Digital Commons Network^™

Design Of An Effective And Timely Product Development Process For Medical Devices, Jean Benoit Almonor

Theses

Effective product development process is one of the most critical issues facing medical devices manufacturing today. There is a need to search for ways to improve or solve the cross organization and company boundaries to enhance the faster release of new medical products to the market. This thesis presents an integrated set of perspectives on the process of new product development of medical devices with dual goals of achieving marketing speed and meet customer satisfaction.

The Attribute Driven Specifications approach described in this thesis, is one of the most valuable tools in the approach to effective product development in medical …

Control Of Nox In Alkaline Media With Tertiary Butyl Hydroperoxide, David R. Edwards

Theses

Alkaline solutions of tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) selectively remove NO from simulated flue gasses. The investigation was conducted in a bubbling scrubber. NO removal efficiency of the scrubbing solutions was evaluated as a function of various operating parameters such as pH, oxidant concentration, oxidant to base mole ratio, residence time, temperature and flue gas compositions.

Alkaline solutions of TBHP show promise of being an economical choice for the selective removal of NO from flue gas. Solutions containing 0.2 M TBHP, 0.03 M NaOH (pH 12.5), and 1 minute NO residence time remove NO to below detectable levels at 53°C. The source, …

Catalyctic Reduction Of Nitric Oxide By Carbon Monoxide And Copper Loaded Granular Activated Carbon In The Presence Of Oxygen, Kaiwen Ma

Theses

The reduction reaction of nitric oxide (NO) by carbon monoxide (CO), and granular activated carbon (GAC) in the presence and absence of oxygen was studied in a fixed bed catalytic reactor. The conversion of NO as a function of reaction temperature was evaluated for various reductant to NO ratios and space velocities. The results show that oxygen enhanced the NO+CO reaction over copper (Cu) ion exchanged ZSM-5. About 60% NO conversion to nitrogen (N₂) was obtained at 400°C and 2,000 v/v/hr. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that CO is an intermediate in the soot-NO reaction. The …

Demanufacturing Metrics For Industrial Fasteners And Disassembly Process, Narendra P. Raj

Theses

As the society progresses towards ecological maturity, the issue of reducing the environmental burden imposed by used products becomes increasingly important Environmental issues are becoming increasingly relevant for product designers and manufacturers. Public awareness of the value and fragility of an intact ecology is constantly growing, and the traditional assumption that the cost of ecological burdens to be shared by a society, as a whole is no longer accepted. Environmental protection legislation requiring manufacturers to "take back" and recycle used products will be a commonplace throughout Europe and the U.S. in the near future.

Demanufacturing involves separating and disassembling a …

Samuel Florman And Literature Of Technology, Paul F. Sharke

Theses

In 1996, engineer and author Samuel Florman asked why engineering and technology had been represented only lightly in literature. From a mere handful of books dealing with this topic, he named The Control of Nature (1989), by John McPhee, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974), by Robert Pirsig, and The Soul of a New Machine (1981), by Tracy Kidder, as being among the best examples of a literary expression of engineering. These three works are examined here in light of Florman's own four books on the subject of engineering, The Existential Pleasures of Engineering (1976), Blaming Technology …

A Microcosm Study In The Reductive Dechlorination Of Tetrachloroethylene Using Fermentation Acids And Alcohols As Electron Donors, Anthony Siccard Iii

Theses

Anaerobic microcosms of Arthur Kill (New Jersey) sediment were used to investigate the effects of several electron donors on tetrachloroethylene (PCE) dechlorination activity. The substates tested were methanol, butanol, butyrate, lactate and succinate both by themselves and in various combinations. Different levels of PCE dehalogenation were noticed in all of the microcosms regardless of the electron donor used. Vinyl chloride was the major dehalogenation product detected in the majority of the microcosms. The causitive organism or group that carried our the reductive dehalogenation was not identified. Only the microcosms admended with a mixture of butanol/methanol were able to fully reduce …

Investigation Of Pathophysiologic Trends In Caucasian And Afro-American Hypertensives By Means Of Heart Rate Variability Recording During Upright Tilt-Table Testing, Jose F. Torrealba

Theses

The incidence of hypertension is more prevalent among the Afro-American population than the Caucasians and there is not a satisfactory explanation for this discrepancy.

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) has been demonstrated to reflect the relative activities of the sympathetic (SMP) and parasympathetic (PSMP) divisions of the autonomic nervous system (ANS).

