Engineering Commons^™

Towards Improving Computational Modeling Of The Lumbar Spine - Impact Of Material Properties And Laminotomy On Spinal Biomechanics, Isaac K. Kumi

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Spinal ligaments play a crucial role in maintaining the mechanical stability of the lumbar spine. These dense, collagenous tissues not only resist excessive motion but also distribute loads between spinal components to protect neural structures. Traditionally, the mechanical response of ligaments has been modeled using linear elastic assumptions, which treat the tissue as having a constant stiffness regardless of loading history. While this simplifies analysis, it fails to capture the time-dependent behaviors, such as creep, stress relaxation, and hysteresis, that are characteristic of biological tissues.

Viscoelastic modeling may provide a more physiologically accurate representation by incorporating both elastic and viscous …

Advanced Analytical Biosensing For Cancer Detection And Neural Diagnostics Using Tapered Optical Fiber (Tof), Protonic, And High Throughput Microplate –Based Technologie, Bayan Hassan Alharbi

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the development and application of advanced biosensing technologies to enhance early disease detection, neurological diagnostics, and bioactive compound evaluation. The research spans four key areas. First, it introduces tapered optical fiber (TOF)-based plasmonic biosensors for the non-invasive detection of prostate cancer, demonstrating high sensitivity and specificity compared to conventional diagnostic methods.

Second, it explores the use of fluorescent biosensors to test the Transmembrane Electrostatically Localized Proton (TELP) theory, shedding light on the role of localized protons in neuronal signaling and energy transfer. Third, the work presents a high-throughput, microplate-based biosensing platform for analyzing mitochondrial function under nanosecond …

The Role Of Expansion Joints In Long Concrete Buildings, Salah Salem, Mohamed E. El Madawy, Basem S. Abdelwahed, Mohamed E. El-Zoughiby

Mansoura Engineering Journal

The use of expansion joints in lengthy concrete buildings aims to mitigate forces induced by temperature changes and is often derived through empirical methods. These methods lack the depth needed for universal application in any building. On the other hand, adopting a no-joint strategy necessitates a thorough thermal analysis of temperature changes, a subject that has not been extensively explored in existing literature. There are no methodologies available, and the current guidelines rely on approximate calculations; thus, there is a need for clear directives on these two matters. This paper produces a procedure for performing thermal analyses of long concrete …

Coal Mining Reclamation: Lessons Learned From Tropical And Subtropical Countries, Priyaji Agung Pambudi, Suyud Warno Utomo, Roni Setyo Handoko

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

This study addresses the persistent environmental challenges associated with coal mining in tropical and subtropical regions, where complex microclimates and ecological variability hinder effective reclamation. Despite the increasing global coal demand, comparative cross-country insights remain limited. This research fills the gap by evaluating the best practices. This study employs a qualitative methodology with a comparative case study design, uses systematic literature review to evaluate ecology based reclamation policies and implementation practices. Data were sourced from peer-reviewed journals from Scopus and the Web of Science database and institutional reports, and analyzed using McHarg’s landscape ecology theory to evaluate reclamation policies, ecological …

Is There A More Effective Design For Quadrat To Increase Ease Of Use And Vegetation Density?, Scott M. Burke Jr., Kristen M Bellisario

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Quadrats are a special tool in the ecology field that allows the measurement of vegetation density for further data analysis of a habitat. The larger the quadrat cross-sectional area, the better the results of the data, which in turn can make the quadrat hard to carry through field sites. In wildlife corridor research, quadrat surveys provide a quantitative metric for habitat suitability. In this work, we consider the efficiency and ease-of-use benefits for field work in the design of a collapsible version of a quadrat using a House of Quality (standard metric for new design requirements) to assess the customer …

Exploring Immune System Through Computational Modeling: A Comprehensive Study Of Lymph Nodes And Immune Response Scaling, Vaccine Efficacy, And Large-Scale Extreme First Passage Time, Jannatul Ferdous

Computer Science ETDs

The adaptive immune response is a complex defense mechanism that develops over time to recognize and eliminate pathogens with remarkable precision and durability. This dissertation investigates the dynamics, scaling, and efficiency of the adaptive immune response through a synthesis of computational modeling, mathematical analysis, and agent-based simulations. First, we analyze the topology of the lymphatic network and investigate the T cell search time to find the lymph node that is containing the matching dendritic cell. Second we show how the scaling of lymph node number and volume with body mass, leads to scale-invariant search times for T cells locating antigen-bearing …

