Digital Commons Network^™

Possibilities Of Glutamate-Mediated Synaptic Like Activity In Somatosensory Mechanoreceptors Such As Pacinian Corpuscles?, Kevin Kopko

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Pacinian Corpuscles (PCs) are somatosensory mechanoreceptors, composed of a central neurite, surrounded by layers of lamellae that make up the inner core, which are specialized glial cells, and fibroblast derived outer-core lamellae of the surrounding capsule. Several components specific to a chemical synapse (Vglut1, Vamp1, SNAP-23) were localized to both the neurite and the inner-core cells in feline mesenteric PCs using immunocytochemistry. However, it has long been postulated that the first synapse of the PC occurs at the dorsal column nuclei, or spinal cord, and that no classical synapse is present in the distal ending of the capsulated receptor. While …

Predictive Measures Of Tooth/Tooth Contact In Mastication, Elizabeth Klodd

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Understanding the process of mastication, or chewing, is very important in humans. Understanding the way people chew can help craniofacial repair to victims of accidents or other conditions. Stages of chewing and swallowing have been categorized; however, it is currently unknown when exactly the teeth meet during mastication. Vertical motion data were obtained from seven subjects while chewing food of different consistencies. A videofluorograph collected the data and they were manipulated in Excel to be plotted as time vs. vertical displacement for the upper incisor tooth. The first and second derivatives of these motion-time charts were taken in order to …

History Of The Logan Bluff Landslide Zone, Seth P. Olsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

On September 10, 2005, a landslide occurred to the south of Utah State University Campus and Highway 89. This landslide did considerable damage to the Logan and Northern canal, which is cut into the slope, and to a residence at the toe of the slope. This event brought many parties together to collaborate on possible solutions to the immediate fix of the slide as well slides that could occur in the future. The purpose of this report is to compile information useful to the study of the area and the possible solutions and/or risk assessment of the Logan Bluff Landslide …

Investigating The Use Of Intelligent Transportation System Applications To Mitigate The Effects Of Terrorism In Marine Transportation, Kenneth Brown

Theses (Pre-2016)

Contrary to popular belief marine transportation is probably the most vulnerable and the most critical sector of transportation. The Marine Transportation System (MTS) is comprised of ships, tugs, barges, ports, rail and trucking all operating in a highly integrated system. The vulnerability of the MTS to the effects of possible terrorist attacks would not only pose a great threat to the safety of the local community but also our U.S. economy. In other modes of transportation such as surface, air, and mass transit, security and safety issues have been addressed through Technological improvements. Many of these Technological improvements fall under …

Non-Isothermal Reaction-Diffusion Systems With Thermodynamically Coupled Heat And Mass Transfer, Yaşar Demirel

Papers in Analytical Chemistry

Non-isothermal reaction-diffusion (RD) systems control the behavior of many transport and rate processes in physical, chemical, and biological systems. A considerable work has been published on mathematically coupled nonlinear differential equations of RD systems by neglecting the possible thermodynamic couplings among heat and mass fluxes, and reaction velocities. Here, the thermodynamic coupling refers that a flux occurs without its primary thermodynamic driving force, which may be gradient of temperature, or chemical potential, or reaction affinity. This study presents the modeling equations of non-isothermal RD systems with coupled heat and mass fluxes excluding the coupling of chemical reactions using the linear …

Transfected Cell Arrays For Assessment Of Estrogen Receptor Activation In Breast Cancer Cells, Angela K. Pannier, Zain Bengali, Eric A. Ariazi, V. Craig Jordan, Lonnie D Shea

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

Transfected cell arrays represent a high-throughput approach to correlate gene expression with functional cell responses, based on gene delivery from a substrate that supports cell adhesion. These arrays provide the ability to express, in parallel, thousands of exogenous genes in live cells, giving real-time information on cellular physiology and gene function. While there have been advances in transfected cell arrays, improvements are needed to this technology, including increasing the cells types that can be efficiently transfected and developing better quantification and normalization methods. We have created an array using soft lithography techniques to pattern DNA-lipid complex deposition. Specifically, a mold …

Design Of Compact Polymer Mach-Zender Interferometer And Ring Resonator With Air Trench Structures, Seunghyun Kim, Jianhua Jiang, Gregory P. Nordin

Faculty Publications

We discuss the design of a compact ring resonator (RR) and Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) in a low-refractive-index-contrast waveguide material system through the use of air trenches. A narrow air trench at the intersection of one input and two output waveguides can function as a high-efficiency splitter, while wider air trenches operate as waveguide bends. We first discuss the design of individual splitters and bends and then show how they can be used to realize a compact MZI and RR. The RR has a footprint of only 70 X 100 um, and its optical efficiency at the drop wavelengths is 86%. …

