Digital Commons Network^™

Glimmer, Cody Barron

Theses

Glimmer is a 3D animated graduate thesis film that is 4 minutes long. The film is a gag-based comedy that sets out to emulate the style of early Warner Brothers shorts as well as other slapstick-style comedies.

The story itself follows a bumbling treasure hunter as he explores a set of newly discovered ancient ruins in the hopes of finding untold riches. His fumbling missteps wake the inhabitant of the ruins, who turns out to be a mischievous and clever monkey. This monkey does not take kindly to the treasure hunter’s theft of his possessions and so sets about the …

Semi-Supervised Normalized Embeddings For Fusion And Land-Use Classification Of Multiple View Data, Poppy Immel

Theses

Land-use classification from multiple data sources is an important problem in remote sensing. Data fusion algorithms like Semi-Supervised Manifold Alignment (SSMA) and Manifold Alignment with Schroedinger Eigenmaps (SEMA) use spectral and/or spatial features from multispectral, multimodal imagery to project each data source into a common latent space in which classification can be performed. However, in order for these algorithms to be well-posed, they require an expert user to either directly identify pairwise dissimilarities in the data or to identify class labels for a subset of points from which pairwise dissimilarities can be derived. In this paper, we propose a related …

Evaluation Of Alternative Valorization Options For Institutional And Industrial Food Wastes, Swati Hegde

Theses

In recent years many countries and several regions in the United States have passed legislation on banning landfilling of organic waste. It is a well-known fact that organic wastes, including food scraps, generate methane under anaerobic landfill environments and contribute significantly to global warming. As more regions are mandated to follow the landfill ban, there is an increasing demand for alternative technologies for the disposal, treatment and upcycling of food wastes. Disposal and treatment may not result in any value-added products and hence are not the most efficient ways to manage food waste. As food waste has a high energy …

A Technique For The Optimization Of Actuation Characteristics Of Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites, Vaughn Varma

Theses

Ionic-Polymer-Metal Composites (IPMCs) are a subset of Electroactive Polymers (EAPs), which are an actively-researched class of electromechanical actuators. IPMCs are similar in function to piezoelectric actuators, however require substantially lower input voltage, requiring as little as 1V to actuate, and with a very high maximum no-load strain of over 300%. IPMCs can be built from biocompatible materials, and do not require the use of any permanent magnets, making them suitable for medical applications, or for use in environments subject to strong or fluctuating magnetic fields. IPMCs are additionally soft and flexible, and are suitable for wet environments, further improving their …

Lumens, Manuel Moreno Lee

Theses

This paper is about the process and creation of my final MFA thesis assignment, a 5 minute and 30 second short animated film titled “Lumens”. This film was primarily animated in 3D and created over the course of two semesters. Lumens is about the journey of an unnamed heroine hunting a creature that swallowed the sun, bringing perpetual darkness into the world. As the heroine travels the dark landscape, she lights up old forgotten lampposts, bringing light back into the world. In the end, the heroine is unable to complete her task and dies in the end, failing to reach …

Creating Sustainable Industrial Building In China By Lowering Energy Use And Improving The Working Environment, Wenjie Hu

Theses

Over 70% of energy in China is consumed by industrial buildings and related support activities. In order to reduce production costs, owners of factories tend to pay little attention to protecting the environment or workers’ health, causing many serious consequences. Poorly designed buildings require more energy to operate and are less energy efficient to maintain. A lack of natural lighting results in more energy consumption for interior illumination, and improper fenestration design requires more energy to keep buildings cool. An uncomfortable working environment will affect the working efficiency and physical health of the labor force. In this thesis, two simple, …

The Semi-Volatile Fraction Of Atmospheric Aerosols, Daniel J. Ruff

Theses

Atmospheric aerosols are significant contributor to climate effects as well as health problems. Many of these aerosols are mostly organic where their effects are dependent on their chemical composition. Atmospheric aerosols consist of a complex mixture of organic and inorganic components. The properties of the organic components within the aerosols can vary widely including the degree of oxidation and their vapor pressure. Recent studies have shown that a large fraction of newly formed atmospheric aerosols are semi-volatile and may vaporize back into the environment. This semi-volatile fraction of organic aerosols is largely unknown due to its difficulty to model. We …

Multi‐Modal Analysis Of Deciduous Tree Stands Toward Ash Tree Inventory: Biomass Estimation And Genus‐Level Discrimination In A Mixed Deciduous Forest, Timothy D. Rupright

Theses

The invasive species Agrilus planipennis (Emerald Ash Borer or EAB) is currently impacting ash trees in a large part of the continental United States. One way of measuring the effect of this infestation on the US markets is to determine the spread of the species and the biomass destruction/loss due to this invasive pest. In order to assess such impacts, it is necessary to determine how and where ash trees are located toward accurately measuring the relevant ash species biomass and tree count.

