Color image processing and object tracking workstation

A system is described for automatic and semiautomatic tracking of objects on film or video tape which was developed to meet the needs of the microgravity combustion and fluid science experiments at NASA Lewis. The system consists of individual hardware parts working under computer control to achieve a high degree of automation. The most important hardware parts include 16 mm film projector, a lens system, a video camera, an S-VHS tapedeck, a frame grabber, and some storage and output devices. Both the projector and tapedeck have a computer interface enabling remote control. Tracking software was developed to control the overall operation. In the automatic mode, the main tracking program controls the projector or the tapedeck frame incrementation, grabs a frame, processes it, locates the edge of the objects being tracked, and stores the coordinates in a file. This process is performed repeatedly until the last frame is reached. Three representative applications are described. These applications represent typical uses and include tracking the propagation of a flame front, tracking the movement of a liquid-gas interface with extremely poor visibility, and characterizing a diffusion flame according to color and shape

Flagellar motor tuning - The hybrid motor in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1

Bacteria are exposed to constantly changing environments. An efficient way to navigate towards favourable conditions is flagella-mediated motility. Flagellar rotation is achieved by the bacterial flagellar motor, composed of the rotor and stator complexes which surround the rotor in a ring-like structure. As an exception among the Shewanella species, the fresh-water organism S. oneidensis MR-1 harbours two different stator complexes, the sodium-ion dependent PomAB and the proton-dependent MotAB, differentially supporting rotation of a single polar flagellum. Both PomAB and MotAB are simultaneously present and required for full speed under low sodium-ion conditions. Although tightly anchored to the cell wall, stators are constantly exchanged even during ongoing rotation. Moreover, sodium-ion and proton-dependent stators can function with the same rotor. This raises the question of how PomAB and MotAB contribute to rotation of a single flagellum and whether PomAB and MotAB coexist in the stator ring of S. oneidensis MR-1, forming a hybrid motor. Here, I report a novel model for the dynamic adaptation of the rotor-stator configuration in response to the environmental sodium ion level in S. oneidensis MR-1. Transcriptional fusions to lucB revealed that both pomAB and motAB are concurrently transcribed. By using fluorescence microscopy, functional fusions of mCherry to the B-subunits revealed that in sharp contrast to MotB, a fraction of PomB is polarly positioned independently of the sodium-ion concentration. At low sodium-ion concentration, PomB and MotB appear to coexist in the flagellar motor. However, in the absence of PomAB, MotB is recruited to the flagellated pole independently of the sodium-ion concentration. Interestingly, induced production of PomAB displaces polar MotB from the motor and confines it to the membrane. By quantifying single sfGfp molecules fused to PomB, I could show that the number of PomB in the stator ring is reduced from nine to five complexes when cells were shifted from a high to a low sodium-ion concentration. Thus, the incorporation efficiency of PomAB is directly modified in response to the sodium-ion concentration, whereas the association of MotAB into the stator ring rather depends on the presence of PomAB. Furthermore, two auxiliary proteins, MotX and MotY, were identified and shown to be essential for functionality of both PomAB and MotAB. Localisation studies revealed that, in contrast to Vibrio MotXY are not required for recruitment of the stator complexes to the flagellated pole. Taken together, my data support the model of dynamic stator swapping to tune the flagellar motor in response to environmental conditions, e.g. the availability of sodium ions. The concurrent presence of PomB and MotB at low sodium-ion concentration suggests the existence of a hybrid motor in S. oneidensis. Since it remains to be demonstrated whether MotAB stators are functionally incorporated in this hybrid motor, the second aim of this work was to biophysically analyse the contribution of MotAB and PomAB to motor rotation at the single cell level. To this end, a ‘bead assay’ and a ‘tethered cell assay’ were established. These set-ups required the delocalisation of the polar filament to a lateral position, the preparation of a highly specific antibody against the modified filament and, for the bead assay the attachment of polystyrene beads to the filament. While the bead assay was limited to short-term measurements, the tethered cell assay was optimised for long-term studies. The optimisation now permits a constant buffer exchange as well as the modulation of the stator complex level by an inducible promoter upstream of pomAB and motAB. Single cell analysis comparing the wild-type and the PomAB-driven motor revealed a significantly higher rotation speed for the wild-type motor at low sodium-ion concentration. Moreover, induced production of PomAB in a stator deletion background resurrected rotation speed in a stepwise manner, whereas production of MotAB in a PomAB-driven motor decreased rotation speed stepwise. These results strongly indicate that MotAB is incorporated into the force-generating PomAB-occupied stator ring, slowing down motor rotation. MotAB production in a stator deletion background did not restore rotation. However, swimming assays revealed that MotAB is sufficient to drive flagellar rotation in a subpopulation of cells, strongly suggesting that both stators are able to function together in a single motor. To clearly characterise the role of MotAB and PomAB in the hybrid motor of S. oneidensis MR-1 further biophysical studies are required. The genome wide bioinformatic analysis of all sequenced bacterial genomes revealed that dual or multiple stator complexes along with a single flagellar system are surprisingly widespread among bacterial species. Moreover, stator complex homology comparison in S. oneidensis MR-1 indicated that MotAB has recently been acquired by lateral gene transfer as a consequence of adaptation to a fresh-water environment. Thus, the flagellar motor might still be in a process of optimisation. Collectively, I hypothesize that S. oneidensis tunes its flagellar motor by exchanging stator complexes and that stator swapping represents a common mechanism applicable to other bacteria to adapt to changing environments

