Digital Commons Network^™

A Representation For Many Player Generalized Divide The Dollar Games, Garrison Greenwood, Daniel Ashlock

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Divide the dollar is a simplified version of a two player bargaining problem game devised by John Nash. The generalized divide the dollar game has n > 2 players. Evolutionary algorithms can be used to evolve individual players for this generalized game but representation—i.e., a genome plus a move or search operator(s)—must be carefully chosen since it affects the search process. This paper proposes an entirely new representation called a demand matrix. Each individual in the evolving population now represents a collection of n players rather than just an individual player. Players use previous outcomes to decide their choices (bids) in …

Editorial: Special Issue “Protein Modeling And Simulation: Selected Articles From The Computational Structural Bioinformatics Workshop 2021”, Negin Forouzesh, Kamal Ai Nasr

Computer Science Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

Hemodynamic Investigations In Intracranial Aneurysms: A Commentary, Hang Yi, Mark Johnson, Luke Bramlage, Zifeng Yang, Bryan Ludwig

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Intracranial aneurysms (IAs) are abnormal bulges in a blood vessel in the brain that have a potential to rupture and even causing a stroke, which can lead to lasting brain damage, long-term disability, or even loss of life. It has been widely acknowledged that hemodynamic factors, e.g., instantaneous wall shear stress, time-averaged wall shear stress, wall shear stress gradient, gradient oscillatory number, oscillatory shear index, pulsatile blood flow waveform (flow rate magnitude and shape, physical flow period), relative residence time/turnover time, blood pressure, and vortex (i.e., size, location, and numbers), have a close relationship with the pathobiology (i.e., initiation, growth, …

A New Paradigm Of Reliable Sensing With Field-Deployed Electrochemical Sensors Integrating Data Redundancy And Source Credibility, Ajanta Saha, Sotoudeh Sedaghat, Sarath Gopalakrishnan, Jose Waimin, Aiganym Yermembetova, Nicholas Glassmaker, Charilaos Mousoulis, Ali Shakouri, Alexander Wei, Rahim Rahimi, Muhammad A. Alam

Department of Chemistry Faculty Publications

For a continuous healthcare or environmental monitoring system, it is essential to reliably sense the analyte concentration reported by electrochemical sensors. However, environmental perturbation, sensor drift, and power-constraint make reliable sensing with wearable and implantable sensors difficult. While most studies focus on improving sensor stability and precision by increasing the system’s complexity and cost, we aim to address this challenge using low-cost sensors. To obtain the desired accuracy from low-cost sensors, we borrow two fundamental concepts from communication theory and computer science. First, inspired by reliable data transmission over a noisy communication channel by incorporating redundancy, we propose to measure …

Boron Nitride Nanotubes: Force Field Parameterization, Epoxy Interactions, And Comparison With Carbon Nanotubes For High-Performance Composite Materials, Swapnil S. Bamane, Michael B. Jakubinek, Krishan Kanhaiya, Behnam Ashrafi, Hendrik Heinz, Gregory Odegard

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are a very promising reinforcement for future high-performance composites because of their excellent thermo-mechanical properties. To take full advantage of BNNTs in composite materials, it is necessary to have a comprehensive understanding of the wetting characteristics of various high-performance resins. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations provide an accurate and efficient approach to establish the contact angle values of engineering polymers on reinforcement surfaces, which offers a measure for the interaction between the polymer and reinforcement. In this research, MD simulations and experiments are used to determine the wettability of various epoxy systems on BNNT surfaces. The reactive …

Effects Of Post-Translational Histone Modifications On Transcription Rate, Aaron Bohn

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

School Personnel Lived Experiences Related To High School Engineering Education And The Covid-19 Pandemic, Justina R. Jackson, Katherine L. Boice, Stephen Cochran, Brooke Skelton, Jeffrey Rosen, Marion Usselman

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

This study investigated the teaching experiences of three school personnel at a public high school during the 2020–2021 school year as they implemented a unique science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) unit with in-person and virtual students in their engineering classes during the Covid-19 pandemic. A research team interviewed two teachers and one administrator at the school to better understand the nuances of pre-college engineering during a pandemic year and how changes in school and district policy affected the instructional delivery of STEAM projects. Narrative analytic methods were utilized to understand each participant’s experience and an inductive content thematic …

Development Of A Slow-Degrading Polymerized Curcumin Coating For Intracortical Microelectrodes, Alexis M. Ziemba, Mary Clare Crochiere Woodson, Jessica L. Funnell, Douglas Wich, Bailey Balouch, Deniz Rende, Dahlia N. Amato, Jonathan Bao, Ingrid Oprea, Dominica Cao, Neda Bajalo, Evon S. Ereifej, Jeffrey R. Capadona, Edmund F. Palermo, Ryan J. Gilbert

