Digital Commons Network^™

Google Books: Page By Page, Click By Click, Users Are Reading Away Privacy Rights, Kathleen E. Kubis

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Google Books will likely become the world's most extensive book and magazine search and browsing resource, library, and bookstore--combined. However, as users necessarily reveal personal identifying information through their book searches and reading habits, this service poses a significant threat to personal privacy.

Because the Google Books Amended Settlement Agreement neglects to meaningfully address user privacy, the only available privacy protections are the limited rights bestowed by the Google Books Privacy Policy and the Google Privacy Policy. Unfortunately, these Privacy Policies protect the interests of Google at the expense of users.

The enactment of federal privacy statutes, which include provisions …

Excitation Of Whispering Gallery Modes In Glass Microspheres Using Optical Fiber Couplers, Sudha Sneha Devarakonda

Masters Theses

"This research is a study conducted on the excitation of whispering gallery modes (WGM) in small micron-scale glass spheres. Optical WGM may be represented by a light wave that propagates along the surface of the sphere and reaches back itself in phase at specific wavelengths. Due to this, very high intensities of light with narrow line widths circulate in the microspheres contributing to high Q factor. The evanescent field of an optical waveguide is used to resonantly stimulate the WGM.

The WGM excitation in fused silica spheres was demonstrated in the laboratory with 60% coupling efficiency. Tapered optical fibers were …

Strength Evaluation And Transportation Behavior Of Preformed Particle Gel Using Screens And Tubes, Rajesh Sarma Challa

Masters Theses

"This research included a series of experiments, using screen models to evaluate the strength of swollen gel particles. It also includes the study of PPG propagation and extrusion behavior through tubes of various internal diameters. The effect of the particle gel swelling ratio (depending on brine concentration), flow rate; and mesh size on the gel injection pressure and injectivity were studied. The results show that gel injection pressure depends primarily on the swelling ratio and the mesh size. However, the injection pressure does not increase significantly with injection rates, behavior consistent with the real-time injection pressure and injection rate change …

Emi Suppression Of Dc-Dc Synchronous Buck Converters By Layout Optimizations And Emi Prediction Using Non-Linear And Spice Circuit Co-Simulation, Ankit Bhargava

Masters Theses

"The oscillation on the phase voltage is due to the resonant structure formed by a parasitic loop (consisting of two FETs and the input decoupling capacitors) inductance and the output capacitance of the low side FET. Therefore, it is important to minimize this parasitic loop inductance. A simulation guideline is developed on full-wave modeling and simulation of buck converter layouts to estimate the parasitic loop inductances. Furthermore, this method is taken one step further to estimate the far-field radiation from the loop. These simulations were verified on six PCB variants of the buck converter and were compared with measurements in …

Mechanical Properties And Microstructure Study For Direct Metal Deposition Of 316l Stainless Steel, Tian Fu

Masters Theses

"Direct metal deposition or laser cladding is a process capable of producing fully dense and net shape metal products and this process could be used on coating metal components in various engineering applications. This process has fast heating and cooling rates which can improve the surface hardness and provide excellent adhesion through metallurgical bond between coating material and substrate. This paper evaluated the laser deposited 316L stainless steel coating on 4340 steel, which is widely used for aircraft landing gear applications. The microstructure, micro-hardness and quantitative EDS were explored to verify the coating properties. The desired homogeneous microstructure and high …

The Marketing Value Of Graduate Certificate Programs In Higher Education: A Strategic Assessment, Susmitha Akula

Masters Theses

"The last five years have seen a significant increase in the popularity of non degree graduate certificates. This increase has raised questions about the value of graduate certificate programs from the perspective of students, alumni and industry employers. Do certificate programs provide real world skills and knowledge valuable to industry? Do they serve as effective recruiting tools for the university? Do they provide opportunities for students to meet their professional goals in terms of salary increase, promotions, and the like? The present research is specifically aimed at answering these questions. Surveys that assess perceptions of value of graduate certificates to …

Calibration Of Resistance Factors For Axial Capacity Of Driven Pile Into Missouri Soil, Mulugeta Abay Kebede

