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2005

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Prioritization Methods For Accelerating Mdp Solvers, Kevin Seppi, David Wingate Jan 2005

Prioritization Methods For Accelerating Mdp Solvers, Kevin Seppi, David Wingate

Faculty Publications

The performance of value and policy iteration can be dramatically improved by eliminating redundant or useless backups, and by backing up states in the right order. We study several methods designed to accelerate these iterative solvers, including prioritization, partitioning, and variable reordering. We generate a family of algorithms by combining several of the methods discussed, and present extensive empirical evidence demonstrating that performance can improve by several orders of magnitude for many problems, while preserving accuracy and convergence guarantees.


Mechanism Of Targeted Chemotherapeutic Delivery Using Ultrasound, Thaidra A. Gaufin, Byron K. Murray, Seiga Ohmine, Kim L. O'Neill, William G. Pitt, Briant S. Stringham Jan 2005

Mechanism Of Targeted Chemotherapeutic Delivery Using Ultrasound, Thaidra A. Gaufin, Byron K. Murray, Seiga Ohmine, Kim L. O'Neill, William G. Pitt, Briant S. Stringham

Faculty Publications

Ultrasound (US) is used to enhance and target delivery of drugs and genes to cancer tissues. The advantages of focused delivery to select tissues are manifold, but the exact mechanisms are largely unknown and need clarification to optimize delivery. The present study further defined the role of collapse cavitation in US-induced permeabilization of cell membranes and subsequent drug or gene uptake by the cell. Cavitation, defined as the collapse of micro-bubbles, produces high shear stresses and shock waves that may transiently puncture cell membranes and has been suggested as the cause of increased permeability. The hypothesis that collapsing bubbles permeabilize …


Efficient Capacity-Based Antenna Selection For Mimo Systems, Michael A. Jensen, Matthew L. Morris Jan 2005

Efficient Capacity-Based Antenna Selection For Mimo Systems, Michael A. Jensen, Matthew L. Morris

Faculty Publications

The achieved capacity of the multiple-input-multiple-output wireless channel is typically dependent on the array configurations at the transmitter and receiver. Maximizing system capacity or throughput therefore requires that the arrays adapt to changing channel conditions, which may be accomplished by selecting an appropriate subset of available antenna elements for connection to the electronic transmit and receive modules. This work presents algorithms, derived using relatively straightforward information theoretic considerations, for efficiently and effectively selecting the antenna elements. Computational examples using a realistic channel model for indoor environments illustrate the performance of the techniques.


Network Model For Mimo Systems With Coupled Antennas And Noisy Amplifiers, Michael A. Jensen, Matthew L. Morris Jan 2005

Network Model For Mimo Systems With Coupled Antennas And Noisy Amplifiers, Michael A. Jensen, Matthew L. Morris

Faculty Publications

This work presents a framework for the analysis of mutually-coupled antennas in a multiple-input multiple-output system. The approach uses network theory to formulate the transfer matrix relating the signals input to the transmit antennas to the signals at the output of the receiver front end. This transfer function includes the coupled transmit and receive antennas, the multipath propagation channel, the receiver matching network, and a realistic noise model for the receive amplifiers. Application of the formulation to coupled dipole antennas characterized using full-wave electromagnetic analysis illustrates the performance gains possible from matching the coupled antenna/receive amplifier subsystem for minimum noise …


The Kinderhook Plates, The Tucson Artifacts, And Mormon Archeological Zeal, J. Michael Hunter Jan 2005

The Kinderhook Plates, The Tucson Artifacts, And Mormon Archeological Zeal, J. Michael Hunter

Faculty Publications

“The Kinderhook Plates, the Tucson Artifacts, and Mormon Archeological Zeal” discusses Mormon archeological zeal, or the short-sighted enthusiasm shown by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) regarding relics or artifacts that might "prove" the veracity of the Book of Mormon or even of the LDS Church. This article summarizes the history of both the Kinderhook Plates and the Tucson Artifacts within this context, stating that the Kinderhook Plates have been proven fraudulent but that the Tucson Artifacts still provide mystery to researchers. The Kinderhook Plates were created by three conspirators who lived in Kinderhook, …


