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  Automatic Intrusion Detection on Oil/Gas Pipeline Right-of-Ways

  Ming Gong

  Pipeline right-of-ways (ROWs) monitoring and safety pre-warning is a vital way to guarantee safe operation of the oil/gas transportation. Any construction equipment or heavy vehicle intrusion is a potential safety hazard to pipeline infrastructure. Since millions of miles of pipes buried along the length and breadth of the United States, monitoring is required to know if pipeline ROW is under threat or not. Taken into account of less population of the vast amount of area, high cost of labor and rapid advancements in sensor technology and automated techniques for image analysis, aerial monitoring is found to be the most viable option. The images captured by aerial data acquisition system, such as fixed-wing air-crafts or unmanned air vehicles are affected by a lot of factors including varying illumination conditions, environmental conditions, camera characteristics, etc. To deal with the above mentioned problems, an automatic intrusion detection system, which is capable of dealing with the constraints of the aerial imagery caused by low resolution, lower frame rate, large variations in illumination, motion blurs, etc., is being developed to assist the threat detection as part of the ROW automated monitoring program. The automated pipeline monitoring system is designed to be in three phases: background elimination, part-based object detection and risk assessment. In the first phase, a region of interest (ROI) detector is developed to extract potential regions that may contain objects by utilizing monogenic phase features into a cascade of pre-trained classifiers. In the second phase, a part-based object detection model is built for searching specific targets, which are considered as threat objects. In the third phase, a safe pre-warning system is built to access the severity of the threats to pipelines by computing the geolocation and temperature information of the threat objects. In addition, in order to assign more precise warning, the impacts caused by different types of vehicles will be taken into account by developing new feature extraction and classification algorithms.

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  Autonomous Surveillance in Real World Environments

  Gayatri Mayukha Behara

  The widespread emergence of human interactive gaming and entertainment systems based on using body gestures for control has led to the development of portable 3D depth perception cameras. Many standalone systems capable of 3D depth perception are now commercially available. Examples of such systems include Kinect motion sensing input device developed by Microsoft for Xbox 360 and Xbox One video game consoles, Creative Labs Senz3D, and ZED camera from Stereolabs which has combined a 3D Camera for depth sensing with motion tracking. In the current work, we aim to expand the functionality of such systems by combining autonomous object recognition along with depth perception which would provide the ability to both identify the object and its distance from the camera. Such capability would prove invaluable to autonomous surveillance applications, where persons carrying any forbidden and dangerous objects are detected in real-time and appropriate warnings are signaled. We have selected Microsoft Kinect V2 which includes built-in hardware algorithms to identify humans in a complex real-world setting. In addition, the system can simultaneously track 6 people at any time and provide their skeletal joint diagrams. The current work deals with using the skeletal joint diagrams and depth maps and create a focus area around the hand area of the peoples. The next phase of our developed algorithm deals with object detection after the segmentation of hands. We use machine learning techniques with establishment of training datasets that includes the library of objects we aim to detect. Finally, we believe his system could have uses in autonomous navigation of robots, vehicles and drones.

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  Behind the Stigma: An Examination of the Impact of Gender and College Adjustment on Attitudes Towards Mental Health Disorders

  Maggie L Inman

  The topic of stigmatization of mental health disorders and use of psychological services has been widely researched. Gender differences have been found in attitudes regarding acceptability and treatment of mental health disorders, with adherence to gender roles influencing these attitudes. Past research has confined gender to a binary model of self-report and has not explored the concept of nontraditional gender roles; nor has it examined the influence of social factors, namely college adjustment, on perceptions of mental health. With many studies utilizing undergraduate students, it is important to understand how college adjustment may affect attitudes toward mental health. This study tested three hypotheses: that men and women with more feminine gender roles will display more accepting attitudes toward individuals with mental health disorders, that men and women with poorer college adjustment will also display more accepting attitudes toward these individuals, and that the relationship between college adjustment and attitudes towards mental disorders will be moderated by gender role traits. Participants were PSY 101 students and received research credit for their participation. Correlations and regression analyses were used to compare responses between groups based on gender role traits and college adjustment. Results indicated no significant relationship between gender roles and attitudes towards mental disorders, but a significant relationship was found between college adjustment and these attitudes, with poorer college adjustment predicting more negative attitudes towards mental disorders. The study also found that gender role traits strengthen this relationship between college adjustment and attitudes towards mental disorders. Results of this study could help reduce mental disorder stigma by identifying which factors contribute to the stigmatization. The results could also help university counseling centers to normalize mental disorders and psychological services by using advertising to target the least accepting demographic.

