Digital Commons Network^™

Scalable Ray Tracing With Multiple Gpgpus, Rodrigo A. Urra

Theses

Rapid development in the field of computer graphics over the last 40 years has brought forth different techniques to render scenes. Rasterization is today’s most widely used technique, which in its most basic form sequentially draws thousands of polygons and applies texture on them. Ray tracing is an alternative method that mimics light transport by using rays to sample a scene in memory and render the color found at each ray’s scene intersection point. Although mainstream hardware directly supports rasterization, ray tracing would be the preferred technique due to its ability to produce highly crisp and realistic graphics, if hardware …

Unintended Consequences Of Ethanol Production: Geospatial Lifecycle Analysis, Amanda Louise Malone

Theses

Ethanol use has been lauded as a way to provide a secure, diverse, environmentally friendly and economically beneficial energy supply for the US. However, along with this praise has been criticism due to potential unintended consequences that may arise from ethanol production and use. This thesis addresses one such unintended consequence: the displacement of emissions from downstream vehicle operation locations to upstream farming and production areas. The thesis uses the Upstream Ethanol Production (UEP) Model, a geospatial lifecycle model developed for analyzing spatial emissions inventories for ethanol production. The UEP model is based on the US GREET model – the …

Chasing The Moon, Yumi Kim

Theses

In a small city, there were several murders of politicians. The Detective Diana and a werewolf hunter Orson suspected Scott, a politician, as the prime suspect. “Chasing The Moon” is a narrative animation created mainly in the 3D software: Maya. The following thesis report is about the technical and artistic process of making the film.

Evaluation Of Medical Alarm Sounds, Elizbha Philip

Theses

Auditory alarms in medical equipments perform considerably below their optimal level. Concern has been expressed about the quality of medical alarms by a large number of researchers in recent years. A detailed literature survey on the medical alarm related problems has been carried out. Hospital visits were made to obtain real life information and data of alarm sounds in various type of monitors used in OR and ICU. A laboratory experiment has been conducted on selected melodic alarm sounds. These melodic alarm sounds are being implemented in medical equipments and the idea of design is proposed in ISO / IEC …

Aptamer-Based Nano-Scale Dielectric Sensor For Protein Detection, Teena James

Theses

The specific detection and precise quantification of protein molecules play an essential role in basic discovery research as well as in clinical practice. In this research work, a novel protein detection mechanism based on nanoscale dielectric sensor functionalized with aptamer probes is developed. This work has been done in collaboration with Rational Affinity Devices LLC. The use of aptamer based detection offers several advantages over the traditional labor intensive antibody based immunosensing. In the initial phase of the work, the binding affinities of rationally designed oligomers towards a specific protein molecule (IgG) was studied and optimized under varying conditions of …

Preparation Of Nanovehicles For Targeted Drug Delivery, Anagha Avinash Bhakay

Theses

Application of nanotechnology in pharmaceutical research has opened new frontiers for drug development and its efficient delivery. In recent years, the focus of the research has been on the engineering of nano/micro-particulate structures for efficient and targeted delivery of drugs for selective and enhanced absorption. This work throws light on the preparation of biodegradable and non-toxic nanoparticulate systems for targeted drug delivery. The drug vehicles were made by two different processes namely electrostatic interactions and desolvation process. The drug carriers made by these processes were found to be in the size range of 150-200nm which is necessary for cellular uptake …

Sustainable Site Remediation : A Life Cycle Assessment Approach, Harnoor Dhaliwal

Theses

Remediation of contaminated areas is often a resource-intensive activity that itself can create environmental burdens. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used as a tool to examine the environmental impacts associated with remediation activities. A hypothetical contaminated site with five remediation alternatives was developed for this analysis. The results of Life cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) indicated that greater site activity in terms of transportation, material and equipment use translated into higher environmental impacts.

A sensitivity analysis was performed to evaluate the environmental impacts further in different time horizons. The results showed that choice of time horizon can have a significant effect …

Nano-Structured Platforms As A Spectroscopic Tool, Ruiqiong Li

Theses

Nano-structured platforms have been studied for the purpose of enhancing weak fluorescence signals. Each platform was constructed as a thin oxide layer on top of a metal (aluminum) The oxide was perforated with hexagonal array of nano-holes. The pitch of the array was much smaller than the optical wavelengths used. Surface charge waves (Surface Plasmons) could be excited when the platform was oriented at specific direction with respect to the incident optical beam. At this point one can demonstrate that fluorescence signals could be amplified. Since the oxide (alumina) is bio-compatible, one can envision using such platforms in the study …

Study And Development Of Ultrasound Monitoring Of Skeletal Defects, Kavil Patel

Theses

Fatigue fractures are fine disruptions of normal bone architecture whose identification is often unreliable or difficult using x-rays (Robinson, Wilson et al.; Kundel 2004; Swischuk and Hernandez 2004). A fatigue fracture results from the application of abnormal loads to a bone with normal elastic resistance and is associated with new or different activity, and strenuous or repeated activity. The feasibility of using ultrasound to detect and monitor fatigue fractures and other structural damage in bone was established in this study.

