Digital Commons Network^™

Neuropredictive Control And Trajectory Generation For Slung Load Systems, Gerardo De La Torre, Eric N. Johnson, Tansel Yucelen

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents a neuropredictive trajectory generation architecture for slung load systems. The presented architecture integrates the real-time trajectory generation method with a system uncertainty identifying neural network. It is shown that the effect of system uncertainty on a model predictive control approach can be mitigated by the use of neural networks. A numerical example of an uncertain slung load system is shown to demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented framework.

Consensus Protocols For Networked Multiagent Systems With Relative Position And Neighboring Velocity Information, Gerardo De La Torre, Tansel Yucelen, Eric N. Johnson

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The consensus problem appears frequently in the coordination of multiagent systems in science and engineering and involves the agreement of networked agents upon certain quantities of interest. In this paper, we focus on a new consensus protocol for networked multiagent systems. The proposed control protocol consists of a standard term capturing relative position information and a new term capturing neighboring velocity information. In particular, the addition of the latter term results in an increase of the rate of system convergence while maintaining a fixed graph structure and without increasing the maximum eigenvalue of the graph Laplacian. Furthermore, in certain cases, …

Separate-Channel Integrated Guidance And Autopilot For Automatic Path-Following, Takeshi Yamasaki, S. N. Balakrishnan, Hiroyuki Takano

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An integrated guidance and autopilot scheme for a path-following uninhabited aerial vehicle is presented in this study. A fixed-wing aircraft usually performs a bank-to-turn maneuver to change its flight direction. The novel approach presented here, however, assumes that each of the three channels of the integrated guidance and autopilot can be independently designed. This concept makes the design process simple. A virtual target moving on the prespecified path for the uninhabited aerial vehicle is introduced to facilitate the algorithm development. A first-/ second order sliding structure with a second order sliding mode and a high-order sliding mode differentiator for the …

Feature Extraction Through Median-Split Algorithm Segmentation For Melanoma Detection, Venkata Sai Narasimha Kaushik Ghantasala

Masters Theses

""Detection of melanoma remains an empirical clinical science. New tools for automatic discrimination of melanoma from benign lesions in digitized dermoscopy images may allow an improvement in early detection of melanoma. This research implements a fast version of the median split algorithm in an open source format and applied to four-color splitting of the lesion area to capture the architectural disorder apparent in melanoma colors. This version of the median split algorithm splits colors along the color axis with maximum range". For a dermoscopy set of 888 images, K-means clustering algorithm is compared with a median split algorithm to find …

Uterine Cervical Cancer Histology Image Feature Extraction And Classification, Cheng Lu

Masters Theses

"Cervical cancer, the second most common cancer affecting women worldwide and the most common in developing countries can be cured in almost all patients, if detected early and treated. However, cervical cancer incidence and mortality remain high in resource-poor regions, where early detection systems often cannot be maintained because of inherent complexity. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has collected a vast amount of visual information, 100,000 cervigrams (35 mm color slides), screening thousands of women by this technique. In addition to the cervigrams, large digitized histology images are being archived.

In this research, a framework for automatic recognition and classification …

Significance And Analysis Of Milia-Like Cysts In Dermoscopy Skin Lesion Images, Sneha K. Mahajan

Masters Theses

“Milia-like cysts (MLCs) are dermoscopic structures frequently observed in seborrheic keratoses(SKs), which are the most common type of skin lesions. Diverse appearances of these skin lesions make them difficult to differentiate from melanoma, a deadly type of skin cancer. Classified by size into two main groups, starry MLCs and cloudy MLCs, the presence of these structures in a skin lesion has been known to help differentiate benign lesions from melanoma. Though the presence of cloudy MLCs is not exclusively associated with SKs, they can be a useful tool to differentiate SKs from melanoma. This research study determines the statistical occurrence …

Rotary Displacement Piezoelectric Energy Harvester, Headman Sanei

Masters Theses

“This study proposes a novel piezoelectric energy harvester for rotary motion applications. It is based on an annular unimorph plate, mounted on a shaft rotating at a constant angular velocity, under constant amplitude point-wise force. The mathematical model and the analysis was proposed for the inverse problem of a rotating disk under a static stationary force. The disk, however, is assumed to be stationary subjected to a traveling force. The distributed parameter electromechanical equations governing the behavior of the system are provided in closed-form, incorporating both an AC and a simple rectifier circuit. The performance of the energy harvester was …

