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2017

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Characterization Of Properties Of Mortars Containing Clay Brick Aggregate, Wanting Zhang Jan 2017

Characterization Of Properties Of Mortars Containing Clay Brick Aggregate, Wanting Zhang

Construction Management and Engineering

Recycling clay brick becomes extremely urgent with the demolishment of residential buildings, and the most common processing option of clay brick waste is buried in landfills which lead to serious environmental pollution. Meanwhile, the process of recycling clay brick is immature and there is limited knowledge and standards of recycling clay brick waste. This thesis reports an experiment to test physical and mechanical prosperities of clay brick aggregate (CBA). Mortar specimens were conducted by using different prewetting times, replacement rates and water/cement ratios. Absorption and water-releasing abilities were discussed; compressive strength and flexural strength were conducted for strength test. Flowability …

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Characterization Of Interfacial Bond Strength In Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Composites By A Modified Pullout Method, Rajender Reddy Chada Jan 2017

Characterization Of Interfacial Bond Strength In Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Composites By A Modified Pullout Method, Rajender Reddy Chada

Construction Management and Engineering

This document entails the research work carried out to propose a new method for quantifying the interfacial bond strength in fiber reinforced cementitious composites. A modified pullout test has been designed to determine the interfacial bond parameters for natural fibers with cementitious system, and were repeated for artificial fibers for comparison studies. Steel, polypropylene, and wheat straw fibers were tested with the modified pullout method. Surface roughness studies were conducted on the same fibers to establish a relationship between the roughness index of fibers and corresponding bond strengths evaluated from the new method. Also, standard single fiber pullout tests were …

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Is A Time Symmetric Interpretation Of Quantum Theory Possible Without Retrocausality?, Matthew S. Leifer, Matthew F. Pusey Jan 2017

Is A Time Symmetric Interpretation Of Quantum Theory Possible Without Retrocausality?, Matthew S. Leifer, Matthew F. Pusey

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Huw Price has proposed an argument that suggests a time-symmetric ontology for quantum theory must necessarily be retrocausal, i.e. it must involve influences that travel backwards in time. One of Price's assumptions is that the quantum state is a state of reality. However, one of the reasons for exploring retrocausality is that it offers the potential for evading the consequences of no-go theorems, including recent proofs of the reality of the quantum state. Here, we show that this assumption can be replaced by a different assumption, called λ-mediation, that plausibly holds independently of the status of the quantum state. We …

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Urban Activation, Ashley Crow Jan 2017

Urban Activation, Ashley Crow

Architecture Theses

There are many elements within a city that provide a significant impact on your quality of life. Quality of life is a subjective measure of the overall happiness of a person or a community usually measured within the categories of economic, environmental, and social. This thesis addresses the question, how can an urban campus improve the quality of life a city has to offer? I explore this question by taking an emancipatory approach involving multiple tactics such as personal interviews, literature, and case studies. This urban campus strives to help improve the quality of life Duluth, MN has to offer. …

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Wayfinding In Virtual Reality: Wayfinding Through The Lens Of Virtual Reality In Videogame Design, Alyssa Zachman Jan 2017

Wayfinding In Virtual Reality: Wayfinding Through The Lens Of Virtual Reality In Videogame Design, Alyssa Zachman

Architecture Theses

This thesis, Virtual Architecture: application of architectural design within the realm of video games and virtual realities, examines and challenges how architecture is viewed in a simulated setting by its users as well as how its creation can be an aid or detriment. These virtual environments are just as important to people within the realm of video games as their tangible counterparts, and are expected to have similar interactions with each. In the future, it may also be the case that humans find themselves in a constant virtual reality in which they live their lives. It is important for architects …

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Art And Architecture: A Disposition On Play, Symbol And Festival, Richard Maas Jan 2017

Art And Architecture: A Disposition On Play, Symbol And Festival, Richard Maas

Architecture Theses

This thesis examines the relationship between art and society through the lens of history. As a critique to the institution of art, the museum will confront its patrons with a distinctive experience as to what art is. Whereas art used to permeate every aspect of our culture, the specialized emphasis of modern productivity has separated the experience of art from everyday life. Through the design of an art museum, in the heart of Chicago, integration of art and architecture will once again be fused to culture and society. A program encompassing the public, artists, and art creates a unique approach …

