Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Rattus Norvegicus As A Biological Detector Of Clandestine Remains And The Use Of Ultrasonic Vocalizations As A Locating Mechanism, Gabrielle M. Johnston

Master's Theses

In investigations, locating missing persons and clandestine remains are imperative. One way that first responder and police agencies can search for the remains is by using cadaver dogs as biological detectors. Cadaver dogs are typically used due to their olfactory sensitivity and ability to detect low concentrations of volatile organic compounds produced by biological remains. Cadaver dogs are typically chosen for their stamina, agility, and olfactory sensitivity. However, what is not taken into account often is the size of the animal and the expense of maintaining and training the animal. Cadaver dogs are typically large breeds that cannot fit in …

Trace Dna Detection Using Diamond Dye: A Recovery Technique To Yield More Dna, Leah Davis

Master's Theses

This study aspires to find a new screening approach to trace DNA recovery techniques to yield a higher quantity of trace DNA from larger items of evidence. It takes the path of visualizing trace DNA on items of evidence with potential DNA so analysts can swab a more localized area rather than attempting to recover trace DNA through the general swabbing technique currently used for trace DNA recovery. The first and second parts consisted of observing trace DNA interaction with Diamond Dye on porous and non-porous surfaces.

The third part involved applying the Diamond Dye solution by spraying it onto …

An Improved Polynomial Chaos Expansion Based Response Surface Method And Its Applications On Frame And Spring Engineering Based Structures, Mhd A. Hafez

ETD Archive

In engineering fields, computational models provide a tool that can simulate a real world response and enhance our understanding of physical phenomenas. However, such models are often computationally expensive with multiple sources of uncertainty related to the model’s input/assumptions. For example, the literature indicates that ligament’s material properties and its insertion site locations have a significant effect on the performance of knee joint models, which makes addressing uncertainty related to them a crucial step to make the computational model more representative of reality. However, previous sensitivity studies were limited due to the computational expense of the models. The high computational …

Exploring The Effects Of Varied Land Use On Elemental Concentrations Within Streams, Logan Jennings

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

It is well documented that human activity influences the chemistry of surrounding waters. As such, it is possible that there is a link between land use within a watershed and the chemical composition of the stream. The objectives of this study are to determine if varied land use does affect the concentrations of macronutrients and trace elements present in the streams of Northwest Arkansas, and if so, to determine what extent urban and agricultural development are responsible for these changes. Water samples were collected across 19 streams in the Northwest Arkansas region between January and March of 2022. Water samples …

Evapotranspiration In Mid-South Rice Production, Colby Wade Reavis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rice provides much needed sustenance to a large portion of the global population, particularly in the developing world. With stress placed on food production systems under the reality of climate change and an increasing global population, rice production systems require solutions to a number of issues, including a limited water supply. As producers explore new strategies for conserving local water resources to continue to maintain yields, new irrigation strategies and technologies are being developed and validated for use at commercial production scales. Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) is an irrigation practice that provides water savings through the capture of rainfall …

Error Prevention In Sensors And Sensor Systems, Pedro J. Chacon Dominguez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Achievements in all fields of engineering and fabrication methods have led towards optimization and integration of multiple sensing devices into a concise system. These advances have caused significant innovation in various commercial, industrial, and research efforts. Integrations of subsystems have important applications for sensor systems in particular. The need for reporting and real time awareness of a device’s condition and surroundings have led to sensor systems being implemented in a wide variety of fields. From environmental sensors for agriculture, to object characterization and biomedical sensing, the application for sensor systems has impacted all modern facets of innovation. With these innovations, …

Adaptive Laboratory Evolution Of Scenedesmus Obliquus For Increased Carbohydrate Content And Biomass Productivity, Nahel Ali

Master's Theses

The economics of microalgal bioproduct commercialization would benefit from increased accumulation of energy storage compounds, such as carbohydrates and lipids, and increased biomass productivity. This thesis explores two adaptive laboratory evolution strategies for improving Scenedesmus obliquus: single UV-mutagenesis and low light cultivation at a high dilution rate to produce cultigens with greater carbohydrate content and iterative UV-mutagenesis and selection under outdoor conditions in a raceway pond at a high dilution rate to increase biomass productivity.