Manipulation Of Polystyrene Microparticles On A Microchannel Glass, Ravi Mamillapalli, Henry D. Young

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Bulk quantities of spherical microbeads have various applications in research and industrial fields. Simple techniques are required to be developed in order to manipulate and modify large numbers of these beads simultaneously. In our experiment, a microchannel glass-based microfluidic device is used to actuate large numbers of microbeads in parallel. The microchannel glass used in these experiments contains channels 4.1 μm in diameter. The microbeads are polystyrene beads which are superparamagnetic in nature and 5-6 μm in diameter. An aqueous suspension of microbeads is injected into a 2-chamber fluid cell that contains a separator, microchannel glass. The beads are reversibly …

Gas Holdup In Trayed Bubble Column Reactors, Javier Alvaré, Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Sectionalization of Conventional Bubble Columns by Perforated Trays into Trayed Bubble Columns (TBCs) Has Much Potential in Biochemical and Petroleum Refining Processes, as an Effective Way to Improve the Gas-Liquid Contacting Efficiency and Reduce the Liquid Back mixing. in This Work, the Effects of Tray Geometry, Superficial Gas Velocity, and Superficial Liquid Velocity on the overall Gas Holdup Have Been Investigated. It Was Determined that the Trays Significantly Increase the overall Gas Holdup. the Tray Hole Diameter and Superficial Gas Velocity Were Determined to Be the Most Important Factors. © 2006 American Chemical Society.

2nd Annual Undergraduate Research Conference Abstract Book, University Of Missouri--Rolla

Undergraduate Research Conference at Missouri S&T

No abstract provided.

Control Of Hydrogen Sulfide From Groundwater Using Packed-Bed Anion Exchange And Other Technologies, Camilo Romero Cotrino

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hydrogen sulfide imparts odors and taste to drinking water and can be corrosive to distribution systems. Groundwater sources used to produce drinking water tend to have sulfide concentrations ranging from below 0.1 to over 3 mg/L. Under anaerobic conditions, hydrogen sulfide can be formed from reduction of sulfate and elemental sulfur through chemical or biological reactions. Therefore, to decrease the potential for hydrogen sulfide in water systems, control of all forms of sulfur should be consistent.

Hydrogen sulfide in groundwater can be controlled through conversion or removal mechanisms. Conversion reactions result from chemical or biological reactions that oxidize hydrogen sulfide …

2006 - The Eleventh Annual Symposium Of Student Scholars

Symposium of Student Scholars Program Books

The full program book from the Eleventh Annual Symposium of Student Scholars, held on April 7, 2006. Includes abstracts from the presentations and posters.

An Investigation On The Importance Of Material Anisotropy In Finite-Element Modeling Of The Human Femur, Ryan Krone, Peter Schuster

Mechanical Engineering

Detailed finite element modeling of the human body offers a potential major enhancement to the prediction of injury risk during vehicle impacts. Currently, vehicle crash safety countermeasure development is based on a combination of testing with established anthropomorphic test devices (i.e., ATD or dummy) and a mixture of multi-body (dummy) and finite element (vehicle) modeling. If a relatively simple finite element model can be developed to capture additional information beyond the capabilities of the multi-body systems, it would allow improved countermeasure development through more detailed prediction of performance.

A simpler finite element model of human bones could be developed if …

Nanotechnology, Biology, Ethics And Society: Overcoming The Multidisciplinary Teaching Challenges, Linda Vanasupa, Matthew Ritter, Barbara Schader, Katherine C. Chen, Richard N. Savage, Peter Schwartz, Lynne Slivovsky

Materials Engineering

One of the inherent challenges of teaching any emerging technology like nanotechnology, is the fact that its core competencies flux in the new disciplines' early stages. Nanotechnology presents an additional challenge in that its underpinnings cross multiple traditional disciplinary boundaries. We have designed a course that aims to address some of these challenges through a handful of structural features: team-based learning; a "reverse of the learning pyramid" approach; team-teaching; embedded information literacy techniques; and application-centered content. Our course is organized around four applications that are in their developmental stages: gold nanoshells for cancer treatment; molecular manufacturing; tissue engineering of a …

Multicomponent Patterning Of Nanocomposite Polymer And Nanoparticle Films Using Photolithography And Layer-By-Layer Self -Assembly, Javeed Shaikh Mohammed

