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  Determining Volume Changes from Overhead Video Surveillance

  Yakov Diskin

  Cost effective persistent wide area surveillance is a challenging real-world problem that research has not sufficiently tackled yet. At present, surveillance corporations spend millions on human analysts to monitor live or recorded video feeds. Depending on the application, the analysts may be looking for unauthorized activities, suspicious behavior, or a more specific sequence of events. Human performance is costly and is often affected by ambiguous definitions of anomalies as well as natural factors such as fatigue. We present a fully automatic 3D change detection technique designed to support persistent overhead surveillance in changing environmental conditions. The novelty of the work lies in our approach of creating an intensity invariant system tasked with detecting changes in a changing environment. Although previous techniques have proven to work in some cases, these techniques fail when the intensity of the scene significantly changes between the capture of the datasets. Our techniques leverages our 3D reconstruction capabilities to overcome the intensity variation challenges. We present several proof of concept experiments conducted in a laboratory setting, in which we study the effects of model noise and scene illumination on the proposed volumetric changed detection algorithm.

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  Did That Just Happen? Acts of Bias and Perception of Campus Racial Climate of Racially Minority Students at a Predominantly White Institution

  Jasmine Whitlow

  Whether covert or overt, racism, racial prejudice, stereotyping, discrimination, and microaggressions are acts in which many marginalized students’ experience, particularly on predominantly white colleges. The study was designed to examine the perception of the campus racial climate among racial minority students after a bias incident has occurred and identify coping strategies and support structures that promote the students ability to matriculate and persist. This examination is critical in properly addressing issues on campus and ultimately supporting students who experience daily challenges as it relates to their perceived racial identification. Findings provided an overview of student experiences on campus as it relates to bias incidents. Recommendations are presented to assist higher education administrators to improve the campus climate for racial minority populations on college campuses.

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  Differential Effects of Commercially Available Probiotics on Listeria monocytogenes Virulence

  Eric Edward Newton, Ashley N. Zani

  Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen which can cause lethal infections in immunocompromised individuals. These infections involve meningitis in the elderly or spontaneous abortions of neonates--both scenarios result from Listeria crossing the intestinal barrier. The conditions that promote Listeria invasion during the intestinal phase of infection are not clearly defined. We have evidence that suggests intestinal fermentation acids as potential signals for Listeria virulence regulation. Therefore, we hypothesized that probiotic bacteria, which generate different fermentation acids, will exhibit different levels of inhibition against Listeria virulence. To test how different probiotic bacteria affect Listeria virulence, we used two commercially available probiotics from Phillips, Colon Health and Digestive Health Support, each containing a unique mixture of bacteria. First, a co-culture experiment between probiotic bacteria and Listeria was conducted to determine the probiotics ability to inhibit Listeria growth. Second, we tested Listeria survival in the fermentation products generated by these probiotic bacteria. Finally, we tested how the fermentation products affect Listeria production of the virulence factor listeriolysin O (LLO). Listeria growth was reduced when co-culturing with either of the two probiotics with both probiotics showing similar levels of suppression. After five hours of incubation in the supernatant of probiotic cultures, Listeria survival was significantly reduced in the Digestive Health Support probiotic compared to the Colon Health probiotic. Exposure to supernatant from the Digestive Health Support probiotic also significantly reduced LLO production. Taken together, Digestive Health Support probiotics exhibited stronger overall inhibitory activity against Listeria fitness and virulence. Future investigations will focus on determining the chemical composition of the probiotics fermentation products to explain the different responses in Listeria. Probiotics are quickly gaining popularity which argues for better understanding of their effects. Understanding their effects on foodborne pathogens will pave the way for applying appropriate probiotics as effective preventative and treatment strategies.

