Engineering Commons^™

Effects Of Lumbar Spinal Fusion On Lumbopelvic Rhythm During Activities Of Daily Living, Cameron G. Slade

Theses and Dissertations--Biomedical Engineering

Abnormalities in lumbopelvic rhythm (LPR) play a role in occurrence/recurrence of low back pain (LBP). The LPR before spinal fusion surgery and its changes following the surgery are not understood. A repeated measure study was designed to investigate timing and magnitude aspects of LPR in a group of patients (n = 5) with LBP before and after a spinal fusion surgery. Participants completed a forward bending and backward return task at their preferred pace in the sagittal plane. The ranges of thoracic and pelvic rotations and lumbar flexion (as the magnitude aspects of LPR) as well as the mean absolute …

Multimodal Noncontact Diffuse Optical Reflectance Imaging Of Blood Flow And Fluorescence Contrasts, Daniel Irwin

Theses and Dissertations--Biomedical Engineering

In this study we design a succession of three increasingly adept diffuse optical devices towards the simultaneous 3D imaging of blood flow and fluorescence contrasts in relatively deep tissues. These metrics together can provide future insights into the relationship between blood flow distributions and fluorescent or fluorescently tagged agents. A noncontact diffuse correlation tomography (ncDCT) device was firstly developed to recover flow by mechanically scanning a lens-based apparatus across the sample. The novel flow reconstruction technique and measuring boundary curvature were advanced in tandem. The establishment of CCD camera detection with a high sampling density and flow recovery by speckle …

Sleep And Thermoregulation: A Study Of The Effect Of Ambient Temperature Manipulation On Mouse Sleep Architecture, Asma'a A. Ajwad

Theses and Dissertations--Biomedical Engineering

Good quality sleep is essential for mental and physical health. Inadequate sleep impacts memory consolidation, learning and cognition, immune function, autonomic regulation, physical performance, and other vital functions. In many neurological disorders that are associated with sleep problems such as epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease, changes in brain circuitry affect sleep-wake regulation mechanisms; this is reflected in anomalous sleep-wake architecture and usually accompanied by poor sleep depth. Thus, over many years, many approaches have been tried in humans and animal models with the goal of improving sleep quality. Unfortunately, each of those approaches comes with limitations or side effects. Thus, there …

Lower Back Biomechanics At Non-Chronic Stage Of Low Back Pain, Iman Shojaei

Theses and Dissertations--Biomedical Engineering

Prior studies have reported differences in lower back biomechanics during activities of daily living between individuals with and without chronic low back pain (LBP). Nevertheless, the literature on lower back biomechanics of patients with non-chronic LBP is scant. Therefore, the objective of this study, as the first step towards future prospective studies, was to investigate the lower back biomechanics in patients with non-chronic LBP. Case-control studies were conducted wherein measures of lumbo-pelvic coordination during bending and return tasks as well as measures of mechanical demand on the lower back during lifting tasks in the sagittal plane were investigated between patients …

Segmentation Strategies For Road Safety Analysis, Eric R. Green

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

This dissertation addresses the relationship between roadway segment length and roadway attributes and their relationship to the efficacy of Safety Performance Function (SPF) models. This research focuses on three aspects of segmentation: segment length, roadway attributes, and combinations of the two. First, it is shown that choice of average roadway segment length can result in markedly different priority lists. This leads to an investigation of the effect of segment length on the development of SPFs and identifies average lengths that produce the best-fitting SPF. Secondly, roadway attributes are filtered to test the effect that homogeneity has on SPF development. Lastly, …

Assessment Of Watershed Nutrient Loads And Effectiveness Of Best Management Practices, Saeid Nazari

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Several methods have been developed for use in estimating the water quality loads associated with urban and agricultural landuses and practices. These include the use of sophisticated computer models, typically based on using pollutant loading and runoff functions, regression equations, load export coefficients (LECs), and event mean concentrations (EMCs). This research has examined the feasibility of using a simple EMC approach with the Kentucky Nutrient Model (KYNM). The thesis includes an extensive literature review of EMCs and a synthesis of recommended values for a range of typical urban and agricultural landuses. The thesis also includes an extensive literature review of …

