Digital Commons Network^™

Rm-Net: Rasterizing Markov Signals To Images For Deep Learning, Kajal Gupta

Theses

Statistical machine learning approaches are quite famous for processing Markov signal data. They can model unobserved states and learn certain characteristics particular to a signal with good accuracy. However, with the advent of Deep learning the novice ways of solving a problem has shifted towards this more sophisticated algorithm, which is much better, powerful and more accurate. Specifically, Convolutional Neural Nets (CNN) have shown many promising results on images and videos. Here we illustrate how CNN can be applied to a 1D numeric signal using signal rasterization technique. We start by rasterizing a 1D numeric Markov signal into an image …

The Effects Of Design Parameters On The Neural Recordings With Micro-Ecog Arrays, Manan Amish Sethia

Theses

In the field of neural prosthetics, electro-cortico-graph (ECoG) arrays are commonly used to record neural activity of the brain cortex both in animal and human subjects. A finite element model (FEM) was developed to simulate the electric field generated by a single neuron in the rat brain cortex and a micro ECoG array (µECoG) placed on the pia surface for recording the neural signal. The neuron was simulated as a dipole current source with a magnitude of 1µA and placed at three different depths in the motor cortex corresponding to different layers under the µECoG array. The array design was …

The Role Of Irak-1 Transcripts In Sepsis, Adithya Subramanian Sahasranamam

Theses

Sepsis is a complex, life-threatening syndrome that can lead to systemic organ failure and dysfunction. Its high morbidity and mortality rates makes it a critical global health issue. The primary factors at play during sepsis are abnormal inflammation and a lack of oxygen supply to the tissues and muscles. The toll-like receptors play a crucial role in eliciting innate immune in response to infection, primarily through the interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase (IRAK) pathways. Disturbances in the homeostasis of IRAK signaling cascades can lead to immune dysfunction. n this paper, we review the molecular mechanisms of IRAK-1, an important mediator of TLR-induced …

Examining Dissociation And Cannabis Use As Links In The Pathway Between Childhood Maltreatment And Schizotypy, Brittany A. Blose

Theses

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is a risk factor for a number of psychiatric consequences, including many different mental disorders. Recent research has focused on the connection that CM has with schizotypy and how these adverse experiences during development contribute to symptomatology. Studies have demonstrated that peritraumatic dissociation experienced during CM and trait dissociative symptoms may indirectly affect the relationship between CM and schizotypic psychopathology, helping to elucidate this complex relationship. Moreover, research has indicated cannabis use, especially its use in adolescence, as a potential moderator in the CM-schizotypy relationship. That is, cannabis use further increases the risk that maltreated individuals will …

Unforeseen Connections, Miranda Mattson

Theses

Using floriography within my own work, I captured the essence of human emotion and used its familiarity to bring mental health issues to the foreground of conversation. The parallels of hidden emotion and social discordance between the Victorian era and the 21st Century inspired my introspective research into "invisible" illnesses: health issues that affect both the mind and the body, respectively. Utilizing knowledge in mixed media, as well as traditional metalsmithing techniques, these ideas manifested into a series of wearable art and sculpture with the intention of prompting in-depth discussions on mental health stigmas. Without compromising the ambiguity of floriography, …

Controls On Denitrification And Nitrous Oxide Flux In Created Wetlands, Sonia Huang

Theses

Freshwater wetlands are frequently created or restored with the goal of replicating valuable ecosystem functions lost elsewhere. However, studies in created wetlands have demonstrated production of greenhouse gases (GHG) may be enhanced during early establishment, potentially counteracting desirable ecosystem services such as nutrient removal. In this research, we investigated the impact of hydrology and carbon addition on denitrification and fluxes of N2O from two created wetlands that differ in antecedent land use and hydrology. Ten experimental zones were installed in both wetlands and compost (municipal leaf litter) was added to half of the zones as a soil amendment. Soil and …

Demonstration Of Automated Dna Assembly On A Digital Microfluidic Device, Hee Tae An

