Engineering Commons^™

Modeling Heat Transfer During Cooling Of Ready-To-Eat Meat And Poultry Products Using Three-Dimensional Finite Element Analysis And Web-Based Simulation, Jihan F. Cepeda Jimenez

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The meat industry is required to comply with processing performance standards for preventing the growth of foodborne pathogens in products. These performance standards, established by the United States Department of Agriculture - Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) require a reduction of Salmonella spp (lethality standard) and limit the growth of sporeforming bacteria (stabilization standard) in certain processed meat products. In general, strategies used to comply with these standards are associated with thermal processing. Meat processors have difficulties complying with these performance standards. Moreover, thermal processing deviations are an issue in the meat industry that generate uncertainty regarding the safety …

Network Science: Using Information Technology To Enable Collaboration, Arden L. Bement Jr.

PPRI Digital Library

No abstract provided.

Minerva 2010, The Honors College

Minerva

This issue of Minerva celebrates the 75th anniversary of Honors at the University of Maine! It includes an article on the college's 75th anniversary celebration; a look into the inaugural Center for Undergraduate Research (CUGR) symposium; and discussions on 2010 Honors Read, Persepolis, as well as 2011 Honors Read, The Omnivore's Dilemma. Other highlights include an article on Honors graduate and historian, Kristen Gwinn, and her book Emily Greene Balch: The Long Road to Internationalism.

Investigating Wood Welding Parameters Using A Prototype Welding Machine, Timothy R. Melin

Master's Theses

Understanding how different processing variables influence wood welded bonds is vital if the technique will ever be used to create engineered lumber without using adhesives. A variation of vibration welding, wood welding uses pressure and friction to bond materials together. During welding, heat causes a softening in the wood, a naturally occurring composite material. This softening leads to fiber entanglement and a bond forms upon cooling.

The goal of this research was to investigate several processing aspects of the wood welding procedure. A prototype wood welding machine, designed and fabricated from the ground up, was used to investigate the effects …

The River Discontinuum: Applying Beaver Modifications To Baseline Conditions For Restoration Of Forested Headwaters, Denise Burchsted, Melinda Daniels, Robert Thorson, Jason Vokoun

Center for Integrative Geosciences

Billions of dollars are being spent in the United States to restore rivers to a desired, yet often unknown, reference condition. In lieu of a known reference, practitioners typically assume the paradigm of a connected watercourse. Geological and ecological processes, however, create patchy and discontinuous fluvial systems. One of these processes, dam building by North American beavers (Castor canadensis), generated discontinuities throughout precolonial river systems of northern North America. Under modern conditions, beaver dams create dynamic sequences of ponds and wet meadows among free-flowing segments. One beaver impoundment alone can exceed 1000 meters along the river, flood the valley laterally, …

Universal Play Frame Vi, Justin Bazant, Cullen Crackel, Anthony Franceschi

Mechanical Engineering

This design report details the design process utilized by Adaptive Exercise Designs (AED) in creating the sixth design of the Universal Play Frame (UPF). The UPF is an adaptive frame which supports a variety of devices that allows athletes in wheelchairs with limited range of motion to participate in physical activity. The past five frame designs do not meet the needs of the Friday Club due to complications with function and time constraints. To ensure all of Fridays Club's needs were met, the problem was better defined by converting the customer requirements into engineering specifications. The design process our team …

The Gel Documentation System: A Cornerstone To The Implementation Of The Introduction To Biotechnology And Introduction To Bioinformatics Cross-Disciplinary Course Series (Final Report), Marcy Kelly, Gregory Lampard, Constance Knapp

Cornerstone 3 Reports : Interdisciplinary Informatics

Our original goal was to offer Pace undergraduate students opportunities to be introduced to both Biotechnology and Computer Science as it relates to Bioinformatics. We proposed a two course series, offered to both computer science and biology students that will increase both biological and computer science literacy of our students. The two courses are Introduction to Biotechnology (BIO 372) and Introduction to Bioinformatics.

Leaching Mechanism Of Semiconducting Minerals, Fathi Habashi

Fathi Habashi

The mechanism of leaching of semiconducting minerals such as PbS, ZnS, UO2, etc., has been the subject of intensive speculation by hydrometallurgists in the early 1950s. The electrochemical mechanism proposed in 1970 by the author in volume 2 of his Principles of Extractive Metallurgy avoids the assumption of forming intermediate complexes that cannot be isolated or identified.

