Digital Commons Network^™

Analysis Of Machine Learning Classifier Performance In Adding Custom Gestures To The Leap Motion, Eric Yun

Master's Theses

The use of supervised machine learning to extend the capabilities and overall viability of motion sensing input devices has been an increasingly popular avenue of research since the release of the Leap Motion in 2013. The device's optical sensors are capable of recognizing and tracking key features of a user's hands and fingers, which can be obtained and manipulated through a robust API. This makes statistical classification ideal for tackling the otherwise laborious and error prone nature of adding new programmer-defined gestures to the set of recognized gestures.

Although a handful of studies have explored the effectiveness of machine learning …

Experimentation Of Mode I And Mode Ii Fracture Of Uni-Directional Composites And Finite Element Analysis Of Mode I Fracture Using Cohesive Contact, Joseph Daniel Garrett

Master's Theses

As the use of fiber-reinforced composites has increased over the decades, so has the need to understand the complexity of their failure mechanisms as engineers seek to improve the damage tolerance of composite laminated structures. One of the most prevalent and limiting mode of failure within composite laminates is delamination, since it not only reduces a structures stiffness and strength, but can be very difficult to detect without the use of special non-destructive equipment. Industry testing organizations have utilized several fracture tests in order to characterize the fracture toughness of composite materials under different loading conditions. For this research, ASTM …

The Impact Of Early Experience On Current Mental Health And Quality Of Parenting In Incarcerated Mothers, Lindsy R. Hughes-Curtis

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among early parenting experiences, adult mental health functioning, and adult parenting behaviors among a population of incarcerated women in San Bernardino, CA. An archival data set was utilized. Data were collected from three hundred thirty-six female participants in the San Bernardino County Jail System in 2011, aged 18 – 60 years (M = 34.02). Only those who are mothers (N=132), with children between the ages of two and 18 years old, participated in the current study. Structural equation modeling was conducted using EQS. Results showed that early experiences, specifically adverse …

Biosand Filter (Bsf): Types And Mechanisms Behind Its Efficiency, Dao Janjaroen

Applied Environmental Research

More than 760 million people around the world lack access to clean drinking water. A biosand filter was developed through the collaboration of research groups in developing and developed countries. This type of filter is considered a point-of-use filtration system that can be easily in-stalled at home, and has shown promising results. Thousands of these filters have been distributed and are currently in use in developing countries around the world, helping to alleviate poor water quality conditions. Although these filters have been proven to improve water quality in terms of biological contaminants, there are still concerns over their ability to …

The Role Of Citrullination And The Type Iii Intermediate Filaments In Retinal Gliosis, John Wizeman

Doctoral Dissertations

Visual disorders are a massive economic and personal burden. Two leading causes of blindness in the United States, Glaucoma and Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), currently have no cure. A major secondary issue in these diseases, often untreated, is the development and ongoing presence of scars in the eye. While scarring is a byproduct of the wound healing process, this scarring in the eye can lead to blindness. In the retina the scarring process is a result of ongoing retinal gliosis, mediated by the structural Müller glial cells. Two well-characterized markers of this process are the cytoskeletal Intermediate Filament (IF) proteins …

Single-Sensor, Cue-Counting Population Density Estimation: Average Probability Of Detection Of Broadband Clicks, Elizabeth T. Küsel, Martin Siderius, David K. Mellinger

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Odontocete echolocation clicks have been used as a preferred cue for density estimation using single-sensor data sets, requiring estimation of detection probability as a function of range. Many such clicks can be very broadband in nature, with 10-dB bandwidths of 20-40 kHz or more. Detection distances are not readily obtained from single-sensor data. Here, the average detection probability is estimated in a Monte Carlo simulation using the passive sonar equation along with transmission loss calculations to estimate the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of tens of thousands of click realizations. Continuous-wave (CW) analysis, i.e., single-frequency analysis, is inherent to basic forms of …

Beyond Theatres : Issue 2, 2016, Department Of Surgery

Department of Surgery Archives

No abstract provided.

Frontiers: Expanding Musical Imagination With Audience Participation, M Gimenes, P-E Largeron, Er Miranda

School of Art, Design and Architecture

No abstract provided.