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  Beyond the Macro: Determining the role of micronutrients in orthopteran communities

  Lucy E Bratton, Kaitlin M Gawkins

  Insect herbivores, such as grasshoppers, are important components of grassland ecosystems, but presently we cannot accurately predict their abundance and diversity. Macronutrients (i.e., nitrogen and phosphorus) have long been considered to be important in limiting herbivore populations, but only nitrogen and phosphorus have been examined, thus overlooking a potential role for micronutrients. We are conducting a large-scale fertilization experiment manipulating micronutrients (Ca, K, and Na) and macronutrients (N and P) to determine how micronutrients affect orthopteran communities in coastal tallgrass prairies of Texas with a large, and whether the effect of micronutrients depends on the abundance of macronutrients. We found that, contrary to previous thinking, orthopterans were not limited by macronutrients, but were limited by individual micronutrients. A species of grasshopper (Melanoplus bispinosus) and multiple species of katydid (Orchelimum concinnum and Orchelimum vulgare) were particularly responsive. This summer, we will be conducting different types of feeding trials with these species to determine whether their responses are due to direct effects (i.e. via physiological mechanisms) or indirect effects (via changes in plant communities). These results would not only help to explain the mechanisms underlying of this large-scale experiment, but also, would give more insight into the relationship between direct and indirect influences of changing micronutrient concentration, thus setting a framework for further study in the future. These results have important implications for the management of rangeland ecosystems where orthopterans are highly managed pest species.

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  Bicycle Safety Project

  Theus H Aspiras, Brandon M Hampshire

  The objective of the Bicycle Safety Project is to provide joggers and cyclist a sensor that can alert them of approaching dangers behind them. The dangers could be a mugger, a speeding cyclist, or approaching vehicle. The project initially approached the objective by using a camera to perform 2D image analysis such as optical flow and distance estimation. Optical flow was used for object detection and speed estimation. In addition to optical flow, the use of a 3D stereo cameras is used for object detection, distance calculation, and speed estimation. In order to detect an object approaching the camera, the 3D stereo camera initially creates a point cloud to use as a distance reference. Then the point cloud collected afterwards is subtracted from the reference point cloud and then changes the reference to the new point cloud. The difference between the point clouds creates an impression that can illustrate moving objects similar to a pinscreen. The image is used to identify objects by using image segmentation. Image segmentation creates a binary filter that allows us to find the average distance and instantaneous velocity of the identified objects. From there, above desired speeds and their objects can be red flagged as dangers. The algorithm is able to calculate and identify objects in under a second when there is a single approaching object.

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  Biomass Production of Basic Garden Plants Growing in Simulated Martian Soil

  Amber R Delvento, Tessa L Farthing, Shelby Krumpelman, Ana D Ritz, Sophie F Yurczyk

  Future manned missions to Mars will require that astronauts grow at least some of the food that they will eat. This project was initiated by an interest in a recent film, The Martian, in which a marooned astronaut grows potatoes in Martian soil to supplement his diet. Robotic spacecraft have been sent to Mars and have analyzed the Martian soil. Comparable soils similar to Martian soils have been found on Earth. We obtained a Martian Regolith Simulant from Orbit Tech, Inc., a subcontractor for NASA. Martian soil contains all micro and macronutrients essential to sustain plant life. Using a climate controlled environment chamber, seeds of radishes, peas, and lettuce were grown in Earth garden soil or simulant Martian soil. Eight seedlings of each species, four of which were planted in earth topsoil, and four of which were planted in Martian soil. A balanced liquid fertilizer was applied to half of the plants. At the end of eight weeks, the biomass of targeted edible biomass was measured. The results will be useful in determining the possibility of growing food on Mars.

