Digital Commons Network^™

Evaluating And Training Intraoperative Analysis Of The Mitral Valve, Neil A. Tenenholtz

Link Foundation Modeling, Simulation and Training Fellowship Reports

Mitral valve repair is the recommended method of treating valve incompetency. However, the procedure is quite difficult and, as a result, underperformed due to surgeon’s need to predict the closed valve shape of the patient’s arrested heart. While the interactive process of predicting closed valve shape is achieved by physically manipulating valve tissue (known as valve analysis), surgical training consists of traditional, non-interactive pedagogy (e.g., book-based learning and lectures) followed by an apprenticeship model where the trainee is gradually given hands-on experience, resulting in post-medical school training that is often 10 years or greater. The continuing education of practicing cardiac …

Predicting Underwater Radiated Noise From Offshore Impact Pile Driving, Huikwan Kim

Link Foundation Ocean Engineering and Instrumentation Fellowship Reports

Offshore wind turbines have been installed throughout Europe and are expected to be built in the United States water shortly. Offshore wind is an attractive option because 53% of the nation’s population lives in coastal area where energy cost and demands are high. Offshore winds tend to blow harder and more uniformly than on land [1]. However, structure borne noise and vibration generated by offshore impact pile driving radiate into and propagate through the air, water, and sediment media. The objective of this project is quantitatively predicting noise level around the piling location at sea to estimate the effects of …

Automated Parameter Tuning Framework For Heterogeneous And Large Instances: Case Study In Quadratic Assignment Problem, Linda Lindawati, Zhi Yuan, Hoong Chuin Lau, Feida Zhu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper is concerned with automated tuning of parameters of algorithms to handle heterogeneous and large instances. We propose an automated parameter tuning framework with the capability to provide instance-specific parameter configurations. We report preliminary results on the Quadratic Assignment Problem (QAP) and show that our framework provides a significant improvement on solutions qualities with much smaller tuning computational time.

Automated Extraction And Classification Of Time-Frequency Contours In Humpback Vocalizations, Hui Ou, Whitlow W.L. Au, Lisa M. Zurk, Marc O. Lammers

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A time-frequency contour extraction and classification algorithm was created to analyze humpback whale vocalizations. The algorithm automatically extracted contours of whale vocalization units by searching for gray-level discontinuities in the spectrogram images. The unit-to-unit similarity was quantified by cross-correlating the contour lines. A library of distinctive humpback units was then generated by applying an unsupervised, cluster-based learning algorithm. The purpose of this study was to provide a fast and automated feature selection tool to describe the vocal signatures of animal groups. This approach could benefit a variety of applications such as species description, identification, and evolution of song structures. The …

Bio-Inspired Design, Fabrication And Testing Of Bipolar Plates For Pem Fuel Cells, Nannan Guo

Doctoral Dissertations

"The flow field of a bipolar plate distributes reactants for polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells and removes the produced water from the fuel cells. It greatly influences the performance of fuel cells, especially the concentration losses. Two approaches were developed to improve flow field designs in this dissertation. One is inspired by the biological circulatory structures and called bio-inspired designs, which have great potential to transport reactant efficiently and hence improve fuel cell performance. Another way is using a network-based optimization model to optimize the conventional flow field configurations, i.e., pin-type, parallel and serpentine designs, to improve flow distributions …

Watershed-Scale Hybrid Stochastic-Deterministic Modeling Framework And Diffused Sources Superpositioning, Ruby Juvah Damalie

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Predicting hydrologic system behavior is imperative to planning and management of water resources. The study developed an integrated hybrid stochastic and deterministic framework to improve prediction accuracy for overland flow and diffused sources in a watershed. The methodology includes sampling input parameters at system level and contribution of nonpoint source from hydrologically disconnected areas (heretofore referred to as system-level approach and superpositioning respectively). System-level approach includes the integration of a topography-based sampling grid generalized linear model developed by the study and Monte Carlo methods. The superpositioning method adopts in-stream water quality equation for overland flow pollution estimation.

