Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Improved Formulation Of A Recombinant Ricin A-Chain Vaccine Iincreases Its Stability And Effective Antigenicity, John H. Carra, Robert W. Wannemacher, Ralph F. Tammariello, Changhong Y. Lindsey, Richard E. Dinterman, Rowena D. Schokman, Leonard A. Smith

United States Army: Publications

Ricin is a potent toxin associated with bioterrorism for which no vaccine or specific countermeasures are currently available. A stable, non-toxic and immunogenic recombinant ricin A-chain vaccine (RTA 1-33/44-198) has been developed by protein engineering. We identified optimal formulation conditions for this vaccine under which it remained stable and potent in storage for up to 18 months, and resisted multiple rounds of freeze–thawing without stabilizing co-solvents. Reformulation from phosphate buffer to succinate buffer increased adherence of the protein to aluminum hydroxide adjuvant from 15 to 91%, with a concomitant increase of nearly threefold in effective antigenicity in a mouse model. …

A Refined Pharmacophore Identifies Potent 4-Amino-7-Chloroquinoline-Based Inhibitors Of The Botulinum Neurotoxin Serotype A Metalloprotease, James C. Burnett, Dejan Opsenica, Kamaraj Sriraghavan, Rekha G. Panchal, Gordon Ruthel, Ann R. Hermone, Tam L. Nguyen, Tara A. Kenny, Douglas J. Lane, Connor F. Mcgrath, James J. Schmidt, Jonathan L. Vennerstrom, Rick Gussio, Bogdan A. Solaja, Sina Bavari

United States Army: Publications

We previously identified structurally diverse small molecule (non-peptidic) inhibitors (SMNPIs) of the botulinum neurotoxin serotype A (BoNT/A) light chain (LC). Of these, several (including antimalarial drugs) contained a 4-amino-7-chloroquinoline (ACQ) substructure and a separate positive ionizable amine component. The same antimalarials have also been found to interfere with BoNT/A translocation into neurons, via pH elevation of the toxin-mediated endosome. Thus, this structural class of small molecules may serve as dual-function BoNT/A inhibitors. In this study, we used a refined pharmacophore for BoNT/A LC inhibition to identify four new, potent inhibitors of this structural class (IC50’s ranged from 3.2 to 17 …

Phase I Dose Escalation Safety And Immunogenicity Trial Of Plasmodium Falciparum Apical Membrane Protein (Ama-1) Fmp2.1, Adjuvanted With As02a, In Malaria-Naive Adults At The Walter Reed Army Institute Of Research, Mark E. Polhemus, Alan J. Magill, James F. Cummings, Kent E. Kester, Chris F. Ockenhouse, David E. Lanar, Sheetij Dutta, Arnoldo Barbosa, Lorraine Soisson, Carter L. Diggs, Sally A. Robinson, John D. Haynes, V. Ann Stewart, Lisa A. Ware, Clara Brando, Urszula Krzych, Robert A. Bowden, Joe D. Cohen, Marie-Claude Dubois, Opokua Ofori-Anyinam, Els De-Kock, W. Ripley Ballou, D. Gray Heppner Jr.

United States Army: Publications

We report the first safety and immunogenicity trial of the Plasmodium falciparum vaccine candidate FMP2.1/AS02A, a recombinant E. coli-expressed protein based upon the apical membrane antigen-1 (AMA-1) of the 3D7 clone formulated with the AS02A adjuvant. We conducted an open-label, staggered-start, dose-escalating Phase I trial in 23 malaria-naıve volunteers who received 8, 20 or 40 _g of FMP2.1 in a fixed volume of 0.5mL of AS02A on a 0, 1, and 2 month schedule. Nineteen of 23 volunteers received all three scheduled immunizations. The most frequent solicited local and systemic adverse events associated with immunization were injection site pain (68%) …

An In Vitro Comparative Study On The Reactivation Of Nerve Agent-Inhibited Guinea Pig And Human Acetylcholinesterases By Oximes, Chunyuan Luo, Min Tong, Nageswararao Chilukuri, Karen Brecht, Donald M. Maxwell, Ashima Saxena

