Digital Commons Network^™

Using Kriging To Interpolate Spatially Distributed Volumetric Medical Data, Stephen M. Matechik

Theses and Dissertations

Routine cases in diagnostic radiology require the interpolation of volumetric medical imaging data sets. Inaccurate renditions of interpolated volumes can lead to the misdiagnosis of a patient's condition. It is therefore essential that interpolated modality space estimates accurately portray patient space. Kriging is investigated in this research to interpolate medical imaging volumes. Kriging requires data to be spatially distributed. Therefore, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data is shown to exhibit spatially regionalized characteristics such that it can be modeled using regionalized variables and subsequently be interpolated using kriging. A comprehensive, automated, three-dimensional structural analysis of the MRI data is accomplished to …

Multidisciplinary And Multiobjective Optimization In Conceptual Design For Mixed-Stream Turbofan Engines, Luc J. J. P. Nadon

Theses and Dissertations

Despite major advances in design tools such as engine cycle analysis software and computer aided design, conceptual gas turbine engine design is essentially a trial-and-error process based on the experience of engineers. Modern optimization concepts, such as multidisciplinary optimization (MDO), and multiobjective optimization (MOO), linked with sequential quadratic programming (SQP) methods and genetic algorithms (GA), were applied to the conceptual engine design process to automate the conceptual design phase. Robust integrated computer codes were created to find the optimal values of eight engine parameters in order to minimize fuel usage, aircraft cost and engine annulus area over a given mission. …

Pulse Coupled Neural Networks For The Segmentation Of Magnetic Resonance Brain Images, Shane L. Abrahamson

Theses and Dissertations

This research develops an automated method for segmenting Magnetic Resonance (MR) brain images based on Pulse Coupled Neural Networks (PCNN). MR brain image segmentation has proven difficult, primarily due to scanning artifacts such as interscan and intrascan intensity inhomogeneities. The method developed and presented here uses a PCNN to both filter and segment MR brain images. The technique begins by preprocessing images with a PCNN filter to reduce scanning artifacts. Images are then contrast enhanced via histogram equalization. Finally, a PCNN is used to segment the images to arrive at the final result. Modifications to the original PCNN model are …

Investigation Of Sorption Mass Transfer Models Using Synthetic Soils, Karla K. Mika

Theses and Dissertations

Grain-scale sorption mass transfer is an important process that must be considered when predicting clean-up time and choosing remediation techniques for subsurface hazardous waste contamination. Rate-limited sorption is responsible for the rebound effect, where remediated groundwater is recontaminated by desorption. Sorbed contaminants are not available for microbial degradation, and the desorption rate may govern the effectiveness of natural attenuation by biodegradation. Grain-scale sorption nonequilibrium is generally attributed to diffusive transport, either in SOM or in mineral micropores. Typically used sorption mass transfer models either fail to reproduce long-term slow desorption (first-order models), or are based on diffusion in assumed (often …

Studies Of Electrochemical Behaviors Of Cytochrome C On Pretreated Gold Electrode, Jin Luo, Lingling Wu, Shaohua Huang, Zhonghua Lin

Journal of Electrochemistry

The quasi reversible responses of both adsorbed and bulk cytochrome c at the pretreated gold electrode are observed. The adsorption behaviors and reaction kinetics have been studied using in situ FTIR spectroscopy, UV/Vis reflection spectroscopy, voltammetry, AC impedance and potential step methods. The results show that the cytochrome c can irreversibly adsorb on the gold surface in a complete monolayer and the adsorbed layer can mediate the redox reaction of the cytochrome c in the solution in the absence of promoter.

Preliminary Evaluation Of The Effects Of A Pumping Well On Existing Surface Water Resources Located In T. 12n, R. 2e, Sec. 23, Cache And Box Elder Counties, Denny J. Johnson, Richard C. Peralta

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

This report contains the results of a preliminary study of the impact of pumping a well located in T. 12N, R. 2E, sec. 23, Cache and Box Elder Counties, Utah. A semianalytical capture zone analysis was performed to determine if pumping at the well is likely to reduce flow in Willow Creek or any of three springs in the surrounding area. The well has been used from 1974 to present and is sometimes pumped at 90 gallons per minute (gpm) (verbal communication, Veibell, 1996).