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Intracortical microelectrodes are used with brain-computer interfaces to restore lost limb function following nervous system injury. While promising, recording ability of intracortical microelectrodes diminishes over time due, in part, to neuroinflammation. As curcumin has demonstrated neuroprotection through anti-inflammatory activity, we fabricated a 300 nm-thick intracortical microelectrode coating consisting of a polyurethane copolymer of curcumin and polyethylene glycol (PEG), denoted as poly (curcumin-PEG1000 carbamate) (PCPC). The uniform PCPC coating reduced silicon wafer hardness by two orders of magnitude and readily absorbed water within minutes, demonstrating that the coating is soft and hydrophilic in nature. Using an in vitro release model, curcumin …

Introduction To Bioaerosols Assessment And Control, 2nd Edition, Cheri Marcham, John (Jack) Springston

Publications

• Risk Assessment
• Assessment for the Presence of Bioaerosols
• Sampling
• Purpose/ Necessity
• Interpretation Controls
  • Ventilation
  • Other Controls

A P53-Tlr3 Axis Ameliorates Pulmonary Hypertension By Inducing Bmpr2 Via Irf3, Aneel R. Bhagwani, Mehboob Ali, Bryce Piper, Mingjun Liu, Jaylen Hudson, Neil Kelly, Srimathi Bogamuwa, Hu Yang, James D. Londino, Joseph S. Bednash, Daniela Farkas, Rama K. Mallampalli, Mark R. Nicolls, John J. Ryan

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) features pathogenic and abnormal endothelial cells (ECs), and one potential origin is clonal selection. We studied the role of p53 and toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) in clonal expansion and pulmonary hypertension (PH) via regulation of bone morphogenetic protein (BMPR2) signaling. ECs of PAH patients had reduced p53 expression. EC-specific p53 knockout exaggerated PH, and clonal expansion reduced p53 and TLR3 expression in rat lung CD117+ ECs. Reduced p53 degradation (Nutlin 3a) abolished clonal EC expansion, induced TLR3 and BMPR2, and ameliorated PH. Polyinosinic/polycytidylic acid [Poly(I:C)] increased BMPR2 signaling in ECs via enhanced binding of interferon regulatory …

Importance Of Snowmelt On Soil Nitrate Leaching To Groundwater – A Model Study, Sahila Beegum, Arindam Malakar, Chittaranjan Ray, Daniel D. Snow

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

The movement of nitrate to surface water bodies during snow accumulation and melting has been extensively studied, but there are only limited studies on the influence of snow processes on nitrate leaching to groundwater. The present study investigated the impact of snow processes on nitrate leaching to groundwater based on a simulation modeling approach using HYDRUS-1D. HYDRUS-1D model has a temperature threshold-based snow model in addition to water, solute, and heat simulation components. The snow component in HYDRUS-1D was previously not applied to snow simulation studies since the method does not consider a detailed physical and process-based representation of snow …

Enhancing Performance Of Gravity Driven Membranes For Water Purification In Small Rural Communities, Amr Ezzat Melligy Mr.

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the rapid population growth in Egypt, providing safe drinking water is becoming an ongoing challenge especially in rural scattered communities. It became more crucial than ever to find innovative and affordable solutions to purify water and reduce water-borne diseases. Ultrafiltration and micro-filtration membranes has been successful in large, centralized plants and is currently one of the popular solutions to provide high quality product water. However, using those membrane systems in rural areas is challenged by several parameters; among which are; the absence of skilled workers, stable energy sources and availability of chemicals. The goal of this thesis is …

Vr-Based Safety Training Program For High-Rise Building Construction, Sahar Badr

Theses and Dissertations

The rates of fatal and non-fatal accidents within the construction industry across the globe are surging despite the massive efforts that are being exerted toward maintaining a safe working environment. Past research has proved that the provision of effective safety training programs is a primary course of action that should be taken to minimize construction accidents, fatalities, and both fatal and nonfatal injuries.