Masters Theses

"Over the past two decades the load resistance factor design (LRFD) has been accepted by the American Association for Transportation and Highway Officials (AASHTO) for the design of bridges. This approach is now gaining widespread popularity in the United States for substructure bridge design, including the design of driven pile foundations, as the states calibrate the geotechnical resistance factors for local geological conditions and practices. This study presents the geotechnical resistance factors calibrated for axially driven pile using the first-order reliability method (FORM) for the target reliability index of 2.33 and 3.0 based on 64 end-of-drives (EOD) and 22 beginning-of …

Establishing Workload Limitations For Application In Human Systems Integration, Muhammet Servet Gulum

Masters Theses

"As the amount of technology involved in the typical workplace increases and standard operational procedures become increasingly sophisticated the danger of overloading an operator's mental resources is increasing. As much as these technological developments help operators with daily tasks, for example by providing information via monitors and wireless headsets; it also increased the mental workload due to the bombardment of information. Mental workload is commonly associated with information processing tasks, limits. With all the extra information inputs it is difficult to set limits where excessive information becomes dangerous. The workload optimization is critical as it directly affects system performance and …

Evaluation Of Alternative Methods For Surface Preparation And Deposition Of Cerium-Based Conversion Coatings On Aluminum Alloys, William J. Gammill

Masters Theses

"This thesis investigates alternative surface preparation and deposition methods for cerium-based conversion coatings (CeCC) on high strength aluminum alloys. Cerium-based conversion coatings are being investigated as a more environmentally friendly replacement for chromium-based conversion coatings. Currently, the alloys are immersed in strong alkaline and acidic solutions to prepare the aluminum surfaces for conversion coating, in which immersion may not be suitable for all situations. Alternatives to this method were investigated, including wipe application of solution, ultrasonic processing in deionized water, and abrasive blasting with alumina. AI 7075-T6 test panels were prepared using each of these methods and compared to a …

Thrust Measurement Of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuators And Power Requirements For Aerodynamic Control, Joseph William Ferry

Masters Theses

"Plasma-based aerodynamic actuators are of interest to researchers because they do not require moving control surfaces or a source of pressurized air to modify a flow field. Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators have the added advantages of simple installation and low power consumption.

DBD plasma actuators are AC devices. This work measured actuator power consumption and thrust production for driving frequencies between 1 and 18 kHz, and for driving voltages of 6 and 9 kV peak to peak. The actuator consumed between 3 and 22 W of power and produced thrust levels between 0.05 and 0.2 mN per meter …

Sintering And Microstructural Effects On Mechanical Properties Of Zirconium Carbide-Tungsten Cermets, Melissa M. Giles Craft

Masters Theses

"Zirconium carbide-tungsten cermets were prepared by in situ reaction sintering a mixture of zirconia and tungsten carbide. Tungsten is a refractory metal with a melting point of 3422⁰C; however, its mechanical strength decreases significantly with increasing temperature. One approach to improve the elevated temperature strength is to add ceramic particulates to the matrix. Zirconia and tungsten carbide were compacted and then reacted and sintered in a single step by heating to 2050⁰C. The resulting stoichiometric zirconium carbide-tungsten cermet had a relative density greater than 96%. Cermets with two different grain sizes were produced by altering the final sintering temperature. Sintering …

"In Situ" Printed Circuit Board Material Extraction Procedure With Conductor Surface Roughness Study, Amendra Koul

Masters Theses

"Analysis of printed circuit board (PCB) behavior in a wide frequency range from tens MHz to at least 40 GHz is very important for modern high-speed digital design and assuring for signal integrity (SI). this analysis includes preliminary evaluation of per-unit-length parameters of the PCB transmission line and transmission line characteristics, such as propagation and attenuation constants, and also extraction of these parameters from measurements on real test vehicles. This thesis describes an impedance calculator tool, which can substantially speed up PCB design, and the second topic considered in this work is characterization of dielectric parameters of substrates of printed …

Performance Evaluation Of Energy Efficient Lighting Associated With Renewable Energy Applications, Allison Nicole Sperber