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  Diminishing the Discipline Gap: Restorative Justice as a Promising Alternative in One Urban School

  Polly K. Long

  Across the nation, the education system is responding to student misbehavior with zero tolerance policies that parallel the punitive practices found in the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Zero tolerance policies have contributed to the “discipline gap,” wherein schools punish racial and ethnic minorities more often and more severely than they punish whites. One alternative to punitive punishment is restorative justice, which aims to foster respect, responsibility, and empathy in members of school communities. This project evaluates the relationship between restorative justice and out-of-school suspension rates in an urban school district. It also serves as one of the few studies that evaluate the effect of restorative practices on the discipline gap. The results validate previous research findings, as restorative justice is related to reductions in out-of-school suspension rates. Further, the results reveal a promising alternative to the punitive practices that plague the education system, as restorative justice is related to reductions in the size of the discipline gap.

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  Does Study Abroad Impact Students’ Personality?

  Ashley Ann F. Marshall

  International education is universally valued both in academics and the job market because of the perception that those who study abroad have increased intercultural awareness, experience with diversity, and opportunity for personal growth. Given that students who are studying abroad are experiencing increased independence and experience with a new culture, this is a potential time for the development of perspective-taking, empathic concern, non-prejudice, and other forms of personal growth. The present, longitudinal study collected narrative and non-narrative data on these qualities of personality development before, during, and after the participants’ studies. For comparison, we gathered the same measures with a group of students who were taking a summer course on campus. Contrary to popular views of studying abroad, we did not find evidence that summer study abroad facilitated personality development more so than summer study on campus. We did find that students were more likely to report personal growth after studying abroad than studying on campus, but this was explained by the fact that the study-abroad group had higher expectations for personal growth before summer studies.

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  Does that "Ring a Bell?" The Effects of Music-Induced Emotions on Recall of a Story

  Giuseppe G. Miranda

  This research examined the effects of music-induced emotions on memory for information from a story. Previous research has revealed that music is a reliable tool for mood manipulation (Vuoskoski & Eerola, 2012), and emotion has been shown to be a memory enhancer (Janke, 2008). Tesoriero and Rickard (2012) provide two major theories for how music and memory interact, emotional arousal theory and mood congruence theory. The emotional arousal theory predicts that when emotions are aroused there will be an overall enhanced memory for attended information. Further, the mood congruence theory predicts enhanced memory for information that is congruent with reported emotions (Bower & Forgas, 2000). Based on these theories, there should be an improvement in memory for text information for individuals listening to emotionally-arousing music while reading text with corresponding emotional content. Participants in the present study, equipped with a heart rate monitor, listened to classical fear-inducing music while reading a fear-inducing story presented in either moving or static text. Other participants read the story without accompanying music. Both groups were evaluated for their emotional state before, during, and after the story. Following a task to minimize rehearsal of story details, all participants were given a surprise, cued-recall test of information from the story. Data analyses revealed a modest, statistically significant effect of music on recall of story detail. Furthermore, there was a strong, statistically significant effect of the fear story on emotion. Not only was the fear story able to elicit a strong fear response in the participants, but it also increased the participants’ overall basic negative affect and decreased their overall basic positive affect. Analysis is currently underway to determine if fluctuations in heart rate correlate with emotional states of the participants, as determined by the emotional state questionnaires.

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  Do You See What I See? Perceiving Distances from Another’s Perspective

  Emma K. Tokar

  The ability to accurately perceive distances between the self and objects/targets underlies action-guidance and spatial navigation. While one can easily and accurately judge distances from his or her own perspective, it is largely unknown whether distance judgments from an imagined perspective are as accurate as from one’s own viewpoint. This study will investigate the accuracy of distance judgments made from another person’s viewpoint. To do so, participants will be asked to either adopt a confederate’s viewpoint or to imagine standing in a different location (without a confederate acting as a stand-in) and to estimate distance from these novel perspectives. As a control, participants will simply judge the distances between two targets (object to object or exocentric distance judgment). We predict that participants will judge distances most accurately when adopting the perspective of a confederate; distance judgments will be less accurate when made from an imagined viewpoint (with only a marker to denote the adopted viewpoint) and when making judgments of the distances between two external objects. This study will contribute to an understanding of the ways in which we navigate the external world but will also have social psychological implications in their investigation of perspective-taking.

