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Impact Of Internals On The Heat-Transfer Coefficient In A Bubble Column, Rahman S. Abdulmohsin, Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Effect of Heat Exchanging Internals on the Heat-Transfer Coefficient Has Been Investigated in a 0.19 M Diameter Bubble Column. an Air-Water System Was Used with Superficial Gas Velocities Varying from 3 to 20 Cm/s, Which Cover Both the Bubbly and Churn-Turbulent Flow Regimes. Internals Occluding 0% (Empty Column), 5% (Simulating Methanol Synthesis), and 22% (Simulating Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis) of the Column Cross-Sectional Area Were Implemented. a Fast Response Heat-Transfer Probe Was Utilized to Measure the Radial Profile of the Heat-Transfer Coefficient in the Fully Developed Flow Region. the Results Indicate that the Presence of a High Percentage of Internals Causes …

Sendai Virus-Based Liposomes Enable Targeted Cytosolic Delivery Of Nanoparticles In Brain Tumor-Derived Cells, Veronica Dudu, Veronica Rotari, Maribel Vazquez

Publications and Research

BACKGROUND: Nanotechnology-based bioassays that detect the presence and/or absence of a combination of cell markers are increasingly used to identify stem or progenitor cells, assess cell heterogeneity, and evaluate tumor malignancy and/or chemoresistance. Delivery methods that enable nanoparticles to rapidly detect emerging, intracellular markers within cell clusters of biopsies will greatly aid in tumor characterization, analysis of functional state and development of treatment regimens.

RESULTS: Experiments utilized the Sendai virus to achieve in vitro, cytosolic delivery of Quantum dots in cells cultured from Human brain tumors. Using fluorescence microscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy, in vitro experiments illustrated that these virus-based …

Quantitative Cherenkov Emission Spectroscopy For Tissue Oxygenation Assessment, Johan Axelsson, Adam K. Glaser, David J. Gladstone, Brian W. Pogue

Dartmouth Scholarship

Measurements of Cherenkov emission in tissue during radiation therapy are shown to enable estimation of hemoglobin oxygen saturation non-invasively, through spectral fitting of the spontaneous emissions from the treated tissue. Tissue oxygenation plays a critical role in the efficacy of radiation therapy to kill tumor tissue. Yet in-vivo measurement of this has remained elusive in routine use because of the complexity of oxygen measurement techniques. There is a spectrally broad emission of Cherenkov light that is induced during the time of irradiation, and as this travels through tissue from the point of the radiation deposition, the tissue absorption and scatter …

Fuzzy Decision On Optimal Collision Avoidance Measures For Ships In Vessel Traffic Service, Chien-Min Su, Ki-Yin Chang, Chih-Yung Cheng

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This article proposes a new collision avoidance decision method for ships, allowing ships at risk of collision to take timely collision avoidance measures to ensure safe passage. Through vessel traffic service (VTS) collision alert system, an analysis can be made for the probability of a ship collision and an early warning can be issued. For ships in potential collision danger, the proposed method will use Microsoft Visual Studio to establish a knowledge base of international regulations for preventing collisions at sea. Thus, based on an analysis of the situation when encountering other ships, the knowledge base will suggest an appropriate …

Application Of Underwater Laser Scanning For Seafloor Shell Fragments Characterization, Chau-Chang Wang, Dajun Tang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Two features required for modeling high-frequency acoustic scattering from seafloor are roughness and discrete objects distributed on the seafloor. A laser scanner was deployed to acquire fine-scale bottom roughness off the coast of New Jersey in 2006. On the bathymetry map, it was found that the sites were covered by shell fragments. Cross-comparison between the laser reflection intensity and the bathymetry suggests that the shell fragments have a stronger reflection intensity than the seafloor. This phenomenon was confirmed by an indoor experiment on a simulated seafloor. An intensity-based algorithm was developed to detect shell fragments on the seafloor. The field …

Fabrication Of Biocompatible, Vibrational Magnetoelastic Materials For Controlling Cellular Adhesion, Hal Holmes, Ee Lim Tan, Keat Ghee Ong, Rupak Rajachar

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

This paper describes the functionalization of magnetoelastic (ME) materials with Parylene-C coating to improve the surface reactivity to cellular response. Previous study has demonstrated that vibrating ME materials were capable of modulating cellular adhesion when activated by an externally applied AC magnetic field. However, since ME materials are not inherently biocompatible, surface modifications are needed for their implementation in biological settings. Here, the long-term stability of the ME material in an aqueous and biological environment is achieved by chemical-vapor deposition of a conformal Parylene-C layer, and further functionalized by methods of oxygen plasma etching and protein adsorption. In vitro cytotoxicity …

