Digital Commons Network^™

October 1, 2014 Cal Poly Report, Public Affairs Office

Cal Poly Report

No abstract provided.

Make Change Count Donation Station Program, Kyle Bell

City and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Team Nathan Suspension, Frankie J. Wiggins, Alex D. Seitz, Justin P. Bautista

Mechanical Engineering

Nathan Cooper is an 8-year old boy with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). SMA has affected Nathan’s muscle development and requires him to use the Standing Dani™ mobility device. The Standing Dani is a motorized standing wheelchair, or Wheelstand. Nathan controls and uses it to get around. Though the Standing Dani performs well for most functions, it has some distinct issues. The primary issue that this project addresses is its lack of suspension and the discomfort that Nathan feels as a result. After talking with our client, we developed several specifications generally related to geometry, safety, vehicle dynamics, and reliability. Many …

Improving And Expanding The Capabilities Of The Poly-Picosatellite Orbital Deployer, David Pignatelli

Master's Theses

The Poly-Picosatellite Orbital Deployer (P-POD) has undergone a series of revisions over the years. The latest revision, described in this Master’s Thesis, incorporates new capabilities like EMI shielding, an inert gas purge system, and an electrical interface to the CubeSats after they are integrated into the P-POD. Additionally, some mass reduction modifications are made to the P-POD, while its overall strength is increased. The P-POD inert gas purge system successfully flew, on a previous revision P-POD. The P-POD components are analyzed to a set of dynamic loads for qualification, and successfully undergoes random vibration qualification testing. The P-POD encounters some …

Engaging Youth In Lifelong Outdoor Adventure Activities Through A Nontraditional Public School Physical Education Program, Keri Schwab, Daniel Dustin

Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration

No abstract provided.

September 24, 2014 Cal Poly Report, Public Affairs Office

Cal Poly Report

No abstract provided.

Cal Poly's Orfalea College Of Business Appoints New Associate Deans, Public Affairs Office

Press Releases

No abstract provided.

September 17, 2014 Cal Poly Report, Public Affairs Office

Cal Poly Report

No abstract provided.

Cal Poly Food Science And Nutrition Students Win National Food Development Contest, Public Affairs Office

Press Releases

No abstract provided.

Encosi Africa 2014 Service Learning Design Build Internship, Rachel Pittman, Jocelyn De Leon, Rudy Perez, Annie Potter, Chad Evans, Camille Cherry

Baker/Koob Endowments Awarded Projects

Encosi Africa 2014 will be a multifaceted service learning design/build internship. This trip will give us the opportunity to exercise Cal Poly’s learn by doing motto on an international stage. We will engage in service learning projects that will build on work done by previous Cal Poly student groups in the past as well as manifest new projects to benefit various local communities. This will combine classroom instruction with meaningful community service. We will work at three different project sites in South Africa, one urban and two in rural settings. The urban project involves revisiting a playground in Alexandra built …

Confidence Frames And The Mastery Of New Challenges In The Motivation Of An Expert Skydiver, John H. Kerr, Susan Houge Mackenzie

Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration

The main objective was to further unravel the experience of motivation in an expert male skydiver by investigating: (1) his general experience of motivation and perception of the dangers of skydiving; (2) his pursuit of new challenges and learning new skills as factors in maintaining motivation; (3) evidence of a mastery-based confidence frame in his motivational experience. This was a unique case study informed by reversal theory. The participant’s perception of skydiving was that it was not a risky or dangerous activity and a primary motive for his involvement in skydiving was personal goal achievement. Maintaining control and mastery during …

Development, Characterization, And Optimization Of Process For Minimal Functional Barrier And Channel Width In Nitrocellulose Paper Microfluidic Diagnostic Platforms, Ryan Daniel Silva

Biomedical Engineering

A central goal of diagnostic microfluidics is to reduce the cost of diagnostic medicine by reducing the equipment and reagents needed to perform diagnostic tests. The literature has demonstrated that a wax printer can be used to pattern nitrocellulose paper with hydrophobic barriers to direct a sample in a defined reaction path, eliminating the need for external pumps and controllers. However, manufacturing methods for minimizing sample volume (and thus reagent volume) in a paper-diagnostic chip have not been well defined. In this work, we experimentally determine manufacturing processes for creating functional features of minimal size—effectively reducing the sample size and …

Vibration Based Planetary Gear Analysis And Damage Detection, Rene Sawatzky

Master's Theses

With this thesis the research at the engineering department is continued, based on previous thesis projects. These projects were considering the possibility of simulation gears with rigid bodies. After researches with different emphasizes on the rigid body simulation, the gained knowledge showed limitations of the rigid body model. Gear failures are very diverse and the actual simulation technique could not represent all necessary failure modes that can occur. That led to this thesis as a research project to find a way to detect and analyze the failure modes that cannot be considered with the current rigid body approach. With the …

August 27, 2014 Cal Poly Report, Public Affairs Office

Cal Poly Report

No abstract provided.

