Digital Commons Network^™

Surface Reconstruction Using Gamma Shapes, Ying Sun

All ETDs from UAB

Surface reconstruction from a set of sample points is important in many applications, including computer graphics, reverse engineering, computer vision and medical imaging. In this dissertation, several surface reconstruction techniques are investigated and the Alpha Shapes method is studied in detail. A new method, called Gamma Shapes, is introduced and implemented for reconstructing surfaces from a set of unorganized sample points. The Alpha Shapes method requires that the data point set be uniformly sampled in order to reconstruct an acceptable surface. Gamma Shapes method is an extension of the Alpha Shapes method with the advantage that the Gamma Shapes method …

Development Of Efficient Algorithms For Fluid-Structure Interaction Framework And Its Applications, Young Ho Kim

All ETDs from UAB

Computer-based simulation tools are becoming integrated to solve multiphysics and interactions between different disciplines. One of such problems that is of importance is fluid structure interaction (FSI). The goal of this study is to develop efficient and robust algorithms for a FSI framework. Due to the advantages of reusability of wellvalidated simulation codes for fluid and structural analysis, loosely-coupled methods are now dominant over directly-coupled methods. In loosely-coupled methods, it is important to transfer data efficiently and accurately between inherently unmatched grids used in different disciplines. In addition, efficient moving grid algorithms and time mapping techniques are essential. A new …

Walking The Line Between Contract And Tort In Construction Disputes: Assessing The Use Of Negligent Misrepresentation To Recover Economic Loss After Presnell, Steven M. Henderson

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Drafting Enforceable Non-Solicitation Agreements In Kentucky, Elizabeth E. Nicholas

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Audit Committee "Financial Expert" Requirement And The Internal Control Attestation: Effective Contributions To Corporate Governance?, Joseph A. Guillory

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Conference Program [2006], Georgia International Conference On Information Literacy

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

N/A

Chinese Law On Sars By Chenglin Liu (Book Review), Vincent R. Johnson

Faculty Articles

Chinese Law on SARS, by Chenglin Liu, is a marvelous example of fresh scholarship about a new and important feature of the Chinese legal system. The book analyzes the Chinese response to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (“SARS”) epidemic in 2003. Most notably, it examines the government’s passing of two new laws and the implementation of other legal steps to bolster the nation’s public health system.

Liu’s scholarly examination of the SARS legislation is instructive, not merely because it explains the current laws in China relating to SARS, but also because it offers insight into what a country should (and …

Change In Conduction Velocity Due To 2d Fiber Curvature In Cultured Neonatal Rat Ventricular Myocytes, Elliot Blake Bourgeois

All ETDs from UAB

Continuum modeling of two-dimensional curved fiber fields has suggested that fiber curvature modulates conduction velocity (CV) in the myocardium. To verify the existence of this effect in living tissue, we measured CV in macroscopically anisotropic monolayers of cultured neonatal rat ventricular myocytes with controlled fiber curvature. A novel growthdirecting substrate was used to produce fiber fields with significant curvature (78°/cm to 333°/cm). Anisotropy ratios (longitudinal CV / transverse CV) measured in cultures grown using this method (n=32) were 2.3±0.3, which is similar to the anisotropy exhibited by human ventricular myocardium. Propagating wavefronts were initiated transverse to fiber orientation in two …

Geometry Modeling For Patterned And Repetitive Configurations, Dipesh S. Dimble

All ETDs from UAB

Over the years, the use of computational engineering applications such as computer-aided design (CAD), computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and computational structural mechanics (CSM) has grown rapidly in the aerospace, automotive, electronics, biomedical, and many other industries. Various software tools have emerged and evolved to meet the user’s demand for solving the complex physics associated with complex configurations in the processes of design, analysis, and optimization. The value of computational tools in product designs is obvious: They can provide reliable data for improving the design, reduce the design cycle and product validation process, and provide on effective and efficient means for …

Cross Chip Probe Matching Tool: A Tool For Linking Probes From Microarrays Within And Across Species, Ruchi Ghanekar

