Engineering Commons^™

Predicting Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons In Field Soils With Vis–Nir Models Developed On Laboratory-Constructed Samples, Nuwan K. Wijewardane, Yufeng Ge, Natasha Sihota, Thomas Hoelen, Toni Miaso, David C. Weindorf

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Accurate quantification of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs) is required for optimizing remedial efforts at oil spill sites. While evaluating total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in soils is often conducted using costly and time-consuming laboratory methods, visible and near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (Vis–NIR) has been proven to be a rapid and cost-effective field-based method for soil TPH quantification. This study investigated whether Vis–NIR models calibrated from laboratory-constructed PHC soil samples could be used to accurately estimate TPH concentration of field samples. To evaluate this, a laboratory sample set was constructed by mixing crude oil with uncontaminated soil samples, and two field sample sets (F …

Antibiotic Resistance Gene Profile Changes In Cropland Soil After Manure Application And Rainfall, Morgan A. Meyers, Lisa M. Durso, John E. Gilley, Heidi Waldrip, Lana Castleberry, Amy Schmidt

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Land application of manure introduces gastrointestinal microbes into the environ- ment, including bacteria carrying antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Measuring soil ARGs is important for active stewardship efforts to minimize gene flow from agri- cultural production systems; however, the variety of sampling protocols and target genes makes it difficult to compare ARG results between studies. We used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods to characterize and/or quantify 27 ARG targets in soils from 20 replicate, long-term no-till plots, before and after swine manure application and simulated rainfall and runoff. All samples were negative for the 10 b-lactamase genes assayed. For tetracycline resistance, …

Setback Distance Impacts On Transport And Antibiotic Resistance Phenotypes Of Fecal Indicators, Morgan A. Meyers, Lisa M. Durso, John E. Gilley, Daniel N. Miller, Xu Li, Amy M. Schmidt Schmidt

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Although the land application of livestock manure has numerous agronomic benefits, runoff from manured fields can degrade water quality. Setbacks instruct a minimum distance be maintained between manure application and surface waters. They are commonly used to manage nutrient contamination of surface waters; however, their utility for reducing microbial inputs remains unclear. Here we evaluated the efficacy of five setback distances in no-till wheat (Triticum aes- tivum L.) residue plots for reducing runoff fecal indicator concentrations from swine manure-amended fields. Also, since there is increasing interest in the use of water quality indicators to monitor antibiotic resistance in environmental sys- …

Innovative Extension Methods In The U.S. To Promote Irrigation Water Management, Daran Rudnick, Matt Stockton, Saleh Taghvaeian, Jason Warren, Michael D. Dukes, Amy Kremen, Christopher G. Henry, Jonathan Aguilar, Brenda Ortiz, Allan A. Andales, Chuck A. Burr, Xin Qiao, Wei‑Zhen Liang, Steven Walthour, Steve H. Amosson

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Promotion and adoption of irrigation water management (IWM) technology, tools, and best management practices are important as water availability concerns are addressed. Traditional extension programs have relied on lecture presentations, field tours, fact sheets, and on-station demonstrations to promote IWM practices and tools. However, these platforms tend not to provide the experience and opportunity for growers to identify and become comfortable with innovative solutions, such as new technology. To address these challenges and to appeal to an ever-changing client base, innovative and locally relevant extension and outreach programs have been devised to engage and educate growers. This article describes some …

Accumulation And Release Of Nutrients By Immersed Stalks Collected On Selected Dates Following Harvest, John E. Gilley, David B. Marx

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The concentrations of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) in runoff from cropland areas may be influenced by accumulation and release of P and N by stalk residues. A laboratory study was conducted to measure the effects of time since harvest and immersion period on accumulation and release of P and N by corn, soybean, and wheat stalks. Experimental variables included type of stalk material (corn, soybean, and wheat), time since harvest (six residue collection dates over an approximate 1-year period), and stalk immersion period (25 s (0.42 min), 250 s (4.2 min), 2500 s (42 min), 25,000 s (6.9 h), …

Effect Of Urea Fertilizer Deep Placement Days After Transplanting Using Brri Prilled Urea Applicator On Transplanted Boro Rice Yield, Muhammad Rashed Al Mamun, K. Naher, Md Towfiqur Rahman, Md Anwar Hossen

