Engineering Commons^™

Policosanol Contents And Compositions In Wax-Like Materials Extracted From Selected Cereals Of Korean Origin, Keum Taek Hwang, Ji Eun Kim, Curtis L. Weller

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Policosanols. long-chained alcohols. have been reported to have beneficial physiological activities. Content and composition of policosanols in wax-like materials extracted from selected cereals of Korean origin were determined. Wax-like materials were extracted using hot hexane. Yields of wax-like materials from unpolished grain sorghum, polished grain sorghum. brown rice. purple rice, wheat, and maize were 223, 37, 33, 61, 10, and 10 mg/100 g of dry kernels, respectively. Policosanol contents, as determined using HPLC, in the wax-like materials from the cereals were 33, 29, 6.0, and 2% (w/w, db), respectively. Major alcohols in the policosanols from grain sorghum were octacosanol and …

Physico-Chemical Characteristics Of European Pulverized Coal Combustion Fly Ashes, N. Moreno, X. Querol, J. M. Andrés, K. Stanton, Mark R. Towler, H. Nugteren, M. Janssen-Jurkovicová, R. Jones

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Fly ashes sourced from European pulverized coal burning power plants (from Spain, The Netherlands, Italy and Greece) were characterized in terms of their chemical composition, mineralogy and physical properties. The amount and composition of the glass present in the ashes were also determined. The materials analyzed have very different compositions and were selected with a view to determining their suitability for different applications and for further studies on applications. The results were compared to the literature to determine their similarities to UK coal fly ashes. Chemical analysis has enabled the categorization of the ashes based on their oxide contents. Devitrification …

The Use Of Computerized Dynamic Posturography To Assess The Balance In Individuals With Parkinson's Disease, Theresa Erin Mcguirk

Theses and Dissertations

Postural instability is one of the hallmarks of Parkinson's disease (PD), currently evaluated using several subjective tools. However, the nature and degree of the resulting balance deficit is not well specified by these tools. Computerized dynamic posturography (CDP) provides an objective assessment by isolating and quantifying sensory and motor contributions to balance control. The purpose of this study was to compare balance in individuals with PD to a control group using CDP (NeuroCom Smart Balance Master® system). Testing took place at the Southeast Parkinson's disease Research Education and Clinical Center (PADRECC), an interdisciplinary center of excellence for people with PD …

Modeling Of Bubble Growth Dynamics And Nonisothermal Expansion In Starch-Based Foams During Extrusion, Lijun Wang, Girish M. Ganjyal, David D. Jones, Curtis L. Weller, Milford Hanna

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

A mathematical model was developed to describe expansion phenomena in starch-based foams during extrusion. The model was divided into three parts to describe the microbubble growth dynamics, to couple bubble growth with extrudate expansion, and to describe the macrotransport phenomena in the extrudate, respectively. The differential equations involved in the model were solved by finite element schemes. For validating the model, the predicted radius, density, and residual moisture of final extrudate were compared with experimental data. Standard deviations between the predicted and experimental radius, density, and residual moisture of final extrudates were 16.7%, 11.2%, and 39.3%, respectively. The model was …

A Physiologically Based Clinical Measure For Spastic Reflexes In Spinal Cord Injury, Ela N. Benz, T. George Hornby, Rita K. Bode, Robert A. Scheidt, Brian D. Schmit

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Objective: To test the validity of the Spinal Cord Assessment Tool for Spastic reflexes (SCATS), a clinical tool intended to rate spastic motor behavior after spinal cord injury (SCI).

Design: By using correlational analyses, the SCATS was validated using concurrent measurements of kinematics and electromyograms and traditional assessments of spasms and spastic hypertonia.

Setting: Research laboratory (kinematics and electromyography) and outpatient medical clinic (traditional measures of spastic hypertonia).

Participants: Eleven people with SCI were used for kinematic and electromyographic measurements. Seventeen people with SCI were used for comparison with other clinical scales.