All ETDs from UAB

raditionally, but not exclusively, a microarray experiment is conducted on a single type of microarray. However, different labs often use different chip types, and new versions of chips may be developed. Comparing experiments can be problematic in such cases, as it is not always clear which probe sets correspond to the same gene across experiments. The goal of this research was to develop a tool that allows investigators to identify probe sets that correspond to the gene within and across species. The Cross Chip Probe Matching Tool (CCPMT) makes use of the probe sequences for all features on arrays from …

Energy Audits Of State Buildings In Alabama, Harshad Prakash Shetye

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of this project was to perform preliminary energy audits at various state buildings in Alabama. Energy audits were conducted for a total of 18 buildings at the Department of Youth Services (Chalkville campus) and the Alabama State Capitol complex. Facility reports and summaries were prepared with the help of data obtained from building managers. Our research team identified areas in these facilties where energy conservation could be employed at no or low cost. The energy savings resulting from these audits were estimated based upon the guidelines presented in the Science Technology and Energy Division Guide for Calculating Program …

Speciation Of Alkali Metals In Biomass Combustion And Gasification, Pavankumar Bajrang Sonwane

All ETDs from UAB

Electricity from biomass and biomass–derived fuels has become an attractive and viable alternative energy source. Alkali metals, mainly sodium and potassium, together with other ash forming inorganic components in biomass, increase fouling, slagging, and high temperature corrosion of heat transfer surfaces in boilers thus reduces efficiency during biomass combustion. Future biomass-to-electricity facilities will benefit from increased efficiencies, by incorporating integrated gasification combined cycle systems that use biomass syngas directly in gas turbine. These systems will have even lower tolerances for alkali vapor release, because accelerated erosion and corrosion of turbine blades results in shorter turbine life. One solution to the …

Multimodality Image Registration, Persis Prasai

All ETDs from UAB

Image registration has been a major area of research in the last few decades. It is a complex problem that involves handling large data sets. The relation between the real object and the image is very intricate and encompasses the object’s shape, surface properties, position, and illumination. In this thesis, a general solution to this problem was devised that can be applied to multimodality and within-modality image registration. The approach followed here is such that various factors such as illumination do not affect the algorithm. The algorithm considers the intensity of the images as raw data for the registration. The …

Investigation Of Routing Protocols In A Sensor Network, Ramesh Praveenkumar

All ETDs from UAB

The objective of this thesis is to model the communication and computation resources of the sensor netork, develop a framework for lifetime estimation and performance evluation of the network, and explore routing schemes so as to extend the functional lifetime of both the individual nodes and the entire network. The sensor network is severly constrained by limited resources, so, energy efficiency is the most important factor in designing the network. Designing an efficient routing protocol in a sensor network is challenging due to various factors, such as limited resources, concentration of load to a limited portion of the network, and …

A Framework For Improving Tractability In Software Development, Sambit Patnaik

All ETDs from UAB

Present software development methodologies suffer from a common disadvantage that they do not allow seamlessly mapping the final implementations to the originating requirements. Most of the advances made in this area have been in the form of policy rather than processes and framework which support that kind of tractability. New software environments constituting component-based software promise to change the present picture. Web services and semantic web are upcoming technologies. Their popular use in the software industry is inevitable, dependent only upon how fast they mature into reliable technologies. Web services evolved from component software technology which is based upon the …

Design Of Randomly Placed Microphone Array, Srichandana Jasti

All ETDs from UAB

Microphone arrays can be employed in noise and vibration analysis to detect and analyze changes in noise sources. One weakness of microphone arrays is the presence of artifacts (ghost sounds not present in the true signal) caused by the array geometry. Previous researchers have attempted to move the microphones around their original array positions (moving over a small amount from the current position) to distinguish the presence of true noise sources from artifacts. While these methods have shown promise, the original authors have hypothesized that the best method would be to randomly move the microphones around their respective positions. This …

Stem Cells, Tgf-Ss, And The Adenoviral Mediated Overexpression Of Fibromodulin To Promo Te Incisional Wound Healing, Steven T. Moore

