Digital Commons Network^™

Smart Motor Syringe System, Conard Chan, Jenny Chiao

Electrical Engineering

Syringe pumps are widely used in many research applications especially in the applications that need precise control. Today most medical research utilizes syringes to control the fluid being pumped to the experiment objects. In most cases microscopic or nano-scopic motion control is required to acquire optimal results, such application includes purification of DNA/RNA from contaminants[1]. The high precision required to control the syringe pump makes it difficult to perform manually. This paper focuses on the design of an intelligent syringe pump motor control system to achieve reliable and precise control for biomedical experiments. This project improves medical research quality with …

An Analysis Of Urban Densification And On-Road Carbon Dioxide Emissions Within Los Angeles County, Michael Brown

Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Management Projects

In 2015, Los Angeles County formalized its climate action goals, working to significantly reduce on-road CO2 emissions in unincorporated zones. A strategy outlined by the county’s Climate Action Plan, is to increase mixed-use development to significantly reduce on-road CO2 emissions. The goal of this study is to quantify the relationship between changes in urban density, population density and on-road emissions across 30 selected cities in Los Angeles County using time series data from 2013 to 2017. Per capita on-road CO2 emissions is calculated using commuting data as a proxy. Changes in urban development density is recorded in acres, categorized as …

Digital Power Supply Controller, Michael Gendreau

Recent Advances in Real-Time Systems

This paper details the implementation of a real-time system in the context of a digital power supply controller. Attention is primarily given to the software development of the project given its relevance to the concept of a real-time system. Having said that, the need for hard deadline tasks in this system is not very evident. As discussed later, the consequences of a missed deadline for most tasks in the system should be no more than an unreliable test sequence for the device under test (DUT). However, since many concepts related to embedded real-time systems can be applied to the software …

Machine Learning And Neural Networks For Real-Time Scheduling, Adam Loree, Christy Wilhite

Recent Advances in Real-Time Systems

Using neural networks to find optimal solutions to real-time scheduling is a common technique, and there have been many different models put forth to accomplish this goal. This paper is an academic literature review of six different designs put forth that use neural networks for real-time scheduling. A comparison is done for these models which weighs the feasibility and time complexity for each one as well as identifying common themes and trends in this topic.

Stewart Platform, Matthew Claudio

Recent Advances in Real-Time Systems

The purpose of this project is to showcase the utilization of the Stewart Platform design for PID control system applications that require quick and precise stabilization in real-time.

Fantasy And Realism In Contemporary Ecuadorian Literature (1976-2006), Kimberly E. Contag

MSU Authors Collection

My purpose in this book is not to assess how well Ecuadorian literature fits into the broad Latin American literary scene or the global scene in particular, but instead to read and analyze how Ecuadorian writers communicate ideas about the world they live in through realism and fantasy. It is the nature of Ecuadorians to express their experience in these terms to portray a unique and multifaceted voice. To that end, I propose a model for analyzing the function of fantasy and realism in literature, principally in the novel, short story, flash fiction, poetry, flash poetry, and theater, and offer …

Building Positive Relationships In Title I Schools: Teacher And Student Perspectives In An Elementary Classroom, Alice Charlotte Pendlebury

Dissertations

Title I schools have a high percentage of students who come from a background of poverty. Students growing up in poverty are more likely to have insecure attachments because of the chronic and acute stressors their caregivers experience. These insecure attachments mean that students are less likely to have positive relationships with their teachers and are less likely to trust them. Given the importance of positive relationships in student’s academic, social, and emotional growth it is crucial that teachers are able to build relationships with these students regardless of their economic backgrounds. Qualitative case study was used to collect data …

Comparative Evaluation Of Statistical Dependence Measures, Eman Abdel Rahman Ibrahim

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Measuring and testing dependence between random variables is of great importance in many scientific fields. In the case of linearly correlated variables, Pearson’s correlation coefficient is a commonly used measure of the correlation strength. In the case of nonlinear correlation, several innovative measures have been proposed, such as distance-based correlation, rank-based correlations, and information theory-based correlation. This thesis focuses on the statistical comparison of several important correlations, including Spearman’s correlation, mutual information, maximal information coefficient, biweight midcorrelation, distance correlation, and copula correlation, under various simulation settings such as correlative patterns and the level of random noise. Furthermore, we apply those …

ℓ-Ctp: Utilizing Multiple Agents To Find Efficient Routes In Disrupted Networks, Andrew Alseth

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent hurricane seasons have demonstrated the need for more effective methods of coping with flooding of roadways. A key complaint of logistics managers is the lack of knowledge when developing routes for vehicles attempting to navigate through areas which may be flooded. In particular, it can be difficult to re-route large vehicles upon encountering a flooded roadway. We utilize the Canadian Traveller’s Problem (CTP) to construct an online framework for utilizing multiple vehicles to discover low-cost paths through networks with failed edges unknown to one or more agents a priori. This thesis demonstrates the following results: first, we develop the …

