Engineering Commons^™

Enhanced Dna Sensing Via Catalytic Aggregation Of Gold Nanoparticles, Herbert M. Huttanus, Elton Graugnard, Bernard Yurke, William B. Knowlton, Wan Kuang, William L. Hughes, Jeunghoon Lee

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A catalytic colorimetric detection scheme that incorporates a DNA-based hybridization chain reaction into gold nanoparticles was designed and tested. While direct aggregation forms an inter-particle linkagefrom only one target DNA strand, catalytic aggregation forms multiple linkages from a single target DNA strand. Gold nanoparticles were functionalized with thiol-modified DNA strands capable of undergoing hybridization chain reactions. The changes in their absorption spectra were measured at different times and target concentrations and compared against direct aggregation. Catalytic aggregation showed a multifold increase in sensitivity at low target concentrations when compared to direct aggregation. Gelelectrophoresis was performed to compare DNA hybridization reactions …

An Effective Color-Difference-Based Demosaicking Method, Yea-Shuan Huang, Sheng-Yi Cheng

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This paper proposes an effective color-difference-based (ECDB) interpolation algorithm for color filter array (CFA) image demosaicking. A CFA image consists of a set of spectrally selective filters which are arranged in an interleaved pattern such that only one color component is sampled at each pixel location. To improve the quality of reconstructed fullcolor images from CFA images, the ECDB algorithm first analyzes the samples immediately around a missing green pixel to determine suitable samples for interpolating the value of this missing green pixel. After finishing the interpolation operations of all the missing green pixels, a complete green plane (i.e G …

Vehicle Counting Without Background Modeling, Cheng-Chang Lien, Cheng-Ta Hsieh, Ming-Hsiu Tsai

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

In general, the vision-based methods for vehicle detection/tracking may face the problems of illumination variation, shadows, or swaying trees. In this study, we propose a novel vehicle detection method without background modeling to overcome the aforementioned problems. First, a modified block-based frame differential method is established to quickly detect the moving vehicles without the influences of rapid illumination variations. Second, the precise vehicles’ regions are extracted with the dual foregrounds fusion method. Third, a texture-based object segmentation method is proposed to segment each vehicle from the merged foreground image blob and remove the shadows. Fourth, based on the concept of …

Determining The Internal Structure Of Cement-Based Materials By Using Mri Techniques, Hsiang-Wei Chiang, Ran Huang, Chia-Jung Tsai

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The primary concerns of the internal structure of cementbased materials involve the distribution of pores, pore size, and the manner in which they are connected. Thoroughly understanding the distributive rules of pores and the approaches to breaking their links can contribute considerably to enhancing the durability of cement-based materials. Several methods are used to measure the pores of cement-based materials; however, they cannot determine the exact location of pores or structural links. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been widely applied in physical examinations and has matured to the level of being able to obtain 3D images of the organs of …

Dynamic Thermal And Power Management: From Computers To Buildings, Yong Fu

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Thermal and power management have become increasingly important for both computing and physical systems. Computing systems from real-time embedded systems to data centers require effective thermal and power management to prevent overheating and save energy. In the mean time, as a major consumer of energy buildings face challenges to reduce the energy consumption for air conditioning while maintaining comfort of occupants. In this dissertation we investigate dynamic thermal and power management for computer systems and buildings. (1) We present thermal control under utilization bound (TCUB), a novel control-theoretic thermal management algorithm designed for single core real-time embedded systems. A salient …

The Role Of Oxygen In The Uptake Of Deuterium In Lithiated Graphite, C. N. Taylor, J. Dadras, Kara E. Luitjohan, Jean P. Allain, P. S. Kristic, C. H. Skinner

Birck and NCN Publications

We investigate the mechanism of deuterium retention by lithiated graphite and its relationship to the oxygen concentration through surface sensitive experiments and atomistic simulations. Deposition of lithium on graphite yielded 5%-8% oxygen surface concentration and when subsequently irradiated with D ions at energies between 500 and 1000 eV/amu and fluences over 10(16) cm(-2) the oxygen concentration rose to between 25% and 40%. These enhanced oxygen levels were reached in a few seconds compared to about 300 h when the lithiated graphite was allowed to adsorb oxygen from the ambient environment under equilibrium conditions. Irradiating graphite without lithium deposition, however, resulted …

Delamination Detection In Concrete Using Disposable Impactors For Excitation, Anjali Narendra Patil

Theses and Dissertations

Delaminations in concrete bridge decks result primarily from corrosion of the reinforcing bars (or rebar). This corrosion leads to volumetric expansion of the rebar. When the rebar expands, concrete cracks, and there is a localized separation of the concrete cover from the underlying concrete. Impact-echo testing is an effective technique to map delaminations on concrete bridge decks. However, mapping speed is limited by necessary retrieval of the impactor for traditional tests. To achieve higher scanning speeds, it is advantageous to use both a non-contact measurement (air-coupled impact-echo) and disposable-impactor excitation. Disposable impactors have the potential advantage of achieving greater deck …