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  Boosted Ringlet Features for Visual Object Tracking

  Almabrok Essa Essa, Evan W Krieger

  Accurate and efficient object tracking is an important aspect in security and surveillance applications. Many challenges exist in visual object tracking including scale change, object distortion, lighting change, and occlusion. The combination of structural target information including edge features with the intensity or color features will allow for more robust object tracking in these conditions. To achieve this, we propose a feature extraction method that utilizes both the Frei-Chen edge detector and Gaussian ringlet feature mapping. Frei-Chen edge detector extracts edge, line, and mean features that can be combined to create an edge detection image. The edge detection image will then be used to represent the structural features of the target. Gaussian ringlet feature mapping is used to obtain rotational invariant features that are robust to target and viewpoint rotation. These aspects are combined to create an efficient and robust tracking scheme. The proposed method also includes occlusion and scale handling components. The proposed scheme is evaluated against state-of-the-art feature tracking methods using both temporal and spatial robustness metrics on the Visual Object Tracking 2014 database.

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  Boots to Books: The Transition Experiences of Student Veterans from Camouflage to College

  Jamie A McCall

  Since the passing of the Post 9/11 benefit for veterans who served on or after September 11, 2001, colleges and universities are now faced with increasing veteran populations. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (2014), there are over one million veterans and their dependents that are utilizing benefits from the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill to pursue college. Beyond the financial benefit, many student veterans are in need of additional academic, career, counseling, and social resources in order to provide a more positive and successful transition to college campuses that are predominantly catered to traditional students. While the majority of student veterans tend to be non-traditional students, colleges and universities can strengthen their community and inclusiveness by understanding the needs and experiences of their student veterans. The purpose of this research study is to understand the experiences and needs of student veterans transitioning from a military culture to a private Catholic, Marianist campus at the University of Dayton. By understanding the qualitative narrative stories of six non-traditional student veterans who balance work, family, and college responsibilities, further training and resources can be implemented to provide a more positive, supportive, and inclusive transition into the campus community.

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  Business Cycle Patterns, Portfolio Weighting, and S&P Industrial Stock Returns: An Empirical Analysis 2006-2016

  Nicholas C Jacobs

  In this study, I explain the returns of Industrial sector stocks during a period where both a downturn phase and a rebound phase in the U.S. economy occur. Using the profitability factor ROE, I test the hypothesis that a concentrated portfolio of ROE weighted Industrial sector stocks outperforms the S&P SPDR ETF (XLI) as well as SPY, the S&P 500 SPDR ETF. In addition, I use a stock weighting scheme based on the standard deviation of individual stocks and assume both "risk on" and "risk off" market conditions operate throughout the time period.

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  Camera pose estimation for 3D scene reconstruction based key frame extraction

  Almabrok Essa Essa, Ruixu Liu

  Estimation of camera pose is a fundamental problem in many computer vision areas, such as simultaneous localization and mapping, robot navigation, 3D scene reconstruction, etc. Recently, using low-cost RGB-D camera to perform 3D scene reconstruction is an active area of mobile robotics research. The ability to localize a camera moving is a very important step. To estimate the camera trajectory, we need to compute the geometry relationship between a set of images. Regardless of which 3D reconstruction algorithm is used for an application, the quality of the results depends heavily on the quality and consistency of the input image sequence, which are required to approximately cover the entire scene and at the same time minimize the content redundancy between the selected frames. Therefore, we introduce the use of a key-frame selection strategy as a preprocessing technique, which not only greatly saves the computation time, but also helps significantly reduce the number of repeated features to improve the camera pose estimation quality. The key frame selection strategy that has been used in this research utilizes the pixel intensity differences among subsequent frames to automatically select only the frames that contain the desired contextual information and discard the rest of the insignificant frames. Our pose estimation for 3D reconstruction system has been applied successfully to video from handheld RGB-D camera and a RGB-D camera mounted on a ground robot. The performance of the proposed technique is observed to be significantly improved using our key frame selection strategy.

