Digital Commons Network^™

A Study On The Incentives And Barriers For The Adoption Of Electric Vehicles In South Alabama, Marianne Loes, Daniela Wolter Ferreira Touma, Jennifer C. Zoghby

AMTP Proceedings 2024

ABSTRACT

Through a series of public policy incentives and consumer demand, more electric vehicles are being sold nationwide than ever before. Although electric vehicles (EVs) are being adopted nationwide by many consumers in recent years, car-buyers across South Alabama have not followed the trend. This research considers different stakeholders in the complex consumer buying process of car purchases, and it uses the extant technology adoption models to assess the public policy incentives, as well as statewide roadblocks, to EV adoption.

A Comparative-Analytical Based Approach To Improve Energy Efficiency In Office Buildings, Ahmed Mohamed Thabet Alieldin, Raghda Abdelwahab Othman

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Green Building Rating Systems (GBRSs) have spread worldwide to evaluate how buildings are related to sustainability criteria. On one hand, leadership in Energy and Environmental Design [1] was recognized to be one of the most prominent rating systems in all over the world. LEED gives importance to the energy category by giving it the highest weighting score. On the other hand, the Egyptian Green Pyramid Rating System (GPRS) has been established to expand the construction of green buildings in Egypt. The governmental codes, policies and strategies in Egypt play the main role in improving several codes in the …

Assessing The Lubrication Performance Of Sunflower Oil Modified With Montmorillonite Clay (Mmt) Nanoparticles For Industrial Applications, Md Mashfiqur Rahman, Md Abu Sayeed Biswas, Laura Peña-Pará, Demófilo Maldonado- Cortés, Javier A. Ortega

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Because of the environmental impact and price volatility, there has been a growing concern about using petroleum-based lubricants. This issue has encouraged research into the development of biodegradable lubricants like vegetable oils. This study assessed the tribological behavior of sunflower oil modified with Montmorillonite nanoclay (MMT) as lubricant additives. A block-on-ring tribometer was used to assess the wear and friction characteristics of the nano-lubricants. A custom-made tapping torque tester was used to evaluate the nano-lubricants in a real-world application. It was found that the volumetric wear, Coefficient of Friction, and torque of the system decreased when MMT nanoparticles were added. …

Effect Of Foot Additional Mass On The Clinical Angles Of Knee Extension Exercise, Dumitru I. Caruntu, Alfirio Trejo, Eric Rodriguez, Camila T. Alvarez B

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

This study investigates the effect of foot additional mass on the abduction and internal rotation knee angles during knee extension exercise. Three subjects (two male and one female) performed four sets of ten repetitions of the knee extension exercise for the right leg. For the first set, the subject performed the exercise with no additional weight. For each set after, weight was added around the subject’s right foot and the subject was allowed a rest period before beginning the next set. The weights for sets 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 0.00kg (no additional weight) ,0.82kg, 1.64kg, and 2.27kg respectively. …

Wearable Mxene-Graphene Sensing Of Influenza And Sars-Cov-2 Virus In Air And Breath: From Lab To Clinic, Yanxiao Li, Zhekun Peng, Jiaoli Li, Congjie Wei, Shangbin Liu, Weixing Hao, Huanyu Cheng, Casey Burton, Yang Wang, Yue-Wern Huang, Chang Soo Kim, Fang Yao Stephen Hou, Donghyun (Bill) Kim, Chenglin Wu

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The rapidly expanding severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its variants demand a continuous monitoring method through portable and wearable devices. Utilizing the rich surface chemistry and high chemical-to-electrical signal conversion of 2D MXene-graphene heterostructure thin films, a field-effect-transistor (FET) sensor, which has a flexible substrate to be assembled onto the mask and combines with a Bluetooth system for wireless transmission is developed, to detect the influenza and SARS-CoV-2 viruses in air and breath. At first, the developed sensors are examined in the laboratory through direct contact with sensing targets in solution form. The results show a low …

High-Yield And Rapid Isolation Of Extracellular Vesicles By Flocculation Via Orbital Acoustic Trapping: Float, Joseph Rufo, Peiran Zhang, Zeyu Wang, Yuyang Gu, Kaichun Yang, Joseph Rich, Chuyi Chen, Ruoyu Zhong, Ke Jin, Je He, Jianping Xia, Ke Li, Jiarong Wu, Yingshi Ouyang, Yoel Sadovsky, Luke P. Lee, Tony Jun Huang

