Digital Commons Network^™

A Compliant Threshold Acceleration Sensor Integrated With Radio Frequency Identifiable Tags, Benjamin L. Todd

Theses and Dissertations

Fully compliant bistable mechanisms have been proposed to be used as threshold accelerometers. The advantages to using these devices are that they require no external power to operate and maintain their sensing state. Using this characteristic the devices can be integrated with passive radio frequency identification tags (RFID). This allows for the sensing package to lay dormant with no maintenance needed until the sensor is read by the RFID reader. This thesis presents a successfully fabricated and integrated threshold accelerometer with a passive RFID tag. This in turn has been successfully read with an RFID reader and shown to act …

Facilitating Use Of The Odor Footprint Tool By Nebraska Pork Producers, Rick R. Stowell

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The goal of this project was to make Odor Footprint Tool (OFT) resources readily usable by pork producers and their technical advisors as a planning and screening tool when siting swine facilities. Detailed odor footprints for five specified sizes of swine facilities were developed for twenty-four locations throughout Nebraska: six regional sites and three “localized” sites within each region. Each odor footprint shows the predicted odor annoyance-free frequency as a function of the distance from the facility. Footprints developed using localized weather data differed only slightly from footprints produced using weather data from a regional site when the general topography …

Effects Of Narrow Grass Hedges On Nutrient Transport From Land Application Areas, John E. Gilley, Bahman Eghball, David B. Marx

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Presentations and White Papers

The placement of stiff-stemmed grass hedges on the contour along a hill slope has been shown to decrease runoff nutrient transport. This study was conducted to measure the effectiveness of a narrow grass hedge in reducing runoff nutrient transport from plots with a range of soil nutrient values. Composted beef cattle manure was applied at dry weights of 0, 68, 105, 142, and 178 Mg ha^-1 to a silty clay loam soil and then incorporated by disking. Soil samples were collected 243 days later for analysis of water-soluble phosphorus (WSP), Bray and Kurtz No.1 phosphorus (Bray-1 P), NO_{3 …}

Engineering At San Jose State University, Summer 2008, San Jose State University, Charles W. Davidson College Of Engineering

Engineering at San Jose State University

No abstract provided.

A Finite Difference Method For Studying Thermal Deformation In Three-Dimensional Thin Films Exposed To Ultrashort Pulsed Lasers, Suyang Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

Thermal analysis related to ultrashort-pulsed lasers has been intensely studied in science and engineering communities in recent years, because the pulse duration of ultrashort-pulsed lasers is only the order of sub-picoseconds to femtoseconds, and the lasers have exclusive capabilities in limiting the undesirable spread of the thermal process zone in the heated sample. Studying the thermal deformation induced by ultrashort-pulsed lasers is essential for preventing thermal damage. For the ultrashort-pulsed laser, the thermal damage is different from that caused by the long pulsed lasers and cracks occur after heating.

This dissertation presents a new finite difference method for studying thermal …

A Simplex Model For Layered Niche Networks, Philip Fraundorf

Physics Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Climate Models: An Assessment Of Strengths And Limitations, David Bader, Curt Covey, William Gutowski, Isaac Held, Kenneth Kunkel, Ronald Miller, Robin Tokmakian, Minghua Zhang

United States Department of Energy: Publications

Scientists extensively use mathematical models of Earth’s climate, executed on the most powerful computers available, to examine hypotheses about past and present-day climates. Development of climate models is fully consistent with approaches being taken in many other fields of science dealing with very complex systems. These climate simulations provide a framework within which enhanced understanding of climate-relevant processes, along with improved observations, are merged into coherent projections of future climate change. This report describes the models and their ability to simulate current climate.
The science of climate modeling has matured through finer spatial resolution, the inclusion of a greater number …

Integrated Science Assessment For Oxides Of Nitrogen — Health Criteria, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to meet requirements set forth in Sections 108 and 109 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). These sections require the EPA Administrator (1) to list widespread air pollutants that reasonably may be expected to endanger public health or welfare; (2) to issue air quality criteria that assess the latest available scientific information on the nature and effects of ambient exposure to the criteria pollutants; (3) to set “primary” NAAQS to protect human health with adequate margin of safety and to set “secondary” NAAQS to protect …

Matlab Report, Nancy Hale

Cornerstone 3 Reports : Interdisciplinary Informatics

The objective of this effort is to create a multidisciplinary approach to problem solving using technology. Through Thinkfinity, the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems is collaborating with the science and quantitative faculty to create lessons that can be used by high school and first -year college students to work interactively with data to solve problems. MatLab is the tool of choice. It gives the user the ability to create visual models of large data sets and is used in the science and finance areas.