Targeted Delivery Of Rapamycin Via Epidermal Growth Factor Receptors In Pancreatic Cancer Cells Inhibits Cell Proliferation And Induces Apoptosis, Adeolu S. Oluremi, Christofer Baldwin, Nickolas L. Gustavision, Mujeebat Bashiru, Adeniyi Nsiah Oyebade, Noureen Siraj, Raj Raghavendra Rao, N. Ali

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is aggressive and deadly; most PC cells overexpress an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). EGFR-targeting peptide (GE11) was conjugated to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) for delivering rapamycin (Rap), an mTOR inhibitor that reduces proliferation and induces apoptosis. Biophysical techniques confirmed the conjugation. Rap loading efficiency was 41.5%, with sustained release at a lower pH. Conjugates showed higher uptake in PANC-1 cells than unmodified AuNPs. It also inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis via pathways involving reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial damage, and caspase activation. This approach represents a promising nanoparticle-based therapeutic strategy targeting PC cells, utilizing GE11-EGFR interactions to minimize …

07.28.2025 Ored Connect, Liz Williamson

ORED Newsletter

On-demand training courses released

• Mentoring
• My Project Was Funded, Now What?

Notice of Funding Opportunity SMART Act Accelerate Initiative

Memo Regarding Contact from Federal Agencies

Optimal Water Hammer Protection Strategies For Low-Head Hydraulic Systems: A Case Study Using Bentley Hammer, Ahmed A. Abdel-Naby, Mostafa A. Abdel-Moaty, Eslam R. Lotfy

Mansoura Engineering Journal

The analysis of water hammer in low-head hydraulic systems holds significant importance compared to that in high-head systems, particularly given instances where Thorley’s equation may fall short in providing accurate pump inertia values. In situations where manufacturer data are unavailable, proactive measures to mitigate potential hammering incidents become imperative. While Bentley HAMMER software provides robust simulation capabilities, optimal protection strategies for low-head systems remain underexplored. This case study focuses on a scenario involving multistage centrifugal pumps that lift water from the basement floor of a building to its roof via a polypropylene pipeline. The investigation revealed a novel configuration: relocating …

Mechanical Properties And Temperature Resistance Of Fly Ash-Based Geopolymer Concrete, Hala Emad Elden Fouad, Mohamed I. Serag, Ahmed Ragab, Abdelrahman Hussein

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Global warming is pressing issue, primarily driven by increasing in greenhouse gas emissions with CO2 accounting for 64% of total emissions. It was founded that produce one ton of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) producing one ton of CO2. To address these issues, geopolymers derived from fly ash (FA) have been proposed as a superior alternative to cement. This research presents a comparative review of OPC and FA-based geopolymers in the context of CO2 sequestration. The research investigates the behavior of FA-based geopolymer cement, focusing on the influence of preparation conditions on its mechanical performance, bond strength, and the effect of …

Sbv_Dps: A Stacking-Bagging-Voting Nested Ensemble Based Diabetes Prediction System Using K-Fold Cross Validation, Sourabh Shastri, Sachin Kumar, Paramjit Kour, Vibhakar Mansotra

Mansoura Engineering Journal

With the advancement of machine learning techniques, the introduction of the most accurate model has become a necessity. In real-world scenarios, every model has some constraints and assimilates errors, so their performance is not always highly efficient; this sparked the development of ensemble learning. The ensemble approach aims to consolidate the strengths of existing approaches and minimize their weaknesses or decision-making risks. The proposed diabetes prediction system encases a resampling filter, applied to balance the dataset and model builder method, i.e., without the SBV ensemble and with the SBV ensemble method. The model is initially built without using the SBV …

A Comprehensive Study Of Transportation Projects Impact In Congested Cities Through Travel Demand Modeling And Decision-Making Tools: A Case Study Of Zagazig City, Egypt, Amr M. Sakr, Metwally Gouda Mohamed Altaher, Mahmoud El-Saied Ali Solyman, Mohamed Ibrahim El-Sharkawi Attia

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Transportation projects are major resource-intensive projects that largely influence the transportation system’s resilience, human health, and quality of life. This study aims to assess and prioritize four transportation projects in Zagazig City, Egypt, in an attempt to build a more sustainable transport system. The travel demand model is used to determine various traffic characteristics and environmental impacts, and decision-making tools are used to evaluate the proposed projects. Benefit-cost analysis (BCA) is employed to investigate the economic feasibility of the proposed projects, and two hybrid multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods are used to prioritize the proposed projects. Through the work conducted in …

