Systems composed of simple, reliable tools are needed to facilitate adoption of Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) into incident response teams. Existing systems require operators to have highly skilled level of knowledge of UAV operations, including mission planning, low-level system operation, and data analysis. In this paper, a system is introduced to reduce required operator knowledge level via streamlined mission planning, in-flight object detection, and data presentation. For mission planning, two software programs are introduced that utilize geographic data to: (1) update existing missions to a constant above ground level altitude; and (2) auto-generate missions along waterways. To test system performance, a UAV platform based on the Tarot 960 was equipped with an Nvidia Jetson TX2 computing device and a FLIR GigE camera. For demonstration of on-board object detection, the You Only Look Once v8 model was trained on mock propane tanks. A Robot Operating System package was developed to manage communication between the flight controller, camera, and object detection model. Finally, software was developed to present collected data in easy to understand interactive maps containing both detected object locations and surveyed area imagery. Several flight demonstrations were conducted to validate both the performance and usability of the system. The mission planning programs accurately adjust altitude and generate missions along waterways. While in flight, the system demonstrated the capability to take images, perform object detection, and return estimated object locations with an average accuracy of 3.5 meters. The calculated object location data was successfully formatted into interactive maps, providing incident responders with a simple visualization of target locations and surrounding environment. Overall, the system presented meets the specified objectives by reducing the required operator skill level for successful deployment of UAVs into incident response scenarios. / Master of Science / Systems composed of simple, reliable tools are needed to facilitate adoption of Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) into incident response teams. Existing systems require operators to have a high level of knowledge of UAV operations. In this paper, a new system is introduced that reduces required operator knowledge via streamlined mission planning, in-flight object detection, and data presentation. Two mission planning computer programs are introduced that allow users to: (1) update existing missions to maintain constant above ground level altitude; and (2) to autonomously generate missions along waterways. For demonstration of in-flight object detection, a computer vision model was trained on mock propane tanks. Software for capturing images and running the computer vision model was written and deployed onto a UAV equipped with a computer and camera. For post-flight data analysis, software was written to create image mosaics of the surveyed area as well as to plot detected objects on maps. The mission planning software was shown to appropriately adjust altitude in existing missions and to generate new missions along waterways. Through several flight demonstrations, the system appropriately captured images and identified detected target locations with an average accuracy of 3.5 meters. Post-flight, the collected images were successfully combined into single-image mosaics with detected objects marked as points of interest. Overall, the system presented meets the specified objectives by reducing the required operator skill level for successful deployment of UAVs into incident response scenarios.

The very high travel demands associated with hurricane evacuations require some strategies, such as contraflow sections, to be included in hurricane evacuation plans. However, the response or reaction of the evacuees to these strategies has not been given much attention in the past. This study concentrated on one particular strategy, contraflow segments, and investigated evacuees' willingness to use them through an animated survey. Usable data was collected from 821 respondents. The first part of the study dealt with six factors (service availability, police presence, exit location, entry congestion, availability of multiple entries, and limited choice) which were studied independently and compared against individual background characteristics. The distribution of the responses from the survey indicated that the presence of multiple entries or the availability of information about services increased the likelihood of evacuees switching to contraflow lanes, while the presence of police personnel for instance did not greatly alter the decision. Other factors like entry congestion or exits well before or well after initially desired ones decreased the willingness to use contraflow lanes. In the case where contraflow lanes were the only option on the main evacuation route (without the regular lane alternative), evacuees were willing to take detours to avoid the use of contraflow facilities. However, the effects of the above listed factors were associated with the background characteristics of the evacuees as the odds ratios in this study indicated. Previous contraflow or reverse lane experience for instance attenuated the effect of entry congestion on avoiding contraflow lanes. Contraflow experience on the other hand increased the likelihood of using the first entry when two entries were available and increased the willingness to switch to contraflow lanes when information about services was provided. Also, evacuation experience, presence of passengers affecting stops, and having dependents in the family improved the willingness to use contraflow lanes given information about services. Other characteristics like living in a hurricane prone area increased the inclination to use contraflow in the presence of police personnel and having passengers affecting destination choice increased the willingness to detour and avoid contraflow when regular lanes were not part of the main evacuation route from the respondent's origin. The second part of the study dealt with congestion and information about congestion levels along the regular and contraflow lanes. Different combinations of levels of congestion and information were presented to the respondents in the animated part of the survey. Respondents indicated their preference for contraflow or regular lanes in these scenarios. This data was used to develop a conditional logit model which predicted choice based on the presented options. Evacuees demonstrated an overall willingness to switch to contraflow lanes when these lanes were less congested than the regular lanes. However, with similar congestion levels on the regular and contraflow lanes, willingness to switch to contraflow lanes decreased as congestion levels increased. Information about upcoming congestion influenced evacuees' route choice decisions. Information motivated switching to contraflow lanes when conveying better downstream conditions along these lanes. Overall, evacuees demonstrated a willingness to benefit from any congestion improvement offered by contraflow lanes as opposed to assumptions in the literature claiming underutilization of these segments due to drivers' discomfort and unfamiliarity. / Master of Science

