Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Toxicity Assessment And Analgesic Activity Investigation Of Aqueous Acetone Extracts Of Sida Acuta Burn F. And Sida Cordifolia L. (Malvaceae), Medicinal Plants Of Burkina Faso, Kiessoum Konate, Adama Hilou, Raïssa Rr Aworet-Samseny, Alain Souza, Nicolas Barro, Mamoudou H. Dicko Prof., Jacques Datté, Bertrand M’Batchi

Pr. Mamoudou H. DICKO, PhD

Background Sida acuta Burn f. and Sida cordifolia L. (Malvaceae) are traditionally used in Burkina Faso to treat several ailments, mainly pains, including abdominal infections and associated diseases. Despite the extensive use of these plants in traditional health care, literature provides little information regarding their toxicity and the pharmacology. This work was therefore designed to investigate the toxicological effects of aqueous acetone extracts of Sida acuta Burn f. and Sida cordifolia L. Furthermore, their analgesic capacity was assessed, in order to assess the efficiency of the traditional use of these two medicinal plants from Burkina Faso. Method For acute toxicity …

Solving Combinatorial Optimization Problems Using Genetic Algorithms And Ant Colony Optimization, Gautham Puttur Rajappa

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents metaheuristic approaches in the areas of genetic algorithms and ant colony optimization to combinatorial optimization problems.

Ant colony optimization for the split delivery vehicle routing problem

An Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) based approach is presented to solve the Split Delivery Vehicle Routing Problem (SDVRP). SDVRP is a relaxation of the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP) wherein a customer can be visited by more than one vehicle. The proposed ACO based algorithm is tested on benchmark problems previously published in the literature. The results indicate that the ACO based approach is competitive in both solution quality and solution …

The Effect Of Stretch Wrap Pre-Stretch On Unitized Load Containment, Evan A. Cernokus

Master's Theses

There are three main factors affecting the stability of a palletized load that is unitized by a stretch wrapping mechanism. These factors include the type of unitized load, wrapping configuration and shipping method. The wrapping configuration is determined on the basis of the type of unitized load and shipping method. For this study, the aforementioned components were referred to as the package, the product, and the distribution environment. These components come together to make up a stretch wrapping system. The package corresponds to the stretch wrap film that is packaging the unitized load and pallet. The product corresponds to the …

A Model For Optimizing The Allocation Of Ethanol Production In The U.S., Anali Huggins

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In the last five years, fuel prices have fluctuated from 2.86$/gallon to 3.87$/gallon which represents an increase of 35%. This situation has collocated the ethanol manufacturing in an advantageous situation. However, a major problem that is faced by the ethanol producers is the high cost of transportation. The objective of this thesis study is to determine the optimal allocation of ethanol production in the U.S. in 2009 that minimizes the transportation cost. This thesis is based on the application of a linear programing model. The thesis is focused on two questions. The first is the optimal allocation of ethanol between …

Viral Online Content And The College Market Using Ratemyprofessors.Com And Howstheliving.Com As Case Studies, Aeron L. Glover

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Locating And Protecting Facilities Subject To Random Disruptions And Attacks, Hugh Medal

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent events such as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan have revealed the vulnerability of networks such as supply chains to disruptive events. In particular, it has become apparent that the failure of a few elements of an infrastructure system can cause a system-wide disruption. Thus, it is important to learn more about which elements of infrastructure systems are most critical and how to protect an infrastructure system from the effects of a disruption. This dissertation seeks to enhance the understanding of how to design and protect networked infrastructure systems from disruptions by developing new mathematical models and …

Simulation Of Tax Revenues From Individuals Receiving Advanced College Degrees, Dejing Kong

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

State governments always want graduates who received higher education in universities and colleges to stimulate the economic growth of the state. Many state universities want to contribute more to the state’s economy as well, and state universities frequently have relevant economic development activities and offices. The state universities normally receive annual budgeted financial support and occasional special funding from the state government while the state expects contributions to the economic growth and an educated citizen in return. In this research, the economic impact of a graduate degree funded by the state government was considered in the state of Nebraska.

Simulation …

Quantity And Capacity Expansion Decisions For Ethanol In Nebraska And A Medium Sized Plant, Mahsa Khoshnoud

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Corn-based ethanol is the leader of sustainable sources of energy in the United States due to the abundance of corn and the popularity of ethanol-gasoline mixes. Over the past decade, ethanol production has risen from 1.5 million gallons in 1999 to 13 million gallons in 2011. This increase in production requires expansion of ethanol plants. Since Nebraska is the second highest producer of ethanol, we focus our research on the expansion of ethanol plants in Nebraska.