United States Army: Publications

The reactivation of nerve agent-inhibited acetylcholinesterase (AChE) by oxime is the most important step in the treatment of nerve agent poisoning. Since the evaluation of nerve agent antidotes cannot be conducted in humans, results from animal experiments are extrapolated to humans. Guinea pig is one of the animal models that is frequently used for conducting nerve agent antidote evaluations. Several investigations have demonstrated that the efficacy of an oxime primarily depends on its ability to reactivate nerve agent-inhibited AChE. If the in Vitro oxime reactivation of nerve agent-inhibited animal AChE is similar to that of human AChE, it is likely …

Adaptive Neural Network Based Stabilizing Controller Design For Single Machine Infinite Bus Power Systems, Wenxin Liu, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Donald C. Wunsch, David A. Cartes, Jagannathan Sarangapani, Mariesa Crow

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Power system stabilizers are widely used to generate supplementary control signals for the excitation system in order to damp out the low frequency oscillations. In power system control literature, the performances of the proposed controllers were mostly demonstrated using simulation results without any rigorous stability analysis. This paper proposes a stabilizing neural network (NN) controller based on a sixth order single machine infinite bus power system model. The NN is used to approximate the complex nonlinear dynamics of power system. Unlike the other indirect adaptive NN control schemes, there is no offline training process and the NN can be directly …

Identifying Useful Variables For Vehicle Braking Using The Adjoint Matrix Approach To The Mahalanobis-Taguchi System, Elizabeth A. Cudney, Kenneth M. Ragsdell, Kioumars Paryani

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Mahalanobis Taguchi System (MTS) is a diagnosis and forecasting method for multivariate data. Mahalanobis distance (MD) is a measure based on correlations between the variables and different patterns that can be identified and analyzed with respect to a base or reference group. MTS is of interest because of its reported accuracy in forecasting small, correlated data sets. This is the type of data that is encountered with consumer vehicle ratings. MTS enables a reduction in dimensionality and the ability to develop a scale based on MD values. MTS identifies a set of useful variables from the complete data set …

A Dendroclimatic Record Of Paleoclimate Of The Last 10,000 Years, Glacier Bay National Park And Preserve: Progress Understanding Climate Change In Southeast Alaska, Daniel Lawson, Greg Wiles, David Finnegan

United States Army: Publications

Our investigations in 2007 focused on continuing collection and analyses of tree rings from living trees and building a long ring-width series from interstadial wood. These interstadial forests were extensive and their preservation, although discontinuous and fragmented, is remarkable. In situ stumps, still rooted in growth position, and logs held within sediments remain from forests that existed at various times between glaciations over approximately the last 10,000 years.
We have analyzed previous and new collections of ring-width tree-ring series, including a multiple species collection from near Excursion Ridge in the southeast portion of the Park. These tree-ring series have a …

Effective Use Of Process Capability Indices For Supplier Management, Elizabeth A. Cudney, David Drain

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Process capability indices were originally invented to enable an organization to make economically sound decisions for process management. Process capability is a comparison of the voice of the process with the voice of the customer. Current practice is to use Cp and Cpk regardless of the validity of the underlying assumptions necessary for their use. Even if all necessary assumptions are satisfied, important problems can be missed if these indices are the sole process evaluation examined. Customer-supplier axioms are introduced to motivate more useful process evaluations and foster long-term harmonious relationships. This paper explores the alternative capability indices Cpm, Cpmk, …

Technology And Competence Alignment To The Roadmap, Mihir M. Gokhale, Donald D. Myers

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Roadmaps serve as a useful graphical tool to integrate strategic objectives, technology-assessment, technology-road mapping and product road mapping against an axis of time. Much research has been done related to linking specific technologies with the product roadmap. It is equally important to understand how the sourcing of this technology can be done. This leads to the discussion of competence development to meet the technology gap. the paper describes the alignment of this technology and competence with the overall roadmap. © 2008 IEEE.

