Digital Commons Network^™

Cooperative Control Simulation Validation Using Applied Probability Theory, Christopher S. Schulz

Theses and Dissertations

Several research simulations have been created to support development and refinement of teamed autonomous agents using decentralized cooperative control algorithms. Simulation is the necessary tool to evaluate the performance of decentralized cooperative control algorithms, however these simulations lack a method to validate their output. This research presents a method to validate the performance of a decentralized cooperative control simulation environment for an autonomous Wide Area Search Munition (WASM). Rigorous analytical methods for six wide area search and engagement scenarios involving Uniform, Normal, and Poisson distributions of N real targets and M false target objects are formulated to generate expected numbers …

The Radiopacity Of 29 Resin Restorative Materials Compared To Enamel, Peter Lubisich Iv

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The radiodensity of a composite resin can greatly influence a clinician's ability to analyze a restoration for failure. The purpose of this study was to determine the relative radiopacities of 29 resin restorative materials compared to enamel, and to verify the comparable radiopacity between shades of 23 of the restorative composite resin materials. Composite resin discs measuring >5mm in diameter and 2 mm in thickness were made and polymerized. Radiographs were taken of the composite resin discs, which included an aluminum step wedge for calibration and a densitometer was used to measure the radiodensity of the composite resin samples. The …

Quantification Of Bone Deposition In Onlay Bone Grafting, Gregory Alan Kammeyer

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this study was to quantitatively evaluate; 1) mandibular posterior mono-cortical block onlay bone graft success rates 2) the amount of grafted bone retained after initial resorption in radiographic projections. Seven consecutive patients with 14 mandibular posterior implant sites requiring bone augmentation for implants of a standard 3.8mm x 10mm dimension were sought. Mono-cortical block bone grafts from the ipsilateral ascending ramus were placed then observed with two standardized CT scans, dividing them into two groups: Group A had the first CT at 4 weeks after graft placement and a second taken before Prosthodontic reconstruction, 36.7 weeks later. …

Adaptive Reflex Control For An Artificial Hand, Michele Flogheraiter, Giuseppina Gini, Marek Perkowski, Mikhail Pivtoraiko

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper we illustrate the properties and the morphology of a human like neural reflex controller, used to set the stiffness and joint positions of an anthropomorphic artificial hand. In particular we explain, by simulations results, its ability to emulate the myotatic human reflex, and its capacity to learn in real time the best control strategy. We also present the dynamic model of the joints and of the artificial muscles used in Blackfingers, our artificial hand.

Ranked Set Sampling Based On Binary Water Quality Data With Covariates, Paul Kvam

Department of Math & Statistics Faculty Publications

A ranked set sample (RSS) is composed of independent order statistics, formed by collecting and ordering independent subsamples, then measuring only one item from each subsample. If the cost of sampling is dominated by data measurement rather than collection or ranking, the RSS technique is known to be superior to ordinary sampling. Experiments based on binary data are not designed to exploit the advantages of ranked set sampling because categorical data typically are as easily measured as ranked, making RSS methods impractical. However, in some environmental and biological studies, the success probability of a bivariate outcome is related to one …

The Psychological Characteristics Of Obese Children, Thomas Taylor Mitchell

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Several studies along with the surgeon general of the United States have identified obesity as a national health issue. Research indicates that adult obesity treatment has relatively poor long-term effects. Consequently increased attention has been given to addressing obesity in children. This focus is particularly vital due to the fact that children are one of the populations showing the most rapid increase in overweight and obesity. The purpose of this study was to identify the some of the unique psychological characteristics of obese children by analyzing the intake data of children and adolescents attending the Loma Linda University Growing Fit …

A Browser For Incremental Programming, Andrew P. Black

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Much of the elegance and power of Smalltalk comes from its programming environment and tools. First introduced more than 20 years ago, the Smalltalk browser enables programmers to “home in” on particular methods using a hierarchy of manually-defined classifications. By its nature, this classification scheme says a lot about the desired state of the code, but little about the actual state of the code as it is being developed. We have extended the Smalltalk browser with dynamically computed virtual categories that dramatically improve the browser’s support for incremental programming. We illustrate these improvements by example, and describe the algorithms used …

Substrate Specificity, Metal Binding Properties, And Spectroscopic Characterization Of The Dape-Encoded N-Succinyl-L,L-Diaminopimelic Acid Desuccinylase From Haemophilus Influenzae, David L. Bienvenue, Danuta M. Gilner, Ryan S. Davis, Brian Bennett, Richard C. Holz

