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Comparison Of Phosphorus Removal And Recovery Methods And Proposed Design Of High Rate Algal Pond For Swine Wastewater, Taylor Fauth

Civil and Environmental Engineering Graduate Students Plan B Capstone Projects

High phosphorus concentrations in wastewater effluent can have harmful effects to aquatic environments and water quality. An excess of nutrients such as phosphorus in water bodies will cause eutrophication, which depletes the available oxygen within the water and is detrimental to aquatic life. Additionally, phosphorus leaching from wastewater discharge has negative impacts to groundwater quality. The depletion of phosphorus as a natural resource is also of concern as phosphorus is an essential product for agricultural and industrial production. Phosphorus is a non-renewable resource, and natural sources are becoming more difficult and expensive to access. Therefore, the removal and recycle of …

Cold Plasma Technology In Food Packaging, Kalpani Perera, Jack Prendeville, Amit Jaiswal, Swarna Jaiswal

Articles

Cold plasma (CP) is an effective strategy to alter the limitations of biopolymer materials for food packaging applications. Biopolymers such as polysaccharides and proteins are known to be sustainable materials with excellent film-forming properties. Bio-based films can be used as an alternative to traditional plastic packaging. There are limitations to biopolymer packaging materials such as hydrophobicity, poor barrier, and thermos-mechanical properties. For this reason, biopolymers must be modified to create a packaging material with the desired applicability. CP is an effective method to enhance the functionality and interfacial features of biopolymers. It etches the film surface allowing for better adhesion …

Exploring The Concept Of The Digital Educator During Covid-19, Fernando Jimenez, Gracia Sanchez, Jose Palma, Luis Miralles-Pechuán, Juan A. Botia

Articles

T In many machine learning classification problems, datasets are usually of high dimensionality and therefore require efficient and effective methods for identifying the relative importance of their attributes, eliminating the redundant and irrelevant ones. Due to the huge size of the search space of the possible solutions, the attribute subset evaluation feature selection methods are not very suitable, so in these scenarios feature ranking methods are used. Most of the feature ranking methods described in the literature are univariate methods, which do not detect interactions between factors. In this paper, we propose two new multivariate feature ranking methods based on …

Comparison Of Vibrational Spectroscopic Techniques For Quantification Of Water In Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents, Suha Elderderi, Pierre-Yves Sacré, Laura Wils, Igor Chourpa, Abdalla A. Elbashir, Philippe Hubert, Hugh Byrne, Leslie Boudesocque-Delaye, Eric Ziemons, Franck Bonnier Franck Bonnier

Articles

Vibrational spectroscopic techniques, i.e., attenuated total reflectance infrared (ATRIR), near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and Raman spectroscopy (RS), coupled with Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR), were evaluated as cost-effective label-free and reagent-free tools to monitor water content in Levulinic Acid/L-Proline (LALP) (2:1, mol/mol) Natural Deep Eutectic Solvent (NADES). ATR-IR delivered the best outcome of Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) of Cross- Validation (CV) = 0.27% added water concentration, RMSE of Prediction (P) = 0.27% added water concentration and mean % relative error = 2.59%. Two NIRS instruments (benchtop and handheld) were also compared during the study, respectively yielding RMSECV = 0.35% …

Evaluation Of Cell-Matrix Interactions In K14+ Leader Cells On Caf-Modulated Matrix, Trey P. Redman, Jessanne Y. Lichtenberg, Priscilla Y. Hwang

Summer REU Program

No abstract provided.

Reverse Engineering Spinal Motoneuron Properties In Slice And Whole-Cord Preparations Using Computational Modeling, Mohamed H. Mousa

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Since Hodgkin and Huxley’s discoveries in the 1950s, mathematical modeling became an indispensable tool in neuroscience. The evolution of computer systems paved the way for computational models to improve our understanding of the nervous system. The long-term goals of this research are to develop tools for examining, understanding, and analyzing experimental data from spinal motoneurons (MNs), which are implicated in many motor disorders. Specifically, I developed high-fidelity, anatomically-detailed computational models that could be used to 1) study the cellular mechanisms underlying the non-linear MNs firing behaviors, 2) analyze the multifactorial process of MNs excitability regulation, and how it is affected …

Development Of Gene Regulatory Elements For Biosensing Applications, Mallory N. Bates

