Digital Commons Network^™

Quantitative Assessment Of Reflex Blood Pressure Regulation Using A Dynamic Model Of The Cardiovascular System, Tanha Patel

Theses

A quantitative understanding of the changes in coronary, pulmonary and systemic hemodynamic variables and their effects on the regulation mechanism is important to the better postoperative management of patients with impaired cardiac function. The arterial baroreflex plays a key role in blood pressure homeostasis, and its impairment may result in exaggerated blood pressure fluctuations and an increased risk of cardiovascular morbid events.

The objective of this work was to construct a mathematical model of the cardiovascular system, which will allow us to simulate the effects of the baroreceptor reflex regulation on sudden changes in blood pressure, caused by sudden changes …

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 …

Omaha Beach : A Tragedy Of Errors, David P. Stanley

Theses

The American assault on the small strip of sand code-named Omaha Beach, has become one of the most longstanding examples of American military triumph. Yet, at the same time, it is an event synonymous with death and destruction. There, in the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, over 3000 American soldiers either lost their lives or were wounded in an attempt to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds and an enemy force that was ready for their arrival.

The assault on Omaha was not one that had been briefly or incompletely planned. In fact, it was over a year in the …

Crystallographic Structure And Mechanical Properties Of Tantalum Coatings On Steel Deposited By Dc Magnetron Sputtering, Charanjeet Singh Paur

Theses

Tantalum metal exhibits excellent erosion and corrosion resistance property. Hence, tantalum coatings are investigated for protection of steel surface exposed to mechanical stresses, high temperature, and corrosive environment. Such conditions exist inside large army gun barrels. The goal of this work was to contribute to the development of technology for tantalum coating of steel, which would replace the presently used electrochemical chromium deposition. A DC magnetron sputtering process was used to deposit tantalum coatings on steel substrates. In sputtering, tantalum is deposited in two phases: ductile, body-centered cubic (bcc) phase (a-phase) and a metastable, brittle tetragonal ß-phase. Only a-phase of …

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 …

Intramural, Collaborative Learning Systems, Robert S. Friedman

Theses

This thesis focuses on three related concepts: problem-based collaborative learning; the use of multimedia tools in learning systems; and participatory design as a software engineering methodology to create multimedia tools to be used in learning systems. A literature review of the three areas is followed by an overview of the pedagogical, technological, and business trends that affect the direction of innovation in education, including problem-based learning. A discussion of a software engineering project to develop a multimedia application that enhances the learning of geography skills and puts the programming, interface design and multimedia systems capabilities of college students into action …

Protection And Restoration Algorithms For Wdm Optical Networks, Pitipatana Sakarindr

Theses

Currently, Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) optical networks play a major role in supporting the outbreak in demand for high bandwidth networks driven by the Internet. It can be a catastrophe to millions of users if a single optical fiber is somehow cut off from the network, and there is no protection in the design of the logical topology for a restorative mechanism. Many protection and restoration algorithms are needed to prevent, reroute, and/or reconfigure the network from damages in such a situation. In the past few years, many works dealing with these issues have been reported. Those algorithms can be …

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 …

Probability Of A Hazardous Material Truck Accident In New Jersey, Mahesh Damodaran

Theses

Accident prediction modeling is a powerful tool for determining the frequency of accidents under certain circumstances. Nationwide, direct damages from highway hazardous material spills for the year 2000 were tallied at over $31billion. This thesis determines the probability of an accident involving hazardous materials on the roads of New Jersey. The methodology is based on a British predictive equation used by their Highways Agency to determine the probability of a hazardous spill over a section of a roadway. The parameters used by the British's Highways Agency, which is obtained from their accident data, were modified to reflect conditions that best …

Electrical Properties Of Ultra Thin Al2o3 And Hfo2 Films As Gate Dielectrics In Mos Technology, Vishal R. Mehta

Theses

The rapidly evolving silicon industry demands devices with high-speed and low power consumption. This has led to aggressive scaling of the dimensions in metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs). The channel length has been reduced as a result of this scaling. The industry favorite, SlO₂, has reached limitations in the thickness regime of 1-1.5 nm as a gate dielectric. High-_κ gate dielectrics such as Al₂0₃ and HfO₂ and their silicates are some of the materials that may, probably, replace SlO₂, as gate dielectric in the next four to five years. …

