Digital Commons Network^™

Monitoring Aircraft Cabin Particulate Matter Using A Wireless Sensor Network, James A. Hall Jr., Joshua Kiepert, Michael Pook, Sin Ming Loo

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The semi-enclosed and pressurized nature of the aircraft cabin results in a highly dynamic environment. The dynamic conditions establish spatiotemporal dependent environmental characteristics. Characterization of aircraft cabin environmental and bleed-air conditions have traditionally been done with stand-alone measurement systems which, by their very nature, cannot provide the necessary sensor coverage in such an environment. To this purpose, a prototype wireless sensor network system has been developed that can be deployed in the aircraft cabin environment. Each sensor node in the system incorporates the ability to measure common aircraft contaminants such as particulate matter and carbon dioxide, along with other key …

Zein: Novel Natural Polymer For Nanoparticle- And Film-Mediated Gene Delivery, Jessica D. Taylor

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Gene delivery, the introduction of DNA into cells, is applicable to gene therapy, DNA vaccination, functional genomics and diagnostics, tissue engineering, and drug-eluting medical devices. Particulates incorporating DNA are promising vehicles for gene delivery and overcome some of the barriers that hinder successful gene transfer, with the ability to protect DNA and provide for controlled, localized, and sustained release and transfection. Furthermore, innovative new gene delivery strategies that incorporate DNA particulates or complexes within films or coatings for devices and scaffolds could further provide for controlled and sustained transfection at the site of implant. Zein, a hydrophobic protein from corn, …

The Effect Of The Probiotic Pediococcus Acidilactici On The Gut Microbiota Ecology Of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss Walbaum) Analysed Using Dgge, Alice Anderson

The Plymouth Student Scientist

The microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract heavily influences the health, growth and survival of fish. Probiotics have proved effective in improving fish productivity in aquaculture. Research suggests that probiotics, supplemented in the feed, may elicit these benefits by altering the ecology of the gastrointestinal microbiota. The probiotic Pediococcus acidilactici has been successfully used for terrestrial animals and humans but its use in aquatic organisms has been less researched. In the present study, rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum) were fed a diet that contained Ped. Acidilactici, or a control diet. Analysis of the posterior digesta bacteria, using a non-culture dependant technique, …

Engineering Spores To Display G Protein-Coupled Receptors For Directed Evolution, Alyssa Misoo Kim

Theses

All human cells are surrounded by a plasma membrane made from a phospholipid bilayer, which is responsible for maintaining a biologically active species, while stopping entry of deleterious substances from the outside. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the membrane proteins, which transmit signals across the cell membrane. GPCRs are involved in almost every physiological process, and irregular control leads to pathological conditions. Therefore, they are major drug targets. Crystal structure determination is required to understand the molecular details of activation/deactivation. However, GPCRs are difficult to crystallize because of stability issues. An efficient protein engineering system needs to be developed. The …

Device Engineering For Infectious Disease Diagnosis Using Isothermal Dna Amplification And Lateral Flow Detection, Kristina Roskos

KGI Theses and Dissertations

Technologies that enable infectious diseases diagnosis in low-resource settings could greatly facilitate effective treatment and containment of such diseases. Nucleic acid amplification testing can be used to identify pathogens, but typically requires highly-trained personnel and large, expensive lab equipment, neither of which is available in low-resource settings. Our overall goal is to develop a portable diagnostic system that utilizes a low-cost, disposable, mesofluidic cartridge and a handheld electronics unit to perform fully-integrated nucleic acid testing at the point of care in low-resource settings. As a first step toward this goal, we developed a subunit to execute isothermal nucleic acid amplification …

Controlling Bacterial Persister Cells With Low Level Electric Currents, Henry Lars Peterson

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Bacterial persister cells present a growing concern as they inherit the ability to tolerate high concentrations of antibiotics and repopulate after an antibiotic treatment leading to chronic diseases. Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes many human infections including skin infections and those associated with burn injuries, and implanted medical devices, and are associated with Cystic Fibrosis. Recently, the Ren Lab developed a novel approach to eliminate persister cells of P. aeruginosa, including those in biofilms, using low level electric currents. To evaluate the safety of this method and to better understand how the underlying elements, this study focused on the cytotoxicity of …

A Cradle To Farm Gate Life Cycle Analysis Of Water Use In U.S. Pork Production, Eric Boles

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this study was to analyze water use across a range of regions, scales and practices of the U.S. pork industry. A Life Cycle Assessment of water use within the pork supply chain was performed. Cumulative water use was the environmental impact category used in the LCA to evaluate the impacts of pork production processes throughout the pork supply chain. The functional unit for the analysis was the volume of water required to produce one kilogram of swine (live weight) at the farm gate.