The aim of this study is to develop an optimization model for capital investments in ethanol in Nebraska and a medium sized ethanol plant …

An Introduction To The Effective Use Of Research Tools Box, Nader Ale Ebrahim

Nader Ale Ebrahim

This presentation is prepared to assist students who seek to reduce the search time by expanding the knowledge of researchers to more effectively use the “Research Tools" that are available through the Net. The presentations objectives 1- To reduce the search time by expanding the knowledge of researchers to more effectively use the "tools" that are available through the Net. 2- To evaluate the types of literature that researchers will encounter. 3- To convert the information on the search for a written document. 4- Help researchers learn how to search and analyze the right journal to submit. 5- To promote …

Probabilistic Resilience Quantification And Visualization Building Performance To Hurricane Wind Speeds, Berna Eren Tokgoz

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Natural and man made disasters are unpredictable and unavoidable in today's world. Their frequency of occurrence and damages keep increasing. Due to the efforts to reduce negative consequences from such disasters, the concept of resilience has gained so much popularity in disaster management area especially after disasters like the September 11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina. Complex systems of today are under operational risks because of increasing threats and their high level of vulnerability. Hence, such systems need to adapt the concept of resilience for continuous operations. Resilience is a proactive concept which should incorporate both pre-event (preparedness and mitigation) and …

Economic Impact On Annual Profit Of A Retail Inventory Management System When Using Rfid And Considering Discrepancy Ratio, Inaccuracy Ratio, Backorders, And Federal Income Tax, Liyuan Zhang

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) emerged as an important technology with the ability to improve the efficiency and accuracy of object tracking. It has brought cost savings and added value to a wide variety of fields. Retail inventory management system is one of the beneficial fields. In order to better satisfy customers and to improve profit, retailers demand high accuracy in inventory management to service customers without redundant on-hand inventories. The RFID technology, which provides more accurate tracking, can improve retailers’ profit.

Two accuracy factors were proposed to determine the difference in the profit of a retailer inventory management system caused …

Virtual R&D Teams Definition, Nader Ale Ebrahim

Nader Ale Ebrahim

Introduction: The literature related to virtual R&D teams reveals a lack of depth in the definitions (Ale Ebrahim et al., 2010). Although virtual teamwork is a current topic in the literature concerning global organizations, it is problematic to define the meaning of 'virtual teams' across multiple institutional contexts (Chudoba et al., 2005). The concept of a "team" is described as a small number of people with complementary skills who are equally committed to a common purpose, goal, and working approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable (Zenun et al., 2007). It is worth mentioning that virtual teams (VTs) are …

Antibacterial Activity Against Beta- Lactamase Producing Methicillin And Ampicillin-Resistants Staphylococcus Aureus: Fractional Inhibitory Concentration Index (Fici) Determination, Kiessoun K Onate, Jacques François Mavoungou, Alexis Nicaise Lepengué, Raïssa Rr Aworet-Samseny, Adama Hilou, Mamoudou H. Dicko Prof., Bertrand M’Batchi

Pr. Mamoudou H. DICKO, PhD

The present study reports the antibacterial capacity of alkaloid compounds in combination with Methicillin and Ampicillin-resistants bacteria isolated from clinical samples. The resistance of different bacteria strains to the current antibacterial agents, their toxicity and the cost of the treatment have led to the development of natural products against the bacteria resistant infections when applied in combination with conventional antimicrobial drugs. The antibacterial assays in this study were performed by using inhibition zone diameters, MIC, MBC methods, the time-kill assay and the Fractional Inhibitory Concentration Index (FICI) determination. On the whole, fifteen Gram-positive bacterial strains (MRSA/ARSA) were used. Negative control …

Effective Virtual Teams For New Product Development, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Salwa Hanim Abdul Rashid, Zahari Taha

Nader Ale Ebrahim

At present, the existing literature shows that the factors which influence the effectiveness of virtual teams for new product development are still ambiguous. To address this problem, a research design was developed, which includes detailed literature review, preliminary model and field survey. From literature review, the factors which influence the effectiveness of virtual teams are identified and these factors are modified using a field survey. The relationship between knowledge workers (people), process and technology in virtual teams is explored in this study. The results of the study suggest that technology and process are tightly correlated and need to be considered …

Rfid For Inventory Of Medical Records, Johny Wu

Biomedical Engineering

The purpose of this project is to explore the feasibility and economic viability of the implementation of a radio frequency identification (RFID) system in a large-scale, medical office setting. Practitioners in fields such as; medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers do not have a sufficient method for tracking filing forms. RFID has the potential to reduce wait time, improve checking-in time, and decrease the possibility of interchanging documents between patients.