Formation And Characterization Of N/P Shallow Junctions In Sub-Micron Mosfets, Sridhar Madishetty

Theses

Semiconductors are the burgeoning industries in today's information age. Silicon based microelectronic devices are shrinking day-by-day in accord with the scaling dimensions reported by the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS). There have been many semiconductor models and simulation programs constantly keeping pace with the continuously evolving scaling dimensions, process technology, performance and cost. Electrical characterization plays a vital role in determining the electrical properties of materials and device structures. Silicon based Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET) forms the basis of Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) circuits. Today's aggressive scaling approaches in silicon Integrated Circuit (IC) technology require …

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 …

A Parallel Implementation Of An Mpeg-2 Encoder Using Message-Passing, Jennifer Zenner

Theses

The days of film are waning as digital cameras and digital video cameras are becoming commonplace. Uncompressed digital video can consume large amounts of space, making it cumbersome to store efficiently. A method of video compression was developed by the Motion Pictures Expert Group (MPEG), and is now an international standard with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This thesis deals with the MPEG-2 Video standard, ISO/IEC 13818-2 [2]. The goal of this thesis is to explore the applications of MPEG-2 encoding in a parallel processing paradigm. To achieve this, a sequential MPEG-2 software encoder was obtained from the MPEG …

Expressions Of Duality, Daniel White

Theses

For the graduate thesis I will investigate duality, as it exists in the realm of ego and humility. This is an inward investigation to become aware of how it exists in me. Duality has been of special interest in my life through growing up in two culturally different families with one owning ego and the other humility. The dualism experienced resulted in an internal dialogue deciphering between the two. I am convinced that the diffusion of ego through humor towards a more humbled approach to life is an important foundational block for fully becoming aware of who I am. Humor …

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

Theses

None provided.

Systems Integration Using Siemens' Pc Based Automation Technology, Adwait Palsule

Theses

Manufacturing Systems Integration is the progressive linking and combination of the various components of the system to merge their functional and technical characteristics into a comprehensive interoperable unit. It requires one to work with different hardware and software. There are a number of vendors providing a large number of products. Integrating these varieties of products provides a greater value than the sum of the value provided by the individual products. What hinders the effective integration of these components is the diversity in the design and the use of these products. Systems Integration is eased by well-established standards in data communication, …

Fiber Reinforced Composites Of A Novel Pendent Polyimide: Optimum Processing And Mechanical Properties, Akshay Kamdar

Theses

A 2-component polyimide [3,4'-ODA + 4,4'-ODPA], a 3-component "parent" polyimide [3,4'-ODA + 4,4'-ODPA + 10 mol % Mellitic acid dianhydride (MADA)] and a 4-component "pendent" polyimide [3,4'-ODA + 4,4'-ODPA + 10 mol % MADA + 10 mol % Zr] were synthesized and characterized using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. Since temperature and time are critical factors influencing the thermal and mechanical properties of the final polyimide, it is important to have detailed information on the best time-temperature conditions for imidization and cure in order to optimize the processing and properties of …

A Three-Dimensional Ray Tracing Simulation Of A Synthetic Aperture Ground Penetrating Radar System, James Iii Jeter

Theses

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is a useful tool for imaging the area below the Earth's surface. GPR works on the same principle as traditional radar, evaluating the electromagnetic returns reflected from an object or scene of interest to determine characteristics of the object that reflected the signal. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is a technique which combines radar returns of a given scene collected at several positions. By compiling the information contained in the returns, an image of a scene can be generated. Combining these two concepts allows us to create an image of an underground scene. Air Force Research Lab, …

Passive Amplitude-Modulated Microwave Backscatter Modulation System, Aaron Thompson

Theses

Barcode technology is slowly being replaced with transponder tags that have many benefits over barcodes. Four issues with transponder tags are battery life, power requirement, range of communication, and physical size. Microwave backscatter modulation (MBM) is used throughout industry to reduce the power requirement and size on the transponder tags while compromising range. Researchers and designers of current transponder tags typically utilize a passive carrier-present carrier-absent (CPCA) reflection of the reader's carrier wave, or their transponder design uses an active backscatter system with an amplifier and circular polarization modulation. This research project develops a communication system that mixes a reader's …

In Between, Stephanie Wratten

Theses

None provided.