Preparing The Leaders For Mechatronics Education, Sema E. Alptekin

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Mechatronics is the synergetic combination of precision mechanical engineering, electronic control and systems thinking in the design of products and processes. There is a need to develop interdisciplinary programs in Mechatronics that better prepare our graduates to design, build, and operate the products and systems of today and tomorrow. To address this need, National Science Foundation funded a project entitled "Preparing the Leaders for Mechatronics Education" undertaken by Cal Poly in 1995 - 1996. In this paper, the activities that took place during this two-year program is outlined. Several courses and course modules have already been developed and implemented by …

Wright State University College Of Engineering And Computer Science Bits And Pcs Newsletter, Volume 12, Number 9, November 1996, College Of Engineering And Computer Science, Wright State University

BITs and PCs Newsletter

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

Mechanisms Of Cytokine-Mediated Localized Immunoprotection., Nora Sarvetnick

Journal Articles: Regenerative Medicine

No abstract provided.

A Controlled Release Technique Using Microporous Membranes, Stephanie Farrell

Dissertations

A novel controlled release device based on aqueous-organic partitioning is described. The device comprises a reservoir, bounded by a microporous or porous membrane in the form of a hollow fiber or flat film. The reservoir liquid phase and the pore liquid phase are immiscible. The agent partitions between the phases at the aqueous-organic interface of the reservoir and the pore mouth, and then diffuses through the membrane pore liquid into a surrounding aqueous solution. The partition coefficient significantly influences the rate of release of the agent by reducing the driving force for diffusion across the fluid-filled membrane pore. The performance …

Pulsed Transient Tissue Conductivity Measurement, Robert B. Szlavik, Hubert De Bruin

Biomedical Engineering

The authors present an alternative technique for obtaining tissue conductivity as a function of frequency. Pulsed transient tissue impedance measurement differs significantly from other commonly used swept frequency techniques in that the conductivity of a tissue sample can be obtained from a voltage transient response to a current pulse. By obtaining the conductivity across a band of frequencies from a transient measurement, the necessity for direct conductivity measurements at each frequency point is eliminated. Calibration and verification of the technique was carried out by measuring the impedance magnitude and phase of simple RC circuit combinations. The authors present conductivity measurements …

Spice Compatible Equivalent Circuit Models Of Skeletal Muscle Tissue, Robert B. Szlavik, Hubert De Bruin

Biomedical Engineering

The authors present equivalent circuit models of skeletal muscle tissue for the directions parallel and transverse to the fiber. The parallel model is based on a distributed parameter equivalent circuit approach where the tissue between the electrodes is divided into small segments, each of which is represented by an equivalent circuit. Parameters for the equivalent circuits me calculated from the electrical characteristics of the tissue components and their physical arrangement. The authors compare the conductivity frequency response of the equivalent circuit modelling approach to other models presented in the literature. The advantage to the authors' equivalent circuit approach is that …

Biodegradation And Landfill Settlement, Shailesh Pisolkar

Theses

The most widely used method for the final disposal of solid waste is landfilling, which is also economical and simpler than most other disposal systems. Long term settlement in a landfill occurs mainly due to biodegradation of the refuse which is a very slow microbiological process. However, if the rate of biodegradation is enhanced, it may be possible to achieve early stabilization, faster settlement, consequently more capacity of the landfill to handle waste.

The objective of this research is to study the effects of enhanced biodegradation on settlement and to compare these results to other models used for predicting landfill …

The In Vitro Evaluation Of Various Biodegradable Composites Used In Internal Fixation Devices, Hui-Chen Hsieh

Theses

In vitro degradation kinetics and mechanical properties of various composites, comprising a polycarbonate (DTE polymer) reinforced with CaP glass fiber, synthetic ceramic and non-ceramic hydroxyapatite (HA-500,OsteoGen HA) were investigated.

They were soaked in the SBF solution with a constant pH of 7.4 at 37°C for 5 days. The DTE/CaP composite degraded in an acid manner such that a large amount of NaOH was required but with a small decrease in calcium ion concentration. By contrast, the DTE/OsteoGen HA composite required comparable amounts of NaOH, but with a concomitantly large decrease in calcium ion concentration. This showed that the OsteoGen HA …

Development Of A Gel Content Analysis Protocol For Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene, Max Harold Jeanty

Theses

A modified procedure based upon ASTM (D 2765 - 90) to determine the gel content of crosslinked polyethylene plastics was developed. The new procedure was applied to ram extruded Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMWPE) implant components processed under different manufacturing conditions. This new evaluation tool provides consistent results with greater accuracy and consistency compared to the American Society for the Testing of Materials (ASTM) method. Using the same tool, several relationships between the UHMWPE processing conditions and gel content were established. The amount of gel content is related to the crosslinked material. It has been shown that the more crosslinking …

Solidification/Stabilization Of Petroleum Contaminated Soils With Cold Mix Asphalt Concrete, Nazhat Aboobaker

