Digital Commons Network^™

Design Of Three-Dimensional Axon Stretch Growth Device, Fayekah Assanah

Theses

Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) causes destruction and degeneration of axons in the white matter of the spinal cord, resulting in functional loss and paralysis. A successful treatment of SCI requires axons to regenerate across damaged regions. Current studies focus on identifying mechanisms to promote axon regeneration in lesions and have yet to be successful in preventing nerve degeneration due to scar tissue formation. Establishing axonal bridges over long distances of SCI lesions remains a challenge, resulting in poor functional recovery. Instead of relying on promoting axon regeneration into lesions, Pfister et al. has developed a transplantable nervous tissue construct spanned …

Pattern Recognition Of Brain Fmri Images For Various Physiological States, Priyanka Bhatt

Theses

The development of fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) has led many researchers to localize brain functions using different stimuli. The use of pattern recognition techniques have made it possible to predict the stimuli being presented from the corresponding brain images and activation patterns. The primary objective of the present study was to use pattern recognition methods to develop a model using available fMRJ images and then to use the model to identify the stimulus presented from a large number of unknown images. Two different experimental conditions were used involving both binary and multi-class classification. Bilateral finger tapping data which had …

Rna Genome Annotation With A Focus On T. Brucei, Brett Bucci

Theses

The goal of this project is to identify untranslated regions (UTRs) and UTR-indicating patterns in the genome of T. brucei. T. brucei is an interesting organism, and as the cause of African sleeping sickness -- which infects 300,000-500,000 people and a significant number of cattle annually -- is currently the subject of considerable research. Using existing algorithms, several patterns have been found that may lead to more complete UTR annotations in the T. brucei genome. The most encouraging sequence is the 11-base sequence GAGGGIICG]TGGGG, which appears in five hypothetical genes near the tail. Discovery of several such sequences could guide …

Fracture Healing : The Effects Of Local Insulin Delivery Via Calcium Sulfate And Tricalcium Phosphate, Sarah Elizabeth Buchala

Theses

Previous studies have documented the major role played by insulin in osseous healing. This is the first study to examine local intramedullary insulin delivery to the fracture site and its effect upon the normal fracture healing process. Preceding results show that when administered at the fracture site of the impaired fracture healing model of the diabetic BB Wistar rat, insulin will regulate early cellular proliferation and chondrogenesis and late mineralized tissue, cartilage content and mechanical strength.

In this study, two novel delivery vehicles have been evaluated for sustained insulin release in the normal fracture model of the BB Wistar rat. …

Portable Housing For Mexican Migrant Workers, Janet Corzo

Theses

A capable migrant labor force is critical in sustaining the United States' agriculture industry. Yet, migrant farm workers are among the most economically disadvantaged people in the United States (NCFH). The housing available to migrant workers in the United States is typically substandard and subject to other factors, such as local availability, social stigmas and legal status. While housing is usually provided by a grower (on-the-farm) or acquired by the migrant worker himself (off-the-farm), there seem to exist no examples of portable housing that a worker can transport from job to job. This study seeks to explore the viability of …

Creating New Visualization And Human Interface Devices For Theraputic Video Games, Kunal Jayant Doshi

Theses

Virtual reality (VR) gaming environment as a tool for rehabilitation of patients with upper extremity disorders is fast gaining momentum. VR based motor training systems provide an engaging, motivating and adaptable environment where the motion of the limb displayed in the virtual world is a replication of the motion produced in the real world by the patient's extremity.

The goal of this thesis was to create a generic gaming system which can be interfaced to a number of different Human interface devices (HID) and produce rich graphics to create a virtual environment which closely resembles the real world. This would …

Comparison Of Linear Parametric Models For Predicting Fmri Response, Parina Gandhi

Theses

In this study, five different linear parametric models including Autoregressive model (ARX), Autoregressive Moving Average Model (ARMAX), Box-Jenkins Model (BJ), Instrument Variable Model (IV) and Prediction Error Model (PEM) were used to predict the fMRI response and their performances compared. Transfer functions were computed for every voxel time series for every subject using all the parametric models. Cross-correlation was subsequently performed between the predicted response and the actual fMRI data to compare the performance of the five models. The consistency of the models and the transfer function was checked by doing a statistical analysis. Among the five models tested, PEM …

Brain Segmentation Using Endogenous Contrast Mechanism Using Breath Holding Fmri Signal For Tissue Characterization, Samata Mukesh Kakkad

Theses

MRL has fast become the modality of choice for the analysis of the complexity of the human brain. MRJ is a non-invasive method and gives high spatial resolution maps of the brain with soft tissue contrast. Conventional MRI technique modified to be used to image the functionality at high temporal resolution is known as fMRI. In fMRI the BOLD signal we measure is the hemodynamic response to neuronal and vascular changes at rest or in response to a stimulus where the various tissue types will have a different response.