However, in acknowledging the limitations of traditional safety training programs within the construction industry, several researchers have addressed the urge to incorporate novel training practices that are based on the modern virtual reality (VR) technology to promote …

Advancing Ionomer Design To Boost Interfacial And Thin-Film Proton Conductivity Via Styrene-Calix[4]Arene-Based Ionomers, Shyambo Chatterjee, Oghenetega Allen Obewhere, Ehsan Zamani, Rajesh Keloth, Seefat Farzin, Martha D. Morton, Anandakumar Sarella, Shudipto Konika Dishari

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Faculty Publications

Sub-micrometer-thick ion-conducting polymer (ionomer) layers often suffer from poor ionic conductivity at the substrate/catalyst interface. The weak proton conductivity makes the electrochemical reaction at the cathode of proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells sluggish. To address this, here we report on a class of polystyrene-based ionomers having sub-nanometer-sized, sulfonated macrocyclic calix[4]arene-based pendants (PS-calix). In films with thickness comparable to that of ionomer-based binder layers, the conductivity of PS-calix film (∼41 mS/cm) is ∼13 times higher than that of the current state-of-the-art ionomer, Nafion. We observe a similar improvement in proton conductivity when PS-calix interfaces with Pt nanoparticles, demonstrating the potential of PS-calix in …

Biofilm Formation Influences The Wettability And Settling Of Microplastics, Amber J. Pete, Philip J. Brahana, Mustapha Bello, Michael G. Benton, Bhuvnesh Bharti

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The fate of 99% of the plastics present in oceans is unknown. It is presumed that biofilm formation on plastics leads to their sinking to the ocean floor, thus making them undetectable at the surface. While it is established that biofilms lead to sinking of plastics, it is the mechanism by which biofilms enhance the vertical transport of plastics that remains unknown. It is commonly assumed that biofilms increase the effective mass density of the plastics, which drives their sinking. Here, we show that such an assumption is not always true, and formation of biofilms alone is an insufficient criterion …

Atomistic Simulation Studies Of Thin Film Growth And Plastic Deformation In Metals And Metal/Ceramic Nanostructures, Reza Namakian

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Despite the significant improvements in manufacturing and synthesis processes of metals and ceramics in the past decades, there are still areas in which the procedure is still frequently more of an art or skill rather than a science. Therefore, systematic and combined experimental and computational studies are required to facilitate the development of techniques that offer thorough understanding of the events taking place during manufacturing and synthesis processes. With regard to these issues, it is paramount to address microscale characterizations and atomic scale understanding of the events during fabrication processes. One of the focuses of this study is unraveling fundamental …

Deutj: An Imagej Plugin For Improved Automatic Masking And Segmentation Of Images From Confocal Microscopy, Sunny Cui

Independent Student Projects and Publications

Due to advances in microscopic imaging, there are a plethora of biological molecules that can now be tagged and subsequentially imaged from almost any cell, organism, or tissue. However, the ability of software to analyze these images remains to be a challenge. ImageJ is open source software that allows for the processing of these images, but faces challenges when dealing with images that show weak contrast between objects of interest and background. DeutJ is an ImageJ plugin that color corrects and brightness corrects gradients that inhibit segmentation in confocal microscopy images. It can analyze hundreds of images from a given …

Study Of The Graphene Energy Absorbing Layer And The Viscosity Of Sodium Alginate In Laser-Induced- Forward-Transfer (Lift) Bioprinting, Shuqi Zhou, Jianzhi Li, Ben Xu

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Laser induced forward transfer (LIFT) bioprinting has been viewed as a new and actively developed three-dimensional bioprinting technology due to its high accuracy and good cell viability. The printing quality is highly dependent on the jet formation and its stability in the LIFT bioprinting process. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of a graphene Energy Absorbing Layer (EAL) and alginate hydrogel (SA) (w.t. 1% and 2%) viscosity on jet generation in the LIFT bioprinting process. Since SA exhibits a shear-thinning behavior, it is a non-Newtonian fluid. The effect of EAL thickness and SA’s viscosity were addressed …

Graphene-Conductive Polymer-Based Electrochemical Sensor For Dopamine Detection, Dipannita Ghosh, Md Ashiqur Rahman, Ali Ashraf, Nazmul Islam

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The central nervous system's (CNS) dopaminergic system dysfunction has been linked to neurological illnesses like schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease. As a result, sensitive and selective detection of dopamine is critical for the early diagnosis of illnesses associated with aberrant dopamine levels. In this research, we have investigated the performance of electrochemical screen-printed sensors for different concentrations of dopamine detection using graphene-based conductive PEDOT: PSS(G-PEDOT: PSS) and Polyaniline(GPANI) inks on the working electrode and compared the sensitivity. SEM characterization technique has been performed to visualize the microstructures of the proposed inks. We have investigated cyclic voltammetry (CV) electrochemical techniques with ferri/ferrocyanide …

