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Nonlinear Integrated Photonics On Silicon And Gallium Arsenide Substrates, Jichi Ma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Silicon photonics is nowadays a mature technology and is on the verge of becoming a blossoming industry. Silicon photonics has also been pursued as a platform for integrated nonlinear optics based on Raman and Kerr effects. In recent years, more futuristic directions have been pursued by various groups. For instance, the realm of silicon photonics has been expanded beyond the well-established near-infrared wavelengths and into the mid-infrared (3 - 5 µm). In this wavelength range, the omnipresent hurdle of nonlinear silicon photonics in the telecommunication band, i.e., nonlinear losses due to two-photon absorption, is inherently nonexistent. With the lack of …

A Short Window Granger Causality Approach To Identify Brain Functional Pattern Associated With Changes Of Performance Induced By Sleep Deprivation, Muyuan Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The comprehensive effect of sleep deprivation on biological and behavioral functions largely remains unknown. There is evidence to support that human sleep must be of sufficient duration and physiological continuity to ensure neurocognitive performance while we are waking. Insufficient sleep would lead to high risk of human-error related to accidents, injuries or even fatal outcomes. However, in modern society, more and more people suffer from sleep deprivation because of the increasing social, academic or occupational demand. It is important to study the effect of sleep deprivation, not only on task performance, but also on neurocognitive functions. Recent research that has …

Art Or Science?, Allison Marsh

Section 3: Imaging the Fast Moving

No abstract provided.

Faults Identification In Three-Phase Induction Motors Using Support Vector Machines, Rama Hammo

Master of Technology Management Plan II Graduate Projects

Induction motor is one of the most important motors used in industrial applications. The operating conditions may sometime lead the machine into different fault situations. The main types of external faults experienced by these motors are over loading, single phasing, unbalanced supply voltage, locked rotor, phase reversal, ground fault, under voltage and over voltage. The machine should be shut down when a fault is experienced to avoid damage and for the safety of the workers. Computer based relays monitor the machine and disconnect it during the faults. The relay logic used to identify these faults requires sophisticated signal processing techniques …

Control Of The Surficial Fine-Grained Laminae Upon Stream Carbon And Nitrogen Cycles, William I. Ford Iii

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

This dissertation investigated the impact of the Surficial Fine-Grained Laminae (SFGL) upon stream biogeochemical cycles to constrain stream C and N budgets. Collection and analysis of 8 years of transported sediment elemental and isotopic signatures, weekly, from a SFGL dominated stream, a novel dissolved C and N dataset, statistical and time-series analysis of sediment and dissolved data, and development of a comprehensive modeling framework that couples hydrodynamics, sediment, C and N biogeochemistry, and stable isotope sub-models to simulate fluvial C and N budgets was used. SFGL C modeling suggests benthic particulate C stocks and transport vary seasonally and annually but …

Stabilization Of Extended Diffuse Optical Spectroscopy Measurements On In Vivo Human Skeletal Muscle During Dynamic Exercise, Brad A. Henry

Theses and Dissertations--Biomedical Engineering

This research investigates various applications of diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) on in-vivo human muscle tissue, both at rest and during dynamic exercise. Previously suspected muscle tissue relative blood flow (rBF) baseline shift during extended measurement with DCS and DCS-Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) hybrid optical systems are verified, quantified, and resolved by redesign of optical probe and alteration in optical probe attachment methodology during 40 minute supine bed rest baseline measurements. We then translate previously developed occlusion techniques, whereby rBF and relative oxygen consumption rV̇O₂ are calibrated to initial resting absolute values by use of a venous occlusion (VO) and …

Bioerodible Calcium Sulfate Bone Grafting Substitutes With Tailored Drug Delivery Capabilities, Bryan R. Orellana

Theses and Dissertations--Biomedical Engineering

Bone regeneration or augmentation is often required prior to or concomitant with implant placement. With the limitations of many existing technologies, a biologically compatible synthetic bone grafting substitute that is osteogenic, bioerodible, and provides spacing-making functionality while acting as a drug delivery vehicle for bioactive molecules could provide an alternative to ‘gold standard’ techniques.