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Rice is the most important crop in the developing countries of Asia. In the south and south-east Asia, rain-fed and irrigated transplanted rice occupies nearly two-thirds of the rice-growing area and produces more than 80% of the rough rice. In these areas, prilled urea conventionally applied by farmers is very insufficient in the transplanted rice field, where severe losses occur (up to 60% of applied N) via NH₃volatilization, denitrification, leaching, and runoff. Considering loss minimization, an experiment was conducted during the Boro season at Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) in Sylhet to evaluate the performance of BRRI Prilled …

Effect Of Rotary Blade Modification On Residue Retention Into Conservation Agriculture Practices, Md Talash Mahmud, Md Towfiqur Rahman, Md Mosharraf Hossain, Muhammad Ashik-E-Rabbani

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Conservation Agriculture (CA) has been a promising technique for better crop production. Manual seeding with conventional tillage practice is laborious and time consuming. However, Strip tillage (ST) method incorporating seeding machines minimizes human drudgery and optimizes the crop yield. Many problems associated with ST have been rectified e.g. tiny furrow backfill, inaccuracy of seed and fertilizer placement, leading to poor germination and curtailed outcomes. This article focused on the effects of residue retention for the rotary blades design on a versatile multi-crop planter (VMP). Four types of rotary blades of VMP differed by 15^o increment of tip angles were …

Regional Sustainable Development Of Renewable Natural Resources Using Net Primary Productivity On A Global Scale, Saket Dubey, Ashutosh Sharma, Venkatesh Kishor Panchariya, Manish Kumar Goyal, Rao Y. Surampalli, Tian C. Zhang

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Ecological Indicators 127 (2021) 107768

Energy-Scape Web-Based Application Is An Effective Tool To Overcome The Basic Knowledge Of Architects Toward Renewable Energy Properties, Rania Rushdy Moussa, Khaled M. Dewidar

Architectural Engineering

In last few years, research on renewables were shifted from integrating renewable energy (RE) with buildings into integrating renewable energy (RE) within urban environment due to the large occupies of urban areas in comparing to the building foot print. Urban areas such as urban landscape areas have a great potential in generating huge amount of energy that could satisfy the needs of urban neighbor-hoods. The presented research identify the properties of a new elements called Energy-scape elements (ESE) that integrates RE devices with urban landscape elements. This research focuses on analyzing the efficiency of web-based application called “Energy-scape software” (ESS) …

Elements Of Safety Management System In The Construction Industry And Measuring Safety Performance – A Brief, Mostafa Elsebaei, Omar Elnawawy, Ayman Ahmed Ezzat Othman, Mohamed Badawy

Architectural Engineering

Construction industry is considered to be one of the most hazardous industries in the world. The reason could be attributed to its hazardous nature as it is an accident-prone industry. Thus, a need for better understanding of safety management system is essential for improving safety performance in this sector. This paper discusses briefly the elements of safety management by presenting different systems (such as Oregon OSHA Occupational Health and Safety Administration, and OTAR Overseas Territories Aviation Circle) and elaborating their elements. It also discusses two types of measuring safety performance the first is the lagging indicators and the second is …

A Framework For Implementing Integrated Project Delivery In Architecture Design Firms In Egypt, Ayman Ahmed Ezzat Othman, Lamis Yasser Wagih Youssef

Architectural Engineering

Purpose

This paper aims to develop a framework for implementing the integrated project delivery (IPD) approach during the design process in architecture design firms (ADFs) in Egypt.

Design/methodology/approach

A research methodology consists of literature review, case studies and survey questionnaire was designed to achieve the abovementioned aim. First, literature review was used to identify and categorise the challenges of implementing IPD during the design process. Second, four case studies were analysed to investigate the values delivered to the client or missed due to the use of IPD or traditional procurement approaches, respectively. Finally, a survey questionnaire was carried out with …

A Framework To Activate The Health And Safety Regulations In The Egyptian Construction Industry, Mostafa Adel Elsebaei, Ayman Ahmed Ezzat Othman, Omar Elnawawy, Mohammed Badawy

Architectural Engineering

Purpose

The construction industry is considered one of the most dangerous industries especially in developing countries such as Egypt. Although safety in Egypt is regulated by mainly four pivotal legislations, namely, Law No. 12 (2003) and Ministerial Decrees No. 211, 126 and 134, construction accident records in Egypt are high. Accordingly, this paper aims to develop a framework to activate the health and safety regulations in the Egyptian construction industry.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve this aim, a research methodology consisting of a literature review and a survey questionnaire was developed to accomplish three objectives. First, a literature review was used to …

