Digital Commons Network^™

Multi Agent System Based Fault Location In A Smart Microgrid System, Seetaram Alwala

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The electric power grid is inherently a huge network that has been going through a lot of transformation because of its restructuring and increase in the deployment of Distributed Generation. The steep increase in electricity demand and the large financial losses caused by the blackouts has initiated research towards increasing the security and robustness of the electric grid and making it a Smart Grid. Smart Grids might incorporate MicroGrids, which can be defined as low to medium voltage networks that contain aggregation of certain loads and Distribution Generation units that can operate in either grid-connected or islanded mode. One of …

Efficient Design Of Biological Experiments For Dose-Response Modeling In Nanomaterial Toxicology Studies, Kai Wang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis is concerned with developing two-stage Bayesian optimum design procedure in nanotoxicology with simulation experiments. The proposed design method adopts suitable nonlinear dose response curve and non-constant variance model in experimental modeling, which more adequately represents the desirable properties of bioassay-experiment. A multiple objective genetic algorithm were used to select best set of non-dominated experiments on Pareto front. The proposed approach has been shown to provide better design than traditional experiment method in terms of D-optimum design and A-optimum design.

Can Changes In Sr Protein Acetylation Affect Alternative Splicing?, Heather E. Knupp

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Cellular phenotype and function is determined by the cellular proteome. Within the cellular proteome there are processes that have a potential to significantly alter the composition of the proteome. One such process is called alternative splicing. Splicing is the removal of introns from a pre-mRNA sequence and the remaining pre-mRNA sequences, called exons, are combined. Alternative splicing modifies the intron-exon combination, and can form novel products from the different arrangement of the coding sequences. This process, due to the high potential for new, possibly unwanted products, is highly regulated and can occur in a tissue and developmental-specific fashion. The misreguation …

Hydroclimatic Variability In North-Central Mongolia As Inferred From Tree Rings, Caroline Leland

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The influence of increasing temperatures on hydrologic regimes across Mongolia is difficult to evaluate from a spatial perspective, particularly at fine resolutions. Therefore, networks of tree-ring chronologies are a valuable means of assessing regional and local variability in hydroclimate while placing recent moisture trends in a historical context. Tree-ring data are particularly useful in Mongolia, where instrumental records are spatially and temporally limited. Here, I present two chapters that are essentially related and complement one another. The first chapter seeks to identify tree-growth anomaly regions (i.e. inferred hydroclimatic regions) across north-central Mongolia based on a network of 21 tree-ring chronologies. …

A Parametric Study And Economic Evaluation Of Drilling Patterns In Deep, Thick Cbm Reservoirs, Ali Omran Ali Nasar

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Over the past decade, the production from unconventional reservoirs such as coalbed methane has increased dramatically. The focal driving force for this growth in coalbed methane production was the development and promulgation of reservoir engineering and completion technology.;There have been many studies performed on the well configuration and production optimization techniques in the coal seams. According to many of these studies horizontal, deviated and multi-lateral wells are of more benefits compared to the vertical wells. However, the targets of these studies have mostly been the thin coal seams while this result might not hold for the thick CBM reservoirs. The …

Hardware Prototype For A Multi Agent Grid Management System, Jerry Lee Thompson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

There is great effort in the power industry to incorporate Smart Grid functionalities to existing power systems. Distributed generation and the hardware necessary to interface the existing grid, as well as control algorithms to efficiently couple and operate these systems are being researched and implemented extensively. However, the added complexity of such components results in greater opportunities for failure in a system which is already challenging to protect.;There is great effort in the power industry to incorporate Smart Grid functionalities to existing power systems. Distributed generation and the hardware necessary to interface the existing grid, as well as control algorithms …

Modeling And Integration Of Demand Response And Demand Side Resources For Smart Grid Application In Distribution Systems, Naveen Venkatesan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Today's electric grid is undergoing drastic changes to evolve into a smart grid. Deregulation of the integrated and monopolistic power system into genco, transco and disco has led to tremendous competition among these players. These entities are in the process of developing innovative smart grid strategies that can improve their reliability and profit. In this thesis work, some of the smart grid initiatives by discos have been explored.;This thesis work is driven by two major objectives. The primary objective is to explore Demand Response (DR), develop its comprehensive model and to analyze various effects and implications of DR on distribution …

Factors Influencing 4-H Leader Volunteer Recruitment And Retention In Lincoln County, Rachael L. Payne