In the first part of this work, calcium sulfate (CS) space-making synthetic bone grafts with uniformly embedded poly(β-amino ester) (PBAE) biodegradable hydrogel particles was developed to allow controlled release of bioactive agents. The embedded gel particles’ influence on the physical and chemical characteristics of CS was …

Mucoadhesive Films For Treatment Of Local Oral Disorders: Development, Characterization And In Vivo Testing, Sandeep K. Ramineni

Theses and Dissertations--Biomedical Engineering

Mucoadhesive drug delivery systems which are being used from 1980’s to avoid first pass metabolism of drugs, commercially exist for only systemic drug delivery with fast erosion times (15-60 min), that may not be appropriate for local oral disorders. The goal of this research was to develop and characterize mucoadhesive films with flexibility of carrying different drugs and proteins and provide sustained release for local treatment of oral disorders.

Mucoadhesive films composed of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and carboxymethlycellulose (CMC) were formulated with imiquimod, an immune response modifier. Problems such as solubilization of imiquimod to increase drug loading, uniformity in films and …

Precise Control Of Carbon Nanotube Membrane Structure For Enzyme Mimetic Catalysis, Nicholas W. Linck

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

The ability to fabricate a charge-driven water pump is a crucial step toward mimicking the catalytic ability of natural enzyme systems. The first step towards making this water pump a reality is the ability to make a carbon nanotube (CNT) membrane with uniform, 0.8 nm pore diameter. Proposed in this work is a method for synthesizing these carbon nanotubes via VPI-5 zeolite templated, transition metal catalyzed pyrolysis. Using a membrane composed of these CNTs, it is possible to get water molecules to flow single file at a high flow rate, and to orient them in such a way that would …

Clogging Of Fine Sediment Within Gravel Substrates: Macro-Analysis And Momentum-Impulse Model, Davis Huston

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

An understanding of the clogging of fine sediments within gravel substrates is advanced through the use of dimensional analysis and macro-analysis of clogging experiments in hydraulic flumes. Dimensional analysis is used to suggest that the dimensionless clogging depth can be collapsed using the original and adjusted bed-to-grain ratios, substrate porosity, roughness Reynolds number, and Peclet number. Macro-analysis followed by statistical analysis of 146 experimental test results of fine sediment deposition in gravel substrates suggests that the dimensionless clogging depth can be collapsed using the substrate porosity and roughness Reynolds number reflecting the processes of gravity settling and turbulence induced fluid …

Sequential Co-Culture Of Anaerobic Bacteria On Switchgrass In A Continuous Flow-Through Reactor For Biofuel Production, Noelia M. Elia

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Solid substrate cultivation (SSC) using lignocellulosic non-food feedstock, such as switchgrass, is an alternative for advanced biofuel production. Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE) fermentation in two stages using a sequential culture of microorganisms from the class Clostridia is an approach proposed to increase the butanol production.

The goal was to test the efficacy of a sequential culture on high solid substrate cultivation in batch and continuous cultivation, and to evaluate conditions to optimize butanol production using switchgrass as substrate.

Initial batch experiments were used to determine particle size effect, choice of solvent producer and pretreatment evaluation: The effect of particle size on gas …

Quantification Of Factors Governing Drug Release Kinetics From Nanoparticles: A Combined Experimental And Mechanistic Modeling Approach, Kyle Daniel Fugit

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacy

Advancements in nanoparticle drug delivery of anticancer agents require mathematical models capable of predicting in vivo formulation performance from in vitro characterization studies. Such models must identify and incorporate the physicochemical properties of the therapeutic agent and nanoparticle driving in vivo drug release. This work identifies these factors for two nanoparticle formulations of anticancer agents using an approach which develops mechanistic mathematical models in conjunction with experimental studies.