Are They Ready? Implementing 21st-Century Learning Skills Integration Into Indonesia Science Instruction, Esty Haryani

Dissertations

Science and technology education are essential subjects for achieving the desired workforce skills for the 21st century (Bybee & Fuchs, 2006). In 2017, Indonesia adopted the 21st century learning and innovation framework into its national curriculum to address the demand to improve students’ readiness for the complexity of the future whether for the work environment or in their personal lives. This learning and innovation skills framework focuses on the development the skills of creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration, and communication, known as the 4Cs. However, there is little knowledge on the integration of these skills into …

Female Graduate Students’ Experiences And Career Orientations In Stem: A Comparative Case Study, Jasvir K. Pannu

Dissertations

Regardless of implementation of government policies to promote STEM education and eradicate the underrepresentation of women and minorities, the number of women choosing STEM throughout their educational career remains low. In 2018 65% doctorate degrees were awarded to men and only 35% to women. Moreover, 40% of all students enrolled in doctorate programs drop out before completion. The process of socialization in graduate school and students’ non academic responsibilities play critical roles in graduate students’ success and future career orientations. Processes of socialization involve interactions with faculty, peers, and administration while taking courses and conducting dissertation research. Non academic engagements …

Functional And Physiological Role Of Extra-Hypothalamic Corticotropin Releasing Hormone Neurons In The Nucleus Of The Hippocampal Commissure In Regulation Of Stress Response, Hakeem Kadhim

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) neurons located within the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) are known to be involved in regulation of stress responses. Recently, CRH neurons were identified above the PVN within the nucleus of the hippocampal commissure (NHpC) that located in the septum. We hypothesized that CRH neurons in the NHpC play a critical role in the stress response due to their rapid activation and could be a part of the traditional hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The dissertation addresses the role of 1) CRH expressing neurons in the NHpC compared with those within the PVN utilizing two different stressors, food deprivation (FD) …

Effectiveness Of A High-Fidelity Simulation-Based Training Program In Managing Cardiac Arrhythmias In Icu, Ru-Yu Lien, Wen-Ju Yang, Pei-Yu Zhu, Dung-Hung Chiang, Shih-Hsin Hung, Shu-Fen Lu

Journal of Medical Education

The disease severity and patient complexity are extremely high in the intensive care unit (ICU). The objective structured simulation training can effectively improve clinical management, caring ability, decision-making skills and teamwork communication, and hence. Purpose: This study aims to utilize the high-fidelity patient simulator in the ICU when clinical staff handles the emergent situation of arrhythmia, and to also evaluate the ability of handling emergent situations and the effectiveness of teamwork. Methods: The study was conducted in a mixed ICU of a medical center in the northern Taiwan, with a total of 13 training sessions and 87 trainees. The one-group …

How To Prepare Young Finance & Accounting Professionals For Digital Revolution, Clarence Goh, Gary Pan, Chi Kwan Yuen

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Automation will alter the work of accountants in the coming years. However, accountants will always have a central role to play in business. In order to continue to thrive, the profession will need to position itself to capitalise on the opportunities that automation will bring. This involves identifying areas of work which computers cannot automate, and to focus on deepening contributions in these areas. This calls for a radical transformation of accounting education in order to equip accounting graduates with relevant work skills that will allow students to navigate a future workplace where computers and technology are the norm.

Aku Research 2020, Office Of Research And Graduate Studies

Office of Research and Graduate Studies

Content

- Messages

- Preface

- Research projects

- Research on COVID-19

- University updates

Deriving And Validating An Instrument For Assessing Students' Perspectives On A Completely Digital Problem-Based Learning Curriculum During Covid-19, Chia-Ter Chao, Chao-Chi Ho, Wei-Chung Hsu, Jeng-Yi Shieh, Huey-Ling Chen, Chiun Hsu, Yen-Lin Chiu, Mong-Wei Lin

Journal of Medical Education

Purpose: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered global lockdowns and social distancing mandates. Traditional problem-based learning (PBL) could be potentially compromised. Completely digitalized PBL curricula could be adapted into or even replace traditional ones. This study investigated whether students' perspectives about PBL confidence changed during digital PBL implementation and aimed to derive and validate an instrument for measuring confidence in PBL curricula. Methods: A completely digital PBL small-group discussion program panel was established in National Taiwan University College of Medicine in March 2020 to replace the traditional PBL course for medical students as an immediate response to COVID-19. …

Construction And Validation Of A Teacher Self-Evaluation Scale To Measure Teaching Performance In A Medical University, Chien-Feng Wang, Ruey-Hsia Wang, Po-Yu Yen, Shu-Ling Huang, Yaw-Bin Huang, Yu-Chih Lin