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A descriptive research study was conducted to identify factors that influence volunteers to join the 4-H program and factors that affect their decision to leave. The objectives of the study were to evaluate factors persuading volunteers to become 4-H leaders, problems current 4-H leaders face in the organization, factors causing 4-H leaders to leave, attitudes toward current 4-H program, and persuasion factors for retention as 4-H leaders. The study indicated leaders considered the 4-H program to be effective. Intrinsic motivation of benefiting the community and helping people were considered to be the persuading factors why 4-H leaders join and continue …

Sequence Stratigraphy, Depositional Environments, And Regional Mapping Of The Late Devonian Interval, Upper Three Forks Formation, Sanish Member, And Lower Bakken Shale, U.S. Portion Of The Williston Basin, Steven A. Sesack

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Cores of the Late Devonian upper Three Forks, Sanish, and lower Bakken units from eight wells were examined and described at the North Dakota core depository. Core descriptions, wireline log correlation and mapping, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) data were integrated to recognize seven facies: The Three Forks D and the (600-900API) lower Bakken Shale, four facies belonging to the Sanish, and a basal siltstone facies assigned to the Lower Bakken. Facies identified were then grouped into separate systems tracts based on the identification of several significant sequence stratigraphic surfaces.;The four facies identified in the Sanish include: Facies A, a dolomitic …

Development Of Soil Lead And Tree-Ring Methods For Characterizing Atmospheric Deposition Gradients And Subsequent Tree Growth Responses, Bradley P. Breslow

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Atmospheric deposition of pollutants and nutrients can have a range of effects on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Despite its ecological importance, it remains a challenge to model patterns of deposition across complex terrain and also to assess how forest ecosystems are reacting to chronic inputs of atmospheric deposition. I measured the lead (Pb) content of forest soils adjacent to atmospheric deposition monitoring stations throughout the central Appalachian Mountains to examine how well patterns of soil Pb relate to regional patterns of inorganic nitrogen (N) deposition. While I found no significant relationship between organic soil Pb content and N deposition, I …

Nesting Biology Of Osmia Cornifrons: Implications For Population Management, Matthew Mckinney

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Japanese hornfaced bee, Osmia cornifrons (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) is a palearctic mason bee managed for the pollination of early season fruit crops such as apple and blueberry. Since its adoption as a managed pollinator in Japan during the 1940s, a large body of literature has amassed with the goal of enhancing O. cornifrons management practices. This research makes important contributions to that literature in two ways. First, the research describes the in-nest relationship of O. cornifrons and the cleptoparasitic mite pest Chaetodactylus krombeini. Distribution of male and female O. cornifrons and of C. krombeini was determined using linear and non-linear …

Relationships Among The Personal Fable, Drug Use And Parental Monitoring In Adolescents And Young Adults, Xin Liu

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Relationships among the personal fable, drug use and parental monitoring in adolescents and young adults were tested in this study. Participants were 56 students, with 25 from a small, suburban area in southern Michigan, and 32 from West Virginia University (87.5 % female, 94.6% Caucasian). Participants completed questionnaires about demographics, the personal fable, parental monitoring and drug use in an online survey. Results showed that there was a negative correlation between parental monitoring and youth drug use, but no correlation between the personal fable and drug use. There was some evidence that the personal fable had a moderated effect on …

Identity And Self -Efficacy Development Of Adolescents In An Adult Sponsored Volunteer Program, Amanda Webster

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to fill a current gap in the literature on the impacts of adolescents' participation in adult sponsored volunteer programs on identity formation and self-efficacy. Data were collected from 28 adolescents in grades 7-12 enrolled in an 11-week summer adult sponsored volunteer program. Participants completed pre-and posttest measures that included the Identity Style Inventory-Grade 6 (ISI-6G), the fidelity subscale of the Psychosocial Inventory of Ego Strength (PIES), and the General Self-Efficacy Scale. The current study proposed five hypotheses: (1) adolescents who participate in an adult sponsored volunteer program will have higher levels of the informational …

Gendered Violence And The Ethics Of Social Science Research, Sameena A. Mulla, Heather R. Hlavka

Social and Cultural Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

The issue of ethical conduct in research settings is important and complex. As tenure-track researchers who study gendered violence, we found Clark and Walker’s discussion provocative, thoughtful, and interesting. They urge researchers to attend both to the structural dynamics of research carried out under the pressures of tenure and promotion while advocating an ethical frame that draws attention to the limited definition of risk or harm that animates typical human subjects research. Victims of violence, they argue, should not be subjected to a standardized understanding of risk. A broader framework is needed, one that brings into conversation virtue ethics with …

The Relationship Of Teachers' Perceptions Of High School Principal's Monitoring Student Progress And Student Achievement In Southeastern Ohio, T. C. Chappelear