Magnetic Resonance Elastography Methodology For The Evaluation Of Tissue Engineered Construct Growth., Evan Curtis, Simeng Zhang, Vahid Khalilzad-Sharghi, Thomas Boulet, Shadi F. Othman

All Faculty Articles - School of Engineering and Computer Science

Traditional mechanical testing often results in the destruction of the sample, and in the case of long term tissue engineered construct studies, the use of destructive assessment is not acceptable. A proposed alternative is the use of an imaging process called magnetic resonance elastography. Elastography is a nondestructive method for determining the engineered outcome by measuring local mechanical property values (i.e., complex shear modulus), which are essential markers for identifying the structure and functionality of a tissue. As a noninvasive means for evaluation, the monitoring of engineered constructs with imaging modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has seen increasing …

Identification And Characterization Of Mtoa: A Decaheme C-Type Cytochrome Of The Neutrophilic Fe(Ii)-Oxidizing Bacterium Sideroxydans Lithotrophicus Es-1, Juan Liu, Zheming Wang, Sara M. Belchik, Marcus J. Edwards, Chongxuan Liu, David W. Kennedy, Eric D. Merkley, Mary S. Lipton, Julea N. Butt, David J. Richardson, John M. Zachara, James K. Fredrickson, Kevin M. Rosso, Liang Shi

United States Department of Energy: Publications

The Gram-negative bacterium Sideroxydans lithotrophicus ES-1(ES-1) grows on FeCO₃ or FeS at oxic–anoxic interfaces at circumneutral pH, and the ES-1-mediated Fe(II) oxidation occurs extracellularly. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying ES-1’s ability to oxidize Fe(II) remain unknown. Survey of the ES-1 genome for candidate genes formicrobial extracellular Fe(II) oxidation revealed that it contained a three-genecluster encoding homologs of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1(MR-1) MtrA, MtrB, and CymA that are involved in extracellular Fe(III) reduction. Homologs of MtrA and MtrB were also previously shown to be involved in extracellular Fe(II) oxidation by Rhodopseudomonas palustris TIE-1. To distinguish them from those found in MR-1, …

Papaya (Carica Papaya) Seed As A Low-Cost Sorbent For Zinc Removal, Siew-Teng Ong, Shiau-Ping Yip, Pei-Sin Keng, Siew-Ling Lee, Yung-Tse Hung

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The potential of using papaya seed as a sorbent for the removal of Zn from aqueous solution was investigated. The sorption characteristics of the sorbent was studied under various experimental conditions, such as pH, contact time, concentration of Zn(II), agitation rate and sorbent’s particle size. The equilibrium data have been studied using Langmuir, Freundlich and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller equations. The best correlation was obtained using Langmuir isotherm with the regression coefficient value of 0.9799 and maximum sorption capacity of 19.88 mg/g. The effective pH for the maximum uptake of Zn(II) was at pH 5.0. An increase in percentage uptake of Zn(II) can …

Biomolecular Mechanisms And Functional Characterization Of Nanomaterials In Programmed Cancer Cell Death For Potential Applications In Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, And Bioengineering, Md. Zakir Hossain

Theses and Dissertations

Cancer bionanotechnology is an interdisciplinary area of research in applied biosciences, biomedical engineering, and nano-medicine. Currently, apoptotic cell death inducers and regulators are considered to have significant potential for cancer therapy. The ability to escape apoptosis is one of the key properties of human cancer. Pancreatic cancer that has the highest fatality rates of all cancers is prompt to evade apoptosis. Nanomaterials like Ni NWs have various novel properties that could be very useful in bio-medical applications at the molecular and cellular levels. The overall objective of this research was to investigate the antiproliferative and apoptogenic properties of Ni NWs …

The Design And Fabrication Of A Microfluidic Reactor For Synthesis Of Cadmium Selenide Quantum Dots Using Silicon And Glass Substrates, Peter Robert Gonsalves

Master's Theses

A microfluidic reactor for synthesizing cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots (QDs) was synthesized out of a silicon wafer and Pyrex glass. Microfabrication techniques were used to etch channels into the silicon wafer. Holes were wet-drilled into the Pyrex glass using a diamond-tip drill bit. The Pyrex wafer was anodically bonded to the etched silicon wafer to enclose the microfluidic reactor. Conditions for anodic bonding were created by exposing the stacked substrates to 300V at ~350oC under 5.46N of force. A syringe containing a room temperature CdSe solution was interfaced to the microfluidic reactor by using Poly (dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) as an …