Formulation Of Encapsulated Nanoparticles Of Leek Extract As Antimicrobial And Anticancer Agent, Rawan Hassan Mohamed Elghanam

Theses and Dissertations

Leek extract (LEK) has broad therapeutic activity. However, plant extract use has many drawbacks, which could be resolved using nanocarriers. The purpose of this research work was to prepare chitosan nanoparticles (CS NPs) encapsulating LEK and investigate their antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer activity. Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy was used to determine the LEK components. The CS-LEK NPs were produced by tripolyphosphate (TPP) crosslinking with chitosan (CS) the ionic gelation methodology. The particle size was 331 nm, zeta potential (ZP) was 28.9 mv, polydispersity index (PDI) was 0.4, encapsulation efficiency (EE) was 65.6%, and loading capacity (LC) was 28.8 % of the …

2d Respiratory Sound Analysis To Detect Lung Abnormalities, Rafia Sharmin Alice, Kc Santosh

SDSU Data Science Symposium

Abstract. In this paper, we analyze deep visual features from 2D data representation(s) of the respiratory sound to detect evidence of lung abnormalities. The primary motivation behind this is that visual cues are more important in decision-making than raw data (lung sound). Early detection and prompt treatments are essential for any future possible respiratory disorders, and respiratory sound is proven to be one of the biomarkers. In contrast to state-of-the-art approaches, we aim at understanding/analyzing visual features using our Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) tailored Deep Learning Models, where we consider all possible 2D data such as Spectrogram, Mel-frequency Cepstral Coefficients …

Session 2: The Effect Of Boom Leveling On Spray Dispersion, Travis A. Burgers, Miguel Bustamante, Juan F. Vivanco

SDSU Data Science Symposium

Self-propelled sprayers are commonly used in agriculture to disperse agrichemicals. These sprayers commonly have two boom wings with dozens of nozzles that disperse the chemicals. Automatic boom height systems reduce the variability of agricultural sprayer boom height, which is important to reduce uneven spray dispersion if the boom is not at the target height.

A computational model was created to simulate the spray dispersion under the following conditions: a) one stationary nozzle based on the measured spray pattern from one nozzle, b) one stationary model due to an angled boom, c) superposition of multiple stationary nozzles due an angled boom, …

Identification Of Volatile Organic Liquids By Combining An Array Of Fiber-Optic Sensors And Machine Learning, Wassana Naku, Anand K. Nambisan, Muhammad Roman, Chen Zhu, Rex E. Gerald, Jie Huang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In This Paper, We Report an Array of Fiber-Optic Sensors based on the Fabry-Perot Interference Principle and Machine Learning-Based Analyses for Identifying Volatile Organic Liquids (VOLs). Three Optical Fiber Tip Sensors with Different Surfaces Were Included in the Array of Sensors to Improve the Accuracy for Identifying Liquids: An Intrinsic (Unmodified) Flat Cleaved Endface, a Hydrophobic-Coated Endface, and a Hydrophilic-Coated Endface. the Time-Transient Responses of Evaporating Droplets from the Optical Fiber Tip Sensors Were Monitored and Collected Following the Controlled Immersion Tests of 11 Different Organic Liquids. a Continuous Wavelet Transform Was Used to Convert the Time-Transient Response Signal into …

Active Control Of Equilibrium, Near-Equilibrium, And Far-From-Equilibrium Colloidal Systems, Mark N. Mcdonald, Qinyu Zhu, Walter F. Paxton, Cameron K. Peterson, Douglas R. Tree

Faculty Publications

The development of top-down active control over bottom-up colloidal assembly processes has the potential to produce materials, surfaces, and objects with applications in a wide range of fields spanning from computing to materials science to biomedical engineering. In this review, we summarize recent progress in the field using a taxonomy based on how active control is used to guide assembly. We find there are three distinct scenarios: (1) navigating kinetic pathways to reach a desirable equilibrium state, (2) the creation of a desirable metastable, kinetically trapped, or kinetically arrested state, and (3) the creation of a desirable far-from-equilibrium state through …

A Review Of 3d Polymeric Scaffolds For Bone Tissue Engineering: Principles, Fabrication Techniques, Immunomodulatory Roles, And Challenges, Hassan Nageh, Ahmed G. Abdelaziz, Sara M. Abdo, Mohga S. Abdalla, Asmaa A. Amer, Abdalla Abdal-Hay, Ahmed Barhoum