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

21% of U.S adults experienced mental illnesses in 2020. Nearly 1 in 4 active- duty military personnel showed signs of mental health conditions in 2014 [89]. Mental health can be identified in the body by different biomarkers. These biomarkers potentially could be controlled by riboswitches, which could help mental illnesses and regulate diseases. Riboswitches are desirable in these cases due to responding without affecting vital functions. Riboswitches are located in mRNA and switch “ON” or “OFF” depending on the concentration of a biomarker [13]. In this research, riboswitches were re-engineered to take a known riboswitch and control its response in …

Design, Analysis, And Application Of Flipped Product Chaotic System, Md Sakib Hasan, Partha Sarathi Paul, Anurag Dhungel, Maisha Sadia, Md Razuan Hossain

Faculty and Student Publications

In this paper, a novel method is proposed to build an improved 1-D discrete chaotic map called flipped product chaotic system (FPCS) by multiplying the output of one map with the output of a vertically flipped second map. Two variants, each with nine combinations, are shown with trade-off between computational cost and performance. The chaotic properties are explored using the bifurcation diagram, Lyapunov exponent, Kolmogorov entropy, and correlation coefficient. The proposed schemes offer a wider chaotic range and improved chaotic performance compared to the constituent maps and several prior works of similar nature. Wide chaotic window and improved chaotic complexity …

Cascading Cmos-Based Chaotic Maps For Improved Performance And Its Application In Efficient Rng Design, Partha Sarathi Paul, Maisha Sadia, Md Razuan Hossain, Barry Muldrey, Md Sakib Hasan

Faculty and Student Publications

We present a general framework for improving the chaotic properties of CMOS-based chaotic maps by cascading multiple maps in series. Along with two novel chaotic map topologies, we present the 45 $nm$ designs for four CMOS-based discrete-time chaotic map topologies. With the help of the bifurcation plot and three established entropy measures, namely, Lyapunov exponent, Kolmogorov entropy, and correlation coefficient, we present an extensive chaotic performance analysis on eight unique map circuits (two under each topology) to show that under certain constraints, the cascading scheme can significantly elevate the chaotic performance. The improved chaotic entropy benefits many security applications and …

Recent Advances In Luminescence And Lasing Research In Zbya Glass, Changjun Xu, Jiquan Zhang, Mo Liu, Haiyan Zhao, Fengzi Ling, Shijie Jia, Gerald Farrell, Shunbin Wang, Pengfei Wang

Articles

In the last few decades, fluoride glasses have attracted a growing interest due to their unique advantages compared to multi-component oxide glasses. Among them, the most studied and widely used were fluorozirconate glasses, represented by ZrF4–BaF2–LaF3–AlF3–NaF (ZBLAN) glasses. However, compared with ZBLAN glasses, a kind of fluorozirconate glass with the components ZrF4–BaF2–YF3–AlF3 (ZBYA) has higher thermal and chemical stability. In this paper, we first introduce the advantages of ZBYA glasses compared to ZBLAN glasses. Then we review and discuss recent advances in research on luminescence and lasing in ZBYA glass and fiber. These studies suggest that ZBYA glass has strong …

Hybridization Of Biologically Inspired Algorithms For Discrete Optimisation Problems, Elihu Essian-Thompson

Dissertations

In the field of Optimization Algorithms, despite the popularity of hybrid designs, not enough consideration has been given to hybridization strategies. This paper aims to raise awareness of the benefits that such a study can bring. It does this by conducting a systematic review of popular algorithms used for optimization, within the context of Combinatorial Optimization Problems. Then, a comparative analysis is performed between Hybrid and Base versions of the algorithms to demonstrate an increase in optimization performance when hybridization is employed.

Encapsulation Of Essential Oils In Nanocarriers For Active Food Packaging, Shubham Sharma, Lilly Mulrey, Megan Byrne, Amit Jaiswal, Swarma Jaiswal

Articles

Active packaging improves a packaging system’s effectiveness by actively integrating additional components into the packaging material or the headspace around the packaging. Consumer demand and awareness have grown enough to replace chemical agents with natural active agents. Essential oils (EOs) are extensively distributed throughout nature but at low levels and sometimes with poor recovery yields, which poses an issue with their application in food. Due to the instability of EOs when added directly into a food product, they require encapsulation before being added to a packaging matrix such as liposomes, solid-lipid nanoparticles, nano-emulsions, cyclodextrins, and nanostructured lipid nano-carriers. This article …

