Digital Commons Network^™

A New Electronic Image Array: The Active Pixel Charge Injection Device, George Lungu

Theses

This is a Ph.D. thesis dissertation in which a new type of image sensor is investigated as possible successor to the charge coupled device (CCD) for scientific applications. As a result of the work described in this dissertation, the active pixel charge injection device (AP-CID) has been developed. This device retains most of the positive features of both the charge injection device (CJD) imager (random readout, non destructive readout, antiblooming, increased UV sensitivity, radiation tolerance, low power consumption, low manufacturing price) and the CCD imager (low noise, high dynamic range). The device lacks most of the drawbacks of the aforementioned …

Variable Bit Rate Video Time-Series And Scene Modeling Using Discrete-Time Statistically Self-Similar Systems, Rajesh Narasimha

Theses

This thesis investigates the application of discrete-time statistically self-similar (DTSS) systems to modeling of variable bit rate (VBR) video traffic data. The work is motivated by the fact that while VBR video has been characterized as self-similar by various researchers, models based on self-similarity considerations have not been previously studied. Given the relationship between self-similarity and long-range dependence the potential for using DTSS model in applications involving modeling of VBR MPEG video traffic data is presented. This thesis initially explores the characteristic properties of the model and then establishes relationships between the discrete-time self-similar model and fractional order transfer function …

The Evolution Of The Long Term Performance Of Fiber Reinforced Composites Materials Based On Vinyl Easter Resin, Nasser Abdullah Ali-Al Ghailani

Theses

Fiber reinforced polymer (plastic) FRP composites are different from traditional

structural materials such as steel or aluminum since the an-isotropic nature of a Fiber _ reinforced composite material creates a unique opportunity of tailoring its properties according to the design requirements. With the accelerated change in the technological sphere, FRP composite materials

have taken a paramount importance in various structural applications, where they successfully replaced conventional materials such as steel. Such success is based on the advantages offered by composite materials such as a high strength to weight ratio. However one aspect that is still delaying full acceptance of these …

Cortical Response To Facial Expressions Of Young Adult Males With Autism Spectrum Disorders And Controls Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Fmri), Jagriti Arora

Theses

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is defined by deficits in social and emotional impairments and this study aims to identify specific brain regions involved during facial processing. The simple task of focusing on the face during social interactions for the normal group is found difficult by the autistic group.

In this study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used as subjects performed two experimental tasks (EXPLICIT and IMPLICIT) in which a series of photographs of nine males and nine females displaying three affective states (6 fear, 6 happy and 6 neutral) and six scrambled- face control stimuli were presented …

Statistical Image Analysis Of Spotted Arrays, Filippo Posta

Theses

There is a lot of systematic and specific variability in microarray experiments, this variability affects measured gene expression levels, leading to unreliable gene profiling or an heavy load of extra experiment to statistically confirm the data observed in one experiment.

The aim of this work is to systematically analyze, using statistics, the image derived from a cDNA microarray experiment to have a better understanding of this variability and thus a better confidence over the data obtained from an experiment.

Using technologies available at the Center for Applied Genomics, Newark, New Jersey. Selected images derived from different type of microarray experiments …

Masseter Muscle Activity Resulting From Stimulation Of Hypothalamic Behavioral Sites : Wavelet Analysis, Anne Marie Petrock

Theses

Patterns of electromyographic (EMG) activity can give an insight into muscle activity associated with a given behavioral state. The masseter muscle is positioned closely to the temporomandibular joint and controls the position and movement of the jaw. The hypothalamus is the region of the brain associated with emotional behavior. In an effort to further understand the muscle activity underlying emotional display, the hypothalamus in two cats was stimulated to evoke a stereotyped emotional response, known as the "rage response." Unsheathing of the claws, retraction of the ears, significant pupillary dilation and vocalization (hissing) characterize this behavior. EMG data obtained at …

Dimensional Study Of Desaminotyrosyl Polyarylates, Kalsank Vaishali Pai

Theses

Synthetic polymers have found widespread usage and acceptance in various areas of the medical device industry. The recognition that no polymeric biornaterials are truly biocompatible has led to the search for bioerodible materials with desirable biological and physical properties for use as tissue engineering scaffolds and to enable in-vivo devices. Several methodologies have been tried and tested to invent the "ideal" biopolymer. The ideal polymeric biomaterial would be one that offers a favorable response at both the cellular and the systemic level with minimum alteration to its mechanical properties and chemistry. The systematic investigation of process-structure-property space to determine the …