The system-level approach …

Development Of Marker-Based Human Motion Capture Systems For Assembly Simulation And Ergonomic Analysis, Sajeev C. Puthenveetil

Masters Theses

"In aerospace industry, the assembly operator is often exposed to potential ergonomic injuries due to awkward postures while working in confined spaces. Manually generating worker postures in simulation software for ergonomic analysis is cumbersome. This research focuses on the use of marker-based optical motion capture technology to generate human motion simulations in real-time for ergonomic analysis. To address the challenges involved in capturing human motions in a real work environment, an assembly operation was simulated in a four-walled Computer Automated Virtual Environment (CAVE) which provides an immersive 3D environment to the worker performing the assembly operation. Multiple cameras were set-up …

Distribution And Occurrence Of Escherichia Coli In Water And Sediments At Grand Glaize Beach In Lake Of The Ozarks State Park, Jordan Lee Wilson

Masters Theses

"Public swimming beaches at the Lake of the Ozarks State Park (LOSP) are popular vacationing spots for many Missourians; however, on several occasions Escherichia coli (E. coli) concentrations have exceeded standards set by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). Exceedances lead to beach closures which not only represent a potential public health threat but are also detrimental to the local economy and the public's perception of the lake's general water quality. In a collaborative effort between Missouri S&T, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the MDNR, an in-depth, two-summer study was conducted which included collection of …

Effect Of Dense Heat Exchanging Internals On The Hydrodynamics Of Bubble Column Reactors Using Non-Invasive Measurement Techniques, Mohammed Khloofh Al Mesfer

Doctoral Dissertations

"Given their efficiency and capital cost reduction, bubble/slurry bubble column reactors are the reactors of choice for Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis, offering clean alternative fuels and chemicals. FT synthesis is an exothermic process that requires many heat exchanging tubes in order to remove heat efficiently and maintain the desired temperature and isothermal operating condition. The impact of the heat exchanging tubes (internals) on the hydrodynamics is not fully understood. Reliably designing and scaling up bubble column reactors requires proper understanding of hydrodynamics, as well as heat and mass transfer parameters.

The main objective of this work is to advance the understanding …

Improving Brain–Machine Interface Performance By Decoding Intended Future Movements, Francis R. Willett, Aaron J. Suminski, Andrew H. Fagg, Nicholas G. Hatsopoulos

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Objective. A brain–machine interface (BMI) records neural signals in real time from a subject's brain, interprets them as motor commands, and reroutes them to a device such as a robotic arm, so as to restore lost motor function. Our objective here is to improve BMI performance by minimizing the deleterious effects of delay in the BMI control loop. We mitigate the effects of delay by decoding the subject's intended movements a short time lead in the future. Approach. We use the decoded, intended future movements of the subject as the control signal that drives the movement of our BMI. This …

Heat Transfer And Bubble Dynamics In Bubble And Slurry Bubble Columns With Internals For Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis Of Clean Alternative Fuels And Chemicals, Moses Odongo O. Kagumba

Doctoral Dissertations

"Synthesis gas, a mixture of CO and H₂ obtained from coal, natural gas and biomass are increasingly becoming reliable sources of clean synthetic fuels and chemicals and via Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) synthesis process. Slurry bubble column reactor is the reactor of choice for the commercialization of the F-T synthesis. Even though the slurry bubble column reactors and contactors are simple in structures, their design, scale-up, operation, and performance prediction are still challenging and not well understood due to complex interaction of phases. All the studies of heat transfer have been performed without simultaneously investigating the bubble dynamics adjacent to the heat …

Bone Properties By Nanoindentation In Mild And Severe Osteogenesis Imperfecta, Carolyne Albert, John Jameson, Jeffrey M. Toth, Peter Smith, Gerald F. Harris

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Osteogenesis imperfecta is a heterogeneous genetic disorder characterized by bone fragility. Previous research suggests that impaired collagen network and abnormal mineralization affect bone tissue properties, however, little data is yet available to describe bone material properties in individuals with this disorder. Bone material properties have not been characterized in individuals with the most common form of osteogenesis imperfecta, type I.