Vision And Radar Steering Reduces Agricultural Sprayer Operator Stress Without Compromising Steering Performance, Travis A. Burgers, Kelly J. Vanderwerff

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Self-propelled agricultural sprayer operators work an average of 15 h d^-1 in peak season, and steering is the task that causes the operator the most stress because of the large number of stimuli involved. Automatic guidance systems help reduce stress and fatigue for operators by allowing them to focus on tasks other than steering. Physiological signals like skin conductance (electrodermal activity, EDA) change with stress and can be used to identify stressful events. The objective of this study was to determine if using a commercially available vision and radar guidance system (VSN®, Raven Industries) reduces agricultural sprayer operators’ stress …

Improving Quantification Of Mitral Regurgitation Through Computational Fluid Dynamics And Ex Vivo Testing, Alexandra Flowers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mitral regurgitation (MR) is a prominent cardiac disease affecting more than two million people in the United States alone. In order for patients to receive proper therapy, regurgitant volume must first be quantified. As there are an array of methods to do so, the proximal isovelocity surface area (PISA) method continues to be the most accurate and clinically used method. However, there are some difficulties obtaining the necessary measurements need for this when performing transthoracic echocardiography. This study aims to evaluate and present techniques that may be used to more accurately quantify regurgitation through ex vivo testing and computational fluid …

Classification Of Electropherograms Using Machine Learning For Parkinson’S Disease, Soroush Dehghan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative movement disorder that progresses gradually over time. The onset of symptoms in people who are suffering from PD can vary from case to case, and it depends on the progression of the disease in each patient. The PD symptoms gradually develop and exacerbate the patient’s movements throughout time. An early diagnosis of PD could improve the outcomes of treatments and could potentially delay the progression of this disorder and that makes discovering a new diagnostic method valuable. In this study, I investigate the feasibility of using a machine learning (ML) approach to classify PD …

Structural And Hemodynamic Analysis Of Transcatheter Aortic Valves, Dong Qiu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure has become a well-established procedure for high, intermediate-risk, and low-risk patients. However, there is limited clinical data on the TAV's long-term durability, unlike SAV devices. Computational simulations can be an alternative way to evaluate the TAV devices. This dissertation aims to conduct structural and hemodynamic analyses on the TAV devices under different conditions using computational simulation approaches.

Initially, the impact of the bicuspid aortic valve on the TAV devices was evaluated. The result indicated that the CoreValve-like supra-annular self-expandable device was likely to have increased stress and strain on the leaflet when it …

Pulmonary Valve Replacement, Mina Shafiei

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Currently, transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement (TPVR) is a well-established alternative for surgical pulmonary valve replacement (SPVR) to treat pulmonary valve disorders in patients with prior congenital heart surgery. Edwards Sapien 3 valve is a bioprosthesis originally designed for the aortic position but has been used off-label in native right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT). It is currently under clinical trial to get food and drug administration (FDA) approval.

This study is a comparison of the performance of Sapien 3 with surgical bioprosthetics. The in vitro tests result showed Sapien 3 experiences less degree of opening and effective orifice area in pulmonic …

Ferrihydrite Enrichment In The Rhizosphere Of Unsaturated Soil Improves Nutrient Retention While Limiting Arsenic And Uranium Plant Uptake, Arindam Malakar, Daniel D. Snow, Michael Kaiser, Jordan Shields, Bijesh Maharjan, Harkamal Walia, Daran Rudnick, Chittaranjan Ray

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Improvement of nutrient use efficiency and limiting trace elements such as arsenic and uranium bioavailability is critical for sustainable agriculture and food safety. Arsenic and uranium possess different properties and mobility in soils, which complicates the effort to reduce their uptake by plants. Here, we postulate that unsaturated soil amended with ferrihydrite nanominerals leads to improved nutrient retention and helps reduce uptake of these geogenic contaminants. Unsaturated soil is primarily oxic and can provide a stable environment for ferrihydrite nanominerals. To demonstrate the utility of ferrihydrite soil amendment, maize was grown in an unsaturated agricultural soil that is known to …

Fbxl16 Promotes Breast Cancer Cell Growth And Diminishes Fulvestrant Responsiveness By Stabilizing Erα Protein, Krushangi Nirav Shah

