Digital Commons Network^™

Biomechanical Measures Of Neuromuscular Control And Valgus Loading Of The Knee Predict Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Risk In Female Athletes, Timothy E. Hewett, Gregory D. Myer, Kevin R. Ford, Robert S. Heidt Jr., Angelo J. Colosimo, Scott G. Mclean, Antonie J. Van Den Bogert, Mark V. Paterno, Paul Succop

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Background: Female athletes participating in high-risk sports suffer anterior cruciate ligament injury at a 4- to 6-fold greater rate than do male athletes.

Hypothesis: Prescreened female athletes with subsequent anterior cruciate ligament injury will demonstrate decreased neuromuscular control and increased valgus joint loading, predicting anterior cruciate ligament injury risk.

Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2.

Methods: There were 205 female athletes in the high-risk sports of soccer, basketball, and volleyball prospectively measured for neuromuscular control using 3-dimensional kinematics (joint angles) and joint loads using kinetics (joint moments) during a jump-landing task. Analysis of variance as well as linear …

Bio/Cs 271: Introduction To Bioinformatics, Dan E. Krane, Travis E. Doom

Computer Science & Engineering Syllabi

BIO/CS 271 Introduction to Bioinformatics: Introduction to DNA as an information storage system, data searches and pairwise alignments, substitution patterns, protein folding, and proteomics. Prerequisite: CS 240 or equivalent, BIO 112

Use Of Picosatellites & Rovers For Space Science And Education, Robert J. Twiggs

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint Presentation created by Professor Bob Twiggs titled "Use of Picosatellites & Rovers for Space Science and Education" from April 1, 2005.

Water Quality Of Rivers And Ponds On Dki Jakarta, Diana Hendrawan

Makara Journal of Technology

Water Quality of Rivers and Ponds on DKI Jakarta. Thirteen big rivers, some small rivers, and 40 ponds spread over districts at Jakarta city are potential to support human being life. As the population is growing and the usage of stream water is increasing, the condition and quality of rivers and ponds are changing. Crowd housing can affect rivers and ponds pollution, as the people awareness about clean and healthy environment is less. Stream water pollution assessment can be done by counting the effect of pollutant to life of stream water organisms. This assessment unit could be classified into physics, …

Identification And Expansion Of Pancreatic Stem/Progenitor Cells., You-Qing Zhang, Marcie Kritzik, Nora Sarvetnick

Journal Articles: Regenerative Medicine

Pancreatic islet transplantation represents an attractive approach for the treatment of diabetes. However, the limited availability of donor islets has largely hampered this approach. In this respect, the use of alternative sources of islets such as the ex vivo expansion and differentiation of functional endocrine cells for treating diabetes has become the major focus of diabetes research. Adult pancreatic stem cells /progenitor cells have yet to be recognized because limited markers exist for their identification. While the pancreas has the capacity to regenerate under certain circumstances, questions where adult pancreatic stem/progenitor cells are localized, how they are regulated, and even …

A Systems Methodology For Measuring Operational Organization Effectiveness: A Study Of The Original Equipment Computer Manufacturing Industry, 1948 To 2001, Teddy Steven Cotter

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Optimizing operational organizational effectiveness is the central, although often unstated, goal of engineering management and systems engineering research and applications. Two fundamental problems remain to be addressed in pursuit of this goal. First, despite over fifty years of research in various disciplines, there is still no universally accepted definition of organizational effectiveness. Second, no methodology exists to identify the domains, dimensions, and determinants of operational organizational effectiveness and dynamically model operational organizational effectiveness within a given population.