Methods

Bone tissue elastic modulus and hardness were measured by nanoindentation in eleven osteotomy specimens that were harvested from children with osteogenesis imperfecta during routine surgeries. These properties were compared between osteogenesis imperfecta types I (mild, n = …

Safety And Efficacy Of Ranolazine For The Treatment Of Chronic Angina Pectoris, Mohammed Aldakkak, David F. Stowe, Amadou K.S. Camara

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Coronary heart disease is a global malady and it is the leading cause of death in the United States. Chronic stable angina is the most common manifestation of coronary heart disease and it results from the imbalance between myocardial oxygen supply and demand due to reduction in coronary blood flow. Therefore, in addition to lifestyle changes, commonly used pharmaceutical treatments for angina (nitrates, ß-blockers, Ca2+ channel blockers) are aimed at increasing blood flow or decreasing O2 demand. However, patients may continue to experience symptoms of angina. Ranolazine is a relatively new drug with anti-anginal and anti-arrhythmic effects. Its anti-anginal mechanism …

Bioactive Glass Scaffolds For The Regeneration Of Load-Bearing Bone, Xin Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

"Biocompatible scaffolds that replicate the structure and function of bone would be ideal bone substitutes for structural bone loss, provided they have the requisite mechanical properties for reliable long-term loading. In this dissertation, strong porous scaffolds of silicate 13-93 bioactive glass, created with two different microstructures, were evaluated to determine their mechanical properties and their capacity to regenerate bone in a rat calvarial defect model. Scaffolds with an oriented microstructure of columnar pores were prepared by unidirectional freezing of camphene-based suspensions, followed by thermal annealing and sintering. By optimizing the freezing conditions, annealing time, and sintering temperature, constructs (porosity = …

Turing Test As A Defining Feature Of Ai-Completeness, Roman V. Yampolskiy

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

The paper contributes to the development of the theory of AI-Completeness by formalizing the notion of AI-Complete, C-Complete and AI-Hard problems. The intended goal is to provide a classification of problems in the field of Artificial General Intelligence. We prove Turing Test to be an instance of an AI-Complete problem and further show certain AI problems to be AI-Complete or AI-Hard via polynomial time reductions. Finally, the paper suggests some directions for future work on the theory of AI-Completeness.

Development Of A New Genetic Algorithm To Solve The Feedstock Scheduling Problem In An Anaerobic Digester, Ana Cram

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Genetic Algorithm

Scheduling

Anaerobic digester

Design And Practical Application Of An Innovative, Pneumatically Latched Valve, Cheng Y. Lin, Jennifer G. Michaeli, Nathan J. Luetke

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

This article explains the design and fabrication of an innovative five-port, two-position (5/2), pneumatically latched valve. The initial application to repeatedly and automatically lift a mechanical cover or gate was presented as part of an undergraduate student project in the Mechanical Engineering Technology Program's Automation and Controls course in the Department of Engineering Technology at Old Dominion University. Valve operation, including self-latching, utilizes mechanical means only. The valve does not require any electrical power, electronic sensors, or controller, which makes it an energy-saving device. For light-duty operation, a bellows foot-air pump is used for air supply. A single activation of …

Characterization Of Particulate Matter Concentrations (Pm10, Pm10-2.5, And Pm2.5) At High-Altitude School And Residential Mircroenvironments In Quito, Ecuador, Teresa Montoya

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Air quality issues in Latin American countries are especially challenging because of the limited availability of resources to address them, lack of stringent standards and the rapid and uncontrolled growth of their cities increasing the number of vehicles on the road and the expansion of the industry. In particular, the city of Quito, Ecuador exacerbates its environmental issues by its high-altitude (2800 m above sea level) coupled by its location around a mountain valley and frequent temperature inversions.

