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Bioaccumulation Of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Compounds And Mercury In A Mining Impacted Aquatic Ecosystem, Michelle Bollini

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Keweenaw area continues to be influenced by the century of copper mining that ended nearly 50 years ago. This project is focused on Torch Lake, an aquatic ecosystem that has been heavily impacted by mining waste disposal. The watershed has been impaired by mine discharge and tailings, smelter and smokestack plumes, and poor waste disposal practices. The lake is listed as a Great Lakes Area of Concern with beneficial use impairments of restrictions on fish consumption and a degraded benthic community. Polychlorinated biphenyl compounds (PCBs) and methylmercury (MeHg) are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic substances (PBTs). These contaminants pose threats …

Microscopic And Laboratory Scale Characterization Methods To Evaluate Biomass Deconstruction, Meenaa Chandrasekar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Renewable fuels from lignocellulosic biomass are an appealing option because they can seamlessly integrate into the existing fuel distribution infrastructure. Lignocellulosic biomass constitutes nonedible plant material obtained from plant cell walls. The natural recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass poses a challenge in accessing the cell wall carbohydrates during biochemical conversion. Despite various approaches, enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass remains economically impractical due to incomplete knowledge about biomass recalcitrance and the influence of environmental factors on biomass quality.

The first goal of this dissertation was to construct a microfluidic imaging reactor to better understand the tissue-specific deconstruction of plant materials. Confocal laser …

Chemical Decomposition Of Flexible Polyurethane Foam To Generate A Media For Microbial Upcycling, Kaushik Baruah

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Polyurethane waste is becoming a global concern as a large amount is being disposed of in landfills every year, and only a fraction is being recycled. Several polyurethane recycling techniques exist, of which ammonolysis and base-catalyzed hydrolysis is the least explored. Flexible polyurethane foam (FPUF) decomposition can generate amines that can act as a carbon source for the growth of microbial consortia. This study aims to generate a novel media capable of microbial upcycling via ammonolysis and base-catalyzed hydrolysis of flexible polyurethane foams (FPUFs) using ammonium hydroxide and subsequently determine the reaction conditions for maximum solubilization of polyurethane foam in …

Virus Inactivation By Novel Virucidal Materials, Sneha Singh

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The development of virucidal coatings to inactivate a broad spectrum of viruses has gained popularity. Antiviral coating of personal protective equipment such as facial coverings can reduce the accumulation of viral load and mitigate transmission of airborne illnesses, which occur primarily through direct contact with respiratory aerosols or droplets carrying infectious viruses. Moreover, modification of PPE to inactivate viruses upon contact improves their reusability and reduces waste. Coating high frequency touch surfaces with similar virucidal coatings can reduce the risk of disease transmission associated with contaminated surfaces. This study explores the development of three novel virucidal materials to control the …

Eutrophication On Twin Lakes: Applying A Phosphorus Budget And Shoreline Surveys To Assess Current & Historical Lake Health, Tyler K. Lemahieu

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Twin Lakes system, a series of lakes including Lake Gerald and Lake Roland, was historically categorized as oligotrophic but is now mesotrophic having experienced cultural eutrophication. A mass balance phosphorus budget model was constructed for the Twin Lakes system in Houghton, Co. Michigan for the 2022 stratified season. Additional spatial insights were gleaned through a survey of shoreline water quality, which corroborated the model results. The lakes currently experience substantial depletion of hypolimnetic dissolved oxygen during late summer stratification. A budget reveals approximately 22% (6.6 kg) of the current 29.5 kg total phosphorus inputs to Twin Lakes (during the …

Advanced Tools For Time-Resolved Imaging Of Tissue Metabolism, Arthur Petusseau

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Medical imaging is a crucial tool in diagnosing and treating diseases, and by far the most common set of tools used for point-of-care guidance between a physician and patient are optical devices. For example, visible light imaging has unique applications in endoscopy, dermatology, microscopy, and this range of devices utilize a wide range of optical signals for sensing the tissue. Fluorescence imaging has become a niche but growing methodology in medical diagnostics and treatment because of its simplicity and the ability to integrate reporter molecules, that can reveal detailed information about cellular structures, metabolism, signaling, and other biomolecular features of …

