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Lipin1 Overexpression Ameliorates The Dystrophic Phenotype In Mdx Mice By Enhancing Myofiber Membrane Integrity, Abdullah Alshudukhi

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe disease characterized by a progressive muscle fiber loss. DMD affects approximately 1 in 3500 male births worldwide. Patients die at early ages due to failure of respiratory and cardiac functions. DMD is caused by mutations in dystrophin gene. Loss of dystrophin leads to disruption of the membrane integrity and necroptosis in skeletal muscles of DMD patients contributing to muscle fiber loss. Currently, effective therapies for DMD have not been established. The goal of this project is to find mechanisms that may improve muscle function/structure despite dystrophin deficiency. Our data show that the expression …

Unfolding The Link Between The Axon Initial Segment, Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress, And Cognitive Impairment In Type 2 Diabetes, Jennae Shelby

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Dementia and mild cognitive impairment are well recognized comorbidities of type 2 diabetes, termed diabetic encephalopathy, that lack in course modifying treatment options. The axon initial segment (AIS) is a critical mediator of neuronal output. Shortening of AIS length has been shown to decrease neuronal excitability and is implicated in diabetic encephalopathy. AIS shortening may be reversible, hence investigating the mechanism responsible could address this significant gap in patient care by providing new therapeutic targets. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, a cellular condition that activates the unfolded protein response has been implicated in diabetic encephalopathy. Here, using immunocytochemistry in primary mouse …

Digital Learning Resources, Hybrid Teaching And Remote Students - Are Our Students Actively Engaged?, Thea Bjørnland

Practice Papers

At the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, a new cross-campus statistics course for approximately 1000 engineering students was planned for the fall of 2020. Due to the pandemic, digital learning resources were developed to allow students to work from home or campus, individually or collaboratively. These resources include short learning videos, automatically graded exercise sets, and Jupyter Notebooks for Python coding. Since 2020, digital learning resources have been essential for teaching statistics to engineering students across three campuses, and remotely. To help students navigate digital resources, on-campus activities, and assessments, each week of the semester was structured according to …

Student Engagement In Sustainability Issues Through Video Production: A Multimodal Critical Consciousness-Based Approach To Engineering Education, Joel Alejandro Mejia, Luis Montero

Practice Papers

The formation of engineering students should prioritize both technical skills in engineering and a critical awareness of the designed world. This qualitative methods study aimed to analyze the extent to which a teaching approach, based on the in the integration of Freire’s critical pedagogy and Multimodal literacy frameworks, promotes first-year engineering students’ development of critical consciousness. Drawing from Paulo Freire’s work on critical pedagogy, the critical consciousness framework emphasizes that individuals and their practice in community awaken critical awareness of their surroundings, including the interconnectedness that exists between economic, social, political, cultural, historical, and environmental factors. To this end, we …

Innovative Engineering Education In The Wake Of Smart Agriculture. Revision Of The Agricultural Engineering Curriculum, Andreas Mandler, Giovanni Carabin, Lorenzo Becce, Francesco Fabio Nicolosi, Fabrizio Mazzetto

Practice Papers

Global developments request ever more productive agricultural production systems to ensure food security. Agricultural production must be environmentally, socially sustainable and economically efficient. Innovative digital technologies are central to sustainable production systems. This poses challenges to the education of agricultural engineers, as technologies for real world challenges result from highly interdisciplinary innovations.

Agricultural engineering (AgEng) as academic discipline is not universally established, which leaves voids in educational curricula and formal training areas. A substantial conflictual dualism remains between the biological and engineering domains. There are currently no homogeneous pathways through which these domains merge on common scientific and cultural foundations, …

Problems Without Solution? Challenges Of Climate Change And Sustainability In Engineering Education, Sahra Dornick

Practice Papers

The issues of climate change and sustainability are urgent and critical concerns of our time. The rise of climate disasters, such as floods, droughts, forest fires, and hurricanes, poses a threat to the survival of humans, animals, and plants. Despite scientists having warned about the impending dangers of high CO2 emissions, particularly from the global North for many years, there has been no political or technical solution in sight.