Faculty Publications

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been identified as promising biomarkers for the noninvasive diagnosis of various diseases. However, challenges in separating EVs from soluble proteins have resulted in variable EV recovery rates and low purities. Here, we report a high-yield ( > 90%) and rapid ( <  10 min) EV isolation method called FLocculation via Orbital Acoustic Trapping (FLOAT). The FLOAT approach utilizes an acoustofluidic droplet centrifuge to rotate and controllably heat liquid droplets. By adding a thermoresponsive polymer flocculant, nanoparticles as small as 20 nm can be rapidly and selectively concentrated at the center of the droplet. We demonstrate the ability of FLOAT to separate urinary EVs from the highly abundant Tamm-Horsfall protein, addressing a significant obstacle in the development of EV-based liquid biopsies. Due to its high-yield nature, FLOAT reduces biofluid starting volume requirements by a factor of 100 (from 20 mL to 200 µL), demonstrating its promising potential in point-of-care diagnostics.

Fair Fault-Tolerant Approach For Access Point Failures In Networked Control System Greenhouses, Mohammed Ali Yaslam Ba Humaish

Theses and Dissertations

Greenhouse Networked Control Systems (NCS) are popular applications in modern agriculture due to their ability to monitor and control various environmental factors that can affect crop growth and quality. However, designing and operating a greenhouse in the context of NCS could be challenging due to the need for highly available and cost-efficient systems. This thesis presents a design methodology for greenhouse NCS that addresses these challenges, offering a framework to optimize crop productivity, minimize costs, and improve system availability and reliability. It contributes several innovations to the field of greenhouse NCS design. For example, it recommends using the 2.4GHz frequency …

The Santa Clara, 2024-02-02, Santa Clara University

The Santa Clara

No abstract provided.

Point-Of-Care Diagnostic Test For Beta-Thalassemia, Ran An, Umut A. Gurkan

Faculty Scholarship

Hemoglobin (Hb) disorders are among the most common monogenic diseases affecting nearly 7% of the world population. Among various Hb disorders, approximately 1.5% of the world population carries β-thalassemia (β-Thal), affecting 40,000 newborns every year. Early screening and a timely diagnosis are essential for β-thalassemia patients for the prevention and management of later clinical complications. However, in Africa, Southern Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, where β-thalassemia is most prevalent, the diagnosis and screening for β-thalassemia are still challenging due to the cost and logistical burden of laboratory diagnostic tests. Here, we present Gazelle, which is a paper-based microchip …

Left Ventricle Function And Post-Transcriptional Events With Exercise Training In Pigs, Stephanie L. Samani, Shayne C. Barlow, Lisa A. Freeburg, Traci L. Jones, Marlee Poole, Mark A. Sarzynski Ph.D., Faha, Facsm, Michael R. Zile, Tarek Shazly, Francis G. Spinale

Faculty Publications

Background

Standardized exercise protocols have been shown to improve overall cardiovascular fitness, but direct effects on left ventricular (LV) function, particularly diastolic function and relation to post-transcriptional molecular pathways (microRNAs (miRs)) are poorly understood. This project tested the central hypothesis that adaptive LV remodeling resulting from a large animal exercise training protocol, would be directly associated with specific miRs responsible for regulating pathways relevant to LV myocardial stiffness and geometry.

Methods and results

Pigs (n = 9; 25 Kg) underwent a 4 week exercise training protocol (10 degrees elevation, 2.5 mph, 10 min, 5 days/week) whereby LV chamber stiffness (KC) …

Performance Analysis And Evaluation Of Image Processing Techniques, Dcnn And Bsn Model For Detection And Classification Of Diabetic Retinopathy, Sudha S

Theses and Dissertations

Diabetes is a disorder that arises when blood sugar level increases. Insufficient secretion of insulin hormone is the ground for the evolution of diabetes, and it affects most of the critical organs in our body. Diabetes causes leakage of blood in the retinal blood vessels, inducing an eye disease, Diabetic Retinopathy (DR). The visual identification of micro features in fundus images makes the clinicians complex and challenging tasks. Therefore, timely diagnosis and proper treatment can prevent eye blindness. This research is proposed to identify and classify diabetic retinopathy using an Image Processing technique, Deep Convolutional Neural Network (DCNN), Biological Sensor …

