Digital Commons Network^™

Development Of A Field Test Method For Total Suspended Solids Analysis, Tian Zhang, John S. Stansbury, Jessica Branigan

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

Total suspended solids (TSS) are all particles in water that will not pass through a glass fiber filter with a pore size less than 2 μm, including sediments, algae, nutrients, and metals. TSS is an important water quality parameter because of its adverse effects on aquatic species and wildlife. TSS is regulated through the EPA via the NPDES in many states. Since there are no accepted field tests for TSS, projects with TSS regulations must send samples to a laboratory for analysis, which can delay projects for days or weeks. The goal of this research was to develop a rapid, …

Conference Program, J.A.M. Kuipers, R.F. Mudde, J.R. Van Ommen, N.G. Deen

The 14th International Conference on Fluidization – From Fundamentals to Products

No abstract provided.

Clustering Instabilities In Gas-Solid Systems: Role Of Dissipative Collisions Vs. Viscous Losses, Xiaolong Yin, John Zenk, Peter P. Mitrano, C. M. Hrenya

The 14th International Conference on Fluidization – From Fundamentals to Products

No abstract provided.

Gas Bypass And Solids Circulation Rate Of An I-Cfb Reactor With Coarse Particles, Xingxing Cheng, Xiaotao T. Bi

The 14th International Conference on Fluidization – From Fundamentals to Products

No abstract provided.

Coarse-Grid Simulations Using Parcels: An Advanced Drag Model Based On Filtered Cfd-Dem Data, Stefan Radl, Sankaran Sundaresan

The 14th International Conference on Fluidization – From Fundamentals to Products

No abstract provided.

Forces On Horizontal Tubes Of Non-Circular Cross-Section In Fluidized Beds, Nagahashi Y., Yamamoto D., Grace J.R., Asako Y.

The 14th International Conference on Fluidization – From Fundamentals to Products

No abstract provided.

New Generation X-Ray Imaging For Multiphase Systems, Paola Lettieri, John G. Yates

The 14th International Conference on Fluidization – From Fundamentals to Products

No abstract provided.

Characterizing Electrostatic Charges In High-Pressure Gas- Solid Fluidized Beds: Experimental Design And Preliminary Results, Fawzi Salama, Di Song, Poupak Mehrani

The 14th International Conference on Fluidization – From Fundamentals to Products

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Particle Properties, Temperature And Relative Humidity On Electrostatics In Gas-Solid Fluidized Beds, Wajeeh O. Moughrabiah, John R. Grace, Xiaotao T. Bi

The 14th International Conference on Fluidization – From Fundamentals to Products

No abstract provided.

A Hierarchical Method For Removal Of Baseline Drift From Biomedical Signals: Application In Ecg Analysis, Yurong Luo, Rosalyn H. Hargraves, Ashwin Belle, Ou Bai, Xuguang Qi, Kevin R. Ward, Michael Paul Pfaffenberger, Kayvan Najarian

Computer Science Publications

Noise can compromise the extraction of some fundamental and important features from biomedical signals and hence prohibit accurate analysis of these signals. Baseline wander in electrocardiogram (ECG) signals is one such example, which can be caused by factors such as respiration, variations in electrode impedance, and excessive body movements. Unless baseline wander is effectively removed, the accuracy of any feature extracted from the ECG, such as timing and duration of the ST-segment, is compromised. This paper approaches this filtering task from a novel standpoint by assuming that the ECG baseline wander comes from an independent and unknown source. The technique …

Effect Of Substrate Stiffness On Early Human Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation, Nikolai Eroshenko, Rukmani Ramachandran, Vamsi K. Yadavalli, Raj R. Rao

Chemical and Life Science Engineering Publications

Background

The pluripotency and self renewing properties of human embryonic stem cells (hESC) make them a valuable tool in the fields of developmental biology, pharmacology and regenerative medicine. Therefore, there exists immense interest in devising strategies for hESC propagation and differentiation. Methods involving simulation of the native stem cell microenvironment, both chemical and physical, have received a lot of attention in recent years. Equally important is evidence that cells can also sense the mechanical properties of their microenvironment. In this study, we test the hypothesis that hESCs accept mechanical cues for differentiation from the substrate by culturing them on flexible …

Ennet: Inferring Large Gene Regulatory Networks From Expression Data Using Gradient Boosting, Janusz Slawek, Tomasz Arodź

Computer Science Publications

Background

The regulation of gene expression by transcription factors is a key determinant of cellular phenotypes. Deciphering genome-wide networks that capture which transcription factors regulate which genes is one of the major efforts towards understanding and accurate modeling of living systems. However, reverse-engineering the network from gene expression profiles remains a challenge, because the data are noisy, high dimensional and sparse, and the regulation is often obscured by indirect connections.