Automatic Modulation Recognition For Aeronautical Telemetry, Jacob William Frogget

Theses and Dissertations

This these explores automatic modulation recognition as applied to PCM/FM, SOQPSK- TG and ARTM CPM. It found that the likelihood based approach is intractable. The statistical features of the amplitude, phase and frequency are ineffective at distinguishing these modulation types. A method based on the phase changes between symbols is developed and shows that as long as symbol timing is established, this method can effectively distinguish PCM/FM, SOQPSK-TG and ARTM CPM for signal-to-noise ratios above 30 dB. Another method, the Bianchi-Loubaton- Sirven technique, was able to distinguish PCM/FM and SOQPSK-TG but was unable to distinguish ARTM CPM. A happy byproduct …

Analysis Of The Industrial Skill Set; Lewis County Case Study, Jonathan Shane Wallingford

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the College of Science and Technology Morehead State University in Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Master of Science by Jonathan Shane Wallingford on December 13, 2013.

Chiral Plasmonic Dna Nanostructures With Switchable Circular Dichroism, Ngoc Luong, Bernard Yurke, Wan Kuang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Circular dichroism spectra of naturally occurring molecules and also of synthetic chiral arrangements of plasmonic particles often exhibit characteristic bisignate shapes. Such spectra consist of peaks next to dips (or vice versa) and result from the superposition of signals originating from many individual chiral objects oriented randomly in solution. Here we show that by first aligning and then toggling the orientation of DNA-origami-scaffolded nanoparticle helices attached to a substrate, we are able to reversibly switch the optical response between two distinct circular dichroism spectra corresponding to either perpendicular or parallel helix orientation with respect to the light beam. The observed …

The Performance Of Risk Management And Innovation In Construction Manager/General Contractor Delivery In Civil Construction Applications, Rebecca M. Owens

Theses and Dissertations

Project teams that deliver high risk, complex projects in the civil construction industry need tools to enable successful delivery. Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) is an innovative alternate delivery method, providing one such a tool. CM/GC furnishes public agencies with an attractive option for delivering projects in a less adversarial and more constructive manner by involving the contractor during design. The sophisticated public owner does not have to relinquish control of the details of the design in order to accelerate the schedule or see the benefits of real-time cost estimating data. There are also significant cost and schedule benefits with not …

Effect Of Full-Annular Pressure Pulses On Axial Turbine Performance, Mark H. Fernelius

Theses and Dissertations

Pulse detonation engines show potential to increase the efficiency of conventional gas turbine engines if used in place of the steady combustor. However, since the interaction of pressure pulses with the turbine is not yet well understood, a rig was built to compare steady flow with pulsing flow. Compressed air is used in place of combustion gases and pressure pulses are created by rotating a ball valve with a motor. This work accomplishes two main objectives that are different from previous research in this area. First, steady flow through an axial turbine is compared with full annular pulsed flow closely …

An Experimental Analysis Of The Weighted Sum Of Spatial Gradients Minimization Quantity In Active Structural Acoustic Control Of Vibrating Plates, Daniel R. Hendricks

Theses and Dissertations

Active Structural Acoustic Control (ASAC) is a subcategory of the more widely known field of Active Noise control (ANC). ASAC is different from traditional ANC methods because it seeks to attenuate noise by altering the noise producing structure instead of altering the acoustic waves traveling through the air. The greatest challenge currently facing ASAC researchers is that a suitable parameter has not yet been discovered which can be easily implemented as the minimization quantity in the control algorithms. Many parameters have been tried but none effectively attenuate the sound radiation in a way that can be easily implemented. A new …

Toughening Of Poly(L-Lactic Acid) With Cu3Btc2 Metal Organic Framework Crystals, Ajay Kathuria, Mohamad G. Abiad, Rafael Auras

Industrial Technology and Packaging

Poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) and metal organic framework (MOF) composites were prepared by melt extrusion of PLLA with 5, 10 and 20% w/w of activated Cu₃(BTC)₂ MOF. The morphology and stability of injection-molded samples were evaluated using thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), gel permeation chromatography, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The composites showed improved toughness during the tensile tests as compared to the neat PLLA matrix. Toughness mechanism of the composites was studied using SEM and rheological studies. SEM images indicated that cavitation induced by debonding at the interface of PLLA and MOF particles during …

Interactions Of Peptide Triazole Thiols With Env Gp120 Induce Irreversible Breakdown And Inactivation Of Hiv-1 Virions, Arangassery Bastian, Mark Contarino, Lauren D. Bailey, Rachna Aneja, Diogo Rodrigo Magalhaes Moreira, Kevin Freedman, Karyn Mcfadden, Caitlin Duffy, Ali Emileh

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background: We examined the underlying mechanism of action of the peptide triazole thiol, KR13 that has been shown previously to specifically bind gp120, block cell receptor site interactions and potently inhibit HIV-1 infectivity.