Engineers are known for being problem-solvers, but what happens when the problem is complex and the consequences of technical interventions are hard to predict? In my paper, I propose measures to …

Re/Upskilling The Agricultural Labour Force: Micro-Credentials As Innovative Lll Strategy, Vladana Vidric, Christina Paulus, Simon Grebner, Maximilian Treiber, Martin Mayr, Andreas Mandler

Practice Papers

Industry 4.0 had a strong impact on globalization by changing the workforce and increasing access to new skills and knowledge. According to the World Economic Forum, by 2025, 50% of all employees will need reskilling due to new technology. Industry 5.0 addresses long term prospects such as sustainability, resilience and human-centricity regarding efficiency and productivity. Agriculture is the most exposed economic sector to climate change with cascade effects on agro ecosystems. Innovations in the agricultural sector are inevitable to ensure food security and social and environmental sustainability. This paper presents two Erasmus+ projects that highlight the importance of future engineering …

A Hybrid Multifunctional Physicochemical Sensor Suite For Continuous Monitoring Of Crop Health, Nafize Ishtiaque Hossain, Shawana Tabassum

Electrical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This work reports a first-of-its-kind hybrid wearable physicochemical sensor suite that we call PlantFit for simultaneous measurement of two key phytohormones, salicylic acid, and ethylene, along with vapor pressure deficit and radial growth of stem in live plants. The sensors are developed using a low-cost and roll-to-roll screen printing technology. A single integrated flexible patch that contains temperature, humidity, salicylic acid, and ethylene sensors, is installed on the leaves of live plants. The strain sensor with in-built pressure correction capability is wrapped around the plant stem to provide pressure-compensated stem diameter measurements. The sensors provide real-time information on plant health …

Bio-Inspired Sutures: Simulating The Role Of Suture Placement In The Mechanical Response Of Interlocking Structures, Melissa M. Gibbons, Diana A. Chen

School of Engineering: Faculty Scholarship

The hardest anatomical components of many animals are connected at thin seams known as sutures, which allow for growth and compliance required for respiration and movement and serve as a defense mechanism by absorbing energy during impacts. We take a bio-inspired approach and parameterize suture geometries to utilize geometric connections, rather than new engineering materials, to absorb high-impact loads. This study builds upon our work that investigated the effects of the dovetail suture contact angle, tangent length, and tab radius on the stiffness and toughness of an archway structure using finite element analysis. We explore how increasing the archway segmentation …

Protocol Optimization And Reducing Dropout In Online Research, Halee Staggs, Colleen Mills-Finnerty

School of Engineering: Faculty Scholarship

Online research has advantages over in-person research; it’s cost-efficient, scalable, and may increase diversity. Researchers collecting data online can assess protocol performance with classification models like a decision tree. However, challenges include attrition, lack of testing environment controls, technical limitations, and lack of face-to-face rapport and real time feedback. It is necessary to consider human factors of the teleresearch process from recruitment to data collection. Here we document the impact of protocol optimizations on social media engagement and retention between a pilot sample of Veterans (n = 26) and a post-optimization sample of both Veterans and civilians (n = 220) …

“These Different Ideas, Traditions, And Values Make My Thinking Unique And Creative”: Bringing Native Hawaiian Ways Of Knowing To Engineering Education, Austin Morgan Kainoa Peters, Susan M. Lord

School of Engineering: Faculty Scholarship

Contribution: This article focuses on the study of Native Hawaiian student experiences in engineering education. Telling these stories illustrates the importance of legitimizing and appreciating different knowledge types in engineering as we move toward a more inclusive and sustainable field. Background: Native Hawaiian engineering students live oppressive realities due to the history of settler colonialism and occupation that attempted to erase their culture and ways of knowing, including in engineering education. This study shows how students overcome these realities to enact their ways of knowing in a field where it is not always respected. Informing the field of ways to …

Monitoring Blood Flow In Animal Models Using A Camera-Based Technique, Dharminder Singh Langri

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Blood flow dynamics plays a critical role in maintaining tissue health, as it delivers nutrients and oxygen while removing waste products. It is especially important when there is a disruption in cerebral autoregulation due to trauma, which can induce ischemia or hyperemia and can lead to secondary brain injury. Thus, there is a need for noninvasive techniques that can allow continuous monitoring of blood flow during intervention. Optical techniques have become increasingly practical for measuring blood flow due to their non-invasive, continuous, and relatively lower-cost nature. This research focused on developing a low-cost, scalable optical technique for measuring blood flow …

Helminth Parasites Of Northern Cottonmouth, Agkistrodon Piscivorus (Ophidia: Viperidae), From Arkansas, C.T. Mcallister, C.R. Bursey, H.W. Robison

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The Northern cottonmouth, Agkistrodon piscivorus is a large, semiaquatic viperid snake found statewide in Arkansas. Although a great deal has been published on helminth parasites of A. piscivorus from other parts of its range, little (outside of its cestodes) is known about those other helminths occurring in cottonmouths of the state. In our survey, we examined seven adult A. piscivorus from Polk County and a single specimen from Calhoun County. Several helminth parasites were found, including three trematodes, Styphlodora magna, Renifer ellipticus, and Paralechriorchis syntomentera, two nematodes, an unknown larval ascarid and Physaloptera abjecta, an oligacanthorhynchid acanthocephalan cystacanth, and a …

Actividad 4: Reduzca La Velocidad, Se Aproximan Curvas, Patrick Young

Tema 2: Por la ciudad

Diseñar una carretera conlleva tomar muchas decisiones. En un mundo ideal, todas las carreteras tendrían una superficie plana y recta. Lamentablemente, no es así porque las carreteras tienen muchos desvíos, intersecciones, numerosos automóviles transitando y semáforos. Los ingenieros eligen la velocidad máxima de la carretera en función de las características de equilibrio del terreno, el tráfico, los obstáculos existentes y, lo que es más importante, la seguridad.