This study consisted in comparing the HRV, as well as the blood pressure (BP) of four different groups during up-right tilt table testing. The subjects were grouped by age, gender, race and health condition. Analysis in time and frequency domain was applied to the data. In the frequency domain, the …

An Experimental Study On Removal Cadmium From Wastewater By Emulsion Liquid Membrane, Jing-Chi Shiu

Theses

Research was conducted on cadmium, a heavy metal pollutant, extraction out of wastewater by means of an emulsion liquid membrane system. The emulsion liquid membrane was made of a carrier (di(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid), a surfactant (ECA 4360J), and a stripping agent (sulfuric acid). The effects of using the following parameters on the membrane to optimize the operating conditions were investigated: type of buffer solutions, initial external phase pH, initial cadmium concentration, internal sulfuric acid concentration, impeller stirring speed, carrier concentration, surfactant concentration, and selectivity between cadmium and sodium ion.

The best performance for the system presented in this thesis was: …

The Value Of Time: A Comparative Visual Analysis, Dyanne Kim

Theses

None provided.

Aquanic: Personal Diving Assistant Tool, Watcharapong Treerattanaphan

Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to propose an underwater device to be carried or worn by divers. This device would alleviate many problems that divers may encounter, supporting the divers as a communication, navigation, and body and environment monitoring unit.

Darkness Within, Virginia Gibson

Theses

This thesis presents an analysis of a body of work that I completed between September 1995 and April 1996. I will discuss the raison detre for the work and the historical touchstones that have influenced my thinking and my style. Aspects of the body of work that show its main technical and thematic currents will be discussed. Finally I will present some details of my method of working and how that method works in consonance with the thematic content of the work. My work is at one time intensely personal and, if executed properly, personal to the viewer as well. …

Siblings Of Children With Disabilities: The Needs And Adjustment Of Today's Nondisabled Siblings, Lynn Carragher

Theses

This study examined the adjustment of nondisabled siblings of children with a disability. Factors such as family income and characteristics of the nondisabled child as they relate to psychological, behavioral, and academic functioning, and parents' perceptions regarding the needs of nondisabled siblings were explored. Specific attention was given to determining parents' interest in sibling support groups. Study participants consisted of 65 parents who had at least one child between the ages of 5 and 21 with a disability and at least one nondisabled child between. the ages of 5 and 18. The primary caregiver was asked to complete a 22 …

Gays In Aa: How Do They Benefit From The Program Of Alcoholics Anonymous?, Madonna R. Riesenmy

Theses

Objective: Recovering gay alcoholics report that, although the experience of AA is beneficial for them, they have needs different from that of heterosexuals and place dissimilar demands on the program of Alcoholics Anonymous (Ratner, 1988, Paul, Stall, & Bloomfield, 1991). Some of these needs and demands are evidenced in the ways gay alcoholics make use of sponsors, meetings, and gay meetings (Kus, 1987, 1994, Hall, 1994). The present study examines the incidence of relapse and three aspects of recovery: sponsorship, meeting attendance, and attendance at gay meetings during the first year of recovery. Method: A group of gay recovering alcoholics …

Polarographic And Voltammetric Behavior Of Chloropyrifos And Its Determination In Some Water And Plant Samples, Ali Saeed Rashed Al-Maqbali

Theses

Chlorpyrifos is a member of the organophosphorus class of insecticides. This class of insecticides has become one of the most widely under groups of pest control chemicals. Early organophosphorus compounds that were found to be efficacious for insect control and thus brought into widespread use, e.g. Chlorpyrifos, Parathion and Malathion. The broad-spectrum insecticidal properties of Chlorpyrifos indicated that it possessed substantial commercial potential to use against a wide variety of important arthropod pest via a number of commercialized products. Therefore, it is employed in a wide variety of agricultural and specially pest control scenarious and other arthropod pests threatening production …

Lempel Ziv Welch Data Compression Using Associative Processing As An Enabling Technology For Real Time Application, Manish Narang

Theses

Data compression is a term that refers to the reduction of data representation requirements either in storage and/or in transmission. A commonly used algorithm for compression is the Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW) method proposed by Terry A. Welch[l]. LZW is an adaptive, dictionary based, lossless algorithm. This provides for a general compression mechanism that is applicable to a broad range of inputs. Furthermore, the lossless nature of LZW implies that it is a reversible process which results in the original file/message being fully recoverable from compression. A variant of this algorithm is currently the foundation of the UNIX "compress" program. Additionally, LZW …

A Study On The Uptake And Voltammetric Determination Of Trace Heavy Metals In The Treated Wastewater In Abu-Dhabi Area, Salem Rashed Salem Al-Hassani

