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- Title
- FLEXIBLE COGNITIVE STYLE MODERATES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RUMINATION AND AFFECT
- Creator
- Smetter, Joseph B.
- Date
- 2014, 2014-12
- Description
-
Prospective and longitudinal studies have demonstrated that rumination has a negative effect on mood and depression outcomes. The present...
Show moreProspective and longitudinal studies have demonstrated that rumination has a negative effect on mood and depression outcomes. The present study examined whether the type of flexible cognitive style needed to reevaluate maladaptive thoughts and interpretations (i.e. cognitive flexibility) acts as a buffer against the negative relationship between rumination and affect. Participants (N = 100) completed anonymous online surveys containing two measures of cognitive flexibility, including the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale (BCIS; Beck et al., 2008) and the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI; Dennis & Vander Wal, 2010), as well as measures of depressive rumination and trait affect. Multiple regression-based moderation analyses showed that the tendency to be more objective, reflective, and open to feedback moderated the relationship between rumination and positive affect (PA), such that the negative relationship between rumination and PA was attenuated for individuals who were more self-reflective. We discuss the implications of this buffering effect for theories of rumination and research on protective factors, as well as its relevance to psychotherapy. A comparison of the cognitive flexibility questionnaires revealed differences in how flexible reinterpretation is measured and identified selective relationships to positive and negative affect. Based on these findings, we provide recommendations for future research on cognitive styles that promote flexible reinterpretation.
M.S. in Psychology, December 2014
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- Title
- SYSTEM DESIGN AND HARDWARE VERIFICATION OF A S-MFCW RADAR
- Creator
- Nadkarni, Satwik
- Date
- 2014, 2014-05
- Description
-
Low cost imaging radar systems are an emerging field today with very useful applications in automotive, healthcare and entertainment...
Show moreLow cost imaging radar systems are an emerging field today with very useful applications in automotive, healthcare and entertainment industries. The aim is to realize an effective and reliable radar system that has a good resolution and at the same time a low cost and complexity. The S-MFCW radar technique has been shown to achieve comparable resolution with the FMCW technique while at the same time maintaining the advantages of reduced hardware complexity and low power consumption. This makes the S-MFCW technique very useful in low cost and low complexity user end devices. The aim of this thesis is to develop a S-MFCW radar system that is capable of measuring distance of an object as well as its velocity. The radar system was implemented using two different approaches – a modular approach and an integrated approach. Both the implementations were tested and the results were found to be in line with expectations from previous research work.
M.S. in Electrical Engineering, May 2014
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- Title
- DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHIC METHOD FOR SIMULTANEOUS DETERMINATION OF VITAMINS A AND D IN FLUID MILK PRODUCTS
- Creator
- Li, Wenjing
- Date
- 2013, 2013-12
- Description
-
Measurement of fortification levels for vitamins A and D in fluid milk products is required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)...
Show moreMeasurement of fortification levels for vitamins A and D in fluid milk products is required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) according to Pasteurized Milk Ordinance. In the current study, a high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed for simultaneous determination of retinyl palmitate (vitamin A) and cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) in fortified milk, which will enhance the efficiency of routine monitoring of fortification for processors as well as laboratories. Saponification conditions and extraction solution compositions were studies for best recovery and simplification of the extraction procedures. Saponification conditions studied included temperature (20, 40 and 60℃), time (0.5 to 16 hour) and concentration of KOH (20, 30, 40 and 50%). The variables studied for extraction included solvent compositions (hexane, diethyl ether, ethyl acetate and dichloromethane) and corresponding polarities (0.1, 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75), and number of extractions (once, twice and three times). Freezing and centrifuging steps were also investigated to compare to SPE clean-up, as an alternative method to clean-up before injection. The optimum parameters found were: saponification conditions at 60℃ for 2 hours with 40% (w/v) KOH liquid-liquid extraction with hexane: diethyl ether (80:20, v:v). Vitamins A and D3 were quantitated using an HPLC system with fluorescence detector (FLD) and diode array detector (DAD) respectively within the same injection. Spike recoveries from three different fat levels (skim, 2% and whole) of commercial pasteurized milk samples were in the range of 94 to 110% for both vitamins A and D3 at three spike concentration levels. In addition, at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Standard Reference Material (SRM 1849a) was used xii for method accuracy evaluation. With eight replicates, the average vitamin A (expressed as retinol equivalents) concentration was 7.52 ± 0.23 μg/g, vitamin D3 concentration was 0.114 ± 0.0062 μg/g, an excellent agreement with the certified value of 7.68 ± 0.23 μg/g for vitamin A and 0.11 ± 0.017 μg/g for vitamin D3. In summary, an HPLC method for simultaneous determination of vitamins A and D3 in fluid milk products has been developed. The method showed high efficiency and accuracy of analysis during a single laboratory validation.