Two cultigens were generated with the goal of increased carbohydrate content: K5 and K7. Both were mutagenized for 5 seconds and cultivated in 50-mL …

Methods To Increase Algae Biomass Productivity In Raceway Pond Monocultures, Ryan S. Anderson

Master's Theses

The economics of algae biofuels and bioproducts would be improved by increased biomass productivity. Two studies on this potential are described in this thesis – one on a locally isolated filamentous yellow-green alga and the other on a planktonic strain genetically improved via selective enrichment.

Polycultures have been viewed as productive, stable, and, in some cases, harvestable by natural bioflocculation. Local native strains might have higher productivity than culture collection strains because they are already adapted to local outdoor conditions. In this study, the filamentous yellow-green alga Tribonema minus was isolated from a local volunteer polyculture. Its productivity as a …

Ecological Co2 Flux Of A Green Roof Ecosystem And A Typical Grassland Ecosystem, Madeline Oxner

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Hillside Auditorium Green Roof is a low impact development feature on the University of Arkansas campus. It retains storm water and allows plants living on the roof to take up and transpire the water. Green roofs work to mimic natural ecosystems in urban environments. A key property is ecosystem respiration, which plays a large role in the global carbon cycle and is an important biologic activity indicator. The ecosystem respiration of Hillside Auditorium Green Roof was compared to a typical grassland ecosystem at the University of Arkansas farm to determine how closely the green roof is able to mimic …

Assessing Biofiltration Without Ozonation For Removal Of Trihalomethane Precursors In Drinking Water At The Beaver Water District Drinking Water Treatment Plant, Sana Ajaz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Biofiltration without pre-ozonation has the capability to remove natural organic matter (NOM) fractions that serve as precursors of disinfection byproducts (DBPs), which include the four regulated trihalomethanes (THMs) and dichloroacetonitrile (DCAN). Rapid small-scale column tests (RSSCTs) and Pilot Plant filters operated at empty-bed contact times (EBCTs) of 4, 8, and 16 minutes were used to evaluate the performance of nutrient-amended (free ammonia and phosphorus) biofiltration for THM and DCAN precursor removal, as measured using formation potential (FP) tests. NOM surrogates – which include dissolved organic carbon (DOC), specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA254) and fluorescence-PARAFAC components – were measured weekly throughout the …

Studying The Applicability Of Biostimulated Calcite Precipitation In Stabilizing Expansive Soils, Md Touhidul Islam

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Of the four types of soils, clays are often associated with issues related to low bearing capacity, high compressibility, swelling and shrinking nature. For example, expansive soils swell and shrink with moisture ingress and digress and are prevalent in several parts of the world causing billions of dollars in damages annually to various civil infrastructures. Several ground improvement techniques such as chemical stabilization, deep soil mixing, moisture barriers, and others were employed to counteract these soils. However, these methods are impractical in certain situations and unsustainable in others due to their economic and environmental impacts. Microbiological treatment of soils could …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Fabrication And Modification Of Titania Nanotube Arrays For Harvesting Solar Energy And Drug Delivery Applications, Ahmed El Ruby Abdel Rahman Mohamed

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The fast diminishing of fossil fuels in the near future, as well as the global warming caused by increasing greenhouse gases have motivated the urgent quest to develop advanced materials as cost-effective photoanodes for solar light harvesting and many other photocatalytic applications. Recently, titania nanotube arrays (TNTAs) fabricated by anodization process has attracted great interest due to their excellent properties such as: high surface area, vertically oriented, highly organized, one-dimensional, nanotubular structure, photoactivity, chemical stability and biocompatibility. This unique combination of excellent properties makes TNTAs an excellent photoanode for solar light harvesting. However, the relatively wide band gap energy of …

Analyses Of Densely Crosslinked Phenolic Systems Using Low Field Nmr, Jigneshkumar Patel

Doctoral Dissertations

A uniform dispersion of reactants is necessary to achieve a complete reaction involving multi-components, especially for the crosslinking of rigid high-performance materials. In these reactions, miscibility is crucial for curing efficiency. This miscibility is typically enhanced by adding a third component, a plasticizer. For the reaction of the highly crystalline crosslinking agent hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) with a strongly hydrogen-bonded phenol formaldehyde resin, furfural has been traditionally used as the plasticizer. However, the reason for its effectiveness is not clear. In this doctoral thesis work, miscibility and crosslinking efficiency of plasticizers in phenolic curing reactions are studied by thermal analysis and spectroscopic …

