The tailorability of composite sandwich structure with their strength- to- weight ratio interests in all field of crashworthiness application. An investigation of sandwich structure under static and high speed condition will provide useful information for wide variety of applications. In this present thesis, the characteristics of stitched corrugated sandwich panels as an energy absorption mechanism are evaluated, using experimental and numerical methods. Edgewise compression tests under static and dynamic loading conditions are performed on unstitched and stitched corrugated sandwich specimens made of glass/epoxy face sheets and polyurethane foam core. Parameters affecting the instability of specimens under compressive edge loads are studied for different ply orientations, corrugation wavelengths, and ply material. The local buckling phenomena are then characterized for a particular corrugation configuration. The parametric studies of this thesis using experimental methods indicate a strong dependence of the different instability modes on the stitch configuration and the test rate on the sandwich panels. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. / "December 2005."

The design and in vitro biochemical evaluation of two novel classes of mechanism-based inhibitors of human leukocyte elastase (HLE) that inactivate the enzyme via an unprecedented enzyme-induced sulfonamide fragmentation cascade is described. The inhibitors incorporate in their structure either an appropriately-functionalized saccharin scaffold, or a 1,2, 5-thiadiazolidin-3-one-1,1-dioxide scaffold. The inactivation of the enzyme by these inhibitors was found to be efficient, time-dependent and to involve the active site. Biochemical, HPLC, and mass spectrometric studies show that the interaction of these inhibitors with HLE results in the initial formation of a Michaelis-Menten complex and subsequent formation of a tetrahedral intermediate with the active site serine (Ser-195). Collapse of the tetrahedral intermediate with tandem fragmentation results in the formation of a highly reactive conjugated sulfonyl imine which can either react with water to form a relatively stable acyl enzyme and/or undergo a Michael addition reaction with an active site nucleophilic residue (His-57). The results also demonstrate convincingly the superiority of the 1, 2, 5-thiadiazolidin-3-one-1,1-dioxide scaffold over the saccharin scaffold in the design of inhibitors of (chymo)trypsin-like serine proteases. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Chemistry. / "December 2005."

The roots of the Byzantine debate over icons can be traced back to the Christian Church’s very inception. Indeed, an underlying current of iconoclasm manifested itself repeatedly over the centuries but did not erupt into a large-scale controversy until the eighth century. The timing of this outbreak, however, is significant for it followed four hundred years of intense debate over the person and nature of Christ. Consequently, by the end of the seventh century icons began to be associated with the incarnation of Christ and by the end of the eighth century the icon had become intimately connected to the Christological controversies. Hence, in addition to providing a general knowledge of the chronology and key characters of the controversy, this thesis will explore the theological development of the first phase of the debate, particularly as it related to the Christological controversies. A summary of the major historiographical theories promulgated to explain the Byzantine iconoclastic controversy will be followed by an overview of the development of Christian art. Then, after a brief chronological summary of the debate, the focus will shift to three pivotal individuals: Patriarch Germanus, Monk John Damascene, and Empress Irene. By exploring their contributions, both to the Christological dimensions of the debate and to the restoration of icons in the Byzantine Empire, the contours of the controversy over icons will come into focus. Finally, a brief comparison between the Emperor Charlemagne and the Monk Theodore Abu Qurrah will demonstrate the divergence of views taken toward the icon by the East and West following the Seventh Ecumenical Council (787 CE). / Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of History. / "December 2005."

This study investigates media stereotyping of American First Ladies Laura Welch Bush and Hillary Rodham Clinton principally using quantitative and qualitative content analysis. The research explores the amount and qualities of Time magazine’s news coverage during their husband’s first terms of office to establish, (i) who between Mrs. Clinton and Mrs. Bush is framed as most often politically active and (ii) who between them is more negatively stereotyped. Hypotheses predict that the most politically active First Lady will attract more media coverage and more negative stereotypes. Both hypotheses were supported by the research, which indicate that Hillary Clinton was framed both as the most politically active and negatively stereotyped of the two. / Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Elliott School of Communication. / "December 2005."

As a gas cools the mean opacity becomes dominated by the opacity of molecules and at low temperatures solid dust grains. Accurately computing the opacity is necessary to accurately compute the transfer of radiation through a gas. An attempt is made to refine the calculation of opacity within the stellar atmosphere modeling program PHOENIX through the addition of new optical constants, including those of the mineral species enstatite, forsterite, and fayalite. A general search for laboratory measurements of the optical constants of these minerals was performed, as well as a comparative study of the various data sets found. A study is also made investigating the importance of effective medium theory in the calculation of mean opacities within PHOENIX. Effective medium theory details the study of complex porous grains and the way in which they interact with electromagnetic radiation. The results of applying effective medium theory to modify the optical constants already within the bounds of this study are then compared to the current processes within PHOENIX. This study concludes that adding optical constants for forsterite and fayalite, and substituting a new data set for enstatite will help to improve the accuracy of PHOENIX models. Effective medium theory was found to not be a significant contributor to the calculations of the mean opacity. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Physics. / "December 2005."

