Digital Commons Network^™

Manufacturing And Evaluation Of Structural Products With Recycled Polymers, Raghuram Phani Aditham

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The rapid growth of Wastes from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) can be attributed to the rapid developments in technology, leading to reduction in service life to less than 2 years in certain products. Thermoplastics such as Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS) and Polycarbonate (PC) form a significant percent of the Electronic Shredder Residue (ESR) that were used in this research to manufacture and evaluate structural products with recycled polymers.;In this research, offset blocks for highway and bridge guardrail systems were developed using recycled polymers reinforced with glass fabric as shell and discarded tire strips/wood as core materials. Optimum compression molding process parameters …

Limiting Dns Covert Channels And Network Validated Dns, Rex D. Mccracken

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Despite the variety and number of network security devices and policies available, sensitive data, such as intellectual property and business data, can still be surreptitiously sent via the Internet to unscrupulous receivers. Furthermore, few security mechanisms address securing or limiting covert channels. This study defines a framework for determining a rule set to minimize covert channel capacity on the DNS protocol specifically. The information and techniques used in this study may be useful in aiding security professionals and developers with enforcing security policies on DNS and other Internet protocols.;This research resulted in the development of a rudimentary tool, referred to …

Finite Element Analysis Of Interaction Between Actin Cytoskeleton And Intracellular Fluid In Prechondrocytes And Chondrocytes Subjected To Compressive Loading, Sundar Viswanathan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Prechondrocytes exhibit a change in their actin cytoskeletal arrangement when subjected to loading. This study looks at the implications of the altered solid-fluid interactions due to this change. A 2-D Finite element model of a cell was developed. A solid-fluid interaction solution procedure was validated and used to determine fluid flow/pressure in a cell when subject to deformation. These values were then used to calculate fluid flow induced stresses on individual actin fibers. The results suggest that prechondrocytes alter their cytoskeletal structure to reduce stresses as a result of fluid flow due to deformation of the cell.

The Dependence Of Dijet Production On Photon Virtuality In Ep Collisions At Hera, S. Chekanov, M. Derrick, J. H. Loizides, S. Magill, S. Miglioranzi, B. Musgrave, J. Repond, R. Yoshida, Margarita C. K. Mattingly, N. Pavel, P. Antonioli, G. Bari, M. Basile, L. Bellagamba, D. Boscherini, A. Bruni, G. Bruni, G. Cara Romeo, L. Cifarelli, F. Cindolo, A. Contin, M. Corradi, S. De Pasquale, P. Giusti, G. Iacobucci, A. Margotti, A. Montanari, R. Nania, F. Palmonari, A. Pesci, L. Rinaldi

Faculty Publications

The dependence of dijet production on the virtuality of the exchanged photon, Q2, has been studied by measuring dijet cross sections in the range 0 ≲ Q2 < 2000 GeV2 with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 38.6 pb-1. Dijet cross sections were measured for jets with transverse energy ETjet > 7.5 and 6.5 GeV and pseudorapidities in the photon-proton centre-of-mass frame in the range -3 < jet < 0. The variable xγobs, a measure of the photon momentum entering the hard process, was used to enhance the sensitivity of the measurement to the photon structure. The Q2 dependence of the ratio of low- to high-xγobs events was measured. Next-to-leading-order QCD predictions were found to generally underestimate the low-xγobs contribution relative to that at high xγobs. Monte Carlo models based on leading-logarithmic parton-showers, using a partonic structure for the photon which falls smoothly with increasing Q2, provide a qualitative description of the data. © Springer-Verlag / Società Italiana di Fisica 2004.