Left Ventricle Function And Post-Transcriptional Events With Exercise Training In Pigs, Stephanie L. Samani, Shayne C. Barlow, Lisa A. Freeburg, Traci L. Jones, Marlee Poole, Mark A. Sarzynski Facsm, Michael R. Zile, Tarek Shazly, Francis G. Spinale

Faculty Publications

Background

Standardized exercise protocols have been shown to improve overall cardiovascular fitness, but direct effects on left ventricular (LV) function, particularly diastolic function and relation to post-transcriptional molecular pathways (microRNAs (miRs)) are poorly understood. This project tested the central hypothesis that adaptive LV remodeling resulting from a large animal exercise training protocol, would be directly associated with specific miRs responsible for regulating pathways relevant to LV myocardial stiffness and geometry.

Methods and results

Pigs (n = 9; 25 Kg) underwent a 4 week exercise training protocol (10 degrees elevation, 2.5 mph, 10 min, 5 days/week) whereby LV chamber stiffness (KC) …

Analysis Of The Impact Of Water Treatment By Liming Sedimentation And Dredging On The Content Of Heavy Metals In Fish Intended For Consumption, Asfie Maidie, Ismail Fahmy Almadi, Muchlis Efendi, Rekha Yusdha Nilawardhani, Komsanah Sukarti, Henny Pagoray

Journal of Sustainable Mining

The present study sought to determine the presence of metals and arsenic, a metalloid, among the fish of a coal mine reservoir, where the water was treated regularly through liming sedimentation combined with dredging, and the fish living in an adjoining river. The potential hazard of metals in fish as human food was analyzed. Except for selenium (an important metal to the human body), which was higher among the river fish than in the reservoir fish (P < 0.01), there were no particular patterns of other studied metals found in either habitat (P > 0.05), and apparently not related to the fish family that consumed by local people. Measurements of bioaccumulation factor (BAF) yielded scattered values from …

Beneath I-280: Excavating A Neighborhood Lost To San José Freeways, Leila Ullmann, Gordon Douglas

Mineta Transportation Institute

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, thousands of people in San José, California were displaced from their homes as the state used eminent domain to purchase land and uproot neighborhoods for the construction of Interstate freeways. This report presents a multifaceted research and public knowledge effort that uncovers some of the communities buried beneath these freeways, in the area where I-280 and CA-87 meet today near downtown San José. The project builds primarily from previously unprocessed California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) archival documents, which this project studies for the first time. The records are rich in detail about valuation and sale …

Simple Sars-Cov-2 Concentration Methods For Wastewater Surveillance In Low Resource Settings, Mohammad Dehghan Banadaki, Soroosh Torabi, Alexus Lori Rockward, William Strike, Ann Noble, James W. Keck, Scott M. Berry

UK CARES Faculty Publications

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) measures pathogens in wastewater to monitor infectious disease prevalence in communities. Due to the high dilution of pathogens in sewage, a concentration method is often required to achieve reliable biomarker signals. However, most of the current concentration methods rely on expensive equipment and labor-intensive processes, which limits the application of WBE in low-resource settings. Here, we compared the performance of four inexpensive and simple concentration methods to detect SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater samples: Solid Fraction, Porcine Gastric Mucin-conjugated Magnetic Beads, Calcium Flocculation- Citrate Dissolution (CFCD), and Nanotrap® Magnetic Beads (NMBs). The NMBs and CFCD methods yielded the highest …

Vaccine Immunogenicity Versus Gastrointestinal Microbiome Status: Implications For Poultry Production, Chrysta N. Beck, Jiangchao Zhao, Gisela F. Erf

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

At the turn of the 21st century, the importance of maintaining a balanced microbiome was brought to the forefront of the microbiology, immunology, and physiology research fields. Exploring the complex interactions between vaccine administration, mucosal microbiome, oral tolerance, and enteric inflammation in health and disease is challenging since environmental factors (such as diet and sanitation) have major influences on gut microbiota composition. High enteric pathogen load has been shown to contribute to dampened cell-mediated and humoral immune responses to vaccines in human case studies, either through elevated enteric inflammation or increased tolerance to environmental microbes. Although antibiotic and probiotic interventions …