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, the fabrication, characterization, and application examples of 3D multicomponent nanocomposite micropatterns (MNMs) with precise spatial arrangements are described. The ability to produce such small-scale 3D structures with versatility in composition and structure is a new development based on the integration of nanoscale layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly and microscale photolithographic patterning, enabling construction of surfaces with microscale patterns that possess nanotopographies. The techniques used here are analogous to surface micromachining, except that the deposition materials are polymers, biological materials, and colloidal nanoparticles used to produce 3D MNMs. A key feature of the resulting 3D MNMs is that the physical …

Topaz: A Firefox Protocol Extension For Gridftp Based On Data Flow Diagrams, Richard Zamudio, Daniel Catarino, Michela Taufer, Brent Stearn, Karan Bhatia

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

As grid infrastructures mature, an increasing challenge is to provide end-user scientists with intuitive interfaces to computational services, data management capabilities, and visualization tools. The current approach used in a number of cyber-infrastructure projects is to leverage the capabilities of the Mozilla framework to provide rich end-user tools that seamlessly integrate with remote resources such as web/grid services and data repositories.

In this paper we apply rigorous software engineering tools, Data Flow Diagrams or DFDs, to guide the design, implementation, and performance analysis of Topaz, a GridFTP protocol extension to the Firefox browser. GridFTP servers, similar to FTP servers used …

The Effect Of Gender Schematicity On The Assessment Of Male And Female Pilots’ Competence Given Identical Scenarios, Jan D. Laplante

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

Gender has been identified as one of the top three categories, along with race, and age that are subject to stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination (Fiske, 1998). With the emergence of women in stereotypical male domains, gender research has never been more important. The aviation community is a prime example of one such domain.

This study examined the presence of an existing perception that male pilots are more competent then female pilots. It suggested that there does not appear to be evidence that would explain why there should be a difference in this perception of competence. It also discussed social theories …

Impulse, Dave Graves, Kyle Johnson, Andrea Kieckhefer, Miranda Reiman, Cindy Rickeman, Denise Watt

Impulse (Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering Publication)

Features:
[Page] 2 New scoreboards put Jacks, alums on high-tech display: Daktronics installs its most unique system yet
[Page] 4 Lighting the way: New electrical engineering doctorate to focus on photovoltaics
[Page] 6 Minor approved in biomedical engineering: Students can now earn a minor degree in this hot field
[Page] 8 Construction Management program gets 'big gold star': The first and only CM program in the state is now accredited
[Page] 10 JEC brings Gibson, Boisjoly to campus: Former astronaut, aerospace engineer deliver their message
Students:
[Page] 11 Haskins + 3 = 4 Geotek interns: Gaining real-world experience
[Page] 12 …

Dynamics Of Nonlinear Diffusion Processes, Dustin A. Sipka

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze nonlinear diffusion processes. In particular, some of the results arrived at by Newman and Sagan in their 1981 paper "Galactic Civilizations: Population Dynamics and Interstellar Diffusion," will be reproduced by different means. First, a thorough analysis of the linear diffusion equation will be performed in order to test a numerical algorithm that can solve the nonlinear diffusion equation and look at the processes of interest with sufficient accuracy. Once the algorithm is tested and shows good resolution it is used to solve the nonlinear equation. The post processing is then done to …

Engineering@Nebraska - Spring 2006

Engineering@Nebraska (Alumni Magazine)

Table of Contents:

A Swine Sensation: William Velander is creating a safe, inexpensive treatment for hemophilia using protein from the milk of transgenic pigs.
Bridging a Community: UNL and the Nebraska Department of Roads join together to build the United States’ first tied-arch bridge in Ravenna.
Five Men and a Machine Shop: The Engineering and Science Research Support Facility helps UNL faculty turn ideas into reality.
From the Gridiron to G-forces: Graduate student Curt Tomasevicz makes his Olympic debut.
The Industry Standard: The new Charles Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction is expected to train the next generation of …

Nebraska Blueprint – Spring 2006

Nebraska Blueprint (Student Publication)

Table of Contents:

Medical Marvels – "Biomedical engineering ties many branches of engineering together, encouraging teamwork and collaboration among departments as well as outside partners. This is a snapshot of some of the ongoing biomedical research at UNL."

Medication Nation: Pharmaceutical industry grows as it finds new uses for common drugs

The Freshman Connection – "The university's freshman learning community program"

E-Week 2006 [two photographs]

Development Of Self-Assembled Monolayer-Based Cell Culture Platform Towards Fabrication Of A Three-Dimensional Bioreactor, Rajendra Kandoor Aithal

Doctoral Dissertations

The extracellular matrix (ECM) plays an important role in regulating a number of cellular properties and functions like cell differentiation, cell synthesis and degradation, cell viability and proliferation, cell function, and cell aging. Surface modification of planar substrates with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) is a promising technique to achieve stable ECMs.