Search For A Narrow Charmed Baryonic State Decaying To D*±P∓ In Ep Collisions At Hera, S. Chekanov, M. Derrick, J. H. Loizides, S. Magill, S. Miglioranzi, B. Musgrave, J. Repond, R. Yoshida, Margarita C. K. Mattingly, N. Pavel, P. Antonioli, G. Bari, M. Basile, L. Bellagamba, D. Boscherini, A. Bruni, G. Bruni, G. Cara Romeo, L. Cifarelli, F. Cindolo, A. Contin, M. Corradi, S. De Pasquale, P. Giusti, G. Iacobucci, A. Margotti, A. Montanari, R. Nania, F. Palmonari, A. Pesci, A. Polini

Faculty Publications

A resonance search has been made in the D*±p∓ invariant-mass spectrum with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 126 pb-1. The decay channels D*+ -→ D0πs+ → (K -π+)πs+ and D*+ → D0πs+ → (K-π+π+π-) πs+ (and the corresponding antiparticle decays) were used to identify D*± mesons. No resonance structure was observed in the D*± p∓ mass spectrum from more than 60 000 reconstructed D*± mesons. The results are not compatible with a report of the H1 Collaboration of a charmed pentaquark, Θc0. © Springer-Verlag / Società Italiana di Fisica 2004.

Dissociation Of Virtual Photons In Events With A Leading Proton At Hera, S. Chekanov, M. Derrick, J. H. Loizides, S. Magill, S. Miglioranzi, B. Musgrave, J. Repond, R. Yoshida, Margarita C. K. Mattingly, N. Pavel, P. Antonioli, G. Bari, M. Basile, L. Bellagamba, D. Boscherini, A. Bruni, G. Bruni, G. Cara Romeo, L. Cifarelli, F. Cindolo, A. Contin, M. Corradi, S. De Pasquale, P. Giusti, G. Iacobucci, A. Margotti, T. Massam, A. Montanari, R. Nania, F. Palmonari, A. Pesci

Faculty Publications

The ZEUS detector has been used to study dissociation of virtual photons in events with a leading proton, γ*p → Xp, in e+p collisions at HERA. The data cover photon virtualities in two ranges, 0.03 < Q2 < 0.60 GeV2 and 2 < Q2 < 100 GeV2, with MX > 1.5 GeV, where MX is the mass of the hadronic final state, X. Events were required to have a leading proton, detected in the ZEUS leading proton spectrometer, carrying at least 90% of the incoming proton energy. The cross section is presented as a function of t, the squared four-momentum transfer at the proton vertex, Φ, the azimuthal angle between the positron scattering plane and …

Women And Social Services In Saudi Arabia, Khadija Nasseef

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This master thesis talks about social services for women that provided by social welfare agencies in Saudi Arabia. This thesis is a descriptive study that uses the content analysis as a method to investigate social services agencies that provides special services for women. This thesis also had special interest in social services that improve women's lives in Saudi Arabia. The content analysis is made on documents and brochures of 4 main social services agencies that offer services for women. The content analysis was made in term of these agencies main aim and target, their main massage, their programs for women, …

Network Requirements Definition And Management System, Kimberly S. Johnson

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Faculty Management System For National American University, Robert W. Thrall

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

The process of developing a decision support system for the Distance Leaming department at National American University is examined. A system request and investigation of existing systems reveals deficiencies that are corrected by providing centralized management of data related to the university's faculty and classes. Access to the data is provided through the development of a secure web based application utilizing a relational database to store the data. The choice of technologies is based on meeting user needs while minimizing the risk of project failure by utilizing more familiar products. Opportunities to extend and improve the new system are considered.

Telecommunication Trouble Ticket System, Keerisa Yanpirat

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

The Telecom Trouble Ticket System is used to track and report all problems with the services the telecommunication companies provide. The Trouble Ticket system will provide an integrated, automatic trouble reporting mechanism that assigns trouble tickets to technicians through printed trouble tickets and e-mail transmission. The system will be able to generate reports to aid in diagnosing equipment or network problems. Historical information will allow for maintenance agreement analysis and trend analysis studies. The users will be able to run standard reports and make queries from the trouble analysis system to track the progress and resolution of trouble tickets. (i.e., …

A Web-Based Model Management System For Managing Biocomplexity, Kanchana Tandekar

