Digital Commons Network^™

A Mathematical And Computational Exploration Of The Effect Of The A-Current In Determining The Activity Phase Of Follower Neurons, Yu Zhang

Dissertations

Bursting oscillations are prevalent in neurons of central pattern generators (CPGs) that produce rhythmic motor activity, and the activity phase plays an important role in determining the normal or dysfunctional network output. The activity phase is the delay time-with respect to some reference time in each cycle and normalized by the oscillation cycle period-of the onset of action potentials by a neuron. This dissertation investigates how the A-current, in conjunction with other intrinsic properties, sets the activity phase of a neuron driven by inhibition.

This dissertation is divided into two major components. In the first component, methods of dynamical systems …

Service Supply Chain Management : A Hierarchical Decision Modeling Approach, Roger Angel Solano-Cayama

Dissertations

A Service Supply Chain (SSC) may be described as a network of service provider facilities (in-house or outsourced), each of which is able to process one or more service tasks on an as needed basis. Two key characteristics of a SSC are (i) the business service is decomposable into several sequential tasks that can be processed by different service providers, and (ii) the primary capacity resource is skilled labor. SSCs are increasingly being developed by companies that experience a high variability of demand for their services (e.g., loan processing, analytical consulting services, emergency repair crews, claims processing, etc.). Typically, the …

Investigation Into The Acupuncture And Meridian System, Jingong Pan

Dissertations

The Meridian system conceived by the ancient Chinese has been described and referenced for more than a thousand years. The Meridians meaning paths are the main trunks that run longitudinally within the body. The Meridian system consists of about 400 acupuncture nodes and 20 Meridian channels connecting most of these points. It deals with the routing and distribution of certain signals that may affect physiological functions. It integrates meridians, tissues and organs into a complex system.

Initially, modeling of the acupuncture system is investigated. The physical effect of injecting an acupuncture needle at a node is suggested by an equivalent …

Degradation Of Polylactic Acid In The Presence Of Microsize And Nanosize Fillers, Quyuan Zhou

Dissertations

Polylactide (PLA)-cationic (montmorillonite, MMT) and anionic (hydrotalcite, HT) clay micro- or nanocomposites based on semicrystalline and amorphous polymers and unmodified and organomodified as well as calcined or non-calcined clays at 5wt% concentration are produced by melt mixing. Depending on the clay type, presence of organomodifiers and calcination, micro- or nanocomposites are produced, as confirmed by XRD and SEM analysis.

Unfilled polymers and their composites are subjected to isothermal degradation in air at 180°C and 200°C. Degradation rate constants are calculated from novel equations incorporating IV. Results show that the thermal degradation rate constants of the amorphous PLA and its composites …

Flexible Electronics : Materials And Sensor Fabrication, Katherine J. Duncan

Dissertations

This dissertation demonstrates how to fabricate piezoelectric/pyroelectric thin films by using different printing techniques. These techniques could replace vacuum techniques for manufacturing piezoelectric/pyroelectric sensors. Ink-jet, screen and stencil printing techniques were developed to print these devices.

This work outlines attempts to develop a solution processable conductive ink for ink-jet printing. It then details the printing of commercial conductive ink on flexible substrates employing the three printing methods. Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, are both used to investigate the structure of the P(VDF-TrFE) films. Optical microscopy is used to investigate the thickness and uniformity of the deposited films. The …

Nmflux: Improving Degradation Behavior Of Server Applications Through Dynamic Nursery Resizing, Witawas Srisaan, Cheng Huan Jia

School of Computing: Technical Reports

Currently, most generational collectors are tuned to either deliver peak performance when the heap is plentiful, but yield unacceptable performance when the heap is tight or maintain good degradation behavior when the heap is tight, but deliver sub-optimal performance when the heap is plentiful. In this paper, we present NMFLUX (continuously varying the Nursery/Mature ratio), a framework that switches between using a fixed-nursery generational collector and a variable-nursery collector to achieve the best of both worlds; i.e. our framework delivers optimal performance under normal workload, and graceful performance degradation under heavy workload. We use this framework to create two generational …

