Browsing by Subject "Institute of Technology"

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3D Maps of the Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A
(2010-04-21) Olmschenk, Greg
We studied the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. A supernova remnant is the debris of a supernova – the explosive death of a star in one of the most energetic events in the universe. Studying the supernova remnant gives us insight into the exotic physics of the explosion itself as well as the physics of the material affected by the powerful shock waves. We are especially interested in particle acceleration – the acceleration of particles to near the speed of light by magnetic fields in the shock waves. One eventual goal of our work is to create 3-dimensional density and temperature maps of the supernova debris. This will allow us to compare the debris before and after encountering a shock wave and potentially detect, for the first time, the energy lost to accelerated particles at this type of shock wave.
Assessing the Merit of F14T Super High Strength Structural Bolts
(2010-04-21) Petersen-Gauthier, Joel
Steel buildings and bridge structures across the United States currently utilize two main types of high strength structural bolts to transfer the forces developed in the connections between structural members. These bolts are designated by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) as A325 and A490, which can hold up to 120ksi and 150ksi respectively. Several countries across the globe have recently introduced new grades of high strength bolts to cope with increasing material strength and to enhance design options. The recently developed Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) F14T bolt has an ultimate tensile strength of roughly 200ksi, 33% stronger than the A490, the strongest ASTM bolt. Although the F14T is considerably stronger than the A490, that does not necessarily mean the connection will be stronger. There are many ways a connection can fail besides bolt failure. The type of failure depends on many factors such as what kind of connection it is, what types of loads are being applied to the connection, and the material properties of all connection members. To determine the potential benefit of the F14T over the A325 and A490, all connection limit states must be investigated and calculated using the different bolts. Also, before this is done the standards and practices of each standardizing company (ASTM and JIS) must be researched to determine if the bolts can be directly compared or if some values must be changed for a fair representation of their differences.
Can You Hear Me Now? Solving the Headphone Problem
(2009-04-08) Hornung, Stephanie; Evenson, Maureen; Pope, Zach; Olson, Kyle; Cook, David
This project will develop a product that will be embedded into headphones to prevent the wearer from missing essential communication, either from conversation or emergency sirens (fire alarms, tornado sirens, emergency vehicle sounds, etc.). It will monitor ambient sound and determine whether or not music should be interrupted. A microphone will pick up sound from the environment, then analysis software will process it to determine the next step. If the sound is determined to be either close range human speech or an emergency siren, the code will signal the music to cease. If neither of these is recognized, the music will continue. The bulk of the project lies in developing software that can differentiate human speech from other ambient sounds. Thus far, we are writing code and figuring out what distinguishes human speech from other ambient noise. This includes spectrogram analysis of various sound recordings. From our research, we know that we must analyze each sound to approximately 1/100th of a second (this is defined to be a "feature"). Each feature is assigned a probability that it appears as a portion of a spoken word. We cross-reference each probability with 1000's of feature charts of recognizable human speech patterns to determine if the sound is from a human voice. Based on this probability, we decide if the word is human speech. The code we create to do this will be transferred to a pic microcontroller, which interfaces with the microphone and the music player, allowing it to quickly respond to human speech or emergency signals.
Capturing the Internal Anatomy of the Dentition for Tooth Explorer
(2010-04-21) Dens, Christopher
Dental students currently learn the internal anatomy of the dentition by looking at different cross-sections that have been sliced from the teeth. This helps them get a general idea of what is inside, but some of the intricacies of the canals and other minute structures are not observable from a single slice. By using a Micro-CT scanner we were able to digitize teeth in their entirety with great detail, revealing some of the structures that single slices missed. The 3-D visualization software that is available today combined with the data we collected will make learning and understanding the internal anatomy of the teeth much easier and will reveal structures that were extremely difficult to observe before.
Characterization of Variant Phase Transitions in Smectic-C* Liquid Crystals by Computer Simulation
(2009-04-08) Martin, Stephen
Recent experiments have identified a smooth transition from smectic-C*[alpha1] to smectic-C*[alpha2] in mixtures of some liquid crystalline compounds. However, phenomenological theories implementing only short-range interactions have predicted the intervention of smectic-C*[FI2] in this transition. Using a parameterized free-energy model, this smooth transition in smectic-C*[alpha] is rationalized by variation of three interaction parameters independently in a computer simulation. A phase diagram characterizing the results of our simulation is presented.