A Framework For The Assessment And Analysis Of Multi-Hazardsinduced Risk Resulting From Space Vehicles Operations, Serge Sala-Diakanda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the foreseeable increase in traffic frequency to and from orbit, the safe operation of current and future space vehicles at designated spaceports has become a serious concern. Due to their high explosive energy potential, operating those launch vehicles presents a real risk to: (1) the spaceport infrastructure and personnel, (2) the communities surrounding the spaceport and (3) the flying aircrafts whose routes could be relatively close to spaceport launch and reentry routes. Several computer models aimed at modeling the effects of the different hazards generated by the breakup of such vehicles (e.g., fragmentation of debris, release of toxic gases, …

A Comparison Of Techniques To Forecast Consumer Satisfaction For Vehicle Ride, Elizabeth A. Cudney, David Drain, Kenneth M. Ragsdell, Kioumars Paryani

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents a comparison of methods for the identification of a reduced set of useful variables using a multidimensional system. the Mahalanobis-Taguchi System and a standard statistical technique are used reduce the dimensionality of vehicle ride based on consumer satisfaction ratings. the Mahalanobis-Taguchi System and cluster analysis are applied to vehicle ride. the research considers 67 vehicle data sets for the 6 vehicle ride parameters. This paper applies the Mahalanobis-Taguchi System to forecast consumer satisfaction and provides a comparison of results with those obtained from a standard statistical approach to the problem. Copyright © 2007 SAE International.

Performance Prediction Based Resource Selection In Grid Environments, Peggy Lindner, Edgar Gabriel, Michael M. Resch

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Deploying Grid technologies by distributing an application over several machines has been widely used for scientific simulations, which have large requirements for computational resources. The Grid Configuration Manager (GCM) is a tool developed to ease the management of scientific applications in distributed environments and to hide some of the complexities of Grids from the end-user. In this paper we present an extension to the Grid Configuration Manager in order to incorporate a performance-based resource brokering mechanism. Given a pool of machines and a trace file containing information about the runtime characteristics of the according application, GCM is able to select …

Acuta Enews January 2007, Vol. 36, No. 1

ACUTA Newsletters

In This Issue

From ACUTA Headquarters........... Jeri A. Semer, CAE, ACUTA Executive Director

Centrex Conversion to PBX.............. Ron Walczak, Walczak Technology Consultants

Tech Talk: Duduplication Reduces Storage Needs............. Kevin Tanzillo, Dux PR

DC Update............... Jeanne Jansenius, Sewanee, The University of the South

ACUTA Alert: Federal Rules Governing Destruction of Electronically Stored Information

FYI: Useful Information from the Campus.............. Student Monitor

Setting Priorities............... Geoff Tritsch, Vantage Technology Consulting Group

Web Tip: Members Post Job Openings........... Aaron Fuehrer, ACUTA Information Technology Manager

Board Report............... Riny Ledgerwood, San Diego State Univ. of Northern Iowa

Thanks to Sponsors for 2006

A Moment in Time: …

Details And Description Of Operations Research, Paul Savory

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Reports

The ambiguous term operations research was coined during World War II. A frequent substitute is management science. Operations research is a scientific approach to analyzing problems and making decisions. It uses mathematics and mathematical modeling on computers to forecast the implications of various choices and zero in on the best alternatives. This content paper provides an overview of operations research. It highlights operations research problems, methods for solving problems, different areas of operations research, and example problems.

Peer Review Of Teaching Project: Overview Newsletter, Paul Savory, Amy M. Goodburn, Amy Nelson Burnett

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Reports

The Peer Review of Teaching Project (PRTP) is a UNL campus program that supports teams of faculty in making visible the serious intellectual work of teaching. Begun in 1994, the project uses the same process one would use to explore a research question by having faculty inquire, analyze, and document their teaching practices and the resulting student learning and then make these results accessible for use, review, and assessment by one’s peers. The project consists of a first-year fellowship program and an advanced scholar program. Specific faculty outcomes from participating in the project include: (1) Reflecting upon, developing, and writing …

Pre/Post Assessment Of Abilities, Paul Savory

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Instructional Materials

One approach to assess if students are learning in a course is to conduct a pre-test, post-test assessment of the course material. By comparing the two results, one can make an assessment of the knowledge learned in the course. For certain types of courses, it can be a challenge in defining an assessment instrument that measure student knowledge. This example is one I have developed for my IMSE 440/840 (Discrete Event Computer Simulation) course. Students are asked rate their ability for key course objectives defined on the course syllabus. I administer it on the first day of the course and …

The Development Of Hybrid Intelligent Systems For Technical Analysis Based Equivolume Charting, Thira Chavarnakul

Doctoral Dissertations

"This dissertation proposes the development of a hybrid intelligent system applied to technical analysis based equivolume charting for stock trading. A Neuro-Fuzzy based Genetic Algorithms (NF-GA) system of the Volume Adjusted Moving Average (VAMA) membership functions is introduced to evaluate the effectiveness of using a hybrid intelligent system that integrates neural networks, fuzzy logic, and genetic algorithms techniques for increasing the efficiency of technical analysis based equivolume charting for trading stocks"--Introduction, page 1.

