Engineering Commons^™

A Survey Of Strongyle Nematodes In New England Dairy Goats, D.J. Richardson, E.M. Wray, D. Watters, U. Hanif, E. Jalbert, E. Thompson, G. Trajkovic, A.R. Sirois, N. Pilotte

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The paucity of information concerning the occurrence of strongyle nematodes in New England dairy goats prompted a survey of 241 dairy goats from throughout New England. Of the 241 goats examined using the McMaster technique, 104 (42.7%) were infected with strongyles with a mean intensity (+ SE) of 369.7 + 45.8 eggs per gram. Subsequent molecular examination of 50 random samples from these goats revealed a prevalence of 88% infection specifically with Haemonchus contortus. Haemonchus contortus is the most important internal parasite of sheep and goats, exerting a crushing economic burden on the livestock industry worldwide due to lowered milk …

A Simple, Inexpensive Alkaline Method For Bacterial Dna Extraction From Environmental Samples For Pcr Surveillance And Microbiome Analyses, Abdulkarim Shwani, Bin Zuo, Adnan Alrubaye, Jiangchao Zhao, Douglas D. Rhoads

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

DNA extraction for downstream molecular diagnostic applications can be an expensive, time-consuming process. We devised a method to quickly extract total bacterial DNA from environmental samples based on the sodium hydroxide lysis of cells with or without capture by magnetic beads for subsequent PCR or quantitative PCR. The final DNA extraction method using NaOH is extremely low-cost and can be completed in as little as 10 min at room temperature with dilution, or the DNA can be further purified using silica-coated paramagnetic beads. NaOH extraction was effective for Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria in samples from air, soil, sewage, food, laboratory …

Electromechanical Mapping Of The In Vivo Porcine Heart And Stomach, Haley Nesmith Patton

All ETDs from UAB

Electrical excitation and mechanical function are integral to the physiologic activity of both the heart and stomach. Electrical depolarization through the myocardium triggers contraction in the heart. When normal sequences of electrical activity are disturbed, the heart’s mechanical function may also be disturbed, affecting its ability to pump blood effectively, sometimes fatally. Similarly, electrical waves called slow waves initiate gastric peristalsis. Abnormalities in slow wave propagation patterns can disturb the stomach’s ability to mechanically process gastric contents, sometimes resulting in delayed gastric emptying, nausea, and vomiting. The relationship between mechanical function and electrophysiology is not unidirectional, though. Mechanical stimuli can …

Bat Versus Ant: The First Report Of Evening Bat/Ant Interaction In Arkansas, J.D. Wilhide, D.B. Sasse, R.P. Kelso

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

This paper documents the first reported occurrence of bat/ant agonistic interaction in Arkansas and the second report involving Evening Bats (Nycticeius humeralis). An adult male Evening Bat was captured during a presence / absence mist net survey along Highway 412 in Black Rock, Lawrence County, Arkansas on 4 June 2023. The bat weighed 12.0 g and had a forearm length of 36.94 mm which is in the midrange for evening bats in Arkansas (Sealander and Heidt 1990). The evening bat had two ant head capsules attached to its right cheek and at the tip of the lower lip (Fig. 1).

How Can A Cloud Computing It Framework Be Created And Applied Effectively In The Online Printing Industry?, Stefan Meissner

Dissertations

This research aims to design a cloud computing IT framework for the online printing industry based on a detailed literature review, the development of proof of concepts (PoC), and the conduction of a focus group. The framework can be adopted by the online printing industry or by vendors of print-specific applications to optimize their products for the online printing industry. The author has been working in the online printing process optimization and automation since 2007. During this time, he got deep insight into many industry-specific applications, their architectural design, and their challenges being used in the context of online printing. …

Advancing Environmental Engineering: The Role Of Artificial Intelligence In Sustainable Solutions - A Short Review, Amirreza Talaie, Hesam Kamyab, Ashkan Razmfarsa

Management Faculty Publications

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force in environmental engineering, offering innovative solutions to complex environmental challenges. From air pollution monitoring and water resource management to waste management, climate change mitigation, and ecological preservation, AI is revolutionizing the way we address environmental issues. Machine learning, neural networks, and other AI technologies are enabling more accurate predictions, optimizing resource use, and improving conservation efforts. However, despite its many advantages, AI also faces challenges such as data availability, energy consumption, ethical concerns, and the need for transparency. This review explores the diverse applications of AI in environmental engineering, highlighting the …

