Digital Commons Network^™

Neighborhood Defined Adaboost Based Mixture Of Color Components For Efficient Skin Segmentation, Ramya Reddy Maaram

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A skin segmentation algorithm robust to illumination changes and skin-like backgrounds is developed in this thesis. So far skin pixel classification has been limited to only individual color spaces and there has not been a comprehensive evaluation of which color components or combination of color components would provide the best classification accuracy, Color components in a given color space form the feature set for the classification of skin pixels. The combination of the color components or the features present within a single color space may not be the best when it comes to skin pixel classification as the discriminatory power …

Parmela Based Simulations On Jefferson Lab Free Electron Laser Injector, Deepesh Kumar Koppunuru

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Free Electron Lasers (FELs) have many applications and are under continuing development to meet various needs and in areas from materials processing to life sciences research. This is because of its unique capability of generating high-average power, coherent, and wavelength tunable light by employing relativistic beam of un-bounded electrons. The main challenge in FEL development is the generation of a high intensity, high-quality electron beam in an injector. Further acceleration to relativistic energies is accomplished in a linear accelerator (LINAC) for producing laser light in a device known as wiggler. The Jefferson Lab FEL team intents to increase the injector …

Electroactive Polymers (Eap): Simulation Studies Of The Actuation Mechanisms In A Cantilever Cellulose Electroactive Paper, Fatim A. Mbaye

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Electroactive polymers (EAPs) exhibit large strain in response to an external electric field and have attracted a great deal of attention in recent years for sensor and actuator applications. Favorable properties include soft actuation, ease and simplicity in manufacturing, being light-weight, low power consumption, and the ability to withstand harsh environments. However, this is an emerging material, and several aspects, including the fundamental mechanisms for piezoelectric deflections, remain unclear. This project studies the internal electromechanical factors that contribute to the voltage induced deflections of electro-active paper (EAPap). Experimental measurements of bias dependent deflections and water absorption as a function of …

Microfabrication Of An Optical Chamber For Exposing Living Cells To Pulsed Electric Fields, Saleh Sheikh

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

I have fabricated a chamber which enables the application of Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields (nsPEFs) to living cells while monitoring their real time fluorescence with an inverted microscope. The No. I thickness (150µm nominal) coverslip glass substrate used for fabrication allows the use of high numerical aperture oil immersion objectives for imaging intracellular organelles. Electrodes are fabricated by first evaporating a chromium adhesion layer, followed by a nickel seed layer. Subsequently, an ultra-thick positive photoresist is applied and patterned to create a 30µm thick electroplating mold. The electrodes are then electrodeposited into the mold from a nickel sulfamate plating bath. …

Antimicrobial Activity Screening Of Recombinant And Synthetic Varasin A Defensin From The Hard Tick Dermacentor Variabilis Against Various Bacteria, Julia A. Sharp

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Hematophagous arthropods, such as ticks and mosquitoes, rely on their innate immune system for defense against pathogens ingested in a blood meal as well as those acquired through injury. In response to pathogen recognition, the production of antimicrobial peptides, such as defensin, is typically upregulated. Varisin, a defensin, is thought to be a key component in the immunocompetence of the hard tick D. variabilis against Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease. To study the antimicrobial effects of varisin, recombinant varisin was expressed by both insect cells and E coli. Purification of the protein followed by enterokinase treatment yielded …

The Plasmodium Falciparum Chloroquine Resistance Transporter, Pfcrt, Mediates The Activity Of Chloroquine-Resistance Reversal Agents In The Malaria Parasite, Kristin Lane

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Chloroquine (CQ) resistant Plasmodium falciparum is a serious problem affecting 3.2 billion people in over 100 countries today. Most endemic malarious countries are among the poorest in the world and lack the resources to replace the inexpensive and highly effective CQ. CQ resistance (CQR) reversal agents are a potentially inexpensive solution to restoring CQ efficacy. CQR reversal agents are drugs that have little to no antimalarial activity alone, but in combination with CQ, they increase dmg accumulation in the parasite and enhance the sensitivity to CQ in CQR parasites. PfCRT is a putative transporter located on the parasite digestive vacuole …

Hydrodynamic Fin Function Of Brief Squid Lolliguncula Brevis, William Jeffreys Stewart

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Although the pulsed jet is often the foundation of a squid's locomotive system, the lateral fins also play an important role in swimming, potentially providing thrust, lift, and dynamic stability. Fin morphology and movement vary greatly among squid species, but the locomotive role of the fins is not well understood. To begin to elucidate the locomotive role of the fins in squids, fin hydrodynamics were studied in the brief squid Lolliguncula brevis, a species that exhibits a wide range of fin movements depending on swimming speed. Individual squid were trained to swim in both the arms-first and tail-first orientations against …

Stochastic Optimization Formulations For Structure Design, Shivanandini Tanuku

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The production process and the operational environment of a product usually involve many unpredictable elements, such as the manufacturing tolerance, the service loads, the maintenance schedule, etc. Furthermore, the targeted functionality of a product can also be alternated or enhanced in its service life due to the technology advancement, new demands, or new regulation. It is thus a challenge to a designer to include these uncertainties in the early design stage of a product.