Theses

Wastewater reuse has a positive and negative environmental impacts and possibly it can have an important role to play in water resources management, as a substituent for freshwater in irrigation. However, the presence of the toxic heavy metals in domestic sewage and in industrial effluents discharge to sewers, wastewater can create unacceptable health and environmental risks. Therefore, the present work includes the determination of the toxic heavy metals in some treated wastewater samples collected from Abu-Dhabi area using polarographic and voltammetric techniques. Differential pulse polarography and anodic stripping voltammetry are well established techniques for trace determination of heavy metals content …

Melt Hydroperoxidation Polypropylene With Potential Application In Pollution Control, Zeena Cherian

Theses

The primary objective of this study is to introduce tertiary hydroperoxide functional groups into polypropylene (PP) melt by injecting air. This was done first by mixing additive free polypropylene powder with air in a batch mixer. The influence of air flow rate, temperature, mixing time and rotor RPM on the concentration of hydroperoxide groups were studied. Iodometric analysis and fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis were the techniques used to detect and quantify the concentration of hydroperoxide groups. In the second phase of the study, hydroperoxide groups were introduced in polypropylene through reactive processing in a single screw extruder. It was …

Removal Of Vocs From Superfactant-Flushed Wastewater By Membrane Based Modified Pervaporation Process, Anirban Das

Theses

An aqueous solution of a volatile organic compound (VOC) e.g. trichloroethylene (TCE) is passed through the bores of hydrophobic microporous polypropylene hollow fibers having a plasma polymerized silicone coating on the fiber outside diameter; a vacuum is maintained on the shell side of the fiber to remove the VOC and recover it by condensation. Process performance has been obtained over a range of feed flow rates, concentrations of VOC and the surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)). In solutions without surfactant or low surfactant concentrations, the pores are not wetted and remain gas-filled. The VOC is stripped from the solution into …

Proactive Technique For Workplace Chemical Exposure, James A. Duru

Theses

The rapid increase in the number and quantities of chemicals released into the environment has been accompanied by a lack of adequate pre-released testing for advance health outcomes. Chemicals which serve as feed stock to millions of industries all around the world to produce and process food, cosmetics, equipment, and energy to propel industries, automobiles, home heating and electricity have serious adverse health consequences. They are hazardous. These substances can explode, ignite, react and corrode. Adapting the definition of the international program on chemical safety, a "hazard" is a source of danger. This thesis proposes some proactive prevention techniques useful …

Electronic Research Administration : Implementation At New Jersey Institute Of Technology, Lauren V. Rethwisch

Theses

Electronic Research Administration has become the current focus and future direction of the professional field of research administration. It is commonly acknowledged that by the end of this century, all administrative grant functions will be performed by means of electronic data interchange. How well positioned is New Jersey Institute of Technology, a mid-size public research university, to implement pre-award Electronic Research Administration? My research evaluates the readiness of the university community to convert its various pre-award manual processes to an on-line system. The proposed evaluation takes place through a series of internal questionnaires and structured interviews with subject matter experts. …

Voc Removal From Nitrogen By A Membrane-Based Combined Absorption-Stripping Process, Boya Xia

Theses

A regenerative membrane-based absorption process has been extensively studied to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from air/N₂ using silicone oil as absorbent. The absorbent liquid is regenerated by applying vacuum in a membrane-based stripper. In this process, there are no flooding, loading and entrainment, which limit the gas/liquid flow rate in the traditional absorption process. In the present study, attention has been focused on the removal of volatile component(s) from binary gas mixtures such as methanol-N₂, and toluene-N₂, and from a model multicomponent mixture of gasoline vapor constituents and nitrogen. The process performance was tested …

Introduction To Pollution Prevention Concepts In Freshman Chemistry Through Simulations And Hypermidia, Aniraban Bhaumik

Theses

As citizens of the 20th century, a key issue we all are aware of is degradation of the environment. In the interest of teaching the environmental issues to freshmen engineers, this study develops a computer aided learning/teaching (CAL/T) tool.