Results: KR13, the sulfhydryl blocked KR13b and its parent non-sulfhydryl peptide triazole, HNG156, induced gp120 shedding but only KR13 induced p24 capsid protein release. The resulting virion post virolysis had an altered morphology, contained no gp120, but retained gp41 that bound to neutralizing gp41 antibodies. Remarkably, HIV-1 p24 release by KR13 was inhibited by enfuvirtide, which blocks formation of the gp41 6-helix bundle during membrane fusion, while …

Coordinating Job Release Dates With Workdays: A Job Shop Application To Utilities Field Service Scheduling, Ryan Lawrence Pelkey

Dissertations and Theses

A local utility company processes a variety of jobs each day including meter reading, service shut-offs, emergency response, and customer service work. For the Company, a specific workflow begins with automated meter-reading (AMR) and ends with collections/service shut-offs (CSOs) for accounts with excessively late payments (AMR-CSO workflow). There are considerable and systemic sources of variability in both the workload and resource demands of the AMR-CSO workflow including order arrival, order release schedules, order batch-sizing and maintenance scheduling.

This project draws on theory from the job-shop problem to explore possible means to mitigate this variability. We hypothesized that controlling various forms …

Enhanced Sonar Array Target Localization Using Time-Frequency Interference Phenomena, Jordan Almon Shibley

Dissertations and Theses

The ability of traditional active sonar processing methods to detect targets is often limited by clutter and reverberation from ocean environments. Similarly, multipath arrivals from radiating sources such as ships and submarines are received at sensors in passive sonar systems. Reverberation and multipath signals introduce constructive and destructive interference patterns in received spectrograms in both active and passive sonar applications that vary with target range and frequency. The characterization and use of interference phenomena can provide insights into environmental parameters and target movement in conjunction with standard processing methods including spectrograms and array beamforming.

This thesis focuses on utilizing the …

Computational And Experimental Study Of Degeneration, Damage And Failure In Biological Soft Tissues, Gregory Allen Von Forell

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this work was to analyze the biomechanics of degeneration, damage, and failure in biological soft tissues both experimentally and computationally to provide insight into tendon or ligament tearing, tendo-achilles lengthening and lumbar spine dysfunction. For soft tissue tearing, experimental studies for calculating fracture toughness were performed and determined that tendons and ligaments are able to completely resist tear propagation. For tendo-achilles lengthening, a damage model was developed to mimic the behavior of the lengthening that occurs as a result of the percutaneous triple hemisection technique. The model provided insight for predicting the amount of lengthening that occurs …

Molecular Modeling Of Dna For A Mechanistic Understanding Of Hybridization, Terry Jacob Schmitt

Theses and Dissertations

DNA microarrays are a potentially disruptive technology in the medical field, but their use in such settings is limited by poor reliability. Microarrays work on the principle of hybridization and can only be as reliable as this process is robust, yet little is known at the molecular level about how the surface affects the hybridization process. This work uses advanced molecular simulation techniques and an experimentally-parameterized coarse-grain model to determine the mechanism by which hybridization occurs on surfaces and to identify key factors that influence the accuracy of DNA microarrays. Comparing behavior in the bulk and on the surface showed, …

Active Structural Acoustic Control Of Clamped And Ribbed Plates, William Richard Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

A control metric, the weighted sum of spatial gradients (WSSG), has been developed for use in active structural acoustic control (ASAC). Previous development of WSSG [1] showed that it was an effective control metric on simply supported plates, while being simpler to measure than other control metrics, such as volume velocity. The purpose of the current work is to demonstrate that the previous research can be generalized to plates with a wider variety of boundary conditions and on less ideal plates. Two classes of plates have been considered: clamped flat plates, and ribbed plates. On clamped flat plates an analytical …

Introducing The Vuepod: Development And Testing Of A Low-Cost Large-Scale Stereoscopic Immersive System Using 3d Lcd Televisions, Shane Makana Hayden

Theses and Dissertations

3D immersive visualization systems, or CAVEs™, have found wide adoption for use in geosciences, planetary science, medical research, and computer science. However, much of the potential for such systems in practical civil and environmental engineering settings has been severely limited due to 1) extreme costs in both hardware and software; 2) immobility due to calibration and darkroom requirements; and 3) extensive and expensive manpower requirements for both operation and maintenance. This thesis presents the development and testing of a new mobile low-cost immersive stereo visualization system -- the "VuePod" -- that attempts to address these challenges through the use of …

African Elephant Vocalizations, Michael T. Johnson

Dr. Dolittle Project: A Framework for Classification and Understanding of Animal Vocalizations