Preferential Pathways For Vapor Intrusion: Site Screening And Field Sampling Of Sewers To Assess Inhalation Exposure Risks, Evan James Willett

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Hazardous waste sites and aging wastewater infrastructure are common in the United States. There are hundreds of thousands of contaminated sites and more than a million miles of sewer pipes. Populations living close to hazardous waste sites often suffer from increased risk of adverse health effects due to exposure to contaminated environmental media. Vapor intrusion is one process by which nearby populations can be exposed to volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Aging wastewater infrastructure is important for vapor intrusion site assessments because sewer pipes can serve as preferential vapor transport pathways. Near contaminated sites, pipe deterioration allows migration of contaminants into …

Advanced Technologies For Efficient Transportation Construction Inspection, Clyde Wesley Newcomer Iv

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Collecting load tickets is an example of an antiquated practice that puts inspectors in harm’s way either adjacent to traffic, in close proximity to moving or backing equipment, or at times requires climbing onto trucks to reach tickets. Technology exists to collect this information electronically allowing for safer, efficient inspection methods. Departments of Transportation are charged with inspecting an increasing work load with a diminishing number of inspection staff. Recently, doing more with less has led to the prioritization of inspection activities and resulted in less collection of data and visual inspection on projects. Technology advancements are available to improve …

Quantifying Non-Recurrent Delay Using Probe-Vehicle Data, Jacob Douglas Keaton Brashear

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Current practices based on estimated volume and basic queuing theory to calculate delay resulting from non-recurrent congestion do not account for the day-to-day fluctuations in traffic. In an attempt to address this issue, probe GPS data are used to develop impact zone boundaries and calculate Vehicle Hours of Delay (VHD) for incidents stored in the Traffic Response and Incident Management Assisting the River City (TRIMARC) incident log in Louisville, KY. Multiple linear regression along with stepwise selection is used to generate models for the maximum queue length, the average queue length, and VHD to explore the factors that explain the …

Performance Of The Grout Curtain At The Kentucky River Lock And Dam No. 8, Robert C. Hatton

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Karst bedrock conditions and deterioration of the lock and dam structures have resulted in significant leakage through, underneath, and around Lock and Dam No. 8 on the Kentucky River. During severe droughts, the water surface in Pool No. 8 has been observed to drop below the crest of the dam, resulting in water supply shortages and water quality issues for surrounding communities reliant on the pool. Presently, the primary purpose of Lock and Dam No. 8 is water supply. Pool No. 8 is currently where the cities of Nicholasville (Jessamine County, KY) and Lancaster (Garrard County, KY) draw their water. …

Performance Of Two Tieback Walls And Rock Anchors In A Shale Stratum, Jorge Octavio Romana Giraldo

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Tieback walls are typically design based on predetermined pressure distribution; however, these pressures were proposed based on performance of excavations. For retaining walls used in slope remediation, the application of these pressures might not be adequate; the construction procedure; therefore, a different response of the wall is expected. This document, presents the performance of two tieback walls installed in a shale stratum. Monitored responses is correlated with construction activities; these activates implied excavation and backfilling in both of the tieback walls. In addition, this research shows a numerical procedure to evaluate the anchor capacity based on the t- z approach. …

Numerical Modeling And Isotope Tracers To Investigate Karst Biogeochemistry And Transport Processes, Admin Husic

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

This dissertation investigated the physical and biogeochemical processes affecting the source, fate, and transport of sediment, carbon, and nitrogen within a highly-coupled fluviokarst system. Elemental and isotopic datasets were collected at surface and subsurface locations for both dissolved and particulate contaminant phases, new methodology regarding data collection was presented to the karst research community, an in-cave sediment transport model coupling physical transport with elemental and isotopic mass balances of carbon and nitrogen was formulated, pathway and process control on nitrate leaching from agricultural karst watersheds was assessed, and nitrate mobilization and fractionation were modeled using high frequency storm sampling and …