Costume Design for \u3ci\u3eTartuffe\u3c/i\u3e by Molière

“Tartuffe: The Costume Design Process” is a paper that describes the conceptualization, creation, and critique of the costume design chosen for the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film’s production of Tartuffe during the spring semester of 2010. The conceptualization process included meetings with the director, historical research of France during the 1660s, and consideration of the play’s specific needs. The rough sketches and finalized renderings, along with the historical research, are featured within the thesis. The creation process involved numerous people, hours, and creative solutions to bring the design to fruition. Newspapers and an American College Theatre Festival respondent reflected on the effectiveness of the production within the critique process. The thesis also features an individual analysis from the costume designer. Additional information concerning the design process may be acquired from the pictorial evidence of the actualized performance. Adviser: Janice Stauffe

Financial market infrastructures:Essays on liquidity, participant behaviour and information extraction

The economic analysis of financial market infrastructures has gained increasing interest. Financial market infrastructures provide the underlying network of the financial system and are critical for the smooth functioning of financial markets. The thesis includes four separate research projects unified by the notion that data from FMIs can be highly useful to gain a better understanding of system dynamics, but also offer valuable insights on financial market developments in general. The chapters rely heavily on data from TARGET2, the Eurosystem’s large-value payment system. Chapter 2 shows that a higher share of tiered payments from client banks reduces liquidity consumption by settlement banks by giving them more leeway. System designers and overseers should weigh benefits and risks of tiering carefully. Chapter 3 identifies operational outages of participants using an algorithmic approach. The developed algorithm provides a hitherto absent data set on outages that is useful for evaluating compliance with reporting requirements and risk assessment. Chapter 4 investigates changes in the collateral framework and technical aspects of collateral mobilization. A shift towards domestic channels reflects a home bias, especially during the sovereign debt crisis. Due to high inflows, culminating in the Bundesbank’s escalating TARGET2 claims, funding requirements and collateral stocks fell. Chapter 5 investigates why and how data sets on the unsecured interbank money market differ. The systematic approach highlights that different data captures cross-border loans, loans of different banking classes and recurring daily loans unevenly. The analysis is useful for developing reporting frameworks and extracting money market loans from payments data. The last chapter highlights policy implications and trends in payments

Development of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy as a Rapid Diagnostic Tool for Bacterial Infection