Integrated Cellular Systems, Jason Carl Harper

Chemical and Biological Engineering ETDs

The generation of new three-dimensional (3D) matrices that enable integration of biomolecular components and whole cells into device architectures, without adversely altering their morphology or activity, continues to be an expanding and challenging field of research. This research is driven by the promise that encapsulated biomolecules and cells can significantly impact areas as diverse as biocatalysis, controlled delivery of therapeutics, environmental and industrial process monitoring, early warning of warfare agents, bioelectronics, photonics, smart prosthetics, advanced physiological sensors, portable medical diagnostic devices, and tissue/organ replacement. This work focuses on the development of a fundamental understanding of the biochemical and nanomaterial mechanisms …

Fabrication And Characterization Of Synthetic Substrates For Use In Rigidity Cell Culture Studies Of Valvular Interstitial Cells For Aortic Valve Tissue Engineering, Alexander T. Leonard

Chemical and Biological Engineering ETDs

More than 100,000 Americans each year undergo aortic valve (AV) replacement due to valve failure. An AV can become diseased, impairing the proper function of the valve. Common treatments for a defective valve are either replacement with a decellularized biologic or a synthetic valve. These treatments options are limited by short functional lifetime and thrombogenic surfaces. Tissue engineered heart valve will have the ability to integrate with the surrounding tissue as well as to repair and remodel. However, a greater understanding of valve cell biology is required to induce analogous tissue formation. A diseased valve is associated with stiffening of …

Nano-Structured Platinum-Based Catalysts For The Complete Oxidation Of Ethylene Glycol And Glycerol, Akinbayowa Falase

Chemical and Biological Engineering ETDs

Direct alcohol fuel cells are a viable alternative to the traditional hydrogen PEM fuel cell. Fuel versatility, integration with existing distribution networks, and increased safety when handling these fuels increases their appeal for portable power applications. In order to maximize their utility, the liquid fuel must be fully oxidized to CO2 so as to harvest the full amount of energy. Methanol and ethanol are widely researched as potential fuels to power these devices, but methanol is a toxic substance, and ethanol has a much lower energy density than other liquids such as gasoline or glucose. Oxidation of complex fuels is …

Phase-Distortion-Robust Voice-Source Analysis, Alan O'Cinneide

Doctoral

This work concerns itself with the analysis of voiced speech signals, in particular the analysis of the glottal source signal. Following the source-filter theory of speech, the glottal signal is produced by the vibratory behaviour of the vocal folds and is modulated by the resonances of the vocal tract and radiation characteristic of the lips to form the speech signal. As it is thought that the glottal source signal contributes much of the non-linguistic and prosodical information to speech, it is useful to develop techniques which can estimate and parameterise this signal accurately. Because of vocal tract modulation, estimating the …

Generalized Ellipsometry In-Situ Quantification Of Organic Adsorbate Attachment Within Slanted Columnar Thin Films, Keith B. Rodenhausen Jr., Daniel Schmidt, Tadas Kasputis, Angela K. Pannier, Eva Schubert, Mathias Schubert

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Faculty Publications

We apply generalized ellipsometry, well-known to be sensitive to the optical properties of anisotropic materials, to determine the amount of fibronectin protein that adsorbs onto a Ti slanted columnar thin film from solution. We find that the anisotropic optical properties of the thin film change upon organic adsorption. An optical model for ellipsometry data analysis incorporates an anisotropic Bruggeman effective medium approximation. We find that differences in experimental data from before and after fibronectin adsorption can be solely attributable to the uptake of fibronectin within the slanted columnar thin film. Simultaneous, in-situ generalized ellipsometry and quartz crystal microbalance measurements show …

Cardiomyopathy Detection From Electrocardiogram Features, Mirela Ovreiu, Daniel J. Simon

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Cardiomyopathy means "heart (cardio) muscle (myo) disease (pathy)". Currently, cardiomyopathies are defined as myocardial disorders in which the heart muscle is structurally and/or functionally abnormal in the absence of a coronary artery disease, hypertension, valvular heart disease or congenital heart disease sufficient to cause the observed myocardial abnormalities. This book provides a comprehensive, state-of-the-art review of the current knowledge of cardiomyopathies. Instead of following the classic interdisciplinary division, the entire cardiovascular system is presented as a functional unity, and the contributors explore pathophysiological mechanisms from different perspectives, including genetics, molecular biology, electrophysiology, invasive and non-invasive cardiology, imaging methods and surgery. …

