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Video Calling With Nonverbal Children With Autism
No full textTwenty five percent of individuals diagnosed with autism are nonverbal and need to learn to communicate using alternative means (National Research Council, 2001) in order to build functional spontaneous communication. Joint attention behaviors are critical for communication development (Mundy & Newell, 2007). This study introduces a video calling intervention to target the joint attention behaviors, eye gaze, verbalization and gestures. The purpose of this study was to discover what relationship exists between video calling and joint attention in nonverbal children with autism and to explore the perspectives of parents and their communication interaction with the child. This case study of two children is a quantitative ABA withdrawal design and a qualitative narrative design. The ABA design uses seven-inch Prestige 7 Connect tablets and Skype, video calling software program to communicate during game, reading and discussion activities. Observing and recording procedures were used to collect the data and visual analysis was conducted using graphs, tables. The narrative design used parent interviews and questionnaires to build themes. The findings indicate that video calling had a positive impact on eye gaze and verbalization behaviors during discussion and game activities. From the narrative analysis emerged a theme of engagement and focus. The conclusions indicate that video calling has impact on some joint attention behaviors and increases engagement in nonverbal children with autism. Implications for this study include using video calling in the classroom for peer interactions and skill building. Further study is needed to increase the generalizability of these findings
Simulation of Turbulent Flow in an Asymmetric Air Diffuser
No full textThis research paper compared three k-ε family turbulence models; Standard k-ε, RNG k-ε and Realizable k-ε, and two k-ɷ family models; Standard k-ɷ and Stress-Strain Transport, SST k-ɷ. The turbulent flow characteristics were predicted in a two-dimensional of 10° half-angle diffuser using the five turbulence models with the ANSYS FLUENT 13.0 code. Numerical results were validated by comparing them to experimental fluid dynamics (EFD) results. Velocity profiles, turbulent kinetic energy profiles and skin friction coefficients were presented validate the numerical results. Contours velocity-streams functions were shown as well. One of the most interesting observations of comparing numerical solutions to EFD data was apparently that k-ε family models have a valid prediction of flow characteristics that are far away from wall effects, however, k-ɷ models have a significant prediction of flow behavior nearby the wall boundaries. In addition, the changes in the quality of meshing elements and its number have noticeable influences on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) results. Personally, the present CFD investigation obviously has given a deep insight of the most important fluid dynamics concepts that were studied in the computational fluid dynamics course
Goal directed design of serial robotic manipulators based on task descriptions
No full textThis thesis is being archived as a Digitized Shelf Copy for campus access to current students and staff only. We currently cannot provide this open access without the author's permission. If you are the author of this work and desire to provide it open access or wish access removed, please contact the Wahlstrom Library to discuss permission.The goal of robotics is to automate and delegate real-world tasks to robotic manipulators. Today robots are being applied to wide range of tasks; from the very traditional material handling tasks to the very sophisticated tele-robotic surgery. Even though general-purpose manipulators are commonplace they do not guarantee optimal task performance. Task optimized manipulators are more effective and efficient than general purpose manipulators. There is a great need for task optimized industrial manipulators that can perform a certain set of jobs with the best efficiency, in the shortest time, and with the least operating cost and power requirements. Computing the optimal geometric structure of manipulators is one of the most intricate problems in contemporary robot kinematics. Robotic manipulators are designed and built to perform certain predetermined tasks. It is therefore important to incorporate such task requirements during the design and synthesis of the robotic manipulators. Such task requirements and performance constraints can be specified in terms of the required end-effector positions, orientations and velocities along the task trajectory. There is a close relation between the structure of the manipulator and its kinematic performance. Robotic researchers have over the years tried to develop a framework to reverse engineer optimal manipulator geometries based on task requirements. Every robotic manipulator can only perform certain set of a set of tasks, and some more efficiently than others. Deciding the best manipulator structure for a required job at the design stage is done mainly on the basis of experience and intuition. The rigorous analysis of a few widely used manipulator structures and a collection of a few ad hoc analytical tools can be of some help. However, the need for a comprehensive framework to reverse engineer manipulator structures from task descriptions that can guarantee optimal task performance under a set of operating constraints is still lacking. The ultimate goal of this task-based design approach is to be able to generate both the kinematic and dynamic parameters from task descriptions and operating constraints. In this work, we define, develop and test a methodology that can generate optimal manipulator geometric structures based on the task requirements. Another objective of this work is to guarantee task performance under user defined joint constraints. Using this methodology, task-based optimal manipulator structures can be generated that guarantee task performance under set operating constraints
Innovative and interactive assistive technology controlling system using eye detection and head movements
No full textThis thesis is being archived as a Digitized Shelf Copy for campus access to current students and staff only. We currently cannot provide this open access without the author's permission. If you are the author of this work and desire to provide it open access or wish access removed, please contact the Wahlstrom Library to discuss permission.Assistive technology refers to any device that enables people with disabilities to live, work, study or play independently and improves their functional capabilities. It offers assistance to people with a wide range of disabilities including motor, vision, hearing and speech impairments. People with severe physical disabilities can only make small movements that can be used as unconventional approaches to control assistive technologies. These movements can be converted into electrical signals and translated by a control unit into control commands. Despite of the amount of research that has been done on finding robust alternative control and communication methods and applying them to assistive technology, it is still a challenging task which requires more investigation. The research being presented investigates advanced methods to enable people who are only able to make small movements to control different devices. It uses a combination of various enhanced interaction models to provide easy interface to replace the traditional control methods. This combination includes: eye gaze direction classification model and head movement detection model. The eye gaze direction classification model uses the Viola-Jones face detector and dynamic parameters in Circular Hough Transform (CHT) to locate the eye iris location. Then it uses low-level features and a classifier to categorize the eye gaze direction. The head movement detection model uses flex sensors and a PIC microcontroller to calculate the head flexion angle. An interactive device such as a tablet or smartphone can be used for the user interface. A central control unit links the assistive device with the sensors, camera and the interactive device. Such a technology has the advantage of being used by people suffering high level spinal damage