A Two Dimensional Model Of Magnetic Field Assisted Assembly, Gaurev Devrani

Theses

A simplified model to simulate the magnetic field distribution for applications in magnetic field assisted assembly of semiconductor device structures, using commercial software (Vizimag), has been implemented. Solenoids have been utilized to serve as electromagnets that are responsible for the assembly process. Magnetic shielding techniques have been deployed to isolate the influence of one solenoid over another. These solenoids are used to move the devices that need to be placed in recesses within the substrate. The bottom of the devices and the recesses are coated with magnetic materials to facilitate the movement and placement of devices within the recesses in …

Classification Of Hand Held Shapes And Locations In Continuous Signing, Swetha Karri

Theses

Sign language for the deaf and hearing impaired replaces speech with manually produced signs. Each sign has been categorized as being combinations of handshape, movement, orientation, location, and facial expressions. Of the five sign parameters, this thesis focuses on classification of two of the main parameters, the hand shapes and locations, in continuous signing.

Since the nature of hand shapes is transient and not static, neural networks was used as a classifier for hand shapes. And since locations in sign language are defined by linguistic variables rather than by hard core position values, fuzzy logic was used as a classifier …

Development Of Pharmacophore And Comfa Studies For Sigma2 Receptor Ligands, Laura Ann Wirpsza

Theses

This study describes the development of a pharmacophore and CoMIFA model for sigma 2 (σ₂) receptor ligands. CoMFA studies were performed for 32 bioactive σ₂ receptor ligands using the radioligand [H 3] (+) DTG in the presence of pentazocine. The pharmacophore was derived using Distance Comparisons (DISCOtech) from eight partially to highly active ~2 receptor ligands. All 32 compounds were calculated in three methods: AMi, HFI3~21G*, and B3LYP/3~21G* methods. These methods run in Gaussian 98 determined the geometry optimization and electrostatic charges for each molecule. CoMFA maps were developed using SYBYL ver. 7.2 to compare the electrostatic …

Dem Simulated Radial And Axial Pressure In A Cylindrical Granular Column, Meng Cui

Theses

The study of packed beds of granular spheres and their applications are of great interest to industries, and one of the most important subjects that has been studied is cylindrical beds. In 1895, H. A. Janssen discovered that in a vertical cylinder the pressure measured at the bottom does not depend upon the height of the filling in contrast to Newtonian fluids that possess linear hydrostatic pressure equilibrium. One of assumptions of his theory stated that the horizontal pressure is proportional to the vertical. In this thesis, this physical hypothesis is investigated using Discrete Element Simulations of inelastic with a …

Biomechanical Testing Of Upright Range Of Motion Versus Overhead Supine Range Of Motion, Linda Uko

Theses

Rehabilitation of an elbow, following injury, is not a well-studied subject. Clinically, there is not a general consensus on which recovery method is optimal for healing an unstable elbow. When dealing with medial collateral ligament deficiency, many authors have proposed several forearm positions that will yield proper healing of the unstable elbow. Some researchers believe that active mobilization of the elbow with the arm in a vertical position is a safe protocol for rehabilitation with the forearm oriented in a supine pronated position. It was also mentioned that the compressive forces due to the active mobilization of the arm will …

Developing A Virtual City For Emergency Preparedness Planning And Training, Jon K. Morgan

Theses

Existing techniques for emergency preparedness planning and training fail or lack the ability to convey training on a broad scale and timely fashion. Skill sets that are required for planning, mitigation, response and recovery issues are lost through information overload or failure to identify other channels in which to convey the information. In order to resolve some of the issues with currently existing methods such as tabletop training exercises (TTX), instructional video learning and full-scale exercises we can turn to virtual environments.

In a virtual environment teams can interact with their surroundings from the comfort of the office without having …

Challenges Of Creating A Knowledge-Based Society: Education & Research For India & Gujarat, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

No abstract provided.

Chemistry B.A. Pcas 08/29/2008, Curriculum Committee

Curriculum Committee Reports

No abstract provided.

