Engineering Commons^™

Creation Of An Injectable In Situ Gelling Native Extracellular Matrix For Nucleus Pulposus Tissue Engineering, Rebecca A. Wachs, Ella N. Hoogenboezem, Hammad I. Huda, Shangjing Xin, Stacy L. Porvasnik, Christine E. Schmidt

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Background Context: Disc degeneration is the leading cause of low back pain and is often characterized by a loss of disc height, resulting from cleavage of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) present in the nucleus pulposus. Intact CSPGs are critical to water retention and maintenance of the nucleus osmotic pressure. Decellularization of healthy nucleus pulposus tissue has the potential to serve as an ideal matrix for tissue engineering of the disc because of the presence of native disc proteins and CSPGs. Injectable in situ gelling matrices are the most viable therapeutic option to prevent damage to the anulus fibrosus and future …

Tractor Power Take-Off Torque Measurement And Data Acquisition System, James Bw Roeber, Santosh Pitla, Roger M. Hoy, Joe D. Luck, Michael F. Kocher

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

With the mechanization of agricultural operations, agricultural machinery management has become an extensive research field. Sizing tractors and implements to provide the most efficient power transfer has become an ongoing process with advances in technology. Utilization of the rotational power transferred through gear trains from the tractor engine to the power take-off (PTO) shaft is one of the most efficient methods of power transfer to an implement. This research used commercially available torque sensors that were installed on a tractor PTO shaft for measuring the torque delivered to an implement. The torque sensor was calibrated using the Nebraska Tractor Test …

Chitosan-Zein Nano-In-Microparticles Capable Of Mediating In Vivo Transgene Expression Following Oral Delivery, Eric Farris, Deborah M. Brown, Amanda Ramer-Tait, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The oral route is an attractive delivery route for the administration of DNA-based therapeutics, specifically for applications in gene therapy and DNA vaccination. However, oral DNA delivery is complicated by the harsh and variable conditions encountered throughout gastrointestinal (GI) transit, leading to degradation of the delivery vector and DNA cargo, and subsequent inefficient delivery to target cells. In this work, we demonstrate the development and optimization of a hybrid-dual particulate delivery system consisting of two natural biomaterials, zein (ZN) and chitosan (CS), to mediate oral DNA delivery. Chitosan-Zein Nano-in-Microparticles (CS-ZN-NIMs), consisting of core Chitosan/DNA nanoparticles (CS/DNA NPs) prepared by ionic …

A Case Study Of Field-Scale Maize Irrigation Patterns In Western Nebraska: Implications For Water Managers And Recommendations For Hyper-Resolution Land Surface Modeling, Justin P. Gibson, Trenton E. Franz, Tiejun Wang, John Gates, Patricio Grassini, Haishun Yang, Dean E. Eisenhauer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

In many agricultural regions, the human use of water for irrigation is often ignored or poorly represented in land surface models (LSMs) and operational forecasts. Because irrigation increases soil moisture, feedback on the surface energy balance, rainfall recycling, and atmospheric dynamics is not represented and may lead to reduced model skill. In this work, we describe four plausible and relatively simple irrigation routines that can be coupled to the next generation of hyper-resolution LSMs operating at scales of 1 km or less. The irrigation output from the four routines (crop model, precipitation delayed, evapotranspiration replacement, and vadose zone model) is …

Crop Classification And Lai Estimation Using Original And Resolution-Reduced Images From Two Consumer-Grade Cameras, Jian Zhang, Chenghai Yang, Biquan Zhao, Huaibo Song, Wesley Clint Hoffmann, Yeyin Shi, Dongyan Zhang, Guozhong Zhang

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Consumer-grade cameras are being increasingly used for remote sensing applications in recent years. However, the performance of this type of cameras has not been systematically tested and well documented in the literature. The objective of this research was to evaluate the performance of original and resolution-reduced images taken from two consumer-grade cameras, a RGB camera and a modified near-infrared (NIR) camera, for crop identification and leaf area index (LAI) estimation. Airborne RGB and NIR images taken over a 6.5-square-km cropping area were mosaicked and aligned to create a four-band mosaic with a spatial resolution of 0.4 m. The spatial resolution …

Nanoparticle For Targeting Brain Tumors And Delivery Of O6 - Benzylguanine, University Of Washington, Seattle

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Nanoparticle having a crosslinked chitosan - polyethylene oxide oligomer copolymer coating to which O⁶ - benzylgua nine is covalently coupled , compositions that include the nanoparticle , and methods for using the nanoparticle to treat brain cancers .