Atomic Force Microscopy Used To Determine The Young's Modulus Of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells, Samuel C. Lieber

Theses

The Young's modulus of cultured mouse and rat vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) was measured with an atomic force microscope (AFM). The AFM can image the three-dimensional structure of biological cells in a physiological environment enabling real-time biochemical and physiological processes to be monitored at a resolution similar to that obtained for the electron microscope (EM). Cellular mechanical properties were determined by indenting the cell's body, and analyzing the indentation data with classical infinitesimal strain theory. This calculation was accomplished by modeling the AFM probe as a cone. as well as a blunted cone. The blunted cone geometry fits the …

An Algorithm For Estimating The Quality Of Microarrays, Ajeet S. Sodhi

Theses

Microarray technology is currently one of the most valuable gene expression tools in molecular biology allowing the experimenter to simultaneously quantify the expression of thousands of genes. It is also one of the most difficult tools to use accurately as each microarray produces a large amount of information that needs to be inspected and normalized before analysis. As the size of a microarray or number of replicates increase, the use of manual inspection becomes impractical. The aim of this thesis is to introduce an algorithm that evaluates each feature of a microarray from the scanned data file. A quality score …

The Function Of Canines In Saber-Tooth Tigers, Colleen Hogan

Theses

None provided.

A Vascular Flora Of Choccolocco Creek: Calhoun, Cleburne, And Talladega Counties, Alabama, Loretta Richardson Weninegar

Theses

A study of the vascular flora of the wetland species of Choccolocco Creek, its floodplain, and other sensitive areas within the Choccolocco Creek watershed was conducted from March 1994 to May 2002. The creek, which originates in the Talladega National Forest in Cleburne County, is located in northeast Alabama. It flows in a south/southwest direction along the eastern border of Calhoun County and across northern Talladega County to its confluence with Logan Martin Lake near Talladega, Alabama. The floodplain occupies 6,514.67 hectares of the watershed that consists of 97,128 hectares of land in the three county study area.

The bulk …

Monitoring Of Air Quality In Abu-Dhabi City 1998-2001, Fatima Yahya Abdullah Ahmed Al-Aidrous

Theses

Documentation of air pollution and sources in the emirate of Abu Dhabi has never been reviewed in terms of its effect on health. No research by means of a population-based study has been conducted in order to define the important epidemiological characteristics of air pollution in human health. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the levels of air pollutants in the environment of Abu Dhabi Emirate, and the effects of air pollution on human health. Additionally, a comprehensive time-series analysis was performed on the air quality data for a period of four years (1998-2001)

The study was undertaken …

Discovery Of Time - From Abstract Concept To Computer-Generated Visualization, Jui-Ying Chang

Theses

None provided.

Synthesis, Characterization And Applications Of Some Conducting Polymers, Fatma Yousif Mohamed Balhey

Theses

Conducting polymers emerged as a new class of materials by the end of the sixties. Since then many efforts have been made to put these materials to

industrial use. Among the achievements are their applications in the semiconductor industry, medical field, chemical and biological sensors, etc. A

different track that alleviated the prospects of the application of conducting

polymers is the modification of the polymer film, namely through the inclusion of metallic moieties for specific target usage. In this thesis the candidate aimed

to synthesis well established and extensively studied class of electrically conductive polymer, 3-methylthiophene. The polymer was then …

Friends, Family, And Fiction, Derica Sonnon

Theses

None provided.

Sustainable Agriculture : Pragmatism, Distinctions On Artifacts And The Role Of The Land Ethic, Dustin Mulvaney

Theses

This thesis will explore the ethical dimensions of global agriculture from the productionist paradigm to the land ethic in the context of the sustainable agriculture promoted in the fair trade, shade grown, and organic coffee movements. Much of the sustainable development debate in the environmental ethics literature has centered on justifications (from anthropocentric and nonanthropocentric worldviews) for preserving nature. Since agriculture is an artifact of human sedentary civilization, traditional nonanthropocentric arguments do not suffice because of the tendency to focus exclusively on natural systems. Building on the work of Katz's "Pragmatic ReConsideration" and Light's "methodological pragmatism," the role of anthropocentric …