Physics Faculty Research and Publications

The catalytic and structural properties of divalent metal ion cofactor binding sites in the dapE-encoded N-succinyl-l,l-diaminopimelic acid desuccinylase (DapE) from Haemophilus influenzae were investigated. Co(II)-substituted DapE enzyme was 25% more active than the Zn(II)-loaded form of the enzyme. Interestingly, Mn(II) can activate DapE, but only to ∼20% of the Zn(II)-loaded enzyme. The order of the observed k_cat values are Co(II) > Zn(II) > Cd(II) > Mn(II) >Ni(II) ∼ Cu(II) ∼ Mg(II). DapE was shown to only hydrolyze l,l-N-succinyl-diaminopimelic acid (l,l-SDAP) and was inactive toward d,l-, l,d-, and d,d-SDAP. DapE was also inactive toward several acetylated amino acids as …

A New Regional Household Demand System For Gtap, Robert Mcdougall

GTAP Technical Papers Archive

The GTAP model, versions 4.1 and lower, suffers from some defects in the implementation of the regional household demand system. Most seriously, the upper level of the demand system assumes that each regional household faces a fixed price for utility from private consumption. But with a private consumption demand system of the CDE form, the price of utility from private consumption depends on the level of private consumption expenditure. With no fixed price for utility from private consumption, the familiar Cobb-Douglas demand system does not apply. Accordingly, the upper-level demand equations are in error.

Furthermore, utility and equivalent variation are …

Faster Algorithms For K-Median Problem On Trees With Smaller Heights, Rahul Shah

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Quasaq: A Database-Centric Approach To Enabling End-To-End Qos Control For Multimedia Repositories, Yi-Cheng Tu, Sunil Prabhakar, Ahmed K. Elmagarmid

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

The Montclarion, September 04, 2003, The Montclarion

The Montclarion

Student Newspaper of Montclair State University

Book Review: Observer's Guide To Stellar Evolution: The Birth, Life, And Death Of Stars, T. D. Oswalt

Publications

This document is Dr. Oswalt’s review of Observer's Guide to Stellar Evolution : the Birth, Life, and Death of Stars by Mike Inglis. Springer, 2003 236p, 1-85233-465-7 $44.95

Coinage Of A Dordt Degree, Calvin Jongsma

Pro Rege

This article is the 2001 Dordt College commencement address by Dr. Calvin Jongsma.

2003 Grizzly Football Yearbook, University Of Montana--Missoula. Athletics Department

Grizzly Football Yearbook, 1939-2018

Annual yearbook of the University of Montana’s Athletics Department. This volume covers the period from fall 2003 through spring 2004.

Blackbird And Starling Strikes To Civil Aircraft In The United States, 1990-2001, Scott C. Barras, Sandra E. Wright, Thomas E. Seamans

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Bird-aircraft collisions (bird strikes) pose hazards to aircraft and cost civil aviation hundreds of millions of dollars in repairs and logistical expenses annually in the United States. Blackbirds and starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in particular have caused some of the most devastating aircraft accidents related to bird strikes in the United States and Europe. To determine the impacts of blackbirds and starlings to aviation in the United State, we searched the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) National Wildlife Strike Database for all reported strikes involving these species. During 1990-2001, 1,704 strikes involving blackbirds and starlings were reported to the FAA …

0415-0935_Opt_Lris, Adam J. Burgasser

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Modular Verification Of Timed Circuits Using Automatic Abstraction, Eric G. Mercer, Chris Myers, Hao Zheng

Faculty Publications

The major barrier that prevents the application of formal verification to large designs is state explosion. This paper presents a new approach for verification of timed circuits using automatic abstraction. This approach partitions the design into modules, each with constrained complexity. Before verification is applied to each individual module, irrelevant information to the behavior of the selected module is abstracted away. This approach converts a verification problem with big exponential complexity to a set of subproblems, each with small exponential complexity. Experimental results are promising in that they indicate that our approach has the potential of completing much faster while …

Target Sets: A Tool For Understanding And Predicting The Behavior Of Interacting Q-Learners, Nancy Fulda, Dan A. Ventura

Faculty Publications

Reinforcement learning agents that interact in a common environment frequently affect each others’ perceived transition and reward distributions. This can result in convergence of the agents to a sub-optimal equilibrium or even to a solution that is not an equilibrium at all. Several modifications to the Q-learning algorithm have been proposed which enable agents to converge to optimal equilibria under specified conditions. This paper presents the concept of target sets as an aid to understanding why these modifications have been successful and as a tool to assist in the development of new modifications which are applicable in a wider range …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 35, No.3 September 2003

The Prairie Naturalist

BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS IN GRASSLANDS: THEIR HABITATS, HOSTS, AND RESPONSE TO MANAGEMENT ▪ J. A. Shaffer, C. M. Goldade, M. F. Dinkins, D. H. Johnson, L. D. Igl, and B. R. Euliss

LlGUMIA SUBROSTRATA (BIVALVIA: UNIONIDAE) IN MINNESOTA AND ITS STATUS IN THE UPPER MIDWEST ▪ B. E. Sietman, D. E. Kelner, R. A. Hart, and M. Davis