A Laplace Pressure Based Microfluidic Trap For Passive Droplet Trapping And Controlled Release, Melinda Simon, Robert Lin, Jeffrey Fisher, Abraham Lee

Faculty Publications

Here, we present a microfluidic droplet trap that takes advantage of the net Laplace pressure force generated when a droplet is differentially constricted. Mathematical simulations were first used to understand the working range of the component; followed by finite element modeling using the CFDsoftware package to further characterize the behavior of the system. Controlled release of the trapped droplets is also demonstrated through both a mechanical method and a chemical method that manipulates the total pressure exerted on the trapped droplet. The unique design of this trapping device also provides the capability for selection of a single dropletfrom a train, …

Heat Transfer Coefficients In Mimicked Fischer-Tropsch Slurry Bubble Columns, Chengtian Wu, Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

To Provide More Support for Fischer-Tropsch (FT) Slurry Bubble Column Reactor Design, Scale-Up, and Performance, the Effects of Operating Conditions on the Heat Transfer Coefficients Were Investigated in a Mimicked FT Cold Flow System (Compressed Air:C 9-C 11:FT Catalyst Carrier). the Studied Operating Conditions Varied in Superficial Gas Velocity (Up to 0.3 M/s), Pressure (Up to 10 Bar), and Solids Concentration (Up to 25 Vol %). the Effects of These Variables on Heat Transfer Coefficients Are Discussed and Analyzed. the Increase in Pressure Tended to Reduce the Heat Transfer Coefficient, While the Increase in Solids Loading Enhanced the Heat Transfer …

Biomechanics, Brooke A. Slavens, Gerald F. Harris

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Biomechanics is a vast discipline within the field of Biomedical Engineering. It explores the underlying mechanics of how biological and physiological systems move. It encompasses important clinical applications to address questions related to medicine using engineering mechanics principles. Biomechanics includes interdisciplinary concepts from engineers, physicians, therapists, biologists, physicists, and mathematicians. Through their collaborative efforts, biomechanics research is ever changing and expanding, explaining new mechanisms and principles for dynamic human systems. Biomechanics is used to describe how the human body moves, walks, and breathes, in addition to how it responds to injury and rehabilitation. Advanced biomechanical modeling methods, such as inverse …

An Empirical Method For Correcting The Detector Spectral Response In Energy-Resolved Ct, Taly Gilat Schmidt

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Energy-resolving photon-counting detectors have the potential for improved material decomposition compared to dual-kVp approaches. However, material decomposition accuracy is limited by the nonideal spectral response of the detectors. This work proposes an empirical method for correcting the nonideal spectral response, including spectrum-tailing effects. Unlike previous correction methods which relied on synchrotron measurements, the proposed method can be performed on the scanner. The proposed method estimates a spectral-response matrix by performing x-ray projection measurements through a range of known thicknesses of two or more calibration materials. Once estimated, the spectral-response matrix is incorporated into conventional material decomposition algorithms. A simulation study …

Iowa Academy Of Science Position Paper On Biodiversity, Iowa Academy Of Science

Position Papers

No abstract provided.

The Bridge Newsletter Spring 2012, Missouri University Of Science And Technology

The Bridge Newsletter

-Light-weight foam could cushion expensive bridge repairs
-New Chancellor
-The house of the future today
-High-tech approach to project management

Biosorption Of Uranium And Its Effect On Uranium Transport In Groundewater, Jeanette Leavitt

Civil Engineering ETDs

In past years, microbial reduction has been explored as a remediation method for uranium-contaminated groundwater at U.S. Department of Energy sites with promising results. Although transport models have been improved to include variations in geochemical concentrations, reductive microbial processes, and adsorption of uranium to minerals, they do not incorporate the presence of microorganisms as sorption sites that may influence the overall transport of uranium. The main objective of this research was to determine the effects of uranium biosorption on the overall transport of uranium by understanding the solution chemical equilibrium and its effects on modeling sorption. This was done by …

Selective Fluoride Removal By Aluminum Precipitation & Membrane Filtration, Emily Kowalchuk

Civil Engineering ETDs

Fluoride is an anionic constituent of most natural surface and ground waters. At low concentrations it has the beneficial effect of improving dental health, but at high concentrations it causes skeletal and other problems. The drinking water standard for fluoride is 4.0 mg/L, but even at this level approximately 10% of exposed children will develop dental enamel fluorosis. Several small communities in New Mexico have source waters with fluoride concentrations higher than 4.0 mg/L. No commercial technologies selectively remove fluoride from drinking water in part because it is relatively non-reactive in aqueous solution and also because its chemistry is similar …