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  Effects of single-dose dietary nitrate on oxygen consumption during and after prolonged submaximal exercise in healthy humans

  Genevieve M. Kocoloski

  Dietary nitrate (NO3-) has been shown to impact oxygen consumption (VO2) as well as exercise performance in a number of prior studies. To date, previous investigations have observed NO3- effects at moderate to high-intensity (e.g. time to fatigue, time trials) exercise and often in trained athletes. However, less is known in regards to prolonged exercise and the potential impact of NO3- on post-exercise excess oxygen consumption (EPOC), particularly in untrained individuals. Here, we tested the hypothesis that acute dietary nitrate supplementation would attenuate VO2 during and following prolonged cycle ergometry. Six young, moderately active, healthy males (age: 26±2 years, body mass index: 23.5±0.5 kg/m2; VO2max: 37.7±5.1 ml/kg/min) performed step-wise maximal cycle exercise and prolonged submaximal cycle exercise (45 min; 38±2% of max work rate) in control (anti- bacterial mouthwash) and acute NO3- supplementedconditions [70ml concentrated beet root juice (0.4g NO3-), 2 hrs prior to exercise] on separate occasions. Measurements of VO2 (indirectcalorimetry), arterial blood pressure (MAP; sphygmomanometry), and heart rate (HR; ECG) were made for 45 min prior, during, and 60 min following exercise bouts. NO3- reduced MAP at rest ~1-3mmHg and this was accompanied by reflex-mediated HR increases (2-4 bpm). However, NO3- had no impact on VO2 during exercise (average of min 25-45, Ctrl: 24.6±2.4 ml/kg/min vs NO3-: 26.8±3.3 ml/kg/min) or EPOC (area under the curve, Ctrl: 0.86±0.3 L vs NO3-: 0.95±.2 L). Thus, while NO3- supplementation may have performance benefits, especially in elite athletes exercising at high intensities, in recreationally active males, there appears to be little impact on changes in VO2 due to submaximal prolonged exercise.

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  Enhanced Physiological Microenvironment for Improved Evaluation of Nanoparticle Behavior

  Emily K. Breitner

  Due to their distinctive physicochemical properties, nanoparticles (NPs) have proven to be extremely advantageous for product and application development, but are capable of inducing detrimental outcomes in biological systems. Standard in vitro methodologies are currently the primary means for evaluating NP safety, as vast quantities of particles exist that require appraisal. Here, we developed an enhanced in vitro model that retains the advantages of cell culture, but introduces the key physiological variables of accurate biological fluid and dynamic flow. As NP behavior and subsequent bioresponses are highly dependent upon their surroundings, this developed microenvironment provides a more relevant system to evaluate responses following NP exposure. In this study, the microenvironment comprised of the A549 lung cell model, artificial alveolar fluid, and dynamic flow at realistic rates; to mimic a NP inhalation exposure. We identified significant modulations to silver and gold NP characteristics and the nano-cellular interface as a function of particle surface chemistry, fluid composition, and flow condition. More importantly, several of these modifications were dependent on multiple variables, indicating that these responses were previously unidentifiable in a standard cellular environment. Taken together, this study demonstrates that to fully elucidate the behavior and evaluate the safety of NPs, these evaluations need to be carried out in a more complex and physiologically relevant cellular exposure model.