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  Characterization of Refractive Index for Potassium Terbium Fluoride

  John D Kunkel

  Potassium Terbium Fluoride (KTF) has the potential for application as an effective optical isolator. It would be valuable for use in high-power laser systems to prevent reflected beams from coupling back into the pump laser. Characterization of the material, including the dependence of the refractive index on wavelength and temperature, are important for incorporating KTF into these laser systems. The method of minimum deviation was used to measure the refractive index for wavelengths ranging from 0.400 to 5.20 microns and in temperatures ranging from 20 to 225°C. Results of this characterization will be presented.

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  Characterizing the Interaction of Mytilus edulis Foot Protein-5 with HY80 Steel

  Brooke N Bennett

  Mytilus edulis foot protein-5 (Mefp-5), an adhesive protein found in the adhesive plaque of the common blue mussel Mytilus edulis (L), contains high amounts of amino acids L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-dopa, 27 mol%) and lysine (20 mol%). While Mefp-5 has been shown to provide significant corrosion inhibition to a high strength low alloy steel (HY80), the mechanism of inhibition remains elusive. It has been suggested that the close proximity of L-dopa and lysine in Mefp-5 results in a synergy that plays a vital role in the adsorption of the protein to solid substrates. This proposed synergy and its effect on iron oxide films has yet to be elucidated. To characterize how Mefp-5 interacts with the HY80 steel, a variety of analytical spectroscopy techniques were implemented. Solutions of Mefp-5, L-dopa, or lysine dissolved in deionized water, 5% acetic acid, 0.05 M potassium phosphate buffer (pH 5.5), or the same buffer containing mushroom tyrosinase were adsorbed onto HY80 and glass substrates. Raman spectroscopy suggests that adsorbate, solution composition and pH play a role in the type of iron oxide formed and how the protein orients itself on the HY80 surface. At a pH of 5.5, the isoelectric point (pI) of the Fe2O3 oxide suggests the negatively charged oxide surface attracts lysine’s positively charged ε-amine group. Infrared spectroscopy indicates that L-dopa is also intimately involved in the adsorption of the protein on HY80 steel. Overall, the data suggests there is synergy between L-dopa and lysine, where lysine aids in iron availability for L-dopa complexation.

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  Chemotherapy: What Does That Even Mean?

  Austin E Hillman, Kaitlin Leigh Restrepo, Jennifer H Sebell

  In an effort to acknowledge the importance of health literacy and respond to a health information need, the purpose of this project was to make an article explaining chemotherapy accessible to Intensive English Program (IEP) students with a third or fourth grade reading level. We revised an existing webpage from Cancer Treatment Centers of America about chemotherapy to make it more accessible for the IEP students. The original web page had a reading level of grade 14 and 7 months (14.7), and the intended audience is patients or loved ones of patients who do not know much about chemotherapy. The methods employed by our team to simplify the inaccessible article included SMOG tests and a Health Literacy Load Analysis to assess the reading level, visits to an IEP class for feedback, and creating/editing a brochure. The final brochure that was formed through these methods had a reading level of grade 5 and 9 months (5.9), which was more than half of the reading level of the original article (which was 14.7). The brochure enabled IEP students to understand need-to-know information about chemotherapy from the original health document. From our results, there is evidence that taking the time to assess the readability of a health document can facilitate informed health decisions by individuals whose first language is not English.

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  Climate Change in Dayton, Ohio: Identifying the Impacts and the Community's Understanding

  Emily E Skill

  This project examines the local impacts of climate change on the City of Dayton and analyzes what citizens from some of Dayton’s neighborhoods understand about climate change and sustainable behaviors. The purpose of this project is to connect threats of climate change in Dayton with sustainable actions that can be performed at home to reduce the effects of climate change. This project addresses the common misconception that climate change will only affect cities with elevations near sea level. While mainland cities, such as Dayton, are not at risk of flooding from rising sea levels, changes in precipitation and temperature can still pose great economic and social threats to these cities. Climate change will increase the amount of precipitation Ohio receives as well as flood frequency. The projected increased temperatures for Ohio will increase the likelihood of heat- rashes, heat-exhaustion, heatstroke, and even death. Increased temperatures from climate change will largely affect the poor, and in the City of Dayton, approximately 35% of population are living in poverty. Furthermore, the City of Dayton is identified as the largest food desert in the state. In addition to many of the problems climate change has on human health, temperature fluctuations and precipitation changes are also threats to agriculture, which will exacerbate food insecurities in Dayton. The survey portion of this project will identify knowledge gaps about climate change and its effects on the Dayton area as well as distinguish awareness of sustainable behaviors so that environmental education programs can be designed to address the needs of the community. This project was developed with the intention of being used as a starting point to help Dayton become a more sustainable city with sustainable citizens.