A Deep-Learning-Based Dehazing Framework For Non-Homogenous Scenes, Shimaa Mohammed Abd Elghany, Doaa A. Altantawy, Hossam El-Din Moustafa Moustafa

Mansoura Engineering Journal

The advancement of single-image dehazing techniques has been rapid in recent years. Several existing algorithms that are based on deep learning have shown remarkable efficiency for dealing with homogeneous hazing-free issues, but convolutional neural networks (CNNS) frequently fail on non-homogeneous dehazing datasets. Meanwhile, dehaze results from dense haze regions are often blurry because the information of these regions is typically unknown and difficult to estimate. To address these issues, an efficient image enhancement dehazing algorithm that utilizes deep learning techniques, and a non-uniform atmospheric scattering model had been proposed. Unlike the majority of existing dehazing methods, the medium transmission function …

Collaborative Class Zine: Weekly Reflection Assignment With Powerpoint Template, Brett Whysel

Open Educational Resources

Abstract

This collaborative class zine assignment uses a shared PowerPoint format to deepen student learning while building community. Students contribute visual reflections (graphics, diagrams, quotes, or doodles) weekly or periodically throughout the semester. Faculty provide reflection prompts about key takeaways and unclear concepts (sample prompts included). The resource includes both sample LMS instructions and a ready-to-use PowerPoint zine template that works across all disciplines. By combining metacognitive reflection with creative expression, students consolidate learning by finding new connections and applications. The collaborative format creates community connections and joy while students learn from peers' diverse perspectives.

The Effect Of Transformer Based Pre-Trained Language Models On Biomedical Relation Extractions, Eman Saad, Sherif Kishk, Amr Ali-Eldin, Ahmed I. Saleh

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Biomedical relation extraction represents a critical advancement in healthcare research. As the volume of biomedical publications continues to grow exponentially, efficient extraction of entity relationships has become essential for accelerating knowledge discovery, drug development, and precision medicine initiatives. The field has evolved from focusing on simple binary relations, such as Protein-Protein Interactions (PPI), which are fundamental to understanding cellular processes and therapeutic development, to addressing more complex multi-class classification challenges like Drug-Drug Interactions (DDI) and Chemical-Protein Interactions (CPI).Pre-trained language models have become the cornerstone of modern approaches of extracting biomedical relations. Models like BioBERT, PubMedBERT, and SciBERT, along with general-purpose …

Predicting Sleep And Sleep Stage In Children Using Actigraphy And Heartrate Via A Long Short-Term Memory Deep Learning Algorithm: A Performance Evaluation, Robert Weaver Med, Phd, James White, Olivia Finnegan, Hongpeng Yang, Zifei Zhong, Keagan Kiely, Catherine Jones, Yan Tong, Srihari Nelakuditi, Rahul Ghosal, David E. Brown, Russell R. Pate Ph.D., Gregory J. Welk, Massimiliano De Zambotti, Yuan Wang, Sarah Burkart, Elizabeth L. Adams Phd, Bridget Armstrong, Michael Beets Med, Mph, Phd

Faculty Publications

Children's ambulatory sleep is commonly measured via actigraphy. However, traditional actigraphy measured sleep (e.g., Sadeh algorithm) struggles to predict wake (i.e., specificity, values typically < 70) and cannot predict sleep stages. Long short-term memory (LSTM) is a machine learning algorithm that may address these deficiencies. This study evaluated the agreement of LSTM sleep estimates from actigraphy and heartrate (HR) data with polysomnography (PSG). Children (N = 238, 5–12 years,52.8% male, 50% Black 31.9% White) participated in an overnight laboratory polysomnography. Participants were referred be-cause of suspected sleep disruptions. Children wore an ActiGraph GT9X accelerometer and two of three consumer wearables(i.e., Apple Watch Series 7, Fitbit Sense, Garmin Vivoactive 4) on their non-dominant wrist during the polysomnogram. LSTM estimated sleep versus wake and sleep stage (wake, not-REM, REM) using raw actigraphy and HR data for each 30-s epoch. Logistic regression and random forest were also estimated as a benchmark for performance with which to compare the LSTM results. A 10-fold cross-validation technique was employed, and confusion matrices were constructed. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated to assess the agreement between research-grade and consumer wearables with the criterion polysomnography. For sleep versus wake classification, LSTM outperformed logistic regression and random forest with accuracy ranging from 94.1to 95.1, sensitivity ranging from 94.9 to 95.9 across different devices, and specificity ranging from 84.5 to 89.6. The addition of HR improved the prediction of sleep stages but not binary sleep versus wake. LSTM is promising for predicting sleep and sleep staging from actigraphy data, and HR may improve sleep stage prediction.