This research synthesizes a systems engineering methodology for identifying the domains, dimensions, and determinants of and dynamically modeling operational organizational effectiveness for an …

Carbon Nanotubes And Tungsten Oxide Nanorods: Synthesis And Applications, Bing Xiao

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Synthesis and applications of two types of one-dimensional nanomaterials, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and tungsten oxide nanorods, are investigated in this dissertation. Multi-walled CNTs have been successfully synthesized using two types of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods: microwave plasma enhanced CVD and atmospheric pressure thermal CVD. CNTs and their synthesis processes are characterized with various analysis techniques including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy, and optical emission spectroscopy. Ultra-thin and high quality multi-walled CNTs are discovered in CNT films produced by MPCVD, which exhibit good field emission performance that is found to be dependent on the synthesis …

2005 Directory Of Indiana State, County, City And Town Officials Responsible For Road And Street Work, Indiana Ltap

Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Directory

Contact information for agency officials and employees responsible for Indiana’s local road infrastructure.

Method And Device For Removal Of Cryoprotectant From Cryopreserved Biological Cells And Tissues, Dayong Gao, Xiangdong Cui

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Patents

Novel methods and devices for removing cryoprotectant from cryoprotectant-containing liquids, and from cells residing therein, are disclosed. In one aspect, the method comprises passing the cryoprotectant-containing liquid through at least one semipermeable hollow fiber membrane contained in a hollow module in a first direction, while passing a liquid which is substantially free of cryoprotectant through the hollow module in a second direction to remove cryoprotectant across a diffusion gradient. In another aspect, a device is described for removing cryoprotectant from a liquid, comprising a hollow module with at least one semipermeable hollow fiber membrane therein for accomplishing such counter-current diffusion …

All Hexahedral Meshing Of Multiple Source, Multiple Target, Multiple Axis Geometries Via Automatic Grafting And Sweeping, Matthew N. Earp

Theses and Dissertations

The development of algorithms for the automatic creation of finite element meshes composed entirely of hexahedra (all-hex) is an active area of research. All-hex meshes are desirable for their characteristic of high accuracy with a low node count. Sweeping is one of the most widely used algorithms for generating all-hex meshes. A limitation of sweeping, however, is that it can currently be applied only to prismatic or extruded geometry types. This thesis develops a method to combine sweeping with another algorithm known as "Grafting". Grafting adjusts the mesh on one volume to conform to a second volume. In this manner …

Dual-Stage Thermally Actuated Surface-Micromachined Nanopositioners, Neal B. Hubbard

Theses and Dissertations

Nanopositioners have been developed with electrostatic, piezoelectric, magnetic, thermal, and electrochemical actuators. They move with as many as six degrees of freedom; some are composed of multiple stages that stack together. Both macro-scale and micro-scale nanopositioners have been fabricated. A summary of recent research in micropositioning and nanopositioning is presented to set the background for this work. This research project demonstrates that a dual-stage nanopositioner can be created with microelectromechanical systems technology such that the two stages are integrated on a single silicon chip. A nanopositioner is presented that has two stages, one for coarse motion and one for fine …

Algal Succession And Nutrient Dynamics In Elephant Butte Reservoir, Eric J. Nielsen

Theses and Dissertations

A water quality model was created for Elephant Butte Reservoir, New Mexico to understand nutrient dynamics and algal response during a three year period. The model chosen for this study was CE-QUAL-W2 because of its proven ability to represent hydrodynamics and the ability to represent multiple algal groups. Elephant Butte has been subject to large algal blooms. This study examined the phosphorus loading into the reservoir to see if it could sustain the observed algal growth. Data showed that the amount of bioavailable phosphorus was more than enough to support large blooms. This study also was an initial attempt to …

In-Fiber Optical Devices Based On D-Fiber, Kevin H. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents the fabrication and analysis of in-fiber devices based on elliptical core D-shaped optical fiber. Devices created inside optical fibers are attractive for a variety of reasons including low loss, high efficiency, self-alignment, light weight, multiplexibility, and resistance to electromagnetic interference. This work details how D-fiber can be used as a platform for a variety of devices and describes the creation and performance of two of these devices: an in-fiber polymer waveguide and a surface relief fiber Bragg grating. In D-fiber the core is very close to the flat side of the ‘D’ shape. This proximity allows access …

Identification And Expression Analysis Of Two Inorganic C-And N-Responsive Genes Encoding Novel And Distinct Molecular Forms Of Eukaryotic Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxylase In The Green Microalga Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii, Tarlan G. Mamedov, Eric R. Moellering, Raymond Chollet