Liquid Metal Printing Of Ultrathin Conductive Metal Oxides, Andrew B. Hamlin

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Widegap metal oxides are critical semiconducting materials in solar power generation, transparent electronics and displays. Ultrathin versions of these materials are poised to be at the forefront of next generation technology due to their high transparency, flexibility, and the capacity to advantageously use backchannel sensitivity and quantum confinement. Liquid metal printing is a novel deposition technique that fundamentally yields ultrathin oxide materials by exfoliating the self-limited oxide that exists on molten metals at low temperatures. Our work involves the invention of novel liquid metal printing techniques to deposit semiconducting 2D metal oxides with precise electrostatic properties. We investigate the electronic …

Characterization Of Antibody Repertoires Developed From Naive And Recall Responses, Nicholas C. Curtis

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Adaptive immunity, comprised in part by the antibody repertoire, is the cornerstone of our ability to remain healthy amongst the plethora of pathogenic challenges we encounter daily. Despite the importance of understanding antibody repertoire development, much remains unknown about the composition and evolution of circulating antibodies in response to viral challenges. To better understand antibody repertoire development, we profiled the serum antibody repertoire using a combination of next-generation sequencing and serum antibody proteomics in the predominantly naïve response against SARS-CoV-2 spike and the recalled response to influenza hemagglutinin. The response to SARS-CoV-2 spike in four convalescent individuals was diverse (consisting …

Fluorotelomer Carboxylic Acid Degradation: Implications For Septic Systems, Alexis Marie Eaton

Honors Theses and Capstones

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a group of manmade organic chemicals that have been widely used since the 1940’s due to their resistance to heat, water, and oil. These compounds are associated with negative health outcomes including poor thyroid function, reproductive toxicity, and carcinogenicity. Because products with PFAS are widely used in residential settings, and because many PFAS do not completely degrade during wastewater treatment/handling, septic systems may be an important non-point source of PFAS to groundwater. Many homes that have septic systems, which discharge wastewater effluent to the subsurface, also use groundwater as a drinking water source; …

An In-Vitro Model For Visualizing Intraocular Lens And Lens Capsule Interaction In Posterior Capsule Opacification, Amjad Chatila

Bioengineering Dissertations - Archive

Posterior Capsule Opacification (PCO) is a common complication post cataract surgery. It is believed that Intraocular Lens (IOL) physical and chemical properties would affect their PCO potential. The tight binding between IOL and posterior lens capsule (PLC) is believed to have a negative impact on PCO formation, as suggested in the “No space, no cell, no PCO” hypothesis. To test the hypothesis, we have recently developed an in vitro 3D system to simulate IOL and PLC physical interaction. To expand the function and capability of this system, one objective of my work was to develop the next generation adhesion force …

Novel Engineering Approaches For Orthopedic Injury Treatment And Infection Diagnosis, Cynthia Co

Bioengineering Dissertations - Archive

Bioengineering has made significant contributions to the treatment of orthopedic injury through interdisciplinary approaches. Central to these advancements are many orthopedic implants, including anchors and joint replacements, which have been designed to restore mobility. Despite their functional efficacy, these products have limited lifespan and are associated with many complications, such as implant-associated infection. The success of implant design and function, both in the short and long term, is paramount for enhancing patient outcomes and overall well-being. Therefore, my thesis work is dedicated to addressing these critical challenges, aiming to maximize their treatment effect while minimizing the implant-associated complications.

Long-term patient …

Path Instabilities And Drag In The Settling Of Single Spheres, Facundo Cabrera-Booman, Nicolas Plihon, Mickael Bourgoin

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The settling behavior of individual spheres in a quiescent fluid was studied experimentally. The dynamics of the spheres was analyzed in the parameter space of particle-to-fluid density ratio (Γ) and Galileo number (Ga), with Γ ∈ (1.1,7.9) and Ga ∈ (100,340). The experimental results showed for the first time that the mean trajectory angle with the vertical exhibits a complex behavior as Ga and Γ are varied. Numerically predicted regimes such as Vertical Periodic for low Γ values, and Planar Rotating for high Γ values were validated. In particular, for the denser spheres, a clear transition from planar to non-planar …

Barriers And Variable Spacing Enhance Convective Cooling And Increase Power Output In Solar Pv Plants, Brooke Stanislawski, Todd Harman, Raul Bayoan Cal, Marc Calaf

