Introductory computer science courses can be notoriously difficult for students, especially those outside of the major. There are many reasons for this, but the programming software itself may play a significant role.  To address this issue, we have developed Pythy, a web-based programming environment that allows students to write, execute, and test programming assignments from within the familiar interface of a web browser.  In this work, we discuss various aspects of Pythy in detail, including the rationale behind its design, the system architecture on which it is built, and the various functions offered by the software.  Next, we discuss an evaluation of Pythy\'s effectiveness during a programming course for non CS-majors offered at Virginia Tech, comparing it to a different software solution used in another programming course.  Results suggest that Pythy was successful in several target areas, including making it easier to get started with programming and providing feedback about program behavior.  Access log data from Pythy itself reveals details about how students used the system.  Finally, we conclude with a summary of key contributions and suggest some potential future directions for the system. / Master of Science

There are four normed division algebras over real numbers, namely real numbers, complex numbers, quaternions, and octonions. Lack of commutativity and associativity make it difficult to investigate algebraic and geometric properties of octonions. Eigenvalue problem of octonionic Hermitian matrices is one of the interesting studies where we can see this difficulty of extending the basic properties from complex Hermitian matrices to octonionic Hermitian matrices. This includes the notion of orthogonality and decomposition of a Hermitian matrix using its eigenvalues and eigenvectors.Liping Huang and Wasin So derived explicit formulas for computing the roots of quaternionic quadratic equations. We extend their work to octonionic case and solve octonionic left quadratic equations. We represent left spectrum of two by two octonionic Hermitian matrix using the solutions to corresponding octonionic left quadratic equation and identify the family of matrices which admit non-real left eigenvalues. For three by three case we review previous work by Tevian Dray and Corinne Manogue of real eigenvalue problem and study characteristic equations which admit non-real roots that are correspond to non-real left eigenvalues. Finally, we discuss the right spectrum using the associator method, and provide examples using "pyoctonion" python library. Interesting applications and open problems for future studies in this literature are also included.

Reptiles exhibit neurogenesis throughout the brain during adulthood. However, very few studies have quantified telencephalon-wide neurogenesis in adulthood, and no studies have performed these investigations in snakes. Quantifying neurogenesis in the adult snake is essential to understanding class-wide adult neurogenesis and providing insight into the evolution of this trait. The thymidine analog 5-bromo-2’-deoxyuridine (BrdU) was used to quantify cell proliferation, migration, and survival in the ball python (Python regius). First, to determine the proper dose of BrdU for injection we subcutaneously injected 50mg/kg, 100mg/kg, and 250mg/kg into 15 adult male P. regius. We found the 250mg/kg dose marked significantly more cells than the 50mg/kg dose, but not the 100mg/kg dose. Then we subcutaneously injected 100mg/kg BrdU into 15 juvenile male P. regius at 3 different time points (2 days, 2 weeks, 2 months) prior to sacrifice to quantify proliferation, migration, and survival of cells in several telencephalic subregions. After sectioning and immunohistochemical staining, we found proliferation to be highest in the accessory olfactory bulb (AoB), retrobulbar regions (AD, AV), dorsal ventricular ridge (DVR), and dorsolateral amygdala/lateral amygdala (DLA/LA). Of the proliferating cells, the proportions of cells that migrated after 2 weeks were highest in the ventral lateral region (VL), anterior medial and lateral cortices (aMC, aLC), and anterior NS (aNS). After 2 months, the highest proportional survival was in the AoB, aLC, aMC, aNS, DVR, and ventral medial regions (VM). Regions involved in long-term functions like spatial memory may require less proliferation and longer survival, while regions involved in short-term functions undergo more proliferation with higher relative attrition.

This thesis develops a model of the Cal Poly Wind Turbine that is used to determine if there is an imbalance in the turbine rotor. A theoretical model is derived to estimate the expected vibrations when there is an imbalance in the rotor. Vibration and acceleration data are collected from the turbine tower during operation to confirm the model is useful and accurate for determining imbalances in the turbine. Digital signal processing techniques for analyzing the vibration data are explored and tested with simulation data. This includes frequency shifts, lock-in amplifiers, phase-locked loops, discrete Fourier transforms, and decimation filters. The processed data is fed into an algorithm that determines if there is an imbalance. The detection algorithm consists of a machine learning classification model that uses experimental data to train and increase the success rate of the imbalance detection. Various models are explored, including the K-Nearest Neighbors algorithm, logistic regression, and neural networks. These models have trade-offs between mathematical complexity, required computing power, scalability, and accuracy. With proper implementations of these detection models, the imbalance detection accuracy was measured to be about 90%.