Evaluation Of Valiantzas’ Simplified Forms Of The Fao-56 Penman-Monteith Reference Evapotranspiration Model In A Humid Climate, Koffi Djaman, Daran Rudnick, Valere C. Mel, Denis Mutiibwa, Lamine Diop, Mamadou Sall, Isa Kabenge, Ansoumana Bodian, Hossein Tabari, Suat Irmak

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The unavailability of some meteorological variables, especially solar radiation and wind speed, is the main constraint for reference evapotranspiration (ETo) estimation using the standard United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Penman–Monteith (FAO-PM) equation in most developing countries. The application of ETo methods with fewer input requirements is necessary under limited climatic data conditions. The FAO-PM method under limited data conditions and nine of Valiantzas’ equations were evaluated for daily ETo estimation in a humid climate in Uganda. The FAO-PM method with missing relative humidity data performed very well across Uganda, whereas using the long-term local wind speed average values …

Crop Canopy Sensor Orientation For Late Season Nitrogen Determination In Corn, T. M. Shaver, Greg Kruger, Daran Rudnick

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Increasing nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in irrigated corn production is of great importance to overall agricultural sustainability. Studies have shown that crop canopy sensors can aid in this pursuit as they allow for the determination of nitrogen (N) requirements in split applications later in the growing season. Fertigation can also increase NUE as many split applications can be conducted. If crop canopy sensors could be used to direct N fertigation rates, overall NUE may be increased even further. However, in some cases, N differences may need to be determined later in the growing season after corn has tasseled, which can …

Table Of Contents Jitim Vol 26 Issue 1, 2017, Robert P. Schumaker

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Table of Contents JITIM vol 26 issue 1, 2017

Myomlab As An Enabling E-Learning Technology: Bridging The Gap Between Student- And Instructor-Centered Learning, Mahesh Gupta 8524783

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Technology is continually allowing educators to combine didactic and democratic approaches to facilitate learning and producing successful managers. This paper discusses how one such technology, myOMlab—integrated within a learning management system, Blackboard—can deliver core operations management course, catered primarily to working students i.e., interns and future managers. To confront the bias against online education and engage in serious research on online education, we share our experiences of teaching one semester-long online course. Although robust research evidence is yet to be gathered to convince educators about its benefits, we propose a set of successful myOMlab activities (including manual and Excel-based Dice …

How We Got Here: Connectivity, Creativity, Confluence And Internet Culture, Tziporah Stern, Linda Wieser Friedman, Hershey H. Friedman

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

There are more innovations today than at any time in human history. The companies that value creativity and diversity of ideas in their hires are the ones most likely to thrive. Indeed, the key asset of a corporation is the abilities, innovativeness, and creativity of its employees. The authors construct a timeline of critical events leading up to today’s highly networked and interconnected world with its ubiquitous social media technologies. The current state has been influenced by advances in media, technology, military defense, and commerce. One trend that stands out in this timeline is the increasing rate of change. It …

Cloud Computing Technology: Leveraging The Power Of The Internet To Improve Business Performance, Mohsen Attaran

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

In recent years, Cloud Computing Technology (CCT) has emerged as a meaningful technology that could contribute to operational efficiency of an IT platform by providing infrastructure and software solutions for the whole IT needs of an enterprise via Internet. The cloud has revolutionized IT infrastructure. It is predicted that 2017 will mark the rapid proliferation of enterprises transitioning to the cloud-based computing technology. The utilization of this innovative technology makes collaboration easier among companies and has the potential to create financial and operational benefits. This study discusses potential strategic benefits of this technology, highlights its evolving technologies and trends and …

