Digital Commons Network^™

Solving The Solid Waste Problem: Pressure From The Public Sector For Point Source Reduction, Richard Leonard Pryll

Theses

Not listed.

A Study Of The Human Longevity Potential And Its Manifestation In Longevous Individuals, Corliss White

Theses

This study examines the present state of aging and longevity research as it applies to longevous elderly, those who reach their 10th and 11th decade of life. Their numbers, if not percentages, have risen considerably in the growing elderly population, The difference between the longevous and other elderly persons is not just one of degree, but of kind. Each of them is a living biological prototype of the human potential to live an extended life span without significant loss of vitality.

Many past studies of longevous population have been marred by inaccurate claims based on unreliable data. Beyond that, researchers …

A Directorial Approach To Brighton Beach Memoirs, Jesse Taylor Bean Iv

Theses

No abstract provided.

No Poster Child: The Rise And Fall Of The Field Of Chemical Dependency Treatment, Michael F. Nolan

Theses

This thesis will focus on the development of the chemical dependency treatment field, including an overview of the historical growth of mental health and chemical dependency treatment, and its recent change from a growing to a declining field. It will also examine various theories in the treatment of mental illness and, specifically, chemical dependency, in a historic context, and placing these theories into a unified system of viewing illness in general. Finally, this thesis will explain the growth, then decline, in the field as a result of political, social, and financial developments, and show how these extra clinical influences are …

The Effects Of Prenatal Care On Infant Mortality In The United States, Barbara A. Dieterich

Theses

This thesis will focus on the causes of infant mortality in the United States. The lack of adequate prenatal care will be specifically addressed.

Research has attributed the majority of preventable infant deaths to socio-economic factors as opposed to the lack of technology. Since the percentage of the United States GNP spent on medical care continues to rise without subsequent decreases in infant deaths, it becomes necessary to focus on causal relationship.

Since a nation's infant mortality rate has long been viewed as an indicator of the country's effectiveness in meeting health needs, many areas must be targeted. The importance …

Levels Of Differentiation Of Self In Married Couples, Margaret Galantowicz

Theses

The construct of differentiation of self, a key concept in the family theory of Murray Bowen, is examined with the purpose of testing Bowen's hypothesis that married couples are differentiated to the same degree. The Differentiation of Self Scale was used with 45 recently married couples from St. Louis County ranging in age from 20 to 71. Results of this study demonstrate that there is no significant correlation between the wives' and husbands' scores.

The Disinhabited Body: A Somatic View Of Personality Development And Psychotherapy, Mecca Antonia Burns

Theses

The body's role in personality development. and psychotherapy :is investigated. The "mind/body split" which pervades our culture prevents us from fully experiencing bodily sensation.

This phenomenon is deeply rooted in the psychophysical dualism postulated by Descartes, and chapter one inquires into the reasons why his theories took hold so firmly. There is a prevailing tendency to treat mind and body as separate entities, and I examine the reasons for this. The emotions appear to be a link between body and mind, but this is specifically where resistance can enter in.

In chapter two, we look at the process in terms …

Marital Separation And Its Relationship To The Working Status Of Women, Linda Rae Hermelin

Theses

This study was concerned with the working status of married women and what impact, if any, that work status had in motivating these women to initiate marital separation.

The methodology used in this culminating project was qualitative. Research was conducted through personal interviews of approximately one hour in length. The sample consisted of 15 women who volunteered to be part of this study, the majority of whom had participated in one of a number of divorce support groups co-facilitated by the researcher.

The intent of this study was to determine whether or not women who are working full time outside …

The Circular Causality And Possible Alleviation Of Pms Symptomology, Linda Whitchurch

Theses

This research was an attempt to investigate the appropriateness of including Premenstrual Syndrome into the revised third edition of the Diagnostic Statistics Manual. The researcher asked 10 women, who felt they were suffering from Premenstrual Syndrome, to compare their normal food intake with a balanced diet and minimal use of stimulants and the ambiguities of the syndrome became apparent. The women who took part in this study of Premenstrual Syndrome and the management of its symptomotology enlightened the author, not only to the multidimensional etiology of the syndrome, but more importantly, to the lack of validation they experienced as women …

The Controversy Of Sex In Advertising, Tammy Bankhead Wright

Theses

Advertising has been highly criticized due to its power to influence people's attitudes and actions. Advertising is the nonpersonal communication of information, usually paid for and persuasive in nature, about products, services or ideas of identified sponsors through various media.

