Computer Engineering Commons^™

Patterns Of Dipeptide Usage For Gene Prediction, Dayananda Sagar Gangadharaiah

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As the number of complete genomes that have been sequenced continues to grow rapidly, the identification of genes regions in DNA sequence data remains one of the most important open problems in bio-informatics. Improving the accuracy of such gene finding tools by a small percentage would affect accurate predictions of many genes of an organism (Zhu et al., 2010). This thesis presents a novel approach for identifying coding regions of a genome based on dipeptide usage.

The patterns in dipeptide usage are used to discriminate between coding and non-coding DNA regions. Two sample T-tests are used as tests of significance …

Privacy-Preserving Attribute-Based Access Control In A Grid, Sang Mork Park

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A Grid community is composed of diverse stake holders, such as data resource providers, computing resource providers, service providers, and the users of the resources and services. In traditional security systems for Grids, most of the authentication and authorization mechanisms are based on the user's identity or the user's classification information. If the authorization mechanism is based on the user's identity, fine-grained access control policies can be implemented but the scalability of the security system would be limited. If the authorization mechanism is based on the user's classification, the scalability can be improved but the fine-grained access control policies may …

Prognosis: A Wearable System For Health Monitoring Of People At Risk, Alexandros A. Pantelopoulos

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Wearable Health Monitoring Systems (WHMS) have drawn a lot of attention from the research community and the industry during the last decade. The development of such systems has been motivated mainly by increasing healthcare costs and by the fact that the world population is ageing. In addition to that, RandD in WHMS has been propelled by recent technological advances in miniature bio-sensing devices, smart textiles, microelectronics and wireless communications techniques. These portable health systems can comprise various types of small physiological sensors, which enable continuous monitoring of a variety of human vital signs and other physiological parameters such as heart …

Evolution And Analysis Of Neuromorphic Flapping-Wing Flight Controllers, Sanjay Kumar Boddhu

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The control of insect-sized flapping-wing micro air vehicles is attracting increasing interest. Solution of the problem requires construction of a controller that is physically small, extremely power efficient, and capable. In addition, process variation in the creation of very small wings and armatures as well as the potential for accumulating damage and wear over the course of a vehicle's lifetime suggest that controllers be able to self-adapt to the specific and possibly changing nature of the vehicles in which they are embedded. Previous work with Evolvable Hardware Continuous Time Recurrent Neural Networks (CTRNNs) as applied to adaptive control of walking …

A Novel Synergistic Diagnosis Methodology For Identifying Abnormalities In Wireless Capsule Endoscopy Videos, Alexandros Karargyris

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Wireless Capsule Endoscopy (WCE) is a new technology that allows medical personnel to view the gastrointestinal (GI) mucosa. It is a swallowable miniature capsule device the size of a pill that transmits thousands of screenshots of the digestive tract to a wearable receiver. When the procedure finishes the video is uploaded to a workstation for viewing. Capsule Endoscopy has been established as a tool to identify various gastrointestinal (GI) conditions, such as blood-based abnormalities, polyps, ulcers, Crohn's disease in the small intestine, where the classical endoscopy is not regularly used.

As of 2009 the market is dominated by Given Imaging …

Design And Development Of A Wireless Data Acquisition System For Fall Detection, Anoop Hanchinamane Ramakrishna

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With the mortality rate of the elderly on the rise due to fall related incidents, fall detection has become an important entity in the geriatric health care sector. The study conducted in this thesis involved the design and development of a Wireless Data Acquisition System (WDAS) with Bluetooth capabilities interfaced to pulse width modulated gyroscopic sensors. Each sensor used has a reference output pulse width which changes when rotated about its sensitive axis.Part of the effort involves the design and development of two versions of printed circuit boards for the application. Each board includes a Parallax Propeller micro- controller in …

Algorithmic Techniques Employed In The Quantification And Characterization Of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Data, Paul Edward Anderson

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Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) based metabolomics is a developing research field with broad applicability, including the identification of biomarkers associated with pathophysiologic changes, sample classification based on the mechanism of toxicity, and clinical diagnosis. Intrinsic to these applications is the need for statistical and computational techniques to facilitate the associated data analysis. Further, a typical 1H NMR spectrum of pure proteins, biofluids, or tissue may contain thousands of resonances (i.e., peaks), thus, a pure visual inspection is insufficient to fully utilize the spectral information.