Utilization Of Diets Containing Graded Levels Of Ethanol Production Co-Products By Nile Tilapia, Travis W. Schaeffer, Michael L. Brown, Kurt A. Rosentrater, Kasiviswanathan Muthukumarappan

Kurt A. Rosentrater

A feeding trial was performed to investigate inclusion levels of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) as a fishmeal replacement for juvenile Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). On a dry matter basis, five isocaloric [19.3 ± 0.4 kJ/g (mean ± SE)], isonitrogenous (39.1 ± 0.5% crude protein) diets were formulated to contain 17.5%, 20%, 22.5%, 25%, and 27.5% DDGS and compared against a 0% DDGS, reference diet (gross energy = 14.5 kJ/g; crude protein = 39.8%). The reference diet resulted in significantly higher body weight gain (BWG), food conversion ratio (FCR), and protein efficiency ratio (PER) than experimental diets except that …

Hydraulic Conductivity, Infiltration, And Runoff From No-Till And Tilled Cropland, Jessica H. Deck

Department of Environmental Engineering: Theses and Student Research

Infiltration and runoff are important processes that affect the efficiency of center pivot irrigation systems. No-till planting systems potentially influence the hydraulic properties of soils and the soil surface conditions. The result of long-term use of no-till could be higher infiltration and lower runoff from rainfall and irrigation.

This potential was investigated in Nebraska on two center pivot irrigated sites; Fillmore County and Phelps County, one furrow irrigated site; South Central Agriculture Laboratory (SCAL), and one dryland site; Rogers Farm. Paired treatments were used at each location, one that was no-till planted and one that used two to three operations …

Development Of Software To Estimate Pressures On The Residual Limbs Of Amputees By Means Of A Pylon Mounted Transducer, Malli K. Yalamanchili

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The alignment of prosthesis has been recognized as one of the main factors that determine successful prosthetic outcomes for trans-tibial amputees. Alignment is defined as the relative position and orientation of the prosthetic components. Misalignment can result in changes in the position and orientation of the joints of the leg and moments experienced by them during gait, increases in energy use, and discomfort or even tissue breakdown at the socket/stump interface. Hence it is very important to align the prosthesis in correct manner. Gait analysis can be used to examine the effects of incorrect alignment of the prosthesis during gait. …

Effect Of Spatial And Temporal Variability Of Antecedent Moisture Content On Model-Generated Runoff From An Arid Watershed, William J. Meyer

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Streams in the arid southwest are typically ephemeral, and stream gages are not commonly available. Consequently, runoff data from storm events is not available, and flood control facility design or other water resource related decisions are based on synthetic hydrographs. In the Mojave Desert region of Southern Nevada, the duration of storm used to develop these synthetic hydrographs is the 6 hour storm. The 6 hour storm is used to simulate high intensity summer storms. Additionally, soils information used in the calculations for these synthetic hydrographs is taken from maps that are generally developed for a broad range of issues …

Terminology Enhanced Ehr: Integration Of Archetypes And Terminology, An Implementation Experience, Sheng Yu, Damon Berry

Reports

The integration of terminology and EHR information models is an important step in the journey towards semantic interoperability. Archetypes and two-level models for EHRs provide a mechanism that not only applies constraints on clinical content but also ensures effective terminology binding. However the lack of a standardised mechanism to bind terminology to the EHR and the difficulty of systematically coding clinical content, has led to a number of possible implementation choices. This study presents a review of the problems that may occur when working with modern terminology systems and discusses some related state of art technologies. The paper aims to …

Closing The Gap Between The Industry And Higher Education Institutions- Case Examples From East African Region, Deogratias Harorimana Mr

Dr Deogratias Harorimana

Much complained about is the quality of graduates Universities put on the labour market. Less talked about however is why knowledge institutions seems to be bad knowledge managers. In this presentation I argue that DIRECT collaborative relationship between Industry,Governments and Higher Education Institutions is a per-requisite.Good relationship is key to building such a successful knowledge transfer strategies between Industries and Educational and Research Institutions. This paper explores what makes a good Knowledge Transfer Partnership Strategy and highlights some key lessons for businesses, Universities and Government bodies. This paper was a Key note presentation to the Annual International Conference on Building …

Plant Ecophysiology Of Mycorrhizal Fungi, Gregory Keith Bartley Jr.

Gregory Keith Bartley Jr.

No abstract provided.