Reinforcement Learning For Stock Option Trading, James Garza

ICT

Reinforcement learning has recently seen an increase in popularity due to its ability to learn from past experience and its capability of adapting quickly and effectively to new market conditions. This research will focus on reinforcement learning and its importance in trading stock options. Option traders can trade options with one of two option expirations: American or European style. This research will base the analysis on the American expiration style, considered more challenging in trading than the European expiration style. This could lead to the possibility of improving the current trading techniques. In addition, this research aims to understand the …

Life Cycle Assessment Of Air Classification As A Sulfur Mitigation Technology In Pine Residue Feedstocks, Ashlee Edmonson

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Sulfur accumulation during biofuel production is pollutive, toxic to conversion catalysts, and causes the premature breakdown of processing equipment. Air classification is an effective preprocessing technology for ash and sulfur removal from biomass feedstocks. A life cycle assessment (LCA) sought to understand the environmental impacts of implementing air classification as a sulfur-mitigation technique for pine residues. Energy demand and material balance for preprocessing were simulated using SimaPro and the Argonne National Laboratory’s GREET model, specifically focusing on comparing the global warming potential (GWP) of grid electricity versus bioelectricity scenarios. Overall, the grid electricity scenario had a GWP impact over 7 …

Multi-Agent Learning For Game-Theoretical Problems, Kshitija Taywade

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

Multi-agent systems are prevalent in the real world in various domains. In many multi-agent systems, interaction among agents is inevitable, and cooperation in some form is needed among agents to deal with the task at hand. We model the type of multi-agent systems where autonomous agents inhabit an environment with no global control or global knowledge, decentralized in the true sense. In particular, we consider game-theoretical problems such as the hedonic coalition formation games, matching problems, and Cournot games. We propose novel decentralized learning and multi-agent reinforcement learning approaches to train agents in learning behaviors and adapting to the environments. …

Deep Learning-Based Intrusion Detection Methods For Computer Networks And Privacy-Preserving Authentication Method For Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks, Ayesha Dina

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

The incidence of computer network intrusions has significantly increased over the last decade, partially attributed to a thriving underground cyber-crime economy and the widespread availability of advanced tools for launching such attacks. To counter these attacks, researchers in both academia and industry have turned to machine learning (ML) techniques to develop Intrusion Detection Systems (IDSes) for computer networks. However, many of the datasets use to train ML classifiers for detecting intrusions are not balanced, with some classes having fewer samples than others. This can result in ML classifiers producing suboptimal results. In this dissertation, we address this issue and present …

Portable Hepa Filtration Successfully Augments Natural-Ventilation-Mediated Airborne Particle Clearance In A Legacy Design Hospital Ward, Mehael Fennelly, S. Hellebust, J. Wenger, D. O'Connor, G.W. Griffith, B.J. Plant, A.P.C. Microbiome Institute

Articles

As the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 pandemic has proceeded, ventilation has been recognized increasingly as an important tool in infection control. Many hospitals in Ireland and the UK do not have mechanical ventilation and depend on natural ventilation. The effectiveness of natural ventilation varies with atmospheric conditions and building design. In a challenge test of a legacy design ward, this study showed that portable air filtration significantly increased the clearance of pollutant aerosols of respirable size compared with natural ventilation, and reduced spatial variation in particle persistence. A combination of natural ventilation and portable air filtration is significantly more …

Activity 3: Rooting For You, Karen Ye

Theme 4: Please Pass the Salt

Snow and ice removal are needed in winter for safe roads. Salt is very effective along with other chemicals, but these may cause harm to plants, wildlife, and humans. Salt seeps into groundwater and may create problems with water resources. High levels of salt affects the amount of oxygen in water, organism growth, reproduction, and food sources. Whether the chemicals cause harm to an organism depends on the amount of chemicals and how long the organism is exposed to them. Salt can also reduce soil minerals and absorb water that plants need. Other impacts on plants include leaf damage, stunted …

Activity 1: Cooler Than Me, Karen Ye

Theme 4: Please Pass the Salt

All matter is made up of atoms and molecules. Even though we can’t see them with our bare eyes, these tiny particles are constantly moving. The temperature of a substance is a measure of its average kinetic energy (the energy it has due to the motion of the particles). As the temperature increases, particles gain more energy, move more quickly and spread further apart.