Common practice within the NMR-based metabolomics community is to evaluate and validate novel algorithms on empirical …

Semantic Provenance: Modeling, Querying, And Application In Scientific Discovery, Satya Sanket Sahoo

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Provenance metadata, describing the history or lineage of an entity, is essential for ensuring data quality, correctness of process execution, and computing trust values. Traditionally, provenance management issues have been dealt with in the context of workflow or relational database systems. However, existing provenance systems are inadequate to address the requirements of an emerging set of applications in the new eScience or Cyberinfrastructure paradigm and the Semantic Web. Provenance in these applications incorporates complex domain semantics on a large scale with a variety of uses, including accurate interpretation by software agents, trustworthy data integration, reproducibility, attribution for commercial or legal …

Visualization Of Complex Unsteady 3d Flow: Flowing Seed Points And Dynamically Evolving Seed Curves With Applications To Vortex Visualization In Cfd Simulations Of Ultra Low Reynolds Number Insect Flight, Christopher M. Koehler

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Three dimensional integration-based geometric visualization is a very powerful tool for analyzing flow phenomena in time dependent vector fields. Streamlines in particular have many perceptual benefits due to their ability to provide a snapshot of the vectors near key features of complex 3D flows at any instant in time. However, streamlines do not lend themselves well to animation. Subtle changes in the vector field at each time step lead to increasingly large changes between streamlines with the same seed point the longer they are integrated. Path lines, which show particle trajectories over time suffer from similar problems when attempting to …

Real-Time 3-D Reconstruction By Means Of Structured Light Illumination, Kai Liu

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Structured light illumination (SLI) is the process of projecting a series of light striped patterns such that, when viewed at an angle, a digital camera can reconstruct a 3-D model of a target object's surface. But by relying on a series of time multiplexed patterns, SLI is not typically associated with video applications. For this purpose of acquiring 3-D video, a common SLI technique is to drive the projector/camera pair at very high frame rates such that any object's motion is small over the pattern set. But at these high frame rates, the speed at which the incoming video can …

Protein Adsorption On And Swelling Of Polyelectrolyte Brushes: A Simultaneous Ellipsometry-Quartz Crystal Microbalance Study, Eva Bittrich, Keith B. Rodenhausen Jr., Klaus-Jochen Eichhorn, Tino Hofmann, Mathias Schubert, Manfred Stamm, Petra Uhlmann

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

With a coupled spectroscopic ellipsometry-quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) experimental setup, quantitative information can be obtained about the amount of buffer components (water molecules and ions) coupled to a poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) brush surface in swelling and protein adsorption processes. PAA Guiselin brushes with more than one anchoring point per single polymer chain were prepared. For the swollen brushes a high amount of buffer was found to be coupled to the brush-solution interface in addition to the content of buffer inside the brush layer. Upon adsorption of bovine serum albumin the further incorporation of buffer molecules into the protein-brush …

Tob1 Is A Constitutively Expressed Repressor Of Liver Regeneration, Karen J. Ho, Nhue L. Do, Hasan H. Otu, Martin J. Dib, Xianghui Ren, Keiichi Enjyoji, Simon C. Robson, Ernest F. Terwilliger, Seth J. Karp

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

How proliferative and inhibitory signals integrate to control liver regeneration remains poorly understood. A screen for antiproliferative factors repressed after liver injury identified transducer of ErbB2.1 (Tob1), a member of the PC3/BTG1 family of mito-inhibitory molecules as a target for further evaluation. Tob1 protein decreases after 2/3 hepatectomy in mice secondary to posttranscriptional mechanisms. Deletion of Tob1 increases hepatocyte proliferation and accelerates restoration of liver mass after hepatectomy. Down-regulation of Tob1 is required for normal liver regeneration, and Tob1 controls hepatocyte proliferation in a dose-dependent fashion. Tob1 associates directly with both Caf1 and cyclindependent kinase (Cdk) 1 and …

Iterative Signal Processing In Communications, Christian Schlegel, Peter Hoeher, Owe Axelsson, Lance C. Pérez

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Iterative signal processing in communications has experienced an explosive rise in popularity in recent years. The catalytic origins of this paradigm-shifting new philosophy among communications experts can be traced to the invention of turbo coding, and the subsequent rediscovery of low-density parity check (LDPC) coding, both in the field of error control coding. Both systems rely on iterative decoding algorithms to achieve their astounding performance. However, iterative signal processing is not confined to the decoding of error control codes and rather quickly spread to many other possible applications. The purpose of this special issue is to examine the concept of …

The Manifestation Of Stopping Sets And Absorbing Sets As Deviations On The Computation Trees Of Ldpc Codes, Eric T. Psota, Lance C. Perez

