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A Non-Isolated Half Bridge Buck-Based Converter For Vrm Application And Small Signal Modeling Of A Non-Conventional Two Phase Bu, Majd Batarseh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is about treatment of the nonbiodegradable organic content of landfill leachate by chemical oxidation combined with biological treatment. It is divided into three parts. In the first part, ferrate was compared to Fenton's reagent for the purpose of removing non-biodegradable organic compounds from mature leachate. Oxidation conditions (time, pH, and dose) were optimized to yield maximum organic removal using two leachate samples from 20 and 12-year old solid waste cells. Results from this research demonstrated that ferrate and Fenton's reagent had similar optimum pH ranges (3-5), but different organic removal capacities, ranging from 54 to 79 % of …

Cognitive Training Transfer Using A Personal Computer-Based Game:A Close Quarters Battle Case Study, Michael Woodman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Developers of Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) gaming software are making remarkable strides in increasing the realism of their software. This realism has caught the attention of the training community, which has traditionally sought system and operational replication in training systems such as flight simulators. Since games are designed and marketed for entertainment and not designed for training of tasks, questions exist about the effectiveness of games as a training system in achieving the desired transfer of skills to the actual environment. Numerous studies over the past ten years have documented that PC-based simulation training environments can offer effective training …

Fundamental Aspects Of Regenerative Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles And Their Applications In Nanobiotechnology, Swanand Patil

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cerium oxide has been used extensively for various applications over the past two decades. The use of cerium oxide nanoparticles is beneficial in present applications and can open avenues for future applications. The present study utilizes the microemulsion technique to synthesize uniformly distributed cerium oxide nanoparticles. The same technique was also used to synthesize cerium oxide nanoparticles doped with trivalent elements (La and Nd). The fundamental study of cerium oxide nanoparticles identified variations in properties as a function of particle size and also due to doping with trivalent elements (La and Nd). It was found that the lattice parameter of …

Modeling Autonomous Agents In Military Simulations, Varol Kaptan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Simulation is an important tool for prediction and assessment of the behavior of complex systems and situations. The importance of simulation has increased tremendously during the last few decades, mainly because the rapid pace of development in the field of electronics has turned the computer from a costly and obscure piece of equipment to a cheap ubiquitous tool which is now an integral part of our daily lives. While such technological improvements make it easier to analyze well-understood deterministic systems, increase in speed and storage capacity alone are not enough when simulating situations where human beings and their behavior are …

Chemical And Biological Treatment Of Mature Landfill Leachate, Eyad Batarseh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The challenges imposed on Voltage Regulator Modules (VRM) become difficult to be achieved with the conventional multiphase buck converter commonly used on PC motherboards. For faster data transfer, a decrease in the output voltage is needed. This decrease causes small duty cycle that is accompanied by critical problems which impairs the efficiency. Therefore, these problems need to be addressed. Transformer-based non-isolated topologies are not new approaches to extend the duty cycle and avoid the associated drawbacks. High leakage, several added components and complicated driving and control schemes are some of the trade-offs to expand the duty cycle. The objective of …

Characterization Of Critical Network Components Of Coupled Oscillators, Gregory Holifield

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes the fundamental limits for the determination of the network structure of loosely coupled oscillators based on observing the behavior of the network, specifically, node synchronization. The determination of the requisite characteristics and underlying behaviors necessary for the application of a theoretical mechanism for determining the underlying network topology in a network of loosely coupled natural oscillators are the desired outcome. To that end, this effort defines an analytical framework where key components of networks of coupled oscillators are isolated in order to determine the relationships between the various components. The relationship between the number of nodes in …