A comprehensive literature review was used to design and propagate algorithms for the National …

2013 - The Eighteenth Annual Symposium Of Student Scholars

Symposium of Student Scholars Program Books

The full program book from the Eighteenth Annual Symposium of Student Scholars, held on April 25, 2013. Includes abstracts from the presentations and posters.

Low Soluble Drug Encapsulation Based On Architecture Of Layer-By-Layer Assembly For Longer Circulation Time And Targeted Therapy, Pravin Pattekari

Doctoral Dissertations

A combined effect of sonication and layer-by-layer assembly (LbL) enhances the solubility of many poorly soluble inorganic and organic materials by forming stable particles with ca. 200 nm size and up to 90 wt% of loading. The entire method is reproducible, easy-to-handle, and flexible for varying surface properties according to the application of the materials. The method develops good colloidal stability of materials in buffers and maintains architecture for future improvement. A top-down approach, with a combined effect of sonication and LbL assembly, ruptures the material and allows adsorption of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes simultaneously. Thus, the approach is applicable for …

Would I Survive In Space?, Robert J. Twiggs

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint presentation created by Professor Bob Twiggs titled "Would I survive in Space?" from February 4, 2013.

Automated Point-Of-Care Image Processing Methodology For The Diagnosis Of Malaria, Michael B. Jorgensen

Master's Theses

Malaria has profoundly influenced human history for over four thousand years and despite numerous attempts at eradication, the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of malaria have been largely ineffective. More than five hundred million people are affected by malaria every year resulting in over one million deaths. Drug resistance development by the parasite has diminished the effectiveness of numerous treatment options due, in part, to overtreatment of negative patients based on insufficient clinical algorithms and diagnostic methods. The goal of this research was to develop an image analysis algorithm to diagnose malaria with a high degree of sensitivity and specificity in …

Cpg And Interleukin-15 Synergize To Enhance Ifn-Gamma Production By Activated Cd8(+) T Cells, Dustin Cobb, Sigi Guo, Ronald B. Smeltz

Bioelectrics Publications

Interleukin-15 (IL-15) regulates the development and maintenance of memory CD8(+) T cells. Paradoxically, we previously reported that IL-15 could enhance CD8(+) T-cell responses to IL-12, a proinflammatory cytokine required for optimal priming of effector CD8(+) T cells. To expand the physiological relevance of these findings, we tested IL-15 for its ability to enhance T-cell responses to bacterial CpG. Expectedly, CpG enhanced the production of IFN-gamma by CD8(+) T cells polyclonally activated with anti-CD3. However, addition of IL-15 to CpG-stimulated cultures led to a striking increase in IFN-gamma production. The effect of CpG and IL-15 was also evident with CD8(+) T …

Statistical And Visual Analysis Of Spatio-Temporal Dynamics Of Dengue Fever Epidemic, Amana Arshad

Open Access Theses

Public health-care data possess spatio-temporal features and it evolves with time. For example, patient count visiting an ER in a hospital evolves with time. Clustering of such input data patterns into different groups over a certain temporal duration is useful for the purpose of health-care surveillance purpose. The objective of this study is to visualize and analyze these data patterns to get an insight into data characteristics for the purpose of the health-surveillance and to correlate these findings with the possible reasons for epidemic spread. The dynamics of this spatio-temporal pattern analysis is useful for epidemic spread surveillance in large …

A Mathematical Modeling Framework For Phlebotomist Scheduling And Blood Draw Assignments In Laboratory Medicine, Laquanda T. Leaven

Dissertations

Laboratory services in healthcare delivery systems play a vital role in inpatient care. Studies have shown that laboratory data affects approximately 65% of the most critical decisions on admission, discharge, and medication. Laboratory testing accounts for approximately 10% of hospital billing. Reducing laboratory costs would contribute to reducing total healthcare cost, which is one of the major goals for the U.S. healthcare delivery system. This research focuses on improving the performance of the hospital laboratory in a large hospital system. The intention of this study is to identify and then optimize the most critical stage to improve the entire laboratory …

Mass Spectrometry And Tandem Mass Spectrometry Characterization Of Protein Patterns, Protein Markers And Whole Proteomes For Pathogenic Bacteria, Jennifer Intelicato-Young