The Medieval Holocaust: The Approach Of The Plague And The Destruction Of Jews In Germany, 1348-1349, Albert Winkler Jan 2005

The Medieval Holocaust: The Approach Of The Plague And The Destruction Of Jews In Germany, 1348-1349, Albert Winkler

Faculty Publications

When the Black Death approached the German Empire in 1348, civic authorities in Germany tried to prevent the disease from striking their cities. No one knew what the Plague was, but there were unfounded rumors that the contagion was caused by Jews who were poisoning the water sources. Civic authorities soon tortured Jews for confessions, and the largest single persecution of Jews in Germany before the 1940s broke out. Jews were attacked in more than three hundred communities, their wealth was plundered, and many thousands were burned to death. The pogroms in Strasbourg and Basel are well-documented examples of what …


Residual Life Distributions From Component Degradation Signals: A Bayesian Approach, Nagi Gebraeel, Mark Lawley, Rong Li, Jennifer Ryan Jan 2005

Residual Life Distributions From Component Degradation Signals: A Bayesian Approach, Nagi Gebraeel, Mark Lawley, Rong Li, Jennifer Ryan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

No abstract provided.


Shared Experience Building Around The Family Crucible Of Cancer, W. David Robinson, Jason S. Carroll, Wendy L. Watson Jan 2005

Shared Experience Building Around The Family Crucible Of Cancer, W. David Robinson, Jason S. Carroll, Wendy L. Watson

Faculty Publications

This study was designed to gain a greater understanding of the effects cancer has on families while simultaneously developing family therapy interventions that are helpful for families experiencing the crucible of cancer. On the basis of an action research paradigm, the authors designed an intensive case-analysis protocol involving reflective interviewing to learn about the personal perspectives of family members who participate in therapeutic treatment for cancer. An integration of reflective insight by the families, their therapist, and the research team ultimately revealed that cancer families face an ongoing struggle (a) between feelings of isolation and connectedness, (b) to make meaning …


Politico-Economic Factors Associated With Interest In Starting A Business: A Multi-Country Study, Thomas Begley, Wee Liang Tan, Herbert Schoch Jan 2005

Politico-Economic Factors Associated With Interest In Starting A Business: A Multi-Country Study, Thomas Begley, Wee Liang Tan, Herbert Schoch

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Public health is a legal term of art referring specifically to delineated powers, duties, rights, and responsibilities. An emerging human rights conception of public health justifies government intervention. Intervention involves public officials taking appropriate measures including environmental regulations pursuant to specific legal authority, after balancing private rights and public interests, to protect the health of the public. This article is a critical analysis of the performance of the actors in maintaining environmental standards in India. Part II is a discussion on the source of environmental law in India. Part III discusses the performance of the legislature. Part IV evaluates the …


Regionalisation And Singapore's Transborder Industrialisation: A New Perspective On Suzhou Industrial Park, Xun Cai, Lu Gao, Caroline Yeoh Jan 2005

Regionalisation And Singapore's Transborder Industrialisation: A New Perspective On Suzhou Industrial Park, Xun Cai, Lu Gao, Caroline Yeoh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The dynamics of international economic competition have prompted governments to re-examine accustomed policies, and search for alternative strategies, in order to re-position their economies for the future. This paper takes a look at Singapore’s search for a competitive positioning in the global marketplace, and focuses on the city-state’s much-publicized, and controversial, flagship project in China, viz, the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP). This strategic initiative is premised on the perceptions that Singapore’s positive reputation with multinational corporations, and ‘guanxi’ (or connections) with regional governments, will give the regional sites a strategic advantage in the competition for foreign investments. Earlier studies have …