Masters Theses

"The present study demonstrated lighting loads as an energy end use associated with renewable energy system applications. Incorporating an energy efficient end use within a renewable energy system can be especially beneficial regarding size and portability. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are an energy efficient alternative to traditional outdoor lighting, which is currently dominated by high intensity discharge source lamps. LEDs provide the ability to mitigate the negative impacts of diesel consumption when a diesel generator is used independently or as a backup for renewable energy applications in remote localities. In-field data was collected of traditional metal halide lamps and two comparable …

Palynology Of The Middle To Upper Eocene Esmeraldas Formation In The Nuevo Mundo Syncline Area, Middle Magdalena Valley Basin, Colombia, Guillermo Rodriguez-Forero

Masters Theses

"The palynology of the Eocene Esmeraldas Formation in the Middle Magdalena Valley Basin, Colombia was analyzed in order to constrain the age of the unit. This formation is a very important oil reservoir in the Middle Magdalena Valley Basin, which is a product of a fragmentation of a Cenozoic foreland basin by the Northern Andes. It created structural complexities and syntectonic deposition. The lateral continuity of the formation, as well as its correlations with lithostratigraphic units is adjacent basins, are not clearly understood. The Los Corros Fossil Horizon, a mollusk horizon in the upper part of the Esmeraldas Formation, is …

Embedded Optimal Control Of Mobile Robot Formations Using Neural Networks, Bryan M. Brenner

Masters Theses

"This work first presents the development of a nearly-optimal control scheme and then evaluates the effectiveness of this nearly-optimal control scheme by comparing it to a non optimal controller in Paper I. It is shown that the proposed nearly-optimal scheme is a significant improvement over the non optimal one in both simulation and hardware tests. The test was carried out on a differentially driven robotic vehicle in both obstacle free and obstacle ridden environments. On the other hand, the controller introduced for the obstacle avoidance in Paper II will also function in the absence of obstacles so that no switching …

Automatic Detection Of Malignant Melanoma Using Boundary Gradient Information In Dermoscopy Images, Yogesh Ajit Dandekar

Masters Theses

"This thesis demonstrates an algorithm which uses local border features, primarily derived from the border gradient, to help determine whether the lesion is a malignant melanoma or a benign lesion. Although this algorithm uses manually-marked lesion borders, it could be included in a fully automatic routine. A Prewitt algorithm with a window size proportional to the area of the lesion is used to calculate the gradient over the entire lesion boundary. This gradient value is used to calculate various boundary features, such as mean, standard deviation, and direction of maximum gradient. The dark and white areas inside the lesion combined …

Symbol Synchronization And Dynamic Channel Estimation In Multiple Input Multiple Output Systems Using Statistical Analysis Of Eye Diagrams, Abhishek Gupte

Masters Theses

"The research work presented in this document is the continuation of the project to develop a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) system using band-limited signals in strong multipath environments. The modulation format used is Gaussian Frequency Shift Keying (GFSK). Band-limiting introduces controlled Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI), which along with a multipath environment degrades the features of the received signal waveform that are vital to the performance of standard symbol synchronization techniques. A low complexity algorithm was deemed necessary to counter this problem so that the benefits of conserving bandwidth would not be obviated by an expensive and elaborate receiver architecture.

Such …

Freeze Extrusion Fabrication Of 13-93 Bioactive Glass Scaffolds For Bone Repair, Nikhil D. Doiphode

Masters Theses

"We have investigated Freeze Extrusion Fabrication (FEF) of 13-93 bioactive glass to fabricate three dimensional scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. Bioactive glass paste was prepared for consistent extrusion through micro-nozzle and controlled porosity scaffolds were fabricated using additive manufacturing FEF. CAD models were prepared for different scaffold designs and computer controlled layer-by-layer deposition of pseudoplastic paste was carried out to in accordance. Liquid nitrogen assisted freezing of pastes was used for the consolidation of deposited layers. Post processing binder burnout and sintering schedules were designed for evaporation of organic binder and densification of glass. Sintering shrinkage was measured, and X-ray …

Innovative Concrete Bridging Systems For Pedestrian Bridges: Implementation And Monitoring, Kurt Edward Bloch

Masters Theses

"Two precast, prestressed pedestrian bridges were designed for rapid construction in Rolla, MO, utilizing high-strength concrete (HSC) and high-strength self-consolidating concrete (HS-SCC) with a target 28 day compressive strength of 68.9 MPa (10,000 psi) and release compressive strength of 24.1 MPa (3,500 psi). In addition, a glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) bar reinforced deck panel system was utilized in one of the two deck panels on each bridge.