Interventions: Not applicable. …

A Real-Time Haptic/Graphic Demonstration Of How Error Augmentation Can Enhance Learning, Yejun Wei, James L. Patton, Preeti Bajaj, Robert A. Scheidt

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

We developed a real-time controller for a 2 degree-of-freedom robotic system using xPC Target. This system was used to investigate how different methods of performance error feedback can lead to faster and more complete motor learning in individuals asked to compensate for a novel visuo-motor transformation (a 30 degree rotation). Four groups of human subjects were asked to reach with their unseen arm to visual targets surrounding a central starting location. A cursor tracking hand motion was provided during each reach. For one group of subjects, deviations from the “ideal” compensatory hand movement (i.e. trajectory errors) were amplified with a …

Relationship Between The Extent Of Non-Viable Myocardium And Regional Left Ventricular Function In Chronic Ischemic Heart Disease, Arunark Kolipaka, George P. Chatzimavroudis, Richard D. White, Michael L. Lieber, Randolph M. Setser

Chemical & Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Purpose. To define the relationship between left ventricular (LV) regional contractile function and the extent of myocardial scar in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease and multi-vessel coronary artery disease. Methods. Twenty-three patients with chronic ischemic heart disease and 5 healthy volunteers underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In patients, the relative area ( Percent Scar) and transmural extent (Transmurality) of myocardial infarction were computed from short-axis delayed enhancement images. In each image, myocardial segments were categorized based on the extent of infarction they contained, with 6 categories each for Percent Scar and Transmurality: normal, from healthy volunteers; and 0%; 1–25%, …

Visual Error Augmentation For Enhancing Motor Learning And Rehabilitative Relearning, Yejun Wei, Preeti Bajaj, Robert A. Scheidt, James L. Patton

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

We developed a real-time controller for a 2 degree-of-freedom robotic system using xPC Target. This system was used to investigate how different methods of performance error feedback can lead to faster and more complete motor learning in individuals asked to compensate for a novel visuo-motor transformation (a 30 degree rotation). Four groups of normal human subjects were asked to reach with their unseen arm to visual targets surrounding a central starting location. A cursor tracking hand motion was provided during each reach. For one group of subjects, deviations from the "ideal" compensatory hand movement (i.e. trajectory errors) were amplified with …

Characterization Of Motor Adaptation And Limb Posture Regulation During Arm Reaching Movements Following Stroke, Robert A. Scheidt, Tina M. Stoeckmann

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Whether attempting to pour water into a handheld glass, or simply trying to hold a young child's hand, many activities of daily living require interaction with unpredictable or uncertain mechanical environments. Here we describe a systems identification study that used a planar manipulandum to characterize how hemiparetic stroke survivors adapt reaching movements to novel mechanical environments. By analyzing trial-by-trial variations in hand path kinematics, we found that stroke survivors are less likely than neurologically-intact subjects to adjust motor commands for upcoming movements based on hand trajectory errors experienced on previous trials. This ability is most significantly compromised in subjects with …

Bioengineering Instructional Framework For Technology Education, Philip A. Reed, Technology Education Department, Old Dominion University, Virginia Bioengineering Writing Team

STEMPS Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Livestock System Environmental Performance With Whole-Farm Nutrient Balance, Richard K. Koelsch

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

As a part of the USEPA’s concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) final rule, all CAFOs are required to develop and implement a nutrient management plan (NMP). The USEPA’s emphasis on better management of nutrients appropriately targets a critical environmental issue associated with animal production. The concentration of animals in livestock feeding operations, often separate from feed grain production, requires importing of substantial quantities of feed nutrients. Due to the inefficiencies of nutrient utilization in livestock production, quantities of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in manure greater than can be utilized in local crop production often result. With the focus of …

Extraction Of Lipids From Grain Sorghum Ddg, L. Wang, Curtis L. Weller, K. T. Hwang

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Soxhlet and recirculated solvent extraction methods were used to extract lipid materials from grain sorghum DDG. The lipid content in DDG with a moisture content of 6.7% (dry basis) was as high as 9.32% of the dried DDG as determined by Soxhlet extraction with n-hexane. There was a slight increase in the lipid yield from 9.21% to 9.68% when the moisture contents increased from 2.1% to 17.4% (d.b.). Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) analysis showed that the sorghum lipids were composed of triacylglycerols, fatty acids, fatty alcohols, fatty aldehydes, free sterols, wax esters, and steryl esters. A bench-scale recirculated extraction system was …

Finite Element Modeling And Experimental Validation Of Cooling Rates Of Large Ready-To-Eat Meat Products In Small Meat-Processing Facilities, A. Amézquita, L. Wang, Curtis L. Weller