Synthesis, Processing And Characterization Of Nanocrystalline Titanium Dioxide, Shipeng Qiu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Titanium dioxide (TiO2), one of the basic ceramic materials, has found a variety of applications in industry and in our daily life. It has been shown that particle size reduction in this system, especially to nano regime, has the great potential to offer remarkable improvement in physical, mechanical, optical, biological and electrical properties. This thesis reports on the synthesis and characterization of the nanocrystalline TiO2 ceramic in details. The study selected a simple sol-gel synthesis process, which can be easily controlled and reproduced. Titanium tetraisopropoxide, isopropanol and deionized water were used as starting materials. By careful control of relative proportion …

Nanoparticles For Enhanced Delivery Of Chemotherapeutics, Emily J. Bahram-Ahi

Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Experience Program (OURE)

Delivery of the anticancer drug paclitaxel (commercially known as Taxol®) is difficult due to its limited solubility in aqueous media. This study proposes a novel bubble bursting technique to generate nanoparticles of the chemotherapeutic in an effort to decrease potential side effects and improve the bioavailability of hydrophobic drugs. The bubble bursting apparatus will be used to produce nanoparticles of a biodegradable polymer, poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA), as carriers for paclitaxel. The dissolved paclitaxel in this biodegradable polymer matrix will be released at a controlled rate for a more efficient delivery of the drug throughout the body.

In-Situ Ammonia Removal Of Leachate From Bioreactor Landfills, Nicole Berge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A new and promising trend in solid waste management is to operate the landfill as a bioreactor. Bioreactor landfills are controlled systems in which moisture addition and/or air injection are used as enhancements to create a solid waste environment capable of actively degrading the biodegradable organic fraction of the waste. Although there are many advantages associated with bioreactor landfills, some challenges remain. One such challenge is the ammonia-nitrogen concentration found in the leachate. The concentrations of ammonia-nitrogen tend to increase beyond concentrations found in leachate from conventional landfills because recirculating leachate increases the rate of ammonification and results in accumulation …

Removal Of Refractory Tkn From An Effluent Wastewater Using Sodium Ferrate, Lucia Lettie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research addresses refractory forms of nitrogen that, even with advanced biological nitrification-denitrification systems are not removed completely from domestic wastewater. TKN (Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen), ammonia plus organic nitrogen, is one of the forms to measure the levels of nitrogen present in effluent wastewaters. Ferrate, a strong oxidant, was used for the treatment of these nitrogen forms with the objective of producing nitrogen compounds that can be removed by subsequent biological processes. Bench-scale experiments were performed on effluent samples taken prior to chlorination from an Orlando, FL wastewater treatment facility, using a biological nutrient removal process. The samples were treated …

Vertical Loads Due To Wheat On Obstructions Located On The Floor Of A Model Bin, Marek Molenda, Michael D. Montross, Sidney A. Thompson, Jozef Horabik

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Tests were conducted in a model grain bin to evaluate the vertical loads acting on differently shaped obstructions embedded in wheat during filling, detention, and discharge. The bin had corrugated galvanized steel walls with a 1.83 m diameter and a flat bottom. All tests were conducted in a bin that was centrically loaded and unloaded. Three differently shaped obstructions (disc, cone, and cylinder) were tested; each had a circular base equivalent to 6% of the bin floor area. The obstructions were supported in the bin using a three-legged support structure. Each leg of the support structure rested on a load …

Evaluation Of Prefermentation As A Unit Process Upon Biological Nutrient Removal Including Biokinetic And Wastewater Parameters, Terrence Mccue

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this dissertation was to provide a controlled comparison of identical continuous flow BNR processes both with and without prefermentation in order to provide a stronger, more quantitative, technical basis for design engineers to evaluate the potential benefits of prefermentation to EBPR in treating domestic wastewater. In addition, the even less understood effect of prefermentation on denitrification kinetics and anoxic phosphorus (P) uptake was studied and quantified. Other aspects of BNR performance, which might change due to use of prefermentation, will also be addressed, including anaerobic stabilization. Potential benefits to BNR processes derived from prefermentation are compared and …