Sound files:

Croak ; Rumble ; Rev ; Snort ; Trumpet

Localization Of Auditory Spatial Targets In Sighted And Blind Subjects, Richard Nuckols

Theses and Dissertations

This research was designed to investigate the fundamental nature in which blind people utilize audible cues to attend to their surroundings. Knowledge on how blind people respond to external spatial stimuli is expected to assist in development of better tools for helping people with visual disabilities navigate their environment. There was also interest in determining how blind people compare to sighted people in auditory localization tasks. The ability of sighted individuals, blindfolded individuals, and blind individuals in localizing spatial auditory targets was assessed. An acoustic display board allowed the researcher to provide multiple sound presentations to the subjects. The subjects’ …

The Design And Validation Of A Computational Rigid Body Model For Study Of The Radial Head, Cassandra Woodcock

Theses and Dissertations

Rigid body modeling has historically been used to study various features of the elbow joint including both physical and computational models. Computational modeling provides an inexpensive, easily customizable, and effective method by which to predict and investigate the response of a physiological system to in vivo stresses and applied perturbations. Utilizing computer topography scans of a cadaveric elbow, a virtual representation of the joint was created using the commercially available MIMICS(TM) and SolidWorks(TM) software packages. Accurate 3D articular surfaces, ligamentous constraints, and joint contact parameters dictated motion. The model was validated against two cadaveric studies performed by Chanlalit et al. …

Intercalibration Of Quikscat And Oscat Land Backscatter, John Colin Barrus

Theses and Dissertations

The Ku-band SeaWinds-on-QuikSCAT scatterometer (QuikSCAT) operated continuously from 1999 to 2009. Though its primary mission was to estimate global ocean winds, QuikSCAT has proven useful in a variety of geophysical studies using land backscatter measurements. The end of the primary QuikSCAT mission in 2009 has prompted interest for continuing the QuikSCAT land dataset with other scatterometers. The Oceansat-2 scatterometer (OSCAT), launched in 2009, is a viable candidate for continuing the QuikSCAT time series because of the similarities of both sensors in function and design. An important difference in the sensors is that they operate at slightly different incidence angles. Continuing …

Examination Of The Effect Of Different Training Metrics On Performance Of A Minimally Invasive Surgery Transfer Task, Cristofer Madera

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this experiment was to determine if there existed techniques to more efficiently train prospective surgeons the skills necessary to capably perform minimally invasive surgical procedures. Also, we wanted to know if trainees could be pushed to cognitively define a laparoscopic environment with a novel hand-eye relationship. To explore these questions, a simulation was setup wherein subjects would perform a laparoscopic transfer task and receive active feedback during training. Different subjects would receive different metrics as feedback and a comparison would be made between subjects with respect to standard metrics. Results of this experiment show that all subjects …

Application Of Support Vector Machine In Predicting The Market's Monthly Trend Direction, Ali Alali

Dissertations and Theses

In this work, we investigate different techniques to predict the monthly trend direction of the S&P 500 market index. The techniques use a machine learning classifier with technical and macroeconomic indicators as input features. The Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier was explored in-depth in order to optimize the performance using four different kernels; Linear, Radial Basis Function (RBF), Polynomial, and Quadratic. A result found was the performance of the classifier can be optimized by reducing the number of macroeconomic features needed by 30% using Sequential Feature Selection. Further performance enhancement was achieved by optimizing the RBF kernel and SVM parameters …

2013 Fall Engr333 Student Seminar Presentation, Claire Philippi, Karl Bratt, Mike Houtman, Brandon Koster

ENGR 333

File for student presentation, given by students in the Fall 2013 class of ENGR333.

Limit For Thermal Transport Reduction In Si Nanowires With Nanoengineered Corrugations, Sean E. Sullivan, Keng-Hua Lin, Stanislav Avdoshenko, Alejandro Strachan

Birck and NCN Publications

Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the thermal conductance of Si nanowires with periodic corrugations is lower than that of smooth wires with cross-sections equivalent to the constricted portions. This reduction in conductance is up to 30% and tends to plateau with increasing corrugation height. Spatially resolved temperature and heat current maps provide a microscopic understanding of this effect; we find that 80% of the heat current is carried through the constricted area even for high-amplitude corrugations. More importantly, we show that temperature gradient inversion and heat current vortices at the ridge peaks establish fundamental limits on maximum conductance reduction. …

Polarization Diversity In The Presence Of Multipath Propagation, Grant Taylor Wagner

Theses and Dissertations

The possibility of polarization diversity using left and right hand circular polarization (LHCP and RHCP) in the presence of multipath propagation is examined. We show that there are differences in the received signal for LHCP and RHCP for a number of realistic scenarios. Because multipath propagation can produce different LHCP and RCHP signals, there exists the possibility for diversity improvement involving the two polarizations.