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Skeletal Stiffening In An Amphibious Fish Out Of Water Is A Response To Increased Body Weight, Andy J. Turko, Dietmar KüLtz, Douglas S. Fudge, Roger P. Croll, Frank M. Smith, Matthew R. Stoyek, Patricia A. Wright Jan 2017

Skeletal Stiffening In An Amphibious Fish Out Of Water Is A Response To Increased Body Weight, Andy J. Turko, Dietmar KüLtz, Douglas S. Fudge, Roger P. Croll, Frank M. Smith, Matthew R. Stoyek, Patricia A. Wright

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Terrestrial animals must support their bodies against gravity, while aquatic animals are effectively weightless because of buoyant support from water. Given this evolutionary history of minimal gravitational loading of fishes in water, it has been hypothesized that weight-responsive musculoskeletal systems evolved during the tetrapod invasion of land and are thus absent in fishes. Amphibious fishes, however, experience increased effective weight when out of water – are these fishes responsive to gravitational loading? Contrary to the tetrapod-origin hypothesis, we found that terrestrial acclimation reversibly increased gill arch stiffness (∼60% increase) in the amphibious fish Kryptolebias marmoratus when loaded normally by gravity, …

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Development Of Bio-Based Wood Adhesive By Using Cellulose Nanofiber Reinforcement And Crosslinking Agent For Improved Bonding Strength, Myungkeun Oh Jan 2017

Development Of Bio-Based Wood Adhesive By Using Cellulose Nanofiber Reinforcement And Crosslinking Agent For Improved Bonding Strength, Myungkeun Oh

Materials and Nanotechnology

Engineered woods, plywood, particle board, and oriented strand board, are widely used as a low-cost wood replacement in many applications. Many of the currently used wood adhesives contain chemicals that are harmful to human health and the environment. Increasing environmental and human health concerns have made the development of safe bio-based adhesives a priority. In this study, two plant proteins, zein from corn and wheat gluten, were used to develop wood adhesives. To increase their bond strength, cellulose nanofibers were added to create nanocomposite adhesives and a crosslinking agent was also used. Single-lap shear test, flexural and internal bond tests …

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Mechanical Properties Of Multilayers Of Carbon Nanotube Polystyrene Nanocomposites, Eid Ali Almutairi Jan 2017

Mechanical Properties Of Multilayers Of Carbon Nanotube Polystyrene Nanocomposites, Eid Ali Almutairi

Materials and Nanotechnology

We have studied the mechanical behavior of multi-layered composite films comprised of single-wall carbon nanotubes and polystyrene polymer, where we focused on three targeted layer thicknesses; 10 nm, 20 nm, and 40 nm. The approach we used is the Strain-Induced Elastic Buckling Instability for Mechanical Measurements (SIEBIFMM) technique, which allows us to measure the Young modulus of the films as a function of layer thickness and the number of layers by inducing a compressive stress in the films at different strains; 1 %, 2.5 %, 5 %, 7.5 %, and 10 %. Polystyrene was added in an effort to reduce …

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Stochastic Budgeting And Input Breakeven Analysis In North Dakota Potato Production, Alan Bingham Jan 2017

Stochastic Budgeting And Input Breakeven Analysis In North Dakota Potato Production, Alan Bingham

Plant Sciences

Enterprise budgets were developed for non-irrigated red and irrigated russet potato production, based on North Dakota model farms. Costs and revenues vary among producers, thus budgets are intended to serve as a template for producers to use and manipulate to suit their individual circumstances. These budgets and stochastic (Monte Carlo) simulation were utilized in order to analyze and quantify financial risk in each respective enterprise. Simulated net returns for non-irrigated production ranged from -$1,324 to $2,757 per acre, while irrigated returns were between -$551 and $1,616 per acre. On farms where fumigation is a typical practice, it is one of …

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Developing A General Methodology For Evaluating Composite Action In Insulated Wall Panels, Taylor Sorensen Jan 2017