Theses

The rapid manufacturing of highly accurate synthetic DNA is crucial for its use as a molecular tool, the understanding and engineering of regulatory elements, protein engineering, genetic refactoring, engineered genetic networks and metabolic pathways, and whole-genome syntheses [1,2]. Recent efforts in the development of enzyme mediated oligonucleotide synthesis have shown much potential to benefit conventional DNA synthesis [3–5]. With its success in applications as chemical microreactors [6–10], biological assays [8–14], and clinical diagnostic tools [10,15–19], digital microfluidic (DMF) devices are an attractive platform to apply the promising benefits of enzymatic oligonucleotide synthesis to the manufacturing of synthetic DNA. This thesis …

Examining The Associations Between Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status And The Potential Distribution Of Four Urban Ecosystem Services In Rochester, Ny, Joshua Greene

Theses

As populations and the total area of impervious surfaces continue to grow in cities, city planners and policymakers must consider how local ecological resources can be utilized to meet the needs and develop climate-resilient and sustainable cities. Urban green spaces (UGS) have been identified as critical resources in improving the climate resiliency of cities and the quality of life for residents through the urban ecosystem services (UES) that they provide. However, certain communities within cities do not have uniform access to these UGS, and this may be due to historical legacies (i.e. redlining) and/or contemporary practices (i.e. urban planning). Therefore, …

A Comprehensive Feasibility Study For A Wooden Plastic Composite Project, Rami Kamal Ibrahim Elgharouri

Theses

Millions of tons of wastage are produced every year ending up in landfills or burn and causing an environmental problem as they threaten the health of creatures and cause resources depletion. 44% of wastage is organic waste, which is biodegradable. However, 17% and 12% of wastage are paper and plastic respectively, and both are non-degradable. Thus, the comprehensive solution is to recycle them. A suggested solution is to recycle them into wood plastic composite. Up to 90% of WPC raw material is a recycled material, and the final product is 100% recyclable. WPC is comparatively less energy-consuming than other substitute …

Evaluation Of Chili Pepper (Capsicum Annuum), Tiger Nuts (Cyperus Esculentus), And Turmeric (Curcuma Longa) As Sources Of Antioxidant Compounds For The Potential Of Antiaging-Like Activity, Chelsea Toyer

Theses

Aging is a natural process that living organisms go through as they become older. In humans and other animals, aging is accompanied by several morphological changes, including the formation of wrinkles. Wrinkles are also caused by various environmental factors such as excessive exposure to sun or pollution, and continuous sleep deprivation. These environmental factors cause oxidation of skin cells and the degradation of subcutaneous fatty acids, leading to the formation of wrinkles. Skin care and wrinkle treatment products are part of a multimillion-dollar industry. Plant-based products are an alternative method for treating wrinkles and premature aging. Several antioxidants naturally found …

The Vascular Flora Of Cleburne County, Alabama, Melanie T. Spaulding

Theses

Cleburne County is located in Northeast Alabama and measures 145,298 hectares. Approximately one-third of the county lies within the Talladega National Forest, more than any other county covered by the Talladega National Forest. The county has two physiographic regions: Piedmont and Ridge and Valley. A floristic survey of Cleburne County, Alabama, was conducted on public and private lands from 2014– 2020. Sporadic field collections took place from March 2014 – April 2019, with extensive fieldwork conducted from May 2019 – October 2020. A total of 1,302 vascular plant taxa are reported, including 266 taxa not previously documented for the county. …

Secretepeppr: Computational Prediction And Characterization Of Effector-Like Proteins Secreted From Vitis Vinifera, Patrick Rynkiewicz

Theses

Plant pathology research has long placed a focus on pathogen-derived effector proteins: small, secreted proteins translocated into host cells where they subvert host basal immunity and promote infection. Recent studies suggest that some plant species secrete similar effector-like proteins during mutualistic plant-fungal interactions and affect fungal growth. In this project, a computational tool named SecretePEPPr (Secreted Plant Effector-like Protein Predictor) was written, evaluated, and tested for the purpose of predicting candidate plant effector-like proteins from a set of whole genome annotations. Among other factors, this prediction tool considered classical and non-classical secretion, protein size, and the prevalence and presence of …