Mathematical Model Of Oxygen, Nutrient, And Drug Transport In Tuberculosis Granulomas, Meenal Datta, Mccarthy Kennedy, Saeed Siri, Laura Via, James W. Baish, Lei Xu, Veronique Dartois, Clifton Barry, Rakesh Jain

Faculty Journal Articles

Physiological abnormalities in pulmonary granulomas–pathological hallmarks of tuberculosis (TB)–compromise the transport of oxygen, nutrients, and drugs. In prior studies, we demonstrated mathematically and experimentally that hypoxia and necrosis emerge in the granuloma microenvironment (GME) as a direct result of limited oxygen availability. Building on our initial model of avascular oxygen diffusion, here we explore additional aspects of oxy- gen transport, including the roles of granuloma vasculature, transcapillary transport, plasma dilution, and interstitial convection, followed by cellular metabolism. Approximate analytical solutions are provided for oxygen and glucose concentration, interstitial fluid velocity, interstitial fluid pressure, and the thickness of the convective zone. …

Interdependencies Between Wildfire-Induced Alterations In Soil Properties, Near-Surface Processes, And Geohazards, Farshid Vahedifard, Masood Abdollahi, Ben A. Leshchinsky, Timothy D. Stark, Mojtaba Sadegh, Amir Aghakouchak

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The frequency, severity, and spatial extent of destructive wildfires have increased in several regions globally over the past decades. While direct impacts from wildfires are devastating, the hazardous legacy of wildfires affects nearby communities long after the flames have been extinguished. Post-wildfire soil conditions control the persistence, severity, and timing of cascading geohazards in burned landscapes. The interplay and feedback between geohazards and wildfire-induced changes to soil properties, land cover conditions, and near-surface and surface processes are still poorly understood. Here, we synthesize wildfire-induced processes that can affect the critical attributes of burned soils and their conditioning of subsequent geohazards. …

Life Cycle Assessment Of Hydrothermal Carbonization: A Review Of Product Valorization Pathways, Andrea Ogunleye, Joseph Flora, Nicole Berge

Faculty Publications

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) has the potential to be a sustainable and environmentally beneficial approach for organic waste treatment. It is likely that HTC product use will dictate the viability of large-scale HTC facilities; therefore, understanding the viability and environmental implications associated with HTC product valorization pathways is critical. The overall goal of this review is to gain an understanding of how HTC product valorization is currently being modeled in life cycle assessment studies, and to use such information to assess current research and/or data needs associated with product valorization. To accomplish this, a review of existing HTC literature was conducted …

Us Public Opinion About The Safety Of Gene Editing In The Agriculture And Medical Fields And The Amount Of Evidence Needed To Improve Opinions, Brandon R. Mcfadden, Joy N. Rumble, Kathryn A. Stofer, Kevin M. Folta

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction: Implementation of gene editing in agriculture and medicine hinges on public acceptance. The objectives of this study were to explore U.S. public opinion about gene editing in agricultural and medical fields and to provide more insight into the relationship between opinions about the safety of gene editing and the potential impact of evidence to improve opinions about safety.

Methods: Data were from two samples of U.S. respondents: 1,442 respondents in 2021 and 3,125 respondents in 2022. Survey respondents provided their opinions about the safety of gene editing in the agricultural and medical fields and answered questions about the number …

02.26.2024 Orsp Connect, Liz Williamson

ORED Newsletter

No abstract provided.

02.12.2024 Orsp Connect, Liz Williamson

ORED Newsletter

I-RED Program, Training on Python and R available, Christy White spotlight, UM Researchers Find Turmeric, Thyme Oils Repel Fire Ants

02.05.2024 Orsp Connect, Liz Williamson

ORED Newsletter

NSF Revises PAPPG, Mickey McLaurin spotlight, ORSP Training Available: NSF Project Summary, Inclusive Entrepreneurship Event

Construction Software: Use, Selection, And Performance In Low-Bid Contracting, David R. Cazares

Construction Management

The qualitative research included in this study evaluates the use, selection, and perceived gaps of current construction software suits in low-bid contracting. In addition, the data aims to provide merit to the correlation between construction software use and company performance. The intended stakeholders of this study include entrepreneurs in software development and construction, along with researchers looking to gather knowledge pertaining to this niche industry. Through a Google Forms questionnaire distributed via email, participants provide insight on the current status quo. The study’s responses show clear trends in the types of software currently in use and the subsequent reasons for …