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  Enhancing Industrial Sustainability by Improving Resource Efficiency

  Dillip Thangamani

  With ever increasing energy and raw material costs, coupled with environmental regulations and increasing customer awareness of corporate sustainability efforts, industries are seeking to increase energy and resource efficiency. Over the past decade, the University of Dayton’s Industrial Assessment Center (UD-IAC) has developed a systematic methodology and analysis tool to help industry become more energy efficient. The publicly-available Efficiency Guidebook (EEG) is a comprehensive tool that integrates examples and computational resources for improving energy efficiency. This study describes a parallel effort to improve industrial resource efficiency by developing a methodology for improving resource efficiency and incorporating it into a free publically-available software tool called the Resource Efficiency Guidebook (REG). The methodology focuses on six types of resources: water, raw material, chemical agents, process scrap, packaging waste, and equipment and applies seven principles of resource efficiency to these resources. The result is a prioritized Integrated Resource plus Principles Matrix that guides manufactures through the resource efficiency process. REG combines the Integrated Resource plus Principles Matrix with real-world saving examples and spreadsheet calculators. Case studies with scenario analyses demonstrate the effectiveness of the REG at cost-effectively improving resource efficiency and reducing waste.

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  Examining the effects of self-regulation on self-enhancement.

  Greg Alfred Eisenhauer

  Self-regulation plays a critical role in self-presentation. The present research further examines the association between self-regulation and self-presentation by examining the role of self-regulation in self-enhancement. Research examining self-enhancement consistently finds it to be costly for self-presentation if done so in a blatant (as opposed to subtle) manner. Therefore, a common challenge faced regarding self-presentation is how to balance the desire to have and maintain a positive sense of self (i.e., self-enhance) while concurrently making a positive impression on others. Avoiding blatant self-enhancement, though, requires self-regulatory resources and depleting such resources should therefore influence the ability to fend off blatant self-enhancement. Specifically, depleting regulatory resources should be associated with higher levels of blatant self-enhancing strategies but should not influence subtle self-enhancement strategies. To test this, participants were randomly assigned to a self-regulatory depletion condition or a control condition. All participants completed a thought-listing task for 6-minutes. Participants in the depletion condition were given prior instructions asking them to control their thoughts during the task. Participants in the control condition underwent the same task with no additional instructions. Next, participants completed multiple self-presentation measures: modesty, blirtatiousness (i.e., unrestrained speaking or quick responding), and subtle and blatant forms of self-enhancement. We found no association between depletion and modesty or blirtatiousness, but we did find an effect between depletion and self-enhancement. Specifically, and as predicted, participants in the depleted condition reported significantly higher levels of blatant self-enhancement compared to the control group, but the groups did not differ in subtle self-enhancement. Our results show that participants with intact self-regulatory resources are able to control their approach to self-enhancement, perhaps in an effort to control self-presentation. Depleting self-regulatory resources, however, is associated with an increase in using self-enhancement strategies that can compromise self-presentation.

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  Examining the Role of Self-Esteem in the Association between Emotional Vulnerability and Psychological Well-Being.

  Kathryn M. Schilling

  The purpose of the proposed study was to examine the association between emotional vulnerability and psychological well-being, and test whether the association varies based on level of self-esteem. Researchers define psychological well-being as an appraisal of one’s life where a person gives conscious evaluative judgments about one’s satisfaction with life as a whole (Grossi et al., 2013). Emotional vulnerability is defined as the degree to which a person renders himself or herself exposed to the emotional pain of rejection. Experiencing social rejection has a negative effect on self-esteem, however, having high self-esteem may buffer the self against the pain of rejection. Previous research suggests that vulnerability is an important trait essential to satisfying the human need to create and maintain close relationships. Taken together, the present research examined whether self-esteem influences whether emotional vulnerability is associated with positive or negative psychological well-being. Participants first completed a measure of self-esteem and were then randomly assigned to an experimental group where they wrote about a time they felt emotionally vulnerable, or a control group. Participants then completed a measure of psychological well-being. Current predictions are that emotional vulnerability will contribute to better well-being for individuals with high self-esteem, but poorer psychological well-being for those with lower self-esteem. The findings from the present study have important implications for understanding the role that self-esteem plays in how emotional vulnerability influences psychological well-being.