The purpose of this RFID system is to improve upon the filing system already in place in any office setting. The major consideration behind this …

Development And Validation Of A Model For Granular Material Volume Measurements, Pourya Fasounaki

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Keeping inventory record of packed grains in silos poses challenges since the bulk material’s different segments do not discharge uniformly, leading to formation of random peaks and valleys on the surface. To facilitate obtaining accurate volume measurement of the grains by taking into account this non-linear behavior on the surface, laser or plumb-bob level-sensing devices are employed at different part of the surface to probe the level of material under those regions.

The main goals of this research is to study the behavior of granular material in silo while discharging downward and by doing so, differentiate certain flow patterns formed …

Comparative Analysis Of Erp Emerging Technologies, Ryan Engebrethson

Master's Theses

This Master's Thesis compares technologies used in the architecture of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems to evaluate the benefits and advantages of emerging technologies. The emerging technologies, Cloud Computing, Software as a Service (SaaS) and Multi-Tenancy, could significantly alter the current ERP space and become a primary part of ERP Systems of the future. A survey was sent to industry professionals to obtain feedback on their company's ERP Systems and to collect their comments on these new technologies. The survey results and related analysis show that Emerging Cloud ERP Systems outperform Traditional Legacy ERP Systems in all important characteristics - …

Current Trends Of Fmri In Vision Science: A Review, Nasser H. Kashou

Biomedical, Industrial & Human Factors Engineering Faculty Publications

Studying brain functional activities is an area that is experiencing rapid interest in the field of neuroimaging. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has provided vision science researchers a powerful and noninvasive tool to understand eye function and correlate it with brain activities. In this chapter, we focus on the physiological aspects followed by a literature review. More specifically, to motivate and appreciate the complexity of the visual system, we will begin with a description of specific stages the visual pathway, beginning from the distal stimulus and ending in the visual cortex. More importantly, the development of ascending visual pathway will …

Towards Sustainable Development Of Nanomanufacturing, Sasikumar Ramdas Naidu

Doctoral Dissertations

"Sustainability" is a buzz word these days not just among regulatory agencies but even with corporations, as evident by the release of annual sustainability report by a large number of firms. Companies are starting to portray profit making along with corporate environmental responsibility.

Nanotechnology and nanomanufacturing which holds a lot of promise for development in a multitude of fields in science and engineering is the new kid on the block and carries a lot of apprehension due to public concern about their potential unwanted side effects that may result in the case of an untoward incident or lack of oversight. …

Research And Development Effort In Developing The Optimal Formulations For New Tablet Drugs, Zhe Li

All Dissertations

Seeking the optimal pharmaceutical formulation is considered one of the most critical research components during the drug development stage. It is also an R&D effort incorporating design of experiments and optimization techniques, prior to scaling up a manufacturing process, to determine the optimal settings of ingredients so that the desirable performance of related pharmaceutical quality characteristics (QCs) specified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can be achieved. It is widely believed that process scale-up potentially results in changes in ingredients and other pharmaceutical manufacturing aspects, including site, equipment, batch size and process, with the purpose of satisfying the clinical …

A Comprehensive Human Factors Analysis Of Off-Duty Motor Vehicle Crashes In The United States Military, Rebecca Iden

All Dissertations

Researchers have always had great interest in traffic safety and the phenomenon of motor vehicle crashes (MVCs). Though scores of service members are severely injured or killed in off-duty MVCs each year, few studies have addressed the MVC phenomenon within the military population and none have conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the causal factors associated with MVCs involving military personnel.
The main purpose of this dissertation was to gain a greater understanding of the causal factors associated with serious and fatal off-duty personal MVCs for military service members with the ultimate goal of preventing future losses. The HFACS-MVC framework was …

A New Metaheuristic Algorithm Motivated By The Rooting Phenomena In Plants, Behzad Nemati

All Theses

In this thesis, we present a new metaheuristic algorithm for analyzing challenging optimization problems. Initial testing reveals the potential for the algorithm, which is based on the rooting phenomena found in plants in nature, to quickly produce effective solutions to challenging combinatorial optimization problems in the class NP. We present computational results describing the proposed metaheuristic's efficacy for an important class of scheduling problems and discuss areas of future work and application.

