- Thesis
Authors: Fang, Liang (2006) - In viewing a 3D scene, object features are seen on 3D surfaces infused with lightness and color at correct depths. By only focusing on how left and right features are correctly matched, most 3D vision models have not explained how this happens. A 3D LAMINART model (Grossberg and Howe, 2003; Cao and Grossberg, 2005) proposed that laminar cortical mechanisms interact to create 3D surface percepts using interactions between boundary and surface representations. Previous work using this model explained perception of relatively simple objects, like bars and blocks, in relatively simple spatial configurations that did not contain any mutual occlusions. This thesis extends the 3D LAMINART model to predict how textured images with multiple potential false binocular matches, e.g. dense stere...
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- Thesis
Authors: Peisert, Sean Philip (2006) - Forensic analysis is the process of understanding, re-creating, and analyzing arbitrary events that have previously occurred. It seeks to answer such questions as how an intrusion occurred, what an attacker did during an intrusion, and what the effects of an attack were.
Currently the field of computer forensics is largely ad hoc. Data is generally collected because applications log it for debugging purposes or because someone thought it to be important. Practical forensic analysis has traditionally traded off analyzability against the amount of data recorded. Recording less data puts a smaller burden both on computer systems and on the humans that analyze them. Not recording enough data leaves analysts drawing their conclusions based on inference, rather than deduction.
This diss...
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- Thesis
Authors: Zhong, Jie (2006) - Many types of auctions are discussed in the literature such as single item auctions, sequential auctions, and combinatorial auctions. Proxy bidding has proven useful in solving iterative auction problems in many real-world auction formats. In this dissertation, I propose a new type of iterative auction called the Simple Combinatorial Proxy Auction.
A popular method for solving the iterative proxy auction problems is simulating the incremental bidding decisions of the agents. However, this approach has some disadvantages. In this dissertation, I present a new approach called the Price Trajectory Algorithm to solve iterative auction problems. This approach computes the agents’ allocation of their attention across the bundles only at “inflection points” – the points at which agents ch...
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- Thesis
Authors: Shepler, Benjamin C. (2006) - Recent measurements in the Arctic troposphere have revealed episodic depletions of mercury during polar sunrise. The depletion events are thought to be the result of reactions between gas phase elemental mercury with reactive halogen species. The goal of this work has been to characterize reactions between mercury and reactive halogen species with accurate ab initio calculations.
The main body of the thesis is divided into eight chapters and two appendices with Chapter 1 being an introduction and summary.
Chapter 2 discusses the calculation of potential energy curves for the ground and low-lying excited states of the BrC1 molecule. BrC1 is thought to be a major source of photolyzable halogens in the arctic troposphere.
In Chapter 3 the characterization of the ground state of HgO ...
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- Thesis
Authors: Reck, Gregory M. (2006) - While most proteins in biological systems are inherently stable as a prerequisite to performing their functions, a small number of normally well-behaved proteins can engage in a process of aggregation that eventually leads to the formation of an insoluble material identified as an amyloid. Details of the aggregation process are not fully known, but for some model proteins the process can be initiated with known destabilizing conditions. While no sequence or structural similarities have been observed among the proteins, structural instability associated with a characteristic motif in the protein could be a common thread. The proposed strategy to search for such a feature employs a knowledge-based tool that examines the sequence-structure relationship in a specific target protein base...
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- Thesis
Authors: Laine, Tei (2006) - Human-initiated land-use and land-cover change is the most significant single factor behind global climate change. Since climate change affects human, animal and plant populations alike, and the effects are potentially disastrous and irreversible, it is equally important to understand the reasons behind land-use decisions as it is to understand their consequences. Empirical observations and con-trolled experimentation are not usually feasible methods for studying this change. Therefore, scientists have resorted to computer modeling, and use other complementary approaches, such as household surveys and field experiments, to add depth to their models.
The computer models are not only used in the design and evaluation of environmental programs and policies, but they can be used to edu...
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- Thesis
Authors: Jett, William S. (2006) - In this work, we extend the current field of object-oriented software engineering by deriving a more complete set of object-oriented meta-patterns. We use our meta-patterns to decompose object-oriented design patterns and separate the concerns that cause shortcomings in the area of software evolution. We then extend our object-oriented meta-patterns by using the agent concepts to reduce the cost and risk associated with each cycle of software evolution. We finally compose a set of agent-based patterns from the agent-based meta-patterns and demonstrate that they are a worthwhile improvement to the field of software evolution.
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- Thesis
Authors: Favaretto, Paola (2006) - In viewing a 3D scene, object features are seen on 3D surfaces infused with lightness and color at correct depths. By only focusing on how left and right features are correctly matched, most 3D vision models have not explained how this happens. A 3D LAMINART model (Grossberg and Howe, 2003; Cao and Grossberg, 2005) proposed that laminar cortical mechanisms interact to create 3D surface percepts using interactions between boundary and surface representations. Previous work using this model explained perception of relatively simple objects, like bars and blocks, in relatively simple spatial configurations that did not contain any mutual occlusions. This thesis extends the 3D LAMINART model to predict how textured images with multiple potential false binocular matches, e.g. dense stere...
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- Thesis
Authors: Bebek, Gurkan (2006) - Large scale two-hybrid screens have generated a wealth of information describing potential protein-protein intereactions (PPIs). When interacting proteins are asso¬ciated with each other to generate networks, a map of the cell, picturing potential signaling pathways and interactive complexes is formed.
PPI networks satisfy the small-world property and their degree distribution follow the power-law degree distribution. Recently, duplication based random graph models have been proposed to emulate the evolution of PPI networks and to satisfy these two graph theoretical properties.
In this work, we show that the previously proposed model of Pastor-Satorras et al. (2003) does not generate a power-law degree distribution with exponential cutoff as claimed and the more restrictive model ...
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- Thesis
Authors: Ohnmacht, Corey M. (2006) - This dissertation involves the detailed examination of phenytoin and its binding properties to human serum albumin (HSA). This was accomplished by implementing various affinity chromatographic techniques including zonal elution and frontal analysis along with columns containing immobilized HSA to provide estimates of equilibrium binding constants. Affinity chromatography with plate height measurements was also used with theory-derived equations to measure the rate constants for the multisite binding of phenytoin to the chromatographic column.
Part one discusses the complexity of phenytoin’s multisite binding and work that has been done previously to unravel the binding properties of phenytoin. In addition an expansion of current chromatographic theory describing multisite binding a...
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