In this work, substrates such as silicon (Si), gallium arsenide (GaAs) and indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates were modified with SAMS containing amino (-NH2), methyl (-CH3), thiol (-SH) and carboxylic (-COOH) end groups and characterized using contact angle measurements, surface infrared (IR) spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Different cell …

Biodiesel Faq, Timothy S. Stombaugh, Czarena L. Crofcheck, Michael D. Montross

Agricultural Engineering Extension Publications

Biodiesel and other alternative fuels continue to gain popularity as petroleum fuel prices rise and we become more concerned about our environment. Introduction of these fuels raises many questions about actually using them in current equipment. The purpose of this factsheet is to address some of the common questions asked by those considering the use of biodiesel in existing diesel equipment.

Wright State University College Of Engineering And Computer Science Bits And Pcs Newsletter, Volume 22, Number 6, April 2006, College Of Engineering And Computer Science, Wright State University

BITs and PCs Newsletter

A six page newsletter created by the Wright State University College of Engineering and Computer Science that addresses the current affairs of the college.

Automated Oxidase-Coupled Amperometric Microsensor With Integrated Electrochemical Actuation System For Continuous Sensing Of Saccharoids, Yadunandana Yellambalase, Jongwon Park, Chang-Soo Kim, Minsu Choi, Nohpill Park, Fabrizio Lombardi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Recent developments for biosensors have been mainly focused on miniaturization and exploratory use of new materials. It should be emphasized that the absence of a novel "in-situ self-calibration/diagnosis technique" that is not connected to an external apparatus is a key obstacle to the realization of a biosensor for continuous use with minimum attendance. To address this deficiency, a novel needle-type biosensor system with fully automated operations is being developed, in which a novel oxidase-coupled amperometric sensor with oxygen depleting/generating actuator is interfaced with an electrochemical instrument and a perfusion system. Labview virtual instrument has been also developed to oversee the …

Lung Circulation Modeling: Status And Prospect, Anne V. Clough, Said H. Audi, Robert C. Molthen, Gary S. Krenz

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Mathematical modeling has been used to interpret anatomical and physiological data obtained from metabolic and hemodynamic studies aimed at investigating structure-function relationships in the vasculature of the lung, and how these relationships are affected by lung injury and disease. The indicator dilution method was used to study the activity of redox processes within the lung. A steady-state model of the data was constructed and used to show that pulmonary endothelial cells may play an important role in reducing redox active compounds and that those reduction rates can be altered with oxidative stress induced by exposure to high oxygen environments. In …

Cs/Bio 271: Introduction To Bioinformatics, Dan E. Krane, Michael L. Raymer

Computer Science & Engineering Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Cs 790: Evolutionary Computation In Bioinformatics, Michael L. Raymer

Computer Science & Engineering Syllabi

This course will provide a guided investigation into advanced computational techniques in bioinformatics, especially techniques involving evolutionary computation. The first few weeks will consists of guided in-class discussions reviewing the basic principles of bioinformatics and evolutionary computation. During weeks 3 -6 students will present tutorials on advanced computational topics (see the list of suggested topic areas below). During weeks 7 -10, the students will present papers from the literature in which topics covered in the tutorials have been applied to specific problems in bioinformatics. The class will discuss the quality and findings of these papers.

Cs/Mth 316/516: Numerical Methods For Digital Computers - I, Ronald F. Taylor

Computer Science & Engineering Syllabi

Introduction to numerical methods used in the sciences. Methods of interpolation, data smoothing, functional approximation, numerical differentiation and integration. Solution techniques for linear and nonlinear equations. Discussion of sources of error in numerical methods. Applications to engineering, science, and applied mathematics are an integral part of the course. Special topics presented as schedule permits. 4 credit hours.

An Analysis Of Indicator Organism Suitability For Lower James And York Rivers, Rhonda Ashonti Ford

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The primary objectives of this thesis are (1) determine if the proper indicator organism is being utilized to determine the bacterial water quality in the State of Virginia. (2) If other environmental factors can predict the bacterial water quality. The current indicator organism of choice for bacterial water quality of waters in the State of Virginia is enterococci, for estuarine and brackish waters. E. coli is the indicator organism of choice for fresh waters in Virginia.

The study concluded (1) Enterococci are the best indicator organism for beaches located in the Hampton Roads Harbor and the Lower James River. (2) …