Translating Macroscale Concepts To Microfluidic Devices, Nicole Hill

Theses

Electrokinetics represents an extremely versatile family of techniques that can be used to manipulate particles and fluid in microfluidic devices. This dissertation focused on taking techniques commonly used on a macroscale and developing microscale equivalents utilizing electrokinetics to effectively manipulate and separate microparticles. This analysis focuses on chromatography and separation trains as macroscale techniques translated to microfluidic insulator-based electrokinetic devices. The geometries of insulating post arrays embedded in microchannels were optimized using a combination of mathematical simulations and experimentally derived correction factors. Two particle separations were experimentally demonstrated: a separation based on differences in particle size and a separation based …

Automation And Advancement Of Non-Invasive Continuous Blood Glucose Measurements, Andrew Devries

Theses

Researching the RF application of noninvasive continuous, real time, blood glucose monitoring has been a persistent topic of interest for the research group at the electromagnetic theory and application (ETA) lab at RIT. The technique is based on the effects of glucose on the dielectric properties of blood. When the dielectric permittivity of the tissue changes due to glucose, the resonant frequency and input impedance of an antenna sensor can be related to the change in glucose level, as shown in [1] and [2]. The feasibility of this technique has been demonstrated successfully with one diabetic and one non-diabetic patient …

Heart Rhythm Classification From Static And Ecg Time-Series Data Using Hybrid Multimodal Deep Learning, Ahmad Abdulrazaq Abdulla Alnajjar

Theses

Cardiovascular arrhythmia diseases are considered as the most common diseases that cause death around the world. Abnormal arrhythmia diseases can be identified by analyzing heart rhythm using an electrocardiogram (ECG). However, this analysis is done manually by cardiologists, which may be subjective and susceptible to different cardiologist observations and experiences, as well as to noise and irregularities in those signals. This can lead to misdiagnosis. Motivated by this challenge, an automated heart rhythm diagnosis approach from ECG signals using Deep Learning has been proposed. In order to achieve this goal, three research problems have been addressed. First, recognize the role …

Evaluation Of Nutrient Solutions Produced From Aqueous Extracts And Decomposition Products Of Organic Waste Materials On The Plant Growth Performance In Hydroponics, Noura Said Al Nuaimi

Theses

Hydroponic plant production involves the cultivation of plants in absence of soil. In this system, the supply of the plant root with water and nutritional elements occurs via a nutrient solution made of inorganic salts. Hydroponic plant cultivation often achieves higher yields, water use efficiencies and quality of crops compared with soil production. In addition, it renders the farming system independent from soil properties. However, the currently available systems rely on the steady input of non-renewable inorganic salts. Unlike soil-based systems, hydroponics, so far, do not offer feasible opportunities for recycling nutritional elements from within crop residues or organic waste …

Performance Of Ultrasound-Assisted Forward Osmosis Membrane Process In Desalination Of Seawater, Bara Awwad Al-Sakaji

Theses

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of using ultrasound on water flux through forward osmosis membrane when applied for seawater desalination. A synthetically prepared solution simulating seawater characteristics was used. Parameters considered in the investigation included membrane cross-flow velocity (0.25 and 1.0 cm/s), flow configuration (co-current versus counter-current), direction of ultrasound waves relative to the membrane side (active layer versus support layer), and type of draw solution (NaCl versus MgCl₂). Furthermore, a two-level factorial design was considered in the analysis of the results obtained from the experimental work. This study revealed that applying a …

Mechanistic Insights On The Role Of Ambrisentan, An Endothelin Type-A Receptor Antagonist, In Breast Cancer, Ruba Saleem Amer