Papers in Biochemical Engineering

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC [Ppc]) has been previously purified and characterized in biochemical and immunological terms from two green microalgae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Selenastrum minutum. The findings indicate that these algae possess at least two distinct PEPC enzyme-forms, homotetrameric Class1 and heteromeric Class-2 that differ significantly from each other and their plant and prokaryotic counterparts. Surprisingly, however, green-algal PEPC has been unexplored to date in molecular terms. This study reports the molecular cloning of the two Ppc genes in C. reinhardtii (CrPpc1, CrPpc2), each of which is transcribed in vivo and encodes a fully active, recombinant PEPC that lacks the regulatory, …

Role Of Hydrogen Bonds In The Fast Dynamics Of Binary Glasses Of Trehalose And Glycerol: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study, Taner E. Dirama, Gustavo A. Carri, Alexei P. Sokolov

College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering

Trehalose-glycerol mixtures are known to be effective in the long time preservation of proteins. However, the microscopic mechanism of their effective preservation abilities remains unclear. In this article we present a molecular dynamics simulation study of the short time, less than 1 ns, dynamics of four trehalose-glycerol mixtures at temperatures below the glass transition temperature. We found that a mixture of 5% glycerol and 95% trehalose has the most suppressed short time dynamics (fast dynamics). This result agrees with the experimental analysis of the mean-square displacement of the hydrogen atoms, as measured via neutron scattering, and correlates with the experimentally …

Crystallization And Preliminary X-Ray Analysis Of Na-Asp-1, A Multi-Domain Pathogenesis-Related-1 Protein From The Human Hookworm Parasite Necator Americanus, Mehmet İnan, Oluwatoyin A. Asojo, Alex Lucas, Rick Barent, Jicai Huang, Brad Plantz, Amber Swanson, Mark Gouthro, Michael M. Meagher, Peter J. Hotez

Papers in Biochemical Engineering

Human hookworm infection is a major cause of anemia and malnutrition in the developing world. In an effort to control hookworm infection, the Human Hookworm Vaccine Initiative has identified candidate vaccine antigens from the infective larval stage (L₃) of the parasite, including a family of pathogenesis related- 1 (PR-1) proteins known as the ancylostoma-secreted proteins (ASPs). The functions of the ASPs are unknown. In addition, it is unclear why some ASPs have one while others have multiple PR-1 domains. There are no known structures of a multi-domain ASP and in an effort to remedy this situation, recombinant Na …

Automated Migration Analysis Based On Cell Texture: Method & Reliability, Jianfeng Qin, Thomas W. Chittenden, Ling Gao, Justin D D. Pearlman

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background: In this paper, we present and validate a way to measure automatically the extent of cell migration based on automated examination of a series of digital photographs. It was designed specifically to identify the impact of Second Hand Smoke (SHS) on endothelial cell migration but has broader applications. The analysis has two stages: (1) preprocessing of image texture, and (2) migration analysis.

Results: The output is a graphic overlay that indicates the front lines of cell migration superimposed on each original image, with automated reporting of the distance traversed vs. time. Expert preference compares to manual placement of leading …

Nsf Advance: Institutional Transformation For Faculty Diversity - Faculty Worklife Survey Results, Manuela Romero, Ann Q. Gates

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

The The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) received an NSF ADVANCE grant in October 2003 to create an initiative for institutional change with the goal of serving as a model for other institutions that desire to increase the representation and advancement of women, including underrepresented minorities, in academic science and engineering careers. In the first year of the grant, co-PI's Ann Gates and Patricia Witherspoon worked with the ADVANCE Program Evaluator, Manuela Romero, to create an instrument to survey faculty work life at UTEP. The instrument is based on the "Study of Faculty Work Life" survey instrument that …

Controller Area Network Based Distributed Control For Autonomous Vehicles, Matthew J. Darr, Timothy S. Stombaugh, Scott A. Shearer