Developing A General Methodology For Evaluating Composite Action In Insulated Wall Panels, Taylor Sorensen

Faculty Publications

Precast concrete sandwich wall panels (PCSWPs) have been in use for over 60 years. They provide a very efficient building envelope for many buildings. Characteristic PCSWPs comprise an outer and inner layer (or wythe) of concrete separated by an insulating material. To use all of the material as efficiently as possible, the layers are attached by connectors which penetrate through the insulating layer and are embedded in either concrete wythe. These connectors make it possible for both layers of the wall to work together when resisting loads. The connectors are made out of plastic, or FRP, to prevent heat transfer …

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An Exploration Of The Effects Of Cattle Grazing, Prairie Dog Activity, And Ecological Site On Plant Community Composition And Western Wheatgrass Vegetative Reproduction In Northern Mixed Grass Prairie, Aaron Lee Field Jan 2017

An Exploration Of The Effects Of Cattle Grazing, Prairie Dog Activity, And Ecological Site On Plant Community Composition And Western Wheatgrass Vegetative Reproduction In Northern Mixed Grass Prairie, Aaron Lee Field

Range Science

Modern range scientists and managers are tasked with feeding more people than ever before while maintaining or improving the ecological function of over half of the world’s land surface. Often, these tasks are in conflict. This disparity is evident in the relationship between rangeland livestock producers and black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludoviciana). Prairie dogs are considered a keystone species and an ecosystem engineer, but they also reduce available forage for livestock. In this disquisition we investigated the dynamic relationship between prairie dog activities and cattle grazing in respect to their combined and separate influences on plant community composition and western …

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Fundamental Principles Of Tremor Propagation In The Upper Limb, Andrew D. Davidson, Steven Knight Charles Jan 2017

Fundamental Principles Of Tremor Propagation In The Upper Limb, Andrew D. Davidson, Steven Knight Charles

Faculty Publications

Although tremor is the most common movement disorder, there exist few effective tremor-suppressing devices, in part because the characteristics of tremor throughout the upper limb are unknown. To clarify, optimally suppressing tremor requires a knowledge of the mechanical origin, propagation, and distribution of tremor throughout the upper limb. Here we present the first systematic investigation of how tremor propagates between the shoulder, elbow, forearm, and wrist. We simulated tremor propagation using a linear, time-invariant, lumped-parameter model relating joint torques and the resulting joint displacements. The model focused on the seven main degrees of freedom from the shoulder to the wrist …

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Surfing The Semester: A Study Of The Flow Of Active Learning Implementation, Rebecca Sue Davidson Reichenbach Jan 2017

Surfing The Semester: A Study Of The Flow Of Active Learning Implementation, Rebecca Sue Davidson Reichenbach

Biological Sciences

Instructional reforms have been called for on a national level. Little data exists as to how changes take place. This study explored the implementation of active learning practices by non-tenure and tenure track faculty over the course of a semester. Faculty were introduced to evidence based pedagogy through workshops and faculty learning communities. Their instructional practices within a semester were tracked through observations conducted using the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS). Interviews were conducted to gain insight into reasons for instructional trends. A general trend downward was observed through the semester but was not found to be statistically …

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Response Of Russet Burbank Seed Tubers Containing Glyphosate And Dicamba Residues, Nelson Dee Geary Jan 2017

Response Of Russet Burbank Seed Tubers Containing Glyphosate And Dicamba Residues, Nelson Dee Geary

Plant Sciences

The introduction of dicamba-tolerant soybean will increase the risk of potato injury to dicamba. The objective was to determine the effects of ‘Russet Burbank’ potato seed tuber emergence and yield that were exposed to dicamba and glyphosate the previous year. Field experiments were conducted in 2016 and 2017 to evaluate seed tubers from mother plants that were treated the previous year with glyphosate (8, 40 and 197 g ae ha-1), dicamba (4, 20 and 99 g ai ha-1) and glyphosate plus dicamba. The rates of 99 g ha-1 dicamba, 197 g ha-1 glyphosate and combination of rates caused 17 to …