El objetivo principal de una carretera es asegurarse de que los vehículos puedan maniobrar a una velocidad determinada de forma segura. Por ejemplo, no verá un límite de velocidad de 60 millas por …

Actividad 2: Solo De Paso, Patrick Young

Tema 5: ¿Por qué la gallina cruzó la calle?

Los pasos para animales para la fauna silvestre son cada vez más frecuentes. Su objetivo es proporcionar un camino seguro para que los animales crucen las barreras hechas por el hombre, en este caso las carreteras. Las escaleras para peces, patentadas en 1837, son un ejemplo temprano de este tipo de intervención. Además, los pasos proporcionan a los animales el acceso a los recursos del otro lado de la barrera. Los pasos ayudan a conectar los hábitats para evitar la fragmentación de los mismos, lo que puede restringir el acervo genético y dar lugar a poblaciones más bajas y en …

Activity 3: Warning!, Elizabeth Martinez

Theme 5: Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

More factors than previously mentioned must be considered in the design of an animal crossing structure, such as temperature, precipitation, vehicle traffic, noise, and vehicle exhaust. Consideration of these environmental factors and events will require modifications to the original design. This is a common practice in engineering. The original design might go through several revisions as modeling, testing, and experience reveal the need for modifications.

Actividad 4: Prueba De Las Cubiertas De Hormigón Fabricadas Por Los Estudiantes, Patrick Young

Tema 1: Estructura y proceso

Cuando una viga estructural se carga desde arriba, la fuerza crea compresión en la superficie superior y tensión en la superficie inferior. El hormigón puede soportar la compresión diez veces más que la tensión. Como el hormigón tiene menos capacidad para soportar la tensión, el refuerzo de acero es más importante en la parte inferior.

En esta actividad, los estudiantes realizarán una prueba de carga en 3 puntos para ver cuánto peso pueden soportar sus losas.

Actividad 3: Curva Pronunciada, Patrick Young

Tema 2: Por la ciudad

La forma de una curva afecta la facilidad con la que un automóvil puede circular con seguridad por ella. Las colisiones son más probables cuando la curva es demasiado cerrada. La curva debe ser suave, la transición entre los tramos rectos y curvos de la carretera también deben ser suaves.

En la imagen anterior, el automóvil experimenta una fuerza (llamada “fuerza centrípeta”) que lo empuja hacia el centro del círculo. Se trata de una fuerza de fricción proporcionada por la carretera que actúa sobre los neumáticos. Cuanto más cerrada es la curva, más fricción se necesita para mantenerse en la …

Activity 2: A Little Bit Salty, Karen Ye

Theme 4: Please Pass the Salt

Density is defined as the amount of mass that takes up a certain amount of volume. Adding salt or sugar to water increases its density since there are more particles (mass) packed into a similar amount of space (volume). Cooling water can also increase its density since the particles move more slowly at lower temperatures and will be more packed together. When two substances with different densities are combined, the one with a lower density will float whereas the one with a higher density will sink. The greater the difference in density, the more distinct the layers and the harder …

Activity 1: A Day In The Life, Patrick Young

Theme 5: Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

All highways run through animal habitats. Fencing highways can provide drivers some protection from animal-related accidents, but they fragment the habitat, causing problems for wildlife. In this activity, students learn some of the reasons that animals will attempt to cross highways.

Activity 2: Just Passing Through, Elizabeth Martinez

Theme 5: Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

Animal passages for wildlife are becoming more prevalent. Their purpose is to provide a safe path for animals to cross man-made barriers, in this case roadways. Fish ladders, patented in 1837, are an early example of this type of intervention. In addition, passages provide animal access to resources on the other side of the barrier. Crossings help to connect habitats to avoid habitat fragmentation, which can restrict the gene pool resulting in lower and more at-risk populations, as well as potential extinction. Vehicle and wildlife collisions account for many injuries and deaths for humans and other animals, property damage, and …

Utilizing Data Analytics On Single-Phase Ac Arc Flash Testing And Model Development, Po-Chen Chen