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Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women. Approximately 75% of breast cancers are estrogen receptor alpha positive (ER+) and are treatable with endocrine therapies and/or CDK inhibitors. However, endocrine therapy (ET) resistance and metastasis are major obstacles in advanced ERα+ breast cancer (ER+ BCa) therapeutics. Upregulated oncogenic ERα activity plays critical role in progression of ER+ BCa. One essential mechanism of regulating ERα signaling is the ubiquitination-dependent proteasomal degradation of ERα. Owing to its direct effect on ERα degradation, fulvestrant is a first-line FDA-approved ET for metastatic and locally advanced breast cancer and a second-line drug for treatment …

Computer Enabled Interventions To Communication And Behavioral Problems In Collaborative Work Environments, Ashutosh Shivakumar

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Task success in co-located and distributed collaborative work settings is characterized by clear and efficient communication between participating members. Communication issues like 1) Unwanted interruptions and 2) Delayed feedback in collaborative work based distributed scenarios have the potential to impede task coordination and significantly decrease the probability of accomplishing task objective. Research shows that 1) Interrupting tasks at random moments can cause users to take up to 30% longer to resume tasks, commit up to twice the errors, and experience up to twice the negative effect than when interrupted at boundaries 2) Skill retention in collaborative learning tasks improves with …

Transferring Studies Across Embodiments: A Case Study In Confusion Detection, Na Li, Robert J. Ross

Articles

Human-robot studies are expensive to conduct and difficult to control, and as such researchers sometimes turn to human-avatar interaction in the hope of faster and cheaper data collection that can be transferred to the robot domain. In terms of our work, we are particularly interested in the challenge of detecting and modelling user confusion in interaction, and as part of this research programme, we conducted situated dialogue studies to investigate users' reactions in confusing scenarios that we give in both physical and virtual environments. In this paper, we present a combined review of these studies and the results that we …

Advancing Competency In Managing Risk And Knowledge: Steps Toward Operationalisation Of The Risk-Knowledge Infinity Cycle (Rki Cycle) Part 3: Uncovering Knowledge For Qrm Through Knowledge Mapping At Node 1, Martin Lipa, Valerie Mulholland, Anne Greene

Articles

To date, literature on the Risk-Knowledge Infinity Cycle (RKI Cycle) has mainly been theoretical. This paper series intent is to focus on the operationalisation of the RKI Cycle by describing a series of steps – the “How to” – for RKI Cycle deployment, to help move the RKI Cycle from theory to practice. The third paper in this series focuses on ensuring the best available knowledge flows into QRM through a case study demonstrating knowledge mapping to support effective quality risk assessment during commissioning and qualification activities.

Clarity, Organization, Precision, Economy: A Technical Writing Guide For Engineers, David J. Adams, University Of New Haven

Civil Engineering Faculty Book Series

This fourth edition of COPE was sparked by my involvement with PITCH (Project to Integrate Technical Communication Habits) at the Tagliatela College of Engineering at the University of New Haven. This new edition contains additional material on data displays, as well as some additional material on writing about data—including how to avoid rhetorical shifts that undermine the precision of a technical report.

Application Of Artificial Neural Network To Predict The Properties Of Permeable Concrete, Hatem H. Almasaeid, Donia G. Salman

Faculty and Student Publications

The structure of permeable concrete has been the primary reason for its use in construction. Permeable concrete is composed of water, cement, aggregate, and little-to no-fines resulting in the presence of a significant number of voids. This makes permeable concrete an ideal solution to water accumulation issues as it acts as a drainage system. This study employs a feedforward backpropagation artificial neural network model that combines experimental laboratory data from previous studies with appropriate network architectures and training techniques. The purpose of the analysis is to develop a reliable functional relationship, based on water-cement ratio, aggregate-cement ratio, and density parameters, …

Quantitative Sustainable Design (Qsd) For The Prioritization Of Research, Development, And Deployment Of Technologies: A Tutorial And Review, Yalin Li, John T. Trimmer, Steven Hand, Xinyi Zhang, Katherine G. Chambers, Hannah A. C. Lohman, Rui Shi, Diana M. Byrne, Sherri M. Cook, Jeremy S. Guest

UK CARES Faculty Publications

The pursuit of sustainability has catalyzed broad investment in the research, development, and deployment (RD&D) of innovative water, sanitation, and resource recovery technologies, yet the lack of transparent and agile methodologies to navigate the expansive landscape of technology development pathways remains a critical challenge. This challenge is further complicated by the higher levels of uncertainty that are intrinsic to early-stage technologies. In this work, we review and synthesize published literature on the sustainability analyses of water and related technologies to present quantitative sustainable design (QSD) – a methodology to expedite and support technology RD&D. With a shared lexicon and a …

