Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1913. / Vita. Bibliography: p. 96.

The fungus Hypocreopsis rhododendri forms orange-brown, distinctively lobed stromata on the stems of trees and shrubs. It is found both in Corylus avellana (hazel) scrub on the western fringe of Europe, and on understory shrubs in the Appalachian woodlands of eastern North America. On the basis of its narrow distribution and perceived threats to its Atlantic hazel habitat, H. rhododendri has been prioritised for conservation action in Scotland. A lack of knowledge regarding the species' ecology, however, presents a significant obstacle to effective conservation action. This thesis reports on investigations into the ecology of H. rhododendri, with the aim of providing a scientific basis upon which decisions regarding the species' conservation may be taken. The research yielded the following key findings:  Investigations into the population genetics of the fungus provided evidence of a genetic bottleneck in H. rhododendri's European population, and hinted at fairly recent gene flow between the species' European and North American populations. On this basis it is hypothesised that H. rhododendri established in Europe recently, following dispersal from North America.  Research into the genetic constitution of H. rhododendri's stromata, the distribution of its mycelia in stems and its ability to degrade wood in vitro provided strong support for the hypothesis that H. rhododendri is a superficial parasite of the wood decay fungus Pseudochaete corrugata.  Field surveying revealed that H. rhododendri has a fairly high rate of population turnover, with stromata typically surviving for less than two years. It also revealed that the species' distribution is not strongly influenced by the structure and exposure of its scrub habitat. In view of the above findings and the fact that conservation action is already being undertaken to conserve the species' Atlantic hazel habitat, it is not recommended that conservation action specifically targeted at H. rhododendri is carried out in Scotland.

Disposable gloves are often used by the perpetrators of a crime to prevent the deposition of fingerprints and epithelial cells at a crime scene. When removed and discarded at the scene, these items of evidence are often analyzed by a Trace Evidence Unit. By evaluating basic physical and chemical characteristics, a comparison to a known glove can be made. However, it is unclear whether temperature and weather conditions at a crime scene can alter the characteristics of the glove, and have a detrimental effect on this evidence comparison. In this study, a variety of disposable gloves made of nitrile rubber, natural rubber latex, and polyvinyl chloride were studied to assess the relationship between environmental conditions and polymer characteristics. Samples were placed in evidence envelopes or immersed in distilled water at three different temperatures, and were analyzed after 0, 3, and 6 weeks. Analysis included thickness measurements, stereomicroscopy, and Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Results demonstrate that disposable gloves are susceptible to physical changes when exposed to various conditions. A majority of gloves exhibited an increase in thickness measurements at a variety of temperature and moisture conditions. Several gloves — spanning all types and different brands — displayed subtle changes in surface texture and spectral data. Analysis was complicated by the fact that no glove is 100% polymer, but instead contains a variety of additives, including stabilizers, plasticizers, and dyes. Additional characterization with a quantifiable separatory method, such as Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry, is therefore recommended to further elucidate the changes that can occur.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1991.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1991.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

The aim of this thesis is to create a low-cost sensor equipped glove using commercially available components that can be used to obtain position, velocity and acceleration data for individual fingers of a hand within an optical motion capture environment. Tracking the full degrees of freedoms of the hand and finger motions without any hindrances is a challenging task in optical motion capture measurements. Attaching markers on every finger and hand joint makes motion capture systems troublesome due to practical problems such as blind spots and/or obtaining higher derivative motion constraints, such as velocities and accelerations. To alleviate this, we propose a method to capture the hand and finger kinematics with a reduced set of optical markers. Additionally inertial sensors are attached to the fingertips to obtain linear acceleration measurements. For optimal velocity estimation, a Kinematic Kalman Filter (KKF) is implemented and its result is compared to the time derivative of the Motion Capture System measurement. The higher derivative specifications are related to contact and curvature constraints between the fingers and the grasped object and are later used in formulating the synthesis task for the design of robotic fingers and hands. A preliminary prototype device has been developed to obtain position, velocity and acceleration information of each fingertip by incorporating multiple accelerometers into the basic design of reduced marker set.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 25). / v, 25 leaves, bound col. plates 29 cm

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With the increase in popularity of virtual reality (VR) systems, haptic devices have been garnering interest as means of augmenting users' immersion and experiences in VR. Unfortunately, most commercial gloves available on the market are targeted towards enterprise and research, and are too expensive to be accessible to the average consumer for entertainment. Some efforts have been made by gaming and do-it-yourself (DIY) enthusiasts to develop cheap, accessible haptic gloves, but due to cost limitations, the designs are often simple and only provide feedback at the fingertips. Considering the many types of grasps used by humans to interact with objects, it is evident that haptic gloves must offer feedback to many regions of the hand, such as the palm and lengths of the fingers to provide more realistic feedback. This thesis discusses a novel, affordable design that provides haptic feedback to the intermediate and proximal phalanges of the fingers (index, middle, ring and pinkie) using a ratchet and pawl actuation mechanism. / Master of Science / Haptics, or simulation of the sense of touch, is already implemented in consumer devices such as smartphones and gaming controllers to augment users' immersive experiences. With the growing popularity of virtual reality, further advancements are being made, particularly in wearable haptic gloves, so users may physically feel the interactions with objects in virtual reality through their hands. Unfortunately, these products are currently inaccessible to the average consumer due to unaffordable pricing. To combat this issue, there have been efforts to develop cheap haptic gloves, but existing designs only provide feedback at the fingertips. Fingertip-only feedback can feel unnatural to users since other areas of the hand are typically also involved when grasping objects. To address the issue presented by low-cost fingertip haptic gloves, this thesis proposes a design which expands feedback to other areas of the hand while maintaining affordability and accessibility to average consumers.