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  Executive Functioning Games at Home

  Allexa D. Gaewsky

  The research problem we are studying is if classroom-based games used to boost children’s cognitive skills can be adapted to an at-home format. These games have been shown to boost the executive functioning skills (working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control) of young children when played in the classroom (Schmitt et al., 2014). This is important because executive functioning skills help children to adapt to an early learning environment and become ready to learn academic skills (Fuhs, Nesbitt, Farran, & Dong, 2014). Children growing up in poverty are more likely to struggle with executive functioning skills (Noble, Norman, & Farrah, 2006). Therefore, they may benefit most from having access to executive functioning skills activities at home regardless of their participation in a preschool program. As part of a larger intensive school readiness program for families living in poverty in Dayton (Taking Off To Success), we provided families with executive functioning games that we adapted to an at-home format. We will report pilot data from parent surveys to determine if parents played the games, if they enjoyed them, and how they can be improved. This pilot study will determine if the games given to the families each week are helpful and useful. The broader goal of this work is to test if providing executive functioning games to parents and children as part of an intensive school readiness program can boost the executive functioning skills of children growing up in poverty.

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  Expanding TAGS: Facilitating Interaction between Teachers and International Students

  Sky Lantz-Wagner

  The purpose of this presentation is to explore means for supporting faculty who teach international students. One of the challenges facing institutions of higher education in general, and the University of Dayton in particular, is the increasing diversity of student enrollment. This diversity includes international students from different countries, cultures, and educational backgrounds. The greater numbers of international students create both challenges and opportunities for faculty members. One such challenge for faculty members is lack of awareness and support from their administration, who may be similarly unprepared to handle increased diversity or to empower international students in their academic goals. In an attempt to bridge the gap between professors and international students, the Academic Affairs and Learning Initiative (AALI) at UD has created a program called Teaching a Global Student Community (TAGS), a workshop series providing faculty with a generalized look at the interaction of culture, students, and learning. We believe that faculty in a variety institutes of higher education would benefit from an initiative such as TAGS’ ideals and values. Our proposal is to offer pedagogical and intercultural support for faculty members at colleges and universities in Ohio. To provide this support, we will identify schools with a large percentage (10 or more) of international students or that recruit international students, search for existing support systems for faculty, and make recommendations based on the TAGS philosophy. Means of support will come in the form of in-service workshops, but other methods may prove more practical based on each school’s needs. Anticipated areas we will address in training include responding to international students’ writing, understanding and supporting dynamic interaction patterns in the classroom, supporting student understanding of intellectual property and the principles of academic integrity, and implementing appropriate learning/classroom support for non-native speakers (NNS).

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  Experiences of Indian Graduate Students at a Mid-Western Catholic Private Institution

  Rajalakshmi Ananthraja

  The aim of this research was to analyze the experiences of Indian graduate at a Mid-Western Catholic private institution. An online survey was conducted among 210 Indian graduate students. Twelve individual interviews were conducted for deeper study. From the analysis of individual interviews, four common elements were extracted that reflected students experience. Valuable findings are presented for the faculty, staff and higher administrative officials of academic units, Enrollment Management, Center for International programs, Counseling Center and Career Service staff.

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  Externalizing Symptoms as a Risk for Unintentional Injuries in Children