Molecular Structure-Nonlinear Optical Property Relationships For A Series Of Polymethine And Squaraine Molecules, Jie Fu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation reports on the investigation of the relationships between molecular structure and two-photon absorption (2PA) properties for a series of polymethine and squaraine molecules. Current and emerging applications exploiting the quadratic dependence upon laser intensity, such as two-photon fluorescence imaging, three-dimensional microfabrication, optical data storage and optical limiting, have motivated researchers to find novel materials exhibiting strong 2PA. Organic materials are promising candidates because their linear and nonlinear optical properties can be optimized for applications by changing their structures through molecular engineering. Polymethine and squaraine dyes are particularly interesting because they are fluorescent and showing large 2PA. We used …

Electrostatic Active Radiation Shielding -- Revisited, John W. Wilson, R. K. Tripathi, R. C. Youngquist

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

For the success of NASA's new vision for space exploration to Moon, Mars and beyond, exposures from the hazards of severe space radiation in deep space long duration missions is ''a must solve'' problem The payload penalty demands a very stringent requirement on the design of the spacecrafts for human deep space missions. Langley has developed state-of-the-art radiation protection and shielding technology for space missions. The exploration beyond low Earth orbit (LEO) to enable routine access to space require protection from the hazards of the accumulated exposures of space radiation, galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and solar particle events (SPE), and …

Design And Implementation Of A Storage Management Method For Content Distribution, Chang-Soo Kim, Yu-Hyeon Bak, Sang-Min Woo, Won-Jae Lee, Nunm-Ok Gee, Hag-Young Kim

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The SMART system is a special purpose server developed by ETRI and designed for efficient streaming services over high speed networks. The SMART server has one or more special purpose NS (Network-Storage) card. The NS card has several disks that store multimedia contents. However all of the multimedia contents to be serviced cannot be stored at the server. In this paper, we will describe the storage management mechanism in design and implementation aspects. With this storage management mechanism, the SMART server can provide effectiveness in managing storage and distributing some contents from a source station to streaming service servers.

Enhanced Cerenkov Second-Harmonic Generation In Patterned Lithium Niobate, Cong Deng, Joseph W. Haus, Andrew Sarangan, Aziz Mahfoud, Concita Sibilia, Michael Scalora, Aleksei M. Zheltikov

Electro-Optics and Photonics Faculty Publications

We present experimental results of second harmonic generation enhancement through the resonance of the band edge in a photonic crystal based on lithium niobate. Proton exchange technique was used to fabricate a waveguide near the surface of the lithium niobate substrate. The photonic crystal structure over the waveguide was made by UV laser interferometry. Subsequently experiments were designed to quantify the Cerenkov second-harmonic generation (CSHG) radiated into the substrate. The SHG radiated inside the waveguides was also experimentally investigated. In our experiments, the second guided mode of the waveguide was tuned to the band edge resonance to enhance the second …

Nanoelectropulse-Driven Membrane Perturbation And Small Molecule Permeabilization, P. Thomas Vernier, Yinghua Sun, Martin A. Gundersen

Bioelectrics Publications

Background
Nanosecond, megavolt-per-meter pulsed electric fields scramble membrane phospholipids, release intracellular calcium, and induce apoptosis. Flow cytometric and fluorescence microscopy evidence has associated phospholipid rearrangement directly with nanoelectropulse exposure and supports the hypothesis that the potential that develops across the lipid bilayer during an electric pulse drives phosphatidylserine (PS) externalization.