Characterizing the pH Dependence of Surface Charge for Silica Nanoparticles Made by Amino Acid Synthesis
(2010-04-21) Zhang, Liang
Silica nanoparticles are silica spheres in the micron size range. Because of their shape and ordered arrangement, these nanoparticles serve important purposes in high-tech industries and modern applications such as cancer therapy, drug and DNA delivery systems, ultrasensitive analysis, and nanoparticle films. Applications depend on order in packing of nanoparticles, which in turn depends on particle charge. Silica nanoparticles were synthesized using published methods and the pH of the solution bathing the nanoparticle was altered. The nanoparticle solutions were then characterized by size with SAXS lighting scattering and by surface charge with an electrophoretic method. Though zeta-potential tests provided variable data with each batch of particles, the overall pattern was consistent. It was found that zeta potential decreases as pH becomes more acidic.
Comparison between the Fitness Function and Its Best Quadratic Approximation
(2010-05-03) Zheng, Yilun
The standard method to estimate the fitness landscape is the approach of Lande and Arnold, which has been very widely used and has over 1000 citations. Basically, what they do is to estimate the actual fitness function as its best quadratic approximation (BQA) given data which is a set of phenotypic character variables and observed fitness such as the number of off springs. We show that the “best” quadratic approximation is futile and does not provide the true information a fitness function can convey, because it often approximates the true fitness function only poorly. More often than not, we would find that the BQA displays artifacts rather than the actual characteristic of fitness landscape of biological interest.
Comparison of Carbonyl Levels in Young and Old Rats
(2009-04-08) Brancel, Kiara
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are a natural by-product of aerobic cellular metabolism. They are highly reactive molecules which cause oxidative damage, such as carbonylation, to proteins, lipids and DNA. Because of the high metabolism and energy demand of skeletal muscle, it is especially susceptible to carbonylation. Thus the level of carbonylation can be used as a surrogate of the amount of oxidative damage to the tissue. This research uses fluorescent immuno-labeling to visualize the carbonyls within skeletal muscle cross sections in order to compare the carbonyl levels in young and old skeletal muscles. The comparative carbonyl levels are determined by the relative fluorescent intensity of the tissue. In addition, the carbonyl levels in mitochondria and the rest of the subcellular regions can be determined by observing the carbon-associated fluorescence in regions identified by labeling mitochondria with a separate probe. At the beginning of the project, we found one complication was that rat skeletal muscle tissue have high levels of native fluorescence that interfere with carbonyl detection. In order to eliminate this complication, a method was developed to photo-bleach the native fluorescence prior to labeling the carbonyls. Our preliminary results suggest that there was a difference in the levels of oxidative damage in specific areas of the cell. Preliminary results also indicate that older muscle tissue has accumulated a higher level of carbonylation and therefore more oxidative damage. Since with muscle aging the ability to produce force and muscle mass both decrease, these results suggest a correlation of oxidative damage with muscle changes attributed to the aging process. Greater understanding of aging mechanisms will hopefully give rise to the future development of interventional techniques.
Compressive Sampling: The Future of Efficiency and Signal Processing
(2009-04-08) Mueller, Peter
The majority of data stored in a computer or in a signal are place-holding zeroes. Compressive sampling enables us to reduce the memory a set amount of data takes up until we need to use it again. Additionally, the limiting factor most people are worried about is time. Compressive sampling allows the sending of signals and data with less time and effort. The process is based on probability and the principles of random number generators which is built in to most computers. This makes the process of compressive sampling widely available.
Computational Framework for Pavement Sensitivity Analysis Using the Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Procedure
(2009-10-02) Gaynor, Andrew T.
In civil engineering, the performance of a structure or project is the main objective. When designing a particular project it is important to explore an array of design options to determine which will perform best. This approach applies well to road design. Roads have many different characteristics that can be varied, from the thickness of different layers to the AADTT (average annual daily truck traffic). For this project a sensitivity analysis was performed to determine how particular output criteria would respond to variation in particular input variables. This analysis is done exclusively using computer modeling by the use of an array of programs.