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Semi-Empirical Model For Fire Spread In Shrubs With Spatially-Defined Fuel Elements And Flames, Dallan Prince, Chen Shen, Thomas H. Fletcher Jan 2017

Semi-Empirical Model For Fire Spread In Shrubs With Spatially-Defined Fuel Elements And Flames, Dallan Prince, Chen Shen, Thomas H. Fletcher

Faculty Publications

A semi-empirical model was developed which forms shrub geometries from distinct fuel elements (e.g. leaves) and describes flame spread from element to element. Ignition, flame growth and flame decay patterns were based on combustion data of single leaves. Extension of the model to various heating conditions was achieved by scaling the flame growth parameters using physics-based heat transfer models. The resulting model offers a novel approach to examine fire spread and to explicitly describe both distinct fuel elements and fire behavior. This approach balances computational speed and modeling detail while providing a unique perspective into fire spread phenomena. Comparisons of …

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Modeling Soot Oxidation And Gasification With Bayesian Statistics, Alexander Jon Josephson, Neal D. Gaffin, Sean T. Smith, Thomas H. Fletcher, David Lignell Jan 2017

Modeling Soot Oxidation And Gasification With Bayesian Statistics, Alexander Jon Josephson, Neal D. Gaffin, Sean T. Smith, Thomas H. Fletcher, David Lignell

Faculty Publications

This paper presents a statistical method for model calibration using data collected from literature. The method is used to calibrate parameters for global models of soot consumption in combustion systems. This consumption is broken into two different submodels: first for oxidation where soot particles are attacked by certain oxidizing agents; second for gasification where soot particles are attacked by H2O or CO2 molecules. Rate data were collected from 19 studies in the literature and evaluated using Bayesian statistics to calibrate the model parameters. Bayesian statistics are valued in their ability to quantify uncertainty in modeling. The calibrated consumption model with …

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Model For The Evolution Of Pore Structure In A Lignite Particle During Pyrolysis. 2. Influence Of Cross-Linking Reactions, Molten Metaplast, And Molten Ash On Particle Surface Area, He Yang, Thomas H. Fletcher, Sufen Li, Haoquan Hu, Lijun Li Jan 2017

Model For The Evolution Of Pore Structure In A Lignite Particle During Pyrolysis. 2. Influence Of Cross-Linking Reactions, Molten Metaplast, And Molten Ash On Particle Surface Area, He Yang, Thomas H. Fletcher, Sufen Li, Haoquan Hu, Lijun Li

Faculty Publications

A model for the evolution of the pore structure in a lignite particle during pyrolysis was established previously based on the chemical percolation devolatilization (CPD) model, using coal polymer network parameters to calculate the surface area and porosity of the particle. In this paper, to get the accurate surface area of coal particle at high pyrolysis temperature, the previous model was improved by considering the effects of cross-linking reactions, molten Metaplast, and ash. The good agreement of the predicted surface area with experiments at temperature below 1200 K in the previous model is maintained, and model accuracy is improved at …

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The Value Of A Master’S Degree To Recreation Professionals, Camilla J. Hodge, Brian J. Hill, Christian Brinton Jan 2017

The Value Of A Master’S Degree To Recreation Professionals, Camilla J. Hodge, Brian J. Hill, Christian Brinton

Faculty Publications

This study assessed the nature of the relationship between earning advanced degrees and career outcomes such as salary, job satisfaction, social capital, and human capital among professionals in the parks and recreation field. The sample (n = 196) was drawn from parks and recreation agencies located in the United States. Agencies, excluding educational institutions, were identified via an Internet search for parks and recreation agencies in urban areas. Findings indicated there was a positive relationship between earning a master’s degree and salary. Earning a master’s degree, however, was not significantly related to job satisfaction, social capital, or human capital. Furthermore, …

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The Missing Framework For Virtually Assisted Activities, Jacob Steffen, James Gaskin, Thomas Meservy, Jeffrey Jenkins Jan 2017

The Missing Framework For Virtually Assisted Activities, Jacob Steffen, James Gaskin, Thomas Meservy, Jeffrey Jenkins