Systems Modeling To Improve The Hydro-Ecological Performance Of Diked Wetlands, Omar Alminagorta, David E. Rosenberg, Karin M. Kettenring

Publications

Water scarcity and invasive vegetation threaten arid-region wetlands and wetland managers seek ways to enhance wetland ecosystem services with limited water, labor, and financial resources. While prior systems modeling efforts have focused on water management to improve flow-based ecosystem and habitat objectives, here we consider water allocation and invasive vegetation management that jointly target the concurrent hydrologic and vegetation habitat needs of priority wetland bird species. We formulate a composite weighted usable area for wetlands (WU) objective function that represents the wetland surface area that provides suitable water level and vegetation cover conditions for priority bird species. Maximizing …

Deception: Neurological Foundations, Cognitive Processes, And Practical Forensic Applications, Jason T. Weber

Modern Psychological Studies

Deception is a foundational part of everyday interactions, and everyone will be deceived and will be a deceiver at some point in their life. When examining the brain while telling a lie, neuroimaging studies have shown an increased activity in the prefrontal cortex. While some evidence does not find a correlation between deception and prefrontal activity, different types of deception activating different brain regions could explain this. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for planning and executive control, which appears to be the main cognitive process associated with deception. This is evidenced by the ability to lie increasing as executive function …

What Can Be Learned From Small (And Micro) States? ‘Educational Geostrategic Leveraging’ And The Mechanisms Of The Fourth Industrial Revolution – The Internet Of Things And Disruptive Innovation, Tavis D. Jules, Patrick Ressler

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

This paper explores how certain global mechanisms of the so-called fourth industrial revolution – the internet of things and disruptive innovation – impact the educational governance activities, social forms of coordination, and scales in small (and micro) states. We advance that there are certain ‘behavioral characteristics’ that small (and micro) states possess that can teach us about dealing with some of the current global challenges. We suggest to move away from seeing small (and micro) states as being exclusively vulnerable and, rather, to re-conceptualize smallness as a potential strength. In line with this argument, we argue that the geometries of …

Nursing Students’ Learning Experience With E-Books, Yingqi Tang, Paula Barnett-Ellis

Research, Publications & Creative Work

As many nursing programs are offered online in colleges and universities, student populations are likely to be working nurses who have no time to come in, or have no physical access to the library building or its print book collections to complete their course work. This has been one of the biggest obstacles for libraries in supporting off-campus faculty and students. In addition to offering document delivery services, such as shipping print books and sending articles in digital format to eligible patrons, more and more academic libraries purchase or license e-books and e-journals to replace or augment their print collections. …

The Pipeline Project: Pre-Publication Independent Replications Of A Single Laboratory's Research Pipeline, Martin Schweinsberg, Nikhil Madan, Michelangelo Vianello, S.Amy Sommer, Jennifer Jordan, Et Al, Michael Schaerer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This crowdsourced project introduces a collaborative approach to improving the reproducibility of scientific research, in which findings are replicated in qualified independent laboratories before (rather than after) they are published. Our goal is to establish a non-adversarial replication process with highly informative final results. To illustrate the Pre-Publication Independent Replication (PPIR) approach, 25 research groups conducted replications of all ten moral judgment effects which the last author and his collaborators had “in the pipeline” as of August 2014. Six findings replicated according to all replication criteria, one finding replicated but with a significantly smaller effect size than the original, one …

The Bg News September 01, 2016, Bowling Green State University

BG News (Student Newspaper)

The BGSU campus student newspaper. September 1, 2016. Volume 96-Issue 5.

The Effect Of Orthodontic Treatment On Sagittal Root Position Of The Maxillary Central Incisor, Jeremy Haines

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Introduction: Sagittal root position (SRP) of maxillary incisors is an important factor in implant treatment planning. Kan et al defined four classes of SRP in an effort to aid implant placement treatment planning and these SRP classifications represent a novel approach to describing bone changes around the maxillary incisors. The effect of orthodontic tooth movement, specifically changes in inclination, on SRP is of interest in potentially facilitating immediate implant placement. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to use Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) to evaluate the adaptation of alveolar bone around the maxillary incisors as a result of orthodontic …

Interpreting Southern California Arc Geochemistry By Multivariate And Spatial Methods, Lance R. Pompe

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Exploratory data analysis methods of multivariate statistical techniques and spatial visualization are emerging trends in understanding big datasets. In this project, these techniques are applied to a large igneous geochemical dataset from the southern California segment of the Mesozoic Cordilleran arc to better understand magmatic and plate tectonic processes at a subduction zone. A set of 287 granitic samples collected by Baird and Miesch (1984) from the Peninsular Ranges batholith is analyzed for 38 geochemical elements. Patterns in both the geochemical variation and the spatial variation of this dataset are explored. Since geochemical data are compositional in nature, special treatment …

Depositional Model Of A Late Cretaceous Dinosaur Fossil Concentration, Lance Formation, Summer Rose Weeks

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

A large Maastrichtian, nearly monospecific bonebed in the Lance Formation in eastern Wyoming has yielded 13,000 bones and fragments since 1996. Though excavation of the site continues, little is known of the circumstances and processes of deposition. This study aims to provide a depositional model for the bonebed. To accomplish this task we utilized 1D facies analysis of surrounding units and 3D analysis of the bonebed. The nature of the outcrop limited facies analysis to 1D. Four measured stratigraphic sections, each containing the bonebed unit, were taken and used in facies analysis. In addition, laterally continuous units were observed and …

Kenyon Collegian September 1, 2016

The Kenyon Collegian

No abstract provided.

