Digital Commons Network^™

Assessment Of The Acoustic Properties Of Common Tissue-Mimicking Test Phantoms, Jacinta Browne, K. Ramnarine, A. Watson, P. Hoskins

Articles

Ultrasound (US) test phantoms incorporating tissue-mimicking materials (TMMs) play an important role in the quality control (QC) and performance testing of US equipment. Three commercially available TMMs (ZerdineTM from CIRS Inc.; condensed-milk-based gel from Gammex RMI; urethane-rubber-based from ATS Labs) and a noncommercial agar-based TMM, were investigated. Acoustic properties were measured over the frequency range 2.25 to 15 MHz at a range of ambient temperatures (10 to 35°C). The acoustic velocity of the TMMs remained relatively constant with increasing frequency. Only the agar-based TMM had a linear increase of attenuation with frequency, with the other materials exhibiting nonlinear responses to …

Short-Term Effects Of Ambient Particles On Mortality In The Elderly: Results From 28 Cities In The Aphea2 Project, E. Aga, E. Samoli, G. Touloumi, K. Katsouyanni, H.R. Anderson, E. Cadum, B. Forsberg, Patrick J. Goodman, A. Goren, F. Kotesovec, B. Kriz, M. Macarol-Hiti, S. Medina, A. Paldy, C. Schindler, J. Sunyer, P. Tittanen, B. Wojtyniak, D. Zmirou, J. Schwartz

Articles

ABSTRACT: Within the framework of the APHEA2 (Air Pollution on Health: a European Approach) project, the effects of ambient particles on mortality among persons o65 yrs were investigated. Daily measurements for particles with a 50% cut-off aerodynamic diameter of 10 mm (PM10) and black smoke (BS), as well as the daily number of deaths among persons o65 yrs of age, from 29 European cities, have been collected. Data on other pollutants and meteorological variables, to adjust for confounding effects and data on city characteristics, to investigate potential effect modification, were also recorded. For individual city analysis, generalised additive models extending …

Common Data Set, 2002-2003, Planning, Research, And Policy Analysis

Common Data Set (2001-present)

Common Data Set 2002-2003 for Illinois State University

The Photochemistry Of Nitrous Acid In An Aqueous Matrix, Jay S. Ratliff '03

Honors Projects

The thermal and photochemical decomposition of aqueous solutions of nitrous acid and nitrite ion were studied, with a focus on the production and subsequent reaction of hydroxyl radicals. The production of these radicals in aqueous solution may be determined indirectly by disappearance of nitrous acid, or more directly by their interaction with a radical scavenger. Benzene was used to scavenge hydroxyl radical and the products of reactions with hydroxyl radical as well as nitrous acid were characterized. The roles of temperature and dissolved gases were also examined.

Development Of A Simple Method To Detect And Quantify Benzoylecgonine, A Cocaine Metabolite, In Urine, Kylee E. Billings '03

Honors Projects

Benzoylecgonine (BE) is the most abundant metabolite of cocaine found in the human body. Analysis of BE in urine by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry is the most common method currently used to detect cocaine abuse. This current method is costly and time consuming, so the investigation of an easier and more cost-effective approach is the goal of this research. Because BE is a zwitterion, it is highly soluble in water and very difficult to extract from urine. Once the pKa values of BE are determined, either the cation or anion form of BE can be formed from the zwitterion by adjusting …

Bismuth Compounds In Organic Synthesis. Deprotection Of Ketoximes Using Bismuth Bromide-Bismuth Triflate, Ram Mohan, Joshua Arnold, Patrick Hayes, Robert Kohaus

Scholarship

Ketoximes undergo deprotection in CH₃CN/acetone/H₂O (3:6:1) in the presence of 20–40 mol% BiBr₃/5 mol% Bi(OTf)₃. Bismuth(III) salts are relatively non-toxic, insensitive to air and inexpensive. These features coupled with the use of a relatively non-toxic solvent system make this method an attractive alternative to existing routes for deprotection of ketoximes.