A non-sink ultrafiltration method was developed to monitor liposomal release kinetics of the anticancer agent topotecan. Mathematical modeling allowed simultaneous determination of drug permeability and interfacial binding to the bilayer from release …

Estimating Passive Material Properties And Fiber Orientation In A Myocardial Infarction Through An Optimization Scheme Using Mri And Fe Simulation, Dimitri Mojsejenko

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Myocardial infarctions induce a maladaptive ventricular remodeling process that independently contributes to heart failure. In order to develop effective treatments, it is necessary to understand the way and extent to which the heart undergoes remodeling over the course of healing. There have been few studies to produce any data on the in-vivo material properties of infarcts, and much less on the properties over the time course of healing. In this paper, the in-vivo passive material properties of an infarcted porcine model were estimated through a combined use of magnetic resonance imaging, catheterization, finite element modeling, and a genetic algorithm optimization …

Heat Transfer Characteristics In Wildland Fuelbeds, Justin English

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The fundamental physics governing wildland fire spread are still largely misunderstood. This thesis was motivated by the need to better understand the role of radiative and convective heat transfer in the ignition and spread of wildland fires. The focus of this work incorporated the use of infrared thermographic imaging techniques to investigate fuel particle response from three different heating sources: convective dominated heating from an air torch, radiative dominated heating from a crib fire, and an advancing flame front in a laboratory wind tunnel test. The series of experiments demonstrated the uniqueness and valuable characteristics of infrared thermography to reveal …

Practical Issues In Gpram Development, Yin Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, two parts of practical issues in the GPRAM system design are included. The first part is the coding part. The sum-product decoding algorithm of LDPC codes has been refined to fit for the GPRAM hardware implementation. As we all know, communication channel has noise. The noise in telecom system is different from that in GPRAM systems. So the noise should be handled well in the GPRAM design. A noise look-up table was created for FPGA and those noises in the table are quantized. The second part of the thesis is to convert perfect images in video stream …

Learning To Grasp Unknown Objects Using Weighted Random Forest Algorithm From Selective Image And Point Cloud Feature, Md Shahriar Iqbal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This method demonstrates an approach to determine the best grasping location on an unknown object using Weighted Random Forest Algorithm. It used RGB-D value of an object as input to find a suitable rectangular grasping region as the output. To accomplish this task, it uses a subspace of most important features from a very high dimensional extensive feature space that contains both image and point cloud features. Usage of most important features in the grasping algorithm has enabled the system to be computationally very fast while preserving maximum information gain. In this approach, the Random Forest operates using optimum parameters …

The Effects Of Bam As An Adsorptive Media On Phosphorus Removal In Stormwater, Sultan Salamah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To maintain the quality of receiving water bodies, it is desirable to remove total phosphorus (TP) in stormwater runoff. Many media filtration technologies have been developed to achieve TP and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) removal. Efficient media adsorption is essential to insure control of stormwater phosphorus inputs to the receiving water body. This project develops and analyzes a functionalized Biosorption Media (BAM) to remove phosphorus species from stormwater runoff. One goal of this project is to find the BAM values for coefficients such as maximum adsorption capacity (QM: 4.35E-05) for the media through SRP isotherm equilibrium experiments using the Langmuir …

Remote Sensing With Computational Intelligence Modelling For Monitoring The Ecosystem State And Hydraulic Pattern In A Constructed Wetland, Golam Mohiuddin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Monitoring the heterogeneous aquatic environment such as the Stormwater Treatment Areas (STAs) located at the northeast of the Everglades is extremely important in understanding the land processes of the constructed wetland in its capacity to remove nutrient. Direct monitoring and measurements of ecosystem evolution and changing velocities at every single part of the STA are not always feasible. Integrated remote sensing, monitoring, and modeling technique can be a state-of-the-art tool to estimate the spatial and temporal distributions of flow velocity regimes and ecological functioning in such dynamic aquatic environments. In this presentation, comparison between four computational intelligence models including Extreme …