Quality Loss Function - Common Methodology For Nominal-The-Best, Smaller-The-Better, And Larger-The-Better Cases, Naresh Kumar Sharma, Kenneth M. Ragsdell

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The quality loss function developed by Dr. Genichi Taguchi considers three cases including nominal-the-best, smaller-the-better, and larger-the-better. the methodology used to deal with the larger-the-better case is slightly different from that for the smaller-the-better and nominal-the-better cases. This paper attempts to bring about similarity among the three cases by introducing a term called the "target-mean ratio" and proposing a common formula for all three cases. the "target-mean ratio" can take different values to represent all three cases to bring about consistency and simplify the model. Also, it eliminates the assumption of target performance at infinite level and brings the model …

More Secure Passwords, Scott Magruder, Stanley X. Lewis Jr

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Passwords are often the first line of defense against hackers trying to logon to a user’s account. Due to this, the password that a user selects for protection of their account is critical. These passwords must be “good” passwords that are not easily cracked. However, how does the network administrator enforce this? A simple change to the login process can make the passwords chosen by users much more secure. A description of this simple process is given in this paper. The normal login process is described. A description of the how hackers attempt to crack passwords is given. The simple …

Improving The Judicial System To Handle Computer Crime, Gerald V. Post, Albert Kagan

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This paper asked professionals in the legal system to evaluate the current state and effectiveness of laws to identify and deter computer crime. Responses were evaluated with a formal structural equation model. The results generally show that legal professionals believe potential jurors have minimal knowledge of computer crime issues. More importantly, they also believe that judges have little knowledge or experience. A similar lack of knowledge by defense attorneys indicates that it could be difficult for a person accused of computer related infractions to find adequate representation. On the other hand, more experienced participants do not believe computer laws present …

The Role Of Quantitative Analysis In The Information Security Systems Development Lifecycle, Stephen R. Rosenkranz, Michael E. Busing, Faye P. Teer, Karen A. Forcht

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Today’s numerous Quantitative Analysis (QA) tools have been successfully utilized to solve business problems in diverse applications. However, the application of QA tools in solving information security problems has been sparse. Devising the means and ways to use QA tools in resolving industry-wide security problems has the potential to yield enormous global economic benefit. The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of QA tools as a means of improving the processes involved in the Information Security Systems Development Lifecycle (SecSDL). Information security professionals use the SecSDL as a guide for formulating a comprehensive information security program. The …

A Framework And Guide For Understanding The Creation Of Consumer Trust, Joseph A. Cazier

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This paper develops a framework and model for building trust by combining research on the creation of trust with the dimensions of trust: ability, benevolence and integrity. By combining these dimensions in a matrix with the types of trust production based on characteristics, process and institutions, the paper develops a robust 3 x 3 matrix with which to categorize and understand trust production. The framework is developed and analyzed in the light of literature on consumer trust. This framework can help researchers, practitioners and consumers understand trust creation and assist businesses in developing a comprehensive strategy for managing trust.

An Application Of The Deming Management Method For Information Technology Projects, Jack T. Marchewka

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Although the ideas and teachings of W. Edwards Deming have been implemented in organizations world- wide for over the past 50 years, only three studies have empirically tested a theoretical model grounded in the Deming Management Method. These studies focused on the manufacturing and services area. Today, quality management continues to be an area of interest both in project management and software engineering. The focus of this study is to test the Deming Management Method in information technology (IT) projects. A survey of 63 IT professionals provides empirical support for the Deming Management Method and its application to IT projects. …

Diversifying Biological Fuel Cell Designs By Use Of Nanoporous Filters, Justin C. Biffinger, Ricky Ray, Brenda Little, Bradley R. Ringeisen

United States Navy: Publications

The use of proton exchange membranes (PEMs) in biological fuel cells limits the diversity of novel designs for increasing output power or enabling autonomous function in unique environments. Here we show that selected nanoporous polymer filters (nylon, cellulose, or polycarbonate) can be used effectively in place of PEMs in a miniature microbial fuel cell (mini-MFC, device cross-section 2 cm²), generating a power density of 16 W/m³ with an uncoated graphite felt oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) cathode. The incorporation of polycarbonate or nylon membranes into biological fuel cell designs produced comparable power and durability to Nafion-117 membranes. Also, …