This study utilizes data captured over the campus of Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY. Hyperspectral …

System Engineering Analyses For The Study Of Future Multispectral Land Imaging Satellite Sensors For Vegetation Monitoring, Zhaoyu Cui

Theses

Vegetation monitoring is one of the key applications of earth observing systems. Landsat data have spatial resolution of 30 meters, moderate temporal coverage, and reasonable spectral sampling to capture key vegetation features. These characteristics of Landsat make it a good candidate for generating vegetation monitoring products. Recently, the next satellite in the Landsat series has been under consideration and different concepts have been proposed. In this research, we studied the impact on vegetation monitoring of two proposed potential design concepts: a wider field-of-view (FOV) instrument and the addition of red-edge spectral band(s). Three aspects were studied in this thesis:

First, …

On Interpixel Capacitive Coupling In Hybridized Hgcdte Arrays: Theory, Characterization And Correction, Kevan Donlon

Theses

Hybridization is a process by which detector arrays and read out circuitry can be independently fabricated and then bonded together, typically using indium bumps. This technique allows for the use of exotic detector materials such as HgCdTe for the desired spectral response while benefiting from established and proven silicon CMOS readout structures. However, the introduction of an intermediate layer composed of conductors (indium) and insulators (epoxy) results in a capacitive interconnect between adjacent pixels.

This interpixel capacitance (IPC) results in charge collected on one pixel, giving rise to a change in voltage on the output node of adjacent pixels. In …

The Development Of An Advanced Low Profile Retractor For Neurosurgery, Mike Allen

Theses

This thesis presents the design and development of a skull mounted retractor system for neurosurgical applications. It was hypothesized that a low profile retractor platform could be developed with a multi-point skull mount and a surrounding attached perimeter to better meet the needs of surgeons when invasive retraction is required. Attachment points adjoined around the edge of the craniotomy did not require additional drilling and were intended to provide a more stable, low profile, non-cluttered platform from which spatulas or flexible arms could easily leverage lobe retraction. This improved system is expected to improve operating times and reduce incidence rates …

Using Microalgae To Remediate Food And Bio-Digester Effluents From Western New York Agro Industries And Prospecting Harvested Algae Biomass For Biofuel Feedstocks, Daniel Anini Baah

Theses

Agro-industries of Western NY contributes to the US economy in diverse ways. Among these are dairy, poultry, cheese, tofu and Greek Yogurt plants whose processes discharge effluents high in pollutants such as NH3, PO4, NO3, and Fe which adversely affect aquatic systems and the watershed if discharged untreated. Waste hauling causes an economic burden to industries as WWTPs remain restrictive to these effluents, but Algae Remediation Technology provides a sustainable alternative to treating agricultural wastewaters onsite. This study sampled, assessed and treated effluents from selected production plants within NY State with various algae. The research applied free suspended Algae technology …

Planning The Reintroduction Of The Clouded Leopard (Neofelis Nebulosa) To Taiwan: An Assessment Of Attitudes And Potential Support, Evan Greenspan

Theses

Large felid populations are in decline globally and wildlife managers have increasingly used reintroductions as a conservation tool, yet few studies have assessed public attitudes towards potential large felid reintroduction candidates prior to release. The clouded leopard was recently declared extinct in Taiwan; however, a reintroduction effort is ecologically feasible and success largely depends on resident attitudes towards clouded leopards and support for its reintroduction. In 2017, 263 semi-structured interviews with indigenous locals were conducted in southern Taiwan and an internet questionnaire was distributed to 500 urban residents for comparison. Rural and urban attitudes were 67% and 76% positive toward …

Effect Of Humidity And Testing Strategy On Friction Performance Of Model Brake Pads Containing Nano-Additives, Saikrishna Kancharla

Theses

Interaction of brakes with external environment can considerably influence their performance which could relate to friction instabilities. Humidity can alter the chemistry of friction surfaces that could relate to unwanted phenomena which increase the cost of product. In addition to the chemical phenomena leading to unwanted reactions, there are physical effects related to adsorption of humidity and to modification of adhesion, accompanied with changes in contact surfaces and contact mechanics. The goal of this paper is to address these chemical and physical phenomena occurring at friction interfaces of model friction materials and to relate them to their performance. Friction tests …

Design Of Cmos Compressive Sensing Image Sensors, Pujan Kumar Chowdhury Mishu

Theses

This work investigates the optimal measurement matrices that can be used in compressive sensing (CS) image sensors. It also optimizes CMOS current-model pixel cell circuits for CS image sensors. Based on the outcomes from these optimization studies, three CS image senor circuits with compression ratios of 4, 6, and 8 are designed with using a 130 nm CMOS technology. The pixel arrays used in the image sensors has a size of 256X256. Circuit simulations with benchmark image Lenna show that the three images sensors can achieve peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) values of 37.64, 33.29, and 32.44 dB respectively.

