Engineering Commons^™

Research-To-Practice (R2p) Tools For Improving Safety In Nighttime Highway Construction Work Zones, Ali Mostafavi, Vanessa Valentin, Dulcy Abraham

Infrastructure System-of-Systems (I-SoS ) Research Group

The safety of workers in nighttime roadway work zones has become a major concern for state transportation agencies due to the increase in the number of work zone fatalities. During the last decade, several studies have focused on the improvement of safety in nighttime roadway work zones; but the element that is still missing is a set of tools for translating the research results into practice. This paper discusses: 1) the importance of translating the research results related to the safety of workers and safety planning of nighttime work zones into practice, and 2) examples of tools that can be …

Detection Of Antibodies Directed At M. Hyorhinis P37 In The Serum Of Men With Newly Diagnosed Prostate Cancer, Cydney Urbanek, Steve Goodison, Myron Chang, Stacy Porvasnik, Noburo Sakamoto, Chen-Zhong Li, Susan K. Boehlein, Charles J. Rosser

Department of Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Background: Recent epidemiologic, genetic, and molecular studies suggest infection and inflammation initiate certain cancers, including cancers of the prostate. Over the past several years, our group has been studying how mycoplasmas could possibly initiate and propagate cancers of the prostate. Specifically, Mycoplasma hyorhinis encoded protein p37 was found to promote invasion of prostate cancer cells and cause changes in growth, morphology and gene expression of these cells to a more aggressive phenotype. Moreover, we found that chronic exposure of benign human prostate cells to M. hyorhinis resulted in significant phenotypic and karyotypic changes that ultimately resulted in the malignant transformation …

Bme Annual Report 2010-2011, Department Of Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University

Biomedical Engineering Department Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Quasi-Orthogonal Space-Time Block Coding Using Polynomial Phase Modulation, Omar Granados, Jean Andrian

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Recently, polynomial phase modulation (PPM) was shown to be a power- and bandwidth-efficient modulation format. These two characteristics are in high demand nowadays specially in mobile applications, where devices with size, weight, and power (SWaP) constraints are common. In this paper, we propose implementing a full-diversity quasiorthogonal space-time block code (QOSTBC) using polynomial phase signals as modulation format. QOSTBCs along with PPM are used in order to improve the power efficiency of communication systems with four transmit antennas. We obtain the optimal PPM constellations that ensure full diversity and maximize the QOSTBC's minimum coding gain distance. Simulation results show that …

Spectral-Profile-Based Algorithm For Hemoglobin Oxygen Saturation Determination From Diffuse Reflectance Spectra, Po-Ching Chen, Wei-Chiang Lin

Department of Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Variations of hemoglobin (Hb) oxygenation in tissue provide important indications concerning the physiological conditions of tissue, and the data related to these variations are of intense interest in medical research as well as in clinical care. In this study, we derived a new algorithm to estimate Hb oxygenation from diffuse reflectance spectra. The algorithm was developed based on the unique spectral profile differences between the extinction coefficient spectra of oxy-Hb and deoxy-Hb within the visible wavelength region. Using differential wavelet transformation, these differences were quantified using the locations of certain spectral features, and, then, they were related to the oxygenation …

Mercury Interactions With Suspended Solids At The Upper East Fork Poplar Creek, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Elsa Cabrejo

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A water quality model was developed to analyze the impact of hydrological events on mercury contamination of the Upper East Fork Poplar Creek, Tennessee. The model simulates surface and subsurface hydrology and transport (MIKE SHE and MIKE 11) and it is coupled with the reactive transport of sediments and mercury (ECOLAB). The model was used to simulate the distribution of mercury contamination in the water and sediments as a function of daily hydrological events.

Results from the model show a high correlation between suspended solids and mercury in the water due to the affinity of mercury with suspended organics. The …

Automated Detection Of Hematological Abnormalities Through Classification Of Flow Cytometric Data Patterns, Mark A. Rossman

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Flow Cytometry analyzers have become trusted companions due to their ability to perform fast and accurate analyses of human blood. The aim of these analyses is to determine the possible existence of abnormalities in the blood that have been correlated with serious disease states, such as infectious mononucleosis, leukemia, and various cancers. Though these analyzers provide important feedback, it is always desired to improve the accuracy of the results. This is evidenced by the occurrences of misclassifications reported by some users of these devices. It is advantageous to provide a pattern interpretation framework that is able to provide better classification …

A Total Quality Management Methodology For Universities, Jose C. Flores-Molina

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research document is motivated by the need for a systemic, efficient quality improvement methodology at universities. There exists no methodology designed for a total quality management (TQM) program in a university. The main objective of this study is to develop a TQM Methodology that enables a university to efficiently develop an integral total quality improvement (TQM) Plan.

Current research focuses on the need of improving the quality of universities, the study of the perceived best quality universities, and the measurement of the quality of universities through rankings. There is no evidence of research on how to plan for an …

A Preliminary Characterization Of Mercury Uptake By The Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria Desulfovibrio Desulfuricans, Amaury Pedro Betancourt Iii

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research is to determine if a relationship exists between the stability constant and the initial uptake rate of a mercury species by bacteria. Cultures of the sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) strain Desulfovibrio desulfuricans G20 were washed with a bicarbonate buffer solution containing either lactate and sulfate or pyruvate and fumarate. The washed cell solutions were then spiked with either mercury bound to natural organic matter (Hg-NOM) or neutral mercury chloride (HgCl₂), followed by sampling over time to provide kinetic data. Despite the significantly different stability constants for Hg-NOM and HgCl₂, the calculated initial …

Using Avl Data To Improve Transit On-Time Performance, Fabian Cevallos, Xiaobo Wang, Zhenmin Chen, Albert Gan

Department of Mathematics and Statistics

This paper describes an approach for improving on-time performance at transit agencies. It takes advantage of the schedule adherence information from an AVL system. A methodology that can be used to update the bus timetables by using AVL schedule adherence data is described. Using statistical analysis, the main goal is to maximize the density area of the on-time performance range. From this distribution, the optimal value is obtained and used to update the times in the timetables. Then, a comparison process is used to assess the on-time performance improvements. In addition, a simulation process is presented to provide a different …

System For Transit Performance Analysis Using The National Transit Database, Albert Gan, Feng Gui, Li Tang

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The National Transit Database (NTD) includes comprehensive data on transit organization characteristics, vehicle fleet characteristics, revenues and subsidies, operating and maintenance costs, vehicle fleet reliability and inventory, services consumed and supplied, and safety and security. Some of these data have been used extensively to derive values for transit performance measures and have become the sole source of standardized and comprehensive data for use by all constituencies of the U.S. transit industry. An important application of NTD data has been in trend analysis, which requires multiple years of data. However, accessing NTD data, especially for multiple years, has not been an …

Selecting Bus Stops For Accessibility Improvements For Riders With Physical Disabilities, Wanyang Wu, Albert Gan, Fabian Cevallos, L. David Shen

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Bus stops are key links in the journeys of riders with disabilities. Inaccessible bus stops prevent people with physical disabilities from using fixed-route bus services, thus limiting their mobility. Due to limited budgets, transit agencies must select bus stops for which their improvements, as part of the effort to comply with the Americas with Disabilities Act (ADA), can maximize the overall benefits to riders with physical disabilities. In this paper, an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was applied to combine the factors affecting the benefits to riders with physical disabilities, and a binary linear programming model was used to identify bus …