Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Developing Chitosan-Based Biomaterials For Brain Repair And Neuroprosthetics, Zheng Cao

Masters Theses

Chitosan is widely investigated for biomedical applications due to its excellent properties, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, bioadhesivity, antibacterial, etc. In the field of neural engineering, it has been extensively studied in forms of film and hydrogel, and has been used as scaffolds for nerve regeneration in the peripheral nervous system and spinal cord. One of the main issues in neural engineering is the incapability of neuron to attach on biomaterials. The present study, from a new aspect, aims to take advantage of the bio-adhesive property of chitosan to develop chitosan-based materials for neural engineering, specifically in the fields of brain …

Identification And Quantification Of Cotton Yield Monitor Errors, Jason Clay Head

Masters Theses

Cotton yield monitors are an important part of a precision agriculture program and are becoming widely used by cotton producers for making management decisions. Members of the cotton industry have shown interest in using cotton yield monitors for collecting data from production scale variety yield trials (experiments that test yield performance for numerous varieties). Weighing boll buggies are the current industry standard for measuring yield in variety trials. This process is time consuming and requires extra equipment and labor. The ability to use a yield monitor for measuring yield would streamline variety trial harvesting. Recommendations for the Ag Leader cotton …

Vibration Analysis Of Heavy-Duty Diesel Vehicles, Christopher Jack Campbell

Masters Theses

Truck drivers are more susceptible than other workers to lower back pain and spinal disorders caused by whole body vibrations, which are among the most common long term health effects for drivers. The dynamic behavior of trucks can be modeled and simulated to improve the design of the trucks, which can reduce the exposure of drivers to whole body vibrations.

The main purposes of this study are to analyze vibrations for different manufacturers and road types, and to create a computer-based model using Adams to predict vibration anywhere on the model using acceleration data collected previously from on-road tests of …

Insight Into The Gating Mechanism Of Mechanosensitive Ion Channels Using A Simple Structure: A Step In The Analysis Of Commotio Cordis, Sumeet Kaul

Masters Theses

Mechanosensation in cells is a well known phenomenon that is associated with cellular responses to force. Our knowledge of the trigger mechanism of this phenomenon is, however, limited. Earlier studies in this field have used atomic simulations, which although being accurate, are limited in their feasibility in multi-length scenarios like a mechanosensitive channel that undergoes micro-level changes in the composition of the protein to cause a macro-level change in the state of a biological structure such as the muscle. Finite Element Analysis has been used in various engineering fields to study the mechanical response of complex structures. The current study …

Synergistic Effect Of Retinoic Acid, Nerve Growth Factor And Laminin For Enhanced Neurite Extension, Shrarath Ashwin Sriman

Masters Theses

Peripheral Nerve Injury is one of the most common and serious traumatic injuries. About 300,000 cases of peripheral nerve injury are reported annually in Europe and another 50,000 procedures performed annually in the United States. Peripheral nerve injury can lead to lifelong disability and also death in severe cases. Repair techniques remain a major challenge because of lack of efficient regeneration. Though techniques like autografts are highly efficient, they face a lot of drawbacks. Alternate methods focus on the use of growth supporting and enhancement components in nerve guidance channels. Current research necessitates the use of a combination of compounds …

A Study Of Irrigation, Fertigation And Plasticulture In Burley Tobacco, With A Focus On Yield, Quality And Tsna Reduction, Eric F. Caldwell

Masters Theses

Nitrogen fertilization is important in attaining high yielding, quality tobacco. However, practices that use excessive N can be uneconomical, threaten the environment and produce leaves that are high in nitrates. Leaves high in nitrates have been positively correlated with leaves that are high in tobacco specific nitrosamines (TSNA), which are considered potent carcinogens. Competition from cheaper, foreign leaf, increasing costs of fertilizers and new market structures which show purchasers seeking low TSNA leaf demand that producers become more efficient in their N use. The objective of this study is an examination of burley (TN 90) and dark (KY 171) tobacco …

Applied Fourier Transform Near-Infrared Techniques For Biomass Compositional Analysis, Lu Liu

Masters Theses

A new method for rapid chemical analysis of lignocellulosic biomass was developed using Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopic techniques. The new method is less time-consuming and expensive than traditional wet chemistry. A mathematical model correlated FT-NIR spectra with concentrations determined by wet chemistry. Chemical compositions of corn stover and switchgrass were evaluated in terms of glucose, xylose, galactose, arabinose, mannose, lignin, and ash. Model development evaluated multivariate regressions, spectral transform algorithms, and spectral pretreatments and selected partial least squares regression, log(1/R), and extended multiplicative signal correction, respectively. Chemical composition results indicated greater variability in corn stover than switchgrass, especially among …

Image And Sieve Analysis Of Biomass Particle Sizes And Separation After Size Reduction, Yuechuan Yang

Masters Theses

Improved physical separation of biomass concentrates higher-value components, returns unused plant components to the soil, and provides a more efficient platform for downstream industrial users. Sieving and Image Analysis (IA) were studied to evaluate biomass particle sizes, particle size distribution, and potential separation of biomass materials. Switchgrass, wheat straw, and corn stover were used in the study. Particles prepared by a knife mill equipped with various screen sizes were subject to sieving test and IA. Results showed that all three biomass materials would be analyzed using the fast, easy and accurate IA. Biomass particle physical properties, such as length, width, …

Development Of The Telemetrical Intraoperative Soft Tissue Tension Monitoring System In Total Knee Replacement With Mems And Asic Technologies, Gary To

