Digital Commons Network^™

Models And Protocols For Evaluation Of Fingerprint Sensors, Gaurav Gupta

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Generic and repeatable testing protocols that can be applied to any biometric system are essential for the development of standards in biometric system testing. The purpose of this thesis is to summarize the current understanding in the biometrics community of the best scientific practices for conducting technical performance testing for purposes of field performance estimation. The thesis identifies various scenarios affecting the performance of a general fingerprint recognition system and compares the performance of an optical and capacitive sensor in these scenarios using the developed protocols. Modeling of these performance characteristics is done in order to predict the performance of …

Heat Shock Protein 70 As An Indicator Of Toxic Heavy Metal Exposure And Oxidative Stress In The Serum Of Asymptomatic Shipyard Welders, Sung Gu Han

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) expression has been reported to be a sensitive biomarker of cell stress. Arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), vanadium (V), and manganese (Mn) are widely used and exposure to these metals is associated with the development of pulmonary disease. Our data showed that exposure to these metals resulted in a significant increase in cytotoxicity, apoptosis, and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in a human bronchial cell line, BEAS-2B. However, increased Hsp70 expression was observed only in cells exposed to As, Cd, and Hg. To correlate changes associated with Hsp70 overexpression, …

Evaluation Of Surface Mechanical Properties Of Pot Hardware Materials In Continuous Galvanizing Lines, Anand Krishnaswamy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Pot hardware in continuous galvanizing lines is subjected to harsh and corrosive environment. The application of pot hardware in such conditions can cause surface degradation of the pot hardware materials thereby decreasing their life. The surface degradation can be due to wear, decrease in hardness or change in surface elastic modulus. The 500-lb lab scale test set-up at WVU was used to simulate the conditions existing in the actual continuous galvanizing line.;Ultrasonic equipment has gained immense importance in the field of non-destructive testing. One such instrument that measures surface hardness based on the shift of an ultrasonic frequency was used …

Gallium Nitride-Based Blue Laser Diodes, Sridhar Kuchibhatla

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Group III nitride wide band gap semiconductors have recently attracted considerable attention due to their applications for optical devices operating in the blue and UV wavelength regions. Nitride materials are stable at high temperatures and also chemically stable. Analysis of InGaN based blue laser diodes is required for the research and development of future deep UV laser diodes for bio-sensing applications. The conventional multiple quantum wells suffer from inhomogeneous carrier distribution across quantum wells. This inhomogeneous distribution increases the threshold current density of the laser diode. This project addresses the issue through the design of a novel structure for the …

Economic And Humanistic Impact Of Medication Nonadherence In Patients With Asthma And Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Ashish V. Joshi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) significantly impact morbidity and mortality. In spite of the well-known benefits of prophylactic medication use, especially in asthma, the rate of medication nonadherence is more than 50%. In Phase I, this study examined the relationship between refill-based medication nonadherence and healthcare utilization/costs in patients with asthma, COPD, and those with both asthma and COPD from the West Virginia (WV) Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) program. In Phase II, the study measured the relationship between refill-based and self-reported medication nonadherence, health-related quality of life (HRQL), and losses in workplace productivity, all of which were …

Assessing The Cost-Effectiveness Of Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibitors And Prescribing Practices Of Rheumatologists In Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis, Khalid M. Kamal

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Three new tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors, adalimumab, etanercept, and infliximab, have been approved for use in patients with active RA. The goals of the study were two fold: (1) to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis of the three TNF inhibitors in patients with RA that inadequately respond to MTX alone and (2) to assess the current prescribing patterns, laboratory monitoring practices, and perceived barriers of rheumatologists in prescribing these agents in patients with RA. Phase I involved the development of a Markov simulation model to estimate the health effects and costs associated with five treatment strategies in patients with RA …

Graph Algorithms For The Haplotyping Problem, Yunkai Liu

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Evidence from investigations of genetic differences among human beings shows that genetic diseases are often the results of genetic mutations. The most common form of these mutations is single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). A complete map of all SNPs in the human genome will be extremely valuable for studying the relationships between specific haplotypes and specific genetic diseases. Some recent discoveries show that the DNA sequence of human beings can be partitioned into long blocks where genetic recombination has been rare. Then, inferring both haplotypes from chromosome sequences is a biologically meaningful research topic, which has compounded mathematical and computational problems.;We …

Pharmaceutical Performance Testing Of Commercially Available Calcium Supplements, Jianqing Liu