The main idea that will be developed in this culminating project is the fact that although sex in advertising is a part of our culture and society, as a communications device, the use of sex in advertising is not always effective and does not sell most products.

There will be no actual debate to determine what amount of sex in …

An Examination Of Attitudes In Females Identified With An Eating Disorder, Iris Jo-Ann Lee

Theses

The main purpose of this study was to investigate attitude demonstrated by participants in an outpatient multidimensional group treatment program for eating disorders. The problem concerned clarifying the attitudinal differences between eating disordered and non-eating disordered females after involvement in a time-limited treatment group. Procedural guidelines of the study were described for two groups designated as 5 eating disordered experimental subjects and 29 non-eating disordered control comparison subjects. Both groups completed the Eating Disorder Inventory, a 64-item self- report inventory which allowed measurement at pretest and posttest intervals. Data from this measure were collected before the beginning of treatment and …

Smoking Behavior Of Women In A Chemical Dependency Treatment Program, Bonnie L. Hoeckelman

Theses

The research question which will be discussed is smoking behavior in women who are participating in a treatment program for chemical dependency . The women subjects were between 18 and 40 years old . This study explored the relationship between smoking behaviors and substance abuse behaviors including alcohol usage . A sample, chosen at random, completed a personnel interview and a questionnaire. The research identified several areas that were similar between the smoking behavior and substance abuse. These areas included environment, personality, peer relationships and situational cues. The associated behaviors that began at the preadolescent age carried over into the …

Investigation Of A Program That Manages Cultural Diversity To Determine Its Relationship To A Profitable And Efficient Business Operation, Joan M. Hubbard

Theses

This thesis begins with the purpose of investigating a program that recognizes, accepts, values and manages cultural diversity in the workplace to determine its relationship to a profitable and efficient business operation.

Significant demographic changes are expected to occur by the year 2000 resulting in a more culturally diverse labor force. In addition to a labor force wherein "white males" become the minority, this labor force will be more resistant to shedding ethnic and sexual distinctions.

In the past, managers have achieved high-level mastery over physical production . However, as labor constitutes the greatest single cost component of output, the …

Silent Walkie-Talkie: A Toy For Deaf Children, Roberto P. Acosta

Theses

Not Included

A Simplified Drive-Reinforcement Model For Unsupervised Learning In Artificial Neural Networks, David B. Suits

Theses

Partly in response to the apparent limitations of explicit symbol processing used by traditional artificial intelligence research, there has been, within the last decade, a growing interest in artificial neural networks. This thesis focuses on the development and testing of a model for describing certain kinds of biological phenomena. The many artificial neural networks available may be classified into three types: (1) self-organizing networks, which have input but no feedback; (2) unsupervised networks, requiring minimal feedback (perhaps a signal indicating success or failure); and (3) supervised models, which employ far more extensive (and, I think, biologically implausible) feedback mechanisms. In …

Experiments In Aerobic And Anaerobic Biodegradation Of Trichloroethylene, Qiong Liao

Theses

The removal of trichloroethylene (TCE) from industrial waste has been intensively studied in recent years, Biodegradation has been determined to be an effective treatment for TCE in the environment. Many researchers have studied the biodegradation of TOE and obtained successful results based on the use of specific isolated bacteria. At the NJIT Biotechnology Laboratory, a new method is being developed in which immobilized activated sludge is used to degrade several toxic chemicals in various reactor configurations. The objective of this research is to determine if these methods can be extended to treat TCE.