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The goal of this project was to evaluate the potential of a controller area network (CAN bus) to be used as the communication network for a distributed control system on an autonomous agricultural vehicle. The prototype system utilized microcontroller-driven nodes to act as control points along a CAN bus. Messages were transferred to the steering, transmission, and hitch control nodes via a task computer. The task computer utilized global positioning system data to generate appropriate control commands. Laboratory and field testing demonstrated that each of the control nodes could function simultaneously over the CAN bus. Results showed that the task …

A Systematic Method For Characterizing The Elastic Properties And Adhesion Of A Thin Polymer Membrane, Bing Feng Ju, Yang Ju, Masumi Saka, Kuo Kang Liu, Kai Tak Wan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The elastic properties and adhesion of a thin silicone rubber membrane have been characterized. an effective instrumentation embodying a video-enhanced microscope, which meets force and displacement resolution of 0.1μN and 10 nm, was developed. It provides the capability of simultaneously measuring both the applied force and the resultant displacement of the thin polymer membrane. a linear theoretical elastic solution was applied to quantitatively interpret the measured central deflection of the membrane under a circular concentrical load. Young's modulus of the membrane can be easily determined once the applied force and the central deflection, together with the essential dimensions, are known. …

Circumferential Vascular Deformation After Stent Implantation Alters Wall Shear Stress Evaluated With Time-Dependent 3d Computational Fluid Dynamics Models, John F. Ladisa, Lars E. Olson, Ismail Guler, Douglas Anthony Hettrick, Judy R. Kersten, David C. Warltier, Paul S. Pagel

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The success of vascular stents in the restoration of blood flow is limited by restenosis. Recent data generated from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models suggest that stent geometry may cause local alterations in wall shear stress (WSS) that have been associated with neointimal hyperplasia and subsequent restenosis. However, previous CFD studies have ignored histological evidence of vascular straightening between circumferential stent struts. We tested the hypothesis that consideration of stent-induced vascular deformation may more accurately predict alterations in indexes of WSS that may subsequently account for histological findings after stenting. We further tested the hypothesis that the severity of these …

Reconstruction Of Chromotomographic Imaging System Infrared Hyperspectral Scenes, Malcolm G. Gould

Theses and Dissertations

Hyperspectral imagery providing both spatial and spectral information has diverse applications in remote sensing and scientific imaging scenarios. The development of the Chromotomographic Imaging System (CTIS) allows simultaneous collection of both spatial and spectral data by a two-dimensional (2D) focal plane detector array. Post-processing of the 2D detector data reconstructs the three-dimensional (3D) hyperspectral content of the imaged scene. This thesis develops Estimation Theory based algorithms for reconstructing the hyperspectral scene data. The initial algorithm developed reconstructs the 3D hyperspectral scene data cube. An additional algorithm reconstructs a matrix comprised of one spectral dimension and one compound spatial dimension. This …

Lethality Of Bacillus Anthracis Spores Due To Short Duration Heating Measured Using Infrared Spectroscopy, Kristina M. Goetz

Theses and Dissertations

There are a number of analytical and semi-empirical models that describe the behavior of particulate matter in the atmosphere. Many of these require modification for all types of weather, dry versus wet deposition, and overall effects can be quite non-linear. Rainfall (rate, drop size, etc.), snowfall (rate, flake size, etc.), humidity, pressure, temperature, and combination of these greatly affect particle settling and washout rates. To that end, a method for tracking released constituents using the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) microphysics package is developed by modifying one of the hydrometeor categories (hail) in the microphysics package. The RAMS microphysics package …

Modeling Groundwater Flow And Contaminant Transporting Fractured Aquifers, Jason M. Bordas

Theses and Dissertations

The hybrid discrete fracture network/equivalent porous medium (DFN/EPM) model was selected for analysis and application to simulate a contaminated site in this study. The DFN/EPM was selected because it appeared to have the potential to aid decision making by remedial project managers at contaminated DoD fractured aquifer sites. This model can use data that are typically available at a site while incorporating the important processes relevant to describing contaminant transport in a fractured medium. The model was applied to simulate the operation of a pump-and-treat remedial action at a trichloroethene-contaminated fractured aquifer at Pease AFB. The model was able to …