Endogenous Sirnas And Noncoding Rna-Derived Small Rnas Are Expressed In Adult Mouse Hippocampus And Are Up-Regulated In Olfactory Discrimination Training., Neil Smalheiser, G Lugli, Jyothi Thimmapuram, E.H. Cook, J Larson

Cyber Center Publications

We previously proposed that endogenous siRNAs may regulate synaptic plasticity and long-term gene expression in the mammalian brain. Here, a hippocampal-dependent task was employed in which adult mice were trained to execute a nose-poke in a port containing one of two simultaneously present odors in order to obtain a reward. Mice demonstrating olfactory discrimination training were compared to pseudo-training and nose-poke control groups; size-selected hippocampal RNA was subjected to Illumina deep sequencing. Sequences that aligned uniquely and exactly to the genome without uncertain nucleotide assignments, within exons or introns of MGI annotated genes, were examined further. The data confirm that …

Granular Packing Influences Bulk Density Of Ddgs, Christine Keierleber, Kurt A. Rosentrater

Kurt A. Rosentrater

As the quantity of ethanol produced continues to increase, the amount of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), the primary coproduct of ethanol manufacturing, has become more widely available. Currently, the main consumer of DDGS is the livestock industry, but new value-added uses are garnering interest. With the increase in the availability of, and demand for DDGS, transportation has become an important issue because DDGS must be shipped increasingly long distances using railways. Rail transportation is expensive, especially considering the quantities of DDGS that can be loaded onto unit trains. DDGS often has low bulk density and poor flowability characteristics. …

Structures Of Human Thymidylate Synthase R163k With Dump, Fdump And Glutathione Show Asymmetric Ligand Binding, Lydia M. Gibson, Lesa R. Celeste, Leslie L. Lovelace, Lukasz Lebioda

Faculty Publications

Thymidylate synthase (TS) is a well validated target in cancer chemotherapy. Here, a new crystal form of the R163K variant of human TS (hTS) with five subunits per asymmetric part of the unit cell, all with loop 181-197 in the active conformation, is reported. This form allows binding studies by soaking crystals in artificial mother liquors containing ligands that bind in the active site. Using this approach, crystal structures of hTS complexes with FdUMP and dUMP were obtained, indicating that this form should facilitate high-throughput analysis of hTS complexes with drug candidates. Crystal soaking experiments using oxidized glutathione revealed that …

Determining Optimal Storage Arrangements For Open Access Data Sets, As For Nsf Data Management Plan Requirements, David B. Lowe

Published Works

Document is a proposed draft of a decision tree to be used in determining what approach to take for making data available in order to comply with open access requirements for data management, as per National Science Foundation requirements.

Deletion Of The Cel48s Cellulase From Clostridium Thermocellum, Daniel G. Olson, Shital A. Tripathi, Richard J. Giannone, Jonathan Lo, Nicky C. Caiazza, David A. Hogsett, Robert L. Hettich, Adam M. Guss, Genia Dubrovsky, Lee R. Lynd

Dartmouth Scholarship

Clostridium thermocellum is a thermophilic anaerobic bacterium that rapidly solubilizes cellulose with the aid of a multienzyme cellulosome complex. Creation of knockout mutants for Cel48S (also known as CelS, S(S), and S8), the most abundant cellulosome subunit, was undertaken to gain insight into its role in enzymatic and microbial cellulose solubilization. Cultures of the Cel48S deletion mutant (S mutant) were able to completely solubilize 10 g/L crystalline cellulose. The cellulose hydrolysis rate of the S mutant strain was 60% lower than the parent strain, with the S mutant strain also exhibiting a 40% reduction in cell yield. The cellulosome produced …

Green Technology: Think Globally, Act Locally, Arden L. Bement Jr.

PPRI Digital Library

No abstract provided.

Use Of Oids And Iis In En13606, Damon Berry, Jostein Ven, Gerard Freriks, David Moner

Reports

No abstract provided.

Discovering Gene Functional Relationships Using Faun (Feature Annotation Using Nonnegative Matrix Factorization), Elina Tjioe, Michael W. Berry, Ramin Homayouni

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- EECS

Background

Searching the enormous amount of information available in biomedical literature to extract novel functional relationships among genes remains a challenge in the field of bioinformatics. While numerous (software) tools have been developed to extract and identify gene relationships from biological databases, few effectively deal with extracting new (or implied) gene relationships, a process which is useful in interpretation of discovery-oriented genome-wide experiments.