Preaspiration And Gemination In Central Numic, Dirk Elzinga, John E. Mclaughlin Jan 2005

Preaspiration And Gemination In Central Numic, Dirk Elzinga, John E. Mclaughlin

Faculty Publications

The Numic (Uto-Aztecan) languages are well known for consonant gradation, which each language shows to some degree. Three consonantal series have been reconstructed for Proto-Numic: Geminating, Nasalizing, and Spirantizing. The Central Numic languages Timbisha, Shoshoni, and Comanche have preserved these three consonantal series and added a fourth, Aspirating. The Aspirating series is historically derived from the Geminating series, but it is synchronically distinct from it. On the basis of verb class behavior in Central Numic, we show that the Central Numic Aspirated series is a straight forward consequence of Proto-Uto-Aztecan stress patterns as reflected in pre-Proto-Central Numic.


Effects Of Pressure On Coal Pyrolysis And Char Morphology, Dong Zeng, Thomas H. Fletcher Jan 2005

Effects Of Pressure On Coal Pyrolysis And Char Morphology, Dong Zeng, Thomas H. Fletcher

Faculty Publications

A better understanding of high-pressure coal pyrolysis is needed to design advanced coal gasification combined-cycle systems. High-temperature, high-heating-rate, and high-pressure pyrolysis experiments were conducted on three bituminous coals and a lignite, to more fully understand the effects of pressure on resultant char properties. A flat-flame burner was designed and used inside a high-pressure drop-tube reactor to provide a high-temperature, high-heatingrate environment that is representative of industrial processes. Chars were prepared at four different pressures, ranging from 0.85 atm to 15 atm. The measured total volatiles yields compared well with predictions of the Chemical Percolation Devolatilization (CPD) model. The physical properties …


Simulated Land-Based Turbine Deposits Generated In An Accelerated Deposition Facility, Jared W. Jensen, Sean W. Squire, Jeffrey P. Bons, Thomas H. Fletcher Jan 2005

Simulated Land-Based Turbine Deposits Generated In An Accelerated Deposition Facility, Jared W. Jensen, Sean W. Squire, Jeffrey P. Bons, Thomas H. Fletcher

Faculty Publications

This report presents a validation of the design and operation of an accelerated testing facility for the study of foreign deposit layers typical to the operation of land-based gas turbines. This facility was designed to produce turbine deposits in a 4-h test that would simulate 10,000 h of turbine operation. This is accomplished by matching the net foreign particulate throughput of an actual gas turbine. Flow Mach number, temperature and particulate impingement angle are also matched. Validation tests were conducted to model the ingestion of foreign particulate typically found in the urban environment. The majority of this particulate is ceramic …


Observations Of Flame Behavior In A Laboratory-Scale Premixed Natural Gas/Air Gas Turbine Combustor From Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence Measurements Of Oh, Laser Doppler Anemometer Velocity Measurements, And Coherent Anti-Stokes Roman Spectrometer Temperature Measurements, Thomas H. Fletcher Jan 2005

Observations Of Flame Behavior In A Laboratory-Scale Premixed Natural Gas/Air Gas Turbine Combustor From Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence Measurements Of Oh, Laser Doppler Anemometer Velocity Measurements, And Coherent Anti-Stokes Roman Spectrometer Temperature Measurements, Thomas H. Fletcher

Faculty Publications

Instantaneous planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) images of OH, simultaneous axial/radial and axial/tangential velocity measurements with an LDA (laser Doppler anemometer), and instantaneous gas temperature measurements using a coherent anti- Stokes Raman spectrometer (CARS) were obtained in a pre-mixed, swirl-stabilized laboratory-scale combustor, fired with natural gas. Four operating conditions were examined (two swirl conditions and equivalence ratios of 0.80 and 0.65). The instantaneous PLIF images of OH illustrate the chaotic nature of the turbulent flame eddies. Mean and standard deviations of each variable were measured at different locations in the flame, along with probability density functions. Stability of the flame …