Nanotechnology Research Centre

Over the last few years, biopolymers have attracted great interest in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine due to the great diversity of their chemical, mechanical, and physical properties for the fabrication of 3D scaffolds. This review is devoted to recent advances in synthetic and natural polymeric 3D scaffolds for bone tissue engineering (BTE) and regenerative therapies. The review comprehensively discusses the implications of biological macromolecules, structure, and composition of polymeric scaffolds used in BTE. Various approaches to fabricating 3D BTE scaffolds are discussed, including solvent casting and particle leaching, freeze-drying, thermally induced phase separation, gas foaming, electrospinning, and sol–gel techniques. …

Virtual Screening On Indonesian Herbal Compounds As Sars-Cov-2 Spike (S2) Glycoprotein Inhibitors: Pharmacophore Modelling & Molecular Docking Approaches, Syailendra Karuna Sugito, Artha Uli Cristina, Putri Saskia Harimurti, Gabriella Regita Cendani, Fauzi Azhar Insani, Linda Erlina, Rafika Indah Paramita, Fadilah Fadilah

Indonesian Journal of Medical Chemistry and Bioinformatics

Background: There are still no specific treatments for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) until present days. Several studies have been conducted to determine whether herbal medicine can be an option to be used as a definitive medicine for COVID-19. S2 subunit of spike protein which is responsible for SARS-CoV-2 entry to the host cell, is a potential drug target to inhibit the viral infection. In this study, we aimed to find some compounds from the HerbalDB database that have potential as SARS-CoV-2 spike (S2) glycoprotein inhibitor.

Methods: The 6LXT protein was used as the target protein. The procedure in this study consisted …

Systems Thinking Activities Used In K-12 For Up To Two Decades, Diana Fisher, Systems Thinking Association

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

Infusing systems thinking activities in pre-college education (grades K-12) means updating precollege education so it includes a study of many systemic behavior patterns that are ubiquitous in the real world. Systems thinking tools include those using both paper and pencil and the computer and enhance learning in the classroom making it more student-centered, more active, and allowing students to analyze problems that have been heretofore beyond the scope of K-12 classrooms. Students in primary school have used behavior over time graphs to demonstrate dynamics described in story books, like the Lorax, and created stock-flow diagrams to describe what was needed …

Supporting Compliance Of Occupational Safety And Health Requirements - European Labour Inspection Systems Of Sanctions And Standardised Measures, Victor Hrymak

Articles

European legislation for occupational safety and health (OSH) is based on the prevention of accidents and ill health. Apart from European directives, all Member States have national laws and strategies and expect enterprises to implement this preventative ethos, and thereby ensure adequate performance in OSH. Labour Inspectorates monitor and if necessary enforce these laws by deploying individual Labour Inspectors to chosen enterprises. If workplace safety and health conditions are found to be substandard, Labour Inspectors are expected to improve the situation using persuasion and, if necessary, their authority to compel enterprises through specific sanction powers. Bruhn (2009) describes this interaction …

Bioaugmentation With Tetrasphaera To Improve Biological Phosphorus Removal From Anaerobic Digestate Of Swine Wastewater, Jiaxin Wang, Chiqian Zhang, Ping Li, Hui Xu, Weiqu Wang, Weizhao Yin, Jinhua Wu, Zhiqiang Hu

Faculty Publications

Tetrasphaera-enhanced biological phosphorus removal (T-EBPR) was developed by augmenting conventional EBPR (C-EBPR) with Tetrasphaera to improve phosphorus removal from anaerobic digestate of swine wastewater. At influent total phosphorus (TP) concentrations of 45 to 55 mg/L, T-EBPR achieved effluent TP concentration of 4.17 ± 1.02 mg/L, 54% lower than that in C-EBPR (8.98 ± 0.76 mg/L). The enhanced phosphorous removal was presumably due to the synergistic effect of Candidatus Accumulibacter and Tetrasphaera occupying different ecological niches. Bioaugmentation with Tetrasphaera promoted the polyphosphate accumulation metabolism depending more on the glycolysis pathway, as evidenced by an increase in intracellular storage compounds of glycogen …

Riverine Commons And Institute Framework Plan, Community Design Center

Community Design Center Project Reports

The nonprofit Watershed Conservation Resource Center is restoring a 98-acre riparian wetland landscape near downtown Fayetteville as a River Commons and Institute. The Framework Plan combines watershed restoration with architecture and urban design to house a river education center, a visitor interpretive center, walking trails, passive recreation facilities including bird watching and canoeing, and outdoor heritage exhibitions. The Plan operates at the intersection of anthropology, ecology, and design in developing a lasting and robust riverine knowledge fund across space and time.