Results
In this work we extend observations of cells exposed to electric pulses with 30 ns and 7 ns durations to still narrower pulse widths, and we find that even 3 ns pulses are sufficient to produce responses similar to those reported previously. We show here that in contrast to …

Plasma Membrane Voltage Changes During Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Field Exposure, W. Frey, R. O. Price, P. F. Blackmore, R. P. Joshi, R. Nuccitelli, S. J. Beebe, K. H. Schoenbach, J. F. Kolb

Bioelectrics Publications

The change in the membrane potential of Jurkat cells in response to nanosecond pulsed electric fields was studied for pulses with a duration of 60 ns and maximum field strengths of similar to 100 kV/cm (100 V/cell diameter). Membranes of Jurkat cells were stained with a fast voltage-sensitive dye, ANNINE-6, which has a subnanosecond voltage response time. A temporal resolution of 5 ns was achieved by the excitation of this dye with a tunable laser pulse. The laser pulse was synchronized with the applied electric field to record images at times before, during, and after exposure. When exposing the Jurkat …

The Role Of Electrospinning In The Emerging Field Of Nanomedicine, S. Y. Chew, Y. Wen, Yuris A. Dzenis, K. W. Leong

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The fact that in vivo the extracellular matrix or substratum with which cells interact often includes topography at the nanoscale underscores the importance of investigating cell-substrate interactions and performing cell culture at the submicron scale. An important and exciting direction of research in nanomedicine would be to gain an understanding and exploit the cellular response to nanostructures. Electrospinning is a simple and versatile technique that can produce a macroporous scaffold comprising randomly oriented or aligned nanofibers. It can also accommodate the incorporation of drug delivery function into the fibrous scaffold. Endowed with both topographical and biochemical signals such electrospun nanofibrous …

Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute Annual Technical Report Fy 2005, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

KWRRI Annual Technical Reports (USGS’s 104b Grant Program)

The 2005 Annual Technical Report for Kentucky consolidates reporting requirements of the Section 104(b) base grant award in a single technical report that includes: 1) a synopsis of each research project supported during the period, 2) related reports and publications, 3) a description of information transfer activities, 4) a summary of student support during the reporting period, and 5) notable achievements and awards during the year.

Current Practices In Engineering Capstone Education: Further Results From A 2005 Nationwide Survey, Jessica Wilbarger, Susannah Howe

Engineering: Faculty Publications

This work further details a survey of engineering capstone design courses nationwide conducted in 2005. The survey is a follow-up to one conducted in 1994 by Todd et al., reprising the questions of its predecessor plus requesting additional information. We implemented the 2005 survey online, with requests sent via email to representatives of all ABET-accredited engineering programs (1724 programs at 350 institutions, as of 2004). The online survey yielded a strong response, with 444 programs from 232 institutions submitting responses. This corresponds to a 26% response rate from engineering programs and a 66% response rate from institutions. This paper focuses …

Optimal Management Of Beaver Population Using A Reduced-Order Distributed Parameter Model And Single Network Adaptive Critics, Radhakant Padhi, S. N. Balakrishnan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Beavers are often found to be in conflict with human interests by creating nuisances like building dams on flowing water (leading to flooding), blocking irrigation canals, cutting down timbers, etc. At the same time they contribute to raising water tables, increased vegetation, etc. Consequently, maintaining an optimal beaver population is beneficial. Because of their diffusion externality (due to migratory nature), strategies based on lumped parameter models are often ineffective. Using a distributed parameter model for beaver population that accounts for their spatial and temporal behavior, an optimal control (trapping) strategy is presented in this paper that leads to a desired …

Musical Pattern Design Using Contour Icons, Charlie Cullen, Eugene Coyle

Conference papers

This paper considers the use of Contour Icons in the design and implementation of musical patterns, for the purposes of detection and recognition. Research work had endeavoured to deliver musical patterns that were both distinct and memorable, and to this end a set of basic melodic shapes were introduced using a Sonification application called TrioSon that had been designed for the purpose. Existing work in the field (such as that concerning Earcon design) has considered the mechanisms by which patterns may be made distinctive, but it is argued that separate consideration must be given to the method of making such …

A Numerical Acoustic Fluid-Structure Model Of A Therapeutic Ultrasound Angioplasty Device, Graham Gavin, M.S. J. Hashmi, Finbar Dolan, Garrett Mcguinness

