Engineering Commons^™

Drone Medical Package Delivery For Improved Transportation And Better Patient Outcomes Final Implementation Report, Amro El-Adle, Madeline Alden, Yin-Hsuen Chen, Melissa Davidson

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

The Drone Medical Package Delivery for Improved Transportation and Better Patient Outcomes planning and prototyping grant involves five partners, including Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission (A-NPDC), Riverside Health System, Old Dominion University (ODU), Virginia Institute for Spaceflight & Autonomy (VISA), Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC), and DroneUp. The partners worked together to address access, safety, reliability and sustainability for medical and emergency response package delivery via drone, specifically, where the use of aerial drones could lead to better patient outcomes and improved safety and emergency response.

The goal of the project was to develop an operational prototype that woul evolve into …

Understanding The Determinants Of Blockchain Adoption: An Empirical Study, Amarpreet Kohli, Nihar Kumthekar, Piyush Shah, Rebecca Jauch

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Blockchain technology (BT) has the potential to enhance security and robustness of transactions through a distributed ledger bookkeeping process. This study employs technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework and threat-rigidity theory (TRT) to examine whether perceived disruption caused by COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the adoption of BT, and inclination to adopt BT in the US. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique backdrop, as it affected businesses across all industries, sizes, and geographies. Results show a non-significant effect of perceived pandemic disruption on the current stage of BT adoption and intention to adopt BT. However, disruption readiness positively influences the current stage of BT …

Comparing Vr And Tv In Nigeria And The U.S.: Impacts On Empathy, Engagement, And Enjoyment, Jinhee Yoo, Eugene A. Ohu, Radosław Mącik

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This study (N = 170), involving participants from Nigeria and the U.S., investigated how different technologies (TV and VR) affect users' empathy (α = .93), engagement (α = .93), enjoyment (α = .93), preferences, and likelihood of technology use. Participants watched an animated documentary titled “Is Anna OK?” at two different time points, utilizing VR (Oculus Rift S) and TV, following which they completed measuring empathy, engagement, enjoyment, device preference, and usage likelihood. Analysis via one-way ANOVA and chi-square tests revealed that VR users reported significantly higher empathy and enjoyment compared to TV viewers, particularly on second viewing. Combining both …

Review And Comparative Study On Renewable Energy Use And Policies In Egypt And Leading Countries, Salwa Abdel Monem El Gindi

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Improving energy efficiency and sustainability in buildings is essential for maintaining good environmental quality. Renewable energy use has become imperative as a result of shortage and disadvantages of traditional energy sources. Although the world has taken measures to develop renewable energy, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions is continuously increasing. This may be related with a low level of elaboration of the ongoing policies, with obstacles to the renewable energy market growth. The energy sector in Egypt is overwhelmed with the local energy demands. Considering Egypt’s signature on the Kyoto protocol and hosting COP27 as it acknowledges the significance of …

Monitoring And Analysing Billboards On The Ring Road In Cairo To Promote Energy Saving Behaviour, Sherif Elsayed Elsaid Mohamed

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Billboards in Egypt are one of the means of outdoor advertising widely used on highways for commercial or governmental purposes, and their spread has been observed on the ring road in an unsystematic manner, in addition to the use of very many lighting units in all areas. These billboards result in the consumption of large amounts of electricity, in addition to the non-compliance of some of the commercial institutions that own these billboards with the security and safety requirements for the places where the billboard is installed, as well as the methods of construction and installation, in addition to the …

Evaluating Machine Learning Techniques For Breast Cancer Detection: A Comprehensive Review, Owen Kresse, Youssef Kamel Kamel Hassan Rezk, Alaaelddin Ibrahim Said, Rana Hossameldin Mousa, Merna Adel Abdelrahman Ibrahim, Ahmed Fathy Sweed, Tomas Pegorari, Pablo Nakasato, Ainhoa Osa-Sanchez, Itxasne Del Barrio, Francesc Serra Crespí, Keltse Santisteban Ortiz, Naiara Melián Eguia, Mohamed Elsharkawy, Ibrahim Abdelhalim, Begonya Garcia-Zapirain, Ayman El-Baz

