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Characterization Of On-Road Petrol Vehicle Emissions Patterns In Dar Es Salaam City (Tanzania), Geoffrey John

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Motor vehicle emissions have been identified to be the major source of air pollution in most urban cities. It has serious impact on urban air quality and public health. The Governments of many countries need to adopt stringent vehicle emissions regulations to protect the air quality, the undertaking of which can only be implemented once the problem at hand is known. In the present study, the characteristics of on road vehicle emissions from the selected local ar~as at the city of Dar es Salaam in a developing country for in-use petrol vehicles for urban driving conditions ranging from idling, lOkm/h …

Data Fusion Of Complementary Information From Parietal And Occipital Event Related Potentials For Early Diagnosis Of Alzheimer's Disease, Nicholas Stepenosky

Theses and Dissertations

The number of the elderly population affected by Alzheimer's disease is rapidly rising. The need to find an accurate, inexpensive, and non-intrusive procedure that can be made available to community healthcare providers for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is becoming an increasingly urgent public health concern. Several recent studies have looked at analyzing electroencephalogram signals through the use of many signal processing techniques. While their methods show great promise, the final outcome of these studies has been largely inconclusive. The inherent difficulty of the problem may be the cause of this outcome, but most likely it is due to …

An Architecture For Intelligent Health Assessment Enabled Ieee 1451 Compliant Smart Sensors, Donald Albert Nickles

Theses and Dissertations

As systems become increasingly complex and costly, potential failure mechanisms and indicators are numerous and difficult to identify, while the cost of loss is very expensive - human lives, replacement units, and impacts to national security. In order to ensure the safety and long-term reliability of vehicles, structures, and devices attention must be directed toward the assessment and management of system health. System health is the key component that links data, information, and knowledge to action. Integrated Systems Health Management (ISHM) doctrine calls for comprehensive real-time health assessment and management of systems where the distillation of raw data into information …

Towards Effective Online Learning Implementation In Tanzanian Higher Learning Institutions: Obstacles, Challenges And Opportunities, M Victor

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

This paper identifies and discusses several influential factors as well as opportunities, associated with effective- online learning implementation in Tanzanian Higher Learning Institutions (THUs). Fourteen (14) THUs were surveyed, using face-to-face interviews in focus groups. The groups included Lecturers, Heads of ICT Departments, ICT Technical Personnel as well as Admi/:listrative Staff. Results indicate that mostly, problems with effective online implementation in THUs are centred on a severe scarcity of online resources and tools and that the main challenges lie in going beyond the process of integrating technology with their teaching curricular, so that training of both teaching and supporting staffs …

Functional Disaster Resistant Buildings, Florida Solar Energy Center, William Young

FSEC Energy Research Center®

Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, floods, tornados, tsunami and earthquakes, are becoming a greater problem as they destroy lives, homes, businesses and the natural environment. Such disasters can happen with little or no warning, leaving hundreds or even thousands of people without medical services, potable water, sanitation, communications and electrical services for up to several weeks. One proactive strategy to minimize this type of destruction and disruption to lives is the implementation of disaster-resistant buildings that are energy efficient, fortified to the latest codes, and incorporate renewable energy systems. This approach uses the best energy-efficient buildings, fortified to the latest …

Problems And Solutions: Training Disaster Organizations On The Use Of Pv, Florida Solar Energy Center, William Young

FSEC Energy Research Center®

In 1992, the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) assisted the University of Miami Field Epidemiology Survey Team (FEST) with photovoltaic systems to power temporary medical clinics after Hurricane Andrew struck south Dade County. At that time, it became apparent that there were no educational materials prepared for disaster relief or emergency management personnel on the use of photovoltaic (PV) to supply electrical power in response to a disaster. This need prompted FSEC to create an education program to develop awareness and train organizations on the proper use of PV in disasters. Since then, FSEC has …

Remote Health Monitoring Of The First Smart Bridge In Florida, Ebrahim Mehrani, Ashraf Salah Eldin Ayoub

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Monitoring of civil engineering structures is a new area that has gained significant attention recently and became a topic of extreme national interest. This area is being driven by the need to develop efficient condition assessment procedures for structural performance in response to societal and economic needs. the main goal of monitoring is to detect accurately and efficiently structural damage either due to long-term deterioration processes or due to extreme events (e.g. earthquakes, blasts). with the emergence of new technologies, structures can now be monitored remotely from a central monitoring station located several miles away from the field. Sensors are …

Validation Of An Inertial Sensor System For Quantifying Knee Function, Aaron Koslin