No matter where one lives in Illinois, you are impacted by winter weather. Deicing and snow removal account for a large portion of state and local highway budgets. Salt is commonly used for melting snow and …

Activity 4: Green Winterization, Karen Ye

Theme 4: Please Pass the Salt

Materials other than salt are also used to mitigate the dangers of ice and increase traction. Additional materials used include sand, calcium chloride, and a mixture of salt brine and beet juice. The use of each method involves trade-offs.

Analytical Fundamentals For Advancing Aero-Road/Terrain Multibody Morphing Dynamics And Stability Of Autonomous Utility Truck In Hazardous Environments, Parth Y. Patel

All ETDs from UAB

Severe weather conditions have steadily increased over the last two decades. Therefore, the safety of the rescue and repair team is of paramount importance while they attend to emergencies due to these severe weather conditions. Utility trucks are the first responders in these extreme climate and weather situations for cutting trees to restore traffic, recovering life beings from destroyed properties, repairing electric posts, and restoring power. Such trucks with morphing capabilities of the boom equipment can increase the possibility of road accidents in several ways and create hazardous situations on the roads and off-road conditions while moving and performing critical …

Explaining Deep Q-Learning Experience Replay With Shapley Additive Explanations, Robert S. Sullivan

Dissertations

Reinforcement Learning (RL) has shown promise in optimizing complex control and decision-making processes but Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) lacks interpretability, limiting its adoption in regulated sectors like manufacturing, finance, and healthcare. Difficulties arise from DRL’s opaque decision-making, hindering efficiency and resource use, this issue is amplified with every advancement. While many seek to move from Experience Replay to A3C, the latter demands more resources. Despite efforts to improve Experience Replay selection strategies, there is a tendency to keep capacity high. This dissertation investigates training a Deep Convolutional Q-learning agent across 20 Atari games, in solving a control task, physics task, …

Modelling And Mitigating Interlocutor Confusion In Situated Human-Avatar And Human-Robot Interaction, Na Li

Dissertations

Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) is an important but challenging field focused on improving the interaction between humans and robots, to make the interaction more intelligent and effective. However, building a natural conversational HRI is an interdisciplinary challenge for scholars, engineers, and designers. Achieving successful conversational interaction with a social robot necessitates not only observing a user’s active participation in the interaction but also being aware of their emotional and attitudinal states as the interaction progresses. On the topic of attitudinal states, one field that has received little attention to date is monitoring the user for possible confusion states. Confusion is a …

Electron Beam Treatment For The Removal Of 1,4-Dioxane In Water And Wastewater, Robert Pearce, Xi Li, John Vennekate, Gianluigi Ciovati, Charles Bott

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Electron beam (e-beam) treatment uses accelerated electrons to form oxidizing and reducing radicals when applied to water without the use of external chemicals. In this study, electron beam treatment was used to degrade 1,4-dioxane in several water matrices. Removal improved in the progressively cleaner water matrices and removals as high as 94% to 99% were observed at a dose of 2.3 kGy in secondary effluent. 1,4-dioxane removal was confirmed to be primarily through hydroxyl radical oxidation. The calculated electrical energy per order was found to be 0.53, 0.26, and 0.08 kWh/m³/order for secondary effluent (Avg. total organic carbon …

Transfer Learning Using Infrared And Optical Full Motion Video Data For Gender Classification, Alexander M. Glandon, Joe Zalameda, Khan M. Iftekharuddin, Gabor F. Fulop (Ed.), David Z. Ting (Ed.), Lucy L. Zheng (Ed.)

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This work is a review and extension of our ongoing research in human recognition analysis using multimodality motion sensor data. We review our work on hand crafted feature engineering for motion capture skeleton (MoCap) data, from the Air Force Research Lab for human gender followed by depth scan based skeleton extraction using LIDAR data from the Army Night Vision Lab for person identification. We then build on these works to demonstrate a transfer learning sensor fusion approach for using the larger MoCap and smaller LIDAR data for gender classification.