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

Biocomplexity systems are quite complex in nature and involve nonlinear, chaotic and unpredictable behavior thus requiring highly innovative quantitative techniques in order to model their behavior. Such models are a national resource to be managed in an effort similar to the existing one for Biocomplexity data. In effect, the multidisciplinary nature of Biocomplexity research results in a need to integrate models from various disciplines and a need to exchange data and models among wide variety of users over time and space. The aim of this project is to explore a relatively new and integrated approach to managing Biocomplexity models. This …

E-Commerce Implementation For Dutch Precision Inc., Daniel C. Mortenson

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

The MSIS project at Dakota State University, "E-commerce implementation for Dutch Precision, Inc." began in May 2004 and was completed in December of the same year. The target company, Dutch Precision, Inc. (DPI), remanufactures brake calipers for automotive applications, regionally based near Tampa, Florida, and sells predominately to independent auto parts stores. The DPI company website was established on a new static IP address using the DutchPrecision.com domain name. Three interrelated open-source code software applications were used; Apache web server, MySQL database, and PHP, a server-side scripting language. Virus and networking difficulties initially impaired and refocused the project goals, but …

A Department Of Transportation Motor Carrier Web-Based Application, Martin D. Wray

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

Delivering the high levels of reliability and availability required of business-to-business Web sites requires not only advanced technology, but also great operational processes. Building a scalable, highly available application is a necessary process in becoming functional as an e-commerce entity. As the Project Manager for the development of a Motor Carrier Web-based Application developing the modules required in an online system, using IBM's WebSphere Java-based tools that have allowed me and the developers that I manage to create a sophisticated Web-based application. The central WebSphere tool is the WebSphere Application Server (WAS), an application server that will be used to …

A Centralized Storage System For Catering Information, Matthew D. Johnson

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

Hy-Vee has always prided itself at being the best around in customer service. It has been the cornerstone of our company for the last 75 years and guides the way that we conduct every part of our business. With the incredible expansion of our catering business over the last decade, it became evident that we were not providing the level of service that our clients had come to expect of us. This lack of service came in several ways but all were traced back to a simple lack of adequate recordkeeping. A review of the company's method for storing catering …

Sensitivity To Molar Contingencies Of Food Presentation, Jeffrey Everly

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Twelve rats were exposed to two variable-time schedules that differed in their rates of food delivery. The "imposed" schedule was normally in effect, but lever pressing occasionally switched to the "alternate" schedule for periods averaging 30 s. Increases in food frequency afforded by switching to the alternate schedule were manipulated across conditions. All rats were exposed to the same absolute food frequency increases, but the programming of these increases was varied among the rats by holding particular food delivery rates constant across conditions. For half of the rats, the schedules were signaled. In general, response rates were directly related to …

Analysis Of Hostile Network Reconnaissance To Anticipate And Mitigate Network Attacks, Luis Angel Rivera

Theses and Dissertations

Network security systems today such as current intrusion detection systems, intrusion prevention systems and firewalls are good at reacting to attacks as they occur or shortly after they occur. Current security systems lack the ability to identify and detect the activity that usually precedes an attack. This activity is known as network reconnaissance. In this thesis we have developed a technique that can assist current security systems to detect hostile network reconnaissance to anticipate and mitigate network attacks.

Where In The Hell Is Dorothy Parker?, Thomas J. Fuschetto Jr.

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The famous members of The Algonquin Round Table once got together to write and produce a play called No, Sirree! Since very little is known about the production, questions remain of how the members decided to do such a production, what was the production, and what they later thought about the production. Since such information is missing, then I filled in the gaps with my imagination of writing and producing an original play that represents my research and my imagination of how the members of The Algonquin Round Table decided to do a play production, how they prepared for the …

Analysis Of English And Spanish Academic Proficiency Of Pre-Service Bilingual Teachers At A University In South Texas, Matthew E. Meyers

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this research was to examine the English and Spanish academic writing proficiency of pre-service bilingual teachers at a university in south Texas and attempt to establish factors that have influenced that proficiency or lack of proficiency. Ninety-four participants who volunteered to take part in the study completed a 50-question survey that solicited demographic information and perceived proficiencies in English and Spanish. After collecting the data from the survey, participants wrote essays on four separate themes. Two of the essays were written in Spanish, and two were written in English. The compositions purported to elicit the participants' written …