A Comparison Of The Heft Subsurface And Delfic Particle Size Distributions And Effects In Hpac, Eric T. Skaar

Theses and Dissertations

The Heft subsurface three component lognormal fallout particle size distribution is compared and contrasted with the single lognormal fallout particle size distribution used by the Defense Land Fallout Interpretive Code (DELFIC). Comparison of the two distributions is accomplished with results from the AFIT smear code and the Hazard Prediction and Assessment Capability (HPAC). The effect of the distributions is explored in HPAC for varying yield weapons, varying surfaces, precipitation conditions, varying wind effects and varying dose rate times. The results from the two distributions are quantitatively compared using the concepts of grounded source normalization constant and the rate at which …

Air Force Jp-8 Fuel Distribution System: A Statistical Analysis To Determine Where And When To Sample, Eric J. Heath

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force Petroleum Office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio collects JP-8 sampling data, but this data doesn't undergo analysis to determine the health of the base-level JP-8 fuel distribution system. Commanders possess no known confidence level when assessing base-level fuel health. Therefore, the objective of this research is to assess Air Force base-level fuel sampling data to determine the base-level sampling point that ensures a quality and healthy product at the aircraft. Also, this research seeks to identify how often correlation sampling should take place. Sample test pass rates are analyzed from three locations, receipt, storage, and vehicles/aircraft, …

Using Value-Focused Thinking To Evaluate The Practicality Of Ground-Source Heat Pumps At Military Installations, Jimmy J. Jeoun

Theses and Dissertations

Because of potential cost and energy savings, military decision-makers may want to consider the use of energy-efficient heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems at their installations. Ground source heat pumps (GSHPs), in particular, show great promise because of their low energy requirements and low life-cycle costs. However, there currently exists no design guidance or established criteria for HVAC selection. Consequently, military decision-makers have no basis for comparing conventional HVAC systems and GSHPs. The Value-Focused Thinking (VFT) methodology was used to create a multi-objective decision analysis model that measures the value of different HVAC systems. Consisting of five bottom-tier values and …

Selection And Application Of Distorted Risk Measures, Edwin J. Offutt

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis develops and illustrates a methodology for the selection of probability distributions and distortion functions associated with risk scenarios resulting from military capability shortfalls. Distorted (or transformed) risk measures are analyzed and applied to account for loss scenarios that may occur with low frequency but result in catastrophic outcomes. After reviewing the rudimentary concepts of distortion, four well-known continuous distributions, suitable for modeling risk scenarios, are chosen using defined criteria. Based on subject matter expert inputs, a simple method for assigning exactly one of the four distributions to any risk scenario is proposed. Four parametric distortion functions from the …

Optimal Sampling Of A Chemical Hazard Area, Jennifer R. Plourde

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis proposes a methodology for optimally sampling a chemical hazard area subsequent to a chemical weapons attack. The objective is to identify the maximum number of areas that no longer require protective gear for safe operations. We model the area as an undirected graph and employ network analysis techniques to provide a methodological framework for identifying an optimal sampling sequence within a fixed time limit. We propose four models that characterize the secondary vapor concentrations: i) static and deterministic, ii) static and stochastic, iii) dynamic and deterministic, and iv) dynamic and stochastic. Comparisons of the static cases and their …

An Evaluation Of Wind Turbine Technology At Peterson Afb, Randy C. Combs

Theses and Dissertations

Wind energy technology is a viable source for attaining the emission reduction and renewable energy use goals set forth by the executive office. In accordance with Executive Orders, the Air Force must reduce greenhouse emissions and energy consumption, and expand the use of renewable energy sources within its facilities nation-wide by year 2010. This mandate requires that the Air Force look at alternative electrical production and rely more on such renewable energy resources as wind power. The specific problem addressed by this research is whether on-site wind energy generation can be more economically feasible than the conventional energy consumption at …