Ischemic Strokes: Observations From A Hospital Based Stroke Registry In Bangladesh., Nirmalenduk Bikash Bhowmik, Aamir Abbas, Mohammad Saifuddin, Md. Rashedul Islam, Rumana Habib, Aminur Rahman, Md. Amirul Haque,, Zahid Hassan, Mohammad Wasay

Department of Medicine

Background. Stroke is an important morbidity for low and middle income countries like Bangladesh. We established the first stroke registry in Bangladesh. Methods. Data was collected from stroke patients who were admitted in Department of Neurology of BIRDEM with first ever stroke, aged between 30 and 90 years. Patients with intracerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid and subdural hemorrhage, and posttrauma features were excluded. Results. Data was gathered from 679 stroke patients. Mean age was 60.6 years. Almost 68% of patients were male. Small vessel strokes were the most common accounting for 45.4% of all the patients followed by large vessel getting affected …

Investigating The Influence Of The Level Of Inquiry On Student Engagement, Emily K. Faulconer

Publications

Previous studies investigating student-generated questions in a laboratory class compared inquiry to a traditional approach without characterizing the inquiry level. This study investigated the influence of inquiry level on the quantity and quality of student-generated questions over one semester in a General Chemistry course with 356 participants. The researchers studied two types of inquiry in labs: structured inquiry and open inquiry. Quantity and quality of student-generated questions were analyzed and student attitudes were measured using a LIKERT survey while content knowledge was assessed via post-test. A close relationship was not found between the level of inquiry and the quantity or …

Monitoring Of Tissue Optical Properties During Thermal Coagulation Of Ex Vivo Tissues, Vivek K. Nagarajan, Bing Yu

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Background and Objective

Real-time monitoring of tissue status during thermal ablation of tumors is critical to ensure complete destruction of tumor mass, while avoiding tissue charring and excessive damage to normal tissues. Currently, magnetic resonance thermometry (MRT), along with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is the most commonly used technique for monitoring and assessing thermal ablation process in soft tissues. MRT/MRI is very expensive, bulky, and often subject to motion artifacts. On the other hand, light propagation within tissue is sensitive to changes in tissue microstructure and physiology which could be used to directly quantify the extent of tissue damage. Furthermore, …

Bees & Beekeeping Display, Maggie Mason Smith

Presentations

September is National Honey Month and Dr. Jennifer Tsuruda, Clemson University’s Extension apiculture specialist, is the Libraries’ Researcher of the Month. With this in mind, we have curated a display centered on bees and beekeeping.

Characterizing Interaction Between Pask And Pbp1/ Atxn2 To Regulate Cell Growth And Proliferation, Nidhi Rajan Choksi

Theses and Dissertations

Pbp1 is a component of glucose deprivation induced stress granules and is involved in P-body-dependent granule assembly. We have recently shown that Pbp1 plays an important role in the interplay between three sensory protein kinases in yeast: AMP-regulated kinase (Snf1 in yeast), PAS kinase 1 (Psk1 in yeast), and the target of rapamycin complex 1 (TORC1), to regulate glucose allocation during nutrient depletion. This signaling cascade occurs through the SNF1-dependent phosphorylation and activation of Psk1, which phosphorylates and activates poly(A)- binding protein binding protein 1 (Pbp1), which then inhibits TORC1 through sequestration at stress granules. In this study we further …

Enhancing Scientific Comprehension Through Content Acquisition Podcasts, Caroline Elizabeth Williams

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to determine the effectiveness of using Content Acquisition Podcasts (CAPs) to teach children with learning disabilities scientific vocabulary. CAPs are multimedia instructional podcasts that combine images and sound to teach supplemental vocabulary. Four children ages 9 to 10 with learning disabilities were taught vocabulary words to prepare them for end-of-year testing. Words were taken from units about rocks, soil and fossils. This study used a multiple probe multiple baseline across units design. Data analysis showed that three of four participants experienced significant improvement in at least one of three units. Social validity questionnaires showed that all four …

Bilateral Triad Of Persistent Median Artery, A Bifid Median Nerve And High Origin Of Its Palmar Cutaneous Branch. A Case Report And Clinical Implications, Olutayo Ariyo, John Shea