Cyber Security, Threat Intelligence: Defending The Digital Platform, Emmnauel U. Opara Dr, Mohammed T. Hussein Dr

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Network breaches are happening at a phenomenal scale. The unabated exponential level is forcing enterprise systems to scramble for solutions since the world is so interconnected and digitized and the internet knows no boundaries. Due to big data explosion, the platform for attackers to work continues to grow. Most breached entities are not aware that they have been compromised for weeks but finds out after an external audit or a third party notifies the organizations. Since most networks will be breached at some point, it is proper to note that legacy platforms will no longer stand a chance to defend …

The Ipv6 Internet: An Assessment Of Adoption And Quality Of Services, John Pickard, John Southworth, Dale Drummond

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

The goal of this study is to deliver both an in-depth comprehensive analysis of the current state of IPv6 adoption and an assessment of the quality of services over the IPv6 Internet. Our assessment comprises an examination of eight data sets used to produce a comprehensive picture of IPv6 adoption across 12 metrics. We assessed the quality of services over the IPv6 Internet using eight globally distributed monitoring agents to compare the HTTP load times to targeted websites over IPv6 and IPv4. The results of our analysis confirm the findings of previous studies showing that IPv6 is in an accelerating …

Evolutionary History Of Chemosensory-Related Gene Families Across The Arthropoda, Seong-Il Eyun, Ho Young Soh, Marijan Posavi, James B. Munro, Daniel S.T. Hughes, Shwetha C. Murali, Jiaxin Qu, Shannon Dugan, Sandra L. Lee, Hsu Chao, Huyen Dinh, Yi Han, Harshavardhan Doddapaneni, Kim C. Worley, Donna M. Muzny, Eun-Ok Park, Joana C. Silva, Richard A. Gibbs, Stephen Richards, Carol Eunmi Lee

Nebraska Center for Biotechnology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Chemosensory-related gene (CRG) families have been studied extensively in insects, but their evolutionary history across the Arthropoda had remained relatively unexplored. Here, we address current hypotheses and prior conclusions on CRG family evolution using a more comprehensive data set. In particular, odorant receptors were hypothesized to have proliferated during terrestrial colonization by insects (hexapods), but their association with other pancrustacean clades and with independent terrestrial colonizations in other arthropod subphyla have been unclear. We also examine hypotheses on which arthropod CRG family is most ancient. Thus, we reconstructed phylogenies of CRGs, including those from new arthropod genomes and transcriptomes, and …

Development Of Self-Sensing Carbon Nanotube-Based Composites For Civil Infrastructure Applications, Thomas Schumacher, Erik T. Thostenson

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Presented at the 5th International Symposium on Sensor Science (I3S 2017), Barcelona, Spain, 27–29 September 2017.

Worldwide, civil infrastructure systems are aging and deteriorating due to maintenance neglect, increasing traffic, and an environment that is becoming increasingly more severe. In particular, bridges play a critical role in the transportation network. With limited monies available for maintenance and repair, a need exists for effective yet inexpensive solutions to strengthen and monitor bridges. This presentation provides an overview of the development of carbon nanotube (CNT)-based composites, which offer a means to strengthen and monitor a deteriorated bridge member simultaneously. CNT sensors are …

Computationally Inexpensive Pv System Model As A Simulation Agent For Large Scale Integration Analysis, Colin Levis, Martin Hill

Conference Papers

In recent years the proliferation of renewable energy systems, especially photovoltaic (PV), generating into the low voltage (LV) distribution network has been increasing and these systems are poised to contribute a significant portion of the energy supply. This poses a challenge for maintaining grid stability, which is traditionally reliant on large centralised synchronous machines. For large-scale integration of distributed PV generation, PV systems must be capable of providing grid support services (GSS) emulating the traditional system. This paper presents an accurate, reduced order, computationally inexpensive agent based model (ABM) of a three-phase PV inverter that will provide a platform for …

Supplying Bio-Compressed Natural Gas To The Transport Industry In Ireland: Is The Current Regulatory Framework Facilitating Or Hindering Development?, Niamh Power, Daniel Goulding, Dan Fitzpatrick, Rodger O'Connor, James D. Browne