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

When the temperature of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules rises, efficiency drops and module degradation accelerates. Thus, it is beneficial to reduce module operating temperatures. Previous studies of solar power plants have illustrated that incoming flow characteristics, turbulent mixing, and array geometry can strongly impact convective cooling, as measured by the convective heat transfer coefficient h. In the fields of heat transfer and plant canopy flow, previous work has shown that system-scale arrangement modifications—e.g., variable spacing, barriers, or windbreaks—can passively alter the flow, enhance turbulent mixing, and influence convection. However, researchers have not yet explored how variable spacing or barriers …

Development Of Synthetically Accessible Glycolated Polythiophenes For High-Performance Organic Electrochemical Transistors, Bowen Ding, Vianna N. Le, Hang Yu, Guanchen Wu, Adam V. Marsh, Edgar Gutiérrez-Fernández, Nicolás Ramos, Martina Rimmele, Jaime Martín, Jenny Nelson, Alexandra F. Paterson, Martin Heeney

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Four glycolated polythiophene-based organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors (OMIECs), PE2gTT, PE2gT, PT2gTT, and PT2gT are prepared by atom-efficient direct arylation polymerization, avoiding the need for toxic organometallic pre- cursors. PE2gT, PT2gTT, and PT2gT are operable in p-type accumulation mode organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs), with PT2gT displaying the best device performance with a μC* product figure-of-merit of 290 F cm−1 V−1 s−1 . A record volumetric capacitance among p-type glycolated polythiophene OMIECs of 313 F cm−3 is observed for PE2gT, ascribed to the high proportion- ality of polar components in its materials design. The good OECT performance of PE2gT with μC* = …

The Integrated Behavioral Model Of Mental Health Help Seeking (Ibm-Hs): A Health Services Utilization Theory Of Planned Behavior For Accessing Care, Joseph H. Hammer, David L. Vogel, Patrick R. Grzanka, Nayeon Kim, Brian T. Keum, Claire Adams, Sarah A. Wilson

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

This article introduces the integrated behavioral model of mental health help seeking (IBM-HS), a theoretical model for understanding the constructs (e.g., systemic, predisposing, and enabling factors; mental health literacy; illness perceptions; perceived need; stigma; shame; perceived benefits, motivation) that influence people’s decision making around seeking professional mental health care and their ultimate access to formal treatment. The IBM-HS is a help-seeking-specific adaptation of the empirically supported integrated behavioral model and integrative model, which are themselves evolutions of the theory of planned behavior and theory of reasoned action. The IBM-HS posits that help-seeking determinants (e.g., structural forces; cultural influences; past help-seeking …

Traveling The Pathway To A Culturally Competent Health Care Provider: Incorporating Study Abroad Into Your Curriculum, A L. Johnston Green, C J. Heffner

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Introduction: As athletic training employment settings expand and diversify, so does the patient population with whom these healthcare providers interact. This growth furthers the need to ensure that students enrolled in an athletic training program (ATP) accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) are educated to provide culturally competent care. Culturally competent care is provided when decisions made diminish the inequalities that may be present in a system based upon a patient’s individual circumstances. Implementing cultural competency education may be integrated into athletic training education in various manners as necessitated by each institution’s unique circumstances. Programs …

Uncertainty Quantification For Peec Based On Wasserstein Generative Adversarial Network, Yuan Ping, Yanming Zhang, Lijun Jiang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This article proposes a modified generative adversarial network (GAN)-based approach, namely Wasserstein GAN (WGAN), for the uncertainty quantification (UQ) in partial equivalent element circuit (PEEC) models. Initially, the stochastic PEEC is constructed to obtain the sample data of the quantities of interest (QoI). This sample data, along with the fake data from the generator, serves as input for the discriminator in WGAN. The loss function of the generator in WGAN is constructed using the Wasserstein distance to provide a more usable gradient than that in the traditional GAN. By estimating the distribution of sample data using the fake data in …

Adaptive Critic Optimal Control Of An Uncertain Robot Manipulator With Applications, Ravi Prakash, Laxmidhar Behera, Sarangapani Jagannathan