Investigation Of Erg1a Potassium Channel Modulation Of Calpain Activity In C2c12 Myotubes, Clayton Alan Whitmore

Theses

Skeletal muscle atrophy is a result of an imbalance in protein synthesis and protein degradation. It is a part of the normal aging process, but also may occur in response to several stimuli including disease, injury, and disuse. Currently there is no truly effective pharmacological treatment for atrophy. The best treatment is a healthy diet and exercise, however, sick and aging individuals are not always capable of participating in the appropriate activity. Therefore, exploration of the mechanisms contributing to atrophy is essential because this may lead to discovery of an effective therapeutic target. The ether-a-go-go related gene (Erg1a) K+ channel …

Cultural Naturalism And The Market God, David Timothy Denenny

Theses

This work employs John Dewey's cultural naturalism to explore how and why the orthodox economic tradition functions as a religious faith.Scholars such as the theologian Harvey Cox and others now view orthodox economic practice as a religion. Other scholars such as Max Weber, Alasdair MacIntyre, and numerous others view modern economic practice as exemplifying a particular ethic. The focus in this work is placed upon the destructive consequences of practicing the Market faith. This work argues that much of contemporary economic practice maintains a view of science that is incompatible with the kind of naturalism found in Classical American Pragmatism. …

Critical Incidents In Multicultural Supervision And Their Impacts On Supervisees And The Supervision Relationship, Monica Becerra

Theses

Multicultural competency is essential in the field of psychology and a major component of training involves multicultural supervision. Neglecting cultural issues may led to negative consequences in the development of the supervisor and supervisee relationship and in turn affect the work done with clients. Using a stratified random sample of 50 graduate students in APA accredited programs and internship sites, the researchers explored the specific supervisor behaviors and interventions that represent effective and poor multicultural supervision. This qualitative replication study incorporates Chu and Chwalisz’s (1999) critical incident questionnaire (CIQ) and a demographic questionnaire. The qualitative data was analyzed using Grounded …

A Survey And Use-Wear Analysis Of Wickliffe Thick Pottery In The Southeastern United States, Anthony P. Farace

Theses

The Wickliffe Thick pottery type, an unusual vessel with a globular body, thick wall, and funnel-like opening at the bottom, has been assumed to be related to salt production and/or juice pressing. The following project presents the results of a use-wear analysis in order to understand Wickliffe Thick’s possible uses demonstrating that past conclusions likely need revision. A systematic, macroscopic analysis of ceramic sherds from more than 20 Mississippian sites throughout Kentucky, Missouri, and Illinois are included in the study. Use-wear on the samples occur in a low frequency. Although other factors such as a white efflorescence, and Wickliffe Thick’s …

Sources Of Currency Depreciation In Ghana, Hilarious Edem Anku

Theses

This paper investigates the factors driving the real exchange rate in the Ghanaian economy. The paper aimed at finding the principal factor(s) that influence the real exchange rate and explains the channels by which these factors exert their influence using standard empirical methods of vector autoregressive (VAR) models. The paper established that inflation rate differentials and interest rate differentials influence the exchange rate through the expectations medium. Domestic and foreign money supplies which are exogenous macroeconomic variables were also found to be important in the Ghanaian money market as far as the exchange rate matters. The paper also highlighted how …

Flightfit: An Application Enabling Air Travelers To Do Stretches Onboard, Ninglin Jiang

Theses

Currently, with the development of economy and the improvement of people's living standards, more people would prefer traveling by air. However, sitting for extended periods of time on a long flight would be an uncomfortable joyless experience and it may have negative implications for health. A study from the World Health Organisation confirmed that the risk of developing venous thromboembolism (VTE) approximately doubles after travel lasting four hours or more. So carrying out some stretches frequently as well as standing up and moving around as often as possible under permitted conditions would help to improve blood circulation and relieve muscle …

Covariance Estimation From Limited Data: State-Of-The-Art, Algorithm Implementation, And Application To Wireless Communications, Ian Tomeo

Theses

There are many different methods of filtering that have been known to provide better results than basic Sample-Matrix-Inversion (SMI). Providing a well-conditioned covariance matrix to these filters will provide a higher Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) than SMI filtering when there are large numbers of receiver element and interference signals. The available number of coherent snapshots that will be used for filter estimation is “not large enough” with respect to the array dimensionality. Common techniques to deal with this situation is to use Krylov or Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) reduced rank filtering. Auxiliary Vector (AV) filtering with the …

Visualizing Resiliency Of Deep Convolutional Network Interpretations For Aerial Imagery, Bhavan Kumar Vasu

Theses

This thesis aims at visualizing deep convolutional neural network interpretations for aerial imagery and understanding how these interpretations change when network weights are damaged. We focus our investigation on networks for aerial imagery, as these may be prone to damages due to harsh operating conditions and are usually inaccessible for regular maintenance once deployed. We simulate damages by zeroing network weights at different levels of the network and analyze their effects on activation maps. Then we re-train the network to observe if it can recover the lost interpretations.