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Principals in school buildings across this nation and perhaps throughout the world are under immense pressure to improve outcomes for all students. Recent literature suggests this accountability may be warranted, at least in part, as there is overwhelming evidence that building principals can positively impact student achievement through their behavior as effective instructional leaders. Much of the evidence for this emanates from the elementary school level. The problem is that little research exists at the high school level to examine the relationship between building principals monitoring student progress and student achievement.;This baseline study examined the relationship between teachers' perceptions of …

Dispositions In Teacher Education, Lisa Simpson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The assessment of educator dispositions has created numerous challenges for teacher education institutions. Many of the issues surrounding dispositions assessment relates to the uncertainty in determining the dispositions that are most important to address in all teacher education programs. Additionally little consideration has been given to the possibility that some dispositions may be more important to some fields of education than to others. This research is an investigation into the importance and efficacy of identified clusters of dispositions, as well as the identification of dispositions important to Health and Physical Education in comparison with those important to all areas of …

The Role Of Verbal Working Memory In New Word Learning In Toddlers 24 To 30 Months Old, France Weill

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Influence Of Ionic Mobile Phase Additives With Low Charge Delocation On The Retention Of Ionic Analytes In Reversed Phase Hplc, Cesar Florez

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Ethnic Disparity In 21 Hydroxylase Gene Mutations Identified In Pakistanicongenital Adrenal Hyperplasia Patient, Aysha Habib Khan, Muniba Aban, Jamal Raza, Naeem Ul Haq, Abdul Jabbar, Tariq Moatter

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is a group of autosomal recessive disorders caused by defects in the steroid 21 hydroxylase gene (CYP21A2). We studied the spectrum of mutations in CYP21A2 gene in a multi-ethnic population in Pakistan to explore the genetics of CAH.

Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted for the identification of mutations CYP21A2 and their phenotypic associations in CAH using ARMS-PCR assay.

Results: Overall, 29 patients were analyzed for nine different mutations. The group consisted of two major forms of CAH including 17 salt wasters and 12 simple virilizers. There were 14 phenotypic males and 15 females …

Ethnic Disparity In 21-Hydroxylase Gene Mutations Identified In Pakistani Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia Patient, Aysha Habib Khan, Muniba Aban, Jamal Raza, Naeem Ul Haq, Abdul Jabbar, Tariq Moatter

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is a group of autosomal recessive disorders caused by defects in the steroid 21 hydroxylase gene (CYP21A2). We studied the spectrum of mutations in CYP21A2 gene in a multi-ethnic population in Pakistan to explore the genetics of CAH.

Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted for the identification of mutations CYP21A2 and their phenotypic associations in CAH using ARMS-PCR assay.

Results: Overall, 29 patients were analyzed for nine different mutations. The group consisted of two major forms of CAH including 17 salt wasters and 12 simple virilizers. There were 14 phenotypic males and 15 females …

Teacher Professional Standards, Accountability, And Ideology: Alternative Discourses, Katarina Tuinamuana

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teacher professional standards and accountability are today writ large on the landscape of both schooling and teacher education practice around the world. This paper explores some of the related debates through a discussion of four discourses on teacher professional standards: namely, discourses of commonsense, professionalism and quality, managerialism/performativity, and strategic manoeuvring. It is argued that each of these discourses legitimises particular understandings of standards and quality, illustrating the competing set of lenses through which they are viewed, as well as the broader ideologies from which they emerge, including neoliberalism and technical rationality. These discourses also represent the interpretive practice that …

Pre-Service Student-Teacher Self-Efficacy Beliefs: An Insight Into The Making Of Teachers, Donna Pendergast, Susanne Garvis, Jayne Keogh

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Pre-service teacher education programs play an important role in the development of beginning teacher self-efficacy and identity. Research suggests that this development is influenced by the ‘apprenticeship of learning’. However, there remains limited research about the self-efficacy beliefs and identity construction of beginning pre-service teachers entering teacher training, and the impact of the education programs on the development of these attributes.

This paper reports on the first phase of a longitudinal study that investigates beginning teacher pre-service teachers’ views of what it is to be a teacher. In 2010, the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) …

Putting Partnership At The Centre Of Teachers' Professional Learning In Rural And Regional Contexts: Evidence From Case Study Projects In Tasmania, Sue Stack, Kim Beswick, Natalie Brown, Helen Bound, John Kenny, Joan Abbott-Chapman

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper presents a professional learning (PL) model that emerged from the authors’ involvement with PL processes in several rural and remote schools in the state of Tasmania. As is the case for rural areas generally, young people in rural areas of Tasmania have lower retention rates to Year 12 and lower participation rates in higher education than their urban peers. Schools in these regions typically have less experienced staff, higher staff turnover and reduced access to professional networks compared with urban schools. Four case studies are presented to illustrate the experiences that lead to the partnership model of PL …

