Digital Commons Network^™

Function Approximation With Artmap Architectures, Lucian M. Sasu, Răzvan Andonie

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

We analyze function approximation (regression) capability of Fuzzy ARTMAP (FAM) architectures - well-known incremental learning neural networks. We focus especially on the universal approximation property. In our experiments, we compare the regression performance of FAM networks with other standard neural models. It is the first time that ARTMAP regression is overviewed, both from theoretical and practical points of view.

Sediment Based Turbidity And Bacteria Reduction Analysis In Simulated Construction Site Runoff, James W. Berry Iii

All Theses

Large construction projects are highly vulnerable to sediment removal by erosive forces. Turbidity, resulting from this excess sediment, has gained recognition as anindicator of pollution in surface runoff from construction activities. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently moving toward regulations that would establish a nationwide maximum turbidity effluent limit discharged from construction sites. Research has shown that current sediment control best management practices (BMPs) are often ineffective at controlling elevated turbidity levels in construction site discharges. Additionally, research confirms that sediment basins may act as reservoirs for bacteria, specifically Escherichia coli (E. coli). During rainfall events, resuspension within sediment …

The Children’S Bureau’S Role In Promoting Parent Engagement And Family Support: A Brief History And Current Efforts, Melissa Brodowski, Liliana Hernandez, Angelique Brown, Christine Lamble

Journal of Family Strengths

Over the years, federal child welfare policy has supported parent engagement and family support strategies through various Children’s Bureau funded state formula grant programs, research and demonstration discretionary grants, and technical assistance. This article highlights programs funded by two federal laws, Promoting Safe and Stable Families and the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, and Children’s Bureau’s efforts to test innovations and disseminate knowledge about promising and evidence-based practices regarding parent engagement and family support. The article begins with a brief legislative history and then describes several grant programs that are supported by the legislation. The article concludes with lessons …

Guardians Of Generations: African American Grandparent Caregivers For Children Of Hiv/Aids Infected Parents, Sandra Edmonds Crewe

Journal of Family Strengths

Grandparents, particularly, grandmothers in the African American community have historically provided needed care for their grandchildren (Crewe, 2003). Before there was a child welfare system that addressed the needs of African American children, there were grandmothers who served as the safety net for their biological, informally adopted grandchildren, and other minor relatives. They cared for grandchildren and others whose birth parents were unable or unwilling to care for them. For families of color, HIV/AIDS is an emerging issue that is contributing to the growing numbers of grandparent-headed households. And once again, many African American grandmothers have accepted the challenge of …

Planning For Emotional Labor And Secondary Traumatic Stress In Child Welfare Organizations, James C. Caringi, Hal A. Lawson, Mary Devlin

Journal of Family Strengths

This analysis provides an emergent framework that emphasizes a neglected component of both direct practice with families and organizational development. Human emotions, both beneficial (positive emotional labor) and harmful (negative emotional labor), have received short shrift in leadership development, supervision, direct practice preparation and supports, and workforce stabilization, and professionalization.

Significantly, a key indicator of negative emotional labor—secondary traumatic stress (STS)—often has been ignored and neglected, despite the fact that it may be endemic in the workforce. STS typically results from traumatic events in practice, but it also stems from workplace violence. Often undetected and untreated, STS is at least …

Motion Capture Study Of Human Movement Recognition, Nicholas Kinerd

All Theses

In this thesis, we address questions about recognition of human movement through motion
capture. We begin by capturing the martial arts movements of four actors as they each perform
three different techniques. We then conduct a survey to determine if participants in
the survey are able to distinguish the various martial arts techniques and differentiate the
actors that portray said techniques. A secondary consideration of our survey is to determine
if the participants can distinguish the sex of the actors as they perform the martial arts
techniques. Our hypothesis is that people are able to distinguish actors and sex; however, …

The Control Of Nitrogenous And Carbonaceous Disinfection Byproduct Precursors With Magnetic Ion Exchange, Xiaojie Gan

All Theses

The objective of this study was to examine the potential of the magnetic ion exchange (MIEX®) process to remove nitrogenous disinfection byproduct (N-DBP) precursors while minimizing carbonaceous DBP (C-DBP) precursors in different water matrices. In the first phase of the study, the MIEX® process was tested in raw dinking waters and waters impacted effluent from wastewater treatment plant. Samples were collected from several drinking water/wastewater treatment plants in South Carolina. The effluent impacted source waters were prepared by mixing treated wastewater effluents with a drinking water. For all samples, formation potential (FP) tests were conducted for regulated trihalomethanes (THMs), haloacetic …