Theses

The activation of the endothelin receptor type A (ETAR) by its ligand endothelin-1 (ET-1) is well known for its role in vasoconstriction. Interestingly, ET-1 and ETAR are over-expressed in various human tumors, including breast cancer. Several studies described an important role for ETAR in cancer progression and metastasis. The extensive network of interactions that exist between ET-1 axis and other signaling pathways can trigger an autocrine and paracrine signaling that modulates different tumorigenesis processes, such as cellular proliferation and survival, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and chemoresistance. The main objective of this study was to investigate the antitumor effects of Ambrisentan, a …

Characterization Of Biochar Produced By Pyrolysis Of Biomass And Co-Pyrolysis Of Biomass And Agricultural Mulch Film, Ibrahim Cisse

Theses

Agricultural wastes can be valuable materials because they are generated in large quantities all over the world and contain a variety of feedstocks. These feedstocks include dairy manure, food wastes, solid wastes and plastics. Current waste management techniques include landfilling and incineration, both leading to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. However, alternative methods such as pyrolysis can present more sustainable pathways by transforming mixed wastes from the agricultural sector into value-added products such as biochar, bio-oil and syngas. Limited published literature has focused on producing biochar derived from co-pyrolysis of agricultural wastes with plastic wastes such as agricultural mulch …

Coarse-Grained Model Of Dielectric Geometry-Modified Screened Electrostatic Protein-Protein Interactions, Joshua H. Dickie

Theses

To refine a coarse-grained model of protein interactions, we seek to conveniently represent how dielectric interface geometry and charge placement affect screened aqueous electrostatic interactions. We study two neighboring low dielectric spheres with near-surface charges, for which we solve the linearized Poisson-Boltzmann equation as a function of sphere-sphere separation. The spheres have ~15Å diameters and internal static dielectric coefficients of 3. The solvent’s Debye length is 6Å. These parameters are consistent with our charge-regulation model of bovine γB-Crystallin and with a wealth of previous experimental data for solutions of this protein. For a fixed on- or off-axis charge in the …

Characterization Of Si-Mosfets For Terahertz Detection: Development For A Potential Future Astrophysical Sensor Technology, Katherine E. Seery

Theses

Terahertz (THz) commonly refers to a region of the electromagnetic spectrum with frequencies ranging between 0.1 to 10 THz (wavelengths of 3 mm to 30 μm). The technology available for detection and generation in this spectral region has been less developed than in the adjoining infrared and visible domains. For the astronomy community, THz observation provides information related to various phenomena including, for example, the study of cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR), emission from proto-planetary disks, and planetary atmospheric remote sensing. Many molecules have emission and absorption spectral features in the THz regime whose observation provides the ability to extract …

Modeling Dyadic Human Interaction Using Sequential Neural Network, Srijan Kumar Sharma

Theses

Social networks, involving people and their interactions are at core of human society. But many current computational social methods focus more on the individual than their interactions. Deep neural networks have been successfully applied to tasks such as natural language processing, dialog modeling, or analyzing sentiments in a conversation. In these areas, we will often encounter data that originate from multiple sources. These signals can interact with each other synchronously, but detecting such synchrony may prove challenging.

In this work we focus on investigating how deep neural network architectures can help us better understand synchrony in social contexts. We investigate …

Socio-Ecological Context Matters For Wetland Project Outcomes, Sydney Vanwinkle

Theses

Restoration or creation of wetlands is used to counteract wetland loss in the United States. However, projects often fail to meet functional equivalence with natural wetlands, and the shortcomings increase with time since construction. Many restoration projects are located in suburban or urban areas and are highly influenced by human impacts. Lack of understanding of how human communities influence restoration outcomes, in ways both positive and negative, hinders the ability of restoration managers to produce favorable long-term outcomes. This thesis investigates relationships among ecological metrics of success and the biotic, abiotic and social context for 38 created and restored wetlands …

Modeling The Mechanistic Behavioral Logic Supporting Adherence To Hormone Therapy In Breast Cancer Patients, Gina Kersey