While fMRI has been traditionally been used to detect and identify …

Utr Prediction Programs For Trypanosoma Brucei, Maria Moutafis

Theses

In the past few years, the field of bioinformatics has seen a rapid increase in the need for use of various sequence analysis tools. As we advance in the fields of science and technology, new programs and software are constantly being developed in this field. Rapidly expanding gene sequence databases and rapidly evolving sequence analysis tools are providing researchers with ways to search for highly similar query sequences whether they are nucleotide, protein, or gene databases. This thesis will focus on sequence alignment tools, specifically concentrating on tools that help determine/predict non-coding regions of sequences also known as untranslated regions …

The Making And Meaning Of Gay Space : The Case Of The Castro In San Francisco, Scott Richard Lesher

Theses

Architecture is more than the history, design and construction of buildings; it is also the creation, defining, redefining, and use of space. An understanding of these non-brick-and-mortar aspects includes how the use and meaning of that space changes over time. Gay space, specifically gay male space, is studied as both material space and social space. Material space is the 'brick and mortar' space designed for this purpose or created out of existing space, such as a room, building or neighborhood. Social spaces are the areas where human interaction occurs, such as block parties and festivals; it is more about the …

Mapping Inter-Subject And Inter-Regional Brain Connectivity During Free Viewing Of Novel Natural Scenes, Sheela Nagaraj

Theses

Traditional functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have used controlled tasks such as finger tapping to isolate function in distinct cortical. Recent studies have examined the mechanisms involved during natural conditions by asking subjects to freely view the presentation of a movie. The objective of our study was to further observe the extent to which similarities are present between subjects during natural vision. It was hypothesized that there would be a linear relationship between the percentage of region-specific overlap, which is the percent of the anatomical region of interest which contains spatial activation exhibited by all six subjects, and corresponding …

Finger Joint Impedance Control Applications To Investigate Spasticity, David Naisby Paglia

Theses

In order to investigate how spasticity disrupts the capabilities of the human body, a better understanding of how joint impedance control operates in healthy individuals is necessary. In this investigation, a second order rotary torque model was implemented to investigate the impedances at the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint of the index finger. The model was fit to approximately 25 milliseconds of force and displacement data to determine the mechanical impedances at the finger tip. Ranges of damping and stiffness were optimized over a range of mean finger tip force (0-12 N) for extension. The equilibrium-point hypothesis was examined when compared to …

Design Of Gait Rehabilitation System, Andriy Pletenetskyy

Theses

This thesis describes the conceptual design of an innovative robotic rehabilitation machine whose purpose is to help in the recovery of people with motor function disabilities. The machine is smaller, simpler and cheaper than current solutions on the market yet it delivers same functionality.

The conceptual development of the gait rehabilitation system also features a human model with average anthropometric dimensions that allows better visualization and understanding of the actual machine operation. The human model is kinematically coupled to the machine and the whole assembly presents a complex mechanism that closely simulates gait training session.

Three-dimensional modeling and analysis techniques …

Proactive Methods For Measurement Of Available Bandwidth And Link Capacity, Khondaker Musfakus Salehin

Theses

With the continuous expansion of network infrastructure and deployment of applications sensitive to Quality-of-Service, network measurement plays a major role in both network planning and management. Accurate measurement of various network parameters, e.g., available bandwidth, link capacity, delay, packet loss and jitter, provides a positive impact for effective traffic engineering, Quality-of-Service (QoS) routing, optimization of end-to-end transport performance, and link capacity planning. For network measurement, there exists several proactive estimation tools based on either probe-gap model or probe-rate model that estimate path related attributes. Most of these tools that have been implemented can measure tight-link capacity (smallest available bandwidth) and/or …

Phase Transfer In A Collision Between A Droplet And Solid Spheres, Zheng Shen

Theses

The hydrodynamics of a liquid droplet impinging on a particle is of direct relevance to many engineering applications. The mechanism of heat and mass transfer during the droplet solid collision is essential to the design and operation of many industrial systems. However, very limited systemic research is available to describe the droplet impact on hot solid spheres.

This paper aims to establish a systematic investigation of phase transfer due to the droplet-solid impact, by both experimental and modeling approaches. The targeted phase transfer includes the surface attachment, mass of vaporization, heat transfer to droplet and its partition between vaporization and …

Fully Dense Aluminum-Rich Aluminum Copper Oxide Powders For Energetic Formulations, Demitrios Stamatis

Theses

The thermite reaction between Al and CuO is well known and highly exothermic. For a conventional thermite mixture comprising mixed metal and oxide powders, this reaction is rate limited by the slow heterogeneous mass transfer at the metal and oxide interface. The relatively low reaction rate and a difficult ignition have restricted practical applications for this reaction. For newly developed, nano-composed thermites, the interface area can be substantially increased resulting in a much higher reaction rate and a new range of possible applications. Nanocomposite Al-CuO materials are produced using a technique referred to as arrested reactive milling. Regular metal and …

The Use Of Instrumented Measures To Describe Lower Extremity Joint Mechanics, Steven Thomas Kaufman

Theses

Currently, various biomechanical assessments are used in clinical settings that offer diagnostic information about the studied joint. These assessments, however, are based on the judgment and experience of the therapist conducting the test and have a high degree of inter and intra rater variability, decreasing the strength of the observation. A set of instrumented measures consisting of a force/torque sensor and an angle sensor was created to quantitatively assess the mechanics of the lower extremity joints as a possible solution to the low repeatability of commonly used clinical tests.