Putting ‘Maori’ In The Mainstream: Student Teachers' Reflections Of A Culturally Relevant Pedogogy, Steven S. Sexton

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports on student teachers experiences of an education program that was explicitly designed to be grounded in both Kaupapa Māori and mainstream pedagogy. This program started from the Kaupapa Māori view to be Māori as Māori. This was then supported by mainstream epistemology of New Zealand focused good teaching practice. A Kaupapa Māori approach was taken in this qualitative study that used participant driven spiral discourse. The paper suggests that this combined Kaupapa Māori and mainstream approach allowed these student teachers to find their place in education. Conclusions suggest that a culturally relevant pedagogy modeled as good teaching …

Peeping Into The Learning World Of Secondary Teacher Trainees: Can Their Academic Success Be Predicted?, Mamta Garg

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The study investigated the styles of learning and thinking, study habits, achievement motivation of teacher trainees along with their attitude towards teaching and perception for B.Ed. course. It also explored the predictors that may determine the academic success of these pre-service teachers. The data were analyzed by employing product moment correlation, factor analysis and multiple regression. Findings showed that a total of 29.7% variance in marks in theory papers may be explained a total of 29.7% variance was explained by eight measures whereas five measures contributed towards the explanation of 29.5% variance in skills in teaching. But only three predictors …

Proposal Of Creating Entity-Relationship Table From English Sentences Groups, Maitham A.

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

The aim of this research is to provide a computerized technique to build Entity Relationship Table (ERT) instead of Entity Relationship Diagram(ERD). The ERT contains Source Node Type (SNT) and Destination Node Type (DNT) which are either Entity or Attribute. Also, it contains the source and destination node and their relationship type; Source Node Relationship Type (SNRT) and Destination Node Relationship Type (DNRT).The verb presents the relationship name between nodes. The program in this research splits the relationship from the subject item then the relation will map to relationships dictionary to get real word presentation to the corresponding relationship words. …

Improvement Of Data Integrity Using Different Encryption Algorithms, Serwan Waleed

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

Web services send and receive messages over standard Internet protocols such as HTTP. Plaintext messages can be intercepted by an attacker and potentially viewed or even modified for malicious purposes. By using message protection, we can protect sensitive data against threats such as eavesdropping and data tampering. Sensitive data transmitted over the Internet should always be encrypted to avoid potential intruders from eavesdropping on the communication anywhere along the route the data takes between the two machines. In this paper, we provide a feasible solution to enhance the integrity of sensitive data. Our approach is to use variant encryption algorithms …

Measurement Of Human Leg Joint Angle Through Motion Based On Electromygraphy (Emg) Signal, Yousif I.

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

Surface electromyography (SEMG) measurement technique for the signal was produced through the contraction of muscles in a human body. The surface electrode is connected on the skin of the muscle. This paper presents an off-line design for the estimation of the actual joint angle of a human leg obtained in performing flexion-extension of the leg at slow and high speeds movement. The design is composed of two phases. The first is measurement of real EMG signal of human leg performance by using SEMG technique and processing this signal with filtering, amplification and then normalized with maximum amplitude. The second phase …

The Use Of Virtual Reality To Demonstrate Trajectory Planning And Control Of A 3-Dof Underactuated Robot In A Horizontal Plane In Real-Time, Waladin K., Mohammed Y. Algailany

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

Real-Time 3D animation and Real-Time Simulation results are reported for a 3R underactuated robot moving in a horizontal plane using Virtual Reality Toolbox™, Real-Time Windows Target™,Real-Time Workshop®, and interfaced to Simulink® under the MATLAB® environment. The reason behind Real-time 3D animation and Real-Time simulation is to provide animated real-time tools in a realistic fashion to demonstrate the effectiveness of the controllers in tracking the desired trajectory and to provide a tool for researchers to test their proposed controllers and observe their behavior using 3-DOF underactuated manipulator in real-time.

Low Density Parity Check (Ldpc) Codes For A Proposed Slantlet Transform Ofdm System In A Rayleigh Fading Channels With Perfect And Pilot Channel Estimation For M_Ary Psk Modulation, Ghanim Abd Al-Kareem

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a very attractive technique for high bit rate data transmission in a multipath fading environment that causes intersymbol interference (ISI). In this paper, two steps are used to improve the error rate performance of OFDM system. First, we proposed the Slantlet Transform (SLT) used instead of Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to obtain high orthogonality properties between subcarriers and hence reduce (ISI). Second, we proposed the Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) Codes for the proposed SLT-OFDM system to improve the Bit Error Rate (BER) and Packet Error Rate(PER) performance. The goal of the proposed SLT …