The use of Low Transient Pulse (LTP) technology to drive the ultrasound transducers proved to enhance detection resolution and quality …

Road-Based Proactive Routing Protocols For Vehicular Networks, Neeraj Mahadevrao Rajgure

Theses

Vehicular networks are formed by vehicles communicating in an ad hoc manner or through cellular and IEEE 802.11 base stations. Routing in vehicular networks is challenging due to highly dynamic network topologies. Previous research done at the UbiNetS lab at NJIT has proposed the idea of Road-Based using Vehicular Traffic information (RBVT) routing. In RBVT, routes are sequences of road intersections, and geographical forwarding is used for sending packets between the intersections.

This thesis proposes two proactive RBVT protocols (RBVT-P and RBVT-PS) for city-based Vehicular Ad hoc NETworks (VANETs). RBVT-P is a completely distributed protocol that unicasts connectivity packets in …

Finger Walking Control Of A Two-Dimensional Walking Model Through Inverse Kinematics, Jordan Ratcliff

Theses

Those people who have spinal cord injuries (SCI) must remain in wheelchairs due to disruption of the neural signaling to their muscles. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) has proved itself to be an option for restoring some motion and some walking for the patient. Electrodes can either be placed on the skin or muscle to provide an electrical impulse that stimulates the muscles into contraction. Current systems provide buttons that use set functions for left and right steps with constant direction and size. It is desired however that the user be allowed a more natural and variable control method of controlling …

Assessing Trainer Hand Forces For Manual Body Weight Supported Walking, Manish Raval

Theses

Spinal cord injuries occur in approximately 12,000 to 15,000 people per year in the U.S. About 10,000 of these people are permanently paralyzed. Most spinal cord traumas occur in young, healthy individuals. Males between 15 and 35 years old are most commonly affected.

Recently new approaches to facilitate walking recovery for individuals after a spinal cord injury, have been directed towards a therapy known as Locomotor Training (LT) that implements repetitive stepping on a treadmill using body weight support. A major intent of LT research is to investigate the effect of an extended period of LT on bilateral muscle activation …

Rna Secondary Structure Detection Programs With An Emphasis On Covariance Models, Justin Slotman

Theses

RNA secondary structure prediction requires a different approach from traditional alignment methods. Functional RNAs often have their secondary structure better conserved than their primary structure. Covariance models, probabilistic models that utilize stochastic-context-free grammars, are one approach. CMs allow for homology to be detected where purely sequence-based methods would fail. A background on CMs is given, as well as a background of the major classes of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). Comparisons are made between some CM-using tools (the Infernal suite and CMfinder) and some other RNA secondary structure tools (CARNAC, miRNAminer, Pfold, Mfold) as well as between Infernal and the primary alignment …

Thermochemistry And Bond Energies Of Nitro -Alkanes, -Alkenes, -Carbonyls And Corresponding Nitrites, Surawee Snitsiriwat

Theses

Density functional and ab initio theory based calculations were performed on a series of nitro -alkanes, -alkenes, carbonyl and corresponding nitrites representing large-scale primary, secondary and tertiary nitro compounds and their radicals resulting from the loss of skeletal hydrogen atoms. Geometries, vibration frequencies and thermochemical properties, ΔfH°₂₉₈, S °(T) and C°p(T) (10K T 5 5000K) are calculated at the individual B3LYP/6-31G(d,p), B3LYP /6-31+G(2d,2p) and composite CBS-QB3 levels. Potential energy barriers for the internal rotations have been computed at the B3LYP/6-31G(d, p) level of theory and the lower barrier contributions are incorporated into entropy and heat capacity data. The …

Dual Parametric Sensors For Highly Sensitive Nucleic Acid Detection, Manu Sebastian Mannoor

Theses

The primary focus of this research work was on the design and development of a molecular scale (nano-scale) capacitive sensing mechanism for the highly sensitive and label-free detection of Nucleic Acid hybridization. These novel capacitive sensors with nano-scale electrode spacing offer solutions to many problems suffered by the conventional signal transduction mechanisms, thereby immensely improving the sensitivity of the biomolecular detection processes. Reducing the separation between the capacitive electrodes to the same scale as the Debye length of the sample solution, results in the overlapping of the electrical double layers of the two electrodes, thereby confining them to occupy a …

Deciphering The Biology Of Axon Stretch-Growth, Joseph R. Loverde

Theses

Traditional nerve regeneration strategies focus on growth cone-mediated growth, a form of nerve growth that occurs primarily during embryogenesis. Early axons continue to grow from the end distal to the soma, seeking targets on which to synapse. It is believed that once the axons synapse, stretch-growth takes over and is responsible for the great lengths achieved by nerves of the central and peripheral nervous systems. Recent work has demonstrated stretch-growth in vitro resulting in dramatically increased growth rates compared to the growth cone. Here, the aim was to decipher the underlying biology associated with axon stretch-growth using two approaches. First, …