Swelling Properties And Intrinsic Reactivities Of Coal Chars Produced At Elevated Pressures And High Heating Rates, Dong Zeng, Michael Clark, Todd Gunderson, William C. Hecker, Thomas H. Fletcher Jan 2005

Swelling Properties And Intrinsic Reactivities Of Coal Chars Produced At Elevated Pressures And High Heating Rates, Dong Zeng, Michael Clark, Todd Gunderson, William C. Hecker, Thomas H. Fletcher

Faculty Publications

A high-temperature, high-pressure flat-flame burner reactor was developed to prepare char at different pressures. This system achieves particle heating rates of 105 K/s, which better mimics industrial conditions than conventional drop tube or radiative flow reactors. Previous data at atmospheric pressure demonstrated a significant decrease in particle swelling during devolatilization as heating rates increased from 104 K/s (the typical drop tube heating rate) to 105 K/s. Pyrolysis experiments were performed at pressures from 1 to 15 atm at 1300 C for two bituminous coals and a lignite. Average swelling was determined from a combination of the mass …


Sex-Related Acoustic Changes In Voiceless English Fricatives, Shawn L. Nissen, Robert Allen Fox Jan 2005

Sex-Related Acoustic Changes In Voiceless English Fricatives, Shawn L. Nissen, Robert Allen Fox

Faculty Publications

This investigation is a comprehensive acoustic study of 4 voiceless fricatives (/f q s Ý/)in English produced by adults and pre- and postpubescent children aged 6–14 years. Vowel duration, amplitude, and several different spectral measures (including spectral tilt and spectral moments) were examined. Of specific interest was the pattern of normal development of the acoustic properties of fricatives and the nature of sex-specific patterns of fricative articulation in prepubescent children. Little evidence of amplitude or duration differences was found between speakers that was related to sex of the speaker. However, significant sex-specific differences in fricative articulation were found in all …


Psychometrically Equivalent Mandarin Bisyllabic Speech Discrimination Materials Spoken By Male And Female Talkers, Shawn L. Nissen, Richard W. Harris, Lara-Jill Jennings, Dennis L. Eggett, Holly Buck Jan 2005

Psychometrically Equivalent Mandarin Bisyllabic Speech Discrimination Materials Spoken By Male And Female Talkers, Shawn L. Nissen, Richard W. Harris, Lara-Jill Jennings, Dennis L. Eggett, Holly Buck

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to develop, digitally record, evaluate, and psychometrically equate a set of Mandarin bisyllabic word lists for use in measurement of speech discrimination. Familiar bisyllabic words were digitally recorded by male and female talkers of Standard Mandarin. Percentage of correct word recognition was measured for each word at ten intensity levels ( /5 to 40dB HL) in 5 dB increments using 20 normally hearing subjects. Using logistic regression, 200 words with the steepest logistic regression slopes were included in four psychometrically equivalent word lists of 50 words each, and eight half-lists of 25 words each. …


Life On A Tricycle A Case Study Of Language Impairment From 4 To 19, Lee Robinson, Bonnie Brinton, Martin Fujiki Jan 2005

Life On A Tricycle A Case Study Of Language Impairment From 4 To 19, Lee Robinson, Bonnie Brinton, Martin Fujiki

Faculty Publications

This article presents a longitudinal case study of a child named Cody identified with specific language impairment. Cody was followed from 4 to 19 years of age, at which time he compared his social skills with those of peers: “It’s like they’re driving sports car and I’m on a tricycle.” His initial long- and short-term intervention goals are presented, along with the treatment methods employed and the resulting outcomes. Although long-term goals remained consistent, as the nature of Cody’s academic, social, and emotional challenges shifted, it was necessary to gear treatment to address his changing needs. Cody’s case illustrates the …