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Breast cancer is considered one of the most common types of cancer among women. significant amount of effort done in early detection to increase survival chance since early detection is a challenging task especially in certain breast cancer conditions or using inefficient imaging modalities AI demonstrated significant potential in breast cancer detection algorithms including convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and Transformers, which have achieved highly accurate results but they have some limitations, such as the large amounts of data required for training as CNNs rely on local features, while Transformers focus on global features However, recent research has proposed hybrid models …

Colorado Gravimetric Geoid Model Using A Combination Of Window Technique And Modified Stokes’ Kernel, Hussein A. Abd-Elmotaal, Atef Makhloof, Ayman Hassan, Mostafa Ashry, Hussein Mohasseb, Mostafa Abd-Elbaky

Mansoura Engineering Journal

In the framework of the IAG 1-cm geoid experiment in Colorado, a detailed gravimetric geoid for Colorado has been computed within this investigation. The geoid has been computed through the window remove-compute-restore technique (Abd-Elmotaal and Kühtreiber, 1999, 2003). The window technique has been chosen because of its unambiguous behaviour of treating the local and global topographic-isostatic masses. The window technique needs the harmonic analysis of the topographic-isostatic masses for the data window to a high-degree. The necessary derivations of the appropriate expressions for the needed dimensionless potential harmonic coefficients of the topographic-isostatic masses within the data window for high-degrees are …

Effective Management Of Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources In Uganda, Susan Nalumansi

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Sealed radioactive sources are used in a wide range of applications in Uganda, such as medicine, agriculture, geology, industry, and other fields. After a given useful period, the sealed sources can no longer perform their intended purpose and are thus regarded as disused. However, depending on the activity of the source, the disused sources are highly active and can cause significant damage to human health and the environment when mismanaged. A regulatory body was established with the mandate to regulate peaceful applications of ionizing radiation in Uganda. Given the vulnerability of sealed sources at the end of their life cycle …

Conference Report Of Wmu Maritime Affairs Conference 2025 : Transforming A Maritime Future : Digitalization And Decarbonization, World Maritime University

Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

A Comprehensive Analysis Of Climate Resilience Strategies For Small Island Developing States, Ashley-Ann Davis

Doctoral Dissertations

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) face unique and disproportionate challenges in their efforts to achieve climate resilience due to their geographic vulnerabilities, limited resources, and systemic economic and social constraints. This dissertation provides a comprehensive analysis of climate resilience strategies tailored to SIDS, addressing critical systemic issues and exploring interdisciplinary solutions. It synthesizes findings across four interconnected studies, including an analysis of disaster preparedness and response mechanisms in developing countries to identify gaps and opportunities for improving resilience in extreme events. The research investigates economic factors influencing energy portfolio transitions in the Caribbean, emphasizing the complexities of renewable energy adoption. …

Implementing Wastewater-Based Epidemiology For Long-Read Metagenomic Sequencing Of Antimicrobial Resistance In Kampala, Uganda, William Strike, Temitope O. C. Faleye, Brian Lubega, Alexus Lori Rockward, Soroosh Torabi

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an emerging global threat that is expanding in many areas of the world. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is uniquely suited for use in areas of the world where clinical surveillance is limited or logistically slow to identify emerging threats, such as in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Wastewater was analyzed from three urban areas of Kampala, including a local HIV research clinic and two informal settlements. Wastewater extraction was performed using a low-cost, magnetic bead-based protocol that minimizes consumable plastic consumption followed by sequencing on the Oxford Nanopore Technology MinION platform. The majority of the analysis was performed using …

Applying Transfer Learning For Street-Scale Nuisance Flood Forecasting In Coastal-Urban Cities, Binata Roy, Jonathan L. Goodall, Diana Mcspadden, Chetan Kumar, Steven Goldenberg, Yidi Wang, Malachi Schram

VMASC Publications

An important challenge with Machine Learning (ML) is its transferability; i.e., whether a ML model trained on one set of data can be applied to a second set of data without requiring full re-training of the model. Transfer Learning (TL) addresses this challenge by transferring knowledge learned in the source domain (the data it was trained on) to the target domain (a second set of data that is statistically different but related, which the model was not trained on). This study investigates the use of TL for street-scale nuisance flood forecasting by exploring whether a ML model trained for one …

The Study Of Knee And Ankle Sagittal Plane Angles For On-Court Versus Off-Court Cutting, Alexi Rebecca Hempe