A combination of fax and mail questionnaires were used to estimate consumption of wood based products by the U.S. cabinet industry and evaluate current management issues affecting the cabinet industry. Group 1 companies (>$20 million in sales) were contacted and sent a fax questionnaire. A random sample of 1034 Group 2 companies (<$20 million in sales and >10 employees) were sent a mail questionnaire. A total of 19 usable questionnaires were received from Group 1 companies and 217 usable questionnaires were received from Group 2 companies. Group 1 respondents averaged 1,108 employees and $125.81 million in sales. Group 2 respondents averaged 27 employees and $2.31 million in sales. A shortened questionnaire (questionnaire 2, one page) was sent to half of the Group 2 sample frame resulting in twice the response rate as that of the long questionnaire (questionnaire 1, three pages). Results indicated that the cabinet industry used an estimated 484 million board feet of hardwood lumber. Nearly 95% of the hardwood lumber purchases were grade 1 common or better. The most common used species were red oak (44%) and hard maple (24%). An estimated 58 million board feet of components and 68,344 doors were also purchased by cabinet manufacturers in 1999. Softwood lumber use was estimated at 25 million board feet, consisting primarily of white (49%) and southern yellow (36%) pine. The most commonly used panel products were particleboard and hardwood plywood, at an estimated 1,044 million square feet (1/2 inch basis) and 279 (3/8 inch basis) million square feet respectively. Other panel products used by the industry were medium density fiberboard, hardboard, and softwood plywood. Approximately 156 (any thickness) million square feet of veneer was used. Lumber purchases were primarily direct from sawmills (66%) for Group 1 companies and from wholesalers/distributors (53%) for Group 2 companies. Panel product purchases followed the same trend with Group 1 companies buying primarily direct from manufacturers (44%) and the majority of Group 2 purchases coming from wholesalers/distributors (84%). Group 1 companies sold their products through factory sales people (54%) and to home improvement/building supply centers (37%). Group 2 companies sold their products through factory sales people (77%) and to builders and remodelers (62%). The largest proportion of cabinet types sold by both Groups 1 and 2 were face frame kitchen cabinets (74% and 38% respectively). Companies from both groups reported producing certified (green) products. The majority of companies indicated they purchased some parts from outside sources. Companies from both groups reported considering alternative materials to substitute for wood. Products that were mentioned include strawboard, urban waste MDF, and plastic mouldings. Concerns rated highest by cabinet companies were finding qualified employees, increasing raw material prices, keeping qualified employees, and wood quality. / Master of Science

No description available.

Yes / Response to GENOVATE output with Professor Jackie Ford at the GENOVATE conference. / FP7

<p> Experiments were conducted, with rats, to ascertain the effects of partial reinforcement in aversive classical conditioning. Conditioned suppression of bar-pressing was more resistant to extinction following intermittent reinforcement of a conditioned stimulus than following consistent reinforcement. This effect was obtained whether or not bar-pressing was permitted during conditioning as well as during extinction. The effect was amplified by interpolating a large block of nonreinforced trials early in the partial schedule; it was eliminated by adding more reinforced trials prior to the partial schedule. The effect was not obtained by interpolating a large block of nonreinforcements in a continuous schedule. The data were related to current theoretical conceptions of partial reinforcement.</p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The maintenance of protein homeostasis is vital for all cells, but it is of utmost importance in post-mitotic cells, such as neurons that cannot dilute aggregates by cell division. Dysregulation of the proteostasis network can lead to neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease (PD), Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and prion diseases. The small molecule Sephin1 is a promising lead against proteostasis disruption, but its mechanism of action is uncertain. We assessed the therapeutic efficacy of Sephin1 in an established PD mouse model. Our laboratory has recently characterized a mouse expressing via bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) the human LRRK2 G2019S protein, a variant linked to PD. Our data show that Sephin1 treatment rescues the motor deficit observed in BAC human-G2019S mice. Our experimental evidence shows that Sephin1 binds the monomeric globular actin (G-actin) in cell-free assays. By combining PAL chemistry to MS/MS analysis we identified the putative Sephin1 binding site on actin. In vitro, Sephin1 drives actin misfolding, and eventually, its precipitation. Upon Sephin1 treatment in HeLa cells, we visualized actin clusters localized to the lysosomes. This event at the lysosome impairs the normal autophagic flux. At the same time, Sephin1 induces the inactivation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTORC1), thus allowing the nuclear translocation of the transcription Factor EB (TFEB) and the expression of TFEB-direct target genes, on the longer term. In parallel, Sephin1 elicits the phosphorylation of the α subunit of the Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 2 (eIF2) and the ER-stress independent expression of the C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP). CHOP is a transcription factor that contributes to the integrated stress response as well as to autophagy. As such, Sephin1 triggers the activation of two main players in the autophagic response, TFEB and CHOP. Accordingly, we reported that, after the initial impairment, Sephin1 stimulates autophagy. Taken together, our results reveal a novel Sephin1 molecular mechanism in which lysosomal stress may regulate autophagy via mTORC1-TFEB complemented with the eIF2α signalling pathway. Although several questions remain to be answered, Sephin1, which successfully completed the phase I clinical trial for ALS and Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease, represents a promising therapeutic strategy that targets autophagy to regulate the homeostatic balance of proteins in neurodegenerative diseases.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.