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

We report the association of a persistent median artery, a bifid median nerve with a rare very high origin palmar cutaneous branch, presenting bilaterally in the upper limb of a 75-year-old female cadaver. The persistent median nerve with a bifid median nerve has been reported in patients presenting with carpal tunnel syndrome. Reports of this neurovascular anomaly occurring in association with a high origin palmar cutaneous branch however, are few. This subset of patients is at risk of inadvertent nerve transection during forearm and wrist surgery. Pre-operative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and high resolution sonography (HRS) can be used to …

Rapid Generation Of 3d Microchannels Using A Multiphoton Laser System In Blended Hydrogels To Serve As Templates For Microvascular Generation, Stephanie Renée Burtch

Theses and Dissertations

Lack of scaffold microvascularization is one of the biggest problems facing graft survival and success within current tissue engineering applications. Fortunately, techniques aiming to form microchannels within three-dimensional scaffolds have shown promise in providing templates for tube-like cell formations. Unfortunately, many current patterning approaches are limited in the types of materials the technique can be applied to and lack the ability to form capillary-sized (<10 microns in diameter) networks. In this study, a multiphoton laser was used to create channels down to the micron level within an optically-clear hydrogel scaffold. Different percentages of poly (ethylene glycol) diacryate (PEGDA) and collagen were used to create different blends of hydrogels at 0%, 1%, 2%, and 3% collagen/PEGDA (w/w). Mechanical and transmittance testing were performed on all blends in order to determine which had optimal mechanical strength and optical clarity for laser subtractive printing. Swelling and degradation were measured to confirm the scaffolds served the tissue engineering requirement of eventual degradation. All gels with PEGDA incorporation showed an increase in mechanical stability and transparency when compared to pure collagen gels. Hydrogel blends showed resistance to degradation in phosphate-buffered saline, but appeared to exhibit collagen degradation in collagenase, although no statistical significance was seen. Cell viability tests within the hydrogels showed viability in cell-seeded hydrogels when compared to dead controls, although cells lacked some markers of healthy cells, such as spreading. In conclusion, results show that hydrogel blends provide a good matrix for subtractive optical micropatterning approaches, although other types of hydrogels may improve cell spreading and other cell responses.

Quantification Of Frictional Drag Due To Biofouling On In-Service Ships, John Travis Hunsucker

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to improve the quantification of frictional drag due to biofouling on in-service ships by advancing the knowledge and methodology used to study the interactions between fouling communities and the surrounding environment. This research examined the influence of hydrodynamic stress on the development and frictional drag of fouling communities that developed on a fouling release coating; investigated the reliability of using ship performance monitoring to detect changes in the hull and propeller condition; and evaluated the feasibility of developing a field deployable instrument capable of measuring the local frictional resistance on a ship hull in …

Year-Round Measures Of Planktonic Metabolism Reveal Net Autotrophy In Surface Waters Of A Great Lakes Estuary, Angela L. Defore, Anthony D. Weinke, Morgan M. Lindback, Bopaiah A. Biddanda

Open Access Publishing Support Funded Articles

During 2009 and 2010, we quantified monthly changes in plankton metabolism and environmental variables in the surface waters of Muskegon Lake, a Great Lakes estuary connected to Lake Michigan. Muskegon Lake’s mean (±SE) annual gross plankton primary production (GPP) and respiration (R) rates were 46 ± 9 and 23 ± 4 mg C l−1 yr−1, respectively. GPP:R ratios of 0.6 to +4.8 with a yearly mean of 2.0 ± 0.3 indicated that the surface water of Muskegon Lake was net autotrophic during all but the winter months under ice cover, when it was in a near carbon balance to slightly …

Eco-Engineered Rock Pools: A Concrete Solution To Biodiversity Loss And Urban Sprawl In The Marine Environment, Lb Firth, Ka Browne, Am Knights, Sj Hawkins, R Nash

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

In coastal habitats artificial structures typically support lower biodiversity and can support greater numbers of non-native and opportunistic species than natural rocky reefs. Eco-engineering experiments are typically trialed to succeed; but arguably as much is learnt from failure than from success. Our goal was to trial a generic, cost effective, eco-engineering technique that could be incorporated into rock armouring anywhere in the world. Artificial rock pools were created from manipulated concrete between boulders on the exposed and sheltered sides of a causeway. Experimental treatments were installed in locations where they were expected to fail and compared to controls installed in …

Seabird Diving Behaviour Reveals The Functional Significance Of Shelf-Sea Fronts As Foraging Hotspots, S. L. Cox, P. I. Miller, C. B. Embling, K. L. Scales, A. W.J. Bicknell, P. J. Hosegood, G. Morgan, S. N. Ingram, S. C. Votier

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.