Results

We introduce a gene regulatory network inference algorithm ENNET, which reverse-engineers networks of transcriptional regulation from a variety of expression profiles with a superior accuracy compared to the state-of-the-art …

An Entropy-Based Automated Cell Nuclei Segmentation And Quantification: Application In Analysis Of Wound Healing Process, Varun Oswal, Ashwin Belle, Robert Diegelmann, Kayvan Najarian

Computer Science Publications

The segmentation and quantification of cell nuclei are two very significant tasks in the analysis of histological images. Accurate results of cell nuclei segmentation are often adapted to a variety of applications such as the detection of cancerous cell nuclei and the observation of overlapping cellular events occurring during wound healing process in the human body. In this paper, an automated entropy-based thresholding system for segmentation and quantification of cell nuclei from histologically stained images has been presented. The proposed translational computation system aims to integrate clinical insight and computational analysis by identifying and segmenting objects of interest within histological …

On Applications And Limitations Of One-Dimensional Capillarity Formulations For Media With Heterogeneous Wettability, T. M. Bucher, H. Vahedi Tafreshi

Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Publications

Force-balance-based one-dimensional algebraic formulations that are often used in characterizing the capillarity of a multi-component system (e.g., predicting capillary height rise inporous media) are discussed. It is shown that such formulations fail to provide accurate predictions when the distribution of wetting (or non-wetting) surfaces is not homogeneous. A more general mathematical formulation is suggested and used to demonstrate that for media with heterogeneous wettability, hydrophilic (or hydrophobic) surfaces clustered in groups will have less contribution to the overall capillarity of the system.

Amelogenin Peptide Extract Increases Differentiation And Angiogenic And Local Factor Production And Inhibits Apoptosis In Human Osteoblasts, Rene Olivares-Navarrete, Sharon L. Hyzy, Argelia Almaguer-Flores, Corinna Mauth, Anja C. Gemperli, Barbara D. Boyan, Zvi Schwartz

Biomedical Engineering Publications

Enamel matrix derivative (EMD), a decellularized porcine extracellular matrix (ECM), is used clinically in periodontal tissue regeneration. Amelogenin, EMD’s principal component, spontaneously assembles into nanospheres in vivo, forming an ECM complex that releases proteolytically cleaved peptides. However, the role of amelogenin or amelogenin peptides in mediating osteoblast response to EMD is not clear. Human MG63 osteoblast-like cells or normal human osteoblasts were treated with recombinant human amelogenin or a 5 kDa tyrosine-rich amelogenin peptide (TRAP) isolated from EMD and the effect on osteogenesis, local factor production, and apoptosis assessed. Treated MG63 cells increased alkaline phosphatase specific activity and levels of …

Correlation Between Si Doping And Stacking Fault Related Luminescence In Homoepitaxial M-Plane Gan, S. Khromov, B. Monemar, Vitaliy Avrutin, Hadis Morkoç, L. Hultman, G. Pozina

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

Si-doped GaN layers grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy on m-plane GaN substrates were investigated by low-temperature cathodoluminescence (CL). We have observed stacking fault (SF) related emission in the range of 3.29–3.42 eV for samples with moderate doping, while for the layers with high concentration of dopants, no CL lines related to SFs have been noted. Perturbation of the SF potential profile by neighboring impurity atoms can explain localization ofexcitons at SFs, while this effect would vanish at high doping levels due to screening.

