Digital Commons Network^™

Active Security Mechanisms For Wireless Sensor Networks And Energy Optimization For Passive Security Routing, Lydia Ray

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Wireless sensor networks consisting of numerous tiny low power autonomous sensor nodes provide us with the remarkable ability to remotely view and interact with the previously unobservable physical world. However, incorporating computation intensive security measures in sensor networks with limited resources is a challenging research issue. The objective of our thesis is to explore different security aspects of sensor networks and provide novel solutions for significant problems. We classify security mechanisms into two categories - active category and passive category. The problem of providing a secure communication infrastructure among randomly deployed sensor nodes requires active security measurements. Key pre-distribution is …

Relative Efficacy Of School-Home Notes And Teacher Feedback In Minority Elementary Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Andrea Nichole Jurbergs

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

School-home notes have proven to be an effective and acceptable method for improving children’s classroom behavior. School-home notes require teachers to rate students on any number of target behaviors and parents to provide consequences based on the evaluation. School-home notes recently have been shown to increase attention in low income children with ADHD. Although successful at decreasing off-task behavior in the classroom, treatment integrity (parent providing earned consequences at home) is not always maintained at acceptable levels. The goal of the current research was to dismantle the proven school-home note to identify the efficacy of the teacher feedback component alone. …

Pursuing Enlightenment In Vienna, 1781-1790, Heather Morrison

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Radical transformations came about in Vienna during the 1780s, as intellectuals in the city embraced the Enlightenment and explored ways in which the movement could be spread. In 1781, Joseph II and his state reformed censorship. In an instant, the Viennese had access to the great scholarly works of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe. In an instant, Vienna spawned a multitude of writers, publishing houses, reading rooms and all the accoutrements of a culture of print. The newly generated intellectual culture produced an amazing amount of pamphlets, an era termed the Broschürenflut in Austrian history. Public debate on the state, religion, …

Relationship Factors In Treating Substance Use Disorders, Jay L. Lebow, John Kelly, Lynne M. Knobloch-Fedders, Rudolf Moos

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Information-Theoretic Criterion For The Performance Of Single-Photon Avalanche Photodiodes, David A. Ramirez, Majeed M. Hayat, Sergio N. Torres, Bahaa E.A. Saleh, Malvin Carl Teich

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

A channel-capacity metric is introduced for assessing the performance of single-photon avalanche photodiodes (SPADs) when used as detectors in laser communication systems. This metric is employed to theoretically optimize, with respect to the device structure and operating voltage, the performance of SPADs with simple InP or In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As-InP heterojunction multiplication regions. As the multiplication-region width increases, an increase is predicted in both the peak and the full-width at half-maximum of the channel capacity curve versus the normalized excess voltage. Calculations also show the existence of an optimal In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As-InP heterojunction multiplication region that maximizes the peak channel capacity …

Towards Full-Body Gesture Analysis And Recognition, Muthukumar B. Puranam

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

With computers being embedded in every walk of our life, there is an increasing demand forintuitive devices for human-computer interaction. As human beings use gestures as importantmeans of communication, devices based on gesture recognition systems will be effective for humaninteraction with computers. However, it is very important to keep such a system as non-intrusive aspossible, to reduce the limitations of interactions. Designing such non-intrusive, intuitive, camerabasedreal-time gesture recognition system has been an active area of research research in the fieldof computer vision.Gesture recognition invariably involves tracking body parts. We find many research works intracking body parts like eyes, lips, face …

Expanding Deictic Shift Theory: Person Deixis In Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club, Anna Laura Bennett

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Deictic shift theory (DST) was developed as a model of the construction and comprehension of all types of fictional narrative. With respect to the participant structures of texts, however, DST researchers have focused their attention on deictic shifts in third-person narratives, leaving first-person narratives unanalyzed from this theoretical perspective. As a result, DST in its present form does not adequately account for the variety of manipulations of a range of perspectives that may be achieved in first-person narratives. Nor has DST been systematically applied to texts whose participant structures undergo extensive reorganization as the result of a surprise ending or …

Cycle-Up Of Multiple Rifting Event Models: How Long Does It Take To Reach A Steady State Stress?, Lokranjith K. Ravi