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  CNN Based HAPNet for Deep Learning

  Patrick K Martell

  Neural Networks have become increasingly popular in recent years due to their ability to accurately classify images in complex tasks. This began with AlexNet in 2012, which led to better performing networks such as GoogLeNet, and ResNet. The network architecture used in this work is the nonlinear line attractor (NLA) network. The method we use will utilize a polynomial weighting method rather than a linear weighting method. The architecture was also improved with a Gaussian weighting scheme, which provides a modularity in the architecture and reduces redundancy in the network. The polynomial weighting scheme improves the network on the tested datasets and yielded better convergence characteristics, quicker training times, and improved recognition rates than the linear counterpart. These changes led to a polynomial network which modifies the NLA architecture to include different ways to use polynomial weighting. In each layer, we can have orders of each input connected by a weight set, which can be trained by a backpropagation algorithm. While this network performed very well, we believe that there is still room for improvement. The previous method performs near the top of it's class, though does not perform better than the best deep learning networks for the MNIST database. By combining the polynomial network and region based approach with the current state of the art techniques for deep learning based methods, we believe that the combination will outperform the regular the polynomial based networks, regardless of polynomial order and region based connections. This expected increase will come from the ability for the polynomial method to further augment the ability of deep learning networks to understand the space. This accuracy increase will most likely also come at the cost of complexity and training time, as this is usually an accepted cost for the use of deep learning networks.

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  Coastal craziness: factors that regulate an invasive ant in a coastal tallgrass prairie

  John T Gruber, Ryan W Reihart

  Coastal tallgrass prairies are an endangered ecosystem, which is currently threatened by the invasion of rasberry crazy ants (Nylanderia fulva), especially near Houston, Texas. Since the invasion of N. fulva in 2002, this species has been able to reach extremely high densities, reduce native arthropod abundance, and has completely displaced the red imported fire (Solenopsis invicta), its invasive predecessor. Despite knowing the negative effects that N. fulva has on ecosystems, the biotic and abiotic factors that are responsible for its invasion success remain unknown. To determine the abiotic and biotic factors that contribute to N. fulva’s abundance, we utilized a fully factorial blocked experimental design, which manipulates macro- and micronutrients (N&P, Ca, K, and Na; all possible treatments = 16 combinations x 8 replicates = 128 plots) in large 32 m x 32 m plots at the University of Houston Coastal Center in a coastal tallgrass prairie near Houston, Texas. Arthropods were collected by sweep netting in May 2016, along with measurements of plant biomass, plant composition, and soil characteristics to determine which factors are most important for the invasion success of N. fulva. Arthropods were sorted and identified to species. Initial results show that biotic and abiotic factors both contribute to N. fulva abundance. N. fulva was the most abundance arthropod species in all treatments. Our preliminary data shows evidence that N. fulva is limited by calcium, and co-limited by macronutrients (N and P) and sodium. In addition, N. fulva had an overall negative effect on arthropod abundance, particularly Hemipterans (true bugs) and other Hymenopterans (ants, bees, and wasps). These results indicate that biotic and abiotic factors both contribute to the invasion success of N. fulva, and without intervention, N. fulva could devastate what is left of coastal tallgrass prairies.