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

The error mechanisms of iterative message-passing decoders for low-density parity-check codes are studied. A tutorial review is given of the various graphical structures, including trapping sets, stopping sets, and absorbing sets that are frequently used to characterize the errors observed in simulations of iterative decoding of low-density parity-check codes. The connections between trapping sets and deviations on computation trees are explored in depth using the notion of problematic trapping sets in order to bridge the experimental and analytic approaches to these error mechanisms. A new iterative algorithm for finding low-weight problematic trapping sets is presented and shown to be capable …

Mimo Self-Encoded Spread Spectrum With Iterative Detection Over Rayleigh Fading Channels, Shichuan Ma, Lim Nguyen, Won Mee Jang, Yaoqing (Lamar) Yang

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Self-encoded spread spectrum (SESS) is a novel communication technique that derives its spreading code from the randomness of the source stream rather than using conventional pseudorandom noise (PN) code. In this paper, we propose to incorporate SESS in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems as a means to combat against fading effects in wireless channels. Orthogonal space-time block-coded MIMO technique is employed to achieve spatial diversity, and the inherent temporal diversity in SESS modulation is exploited with iterative detection. Simulation results demonstrate that MIMO-SESS can effectively mitigate the channel fading effect such that the system can achieve a bit error rate of …

Integrated Circuit Implementation For A Gan Hfet Driver Circuit, Bo Wang, Jason D. Bakos, Antonello Monti

Faculty Publications

This paper presents the design and implementation of a new integrated circuit (IC) that is suitable for driving the new generation of high-frequency GaN HFETs. The circuit, based upon a resonant switching transition technique, is first briefly described and then discussed in detail, focusing on the design process practical considerations. A new level-shifter topology, used to generate the zero and negative gate-source voltages required to switch the GaN HFET, is introduced and analyzed. The experimental measurements included in this paper report the results of tests carried out on an IC designed and fabricated as part of the multiproject die in …

Genome3d: A Viewer-Model Framework For Integrating And Visualizing Multi-Scale Epigenomic Information Within A Three-Dimensional Genome, Thomas M. Asbury, Matt Mitman, Jijun Tang, W. Jim Zheng

Faculty Publications

Background
New technologies are enabling the measurement of many types of genomic and epigenomic information at scales ranging from the atomic to nuclear. Much of this new data is increasingly structural in nature, and is often difficult to coordinate with other data sets. There is a legitimate need for integrating and visualizing these disparate data sets to reveal structural relationships not apparent when looking at these data in isolation.

Results
We have applied object-oriented technology to develop a downloadable visualization tool, Genome3D, for integrating and displaying epigenomic data within a prescribed three-dimensional physical model of the human genome. In order …

Novel Approaches In Structured Light Illumination, Yongchang Wang

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Among the various approaches to 3-D imaging, structured light illumination (SLI) is widely spread. SLI employs a pair of digital projector and digital camera such that the correspondences can be found based upon the projecting and capturing of a group of designed light patterns. As an active sensing method, SLI is known for its robustness and high accuracy. In this dissertation, I study the phase shifting method (PSM), which is one of the most employed strategy in SLI. And, three novel approaches in PSM have been proposed in this dissertation. First, by regarding the design of patterns as placing points …

Hardware Certification For Real-Time Safety-Critical Systems: State Of The Art, Andrew J. Kornecki, Janusz Zalewski

Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - Daytona Beach

This paper discusses issues related to the RTCA document DO-254 Design Assurance Guidance for Airborne Electronic Hardware and its consequences for hardware certification. In particular, problems related to circuits’ compliance with DO-254 in avionics and other industries are considered. Extensive literature review of the subject is given, including current views on and experiences of chip manufacturers and EDA industry with qualification of hardware design tools, including formal approaches to hardware verification. Some results of the authors’ own study on tool qualification are presented.

Graduate Curricula In Software Engineering And Software Assurance: Need And Recommendations, T. B. Hilburn, Andrew J. Kornecki

Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - Daytona Beach

In discussions about the development and use of computer systems and software products, the term “professional software engineer” is used repeatedly. In the last two decades there has been significant effort devoted to enhancing and advancing the state of professional software engineering (SwE) – new software engineering processes, methods, tools, and practices; creation of a software engineering body of knowledge [1]; development of a code of ethics and professional conduct [2], and software certification and licensing programs [3] . In 1989 the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) of Carnegie Mellon University published a landmark report on graduate education in software engineering …

On Universal Algebra Over Nominal Sets, Alexander Kurz, Daniela Petrişan

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

We investigate universal algebra over the category Nom of nominal sets. Using the fact that Nom is a full re ective subcategory of a monadic category, we obtain an HSP-like theorem for algebras over nominal sets. We isolate a `uniform' fragment of our equational logic, which corresponds to the nominal logics present in the literature. We give semantically invariant translations of theories for nominal algebra and NEL into `uniform' theories and systematically prove HSP theorems for models of these theories.