Activated sludge from a wastewater treatment plant …

Influence Of Heavy Metal Concentration On Rotating Biological Contrator Performance, Huei-Sheng Cheng

Theses

Seven heavy metals ( Fe⁺², Mn⁺², Zn⁺², Ag⁺, Pb⁺², Cu⁺², Cd⁺² ) at various concentrations were investigated in a Rotating Biological Contactor (RBC) system. The experimental data indicated that the degree of heavy metal toxicity in the biological system mainly depended on the ratio of inflow heavy metal concentration to organic loading. The optimal ratio of heavy metal to organic loading was determined on the basis of the maximum removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) under different operating conditions. In addition, the effect of heavy metal on …

Development Of An Expert System For The Safety Of Workers From Electrical Hazards At Work Place, Faizul Islam

Theses

This thesis presents the development of an expert system for the safety of workers from electrical hazards at work place.

The objective of this work is to show how an expert system within the workplace can be used in helping to create an effective safety program.

An effective expert system for electrical safety have been developed for the workers to prevent accidents from electrical hazards using the safety regulations of Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The regulations developed by OSHA have been incorporated in rule based expert system which can be accessed by any non computer professional and the system …

Three Dimensional Visualisation Of Tmj Anatomy Using Mri Techniques, Mythreyi T. Krishnaswamy

Theses

The best assessment of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) can only be done by the scanning the jaw and getting an image without invivo analysis which causes patient discomfort. There have been innumerable efforts to get the best view using CT techniques for three dimensional visualisation. But very few have done work using MRI techniques.

The TMJ is an integral part of the jaw and helps in mastication and biting. Since the joint is a hinge sliding articulation any dislocation causes immense pain and discomfort.

To get a better assessment of the TMJ, MRI techniques have been used for data acquisition. The …

Temperature Regulation Post Hemorrhagic Shock In Rats : Atheoretical Analysis, Kahambwe Shungu

Theses

The adequacy of a mathematical model in simulating temperature regulation in rats after resuscitation from hemorrhagic shock is investigated. This model, proposed elsewhere, was devised to study temperature profiles during hyperthermia in humans.

Hemorrhagic shock was achieved by bleeding rats to an average mean arterial pressure (MAP) of 30mmHg. The rats were then maintained at this MAP for up to four hours by withdrawing or reinfusing the shed blood. One group (the control group), was allowed to return to normal body temperature after the shock episode without external intervention. A second group (microwave group) was irradiated, for an average of …

Image Deblurring For Visualization Of Coronary Microcirculation, Kaijun Wang

Theses

Blurred images of the rat coronary microcirculation have been obtained and processed. Heart motion, blood flow and noise cause the blur of the images. The objective of this thesis work was to study the effects of these factors on image quality and assess several models for image deblurring. The Wiener Filter and the Powei Spectrum Equalization Filter were implemented and were added to the existing image processing software. The images obtained after the application of these filters showed significant improvement over the original blurred images.

The Effects Of Oxygen Tension On Nitrate Reduction By Pseudomonas Isolate, Hao-Jan Hsing

Theses

It is a generally accepted concept that nitrate reduction only occurs under anaerobic conditions. Oxygen inhibits denitrification. However many studies of nitrate reduction under low oxygen tension have shown what has been called aerobic denitrification. This project examines the process of aerobic denitrification.

Oxgyen affects cell growth and the amount of nitrate utilized. When oxygen is absent, the cell growth rate is lower and nitrate utlization is higher then when oxygen is present.

Nitrate is reduced to nirite under anaerobic conditions. Nitrite accumulation did not continue increase. But increased then decreased producing a "Z" shaped graph when plotted.

Software Development For Analysis Of Stochastic Petri Nets Using Transfer Functions, Aman U. Jamwal

Theses

This thesis research is an implementation of a closed-form analytical technique for study, evaluation and analysis of Stochastic Petri Nets (SPN). The technique is based on a theorem that an isomorphism exists between an SPN and a Markov Chain. The procedure comprises five main steps: reachability graph generation of the underlying Petri net, transformation of the reachability graph to a state machine Petri net, calculation of transfer functions, computation of equivalent transfer functions via Mason's rule, and computation of performance parameters of the SPN model from the equivalent transfer functions and their derivatives. The software is developed in UNIX using …

Biomass Conversion Of Solid-Waste (Newsprint) Into A Clean Fuel (Ethanol) By Enzymic Hydrolysis And Fermentation, Nimesh V. Gandhi

Theses

A feasibility study has been performed with two bioprocesses for conversion of newsprint waste to an environmentally safe fuel (ethyl alcohol) and carbon dioxide.