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In our research, the quality of a number of calcium supplements was evaluated by their physical properties, disintegration and dissolution profiles. Physical tests and disintegration did show a pH sensitivity. Disintegration confirmed the good uniformity of the products. In the USP required dissolution test, most of the products did not achieve acceptable drug release in the specified time period. While formulation factors and the salt form of calcium supplements can to some extent affect their dissolution pattern, it was ultimately considered that the failure may be related to the poor solubility of the calcium salts.;Based on the results and the …

Coal Hydrotreatment With Coal-Derived Solvents To Produce Carbon Product Precursors, Madhavi Nallani Chakravartula

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

It is known that many specialty carbon products can be produced from coal. Direct liquefaction (hydrotreatment) is one of the most promising processes for coal conversion. In this present work, liquefaction of Marfork coal was examined at 350°C, 400°C and 450°C and an initial pressure of 500 psig of Nitrogen or Hydrogen using coal-derived solvents Carbon Black Base (CBB) and Heavy Creosote Oil (HCO) and their hydrogenated forms. Unlike model solvents such as Tetralin, coal-derived solvents are cheaper, readily available and recoverable. The solvents were first hydrogenated using unconverted residue from coal hydrotreatment and NiO/MoO3 on alumina as catalysts. Coal …

Adaptive Edge-Based Prediction For Lossless Image Compression, Rahul G. Parthe

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Many lossless image compression methods have been suggested with established results hard to surpass. However there are some aspects that can be considered to improve the performance further. This research focuses on two-phase prediction-encoding method, separately studying each and suggesting new techniques.;In the prediction module, proposed Edge-Based-Predictor (EBP) and Least-Squares-Edge-Based-Predictor (LS-EBP) emphasizes on image edges and make predictions accordingly. EBP is a gradient based nonlinear adaptive predictor. EBP switches between prediction-rules based on few threshold parameters automatically determined by a pre-analysis procedure, which makes a first pass. The LS-EBP also uses these parameters, but optimizes the prediction for each pre-analysis …

Generic Multimodal Biometric Fusion, Yash Shah

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Biometric systems utilize physiological or behavioral traits to automatically identify individuals. A unimodal biometric system utilizes only one source of biometric information and suffers from a variety of problems such as noisy data, intra-class variations, restricted degrees of freedom, non-universality, spoof attacks and unacceptable error rates. Multimodal biometrics refers to a system which utilizes multiple biometric information sources and can overcome some of the limitation of unimodal system. Biometric information can be combined at 4 different levels: (i) Raw data level; (ii) Feature level; (iii) Match-score level; and (iv) Decision level. Match score fusion and decision fusion have received significant …

Drosophila Melanogaster Protein Kinase Ck2 Interacts With And Phosphorylates The Neurogenic Repressor M8 Resulting In The Production Of A Novel Eye Phenotype, Regina L. Trott

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Protein kinase CK2 is a serine/threonine protein kinase ubiquitously expressed in eukaryotic organisms. The enzyme is composed of 2 alpha (catalytic) subunits and 2 beta (regulatory) subunits. The minimum consensus site for CK2 phosphorylation is S/TXXD/E, where "X" is any non-basic amino acid. Substrates so far identified include proteins associated with cell cycle regulation and development.;In Drosophila melanogaster, the Notch pathway activates members of the Enhancer-of-split Complex [E(spl)-C]. m8, which is a member of the E(spl)-C, was found to interact with and be phosphorylated by CK2. The physiological affects of CK2 phosphorylation were studied in vivo through the Gal4-UAS system. …

Aircraft Intercom System Design For Project Oculus, Jay Paul Wilhelm

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Project Oculus is an ongoing development project at WVU that aims to create a quick and easy sensor platform for deployment on the C-130 aircraft. Because this platform will be operated inside the noisy cargo bay of the C-130, an intercom system needed to be designed in the operator station of Project Oculus that would allow for different types of headsets and future expandability.;An intercom system was designed, constructed, and tested that uses military and civilian headsets to communicate both internally for Project Oculus and externally to the C-130 crew and provides support for a headset to be connected externally …

Integrated Stability Mapping System For Mines, Quanxi Wang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Integrated Stability Mapping System (ISMS) was developed as an engineering tool to quantify the geologic and geo-mechanical information of mines, and to integrate the critical stability influence factors into an overall stability index for use in mine planning and support design. It is generally understood that the inherent underground roof stability is determined by the interaction of both the given geologic characteristics and the local stress influences. Form this perspective, in this dissertation, the need for an integrated stability mapping system is established through investigating the traditional and current hazard mapping practices. In order to fulfill this need, computer …