Theses

In this research Petroleum Contaminated Soils (PCSs) are recycled in Cold Mix Asphalt (CMA), to produce a useful product that can control potential environmental threats. The stability, durability, and hydraulic conductivity are three important engineering parameters that need to be considered when using petroleum contaminated soils (PCSs) in cold mix asphalt (CMA). In this research, stability, durability, and hydraulic conductivity due to the addition of six different PCSs into CMA is investigated. The stability test were performed to determine if cold mix asphalt made with petroleum contaminated soil can withstand heavy traffic. The freeze-thaw, and wet-dry tests were performed to …

A Methodology For The Prediction Of The Empennage In-Flight Loads Of A General Aviation Aircraft Using Backpropagation Neural Networks, Maciej Marciniak

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

Backpropagation neural networks have been used to predict strain resulting from the maneuver in-flight loads in the empennage structure of a Cessna 172P. The purpose of this research was to develop a methodology for the prediction of strain in the tail section of a general aviation aircraft and to determine the minimum set of sensors necessary to adequately train the neural networks. Linear accelerometer, angular accelerometer, rate gyro, and strain gage signals were collected in flight using DAQBook portable data acquisition system for dutch-roll, roll, sideslip left, sideslip right, stabilized g turn left, stabilized g turn right, and push-pull maneuvers …

Wright State University College Of Engineering And Computer Science Bits And Pcs Newsletter, Volume 12, Number 8, October 1996, College Of Engineering And Computer Science, Wright State University

BITs and PCs Newsletter

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

Characterization Of Rainfall Runoff Quality From A Shipyard Drydock, Peter Pommerenk

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Water quality and hydrological data were collected during seventeen rain events and additional data was obtained from laboratory experiments to characterize the quality of stormwater runoff from a drydock located on the Elizabeth River in Norfolk, Virginia.

The results indicated that the concentrations of dissolved constituents in drydock runoff increased with decreasing flow rate, while solids concentrations exhibited positive correlation to flow rate, suggesting that the mobilization of particulate matter is velocity driven. Approximating the runoff hydrograph due to a storm event using a simple model enabled derivation of the average time that rainwater resides on the drydock surface before …

Real-Time Visual Speech Articulation Training Aid, Neiyer S. Correal

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A real-time visual articulation training aid has been implemented. It provides instantaneous visual feedback of vowel and stop-consonant production on a computer screen. The vowel training system corresponds to an improved floating-point implementation of a previous fixed-point system developed by Beck (1992). The new implementation provides better accuracy and an approximate five-fold increase in speed. Acoustic features computed from global short-time spectral shape are used for classification of vowels. Temporal spectral trajectories timed to begin with burst onset are used for stop consonants. A neural network is used to transform measurements of auditory stimuli from the feature space to a …

An Experimental Study Of An Advanced Polymeric Material For Use In Total Knee Replacements Including Gait Analysis Of Mobile Knee Bearings, Lisa Ann Scott

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The primary objectives of this research were to clinically examine the New Jersey Low Contact Stress (LCS)™ Rotating Platform and Meniscal knee bearing systems and to investigate the tribological properties of a new polymer for potential application in total joint replacement. Thus, clinical studies were performed on subjects having the LCSTM Rotating Platform knee bearing and subjects having the LCS™ meniscal knee bearing. The results indicated that there was a statistically significant difference in the braking force for both implant groups when compared to a control group. There was also a statistically significant difference noted for the LCS™ Rotating Platform …

A Continuous Process For The Conversion Of Vegetable Oils Into Biodiesel, Hossein Noureddini, D Harkey, V Medikonduru

Papers in Biomaterials

Over the last few years fatty acid methyl esters have assumed importance as research has intensified on the utilization of vegetable oils and animal fats derivatives from liquid fuels (better known as biodiesel).Traditional batch processing has been an still is the most widely used process for this coversion. New and more efficient processing schemes. for large scale production of biodiesel for fuelfile1 purposes, is a. key for commercialization of biodiesel. In this, study a continuous process for the transesterification of triglycerides to methyl esters was investigated. This process is based a combined high shear and motionless reactor system. The experimental …

Effective Doses Of Recombinant Human Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 In Experimental Spinal Fusion, Harvinder Sandhu, Linda E.A. Kanim, J. Michael Kabo, Jeffrey M. Toth, Erik N. Zeegen, David Liu, Rick B. Delamarter, Edgar G. Dawson

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Study Design

Nineteen dogs underwent L4-L5 intertransverse process fusions with either 58 μg, 115 μg, 230 μg, 460 μg, or 920 μg of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 carried by a polylactic acid polymer. A previous study (12 dogs) compared 2300 μg of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2, autogenous iliac bone, and carrier alone in this model. All fusions subsequently were compared.