Colloidal Nano-Apatite Particles With Active Luminescent And Magentic Properties For Biotechnology Applications, Rajendra Kasinath, Kumar Ganesan

Environmental Engineering

Colloidal Nano-apatite Particles with Active Luminescent and Magentic Properties for Biotechnology Applications. The synthesis of functional nano-materials is a burgeoning field that has produced remarkable and consistent breakthroughs over the last two decades. Individual particles have become smaller and shown potential for well defined functionality. However, there are still unresolved problems, a primary one being the loss of functionality and novelty due to uncontrolled aggregation driven by surface energy considerations. As such the first design criteria to harness the true potential of nanoparticles is to prevent unwanted agglomeration by: (1) improving, and, if possible, (2) controlling aggregation behavior. This requires …

San Antonio Condensate Collection And Use Manual For Commercial Buildings, Diana D. Glawe

Engineering Faculty Research

Condensate is an inherent byproduct of building HVAC systems. Since condensate is formed from moisture in the air, it is relatively high-quality water. Therefore, it can be collected and used on-site with relatively little treatment. Using condensate conserves municipal water and lowers energy costs associated with the municipal collection, treatment, and distribution of water that would otherwise be consumed.

Collecting condensate from commercial building heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems is relatively simple. Using condensate for on-site applications offers a potentially quick return on investment, especially in hot and humid climates. To help increase the implementation of condensate use, this …

A Multi-Objective Optimal Pid Control For A Nonlinear System With Time Delay, Furui Xiong, Zhichang Qin, Carlos Hernández, Yousef Sardahi, Yousef Narajani, Wei Liang, Yang Xue, Oliver Schütze, Jianqiao Sun

All Engineering Faculty Research

It is generally difficult to design feedback controls of nonlinear systems with time delay to meet time domain specifications such as rise time, overshoot, and tracking error. Furthermore, these time domain specifications tend to be conflicting to each other to make the control design even more challenging. This paper presents a cell mapping method for multi-objective optimal feedback control design in time domain for a nonlinear Duffing system with time delay. We first review the multi-objective optimization problem and its formulation for control design. We then introduce the cell mapping method and a hybrid algorithm for global optimal solutions. Numerical …

Modeling Tools For Conformal Orthotic Devices, Steven David Riddle

Open Access Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to advance the design of conformal orthotic devices through the development of two modeling tools to address knowledge gaps in the field.

The field of human orthotics has been continually troubled by identifying successful methods of harnessing devices to the body. Past orthotics have utilized a rigid framework with minimal degrees of freedom (DOFs) driven by hard actuators attached to the body at select anchor points. Many devices design the structure and anchor points such that they reduce the degrees of freedom of a targeted joint, limiting the user's mobility and often causing the …

Design And Use Of An Adjustable Clearance Flailing Knife Biomass Shredder To Mechanically Increase Particle Surface Area, Shawn Gregory Ehlers

Open Access Theses

A flailing knife shredder was designed and tested as an alternative to a hammermill for processing biomass. The machine was comprised of two cylinders with four rungs, each with five free-swinging blades. Each of the two cylinders had adjustable clearance hoods and variable speed drives. Energy usage, output characteristics and device capacities were compared with corn stover processed at moisture contents (MC) of 10%, 35% and 50% wet basis (WB). The hammermill produced a more uniform particle size distribution in comparison to the shredder. Accessibility, indicated by conductivity index, to plant constituents, revealed that the method of treatment was not-significant …

Femtosecond Filament Interaction As A Probe For Molecular Alignment, Erik Mckee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Femtosecond laser filamentation is a highly nonlinear propagation mode. When a laser pulse propagates with a peak power exceeding a critical value Pcr (5 GW at 800 nm in air), the Kerr effect tends to collapse the beam until the intensity is high enough to ionize the medium, giving rise to plasma defocusing. A dynamic competition between these two effects takes place leaving a thin and weakly ionized plasma channel in the trail of the pulse. When an ultrafast laser pulse interacts with molecules, it will align them, spinning them about their axis of polarization. As the quantum rotational wave …

Layered Hepatocytes And Endothelial Cells On A Transwell Membrane: Toward Engineering The Liver Sinusoid, Young Bok (Abraham) Kang, Joseph Cirillo, Siddhartha Rawat, Michael Bouchard, Hongseok (Moses) Noh

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

This paper presents a novel liver model that mimics the liver sinusoid where most liver activities occur. A key aspect of our current liver model is a layered co-culture of primary rat hepatocytes (PRHs) and primary rat liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) or bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) on a transwell membrane. When a layered co-culture was attempted with a thin Matrigel layer placed between hepatocytes and endothelial cells to mimic the space of Disse, the cells did not form completely separated monolayers. However, when hepatocytes and endothelial cells were cultured on the opposite sides of a transwell membrane, PRHs …

Gis And Introductory Environmental Engineering: A Way To Fold Gis Into An Already-Existing Course, Mary P. Cardenas, David Wayne Kelley, Warren Roberts

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

The use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) was implemented in the upper-division undergraduate technical elective Introduction to Environmental Engineering at Harvey Mudd College. Students integrated technical engineering skills, newly-learned geographical information system (GIS) skills, and the engineering design process, all in the context of the design of a debris flow barrier for a wilderness land parcel acquired by a local conservancy group.

