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Reconstitution And Characterization Of Membrane Proteins, Sarah Mia Pates

Masters Theses

“A membrane protein, cytochrome c reductase, was crystallized and examined using transmission electron microscopy. Two-dimensional crystals were prepared by two methods. In Method 1, the protein was solubilized in 50 mM Tris-Acetate (pH 6.0)/0.5 mM EDTA70.05% (w/v) Triton X-100 and reconstituted into a mixture of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine (4:1), dissolved in the same buffer. The Triton X-100 was removed from the mixture by dialysis in the presence of Bio-beads (SM-2) at approximately 25-30 °C. Method 2 was the same as Method 1, except that the vesicles were fractionated before reconstitution, and the pH and temperature for crystallization were 7.0 and …

Field Implementation Of Bioremediation At Indot Facilities-Phase I, Loring F. Nies, Brett Robert Baldwin, Matthew B. Mesarch

JTRP Technical Reports

Bioremediation is often the most cost-effective and successful technique available for the remediation of soils and groundwater contaminated with organic pollutants (e.g. petroleum). The goal of bioremediation is to stimulate naturally occurring microorganisms to biodegrade the contaminants to harmless products. To be in compliance with EPA regulations all underground fuel storage tanks must have spill, leak and corrosion protection. Many older obsolete tanks had deteriorated to the extent that petroleum products had leaked into the environment. In the past, petroleum contaminated soils were typically excavated, followed by landfilling of the contaminated material. The continued use of landfills for disposal of …

Optical Imaging Method For Bridge Painting Maintenance And Inspection, Luh M. Chang, Yasser Abdelrazig, Po-Han Chen

JTRP Technical Reports

The term "quality" is defined as the conformance to predetermined requirements or specifications. These requirements may be set in terms of the end result required or as a detailed description of how work should be executed. Recently, there has been increasing interest in quality assurance in the construction industry. Quality assurance includes design and planning, sampling, inspection, testing, and assessment to ensure that end products perform according to specifications. This research proposes a new quality assessment model for highway steel bridges and more specifically for coating rust assessment. The research proposes a hybrid model using image processing and neural networks …

Control Strategies For The Transition From Multijoint To Single-Joint Arm Movements Studied Using A Simple Mechanical Constraint, Robert A. Scheidt, W. Zev Rymer

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Changes were studied in neuromotor control that were evoked by constraining the motion of the elbow joint during planar, supported movements of the dominant arm in eight normal human subjects. Electromyograph (EMG) recordings from shoulder and arm muscles were used to determine whether the normal multijoint muscle activity patterns associated with reaching to a visual target were modified when the movement was reduced to a single-joint task, by pinning the elbow to a particular location in the planar work space. Three blocks of 150 movements each were used in the experiments. Subjects were presented with the unconstrained task in the …

Waste Assessment Of Agricultural Chemicals, Petroleum Products And Maintenance Residuals On Farmsteads, Sherman D. Reed, Robert D. Grisso, Wayne E. Woldt, Shirley M. Niemeyer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to evaluate waste management practices of purchasing, handling, storage, and disposal of agricultural chemicals, petroleum products, and maintenance residuals. One-hundred surveys were returned by agricultural producers from three Nebraska counties selected based on unique environmental and waste management issues. Twenty-four questions concerning agricultural chemicals and 16 questions directed to petroleum products and maintenance residuals are discussed. A follow-up interview with 45 respondents was conducted “on-site” to gain insight into their reported practices, perceptions, and actual practices. Most farmers (66%) tended to purchase pesticides in 3.8 to 10 L (1-2.5 gal) containers and most (79%) …

Time Delayed Process Model Parameter Estimation: A Classification Of Techniques, Aidan O'Dwyer

Conference papers

An extensive though scattered literature exists on the estimation of the model parameters of time delayed processes. However, it is possible to identify themes that are common to many of the proposed techniques. The intention of this paper is to provide a framework against which the literature may be viewed.