Improving Health Care Quality And Safety: The Development And Assessment Of Laparoscopic Surgery Instrumentation, Practices And Procedures, Bernadette Mccrory

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Adverse events due to medical errors are a leading cause of death in the United States exceeding the mortality rates of motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer and AIDS. Improvements can and should be made to reduce the rates of preventable surgical errors since they account for nearly half of all adverse events within hospitals. Although minimally invasive surgery has proven patient benefits such as reduced postoperative pain and hospital stay, its operative environment imposes substantial physical and cognitive strain on the surgeon increasing the risk of error. In order to mitigate errors and protect patients, a multidisciplinary approach was taken …

Process Optimization Of Boatmate Trailers, Llc, Jamie M. Smotherman, Jasmine L. Kelley

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

A System-Generated Password And Mnemonic Approach To Optimize The Security And Usability Of Text-Based Passwords, Sanjaykumar Ranganayakulu

All Theses

In this study a novel password generation policy called the system-generated password and mnemonic was designed and implemented. The intent of this policy was to optimize both the security and usability of text-based passwords. After implementing the policy we evaluated its usability and compared it with three other existing policies: user-generated password, system-generated password and user-generated mnemonic for a system-generated password. In order to have a fair comparison among the policies we maintained a constant level of security of 30±2 entropy as dictated by NIST level 2 standards.
The study involved 64 participants, equally divided into four groups, 16 in …

Patient And Nurse Considerations In Home Health Routing With Remote Monitoring Devices, Jessica Spicer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We build on the current consistent vehicle routing problem literature by formulating a novel multi- objective mathematical model of the home health scheduling and routing problem that includes the option of assigning some patient visits to remote monitoring devices, with the objectives of mini- mizing total cost, achieving nurse consistency and creating balanced nurse workloads. A heuristic solution approach that approximates the efficient frontier of this multiobjective problem is pre- sented and validated, and the results of using this methodology to solve several realistic instances are included. We also analyze the assignment of patients to devices and present some managerial …

A Nano-Cheese-Cutter To Directly Measure Interfacial Adhesion Of Freestanding Nano-Fibers, Xin Wang, Johnny F. Najem, Shing-Chung Wong, Kai-Tak Wan

Kai-tak Wan

A nano-cheese-cutter is fabricated to directly measure the adhesion between two freestanding nano-fibers. A single electrospun fiber is attached to the free end of an atomic force microscope cantilever, while a similar fiber is similarly prepared on a mica substrate in an orthogonal direction. External load is applied to deform the two fibers into complementary V-shapes, and the force measurement allows the elastic modulus to be determined. At a critical tensile load, “pull-off” occurs when the adhering fibers spontaneously detach from each other, yielding the interfacial adhesion energy. Loading-unloading cycles are performed to investigate repeated adhesion-detachment and surface degradation.

Integrating Courses Through Project Based Learning, Lizabeth Schlemer, Sema E. Alptekin, Karen R. Bangs

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Integrating three courses (one sophomore level, two senior level) through Project Based Learning (PBL) within the Industrial Engineering curriculum at the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo is presented. Three courses (IME 443 Facilities Planning and Design - senior level; IME 420 Simulation - senior level; and IME 223 Process Improvement Fundamentals - sophomore level) were linked by various mechanisms: Common industry projects, common students in two of the three courses; senior students having access to sophomores in their teams to carry out time consuming tasks such as time studies, and sophomores having access to seniors as team members, …

Sustainable Purchasing Practices: An Investigation Into Current Industry Awareness And Practice., Francis X. Palisi

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

This research study illustrates the growing importance of sustainable purchasing practices and answers two important questions: what is the current awareness of U.S. organizations on sustainable purchasing practices with regards to evaluating, selecting, and retaining suppliers and to what extent are these practices being implemented? The research conducted is based upon an in-depth literature review of green purchasing and sustainability initiatives. With an ever increasing global economy with no intention of slowing down it is ever important to look towards sustainability practices and the biggest impact organizations can make is in the purchasing department. The researcher begins by explaining their …

Greedy Algorithm For Disassembly Line Scheduling, Seamus M. Mcgovern, Surendra M. Gupta

Seamus McGovern

Remanufacturing, recycling, and disposal recovery operations require the performance of disassembly activities. The disassembly line is the best choice for automated disassembly of returned products, however, finding the optimal balance is computationally intensive with exhaustive search quickly becoming prohibitively large. In this paper, a greedy algorithm is presented for obtaining optimal or near-optimal solutions to the disassembly line balancing problem. The greedy algorithm is a first-fit decreasing algorithm further enhanced to preserve precedence relationships. The algorithm seeks to minimize the number of workstations while accounting for hazardous and high demand components. A hill-climbing heuristic is then developed to balance the …