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Realistic manipulation tasks involve a prolonged sequence of motor skills in varying control environments consisting of uncertain robot dynamic models and end-effector payloads. To address these challenges, this article proposes an adaptive critic (AC)-based basis function neural network (BFNN) optimal controller. Using a single neural network (NN) with a basis function, the proposed optimal controller simultaneously learns task-related optimal cost function, robot internal dynamics, and optimal control law. This is achieved through the development of a novel BFNN tuning law using closed-loop system stability. Therefore, the proposed optimal controller provides real-time, implementable, cost-effective control solutions for practical robotic tasks. The …

Modelling Weave Effect In Pcbs Using 2d Cross-Sectional Analysis, Victor Khilkevich, Scott Hinaga

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Printed circuit board dielectric substrates are composite materials produced by embedding fiber glass fabrics into epoxy resin. Because of this the medium in the PCB transmission lines is inhomogeneous which often leads to degradation of the signal integrity performance of the lines, particularly due to the differential skew. The detrimental effect of the fiber weave can be modeled relatively accurately using full-wave analysis, but at a high computational cost. Alternative modelling techniques are less demanding but often lack accuracy. This article investigates a possibility of using the 2D cross-sectional analysis for the fiber weave effect modeling, which considerably decreases the …

Towards Explainability Of Dimension Reduction Plots Of Unsupervised Learning Model Outcomes, Tony E.Astuhuaman Davila, Daniel B. Hier, Tayo Obafemi-Ajayi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Dimension reduction methods are used to visualize the output of unsupervised learning models when applied to complex data. These techniques improve interpretability by transforming a high-dimension space to a lower-dimension space (usually 2D or 3D). The results are typically viewed as 2D scatter plots, and class centroids may be added to increase interpretability. Although useful, the relationship of these class centroids to the underlying feature space remains opaque. The innovative aspect of this work is to create a strong link between the dimension-reduced space and the underlying high-dimension feature space by adding selected feature centroids to the 2D scatter plots. …

Statistical Analysis Of Electromagnetic Coupling To Printed Circuit Boards, Shengxuan Xia, Victor Khilkevich, Daryl Beetner

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Determining electromagnetic (EM) coupling to printed circuit boards (PCBs) is essential to finding potential EM susceptibilities early in the design process. For realistic PCB structures, analysis usually relies heavily on time-consuming full-wave simulations because of the complexity of the geometries and the lack of analytical solutions. In this paper, we adopt a segmentation approach based on far-field reciprocity which allows for rapid estimation of the voltage induced at trace terminations over frequency, and which is then used to estimate statistical characteristic of coupling across trace geometries. Frequency-domain results can then be used to estimate time-domain responses with appropriate transformations. Super-position …

K-Perm: Personalized Response Generation Using Dynamic Knowledge Retrieval And Persona-Adaptive Queries, Kanak Raj, Kaushik Roy, Vamshi Bonagiri, Priyanshul Govil, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan, Raxit Goswami, Manas Gaur

Publications

Personalizing conversational agents can enhance the quality of conversations and increase user engagement. However, they often lack external knowledge to tend to a user’s persona appropriately. This is particularly crucial for practical applications like mental health support, nutrition planning, culturally sensitive conversations, or reducing toxic behavior in conversational agents. To enhance the relevance and comprehensiveness of personalized responses, we propose using a two-step approach that involves (1) selectively integrating user personas and (2) contextualizing the response with supplementing information from a background knowledge source. We develop K-PERM (Knowledge-guided PErsonalization with Reward Modulation), a dynamic conversational agent that combines these elements. …

Tutorial: Knowledge-Infused Artificial Intelligence For Mental Healthcare, Kaushik Roy

Publications

Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems for mental healthcare (MHCare) have been ever-growing after realizing the importance of early interventions for patients with chronic mental health (MH) conditions. Social media (SocMedia) emerged as the go-to platform for supporting patients seeking MHCare. The creation of peer-support groups without social stigma has resulted in patients transitioning from clinical settings to SocMedia supported interactions for quick help. Researchers started exploring SocMedia content in search of cues that showcase correlation or causation between different MH conditions to design better interventional strategies. User-level Classification-based AI systems were designed to leverage diverse SocMedia data from various MH conditions, …

Personalized Bayesian Inference For Explainable Healthcare Management And Intervention, Utkarshani Jaimini, Krishnaprasad Thirunaravan, Maninder Kalra, Robin Dawson, Amit Sheth