The key features of MatLab:

• Interactive tools for iterative exploration, design, and …

Biodegradable Fluorescent Polymers, Santosh Gautam

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

Most of the works done on fluorescent polymers are focused on their potential applications in lighting industries. Much less interest has been paid for their potential application in the field of biology and biomedical engineering. Although multiple biological uses of green fluorescent proteins (GFPs) have been addressed by different groups, their potential for biomedical applications is hampered by their tendency to photobleach rapidly and their short fluorescence lifetime. Quantum dots have emerged as a potential substitute for those applications, but their cytotoxicity and lack of biodegradability restrict their use in a biological system. An ideal fluorescent material that could be …

Nanoengineered Templates For Controlled Delivery Of Bioactive Compounds, Nalinkanth Ghone Veerabadran

Doctoral Dissertations

The significance of any drugs, therapeutic proteins, or any bioactive compounds, is based not only on their effects on diseases but also on how specifically, how readily, how controllable and how prolonged their effects on the disease without having any side effects. Thus the techniques involved in the drug encapsulation and its controlled release for a longer duration of time form one of the important processes of drug reformulation. In recent years nanoparticles have created overwhelming attention for delivering drugs by nanoencapsulation. The smaller size of nanoparticles has longer circulation time and higher cellular uptake when compared with larger size …

A Simulation Of The Neural Action Potential Under The Influence Of Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors Modeled In The Neuromuscular Junction, Frank Jenkins

Doctoral Dissertations

The rise of terrorism has created an interest in better ways to detect when humans are exposed to neurotoxins, especially nerve gases developed for military use, most of which are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. Many current methods of detection are based on mass spectrometry, a method that is cumbersome and not particularly robust when used as an early warning method. The detection of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors would benefit from a combined model of the processes occurring in the neuromuscular junction between the presynaptic action potential and the motor end-plate action potential that includes the kinetics of acetylcholine and acetylcholinesterase in the synaptic cleft. …

Poly(Ethylenedioxythiophene) Based Electronic Devices For Sensor Applications, Jie Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

Organic electronic devices, based on Poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-Poly (styrene sulfonic acid) (PEDOT-PSS) as the active layer for sensor applications, have been studied. Two sets of sensors have been developed. In one case, sensors consisting of PEDOT-PSS resistors have been realized and demonstrated for soil moisture monitoring. The resistor model for the soil moisture sensor enables the sensor device to be fabricated at low cost and easily tested with a simple structure. Unlike the large dimension device used in Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR), the sensors are small and are capable of capturing microscale behavior of moisture in soil which is useful for …

Effect Of Ph On Ptru Electrocatalysts Prepared Via A Polyol Process On Carbon Nanotubes, Li Ren, Yangchuan Xing

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper reports a study on the pH effects on the PtRu nanoparticles synthesized in a polyol process that were deposited on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by reducing metal salts using ethylene glycol at various pHs. It was found that the nanoparticle size, composition, and catalytic activity all were sensitive to pH. the nanoparticles decreased in size as the preparation pH increased from 1.6 to 10.0, with the largest size at 2.47 nm and the smallest at 1.13 nm. an exception was found for pH at 0.7, which resulted in an average size of only 1.01 nm. Preparation pH was found …

Force Measurement Methods In Telerobotic Surgery: Implications For End-Effector Manufacture, Dean Callaghan, Mark Mcgrath, Eugene Coyle

Articles

Haptic feedback in telesurgical applications refers to the relaying of position and force information from a remote surgical site to the surgeon in real-time during a surgical procedure. This feedback, coupled with visual information via microscopic cameras, has the potential to provide the surgeon with additional ‘feel’ for the manipulations being performed at the instrument-biological tissue interface. This increased sensitivity has many associated benefits which include, but are not limited to; minimal tissue damage, reduced recuperation periods, and less patient trauma. The inclusion of haptic feedback leads to reduction in surgeon fatigue which contributes to enhanced performance during operation. Commercially …

A Force Measurement Evaluation Tool For Telerobotic Cutting Applications: Development Of An Effective Characterization Platform, Dean Callaghan, Mark Mcgrath, Eugene Coyle

Articles

Sensorized instruments that accurately measure the interaction forces (between biological tissue and instrument endeffector) during surgical procedures offer surgeons a greater sense of immersion during minimally invasive robotic surgery. Although there is ongoing research into force measurement involving surgical graspers little corresponding effort has been carried out on the measurement of forces between scissor blades and tissue. This paper presents the design and development of a force measurement test apparatus, which will serve as a sensor characterization and evaluation platform. The primary aim of the experiments is to ascertain whether the system can differentiate between tissue samples with differing mechanical …

Ceg 720-01: Computer Architecture I, Soon M. Chung

Computer Science & Engineering Syllabi

Review of sequential computer architecture and study of parallel computers. Topics include memory hierarchy, reduced instruction set computer; pipeline processing, multiprocessing, various parallel computers, interconnection networks, and fault-tolerant computing. 3 hours lecture and 2 hours lab.