M.S. in Food Safety and Technology, December 2013
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- Title
- Test of a delco lighting plant
- Creator
- Porges, Edward D., Given, Louis E
- Date
- 2009, 1917
- Publisher
- Armour Institute of Technology
- Description
-
http://www.archive.org/details/testofdelcolight00porg
Thesis (B.S.)--Armour Institute of Technology; Bibliography: leaf 88
- Title
- Study of the production of resorcin
- Creator
- Cable, D. E., Prest, J. I.
- Date
- 2009, 1918
- Publisher
- Armour Institute of Technology
- Description
-
http://www.archive.org/details/studyofproductio00cabl
Thesis (B.S.)--Armour Institute of Technology
- Title
- HYBRID TO SOCIAL CONDENSER: COMPETING APPROACHES TO MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT
- Creator
- Zagow, Maged
- Date
- 2016, 2016-12
- Description
-
In the last two decades, mixed use has taken center stage in urban planning development in the United States. The research frequently cites...
Show moreIn the last two decades, mixed use has taken center stage in urban planning development in the United States. The research frequently cites this development as a model that can address a variety of socioeconomic problems. Also, it has enjoyed a recent surge in popularity in redeveloping cities by providing more affordable housing opportunities, ensuring safety, reducing auto-dependency, and for providing a sense of place and community. However, its affordability, physical design, and outcomes are highly variable. This study is particularly interested in whether and how mixed use affects the socioeconomics configuration of the built environment. This study uses multilevel data from the county level to the zip code level that represents all US neighborhoods. I use different implementation methods of mixed-use development and different cultural and historical backgrounds to examine the data. The study adopts six mixed-use models that present different methodological interactions between socioeconomic spatial metrics and urban forms. These models represent the realistic constraints of urban geometry and of the socioeconomic structure that comprises the charateristics of race, income, accessibility, safety, adjacency, accessibility, environment, and density. This study finds that the built environment produces a rich landscape of information that appears to guide the opportunities for facilities. The analysis shows that mixed-use development may have certain effects on the number of facilities, housing, income, diversity, crime rate, employment, health, and environment. The analysis of this research works in two dimensions. First, urban models (Hybrid and Social Condenser in general and under two categories Metropolis and Neighborhood Community). The second dimension is the urban characteristics (zoning programming, land use mix, streets fabric), socioeconomics variables (Population density, occupied housing, median age, diversity of race, income, and employment rates), and location variation (states, and cities). The results confirm that mixing the facilities in hybrid communities create more jobs opportunities but limit the affordability of housing, social cohesion and the race diversity. But in Social Condenser models, there are more race diversity safety and healthy environment. These results reflect complexity demands more than mixed-use developments, beyond Jane Jacobs' requirements, and beyond the designation of selected mixed-use zones. This study contributes to the study of how mixed-use development models shift because of various social and economic conditions. The findings from this study can inform architects, investors, policymakers, economists, and planners about factors that sustain mixed-use neighborhoods in the United States and beyond. Urban designers will be able to inform how the seemingly necessary act of laying out mixed-use development can affect the socioeconomic structure of a city. Thus, this study is a useful source for more accurate planning ideas than generic abstract theories or slogans.
Ph.D. in Architecture, December 2016
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- Title
- STUDIES ON SYNTHETIC APPLICATIONS OF STEREOSELECTIVE AND REGIOSELECTIVE RING OPENING REACTIONS OF AZIRIDINIUM IONS
- Creator
- Chen, Yunwei
- Date
- 2014, 2014-12
- Description
-
Aziridinium ions are valuable reactive intermediates in organic synthesis. Regioselective and stereoselective ring opening reactions of...