The Role Of Heat Shock Proteins In Skeletal Muscle Adaptation To Resistance Training In Young And Old Rats., Zsolt Murlasits

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Heat shock proteins (HSP's) are expressed in response to various stressors, such as physical exercise, therefore this study investigated the role of these proteins in skeletal muscle remodeling in response to resistance training. First, we determined the time course of HSP response as a result of a single bout of damaging contractions characterized by non-recoverable force deficit. The next study investigated HSP expression in 3 month old and 30 month old rats in response to a 4.5-week, chronic resistance training program that was designed to elicit muscle hypertrophy. Moreover, we analyzed the gene expression of four hsp70 genes to determine …

Seawater Proteomics: The Recovery, Separation, And Characterization Of Dissolved Proteins In Seawater., Matthew Jacob Powell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Dissolved proteins are important components of high molecular weight marine dissolved organic matter (DOM). Little is known about the sources, transformations, and pathways of marine DOM, and <30% has been characterized at the molecular-level. Advances in proteomics technology have improved our ability to sequence proteins, making dissolved proteins a suitable target for molecular-level characterization. Dissolved proteins are important biomarkers in the oceans, and molecular-level analysis can provide valuable insight into their chemical characteristics, structural modifications, and potential sources. Molecular-level characterization of dissolved proteins in seawater requires a reproducible recovery method with efficient recovery yields and minimal sample losses. The use of surface blocking agents (SBA) to saturate sites of non-specific interactions reduced adsorptive sample losses during recovery of dissolved proteins from artificial seawater by tangential flow ultrafiltration. The SBA pre-treatment resulted in more reproducible recovery yields (∼55–60%) and enhanced initial recovery by 46%. Dissolved proteins recovered from deep and surface seawater samples were separated by gel electrophoresis, revealing the presence of a small number of discrete bands and significant amounts of unresolved background. A proteinase K assay determined that the bands and unresolved background were proteinaceous in nature. Enzymatic digests of the dissolved proteins were analyzed by reversed phase chromatography coupled on-line to a linear trapping quadrupole Fourier transform mass spectrometer (LTQ-FTMS). The peptide MS/MS spectra were searched against non-redundant databases by correlation algorithms, but no positive identifications were made. The peptide tandem mass spectra were directly interpreted by de novo sequencing to generate peptide tags that were used in database searches to develop protein homologue information. The similarity search results revealed two trends for specific classes of proteins observed (membrane/envelope proteins and enzymes) and identified conserved sequences for several multi-species protein homologues. These results demonstrate that there are several different classes of refractory proteins represented in the DOM pool and provide evidence for the presence of dissolved proteins other than bacterial outer membrane proteins. Additionally, an intact protein was extracted from a gel band and analyzed by direct infusion ESI FTMS. The resultant high resolution protein spectrum was deconvoluted to determine the accurate molecular weight of the protein.

Bright Beginnings #3: Steps Toward A Health Pregnancy For You And Your Baby, Sean Brotherson

FS Series – Family Science/HDFS

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Uv-B Radiation On The Growth And Physiology Of Non-Agricultural Plant Species Under Changing Environmental Conditions., Chintamani S. Manish

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

I investigated whether seedlings of non-agricultural plants exposed to varying levels of UV-B exposure had altered growth, physiological, and tissue chemistry responses under changing environmental conditions. In a field experiment, using a modulated UV-B lamp bank system, elevated UV-B did not significantly alter the total biomass of the 6 plant species that were studied, and only Quercus rubra showed a trend towards some sensitivity to UV-B. In two species—Platanus occidentalis and Setaria faberii—I found an increase in the production of UV-B absorbing compounds under elevated UV-B while two grasses—S. faberii and Elymus virginicus—had significantly decreased C:N ratios under elevated UV-B. …

Like Falling Off A Log: Rubato In Chopin's Prelude In Ab Major (Op. 28, No. 17), William Rothstein

Publications and Research

Rubato is widely regarded as a purely intuitive art. While it may be true that most performers rely solely on intuition for their rubato, a conscious approach may also be helpful. For the teacher of “analysis for performers,” a conscious approach is essential if rubato is to be discussed at all.