Optimal Excess Noise Reduction In Thin Heterojunction Al0.6Ga0.4As-Gaas Avalanche Photodiodes, Oh-Hyun Kwon, Majeed M. Hayat, Shuling Wang, Joe C. Campbell, Archie L. Holmes, Yi Pan, Bahaa E.A. Saleh, Malvin Carl Teich

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

It has been recently found that the initial-energy effect, which is associated with the finite initial energy of carriers entering the multiplication region of an avalanche photodiode (APD), can be tailored to reduce the excess noise well beyond the previously known limits for thin APDs. However, the control of the initial energy of injected carriers can be difficult in practice for an APD with a single multiplication layer. In this paper, the dead-space multiplication recurrence theory is used to show that the low noise characteristics associated with the initial-energy effect can be achieved by utilizing a two-layer multiplication region. As …

Resource Consultation : A Study Of The Relationship Between An Elementary Mathematics Teacher And The Talented And Gifted Coordinator, Janine Kane

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to document the relationship between a fourth grade teacher and the talented and gifted (TAG) coordinator as they provided services to advanced learners in mathematics. The participants' conversations during consultation sessions were transcribed and analyzed. Categories included curriculum and methods, grouping, relationship, barriers, and mentoring. Interviews, questionnaires, and observations of classroom instruction provided supporting data. Little mentoring occurred during the participants' interactions and a pull-out model of service provision was followed. Possible reasons for the continued use of the pull-out model were barriers (e.g., time, space, and class assignment practices), the participants' beliefs, the …

Childhood Depression And Resiliency : An Evaluation Of The Devereux Early Childhood Assessment Program, Sarah Carroll Jones

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Some researchers have investigated the use of resiliency-building programs to prevent childhood depression in at risk populations (Comer, 1985; Gladstone & Beardslee, 2000; Seligman, 1995). The following study investigates the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment Program (DECA). The DECA Program is designed to build resiliency in preschool children by increasing factors that have been found to be related to resiliency: initiative, self-control, and attachment. The study evaluated the short-term effectiveness of the DECA Program. Two Head Start Centers participated in the study. Pretest DECA rating scales were completed by the classroom teachers. For the next three months the experimental classrooms used …

Category Of Nonlinear Evolution Equations, Algebraic Structure, And R-Matrix, Zhijun Qiao, Cewen Cao, Walter Strampp

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

In this paper we deal with the category of nonlinear evolution equations ~NLEEs! associated with the spectral problem and provide an approach for constructing their algebraic structure and r-matrix. First we introduce the category of NLEEs, which is composed of various positive order and negative order hierarchies of NLEEs both integrable and nonintegrable. The whole category of NLEEs possesses a generalized Lax representation. Next, we present two different Lie algebraic structures of the Lax operator: one of them is universal in the category, i.e., independent of the hierarchy, while the other one is nonuniversal in the hierarchy, i.e., dependent on …

Recent Applications Of Fractional Calculus To Science And Engineering, Lokenath Debnath

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper deals with recent applications of fractional calculus to dynamical systems in control theory, electrical circuits with fractance, generalized voltage divider, viscoelasticity, fractional-order multipoles in electromagnetism, electrochemistry, tracer in fluid flows, and model of neurons in biology. Special attention is given to numerical computation of fractional derivatives and integrals.

What Online Activity Does The Wiretap Act Protect? The Ninth Circuit Holds That Unauthorized Access Of A Secure Website Does Not Violate The Federal Wiretap Act Konop V. Hawaiian Airlines, Inc., Thomas P. Ludwig

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

Throughout the last half-century, there has been constant tension in the communication arena between individual privacy interests and the interests of law enforcement in proactively combating crime and terrorism. The difficulty in maintaining a balance between these interests has been compounded by the explosive development in electronic communication technology over the last several decades. In an attempt to bring the state of privacy protection law up to date with modem technology, Congress enacted the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 ("ECPA"). While the ECPA was enacted "to update and clarify Federal privacy protections and standards," both the usage and the …

Personal Jurisdiction: Lost In Cyberspace?, Susan Nauss Exon

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

No abstract provided.