Show moreAziridinium ions are valuable reactive intermediates in organic synthesis. Regioselective and stereoselective ring opening reactions of aziridinium ions can provide various useful building blocks including optically active vincinal amines, amino alcohols and amino esters. Aziridinium ions are also involved in the biological process of anti-cancer agents. However, aziridinium ions are under-utilized in organic synthesis. In this thesis, we utilize stereoselective and regioselective ring opening reactions of aziridinium ions for synthesis of enantiomerically enriched compounds. Ring opening reactions of aziridinium ions were utilized in intramolecular Friedel-Crafts (FC) reactions for stereoselective and regioselective synthesis of 4-substituted tetrahydroisoquinoline. A series of β-haloamine were prepared as precuresors of aziridinium ions. The reaction conditions for ring opening of aziridinium ions for the FC reactions including temperature, catalysts, and solvents were optimized. Further, the reaction mechanism was studied to prove that the aziridinium ions were formed as the key intermediates during the intramolecular FC reaction. Intermolecular nucleophilic ring opening reaction of aziridinium ions was studied as a convenient method of carbon-carbon formation. Regioselective and stereoselective nucleophilic substitution reactions of aziridinium ions with indole analogues were carried out for the synthesis of optically active tryptamine analogues. The reactions proceeded smoothly to provide the tryptamine analogues in high yield in the presence of halo-sequestering agents, while the reaction provided the tryptamine products in significantly low yield in the absence of halo-sequestering agents. Ring opening reactions of aziridinium ions with malonic esters and Grignard reagents were carried out for the respective synthesis of optically active tryptamine analogues, γ-aminobuyric acid (GABA), and α-amine derivatives. The regiospecific ring opening reactions of aziridinium ions was directly applied for the synthesis of bifunctional ligands which have a potential use in targeted therapy and imaging of cancers. The novel bifunctional chelates with a shorter alkyl spacer C-NETA and 2E-C-NETA as well as the chelates with a longer alkyl spacer 5p-C-NETA were prepared. 5p-C-NETA was conjugated to a cyclic peptide c(RGDyK) as a targeting moiety for use in targeted radiation therapy. In addition, 2E-C-NETA was conjugated to a fluorescent dye Cy5.5 for theranostic applications. The experimental results indicated that the new bifunctional ligands have promising applications in the biomedical field. In summary, stereoselective and regioselective ring opening reactions of aziridinium ions have been successfully applied for the synthesis of optically active compounds such as 4-substituted tetrahydroisoquinolines, tryptamines, γ-aminobuyric acid, α-amine derivatives and the bifunctional chelators. We demonstrated that ring opening of versatile aziridinium intermediates is a strightforward and convenient method for the synthesis of various optically active compounds.
Ph.D. in Chemistry, December 2014
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- Title
- Test of slender wooden struts for aeroplanes
- Creator
- Smith, M. A,, Kellener, W. A., Stevens, W. A.
- Date
- 2009, 1910
- Publisher
- Armour Institute of Technology
- Description
-
http://www.archive.org/details/testofslenderwoo00smit
Thesis (B.S.)--Armour Institute of Technology
- Title
- THE CHANGE OF KURTOSIS IN IMPORTANCE SAMPLING FOR MONTE CARLO
- Creator
- Zhang, Xiaodong
- Date
- 2013, 2013-12
- Description
-
The Mont e Carlo (II IC) Method is commonly used to approximat e mult ivariat e integrals, which can be interpreted as means of random variab...
Show moreThe Mont e Carlo (II IC) Method is commonly used to approximat e mult ivariat e integrals, which can be interpreted as means of random variab les. The IIIC method uses th e sample mean to estimate the tr ue mean. In this thesis, we focus on minimizing th e sample size in MC simulat ion needed to sat isfy the specified error tolerance. Based on t he algorithm proposed by [5], we explain that t he cost of reliable IIIe est imat ion depends not only on variance but also on kurtosis. T herefore, when we try to improve th e efficiency of MC simulation by reducing variance, such as with Importance Sampling (IS), we need also look into the change of kurtosis. We analyze the change of cost in terms of the change of kur tosis and the change of variance. For a special case of IS we explore how to find th e optimal density in order to reduce variance.
M.S. in Applied Mathematics, December 2013
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- Title
- Study of the action of a four inch grinnell variable pressure alarm valve
- Creator
- Hotchkin, E. W., Pfaelzer, F. M
- Date
- 2009, 1910
- Publisher
- Armour Institute of Technology
- Description
-
http://www.archive.org/details/studyofactionoff00hotc
Thesis (B.S.)--Armour Institute of Technology, 1910 B.S. in Fire Protection Engineering,...