Masters Theses

The alignment of the femoral and tibial components of the Total Knee Arthoplasty (TKA) is one of the most important factors to implant survivorship. Hence, numerous ligament balancing techniques and devices have been developed in order to accurately balance the knee intra-operatively. Spacer block, tensioner and tram adapter are instruments that allow surgeons to qualitatively balance the flexion and extension gaps during TKA. However, even with these instruments, the surgical procedure still relies on the skill and experience of the surgeon. The objective of this thesis is to develop a computerized surgical instrument that can acquire intra-operative data telemetrically for …

Risk Analysis Of Decentralized Wastewater Design Flows, Patrick Andrew Dobbs

Masters Theses

Decentralized wastewater treatment systems are often designed at flows of either 284 L/person/d (75 gal/person/d) or 568 L/bedroom/d (150 gal/bedroom/d). Water use data suggest that designing systems at these flow rates can lead to overly conservative designs. A study quantifying the risk of failure (exceeding a system design flow) was needed to create a design basis for future systems. The objectives of the study were to quantify the risk of failure of decentralized system design flows depending on the number of residences served by a system and to develop new guidelines for design flows of cluster systems based on quantifiable …

Utilizing An Ultrasonic Device To Model The Lumbar Spine While Driving A Tractor Trailer, Gretchen Marie Hinton

Masters Theses

Low back pain is a common occupational effect of the long term driving of vehicles. The sonoSens® Monitor ultrasonic device was utilized to model lumbar spinal motions while driving a tractor trailer. Further data was collected to determine if acceleration from a seat pad and EMG data correlated with the driver’s movements.

Three testing bouts were completed and analyzed for this study. For each test the driver drove a 1998 Peterbuilt 379 fitted with a National Seating 2000 seat. One driver was used for all three tests.

Data analysis was accomplished with the sonoSens® Analyzer and Microsoft® Excel software. The …

A Simulation Model For Predicting Surface Tension In Condensate Films, Allison Dawn Lewis

Masters Theses

The thesis presents a mathematical model for predicting surface tension in condensate films. The approach taken to this study is different from how surface tension is normally approached. Surface tension is primarily determined through laboratory measurements. This work shows how it can be determined mathematically based on the formulation of bonding energy between atoms as described by the Lennard-Jones potential.

The results are used to predict the surface tension of a selected group of elements and molecules. Predictions from the model compare favorably with the documented surface tension values of the selected elements. However, the model does deviate somewhat from …

Environmental Effects On Driver Acceleration Exposure, Shekhar Khanal

Masters Theses

The European Union has developed a set of standard for the exposure to whole body vibration measured by acceleration. For manufacturers to meet this directive, it is essential to understand the levels of exposures that are common among long-haul vehicle drivers.

Many factors can influence the exposure levels. Generally, all the European vehicles are the cab-over design. Each vehicle manufacturer has provided a combination of truck and cab suspensions in addition to the air-ride seating that is standard on the vehicles. The road quality, driver speeds, and time of daily work can have variation from country to country. The determination …

Vegetative Recovery Of Military Vehicle Impacts At Fort Lewis, Wa, Katie Jean Simmons

Masters Theses

Vehicles driven off-road damage the soil and vegetation on the terrain, which can cause soil erosion and degradation of the landscape. This type of damage occurs on military installations due to training. Military training lands must be managed in an attempt to minimize the overall impacts of training on the terrain. The Army Training and Testing Area Carrying Capacity (ATTACC) is a model used by the U.S. Army to manage their training lands. Methods of determining the impacts produced by a vehicle and subsequent vegetative recovery have been used at Fort Lewis, WA for the Light Armored Vehicle (LAV). The …

An Analysis Of Liquid Aluminum Sulfate (Alum) Use In Broiler Production Houses To Control In-House Ammonia (Nh3) Concentrations And Naturally-Occurring Salmonella And Campylobacter; The Development Of An Nh3 Emission Factor For A Typical Tennessee Broiler House., Kenneth A. Armstrong

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Instrumented Self-Propelled Sprayer To Determine Dynamic Boom Effects On Droplet Application Uniformity, Hong Young Jeon

Masters Theses

A self-propelled sprayer with a 27-m boom was instrumented to measure inadvertent boom movement and acceleration during field operation to quantity application uniformity. The instrumentation system was developed to monitor boom end heights, accelerations, and sprayer longitudinal position along a track. Acceleration measures included longitudinal (x), vertical (y), and transverse (z) components at the sprayer vehicle rear, boom center, and at each boom end. A PC-based data acquisition system polled sensors at 2.5 kHz. Software-implemented, 2^nd-order Butterworth band pass (0.1 to 15 Hz) filtering of raw data reduced signal noise. Y-accelerations at the boom center ranged from 1.5 …

Interpolation Of Spatial Surfaces And Inferring Subsurface Transitions Using Electrical Conductivity, Robert Claborne Wilson

Masters Theses

Precision agriculture techniques are becoming more popular within the agriculture community as producers demand more return from an ever-decreasing amount of farmland. Increased environmental regulations are forcing farmers to reduce the input of fertilizers and agrochemicals on their crops. Innovative techniques in precision agriculture are enhancing traditional decision-making processes by offering multiple layers of data for a production field. It is difficult to determine the complex interactions that exist between factors affecting crop growth and the resultant management decisions. Strategies in precision agriculture attempt to modify customary practices in order to address the known variability of field conditions. This case …