Biology Minor Pcas 10/29/2008, Curriculum Committee

Curriculum Committee Reports

No abstract provided.

Time-Averaged Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry In The Presence Of Ambient Motion. Part I: Theory And Experiments, Thomas R. Moore, Jacob J. Skubal

Student-Faculty Collaborative Research Publications

An electronic speckle pattern interferometer is introduced that can produce time-averaged interferograms of harmonically vibrating objects in instances where it is impractical to isolate the object from ambient vibrations. By subtracting two images of the oscillating object, rather than the more common technique of subtracting an image of the oscillating object from one of the static objects, interferograms are produced with excellent visibility even when the object is moving relative to the interferometer. This interferometer is analyzed theoretically and the theory is validated experimentally.

Cal Poly College Of Engineering 2007-2008 Annual Report, College Of Engineering

College of Engineering Publications and Administrative Reports

No abstract provided.

Enhancing The Development Process With Wikified Widgets, Gary Gotchel

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Wikis are now merging with other applications. Structured wikis, also known as application wikis, have evolved in recent years. This second generation has embedded applications into the wiki, which are used to structure access to the wiki repository's otherwise unstructured content. This paper investigates the other possible approach to merging wikis with applications. It researches the utility of embedding wiki functionality into common applications. Utility will be measured by the benefits to the software development process offered by this approach. I introduce a new term, wikified widget, to describe a GUI component that provides structured access to a wiki repository …

Development Of A Physician Profiling Data Mart, Connie Chambers

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Hospitals and medical centers participate in a physician profiling process. This process is important to ensure that physicians are providing safe care and to comply with regulations. One medical center was struggling with the ongoing generation of physician performance reports that were an important part of the profiling process. A design research project was undertaken to demonstrate that an Access-based data mart could successfully streamline this report generating process. The research also demonstrated the need to eliminate excessive detail and deliver highly summarized reports. In addition, the research provided thorough documentation of the entire data mart development approach. This documentation …

Implementation Of The Metadata Elements Of The Inspire Directive, Fiona Lawlor

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

The INSPIRE Directive entered into force in 2007. The INSPIRE (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe) initiative seeks to set in place mechanisms for sharing spatial data across Europe. Metadata is one of these mechanisms: to enable discovery and to act as an information source about spatial data resources. This project examines the implementation of spatial data metadata in Ireland. Using an Irish public service organisation as a case study, the project examines how metadata creation and presentation could be optimised to provide the best value for the end user. This project also examines database tools that can be leveraged …

Campus Report, Vol. 36, No. 1, University Of Dayton

Campus Report

Rankings, renovations and rain gardens, plus service awards, diversity lectures, arts events and more.

The Bg News August 29, 2008, Bowling Green State University

BG News (Student Newspaper)

The BGSU campus student newspaper. August 29, 2008. Volume 99-Issue 6.

Approach To Model On The Fourth Generation Port Competitiveness : An Application For Pda, Yiwen Cao

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Development Research On Chinese Third-Party Cold Chain Logistics, Tianqing Wang

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Hilltop 8-29-2008, Hilltop Staff

The Hilltop: 2000 - 2010

No abstract provided.

The Wooster Voice (Wooster, Oh), 2008-08-29, Wooster Voice Editors

The Voice: 2001-2011

This summer, McGaw Chapel underwent renovations to the interior and exterior. One controversial renovation was eliminating the staircase that led to the roof. The college has implemented the ability to choose what meal plan a student might want: Plan A has 288 swipes and $150 in flex, and Plan B has 200 swipes with $450 in flex. Babcock Hall will be undergoing renovations throughout this school year. An update on the college's sports scores and standings are found on pages 7 and 8.

Research On Development Of Yangshan Bonded Logistics Park, Qing Fan

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Cost Analysis Of Liner Shipping Business, Yue Huang

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Research On Union Mode Of E-Waste Reverse Logistics In China, Hewei Kong

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Research On Information Integration Of Zhoushan Port And Its External Environment, Peiyao Lu

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.