A Case Study: Motivational Attributes Of 4-H Participants Engaged In Robotics, Mariah Lea Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Robotics has gained a great deal of popularity across the United States as a means to engage youth in science, technology, engineering, and math. Understanding what motivates youth and adults to participate in a robotics project is critical to understanding how to engage others. By developing a robotics program built on a proper understanding of the motivational influences, the program can be built on a foundation that addresses these influences. By engaging more youth in the robotics program, they will be able to envision a future for themselves as a high-school or college graduate, in addition to a viable employee …

Meckel Gruber Syndrome: Second Trimester Diagnosis Of A Case In A Non-Consanguineous Marriage, Areej Alam, Mehreen Adhi, Raffat Bano, Aisha Zubair, Ammara Mushtaq

Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Meckel-Gruber Syndrome (MKS) is a rare, autosomal recessive genetic disorder, incompatible with life. It is characterized by enlarged polycystic kidneys and post axial polydactyly. Foetal or neonatal death is caused by pulmonary hypoplasia. We report a case of a 35 year old woman who presented at 7 weeks of gestation of her sixth pregnancy. A transabdominal anomaly ultrasound performed for her current pregnancy at 18 weeks of gestation showed features consistent with MKS. The termination of pregnancy was declined and a live newborn female was delivered via an emergency caeserean section at 34 weeks of gestation due to previous history …

A Review Of Comparison Of Complications Of Vaginal Hysterectomy With And Without Concomitant Surgery For Sui: A 5 Years’ Experience At A Tertiary Care Hospital Of Pakistan, Raheela Mohsin Rizvi, Munnazza Akhtar, Nadeem F. Zuberi

Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Objective. The study was performed to review the complications of surgery for POP with or without surgery for SUI. This included the need for second procedure two years after the primary surgery. Study Design. We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional comparative study at the Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) was used to identify women who underwent vaginal hysterectomy with anterior/posterior repair alone and those with concomitant tension-free vaginal tape surgery for urodynamic stress incontinence. Results. The 28 cases of VH/repair combined with TVT were compared for complications with 430 cases of VH …

Frequent Hypomethylation Of Ptgs2 Gene Promoter In Human Term Placenta, Nuruddin Mohammad, Ahmed Yaqinuddin, Fatima Kakal, Lumaan Sheikh, Rahat Qureshi, Mehreen Soman

Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Background: Gene expression profiles of several tumor suppressor genes are regulated by the methylation and demethylation of their promoters. Here, we aim to identify and quantify the methylation status of four tumor suppressor genes from placentas at term and compare them with the maternal white-blood-cells.

Methods: In order to achieve this objective, DNA enriched from twenty placentas at term and maternal white blood cells was bisulfite-converted and amplified using quantitative real-time methyl-light polymerase chain reaction for the four-genes studied (RASSF1A, APC, RAR-beta, and PTGS2).

Results: Among the four genes examined, RASSF1A, APC and RAR-beta promoter regions were hypermethylated in all …

Silent Uterine Rupture Of Scarred Uterus--An Unusual Presentation As Amniocele, Aisha Syed Wali, Tahira Naru

Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Obstetricians should be aware of the possibility of silent rupture of scarred uterus. Ultrasound has an important role in the diagnosis of silent uterine rupture. A case of silent uterine rupture with foetal demise, that remained undiagnosed for many weeks, is described.

Assessment Of Experimental Animal Model For Training Obstetric Anal Sphincter Injury Techniques, Raheela Mohsin Rizvi

Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

The Multiparous Goat Pelvic Model was used to train obstetricians and residents for perineal and anal sphincter anatomy and techniques of repair of Obstetric Anal Sphincter Injuries (OASIs). The purpose of this study was to assess the similarity of this model with human anatomy and the usefulness of goat model for training obstetricians for perineal tears. Six workshops were conducted between June 2009 and December 2010. A total of 90 participants, including 64(70.3%) residents and 26(28.5%) consultants in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, attended hands-on training workshops using experimental goat pelvic model for the repair of perineal tears. Among the consultants, 23 …