Show morehttp://www.archive.org/details/studyofactionoff00hotc
Thesis (B.S.)--Armour Institute of Technology, 1910 B.S. in Fire Protection Engineering, 1910
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- Title
- SIMULATING THE HESTON MODEL VIA THE QE METHOD WITH A SPECIFIED ERROR TOLERANCE
- Creator
- Zhao, Xiaoyang
- Date
- 2017, 2017-05
- Description
-
The Quadratic Exponential (QE) model is a market standard simulation method for the Heston stochastic volatility model. We identify certain...
Show moreThe Quadratic Exponential (QE) model is a market standard simulation method for the Heston stochastic volatility model. We identify certain numerical problems with the standard discretization and modify the original method to correct these problems. We implement our modified QE scheme for the Heston model in the Guaranteed Automatic Integration Library (GAIL)|a suite of algorithms that includes Monte Carlo and quasi-Monte Carlo methods for multidimensional integration and computation of means. GAIL computes answers to satisfy user-defined error tolerances. We also implement variance reduction techniques for our modified QE scheme in GAIL. The numerical results show that our modified scheme is fast and accurate, and satisfies the user-defined error tolerances.
M.S. in Applied Mathematics, May 2017
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- Title
- Tests on enameled wire
- Creator
- Gault, Mark E.
- Date
- 2009, 1911
- Publisher
- Armour Institute of Technology
- Description
-
http://www.archive.org/details/testsonenameledw00gaul
Thesis (B.S.)--Armour Institute of Technology; Bibliography: leaf 26
- Title
- COMPUTER MODELING OF BREAST LESIONS AND STUDIES OF ANALYZER-BASED X-RAY IMAGING
- Creator
- Garcia, Luis De Sisternes
- Date
- 2011-11, 2011-12
- Description
-
Phase-contrast x-ray imaging is an emerging technique that promises to yield highly sensitive medical images of soft tissue, which is...
Show morePhase-contrast x-ray imaging is an emerging technique that promises to yield highly sensitive medical images of soft tissue, which is difficult to observe via conventional radiography given its low X-ray attenuation differences. One of these phase-contrast techniques, known as analyzer-based imaging, has demonstrated that highly detailed breast tissue images can be obtained using synchrotron radiation. However, synchrotron facilities are impractical for clinical use. This thesis introduces studies and exposure consideration towards the application of analyzer-based imaging in a clinical environment, particularly in the context of breast imaging. It also introduces a computational breast lesion model that generates randomized three-dimensional phantoms which follow realistically the characteristics observed in real lesions. Moving analyzer-based imaging to clinical application requires the consideration of photon noise, inherent from the use of a photon-limited conventional source. We summarize the statistical properties in the presence of photon noise of two popular analyzer-based imaging techniques, known as diffraction-enhanced imaging (DEI) and multiple-image radiography (MIR). The statistics for MIR have not been previously derived and are introduced in this thesis. Comparison of the resulting statistical predictions with results obtained by Monte Carlo simulation validated the analysis. An expression for the maximum-likelihood (ML) solution for analyzer-based imaging is presented as a way of minimizing the effects of photon noise in the reconstruction of the object’s absorption, refraction and ultra-small angle scattering properties, and more practical maximum-likelihood expectation-maximization (ML-EM) and maximum-a-posteriori expectation-maximization (MAP-EM) solutions are also introduced. The behavior of the ML-EM and MAP-EM solutions was compared to the results produced by the five best-known analyzer-based reconstruction methods using computer simulations. The ML-EM and MAP-EM reconstructions proved closer to the theoretical values as they do not rely on commonly known limitations and approximations introduced by the other techniques. We introduce the development and evaluation of a new computational breast lesion phantom model that can simulate either massess or microcalcifications. The proposed tool allows the generation of a large number of randomized three-dimensional breast lesion simulations following desired characteristics normally used to describe breast lesions in clinical practice. The initial motivation for the development of this new phantom model was to enable the proposed evaluations of analyzer-based imaging to be achieved. However, the model became a major focus of this thesis because it improves significantly upon those that can be found in previous literature. The proposed lesion model can be used for evaluation studies across different breast imaging techniques, as well as for training purposes, so it is our hope that it could become an important resource for the broader mammography research community. As part of the lesion modeling research, we also introduce methods to computationally modify experimental mammography and analyzer-based images of breast tissue so that they present the generated tumor simulations embedded within their parenchyma realistically. The realism of the simulated lesion images was evaluated by comparison of 83 real tumor cases observed in mammograms with 83 constructed hybrid images in which simulated tumors matching