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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Coupled Fluid-Thermal Analysis Of Low-Pressure Sublimation And Condensation With Application To Freeze-Drying, Arnab Ganguly Oct 2014

Coupled Fluid-Thermal Analysis Of Low-Pressure Sublimation And Condensation With Application To Freeze-Drying, Arnab Ganguly

Open Access Dissertations

Freeze-drying is a low-pressure, low-temperature condensation pumping process widely used in the manufacture of bio-pharmaceuticals for removal of solvents by sublimation. The goal of the process is to provide a stable dosage form by removing the solvent in such a way that the sensitive molecular structure of the active substance is least disturbed. The vacuum environment presents unique challenges for understanding and controlling heat and mass transfer in the process. As a result, the design of equipment and associated processes has been largely empirical, slow and inefficient.^ A comprehensive simulation framework to predict both, process and equipment performance is critical …


Designing A Sustainable And Transferable Inventory Management System For Small Healthcare Facilities, Shree Frazier Oct 2014

Designing A Sustainable And Transferable Inventory Management System For Small Healthcare Facilities, Shree Frazier

Open Access Theses

Managing the costs of supplies within healthcare facilities has been a task that has plagued the health industry for many years. Many facilities are accustomed to using a par system approach. This involves bringing an inventory item to an amount sufficient for daily operation. This method often requires daily inspection by a healthcare worker, which reduces his/her time spent performing value added tasks. Employees at small healthcare facilities have multiple responsibilities, therefore they cannot afford to spend much time on inventory management. A proposed approach is the Kanban method, which allows for strict monitoring of inventory items without the need …


Current Steering And Electrode Spanning With Partial Tripolar Stimulation Mode In Cochlear Implants, Ching-Chih Wu Oct 2014

Current Steering And Electrode Spanning With Partial Tripolar Stimulation Mode In Cochlear Implants, Ching-Chih Wu

Open Access Dissertations

Cochlear implants (CIs) partially restore hearing sensation to profoundly deaf people by electrically stimulating the surviving auditory neurons. However, CI users perform poorly in challenging listening tasks such as speech recognition in noise and Cochlear implants (CIs) partially restore hearing sensation to profoundly deaf people by electrically stimulating the surviving auditory neurons. However, CI users perform poorly in challenging listening tasks such as speech recognition in noise and music perception, possibly due to the small number of implanted electrodes and the large current spread of electric stimulation. Although current spread may be reduced using partial tripolar (pTP) stimulation mode, the …


Feasibility Of Pulsed Proton Induced Acoustics For 3d Dosimetry, Fahed M. Alsanea Apr 2014

Feasibility Of Pulsed Proton Induced Acoustics For 3d Dosimetry, Fahed M. Alsanea

Open Access Theses

Proton therapy has the potential to deposit its energy in tissue with high conformity to the tumor and significantly reduced integral dose to normal tissue compared to conventional radiation, such as x-rays. As a result, local control can be enhanced while reducing side-effects and secondary cancers. This is due to the way charged Particles deposit their energy or dose, where protons form a Bragg peak and establish a well-defined distal edge as a function of depth (range). To date, the dose delivered to a patient from proton therapy remains uncertain, in particular the positioning of the distal edge of the …


Controlling Protein Release Using Biodegradable Microparticles, Benjamin Patrick Kline Apr 2014

Controlling Protein Release Using Biodegradable Microparticles, Benjamin Patrick Kline

Open Access Theses

Research in the field of protein therapeutics has exploded over the past decade and continues to grow in both academia and in industry. Protein drugs have advantages of being highly specific and highly active making them coveted targets for high profile disease states like cancer and multiple sclerosis. Unfortunately, their many advantages are complemented by their obstacles. Because proteins are highly active and highly specific, the window between efficacy and toxicity is very narrow and drug development can be long and arduous. In addition, protein activity is dependent on its specific folding conformation that is easily disrupted by a variety …


Modeling And Optimization Of Care Transitions, Yuming Mo Apr 2014

Modeling And Optimization Of Care Transitions, Yuming Mo

Open Access Theses

More than 145 million people live with at least one chronic condition, and almost half of them have multiple conditions. As a result, many managed care and integrated delivery systems have taken a great interest in alleviating the many deficiencies in managing the current care system that spans across various care delivery settings. In addition, many Americans have to rely on some social health insurance plan to cover her care expenses. As a result, these patients often may not been sufficiently cured but have to be transitioned to less expensive but less medically intensive facilities, due to the increasing pressure …