The Reactivation Of Moucharaby As Light Ornaments Through Digital Design, Noha Gamal Said, Amal Abu Daya

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Ornaments are considered essential part of architecture, contributing to the atmosphere and sense of place through its diverse visual effects. The Moucharaby is one of the traditional architectural elements that requires technical, professional, and artisanal knowledge to exist. It is closely related to light, affecting the privacy of the space and controlling the movement of the eye. Despite the disappearance of both elements: ornaments and Moucharaby from the modern architectural scene, the recent sustainability trends, parametric design, and modern technologies offer an opportunity to revive these elements. The article describes the experiential methodology of an intensive workshop that took place …

Aeroponic System Optimization For Butterhead Lettuce Growth And Future Sustainability Using Flow Blurring Atomization: An Overview, Taylor J. Johnson

Beyond: Undergraduate Research Journal

The global population has grown by 6 billion people over the last century and is trending toward 9.7 billion people by the year 2050. Agriculture accounts for 70% of global fresh water usage. Technology must be developed to accommodate the increase of food production demanded by the growing global population and the subsequent increase in water usage. Aeroponic technology is a water-efficient vertical farming technology that can reduce water usage by 90% by suspending plant roots in air within a controlled chamber and supplying atomized droplets of a water-nutrient solution directly to the roots.

This study simultaneously tests six droplet …

Ergonomic And Biomechanical Assessment Of Vertical Ladder Climbing For Exoskeleton Integration In Construction Tasks, Ehsan Shourangiz

LSU Master's Theses

Active exoskeletons are increasingly utilized in physically demanding industries such as construction and manufacturing to reduce strain and lower the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, supporting worker safety and long-term health. However, most existing systems are designed for repetitive tasks like lifting or prolonged standing, with limited consideration for dynamic activities such as vertical ladder climbing. Ladder climbing is common and physically demanding in industrial environments, often required to access elevated areas like scaffolding, tanks, or rooftops. Since exoskeletons are intended to remain worn throughout multiple tasks, requiring workers to remove and re-don the device during ladder climbing would reduce …

Native Plants For Green Roofs In The Midwest, Katerina Mcsweyn

Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Gis-Based Swat Modeling For Surface Runoff Assessment To Support Urban Flood Resilience In Central Java, Indonesia, Putri Amalia Sholichah Ms., Endah Sulistyawati, Susana Paulina Dewi

Smart City

Surface runoff significantly contributes to environmental hazards such as floods in Indonesia, including in Borobudur District. Based on watershed delineation, the administrative area of Borobudur District is predominantly located within the Sileng Subwatershed. The rehabilitation zones managed by PT Adaro Indonesia are located in several specific areas within this subwatershed. This study utilizes the SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model integrated with GIS (Geographic Information System) to simulate surface runoff quantitaively in the Sileng subwatershed, part of the Progo watershed in Central Java Province. SWAT is applied in this research to simulate surface runoff in both watershed and …

Vertical Hydrokinetic Turbine, Miki Harding, Ben E. Mertz

Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Redundant Functions Of Mir156-Targeted Squamosa Promoter Binding Protein-Like Transcription Factors In Promoting Cauline Leaf Identity, Darren Manuela, Liren Du, Qi Zhang, Yifei Liao, Tieqiang Hu, Jim P. Fouracre, Mingli Xu

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Graduate School Blog - July 2025 Volume 1, Cynthia Haynes

UofM Grad School Blog

The July 2025 UofM Graduate School Blog – Volume 1 continues the Cost of Graduate School Guide with a deep dive into hidden and variable expenses such as residency-based tuition differences, program-specific fees, and differential tuition. The blog provides practical tips for prospective students on how to ask the right financial questions when comparing programs. It also features a student spotlight on Billy Brooks, a dual MHA/MBA candidate motivated to transform healthcare access and equity. Upcoming events include a Virtual Fall 2025 Open House with Financial Aid and USBS, a Dissertation Writers Retreat, and both in-person and virtual Graduate Student …

Biocomputing Approach To Modeling And Modulating Calcium Signaling, Sehee Sun

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Biocomputing is an emerging field that seeks to perform computational tasks using biological substrates and processes. Unlike conventional computing systems based on silicon hardware, biocomputing leverages the parallelism, energy efficiency, and complex dynamics of living systems. Among various cellular mechanisms, calcium (Ca2+) signaling stands out as a central regulator of diverse biological functions, offering a promising basis for programmable logic and control in living cells.