Theses and Dissertations

There have been many recent reviews published on MALDI-TOF MS (matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight) MS (mass spectrometry) for identification of bacteria particularly with relevance to clinical microbiology. MALDI-TOF MS is now a mature technique for bacterial identification with great promise. The purpose of this review is to put into perspective MALDI-TOF MS and other widely used mass spectrometry methods for characterization of proteins. MALDI-TOF MS is used for rapid determination of a mass pattern of proteins for bacterial characterization; these proteins

are generally not identified. Alternatively, after gel separation, MALDI TOF-TOF MSMS (tandem mass spectrometry) or on-line LC-ESI MS-MS …

Proceedings Of The First International Conference On Smarandache Multispace & Multistructures, Florentin Smarandache, Linfan Mao

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In recent decades, Smarandache’s notions of multispace and multistructure were widely spread and have shown much importance in sciences around the world. Organizedby Prof.Linfan Mao, a professional conference on multispaces and multistructures, named the First International Conference on Smarandache Multispace and Multistructure was held in Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture of P. R. China on June 28-30, 2013, which was announced by American Mathematical Society in advance.

Disinfection Performance Of Peracetic Acid In Florida Wastewater Reuse Applications, Killian Eckert

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As Florida’s population continues to grow and urbanization increases, traditional freshwater sources are in danger of being exhausted. Wastewater reuse programs offer a way to create a potable offset in order to protect these freshwater sources and the environments in which they are found. Reuse regulations for the disinfection of wastewater are increasingly becoming more stringent. In addition to tough regulations, operating costs have also become a driving force behind a movement to assess new and potentially economical chemicals and processes for disinfection. The objective of this thesis is to assess the disinfection performance of peracetic acid (PAA), an alternative …

Reactive Oxygen Modulates B Lymphocyte Function Via The Nfκb/Rel Pathway, Eric J. Romer

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Reactive Oxygen Intermediates (ROI) can significantly affect B Lymphocyte function, but the effects on key signaling pathways and gene expression in activated and non-activated B lymphocytes are largely undefined. This study demonstrates a concentration dependent effect of exogenous hydrogen peroxide on the transcriptional regulation of a 3' regulatory region of the Immunoglobulin heavy chain gene (3'IghRR). Specifically, low μM hydrogen peroxide induces an enhancing effect while higher μM hydrogen peroxide (greater than or equal to 100 μM) is suppressive. The enhancing effects of hydrogen peroxide on 3'IghRR activity are dependent on the NFκB/Rel pathway, and appear to be most prominent …

Energy Performance Evaluation Of Aac, Hulya Aybek

All ETDs from UAB

The U.S. building industry constitutes the largest consumer of energy (i.e., electricity, natural gas, petroleum) in the world. The building sector uses almost 41percent of the primary energy and approximately 72percent of the available electricity in the United States. As global energy-generating resources are being depleted at exponential rates, the amount of energy consumed and wasted cannot be ignored. Professionals concerned about the environment have placed a high priority on finding solutions that reduce energy consumption while maintaining occupant comfort. Sustainable design and the judicious combination of building materials comprise one solution to this problem. A future including sustainable energy …

Cancer Risk Analysis By Fuzzy Logic Approach And Performance Status Of The Model, Atinç Yilmaz, Kürşat Ayan

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Cancer is the leading life-threatening disease for people in today's world. Although cancer formation is different for each type of cancer, it has been determined by studies and research that stress also triggers cancer types. Early precaution is very important for people who have not fallen ill yet with a disease like cancer that has a high mortality rate and expensive treatment. With this study, we expound that the possibility of developing such disease may be decreased and people could take measures against it. For the 3 cancer types selected as pilot work by introducing a fuzzy logic model, the …

Synthetic Asphaltene As A Novel Dye In Dye Sensitized Solar Cells Dsscs, Hassan Sharif

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation approves the possibility of the first time use of synthetic asphaltene as new dye in dye sensitized solar cells. In which the conversion efficiency of synthetic asphaltene DSSC has improved up to 2.0 %. Synthetic asphaltene sample was prepared from the starting material as in literature and applied for various solar cell parameters of TiO2 based dyesensitized solar cell DSSC. DSSCs were fabricated using the synthetic asphaltene as dye. Different variables and parameters were carried out to test the photovoltaic performance of the cells, these parameters include open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current; fill factor. The first result was obtained …

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 …

Community And Household Management Strategies For Water Supply And Treatment In Rural And Peri-Urban Areas In The Developing World, Ryan William Schweitzer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Eighty percent of the 780 million people worldwide that access water from an unimproved source live in rural areas. In rural areas, water systems are often managed by community based organizations and many of these systems do not provide service at the designed levels. The Sustainability Analysis Tool developed in Chapter 2 can inform decision making, characterize specific needs of rural communities in the management of their water systems, and identify weaknesses in training regimes or support mechanisms. The framework was tested on 61 statistically representative geographically stratified sample communities with rural water systems in the Dominican Republic. The results …