Development Of A Method To Examine Shear Stress On Cardiomyocytes, Dhawal Desai

Theses

Cardiac hypertrophy is the remodeling or enlargement of the heart exhibited by individuals suffering from heart disease. Cardiac hypertrophy involves two mechanisms, mechanical stresses and humoral changes in the cardiac tissue. One such humoral change involves the Renin Angiotensin System (RAS). The primary fimction of RAS is maintenance of hemodynamics of the body mediated through an effector protein, Angiotensin 11. However, RAS has been shown to play a significant role in the pathophysiology of the heart; contributing to hypertension, cardiac hypertrophy and myocardial infarction. RAS acts through binding of Angiotensin 11 at its receptors. The two forms of Angiotensin 11 …

Stereo Matching Algorithm By Propagation Of Correspondences And Stereo Vision Instrumentation, Peerajak Witoonchart

Theses

A new image processing method is described for measuring the 3-D coordinates of a complex, biological surface. One of the problems in stereo vision is known as the accuracy-precision tradeoff problem. This thesis proposes a new method that promises to solve this problem. To do so, two issues are addressed. First, stereo vision instrumentation methods are described. This instrumentation includes a camera system as well as camera calibration, rectification, matching and triangulation. Second, the approach employs an array of cameras that allow accurate computation of the depth map of a surface by propagation of correspondences through pair-wise camera views.

The …

A Computational Model Of Spasticity Based On A Decoupling Of The Alpha And Gamma Efferents, Bruno A. Mantilla

Theses

It is generally accepted that spasticity results from changes in the excitability of the stretch reflex. This change lowers the threshold of the motoneurons of the spinal cord where the integration of a signal from velocity/position sensors is processed and then fed back to the contracting muscle (alphaextrafusal and gamma-intrafusal fibers). The stretch reflex depends on the initial length of the muscle, the stretch velocity and voluntary activity. The exact sequence of the triggering events remains unknown, is poorly understood and as a result is controversial. The clinical classification scales are mainly subjective and by definition, inaccurate.

This computational model …

A Case Study Of An Ergonomic Evaluation For A Shop Floor Facility, Ivan Siguencia

Theses

The aim of this paper is to discuss and recommend solutions for the ergonomic hazards present in a shop floor type of manufacturing facility. This type of study is important since the ergonomic issues that concern the shop floor worker are different than those faced by the assembly line worker. The shop floor employee for the most part enjoys work satisfaction, task variety, and is able to control his own work pace. From an ergonomic standpoint, this is the preferred work environment.

The focus of this paper is a case study. This study is a one-day ergonomic assessment of a …

Dynamic Surface: An Extrapolation Of Biodesign, Aniket Vardhan

Theses

None provided.

Rescue Of Embryonic Dysmorphogenesis In Diabetic Rats By Using The Antioxidant Α- Lipoic Acid, Muhaira Hamad Majed Al Ghafli

Theses

Background:

The risk of congenital anomalies in children of diabetic mothers is three to four times that in offspring of non-diabetic mothers. The exact mechanisms of these birth defects are not known. Of the several factors suggested to contribute to embryonic maldevelopment in diabetic pregnancy, the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and subsequent disturbances to cellar defenses appears to be a plausible hypothesis. Antioxidants have been reported to rescue the embryos from being malformed in animal experiments. This study was aimed to determine if the ideal antioxidant lipoic acid would ameliorate the embryos from maternal diabetes-induced anomalies.

Methods:

Female …

Modeling And Assessment Of Environmental Capacity, Dubai Coastal Region, United Arab Emirates, Mohammad Abdul Rahman Hassan Deshgooni

Theses

The area investigated covers Dubai Creek in the Arabian Gulf Ten stations

Were elected for the tidy, covering the maximum fragments of the Creek. The

Assessment of environmental capacity indicated the presence of at least two

Distinct e regions along the Creek. The area located between Stations 1-3 is the

Downstream region; while the area laying between Stations 4-10 is the upstream

Region Water samples were analyzed for physico-chemical parameters (Water

Temperature, pH, salinity, Dissolved Oxygen, and Turbidity); and nutrients (Total

Nitrogen, Nitrate -nitrogen and Phosphate-phosphorus). Whereas the surface

Sediments were analyzed for: Moisture Content, Organic Carbon, and Texture

analyses; …

Effect Of Environmental Heat Stress On Embryonic Bone Development, Noura Musaed Al-Menhali

Theses

Birth defects are anatomical abnormalities present at birth. The causes of birth defects are genetic, environmental and multifactorial inheritance factors. The main objective of the thesis is to determine the effects of maternal heat stress during rat pregnancy on fetal axial skeletal development and to explore some of the possible maternal and placental responses to heat stress.