All ETDs from UAB

Incision wounds are a clinical problem due to insufficient strength with cosmeti-cally and functionally unacceptable scarring. The primary goals of therapy are increasing the rate of tissue repair and reducing scar stiffness. Assessment of the wounds is neces-sary to determine the state of the tissue in terms of strength, stiffness, and function as well as to compare the efficacy of various treatments and therapies. Mechanical testing can reveal both the speed in which a wound is healing in addition to the amount of scar-ring that is present in a wound. Presently, mesenchymal stem cells have shown potential to heal injured …

The Association Between 2002 Office Chlamydia Screening Rates, Physician Perception, And Physician Behavior, Blanche C. Collins

All ETDs from UAB

Background: Chlamydia prevalence in reproductive-age females is 3-20%. This study aimed to determine if physicians’: • sexual activity prevalence perceptions • Chlamydia prevalence perceptions • Sexual history-taking were associated with mean office screening rates; and if physicians’ perceptions of: • sexual activity • Chlamydia were associated with sexual history-taking. Methods: A national MCO’s physicians participated and were asked about their perceptions of sexual activity and Chlamydia prevalence and their sexual history-taking. Data sources included mean office screening rates, online surveys, and AMA’s masterfile. Results: Only 15% of at-risk females were screened (n = 75). Physicians who estimated lower 18 year-old …

Gas Phase Dynamics Of Laser-Generated Nanoparticle Populations And Its Application To Nanomaterials Fabrication, Mevlut Bulut

All ETDs from UAB

Naturally occurring materials often derive their outstanding properties from optimal anisotropic arrangements of nanoscale constituents. This requires a hierarchical organization of matter over several length scales, which is difficult to achieve in artificial materials made by conventional physical and chemical methods. This dissertation explores the combination of laser and aerosol processes as a novel approach to make thin film materials with a level of microscopic organization similar to that found in nature. Through a systematic investigation of the behavior of the gas-phase dynamics of nanoparticles generated by laser ablation of solid target materials in background gases and a study of …

Interactions Between Trains Of Premature Stimuli And Anatomically Anchored Reentrant Wavefronts: Implications For Antitachycardia Pacing, Israel A. Byrd

All ETDs from UAB

Implantable cardioverter defibrillators can terminate accelerated heart rhythms with either high energy shocks or antitachycardia pacing. Shocks are highly effective, but they reduce the quality of life in patients that receive them. Antitachycardia pacing is a train of pulses administered at a rate slightly faster than the arrhythmia rate. These pulses are low energy, and terminate ventricular tachycardia in patients without causing pain. The paced wavefronts penetrate the reentrant circuit, and interact with the underlying reentrant wavefront to block all arrhythmic activity. Currently, these interactions between paced wavefronts and reentrant wavefronts are not well understood. A better understanding of these …

Attitude And The Ada: A Survey Of Public Employees In Alabama., Amy Philips

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

The Ionic Mechanism Of Action Potential Duration Restitution, Its Memory Effect, And Stability., Xiaozhong Chen

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

A Trust-Relationship Management Framework For Federated Virtual Organizations., Jill Gemmill

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Deep Level Defect Studies In Semi-Insulating 4h- And 6h-Silicon Carbide Using Optical Admittance Spectroscopy., Wonwoo Lee

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Finite Element Modeling Of The Human Pelvis: Applications To Automobile Side Impact And Periacetabular Lesions., Zuoping Li

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Stability Of Curved I -Girder Bridges During *Construction., Mahendrakumar Madhavan

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Micromechanics For Fiber -Reinforced Photocure Composites., Richard C. Petersen

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Examining Science Achievement Of African American Females In Suburban Middle Schools: A Mixed Methods Study., Kecia C. Topping

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

V-Ss-Parse: A New Mri Method For Rapid Mapping Of Flow Velocity., Jin Zuo

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Embedded Clustering Systems With Biological Data Mining Applications., Yonghui Chen

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.