Achieving Sustainability Through Reducing Construction Waste During The Design Process: A Value Management Perspective, Ayman Ahmed Ezzat Othman, Sherouk Mohamed Abdelrahim

Architectural Engineering

Purpose:

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of Value Management towards achieving sustainability through reducing the construction waste during the design process.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve the abovementioned aim, a research methodology consisting literature review and survey questionnaire is designed to achieve the following objectives: first, building a comprehensive understanding of the research topic through reviewing literature related to the nature of the construction industry, waste in construction, sustainability, the design phase and Value Management; second, presenting and analysing two case studies to validate the role of Value Management towards reducing waste in construction projects; third, conducting …

An Investigation Into Solid Waste Problem In The Egyptian Construction Industry: A Mini-Review, Ahmed Osama Daoud, Ayman Ahmed Ezzat Othman, Herbert Robinson, Ali Bayyati

Architectural Engineering

Solid waste management (SWM) is one of the most critical global challenges nowadays. It has a severe negative effect on the triple bottom line of sustainability. Construction and demolition waste (CDW) contributes about 50% of the total global annual generated SW. In the particular case of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region including Egypt, the SW problem has become a major challenge, and the need to find sustainable solutions is overwhelming. However, the region faces several challenges that hinder the development of an effective and efficient SWM system. This has resulted in the predominance of unsustainable SWM practices …

Designing Composites For Graceful Failure, Amany G. Micheal Prof., Yehia Ahmed Bahei El Din Prof.

Architectural Engineering

When inevitable, failure in composite laminates is preferred to occur gracefully to avoid loss of property and possibly life. While the inherent inhomogeneity leads to slow dissipation of damage-related energy, overall failure is fiber-dominated and occurs in a rather brittle manner. Multidirectional plies usually give a more ductile response. Additionally, stiffness and strength as well as cost are important factors to consider in designing composite laminates. It is hence desirable to optimize for high mechanical properties and low cost while keeping graceful failure. Designing composite laminates with hybrid systems and layups, which permit gradual damage energy dissipation, are two ways …

An Exact Single-Agent Task Selection Algorithm For The Crowdsourced Logistics, Chung-Kyun Han, Shih-Fen Cheng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The trend of moving online in the retail industry has created great pressure for the logistics industry to catch up both in terms of volume and response time. On one hand, volume is fluctuating at greater magnitude, making peaks higher; on the other hand, customers are also expecting shorter response time. As a result, logistics service providers are pressured to expand and keep up with the demands. Expanding fleet capacity, however, is not sustainable as capacity built for the peak seasons would be mostly vacant during ordinary days. One promising solution is to engage crowdsourced workers, who are not employed …

Optimization Of Home Mortgage Mover Predictive Model Applying Geo-Spatial Analysis And Machine Learning Techniques, Natalia Riscovaia

Dissertations

In the last decade digital innovations and online banking services have significantly changed customers banking preferences and behaviour. Banking industry is going through the changes and developments in the provision of banking services that are affecting the structure and the organization of the bank network. However, private home loan, referred as Home Mortgage hereinafter, continue to remain among the products, that customers prefer to have personal interaction about with professional advisors prior making the decision to apply for the loan with financial institution.

Development Of Integrated Water Resources Planning Model For Dublin Using Weap21, Mohammed Yassin

Doctoral

Population growth, urbanisation, and climate change are predicted to impose huge pressure on water resource systems of many cities around the world including Dublin. Integrated water resources management is seen as a viable approach to address these challenges. This approach examines the water resources system in a more interconnected manner, focusing on reducing water demands, reducing reliance on fresh water supplies, reducing discharges into receiving water bodies, and creating water supply assets from storm water and wastewater. The role of mathematical modelling in designing an integrated water resources management plan is paramount as it provides a tool whereby performances of …

The Temporal And Spatial Dynamics Of Fluvial Carbon Cycling In Irish Blanket Peatland Pools And Soils, Mariya Radomski