Genetically Attenuated Plasmodium Berghei Liver Stages Induce Sterile Protracted Protection That Is Mediated By Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I–Dependent Interferon-Y–Producing Cd8+ T Cells, Ousman Jobe, Joanne Lumsden, Ann-Kristin Mueller, Jackie Williams, Hilda Silva-Rivera, Stefan H. I. Kappe, Robert J. Schwenk, Kai Matuschewski, Urszula Krzych

United States Army: Publications

At present, radiation-attenuated plasmodia sporozoites (y-spz) is the only vaccine that induces sterile and lasting protection in malaria-naive humans and laboratory rodents. However, g-spz are not without risks. For example, the heterogeneity of the y-spz could explain occasional breakthrough infections. To avoid this possibility, we constructed a double-knockout P. berghei parasite by removing 2 genes, UIS3 and UIS4, that are up-regulated in infective spz.We evaluated the double-knockout Pbuis3(-)/4(-) parasites for protective efficacy and the contribution of CD8+ T cells to protection. Pbuis3(-)/4(-) spz induced sterile and protracted protection in C57BL/6 mice. Protection was linked to CD8+ …

Decision-Maker Trade-Offs In Multiple Response Surface Optimization, Alicia Hawkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this dissertation is on improving decision-maker trade-offs and the development of a new constrained methodology for multiple response surface optimization. There are three key components of the research: development of the necessary conditions and assumptions associated with constrained multiple response surface optimization methodologies; development of a new constrained multiple response surface methodology; and demonstration of the new method. The necessary conditions for and assumptions associated with constrained multiple response surface optimization methods were identified and found to be less restrictive than requirements previously described in the literature. The conditions and assumptions required for a constrained method to …

Stress, Fatigue And Workload: Determining The Combined Affect On Human Performance, Jessica Mock-Mclaughlin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research generated a model that will help to predict, prevent, control and mitigate the occurrence of task related factors that negatively influence stress, fatigue, and workload; thus enhancing human performance. Past research efforts involving stress, fatigue and workload identified factors that influence a change in performance (Lan, Ji and Looney, 2003, and Hancock & Warm, 1989). Also, while some mathematical models have been developed within each respective area, however, there is no evidence of an integrated model describing the combined affect of stress, fatigue and workload. To respond to this research gap, a quantitative model representing the state of …

Optimization Models For Emergency Relief Shelter Planning For Anticipated Hurricane Events, Abeer Tarief Sharawi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Natural disasters, specifically hurricanes, can cause catastrophic loss of life and property. In recent years, the United States has endured significant losses due to a series of devastating hurricanes (e.g., Hurricanes Charley and Ivan in 2004, and Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma in 2005). Several Federal authorities report that there are weaknesses in the emergency and disaster planning and response models that are currently employed in practice, thus creating a need for better decision models in emergency situations. The current models not only lack fast communication with emergency responders and the public, but are also inadequate for advising the pre-positioning of …

Spatial Diversity In Signal Strength Based Wlan Location Determination Systems, Anil Ramachandran, Jagannathan Sarangapani

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Literature indicates that spatial diversity can be utilized to compensate channel uncertainties such as multipath fading. Therefore, in this paper, spatial diversity is exploited for locating stationary and mobile objects in the indoor environment. First, space diversity technique is introduced for small scale motion and temporal variation compensation of received signal strength and it is demonstrated analytically that it enhances location accuracy. Small scale motion refers to movements of the transmitter and/or the receiver of the order of sub-wavelengths while temporal effects refer to environmental variations with time. A novel metric is introduced for selection combining in order to improve …

An Online Approximator-Based Fault Detection Framework For Nonlinear Discrete-Time Systems, Balaje T. Thumati, Jagannathan Sarangapani

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, a fault detection scheme is developed for nonlinear discrete time systems. The changes in the system dynamics due to incipient failures are modeled as a nonlinear function of state and input variables while the time profile of the failures is assumed to be exponentially developing. The fault is detected by monitoring the system and is approximated by using online approximators. A stable adaptation law in discrete-time is developed in order to characterize the faults. The robustness of the diagnosis scheme is shown by extensive mathematical analysis and simulation results.