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  Code-E rescue drone

  Gonzalo Perez

  There are many situations around the world in which emergency response cannot reach certain zones during disasters such as floods and earthquakes. Code-E is a drone that transports emergency supplies to victims during disasters. It also provides a two way communication between the drone operator and the victims. It will provide faster transportation of supplies, while providing a communication service to the victims

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  College Men's Perceptions of Campus Acquaintance Rape

  Mollie C McDaniel

  Sexual Violence is an epidemic on college campuses today. One in ve women are affected by sexual violence at some point during their college career. Female college students ages 18-25 are three times more likely than women of other ages to experience sexual violence. A survey of 1,882 male students found that 6.4% of men self-reported perpetrating sexual violence on college campuses. In a more recent study done on Navy recruits, 13-15% self-reported committing acts of sexual violence before joining the military. The debate in the community now focuses not only on the percentages of men who perpetrate, but also on who these perpetrators are. Diverging interpretations have implications for the role of individual differences in identifying those at risk of offending. This project seeks to uncover the thoughts, evaluations, characteristics and individual differences of college men and the type of college man who might commit sexual violence by measuring participants’ endorsement of male gender norms, their acceptance of rape myths, their self-reported coercive sexual behavior history, and their evaluations of a hypothetical acquaintance rape scenario.

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  Combining Blocked and Interleaved Presentation during Passive Study and its Effect on Inductive Learning

  Emily G Wright

  Researchers and educators alike are interested in improving inductive learning, as instructional methods are greatly influenced by knowledge of how to present examples of category membership for later classification. Past research has shown that interleaved presentation, which involves the presentation of a member of one category followed by a member of another category, produces better recall when compared to blocked presentation, which involves the sequential presentation of all members of a single category before presenting all members of another category. The benefits of interleaved and blocked presentation are influenced by a number of factors, including whether study items are learned actively or passively, and whether items are repeated during study. Previous research found that repeating study items resulted in a benefit of blocked over interleaved presentation when items were studied actively. However, the effect of repetition during passive study, as well as the combination of both blocked and interleaved presentation during repeated study, remains unknown. This investigation used a repeated study paradigm to evaluate a new approach to category learning: a combined method which involves the presentation of study items in blocks followed by the repeated presentation of the same study items in interleaved order. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of interleaved versus blocked presentation when participants study items passively. The hypotheses were that completing combined presentation would result in higher test performance than interleaved or blocked presentation alone, and that interleaved presentation would result in higher performance than blocked presentation. Results indicated that those who studied using the combined or interleaved presentation methods outperformed those who studied using the blocked presentation; however, there was no significant difference in test performance when comparing those who studied using combined presentation and those who studied using interleaved presentation.

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  Committing to Community after Graduation: A Qualitative, Phenomenological Study of Young Alumni Engagement at the University of Dayton

  Anne F Frissora

  “Community” is the buzzword at the University of Dayton (UD) and many undergraduate students feel connected to the UD community for the four-to-five years that they are on campus. However, what happens to that sense of “community” after walking across the stage and receiving a diploma? As tuition costs rise across the nation, donations from alumni are becoming increasingly necessary to keep higher education institutions in good financial health. However, the literature indicates that young alumni donate less money to their alma mater than older alumni (Drezner, 2011; Gaier, 2005; McDearmon & Shirley, 2009; Stephenson & Bell, 2014). This qualitative, phenomenological study investigates the responses of eight UD young alumni who are involved in Day10, UD’s Young Alumni Group, regarding topics such as undergraduate experience, donations, and involvement – all of which define young alumni engagement. The findings of this study shed light on what UD Alumni Relations and Day10 could focus on in order to achieve engagement from their young alumni constituents.

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  Community Awareness of Sustainable Water Use: River Fest and Rain Catchment

  Sarah Jane Berger, Peter G Evans, Brandi Marie Gerschutz, Jacob R Glaser, Kathryn E Hoeper, Wallace J Huggett, Abigail E Kuhn, Raymond Alfred Mahar, Elise Anna Moeller, George L Moresea, Alvin Boyd Newman-Caro, Nicholas W Racchi, Sarah M Renfrow, Kendal G Schaetzle, Elinor Louise Schuck, Charlotte Anne Shade

  Every cohort of the Rivers Institute dedicates over a year developing relationships with community partners to ground themselves in the Fitz Center Pillars for Leadership and Community. The 2017 cohort community partner chosen is Mission of Mary Cooperative located in the Twin Towers neighborhood. They have spent the past two years collaborating with the Marianist-rooted urban farm. The goal of this project was to raise community awareness of sustainable water usage. In order to reach all parts of the community, the cohort worked with a variety of partners including East End Community Services and the Hanley Sustainability Institute among other Rivers Institute community partners. Through volunteer work with the farm, the cohort discovered the assets and needs of the farm and community and decided on building a rain water catchment system for one of the farm's hoop houses on their new property. The cohort also designed educational signage to accompany the system as a tool for the community. In April, this will be exhibited to the community through an event called River Fest. The community event will be centered around education and celebration of sustainable water usage. The education component will largely impact the next generation for the years to come through this event and through the signage at the site to care for and protect the environment in which they live.