Assessment Of A Modified Double Agar Layer Method To Detect Bacteriophage For Assessing The Potential Of Wastewater Reuse In Rural Bolivia, Sakira N. Hadley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water scarcity is a global concern that impacts many developing countries, forcing people to depend on unclean water sources for domestic, agricultural, and industrial needs. Wastewater is an alternative water source that contains nutrients needed for crop growth. Wastewater reuse for agriculture can cause public health problems because of human exposure to pathogens. Pathogen monitoring is essential to evaluate the compliance of wastewater with established World Health Organization (WHO) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wastewater reuse guidelines. Indicator organisms are commonly used to detect pathogens in water and wastewater because they are quick and easy to measure, non-pathogenic, and …

Fluidic Sensor Devices Utilizing Dry Film Resist As Main Structural Materials, Sijia Gong

Masters Theses

"In this thesis, two types of fluidic sensor devices are demonstrated. The first device utilizes a dry film resist (DFR) as the main structural material of fluidic device utilizing the photolithography process. The second one involves a simple, low-cost sensor platform composed of ubiquitous materials such as polymer tubing and metal wires. Both devices are prepared to measure the dissolved oxygen content, as a model target analyte, based on the oxygen quenching reaction of a ruthenium complex fluorophore as the reporting agent. Characterization of sensors is conducted based on the fluorescence lifetime measurement. The first type of sensor is constructed …

Investigation Of Best Practices For Maintenance Of Concrete Bridge Railings, Angel Luis Lence

LSU Master's Theses

Biodeterioration on concrete surfaces of vertical elements of bridges represents a serious challenge to the highway infrastructure in Louisiana. This investigation aims to document the causes of biodeterioration of concrete surfaces and to document current conventional and state-of-the-art practices implemented to prevent and clean biofilm. A comprehensive literature review of previous research has been carried out in order to determine the cause and mechanisms of the biodeterioration as well as to identify current methods that state DOTs have implemented in order to maintain their bridges and allow them to function in optimal structural and performance conditions. A survey was developed …

Fabrication And Characterization Of A Polymeric Nanofluidic Device For Dna Analysis, Jiahao Wu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The growing needs for cheaper and faster sequencing of long biopolymers such as DNA and RNA have prompted the development of new technologies. Among the novel techniques for analyzing these biopolymers, an approach using nanochannel based fluidic devices is attractive because it is a label-free, amplification-free, single-molecule method that can be scaled for high-throughput analysis. Despite recent demonstrations of nanochannel based fluidic devices for analyzing physical properties of such biopolymers, most of the devices have been fabricated in inorganic materials such as silicon, silicon nitride and glass using expensive high end nanofabrication techniques such as focused ion beam and electron …

Controversy Trend Detection In Social Media, Rajshekhar Vishwanath Chimmalgi

LSU Master's Theses

In this research, we focus on the early prediction of whether topics are likely to generate significant controversy (in the form of social media such as comments, blogs, etc.). Controversy trend detection is important to companies, governments, national security agencies, and marketing groups because it can be used to identify which issues the public is having problems with and develop strategies to remedy them. For example, companies can monitor their press release to find out how the public is reacting and to decide if any additional public relations action is required, social media moderators can moderate discussions if the discussions …

Modeling And Design Of Photocatalytic Reactors For Air Purification, Yangyang Zhang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Photocatalysis is a promising technique for the remediation of indoor air pollution. Photocatalysis utilizes semiconductor photocatalysts (such as TiO₂ or ZnO) and appropriate light to produce strong oxidizing agents (OH*) that are able to break down organic compounds and inactivate bacteria and viruses. The overall goal of the research is to develop an efficient photocatalytic reactor based on mass transfer for indoor air purification. This study has focused on the enhancement of the effectiveness of the photocatalytic process by the introduction of artificial roughness on the reactor catalyst surface. The major effect of artificial roughness elements on the catalytic …

Quantifying The Ergonomic Impact On Healthcare Workers Using A Needle-Free Injector Device, Humberto Jose Olivero Lara

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: Jet injectors are advantageous over needle injectors by eliminating sharps hazards. The Government Accountability Office estimates 29% preventable sharp injuries with an estimated direct cost of more than $500 million out of the CDC's reported incidence of 385,000 needle stick injuries per year among US hospital healthcare workers. Yet the forces required to set and trigger devices using spring mechanisms for medication delivery have not been explored. This laboratory experiment measured forces exerted by healthcare workers (HCWs) using a particular jet injector approved by FDA in 2011.

Objectives: In order to quantify the ergonomic impact on HCWs using a …