Journal of Medical Education

Purpose: The evaluation of teaching performance should be multidimensional, and a validated self-evaluation scale is lacking. This study aimed to construct and validate a self-evaluation scale of teaching performance in a medical university. Methods: A 5-dimensional teaching performance framework and an initial pool of 129 items were generated through literature reviews, eight rounds of expert panel discussions, external expert reviews, and a survey with open-ended questions. A pool of 46 items was extracted through the Delphi method and administered to 153 faculty members of a medical university. Item analysis and exploratory factor analysis were performed, and 27 valid items were …

In-Depth Analysis Of College Students’ Data Privacy Awareness, Vernon D. Andrews

Theses and Dissertations

While attending university, college students need to be aware of issues related to data privacy. Regardless of the age, gender, race, or education level of college students, every student can relate to the advancement of the internet within the last decades. The internet has completely transformed the way the world receives and stores messages. Positively, the internet allows messages to be sent across the globe within the fraction of a second and provides students with access to potentially unlimited information on a variety of subjects. On the downside, there are issues on the internet that can cause more harm than …

Comprehensive Survey Of The Litter Bacterial Communities In Commercial Turkey Farms, Bishnu Adhikari, Guillermo Tellez-Isaias, Tieshan Jiang, Brian Wooming, Young Min Kwon

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The importance of microbiota in the health and diseases of farm animals has been well-documented for diverse animal species. However, studies on microbiotas in turkey and turkey farms are relatively limited as compared to other farm animal species. In this study, we performed a comprehensive survey of the litter microbiotas in 5 commercial turkey farms in the Northwest Arkansas (H, M, V, K, and R farms) including one farm with positive incidence of cellulitis (R farm). Altogether 246 boot swabs were used for 16S rRNA gene profiling of bacterial communities. At phylum level, 11 major bacterial phyla (≥0.01%) were recovered. …

Genetic Correlations And Genome-Wide Associations Of Cortical Structure In General Population Samples Of 22,824 Adults, Edith Hofer, Gennady V. Roshchupkin, Hieab H.H. Adams, Maria J. Knol, Honghuang Lin, Shuo Li, Habil Zare, Marcio Almeida, Joanne E. Curran, John Blangero

School of Medicine Publications

Cortical thickness, surface area and volumes vary with age and cognitive function, and in neurological and psychiatric diseases. Here we report heritability, genetic correlations and genome-wide associations of these cortical measures across the whole cortex, and in 34 anatomically predefined regions. Our discovery sample comprises 22,824 individuals from 20 cohorts within the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) consortium and the UK Biobank. We identify genetic heterogeneity between cortical measures and brain regions, and 160 genome-wide significant associations pointing to wnt/β-catenin, TGF-β and sonic hedgehog pathways. There is enrichment for genes involved in anthropometric traits, hindbrain …

Establishing A Kpis And Initiatives Classifying Model Based On Performance Datasets For A Supply Chain Health System, Jamal Alshanableh

Theses

With the increasing demand for advanced analytics in health care, the digital health department at PwC needs to have an automated process for automating and quantifying the current state of the client on a performance management level in a more effective and quantitative manner in order to generate for the client a common type of deliverables which are usually (KPIs and initiatives). The following research was done and evolved for the purpose of providing a quantitative, smart and analytical solution for current state assessment phase of a project engagement, which is a commonly required phase in most of the management …

Iot Smart Parking, Anas Hamdan

Theses

A Smart City is designed to improve the quality of life of its residents by utilizing the forefront innovations. Embedded within the smart city is the fundamental innovation using the Internet of Things (IoT) to provide novel solutions to residents, prompting to the enhancement of everyday life while promoting sustainability. This project highlights smart parking management that is a key pillar of a smart city. It implements IoT, sensors, and software to track the availability of parking spaces, the number of vehicles parked in a parking lot, the time for which these vehicles have been parked, and the real-time pricing …

An Efficient 3-D Stochastic Hie-Fdtd Algorithm For Investigation Of Statistical Variation In Electromagnetic Field, Kaikun Niu, Zhixiang Huang, Xingang Ren, Ke Xu, Minquan Li, Xianliang Wu, Ping Li, Lijun Jiang, Hakan Bagci

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We propose a stochastic hybrid implicit-explicit finite-difference time-domain method (S-HIE-FDTD) to compute the mean and variance of the electromagnetic (EM) fields using a single simulation, given those of the conductivity and permittivity in the computation domain. The mean and variance field update equations underlying the proposed method are derived from the field update equations of the 'traditional' deterministic HIE-FDTD. The Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy condition of the S-HIE-FDTD depends on the spatial discretization sizes only in two dimensions; therefore, for computation domains with fine geometric features only in the remaining dimension, it uses a time step size that is larger than that of …