Publications

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and biomethane when blended as a transport fuel (bio-CNG) have significant potential in Europe. However, this alternative fuel has not been developed in several European countries. One of the barriers to market penetration is the absence of a coherent regulatory framework to eliminate the disparity between European and national legislation. Using Ireland as a test case, this paper examines how conflicting policies can be aligned to ensure effective bio-CNG market development. A key barrier is the regulatory ambiguity placed on transport fuel suppliers and investors who wish to connect to the network to supply bio-CNG. For …

Workshop Synthesis: Measuring Attitudes And Perceptions In Quantitative Surveys, Kelly Clifton, Juan Antonio Carrasco

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This workshop engaged participants in discussion about issues in incorporating qualitative information, namely attitudes, perceptions, and other psychological-social factors into transport research and analysis. There are many challenges to collecting this information from respondents. This synthesis summarizes the workshop presentations and discussion where participants identified the various types of information desired, reviewed the current challenges in conducting this type of data collection, made recommendations for practice, and outlined an agenda for future research.

Differences Of Cycling Experiences And Perceptions Between E-Bike And Bicycle Users In The United States, Ziwen Ling, Christopher R. Cherry, John Macarthur, Jonathan X. Weinert

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

E-bikes are bicycles that provide pedal-assistance to aid people in cycling. Because of the potential of promoting sustainable transportation, more attention has been focused on the e-bike market. This paper investigates the differences of the cycling experience and perceptions between e-bike and conventional bicycle users, using samples drawn from independent bicycle dealer customers. A total of 806 respondents in the United States took the on-line survey, including 363 e-bike-owning respondents. The results show that e-bikes play a more important role in utilitarian travel, such as commuting and running errands, compared to a conventional bicycle. Conventional bicycle-owning respondents use their bicycles …

Co2 Capture From Flue Gas By A Psa Process Using A Novel Structured Adsorbent, Nima Mohammadi

Theses and Dissertations

First adsorption equilibrium isotherms for N2, O2, Ar and CO2 on zeolite 13X were measured at three temperatures (25, 50, 75 °C) and pressures up to 110 kPa with a volumetric method and validated by also measuring the same isotherms with a gravimetric system.

Then a comprehensive 2-D mathematical model was developed to study the fundamentals of adsorption processes in parallel channel structured adsorbents. The results clearly indicated that under studied circumstances the plug flow condition can be assumed and therefore the system is not subject to premature breakthrough.

The pressure drop of corrugated structured adsorbents with narrow triangular channels …

Cable Health Monitoring System Built Into Power Converter Using Time Domain Reflectometry, Hossein Baninajar

Theses and Dissertations

Aging cables are a critical reliability concern for many electrical systems. Cables run over long distances, are often exposed to harsh environments and are intended to work for several decades. Cable faults can be a serious problem because cables are usually hard to repair or replace. Condition based maintenance is a popular approach that provides high reliability and low maintenance cost at the same time. This is a non-destructive method that collects information about the health condition of the cable under test without causing any potential damage.

Nowadays, in several applications power cables are connected to power converters and it …

Numerical Analysis Of Phase Change, Heat Transfer And Fluid Flow Within Miniature Heat Pipes, Mehdi Famouri

Theses and Dissertations

Heat pipes with broad applications in thermal systems have the ability to provide effective heat transport with minimal losses in over reasonable distances due to their passive nature. Their exceptional flexibility, simple fabrication, and easy control, not to mention, all without any external pumping power make them especially attractive in electronics cooling. Heat pipe development is motivated to overcome the need to presumably manage thermal dissipation in progressively compressed and higher-density microelectronic components, while preserving the components temperatures to specification.