This CAL/T tool consists of Internet based multimedia courseware and intelligent simulations. The courseware assembles the fundamentals of chemistry associated with current environmental issues such as air pollution, stratospheric ozone layer depletion and environmentally sensitive or 'clean' manufacturing. The courseware targets early and comprehensive understanding of pollution prevention concepts with a focus on environmentally friendly manufacturing. The courseware includes: on-line text, …

Role Of The Registered Dietitian In Oncology Care In Rochester, Ny, Natalie Gennett

Theses

Annually, 6500 cancer patients receive their care in Rochester, NY. This region is served by over 200 registered dietitians (RD's). Published data showing the number of oncology patients being supported by medical nutrition therapy from an RD is unavailable; anecdotal information indicates referral numbers are very small perhaps 1% or less. The purpose of this study was to explore RD involvement in oncology care in Rochester, NY. A survey of nutritional beliefs and practices in oncology care was mailed to 250 RD's and registered dietetic technicians with certified dietitian-nutritionist (CDN) credentials. Of the 250 questionnaires distributed, 137 (55%) surveys were …

Trends In The Use Of Technology In Hospital Menu System, Karen Wunder

Theses

As the twenty-first century approaches, hospital foodservice directors are faced with the conflicting tasks of cutting costs in response to various budgetary restraints while also providing quality service to customers with increased expectations in an increasing competitive environment. New technologies such as computerized, interactive menu systems have been developed in an attempt to offer increased customer satisfaction while also cutting costs at all levels. The focus of this study was to determine how hospitals nationwide were responding to the dilemma of cost cutting while achieving increased quality standards and in what ways technologies were being embraced to provide service excellence …

Strange Bed Fellows: A Case Study Of Merging Departments Through Employee Participation, Eugene Alibrio

Theses

The purpose of this study is to identify key areas of importance during a merger of two hospitals' Food and Nutritional Service Departments. The study shows that it is vital to include the staff in developing a mission and vision. This creates a future vision that is action oriented and in which all staff have a vested interest. The nineties have proven to be a time of rapid change. The changes implemented by the Food and Nutritional Services of Optima Health were rapid and unsettling for most staff. This case study discusses what went well, what did not go as …

Analysis Of Rochester Institute Of Technology's United Way Campaign, Cheryl Lund

Theses

The United Way is an organization that exists for the purpose of helping people in need and bringing about positive social outcomes for the public good. Raising sufficient funds through donations continues to be a challenge in the face of decreasing public assistance, and increased cynicism in the United Way caused by the United Way scandal of 1992. The general downward trend of donations to non-profit organizations is reflected in the donations to the Rochester Institute of Technology's United Way campaign. In the past, employee participation in RIT's United Way campaign was 73%, which has been decreasing throughout the years …

Hospitality Education In New Orleans - A Case Study, Diana Clark

Theses

This case study documents the conceptualization, design and development, implementation and future strategies for the Hospitality Education Initiative in New Orleans. We will examine the strategic alliances developed between the public and private sector organizations and their contribution to the initiative. We will discuss the role of high schools and post secondary institutions, and the development of a hospitality education career path for the local students. We will define the involvement of the employer and business partner, and their relationship with the educational institutions to achieve the goal of well trained and work ready employees for the hospitality industry in …

Evaluating The Relationship Between The 24-Hour Recall And Food Habits Questionnaire Methods For Measuring Dietary Compliance, Janelle Welch

Theses

This study was conducted within a larger investigation conducted by Dr. Geoffrey Williams at the Genesse Hospital in Rochester New York. The purpose of Dr. Williams's investigation was to evaluate the long-term effects and cost effectiveness of a brief intervention to facilitate self-management among a sample of adults with diabetes mellitus coming in for regular outpatient visits. As part of the investigation, Type I patients were called three times within a two week period to obtain a 24-hour dietary recall. This information was used to determine adherence. The Type II patients within the study were required to fill out a …

Characterization Of A Hybrid Tracking System, Holly Adams

Theses

Virtual Reality is a completely immersive computer generated environment which allows for user interaction. A computer and associated tracking peripherals are used to generate a realistic scene and update it based on the position and orientation of the user. VR systems are individual in their ability to provide the user with a 360 degree field of view in all orientations. Since it originated over 30 years ago, virtual reality(VR) has suffered from a problem known as lag. Lag is the system's inability to keep up with the user's actions within a virtual environment. Lag occurs for many reasons. Anything from …

The Entrepreneurially-Minded Employee's Guide To Career Management, Linda Y. Brown

Theses

This thesis will explore the concept of the employee as entrepreneur and how the importance of this concept may ensure employability among managers currently working within Corporate America.

In an era of constant change, corporate employees, particularly those that are mid- career and middle age, continue to find themselves caught off-guard when a downsizing , reorganization or spin-off occurs in their workplace. Although they realize these events can affect them any moment , many do not proactively take the responsibility for their own careers.

According to author Gareth S. Gardiner, in his book, 21st Century Manager, the employee as entrepreneur …