Dissertations and Theses

Lower extremity injuries are common among basketball athletes. Majority of these injuries are non-contact and therefore preventable. While previous research has explored high-risk movements associated with lower extremity injuries, limited research has explored the influence of settings for these movement patterns, particularly on a basketball court. This study aims to examine the knee and ankle joint angles in the sagittal plane of a 90-degree cut for on-court versus off court. Thirteen (13) subjects, four males (19.5 ± 1.0 years of age; 198.8 ± 4.8 cm of height; 198.8 ± 13.8 lbs. of weight) and nine females (19.8 ± 1.5 years …

Pathogen Surveillance Of Viruses And Antimicrobial Resistance Through Wastewater Based Epidemiology, William Strike

Theses and Dissertations--Biomedical Engineering

Pandemic surveillance is a cornerstone in public health safety, as it enables identification of pathogens circulating within a community before they become widespread outbreaks. Wastewater based epidemiology has blossomed in recent years due to its success in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, but this form of public health surveillance has a global equity problem. A large majority of the wastewater-based surveillance work has been done in large metropolitan cities with access to advanced testing infrastructure, which poses a challenge as we consider where pandemics have historically emerged. Therefore, there is a need to identify, adapt, and develop workflows to meet the needs …

Development Of Non-Destructive Methods For The Detection And Quantification Of Gluten Sources In Foods, Adewale Abiola Oloyede

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Cross-contamination of food with gluten-rich grains such as wheat, barley, and rye remains a significant challenge in gluten-free food production, posing health risks to individuals with gluten-related disorders. Traditional detection methods are often time-consuming and labor-intensive, highlighting the need for rapid and reliable alternatives. This study investigates the use of hyperspectral imaging (HSI) combined with machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) techniques for the detection and quantification of gluten contamination in grain-based foods through three main approaches: (i) classification of gluten source contaminants in gluten-free flour, (ii) quantification of gluten content from wheat, rye, and barley flours, and …

Implementation And Performance Evaluation Of Plastic Road Mix Design In Parking Lot, Ishraq Faruk

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The uncontrolled proliferation of plastic waste has emerged as a global environmental crisis, with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) constituting a substantial fraction of the waste stream due to its extensive use in packaging and its resistance to degradation. In parallel, asphalt pavements particularly in urban infrastructure such as parking lots experience accelerated deterioration from raveling, rutting, and cracking as a result of thermal cycling, repetitive loading, and inadequate drainage. These converging challenges present an opportunity for innovative, circular-economy-based sustainable pavement technologies that simultaneously improve surface durability and mitigate plastic waste accumulation.

This research investigates the full-scale implementation and monitoring of HDPE …

An Educational Framework For The Disruptive Technologies And Their Integration In The Un Sdgs Curriculum, Tulsi Pawan Fowdur, Aishani Radhakeesoon

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Disruptive technologies such as 5G, AI, IoT, cloud computing, and blockchain are revolutionizing life on our planet and at the same time contributing immensely towards sustainable development and the achievement of the UN SDGs. Nowadays, optimizing the management of resources in various fields such as manufacturing, education, health, transportation etc. in a much more efficient way is possible. This can be achieved by capturing a wealth of real-time data via IoT sensors with the ultra-reliable and low latency connections provided by 5G. Additionally, with cloud computing, blockchain, and AI, these real-time systems can securely transmit, store, and analyze a massive …

Leveraging Intrinsic Properties For Classification Of Coal Seams Towards Spontaneous Combustion Proclivity And Predicting Susceptibility Using Machine Learning: Smart And Sustainable Mining Approach, Siddhartha Agarwal, Pradeep K. Gautam, Yuhao Zou, Rishabh Dwivedi, Durga C. Panigrahi, Cihan H. Dagli, A. Singh

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Mine fires and other hazards caused by spontaneous coal combustion are a pervasive and longstanding issue in Jharia coalfields, India. This study proposes a novel approach to classify coal seams based on their propensity to spontaneous combustion using the intrinsic properties of 30 coal samples from different seams. This method eliminates the need for expensive and time-consuming experimental determinations of susceptibility indices (SI) such as crossing point temperature (CPT), critical air blast (CAB), and differential thermal analysis (DTA). All clustering models, viz. hierarchical, k-means, and multidimensional scaling, aptly classify coal seams into three categories: highly risky, medium risky, and low …

The Impact Of Urbanization On Water Scarcity And Waterborne Diseases In Eastern Africa: A Case Study Of Nairobi, Lucy N. Kamau