All Theses

Gait analysis has become a useful tool for clinicians in evaluating the progression of pathologies through functional analysis. The high cost and dedicated laboratories associated with the traditional camera-based motion analysis systems present the need for an alternative system. Direct measurement of kinetic parameters using inertial sensors (gyroscopes and accelerometers), in place of indirect calculations from position data obtained using cameras, has been shown effective in resolving important gait parameters.
In order to directly compare gait parameters obtained using inertial sensors and a camera system, data was simultaneously collected from both systems for seven test subjects during normal gait. Three …

Optimizing Production Methods For Artifical Silk Proteins Through Bioreactor And Purification Studies Of Recombinant Proteins Expressed From Pichia Pastoris, Aaron Ramey

All Theses

Advancements in the field of biomaterials are being made to produce an artificial silk fiber. A gene was constructed which utilized components from both the dragline silk of Nephila clavipes and nematode collagen. For this engineered protein, the yeast strain Pichia pastoris was chosen to be the host organism. Previous research has shown P. pastoris to have comparatively low amounts of specific protein productivity. Therefore, this problem must be compensated for by obtaining extremely high cell densities. The main focus of this study was to optimize the fermentation parameters of transgenic yeast cultures within a bioreactor in order to increase …

Influence Of Temperature And Polymer/ Mold Surface Interactions On Micro-Feature Replication At Ambient Pressure In Micro Injection Molding, Varun Thakur

All Theses

This study assesses micro-feature replication at elevated mold temperature and ambient pressure using a variety of polymers. Moldings were made on the surface of stainless steel and silicon wafers containing features as small as 130 nm under isothermal conditions in a heated chamber by allowing polymer to spread over the features at ambient pressure. Feature replication was analyzed via AFM and SEM. Polymer behavior was characterized via melt contact angle and melt viscosity. While feature detail was well replicated, the moldings exhibited poor dimensional accuracy due to shrinkage. In general, polymers with low viscosity and surface tension comparable to the …

Tannic Acid Crosslinked Collagens And Potential For Breast Tissue Engineering, Cheryl Parzel

All Theses

The purpose of this study was to develop and assess a potential key feature in a minimally-invasive breast reconstruction device and to collect information for an in vitro tissue test system. Tannic acid is a hydrolysable plant tannin, and it has been determined that tannic acid functions as a collagen crosslinking agent through both hydrogen bonding mechanisms and hydrophobic effects. Additionally, current research suggests that tannic acid may have anti-tumor properties. Therefore, it has been proposed that tannic acid can be used as an agent to induce apoptotic processes in any transplanted adult stem cells that are inclined to spontaneously …

Emission Reduction In Small Displacement Diesel Engines Using Cooled Exhaust Gas Recirculation, Chris Simoson

All Theses

A reduced-order dynamic model is presented and experimentally validated to demonstrate the use of cooled exhaust gas recirculation to alleviate the tradeoff between nitric oxide reduction and performance preservation in a small displacement diesel engine. Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is an effective method for internal combustion engine oxides of nitrogen (NOx) reduction, but its thermal throttling diminishes power efficiency. The capacity to cool exhaust gases prior to merging with intake air may achieve the desired pollutant effect while minimizing engine performance losses.
Simulation and experimental results revealed significant NOx reductions throughout all testing scenarios using EGR, but also experienced a …

Development Of Fatigue Predictive Models Of Rubberized Asphalt Concrete (Rac) Containing Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (Rap) Mixtures, Feipeng Xiao

All Dissertations

In recent years, some by-products such as crumb rubber has been used to save money, protect the environment, and extend the life of asphalt pavements. In addition, the utilization of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) is an acceptable practice in many states around the United States and many countries all over the world. However, the use of RAP containing crumb rubber has not been investigated in great detail, so it is essential to explore whether these materials have a positive effect on the fatigue life of asphalt pavement. In general, previous experience shows that the use of RAP has proven to …

Development Of A Cellular Fiber Spinning Technology For Regenerative Medicine, Willie Jones

All Theses

In order to prove that our textile hollow fiber spinning apparatus was adequate for cellular encapsulation, we confirmed the viability and metabolic activity of green fluorescent protein (GFP) labeled bovine mammary epithelial cells (MAC-Ts) that were encapsulated in either the wall or lumen of alginate fibers. After a 21 day in vitro macroscopic evaluation, no decrease in fluorescence was observed; and it was determined that MAC-Ts encapsulated under both methods produced lactic acid and consumed glucose. Histomorphological analyses revealed that the diameter of the MAC-Ts increased under both encapsulation scenarios, with little to no evidence of cell cluster propagation. Based …

Use Of Personas For User Interface Design: Results Of Field And Experimental Studies , Pallavi Dharwada