Use Of Pedometers To Promote Improvement In Selected Physiological Measurements In An Older Female Mexican American Population, Zasha Romero

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The problem of this study was to determine if pedometers promoted daily walking exercise reflected by changes on selected physiological measurements in older Mexican American females. Significance in the study was determined at the 95% level of confidence. The researcher offered the null hypothesis of no difference in results from the pretest to the posttest in both the control and treatment groups for the selected physiological measurements. The subjects of this study were 55 Mexican-American females ages 60 to 75. The subjects were randomly assigned to a treatment or control group. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) method was used to …

Structural Conformation And Leaching From In Vitro Aged And Retrieved Invisalign Appliances, Susan Schuster, George Eliades, Spiros Zinelis, Theodore Eliades, T. Gerard Bradley

School of Dentistry Faculty Research and Publications

The objectives of this study were to investigate the structure of Invisalign appliances (Align Technology, Santa Clara, Calif) after intraoral exposure, and to qualitatively and quantitatively characterize the substances leached from the aligners after accelerated in vitro aging. Samples of Invisalign appliances were randomly selected from 10 patients before intraoral placement and after retrieval, and the prepared specimens were subjected to (1) bright-field optical reflection microscopy to study the surface morphology; (2) Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy to characterize the in vivo changes in molecular composition induced on appliance surfaces, (3) scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis to identify …

Study Habits Of College Students And Their Perceptions Of The Impact Of Brain-Based Attention Strategies On Their Independent Study Time, Sheryl L. Evans

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was twofold. The first part explored the study habits of lower-division undergraduate college students during independent study time, with special inquiry into sustained attention and mental effort. A questionnaire and focus groups answered research questions that explored students' general study practices, their study habits, factors influencing study, the length of sustained attention and mental effort, the strategies used to maintain attention, perceptions about productivity, and the metacognitive strategies used (i.e., self-monitoring, self-regulating, planning, and self-evaluating). The study showed that 1) students do not spend enough time studying, 2) the more time students spent on the …

High Stakes Assessment And The American College Test (Act): Relationships Between Two Assessments And High School Coursework, Gaylynn L. Becker

Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on some of the problems school districts face in implementing the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. NCLB requires that by the year 2013-2014 all students must score at the proficient level or above in state assessments. This requirement poses unique problems for school districts in achieving 100% of the students scoring at or above the proficient level.

Some of the problems this study examined were: What was the relationship between the number of mathematics courses taken and performance on the North Dakota Mathematics Assessment? What was the relationship between achievement on the North Dakota …

Undergraduate Academic Success During The Semester Of Reinstatement Following Academic Dismissal, Michael F. Cogan

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the success patterns of academically dismissed undergraduate students who were subsequently reinstated at a mid-sized research university the following semester. The academic dismissals in this study occurred between the fall of 1999 and the spring of 2003. The university reinstatement policies provided the researcher with a unique opportunity to measure a relatively large sample (N=973).

Two regression techniques were utilized to identify significant predictor variables that could be utilized to make administrative decisions regarding future reinstatement activities. Linear regression results indicated that honor point deficiency accrual during the semester of dismissal was a significant predictor of term …

Population Dynamics Of Three Amphibian Species Across The Sheyenne National Grassland Of Southeastern North Dakota, Bartholomew L. Bly

Theses and Dissertations

Concerns over worldwide declines of amphibians, including some to extinction, has increased the urgency for understanding how amphibians interact within local environments and across regional landscapes. Hypotheses for declines include anthropogenic destruction and fragmentation of amphibian habitat, introduction of exotic predators and competitors, increased ultraviolet (UV-B) irradiation, acid precipitation, environmental contamination by pollutants, harsh climatic conditions, over harvesting, and infectious disease. Three different types of models were developed for the northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens), gray tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum diaboli), and gray tree frog (Hyla versicolor/chrysoscelis complex) populations inhabiting the Sheyenne National Grassland (SNG) in southeastern North Dakota. The …