Open Access Master's Theses

Urbanization in Eastern African cities has rapidly accelerated, placing immense strain on existing water infrastructure and sanitation systems. In Nairobi, this has resulted in spatial disparities in access to clean water and heightened vulnerability to waterborne disease risks. The study aimed to (1) assess the impact of urbanization on water scarcity and waterborne diseases in Nairobi using geospatial analysis and remote sensing (2) quantify urbanization trends 1999–2024 (3) identify spatio-temporal water scarcity hotspots for the years 2019 and 2024 (4) model waterborne disease risk maps for 2019 and 2024 (5) Overlay disease risk map with hospitals. To quantify urbanization for …

Whipped Into Shape: Infrastructure As Punishment For The Unruly Citizen, Eliza Mortimer

Anthós

This article interrogates how inflexible designs and policies of airline seating, as well as critical socio-political rhetoric, discipline and marginalize bodies that do not conform to normative standards. Situating airline seating within fat and disability studies models, Mortimer argues that these punitive measures are not neutral, but rather reflective of cultural narratives of productivity, morality, and bodily discipline. Mortimer draws from ethnographic analyses of first-person accounts and policy reviews to demonstrate how shrinking seats, rigid policies, and moralized discourse construct a “space of calculability” that pressures fat individuals to monitor and minimize their bodies to justify their presence in public …

Global Spectral Clustering Of Temporally Stable Pixels For Epics Identification, Validation, And Hyperspectral Assignment For Satellite Calibration, Juliana Maria Fajardo Rueda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Refinement Of Trend-To-Trend Cross Calibration Total Uncertainties Utilizing Extended Pseudo Invariant Calibration Sites (Epics) Global Temporally Stable Target, Minura Samaranayake

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cross-calibration is an essential technique for calibrating Earth Observation satellite sensors, which involves taking nearly simultaneous images of a ground target to compare uncalibrated sensor to a well-calibrated reference sensor. This study introduces the hyperspectral Trend-to-Trend (T2T) cross-calibration technique utilizing EPICS Cluster 13 Global Temporally Stable (Cluster 13-GTS) as the calibration target, offering better temporal stability than previous targets used in T2T cross-calibration by an absolute difference of 0.4%, between coefficients of variation across all bands excluding CA band. A multispectral sensor-specific normalized hyperspectral profile was developed using the EO-1 Hyperion hyperspectral profile over Cluster 13-GTS to improve Spectral Band …

Macro-Encapsulation Of Polyethylene Glycol And Magnetite (Fe3o4) In Concrete As Phase Change Materials For Building Thermal Management, Muhammad Fauzi, Budhy Kurniawan, Anggito Pringgo Tetuko, Timbangen Sembiring, Fanna Nilam, Amdy Fachredzy, Perdamean Sebayang

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

Thermal management technology is a crucial strategy for reducing energy consumption in buildings by utilizing stored solar energy. This study developed a polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based phase-change material (PCM), selected for its superior physicochemical stability, high latent enthalpy, and environmental compatibility. To enhance thermal conductivity, 20 vol% magnetite (Fe₃O₄) was incorporated into the PEG matrix. The composite was synthesized via an ultrasonic-assisted method (37 kHz, 80°C, 1 h). X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the crystalline structure of PEG and the cubic phase of Fe3O4, while Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) validated the synthesis by identifying Fe–O, C–H, and O–H functional groups. Scanning electron …

Microwave Absorption Properties Of Porous Activated Carbon/Nickel Oxide Composites Derived From Coconut Husks, Mohamad Zul Aqiman Shukeri, Nor Zakiah Yahaya, Ezzan Afifah Zainuddin, Nazri Mahmud, Liyana Zahid, Hasliza A. Rahim

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

Porous Activated Carbon (AC) is a promising material for microwave absorbing materials, showing potential in communication and modern warfare. The study explores the process of creating porous AC from coconut husks using hydrochloric acid and carbonization at varying temperatures, followed by doping AC with nickel oxide to create an AC/NiO polymer composite with varying thicknesses. These composites are compared to AC composites loaded in a paraffin matrix. The dielectric and microwave (MW) properties of the AC/NiO and AC polymer composites at various thicknesses were analyzed using a Performance (PNA)-X Network Analyzer. The study also examines the carbon content and porosity …