The Clinical Potential of Calorie-Restricted and Ketogenic Diets in the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease in the Context of Hyperinsulinemia
No full textThis thesis is being archived as a Digitized Shelf Copy for campus access to current students and staff only. We currently cannot provide this open access without the author's permission. If you are the author of this work and desire to provide it open access or wish access removed, please contact the Wahlstrom Library to discuss permission.The Clinical Potential of Calorie-Restricted and Ketogenic Diets in the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease in the Context of Hyperinsulinemia. The role of hyperinsulinemia in the context of hyperglycemia due to insulin resistance has been well studied in its role in the development of Type II Diabetes (T2D). A strong correlation exists between T2D and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), and the mechanisms involved are multi-factorial. Derangement in key amyloid-related enzymes secondary to increased insulin levels, increased inflammation, and increased oxidative stress among other factors have been well studied. Calorie Restriction (CR), along with variations on the clinical approach, has been shown to increase overall lifespan and to improve insulin resistance, reduce inflammation, and reduce oxidative stress markers. This review assessed the connection between hyperinsulinemia and CR in the context of Alzheimer’s Disease. This approach, based on available evidence in human and animal studies, is a reasonable adjunct to treatment protocols for Alzheimer’s Disease. Based on projected patient compliance CR variations may be employed, though likely with slower and less drastic impact on Alzheimer’s Disease outcomes
SKINcure: A Real Time Image Analysis System to Aid in the Malignant Melanoma Prevention and Early Detection
No full textSkin cancer (melanoma) incidence rates have been increasing for the past three decades. The most important risk factors for Melanoma skin cancer are unprotected exposure to UV radiation, and growing melanoma-type moles. However, early diagnosis of malignant melanoma increases the chances for cure significantly. Therefore a real time image analysis system to aid in the malignant melanoma prevention and early detection is highly in-demand. In this poster, we propose a portable real time image analysis system to aid in the malignant melanoma prevention and early detection. We present an image recognition technique, where the user will be able to capture skin images of different mole types. Our system will analyze and process the images and alert the user at real - time to seek medical help urgently
Economic Growth: A Bull Market or a Bubble?
No full textThere is ongoing academic debate on the issue of whether the current economic recovery will lead to a disorderly bubble (as in 2008) or an orderly bull market as in the post-World War Two period. The massive destruction of wealth in the 2008 - 2010 period - if repeated – could be catastrophic. Steady growth would allow investors/savers to regain trust in the economy and induce business investment. Are asset bubbles inevitable as investors chase returns - and if so - are they necessarily a negative-sum game for society? This proposed research explores current evidence on each possible outcome and suggests future directions for analysis
Computational Analysis and Prototype Experiment of anomaterial for Aircraft Wing Inboard Flap in Aerospace Industry
No full textThe aircrafts fly at both high altitude and fast airspeed in the air but needs slow airspeed in order to land safely. To increase aircraft fly efficiency, the material and design of wing inboard flap should be carefully engineered to provide aircraft with high speed flight in the air but keep strong lift with lower airspeed in order to safely land to the ground. The wing inboard flap is a critical part for the aircrafts and the previous researches showed that the damaged inboard flap can lead aircraft function failure and even cause fatal accidents in the flight and landing processes. Since the defects in wing inboard flap can cause potential safety hazards, the strong inboard flap materials and good inboard flap design to keep safe flight is very important. This paper studies and analyzes the nanocoated material applied in the design and development of aircraft wing inboard flap by using computer-aided 3D modeling, numerical simulation, and prototype experiment to improve current and future wing inboard flap design and developmen
Modeling Iced Bio-Bandage Design for Skin Burns
No full textOver the years, many designs for biobandage were introduced for different types of burns but in most cases these designs are introduced as a protection means to cover and protect the burned tissue from the bacterial infection not as a treatment means. In this paper a new model for a burns biobandage is introduced not only as a protective means but also as a treatment technique by helping the tissue to rebuild itself as fast as possible. The main objective of this research is to develop a simple cryotherapeutic system to reduce the temperature of the burned tissues to normal temperature of the human body in order to facilitate the tissue healing and regeneration process. A biobandage is proposed to include an iced layer as a cooling source, a cotton layer and a water gel layer for comfort and temperature control, and a plastic layer to seal the ice layer. The optimal combination of these four layers physically work together to reduce inflammation, which in turn makes the heeling or recovery time shorter and reduces pain as a result of decreasing the nerve conductivity. The COMSOL Multiphysics was used to model the cooling process on burned tissue using the proposed iced-biobandage. The calculated temperature profiles along the depth biobandage and burned skin provide a clear vision of the heat flow within each layers. The history of temperature and heat transfer rate at the burned skin surface are monitored for an effective cooling and healing process. A modeling analysis was performed to examine the changes of temperature over a predetermined time and to help in identifying the optimal period for ice cooling process, the analysis shows that the ice layer is effective within a certain period of time and after this period it doesn't add any beneficial effect