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Arc flash events could result in injuries, fatalities, and lead to severe medical expenses, equipment replacement cost, and even litigation, fines, and loss of business. Such events could also tremendously traumatize the personnel psychosocially and neurologically. Therefore, it is critical to accurately understand the potential arc flash hazards from all the real applications. Yet, due to the random complex nature of arc flash events and great number of uncertain variables involved, there are challenges to provide mathematical models for equipment designers in determining the arc-flash fault current and the incident energy of various types of events. The early arc flash …

Coalition Formation And Beamsteering Optimization For Directional Software-Defined Radios, Sayanta Seth

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA), also known as Dynamic Spectrum Management, is the method of utilizing a set of spectrum techniques in real time to provide the ability to share wireless channels between Primary (or licensed) users (PUs) and Secondary (or unlicensed) users (SUs). The system is so designed that under normal circumstances, the PUs always get priority, but DSA enables the SUs to use the licensed bands as long as they do not create any interference on the PUs. Hence, the goal of utilizing the spectrum more efficiently can be achieved. Though DSA has been researched extensively as a new …

Investigation Of Biomechanical Thresholds Of Mild To Severe Brain Injury Using An Anisotropic Visco-Hyperelastic Finite Element Head Model: Model Development And Simulation Of Impact Injury And Blast Injury, Ding Lyu

Wayne State University Dissertations

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a significant cause of death and disability in the United States, with approximately 2.5 million emergency department visits, 288,000 hospitalizations, and 56,800 deaths reported to be related to TBI. The majority of TBIs are caused by blunt impacts resulting from falls and motor vehicle crashes. The head injury criterion is the only standard used to assess the safety related to vehicles, personal protective gear, and sports equipment. A new brain injury criterion assessing rotation velocity effect was recently proposed by the US government. Unfortunately, it derivation from animal data scaled to a computer model of …

Noteworthy Parasites (Trematoda, Cestoda, Phthiraptera) Of Three Birds (Aves: Passeriformes; Pelecaniformes; Piciformes) From Arkansas, C.T. Mcallister, H.W. Robison

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Between November 2020 and March 2021, three species of birds, one each of a tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor), pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus), and great blue heron (Ardea herodias) were salvaged from Lawrence and Polk counties, Arkansas, and examined for parasites. Found were four taxa of parasites, including a dicrocoeliid trematode, a cyclophyllidean cestode, and species of philopterid and menoponid lice. We document new host and distributional records for these parasites from select birds of the state.

Spermiogenesis In The Western Siren, Siren Nettingi (Caudata: Sirenidae), S.E. Trauth

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

I investigated spermiogenesis in the Western Siren, Siren nettingi (formerly Western Lesser Siren, Siren intermedia nettingi) from salamanders collected periodically over a span of 21 yr (1994–2015) in northeastern Arkansas. My primary objective in this study is to present histologically and ultrastructurally, for the first time, the novel sequence of spermatological events of the spermiogenic process in this species. I describe the transformational stages from secondary spermatocytes to mature biflagellated spermatozoa, all of which occur within the lumen of testicular lobules. These new-to-science processes begin with nuclear displacement and expansion within spermatids, which occur after their detachment from Sertoli cells …

Histomorphology Of The Distal Urogenital Ducts In The Male Northern Crawfish Frog, Rana Areolata Circulosa (Anura: Ranidae), S.E. Trauth, R.G. Neal

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

We examined the microanatomy of the distal urogenital ducts in the male Northern Crawfish Frog (Rana areolata circulosa) from a small sample (n = 5) collected in February and March from central Arkansas over a 5-year period (2017–2022). Specifically, we sought information on the following structures: (1) the paired Wolffian (urogenital) ducts caudally from the kidneys to their merging with the urodeum of the cloaca, (2) the paired seminal vesicles (sperm storage structures), and (3) the paired Müllerian ducts and glands. This study provides new information on these urogenital ducts and promotes a clearer understanding of this anatomical region for …

Keynote Address And Meeting Program, Academy Editors

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Instructions To Authors, Academy Editors

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

A Rigid Body Framework For Modeling And Simulation Of Formation Of Autonomous Agents, Suguru Sato

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Formation motion, wherein multiple agents operate within close proximity while maintaining precise relative positions and coordinated movements has a significant impact in the realm of Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS). Formation establishment, and station-keeping have been critical research areas as several missions can be conceived, and accomplished by groups of “simple” autonomous agents. Advances in this research have led to multiple advantages in areas such as reconnaissance, aerospace exploration, map building, search and rescue, etc. particularly, if the formation motion is inspired by nature and natural phenomena such as flock of birds, school of fish, hydrodynamics (smooth streamlines), magnetic fields, and …