Long-Range Aceo Phenomena In Microfluidic Channel, Diganta Dutta, Keifer Smith, Xavier Palmer

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Microfluidic devices are increasingly utilized in numerous industries, including that of medicine, for their abilities to pump and mix fluid at a microscale. Within these devices, microchannels paired with microelectrodes enable the mixing and transportation of ionized fluid. The ionization process charges the microchannel and manipulates the fluid with an electric field. Although complex in operation at the microscale, microchannels within microfluidic devices are easy to produce and economical. This paper uses simulations to convey helpful insights into the analysis of electrokinetic microfluidic device phenomena. The simulations in this paper use the Navier–Stokes and Poisson Nernst–Planck equations solved using COMSOL …

Technology Adoption Of Computer-Aided Instruction In Healthcare: A Structured Review, Queenie Kate Cabanilla, Frevy Teofilo-Orencia, Rentor Cafino, Armando T. Isla Jr., Jehan Grace Maglaya, Xavier-Lewis Palmer, Lucas Potter, Dave E. Marcial, Lemuel Clark Velasco

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Computer-Aided Instruction (CAI) is one of the interactive teaching methods that electronically presents instructional resources and enhances learner performance. In health settings, using CAI is one of the important ways to improve learners' knowledge and usefulness in their healthcare specialization yet there is still a lack of research that offers a comprehensive synthesis of investigating into the adoption of CAI in healthcare. This research aims to provide a comprehensive review of related literatures on the enablers and barriers for technology adoption of CAI in healthcare. 31 journals were analyzed and revealed that several studies were utilizing the Unified Theory of …

Commentary On Healthcare And Disruptive Innovation, Hilary Finch, Affia Abasi-Amefon, Woosub Jung, Lucas Potter, Xavier-Lewis Palmer

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Exploits of technology have been an issue in healthcare for many years. Many hospital systems have a problem with “disruptive innovation” when introducing new technology. Disruptive innovation is “an innovation that creates a new market by applying a different set of values, which ultimately overtakes an existing market” (Sensmeier, 2012). Modern healthcare systems are historically slow to accept new technological advancements. This may be because patient-based, provider-based, or industry-wide decisions are tough to implement, giving way to dire consequences. One potential consequence is that healthcare providers may not be able to provide the best possible care to patients. For example, …

Social-Engineering, Bio-Economies, And Nation-State Ontological Security: A Commentary, Brandon Griffin, Keitavius Alexander, Xavier-Lewis Palmer, Lucas Potter

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Biocybersecurity is an evolving discipline that aims to identify the gaps and risks associated with the convergence of Biology (the science of life and living organisms) and cybersecurity (the science, study, and theory of cyberspace and cybernetics) to protect the bioeconomy. The biological industries’ increased reliance on digitization, automation, and computing power has resulted in benefits for the scientific community, it has simultaneously multiplied the risk factors associated with industrial espionage and the protection of data both commercial and proprietary. The sensitive and potentially destructive power of this data and its access inherently poses a risk to the national and …

Implications Of Cyberbiosecurity In Advanced Agriculture, Simone Stephen, Keitavius Alexander, Lucas Potter, Xavier-Lewis Palmer

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The world is currently undergoing a rapid digital transformation sometimes referred to as the fourth industrial revolution. During this transformation, it is increasingly clear that many scientific fields are not prepared for this change. One specific area is agriculture. As the sector which creates global food supply, this critical infrastructure requires detailed assessment and research via newly developed technologies (Millett et al, 2019; Peccoud et al, 2018) . Despite its fundamental significance to modern civilization, many aspects of industrial agriculture have not yet adapted to the digital world. This is evident in the many vulnerabilities currently present within agricultural systems, …

A Reflection Of Typology And Verification Flaws In Consideration Of Biocybersecurity/Cyberbiosecurity: Just Another Gap In The Wall, Luke Potter, Kim Mossberg, Xavier Palmer

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Verification is central to any process in a functional and enduring cyber-secure organization. This verification is how the validity or accuracy of a state of being is assessed (Schlick, 1936; Balci, 1998). Conversely, breakdown in verification procedures is core to the interruption of normal operations for an organization. A key problem for organizations that utilize biology as an interlock within their systems is that personnel lack sufficient ability to verify all practically relevant biological information for procedures such as a nurse logging a blood draw, or a molecular biology technician preparing agar to culture microbes for study. This has several …