All Dissertations

Persona is a fictitious user serving as a role model for designers, helping them make difficult decisions from the users' perspective during the interface design process. This concept, which was introduced by Alan Cooper in 1999, has been found to be a powerful tool for engaging the designers with the users. Although personas do not replace the rich data acquired through user testing, they enhance the interface development process by focusing the designers' attention on the target user until the interface qualifies for testing. Recognizing the benefits of persona, many companies, including the Fortune 500 have embraced this concept as …

Modeling Long-Term Plutonium Transport In The Savannah River Site Vadose Zone, Deniz Demirkanli

All Dissertations

Improved understanding of flow and radionuclide transport in vadose zone sediments is fundamental to future planning involving radioactive materials. Long-term experiments were conducted at the Savannah River Site (SRS), where a series of lysimeters containing sources of different Pu oxidation states were placed in the shallow subsurface and exposed to the environment for 2 to 11 years. After the experiments, Pu activity concentrations were measured along vertical cores. The distributions were anomalous in nature, with irregular downward migration and unexpected upward migration. Previous studies suggested that surface-mediated, oxidation/reduction (redox) reactions may be responsible for the anomalies. This hypothesis is tested …

Optimizing The Project Team's Contribution To Business Objectives, Chad Rowland

All Theses

The traditional expectations of the project team are for the processes of engineering, procurement, construction, and start-up to be expertly administered. However, these performance criteria can be satisfied yet still not meet the ultimate business needs of the owner. The purpose of this thesis was to determine ways to improve the likelihood of achieving owner's business objectives. Fifty-one questionnaire survey forms were analyzed to obtain data for thirty-three pre-project planning activities. A data analysis concluded with a degree of statistical significance that for thirteen of the thirty-three activities, the more successful projects, as defined by the satisfaction of the business …

An Analysis Of The Accounting Methods Used By Builders Producing Twenty-Five Or Fewer Homes Per Year, David Andrus

Theses and Dissertations

Accounting plays a crucial role in the success of any business, but it is particularly vital in the construction industry, a complex field that typically requires the coordination of multiple subcontractors and multiple jobs in any given year. Although small-volume home builders make up 70 percent of the membership of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), a trade association of the home building industry, little is known about the accounting practices of these builders. This thesis undertook to study the accounting practices of small-volume home builders. Small-volume home builders were defined as those producing 25 homes or fewer in …

Shape Matching, Relevance Feedback, And Indexing With Application To Spine X-Ray Image Retrieval, Xiaoqian Xu

Theses and Dissertations

The National Library of Medicine (NLM), an institute in the National Institutes of Health (NIH), maintains a collection of 17,000 digitized spine X-ray images obtained from the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES II). Research effort has been devoted to develop a web-accessible retrieval system that allows retrieval of images from the NHANES II database on relevant and frequently found pathologies. A comprehensive and successful image retrieval system requires effective image representation and matching methods, relevance feedback algorithms to incorporate user opinions, and efficient indexing schemes for fast access to image databases. This dissertation studies and develops approaches …

Stabilization Of Vascular Elastin By Treatment With Tannins, Jason Isenburg

All Dissertations

Elastin is an important component of the extracellular matrix that endows cardiovascular tissue with the ability to extend and recoil repetitively. It has been shown that elastin may be vulnerable to enzymatic degradation and calcification in certain pathological cases. As a result, elastin degeneration may be associated with the failure of tissue-derived cardiovascular devices, such as bioprosthetic heart valves, as well as the development and progression of aortic aneurysms, a disease associated with progressive connective tissue degeneration of the arterial wall. Therefore, an elastin stabilizing agent may be beneficial for both applications. As such, our objectives for elastin stabilization are …

Impact Of Wastewater Reuse In Burlington County On Surface Water Quality And Adjacent Wetlands, Crystal L. Mattson

Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to assess potential ecological impacts from application of treated wastewater effluent. Indian Springs Golf Course is currently irrigated with reclaimed wastewater. Grab water samples were collected from three (3) ponds located on the golf course over the course of a year and were analyzed for nitrate-nitrogen, total phosphorus, organics, and bacteria. A second golf course, Medford Lakes Country Club is currently irrigated with groundwater. Grab water samples were collected from both locations and analyzed for nutrients and bacteria for comparison purposes.

Results of sample analyses indicate that detriment to the quality of surface water at the …

39th Conference On Senior Engineering Design Projects, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

Senior Engineering Design Conference

The 39th Conference on Senior Engineering Design Projects was held on December 5, 2006 at the College of Engineering and applied Sciences on the Parkview Campus of Western Michigan University. The college sponsors the conference to showcase the work of its graduating seniors, who are required to complete a capstone project that puts into practice what they have learned. Many of the projects are sponsored by business and industry.