Cal Poly Slocavore To Host Heritage Poultry Weekend Sept. 5-7, Public Affairs Office

Press Releases

No abstract provided.

City Of Concord Complete Streets Study, William W. Riggs, Charlie Coles, Megyn Rugh, Camille Jackson

City and Regional Planning

The purpose of this report is to summarize the data collected as a part of the Concord Complete Streets Study and to provide the City with preliminary support in the progress to construct a safer, more bike and pedestrian friendly Concord. The developments and visions found in this document provide a platform for continued discussion on creating a more pedestrian and bicycle friendly environment that encourages other forms of transportation and provides alternatives to dependency on automobiles.

Is There Progress Toward Sustainability?: Despite The Inherent Human Resistance To Change., Jens Pohl

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

The theme of this paper is to briefly survey the status of current efforts to maintain our natural environment and then discuss prospects for achieving future sustainability. The author finds that while there has been general recognition of the need for environmental sensitivity and conservation of natural resources, progress toward achieving sustainability goals has been slow. A principal reason for this lack of action is found in the reactive nature of the human species. Situated by biological design in our environment we typically respond to environmental changes only after they have occurred. Accordingly, while a number of revolutionary proposals have …

Using Remote Sensing Data To Predict The Spread Of Mosquito Borne Disease, Mary Ellen O'Donnell, Erika Podest

STAR Program Research Presentations

There is interest in how environmental variables derived from satellite data such as temperature, vegetation cover, and precipitation correlate to vector borne disease occurrence such as malaria and dengue fever. This study will be carried out using a decision tree based open source software called Random Forests to find correlations between the remote sensing variables and mosquito abundance. Software will be written in C# to take large amounts of data from the NASA satellite database and automatically format it for the Random Forest Software input. Correlations found, using Random Forests, between disease incidence and the variables can be used as …

Local Buckling Behavior Of Round Steel Tubes Subjected To Compressive Loads, Joseph Moore, Ben Fell

STAR Program Research Presentations

This project will investigate the local buckling induced fracture behavior of round steel tubes subjected to axial compressive loads, representative of observed failures in buried pipelines during seismic events. Nine initial tests will be conducted across three lengths of round steel tube: 8”, 12”, and 20”. Another twelve tests will be conducted on the lengths of 12” and 20” to test varying initial compressive force upon the round steel tubes. Three D/t ratios will be considered for each length of round steel tube: 52.6, 78.9, and 121.2. To verify the material properties of the test specimens an ancillary tensile coupon …

The Chemical Mixture Methodology And Why We Enhance It, Erin Griffin

STAR Program Research Presentations

The Chemical Mixture Methodology (CMM) is a tool used to assess potential hazardous health impacts of the release of chemical mixtures into the atmosphere. Furthermore, the CMM helps determine if these potential adverse toxic effects will affect an individual’s ability to take protective actions in an emergency. The CMM first calculates the Hazard Index (HI) of each chemical then adds the individual HIs together. If the value of the summed HI is >1.0 further examination is warranted. To do so, Health Code Numbers (HCNs), that are similar to medical diagnostic codes, are used to group toxic effects targeting the same …

Light Pollution Research Through Citizen Science, John Kanemoto

STAR Program Research Presentations

Light pollution (LP) can disrupt and/or degrade the health of all living things, as well as, their environments. The goal of my research at the NOAO was to check the accuracy of the citizen science LP reporting systems entitled: Globe at Night (GaN), Dark Sky Meter (DSM), and Loss of the Night (LoN). On the GaN webpage, the darkness of the night sky (DotNS) is reported by selecting a magnitude chart. Each magnitude chart has a different density/number of stars around a specific constellation. The greater number of stars implies a darker night sky. Within the DSM iPhone application, a …

Characterization Of Organic Carbon In Sediments From Old Rifle, Co, A Former Uranium Mill, Francis Michael Tee, Morris Jones, Sharon Bone, Michael Schaefer, Scott Fendorf, John Bargar

STAR Program Research Presentations

Characterization of sediments from Old Rifle, CO, a former uranium mill

More than 34 million gallons (~129 million liters) of groundwater are contaminated with uranium at Old Rifle, Colorado – a former uranium-processing site that operated until 1958. The original Department of Energy strategy for remediation, involving natural flushing of U from the groundwater through mixing with surface water, has not been as successful as predicted. The uranium plume is replenished when insoluble U(IV) is oxidized to the more mobile U(VI). Relatively thin pockets of silt-, clay-, and organic-rich sediments contain reduced uranium, iron and sulfur and are referred to …

Avoided Water Cost Of Electricity Generation For Solar Pv And Wind Technologies In Southern California, Matthew Cohen

Master's Theses

The objective of this thesis is to provide a foundation for evaluating the water costs associated with electricity production to calculate the avoided water cost of energy for solar PV and wind technologies relative to coal, natural gas, nuclear, geothermal, concentrated solar thermal, and biomass. Water consumption is estimated for energy production (fuel extraction and preparation) and electricity generation (power plant operation) using the best available information from published articles. The quantity of water consumed for electricity production is monetized for a Southern California case study based on the water rates of Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MET), which …