Congestion Mitigation In Wireless Sensor Networks Using Single-Hop Backpressure Algorithm, Vijay Shekar Mangilipalli Gangu Sham

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Wireless sensor networks consist of a group of small components with limited resources allocated to sense the environment and transmit data to the user or interpreter. This concept is technically evolved from Sensors that are basically used to sense the environment around and collect data based on the sensing application incorporated in them. An extension to functionality of the sensors leads to the concept of sensor networks, where, in addition to gathering information at individual sensors, the data is processed and transmitted to a central station or Base station. This concept of transmitting the information from one node to the …

Biology-Inspired Approach For Communal Behavior In Massively Deployed Sensor Networks, Kennie H. Jones

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

Research in wireless sensor networks has accelerated rapidly in recent years. The promise of ubiquitous control of the physical environment opens the way for new applications that will redefine the way we live and work. Due to the small size and low cost of sensor devices, visionaries promise smart systems enabled by deployment of massive numbers of sensors working in concert. To date, most of the research effort has concentrated on forming ad hoc networks under centralized control, which is not scalable to massive deployments. This thesis proposes an alternative approach based on models inspired by biological systems and reports …

Nutrient And Microbial Transport From Feedlot Surfaces, John E. Gilley, Elaine D. Berry, Roger A. Eigenberg, David B. Marx, Bryan L. Woodbury

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Presentations and White Papers

Nutrient and microbial transport by runoff may vary at different locations within a beef cattle feedlot. If the areas making the largest contributions to nutrient and microbial transport can be identified, it may be possible to institute site-specific management practices to reduce runoff nutrient and microbial transport. The objectives of this study were to: a) measure selected feedlot soil properties, and nutrient and microbial transport in runoff from various feedlot locations b) compare the effects of unconsolidated surface materials (USM) (loose manure pack) and consolidated subsurface materials (CSM) (compacted manure and underlying layers) on nutrient and microbial transport, and c) …

Irradiation Of Varying Volumes Of Rat Lung To Same Mean Lung Dose: A Little To A Lot Or A Lot To A Little?, Vladimir A. Semenenko, Robert C. Molthen, Chunrong Li, Natalya V. Morrow, Rongshan Li, Swarajit N. Ghosh, Meetha Medhora, X. Allen Li

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose: To investigate whether irradiating small lung volumes with a large dose or irradiating large lung volumes with a small dose, given the same mean lung dose (MLD), has a different effect on pulmonary function in laboratory animals.

Methods and Materials: WAG/Rij/MCW male rats were exposed to single fractions of 300 kVp X-rays. Four treatments, in decreasing order of irradiated lung volume, were administered: (1) whole lung irradiation, (2) right lung irradiation, (3) left lung irradiation, and (4) irradiation of a small lung volume with four narrow beams. The irradiation times were chosen to accumulate the same MLD of 10, …

Development Of A Genetic Algorithm Based Search Strategy Suited For Design Optimisation Of Internal Combustion Engines, Nalitolela G

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Engine design optimisation is a multi-objective, multi-domain problem in a discontinuous design space. The state of the art of optimisation techniques shows that only methods of direct and adaptive search are appropriate for this type of problem. These include, adaptive random search, simulated annealing, evolution strategies and genetic algorithms. Of these methods, the genetic algorithms have been shown to be the most suited for the optimisation of multi-modal response functions in a discontinuous design space. This paper considers the important characteristics of genetic algorithms and their adaptation for use in parametric design optimisation of internal combustion engines. In order to …

The Limnogeology Of The Lakes Sagara And Nyamagoma, Hudson Nkotagu

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The present study focuses on the limnogeological aspects of the lakes Sagara and Nyamagoma within the Malagarasi Wetland Ecosystem. Abiotic parameters from water and sediment samples were determined during the dry and wet seasons using appropriate gears and methods. The data show variation of the abiotic parameters in both lakes from the water surface to the bottom. Lake Nyamagoma is less turbid (0.7-24 NTU) than Lake Sagara (25 to 65 NTU). The water transparency was also high at Lake Nyamagoma (0.75-1.5 m) thus supporting the observed turbidity trend. The physical chemical changes may be attributed to processes such as cooling, …

Application Of Non-Destructive Testing In Evaluating Reinforced Concrete Structural Elements In Buildings, I Rubaratuka

