Engineering Commons^™

Narrow Grass Hedge Effects On Nutrient Transport Following Compost Application, John E. Gilley, B. Eghball, David B. Marx

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

The placement of stiff‐stemmed grass hedges on the contour along a hillslope has been shown to decrease nutrient transport in runoff. This study was conducted to measure the effectiveness of a narrow grass hedge in reducing runoff nutrient transport from plots with a range of soil nutrient values. Composted beef cattle manure was applied at dry weights of 0, 68, 105, 142, and 178 Mg ha^-1 to a silty clay loam soil and then incorporated by disking. Soil samples were collected 243 days later for analysis of water‐soluble phosphorus (WSP), Bray and Kurtz No. 1 phosphorus (Bray‐1 P), NO …

Surface Polyethylene Glycol Enhances Substrate-Mediated Gene Delivery By Nonspecifically Immobilized Complexes, Angela K. Pannier, Julie A. Wieland, Lonnie D Shea

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Substrate-mediated gene delivery describes the immobilization of gene therapy vectors to a biomaterial, which enhances gene transfer by exposing adhered cells to elevated DNA concentrations within the local microenvironment. Surface chemistry has been shown to affect transfection by nonspecifically immobilized complexes using self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkanethiols on gold. In this report, SAMs were again used to provide a controlled surface to investigate whether the presence of oligo(ethylene glycol) (EG) groups in a SAM could affect complex morphology and enhance transfection. EG groups were included at percentages that did not affect cell adhesion. Nonspecific complex immobilization to SAMs containing combinations …

Alkaline Pretreatment Of Coastal Bermudagrass For Bioethanol Production, Ziyu Wang, Deepak R. Keshwani, Arthur P. Redding, Jay J. Cheng

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Conference Presentations and White Papers

Lignocellulosic materials are regarded as an alternative energy source for bioethanol production to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. Pretreatment is important for improving the enzymatic digestibility of lignocelluloses to increase the yield of fermentable sugars. Alkaline (sodium hydroxide and lime (calcium hydroxide)) pretreatment of coastal bermudagrass for enhanced reducing sugars recovery was investigated in this study. The effect of NaOH pretreatment at 121°C using 1%, 2% and 3% (w/v) NaOH for 15, 30, 60 and 90 minutes was evaluated first. Lower NaOH concentrations (0.5% and 0.75%) and lower temperatures (50, 80 and 100°C) were then examined. Lime (0.1 g …

High Temperature Dilute Acid Pretreatment Of Coastal Bermudagrass, Arthur Redding, Deepak R. Keshwani, Ziyu Wang, Jay J. Cheng

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Conference Presentations and White Papers

The conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into ethanol is an encouraging technology in the face of concerns over global warming and finite energy resources. In the southeastern United States, coastal bermudagrass shows potential for use as an energy crop for ethanol production. A review of the literature has shown that research has been done on the dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment of costal bermudagrass at 121ºC prior to enzymatic hydrolysis. This study examined dilute acid concentrations of 0.3%(w/w) to 1.2%(w/w) at temperatures from 120C to 180C over residence times of 5 to 60 minutes in an effort to optimize the pretreatment process …

Visible/Near-Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging For Beef Tenderness Prediction, Govindarajan Konda Naganathan, Lauren M. Grimes, Jeyamkondan Subbiah, Chris R. Calkins, Ashok Samal, George E. Meyer

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Beef tenderness is an important quality attribute for consumer satisfaction. The current beef quality grading system does not incorporate a direct measure of tenderness because there is currently no accurate, rapid, nondestructive method for predicting tenderness available to the beef industry. The objective of this study was to develop and test a visible/nearinfrared hyperspectral imaging system to predict tenderness of 14-day aged, cooked beef from hyperspectral images of fresh ribeye steaks acquired at 14-day post-mortem. A push-broom hyperspectral imaging system (wavelength range: 400-1000 nm) with a diffuse-flood lighting system was developed and calibrated. Hyperspectral images of beef-steak (n = 111) …