Animal Services In Arlington, Texas: An Evaluation And Recommendation For Improvements, Angel Aymond

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Development Of Novel Biodegradable And Multi-Functional Nanoparticles For Melanoma Treatment And Diagnostic, Khanh Vu

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Voters And Judges: How The Texas Public Chooses High Court Judges, Jeremy Johnson

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

A Legacy Of Reform And Innovation: Celebrating The Children's Bureau Centennial, Nancy Claiborne, Katharine Briar-Lawson

Journal of Family Strengths

Guest Editors Nancy Claiborne and Katharine Briar-Lawson introduce the latest issue of Journal of Family Strengths, celebrating the centennial of the Children's Bureau.

Fathering Behavior Within The Context Of Role Expectations And Marital Satisfaction: Framework For Studying Fathering Behavior, Mark Trahan, Monit Cheung

Journal of Family Strengths

A father’s participation in a child’s life has been regarded as a significant factor in the enhancement of a couple’s relationship. Although the investigations between paternal behavior and marital satisfaction come with mixed results, they clearly link the concepts of maternal and paternal role expectations to paternal behavior, which can be also moderated by earner status, child’s gender, and traditional versus contemporary role expectations. Research needs to focus on examining how individuals’ perceptions of role expectations relate to fathers’ actual parenting behavior. Therefore, a framework that outlines the interaction between and among these variables is developed, as supported by recent …

Full Issue, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Dialogue: December 2012, Staff And Writers Of Dialogue

Dialogue

Prose

05 Robert Vander Lugt, My Puny Sacrifice; 08 Joshua Epperly, Pain, Loneliness, and Mediteranean Food; 16 Abby Zwart, JiVhen the Time Comes; 34 Benjamin Rietema, The Damn Dishes; Simply Bread; 39 James Li, Charlie; 50 Katie Van Zanen, Volcano Country; 56 Will Montei, Long Breaths

Haiku Contest Top 5

31 Katerina Parsons, Rivulets of rain; 31 Shen Leong, Your constant praising; 31 Jared Haverdink, Exuberant brook; 31 Carrie Field, I said I was lost; 31 Michael VanderMeer, A bottle of wine

Visual Art

18 Teressa Van Dam, Doorways; …

Updated Manuscript Submission Guidelines For The Prairie Naturalist, Christopher N. Jacques, Troy W. Grovenburg, Jonathan A. Jenks

The Prairie Naturalist

These guidelines present updated policies and procedures for submitting scientific manuscripts for consideration for publication in The Prairie Naturalist (PNAT). These guidelines incorporate substantial changes that have occurred following a change in Editorial staff during January 2009, and update the online “Suggestions for Contributors” guidelines provided on the PNAT website (http://www.sdstate.edu/nrm/organizations/gpnss/tpn/index.cfm); these instructions supersede all previous guidelines.

Tables and appendices are included for common word expressions with superfluous wording (Table 1), examples of correct format and style guidelines for tables accompanying manuscripts (Table 2, Appendix A), guidance in properly preparing Research notes (Appendix B) and citing literature (Appendix …

Terrestrial And Semi-Aquatic Vertebrates In Diets Of Largemouth Bass In Central Nebraska, Seth A. Lundgren, Keith Geluso, Casey W. Schoenebeck

The Prairie Naturalist

Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) are opportunistic predators often feeding in littoral areas during crepuscular periods (Snow 1971). Adult largemouth bass primarily are piscivorous, whereas juveniles generally consume zooplankton, insects, and small fish (Zweiacker and Summerfelt 1974, Carlander 1977, Post 2003). Age-0 largemouth bass generally consume zooplankton and macroinvertebrates (Keast and Webb 1966, Keast 1985, Phillips et al. 1995, Post 2003) and shift to piscivory at 50-70 mm in length (Phillips et al. 1995, Olson 1996, Post 2003). Few studies have documented detailed accounts of other vertebrates besides fish in diets of largemouth bass, which include amphibians (Hodgson and …