GUIDELINES FOR FINDING NESTS OF PASSERINE BIRDS IN TALLGRASS PRAIRIE ▪ M. Winter, S. E. Hawks, J. A. Shaffer, and D. H. Johnson

RESPONSE OF THE LEAST SHREW TO PREY OLFACTORY CUES ▪ F. Punzo and C. Gonzalez

Book Reviews

North Dakota's Butterflies …

The Galactic Center Nonthermal Filaments: Recent Observations And Theory, Ted La Rosa, Michael E. Nord, T. Joseph W. Lazio, Steven N. Shore, Namir E. Kassim

Faculty Articles

The large-scale topology and strength of the Galactic Center magnetic field have been inferred from radio imaging of the nonthermal filaments (NTFs). These objects, which seem to be unique to the Galactic center, are defined by extreme aspect ratios and a high degree of polarization. Recent high resolution, wide-field VLA imaging of the GC at 90 cm has revealed new candidate NTFs with a wide range of orientations relative to the Galactic plane. We present follow up 6 cm polarization observations of 6 of these candidates and confirm 4 as new NTFs. Together the new 90 and 6 cm results …

Enhancing The Cs Curriculum With With Aspect-Oriented Software Development (Aosd) And Early Experience, Konstantin Läufer, George K. Thiruvathukal, Tzilla Elrad

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Aspect-oriented software development (AOSD) is evolving as an important step beyond existing software development approaches such as object-oriented development. An aspect is a module that captures a crosscutting concern, behavior that cuts across different units of abstraction in a software application; expressed as a module, such behavior can be enabled and disabled transparently and non-invasively, without changing the application code itself. Increasing industry demand for expertise in AOSD gives rise to the pedagogical challenge of covering this methodology and its foundations in the computer science curriculum. We present our curricular initiative to incorporate a novel course in AOSD in the …

0937+2931_Opt_Lris, Adam J. Burgasser

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Design Of Antiresonant-Reflecting Optical Waveguide-Type Vertical-Coupled Surface-Emitting Lasers Using Transfer Matrix Method, Chyng Wen Tee, C. C. Tan, S. F. Yu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

A simple transfer matrix method is proposed to calculate the radiation losses of a cylindrical antiresonant-reflecting optical waveguide (ARROW). It is found that the planar approximation underestimates the radiation losses but overestimates the design tolerance of the ARROW-type vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs). An iteration technique, which is incorporated with the transfer matrix method, is also developed to design ARROW-type VCSELs for minimum radiation losses in a more effective manner.

Women's Voice, September/October 2003, Women's, Gender, And Sexuality Studies Program

Women's Voice (1991-2006)

No abstract provided.

Applying World Trade Organization Rules To The Labeling Of Genetically Modified Foods, Michele M. Compton

Pace International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Modeling And Control Of Vinyl Chloride In Drinking Water Distribution Systems, Michael Beardsley, Craig D. Adams

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In water distribution systems containing PVC pipe manufactured in the "early era" (prior to 1977), vinyl chloride can leach into drinking water resulting in vinyl chloride concentrations exceeding the 2 μg·L-1 maximum contaminant level. Field testing of dead-end segments of water distribution systems consisting of early-era PVC pipe was conducted to examine their initial intrapipe vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) concentrations based on a Fickian-diffusion-Based leaching model. the experiments showed a wide range of VCM concentrations within early-era PVC pipe ranging from less than 50 to more than 600 mg·kg-1. based on the diffusion modeling approach, a protocol was designed that …

Comparison Of Process Identification Techniqies In The Time- And Frequency-Domains, Tony Kealy, Aidan O'Dwyer

Conference papers

This paper describes ten methods to identify a mathematical model for a real process with a time delay. The process is the Process Trainer, PT326 from Feedback Instruments Limited. Six of the methods use step response data and one of the methods uses impulse response data for identification. Two of the methods use frequency response data and the final method uses information from relay-based experiments. The best results are obtained using a combined analytical and gradient method [6] in the frequency-domain and, in the time-domain, using the two-point algorithm [1] and a method proposed by Suganda et al. [5].

The Estimation And Control Of A Laboratory Heating And Ventilation System, Robin P. Mooney

Masters in Advanced Engineering

This dissertation is concerned with the estimation and control of a laboratory heating and ventilation system (Instrutek VVS-400). The system is a 2x2 multi-input multi-output process (MIMO). It has been shown that simple techniques such as the ultimate cycle method do not provide adequate control of the process. The system was interfaced with a PC using Matlab/Simulink via a data acquisition package (Humusoft). Continuous time process identification techniques were applied to the flow and temperature processes. The alternative tangent and point method was used to model the processes, and their interaction, using a first order lag plus delay model. Models …

On-Road Remote Sensing Of Automobile Emissions In The Chicago Area: Year 5, September 2002, Gary A. Bishop, Mitchell J. Williams, Daniel A. Burgard, Donald H. Stedman

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Publications

No abstract provided.