Rubato is a difficult subject to theorize. The late David Epstein made an admirable attempt in his book Shaping Time, using recordings by performers he admired to construct quantitative models. My approach here will be qualitative rather than quantitative, and introspective rather than empirical. Unlike Epstein, I will …

Hall Effect And Photoconductivity Lifetime Studies Of Gallium Nitride, Indium Nitride, And Mercury Cadmium Telluride., Craig H. Swartz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A deep understanding of both carrier recombination and transport is necessary for semiconductor engineering, particularly in defining the ultimate limits of performance for a given device before spending the resources to perfect its fabrication. Hall effect measurements utilizing a variable magnetic field are necessary to discriminate between conduction in epitaxial layers and conduction originating at the surface or at an interfacial layer. For thick hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) grown GaN, variable field Hall measurements revealed the presence of small but significant lower mobility surface and interface electrons which would otherwise lead to errors in interpreting the electrical properties. In …

Predicting Adherence In Injury Rehabilitation: Utility Of A Screening Tool And Physical Therapists' Predictions., Emma Jayne Grindley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to explore protection motivation theory's (PMT) utility in guiding research in a general orthopedic rehabilitation facility. Further questions were whether a screening incorporating the Sports Injury Rehabilitation Beliefs Scale (SIRBS), Positive and Negative Affect Scales (PANAS), and a barriers checklist, and/or physical therapists' (PTs') perceptions were valid measures that could predict patients' adherence behavior. Adherence behavior was measured using the Sports Injury Rehabilitation Adherence Scale (SIRAS) and attendance behavior groupings which were classified as drop out/no drop out, no show/non no show, and cancellation/no cancellation. This study was conducted in a community sports medicine …

Exploring Mypyramid: Budgeting Total Calories, Julie Garden-Robinson, Bridget Curley

FN Series – Food & Nutrition/HNES

No abstract provided.

Exploring Mypyramid: Find Your Balance Between Food And Physical Activity, Julie Garden-Robinson, Bridget Curley

FN Series – Food & Nutrition/HNES

No abstract provided.

Exploring Mypyramid: Meat & Beans Group -- Go Lean With Protein, Julie Garden-Robinson, Bridget Curley

FN Series – Food & Nutrition/HNES

No abstract provided.

Rules, Principles, Or Just Words? The Interpretive Project And The Problem Of Legitimacy, Barbara Bucholtz

Articles, Chapters in Books and Other Contributions to Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Exploring Mypyramid: Introducing...Mypyramid, Julie Garden-Robinson

FN Series – Food & Nutrition/HNES

No abstract provided.

Exploring Mypyramid: Grain Group -- Make Half Your Grains Whole, Julie Garden-Robinson, Bridget Curley

FN Series – Food & Nutrition/HNES

No abstract provided.

The Efficient Dissemination Of Information In Highly Mobile Ad Hoc Networks., Michael Gorden Kirkpatrick

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

With the proliferation of wireless networked computing devices in recent years, the importance of communication between nodes in these networks has increased greatly. The mobility of these nodes complicates the problem because a given node's connections to the network are likely to change over time with the result that communication paths are established ad hoc. As the speed of the nodes increases or the computing power available to them is reduced, many standard techniques for predicting available message pathways no longer work. In these highly mobile ad hoc networks, the links between nodes can change between the time they are …

A Study Of Assessment Policies And Practices Of Directors In Pre-Kindergarten Programs In West Virginia., Janet Dozier

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As education for young children becomes more standards-based there has been a cry for more assessments. Developmentally appropriate assessment for young children has been defined by the twelve guidelines developed by the National Association for Young Children. The purpose of this study was done by surveying the 440 pre-kindergarten program directors in West Virginia regarding his/her perception of importance and implementation of those national assessment guidelines and followed by ten structured interviews of directors across the program descriptions. The study found the implementations of guidelines to be positively correlated to the director's perception of importance. Further it found that all …

An Exploration Of The Adjustment Processes Of Freshmen Student-Athletes And Non -Athlete Students., V Paul Downey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to examine the adjustment to college of freshmen student-athletes (n = 78) and students (n = 174) at a Division I university. Participants were surveyed using the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ; Baker & Siryk, 1999). Student-athletes were found to be significantly less committed to earning their undergraduate degrees than non-athletes, during both week seven and week 15 of their first semester. Predictor variables accounted for 24% of the variance in social adjustment with a more positive perceived impact of personal-social factors and an internal locus of control, emerging as significant predictors. Commitment …