The trajectories of ballistic targets are determined significantly by the characteristics that are specific to them. In this thesis, these characteristics are presented and a set of algorithms in order to track short-range ballistic targets are given. Firstly, motion and measurement models for the ballistic targets are formed and then four different filtering techniques are built on these models which are the extended Kalman filter, the unscented Kalman filter, the particle filter and the marginalized particle filter. The performances of these filters are evaluated by making Monte Carlo simulation. The simulations are run using target scenarios obtained according to six degrees-of-freedom trajectory for ballistic targets. Apart from the tracking errors of the filters, drag parameter estimations and the effect of drift calculation on the filter performances are investigated. The estimation results obtained by each filter are discussed in detail by making various simulations.

The purpose of this project was to record the private archaeological collection of the Keene family, which was previously unknown to the professional community. While at the two sites, Keene Redfield site (8Ja1847) and Keene Dog Pond site (8Ja1848), in Jackson County, northwest Florida, USF archaeologists also conducted field investigations to look for prehistoric cultural materials in undisturbed contexts. This research was conducted at the request of the Keene family. The field crew systematically documented, cataloged and photographed each artifact in the Keene collection while at the sites. Surface survey and testing were also carried out in order to determine site boundaries, occupation and function. Over 1,000 artifacts from every time period from the transitional Paleo-Indian/Early Archaic through the Mississippian were documented from the collection. Field investigations resulted in the location and investigation of undisturbed cultural strata below the plow zone, enabling the researchers to obtain radiocarbon dates from these deposits. Evidence of hunting and gathering activities and of tool processing including repair, sharpening and possible re-use was found at both sites. This work allowed for the publication of two previously unknown, rich archaeological sites and for a better understanding of the prehistoric activities and functions of this region of the southeast. While participating in this public archaeology project, several other similar opportunities presented themselves, providing USF archaeologists with the ability to maintain a presence in the area to continue public archaeology efforts to engage the community and encourage appropriate participation and good stewardship of these types of private sites.

This dissertation presents the development of electrically-powered, lamination-based microactuators for the realization of large arrays of high impulse and short duration micro-jets with potential applications in the field of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). Microactuators offer unique control opportunities by converting the input electrical or chemical energy stored in a propellant into useful mechanical energy. This small and precise control obtained can potentially be applied towards aerodynamic control and transdermal drug delivery applications. This thesis discusses the development of both chemical and physical microactuators and characterizes their performance with focus towards the feasibility of using them for a specific application. The development of electrically powered microactuators starts by fabricating an array of radially firing microactuators using lamination-based micro fabrication techniques that potentially enable batch fabrication at low cost. The microactuators developed in this thesis consist of three main parts: a micro chamber in which the propellant is stored; two electrode structures through which electrical energy is supplied to the propellant; and a micro nozzle through which the propellant or released gases from the propellant are expanded as a jet. The fabricated actuators are then integrated with MEMS-process-compatible propellants and optimized to produce rapid ignition of the propellant and generate a fluidic jet. This rapid ignition is achieved either by making the propellant itself conductive, thus, passing an electric current directly through the propellant; or by discharging an arc across the propellant by placing it between two closely spaced electrodes. The first concept is demonstrated with chemical microactuators for the application of projectile maneuvering and the second concept is demonstrated with physical microactuators for transdermal drug delivery application. For both the actuators, the propellant integrated microactuators are characterized for performance in terms of impulse delivered, thrust generated and duration of the jet. The experimentally achieved results are validated by comparing with results from theoretical modeling. Finally, the feasibility of using chemical microactuators for maneuvering the path of a 25 mm projectile spinning at 500 Hz is discussed and the feasibility of applying the physical microactuators for increasing skin's permeability to drug analog molecules is studied.

Thesis (M.S.) -- Mississippi State University. Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Southampton. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 383-416).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Southampton. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 383-416).

We present newly-registered Paiján sites in the interior and upper parts of the Chicama, Moche and Virú valleys, with strong tiesto the highland region. The research indicates that Paiján hunter-gatherers were not only a coastal group whose subsistence was basedon marine resources. They also occupied diverse ecological environments preferring springs with high mobility across the Andes and exploiting diverse resources, such as white-tail deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and raw materials for producing lithic tools. / En este artículo se presenta el registro de nuevos sitios paijanenses al interior y parte alta de los valles de Chicama, Moche y Virú, más vinculados con la región de la sierra, lo que evidencia, de manera consistente, que estos grupos de cazadores-recolectores no se establecieron solo en la costa y basaron su subsistencia en los recursos marinos, sino que ocuparon diversos ambientes ecológicos siempre relacionados con fuentes de agua y tuvieron un amplio grado de movilidad de manera longitudinal y transversal a lo largo de los cursos de ríos y quebradas, con lo que pudieron aprovechar una mayor diversidad de recursos, entre ellos el venado gris de cola blanca (Odocoileus virginianus) y materias primas para la elaboración de herramientas líticas.

This methodological study is an attempt to develop relative chronologies for surface archaeological sites from the obsidian hydration analysis of waste flake samples. Two sites in southeastern Oregon were selected and their surface components sampled. The results of the obsidian hydration analysis indicate, that with the use of random sampling methods and general geochemical control, a fairly accurate representation of the history of an archaeological surface site can be obtained.

No description available.

No description available.