Investigating Hemodynamic Responses To Electrical Neurostimulation, Sean Youra

Master's Theses

Since the 1900s, the number of deaths attributable to cardiovascular disease has steadily risen. With the advent of antihypertensive drugs and non-invasive surgical procedures, such as intravascular stenting, these numbers have begun to level off. Despite this trend, the number of patients diagnosed with some form of cardiovascular disease has only increased. By 2030, prevalence of coronary heart disease is expected to increase approximately by 18% in the United States. By 2050, prevalence of peripheral arterial occlusive disease is expected to increase approximately by 98% in the U.S. No single drug or surgical intervention offers a complete solution to these …

Examining The Impacts Of State Route 101 On Wildlife Using Road Kill Surveys And Remote Cameras, Sara Ann Snyder

Master's Theses

Roads can negatively impact the survival of wildlife populations through additional mortality from road kill and population fragmentation caused by road avoidance behaviors. The 11.9 mile section of State Route 101 between the towns of San Luis Obispo and Atascadero, CA, USA, cross a mountain lion movement corridor and an area important to maintaining ecological connectivity between protected lands in the Los Padres National Forest to the north and south.

I examined the spatial patterns and landscape and roadway factors associated with road kill occurrence for six taxa; large mammals, mesocarnivores, squirrels, rabbits, birds and raptors. Between 1 May 2009 …

Microvascular Topology And Intravascular Endothelial Cell Labeling In The Gracilis Anterior Muscle Of Balb/C Mice, Paul Heckler Ii

Biomedical Engineering

Peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) affects approximately 200 million individuals globally. The major underlying cause of PAOD is an inflammatory disease known as atherosclerosis, which results from the build-up of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) in the sub-intimal space. This initiates a complex cascade of events that lead to plaque growth. Plaque growth can then expand into the lumen of the vessel and result in occlusion and/or thrombosis. Symptoms of the disease can include claudication, ulcers, and/or gangrene, although many patients are asymptomatic. Similar to other forms of ischemic disease, risk factors for PAOD include hypertension, diabetes, and smoking. Common treatments include …

Nerve Fiber Diameter Measurements Using Hematoxylin And Eosin Staining And Brightfield Microscopy To Assess The Novel Method Of Characterizing Peripheral Nerve Fiber Distributions By Group Delay, Jorge Arturo Vazquez

Master's Theses

Peripheral neuropathies are a set of common diseases that affect the peripheral nervous system, causing damage to vital connections between various parts of the body and the brain and spinal cord. Different clinical conditions are known to selectively impact various size nerve fibers, which often makes it difficult to diagnose which peripheral neuropathy a patient might have. The nerve conduction velocity diagnostic test provides clinically useful information in the diagnosis of some peripheral neuropathies. This method is advantageous because it tends to be minimally invasive yet it provides valuable diagnostic information. However, this test does not determine characteristics of peripheral …

Treatment Of Nitrogen Oxides By Chlorella Vulgaris Algae In Photobioreactors, Steven Shihady

Master's Theses

The effectiveness of algae to treat NO₂and NO in simulated flue gas was tested using Chlorella vulgaris in photobioreactors (PBRs) using NO_xconcentrations between 30 ppm to 780 ppm. NO_xdissolved and reacted in water to form NO₃^-and NO₂^-in the PBR growth medium, providing a nitrogen source that the algae readily assimilated for cell synthesis. Three 20-L photobioreactors were inoculated with a pure culture of C. vulgaris prepared in Bristol growth medium and algae were grown in the PBRs at 25°C and pH of 7.0 in a modified Bristol medium …

Assessment Of Microbial Biodegradation Of Mixed Soil Contaminants At The Santa Susan Field Laboratory Using Trflp, Qpcr, And Culturing, Kenny William Croyle

Master's Theses

The potential for biodegradation of contaminants in soil was assessed using an array of molecular methods, including terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP), quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and traditional culturing techniques combined with sequencing of the 16S or ITS regions of the cultured bacteria and fungi. Soil was collected from the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), which was the site of numerous liquid-propulsion rocket engine tests as well as nuclear energy research and development, which led to contamination of the soil with a wide variety of constituents. The contaminants of interest (COIs) at this site include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), …

A Multicultural Nutrition And Culinary Intervention For Middle School Students: Pink And Dude Chefs, Phase 2, Jaime Lynn Lockhart

Master's Theses

The prevalence of adolescent obesity in the United States has more than quadrupled in the past 30 years, growing from 5% to nearly 21% in 12-19 year olds. Although obesity has many interrelated causes, a lack of knowledge and practical skill to prepare healthy food from scratch is an important factor. Research indicates that nutrition and culinary interventions based on behavioral change theories may improve mediators of healthful eating in adolescents.

Pink and Dude Chefs, Phase 2, an eight-week after-school nutrition and culinary intervention targeted towards middle school students in a predominantly low-income, Hispanic community, was developed and evaluated. The …