Preparation And Characterization Of Tapioca Starch-Poly(Lactic Acid)-Cloisite Na+ Nanocomposite Foams, Siew-Yoong Lee, Milford Hanna

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Tapioca starch, poly(lactic acid), and Cloisite NA⁺ nanocomposite foams, with four clay contents (1, 3, 5, 7, wt %), were prepared by melt-intercalation method. Selected structural, thermal, physical, and mechanical properties were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and an Instron universal testing machine, respectively. XRD results indicated that the 1 wt % nanocomposite foam did not show the characteristic basal reflection of the nanoclay. The 3, 5, and 7 wt % nanocomposite foams produced a mixture of intercalated and tactoid structures. The d₀₀₁-spacing of 3, 5, 7 wt % nanocomposite foams …

A Versatile Imaging System For In Vivo Small Animal Research, Jianguo Qian

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

In vivo small animal imaging has become an essential technique for molecular biology studies. However, requirements of spatial resolution, sensitivity and image quality are quite challenging for the development of small-animal imaging systems. The capabilities of the system are also significant for carrying out small animal imaging in a wide range of biological studies. The goal of this dissertation is to develop a high-performance imaging system that can readily meet a wide range of requirements for a variety of small animal imaging applications. Several achievements have been made in order to fulfill this goal.;To supplement our system for parallel-hole single …

Site-Specific Effects Of Pecam-1 On Atherosclerosis In Ldl Receptor-Deficient Mice, Shikha Arora, Brian Boylan, Reema Goel, Benjamin R. Schrank, Barbara Fleming, Rose Ann Fleming, Hiroto Mirura, Peter J. Newman, Robert C. Molthen, Debra K. Newman

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Objective—Atherosclerosis is a vascular disease that involves lesion formation at sites of disturbed flow under the influence of genetic and environmental factors. Endothelial expression of adhesion molecules that enable infiltration of immune cells is important for lesion development. Platelet/endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1; CD31) is an adhesion and signaling receptor expressed by many cells involved in atherosclerotic lesion development. PECAM-1 transduces signals required for proinflammatory adhesion molecule expression at atherosusceptible sites; thus, it is predicted to be proatherosclerotic. PECAM-1 also inhibits inflammatory responses, on which basis it is predicted to be atheroprotective.

Methods and Results—We evaluated herein the effect of …

Nutrient Transport As Affected By Rate Of Overland Flow, John E. Gilley, W. F. Sabatka, B. Eghball, David B. Marx

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Little information is currently available concerning the effects of varying flow rate on nutrient transport by overland flow. The objective of this study was to measure the effects of overland flow rate on nutrient transport following the application of beef cattle or swine manure to plots containing 0, 2, 4, or 8 Mg ha^-1 of corn residue. After addition of residue materials to 0.75 m wide by 2.0 m long plots, beef cattle or swine manure was added and the plots were then either disked or maintained in a no-till condition. Three 30 min simulated rainfall events, separated by …

Comparison Of Lipid Extraction Methods Of Food-Grade Sorghum (Sorghum Bicolor) Using Hexane, K. L. Christiansen, Curtis L. Weller, V. L. Schlegel, I. M. Dweikat

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Much has been reported concerning sorghum phytochemicals, such as policosanols, but little literature exists on how various extraction methods might be used to optimize the recovery of such phytochemicals. The purpose of this study was to compare three extraction methods for recovery of different sorghum lipids. Lipids were extracted from whole kernel and ground Macia, a food-grade sorghum hybrid, with hexane by a Soxtec method, a refluxing method (RB), and a bench-scale recirculated solvent (RC) method. Comparisons of total lipid yield and lipid class yields extracted from the grain by each method were made. Total lipid yield for the three …

Recent Development Of The Homotopy Perturbation Method, Ji-Huan He

Ji-Huan He

The homotopy perturbation method is extremely accessible to non-mathematicians and engineers. The method decomposes a complex problem under study to a series of simple problems that are easy to be solved. This note gives an elementary introduction to the basic solution procedure of the homotopy perturbation method. Particular attention is oaid to constructing a suitable homotopy equation.