Direct Measurement Of Crosstie-Ballast Interface Pressures Using Granular Material Pressure Cells, Travis James Watts

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

The magnitudes and relative pressure distributions transmitted to the crosstie-ballast interface of railroad track significantly influences the subsequent behavior and performance of the overall track structure. If the track structure is not properly designed to distribute the heavy-axle loads of freight cars and locomotives, deficiencies and inherent failures of the crossties, ballast, or underlying support layers can occur, requiring substantial and frequent maintenance activities to achieve requisite track geometrical standards. Incorporating an understanding of the pressure distribution at the crosstie-ballast interface, appropriate designs can be applied to adequately provide a high performing and long-lasting railroad track. Although this can be …

Understanding Inhibition Of A Biodesulfurization Enzyme To Improve Sulfur Removal From Petroleum, Yue Yu

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

The biodesulfurization 4S-pathway is a promising complementary enzymatic approach to remove sulfur from recalcitrant thiophenic derivatives in petroleum products that remain from conventional hydrodesulfurization method without diminishing the calorific value of oil. The final step of this pathway involves the carbon-sulfur bond cleavage from HBPS, and the production of the final products 2-hydroxybiphenyl (HBP) and sulfite, has been recognized as the rate-limiting step, partially as a result of product inhibition. However, the mechanisms and factors responsible for product inhibition in the last step have not been fully understood. In this work, we proposed a computational investigation using molecular dynamic simulations …

Automated Tree-Level Forest Quantification Using Airborne Lidar, Hamid Hamraz

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

Traditional forest management relies on a small field sample and interpretation of aerial photography that not only are costly to execute but also yield inaccurate estimates of the entire forest in question. Airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) is a remote sensing technology that records point clouds representing the 3D structure of a forest canopy and the terrain underneath. We present a method for segmenting individual trees from the LiDAR point clouds without making prior assumptions about tree crown shapes and sizes. We then present a method that vertically stratifies the point cloud to an overstory and multiple understory tree …

Hydrologic Monitoring And 2-D Electrical Resistivity Imaging For Joint Geophysical And Geotechnical Characterization Of Shallow Colluvial Landslides, Matthew M. Crawford

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Landslide characterization and hazard assessments require multidisciplinary approaches that connect geologic processes with geotechnical parameters. Field monitoring of hydrologic variables such as water content and water potential, coupled with geoelectrical measurements that can establish relationships used for geotechnical and landslide hazard investigations is deficient.

This study brings together different techniques to develop a methodology that connects geoelectrical measurements and shear strength. A field-based framework was established that includes (1) analysis of long-term soil moisture fluctuations within different landslides (2) establishment of constitutive and new equations that test the use of electrical conductivity to predict soil-water relationships and shear strength (3) …

Fractionation Of Lignin Derived Compounds From Thermochemically Processed Lignin Towards Antimicrobial Properties, Luke A. Dodge

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

The overuse of antibiotics in agriculture is an emerging concern, due to their potential detrimental impact to the environment. This study focuses on exploring antimicrobial properties of lignin derived compounds. Lignin is of interest as a feedstock to replacing some petroleum-based chemicals and products because it is the most abundant source of renewable aromatic compounds on the planet. Two lignin rich streams, residues from the enzymatic hydrolysis of dilute acid and alkaline pretreated corn stover, were decomposed via pyrolysis and hydrogenolysis, respectively. The resulting liquid oils were subjected to sequential extractions using a series of solvents with different polarities. Chemical …

Pre-Wilting Burley Tobacco To Enhance Manual And Mechanical Harvesting And Housing, Ben C. Herbener