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Of recent a large number of existing reinforced concrete buildings have required reconstruction, renovation and improvement. This tendency poses a number of problems that have to be solved, the main one being to determine the actual strength condition of the structural components/elements of the building. It includes determination of the quality of materials used, specification of the types and description of apparent faults and damages and extent of wear of the building. To undertake this evaluation, non – destructive testing methods are used. In this paper, applications of non – destructive testing methods to determine the strength state of reinforced …

Accuracy Analysis For Kolmogorov Entropy Used In Studying The Chaotic Dynamics Of Cfb Reactors Based On Solids Concentration Fluctuations, Samwel V. Manyele

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

A study on the chaotic dynamics of a high flux circulating fluidized bed (CFB) riser (10-m high and 76-mm i.d.) using the maximum likelihood estimate of the Kolmogorov entropy (KML) is reported. The signals used were measured by using a solids concentration fiber optic probe, accuracy of which is reported based on statistical analysis. The sensitivity analysis of the parameters used for computing KML was conducted to identify optimum settings, based on the standard error, s(KML) and the nature of PDF of the b-values from the reconstructed phase space trajectories. The length of time series, N, sampling frequency, fs, and …

Sedimentation Status Of Lake Victoria: Loading From River Mouth And In-Lake Sedimentation, F Mwanuzi1

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Lake sediments consist of the input of suspended solids by river discharges, the autochthonous produced particulate matter in the water column and the settled material on the lake bottom. The loading, transport, formation and decay of the sediments entering the Lake Victoria from Tanzanian side was monitored for the period 2000 to 2005. The sedimentation study focused on; quantification of settling fluxes of particulate nutrients and organic carbon at the off shore(Pelagic) and near-shore(Littoral) monitoring stations. Monitored data on sedimentation rate and settling velocities has been sampled and analysed in the period November 2000 to March 2005. The mean sedimentation …

Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Kinetics Of The Neuromuscular Junction Simulated Using Spice: An Illustration Of Physiological Process Simulation With Conventional Circuit Simulation Software, Robert B. Szlavik

Biomedical Engineering

With the advent of modern day computational power, there is a great deal of interest in the simulation and modeling of complex biological systems. A significant effort is being made to develop generalized software packages for the simulation of cellular processes, metabolic pathways and complex biochemical reaction systems. The advantages to being able to implement and simulate complex biological systems in a virtual environment are several. Simulations of this type, if sufficiently detailed, provide experimental physiologists with the ability to visualize the dynamics of a given biological system of interest. The validity of hypotheses related to the system under study …

An Automatic Alogorithm For Detecting Stent Endothelialization From Volumetric Optical Coherence Tomography Datasets, Garret T. Bonnema, Kristen O'Halloran Cardinal, Stuart K. Williams, Jennifer K. Barton

Biomedical Engineering

Recent research has suggested that endothelialization of vascular stents is crucial to reducing the risk of late stent thrombosis. With a resolution of approximately 10 μm, optical coherence tomography (OCT) may be an appropriate imaging modality for visualizing the vascular response to a stent and measuring the percentage of struts covered with an anti-thrombogenic cellular lining. We developed an image analysis program to locate covered and uncovered stent struts in OCT images of tissue-engineered blood vessels. The struts were found by exploiting the highly reflective and shadowing characteristics of the metallic stent material. Coverage was evaluated by comparing the luminal …

Optimization And Characterization Of Biodiesel Production From Cottonseed And Canola Oil, Hem Joshi

All Theses

Transesterification of cottonseed oil and canola oil was carried out using low molecular weight alcohols and potassium hydroxide. For cottonseed oil, a central composite design with eight factorial, six center and six axial points was used to study the effect of catalyst concentration, molar ratio of ethanol to cottonseed oil and reaction temperature on percentage yield and percentage initial absorbance (%A385nm) of the biodiesel. Catalyst concentration and molar ratio of ethanol to cottonseed oil were the most influential variables affecting percentage conversion and percentage initial absorbance. Maximum percentage yield of 98 % is predicted at a catalyst concentration of 1.07 …

Optimization Of Diffuser Valves, Chin-Tsan Wang, Pi-Cheng Chang, Chien-Cheng Huang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

In this study, the width of channel, D, and diffuser angle, , at given diffuser width whose value is 100 m will be studied for steady and unsteady flow conditions. By means of a series of numerical simulations, some findings for diffuser valve will be reported. The diffuser valve with a channel width of D = 300 m and diffuser angle =60º, is a better geometry because of its outstanding capability on suction production of net volume flow. Besides, the larger the Reynolds number is, the greater the suction amount of net volume flow will be. When the aspect ratio …