Development Of Treatment Train Techniques For The Evaluation Of Low Impact Development In Urban Regions, Mike Hardin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Stormwater runoff from urban areas is a major source of pollution to surface water bodies. The discharge of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus is particularly damaging as it results in harmful algal blooms which can limit the beneficial use of a water body. Stormwater best management practices (BMPs) have been developed over the years to help address this issue. While BMPs have been investigated for years, their use has been somewhat limited due to the fact that much of the data collected is for specific applications, in specific regions, and it is unknown how these systems will perform in …

Evaluation Of Iron And Manganese Control For A Volcanic Surface Water Supply Treated With Conventional Coagulation, Sedimentation And Filtration Processes, Christine Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A research project assessing the effectiveness of potassium permanganate (KMnO4) for the treatment of iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) has been conducted by the University of Central Florida (UCF) on behalf of the United States Navy with regards to the water supply on the island of Guam, located in the Marianas Islands. The study consisted of three basic investigative components: one that examined the use of potassium permanganate for iron and manganese control for Fena Lake, a second that examined the existing unit operations that comprised the Navy's water treatment plant (NWTP), and a third that examined iron and manganese …

Dishwashing Water Recycling System And Related Water Quality Standards For Military Use, Jared Church

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the demand for reliable and safe water supplies increases, both water quality and available quantity are being challenged by population growth and climate change. Greywater reuse is becoming a common practice worldwide; however, in remote locations of limited water supply, such as those encountered in military installations, it is desirable to expand its classification to include dishwashing water to maximize the conservation of fresh water. Given that no standards for dishwashing greywater reuse by the military are currently available, the current study determined a specific set of water quality standards for dishwater recycling systems for U.S military field operations. …

Green Technologies And Sensor Networks For Bmp Evaluation In Stormwater Retention Ponds And Wetlands., Anthony Crawford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this thesis is to examine and develop new techniques in stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP) for nutrient and erosion reduction and monitoring by incorporation of low impact green technologies and sensor networks. Previous research has found excessive nutrient loading of nitrogen and phosphorus species from urban stormwater runoff can lead to ecological degradation and eutrophication of receiving lakes and rivers (Fareed and Abid, 2005). In response, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) has set forth reduction goals as established in Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) reports to reduce nutrient loading and restore, or maintain, Florida water …

Exploring Sparsity, Self-Similarity, And Low Rank Approximation In Action Recognition, Motion Retrieval, And Action Spotting, Chuan Sun

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis consists of 4 major parts. In the first part (Chapters 1-2), we introduce the overview, motivation, and contribution of our works, and extensively survey the current literature for 6 related topics. In the second part (Chapters 3-7), we explore the concept of "Self-Similarity" in two challenging scenarios, namely, the Action Recognition and the Motion Retrieval. We build three-dimensional volume representations for both scenarios, and devise effective techniques that can produce compact representations encoding the internal dynamics of data. In the third part (Chapter 8), we explore the challenging action spotting problem, and propose a feature-independent unsupervised framework that …

Overexpression Of Dcf1 Inhibits Glioma Through Destruction Of Mitochondria And Activation Of Apoptosis Pathway, Yuqiong Xie, Qang Li, Qingbo Yang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Gliomas are the most common brain tumors affecting the central nervous system and are associated with a high mortality rate. DCF1 is a membrane protein that was previously found to play a role in neural stem cell differentiation. In the present study, we found that overexpression of dcf1 significantly inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion and dramatically promoted apoptosis in the glioblastoma U251 cell line. DCF1 deletion mutations in the functional region showed that the complete structure of DCF1 was necessary for apoptosis. Furthermore, significantly lower tumorigenicity was observed in athymic nude mice by transplanting U251 cells overexpressing dcf1. To …

Adaptive Resonance Theory And Diffusion Maps For Clustering Applications In Pattern Analysis, Donald C. Wunsch, David J. Morris, Rui Xu

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Adaptive Resonance is primarily a theory that learning is regulated by resonance phenomena in neural circuits. Diffusion maps are a class of kernel methods on edge-weighted graphs. While either of these approaches have demonstrated success in image analysis, their combination is particularly effective. These techniques are reviewed and some example applications are given.