The Reasons Why Many African-American And Hispanic Women Do Not Choose Careers In Technology, Kathryn Elizabeth Guzman

Graduate Research Papers

There have been numerous statistics showing that minorities including women, African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans, are least likely to choose careers in the science and technology field. Along with those studies have been possible reasons why they choose not to enter into the field. Reasons have ranged from lack of encouragement to people just telling them flat out that there is no possible way that they can succeed in the field.

This study found that African-American and Hispanic women do not choose careers in technology for many of the same reasons. As young children, some factors are the way teachers …

Baseline Assessment Of The Use Of A Small Missouri River Backwater By Fish At Ponca State Park In Dixon County, Nebraska, A. Luke Wallace

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

Ponca State Park is located adjacent to the Missouri River near the town of Ponca in Dixon County, Nebraska between river miles 753.8 and 755.3. This portion of the river is a 59-mile, unchannelized segment that has been designated as the Missouri National Recreational River under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The majority of the park is situated high on bluffs that overlook the Missouri River. Until recently, the park had only a small amount of easily accessible river frontage. In 1999, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) acquired an additional 295 acres of river bottomland on the …

Habitat Erosion Protection Analysis Missouri National Recreational River Nebraska And South Dakota

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

The Corps was tasked by the National Park Service to detennine if erosion protection measures were needed to prevent further decline in cottonwood forest within the Missouri National Recreational River. The 1990's had three unusually high water years resulting in increased runoff and dam discharges, with resultant increased erosion. Concern about erosion of cottonwood forests was expressed by the public during public meetings held by the National Park Service and the Corps during 1999. Severe erosion was also evident in the comparison of aerial maps from 1985 to those from 1997. Forested habitat is considered a "wildlife value" for the …

Fractional Composition Of Grain Sorghum (Sorghum Bicolor) After Wet-Peeling In A Centrifugal Pump, K. R. Lochte-Watson, Curtis L. Weller, Kent M. Eskridge

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Use of a centrifugal pump to peel and facilitate separation of grain sorghum kernels into three fractions was investigated. Special emphasis was given to separating fractions to achieve a high concentration of wax in one fraction and a high concentration of starch in another. Trials were conducted to determine the effects of both soak time and recirculation time on wet-peeling. After peeling, three fractions, peeled kernel, bran, and suspended solids, were collected. Together, the bran and suspended solids fractions contained 12.7% of the initial total dry solids, 90% of initial wax, and 8.1% of the initial starch. Peeled kernel fraction …

Narrow Grass Hedge Effects On Phosphorus And Nitrogen In Runoff Following Manure And Fertilizer Application, B. Eghball, John E. Gilley, L. A. Kramer, T. B. Moorman

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Runoff losses of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from field applied manure can contribute to surface water pollution. Grass hedges may reduce runoff losses of nutrients and sediment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of narrow switchgrass (,i>Panicum virgatum L.) hedges (~0.75 m wide) on the transport of P and N from a field receiving beef cattle feedlot manure under tilled and n-till conditions. This study was conducted on a steep (12% average slope) Monona silt loam (fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Hapludolls) soil near Treynor, Iowa. The experiment was a split-plot with no-till and …

Performance Tests Of Three-Point Mounted Implement Guidance Systems: Ii. Results, Michael F. Kocher, Michael B. Smith, Robert D. Grisso, Linda J. Young

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Side-shift and disk-steer implement guidance systems were tested for differences in performance during cultivation on fields with 0 and 5% side slope. Test speeds were slow (4.8 km/h, 3 mph) and medium (8.0 km/h, 5 mph). Test path shapes included a tractor ramp, implement ramp, sine and curve. Performance measures included tractor positional error, implement positional error, torque from side forces on the cultivator non-swiveling coulters, and travel speed. Relatively few significant differences between guidance systems were detected, and most of those involved interaction with path shape. Therefore, no clear conclusion could be reached indicating one guidance system was better …

Performance Tests Of Three-Point Mounted Implement Guidance Systems: I. Procedure, Michael F. Kocher, Michael B. Smith, Robert D. Grisso, Leonard L. Bashford