This thesis uses a simple three-bar truss problem as a vehicle to investigate the qualities of the optimal solutions resulted from various stochastic programming formulations. The …

From 'Seriatim' To Consensus And Back Again: A Theory Of Dissent, M. Todd Henderson

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

No abstract provided.

…Of Cabbages And Kings. October, 2007, Emeriti Society, University Of The Pacific

Emeriti Newsletter: "...Of Cabbages and Kings"

"...Of Cabbages and Kings" is the newsletter of the University of the Pacific Emeriti Society. Read more about the Emeriti Society of Pacific by clicking here.

General Education Survey Reports, 2007, Assessment Of Student Learning Committee

Assessment of Student Learning Reports

No abstract provided.

Assessment Report On Academic Programs And General Education, University Of Minnesota, Morris

Assessment of Student Learning Reports

No abstract provided.

Judging Genes: Implications Of The Second Generation Of Genetic Tests In The Courtroom, Diane E. Hoffmann, Karen H. Rothenberg

Faculty Scholarship

The use of DNA tests for identification has revolutionized court proceedings in criminal and paternity cases. Now, requests by litigants to admit or compel a second generation of genetic tests – tests to confirm or predict genetic diseases and conditions – threaten to affect judicial decision-making in many more contexts. Unlike DNA tests for identification, these second generation tests may provide highly personal health and behavioral information about individuals and their relatives and will pose new challenges for trial court judges. This article reports on an original empirical study of how judges analyze these requests and uses the study results …

The University Of Texas At Tyler Magazine (Fall 2007), University Of Texas At Tyler

UT Tyler Magazine

This issue of UT Tyler Magazine includes: President's Letter; Around Campus: Grants Awarded for Research in Biology, University Highlighted in PBS Documentary, Haas Represents UT Tyler, State in Nation's Capital, Ingenuity Center Leads the Way, Murphree Awarded for Book on Florida History, Delegation Attends National Model UN, Swanson Publishes Guide for Improving Work Performance, Caught in the Draft; Excellence in Teaching Chemistry, Dr. Neil Gray Receives Prestigious Minnie Stevens Piper Award, Taking Up the Torch of Leadership, Bryan Hughes in the Texas Legislature; Support for Tomorow's Leaders, UT Tyler Scholarship Honors Memory of Oilman Thomas W. Clay; Winning on Both …

Evaluating A Four State Workforce Education Project: Questions Of Investigative Interest And Impact, Neal Grandgenett, Elliott Ostler, Applied Information Management Institute, Jeanne L. Surface

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

How can a large scale, multi-state, collaborative workforce development project be evaluated? This article describes the evaluation process of the Midwest Center for Information Technology (MCIT). The project uses “impact threads” to connect the outcomes of the project to strategic evaluation questions. The MCIT project, involving 10 public two-year colleges located in Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota, strives to assist partner colleges in enhancing information technology training and related degree programs. The MCIT was funded as a regional center within the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program of the National Science Foundation (NSF). This article details the evaluation plan …

Student Fact Book, Fall 2007, Thirty-First Annual Edition, Wright State University, Office Of Student Information Systems, Wright State University

Wright State University Student Fact Books

The student fact book has general demographic information on all students enrolled at Wright State University for Fall Quarter, 2007.

Signaling Pathways Activated By Interleukin-2 And Interluekin-4 Receptors Mediate T Lymphocyte Clonal Expansion, Kristen K. Comfort

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Cells sense and respond to chemical and physical stimuli through signal transduction pathways, which mediate cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, and survival. The cytokines interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) are key regulators of the adaptive immune system, particularly influencing the clonal expansion and differentiation of T cells. At least in culture, both synergistic and antagonistic effects of IL-2 and IL-4 co-stimulation have been reported; the antagonism, when observed, is thought to arise from the utilization of a common subunit shared by IL-2 and IL-4 receptors. We have sought to characterize IL-2 and IL-4 signaling at the level of intracellular pathways activated …

Science, Technology And Skills, Philip Pardey, Jennifer James, Julian Alston, Stanley Wood, Bonwoo Koo, Eran Binenbaum, Terrance Hurley, Paul Glewwe

Agribusiness

The invention of agriculture that occurred around 10,000 years ago heralded a shift from nomadic hunting and gathering to more managed forms of food, feed and fibre production. The domestication of crops initially involved the saving of seed from one season for planting in subsequent years. Later, farmers purposefully selected crop varieties and so in practice began matching and, by repeated selection over many years, adapting crop genetics to the environment in which the crop was grown. From its inception, enhancing G x E (i.e., gene by environment) interactions was an intrinsic, if not defining, feature of agriculture.