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Traditionally, burley tobacco has been harvested by hand because the green plant weight, volume, and leaf fragility make mechanical harvesting very challenging. This study examined possible ways to wilt a plant still standing in the field (termed ‘pre-wilting’) to reduce weight, volume, and leaf fragility. Several methods of pre-wilting burley tobacco plants in the field were explored including: root pruning, stalk girdling, freezing with liquid nitrogen, and burning. Experiments were conducted in three locations over three consecutive years during the tobacco harvest season. Leaf breaking angle, leaf moisture content and time-lapse photography were investigated as methods to quantify treatment effects …

Assessing The Spatial Accuracy And Precision Of Lidar For Remote Sensing In Agriculture, Surya Saket Dasika

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

The objective of this whole study was to evaluate a LiDAR sensor for high-resolution remote sensing in agriculture. A linear motion system was developed to precisely control the dynamics of LiDAR sensor in effort to remove uncertainty in the LiDAR position/velocity while under motion. A user control interface was developed to operate the system under different velocity profiles and log LiDAR data synchronous to the motion of the system. The LiDAR was then validated using multiple test targets with five different velocity profiles to determine the effect of sensor velocity and height above a target on measurement error. The results …

Classifying Soil Moisture Content Using Reflectance-Based Remote Sensing, Ali Hamidisepehr

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

The ability to quantify soil moisture spatial variability and its temporal dynamics over entire fields through direct soil observations using remote sensing will improve early detection of water stress before crop physiological or economic damage has occurred, and it will contribute to the identification of zones within a field in which soil water is depleted faster than in other zones of a field.

The overarching objective of this research is to develop tools and methods for remotely estimating soil moisture variability in agricultural crop production. Index-based and machine learning methods were deployed for processing hyperspectral data collected from moisture-controlled samples. …

Development Of A Decision Support System For Capacity Planning From Grain Harvest To Storage, Aaron P. Turner

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

This dissertation investigated issues surrounding grain harvest and transportation logistics. A discrete event simulation model of grain transportation from the field to an on-farm storage facility was developed to evaluate how truck and driver resource constraints impact material flow efficiency, resource utilization, and system throughput. Harvest rate and in-field transportation were represented as a stochastic entity generation process, and service times associated with various material handling steps were represented by a combination of deterministic times and statistical distributions. The model was applied to data collected for three distinct harvest scenarios (18 total days). The observed number of deliveries was within …

High Resolution Sensing Of Nitrate Dynamics In A Mixed-Use Appalachian Watershed: Quantifying Nitrate Fate And Transport As Influenced By A Backwater Riparian Wetland, Alexandria Kosoma Jensen

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

As harmful algal blooms begin to appear in unexpected places such as rivers in predominantly forested systems, a better understanding of the nutrient processes within these contributing watersheds is necessary. However, these systems remain understudied. Utilization of high-resolution water quality data applied to deterministic numerical modeling has shown that a 0.42% watershed area backwater riparian wetland along the Ohio River floodplain can attenuate 18.1% of nitrate discharged from local mixed-use watersheds and improves in performance during high loading times due to coinciding increased hydrological connectivity and residence times of water in these wetlands. Loading from the Fourpole Creek watershed was …

Valorization Of Proso Millet And Spent Grain For Extruded Snack Development, Joseph Woomer

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Fast-paced lifestyles result in consumers replacing traditional meals with on-the-go snack foods. In general, snacks are higher in saturated fats and simple sugars, and pose health concerns for consumers, which prompts the need for healthy nutritious alternatives to common snacks. Proso millet is a nutritious, and fast growing gluten free cereal. Spent grain (SG), the main by-product of brewing and distilling, contains high amount of protein and insoluble fibers. This study utilized proso millet and spent grain in the production of an extruded expanded snack, demonstrating their appropriateness as an ingredient in food production.