Doctoral

Blanket peatlands in Ireland are reservoirs of organic matter and have effects on carbon dioxide (CO2) flux regulation. Data on dissolved CO2 in Ireland is limited. In blanket peatlands, the drainage systems are well connected with pools, hummocks and lawns and this connectivity leads to significant variations in outflows of carbon. The excess carbon dioxide in blanket peatlands could originate from soil organic matter decomposition. Dissolved CO2 could be transported into pools via surface run-off and lateral throughflow. Peatland pools are typically supersaturated in CO2. As part of a project described in this thesis, the role of spatial and seasonal …

Artificial Intelligence In Plasma Electrolytic Micro-Oxidation For Surface Hardening - Insights From Scholarly Citation Networks And Patents., Priya Jadhav, Dr.Arun Bongale, Dr.Satish Kumar, Dr.Amit Kumar Tiwari

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Objective - The purpose of this article is to analyze the top work areas and patent domains in the field of surface hardening by micro-arc oxidation. Also, it is directed on the opportunities of data analysis by different machine learning tools. Material and methods - The www.lens.org database is used to collect articles from Elsevier, Trans tech publications, Springer New York, MDPI, etc. to review the relevant articles as well as patents related to the topic. The result - A total of 1057 articles were published in 60 different journals and 756 patents in the area of research under various …

Bibliometric Review Of Noc Router Optimization, Priti Shahane, Jayshree Pande

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Network on chip (NoC) has been proposed as an emerging solution for scalability and performance demands of next generation System on Chip (SoC). NoC provides a solution for the bus based interconnection issue of SoC, where large numbers of Intellectual Property modules (IP) are integrated on a single chip for better performance. The NoC has several advantages such as scalability, low latency and low power consumption, high bandwidth over dedicated wires and buses. Interconnections between multiple chip cores have a significant impact on the communication and performance of the chip design in terms of region, latency, throughput and power. In …

The Fluxnet2015 Dataset And The Oneflux Processing Pipeline For Eddy Covariance Data, Gilberto Pastorello, Timothy Arkebauer, Dave P. Billesbach, Anatoly Gitelson, Adam Liska, Andrew Suyker, Elizabeth Walter-Shea, More Than 200 Other

Adam Liska Papers

The FLUXNET2015 dataset provides ecosystem-scale data on CO2, water, and energy exchange between the biosphere and the atmosphere, and other meteorological and biological measurements, from 212 sites around the globe (over 1500 site-years, up to and including year 2014). These sites, independently managed and operated, voluntarily contributed their data to create global datasets. Data were quality controlled and processed using uniform methods, to improve consistency and intercomparability across sites. The dataset is already being used in a number of applications, including ecophysiology studies, remote sensing studies, and development of ecosystem and Earth system models. FLUXNET2015 includes derived-data products, such as …

Brassinosteroids Inhibit Autotropic Root Straightening By Modifying Filamentous-Actin Organization And Dynamics, Louise De Bang, Ana Paez-Garcia, Ashley E. Cannon, Sabrina Chin, Jaydeep Kolape, Fuqi Liao, J. Alan Sparks, Qingzhen Jiang, Elison B. Blancaflor

Nebraska Center for Biotechnology: Faculty and Staff Publications

When positioned horizontally, roots grow down toward the direction of gravity. This phenomenon, called gravitropism, is influenced by most of the major plant hormones including brassinosteroids. Epi-brassinolide (eBL) was previously shown to enhance root gravitropism, a phenomenon similar to the response of roots exposed to the actin inhibitor, latrunculin B (LatB). This led us to hypothesize that eBL might enhance root gravitropism through its effects on filamentous-actin (F-actin). This hypothesis was tested by comparing gravitropic responses of maize (Zea mays) roots treated with eBL or LatB. LatB- and eBL-treated roots displayed similar enhanced downward growth compared with controls …

Functional Characterization Of Petiolule-Like Pulvinus (Plp) Gene In Abscission Zone Development In Medicago Truncatula And Its Application To Genetic Improvement Of Alfalfa, Juan Du, Shaoyun Lu, Maofeng Chai, Chuanen Zhou, Liang Sun, Yuhong Tang, Jin Nakashima, Jaydeep Kolape, Zhaozhu Wen, Marjan Behzadirad, Tianxiu Zhong, Juan Sun, Yunwei Zhang, Zeng-Yu Wang