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Many geological numerical models are initiated with a background stress state of zero. Often these numerical results are compared directly to geodetic data. Recent work (Kenner and Simons, 2004) has shown that modeled deformation rates can change as the model is cycled-up following repeated earthquakes or rifting events. In this study, we investigate model cycle-up in the context of time-dependent deformation following rifting during the 1975-1984 Krafla eruption in Iceland. We consider the number of rifting cycles required for complete cycle-up, variations in cycle-up time at different locations in the model, background stress magnitudes in fully cycled-up models, and errors …

Simulation Of Low-Re Flow Over A Modified Naca 4415 Airfoil With Oscillating Camber, Vamsidhar Katam

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Recent interest in Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have revived research on the performance of airfoils at relatively low Reynolds numbers. A common problem with low Reynolds number flow is that separation is almost inevitable without the application of some means of flow control, but understanding the nature of the separated flow is critical to designing an optimal flow control system. The current research presents results from a joint effort coupling numerical simulation and wind tunnel testing to investigate this flow regime. The primary airfoil for these studies is a modified 4415 with an adaptive actuator …

Numerical Investigation Of The Influence Of Front Camber On The Stability Of A Compressor Airfoil, Rui Li

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

With the advent of smart materials it is becoming possible to alter the structural characteristics of turbomachine airfoils. This change in structural characteristics can include, but is not limited to, changes in the shape (morphing) of the airfoil. Through changes in the airfoil shape, aerodynamic performance can be improved. Moreover, this technique has the potential to act as a flutter suppressant. In this investigation changes in the airfoil front camber while maintaining the airfoil thickness distribution are made to increase airfoil stability. The airfoil section is representative of current low aspect ratio fan blade tip sections. To assess the influence …

Statistical Analysis Of Injury Data And The Conceptual Design Of A Rollover Protective Structure For An All-Terrain Vehicle, Bhavana Parvathareddy

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The rising statistics of fatal and non-fatal injuries involving an all-terrain vehicle has called for an analysis of the accumulated data from the past years. The analysis has led to the conclusion that in the past years, the fatal and non-fatal injuries have been rising rapidly in spite of the consent decrees which were brought into effect from 1988-1998 by the consumer product safety commission. A necessity to provide increased safety while riding an all-terrain vehicle is recognized. Rollover protective structures which were used with successful results in curbing the injuries on agricultural tractors have been identified as having a …

To Forgive Is Divine, But Is It Always Helpful? Examining The Effects Of Brief Forgiveness Instructions In Helping Female Victims, Michelle K. Cardi

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether women who have been victimized can have a decrease in their negative affect by being exposed to the suggestion of one of two dimensions of forgiveness. The study also examined the moderating effect of several personality variables on participants reactions to the intervention. Seventy-nine women were given several personality and affect questionnaires before and after they listened to instructions for either granting forgiveness (interpersonal), letting go of their negative affect (intrapsychic), or relaxation (control). Results indicated that focusing on granting forgiveness was associated with more negative affect than the other …

Parent-Child Storytelling During Joint Picture-Book Reading And Relation To Language Scores Of Children With Adhd, Melinda A. Leonard

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Three questions were investigated in the current study. First, do children with ADHD have language deficiencies in comparison to non-referred peers? Second, are there diagnostic group differences in parent and child storytelling when interacting in a joint picture-book setting or in parent reported home literacy habits? Third, are these differences related to child language scores? Parents of 25 children with ADHD and 39 comparison children, average age 7 years 6 months, told their children a story based on a wordless picture-book, and children then retold the story to an examiner without using the book. In addition, children made up two …

Phylogenetic Analysis Of Kentucky Strains Of Xylella Fastidiosa, J. Nicole Mundell

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Phytopathogenic bacterium, Xylella fastidiosa, causes a number of economically important diseases, including Pierces disease (PD) of grape and bacterial leaf scorch (BLS) of a number of landscape trees. In Kentucky (KY), BLS affects a number of shade trees including many oak and maple species. In 2001, PD was diagnosed in grapevines in western KY. Xylella fastidiosa is also detected in many asymptomatic landscape plants and grasses. It was the goal of this research to identify hosts of X. fastidiosa around KY and use phylogenetic analysis to compare sequences of the 16S rDNA and gyrase B (gyrB) genes between samples. This …

Using Sequential Imagery To Evaluate Aspects Of Seed Vigor And Germination, Manjul Dutt