Computational Modeling of Protein Kinase A and Comparison with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Data
(2009-10-07) Shi, Lei; Veglia, Gianluigi
Protein phosphorylation is fundamental in the modulation of myocardial contractility. Sarcoendoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase(SERCA) removes cytosolic Ca2+ to initiate relaxation, but the regulatory protein, phospholamban(PLN), decreases SERCA’s affinity for free Ca2+. Phosphorylation of PLN by Protein Kinase A (PKA) induces a relief of inhibition on SERCA and augments the rate of SERCA Ca2+ uptake. Here, we studied the interaction between PKA and PLN by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), computational docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Comparative simulations of PKA apo, binary and ternary states were performed, which provided molecular details to understand the mechanism of PKA substrate recognition.
A Cross-Platform, Adaptable GUI for an Evolving System
(2010-04-21) Frenz, Jonathan
The Internet has come a long way from where it started decades ago. Today, the variety of tasks that can be accomplished over a network are awe-inspiring. But with this rise of potential comes a necessary rise in the complexity of network communications. It has become harder and harder for network administrators or even individual Internet users to keep track of what is coming in and going out of their computers. Even as it becomes harder to monitor this network traffic, it is becoming increasingly indispensible to have a tool that can track and analyze this traffic to discover any spyware, viruses, or adware that may have infected the computer. The tool being developed accomplishes this task by enabling both individual users as well as network administrators to monitor and analyze network traffic. This tool will be distributed to a wide range of platforms for different purposes. Typically, a piece of software with deployment on multiple platforms requires the developers to create an individual graphical user interface in each language. This is unacceptable, however, for such a dynamic and evolving tool as this one. Instead, an interpreter is created for each platform to generate a GUI from the same simple XML file. A change in user interface can then immediately be delivered across all platforms that the tool is running on simply by editing the single XML file.
The Culinary Landscape of Greece and Thoughts on the Farmers' Market-Environment Relationship
(2010-06-09) Kwong, Laura Hsi
This cookbook started out with the goal of investigation how Greece’s outdoor food market influences and/or reflects perspectives on the physical environment, but it turned into a more general review of my food experiences in Greece. My culinary adventure took me from the street market and coffee shops of Athens, to the island to Evia, a sheep farm in Bralos, Central Greece, and finishing in the ancient Byzantine city of Thessaloniki. I gathered recipes from tavernas, a Greek nutritionist, a Brazilian-born Greek sheep farmer, a Greek restaurant manager and her girlfriends, two Greek gardeners, and an American-born owner of a Greek restaurant. The diverse recipes—which range from the cities to the mountains to the beaches, crossing the country from south to north—reflect both the modern and traditional dishes I encountered while living in Greece for ten weeks.
Design of MTJ-Based Spintronic Logic
(2009-04-08) Ebrahimi, Farbod
The very first transistor was made in 1947 and it has only been 62 short years since its invention. During this time technological advances have made great leaps and bounds and they all owe this to the transistor. Advancements are nearing a plateau as the technology to build transistors reaches its physical limits, and as such, a new component needs to be introduced that can pass the limitations of the transistor. A great candidate is the magnetic-tunneling-junction (MTJ), and only then as a replacement for the transistors digital applications. Already there are many groups designing it physically and finding the best method of production as well as many groups using them to replace transistors in circuits. Thus far, there haven't been any definitive models made of this device to allow simulations of theorized circuits, and the goal of my project since September 2008 has been not only to create a model for the MTJ to use in simulations, but to also simulate a select few theorized circuits to demonstrate the benefit of using MTJ's over transistors. Hopefully through these models and simulations, more innovative designs can come out as they did with the transistor and help keep the pace of our technological advancement to help build better futures for all of us who are alive today, and those who are yet to come into this world.
Detecting Bose-Einstein Condensation in Liquid Helium-4
(2009-04-08) Svenkeson, Adam J.
Purpose: To search for Bose-Einstein characteristics in liquid helium-4. Background: Theory has predicted that helium will form a Bose-Einstein condensate when cooled to a low temperature, but experimental evidence is fragmentary. There is an ongoing experiment, directed by Prof. J. Woods Halley of the Physics Department, seeking to witness Bose-Einstein characteristics by analyzing the transmission of particles through a disk of liquid helium-4. During 2008 I wrote a LabView program to create the beam of pulses sent at the disk of helium by evaporation of superfluid on the tip of an optical fiber or heater, and record the bolometer response to the transmitted particles.