A rapid elemental analysis technique known as laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been shown to be a promising tool for detection and identification of pathogens. The aim of this work was to demonstrate the feasibility of the LIBS technique as a point-of-care diagnostic tool for bacterial infection. A size-based technique for separating bacteria from unwanted material that could be present in a clinical specimen was developed using a custom-built centrifuge tube insert device. Tungsten powder was used to simulate unwanted contaminants in a bacterial suspension, all of which was removed from suspension while 90% of the bacteria were successfully separated from the contaminant. A new bacterial mounting procedure was developed by designing and constructing a small aluminum cone for use with the centrifuge tube insert. The bacterial limit of detection for this new mounting procedure was calculated to be 5000 CFU per laser shot location – an order of magnitude improvement from previous mounting procedures. Methods to reduce the measured shot-to-shot variation assumed to be caused by uneven deposition of the bacteria using either the detergent Tween 20 or growth of bacteria in a liquid culture medium were investigated. No significant effect was observed. The ability to detect bacteria that were collected using common pathology swabs to more closely simulate the collection of some clinical specimens was also investigated. The efficiency of bacterial cell pick-up with a swab and subsequent shake-off prior to LIBS testing was determined. Protocols for collecting bacteria from swabs were developed and a study of the resulting LIBS emission as a function of bacterial coverage was conducted using the new mounting procedure

Amenability Of Cayley graphs Through Use Of Folner\u27s Conditions

In this thesis we will study the definitions and properties relating to groups and Cayley graphs, as well as the concept of amenability. We will discuss McMullen\u27s theorem that states that an infinite tree $X,$ with every vertex having degree equal to 2 is amenable, otherwise if every vertex has degree greater than 2, $X$ is nonamenable. We will also examine how if $G$ is a finitely generated group acting on a set $X$, where $A$ and $B$ are two finite symmetric generating sets of $G$, then the Cayley graph $\textsf{Cay}_A(G,X)$ is amenable if and only if $\textsf{Cay}_B(G,X)$ is amenable. We will show that $(G,X)$ satisfies F\o lner\u27s condition if and only if for every finitely generated subgroup $H$ of $G$, $\textsf{Cay}(H,X)$ is amenable. We will prove that for a finitely generated group $G$, $(G,X)$ is amenable if and only if $\textsf{Cay}(G,X)$ is amenable; this is derived from the fact that $(G,X)$ and $\textsf{Cay}(G,X)$ have the same F\o lner\u27s sequences

Effects of Reamer-Femoral Component Offset on Cement Mantle Penetration in Hip Resurfacing Arthroplasty

Hip resurfacing arthroplasty has changed the treatment of end stage arthritis without severe deformity for young, active adults. Presently, there are varying clinical approaches to implant design selection and cementation techniques. The purpose of this project is to determine what amount of reamer-femoral component offset allows for the best cement penetration into the femoral head. Rapid prototyped femoral component models were produced with reamer femoral component offsets of 0.0 mm, 0.5 mm, and 1.0 mm. After implantation onto models of reamed femoral heads made from high-density open-cell reticulated carbon foam, cement penetration was assessed from cross-sections of the foam-implant unit. Increased offset was found to decrease the extent of cement over penetration from the dome and chamfer. Increased offset also yielded optimal cement penetration as measured from the walls. Finally, increased offset was found to increase the height of cement mantle formation while maintaining complete seating of all implants

An Analytical Study of the Needs of Gates Chili Central School District\u27s Proposed 16mm Film Library

The purpose of this study was to analyze the needs of Gates Chili Central School District’s proposed sixteen millimeter film library by (1) determining the extent to which the existing facilities, personnel, hardware and software could be utilized to establish a functional sixteen millimeter film library by September of 1968, (2) ascertaining the amount of additional facilities, personnel, hardware and software required to establish a complete, efficient and effective sixteen millimeter film library within two years, and (3) investigating the varied systems of administrating a sixteen millimeter film library in order to establish an effective and efficient system of operation whereby most, if not all, classroom teachers could be relatively assured of receiving the requested film before the use date. The hypothesis was that there is a normative plan for the establishment of a sixteen millimeter educational film library

Data report: Summary of revised alteration phases for PACMANUS hydrothermal field - X-ray diffraction analysis of altered felsic volcanic rocks from Holes 1188A, 1188F, 1189A and 1189B

Postcruise X-ray diffraction (XRD) data for 95 whole-rock samples from Holes 1188A, 1188F, 1189A, and 1189B are presented. The samples represent alteration types recovered during Leg 193. The data set is incorporated into the shipboard XRD data set. Based on the newly obtained XRD data, distribution of alteration phases were redrawn for Ocean Drilling Program Sites 1188 and 1189