Test 2094: Case Ih Steiger 470, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data. EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES Purpose The purpose of …

Impact Of Small-World Topology On The Performance Of A Feed-Forward Artificial Neural Network Based On 2 Different Real-Life Problems, Okan Erkaymaz, Mahmut Özer, Nejat Yumuşak

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Since feed-forward artificial neural networks (FFANNs) are the most widely used models to solve real-life problems, many studies have focused on improving their learning performances by changing the network architecture and learning algorithms. On the other hand, recently, small-world network topology has been shown to meet the characteristics of real-life problems. Therefore, in this study, instead of focusing on the performance of the conventional FFANNs, we investigated how real-life problems can be solved by a FFANN with small-world topology. Therefore, we considered 2 real-life problems: estimating the thermal performance of solar air collectors and predicting the modulus of rupture values …

Silver Nanoparticle Oligonucleotide Conjugate For Targeted Gene Silencing, Alyson Nanette Moll

LSU Master's Theses

This project explored a gene-regulated chemotherapy using a silver nanoparticle (SNP) conjugated with deoxyribozyme (DNAzyme) oligonucleotides which target a mutated gene in select cancer cells, sensitize them to doxorubicin treatment. Light exposure to the SNP-DNAzyme conjugates disengages the oligonucleotides and permits specific cleavage of the Kirsten Rat Sarcomal Oncogene Homolog (K-RAS) mRNA. These conjugates could provide spatiotemporal specificity in killing only those photoexposed cells with the mutant gene. Synthesis, functionalization and characterization of citrate and hydroxypropyl cellulose SNP conjugates confirmed attachment and photolytic release of the thiol-modified 10-23 DNAzyme. Gel electrophoresis was used to demonstrate DNAzyme photoactivation, showing greater K-RAS …

Iron Removal Using Electro- Coagulation Followed By Floating Bead Bed Filtration, Asmita Anil Phadke

LSU Master's Theses

High iron concentrations in the water used for aquaculture results in stock losses. It is necessary to drop down the iron concentrations to levels which can be handled by the fish. Electrocoagulation followed by floating bead bed filtration was used to remove iron from water. Electrocoagulation was carried out using aluminum electrodes. The flocs formed in the coagulation tank were then filtered out using 2-3 mm polyethylene floating beads having specific gravity of 0.92 gm/cm3. Proper retention time of ≥ 10 min, pH of 6±0.2, Al3+ coagulant dosage of about 9 mg-Al3+/ L and flow rate ≤ 0.4 gpm resulted …

Wetland Issues Affecting Waterfowl Conservation In North America, Heath M. Hagy, Scott C. Yaich, John W. Simpson, Eduardo Carrera, David A. Haukos, W.Carter Johnson, Charles R. Loesch, Fritz A. Reid, Scott E. Stephens, Ralph W. Tiner, Brett A. Werner, Greg S. Yarris

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

This paper summarises discussions by invited speakers during a special session at the 6th North American Duck Symposium on wetland issues that affect waterfowl, highlighting current ecosystem challenges and opportunities for the conservation of waterfowl in North America. Climate change, invasive species, U.S. agricultural policy (which can encourage wetland drainage and the expansion of row-crop agriculture into grasslands), cost and competition for water rights, and wetland management for non-waterfowl species were all considered to pose significant threats to waterfowl populations in the near future. Waterfowl populations were found to be faced with significant threats in several regions, including: the Central …