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

A procedure is presented for determining the performance of three-point mounted implement guidance systems. A test track with tractor ramp, implement ramp, sine wave, and curve path shapes was used as the desired path to guide the tractor and implement, and as a reference location for measuring implement positional errors. Potentiometers were used with mechanical frames to measure the tractor and implement positional errors (lateral displacement between the intended and actual travel paths). An optoelectronic sensor triggered acquisition of data from all sensors at known locations [15.2 cm (6 in.) intervals] along the track. The accumulated errors for the tractor …

Water Vapor Transport Parameters Of A Cast Wheat Gluten Film, Soumya Roy, Aristippos Gennadios, Curtis Weller, Robert F. Testin

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Understanding the mode of transport of water vapor through the film is important for improving the moisture barrier properties of wheat gluten (WG) films. Effective permeability (P_eff), solubility (S_eff), and diffusion (D_eff) coefficients of a hydrophilic cast WG film were determined at 25°C within the relative humidity (RH) range of 0–84% (with a 9–13% RH gradient between upstream and downstream water vapor flux). P_eff, S_eff, and D_eff increased substantially as the RH gradient moved upwards in the RH spectrum. P_eff increased by four orders of …

Effect Of Sample Complexity On Quantification Of Analytes In Aqueous Samples By Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, Mark R. Riley, Mark A. Arnold, David W. Murhammer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

This study was undertaken to quantitate the impact of increasing sample complexity on near-infrared spectroscopic (NIRS) measurements of small molecules in aqueous solutions with varying numbers of components. Samples with 2, 6, or 10 varying components were investigated. Within the 10-component samples, three analytes were quantified with errors below 6% and seven of the analytes were quantified with errors below 10%. An increase in the number of varying components can substantially increase the error associated with measurement. A comparison of measurement errors across sample sets, as gauged by the standard error of prediction (SEP), reveals that an increase in the …

Production And Purification Of The Heavy Chain Fragment C Of Botulinum Neurotoxin, Serotype A, Expressed In The Methylotrophic Yeast Pichia Pastoris, Karen J. Potter, Wenhui Zhang, Leonard A. Smith, Michael M. Meagher

Michael Meagher Publications

A recombinant Hc fragment of botulinum neurotoxin, serotype A (rBoNTA(Hc)), has been successfully expressed in a Mutt strain of the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris for use as an antigen in a proposed human vaccine. Fermentation employed glycerol batch, glycerol-fed batch, and methanol-fed batch phases to achieve high cell density. Induction times were short to maximize rBoNTA(H_c) production while minimizing proteolytic degradation. Concentration of rBoNTA(H_c) in yeast cell lysates was generally 1-2% of the total protein based on ELISA analysis. The H_c fragment was purified from cell lysates using a multistep ion-exchange (IEC) chromatographic process, including …

Laboratory And Field Testing Of Seed Spacing Uniformity For Sugarbeet Planters, Jonathan W. Panning, Michael F. Kocher, John A. Smith, Stephen D. Kachman

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Five planter configurations were evaluated for seed spacing uniformity at three field speeds using a seed location method in the field and a laboratory method involving an opto-electronic sensor system. Planter seed spacing uniformity was described using the Coefficient of Precision (CP3) measure. Results showed that CP3 measures determined using the laboratory test method were significantly different from those determined using the field test method. This indicated the laboratory test method cannot be used to predict planter seed spacing uniformity in the field. Seed spacing uniformity determined in laboratory tests was higher than, or equal to, seed spacing uniformity determined …

Fate And Behavior Of Lead In Soils Planted With Metal-Resistant Species (River Birch And Smallwing Sedge), S. P. Klassen, J. E. Mclean, P. R. Grossl, Ronald C. Sims

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Phytoremediation of metal-contaminated soils requires an understanding of the interactions between metal-tolerant plant species and soil chemical properties controlling the bioavailability of metals. We conducted controlled laboratory studies to investigate the effects that river birch (Betula occidentalis Hook.) and smallwing sedge (Carex microptera Mack.) had on the fate and behavior of Pb in a contaminated soil (3000 mg Pb/kg) and tailings (13 000 mg Pb/kg) collected from an abandoned mining site in Utah. Significant Pb accumulation in aboveground tissue was observed in smallwing sedge (≥1000 mg/kg dry wt.) in both the soil and tailings, but Pb was primarily excluded by …

Analogue-To-Digital Conversion And Image Enhancement Using Neuron-Mos Technology, Joseph W. Austin-Crowe

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis describes the development of two novel circuits that use a newly developed technology, that of neuron-MOS, for the purposes of analogue-to-digital conversion and image enhancement. Neuron-MOS has the potential to reduce both the complexity and number of transistors required for analogue and digital circuits. A reduced area, low transistor-count- analogue-to-digital converter that is suitable for inclusion in a massively parallel array of identical image processing elements is developed. Supporting the function of the array some fundamental image enhancement operations, such as edge enhancement, are examined exploiting the unique features of neuron-MOS technology.