This research develops a technique to predict the failure rate of a power distribution system recloser. The prediction is based on suggested criterion given and defined within this paper. Because inspection practices differ among utilities, the technique will apply to whatever data is available, and make the best prediction from that data. Examples of using the technique are provided. Predicted failure rates can then be used in system simulations to predict system reliability indices, and the effect routine maintenance has on them. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering. / "December 2005."

This thesis studies the effectiveness of 3+2 Point Seat Belt system in making the car environment safer. The new and enhanced 3+2 Point Belt has conventional 3 Point Belt and an additional shoulder Belt conveyed from other side of the occupant. This provides additional pulling force of occupant towards Seat which minimizes him/her moving freely and hitting inside the vehicle compartment when the vehicle makes a roll of 45° or more. It also restrains the occupant from ejecting out of the vehicle. The test simulates the Rollover situation with the occupant secured by 3+2 or 3 Point Seat Belts. The rollover situation on a Dolly structure is modeled using Mathematical Dynamical Model (MADYMO) code with the use of Easi-Crash CAE software tool. The test simulation is produced by giving required velocities and accelerations to the vehicle in accordance to Dolly Rollover (FMVSS 208). The results are then compared and analyzed to validate the effectiveness of 3+2 Point Seat Belt over 3 Point Seat Belt. The main areas of interest of this thesis are: (a) Analysis of Occupant’s responses (Kinematics) from the MADYMO simulation; (b) Evaluation of effectiveness of the restraint systems like 3+2 and 3 Point Seat Belts in attenuating the injuries incurred by occupants; (c) Evaluation of injury factors like Head Injury Criteria, Acceleration, Nij values, etc. Hybrid III 50 th percentile male dummy is used to study the occupant responses. The MADYMO results for the Dolly Rollover test is analyzed by comparing the injury parameter standards and specifications of NHTSA. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. / "December 2005."

Turbo and low density parity check (LDPC) codes show performances approaching Shannon capacity. This thesis proposes a novel iterative channel estimation and LDPC decoding scheme where the pilot symbols are encoded and can be used for both channel estimation and decoding using soft iterative receiver. To achieve this objective, systematic LDPC codes are employed so that pilot symbols can be encoded as data. In this way, initial channel estimation can be made before decoding by using the systematic coded pilot symbols. In addition, the known pilot symbol positions have higher reliability than data and can improve the initial decoding significantly. Using simulations it is shown that the decoding capability of the receiver improves significantly and ultimately LDPC decoder converges much early compared to the case where there are no coded pilots. Moreover, passing soft decoded values to the iterative receiver the coding gain improves also in comparison to the case when passing hard decoded values. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering. / "December 2005."

The proposed Pre-Shared Key Distribution Protocol (PDP) will distribute the IKE pre-shared key for IPSec between PDSN and HA in the 3GPP2 mobile networks. IPSec is used to provide security and integrity service between PDSN and HA. IKE is used for key exchange for the IPSec protocol. IKE can be configured to run either in pre-shared key mode or certificate mode to authenticate the identity of peers. There is a need for dynamic pre-shared key distribution protocol due to complexity and interoperability problems of IKE in certificate mode. Also the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) required for the certificate mode is not available widely. Static pre-shared keys are not flexible to configure and easy to manage. The proposed key distribution protocol provides similar flexibility as certificates and is not prone to the interoperability and complexity problems inherent in PKI. The PDP protocol will eliminate the communication overhead and the number of packets dropped due to the expiration of the pre-shared keys. Also, it reduces the computation over head of pre shared key calculation as it is calculated only when needed. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering. / "December 2005."

In this thesis we have extended non binary low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes, developed for channel coding, to be used for source coding to compress correlated non binary sources. Focusing on the asymmetric case of compression of an equiprobable memoryless non binary source with side information at the decoder, the approach is based on viewing the correlation as a channel and applying the syndrome concept. The encoding and decoding procedures are explained in detail. The results obtained through simulations showed that the non binary compression scheme gives symbol error rates of zero for correlation coefficients greater than or equal to 0.80 for a compression rate of 1/2. For a compression rate of 3/4 the non binary compression scheme gives symbol error rates of zero for correlation coefficients greater than or equal to 0.65. In comparison the binary compression scheme gives bit error rates of zero for correlation coefficients greater than or equal to 0.90 for compression rate of 1/2. For compression rate of 3/4 the binary compression scheme gives bit error rates of zero for correlation coefficients greater than or equal to 0.75. This shows that the non binary compression scheme handles sources with relatively low correlations better than the binary scheme. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering. / "December 2005."