The Erosion Of Online Privacy Rights In The Recent Tide Of Terrorism, Thomas P. Ludwig

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

Imagine a world where any idea or message communicated to another individual is subject to governmental scrutiny for possible criminal, subversive, or terroristic content. The current location of any individual, as well as the places that he or she commonly frequents, can easily be tracked through that person's phone calls, online activity, and financial records, which are all accessible to government agencies. By intercepting e-mails and tracking online browsing, shopping, and other activities, the most intimate details, habits, and preferences of the average individual are readily available to the prying eyes of cyber-criminals and law enforcement officials alike. Scenarios such …

Scene-Based Nonuniformity Correction For Focal Plane Arrays By The Method Of The Inverse Covariance Form, Sergio N. Torres, Jorge E. Pezoa, Majeed M. Hayat

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

What is to our knowledge a new scene-based algorithm for nonuniformity correction in infrared focal-plane array sensors has been developed. The technique is based on the inverse covariance form of the Kalman filter (KF), which has been reported previously and used in estimating the gain and bias of each detector in the array from scene data. The gain and the bias of each detector in the focal-plane array are assumed constant within a given sequence of frames, corresponding to a certain time and operational conditions, but they are allowed to randomly drift from one sequence to another following a discrete-time …

Kalman Filtering For Adaptive Nonuniformity Correction In Infrared Focal-Plane Arrays, Sergio N. Torres, Majeed M. Hayat

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

A novel statistical approach is undertaken for the adaptive estimation of the gain and bias nonuniformity in infrared focal-plane array sensors from scene data. The gain and the bias of each detector are regarded as random state variables modeled by a discrete-time Gauss–Markov process. The proposed Gauss–Markov framework provides a mechanism for capturing the slow and random drift in the fixed-pattern noise as the operational conditions of the sensor vary in time. With a temporal stochastic model for each detector’s gain and bias at hand, a Kalman filter is derived that uses scene data, comprising the detector’s readout values sampled …

A Saturday School Program For At-Risk Students, Melvin Hitchens

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The problem under investigation is the frequency and severity of behavior related infractions. Township administrators are concerned because growing populations of students were violating the district’s policy on character education. Administrators were also concerned because a majority of these students academically lagged behind their peers.

The Saturday School Program was established for students who demonstrated a lack of respect for others. Students have threatened administrators with physical violence. Such behavior was a violation of the school policy on character development, which states that students should exhibit an attitude of caring, courage, honesty, responsibility and self-discipline. Although the lack of character …

Increasing The Use Of Spatial And Musical Intelligences To Demonstrate Understanding Of Learning In Middle-School Students, Tempest Diane Booth

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was implemented to provide opportunities for nonexceptional middle-school students to demonstrate understanding of learning in the content area using the spatial and musical intelligences. The subject site emphasized more traditional learning strategies thus fewer opportunities existed for students to demonstrate content learning through the music and spatial intelligences.

An after school enrichment study was provided to give students opportunities to demonstrate understanding of learning using the spatial and musical intelligences. An effort was made to minimize traditional practices and place greater emphasis on creative teaching and learning experiences. The eight month study met twice weekly for one …

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Standard Operating Procedures, Donald H. Stedman, Gary A. Bishop

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Publications

No abstract provided.

Phase Transitions Occurring In Models Of Neighborhood Racial Segregation, Alexander J. Laurie '03

Honors Projects

This thesis is organized as two chapters whose contents are closely related yet quite distinct. The first chapter presents a paper "Role of 'Vision' in Neighborhood Racial Segregation: A Variant of the Schelling Segregation Model," authored by myself and Dr. Jaggi, which has been accepted for publication by the journal Urban Studies and is currently in press (as of April 2003). This chapter introduces the well-known Schelling model of neighborhood segregation, outlines the sociopolitical motivation for our work, and presents the key results that we believe are of interest to social scientists. Chapter two, which ought to be of greater …

Measuring Culture And Cultural Change, James Melton '03

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Mary Douglas’s grid/group analysis has been a very influential theory for many culture theorists in all fields of the social sciences. There are two good reasons for importance of this theory. It allows for an interaction between the individual and the culture, and it can explain cultural change. There has been some theorizing about the implications of these innovations; however, little empirical work has been done to test these implications. The reason for this, at least partly, is the lack of an indicator capable of easily measuring culture on a wide-scale basis. This paper attempts to solve this problem by …

