental treatment.

The tools were found to be comparable with respect to the list of statistically significant genes that were up-regulated by more …

An Interface Chip For Saw Based Sensor In An Ad-Hoc Network, Yagneshwara Ramakrishna Vadapalli

Theses

The design of a smart integrated chemical sensor system that will enhance sensor performance and compatibility to ad hoc network architecture remains a challenge. This work involves the design of an interface chip for a Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) based chemical sensor where the sensor reflects the RF input and introduces a time delay proportional to the concentration of the vapors absorbed by it. The interface chip detects the frequency shift as a function of the chemical species absorbed by the sensor and alerts the ad hoc network controller when a monitored parameter exceeded some threshold, based on local processing …

The United States' Role In The Exculpation Of Japanese Biological Warfare Units From War Crimes Committed During World War Ii, Catherine Fisco

Theses

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Phycotoxin And Mycotoxin, Contaminants In Foods, Using Liquid Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry Techniques, Ana Brana Magdalena

Theses

The impact of phycotoxins and mycotoxins on human and animal health are of important concern for worldwide authorities and the scientific community. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) techniques have been developed, optimised and validated for the analysis of these toxins.

Phycotoxins are potentially toxic substances, which are produced by marine phytoplankton and which may accumulate in shellfish or finfish. Azaspiracid poisoning (AZP) is a recently discovered syndrome that has been implicated in several incidents of human intoxications. A study was undertaken to examine the distribution of azaspiracids (AZA) in scallops {Pecten maximiis) and mussels {Mytiliis edulis). Domoic acid (DA) is an …

Analytical And Fea Analysis Of Silicon Micro-Machined Capacitive Pressure Sensor, Eoghan O'Donoghue

Theses

This thesis is concerned with the electro-mechanical characterisation of MEMS capacitive pressure sensors and the determination of models to describe their behaviour.

The finite element software package ANSYS is validated as a tool for the examination of the electro-mechanical behaviour of capacitive pressure sensors. It is then used to incorporate the effects of applied load, voltage and residual stress into a model of the sensor structure. The capacitive pressure sensor is modelled both in 3D and also in 2D axis-symmetric modes. The error between the 2D and 3D models is quantified.

The behaviour of structures under electrostatic actuation is investigated. …

Development Of An Automated Thiopurine Methyltransferase (Tpmt) Genotyping Assay, Mary Corcoran

Theses

Thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) is a cytosolic enzyme that catalyses the S- methylation of aromatic and sulphydryl compounds known as the thiopurines. These therapeutic agents are used in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, autoimmune disorders, inflammatory bowel disease and organ transplant recipients.

Erythrocyte TPMT activity is polymorphic and patients with intermediate or deficient TPMT are at significant risk for excessive toxicity after receiving ‘standard’ doses of thiopurine medications. The activity of TPMT is inherited as an autosomal co-dominant trait. Several mutations in the TPMT gene have been described that correlate with a low activity phenotype. Three mutations G238C, G460A and …

Extraction Of A Valuable Compound From A Waste Stream For Adm Ringaskiddy, Colin G. Burkley

Theses

This thesis was originally conceived as a potential Masters Degree research programme by the management of ADM Ringaskiddy as a means of maximizing throughput through the plant’s wastewater treatment facility. This facility is a major producer of citric acid using beet molasses and a fermentation process. It was proposed that removal of a compound, known as betaine, from the citric acid process waste stream would reduce the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) content of the waste requiring treatment before disposal. This would be achieved by using the citric acid process waste as the feedstock for a betaine extraction process. The wastewater …

Development Of A Portable Carbon Monoxide Sensor Based On An External Cavity Diode Laser At 1565 Nm, Eva Shirley Norris

Theses

Carbon monoxide is a major trace gas pollutant with road traffic being responsible for most emissions. Work has been done on the development of a carbon monoxide sensor, which is potentially capable of measuring the gas in vehicle exhaust emissions. This is based on tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy The device must distinguish carbon monoxide from other gas species and from particulate matter. The device should also operate with a response time of the order of one second, have the potential for portability and a capacity for remote operation. Experimental work presented compares and contrasts the characteristics of the free-running …

Small Intimate Affairs, Alice R. Barry

Theses

Not Included

Photo Binge, Colette Fu

Theses

Not Included

Method Development Through Statistical Design For The Dependence Of Viscosity For Solutions Of Carboxymethylcellulose On Temperature, Concentration, And Dilution., Maryann E. Keene

Theses

Statistical method development is useful when expense, quantity of material, or time is limited, as experiment numbers are significantly reduced. The purpose of this study was to create a statistical model that explains the relationship between viscosity, temperature, concentration, and dilution due to bodily fluids in a pharmaceutical context of carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) solutions. The Graeco-Latin square design was employed to chose data points and Minitab® statistical software was used for data analysis. It was found in this model that concentration and dilution have the greatest effect on viscosity, while temperature has a lesser effect. It was also found that there …