the characteristics observed in the real cases were embedded, with healthy tissue acting as background. As a quantitative comparison, extracted features describing tumor shape and density showed no statistically significant differences between real and simulated tumors. A known computational tumor classification technique based on their shape observed in mammography was implemented and showed no significant performance differences between real and simulated cases, as well as showing good correlation with previously published performance results in real tumors. To measure the realism for use in human observer studies, we conducted a reader study in which 5 experienced radiologists were asked to judge whether each of the 166 images was real or simulated by assigning a score on a 7-point scale. The results were analyzed in a multiple-reader multiple-case statistical framework. The conclusion of the study was that the readers’ accuracy in assessing whether the lesions were real or simulated was not significantly better than random chance. This thesis also incorporates a reader study to evaluate the degree to which photon-limited analyzer-based images may be effective for visualization of breast cancer features. Our motivation was to establish the x-ray intensity that would be required to make these methods feasible, the purpose being to serve as a guide in parameter selection for future design of imaging hardware. We conducted a series of observer studies that quantify the performance of analyzer-based refraction images at different noise levels for the task of identifying subtle details present in breast tumors which are relevant to clinical diagnosis. The cases shown to the readers consisted of hybrid images where simulated lesions of known characteristics were computationally embedded in real breast analyzer-based background images. The original phase-contrast data was obtained using synchrotron radiation and was later modified to simulate the noise and blurring effects produced from a photon-limited source with a 300μm aperture size, similar to those used in a laboratory environment. Results showed that the analyzer-based imaging techniques statistically outperformed conventional mammography for the given task with an average of just 128 recorded photons per pixel in background image regions
Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, December 2011
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- Title
- FEASIBILITY OF INDICATOR MICROORGANISMS IN ASSESSING THE EFFICACY OF SANITIZERS IN FRESH PRODUCE WASHING
- Creator
- Zhong, Zeyan
- Date
- 2016, 2016-05
- Description
-
Sanitizers have been widely used in controlling cross-contamination during fresh produce washing processes. It is important to identify...
Show moreSanitizers have been widely used in controlling cross-contamination during fresh produce washing processes. It is important to identify different approaches for monitoring the efficacy of sanitizer washing. In this study, our objective was to determine the feasibility of indicator microorganisms in assessing the efficacy of chlorine and peroxyacetic acid (PAA) in fresh-cut produce washing. In inactivation experiments, the survivals of inoculated indicator microorganisms [total viable count (TVC), Enterobacteriaceae and total coliforms] and E. coli O157:H7 were determined after exposure to different concentrations of chlorine or PAA in water with added organic load (TOC~200 mg/l). In small-scale washing experiments, bacterial transfer from lettuce leaves inoculated with indicators or E. coli O157:H7 to wash water containing chlorine or PAA with/without organic matters was evaluated. In the inactivation study, higher log reduction was observed for Enterobacteriaceae and total coliforms than for E. coli O157:H7 after chlorine treatment at an initial concentration of 30 ppm. In the bacterial transfer study [a inoculated leaf (~5 log CFU) in 30 ml of wash water], without additional organic matter, approximately 3.5 log total CFU of all bacteria groups was transferred into wash water. Less than 1.5 log total CFU were detected for Enterobacteriaceae, total coliforms and E. coli O157:H7 in 1 ppm chlorine washing. With introduced organic matter, similar microbial loads of Enterobacteriaceae, total coliforms and E. coli O157:H7 were detected on washed leaves and in wash water with initial chlorine concentration of 1 ppm; when initial chlorine level increased to 10 ppm, less than 2 log total CFU of Enterobacteriaceae and total coliforms was detected while about 3 log total CFU of E. coli O157:H7 transferred to wash water, suggesting that chlorine at an initial concentration of 10 ppm could not prevent cross-contamination in the presence of organic load. The indicators showed different levels of survival and transfer from E. coli O157:H7 in this study and were unreliable to effectively monitor the behavior of the pathogen during chlorine wash in fresh produce processes. Enterobacteriaceae and total coliforms were more vulnerable to 40 ppm PAA treatment than E. coli O157:H7 in PAA inactivation experiments. No survival, except for TVC, was observed after 80 ppm of PAA inactivation. In the bacterial transfer study, 40 ppm PAA in wash water was found unable to prevent cross-contamination of indicators and E. coli O157:H7 from leaves to water. Further investigation is needed to compare the bacterial transfer levels of E. coli O157:H7 and the indicators at higher PAA levels.