It was shown through the use of instrumentation that the torques …

Dexamethasone- And Age-Sensitive Genes In Neonatal Small Intestine, Carla Cerqueira

Theses

Regulation of GLUT5 is dependent on the presence of its substrate, fructose, but it is also correlated with the developmental (aging) process of the intestine. To identify fructose-responsive genes whose expression also changes with age, intestines of 10 and 20 d old pups were perfused, by Ferraris et al., with fructose and then compared by microarray analysis. From this, a gene clustering analysis revealed that some age- and fructose-specific genes are regulated by corticosterones, which normally increase in pups ≥ 14 d old. Subsequent work indicated that priming the gut with Dexamethasone (Dex, a glucocorticoid analog) allowed fructose to precociously …

Penetration Force Measurements In The Central Nervous System With Silicon Electrodes, Ashwini Arun Nikam

Theses

One of the major challenges in neural engineering is the tissue damage that occurs during insertion of microelectrodes into the central nervous system. The damage occurs as a result of the dimpling effect that is due to the insertion force. A method which can reduce the penetration force can also reduce dimpling and the resulting tissue damage.

There are two objectives in this thesis. One is to measure the penetration force with Michigan electrodes, which are silicon based electrodes. The second is to reduce the penetration force by using mechanical vibrations.

First, the penetration force was measured in the rat …

Magnetically Assisted Impaction Mixing Of Nanosize Particles, James V. Scicolone

Theses

Magnetically assisted impaction mixing (MAIM) is a novel dry mixing technique, which can be used to mix nanoparticles. Mixing of nanoparticles is usually conducted in solvent-based mixing techniques. The solvents used in these techniques are usually organic, which can be expensive and harmful to the environment. MAIM creates homogeneous nanoparticle mixtures while eliminating conditioning and drying steps associated with wet mixing techniques. To create the best mixing quality of nanoparticles, MAIM was optimized by studying the effects of magnet-to-sample ratio, time, magnet size, and constituents of the mixture. The results were then compared with other well-known mixing techniques.

To characterize …

The Extraction Of Type 1 Collagen And The Fabrication Of Multi-Filament Embedded Hydrogels For Guided Nerve Regeneration, Mevan Lakmal Siriwardane

Theses

Each year, there are approximately 11,000 new cases of spinal cord injury (SCI) in the United States [2]. There have been some success in pre-clinical studies to induce axonal generation, but the reconnection of axons over large distances remains the greatest challenge. Since the development of nerve conduit to facilitate general axonal regeneration, the primary focus has changed to directing the regeneration of axons while also promoting their outgrowth over very extensive lesions to ensure functional recovery of transected nerves during in vitro experiments by using natural materials such as type I collagen, which is the largest constituent of the …

Two Factor Authentication And Authorization In Ubiquitous Mobile Computing, Qing Zhu

Theses

Handheld devices, such as mobile phones, PDAs and others, have become an integrated part of our lives. They are perfectly suitable to become the first real-life platforms for mobile computing applications. A lightweight holistic authentication and authorization scheme is presented for this typical wireless scenario. It is shown that either SIM or Kerberos authentication has its limitations. A two-factor authentication method SIM-based Kerberos authentication is developed to implement the Secure Single Sign-on function with LDAP protocol realization for authorization and mobile directory services. Performance analysis and power consumption analyses for this protocol are presented as well. Our results show that …

Visualizing The Path Foward: The Visual Artist Rights Act Of 1990 And Recommendations For A Response By American Museums, Heather H. Stephens

Theses

No abstract provided.

Design And Analysis Of Rocket Nozzle Contours For Launching Pico-Satellites, Brandon Lee Denton

Theses

Rochester Institute of Technology’s Microsystems Engineering & Technology for the Exploration of Outer Regions (METEOR) project has been investigating and pursuing a low cost alternative launch system for launching pico-satellites to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). A major component of this system is a three-stage rocket for orbital insertion. Of all the parts that make up a rocket engine, the nozzle and its ability to convert thermal energy into kinetic energy is the most important in creating an efficient rocket. This paper develops a computer code which uses the Method of Characteristics and the Stream Function to define highefficiency nozzle contours …

The Modern Gay Rights Movement And Same Sex Marriage In New York, Christopher J. Camera

Theses

No abstract provided.

To The Future And Back Again: The Function Of Fantasy In The Steampunk Aesthetic, Laura Pecoraro

Theses

No abstract provided.

Under Construction: Registration Practice During Museum Building, Leslie A. Meyers

Theses

No abstract provided.

Virgin, Wife And Widow: Shakespeare's Hroines And Patriarchal Identifers, Saadia Usman

Theses

No abstract provided.

Visuomotor Adaptation With Augmented Feedback, Andrew D. Leblanc

Theses

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William Shakespeare's Play, The Taming Of The Shrew Reveals The Plight Of Katherine Minola Presumed Shrew But Actual Puppet Master, Shalice Toney

Theses

No abstract provided.