This study focused on evaluating the spatial variation of the PM concentrations and the effectiveness of a central monitoring network in representing …

Development Of A Thermal Imaging Feedback Control System In Electron Beam Melting, Emmanuel Rodriguez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Electron Beam Melting (EBM) process is a promising technology in the rapid manufacturing of metal components. EBM has the potential to reduce the cost of metal parts by minimizing the use of raw materials and machining time. The EBM technology has several advantages over other additive manufacturing (AM) technologies of metal, such as manufacturing speed and mechanical properties of the finished parts. For the process to be accepted in the aerospace industry as a flight-ready manufacturing technology, however, improved control and feedback must be implemented in the building process for better part quality and uniform production in manufacturing. As …

Printable Biodegradable Hydrogel For Skin Wound Dressing Using Inkjet Printing Technology, Maria G. Yanez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Chronic wounds are becoming more frequent. Foot ulcers affect approximately 10% - 15% of patients with diabetes throughout their lifetimes, and by 2025, it is estimated the prevalence of diabetes will be 250 million people in the worldwide. There is increased potential for patients with peripheral neuropathy and peripheral vascular disease to suffer more foot injuries. These conditions reduce the normal pain sensations and healing of minor traumas, allowing the development of chronic non-healing ulcers, often preceding lower-extremity amputation. These types of wounds are very difficult to treat and sometimes take months or even years to heal because of many …

Energy Efficiency Performance Improvements For Ant-Based Routing Algorithm In Wireless Sensor Networks, A. M. Zungeru, Kah Phooi Seng, Li-Minn Ang, W.C. Chia

Research outputs 2013

The main problem for event gathering in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is the restricted communication range for each node. Due to the restricted communication range and high network density, event forwarding in WSNs is very challenging and requires multihop data forwarding. Currently, the energy-efficient ant based routing (EEABR) algorithm, based on the ant colony optimization (ACO) metaheuristic, is one of the state-of-the-art energy-aware routing protocols. In this paper, we propose three improvements to the EEABR algorithm to further improve its energy efficiency. The improvements to the original EEABR are based on the following: (1) a new scheme to intelligently initialize …

Biorecognition Ability Of Polysaccharides As Piezo Quartz Biosensors, En Kalmykova, Ca Mgina

Tanzania Journal of Science

Piezoquartz biosensors (PQB) which are analytical devices for recognition of biochemical interactions have recently attracted increasing interest from different researchers such as analysts, immune-chemists, medical doctors, environmentalists, etc. This is due to the advantages of PQB for having high detection sensitivity (at ng and mg level depending on the mass of sorbates or micro-organisms) and the ability to monitor biochemical reactions in turbid or highly coloured liquids (including in biological fluids) in real time. The use of additional markers and preliminary sample preparation are not required in this biorecognition process. This paper reports on the principle of the PQB and …

An Ultra-Low Power Communication Protocol For A Self-Powered Wireless Sensor Based Animal Monitoring System, Tao Ma

Department of Computer Electronics and Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

To prevent and control the outbreak of contagious animal disease, many countries have developed animal identification and tracking systems. However, the current animal identification and tracking system, which is based on passive RFID technology, has many limitations such as the short communication range and incapability of automatically monitoring the animal. To overcome these limitations, our Advanced Telecommunications Engineering Laboratory (TEL) in Department of Computer and Electronics Engineering (CEEN), University of Nebraska-Lincoln took the mission of developing a more advanced monitoring system for animal identification and tracking. This dissertation work as a part of this mission was focusing on developing an …

Theranostic Oxygen Delivery Using Ultrasound And Microbubbles, James J. Kwan, Mehmet Kaya, Mark A. Borden, Paul A. Dayton

Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Faculty Publications

Means to overcome tumor hypoxia have been the subject of clinical investigations since the 1960’s; however these studies have yet to find a treatment which is widely accepted. It has been known for nearly a century that hypoxic cells are more resistant to radiotherapy than aerobic cells, and tumor hypoxia is a major factor leading to the resistance of tumors to radiation treatment as well as several cytotoxic agents. In this manuscript, the application of ultrasound combined with oxygen-carrier microbubbles is demonstrated as a method to locally increase dissolved oxygen. Microbubbles can also be imaged by ultrasound, thus providing the …

Stress And Strain Adaptation In Load-Dependent Remodeling Of The Embryonic Left Ventricle, Christine Buffinton

Faculty Journal Articles

Altered pressure in the developing left ventricle (LV) results in altered morphology and tissue material properties. Mechanical stress and strain may play a role in the regulating process. This study showed that confocal microscopy, three-dimensional reconstruction, and finite element analysis can provide a detailed model of stress and strain in the trabeculated embryonic heart. The method was used to test the hypothesis that end-diastolic strains are normalized after altered loading of the LV during the stages of trabecular compaction and chamber formation. Stage-29 chick LVs subjected to pressure overload and underload at stage 21 were reconstructed with full trabecular morphology …

Weather-Based Damage Prediction Models For Electric Distribution Networks, David W. Wanik

Master's Theses

From thunderstorms to hurricanes, electric distribution networks are subject to a wide range of warm weather storm events. Tropical Storm Irene (2011) and Hurricane Sandy (2012) are two events in recent memory that disrupted over half of The Connecticut Light and Power Company’s (CL&P) service territory, which left some customers without power for up to eleven days. This research study investigates a damage prediction framework for both thunderstorms and hurricanes that combines two generalized linear models to probabilistically determine the occurrence and extent of damages, known as trouble spots, to the overhead power distribution network. The models are inputted with …

Liquid-Liquid Equilibrium Of Biodiesel Components, Joseph C. Bell

Theses and Dissertations

Biodiesel is produced from vegetable oils through transesterification. Triglyceride mixtures extracted from oilseed feedstocks are upgraded by reaction with an alcohol in the presence of a catalyst to produce fatty acid esters. This reaction produces a mixture of esters, glycerin, alcohol, and catalyst. Separation of the fatty acid esters (biodiesel) and glycerin can be accomplished through liquid-liquid extraction by water addition. Designing liquid-liquid extraction with water as the solvent requires ternary liquid-liquid equilibrium data for mixtures of water, glycerin, and fatty acid esters. Ternary mixture LLE data have been experimentally measured for several of these systems. Those measured include mixtures …

Best Practices Using Building Information Modeling In Commercial Construction, Simon Beveridge

Theses and Dissertations

There has been an increase in adoption of building information modeling (BIM) by commercial contractors over the past few years but there is not a clear indication of current application or the frequency of each use. This research was undertaken to determine the frequency and best practices of using BIM in commercial construction. Leading commercial contracting firms were contacted and employees were selected to complete a telephone survey that was designed to determine how they are using BIM. It was found that BIM is being used with more frequency on projects, with plans to continue to implement it even further …

Streamlined Extract Preparation For E. Coli-Based Cell-Free Protein Synthesis And Rapid Site-Specific Incorporation Of Unnatural Amino Acids In Proteins, Prashanta Shrestha

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reports the viability of E. coli cell extracts prepared using equipment that is both common to biotechnology laboratories and able to process small volume samples and expression of proteins containing unnatural amino acids (UAAs) at higher level using PCR amplified linear DNA templates (LETs) in cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) system. E. coli-based cell extracts are a vital component of inexpensive and high-yielding CFPS reactions. However, effective preparation of E. coli cell extract is limited to high-pressure homogenizers (French press style or impinge-style) or bead mill homogenizers, which all require a significant capital investment. This work specifically assessed the …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Fall 2012, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Senior Design Experience

Part of every UNLV engineering student's academic experience, the Senior Design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. Working in teams, the senior design project encourages students to use everything learned in the engineering and computer design programs to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge.

Beyond the classroom ...

Because of the requirement to work in teams, students also build good communication skills, presentation skills and even business writing skills. They also have to …