Browsing Masters Theses by Issue Date

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Characterization of Image Quality for 3D Scatter Corrected Breast CT Images

Pachon, Jan Harwin (2013)

The goal of this study was to characterize the image quality of a dedicated, quasi-monochromatic x-ray spectrum, cone beam breast imaging system under scatter corrected and non-scatter corrected conditions for a variety ...
Aging in South Asia: Attitudes/Beliefs of Elders in Southern India and Long-Term Care of the Elderly in Southern Sri Lanka

Beaudry, Lauren Jeanette (2013)

Developing nations in Asia are posed to experience a significant increase in the population of older adults living in their respective societies. Over the coming decades, India, the second most populous country in the ...
Growth of gel microstructures between stressed silica grains and its effect on soil stiffening

Guo, Rui (2013)

Laboratory tests on microscale are reported in which two amorphous silica cubes were compressed in a liquid environment, namely in solutions with different silica ion concentrations for up to four weeks. Such an arrangement ...
Improving the Modeling of Government Surveillance Data: a Case Study on Malaria in the Brazilian Amazon

Valle, Denis (2013)

The study of the effect of the environment (e.g., climate and land use) on disease typically relies on aggregate disease data collected by the government surveillance network. The usual approach to analyze these data, ...
Strategic Evaluation of TB CARE SMS System in Cambodia

Drew, Allyson (2013)

BackgroundThis retrospective study examined the impact of a USAID-funded and FHI 360-implemented pilot project entitled "TB CARE SMS System" in Cambodia. The primary objective of this study was to compare the ...
Healthy Lifestyles and Attitudes Towards Preventive Counseling: a Survey of Chinese and US Medical Students

Sebranek, Matthew Paul (2013)

BACKGROUND: Non-communicable diseases are currently the leading cause of death worldwide. Leading healthy lifestyles as a means of prevention is one of the most important aspects of preventing the occurrence of ...
Selective Media Exposure and Polarization in Presidential Campaigns

Konitzer, Tobias Benjamin (2013)

This paper analyzes the influence of political selective exposure to cable news stations on mass-polarization, operationalized as radicalization in issue attitudes during the 2004 Presidential campaign. Various studies ...
Development and Application of Analytical Strategies to Facilitate Protein-Ligand Binding Analysis on the Proteomic Scale

Wang, Dongyu (2013)

SPROX (Stability of Proteins from Rates of Oxidation) is a technique for the detection and quantitation of protein-ligand binding interactions. In SPROX the differential denaturant dependence of a methionine oxidation ...
The Illusion of Safety: Lawfare and the Democratic Security

Molina, Gonzalo (2013)

The Democratic Peace Theory notes the reduced incidence of war between democracies. The emerging field of Democratic Security Studies is motivated by this finding, yet the field's future growth is contingent on a further ...
Screening for Cervical Cancer in HIV Positive Kenyan Women: the Role of HPV Genotyping

Dainty, Erin E. (2013)

Problem: Among HIV positive women in Kenya, cervical cancer has the highest incidence of any malignancy. In order to create effective screening strategies for both the primary and secondary prevention of cervical cancer ...
An Investigation of Sensitivity to Initial Conditions in an Experimental Structural System

Waite, Joshua Joseph (2013)

This thesis characterizes the nonlinear behavior of an experimental system that exhibits snap-through buckling behavior. A single-degree-of-freedom snap-through link model is harmonically forced using a Scotch yoke ...
On the Feasibility of a Novel In-Vivo Dosimeter for Brachytherapy

Vidovic, Adria Katarina (2013)

Purpose: Clinical brachytherapy systems are capable of delivering very high doses with high dose gradients. It is important therefore to be able to accurately verify the doses calculated by brachytherapy treatment ...
The Lens of National Identity: Comparing the Structural Components of Muslim and Christian-Majority Countries

Weimer, Laura Renee (2013)

In the midst of revolutions, overthrown governments, civil wars, and large-scale migration, sociologists need to reassess the structural components of national identity. Previous research has analyzed internal dynamics ...
Probing Mechanical Activation of Covalent Chemistry in Crosslinked Polymer Gels

Wang, Yifei (2013)

Toughness, the measure of how much energy a material can absorb before rupture, is an important property of materials. It has been demonstrated that the toughness of a single polymer chain of <italic>gem</italic>-diha ...
Exploring Physicians' Perceptions of Registered Medical Officers in Galle, Sri Lanka

Das, Devarati (2013)

The purpose of this qualitative research study aimed to explore physicians' perceptions of registered medical officers (RMO) in Galle, Sri Lanka. The RMO is a mid-level practitioner, analogous to physician assistants ...
The Interaction between Social Support and Coping in HIV+ Women in Western Kenya and North Carolina

Kyerematen, Alexandra (2013)

This cross-cultural study investigates the challenges affecting HIV+ women in rural Kenya and Durham, North Carolina. Examining the linkages between social support and coping, the study finds that many experiences with ...
Characterization of Vomeronasal Type-1 Receptor (V1R) Repertoire Diversity in Mouse Lemurs (Genus Microcebus)

Heilman, Amy (2013)

An organism's ability to detect and interpret chemical signals from the surrounding environment is vital to its survival. In mammals, the vomeronasal organ provides an integral part of this requirement as it allows for ...
Knowledge-Based IMRT Treatment Planning for Bilateral Head and Neck Cancer

Schmidt, Matthew Charles (2013)

Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) remains the standard of care for external beam radiation therapy for head and neck cancers. Planning for IMRT requires a trial-and-error approach that is completely dependent on ...
Nested Latent Factor Models

Zhang, XianXing (2013)

A tree-structured multiplicative gamma process (TMGP) is developed, for inferring the depth of a tree-based factor-analysis model. This new model is coupled with the nested Chinese restaurant process, to nonparametrically ...
Improving IP-based geo-location through Internet Topology and Geospatial Datasets

Moses, Kyle Vincent (2013)

Accurate IP geo-location is crucial to the effectiveness of a wide array of Internet-based services ranging from targeted advertising and website localization to content delivery, security logging and authentication. ...