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

A two−dimensional axisymmetric transient heat conduction model was developed to simulate air chilling of large ready−to−eat meat products of ellipsoidal shape. A finite element scheme, using 1,600 linear triangular elements with 861 nodes, was implemented in Matlab 6.5 to solve the model. The model considered a variable initial temperature distribution and combined convective, radiative, and evaporative boundary conditions. Predicted values agreed well with experimental data collected in actual processing conditions. Validation of model performance resulted in maximum deviations of 2.54°C and 0.29% for temperature and weight loss histories, respectively. The maximum temperature deviation (2.54°C) occurred at the surface; however, for …

Improvement Of Tractor Performance, K. U. Kim, Leonard L. Bashford, Brent T. Sampson

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Improvement of agricultural tractor performance was analyzed using the data from 926 diesel tractors tested at the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory from 1959 through 2002. The performance analysis included the specific volumetric fuel consumption, power per unit weight, traction coefficient, maximum torque rise, and sound level. They were evaluated based on the PTO power level and chassis type of tractor. Some of the results are: (1) The average specific volumetric fuel consumptions for the maximum PTO and drawbar powers increased by 20.5% and 23.4% to 3.47 kW•h/L and 3.01 kW•h/L, respectively, from 1959 through 2002. (2) The average maximum PTO …

Takagi–Sugeno Fuzzy Modeling Of Skin Permeability, Deepak R. Keshwani, David D. Jones, Rhonda M. Brand

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

The skin is a major exposure route for many potentially toxic chemicals. It is, therefore, important to be able to predict the permeability of compounds through skin under a variety of conditions. Available skin permeability databases are often limited in scope and not conducive to developing effective models. This sparseness and ambiguity of available data prompted the use of fuzzy set theory to model and predict skin permeability. Using a previously published database containing 140 compounds, a rule-based Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy model is shown to predict skin permeability of compounds using octanol-water partition coefficient, molecular weight, and temperature as inputs. Model …

Root Zone Temperatures Of Viburnum Odoratissimum Grown In The Multipot Box System And Conventional Systems: Measurement And Analyses Of Temperature Profiles And Predicting Root Zone Temperatures, Suat Irmak, D. Z. Haman, Ayse Kilic, J. W. Jones, B. Tonkinson, D. Burch, T. H. Yeager, C. Larsen

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

This research study evaluates the effectiveness of a recently introduced irrigation- plant production system, multipot box system (MPBS), for moderating root zone temperature (RZT) compared with the conventional nursery containers. The study also deals with the development, calibration, and validation of a series of models that can be used to predict maximum (max) and minimum (min) RZTs using commonly available input variables. The Viburnum odoratissimum (Ker.-gawl.) was used as the test plant. Models were calibrated in the fall growing season and validated during the summer. The RZT was used as the dependent variable while the max and min air temperatures …

Inkjet Printing Of Viable Mammalian Cells, Tao Xu, Joyce Jin, Cassie Gregory, Jay Hickman, Thomas Boland

Thomas Boland

The purpose of this study was to explore the use of a commercial thermal printer to deposit Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) and embryonic motoneuron cells into pre-defined patterns. These experiments were undertaken to verify the biocompatibility of thermal inkjet printing of mammalian cells and the ability to assemble them into viable constructs. Using a modified Hewlett Packard (HP) 550C computer printer and an HP 51626a ink cartridge, CHO cells and rat embryonic motoneurons were suspended separately in a concentrated phosphate buffered saline solution (3 x). The cells were subsequently printed as a kind of "ink" onto several "bio-papers" made from …

Advances In Tissue Engineering: Cell Printing, David Varghese, Malay Deshpande, Priya Kesari, S Ohri, Thomas Boland

Thomas Boland

No abstract provided.

Bioproduction Of 1,3-Propanediol Dehydrogenase – A Preliminary Overview, Chuen-Tat Kang

Kang Chuen Tat (江俊达)

Overall rate of bioproduction in 1,3-propanediol dehydrogenase, an enzyme that catalyse the synthesis of the precursor of aromatic high quality plastic, could be affected by preliminary product 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (HPA) where many structural properties have been summarily analysed via nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Gas Phase Chromatography (GPC), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Although the chemical instrumental analysis of the 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (HPA) may not produce desired result but the data obtained could be useful for future similar analysis that are rare in bulk production. The microbial consumption of various media especially those with …