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Background. Autodesk Maya allows scripting through both MEL and Python, and it is also possible to use different Python modules and a C++ API to perform the desired tasks. In theory, the C++ API is the fastest option in Maya, but there are no studies that support this claim. Other studies show that PyMEL is the slowest module in Maya to work with, but it is still the one used most frequently. This thesis has therefore made a speed measurement to determine which of the four selected Python modules and the C++ API is the fastest to use, regarding animation transfer between skeletal hierarchies with different numbers of data. Objectives. The aim of this thesis is to measure the performance in terms of speed of the Python modules NumPy, SciPy, OpenMaya and PyMEL, as well as the C++ API, in order to determine which is the fastest. Our objectives are to determine the speed performance of each module by conducting experiments. Methods. To achieve the objectives, an experiment was conducted to compare the speed of each Python module and the C++ API. To perform the experiments, the implementations for each module and the API have been written in the same way, with their own data types and classes. After performing the experiments for each module, the mean time consumption of each program has been compared. Results. The results from the experiments show that there was a noticeable difference in the speed between the C++ API and the Python modules, as the C++ API delivered the highest speed for all the skeletons that took place in the experiments. The OpenMaya module was the fastest Python module that was tested, while PyMEL was the slowest. The C++ API’s measurements show that it took 0,388–1,909 seconds depending on which skeleton was used to perform the experiment, while OpenMaya’s measurements were 0,538–3,119 seconds which show that OpenMaya is 39–68% slower than the C++ API. NumPy, SciPy and PyMEL’s measurements ranged from 689% to 3165% slower than the C++ API. Conclusions. The conclusion of the experiments show that the C++ API is the fastest to use, while PyMEL is the slowest module, as it is 2632–3165 % slower, when used for these animation transfers. This shows that the C++ API can be a better choice for complex calculations, such as animation transfers.

This thesis is dedicated to exploring effective person counting using sensors, an important technology in areas such as space optimization. The main challenges in this field include issues with accuracy and reliability. The goal of this thesis is to explore and identify the most effective sensor type for counting individuals in a space. To address these problems, three main types of sensors were used: ultrasound, infrared, and laser. Each sensor was tested and the results show that ultrasound sensors generally had the highest reliability, although no sensor achieved complete accuracy. The study underscores the need for further development and the potential for combining technologies to enhance accuracy and reliability in person counting systems. / Denna uppsats ägnas åt undersökning av effektiv personräkning med hjälp av sensorer, en viktig teknik inom områden såsom optimering av lokalanvändning. Huvudproblemen inom området inkluderar utmaningar med noggrannhet och pålitlighet. Målet med denna uppsats är att undersöka och identifiera den mest effektiva sensortypen för personräkning i en lokal. För att lösa dessa problem användes tre huvudtyper av sensorer: ultraljud, infraröd och laser. Varje sensor testades och resultaten visar att ultraljudssensorer överlag hade högst pålitlighet, även om ingen av sensorerna uppnådde fullständig noggrannhet. Studien understryker behovet av vidare utveckling och potentialen för att kombinera tekniker för att förbättra noggrannheten och tillförlitligheten i personräkningssystem.

Detta examensarbete har genomförts i samarbete med elbilsföretaget Luvly AB. Arbetet syftar till att utveckla en teori för datoriserad felsökning av kommunikationsbussen CAN i tredomäner som utgörs av meddelanden, signaler och den elektriska karaktäristiken vilket är avvikt för testning i kommersiella tillämpningar. Resultatet av arbetet består av två delar, ettmjukvaruprogram som tillämpar meddelandedomänen och en teoretisk sammanställning förhur implementering av resterande två domänerna kan utföras.Dessa tre domäner ger tillsammans en enkel och fullständig felsökningsteori som likväl kanautomatiseras och byggas in i CAN-bussystem inom industri och fordon.Den utvecklade programvaran finns tillgänglig att hämta på Kungliga Tekniska HögskolansOneDrive och MediaFire. / This bachelor thesis has been carried out in cooperation with Luvly AB, a light urban vehiclestartup working out of Stockholm. The project’s goal has been to develop a theory regardingcomputerized troubleshooting of the CAN-bus in three domains, the messages, the signals,and the electrical characteristics, which is of importance for testing in commercial applications. The result of this report consists of two parts, a software program applying the messagedomain and a theoretical part explaining how the two other domains can be implemented.These three domains together give an intuitive and complete troubleshooting theory thatcould be automated as well as built into the CAN-bus itself in industrial and vehicular applications.The developed program is available for download on the Royal Institute of Technology’sOneDrive and on MediaFire.

<p dir="ltr">This paper introduces a comprehensive Software Toolkit designed to facilitate the design, implementation, and assessment of experimental research within the field of social psychology. The toolkit includes a python tool integrated with Unreal Engine to run simulations using virtual reality. This tool allows Students and Psychologists to conduct experiments for learning purposes by helping them to create real-life like simulations in different environments. Following a series of experiments, we have determined that the tool performs effectively. With the potential for further updates and enhancements, we believe that the tool holds promise for utilization in social psychology experiments.</p>