Material properties were tested for compression, elastic modulus, modulus of rupture, splitting tensile strength, creep, and shrinkage following ASTM standards. Instrumentation systems within the spandrel beams and precast deck panels were implemented …

Performance Evaluation Of A Novel Diesel Fuel Air Separation And Filtration System For An Indirect Injection Diesel Engine, Michael Ray Hess

Masters Theses

"The objective of this research was to evaluate an air/fuel separation system known as a Fuel Preporator. The device's efficacy was determined by studying the effect of air entrainment on engine performance and fuel consumption of a General Motors 6.5 L naturally aspirated indirect injection (IDI) diesel engine. A test bed was developed to accommodate the test engine and test methods were adapted from federal regulations for steady-state engine testing (40 CFR 89 Subpart E). Cases of 0%, 5%, 10%, and 20% volumetric air entrainment were investigated for engine operation with and without the Fuel Preporator. Key measured engine performance …

Field Analysis Of Photovoltaic Ultracapacitor Energy Storage System, Jenna Vujic

Masters Theses

"In the field of innovative power sources, photovoltaics are playing an important role as a clean energy source. Because performance is dependent on instantaneous weather conditions, all stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) systems require an energy storage device. Batteries are not suitable for PV source applications due to depth of discharge restrictions, maintenance requirements and minimal power density availability. However, ultracapacitors (UCAPs) have a high power density, require little maintenance, and can be used in sequence with a dc-dc converter to maintain power output at an increased depth of discharge. This paper describes a PV-UCAP power system used to collect and compare …

Implementation Of Integrated Function Structure And Object-Oriented Design Framework, Qiong Gao

Masters Theses

"The function structure method is commonly used in mechanical product design. Although a function structure allows defining all the functions of the components of a product and their interactions, it does not have an effective architecture for the software design of a mechatronic product. An integrated function structure and object-oriented design framework was recently developed to overcome this disadvantage. In this thesis, the implementation of this framework to design several products in different categories, including an inkjet printer, and electric screwdriver and a vacuum cleaner, is discussed. The design results obtained using the new framework are compared to the design …

Haart Drugs Induce Oxidative Stress And Mitochondrial Dysfunction In Blood-Brain Barrier, Kalyan Reddy Manda

Doctoral Dissertations

"The era of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has controlled AIDS and its related disorders considerably; however, the prevalence of HIV-1-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) has been on the rise in the post-HAART era. In view of these developments, we investigated whether a HAART drug combination of 3'-Azido-2', 3'-deoxythymidine (AZT) and Indinavir (IDV) can alter the functionality of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) endothelial cells, thereby exacerbating the condition. Viability of hCMEC/D3 cells (in vitro model of BBB) that were exposed to the drugs was significantly reduced after a 72 hr treatment, in a dose-dependent manner. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) were highly …

Chemical Bath Deposition And Electrodeposition Of Epitaxial Semiconductor Materials For Application In Photovoltaic Devices, Guojun Mu

Doctoral Dissertations

"This dissertation investigates the chemical bath deposition of zinc oxide and electrodeposition of cuprous iodide on polycrystalline and single crystal substrates. Paper I describes the chemical bath deposition and characterization of titled epitaxial zinc oxide nanospears on Si(001) single crystal substrate. In Paper II, the chemical bath deposition of zinc oxide nanospears from highly alkaline solutions is discussed in detail, including a thermodynamic calculation of saturation and speciation of Zn(II) in aqueous solution, and a kinetic study of the deposition process. In this paper the epitaxial zinc oxide is reported grown on Au(100), (110), and (111) single crystals. Paper III …