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

A sequential imaging system using a flat bed scanner interfaced to a personal computer was developed to study seed germination and vigor. The utility of the system was demonstrated in studies relating aspects of seed vigor in impatiens seed lots and for dormancy release in two woody perennials. Impatiens seed lots were kept in storage for 6 months to obtain a range in vigor levels. The ability to see differences at the individual seed level was possible because of the development of the sequential imaging system. It was observed that seeds deteriorated both under optimum 4OC as well as 25OC …

The Use Of A Whole Genome Scan To Find A Genetic Marker For Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Desmitis In The Peruvian Paso Horse, Diane I. Strong

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Degenerative suspensory ligament desmitis (DSLD) is a debilitating disease of connective tissues seen in many breeds but has become prevalent in the Peruvian Pasohorse. DSLD is believed to be a genetic disorder caused by one primary founder and most likely has a recessive mode of inheritance although a dominant or co-dominant mode of inheritance has not been ruled out.

A genome scan using 259 microsatellite markers was used to test for linkage disequilibrium between one or more markers and DSLD. Two groups of Peruvian Pasohorses were selected from one population including the US and Canada. The only difference between the …

Greetings From The Technical Program Chair, Steve Eugene Watkins

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Shadow Detection By Combined Photometric Invariants For Improved Foreground Segmentation, Filiz Bunyak, Ilker Ersoy, S. R. Subramanya

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Detection and tracking of moving objects are the essential steps of many video understanding applications such as traffic monitoring, video surveillance and visual event recognition. Moving object detection process segments the scene into foreground (moving) and background regions. Moving cast shadows cause serious problems in this process because they can easily be misclassified as foreground. This misclassification may lead to drastic changes in the shapes of objects or merging of multiple objects. in this paper, we present a method to detect moving cast shadows to improve the performance of moving object detection. the foreground regions are processed in terms of …

An Investigation Of Selected Academic And Nonacademic Predictor Variables Of Academic Performance Of Student-Athletes At Louisiana State University, Derek Jerone Morgan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of selected predictor variables of academic achievement on the academic performance of student-athletes at Louisiana State University. This study attempted to identify cognitive and noncognitive variables that might explain the variance in the cumulative college grade point average (GPA)among student-athletes at LSU enrolled during the 2003-04 academic year. Cognitive variables included ACT composite score, high school GPA, and cumulative college GPA. Noncognitive variables included positive self-concept, support of academic plans, and community involvement. In addition, data were collected for two sport variables--type of sport participation (revenue and non-revenue generating sports) and time spent on sport …

A Robust Controller For The Manipulation Of Micro Scale Objects, Qinmin Yang, Jagannathan Sarangapani

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A suite of novel robust controllers is presented for the manipulation and handling of micro-scale objects in a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) where adhesive, surface tension, friction and van der Waals forces are dominant. Moreover, these forces are typically unknown. The robust controller overcomes the unknown system dynamics and ensures the performance in the presence of actuator constraints by assuming that the upper bounds on these forces are known. On the other hand, for the robust adaptive controller, the unknown forces are estimated online. Using the Lyapunov approach, the uniformly ultimate boundedness (UUB) of the closed-loop manipulation error is shown for …

An Efficient Method For Supporting Multiple Types Of Services On Smart Server, Chang-Soo Kim, Yu-Hyeon Bak, Seung-Joe Bae, Jin-Mee Kim, Sang-Min Woo, Seung-Hyup Jeon, Won-Jae Lee, Hag-Young Kim

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Trends In Process Control Systems Security, Ann K. Miller

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The protection of critical infrastructure systems is a hotly debated topic. The very label "critical infrastructure" implies that these systems are important, and they are: they support our everyday lives, from the water and food in our homes to our physical and financial welfare. This article explores the recent evolution of programmable logic controllers (PCSs) and their environments, explains the need for improved security in these systems, and describes some of the emerging research areas that offer promise in PCS security.