This thesis introduces a novel framework for modeling and modulating Ca2+ dynamics using biologically inspired Boolean logic circuits. Specifically, we propose the Ca2+ Boolean Logic (CaBL) model, in which Ca2+ fluxes and interactions are abstracted …

Response Of Soybean To Variable Irrigation Levels In Eastern Nebraska Using The Aquacrop Model, Anmol Singh

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

AquaCrop was calibrated and validated for soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] using 19 irrigation treatments from five years using data from field experiments. The model accurately simulated canopy cover (CC), soil water content (SWC), and grain yield, with overall validation nRMSE values of 12%, 7%, and 7%, respectively. The overall validation nRMSE for SWC in individual 30-cm soil layers was comparatively higher, at 19%. The model was subsequently applied for long-term simulations (2010–2024) to estimate soybean yield and water requirements for two dominant soil types, Yutan silty clay loam and Tomek silt loam under three irrigation levels - rainfed, …

Exogenous Ketones Reduce Inflammation And Pathology In The Tgf344-Ad Rat Model, Amaya Rogers, Pheven Yohannes, Juan P. Carcamo, Preetham Gundlapally, Amaya Coker, Macy A. Seijo, Caesar M. Hernandez

Expo Student Presentations

2025 Summer Expo Poster Presentation

• Biological & Life Sciences
• Engineering
• Physical & Applied Sciences

Conservation Management Effects On Soil And Agronomic Properties In A Furrow-Irrigated Corn System In East-Central Arkansas, Jeferson P. Pimentel, Christopher G. Henry, Kris R. Brye, Benjamin R. Runkle, Amanda J. Ashworth, Edgar Mersiovsky, Kevin C. Thompson

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Cover crops can improve soil physical properties and help to sustain agricultural crop yields. A 6-year study conducted from 2017 to 2022 examined the effects of conservation soil management practices in a furrow-irrigated continuous corn (Zea mays L.) system on a silt-loam soil (Typic Albaqualf) in the Lower Mississippi River Delta region of eastern Arkansas. This study compared the effects of conventional tillage (CT), no-tillage (NT), and no-tillage with cover crops (CC) in selected soil physical and chemical properties (i.e., soil bulk density (D b), porosity (& fnof;t), field capacity (Theta FC), Permanent wilting point (Theta PWP), Plant available water …

Phytochemical Analysis And Antimicrobial Activity Of Micromeria Barbata Leaf And Stem Extracts Against Pseudomonas Aeruginosa: Insights From Molecular Docking And In Vitro Assays, Shiraz Rawas, Dalia El-Badan, Nawal Al Hakawati

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

The present study provides the characterization of the phytochemical content and the antibacterial activity of ethanolic extracts from the leaves (LM) and stems (SM) of Micromeria barbata (M.barbata) against Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Important functional groups were determined by analyzing the FTIR spectra of LM and SM. The phytochemical profiles were analyzed by GC-MS, and these characterized the chemicals according to retention periods and peak regions. The binding affinities of discovered compounds with the P. aeruginosa LasR and PqsD proteins were evaluated using molecular docking approach. Assays for biofilm formation, MIC, MBC, and agar well diffusion were used to assess the …

Mecanismos De Participación En Temas Ambientales En Colombia, Martha Rocío Castro Rodríguez, Felipe Ramírez Cortázar, Sara Milena Niño Montero

Ciencias Agropecuarias

Mecanismos de participación en temas ambientales en Colombia es un producto editorial, de divulgación y apropiación social del conocimiento, desarrollado en el proyecto de investigación “Participación política en ciudades de Colombia, Italia y Guatemala: un estudio mixto sobre su relación con la anomia y la autoeficacia política en jóvenes”, en el marco de la V convocatoria interna - periodo 2023-1 UCundinamarca Generación Siglo 21.