M.S. in Food Safety and Technology, May 2016
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- Title
- The utilization of sunflower stalks in paper manufacture
- Creator
- Zavertnik, J.
- Date
- 2009, 1914
- Publisher
- Armour Institute of Technology
- Description
-
http://www.archive.org/details/utilizationofsun00zave
Thesis (B.S.)--Armour Institute of Technology
- Title
- SPEECH INTELLIGIBILITY AND ACCENTS IN SPEECH-MEDIATED INTERFACES: RESULTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
- Creator
- Lawrence, Halcyon M.
- Date
- 2013, 2013-07
- Description
-
There continues to be significant growth in the development and use of speech–mediated devices and technology products; however, there is no...
Show moreThere continues to be significant growth in the development and use of speech–mediated devices and technology products; however, there is no evidence that non-native English speech is used in these devices, despite the fact that English is now spoken by more non-native speakers than native speakers, worldwide. This relative absence of non-native English speech in devices may be due in part to the costs associated with localizing speech devices, but it may also be attributable to the fact that not enough is known about user performance with accented speech in speech–mediated environments. In the absence of targeted research, developers may be relying on existing studies which focus on perception (impression) of accented speech, as a basis of decision-making. However, perception paints only part of the picture when it comes to understanding how and why people perform in certain ways and in certain environments. Three studies were conducted to answer the following questions: (1) What are the acoustic-phonetic characteristics of negatively- and positively-perceived accented speech? And how are these characteristics related to markers of intelligible speech? (2) How do participants perform on different types of accented-speech tasks? (3) What is the relationship between user perception of accented speech and user performance in response to accented speech? and; (4) How do participants perform on accented speech tasks of varying complexity? Arising out of this research, there are six recommendations for the use of accented speech in speech-mediated devices. Also, the findings of this study raise questions about inherent linguistic stereotypes which impact both our perceptions and our choices about xvi the accents we want to hear on our speech devices. A discussion about if and how these stereotypes can be altered and measured are included. Future research should examine the role of experienced non-native talkers in speech devices. Results of study one demonstrated that some experienced non-native talkers were positively-perceived by raters and may be good candidates for talkers in speech devices. A study like this would explicitly establish if listeners consistently make native vs. non-native distinctions in their preferences or if a prestige continuum emerges.
PH.D in Technical Communication, July 2013
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- Title
- INVESTIGATION OF NOROVIRUS CROSS CONTAMINATION DURING FOOD SERVICE PROCEDURES USED IN PREPARATION OF FRESH PRODUCE
- Creator
- Suriyanarayanan, Annamalai
- Date
- 2011-11, 2011-12
- Description
-
Human norovirus (HuNoV) is considered an important cause of foodborne outbreaks, often attributed to the preparation of fresh produce by...
Show moreHuman norovirus (HuNoV) is considered an important cause of foodborne outbreaks, often attributed to the preparation of fresh produce by infected food handlers. In this investigation, methods for recovery of murine norovirus (MNV-1), a surrogate for HuNoV, from food preparatory surfaces were optimized, and MNV-1 crosscontamination between various surfaces common in a food service setting were studied. Fifty microliters of MNV-1 was inoculated onto demarcated 1 x 1 inch squares of polypropylene cutting board, stainless steel knife and spigots. After drying, MNV-1 was recovered from each surface using either a cotton swab, composite tissue or sterile sponge in combination with different eluents such as tissue culture growth medium, 3% beef extract, glycine buffer (50mM glycine, 1% beef extract), stripping solution (0.04% K2HPO4, 1.01% Na2HPO4, 0.1% Triton X-100), and Earle’s Balanced Salt Solution (EBSS). The eluent/recovery tool combinations that recovered the highest percentage of MNV-1 from cutting board were stripping solution/sponge (20%) and growth medium/swab (20%). The greatest recovery from the knife blade was achieved with the growth medium/composite tissue combination (43%), while recovery from spigots was greatest using the stripping solution/sponge (28%) and the growth medium/sponge combinations (27%). In the second phase of this investigation, human volunteers were asked to perform various tasks in order to quantify the amount of MNV-1 cross contamination between various surfaces, including bare hands, fresh-cut lettuce, and spigots. The percentage of MNV-1 transfer from hands to spigots varied from 0.06% to 3.59%, spigots to hands varied from 10% to 90.4% and lettuce to hands varied from 0.30% to 4.33%. x The results of this investigation can be used in developing a model describing the transfer pattern of HuNoV between surfaces common in retail food service, and used in developing educational materials for food service workers.