The first objective of this study …

Determining Heat Production Of Black Solderi Fly Larvae, Hermetia Illucens, To Design Rearing Structures At Livestock Facilities, Travis Mceachern

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Due to their small size and ectothermic biology, the heat production of insects and insect larvae is hard to quantify. However, knowing the amount of heat production, as well as ammonia production of insects may be beneficial for commercial production of valuable insect species. Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) are of interest in the agricultural industry because they quickly consume organic waste and have high amounts of protein and fat in their bodies. It has been proposed that BSFL be used to manage livestock waste, while serving as a high-protein feed source for livestock animals. To efficiently rear BSFL, it …

Understanding The Thermodynamics And Oral Absorption Potential Of Pharmaceutical Amorphous Solid Dispersions, Nico Setiawan

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacy

Supersaturating drug delivery systems, such as amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs), have been used extensively to elevate the apparent solubility and oral bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs. However, despite the numerous examples of success in increasing solubility and oral bioavailability using ASDs, physical stability challenges remain as formulators seek to employ high drug loading for cost reduction and improved patient compliance. Therefore, stability in both the solid and solution state must be considered for ASDs to be successful. In the solid state, the drug must remain amorphous in the solid matrix throughout the shelf life of the product. Although excipients, such …

Characterization And Engineering Of Human Proteins As Therapeutic Candidates, Kyungbo Kim

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacy

Protein engineering has been a useful tool in the fight against human diseases. Human insulin was the first recombinant DNA-derived therapeutic protein (Humulin^®) approved by the US FDA in 1982. However, many of the early protein drugs were only recombinant versions of natural proteins with no modification of their primary amino acid sequence and most of them did not make optimal drug products mainly due to their short half-life or suboptimal affinity, leading to poor therapeutic efficacy. The difficulty in the large-scale production of some therapeutic proteins was another important issue. In the past three decades, different protein …

Evaluation And Prevention Of Spontaneous Combustion During Handling And Storage Of Coal, Amir E. Najarzadeh

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Spontaneous combustion of coal has historically been a major problem for the coal industry, predominantly during storage and transportation. Various methods have been used in the laboratory for evaluating the propensity of different coal sources to self-heat. However, the heterogeneity of coal and the complexity of the system has resulted in inconsistencies and sometimes conflicting results as indicated by the findings reported in several publications.

The primary objective of the current study was to build a laboratory scale apparatus that simulates the condition of a coal stockpile to evaluate the events leading to spontaneous combustion and develop potential remedies. As …

Investigation Of The Effectiveness Of An Integrated Flooded-Bed Dust Scrubber On A Longwall Shearer Through Laboratory Testing And Cfd Simulation, Sampurna N. Arya

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Dust generation at an underground coal mine working face continues to be a health and safety issue. Prolonged exposure to high concentrations of airborne respirable dust can cause a debilitating and often fatal respiratory disease called Black Lung. In addition, the deposition of float dust in mine return airways poses a serious safety hazard if not sufficiently diluted with inert rock dust. A localized methane explosion can transition into a self-propagating dust explosion. Since dust is a byproduct of various mining activities, such as cutting and loading, crushing, and transportation, the dust-related issues cannot be totally eliminated. However, the adverse …

Investigation Of Environmental Cadmium Sources In Eastern Kentucky, Elizabeth Maher

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Utilizing data collected by the University of Kentucky Lung Cancer Research Initiative (LCRI), this study investigated potential mining-related sources for the elevated levels of cadmium in Harlan and Letcher counties. Statistical analyses for this study were conducted utilizing SAS. A number of linear regression models and logarithmic models were used to evaluate the significance of the data. The linear regression models consisted of both simple and multivariate types, with the simple models seeking to establish significance between the potential sources and urine cadmium levels and the multivariate models seeking both to identify any statistically significant linear relationships between source types …

Numerical Analysis Of Stress Distributions For Multiple Backfilled Stopes, Christopher Richard Newman

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Over the past three decades, technological innovations with respect to cemented paste backfill (CPB) as a means of ground support has allowed for increased production within the mining industry, management mine waste costs, as well as the improvement of the overall health and safety of underground mining operations. Despite the extensive use of this relatively new ground support material, many fundamental factors affecting the design of safe and economical CPB structures are still not well understood.Recently, a significant amount of academic and industry research has been conducted to better understanding the distribution of stress with respect to primary-secondary extraction sequencing …