Conference Papers

Ultrasonic angioplasty involves the use of ultrasonic vibrations delivered to the distal-tip of small diameter wire waveguides and is an emerging technology the may have potential use in the treatment of complicated atherosclerotic plaques during cardiovascular surgery. Complicated plaques, including chronic total occlusions and calcified lesions, seriously reduce success rates during standard intervention involving guidewire access, followed by balloon dilation or stent delivery. The large amplitude (0-150 μm) wire waveguide distal-tip displacements in the low-frequency ultrasonic (18-45 kHz) range have been shown to disrupt plaque material by direct contact ablation and cavitation, acoustic streaming and pressure wave components in adjacent …

Generation Of High Quality Audio Natural Emotional Speech Corpus Using Task Based Mood Induction, Charlie Cullen, Brian Vaughan, Spyros Kousidis, Yi Wang, Ciaran Mcdonnell, Dermot Campbell

Conference papers

Detecting emotional dimensions [1] in speech is an area of great research interest, notably as a means of improving human computer interaction in areas such as speech synthesis [2]. In this paper, a method of obtaining high quality emotional audio speech assets is proposed. The methods of obtaining emotional content are subject to considerable debate, with distinctions between acted [3] and natural [4] speech being made based on the grounds of authenticity. Mood Induction Procedures (MIP’s) [5] are often employed to stimulate emotional dimensions in a controlled environment. This paper details experimental procedures based around MIP 4, using performance related …

Recruiting First Year Engineering Undergraduates, Eddie Conlon

Conference papers

This paper presents findings of three surveys conducted with first year students in the Faculty of Engineering in the Dublin Institute of Technology. It presents evidence on the reasons students study engineering, their sources of information on higher education programmes and the people who influence their decision to do engineering. It shows there are gaps in the students’ knowledge of their programmes and also between their expectations and their experience of their course. Some proposed areas of action are identified to increase both recruitment and retention. It is argued that projecting an image of engineering as a creative activity would …

Gene Expression Data For Dlbcl Cancer Survival Prediction With A Combination Of Machine Learning Technologies, Rui Xu, Xindi Cai, Donald C. Wunsch

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Gene expression profiles have become an important and promising way for cancer prognosis and treatment. In addition to their application in cancer class prediction and discovery, gene expression data can be used for the prediction of patient survival. Here, we use particle swarm optimization (PSO) to address one of the major challenges in gene expression data analysis, the curse of dimensionality, in order to discriminate high risk patients from low risk patients. A discrete binary version of PSO is used for gene selection and dimensionality reduction, and a probabilistic neural network (PNN) is implemented as the classifier. The experimental results …

Speaking With Numbers: Scientific Literacy And Public Understanding Of Science, Levent Sevgi̇

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Public understanding of science and scientific literacy is discussed. Scientific method, scientific process and scientific filter are reviewed accordingly. Basic terms of measurement and numerical calculation are outlined. Finally, fundamental requirements of scientific literacy and critical response skills are presented.

Computational Sciences: At The Intersection Of Science And Engineering--Case Study For Academic And Research Programs, Menas Kafatos, Peter Becker, Zafer Boybeyi̇

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

No abstract provided.

Nanobiomagnetics, Diandra Leslie-Pelecky, V. Labhasetwar, R. H. Kraus Jr.

Materials Research Science and Engineering Center: Faculty Publications

The application of nanomagnetic materials to biological systems has produced significant advances in research, diagnosis, and treatment of numerous pathologies. This chapter summarizes the major applications of magnetic materials: magnetic targeting, drug and gene delivery, magnetic separation, the use of magnetic beads in manipulating single molecules, as contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging, and for hyperthermia. Biocompatibility requirements for magnetic materials used in these applications are reviewed.

“Nanobiomagnetism” is the intersection of nanomagnetism and medicine that focuses on biological systems and/or processes. Magnetism is an inherent facet of life, from iron in blood to the ability of magnetotactic bacteria, birds, …