The Incentive And Benefits To Publish Research, Christopher N. Jacques

The Prairie Naturalist

In the northern Great Plains, December is a month marked by the end of the year and a period of much-needed rest and relaxation during the start of the winter season. Landscapes will soon be blanketed with snow and local floral and faunal species have adapted to the ensuing winter months ahead. Winter is a season that reminds you who you live in the Plains states, and as such, should expect bitter cold temperatures, strong winds, and blowing and drifting snow. However, December is a great time to enjoy the outdoors across the Great Plains, a time to reflect on …

An Annotated List Of The Caddisflies (Trichoptera) Of Florida: Part I. The Family Hydroptilidae, With Descriptions Of Five New Species, Steven C. Harris, Andrew K. Rasmussen, Dana R. Denson

Insecta Mundi

Five new species of Hydroptila (Trichoptera: Hydroptilidae), H. murtlei sp. n., H. criokera sp. n, H. auriscuspa sp. n., H. santarosa sp. n., and H. ebroensis sp. n., from Florida are described and illustrated. We provide an annotated list of the 76 species known to occur in the state, including 10 species that represent new state records, one of which is also a new country record. New illustrations are presented for those species which were difficult to identify or exhibited new range extensions into Florida, namely: Hydroptila acadia Ross, H. ajax Ross, H. icona Mosely, H. latosa …

First U.S. Records Of Amorbia Concavana (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), James E. Hayden

Insecta Mundi

Amorbia concavana (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) is reported in Florida, USA. Male and female specimens are figured, and new host records are given. The species is compared to other Nearctic species of Amorbia Clemens. Florida specimens are more similar to Cuban than to Central American material with respect to male genitalia.

The Variegated Mud-Loving Beetles (Coleoptera: Heteroceridae) Of Mississippi And Alabama, With Discussion And Keys To The Species Occurring In The Southeastern United States, Jonas G. King, Paul K. Lago

Insecta Mundi

We review the variegated mud-loving beetle fauna of the southeastern United States (Coleoptera: Heteroceridae), with an emphasis on Mississippi and Alabama. A key is presented to all species known to occur in the southeastern US, and includes several extra-limital species. Descriptions, illustrations and distribution maps are presented for each species. One new species, Tropicus nigrellus, is described and a lectotype is designated for Heterocerus schwarzi Horn. Our molecular data suggest that many previously recognized generic concepts are unnatural. As a result, the following generic synonymies are proposed: Culmus Pacheco 1964, Damfius Pacheco 1964, Efflagitatus Pacheco 1964, Erus …

Strategies And Actions Used By Stem Degree Seeking Adult, Full-Time, Undergraduates: A Grounded Theory Study, Adwoa Boateng

Education Doctoral

Higher education research focuses on traditional undergraduates under the age of 25 years. The focus of the researcher’s study was on the academic experiences of adult, full-time, STEM undergraduates 25 years of age and older. The purpose of the study was to identify strategies and actions adult students use towards their academic success while enrolled in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs. The Grounded Theory Method was utilized as the qualitative approach to iteratively generate a theory based on the experiences of adult, full-time undergraduates in STEM programs. The significance of the proposed study was an opportunity to provide …

Vitamin D Deficiency And Cultural Influences Among Muslim Women In Southern Illinois, Durar Kassim Shakir

Theses

This study is an analysis of the cultural influences that affect the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among Muslim women from sun-rich countries, who now reside in Southern Illinois. Previous studies examine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among this population, while neglecting to examine the extent of cultural influences which can affect the likelihood of having this disorder. Low serum levels of 25(OH)D can occur when there are low levels of vitamin D intake, and when exposure to sunlight is limited. Muslim women are more prone to vitamin D deficiency due to traditional attire, regardless of migration. Upon surveying …

Note: A Transimpedance Amplifier For Remotely Located Quartz Tuning Forks, Ethan Kleinbaum, Gabor Csathy

Birck and NCN Publications

The cable capacitance in cryogenic and high vacuum applications of quartz tuning forks imposes severe constraints on the bandwidth and noise performance of the measurement. We present a single stage low noise transimpedance amplifier with a bandwidth exceeding 1 MHz and provide an in-depth analysis of the dependence of the amplifier parameters on the cable capacitance. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4769271]

Marginalization Of Mothers In The Market: A Comparative Study Of The Limits And Opportunities For Public Policy, Jennifer Mary Crosslin