Topological Hierarchies And Decomposition: From Clustering To Persistence, Kyle A. Brown

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Hierarchical clustering is a class of algorithms commonly used in exploratory data analysis (EDA) and supervised learning. However, they suffer from some drawbacks, including the difficulty of interpreting the resulting dendrogram, arbitrariness in the choice of cut to obtain a flat clustering, and the lack of an obvious way of comparing individual clusters. In this dissertation, we develop the notion of a topological hierarchy on recursively-defined subsets of a metric space. We look to the field of topological data analysis (TDA) for the mathematical background to associate topological structures such as simplicial complexes and maps of covers to clusters in …

Removal Of Emerging Contaminants From Wastewater Streams Using Membrane Bioreactors: A Review, Arijit Sengupta, Mahmood Jebur, Mohanad Kamaz, Sumith R. Wickramasinghe

Chemical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Water is a very valuable natural resource. As the demand for water increases the presence of emerging contaminants in wastewater has become a growing concern. This is particularly true when one considers direct reuse of wastewater. Obtaining sufficient removal of emerging contaminants will require determining the level of removal for the various unit operations in the wastewater treatment process. Membrane bioreactors are attractive as they combine an activated sludge process with a membrane separation step. They are frequently used in a wastewater treatment process and can operate at higher solid loadings than conventional activated sludge processes. Determining the level of …

Mechanotransductive Feedback Control Of Endothelial Cell Motility And Vascular Morphogenesis, Devon E. Mason, Megan Goeckel, Sebastian Vega, Pei-Hsun Wu, Dymonn Johnson, Su-Jin Heo, Denis Wirtz, Jason A. Burdick, Levi Wood, Brian Y. Chow, Amber N. Stratman, Joel D. Boerckel

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

Vascular morphogenesis requires persistent endothelial cell motility that is responsive to diverse and dynamic mechanical stimuli. Here, we interrogated the mechanotransductive feedback dynamics that govern endothelial cell motility and vascular morphogenesis. We show that the transcriptional regulators, YAP and TAZ, are activated by mechanical cues to transcriptionally limit cytoskeletal and focal adhesion maturation, forming a conserved mechanotransductive feedback loop that mediates human endothelial cell motility in vitro and zebrafish intersegmental vessel (ISV) morphogenesis in vivo. This feedback loop closes in 4 hours, achieving cytoskeletal equilibrium in 8 hours. Feedback loop inhibition arrested endothelial cell migration in vitro and ISV morphogenesis …

Pediatric Cardiac Devices: Recent Progress And Remaining Problems, Kyle Crawford, Martine Leberge, Dan Simionescu, Naren Vyavahare

Publications

Pediatric cardiology is a field that largely relies on translation of innovation in its adult counterpart in order to improve patient outcomes and introduce new technology to the field. Few FDA-approved pediatric cardiac devices are available for clinical use, thus leading to widespread off-label use within the field. Nonetheless, adaption of devices and technology from the adult field has proven to improve patient outcomes and overall wellness. However, the diversity of congenital heart disease, in terms of basic anatomy and treatment response, continues to complicate results. The combination of diversity of anatomy and small population size make it difficult for …

Towards Fluoro-Free Interventions: Using Radial Intracardiac Ultrasound For Vascular Navigation, Hareem Nisar, Leah Groves, Leandro Cardarelli-Leite, Terry M Peters, Elvis C.S. Chen

Robarts Imaging Publications

Transcatheter cardio-vascular interventions have the advantage of patient safety,reduced surgery time, and minimal trauma to the patient's body. Transcathetherinterventions, which are performed percutaneously, suffer from the lack of direct line-of-sight with the surgical tools and the patient anatomy. Therefore, such interventionalprocedures rely heavily on image guidance for navigating towards and deliveringtherapy at the target site. Vascular navigation via the inferior vena cava (IVC), from thegroin to the heart, is an imperative part of most transcatheter cardiovascularinterventions such as valve repair surgeries and ablation therapy. Traditionally, the IVCis navigated using fluoroscopic techniques such as angiography or CT venography.These X-ray based techniques …