Wide Area Power System Protection Using A Learning Vector Quantization Network, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Mahyar Zarghami

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents a wide area monitoring and protection technique based on a learning vector quantization (LVQ) neural network. Phasor measurements of the power network buses are monitored continuously by a LVQ network in order to alert the control room operators of possible faults. The proposed scheme could be used in a wide area monitored network to provide remedial action when primary local protection schemes for transmission lines fail to function. This technique could also be extended to the actuation of the secondary protection schemes, hence, preserving the integrity of the power network especially when the faults are spreading over …

Standard Meteorological Measurements, Kenneth Hubbard, Steven E. Hollinger

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Instruments that measure weather variables have been invented and tested since the time of Leonardo de Vinci. The earliest instruments were crude by today’s standards and required manual observation and notation of the weather variable of interest. In recent years, the miniaturization of circuits–sensors and the use of electronic processors have made it possible to collect ever-increasing numbers of observations on scales not previously considered.

In many agricultural applications, the primary portion of the atmosphere that is of interest is the lower planetary boundary layer, or that layer affected by the earth’s surface. Accurate measurement of weather variables in the …

Revisiting Medical Error: Five Years After The Iom Report, Have Reporting Systems Made A Measurable Difference, Maxine M. Harrington

Faculty Scholarship

Although the goal of patient safety is a laudable one, it is questionable whether state and national policy can be made on so vague a concept as "medical error." There is neither an accurate baseline nor reliable current data that could be used to validate the effectiveness of reporting systems as tools for improving patient safety. This Article examines the difficulty in estimating the incidence of medical error, including the lack of uniform standards of measurement and the legal and cultural disincentives to accurate reporting of error. Part I provides a brief background of the IOM report and addresses the …

Private Dispute Resolution In The Card Context: Structure, Reputation, And Incentives, Andrew P. Morriss, Jason Korosec

Faculty Scholarship

Explosive growth in credit, debit, and other card payment systems in recent years has produced a parallel growth in private dispute resolution systems based on the web of contracts entered into by merchants, merchant acquirers, consumers, card issuers, card associations, and transaction processors. These contracts have produced legal systems based on contract and the enforcement of which rests primarily on reputational constraints. To cost-effectively resolve disputes, these private legal systems have evolved innovative procedures using resources at the lowest-possible level, including incentive-payments for producing information and rigid deadlines for parties' actions. This paper describes and analyzes these legal systems and …

Manpower Development: Industry And Educators Need To Work Together, Peter W. Sauer, Mani Venkata, Mariesa Crow

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Multiuser Channel Estimation For Cdma Systems Over Frequency-Selective Fading Channels, Jingxian Wu, Chengshan Xiao, Khaled Ben Letaief

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, a pilot-assisted minimum mean square error (MMSE) multiuser channel estimation algorithm is proposed for quasi-synchronous code-division multiple-access (CDMA) systems that undergo frequency-selective channel fading. The frequency-selective multiuser fading channel is represented as a symbol-wise time-varying chip-spaced tapped delay line filter with correlated filter taps. The multiuser channel tap coefficients at pilot symbol positions are estimated under the MMSE criterion with the help of the channel intertap correlation matrix, which is determined by the combined effects of the physical fading channel, transmit filter, and receive filter. In the development of the estimation algorithm, the channel intertap correlation matrix …

Neural Networks Based Non-Uniform Scalar Quantizer Design With Particle Swarm Optimization, Wenwei Zha, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Quantization is a crucial link in the process of digital speech communication. Non-uniform quantizer such as the logarithm quantizers are commonly used in practice. In this paper, a companding non-uniform quantizer is designed using two neural networks to perform the nonlinear transformation. Particle swarm optimization is applied to find the weights of neural networks such that the signal to noise ratio (SNR) is maximized. Simulation results on different speech samples are presented and the proposed quantizer design is compared with the logarithm quantizer for bit rates ranging from 3 to 8.

Estimation Of Additive Noise Variance For Multiuser Cdma Systems, Jingxian Wu, Chengshan Xiao, Khaled Ben Letaief

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, a novel additive noise variance estimation algorithm is proposed for multiuser CDMA systems experiencing time varying and frequency selective fading. The algorithm is developed by exploring the eigen-structure of the receive signal correlation matrix, which is characterized by the statistid properties of both the fading channeI and the additive white Gaussian noise. Relying only on the knowledge of the receiver signal samples, the algorithm can accurately estimate the variance of the additive noise present at the receiver of multiuser CDMA systems. The estimated noise variance can be employed along with other receiver algorithms to improve system performance.