Junior and senior general engineering students, the majority of whom had no experience with GIS, were taught ArcGIS (a GIS mapping program) in the context of an Introductory Environmental Engineering course. Students learned how to map locations, find …

Me-Em 2012-13 Annual Report, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Annual Reports

Table of Contents

• Research Centers
• Students
• Faculty & Staff
• Alumni
• Contracts & Grants
• Publications

An Empirical Muscle Intracellular Action Potential Model With Multiple Erlang Probability Density Functions Based On A Modified Newton Method, Gyutae Kim, Mohammed M. Ferdjallah, Frederic D. Mckenzie

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Faculty Publications

The convolution of the transmembrane current of an excitable cell and a weighting function generates a single fiber action potential (SFAP) model by using the volume conductor theory. Here, we propose an empirical muscle IAP model with multiple Erlang probability density functions (PDFs) based on a modified Newton method. In addition, we generate SFAPs based on our IAP model and referent sources, and use the peak-to-peak ratios (PPRs) of SFAPs for model verification. Through this verification, we find that the relation between an IAP profile and the PPR of its SFAP is consistent with some previous studies, and our IAP …

Liver On A Chip; Engineering The Liver Sinusoid, Young Bok (Abraham) Kang

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

We have developed a novel microfluidic device using poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannels for long term, layered co-culture of primary rat hepatocytes (PRH) and endothelial cells (EC) to mimic the liver sinusoid. Three microfluidic configurations were investigated as shown in Figure 1. In configuration 1, where PRH and rat adrenal medullary endothelial cells (RAMEC) were cocultured with matrigel in layers in a single PDMS microchannel, cells remained viable for 30 days. In configuration 3, where PRH and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSEC) were cultured on the opposite sides of the microporous membrane between two microchannels under static and dynamic conditions, PRH retained …

Modeling Hrtf For Sound Localization In Normal Listeners And Bilateral Cochlear Implant Users, Douglas A. Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mathematical models can be very useful for understanding complicated systems and for testing algorithms through simulation that would be difficult or expensive to implement. This dissertation presents a model that attempts to simulate the sound localization performance of persons using bilateral cochlear implants. The expectation is that this model could prove to be a useful tool in developing new signal processing algorithms for neural encoding strategies.

The head related transfer function (HRTF) is a critical component of this model, and in the ideal case, provides the base characteristics of head shadow, torso and pinna effects. This defines the temporal, intensity …

Techno-Economic And Fluid Dynamics Analysis For Growing Microalgae With The Intent Of Producing Biofuel Using A System Model, Leah R. Raffaeli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Techno-economic and systems studies on microalgal growth scenarios to date are abbreviated and missing a number of important variables. By including these variables in a detailed model integrating biology, chemistry, engineering, and financial aspects, a more defined systems analysis is possible. Through optimizing the model productivity based on the resulting net profit, the system analysis results in a more accurate assessment of environmental and economic sustainability of specific algal growth scenarios. Photobioreactor algal growth scenario optimization in the system model has resulted in realistic engineering design requirements based on algal growth requirements and fluid dynamics analysis. Results show feasibility for …

Electricity Markets, Smart Grids And Smart Buildings, Jonathan Falcey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A smart grid is an electricity network that accommodates two-way power flows, and utilizes two-way communications and increased measurement, in order to provide more information to customers and aid in the development of a more efficient electricity market. The current electrical network is outdated and has many shortcomings relating to power flows, inefficient electricity markets, generation/supply balance, a lack of information for the consumer and insufficient consumer interaction with electricity markets. Many of these challenges can be addressed with a smart grid, but there remain significant barriers to the implementation of a smart grid.

This paper proposes a novel method …