Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains x, 107 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 68-71).

Proof-carrying code is an application of software verification techniques to the problem of ensuring the safety of mobile code. However, previous proof-carrying code systems have assumed that mobile code will faithfully execute the instructions of the program. Realistic implementations of computing systems are susceptible to probabilistic behaviours that can alter the execution of a program in ways that can result in corruption or security breaches. We investigate the use of a probabilistic bytecode language to model deterministic programs that are executed on probabilistic computing systems. To model probabilistic safety properties, a probabilistic logic is adapted to out bytecode instruction language, and soundness is proven. A sketch of a completeness proof of the logic is also shown.

Patch repairs are sometimes considered to be capable of contributing to the resisting of externally applied load when the repairs are applied to deteriorated concrete structural members, particularly when the repair is subj ected to compression. However, it is generally known that many patch repair materials shrink and creep significantly relative to the concrete substrate. This thesis presents an experimental and numerical study of the contribution of patch repairs to load carrying in reinforced concrete columns, its quantification and the effect of shrinkage and creep. Twelve reinforced concrete columns were cast with a cavity located halfway up one side of the column. Two control columns were cast without a cavity. The parameters varied in the experimental testing were the depth of the repair cavity, type of repair material (one polymeric and the other polymer-modified), and whether the repaired columns were monitored under load or without being loaded. Test results prior to repair indicate that the loss of concrete from the column induces bending in the loaded column. Both the polymer-modified and polymeric mortar contributed to the column's resistance of the applied load in the short term, but in the long term the contribution of the polymer-modified mortar decreased substantially while that of the polymeric mortar was sustained. Repaired columns which were monitored with no load showed that shrinkage of the polymer-modified mortar can induce bending in the repaired column; this bending increased with cavity depth. Bending strain distributions in the repaired area are close to a straight line, particularly for columns monitored under load. The finite element numerical simulations showed good qualitative agreement with the test results. The analyses also indicated that strain distributions outside but close to the repaired area are nonlinear. However, predictions of the engineer's theory of bending showed favourable quantitative agreement with the finite element analyses.

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A consumer characteristic profile of the snowmobile owners in Utah was compiled and compared to the general population in Utah and the United States. Other statistics were compiled which included user preferences of snowmobiling sites and machine characteristics. Data were collected by a mail survey of snowmobilers during the 1974-75 snowmobiling season. Approximately 315 questionnaires were analyzed. Additional data were collected from the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation. Total economic rent values were estimated for 58 sites in Utah . These values were then separated into location and quality values. This was done by reallocating trips to sites by means of a least cost programming technique. The value attributed to location was subtracted from the total and the residual is attributed to site quality. Ten site characteristics were chosen to analyze site quality. Stepwise regression was used to show this relationship. Increasing site carrying capacity was undertaken in the model to show the effect on site quality. An exposition factor for number nf trips was derived by using the largest use month, the month with the greatest number of trips recorded. Comparisons were then made between the unexpanded data to that and the expanded data.

Study Design. This study investigated the effects of a lumbar support belt on lumbar disc deformation and joint angles. Trunk strength and endurance were also compared to disc deformation and joint angles to determine if any meaningful relationships existed. Objective. The purpose of this study was to determine if back support belts relieve stresses encountered by the lumbar spine during lifting activities and thus reduce the risk of injury. Additionally, trunk strength and endurance measures were collected in order to determine if strong, well conditioned trunk musculature aids in the support of the lumbar spine. Summary of Background Data. Low-back pain and injury are responsible for a major portion of lost work days and injury compensation claims. Back support belts have been proposed as a counter measure towards reducing low-back injuries in the industrial setting. Methods. Twelve male subjects (average age, 49.7 years) performed two sessions of stoop type lifting with a loaded milk crate (11.5 kg), at a rate of 4 repetitions per minute, for a total 15 minutes per session in accordance with the NIOSH 1993 lifting equation. The order of testing with and without a belt was randomized for the two sessions. Fluoroscopic images were collected prior to and following both lifting sessions. Fluoroscopic images were collected with the subjects positioned at the initiation (flexed trunk), mid-range, and completion of the lift (erect standing). Images were imported into Auto Cad where lumbar disc deformation and joint angles were measured by calculating changes in position of adjacent vertebra (L3-4 and L4-5). A reduction of deformation was deemed indicative of reduced stress. Trunk extension and flexion strength were measured with a Kin Com isokinetic dynamometer. Trunk flexion endurance was measured via a 60 second curl-up test. Results. Analysis of variance revealed that compressive and shear disc deformation were reduced while in the erect trunk posture for the support belt condition (p<.05). No significant reduction in disc deformation was detected while in flexed trunk postures for the support belt condition (p>.05). A significant inverse relationship was detected (p<05) between: abdominal strength and shear stress (flexed trunk positions), abdominal endurance and shear stress (erect trunk), and spinal erector strength and L4-L5 joint angle (erect trunk). Conclusions. During stoop type lifting, support belts provide a measurable amount of stress reduction of the lumbar spine when the trunk is in the erect posture, with little effect during flexed trunk positions. Strong, well conditioned trunk musculature is associated with reduced stress on the lumbar spine. / Graduation date: 1998