Computation of flow and heat transfer in a heat pipe is complicated by the strong coupling among the velocity, pressure …

Modeling Battery Performance Due To Volume Change In Porous Electrodes Due To Intercalation, Taylor R. Garrick

Theses and Dissertations

The demand for energy continues to increase as the economies of developing countries become more modern and show an increased need for a reliable energy infrastructure in order to meet the increased demand associated with a large and more mobile population. An increased demand puts a strain on all sectors, however it is specifically noticeable in the transportation sector where a significant portion of the fuel utilized for transportation comes from petroleum and other fossil fuels. Recently, using alternative forms of energy for transportation has become reality, and in turn, using electricity as a transportation fuel has gained significant momentum, …

Fault Protection In Dc Microgrids Based On Autonomous Operation Of All Components, Qiu Deng

Theses and Dissertations

DC power distribution systems (or so called DC microgrids) are of wide interest for various power applications due to their advantages over traditional AC power distribution systems with respect to power density and power distribution efficiency. On the other hand, short-circuit faults present formidable hazards in these systems. It is difficult to extinguish these arc faults via conventional circuit breakers due to the lack of natural zero-crossing of DC current. Also the DC breakers are usually more bulky and costly. Today, fault protection in these systems – to the extent that it exists – relies on over-current time-out limits in …

Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Treatment Of Natural Biomaterials For Tissue Engineering Applications, Dominic M. Casali

Theses and Dissertations

The number of people requiring an organ transplant in the United States has increased considerably over the past 25 years, but the number of organ donations has stagnated; over 8,000 people now die annually while awaiting a transplant or become too sick to receive one. Tissue engineering (TE), the design and production of artificial tissues and organs in vitro, has been proposed to alleviate this problem. Though synthetic polymers offer tunable mechanical and biochemical properties, natural biomaterials have recently garnered attention in TE for their high degree of biocompatibility and ability to direct cell proliferation and constructive tissue remodeling. Yet …

Rational Synthesis Of Catalysts For Biomass Conversion, Qiuli Liu

Theses and Dissertations

With climate change due to global warming, the production of hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals from renewable biomass resource has become more pressing in recent decades. The biggest challenge in biomass conversion is to develop active, selective and stable catalysts for particular applications. The objective of this research is to optimize catalytic performance for hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) and hydrogenation reactions by enhancing the stability of the support, tuning metal particle size, and controlling surface composition.

The high content of water in bio-oil and the aqueous environment of the upgrading process requires a hydrothermally stable catalyst. The hydrothermal stability has been effectively improved …

Structural, Interfacial, And Electrochemical Properties Of Pr2nio4+Δ – Based Electrodes For Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, Emir Dogdibegovic

Theses and Dissertations

Currently, the electrochemical performance and performance durability of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are limited by cathode materials. The high polarization resistance and phase instability of the cathode are two major challenges to hinder the commercialization of SOFC systems. Two families of oxides are presently known as potential cathode materials for SOFCs: (1) the perovskite family of oxides with a general formula of ABO₃, and (2) the Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) family of oxides (e.g. nickelates) with a general formula of A₂BO₄. The electron-hole conduction in these materials occurs simultaneously with oxygen ion conduction based on …

Development Of Novel Catalysts For Air Pollution Control, Chao Wang

Theses and Dissertations

The development of economy strongly related with increased consumption of fossil fuels, which causes severe air pollution issue. With more and more strict environmental regulations implemented all over the world, robust and efficient emission control technologies need to be innovated and applied to overcome the pollution challenge. This dissertation focuses on utilizing heterogeneous catalysis to eliminate carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (CH_x) and nitric oxides (NO_x) emissions produced from fossil fuel combustion.

The first type of catalyst is Pd supported on Mn-Ce solid solution. It achieves 100% CO conversion at room temperature. The high activity is attributed …

Three Segment Adaptive Power Electronic Compensator For Non-Periodic Currents, Amin Ghaderi

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, a new technique is proposed for the compensation of nonperiodic load current. The method provides control references for three co-located devices, each corresponding to one moving calculation window and one decomposed part of the compensated current. They are slow compensator with high power rating, large calculation window, and low switching frequency; fast compensator with lower power rating, shorter calculation window, and higher switching frequency; and the reactive compensator which is an ordinary static VAR compensator (SVC). To improve the flexibility of the technique, a fuzzy based adaptive window is proposed for the slow compensator to find the …