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*WINNER* Novel Ferrite-core Metamaterial and AI-based Coil Parameter Optimization for Efficient Wireless Power Transfer
No full textThe adoption of wireless power transfer (WPT) is affected by limitation in power transfer distance, low transfer power (TP) and power transfer efficiency (PTE). However, the discovery of metamaterials (MTM), has proven a viable solution. The inherent magneto-inductive wave and negative refractive index of MTM engender evanescent wave amplification within its vicinity, creating a high-density magnetic field, high mutual inductance and a convergence of the flux lines at the receiver. To this end, we present a novel WPT model based on a working combination of layered DD coil (LDD) and Ferrite-core based metamaterial (FC). The Ferrite-core comprises an inner and outer radius r_i and R_o respectively. It is situated at the center of the LDD and in between its individual layers. A low frequency simulation of the proposed WPT model based on finite element analysis is carried out in ANSYS Maxwell. Simulation results show the proposed FC generates higher mutual inductance and power received than a conventional WPT design. By increasing the start radius of the LDD coil and maintaining a constant inter-layer distance, an improved performance of the proposed WPT system is achieved. Further, it is observed that the proposed WPT system realizes higher mutual inductance and TP with a small core radius than large core radii, thus presenting cost saving benefits in material fabrication. Optimization of coil parameters was performed in MATLAB to improve the amount of power received and enhance the PTE. The MATLAB results were cross verified with Lt-spice result, and both show close agreement
Achieving Carbon Neutrality at Bridgestone Nature Reserve at Chestnut Mountain
Get PDFWe examined options to achieve carbon neutrality at The Nature Conservancy‘s Bridgestone Nature Reserve at Chestnut Mountain. We conducted a basic energy audit for the primary structure (office), as well as secondary structures, vehicles and power equipment, to determine needed energy efficiency improvements. We concluded that small enhancements, such as adding insulation and replacing appliances, can maximize energy efficiency and reduce carbon footprint. We also contacted outside entities to conduct formal commercial energy audits and provide cost estimates for installing a wind turbine and solar panels. Our final proposal includes estimated cost and timeline of transitioning all facilities and equipment from commercial energy production and fossil fuel use to renewable energy. The use of carbon offsets with forested land is a potential temporary measure to achieve carbon neutrality. Full carbon neutrality can be achieved at this facility through a combination of energy use reduction, renewable energy generation, and allocation of a small piece of forested land for carbon sequestration
Animal Rights within the Textile Industry
Get PDFWhy do the majority of consumers have little to no issues with wearing leather but cannot fathom the thought of wearing fur? This research is an examination of how consumers’ perceptions change their decision making with respect to animal cruelty in the fabric production process. It is common knowledge that cows, pigs and sheep are used for leather, however, looking further into which animal made the most luxurious fabrics, we found that most designer brands use other exotic animals, such as crocodiles for their products (PETA, 2020). There is a wide variety of facts and opinions with reference to the fur and leather industry, by both global animals rights activists and consumers. Peta explains that, “after a lifetime of torment, [animals are] violently slaughtered via the cheapest means possible, including bludgeoning, anal electrocution, and gassing” (PETA, 2020). Rules and regulations were made for fur years ago, however, animals are still being gruesomely abused for their skin. Given that the apparel industry is growing, many companies want the cheapest process that does the most or they want the most expensive process that sells the best, often disregarding the animals rights in the production process. This research further invests consumer’s perceptions of animal rights in the textile industry and how it affects their decision making in regards to buying products made of animal by-product
Synthesis and transdermal delivery of dual functional phenothiazine ionic liquids
Get PDFMany pharmaceuticals presently available on the market have disadvantages associated with the solid state (i.e., multiple crystalline states, decreased bioavailability/aqueous solubility, etc.). Prior research has proven that conversion of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in the solid state to a liquid form (i.e., ionic liquid or IL) is highly advantageous, in that the drug has increased solubility in water or simulated body fluids, improved bioavailability/dissolution, and increased delivery through a skin-mimicking membrane. These liquid state APIs (API-ILs) can also be dual functional, where both drugs forming the IL retain their functionality as well as have synergistic effects.