  Sally M. Askar

  The objective of this study is to understand the influence of externalizing symptoms (e.g., hyperactivity, oppositionality) on unintentional home injuries in children. Childhood unintentional injury is the leading cause of death in children under 18 years of age (Krug, Sharma, & Lozano, 2010). Past research has shown that the presence of certain behavioral disorders may impact the risk of childhood injury (Pastor & Reuben, 2006). These disorders include Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). The psychiatric symptoms of these disorders comprise of externalizing symptoms such as aggression, hyperactivity, and oppositionality (inadequate cooperation or compliance by the child; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The literature about the effects of externalizing problems on unintentional injury risk has been equivocal (Schwebel, Hodgens, & Sterling, 2006; Davidson et al., 1992). Further, research identifying the specific externalizing symptoms that could increase the risk for unintentional home injuries in children is lacking. This proposed study will test the hypothesis that children with externalizing symptoms are more likely to be at risk for pediatric home injuries than children who do not exhibit such symptoms. This study will use data collected from 90 families who participated in a larger faculty-led study on sibling supervision (Safety Involving Brothers and Sisters; Brown Kirschman & Dodds, in progress), which will be coded and analyzed to examine the current research questions. The identification of child attributions that may increase risk of home injury is an important first step in targeting prevention efforts. Furthermore, because unintentional injury has been seen as a public health problem, these findings will be beneficial for programs that promote injury prevention by identifying the certain mechanisms that can cause children to be at a greater risk for unintentional injury (Schwebel et al., 2007).

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  Extremum Seeking Control Observer Design for Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Linear Time-Invariant Systems

  Abdulhakim A. Daluom

  In this proposal a control strategy, we try to address the problem of output (performance) function for an observer of Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) linear time-invariant system by applying the Extremum Seeking Control (ESC) approach. By this control approach, we drive the performance function to its maximum or minimum value. The construction of a seeking algorithm is used to drive the system states to the desired set-points that maximize or minimize the value of an objective (performance) function. Also, Lyapunov's stability theorem and the perturbation theory including the averaging method is used in the design of the extremum seeking controller structure to check the stability of the system.

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  Firm Characteristics, Concentrated Portfolio Strategies and Industrial Sector Price Movements in 2014

  Matthew Peter Fazio, Kenneth Christopher Scudder

  This study is part of a series of studies in the Davis Center for Portfolio Management focused on portfolio weighting. It also considers the alpha generating capabilities of a concentrated portfolio of stocks using relative valuation and momentum stock weighting strategies. The top 10 holdings of the SPDR sector ETF XLI are used as the concentrated portfolio of stocks. Various price-to measures such as price to earnings and price to book are used to develop the weights for each stock in the concentrated portfolio. One year ahead expected earnings growth for each of the 10 stocks provides the basis for the earnings momentum weight component. Assuming the portfolio starts with a funding level of $5,000,000, a performance comparison is made with XLI, the DOW, and the S&P 500 for the year 2014 to determine if the concentrated portfolio generates alpha.

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  Food and Beverage Trends in Sports and Entertainment

  Danielle Denise Kloke

  Food and beverage service is a significant revenue driver for sport and entertainment venues and recently, it has become a critical opportunity to add value and elevate consumer experiences, particularly in premium seating areas. Professional teams are signing contracts with food and beverage vendors for large guaranteed sums, like the 2012 contacts between the San Francisco 49ers and Centerplate where the 49ers receive 55% of concessions sales, a minimum of $6.8 million (San Francisco Business Times, 2012). Interviews were conducted with industry professionals to gain a better understanding of the current state of food and beverage service and trends for the industry, including pricing, ordering procedures, and serving sizes, as well as what changes the industry is looking to add or embrace in the next five years. Trends revealed through the research feature the rise of food and beverage packages to streamline ordering procedures, order customization to enhance the atmosphere, and the use of technology to enrich food ordering and product marketing experiences. Professionals will gain a stronger understanding of how other venues balance cost, consumer preferences, and corporate needs to meet expectations and what is expected for the future.

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  Hate Crime Laws: What Are They and Who Do They Protect?

  Maya Victoria Pedersen

  Tremendous disagreement and confusion regarding hate crime laws and the groups protected by them persist. We investigated perceptions of what constitutes a hate crime and whether these standards are applied consistently. Participants read and responded to brief scenarios describing offenses committed by majority or minority group members against others (majority or minority group members). Although support for the exploratory hypotheses was not found, interesting patterns emerged with respect to gender differences.