Single And Multiphase Mixing In Partially Filled Stirred Vessels, Shilan Motamedvaziri

Dissertations

In many industrial applications, mixing vessels have a liquid height-to-tank diameter ratio, H/T, equal to, or larger than 1. However, there are many instances where this ratio is lower than 1, as in all those cases in which the vessel is either emptied or filled. Even when H/T<1, sufficient agitation must still be provided in order to attain the desired process objectives. When the impeller submergence is reduced as a result of lowering the liquid level, the fluid dynamics of even a single-phase stirred liquid can become quite complex, with different regimes possibly existing depending on the geometric characteristics of the system (such as impeller clearance, liquid height, or liquid submergence above the impeller). The objectives of this work were to study in detail the hydrodynamic changes that occur when H/T is decreased, and to determine the minimum liquid levels and the critical impeller submergence for different impeller off-bottom distances, impeller diameters and agitation speeds where adequate mixing process can still be achieved, both in a single liquid phase and in solid-liquid suspensions.

Flat-bottomed, baffled vessels (5L, 12L, 20L and 170L) equipped with a single disk turbine (DT) of four different sizes placed at five different impeller off-bottom clearances were used here to study the system's hydrodynamics and related mixing phenomena. A number of experimental tools were used to analyze the systems under investigation, including: …

Hot-Melt Mixing Of Partially Miscible Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient-Polymer Mixtures, Min Yang

Dissertations

Solid dispersion/solution processes for producing pharmaceutical oral dosages such as hot-met extrusion (HME) have received increasing attention by industry and academe because they can enhance drugs’ solubility and even bioavailability to a great extent by converting drugs from crystalline to amorphous form. HME can be carried out at two process temperature regimes: one where T_process > T_m of the drug and the T_g of the polymer (or the T_m for the case of semi-crystalline polymers); the other at T_m > T_process > T_g (T_m for the case of semi-crystalline polymer). Processing below the drug’s …

The Mechanical Testing Of Single Nanofiber, Pratik Manohar Dahule

Theses

Polymer nanofibers exhibit properties that make them a favorable material for the development of tissue engineering scaffolds, filtration devices, sensors, and high strength lightweight materials. Perfectly aligned PLLA Nanofibers were fabricated by an electrospinning technique under optimum conditions and the diameter of the electrospun fibers can easily be tailored by adjusting the concentration of the polymer solution. To align the nanofibers, special arrangement was made in terms of two aluminum plates. Good alignment of polymer nanofibers on specimen was confirmed by SEM observation. The effect of different electro-spinning parameters on maximum fiber length, average fiber diameter, diameter uniformity, and fiber …

Neural Differentiation Of Pluripotent Stem Cells And Applications To Micropatterned Agarose Hydrogel For Nerve Guidance, Jamila S. Gittens

Theses

Many central nervous system (CNS) disorders are attributable to damaged oligodendrocytes, the cells that form the myelin sheath of axons. An effective source of human oligodendrocytes is crucial, making pluripotent stem cells, such as embryonic stem (ES) cells, an attractive source for nerve tissue repair and regeneration due to their unlimited capacity for self-renewal and their ability to differentiate into all major cell lineages. Bioengineered 3-D hydrogel culture systems have the potential to elucidate mechanisms required for regeneration of CNS cells. The goals of this study are: (1) to investigate the effects of retinoic acid (RA), sonic hedgehog (shh) agonist, …

Preparation Of Different Polyamide Nanofiltration Membranes By Interfacial Polymerization And The Effect Of Post-Polymerization Treatment On Separation Performance, Yu Qin

Theses

Interfacial polymerization (IP) is a powerful technique for fabrication of thin film composite (TFC) membranes. In this study, polyamide nanofiltration (NF) composite membranes ware prepared by interfacial polymerization of polyethylenimine (PEI) or m-phenylene diamine (MPD) with isophthaloyl dichloride (IPD) on the surface of a porous polyethersulfone (PES) support. Concentrations of monomer reactants for this reaction were decided by equivalent weight ratio. A standard IP procedure was applied to successfully coat PES flat films. After preparation, three different post-polymerization treatments were employed and one optimal treatment was proven after membrane testing.

The TFC flat film membranes were characterized by nanofiltration of …