Master's Theses

Despite significant gains of women living in advanced democracies over the last several decades, sex inequality in the market still exists. Women still earn less, work less, and are less likely to be found in top leadership positions in the market, especially mothers, but disparity between men and women in terms of these outcomes varies among many countries. This study explores the relationship between government policies and the market outcomes of women in the United States and other European nations to determine if the different policies explain the variances, and consequently the necessity of state intervention for achieving gender equality. …

Use Of Native Dna Binding Domains Tethered To The Fok1 Endonuclease To Target Nodal Related Genes Via The Activin Response Element, Jessica Lauren Minder

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Use of zinc finger nucleases is an established method for gene targeting in zebrafish. Such strategies are efficient in targeting a single gene of interest. Our study attempts to target many Nodal related genes by targeting the Activin Response Element (ARE) through the use of native DNA binding domains tethered to the Fok1 endonuclease. In this light, genes are targeted in a Nodal-dependent manner, and can retain transcript levels sustained by other signaling pathways. This technique holds the potential to be a high throughput means of generating mutations in the regulatory regions of various Nodal responsive genes with the use …

Modeling Guidance And Recognition In Categorical Search: Bridging Human And Computer Object Detection, Yifan Peng

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Although various object detection methods have been widely studied, state-of-the-art performance of object detectors still lag far behind human performance. Humans can perform object detection tasks on various object categories hundreds of times a day in an effortless manner. The main effort in computer vision community is aiming at improving the performance of object detectors, while on the other side only little research has been done on understanding how humans perform in the object detection process. In this thesis, we analyze the relationship between human behaviors and object detection methods in computer vision on both guidance and recognition task. In …

Novel Carbon Nanomaterial Coating For Dispersibility, Delivery And Sensing, Magdalena Swierczewska

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Carbon nanomaterials have been cited to provide great potential in biomedical applications such as in vivo imaging, drug delivery, and biomarker detection. Yet poor dispersibility in physiological conditions greatly limits their biomedical promise. As with most nanoparticles, the surface interaction with biological systems is the driving force towards effective activity in vivo, namely exhibiting dispersion, low cytotoxicity, and molecular targetability. Therefore, by surface engineering carbon nanomaterials with a distinct biocompatible coating, their applications in imaging, drug delivery, biomarker detection, and therapy can be empowered. We render carbon nanomaterials useful for such in vivo biomedical applications by providing dispersibility, delivery and …

Efficient Reconstruction And Visualization Of Ct Data, Ziyi Zheng

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Cone-beam CT (Computed Tomography) has become a major imaging technique thanks to its image-fidelity and scanning time. Scientists and practitioners frequently utilize volume visualization tools for diagnosis and decision-making. The thesis work presented here seeks to improve on the volume visualization pipeline for CT generated data. We summarize our contributions into three categories. Cone-beam CT scanners typically use analytical algorithms to reconstruct volumetric data. We studied the interpolation error of visualization tools and built a verifiable visualization tool and efficient data structure to enable users to enjoy interactive rendering speed to freely examine the high resolution data at minimal error. …

Role Of Fluid Shear Modulation On Bone Cell Metabolism During High-Frequency Oscillatory Vibrations, Gunes Uzer

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Human, animal and cell studies indicate that the application of vibrations can be anabolic and/or anti-catabolic to bone. Dynamic oscillations create a complex mechanical environment which generates forces not only through accelerations but also through fluid forces. The specific mechanical signal which cells respond has not been identified, in-part because the generated fluid shear is coupled with the magnitude of the applied acceleration in most in vivo and in vitro studies. Looking at how these two mechanical parameters previously proposed to drive the cellular response to vibration - fluid shear and accelerations, act together is critical for understanding their effects …

The Roles Of The L4-22k And L4-33k Proteins During Adenovirus Infection, Kai Wu

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Adenoviruses are a common cause of upper respiratory tract infection, conjunctivitis, and gastroenteritis. Fortunately, most of these infections are self-limiting and rarely cause severe or lethal diseases. Based on its characteristics of safety, easy manipulation and production, adenovirus has been widely used as a gene therapy vector in preclinical settings. Despite the intensive study of adenovirus in the past four decades, the mechanism for viral genome packaging is not fully understood. My dissertation focuses on two viral late gene products, L4-22K and L4-33K, to explore their functions during adenovirus infection, with an emphasis on their roles in viral genome packaging. …