Nebraska Center for Biotechnology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is one of the most important forage crops throughout the world. Maximizing leaf retention during the haymaking process is critical for achieving superior hay quality and maintaining biomass yield. Leaf abscission process affects leaf retention. Previous studies have largely focused on the molecular mechanisms of floral organ, pedicel and seed abscission but scarcely touched on leaf and petiole abscission. This study focuses on leaf and petiole abscission in the model legume Medicago truncatula and its closely related commercial species alfalfa. By analysing the petiolule-like pulvinus (plp) mutant in M. truncatula at phenotypic level (breakstrength and …

Mental Workload Assessment Among Healthcare Workers During Pandemic Covid-19 At Hospital Tunku Azizah, Mohd Basari Mohd 'Aizat

Student Works (2020-2029)

Workload is the amount of work an individual has to do. There is a distinction between the actual amount of work and the individual's perception of the workload. In addition, with current pandemic situation, definitely causes an increased workload among healthcare workers. Somehow, front-liners are doing their best in battling COVID-19 to protect publics from any adverse effects by this aggressive identified Coronavirus. The purpose of this study is to determine level of mental workload and its relationship on mental health status and job satisfaction among healthcare workers. Scope of this study involving medical laboratory workers in Pathology Department Hospital …

Exploring The Relationship Between Teamwork Skills And Team Members' Centrality, Francisco Cima, Pilar Pazos, Ana Maria Canto

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The present paper describes an exploratory study of small teams working on a four-month project as part of a graduate engineering program. The research had two primary goals. The first was to utilize the log files from shared repositories used for team collaboration to describe the network structure of the teams. The second was to determine whether the network centrality of any individual team member is associated with their teamwork skills and attitudes towards the collaboration platform. The relationship between teamwork skills, attitudes towards the collaboration technology, and the centrality index was explored using Pearson correlations. A total of 35 …

Time-Of-Flight Depth-Resolved Imaging With Heralded Photon Source Illumination, Ximing Ren

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

We demonstrate 3D time-of-flight imaging from a scattering target illuminated with a heralded single photon source. Our image reconstruction algorithm achieves millimeter depth resolution with only 0.3 average detected photons per image pixel.

Perspective On Coarse-Graining, Cognitive Load, And Materials Simulation, Eric Jankowski, Nealee Ellyson, Jenny W. Fothergill, Michael M. Henry, Mitchell H. Leibowitz, Evan D. Miller, Mone't Alberts, Jamie D. Guevara, Chris D. Jones, Mia Klopfenstein, Kendra K. Noneman, Rachel Singleton, Matthew L. Jones

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The predictive capabilities of computational materials science today derive from overlapping advances in simulation tools, modeling techniques, and best practices. We outline this ecosystem of molecular simulations by explaining how important contributions in each of these areas have fed into each other. The combined output of these tools, techniques, and practices is the ability for researchers to advance understanding by efficiently combining simple models with powerful software. As specific examples, we show how the prediction of organic photovoltaic morphologies have improved by orders of magnitude over the last decade, and how the processing of reacting epoxy thermosets can now be …

Determination Of Zirconium Oxide Chemistry Through Complementary Characterization Techniques, Corey M. Efaw, Reynolds Michael, Jordan L. Vandegrift, Kassiopeia Smith, Yaqiao Wu, Brian J. Jaques, Hongqiang Hu, Claire Xiong, Michael F. Hurley

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Nuclear energy has been increasingly recognized as an effective and low carbon-emission energy source. Nuclear reactors are susceptible to adverse effects, which can lead to potentially severe consequences, though they are low in probability. To ensure safety and improved monitoring of reactors, there have been increasing interests in developing sensors to monitor key parameters relating to the status within a reactor. In order to improve sensor accuracy, high-resolution characterization of cladding materials can be utilized to correlate with sensor output. A common issue with zirconium cladding is the so-called "breakaway phenomenon", a critical factor seen as the transition from an …

Microplastics In Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant: Quantification, Identification And Ecological Risk Assessment, Sujarat Saiwaree

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are one of the significant pathways of microplastics (MPs) entering the environment. Thus, information regarding this issue is still requisite in Thailand. In this study, wastewater and sludge samples were collected from various treatment units of industrial WWTP in dry season (February 2020) and wet season (July 2020). The MP particles were identified by size, shape, and polymer types. From the wastewater, MPs were detected in the highest amounts after the aeration unit (134.35 ± 20.79 particles/L) in dry season sample. In addition, sludge contained relatively low MPs. The size fraction in wastewater varied, but in …