Development of Brain-Computer Interface for Common Applications: Stage I Developement
(2009-04-08) Doud, Alexander
Brain-Computer interfaces are devices that can be used to connect the thoughts of a user to the output of a machine. These devices have the potential to act as a bridge of communication for fully or partially locked in individuals, and may serve as a way for these individuals to interact with their environment. Users can be trained to modulate the synchronization and desynchronization of elements of the EEG signal by employing learned motor imaginations. By interpreting these patterns of voltage potentials recorded on the scalp, sophisticated control systems can be created. It has been the goal of my project to use existing two-dimensional cursor control paradigms as a platform from which to develop a system capable of moving a cursor in three dimensions that is robust and easy to learn. This system could have useful applications in patient communication, rehabilitation, and even mental recreation.
Dynamics of Conjugation of Enterococcus faecalis
(2009-09-23) Cui, Yuqing
The Dynamics of Epilepsy in Relation to the Application of Anti-Epileptic Drugs
(2010-04-21) Huus, Aaron; Rodenkirch, Rebecca M.
The general purpose of this project is to understand how neurons in a network interact during a seizure. This knowledge would allow for a better comprehension of seizures, as well as the improvement of current treatment options. To accomplish this, Phase Response Curves (PRCs) are used to measure how a periodically firing neuron is perturbed by synaptic inputs. By understanding how a single neuron responds to these inputs, it can be predicted whether a network of neurons will synchronize or not. Currently in the medical field it is accepted that anti-epileptic drugs work, but no one understand why they work the way they do. The preliminary results for this project indicate that some anti-epileptic drugs increase synchrony. This finding is contrary to the general belief that epilepsy is caused by hyper-synchrony, in which case increasing synchrony should cause more seizures. This project examines how the anti-epileptic drug, Phenytoin affects the PRC and thusly the synchrony of the neuronal network. Once it is known whether Phenytoin increases or decreases synchrony, people can use this knowledge to increase the efficiency of anti-epileptic drugs which will be beneficial for individuals with epilepsy.
Effect of Variation in Speed on Target Interception
(2009-04-08) Rao, Hrishikesh
In day to day life, we make use of hand eye coordination to perform everyday tasks such as reaching out our hand to grab a glass of water or moving a finger over a keyboard to push a button. But we rarely think about the complex processes that occur inside our brains in the very short time span between when we think about moving our hand to actually making contact with the target. With this experiment, we wish to extend our knowledge of how sensory information is utilized to predict the motion of objects targeted by the hand and the extent of hand and eye coordination during this task. We also wish to examine how the speed and acceleration of a moving target affects the decision making process prior to the onset of motion of the subject's hand. To create variation in the speed and acceleration, the motion of the target was governed by one of three speed laws for each trial. With the first law, the target's motion was constructed from a sum of sines in the x and y directions; with the second law, the target's instantaneous velocity was inversely proportional to the curvature of the path at that point; and lastly, as per the third law, the target moved at a constant speed. Based on these three laws, the corresponding targets traveled quite differently around curves and straight paths due to the dissimilar acceleration or even the lack of tangential acceleration. Defining how subjects incorporate information about changes in direction, speed and acceleration provides insight into how the brain processes sensory information.
Elasticity of the Mouse Ocular Lens Capsule as Measured by Osmotic Swelling
(2009-04-08) Powell, Tracy
Animal basement membranes are networks of laminin, type IV collagen and other proteins essential for physiological functions. Deficiencies or abnormalities in the proteins can lead to muscular dystrophy, kidney disease, hearing loss, and, in the extreme, embryonic demise. In an effort to determine how the complex structure determines the functional properties of the basement membrane, the change in mechanical behavior is being investigated on samples with defective or absent associative proteins as compared to those with intact matrix components. A test was developed using the mouse model to take advantage of the genetic control possible in the mouse. The ocular lens capsule is a basement membrane which is large and thick, relative to others in the body, and which can be studied without major disruption. The lens is extracted from the eye and subjected to osmotic swelling, requiring minimal dissection and manipulation. The change in radius over time is evaluated with a mathematical model recently developed using porcine lenses to determine the elasticity of the capsule. Currently, data are being collected and analyzed to determine the elasticity of the normal mouse ocular lens capsule, which will serve as the control for future studies on mice with genetically-determined basement membrane modifications.

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