Alcoholism And Add: A Comparative Study Of Male Adults With Alcoholism And Attention Deficit Disorder, Brechanna C. Bell

Theses

A comparative study was conducted to conclude the subtype of alcoholism and ADD/Hyperactivity in adult males. Thirty one diagnosed male alcoholics and thirty one non-diagnosed male adult alcoholics were screened for ADD/Hyperactivity. All sixty two subjects were asked to complete a personal data questionnaire and a brief self-administered form using MHS Quik:Score forms, relating to the Conners' Adult ADHD Self-Screening Rating Scale (CAARS-S). The data was statistically analyzed using transformation tables from raw scores to standardized t-scores for equality of means by use of the SPSS Analytical Program.

Multiple Model Control With Intelligent Switching To Ensure Robustness To Process Variations., Peter Cunningham

Theses

One of the most popular approaches for dealing with process that undergo large variations with time, of late, is the multiple model approach. This method has considerable intuitive appeal and has received widespread dissemination in academia. Numerous successful simulations have been reported although few real-time results have been published. The principal contribution of this thesis is the application of the multiple model control scheme in real-time.

A number of practical concepts that enable the use of multiple model control in real-time are discussed. Many of these issues arose when the multiple model control scheme was applied to a laboratory scale …

Impact Of Reject Brine Chemical Composition From Inland Desalination Plants On Soil, Juma Bin Khalfan Bin Khamis Al-Handhaly

Theses

The impact of reject brine chemical composition and disposal from inland desalination plants on soil in the eastern region of Abu Dhabi Emirate, namely Al Wagan, Al Quaa and Urn Al Zumool, was evaluated. Twenty five (25) inland Brackish Water Reverse Osmoses (BWRO) desalination plants (11 at Al Wagan, 12 at Al Quaa, and 2 at Urn Al Zumool) were investigated. The average capacity of these plants varied between 26,400 G/d (99.93 m³/d) and 61,000 G/d (230.91 m³/d). The recovery rate varied from 60 and 70% and the reject brine accounts for about 30 - 40 …

Use Of Date Pits As An Energy Source For Nile Tilapia, Oreochromis Niloticus, Maitha Mohammed Sultan Al-Darmaki

Theses

The present study was conducted to evaluate date pits as an energy source of Nile tilapia fingerlings and adults, in two consecutive experiments. In the first experiment, five isocaloric (450 kcal/100g)-isonitrogenous (35% crude protein) diets containing of date pits as a replacement for wheat bran (energy source) 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% levels were prepared. The diets were fed to duplicate groups of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus fingerlings and adults, with average initial weights of 10 and 50g, respectively twice a day, for 70 days. The culture system consisted of 70-L, fiberglass tanks connected together in a closed system. …

Decent Exposure: Evolution Of The Female Gaze, Jill Silverstein

Theses

Not Included

Automatic Classification Of One-Dimensional Cellular Automata, Daniel R. Kunkle

Theses

Cellular automata, a class of discrete dynamical systems, show a wide range of dynamic behavior, some very complex despite the simplicity of the system's definition. This range of behavior can be organized into six classes, according to the Li-Packard system: null, fixed point, two-cycle, periodic, complex, and chaotic. An advanced method for automatically classifying cellular automata into these six classes is presented. Seven parameters were used for automatic classification, six from existing literature and one newly presented. These seven parameters were used in conjunction with neural networks to automatically classify an average of 98.3% of elementary cellular automata and 93.9% …

Workplace Violence Prevention And Systems Management, Megan Ahn

Theses

Violence in the workplace has become a major concern to labor, business, and government. In the past ten years, between 600 and 1000 work related deaths have been attributed to homicide. The repercussions of non-fatal aggression and violence in the workplace are not yet clear. What is clear is that all organizations are at some degree of risk and that regulatory and legal requirements dictate that preventive action be taken to protect employees, other stakeholders and the public from workplace violence. This thesis posits that by using a systems management approach along with the techniques of quality management, instances of …

Understanding "Photograph A", Jun Ku Yoon

Theses

Not provided.