Applications Of Wavelet Transforms In Biomedical Optoacoustics, Zibiao Wei, Shujun Yang, Amin N. Dharamsi, Barbara Hargrave

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We discuss the utility of wavelet transform methods in signal processing in general, and in particular, demonstrate the technique in optoacoustic applications. In several optoacoustic experiments with different samples, we have successfully enhanced the signal to noise ratios. Wavelet transforms optimize resolution by utilizing a tailored, variable time-window in different frequency regions. The technique's great advantage lies in the fact that the wavelet transform adds some redundancy to the original signal, and some desired features can be enhanced in the transformed space. In addition, proper choice of the basis set allows a sparse representation of the signal. Therefore, even when …

Effects Of Ventilation On Human Thermal Comfort In Rooms, Ahmed F. Alfahaid

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Nowadays, the majority of people spend up to 90% of their time indoors; as a result, the maintenance of optimal indoor climate conditions has become important for their overall health and comfort. The main goal of this study is to predict numerically the flow and temperature patterns and the human thermal comfort conditions in an indoor environment using displacement ventilation.

A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code has been used to analyze thermal comfort conditions for a fullscale ventilated room. Unstructured grids have been used to discretize the numerical domain. Before undertaking a detailed investigation, the code was validated by comparing …

Multi-Sensor 3d Image Fusion And Interactive Search, W. D. Ross, A. M. Waxman, W. W. Streilein, M. Aguilar, J. Verly, F. Liu, M. I. Braun, P. Harmon, S. Rak

Research, Publications & Creative Work

We describe a system under development for the 3D fusion of multi-sensor surface surveillance imagery, including electro-optical (EO), IR, SAR, multispectral and hyperspectral sources. Our approach is founded on biologically-inspired image processing algorithms. We have developed an image processing architecture enabling the unified interactive visualization of fused multi-sensor site data which utilizes a color image fusion algorithm based on retinal and cortical processing of color. We have also developed interactive Web-based tools for training neural network search agents that are capable of automatically scanning site data for the fused multi-sensor signatures of targets and/or surface features of interest. Each search …

Modeling And Simulation Of The Dynamic Behavior Of Monoliths: Effects Of Pore Structure From Pore Network Model Analysis And Comparison With Columns Packed With Porous Spherical Particles, Athanasios I. Liapis, J. J. Meyers, Orrin K. Crosser

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A mathematical model is presented that could be used to describe the dynamic behavior, scale-up, and design of monoliths involving the adsorption of a solute of interest. The value of the pore diffusivity of the solute in the pores of the skeletons of the monolith is determined in an a priori manner by employing the pore network modeling theory of Meyers and Liapis [J. Chromatogr. A, 827 (1998) 197 and 852 (1999) 3]. The results clearly show that the pore diffusion coefficient, D(mp), of the solute depends on both the pore size distribution and the pore connectivity, n(T), of the …

Multimedia Databases, S. R. Subramanya

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The acquisition, generation, storage and processing of multimedia data in computers and transmission over networks have grown tremendously. Databases have been developed to cope with huge amounts of data in different applications. Multimedia databases (MMDB) are essential for efficient management and effective use of this data. They are however still in their infancy. Most current MMDB system prototypes are closely bound to narrow application areas. Experiences gained from developing and using novel multimedia will help advance the multimedia database technology.