Indirect Evaporative Cooling Potential In Air-Water Systems In Temperate Climates, Ben Costelloe, Donal Finn

Articles

Recent developments have prompted a review of evaporative cooling technology as an effective means of cooling modern deep plan buildings. Prominent among these developments is the success of high temperature sensible cooling systems, particularly, chilled ceilings, which require a supply of cooling water at 14–18 °C. Crucial to the success of evaporative cooling technology, as a significant means of cooling in modern applications, is the ability to generate cooling water, in an indirect circuit, at a temperature which closely approaches the ambient adiabatic saturation temperature (AST) or wet bulb temperature (WBT). Recent experimental research has demonstrated that it is technically …

Site-Specific Probabilistic Load Modelling For Bridge Reliability Analysis, Colin C. Caprani, A. Belay, A. J. O'Connor

Conference papers

Reliability assessment of a short span beam-slab reinforced concrete bridge in Vienna is proposed using site-specific traffic data recorded using the Slovenian Weigh in Motion (SiWIM) system. An initial evaluation of the bridge using a determinintic approach shows that the critical limit state is bending. This paper describes the statistical analysis of the SiWIM data and the traffic flow simulations performed to predict the characteristic extreme load effects to which the bridge may be subjected during its remaining lifetime. These values are compared to the magnitude obtained from a deterministic approach. The influence lines used in the simulations are the …

Automated Rating Of Esl Essays, Deryle W. Lonsdale, Diane Strong-Krause

Faculty Publications

To date, traditional NLP parsers have not been widely successful in TESOLoriented applications, particularly in scoring written compositions. Re-engineering such applications to provide the necessary robustness for handling ungrammatical English has proven a formidable obstacle. We discuss the use of a nontraditional parser for rating compositions that attenuates some of these difficulties. Its dependency-based shallow parsing approach provides significant robustness in the face of language learners’ ungrammatical compositions. This paper discusses how a corpus of L2 essays for English was rated using the parser, and how the automatic evaulations compared to those obtained by manual methods. The types of modifications …

Open Problems From The Linz2000 Closing Session, Lawrence Stout

Scholarship

No abstract provided.

On Stability Of Affine Blending Systems, Ruiyao Gao, Aidan O'Dwyer, Seamus Mcloone, Eugene Dermot Coyle Professor

Conference papers

This paper presents a novel approach to stability analysis of affine blending systems. The analysis is based on Quadratic Lyapunov functions. The approach considers the nonlinear offset term in affine blending systems as non-vanishing perturbations added to the corresponding nominal linear blending systems. The affine blending systems will be bounded if the corresponding linear blending system is exponentially stable. The bound is determined by an ultimate limit, which is proportional to the maximum of the offset terms of each affine system.

An Outline And Further Development Of Smith Predictor Based Methods For The Compensation Of Processes With Time Delay, Pauline Sourdille, Aidan O'Dwyer

Conference papers

An extensive literature review is presented and a new modified Smith predictor is subsequently presented.

System Identification Using Higher Order Spectra, Aidan O'Dwyer

Conference papers

This communication will explore the use of particular types of frequency domain concepts, labelled higher order spectra, to help determine the frequency response of a process. This will allow the identification of the parameters of a single input, single output (SISO) model for a process (which includes a time delay), in both open loop and closed loop environments.

Analysis Of Cooling And Heating Of Water With Flat-Plate Solar Radiators, Igor Balen, Vladimir Soldo, David Kennedy

Conference Papers

Extensive analysis of flat-plate radiative panels operation using average hourly weather data for a maritime climate region was performed. The panels are integrated in the space ventilation system with air-cooling by means of a cold-water coil. Their primary function is to prepare sufficient quantity of cold water, integrating radiative and convective cooling, that is collected in the cold-water tank during the nighttime operation. That cold water is used for cooling of the air during daytime. By small modification during daytime, solar panels could be turned into collectors and used to produce the hot water that is collected in a separate …

Feat Monochromator User's Guide, Gary A. Bishop

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Publications

No abstract provided.