Faculty Publications

Various frameworks and taxonomies exist that classify virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) by their attributes and technical specifications. However, no extant frameworks specifically classify the activities executed with VR and AR devices, which we refer to as virtually assisted activities (VAAs). In the context of past definitions and frameworks of VR and AR, we present a framework for VAAs that examines the underlying motivations for virtualizing some aspect of an activity. By so doing, VAAs are easily compared to similar non-virtualized activities done in physical reality, VR is better compared with AR, and potential benefits …

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A Video-Based Screening System For Automated Risk Assessment Using Nuanced Facial Features, Steven J. Pentland, Nathan W. Twyman, Judee K. Burgoon, Jay F. Nunamaker, Christopher B.R. Diller Jan 2017

A Video-Based Screening System For Automated Risk Assessment Using Nuanced Facial Features, Steven J. Pentland, Nathan W. Twyman, Judee K. Burgoon, Jay F. Nunamaker, Christopher B.R. Diller

Faculty Publications

This study investigates the development of an automated interviewing system that uses facial behavior as an indicator of the risk of given illicit behavior. Traditional facial emotion indicators of risk in semistructured dialogue may have limitations in an automated approach. However, an initial analysis of mock crime interviews suggests that the face may exhibit some form of rigidity during highly structured interviews. An interviewing system design using facial rigidity analysis was implemented and experimentally evaluated, the results of which further reveal that the rigidity is fairly generalized across the face. Whereas existing theory traditionally focuses on leakage of facial expressions, …

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Conceptual Modeling In Accelerating Information Ingest Into Family Tree, David W. Embley, Stephen W. Liddle, Tanner S. Eastmond, Deryle W. Lonsdale, Joseph P. Price, Scott N. Woodfield Jan 2017

Conceptual Modeling In Accelerating Information Ingest Into Family Tree, David W. Embley, Stephen W. Liddle, Tanner S. Eastmond, Deryle W. Lonsdale, Joseph P. Price, Scott N. Woodfield

Faculty Publications

Family Tree is a wiki-like shared repository of interconnected family genealogies. Because information ingested into the tree requires human authorization as verified in source documents, ingest is tedious and time-consuming. To significantly increase ingest efficiency while maintaining human oversight, we propose a pipeline of tools and techniques to transform source document genealogical assertions into verified information in the Family Tree data repository. The automation pipeline transforms pages of printed, scanned and OCRed family history books into a GEDCOM X conceptualization that can be ingested into Family Tree. All steps of the pipeline are fundamentally grounded in ontological conceptualizations. We report …

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Stress And Work-Task Satisfaction: School Counselors' Perspective, Kathleen Marie Schmaltz Jan 2017

Stress And Work-Task Satisfaction: School Counselors' Perspective, Kathleen Marie Schmaltz

Education

The study’s first purpose was to give school counselors a “voice” regarding their perceived stress. The second purpose was to investigate the relationship between school counselors’ work satisfaction across 12 counselor-related activities and perceived stress as measured by the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10). A question about stressors and the variables of gender, age, prior teaching experience, years of experience as a school counselor, school setting, and caseload added definition to the study. This research attempted a census of all North Dakota’s school counselors who had practiced for the last 30 days prior to completing the survey. Initially, participants self-administered and …

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A Novel Batteryless Pacemaker: Design, Development, And In Vivo Study In An Ovine Model, Sajid Mehmood Asif Jan 2017

A Novel Batteryless Pacemaker: Design, Development, And In Vivo Study In An Ovine Model, Sajid Mehmood Asif

Electrical and Computer Engineering

A standard pacemaker can improve a patient's quality of life and may even prolong it, but conventional pacemakers contain leads and batteries, which have their own complications. Hence, the need for a pacemaker with leadless and batteryless capabilities is becoming increasingly important, as it reduces infection risk, device failure, and patient discomfort. Unlike other leadless pacing technologies, the proposed method in this work does not require a battery or leads. More specifically, a novel leadless pacemaker was proposed that harvest energy from radio frequency (RF), using a metamaterial-based rectenna, to power the pacemaker and stimulate the myocardium. Initially, path loss …