Visualizing changes in the neural network's interpretation, when the undamaged weights are …

Strategic Behavior And Manipulation In Gender-Neutral Matching Algorithms, Sanjay Varma Rudraraju

Theses

Within artificial intelligence, the sub-field of multi-agent systems studies the foundations of agent interactions and strategic behavior. Two-sided matching is one of the most fundamental problems in this field with applications in matching residents to hospitals, kidney donors to receivers and students to high schools. The earliest algorithm that solved this problem is the Gale-Shapley algorithm which guarantees a stable matching based on the preferences of both sides but has a drawback of favoring one side over the other, that is, proposers

always get their most optimal stable partner.

We consider the design and analysis of gender-neutral stable matching algorithms …

Infinite Edges, Yagmur Akarsu

Theses

This thesis work focusses on an experimental approach to ceramic sculptures that uses everyday disposable materials as a basis and are incorporated with clay to sculpt abstract forms. Materials used for the sculptures were napkins, textured paper, bread, different kinds of sponges and recyclable paper plates.

The supplies that people use and take for granted, without realizing how important they are, refer symbolically to a variety of cultural traditions. Traditions create a structure that makes life easier. However, people are so used to them they forget how integrated they are in our lives and ways of thinking and reacting. These …

Tone Reproduction In Virtual Reality, Antara Mishra

Theses

High dynamic range imaging has become very popular over the years in the field of computer graphics and games. The process of tone reproduction compresses the dynamic range of brightness in a scene to the lower range of display devices, thus making it an essential process in the graphics rendering pipeline. Various tone mapping operators have been tested for static viewing conditions. However, perceptual and temporal adaptation may vary for immersive viewing in a Virtual Reality environment. This thesis implements Ward et al. model (1994), Ward et al. model, Histogram Adjustment (1997) and Irawan, Ferwerda and Marschner model (2005) for …

The Design And Verification Of A Synchronous First-In First-Out (Fifo) Module Using System Verilog Based Universal Verification Methodology (Uvm), Vinoth Nagarajan

Theses

With the conventional directed testbench, it is highly improbably to handle verification of current complex Integrated Circuit (IC) designs, because a person has to manually create every test case. The greater the complexity of the designs, the higher the probability of bugs appearing in the code. Increasing complexity of ICs has created a necessity for performing verification on designs with an advanced, automated verification environment. Ideally this would eliminate chip re-spins, minimizing the time required to enable checking of all the design specifications, ensuring 100% functional coverage. This paper deals with the design of Synchronous FIFO using Verilog. A FIFO …

Implementation Of Soft Lithography For The Fabrication Of Stacked Dielectric Elastomer Actuators For Soft Robotics, Mert Corbaci

Theses

Advancements in software engineering have enabled the robotics industry to transition from the use of giant industrial robots to more friendly humanoid robots. Soft robotics is one of the key elements needed to advance the transition process by providing a safer way for robots to interact with the environment. Electroactive polymers (EAPs) are one of the best candidate materials for the next generation of soft robotic actuators and artificial muscles. Lightweight dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) provide optimal properties such as high elasticity, rapid response rates, mechanical robustness and compliance. However, for DEAs to become widely used as artificial muscles or …

دعوى الإلغاء على ضوء التعديلات الجديدة لقانون الإجراءات المدنية وقضاء المحكمة الاتحادية العليا "دراسة مقارنة", عبدالعزيز حسن محمد المرزوقي

Theses

Administration Authority has exclusive power and authority according to the applicable law, administration authority is entitled to take decisions aimed at public interest. However, such decisions will be valid only if they are based on valid and reasonable grounds and do not breach the laws and requirements of validity thereof. Any of the persons having such power and authority maybe by taking such decisions biased and prejudiced in favors of their own personal interest at the expense of the work interest, which constitute a breach of the laws. As result, the UAE laws have provided for methods of quashing the …

Embedded Cyclegan For Shape-Agnostic Image-To-Image Translation, Ram Longman

Theses

Image-to-Image translation is the task of translating images between domains while maintaining the identity of the images. The task can be used for entertainment purposes and applications, data augmentation, semantic image segmentation, and more. Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), and in particular Conditional GANs have recently shown incredible success in image-to-image translation and semantic manipulation. However, such methods require paired data, meaning that an image must have ground-truth translations across domains. Cycle-consistent GANs solve this problem by using unpaired data. Such methods work well for translations that involve color and texture changes but fail when shape changes are required. This research …