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  Image Restoration Under Low Illumination

  Wu Cheng

  Image taken under low illumination suffers severe distortion as the photon counts received by the camera sensor is too low. By investigating the statistic properties of photon count, we can inverse such distortion and restore the scene even in the dark night.

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  Influence of Behavioral Finance on Decision Making in the Business World

  Zixi Li

  Behavioral Finance, as the potential implications of psychological factors, has subtly affected investor behaviors in financial markets. In this project, I would like to discuss different types of behavioral finance, analyze the reasons and connotations behind each type of behavioral finance, and illustrate the influences and consequences with regard to the investor behaviors in the real business world. In addition, I would like to talk about the methods on how to avoid and overcome the behavioral finance in both theoretical and psychological aspects.

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  Integrating Institutional Mission into Faculty Work

  Edel M. Jesse, Cody L. McMillen

  The integration of a faith-based university’s mission into the curriculum and the requirements that this identity imposes upon faculty members’ scholarship are often at odds with the concept of academic freedom (VanZanten, 2011). This common dilemma is an authentic and significant part of Catholic higher education. To balance a conceptual understanding of faith integration with practical tools for academic professionals looking for resources, the University of Dayton’s Commitment to Community (C2C) document provides a community approach to education (University of Dayton, n.d.). This document could be a valued resource to assist faculty in applying mission-based values into their teaching, research, and service. The principles and habits articulated in the C2C document—community is essential for learning and that community members should practice servant leadership—can assist in highlighting the university’s mission if applied to faculty work. To support faculty in integrating the institutional mission into their work, the presenters will share the philosophical assumptions behind the C2C document, highlighting the Catholic and Marianist mission that informs the principles contained in the document. Then, using literature on faculty work and integration of institutional mission, the presenters will highlight ways in which faculty can use the values of a Catholic and Marianist education to inform their work. Finally, some practical suggestions will be provided for faculty members to integrate and apply the C2C principles into their teaching, research, and service. References: University of Dayton (n.d.). Commitment to community: Catholic and Marianist learning and living. Retrieved from https://www.udayton.edu/studev/_resources/files/commitment_to_community.pdf; VanZanten, S. (2011). Joining the mission: A guide for (mainly) new college faculty. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm.B. Eerdmans.

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  Intention Based Upper-limb Exoskeleton

  Manoj-Kumar Sharma

  Exoskeletons, a wearable robot that intelligently augments the physical power of a human being. These robots are used in military and similar applications, but the challenge remains that how to make the human-machine interaction safe and sound. The idea behind the 'intention based approach' is that an array of compliant force sensors will continuously monitor the movement of the limb and then map the filtered data to drive the respective actuator which in turn helps in doing the same 'movement' with augmented power and better stability. Additionally a 9 DoF IMU, continuously map the end effector's spatial position as an additional feedback utilizing the Inertial Reference Unit's (IRU) algorithm.

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  Investigation of protein-protein interactions involving Deinococcus radiodurans PriA, DnaB and SSB.

  Christopher S. Morrow

  Deinococcus Radiodurans is a species of bacteria that has sparked a lot of interest since its discovery due to its incredible resistance to ionizing radiation. When exposed to ionizing radiation the genome of D. radiodurans will sustain several hundred double stranded breaks. D. radiodurans demonstrates the ability to repair its genome and restart replication after sustaining this, typically lethal, damage. This project examined the mechanism of replication restart in D. radiodurans by investigating primosome protein PriA interacting with DnaB and SSB. Many different types of gel electrophoresis were employed to investigate potential protein complex formations between D. radiodurans PriA and DnaB. Through agarose gel electrophoresis an interaction between D. radiodurans PriA and DnaB was identified. Results in this work indicate that although D. radiodurans PriA does not characteristically and functionally appear normal, it could still behave as we would classically expect in replication restart.