Rice Hull Bioreactor For Recirculating Aquaculture, Marlon A. Greensword

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The engineering of floating media biofilters has been optimized over the years. The backwashing process has made them more energy and water efficient. Likewise, moving bed bioreactors (MBBR) are gaining interest and popularity because they are relatively affordable to build. Yet, developing countries’ aquaculture production remains largely excluded from the advances made in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). This discrepancy is partially driven by the high costs of media such plastic beads and Kaldnes (KMT) media, commonly used in MBBR.

This dissertation evaluates the usability and profitability of rice hulls (RH), an abundant by-product in many developing nations, as a sinking …

Municipal Composting And Organic Waste Diversion: The Case Of Fayetteville, Arkansas, Michael E. Hoppe

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

It is estimated that 40% of food is wasted in the United States; representing $165 billion in wasted resources. A vast majority of that wasted food is ultimately placed in landfills where it decomposes and releases harmful greenhouse gases (GHGs). In fact, food waste alone is responsible for 23% of annual methane emissions for the US. This has a huge impact on global climate change due to the potency of methane as a greenhouse gas. Currently only 5% of the food waste produced is recovered across the nation. Source reduction would be the best solution to reducing this food waste, …

Use Of Lidar In The Design Of Grassed Waterways: Case Study In Agricultural Management In Oklahoma, Annette Sparks

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Before the advent of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology, farm-level infrastructure for sustainable agriculture was designed using topographic maps. LiDAR is a remote sensing method whereby reflected laser pulses are measured to generate high-resolution 3D images of the terrain. This report compares these two methods in the design of grassed waterways for flood drainage and evaluates how the quantitative difference between the two methods can affect the overall hydrologic design. The benefits of LiDAR are expected to be higher accuracy and precision in design, as well as greater reproducibility or consistency, regardless of the designer. To carry out this …

Removal Of Trace Organic Compounds In Domestic Wastewater Using Recirculating Packed-Bed Media Filters, Brittani Nikole Perez

Masters Theses

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are commonly detected in the environment resulting from their survival from conventional wastewater treatment systems. More information is needed about the fate and transfer of these trace organic compounds in domestic wastewater and their associated risks so that efficient strategies for their removal can be developed for both large/small scale treatment systems. This study aimed to determine whether onsite wastewater treatment systems were capable of providing PPCP removal, in addition to quantifying different forms of removal (biodegradation/sorption). A column study was constructed to determine the removal efficiencies of 3 target PPCPs, endocrine disrupting compound …

Impact Of Bioparticle Recirculation In A Circulating Fluidized Bed Biofilm Reactor On Simultaneous Organic And Nitrogen Removal, Ming Li

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Circulating Fluidized Bed Biofilm Reactor (CFBBR), a bioparticle technology designed for biological nutrient removal, has been implemented to achieve considerable biodegradation efficiency and low sludge production, compared with activated sludge system and typical biofilm technology. The inherent advantages of bioparticle technology are enhanced substantially by the CFBBR, for example, decoupling of hydraulic retention time (HRT) from solids retention time (SRT), large specific surface area, ideal conditions for biofilm ecosystem.

In this work, bioparticle recirculation, as a novel control method for bioparticle system, was demonstrated in CFBBRs. To verify the impact of bioparticle recirculation on the reactor performance, bio-kinetics and …

A Watershed Scale Evaluation Of Selected Second Generation Biofeedstocks On Water Quality, Gurdeep Singh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study compares a novel simulation approach to the conventional Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) modeler's approach for targeting biofuel crop production on marginal lands. In conventional SWAT modeling approach, non-spatial definition of hydrological response units (HRUs) results in the simulation of biofuel crops on both marginal and non-marginal land. This study provides an alternative approach in which a marginal-land raster was integrated into the land use and land cover (LULC) raster in such a way that the land uses were divided into marginal and non-marginal components. This modified LULC was used for model setup which resulted in marginal …