Analysis And Hardware Implementation Of Color Map Inversion Algorithms, Michael Martin

Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate several algorithms that are used to compute the inverse of a forward printer map. The forward printer map models the printer by mapping points in the printer's input color space to points in the printer's output color space. The inverse of this forward map is required to convert input color specifications in a device-independent color space to a color in the printer's device-dependent color space before being presented to the print engine. The accuracy of the inverse printer map directly affects the accuracy of the reproduced colors. Therefore, any measured change in …

A Study Of Clutter Reduction Techniques In Wide Bandwidth Hf/Vhf Deep Ground Penetrating Radar, Darien Hammett

Theses

Reducing clutter is one of the most daunting problems a radar processing engineer faces. Clutter causes a significant problem when attempting to detect sub-surface targets, as any significant change in the ground dielectric will produce a return at the receiver. The difficulty in reducing the clutter is compounded by the fact that the spectral characteristics of the clutter are similar to that of the target. While there are many methods that exist to reduce clutter, few do not require a priori information of either the target or the clutter. There are applications, of interest to the electromagnetic community, that are …

See A New Movie: Concepts Of The Future Movie Theater, Tsehsin V. Yang

Theses

This thesis itself is designed to be a 'DVD movie' style game, and the movie genre is documentary. The subject matter is my graduate classmates in the Computer Graphics Design department. The target audience of this thesis, based on the movie content and the level of navigation, is high school and over and the computer experience level is intermediate. This thesis offers a concept of how to instruct the movie audience to know better about a new way of seeing movies. Furthermore, by using this program, the audience will find extra fun from this new entertainment. The reason I chose …

Study Of The Crystallization Behavior Of Polyethylene Oxide In Compatibilized And Uncompatibilized Polypropylene/Polyethylene Oxide Blends, Subramanian Iyer

Theses

Compatibilization of incompatible isotactic polypropylene (iPP)/polyethylene oxide (PEO) is studied with an emphasis on the crystallization behavior of polyethylene oxide. An attempt is made to correlate the crystallization data for PEO obtained from optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, x-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy and dynamic mechanical analysis. PEO and iPP are incompatible in the temperature range -50C to 200C. iPP was used as the matrix while PEO was used as the dispersed phase. Experimental observations demonstrated that PEO underwent fractionated crystallization in the blends in the temperature region from -10C to 40C when cooled at a rate of 10C/min. PEO domains …

Optimal Design Of A 2.4 Ghz Cmos Low Noise Amplifier, Sharmila Sridharan

Theses

In most RF receivers, the Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) is normally the first component, whose performance is very critical. For the LNA architecture that uses source degeneration inductors and cascode topology, the performance depends largely on the performance of the inductors. All the parasitics associated with the inductors should be thoroughly analyzed and taken into consideration while designing the LNA. The work presented in this thesis can be broadly classified as follows: optimization of the LNA design with respect to all the parasitics associated with the on-chip spiral inductors, modeling high performance inductors, which are embedded in the silicon substrate …

Picasso: The Use Of Network Delay Compensation To Improve The Response Of A Tele-Robotic Application, Sara North

Theses

This thesis shows the benefits of network delay compensation over an arbitrary Internet connection for a tele-robotic application. The tele-robotic system, named Picasso, is set up in the Systems Laboratory of the Electrical Engineering Department at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Picasso is a robotic arm that users can connect to via the Internet and draw with. This thesis demonstrates that varying the arm speed based on the predicted time-to-next packet results in smoother motion by the arm and a more accurate representation of what the user is drawing on the screen. The method chosen to predict the time-to-next packet …

Solution-Phase Synthesis Of Tertiary Amines Via Reductive Amination-Alkylation With Ethyl P-Aminobenzoate, Kristen Harwood

Theses

Combinatorial chemistry is a means of rapidly generating large numbers of diverse molecules for the identification of novel molecular properties. This study will describe the attempt to synthesize, characterize and purify of a library of tertiary amine derivatives of ethyl p-aminobenzoate by solution-phase combinatorial synthesis. In this study, indirect reductive amination and subsequent alkylation of ethyl p-aminobenzoate is expected to produce thirty-five structurally related analogs. HPLC and LC-MS analysis of the resultant library however, shows that reduction of the imine intermediates with sodium triacetoxyborohydride also results in reduction of the ester functionality which prevents the subsequent alkylation reaction. A mechanism …

"Flora" And Digital Imaging, John Latimer

Theses

None provided.

Precious, Amy O'Shaughnessy

Theses

Not Included