Faculty Tenure Report, Fall 2007, University Of Northern Iowa. Office Of Institutional Research.

Institutional Effectiveness & Planning Documents

Statistical report showing the number of faculty that are tenured, on the tenure track, or not on the tenure track, broken down by college, department, gender, minority status, and if full or part time.

Instruction Cost Report, Fall 2007, University Of Northern Iowa

Institutional Effectiveness & Planning Documents

Shows the costs associated with running the University of Northern Iowa broken down by college and department

The Learning Marketspace, October 2007, Bob Heterick, Carol Twigg

The Learning MarketSpace (4/03 - 4/14)

No abstract provided.

The Sinclair Lewis Society Newsletter, Vol. 16, No. 1, The Sinclair Lewis Society

Sinclair Lewis Society Newsletter

“It Can’t Happen Here Wins Libertarian Futurist Award”

“Sinclair Lewis and Ida K. Compton Conference”

“A Citizen of the Mirage,” by Sinclair Lewis, part 4 “

‘A novel filled with jackasses and jackals’: Animal Imagery in Elmer Gantry,” by Frederick Betz, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale

“The Tragedy of Martin Arrowsmith: A Physician’s Perspective,” by Russell Gollard, M.D.

“Parts of Lewis’s Library for Sale”

Primary And Secondary Education - Law Review Digests

The Journal of Law and Education

No abstract provided.

Reflections - Fall 2007, University Libraries--University Of South Carolina

Reflections

Contents:

Willis Retires as Dean of Libraries; McNally Becomes Interim Dean..... p.1
Plans Altered for Special Collections Library..... p.1
Libraries and English Department Join Forces to Present Fall Festival of Authors..... p.2
Focus of First-Year Reading Experience Exhibit is Japanese Americans..... p.2
Exhibits & Events..... p.3
Charles Darwin Exhibit Accompanies New Lecture Series..... p.3
Carolina Alumni Association Members Given Access to Research Databases..... p.4
Francis Marion’s Regimental Muster Roll, 1778..... p.4
World War I Exhibit at Thomas Cooper Library.... p.4
Hallman Bequest to Support University’s Ernest Hemingway Collection..... p.5
Collection of “Carolina Hobo” Claude Casey Comes to Music Library..... p.5 …

Unproductive Bodies: A Materialist Critique Of The "Corporeal Turn", Paula Cerni

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

Contemporary theory tends to neglect the human body's role in the production of material objects. This neglect is most glaring in constructionist approaches, whose post-structuralist view of the social as discursive practice necessarily downgrades the practical relations between humans and their physical environment. Arthur Frank, for example, formulates a typology - partly derived from Bryan Turner's theory of 'bodily order' - according to which the body acts in four ways: as a disciplined, dominating, mirroring and communicative body (Frank, 1991; Turner, 1984). None of these four modes of action involve the body acting practically on the wider material …

Historians And Archaeologists: Proposals For Connecting In A Common Past, Mark E. Harlan

New Mexico Historical Review

No abstract provided.

Mississippi River Stories: Lessons From A Century Of Unnatural Disasters, Sandra B. Zellmer, Christine A. Klein

Faculty Law Review Articles

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the nation pondered how a relatively weak Category 3 storm could have destroyed an entire region. Few appreciated the extent to which a flawed federal water development policy transformed this apparently natural disaster into a "manmade" disaster; fewer still appreciated how the disaster was the predictable, and indeed predicted, sequel to almost a century of similar disasters. This Article focuses upon three such stories: the Great Flood of 1927, the Midwest Flood of 1993, and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita of 2005. Taken together, the stories reveal important lessons, including the inadequacy of engineered flood …

Cs 141: Computer Programming - I, Michael Ondrasek

Computer Science & Engineering Syllabi

This course provides a general introduction to the fundamentals of computer programming. Examples from and applications to a broad range of problems are given. No prior knowledge of programming is assumed. The concepts covered will be applied to the Java programming language. Students must register for both lecture and one laboratory section. 4 credit hours. Prerequisite: MTH 127 (College Algebra) or equivalent.

Ceg 476/676: Computer Graphics I, Thomas Wischgoll

Computer Science & Engineering Syllabi

By the end of this quarter, you will have learned techniques for constructing 2-D and 3-D objects as well as manipulating and rendering the objects using OpenGL.

Ceg 402/602: Introduction To Computer Communication, Bin Wang

Computer Science & Engineering Syllabi

This course provides an introduction to basic concepts of communication networks, different types of networks, protocols over different layers, and network applications through lectures, labs, homework, and reading on relevant materials.

You will

• Understand networking principles, protocols, and technologies.

• Understand some design and performance issues involved in providing a network service.

• Acquire background for supporting e-commerce, e-government, and e-education.

• Gain hands-on experience with programming techniques for network protocols.

• Obtain background for original research in computer networks.