Publications

Chronic healthcare conditions such as Asthma re- quires constant monitoring and managing of symptoms and their triggers for better quality of life. Each asthma patient reacts very differently to potential triggers. Hence, there is a need to develop a explainable personalized framework for each patient to capture susceptibility to asthma triggers. We developed a personalized knowledge-based probabilistic model to predict asthma exacerbation for different environmental factors utilizing patient generated health data from pediatric asthma patients. Further, the personalized model provides a metric, called Health Coefficient, to quantify the health of a patient for varying environmental factors. We demonstrate the predictive …

Causal Neuro-Symbolic Ai: A Synergy Between Causality And Neuro-Symbolic Methods, Utkarshani Jaimini, Cory Henson, Amit Sheth

Publications

Causal Neuro-Symbolic AI combines the benefits of causality with Neuro-Symbolic Artificial Intelligence (NeSyAI). More specifically, it (1) enriches NeSyAI systems with explicit representations of causality, (2) integrates causal knowledge with domain knowledge, and (3) enables the use of NeSyAI techniques for causal AI tasks. The explicit causal representation yields insights that predictive models may fail to analyze from observational data. It can also assist people in decision-making scenarios where discerning the cause of an outcome is necessary to choose among various interventions.

Ontolog Summit 2024 Talk Report: Healthcare Assistance Challenges-Driven Neurosymbolic Ai, Kaushik Roy

Publications

Although Artificial Intelligence technology has proven effective in providing healthcare assistance by analyzing health data, it still falls short in supporting decision-making. This deficiency largely stems from the predominance of opaque neural networks, particularly in mental health care AI applications, which raise concerns about their unpredictable and unverifiable nature. This skepticism hinders the transition from information support to decision support. This presentation will explore neurosymbolic approaches that combine neural networks with symbolic control and verification mechanisms. These approaches aim to unlock AI’s full potential by enhancing information analysis and decision-making support for healthcare assistance1.

A Comprehensive Survey On Rare Event Prediction, Chathurangi Shyalika Jayakody Kankanamalage, Ruwan Wickramarachchi, Amit Sheth

Publications

Rare event prediction involves identifying and forecasting events with a low probability using machine learning (ML) and data analysis. Due to the imbalanced data distributions, where the frequency of common events vastly outweighs that of rare events, it requires using specialized methods within each step of the ML pipeline, i.e., from data processing to algorithms to evaluation protocols. Predicting the occurrences of rare events is important for real-world applications, such as Industry 4.0, and is an active research area in statistics and ML. This paper comprehensively reviews the current approaches for rare event prediction along four dimensions: rare event data, …

Educating For Shalom In Engineering, Julie Wildschut

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Created in the image of God, humans have a unique purpose within creation. We are given the task of worshipping God (Isa 43:21), sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ (Mat 28:18-20), discovering and developing the potentials of creation (Gen 2:15), struggling and praying for shalom (Isa 1:17), and celebrating instances of God’s coming kingdom (Isa 9:1-7, Col 1:19-20). As Christian engineering educators, we have the additional task of preparing students to become capable engineers and to use those skills in response to God’s call in their lives. We have the blessing of not only teaching the technical aspects of engineering, …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Game-Based Virtual Reality In Satellite Ground Control Operations Education And Training, Lana Laskey, Joseph R. Keebler, Paul M. Cairns, Geovanny Lopez

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

There is increased global demand for satellite amenities such as navigation, communications, weather reporting, disaster management, agricultural operations, or humanitarian assistance. The growing demand for satellite technology amplifies the need for highly trained satellite operators. Traditional simulation training methods typically utilize two-dimensional computer displays. However, training approaches involving game-based instruction and immersive virtual reality have shown benefits when integrated with complex disciplines and may provide an advanced training alternative for satellite operators. Game-based instruction enhances user motivation and cognitive engagement, while immersive virtual reality promotes user presence and prolonged cognitive engagement. The combination of these two training methods, noted as …

Electronic On Planes: Security Measures And Avionics Disruption, Martin Jasek, Ivana Olivková

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Airlines have implemented various security measures to address the use of electronics on aircraft, focusing on telecommunication services, Bluetooth technology, and personal electronic devices (PEDs). This study evaluates 50 airlines using data from websites and safety videos to assess these technologies. While the integration of new technologies like in-flight Wi-Fi and Bluetooth offers passenger benefits, concerns persist about the potential electromagnetic interference with aircraft avionics. Early research by NASA and the FCC highlighted the risks, finding that devices like mobile phones could disrupt GPS signals during critical flight phases. Despite conflicting studies, ongoing monitoring is essential to balance passenger connectivity …