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  Comparison of citric acid vs. ascorbic acid functionalized magnetic nanoparticles

  Kaitlyn Jo Kotlarz

  Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have attracted broad attention due to their potential biomedical applications, such as drug delivery and bio-imaging, as well as other applications involving materials separations and harvesting energy. Citric acid is a widely accepted coating material for MNPs; however, very few studies have focused on ascorbic acid coated MNPs. Here, citric acid and ascorbic acid coated iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized to study the size distribution and stability. The nanoparticles were characterized by multiple techniques including dynamic light scattering, atomic force microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. It was found that citric acid coated MNPs were more stable than ascorbic acid, but ascorbic acid could be a possible alternative coating material.

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  Comparison of Submaximal Aerobic Performance on a Bicycle Ergometer in Students Enrolled in the Health and Sport Science Department versus Students Not Enrolled in the Health and Sport Science Department at the University of Dayton.

  Michaela K Davis, Devyn Shea Hickman, Astrid Margarita Jetter, Nathaniel A Wourms

  As graduating Health and Sport Science (HSS) students, we felt compelled to examine the benefits of our exposure to our particular coursework to those students not enrolled in the same major of study. Intrigued by the idea that our educational focus may or may not influence our own ideas on health and exercise, the primary motivation for our study was to evaluate if this exists in in a practical field setting. Much of our coursework is centered around the physiological systems of the body, the body’s responses to exercise, and the psychology behind exercise, therefore, the motivation behind this study was to compare our HSS-colleagues’ exercise-based performance versus other University counterparts. Thus, the purpose of this effort was to examine submaximal aerobic capacity between students enrolled in the Health and Sport Science Department versus students not enrolled in the HSS Department at the University of Dayton. This effort examined 40 participants, 20 non-HSS majors and 20 HSS majors. Within each category there is a one-to-one ratio of males to females in order to minimize skewing of the data based on physiological differences between males and females. Anthropometrics were measured prior to testing to characterize the samples. The participants were tested on a bicycle ergometer using the YMCA Submaximal Bicycle Ergometer Protocol. Participant’s heart rate, blood pressure, and rating of perceived exertion were monitored and recorded throughout the test session, and used to determine submaximal aerobic capacity. All participants signed an Invitation to Participate document acknowledging their willingness to volunteer, and each exercise session was conducted with all four researchers present.

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  Comparison of the bandgaps of Ga-containing and Ga-free type II superlattices via photoluminescence measurements

  Logan E Cordonnier

  A 532 nm laser was used to obtain the photoluminescence spectra of GaSb/InAs and InAs/InAsSb type II superlattices at 5 K using a variety of power settings (10mW-2W). The main goal of these measurements was to obtain the bandgap of each investigated sample. The data was fit with a Gaussian/Voigt function. The maximum of the fitted curve corresponded to the bandgap of the sample. The bandgap energies of thee Ga-containing and Ga-free superlattices were then compared. Preliminary data suggests that while bandgap ranges were broader for Ga-free samples, indicating more defects, Ga-free materials are viable alternatives to Ga-containing materials for optical applications based on the intensity and consistency of their photo-response.

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  Compliant Actuators in Exoskeleton Design

  Manoj Kumar Sharma

  Exoskeletons are a special type of collaborative robot that can be thought of as a humanoid robot clung to a human body (or a pilot). This particular robot has joints similar to the joints found inside a human body, and as a result the motion feels more natural. For actuating the bones human body uses muscles, these muscles mimic the behavior of a spring (unlike a rigid member) and this allowed us to be more agile. Adopting the same approach of compliant actuators (over the stiff ones) has several advantages, all leading to a more life like Exoskeleton's motion.