Applying The Function And Aesthetics Of Structure To Furniture, Soohyun Lyu

Theses

In this thesis I intend to explore the process of making furniture by using structure as an integral component of my design language. This sense of the structure will be absorbed from the architectural sources I select. I intend to investigate both the functional and aesthetic aspects of structure during the creation of this body of work. I will experiment with different approaches, and in each piece I hope to address a particular identified aspect of structure within this main theme. I anticipate that wood will be the primary material, complemented by the use of metal. Often in furniture design …

Learning To Like Facebook? Effects Of Cultural And Educational Capital On The Use Of Social Network Sites In A Population Of University Students, Randy Lynn

Theses

This study explores the reasons why university students prefer to join or participate frequently in one social network website (SNS) over another. Drawing from previous research into motivations and environmental factors influencing SNS behavior, a theoretical model of SNS selection and frequency of use is constructed and evaluated. Random sampling methods are used to generate a population of students from a midwestern, urban, public university with an enrollment of nearly 16,000. Subjects responded to a questionnaire soliciting information regarding personal characteristics and SNS behaviors, and additional data was extracted from a content analysis of SNS profiles. The results show that …

Managing Early Museum Collections Of Ancient Egyptian Materials, Dimitrios Meleounis

Theses

No abstract provided.

" The West That Got Into His Bones:" Key Perspectives On Clyfford Still At The Inauguration Of His Museum, Elen M. Woods

Theses

No abstract provided.

The Work Of Abe Kobo In The 1960s The Struggle For Identity In Modernity; Japan, The West, And Beyond, Devon A. Cahill

Theses

No abstract provided.

" To Die- Without The Dying": Dickinson, Premature Burial, And Consciousness Beyond The Grave, Jeanette F. Calo

Theses

No abstract provided.

" Radical Overlap Of Outage" Oppression And Exploitation In Jane Austens's Work, Joris S. Beck

Theses

No abstract provided.

In Situ Co-Hybridization Of Retroposon Sine-Ctrt1 And Hemogoblin Family Genes In The Polytene Chromosomes Of Chironomus Riparius (Diptera), Khuyen Doan

Theses

No abstract provided.

Increased Visual Attention To Moderate Causes Mitigates The Discounting Effect, Lindsey A. Czarnecki

Theses

No abstract provided.

Calorimetric Study Of Phthalate Adsorption From Solution Onto Silica Adsorbent And Correlation Between Energy And Adsorption Isotherms, Nasima A. Goni

Theses

No abstract provided.

Makeready Reduction In A Platen Die Cutting Operation: An Analysis Of Process Improvement Methodologies, Charles Armendariz

Theses

The research focused on determining whether specific process improvement methodologies performed in a Kaizen event could reduce the overall makeready process in a platen die cutting operation. Data was collected and analyzed in order to identify opportunities that would reduce the effort (procedure steps and time) within the makeready procedure. Analysis was conducted on the makeready procedure at a packaging company in Rochester, New York. The researcher worked with the Center for Excellence in Lean Enterprise (CELE) at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in conducting the Kaizen event. An initial analysis with the use of a 5S audit and Individual …

Competency Requirements Of Managers In Hotels In Jamaica: The Implications Of Soft Skills, Sharmon Hinds-Smith

Theses

Jamaica, being considerably dependent on tourism and its subsequent hotel industry, has consistently recruited technically competent managers. A manager in a hotel in Jamaica must meet certain requirements in terms of academic and technical competencies which include bodies of knowledge such as accounting, finance, marketing and operations (hard skills). Since globally, managers with competencies in both the hard and soft areas have had more of a competitive edge regarding the hotel business at large, it is clear that the "softer" skills are seen as significant in terms of competency and vital to a manager's performance within the hotel. This study …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of An Intrusion Prevention / Honeypot Hybrid, Lucas Tamagna-Darr

Theses

An intrusion prevention system is a variation of an intrusion detection system that drops packets that are anomalous based on a chosen criteria. An intrusion prevention system is typically placed on the outer perimeter of a network to prevent intruders from reaching vulnerable machines inside the network, though it can also be placed inside the network in front of systems requiring extra security measures. Unfortunately, intrusion prevention systems, even when properly configured, are susceptible to both false positives and false-negatives. The risk of false positives typically leads organizations to deploy these systems with the prevention capability disabled and only focus …

The Effect Of Text And Graphic Search Goals On Web Advertisement Viewing, Brian Ashbaugh

Theses

Advertising has become an integral part of the Internet's capacity to generate revenue, drive traffic to websites, and to increase brand recognition. This study examined how text and graphic search goals influence how many times and how long people look at graphic and text advertisements. Twenty-four participants were eye tracked while they searched for text or graphic information on six websites. Results show that when people searched for text information they increased the amount of time and the number of times that they viewed text advertisements. When people searched for graphical information, they increased the amount of time and number …