M.S. in Science, Food Safety, and Technology, December 2011
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- Title
- Variable speed motor control
- Creator
- Fry, August, Baker, Charles
- Date
- 2009, 1906
- Publisher
- Armour Institute of Technology
- Description
-
http://www.archive.org/details/variablespeedmot00frya
Thesis (B.S.)--Armour Institute of Technology
- Title
- CONSTRUCTION OF ZEBRAFISH OLFACTORY RECEPTORS INTO A MAMMALIAN EXPRESSION VECTOR FOR FUTURE LIGAND-BINDING STUDIES
- Creator
- Tian, Chen
- Date
- 2011-07, 2011-07
- Description
-
The olfactory system is an important chemosensory system. Our identification of odorants is occurred through binding of odorant molecules with...
Show moreThe olfactory system is an important chemosensory system. Our identification of odorants is occurred through binding of odorant molecules with olfactory receptors in the olfactory epithelium. In zebrafish, there are four classes of olfactory receptors: trace amine-associated receptor (TAAR), odorant receptor (OR), vomeronasal type 1-like receptor (V1R-like) and vomeronasal type 2-like receptor (V2R-like). In this study, I amplified four olfactory receptors taar1a, or1016, ora5 and olfcc1, which are respectively belong to the four olfactory receptor classes, from cDNA of the zebrafish olfactory epithelium and cloned genes into a mammalian expression vector pCI. The gene sequences of these receptors were not identical as the sequences obtained from GenBank database. The possible reasons for the inconsistency of gene sequence are discussed. I further tranfected these four cloned olfactory receptors in a mammalian cell line Hana3A. Expression of all four olfactory receptors in Hana3A cells was confirmed by immunocytochemistry. In summary, these four olfactory receptors taar1a, or1016, ora5 and olfcc1 were successfully cloned into the pCI vector and can be expressed on cell membrane surface of Hana3A cells.
M.S. in Biology, July 2011
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- Title
- SPECTRUM OBSERVATORY BASED TRAFFIC MODELING AND CHANNEL SELECTION IN SUPPORT OF DYNAMIC SPECTRUM ACCESS
- Creator
- Bacchus, Brent Roger
- Date
- 2015, 2015-05
- Description
-
It is well known that the exponential growth in popularity of wireless devices has created a demand for radio spectrum that cannot be met with...
Show moreIt is well known that the exponential growth in popularity of wireless devices has created a demand for radio spectrum that cannot be met with current regulatory policies. Despite the difficulty in procuring access to new spectrum resources, many empirical studies have indicated that the majority of spectrum is in-fact unused in the temporal, spatial and/or spectral domains, representing an untapped wealth that must be exploited. Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) is a promising technology which aims to improve the efficiency of future radios and alleviate the issue of spectrum under-utilization. This dissertation utilizes the data from the IIT Spectrum Observatory to develop models of channel activity on the Land Mobile Radio (LMR) band (used for critical communication by organizations such as public safety) and shows how such models can be applied to improve the performance of DSA. We demonstrate that LMR traffic may possess multi-timescale behavior – such as clustering and dispersion over different time periods – and propose a novel statistical model to account for these observations based on a multiple emission hidden Markov model. We then used this model to design a collision constrained channel selection algorithm that can permit the re-use of licensed spectrum while minimizing interference with incumbent users. The findings in this work are primarily developed for public safety, however the techniques developed are general enough to be applied to other types of traffic possessing similar characteristics. The proposed model, in particular, is well suited for further analytic work and simulations studies in this area.
Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, May 2015
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