The following areas were investigated to accomplish this task: one hour pretreatment of newsprint by attrition, saccharification of paper slurry to glucose by cellulase and cellobiase, effects of pH, temperature and concentration of enzymes on conversion of paper to sugar, fermentation of glucose to ethanol and carbon dioxide by immobilized yeast, and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of paper to ethanol and carbon dioxide using enzymes and immobilized yeast.

Results indicate that the enzymic hydrolysis of newsprint …

Measurement Of The Removal Of Selected Vocs From A Municipal Treatment Plant, Hong Yu

Theses

Industrial wastewater contains a variety of volatile chemical constituents. The large majority of the volatiles are organics. Many of these volatile or¬ganic compounds (VOCs) end up in the effluent to wastewater treatment plants. It is necessary to estimate the emission of the VOCs from sewerage plants in order to study the fate of these volatile organic compounds.

This study focuses on the estimation and comparison of the emission of 28 volatile organic compounds from the water and air in four operation units of Linden Roselle Sewerage Authority (LRSA) wastewater treatment plant. The removal rates of these target compounds have been …

Biodegradation Of Tnt (2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene), Jin Lou

Theses

This study summaries the results of various methods treating 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT). Review of available literatures revealed that the most commonly used techniques in full-scale plant for TNT removal are chemical oxidation and carbon adsorption.

From economic point of view, the biological treatment system will be much more cost-effective. Various methods for improving the efficiency of biological system treating TNT wastewater were developed in the laboratory. Current laboratory results show that by isolating appropriate microorganisms under adequate conditions, TNT wastes can be degraded successfully.

At the some time, some pretreatment technologies are recommended in this study for improving the performance of …

The Biological Basis Of Schizophrenia, Franz Sugarman

Theses

None provided.

Investigation Of Observer Variability Using A New Method For Determining Color Matching Functions, Amy D. North

Theses

The Munsell Color Science Laboratory has developed a new method for determining color matching functions. It relies on a mathematical model that expresses color matching functions as the product of linear transforms of the cone action spectra and variable transmittances of the lens and macula for each observer. With this model, the full spectral tristimulus functions can be computed from a minimum of five visual matches. A visual colorimeter was designed to implement the MCSL model. The current instrument utilizes CRT primaries and seven interference filters to make matches to simulated daylight in a 2 bipartite field. The system was …

Canmol : Expert System In Medicine, Kulin Hemani

Theses

The intriguing words for the nineteen nineties are "Expert Systems", and "Artificial Intelligence". To a layman these terms conjure up thoughts of spaceships and futuristic beings. In reality they exemplify man's capability to harness technology.

Expert systems are computer software programs that make use of previously accumulated knowledge to assist in solving complex problems.

In recent years the practice of medicine has changed dramatically from a fundamentally individually deductive approach to an Artificial Intelligence based science. The modern physician no longer draws conclusions simply by examining the patient. Today the physician employs sophisticated computer based diagnostic tools to generate a …

Disc Size Scale-Up In Rotating Biological Contactor System, Chi-Sheng Chang

Theses

Disc size scale-up of prototype and small-scale RBC plants are successfully developed by applying the 114 data sets obtained from 12 RBC plants to the evaluation of percent sBOD remaining. These data analyses are performed by the least square method, therefore, the scale-up factors of the prototype and the small-scale are determined at different hydraulic loading. Furthermore, the relationship between scale-up factor and the disc diameter are established under the given flow rate, the number of stages, and the number of discs. A group of Curves are obtained and can be utilized for the full-scale RBC plant preliminary design. The …