Adaptive Inter-Vehicular Collaboration For Level 5 Autonomous Driving, Sumbal Malik

Dissertations

The evolution of sensor technologies, mobile networks, and artificial intelligence has significantly expanded the horizons of various sectors, notably in autonomous driving. According to the World Health Organization, over 1.3 million people succumb to traffic accidents annually, predominantly due to human negligence. Complex urban environments, characterized by mixed traffic flow involving Human Driven Vehicles and Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, intricate traffic patterns, frequent lane changes, and slow speeds, face escalating challenges related to traffic accidents and congestion. These challenges lead to wasted time, increased fuel consumption, and heightened pollution emission levels. Hence, the development of a safe and robust version …

Semantic Segmentation Of Longitudinal Thermal Images For Identification Of Hot And Cool Spots In Urban Areas, Vasantha Ramani, Pandarasamy Arjunan, Kameshwar Poolla, Clayton Miller

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This work presents the analysis of semantically segmented, longitudinally, and spatially rich thermal images collected at the neighborhood scale to identify hot and cool spots in urban areas. An infrared observatory was operated over a few months to collect thermal images of different types of buildings on the educational campus of the National University of Singapore. A subset of the thermal image dataset was used to train state-of-the-art deep learning models to segment various urban features such as buildings, vegetation, sky, and roads. It was observed that the U-Net segmentation model with ‘resnet34’ CNN backbone has the highest mIoU score …

Effects Of Laser Defocusing On Bead Geometry In Coaxial Titanium Wire-Based Laser Metal Deposition, Remy Mathenia, Aaron Flood, Braden Mclain, Todd Sparks, Frank W. Liou

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Coaxial wire-based laser metal deposition is a versatile and efficient additive process that can achieve a high deposition rate in the manufacturing of complex structures. In this paper, a three-beam coaxial wire system is studied, with particular attention to the effects of deposition height and laser defocusing on the resulting bead geometry. As the deposition standoff distance changes, so does the workpiece illumination proportion, which describes the ratio of energy going directly into the feedstock wire and into the substrate. Single titanium beads are deposited at varying defocus levels and deposition rates and the bead aspect ratio is measured and …

Accelerating Neurotechnology Development Using An Agile Methodology, Anil Kumar Thota, Ranu Jung

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Novel bioelectronic medical devices that target neural control of visceral organs (e.g., liver, gut, spleen) or inflammatory reflex pathways are innovative class III medical devices like implantable cardiac pacemakers that are lifesaving and life-sustaining medical devices. Bringing innovative neurotechnologies early into the market and the hands of treatment providers would benefit a large population of patients inflicted with autonomic and chronic immune disorders. Medical device manufacturers and software developers widely use the Waterfall methodology to implement design controls through verification and validation. In the Waterfall methodology, after identifying user needs, a functional unit is fabricated following the verification loop (design, …

Investigating The Effects Of Alcohol Consumption On Manual And Automated Driving: A Systematic Review, Miaomiao Dong, Yuni Lee, Jackie Cha, Gaojian Huang

Mineta Transportation Institute

There are direct correlations between drunk driving and car-related injuries, disabilities, and death. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) may provide useful driver support systems to prevent or reduce road accidents. However, AVs are not yet fully automated and require human drivers to take over the vehicle at times. Therefore, understanding how alcohol affects driving performance in both manual and automated driving is important because manual drives may offer insights into the takeover process in AVs. A systematic review of 53 articles from eight databases was conducted. Findings were categorized based on the human information processing model, which can be extended to the …

Low Shear In Short-Term Impacts Endothelial Cell Traction And Alignment In Long-Term, Mohanish Chandurkar, Nikhil Mittal, Shaina P. Royer-Weeden, Steven D. Lehmann, Yeonwoo Rho, Sangyoon J. Han

Michigan Tech Publications

Within the vascular system, endothelial cells (ECs) are exposed to fluid shear stress (FSS), a mechanical force exerted by blood flow that is critical for regulating cellular tension and maintaining vascular homeostasis. The way ECs react to FSS varies significantly; while high, laminar FSS supports vasodilation and suppresses inflammation, low or disturbed FSS can lead to endothelial dysfunction and increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Yet, the adaptation of ECs to dynamically varying FSS remains poorly understood. This study focuses on the dynamic responses of ECs to brief periods of low FSS, examining its impact on endothelial traction-a measure of …