Intelligent Power System Operation In An Uncertain Environment, Yusuf Yare

Doctoral Dissertations

"This dissertation presents some challenging problems in power system operations. The efficacy of a heuristic method, namely, modified discrete particle swarm optimization (MDPSO) algorithm is illustrated and compared with other methods by solving the reliability based generator maintenance scheduling (GMS) optimization problem of a practical hydrothermal power system. The concept of multiple swarms is incorporated into the MDPSO algorithm to form a robust multiple swarms-modified particle swarm optimization (MS-MDPSO) algorithm and applied to solving the GMS problem on two power systems. Heuristic methods are proposed to circumvent the problems of imposed non-smooth assumptions common with the classical approaches in solving …

High Temperature Tolerant Optical Fiber Inline Microsensors By Laser Fabrication, Tao Wei

Doctoral Dissertations

"Fiber sensors are particularly attractive for harsh environment defined by high temperature, high pressure, corrosive/erosive, and strong electromagnetic interference, where conventional electronic sensors do not have a chance to survive. However, the key issue has been the robustness of the sensor probe (not the fiber itself) mostly due to the problems stemmed from the traditional assembly based approaches used to construct fiber optic sensors. For example, at high temperatures (e.g., above 500°C), the thermal expansion coefficient mismatch between different composited parts has a high chance to lead to sensors' malfunction by breaking the sensor as a result of the excessive …

Deadlock Detection And Dihomotopic Reduction Via Progress Shell Decomposition, David Andrew Cape

Doctoral Dissertations

"Deadlock detection for concurrent programs has traditionally been accomplished by symbolic methods or by search of a state transition system. This work examines an approach that uses geometric semantics involving the topological notion of dihomotopy to partition the state space into components, followed by an exhaustive search of the reduced state space. Prior work partitioned the state-space inductively; however, this work shows that a technique motivated by recursion further reduces the size of the state transition system. The reduced state space results in asymptotic improvements in overall runtime for verification. Thus, with efficient partitioning, more efficient deadlock detection and eventually …

Protein Secondary Structure Prediction Using Blast And Relaxed Threshold Rule Induction From Coverings, Leong Lee

Doctoral Dissertations

"Protein structure prediction has always been an important research area in bioinformatics and biochemistry. Despite the recent breakthrough of combining multiple sequence alignment information and artificial intelligence algorithms to predict protein secondary structure, the Q₃ accuracy of various computational prediction methods rarely has exceeded 75%; this status has changed little since 2003 when Rost stated that "the currently best methods reach a level around 77% three-state per-residue accuracy." The application of artificial neural network methods to this problem is revolutionary in the sense that those techniques employ the homologues of proteins for training and prediction. In this dissertation, a different …

Effect Of Structure And Plasticizer On The Glass Transition Of Adsorbed Polymer, Boonta Hetayothin

Doctoral Dissertations

"The effect of molecular mass on adsorbed poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) on silica was determined using temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry (TMDSC). A two-component model, based on loosely-bound polymer (glass transition temperature, T_g, similar to that of bulk) and tightly-bound polymer (T_g higher than that of bulk) was used to interpret the thermograms. Similar amounts of tightly-bound polymer were found for 450 and 85 kDa PMMA (0.78 mg/m²), while the 32 kDa sample had a smaller amount (0.48mg/m²). A comparison of adsorbed PMMA, poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc), and poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) on silica was made using the same technique. The …

Scaled Experimental Study On Excavation Of Lunar Regolith With Rakes/Rippers And Flat Blade, Masafumi Iai

Doctoral Dissertations

"As humanity's activities expand to the Moon, Mars, and other extra-terrestrial bodies, it will be necessary to use local resources rather than bringing everything from the Earth. This concept is called In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), which starts with excavation and earthmoving. The present study focuses on loosening and moving of the lunar regolith by a ripper (or rake) and a wide blade with consideration of gravel content. After characterizing the lunar regolith and two of its simulants (JSC-1A and FJS-1), the relationship between the excavation energy and different conditions, namely gravel content, relative density, and tine spacing on a rake, …