Digital Commons Network^™

Type Of Facebook User And Correlational Relationship With Social Comparison And Self-Esteem Along With The Moderating Variable Of The Big Five Model, Amanda Lilly

Theses

This thesis examines different types of Facebook users and how different types of participation on Facebook are associated with social comparison orientation scale and self-esteem level of the users, and how personality variables moderate the relationship between social comparison scale and types of Facebook use. Previous research has investigated the relationship between Facebook use, self-esteem, and social comparison; however, the results have been mixed, and research on how personality traits are related to different types of active use of Facebook is needed. Study 1 of this thesis examines how social comparison orientation and self-esteem relate to how individuals actively use …

Simulating Pathway-Based Steady States To Prevent Epithelial- Mesenchymal Transition In Ovarian Cancer, K Jeselle Clark

Theses

Ovarian cancer is a complex disease that involves gene regulatory dysfunction and that requires a systemic viewpoint to fully understand. Applying executable biology to ovarian cancer research and leveraging documented regulatory protein interactions, one can efficiently inform the prediction of characteristic gene-product activation using a logical model checking approach. Using this innovative approach to reducing terms and satisfying constraints, this thesis presents a strategy for applying regulatory systems biology to cancer research. By viewing ovarian cancer pathways like an electrical circuit, and constructing a pathway model with natural language processing tools, gene product expression patterns that have not been explained …

Effects Of Ink, Substrate, And Target Line Width On The Quality Of Lines Printed Using A Dmp 3000 Inkjet Printer, Mihir R. Choudhari

Theses

This thesis is concerned with the image quality analysis of inkjet lines printed on substrates. ISO 24790 compliant lines are designed and printed on a substrate with a drop-on-demand inkjet printer. This study analyzes three print quality attributes of line: width, blurriness, and raggedness.

The research used cyan, magnetic and standard inks to print the same design on various substrates having differences in gloss and texture. The chosen inks were measured using a rheometer to determine a viscosity range. The effects of substrate structural parameters, such as texture, finishing, weight, and ink type on line quality, are discussed. The printed …

Tva: A Requirements Driven, Machine-Learning Approach For Addressing Tactic Volatility In Self-Adaptive Systems, Jeffrey Palmerino

Theses

From self-driving cars to self-adaptive websites, the world is increasingly becoming more reliant on autonomous systems. Similar to many other domains, the system's behavior is often determined by its requirements. For example, a self-adaptive web service is likely to have some maximum value that response time should not surpass. To maintain this requirement, the system uses tactics, which may include activating additional computing resources. In real-world environments, tactics will frequently experience volatility, known as tactic volatility. This can include unstable time required to execute the tactic or frequent fluctuations in the cost to execute the tactic. Unfortunately, current self-adaptive approaches …

Improving Energy Efficiency Performance Of Existing Residential Building In Northern China, Zhengyu Kang

Theses

China has replaced the U.S. as the world’s largest consumer of energy. The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD)’s latest data shows that China’s building sector accounts for around one-third of its final energy consumption (MOHURD, 2016). Particularly in northern China, the cold climate exerts pressure on its central heating system, which is responsible for a total energy consumption of about four hundred million tons of standard coal equivalent (TCE) (National Development and Reform Commission, 2017). Due to the growing population, economic development, and increasing standards of living, China expects that building energy use will escalate in the coming …

The Role Of Programming In Interpreting Lgbtq Identities In Contemporary Art Museums, Anna Vernacchio

Theses

This thesis focuses on the methods through which art museums represent LGBTQ identities, facilitate discourse about diverse sexualities through programming, and address targeted media controversy. Through the analysis of the National Portrait Gallery’s exhibition Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture (November 2010 – February 2011) in comparison to the Brooklyn Museum’s exhibition (November 2011 – February 2012), I discuss effective methods of engaging diverse communities when faced with opposing voices or perspectives. Hide/Seek was a ground-breaking exhibition which publicly interpreted LGBTQ identities through the lens of artwork, spanning from the late 19th century to the post-modern period. I analyze …

Synthesizing Cyber Intrusion Alerts Using Generative Adversarial Networks, Christopher R. Sweet

Theses

Cyber attacks infiltrating enterprise computer networks continue to grow in number, severity, and complexity as our reliance on such networks grows. Despite this, proactive cyber security remains an open challenge as cyber alert data is often not available for study.