Reverse Engineering Of Foreign Missiles Via Genetic Algorithm, Jon D. Wollam

Theses and Dissertations

One mission of the National Air Intelligence Center (NAIC) is the reverse engineering of foreign missile weapon systems from incomplete observational data. In the past, intuition and repeated runs of a missile performance model were required to converge to a solution compatible with observed flight characteristics. This approach can be cumbersome and time consuming, as well as being subject to undesirable influences from the analyst's preconceptions and biases. An alternative approach has been created to apply genetic algorithm (GA) techniques to allow automation of the process, wider exploration of the design space, and more optimal solutions matching the observational data. …

Dielectric Plug-Loaded Two-Port Transmission Line Measurement Technique For Dielectric Property Characterization Of Granular And Liquid Materials, K. Mubarak, R. Zoughi, Aaron D. Benally, Karl Joseph Bois, Larry F. Handjojo

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

There are numerous dielectric property characterization techniques available in the microwave regime each with its own uniqueness, advantages and disadvantages. The two-port completely-filled waveguide (transmission line) technique is a robust measurement approach which is well suited for solid dielectric materials. In this case, the dielectric material can be relatively easily machined to fit inside the waveguide and the subsequent measurement of the scattering parameters of this two-port device renders the dielectric properties of the material filling the waveguide. However, this technique is not well suited for measuring the dielectric properties of granular and liquid materials. These materials are used in …

Double Twist In Helical Polymer "Soft" Crystals, Christopher Y. Li, Stephen Z. D. Cheng, Jason J. Ge, Feng Bai, John Z. Zhang, Ian K. Mann, Frank W. Harris, Lang-Chy Chien, Donghang Yan, Tianbai He, Bernard Lotz

College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering

In natural and synthetic materials having non-racemic chiral centers, chirality and structural ordering each play a distinct role in the formation of ordered states. Configurational chirality can be extended to morphological chirality when the phase, structures possess low liquid crystalline order. In the crystalline states the crystallization process suppresses the chiral helical morphology due to strong ordering interactions, In this Letter, we report the first observation of helical single lamellar crystals of synthetic non-racemic chiral polymers. Experimental evidence shows that the molecular chains twist along both the long and short axes of the helical lamellar crystals, which is the first …

Thermodynamic Model And The Controlling Variables Of Phosphate Lattice Loss, Mohammad Abutayeh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A thermodynamic model was developed based upon five equilibrium reactions to predict the limits of distribution of phosphates between the liquid and the solid phases in a reactor used to extract phosphoric acid from phosphate rock. A computer code was generated to carry out different simulations of the model using several inputs of temperatures and liquid phase sulfuric acid contents. Ideal Solution, Debye-Hückel, and Robinson-Guggenheim-Bates electrolyte activity coefficient models were employed alternately in each simulation to complete the thermodynamic model and the outputs were compared to one another.

Experimental data of equilibrium constants were regressed to adjust the values of …

Simulation And Density Functional Study Of A Simple Membrane Separating Two Restricted Primitive Model Electrolytes, Richard L. Rowley, Dezso Boda, Douglas Henderson, Stefan Sokolowski

Faculty Publications

A simple membrane, supporting charge densities on its inner and outer surfaces, is considered. In addition to the electrostatic potential, the membrane interacts with the surrounding fluid by a short range van der Waals-like potential. The fluid beyond the outer surface is a three-component restricted primitive electrolyte consisting of two cations and one anion. The membrane is impermeable to one of the cations so that the fluid in the membrane and beyond the inner surface is a two-component restricted primitive electrolyte. We use Monte Carlo simulations and density functional theory to study the density profiles of the electrolyte and the …

Biotreatment And Chemical Speciation Of Lead And Zinc Mine/Mill Wastewater Discharges In Missouri, U.S.A., Mujde Erten-Unal, Bobby G. Wixson

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Continued mining development in the world's largest lead producing area has generated and increased concern over effective mine water treatment in Missouri's New Lead Belt. A new type of mine/mill wastewater treatment system was constructed which consisted of a tailings pond followed by a series of artificially constructed meandering biotreatment channels and a polishing lagoon. This system provided additional retention time and distance for the removal of heavy metals by abundant aquatic plants and sedimentation. Seasonal field sampling and analytical testing that evaluated the present system confirmed that it provided good treatment for removal of heavy metals within the company …