Abstract The Love River basin is the most important river watershed in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. It is 16-km long, drains a catchment of more than 50 km2. Figure 1 shows the Love River, its catchment, the sewer system and the manmade water ways for collecting the municipal wastewater from households (D,H,K,Bao-zhu,No.2). The pump stations were settled to pump the domestic waste water to the sewer system . The 16-km river begins as a trickle of runoff in the mountains of Kaoshiung County before flowing through the city and finally emptying into the Taiwan Strait. The drainage area is 5,600 hectares, and the population in the area is around 720,000. Investigation results demonstrate that the main water pollution sources are municipal wastewater, industrial wastewater, non-point source (NPS) pollutants, agricultural wastewater, and livestock wastewater. Investigation results show that the municipal wastewaters contribute more than 90% of the overall pollution loads to Love River, respectively. Currently, the percent of sewer system connection in the Love River watershed is less than 50%. Part of the municipal wastewater is discharged into the river without treatment. Moreover, there are 55 registered industrial factories discharge their wastewater into the Love River. Illegal or expedient discharges are sometimes practiced feeding polluted industrial flows into the river. Therefore, the untreated municipal wastewaters is the major cause of the poor water quality. The major objectives of this study were using the calibrated WASP water quality model (1) to obtain to evaluate the carrying capacity calculations for BOD . (2)to assess the improved effect to water quality by dilution of the river source water (3) to assess the improved effect to water quality by settling the local waste disposal beside the pumping station(4) to evaluate the improved effect to water quality by construction of riverbank natural treatment systems, and (5) to evaluate the improved effect to water quality by raising the popularity rate of hygienic sewers piping for users . Results from this study will provide the predicted remedial effects before bringing all sorts of costly remedial constructions into practice. Due to the construction of the sewer system was time-cosuming and expensively, and if the water quality of Love River was expected to be improved in the short-term , the comprehensive strategies for Love River watershed management could been proposed . Key Words Water quality; watershed; carrying capacity; BOD

The purpose of this study was to analyze the interactions of visitors and Formosan macaques (Macaca cyclopis) at the Mt. Longevity. Data on the attitudes of visitors were collected by using questionnaires covering topics such as purpose, frequency and opinions of visitors. Scan samplings, agonistic behavior samplings and focal samplings were used as observational methods to record the agonistic behaviors of monkeys. The study also analyzed patterns of human-monkey interactions that recorded through ad libitum samplings, including visitor participation that influenced agonistic behaviors among the monkeys. Statistical analyses were used to analyze various factors that influenced agonistic frequency and patterns. The agonistic behaviors in dyads during food provision tests were used to establish their rank relationships and dominance styles. Mt Longevity is a major recreational site in Kaohsiung city; the human pressure on Mt. Longevity was high and the tourist numbers were estimated as 6175 individuals ( ¡Ó 119, n = 10) in holidays and 3490 individuals ( ¡Ó 68, n = 10) in weekdays (between 08:00 to 18:00 hrs). The vegetation cover was apparently reduced above 60% in 16 recreational sites surveyed. The tourist numbers appeared to exceeding the carrying capacity of Mt. Longevity. The frequencies of human-monkey interaction were influenced by the number of monkeys and concentrated during the afternoons; the average frequency was 9.3 times / hr in holiday and 3.3 times / hr in weekday. The average frequency of tourists provisioned for monkeys was 0.59 times / hr ( ¡Ó 17.2, n = 131). An overall ratio of 17.5 : 1 between human-initiated and monkey-initiated interaction behaviors was found. Pass and eye contact accounted for over 67% of these interactions, and adult monkeys participated in human-monkey interaction more than the rest of the age / sex classes. During the conflict between human and macaques, most visitors used sticks or hands / legs to drive adult males away (63.5%). The average daily activities of Formosan macaques were: 37.7% inactive, 24.6% moving, 24.5% affiliation, eating / foraging 9.5% and agonistic behavior 2.6%. Frequencies of monkey aggressive behaviors increased along with increasing individuals of monkeys, and frequencies of their body aggressions and aggressions were higher during provision than without human disturbance. Open mouth threat was the most frequent aggressive behavior expressed by the monkeys (60.0%), while fleeing (37.0%) and squealing (36.0%) were the most common submissive behaviors. Agonistic initiators were mostly adult females (41.9%) and males (40.4%) and agonistic reactors were mostly juveniles (44.6%) and adult females (32.6%). Monkey contest was only 2.8% - 3.9% of total aggressive behaviors and the study revealed that the dominance style of Formosan macaques was despotic social system. The frequency of aggressive behavior of adult males (1.3 ¡Ó 2.1 times / 20min, n = 14) was 2.6 times in average to that of adult females (0.5 ¡Ó 0.9 times / 20min, n = 17). It varied significantly among different adult males and it was higher in mating seasons than the non-mating seasons (p<0.05). However, the frequencies of aggressive behavior of adult females were similar between seasons and among ranks (low, middle and high) but the frequency of submissive behaviors was higher in low rank adult females than that of high rank ones (p<0.05). Adult male and female Formosan macaques had a similar dominance style (aggression, avoidance, ignoring, undecided, AAD pattern and NNI pattern) in food tests; adult males showed more frequent aggression toward adult males than to adult females and juveniles. The individuals who showed open mouth threat had a success rate of getting food for over 50%.

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