Furthermore, the data that is available is stochastically distributed, imbalanced, lacks homogeneity, and relies on complex interactions with latent aspects of the network structure. Currently, there is no commonly accepted way to model and generate synthetic alert data for further study; there are also no metrics to quantify the fidelity of synthetically generated alerts or identify critical attributes within the …

Machine Learning For Real-Time Data-Driven Security Practices, Shane Coleman

Theses

The risk of cyber-attacks exploiting vulnerable organisations has increased significantly over the past several years. Cyber-attacks can be described as any type of aggressive strategy which targets computer information systems, computer networks, personal computer systems or other organisational infrastructures which may originate internally or externally. These attacks may combine to exploit a vulnerability breach within a system’s protection strategy which has the potential for loss, damage or destruction of assets. Consequently, every vulnerability has an accompanying risk which is defined as the “intersection of assets, threats, and vulnerabilities”.

This research project uses various types of recommender system techniques, employed for …

Exploring The School Nurse's Perception Of Caring For Students With Severe Allergies, Alyson Kreitzman

Theses

The role of the school nurse continually evolves, with an increase in students who are medically fragile, have disabilities and those diagnosed with both acute and chronic illnesses. A major challenge for the school nurse is the number of students with severe allergies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates food allergies in children have increased by 50% in the past decade. These allergies can be life threatening and effect one in thirteen children under the age of eighteen, which means potentially two students in each classroom in the U.S. has a severe allergy. School nurses are responsible for …

Enhancement Of Vegetative Growth And Nutrient Concentration Of Date Palm After Inoculation With An Isolate From Uae Of The Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus Rhizoglomus Intraradices, Khuloud Nasser Mohammed Al Kayyoomi

Theses

The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is considered the main agricultural crop in many dry regions of the world, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It has been demonstrated that the date palm forms a beneficial symbiotic association with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. AM fungi are known to improve plant growth, increase nutrient uptake and assist plant growth under biotic and abiotic stress conditions. The main aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficiency at which an isolate of the AM fungus Rhizoglomus intraradices improves the vegetative growth and nutrient content of two date palm varieties in …

Ultra-Wideband Microstrip Antenna Enhanced Performance Using Metamaterial, Elham K. A Serria

Theses

Antenna engineering is very important in the development of communication systems and the requirements for low profile antennas that cover a wide spectrum of frequencies increase the number of researches in this field. Accordingly, scientists have focused on UWB microstrip antennas that cover the range from 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz but others concentrate on enhancing its performance using a special type of materials called metamaterials.

The main objective of this work is to enhance frequency bandwidth, antenna gain, and radiation pattern for the UWB circular microstrip antenna by employing the Split Ring Resonator (SRR) technique, which is one type …

Development Of Biodegradable -Polylactic Acid - Date Palm Waste Composite As Thermal Insulation Material, Mohamed Saeed Barkhad

Theses

This study aims to develop a green polymer composite from local natural waste, such as date pit powder (DPP) and date palm wood powder (DPWP), as an insulating material. The recycling and reuse of natural waste as filler for green insulation materials has many significant benefits for the environment of the UAE.

Date palm waste was mixed with a polylactic acid (PLA) polymer with various proportions in a melt extruder. The mixtures produced were then shaped differently after testing in a thermal compression machine. These composites were tested to evaluate their physical (water absorption, chemical resistance, and bulk density), thermal …

Functionality Assessment Of The Newly Discovered Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (Am) Fungus From Uae, Dominikia Emiratia, Laila Ahmed Al Dhaheri

Theses

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal species form symbiotic associations with the vast majority of terrestrial plants. These associations help plants to improve their water and nutrient uptake. In return, plants provide a suitable habitat for the fungi to flourish. From across the globe, approximately 300 AM fungal species have been described to date. Most recently, Dominikia emirate from UAE joined the list of known AM fungal species. It was found in Sweyhan, Abu Dhabi, associated with several plants within two different types of farming systems, namely organic and conventional. The discovery of the new species provides an opportunity for applied and …

Preparation And Characterization Of Novel Azocinnamates And Steroidal Azo Ethers, Abdullah Maamon Alhemyari

Theses

This thesis is concerned with the synthesis of novel azo-cinnamates and of steroidal azo ethers and with the analysis of the spectroscopic and thermal properties of these materials. The compounds were identified as possible photoswitchable liquid crystals. The molecules were prepared by multi-step sequences, involving etherification, azo coupling, and Appel-type reactions as the key steps in the case of the azo-cinnamates, and Finkelstejn reactions and Williamson-type etherification reactions as the major transformations in the case of the steroidal azo ethers. The preparation of the azo-cinnamates was a further example of an esterification reaction run under Appel-type conditions using BrCCl_{3 …}

Evaluating The Therapeutic Potential Of Crocin Against Diethylnitrosamine Induced Experimental Hepatocellular Carcinoma In Rats, Basma Ali Mustafa Awad