Results

In this study, we develop a Web-based bioinformatics software environment called FAUN or Feature Annotation Using Nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) to facilitate both the discovery and classification of functional relationships among genes. Both the computational complexity …

Accident In Bhopal: Observations 20 Years Later, Ronald J. Willey, Dennis C. Hendershot, Scott Berger

Ronald J. Willey

The most influential process safety accident passed its 20th anniversary on Dec 3, 2004. At an international symposium to mark the event in Kanpur, India during the week of this anniversary, process safety practitioners from around the world assembled to discuss progress in resolving the Bhopal tragedy and in advancing the practice of process safety worldwide. This paper reports the main conclusions from the conference, and provides insight into the Bhopal site as attendees found it in December 2004. Since 1984, many positive steps worldwide have been made in regards to improvements in process safety and protection of personnel within …

Balancing Limiting Factors & Economic Drivers For Sustainable Midwestern Us Agricultural Residue Feedstock Supplies, Wally W. Wilhelm, J. Richard Hess, Douglas L. Karlen, Jane M. F. Johnson, David J. Muth Jr., John M. Baker, Hero T. Gollany, Jeff M. Novak, Diane E. Scott, Gary E. Varvel

David J. Muth

Advanced biofuels will be developed using cellulosic feedstock rather than grain or oilseed crops that can also be used for food and feed. To be sustainable, these new agronomic production systems must be economically viable without degrading the soil and other natural resources. This review examines six agronomic factors that collectively define many of the limits and opportunities for harvesting crop residue for biofuel feedstock in the midwestern United States. The limiting factors include soil organic carbon, wind and water erosion, plant nutrient balance, soil water and temperature dynamics, soil compaction, and off-site environmental impacts. These are discussed in relationship …

Artificial Neural Network Modeling Of Ddgs Flowability With Varying Process And Storage Parameters, Rumela Bhadra, K. Muthukumarappan, Kurt A. Rosentrater

Kurt A. Rosentrater

Neural Network (NN) modeling techniques were used to predict flowability behavior in distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) prepared with varying CDS (10, 15, and 20%, wb), drying temperature (100, 200, and 300°C), cooling temperature (-12, 0, and 35°C) and cooling time (0 and 1 month) levels. Response variables were selected based on our previous research results, and included aerated bulk density, Hausner Ratio, Angle of Repose, Total Flowability Index, and Jenike Flow Function. Various neural network models were developed using multiple input variables in order to predict single response variables or multiple response variables simultaneously. The NN models were …

Tilapia: Profile And Economic Importance, Kamal Mjoun, Kurt A. Rosentrater, Michael L. Brown

Kurt A. Rosentrater

Tilapia is the common name broadly applied to a group of cichlid fishes native to Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. Tilapia are some of the oldest cultured fishes, as depicted in line drawings found in Egyptian tombs that date back to 2000 BC. This group consists of three economically important genera, which are taxonomically distinguished according to their reproductive behaviors: Tilapia, Oreochromis, and Sarotherodon, all are commonly known as “tilapia.” Tilapia are biparental caring-substrate spawners; Oreochromis are generally maternal mouth brooders; and Sarotherodon are generally paternal or biparental mouth brooders. Currently, Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus; fig. 1) and …

Tilapia: Environmental Biology And Nutritional Requirements, Kamal Mjoun, Kurt A. Rosentrater, Michael L. Brown

Kurt A. Rosentrater

Tilapia is one of the most widely cultured fish in the world. Currently, farmed tilapia represents more than 75% of world tilapia production (FAO, 2009), and this contribution has been exponentially growing in recent years. Several factors have contributed to the rapid global growth of tilapia. Tilapia are easily cultured and highly adaptable to a wide range of environmental conditions. Tilapia feed on a wide variety of dietary sources, including phytoplankton, periphyton, zooplanktons, larval fish, and detritus. Adult tilapia are principally herbivorous but readily adapt to complete commercial diets based on plant and animal protein sources. In the United States, …

Hrc Enews — 2010 Fall, Megan K. Svarz

Publications (HRC)

This issue contains staff accomplishments and announcements, event listings, and a "new faces" listing for new staff, affiliates, and researchers.

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 52 Number 2, Fall 2010, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

16 - JUSTICE, EDUCATION, AND THE CATHOLIC IMAGINATION By Keith Warner, O.F.M. A religious vision of a sustainable future is less about politics than ethics. It means drawing on deep spiritual currents in the Catholic tradition-and environmental concern as if people mattered.

22 - WRITING THE ISLAND An essay in the words and images by John Seibert Farnsworth and Charles Barry. A journey to the Sea of Cortez-to paddle and dive, to hear the island speak, to look carefully, to write, to come home sunburned and transformed.

30 - INTERNET, WE HAVE A PROBLEM. By Sam Scott '96. One fine …