Objectives

To characterize the dose-response relationship of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 in a spinal fusion model.

Summary of Background Data

Recombinant osteoinductive morphogens, such as recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2, are effective in vertebrate diaphyseal defect and …

Affinity Purification Of Biologically Active Andinactive Forms Of Recombinant Human Protein C Produced In Porcine Mammary Gland, Kevin E. Van Cott, Barry Williams Department Of Chemical Engineering,Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, Va 24061, Usa, William H. Velander, Francis C. Gwazdauskas, Tim Lee Jerome Holland Laboratory, American Red Cross, Rockville, Md 20855, Usa, Henryk Lubon, William N. Drohan

Papers in Biotechnology

Recombinant human protein C (rhPC) secreted in the milk of transgenic pigs was studied. 'Ikansgenes having different regulatory elements of the murine milk protein, whey acidic protein, were used with cDNA and genomic human protein C (hPC) DNA sequences to obtain lower and higher expressing animals. The cDNA pigs had a range of expression of about 0.1-0.5 g/l milk. Two different genomic hPC pig lines have expressed 0.3 and 1-2 g/l, respectively. The rhPC was first purified at yields greater than 60 per cent using a monoclonal antibody (mAb) to the activation site on the heavy chain of hPC. Subsequent …

Effect Of Antibody Orientation On Immunosorbent, Anuradha Subramanian, William H. Velander

Papers in Biotechnology

The impact of antibody orientation on immunosorbent efficiency was quantitatively assessed. A pH-dependent murine monoclonal antibody (Mab) against human protein C (hPC), recombinant hPC (rhPC) and two different immobilization chemistries and matrices were used as model systems. The lysyl groups of the rhPC were covalently modified with an acetic acid ester of N-hydroxysuccinimide and this modified rhPC was used as a Fab masking agent (FMA). The FMA was used to mask the antigen bind-ing regions (Fab) of the Mab prior to and during covalent immobilization. Thereafter, the residual active sites of the support were in-activated and the FMA was removed. …

Review Of: Science Advice To The President (William T. Golden, Ed. Aaas Press 2d Ed. 1993)., Timothy Van Dyke

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Review of: Science Advice to the President (William T. Golden, ed. AAAS Press 2d Ed. 1993). Acknowledgments, index of names, introductions, notes, tables. ISBN 0-87168-509-4 [340 pp. $29.95 paper. American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1333 H St. NW, Washington DC 20701.]

Pancreatic Expression Of Interleukin-4 Abrogates Insulitis And Autoimmune Diabetes In Nonobese Diabetic (Nod) Mice., Regula Mueller, Troy Krahl, Nora Sarvetnick

Journal Articles: Regenerative Medicine

Diabetes in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice is a T cell-dependent autoimmune disease. The destructive activities of autoreactive T cells have been shown to be tightly regulated by effector molecules. In particular, T helper (Th) 1 cytokines have been linked to diabetes pathogenesis, whereas Th2 cytokines and the cells that release them have been postulated to be protective from disease. To test this hypothesis, we generated transgenic NOD mice that express interleukin (IL) 4 in their pancreatic beta cells under the control of the human insulin promoter. We found that transgenic NOD-IL-4 mice, both females and males, were completely protected from …

Are Energy Savings Due To Ceiling Fans Just Hot Air?, Florida Solar Energy Center, Patrick James

FSEC Energy Research Center®

Human comfort studies have shown that people prefer higher temperatures when they are subjected to a breeze. Ceiling fans are often used to create air motion in residences. Simulation studies (including one given in this paper) have demonstrated that in Florida, using ceiling fans combined with raising a home's temperature 2° F will generate about a 14% net savings in annual cooling energy use (subtracting out the ceiling fan energy and accounting for internally released heat). This savings drops to 2.6% with a 1° F increase in set point and to a negative 3.7% savings with only a 0.5° F …

Proposal For Renovation Of 1920 Tractor Test Lab Into Museum, Tractor Museum

Lester F. Larsen Tractor Museum: Planning and Development Documents

Bids for Renovating Roof State Fair Display Further Funding for Renovation

Applications Of Artificial Neural Networks In Interactive Simulation, Payman Jula

Masters Theses

Although there have been many improvements in simulation technology over the past few years, it still suffers from many limitations. Simulation methods are usually time consuming and hence not suitable for the interactive decision making processes.

In this project, applications of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) to simulate manufacturing systems have been studied. The backpropagation Multiple Layer Perceptrons (MLPs) have been applied to simulate manufacturing systems. Some guidelines for developing appropriate ANNs have been presented. The results of ANN approach have been compared to those of conventional simulation methods.