Saudi Women's Society: Perceptions Of Saudi Arabian Women Living In The Upper Midwest, Philline M. Deraney

Theses and Dissertations

This research posed three broad questions about perceptions of adult Saudi Arabian women living in Midwestern states of North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Specifically, the questions explored were: (I) What were the women experiencing while living in the Midwest? (2) What did the experiences mean to the women? and, (3) How did the women interpret their experiences? The purposes of this research were to amplify the women's ''voices'' and to add to the limited base of qualitative research on Saudi Arabian women. Interviews and brief observations of 13 native Saudi women were the main for1ns of data collection, and rigorous …

Offender Treatment: An Evaluation Of A Cognitive Restructuring Program, Randy L. Telander

Theses and Dissertations

The United States is first among industrialized nations in the rate at which we imprison offenders. With ever-increasing numbers of incarcerated offenders and continued high recidivism rates, many institutions have begun implementing treatment programs in attempts to combat crime and reduce recidivism rates. With high costs to all of society (including victim losses and costs to prevent, convict, and imprison offenders), it is important for correctional officials to know the extent to which programs are facilitating or inhibiting offender change. However, despite many reported program evaluations being published in the literature, many have identifiable flaws and few, if any researchers …

Technology Literacy In The 21st Century: Teacher And Student Outcomes Of A Technology Innovation Program Model, Mary Beth Kelley-Lowe

Theses and Dissertations

The study investigated student and teacher outcomes from a Technology Innovation Challenge Grant project, NatureShift Linking Learning to Life (NS), to determine if the project influenced teachers’ work and student learning. The approaches were twofold: (1) to examine the implementation of higher order thinking and relevant use of technology by students and teachers and (2) to understand a teacher’s reactions to and implementation of a teaching model and methodology for Internet delivery and technology use.

A quantitative study examined the student projects and teacher materials created as part of school implementations cf the NS model and curriculum. The sources of …

Information Structure In Narrative Texts In Byali (A Gur Language Of Benin), John J. Berthelette

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an application of Knud Lambrecht’s 1994 work, Information structure and sentence form, to Byali, a Gur language of northwestern Benin (West Africa). In particular, it concerns an analysis of how the different focus structures are marked in Byali, according to Lambrecht’s framework.

Given that this is an application of a theoretical framework in order to describe a language, the thesis has three purposes: (1) to provide an overview of Lambrecht’s framework; (2) to provide an analysis of Byali data using this framework; and (3) to evaluate the suitability of Lambrecht’s framework for analyzing Byali focus structure.

Talking Points Related To Mixed Waste Landfill Permit Modification Hearing, Citizen Action (Through New Mexico Community Foundation)

Citizen Action (through New Mexico Community Foundation)

Attached are three talking point items for your consideration in making statements at the Mixed Waste Landfill Public Hearing beginning December 2 at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center on Carlisle Blvd. north of I-40. They include: 1) A brief statement of Citizen Action’s objectives; 2) Mixed Waste Landfill - Why Clean Up?; and 3) Agenda for Meeting with Governor’s Environment/Energy Advisor.

This research was completed money allocated during Round 6 of the Citizens’ Monitoring and Technical Assessment Fund (MTA Fund). Clark University was named conservator of these works.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact us …

Multiple Lab Comparison Of Microarray Platforms, Rafael A. Irizarry Et Al.

Johns Hopkins University, Dept. of Biostatistics Working Papers

Microarray technology is a powerful tool able to measure RNA expression for thousands of genes at once. Various studies have been published comparing competing platforms with mixed results: some find agreement, others do not. As the number of researchers starting to use microarrays and the number of crossplatform meta-analysis studies rapidly increase, appropriate platform assessments become more important.

Here we present results from a comparison study that offers important improvements over those previously described in the literature. In particular, we notice that none of the previously published papers consider differences between labs. For this paper, a consortium of ten labs …