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Semantics-Based Calorie Calculator, Sravan Raghu Kumar Narra Jan 2017

Semantics-Based Calorie Calculator, Sravan Raghu Kumar Narra

Computer Science

In recent years, people are considering healthy diet habits and many of them are trying to track and maintain their daily diet and consumption. To assist them, there are many applications available online and those applications are capable of recording calories for the ingredients consumed, but users must check individual calories and calculate total calories manually. In this paper, we propose a new technique to calculate calories for a given recipe in multiple formats. The new technique uses tokenization, hashing techniques and fuzzy matching for entity extraction and finally does the unit conversion to calculate calories. We compared the results …

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Dynamic Light Trail Construction In Wavelength Division Multiplexing (Wdm) Optical Networks, Betty Elizabeth Amuge Jan 2017

Dynamic Light Trail Construction In Wavelength Division Multiplexing (Wdm) Optical Networks, Betty Elizabeth Amuge

Computer Science

This paper addresses dynamic light trail construction issues in a WDM optical network. This construction was done with an objective to consume a minimum number of resources, such as, the number of free wavelengths, while ensuring that the light trails were always available and had backups especially in cases of failure. A simulation study had been carried out in a previous study in 2010 (27), and this paper took it further by implementing the proposed dynamic light trail routing algorithms using the Java language as well as running additional simulations. The paper then presented numerical results that compared and evaluated …

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Gpu Enabled Particle Swarm Optimization, Bala Venkata Rama Kishore Killada Jan 2017

Gpu Enabled Particle Swarm Optimization, Bala Venkata Rama Kishore Killada

Computer Science

GPUs are massively parallelized devices. They were designed to handle billions of pixels per second. It is does this by embracing an incredible level of parallelism. GPUs in fact can leverage any other parallel algorithms developed for super computers. Many disciplines in science and engineering are achieving high speedups on their codes using GPUs. This paper implements a GPU-enabled Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm and evaluates the scalability of the algorithm. Several experiments were conducted comparing the CPU with the GPU implementation, analyzing the scalability of the GPU implementation with regards to increases in population size and dimension, as well …

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Using Message Queuing To Drive Polyglot Identity And Access Management Development, Richard Ernest Orvin Frovarp Jan 2017

Using Message Queuing To Drive Polyglot Identity And Access Management Development, Richard Ernest Orvin Frovarp

Computer Science

This paper describes a method of using an Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP) broker, RabbitMQ in particular, to facilitate the management of accounts across a variety of systems. Higher education poses a unique challenge in the management of accounts due to the wide variety of systems involved. The Central IT department of an organization, those that usually run management systems, does not always have control over what systems are chosen, but needs to be able to manage them nonetheless. Unique requirements of each of the systems requires custom integration. That integration can be limited in what platform or languages are …

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Context Specific Module Mining From Multiple Co-Expression Graph, Md Shakhawat Hossain Jan 2017

Context Specific Module Mining From Multiple Co-Expression Graph, Md Shakhawat Hossain

Computer Science

Gene co-expression networks can be used to associate genes of unknown function with biological processes or to find genes in a specific context, environment responsible for a disease. We provide an overview of methods and tools used to identify such recurrent patterns across multiple networks, can be used to discover biological modules in co-expression networks constructed from gene expression data and we explain how this can be used to identify genes with a regulatory role in disease. However, existing algorithms are very much costly in terms of time and space. As network size or number increases, mining such modules get …

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Consumer Sentiment Analysis Using Twitter, Rumana Rashid Jan 2017

Consumer Sentiment Analysis Using Twitter, Rumana Rashid

Computer Science

Sentiment analysis is the task of finding people’s opinions about specific objects/matters. Ordinary people’s opinions affect the decision-making process. Today, there is a massive explosion of “sentiments” available on social media, e.g. Twitter. Twitter is one of the most popular worldwide social-networking services. Twitter is a widely-used way to get people’s opinion about some topics when you read their posts. In this study, a model was coded in R environment and implemented and tested using a large dataset to estimate people’s opinions concerning specific topics that can be used for implementing better decision in market research. To achieve this goal, …

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