In-Plane Anisotropic Third-Harmonic Generation From Germanium Arsenide Thin Flakes, Huseyin Sar, Jie Gao, Xiaodong Yang

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A newly introduced two-dimensional (2D) layered germanium arsenide (GeAs) has attracted growing interest due to its promising highly in-plane anisotropic crystal structure and electronic properties for photonic and optoelectronic applications. The potential of 2D layered GeAs for many applications such as anisotropic photodetection, electronics, superconductivity and thermoelectricity is being investigated in recent studies. However, the intrinsic nonlinear optical properties of 2D layered GeAs have not been explored yet. Here, thickness- and incident polarization-dependent in-plane anisotropic third-harmonic generation (THG) from the mechanically exfoliated thin GeAs flakes is reported. Furthermore, the effect of the flake thickness on the THG conversion efficiency is …

Review Of The Emc Aspects Of Internet Of Things, Jiyu Wu, Yihong Qi, Guang Gong, Jun Fan, Miao Miao, Wei Yu, Jianhua Ma, James L. Drewniak

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Wireless devices are the largest part of the Internet-of-Things (IoT) units. Radiated, such as specific absorption rate and spurious related issues are regulated by the standards bodies. The functionality performance will greatly influence IoT system stability, user experience, and cost. Radio receiver desensitization and coexistence aspects of IoT devices are discussed in this article. Measurement technologies are briefly reviewed for transmit/receive mode only of single-input single-output (SISO), and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) devices, to provide a means of device performance evaluation and electromagnetic interference troubleshooting. An understanding of the electromagnetic compatibility aspects of the IoT and its measurement methods can help …

Prototypes As Identity Markers: The Double-Edged Role Of Prototypes In Multidisciplinary Innovation Teams, Clio Dosi, Elisa Mattarelli, Matteo Vignoli

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Prototypes play a powerful role in facilitating the work of multidisciplinary innovation teams, but if not properly managed, they may inhibit innovation processes. This paper inquires into the tensions that exist around the use of prototypes in multidisciplinary teams. We studied the relationship between work identities (related to teams and subgroups within teams) and prototypes with a field study of a multidisciplinary team in an emergency department, in charge of redesigning the layout of the unit. Results show that different values of subgroup identities are reflected in the solutions devised by the team. These values become salient through the prototype; …

A Formalist Theory Of Contract Law Adjudication, Felipe Jiménez

Utah Law Review

Formalism has a bad name. It is often seen as a naïve and unsophisticated approach to the adjudication of legal disputes. This negative view of formalism is widespread in American legal culture and has been particularly influential in contract law. This Article challenges this prevailing view and argues that a formalist theory of adjudication is the best approach to resolve contractual disputes.

The argument of this Article starts from the assumption that contract law is not morally justified because of its enforcement of promissory rights or some other dimension of interpersonal morality. Instead, like contemporary law and economics, this Article …

Zoning Cyberspace: Protecting Privacy In The Digital Upside Down, Raymond H. Brescia

Utah Law Review

Over fifty years ago, Charles Reich posited that we should extend property protections to what he would call “government largess”: that array of interests—from licenses to welfare benefits—that often form the bases for one’s economic existence in the modern world. Reich considered such protections essential to the preservation of individual autonomy, the independence that is critical to a functioning democracy. Today, our most personal information and even our thoughts, as reflected in our online activities and digital existence, are subject to “private largess.” Private entities possess information central to the identity of those individuals who utilize their services. This information …

Show Me The (Data About The) Money!, Nizan Geslevich Packin

Utah Law Review

Information about consumers, their money, and what they do with it is the lifeblood of the flourishing financial technology (“FinTech”) sector. Historically, highly regulated banks jealously protected this data. However, consumers themselves now share their data with businesses more than ever before. These businesses monetize and use the data for countless prospects, often without the consumers’ actual consent. Understanding the dimensions of this recent phenomenon, more and more consumer groups, scholars, and lawmakers have started advocating for consumers to have the ability to control their data as a modern imperative. This ability is tightly linked to the concept of open …

A Path To Data-Driven Health Care Enforcement, Jacob T. Elberg

Utah Law Review

The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has a long-stated goal of encouraging companies to engage in what the author refers to as “compliant behaviors”—maintenance of an effective pre-existing compliance program, post-enforcement adoption of an effective compliance program, cooperation with a government investigation, and self-disclosure of misconduct. Substantial DOJ guidance over the past two decades, along with the concrete incentive structure of the United States Sentencing Guidelines, have increasingly made clear to organizations when and how such behaviors will be rewarded in criminal matters. Recently, DOJ has made transparency and clarity regarding the benefit of compliant behaviors a priority in calculating and …