Theses

This project proposed that given a basic model of the decisional logic driving stable adherence it might be possible to reliably anticipate increased vulnerability to discontinuation and use such a mode to design behavioral interventions that are specifically tailored to deliver course corrections that are temporally and contextually optimal. A logistic regression was coded and run using the core model predicted by the experts as a base for how the variables interact to make predictions. Then a logistic regression with stepwise selection was coded and run using the core model as a base for how the variables interact and to …

The Impulse Of Destruction, Chenyue Yang

Theses

Driven by the impulse to destroy, I use glass as a proxy for my own body and identity. Through a series of destructive experiments, provocations, dialogues, and games with materials, this body of work addresses this complex human mechanism of self-destruction by creating empathy with materials. Based on the introduction of my personal experience and cultural background, this work puts forward my obsession with the paradoxical aspect of human nature. I verify the self-destructive tendency of myself through the study of psychology and historically similar art movements. I discuss, the reflection that the research content brought to my creation. I …

Historical Ecology Of The San Diego Sport Fishery: Catch Composition, Species Trends, And Fishing Effort From 1959 To 2011, Rebecca Schwartz Lesberg

Theses

Like ocean systems around the world, species targeted by the San Diego sportfishery are subject to myriad threats from human activity, with several species already showing documented decline. However, long-term fisheries datasets are often lacking, limiting natural resource managers’ ability to appropriately manage these ecologically and economically important species. Therefore, this study used daily reports published in two Southern California newspapers to examine changes in catch composition, effort, and catch per unit effort (CPUE) from 1959-2011 for the San Diego commercial passenger fishing vessel (CPFV) sportfishery. This study then tested the relationship between those patterns and three large scale oceanographic …

Those Thrice Marked By Time: The Significance Of The Last Known Survivor, Their Death, And Our Remembrance, Michael Tofte

Theses

Following Adam Zarakov, the last known survivor is a significant figure and a representative of a larger type that is under-considered. Last known survivors are ubiquitous in fictional media and how history is told. Some survivors like Frank Buckles are given lavish state funerals with participation of strangers. Yet, this under-analysis is concerning as the 21^st century will likely feature the recognition of last known survivors of many significant 20^th century events. I offer one attempt of addressing this lacuna.

The first aim is to motivate philosophical interest in the phenomenon of the last known survivor. I present …

Representational Enactivism, Zhexi Zhang

Theses

In the literature on enactive approaches to cognition, representationalism is often seen as a rival theory. In this paper, I argue that enactivism can be fruitfully combined with representationalism by adopting Frances Egan’s content pragmatism. This representational enactivism avoids some of the problems faced by antirepresentational versions of enactivism. Most significantly, representational enactivism accommodates empirical evidence that neural systems manipulate representations. In addition, representational enactivism provides a valuable insight into how to identify representational content, especially in brainless organisms: we can identify representational content by investigating autopoietic processes.

Distfold: Distance-Guided Protein Folding, Matthew Bernardini

Theses

Protein structure prediction and its associated key sub-problems such as distance map prediction are of significance importance in biology and bioinformatics. The inter-residue distance prediction problem, or distance prediction in short, is to predict the physical distance between amino acids in a three-dimensional (3D) space, given a protein's one-dimensional sequence information. While there exist many methods to predict distance maps, there are currently no methods that can take those predicted distance maps and build 3D models from them in an ab initio way, i.e., without using any other information. This works aims to fill this gap by: a) developing a …

Family Planning Methods Among Couples Of A Selected Barangay In Tacloban City: Basis For Healthcare Program Enhancement, Ric-An Artemio S. Gadin

Theses

The increase of population affects many aspects of society, including living conditions, basic needs, employment status and most importantly the health system. It is thus imperative to adequately plan family size in order to build a stable society. But despite of the availability of family planning programs where most methods of contraception are available both in the rural and urban health centers, literatures shows that population growth is still at rise. Thus the researcher became curious of the knowledge, attitude and practices of couples in family planning. The study tried to assess the level of awareness and practices of family …