Phenothiazine drugs (PHZ) are good candidates for liquid conversion as they 1.) have disadvantages associated with the solid form, and 2.) have no analgesic effect. Conversion to a liquid form and combination with an NSAID can rectify both of these issues. Here, we synthesized API-ILs of various combinations, with PHZs acting as cations and NSAIDs as anions. Each new API-IL was then purified and analyzed with NMR and IR spectroscopic methods. A select cation and anion were then tested against their respective API-IL combinations via transdermal delivery experiments in order to determine if conversion to a liquid form improved upon the drugs’ delivery through a skin-mimicking membrane
Development of a new green reaction synthesis using Design of Experiment (DOE)
No full textThe use of certain solvents in chemical reactions can cause negative environmental impacts. The goal of this work is to optimize a novel synthesis for both yield and environmental impact. The reactions will be analyzed by a green scoring software, DOZN, that provides a quantitative scoring of its impact. This research optimized a green reaction on the microliter scale using design of experiment (DOE) procedures with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). This is conducive to many of the green chemistry tenants as it limits the waste volumes, allows for the use of green solvents, and continuously monitors the progress of the reaction. A standard procedure that optimizes multiple reactions while also remaining fiscally competitive with non-green alternatives was developed
*WINNER* Computational Design of Novel Inhibitors of Dihydrofolate Reductase in Three Bacterial Species
No full textThis project aims to design high affinity small molecule inhibitors of bacterial dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) for the purpose of obtaining broad-spectrum antibiotics against multiple bacteria, including Bacillus anthracis (anthrax), Staphylococcus aureus, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Inhibitors were designed using MOE 2020 (Chemical Computing, Ltd., Montreal, Quebec, Canada) based on a previous ZINC Database search to target the active site of DHFR based on computational analysis of the energetic frustration and evolutionary importance of amino acid residues present. This analysis was conducted using the Protein Frustratometer (http://frustratometer.qb.fcen.uba.ar/; EMBNet Aargentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Evolutionary Trace (http://lichtargelab.org/software/ETserver; Baylor College of Medicine, Baylor University, Houston, Texas USA). Evolutionary trace and frustration define the active site, by determining binding sites, and areas of the molecule in high energetic states, respectively. Designed inhibitors were docked into each protein using the Docking module of MOE 2020, and the binding residues were then compared to the areas of evolutionary trace and frustration to help determine if the molecules had favorable binding scores. 189 small molecules were designed to interact with these amino acid functional groups based on complementary, non-covalent functional group interactions. The ligand interactions for the top compounds in each bacteria were examined and these compounds were examined according to Lipinski’s Rule of Five, which helps to determine potential druggability. One compound was found to have favorable bonding across all three bacterial DHFR, and fourteen compounds were recognized as having favorable bonding across two bacterial DHFR
*WINNER* Farm-to-Fork Supply Chain Tracking using Blockchain
No full textCurrent systems for tracking agricultural products from their production at a farm to a consumer's possession are built on top of separate centralized architectures. This makes tracing a specific product back to its source complicated, time consuming, as well as susceptible to potential tampering. Implementing a blockchain to reliably store pertinent information about agricultural products from farm-to-fork in a decentralized manner and using IoT devices to perform the logging of the information, seems to provide a promising solution to this issue
*WINNER* Analyzing Machine Learning Approaches for Online Malware Detection in Cloud
No full textThe number of services being offered by various cloud service providers (CSP) have recently exploded. Utilizing such services has created numerous opportunities for enterprises infrastructure to become cloud-based and, in turn, assisted the enterprises to easily and flexibly offer services to their customers. The practice of renting out access to servers to clients for computing and storage purposes is known as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). The popularity of IaaS has led to a serious and critical concern about the security of such services. Particularly, malware is often leveraged by malicious entities against cloud services in order to compromise sensitive data or to obstruct the functionality of these services. In response to this, malware detection for cloud environments has become a widely researched topic with numerous methods being proposed. In this paper, we present an online malware detection method based on performance metrics, and analyze the effectiveness of different baseline machine learning models including, Support Vector Classifier (SVC), Random Forest Classifier (RFC), K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), Gradient Boosted Classifier (GBC), Gaussian Naive Bayes (GNB) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN). Our results conclude that neural network models can accurately detect the affects that malware has on the performance metrics of virtual machines in the cloud, and therefore are better suited to detect malware. Our models were trained, validated, and tested by using a dataset of 40,680 malicious and benign samples. This dataset was compiled by conducting 113 60-minutes long experiments and collecting the process level features
Sedimentologic and Petrologic Analysis of the Chinle Formation in Colorado
Get PDFThe Permian-Triassic boundary denotes the largest mass extinction event on record, as well as a time with concurrent rises in temperatures and CO2 levels. This is similar to what the Earth is experiencing today. Outcrops located at South Canyon Creek near Glenwood Springs, Colorado, are part of the Eagle Basin, and are currently being researched with the intent of discovering conclusive information that can be utilized to infer about past environmental conditions during the Permian-Triassic extinction event. This area is home to a variety of rock formations, including the State Bridge and Chinle Formations. The State Bridge and Chinle Formations were likely deposited during and after the extinction event, respectively. Therefore, they offer an opportunity to study how climate changed during and after the largest mass extinction on record. Particular areas of these formations are home to fossilized soils, or paleosols, which serve as a proxy for past climate data. Field observations include vertic features such as wedge-shaped peds and slickensides, as well as carbonate and iron/manganese nodules, root traces, and burrow structures. Micromorphological investigation indicates differences in the style of root traces and burrow structures. The calcic and vertic features along with the nodules are interpreted for form as a result of seasonality. The occurrence of root traces and burrows likely indicates the presence of an abundance in early soil colonizers after the extinction evident. Further analysis of this information will lend to a greater understanding of modern-day climatic processes and events in analogous conditions
Delivery of Drugs in Cancer Tumor Treatment: Role of Diffusion and Reaction
Get PDFFor the effectiveness of drug delivery for the treatment of cancer tumors, modeling efforts play an important role in promoting the understanding of fundamental aspects of both the transport to and reaction of drug delivery to the tumor. Both the motion of drugs through the capillary of the microcirculatory system and the reaction, which take place within the tumor domain, must cooperate to eliminate cancer cells for an effective treatment of the tumor over the entire tumor domain. By assuming that this domain is closely described by a medium with a porous-like structure, the biophysical situation is very similar to that encountered in a catalytic pellet found in heterogeneous catalytic reactions. In this contribution, we will apply the fundamental principles of diffusion and reaction to a solid tumor (Arce et al, 2007), typically applied, for example, in the pancreas or other human organs. By following suitable assumptions, we will present a diffusion and reaction microscopic model at the pore level. This model will then be upscaled to a macroscopic domain (i.e., the pore domain) and further to the tumor domain. As part of this process, the effective diffusion coefficient and the effective rate constant of reaction will be identified. Potential solutions for the model and predictive outcomes will be outlined