Theses

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common type of cancer and the third cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Liver cancer is the result of repeated injuries to the liver triggered by different causes. Currently, sorafenib is the only drug U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved targeted therapy. Sorafenib, an oral multikinase inhibitor, which inhibits the proliferation of tumor cells and blocks angiogenesis. Sorafenib has been shown to treat early and mild HCC lesions and it helped increase the survival rates at one year, but for only 44% of patients. Chemotherapies are an important line of defense when it comes …

Enhanced Mppt Controllers For Smart Grid Applications, Mohamed Khallaf

Theses

Over the past years, the energy demand has been steadily growing and so methods of how to cope with this staggering increase are being researched and utilized. One method of injecting more energy to the grid is renewable energy, which has become in recent years an integral part of any country’s power generation plan. Thus, it is a necessity to enhance renewable energy resources and maximize their grid utilization, so that these resources can step up and reduce the over dependency of global energy production on depleting energy resources.

This thesis focuses on solar power and effective means to enhance …

Urban Infill – Revitalize Downtown Almaty, Kazakhstan, Madi Zhunussov

Theses

This design proposal would provide a solution for a specific area of downtown Almaty, Kazakhstan and is based on research and analysis of city information, as well as on the author’s own experiences that were gathered onsite.

Almaty is very car-dependent; the city contains 1.8 million people and sprawls across an area of 263 square miles. Low-height structures to accommodate seismic activity, long travelling distances, wide roads, and vehicular parking chaos can be observed within the city center of Almaty. Having similar population – Munich, Germany and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA were compared to Almaty, where Floor Area Ratio (FAR) showed …

Contact Line Pinning Under Ac Electrowetting, Kimberly Bernetski

Theses

Sepsis is an autoimmune disease where a bacterial infection causes organ failure. Early diagnosis is a challenge when using traditional methods. Improvement in early detection is vital in treating patients with sepsis. One method for early detection is through the use of particle deposition patterns from patient urine. Deposition patterns are the remaining particles from an evaporating droplet and can vary based on a variety of factors. To optimize sepsis detection, a digital microfluidic device can be used to manipulate the deposition pattern of a sample to detect target proteins. These devices use microarrays for improved biomarker detection. Microarrays consist …

Improving Developer Profiling And Ranking To Enhance Bug Report Assignment, Andrew Distasi

Theses

Bug assignment plays a critical role in the bug fixing process. However, bug assignment can be a burden for projects receiving a large number of bug reports. If a bug is assigned to a developer who lacks sufficient expertise to appropriately address it, the software project can be adversely impacted in terms of quality, developer hours, and aggregate cost. An automated strategy that provides a list of developers ranked by suitability based on their development history and the development history of the project can help teams more quickly and more accurately identify the appropriate developer for a bug report, potentially …

Re-Imagining Downtown Rochester Creation Of An Equitable Urban Master Plan, Douglas Templeton

Theses

Downtown Rochester, New York has seen a renewed interest in the past decade. However, most of that interest and reinvestment has occurred within the eastern half of the downtown area. The western half, which is roughly bordered by the Genesee River to the east and Interstate 490 and the Inner Loop to the west, has only been lightly touched by developers. Most new building projects tend to center around creating residential apartments, many of which have price points that may exclude many populations in Rochester.

Additionally, street networks and connections tend to reinforce usage of private automobiles and dissuade the …

Atomistic Simulation For Transition Metal Dichalcogenides Using Nemo5 And Medea-Vasp, Udita Kapoor

Theses

This thesis is an attempt to understand and delve into the realm of atomistic simulations, using it to understand a novel set of materials called Transition Metal Dichalcogenides (TMDs). We use NEMO5 and MedeA-VASP to calibrate and characterize a few selected TMDs and to validate our understanding of atomistic modeling we simulated a tunnel field-effect transistor with monolayer TMD as a channel using NEMO5. TFETs offer great advantages over MOSFET (metal oxide field-effect devices) like, sub-60 mV/dec sub-threshold swing, minimal leakage current, high switching speed, and small power requirements. Low drive current has prevented TFETs from becoming a mainstream device …

Performance And Durability Of High-Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells Operated On Propane Reformate, Yang Yue

Theses

As supplies of petroleum and natural gas are constrained in many regions, and the emissions associated with fossil fuel combustion appear to be strongly connected to climate change, the development of renewable energy systems has become one of the urgent research directions. Fuel cells, with extremely low CO2 emissions, high energy density, efficiency and reliability, are now being considered as one of the most important alternatives to fossil fuel-based energy systems. In the field of new power sources for automotive, portable and residential applications, proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have gained more attention in the last decade due to …

Segmentation And Classification Of Multimodal Imagery, Sankaranarayanan Piramanayagam

Theses

Segmentation and classification are two important computer vision tasks that transform input data into a compact representation that allow fast and efficient analysis. Several challenges exist in generating accurate segmentation or classification results. In a video, for example, objects often change the appearance and are partially occluded, making it difficult to delineate the object from its surroundings. This thesis proposes video segmentation and aerial image classification algorithms to address some of the problems and provide accurate results.