Neural Network Burst Pressure Prediction In Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels From Acoustic Emission Data, Seth-Andrew T. Dion

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

Composites have grown in importance in the aerospace industry where high specific strength is a priority. Weight reduction in space vehicles is critical because of the exorbitant cost associated with placing objects into space. Major weight savings have been obtained by switching from all metal pressure vessels to composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs). Due to the nature of composites, current nondestructive analysis procedures for COPVs are not adequate for assessing structural integrity. As such, new methods must be developed. Presented herein is one such method.

A method for burst pressure prediction using parametric filtering of acoustic emission (AE) data along …

An Experimental Comparison Of Dimensional And Strength Characteristics Of American And Chinese Manufactured Fasteners, Michael Bailey Stroup

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated the quality and strength characteristics ofboth American and Chinese manufactured fasteners. The purpose of this research was to determine if there is a significant statistical difference between both manufacturers dimensional and tensile strength characteristics as to the American National Standards Institute's specified tolerances. The researcher selected the independent samples t-test to analyze the raw data collected from the experiment. SPSS 13.0 statistical analysis software was used to determine the degree of correlation between the independent variables: fastener dimensions, and ultimate tensile strengths. The researcher involved utilizing a calibrated micrometer that was capable to producing measurements to the …

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Building Services Engineering

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An Airline Ab Initio Flight Training Program In The United Arab Emirates (Uae): An Analytical Approach Toward Emiratization, Shareef A. K. Al-Romaithi

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

The continuous establishment and expansion of UAE airlines has led to a demand for qualified pilots in the region of the Persian Gulf. The shortage of UAE national pilots has compelled the local airlines to employ pilots with foreign nationalities. Though the UAE government has implemented a program within the Emirates to increase the number of nationals in the work force (referred to as Emiratization), there has been little headway within the aviation sector. As a result, this thesis was undertaken to develop an ab initio training program that would increase the percentage of UAE nationals among the UAE airline …

Computer Model To Select Leed Certification For Building Projects, Ruba Mirghani Mohammed

Masters Theses

According to the US Green Building Council (USGBC) residential and commercial buildings in the United State consume huge amounts of natural resources; pollute the environment, and generate large amounts of waste, all of which affect the environment, economy, public health, and productivity. As a result, USGBC committees developed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system to help professionals improve the quality of buildings and lessen their impact on the environment.

The (LEED) Green Building Rating System is a point-based system for certifying the level of a building's sustainability. There are four LEED certification categories: (1) Certified, (2) …

Gridfields: Model-Driven Data Transformation In The Physical Sciences, Bill Howe

Dissertations and Theses

Scientists' ability to generate and store simulation results is outpacing their ability to analyze them via ad hoc programs. We observe that these programs exhibit an algebraic structure that can be used to facilitate reasoning and improve performance. In this dissertation, we present a formal data model that exposes this algebraic structure, then implement the model, evaluate it, and use it to express, optimize, and reason about data transformations in a variety of scientific domains.

Simulation results are defined over a logical grid structure that allows a continuous domain to be represented discretely in the computer. Existing approaches for manipulating …

Multivariate Discretization Of Continuous Valued Attributes., Ehab Ahmed El Sayed Ahmed 1978-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The area of Knowledge discovery and data mining is growing rapidly. Feature Discretization is a crucial issue in Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD), or Data Mining because most data sets used in real world applications have features with continuously values. Discretization is performed as a preprocessing step of the data mining to make data mining techniques useful for these data sets. This thesis addresses discretization issue by proposing a multivariate discretization (MVD) algorithm. It begins withal number of common discretization algorithms like Equal width discretization, Equal frequency discretization, Naïve; Entropy based discretization, Chi square discretization, and orthogonal hyper planes. After …

Investigation Of The Band Structures And Optical Properties Of Super Lattices, Sheikha Ahmed Awad Alnaeme

Theses

Group III nitrides are highly attractive materials because of their great potential for the development of optoelectronic devices in short wavelength, semiconductor lasers and optical light-emitters and detectors. GaN, AlN and InN are considered as the most important compounds in this class of materials. In this work, we present a theoretical investigation of the electronic properties (band structure, density of state and contour maps of the charge density distribution) and optical properties (refractive index, absorption and dielectric constants). Also, we investigate the band structures and optical properties of AlN/GaN and InN/GaN super lattices. A full-potential linearized plane-wave (FPLAPW) method is …