Improving Ethanol Purity By Methanol Adsorption Using Mcm-41: A Study Of Kinetics And Thermodynamics For Industrial Applications, Ali A. Yahya, Nisreen S. Ali, Basma B. Hameed, Talib M. Albayati, Issam K. Salih, Riyadh S. Almukhtar, Narges Elmi Fard

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

One of the by-products of the fermentation process that produces ethanol, which is mostly utilized in industry and food, is methanol. For methanol adsorption in batch operations, mixed amines modified (MCM-41) was utilized. A batch adsorption technique loaded with MCM-41 sorbent was used in the study to separate methanol from ethanol. This study used methanol at varying initial concentrations (40-80 mg/L). As a result, the effect of temperature, duration of adsorption, amount of adsorbent and initial concentration of pollutant in the field of ethanol alcohol purification using MCM-41 was investigated through the adsorption mechanism. In addition, first and pseudo-second order …

Quality And Safety Analysis Of Integrated Bus Services And Feeder Transport In Surabaya, Indonesia, Desrina Yusi Irawati, Agrienta Bellanov, Armadeo Ruben Canariesa

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

The Surabaya city government has developed public transportation through integrated bus services and feeder transport. These transportation systems include Trans Semanggi, Suroboyo Bus, and Wira Wiri Surabaya. The challenge facing these transportation programs is the low level of public participation in using public transportation. This research aims to provide a comprehensive investigation of the perceived service quality of integrated public transportation in Surabaya by combining the RESCA and SERVQUAL frameworks. The study contributes by highlighting service quality gaps across five customized dimensions and offering practical insights to improve user satisfaction and increase public transport usage. Each RESCA dimension incorporates RATER …

Selective Recovery Of Critical Minerals (Ni, Zn, Co, And Mn) From Acid Mine Drainage Utilizing Ion Exchange And Selective Precipitation Processes, Esteban Albeiro Cardenas Restrepo

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Critical minerals (CMs) are essential for U.S. national security and technological development. The U.S. heavily depends on imports of these minerals from other countries, making supply chain disruptions a likely scenario. In consequence, finding alternative sources to conventional mining for these elements has become a topic of interest in recent years. Acid Mine Drainage (AMD), once solely viewed as an environmental problem, has emerged as a potential alternative source for CMs. AMD is a naturally occurring process where surface and underground water interact with sulfur-bearing minerals in the presence of oxygen and microorganisms. This interaction causes the water to become …

Modeling And Simulation Of Carbon-Neutral Strategies For Methanol Production, Omar Almaraz Barrios

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Methanol is a versatile chemical that can be used as a fuel, a solvent, a feedstock for other chemicals, and a hydrogen carrier. Methanol production from natural gas, which is mainly composed of methane, is a well-established process that involves steam reforming, methanol synthesis, and methanol purification. However, this process is energy-intensive and emits large amounts of carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming and climate change. Therefore, there is a need for alternative methods of methanol production that are more efficient and environmentally friendly. The overall objective of this research is to develop simulation models of two novel methanol …

Rare Earth Element Recovery From Acid Mine Drainage Using Ion Exchange And Selective Precipitation Processes, Paubla Andrea Gallego Lopez

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Rare earth elements (REEs) are used in high-tech applications due to their electromagnetic and optical properties. As global demand for REEs surges, the limitation of primary mineral deposits has increased interest in alternative sources. One such source is acid mine drainage (AMD), which, although typically low in REE concentration, offers a promising avenue for recovery. Among the emerging recovery methods, ion exchange has shown promise due to its effectiveness at low concentrations and lower operational cost than conventional techniques such as acid leaching and solvent extraction.

This research focused on developing a recovery process by combining ion exchange with selective …

Predicting Crises On The African Frontier Stock Markets With Investor Sentiment Indicators: A Machine Learning Approach, David Korsah, Lord Mensah

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This study examined the predictive ability of machine learning algorithms in identifying crises within African stock markets. The study employed seven distinct machine-learning models, analyzing historical stock prices from eight stock markets, three major sentiment indicators, and the exchange rates of local currencies against the US dollar, with each data spanning from May 1, 2007, to April 1, 2023. Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) emerged as the most effective algorithm for predicting crises. Historical stock prices and exchange rates were identified as the most critical features for prediction. On the sentiment side, investors’ perceptions of potential volatility on the S&P 500, …