An Investigation Of The Effect Of Cyclic Loading Of Bone On Osteocyte Processes Spanning Micro-Cracks As A Driver Of Targeted Remodelling Of Bone, Morgana Pires Afonso Shirsath

Doctoral

Bone remodelling is essential to maintain and improve the quality of bones. This occurs with the action of specialised cells - osteoclasts and osteoblasts - which replace the old bone tissue with new in regions where damage has occurred. Osteocytes are responsible for signalling the presence of damage and trigger the bone remodelling response. According to the Scissors Model, the presence of micro-cracks causes rupture of the osteocyte processes by fatigue because of the repeated stretching resulting from the relative movement of micro-crack faces, when bone is subjected to cyclic loads.

Machine Learning Predictions Of Electricity Capacity, Marcus Harris, Elizabeth Kirby, Ameeta Agrawal, Rhitabrat Pokharel, Francis Puyleart, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

This research applies machine learning methods to build predictive models of Net Load Imbalance for the Resource Sufficiency Flexible Ramping Requirement in the Western Energy Imbalance Market. Several methods are used in this research, including Reconstructability Analysis, developed in the systems community, and more well-known methods such as Bayesian Networks, Support Vector Regression, and Neural Networks. The aims of the research are to identify predictive variables and obtain a new stand-alone model that improves prediction accuracy and reduces the INC (ability to increase generation) and DEC (ability to decrease generation) Resource Sufficiency Requirements for Western Energy Imbalance Market participants. This …

Chronic Anemia Revealing An Idiopathic Watermelon Stomach: Case Report, Hanane Delsa, Imane Rahmouni, Yassamin Benhayoun Sadafyine, Fatima Belabbes, Anass Nadi, Fedoua Rouibaa

Health Sciences

Watermelon stomach, also known as gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE) syndrome, is a rare entity. Patients often present with profound unexplained anemia with or without bleeding externalization. We made the diagnosis during a digestive endoscopy for an etiological assessment of this anemia. Endoscopically, antral erythematous lesions in stripes with a punctate appearance, sometimes hemorrhagic, may suggest a watermelon stomach. The pathophysiology of the watermelon stomach remains complex and unclear. Although several pathologies remain implicated, sometimes, it can be idiopathic. The effectiveness of numerous treatments has been evaluated with relatively satisfactory results. This is a rare case of an idiopathic watermelon …

New Host Records Of Apicomplexan Blood Parasites (Haemogregarinidae And Hepatozoidae) Infecting Two Reptiles (Testudines; Ophidia) From Arkansas, C.T. Mcallister, H.W. Robison

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Relatively few records of apicomplexan blood parasites from reptiles in Arkansas have been published although the effects of these parasites on reptilian health may be of concern. Using photomicrographs we describe the morphotypes of parasite gamonts found in blood samples from the Midland smooth softshell turtle, Apalone mutica mutica, and a western Milksnake Lampropeltis gentilis from Arkansas. The turtle possessed four distinct morphological gamont forms of a Haemogregarina sp. The snake possessed two morphological forms of gamonts of a Hepatozoon sp. Both infections are new host records and the western milksnake has not been described as a host elsewhere for …

Hemoparasites (Apicomplexa: Hepatozoon; Kinetoplastida: Trypanosoma) Of Two Anurans (Hylidae; Ranidae), From Polk County, Arkansas, C.T. Mcallister, H.W. Robison

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Arkansas supports 26 species/subspecies of anurans and only one (4%), the green frog, Rana clamitans, has been previously reported with hemoparasites. Here, we collected blood samples from three species of anurans, five American green treefrogs, Dryophytes cinereus, five American bullfrogs, Rana catesbeianus, two southern leopard frogs, Rana sphenocephalus utricularius, and two Fowler’s toads, Anaxyrus fowleri from Polk County and examined each for hemoparasites. American green treefrogs and American bullfrogs harbored hemoparasites, including two (40%) D. cinereus and four (80%) R. catesbeianus with trypanosomes, and one (20%) R. catesbeiana with a Hepatozoon sp. This is the first time these two anurans …