Cultural Differences And Organizational Leadership: Cultural Difference As Barriers To The Trans-Cultural Application Of The Concept Of Organizational Leadership, Jennifer Matic

Theses

This study examined the impact of cultural differences on the trans-cultural application of the concept of organizational leadership. The significance of four cultural dimensions (power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and masculinity) (Hofstede, G., 1980) towards the concept of organizational leadership (Rost, J.C, 1991) was discussed and a survey as created to test for cultural differences from a leadership perspective. American and Croatian college students then completed the survey. Results showed cultural similarities for all cultural dimensions with the exception of uncertainty avoidance, which was found to be higher for the American sample than the Croatian. Consequently, it can be said …

Multispectral Texture Synthesis, J. Alexander Tyrrell

Theses

Synthesizing texture involves the ordering of pixels in a 2D arrangement so as to display certain known spatial correlations, generally as described by a sample texture. In an abstract sense, these pixels could be gray-scale values, RGB color values, or entire spectral curves. The focus of this work is to develop a practical synthesis framework that maintains this abstract view while synthesizing texture with high spectral dimension, effectively achieving spectral invariance. The principle idea is to use a single monochrome texture synthesis step to capture the spatial information in a multispectral texture. The first step is to use a global …

Nanocomposites Based On Carbon Nanotubes And Poly (3-Alkylthiophenes) For Sensor And Charge Storage Applications, Rajiv N. Sangoi

Theses

Novel nanocomposites of poly (3-alkylthiophenes) with functionalized MWCNT were prepared. These nanocomposites were synthesized by in-situ polymerization of the polymer in presence of the nanotubes. Nanocomposites with poly (3-MT) were synthesized by using different weight percentages of functionalized nanotubes during synthesis while those with other polymers were prepared using 30 mg of nanotubes. A nanocomposite of poly (3-MT) with nonfunctionalized nanotubes and a physical mixture of poly (3-MT) and functionalized nanotubes was also prepared. The above nanocomposites were characterized by using techniques such as FTIR, UV-visible spectroscopy and TGA. These techniques were used to show the difference between the nanocomposites …

Carbon Nanotube Catalysts: An Approach Toward Nanodimensional Reactions, Mindy Gordon

Theses

The oxidations of aromatic and aliphatic amines have been investigated to evaluate the catalytic effect of functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes. Aniline oxidation by hydrogen peroxide produces very low yields of azoxybenzene; similarly, p-toluidine oxidation produces azoxytoluene after long time periods. When functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes are present in these reactions, the above oxidations produced unique products such as azobenzene or azotoluene within a short period. The course of the reaction has been followed by GC/MS that showed a mass number of 198 corresponding to azoxybenzene (without carbon nanotubes) or 182 corresponding to azobenzene (with the nanotubes). The first stage of …

Exploration Of An Electroactive Polymer Actuator For Application In A Grasshopper Inspired Pneumatic Robotic Hopper, Christie Bielmeier

Theses

A Hopper was created to mimic a grasshopper's catapulting kicking action. Electroactive polymers (EAP) were investigated as actuators to simulate the grasshopper's lightweight and strong muscles. EAPs are lightweight materials that require low voltage and yield high force with short response times. This makes them a great potential source for future micro-robotic actuators. The EAP Actuator was simulated and the potential design was studied. The development of consistent and reliable actuation electrodes and nonconductive materials was considered. In addition, the current draw of the EAP Actuator was studied, current draw prediction equations were developed, and a force output study was …

A Computational Approach To Arteriolar Bifurcations: Evaluation Of Factors Influencing Predicted Wall Shear Stress, Charles Robinson

Theses

Recent studies of blood flow regulation at the microcirculatory level have linked the physical characteristics of the arteriolar bifurcations and the physiology of the flow through them to the autoregulatory mechanisms exhibited by the endothelial cell lining. Research in this area is decomposed to the following two components: understanding the biochemical activity that takes place at the cellular level as a result of flow-induced stimulation and characterizing the physical flow behavior causing the stimulation. The following study develops the currently accepted method of characterizing the physical flow behavior, in the form of wall shear stress, through computational analysis. The goal …

Investigation And Evaluation Of Foodservice Industry Packaging Formats, Cindy O'Leary-Swinson

Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the packaging usage of the foodservice industry in today's marketplace. It summarized the foodservice packaging formats in terms of relative volume related to usage, as well as the packaging materials broken down by sector. The opinions of industry professionals toward food packaging formats were evaluated. Two different measurement instruments were used to obtain information. A survey was used to obtain the opinions of foodservice professionals in regards to the different packaging formats, and an audit form was used to inventory the packaging formats within the different segments. It was determined that foodservice …

Animal Kingdom "Re-Creation", Rattapol Chaiyarat

Theses

Not provided.

Aisimam - An Artificial Immune System Based Intelligent Multiangent Model, Srividhya Sathyanath

Theses

The goal of this thesis is to develop a biological model for multiagent systems. This thesis explores artificial immune systems, a novel evolutionary paradigm based on the immunological principles. Artificial Immune systems (AIS) are found to be powerful to solve complex computational tasks. The main focus of the thesis is to develop a generic mathematical model that uses the principles of the human immune system in multiagent systems (MAS). The components and properties of the human immune system are studied. On understanding the concepts of A/5, a literature survey of multiagent systems is performed to understand and compare the multiagent …