Bitopological Duality For Distributive Lattices And Heyting Algebras, Guram Bezhanishvili, Nick Bezhanishvili, David Gabelaia, Alexander Kurz

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

We introduce pairwise Stone spaces as a natural bitopological generalization of Stone spaces—the duals of Boolean algebras—and show that they are exactly the bitopological duals of bounded distributive lattices. The category PStone of pairwise Stone spaces is isomorphic to the category Spec of spectral spaces and to the category Pries of Priestley spaces. In fact, the isomorphism of Spec and Pries is most naturally seen through PStone by first establishing that Pries is isomorphic to PStone, and then showing that PStone is isomorphic to Spec. We provide the bitopological and spectral descriptions of many algebraic concepts important for the study …

A Case Study In Quantitative Analysis Of Cyber-Physical Systems: Reliability Of The Smart Grid, Ayman Z. Faza

Doctoral Dissertations

"A cyber-physical system is the integration of a physical infrastructure with a cyber infrastructure, which provides control over its physical counterpart. The goal is to improve certain aspects of the physical infrastructure, such as its reliability. The Smart Grid, in which intelligent cyber control is added to improve the operation of the traditional power grid, is a prime example of a cyber-physical system. Quantitative models are needed in order to better understand the benefits and risks of adding intelligence to physical systems. To this end, we have developed an integrated cyber-physical reliability model, with a focus on the Smart Grid …

Experimental Investigation Of Dielectric Barrier Impact On Breakdown Voltage Enhancement Of Copper Wire-Plane Electrode Systems, Elham Foruzan, M. Ziaee-Nezhad, A. A. Shayegani-Akmal, K. Niayesh

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Non-pressurized air is extensively used as basic insulation media in medium / high voltage equipments. An inherent property of air-insulated designs is that the systems tend to become physically large. Application of Dielectric barrier can increase the breakdown voltage and therefore decrease the size of the equipments.

In this paper, the impact of dielectric barrier on breakdown voltage enhancement of a copper wire-plane system is investigated. For this purpose, the copper wire is covered with different dielectric materials. Depending on the air gap and dielectric strength of the barrier the breakdown can be initiated in the solid or gas dielectric. …

Incentive Mechanisms In P2p Media Streaming Systems, Xiao Su, Suchreet Dhaliwal

Faculty Publications

This paper highlights the need to curb free-riding in P2P media streaming systems and discusses the mechanisms by which this could be accomplished. Free riding, whereby a peer utilizes network resources, but does not contribute services could have a huge impact on the efficacy of blue streaming systems, leading to scalability issues and service degradation. We discuss why BitTorrent-like tit-for-tat mechanisms cannot be simply tailored and used in streaming. Even though the problem of free riding is more severe in P2P media streaming than in file sharing, the deployed systems still lack incentive schemes. In this paper, we categorize, analyze, …

Computer Forensic Functions Testing: Media Preparation, Write Protection And Verification, Yinghua Guo, Jill Slay

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The growth in the computer forensic field has created a demand for new software (or increased functionality to existing software) and a means to verify that this software is truly forensic i.e. capable of meeting the requirements of the trier of fact. In this work, we review our previous work---a function oriented testing framework for validation and verification of computer forensic tools. This framework consists of three parts: function mapping, requirements specification and reference set development. Through function mapping, we give a scientific and systemized description of the fundamentals of computer forensic discipline, i.e. what functions are needed in the …

Table Of Contents

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.

Clustering Spam Domains And Destination Websites: Digital Forensics With Data Mining, Chun Wei, Alan Sprague, Gary Warner, Anthony Skjellum

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Spam related cyber crimes have become a serious threat to society. Current spam research mainly aims to detect spam more effectively. We believe the identification and disruption of the supporting infrastructure used by spammers is a more effective way of stopping spam than filtering. The termination of spam hosts will greatly reduce the profit a spammer can generate and thwart his ability to send more spam. This research proposes an algorithm for clustering spam domains extracted from spam emails based on the hosting IP addresses and tracing the IP addresses over a period of time. The results show that many …

Developing Voip Honeypots: A Preliminary Investigation Into Malfeasant Activity, Craig Valli

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

30 years ago PABX systems were compromised by hackers wanting to make long distance calls at some other entities expense. This activity faded as telephony became cheaper and PABX systems had countermeasures installed to overcome attacks. Now the world has moved onto the provision of telephony via broadband enabled Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) with this service now being provided as a replacement for conventional fixed wire telephony by major telecommunication providers worldwide. Due to increasing bandwidth it is possible for systems to support multiple voice connections simultaneously. The networked nature of the Internet allows for attackers of these VoIP …