Experiment one: A group of 40 Wistar pregnant rats were randomly assigned to two treatment groups, a control group (non-stressed, n = 10) heat at 21°C and a heat-stressed group kept at 41 °C (n = 30) for one hour on day 9 …

Medical Information Design: Empowering The Patient, Jon Benjamin-Rupp

Theses

The goals of this project revolve aound the development of a cancer information source book that will provide an accessible resource for cancer patients upon or soon after diagnosis.

Automatic Indoor/Outdoor Scene Classification, Navid Serrano

Theses

The advent and wide acceptance of digital imaging technology has motivated an upsurge in research focused on managing the ever-growing number of digital images. Current research in image manipulation represents a general shift in the field of computer vision from traditional image analysis based on low-level features (e.g. color and texture) to semantic scene understanding based on high-level features (e.g. grass and sky). One particular area of investigation is scene categorization, where the organization of a large number of images is treated as a classification problem. Generally, the classification involves mapping a set of traditional low-level features to semantically meaningful …

The Improvement Of Some Natural Organic Fertilizers Using Beneficial Microorganisms, Mariam Naseeb Al Hameeri

Theses

The random uses of inorganic fertilizers in the UAE farms generate a serious threat about polluting the soil, and the environment. This motivates some researchers to find suitable alternatives, which can give a better crop yield, and at the same time become friendly to the environment.

The present study was performed to find environmentally friendly biological fertilizers to substitute or reduce the application of inorganic fertilizers. Actinomycetes, which are known to produce plant growth regulators (PGRs) were isolated from UAE soils. A total of fifty-seven actinomycetes were isolated from a cucumber rhizosphere soil at a farm in AI-Ain city. Out …

Enhancement Of Bioavailability And Determination Of Some Fluoroquinolones Antibiotics; Application To U A E Market, Moza Rashed Sultan Al-Zaabi

Theses

Chapter 1 of this thesis includes the importance of fluoroquinolones as one of the most impressive antibacterial drugs. Also, a complete picture about the selective molecules named cyclodextrins (CDs) is drawn. Such molecules are able to form inclusion complexes with a wide variety of lipophilic drugs. That is why CDs act as drug carriers through an aqueous media to the lipophilic cell membrane and delivers them to cells. Which results in enhancing the bioavailability of drugs with low aqueous solubility. Moreover, an explanation of the DNA/drug interactions is proposed. These are extremely useful in understanding the DNA sequence recognition by …

Effect Of Feeding Date Pits On Repartitioning Of Nutrients And Fertility In Rats., Ayesha Salem Al - Dhaheri

Theses

Five isonitrogenous (23% CP) and isocaloric (2.8 Mcal/kg) diets were prepared and used in this study; two control diets (diet 1, no date pits; diet 2, no date pits + 300 mg/kg vitamin E) and three diets containing date pits (diet 3, 12.5% date pits (DP); diet 4, 12.5% DP + 300 mg/kg vitamin E; and diet 5, 25% DP). Ninety mature Wistar rats (45 females and 45 males) were used in this experiment. All animals were provided with feed and water on an ad libitum basis for 29 consecutive days. Water and feed intake were measured daily Body weights …

Effectiveness Of Opc For Systems Integration In The Process Control Information Architecture, Philips Zachariah

Theses

A Process is defined as the progression to some particular end or objective through a logical and orderly sequence of events. Various devices (e.g., actuators, limit switches, motors, sensors, etc.) play a significant role in making sure that the process attains its objective (e.g., maintaining the furnace temperature within an acceptable limit). To do these things effectively, manufacturers need to access data from the plant floor or devices and integrate those into their control applications, which maybe one of the "off the shelf tools such as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Distributed Control System (DCS), or Programmable Logic Controllers …