We developed a gradient driven three-dimensional segmentation technique that partitions a video into spatiotemporal objects. The algorithm utilizes the local gradient computed at …

Utilizing Mobile Technology To Improve Accessibility For Museum Visitors With Autism, Felicia Dianne Swartzenberg

Theses

What if museums could provide an app that makes interaction easier for visitors with autism and allows them to enjoy the museum any day of the week like their neurotypical counterparts? This research discusses how museums can utilize downloadable apps for personal devices to provide easily accessible resources for children on the autism spectrum and their families to use so they can have a more inclusive and sensory-friendly museum experience. To determine the feasibility of this, I worked in collaboration with an app developer, Peter Laurin, to create a prototype-app called SenseEase: Strong Museum for the Reading Adventure Land exhibit …

Museums And The Tax Code: A Fraught Friendship, Elisha Muir

Theses

Museums benefit immensely from their position in the American tax code and its peculiarities, but the fundamentals of this relationship are often muddled, confusing, and difficult to explain. But with recent alterations to the federal tax code and an atmosphere of apprehension in the field, understanding and explanation are critical to proper decision-making and governance. This thesis addresses that need through multifaceted research and analysis of historical data, expert analysis, and crucially case law at both the federal and state level. The result of this will be to expand the currently anemic body of current literature on the topic and …

The Role Of 3d Printed Facsimiles In Fulfilling Museum Visitors’ Desire To Touch, Elizabeth Carr

Theses

By nature, humans have a desire to touch the things they encounter in daily life. Museums are no exception to this desire, even though museum objects are rarely available for visitor handling. This thesis explores the question: “can accurate 3D printed facsimiles help fulfill the desire of visitors to touch museum objects?” For this project and case study, I selected, and 3D scanned a museum object, which was then recreated via 3D printing. The reproduction was then put on display alongside the original object, and a visitor study was conducted to see if interacting with the facsimile while seeing the …

When Linguistics And Heritage Intersect: Language Preservation And Revitalization In Cultural Institutions, Katharine Maclaren

Theses

This work explores the ways in which cultural institutions, namely museums, libraries, and archives, can help save dying languages. It first introduces language preservation and revitalization as a field and then evaluates current efforts, including those outside the museum sphere. The question guiding this research is: Given the missions of cultural institutions, their collections, and their relationships with surrounding communities, how can these institutions successfully contribute to the preservation and revitalization of endangered languages in the long-term, and how might success be evaluated? The preservation of Scottish Gaelic will be considered as a specific case study by looking at several …

Creating A Safer Running Experience: Reducing Runner And Vehicular Traffic Incidents, Chad A. Cooper

Theses

A routine run can turn into a final run in a matter of seconds. Runners and drivers are exposed to a variety of distractions that hinder their ability to safely react to potential incidents. With the help of Augmented Reality and wearable technology, runners can help reduce traffic related incidents by staying focused on the road and their surroundings. This project looks to investigate how AR technology can be leveraged to offer the safest run without diminishing the running user-experience.

Smart Solutions To Control Air Pollution In Dubai - Al Qouz Area, Anwar Alshamsi, Lateefa Almarzooqi

Theses

Air pollution is a major concern, both in industrial and developing countries. Measuring and monitoring air pollution is mandatory to have a smart and clean environment. By the recent developed technology such as Internet of Things (IoT), levels of poisonous gases (GHG) are measured and controlled, which will help in having healthier atmosphere and help people whose life are endangered from living near polluted areas. The project proposes to use smart sensors to sense and measure the percentage of polluted gases like CO, CO2, SO2 and NO2. Since Dubai aims to achieve the best results of having the least effect …

Behind The Door, Pengxu Cheng

Theses

Behind the Door is a three-minute, nineteen-second 2D animation film. This story is about three rabbits, a hunter and a wolf and is told in two segments. The first segment of the film tells a linear story of a hunter who hunts rabbits, but fails continuously. The second segment of the film is told from the angle of the rabbits and a wolf. The wolf wants to hunt the rabbits, but also fails to catch them. The hunter also hunts the wolf, but the wolf outsmarts him. Although the rabbits are small and vulnerable animals, in this story they work …