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Enhanced Understanding of Disaster Response and Community Resilience and Robustness via Machine Learning Strategies
Get PDFThis work proposes the development of a novel real-time pre- and post-hurricane damage classification meta-model framework. Currently, there are few ways to obtain pre-event damage state predictions for a specific hurricane event and structure. Further, following an event, damage inspections must be manually performed by teams of engineers. The first stage of the proposed framework generates damage state predictions on a structure-by-structure level through the combination of structural characteristic datasets pre-curated by municipalities. These predictions can be used by engineers to inform the building design process and, later, to provide retrofitting recommendations to homeowners. The second stage of the meta-model framework will incorporate storm characteristics with the previous structural characteristics to enable rapid disaster response following a hurricane. Post-event imagery is added in the third stage to provide rapid pre-inspection updates to disaster response plans. The final stage utilizes damage characteristics to generate final damage state classifications for use in augmented structural inspections. This work presents the proposed plan for the development of the framework broken into four stages: post-hurricane damage classification of structures, pre-hurricane damage prediction of structures, multi-modal post-hurricane damage classification of structures, and real-time pre- and post-hurricane damage classification metamodel framework
Microelectromechanical System Based Platforms for Microfluidic and Sensing Applications
Get PDFEmerging microelectromechanical system (MEMS) based platforms show great prospects in bio-MEMS applications recently. Three platforms were proposed and demonstrated based on polymer, paper, and hydrogel substrates for microfluidic and sensing applications.
A size-selective microfluidic platform (ExoSMP) based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) for EV isolation was proposed based on nanomembrane filtration and hydrodynamic properties of the particles. The isolation efficiency was investigated at different sample flow rates and demonstrated a high recovery rate of 94.2% and high reproducibility at an optimal sample flow rate with short processing time. Isolation of EV subpopulations were also demonstrated by altering the pore sizes of membrane filters. ExoSMP shows great potential in investigating the role of EVs in various point-of-care applications in disease monitoring, medical diagnosis, and drug delivery.
A low-cost and enzyme-free paper sensing platform was proposed and developed based on molecular imprinted polyaniline (MIP-PANI) electrode by a one-step synthesis method by co-polymerization of the aniline monomer with the template on paper. The sensing electrode with target binding sites and the signal-transducing electrode were created at the same time by MIP-PANI. Glucose concentration was determined in both aqueous and bovine blood solutions by the impedance change to evaluate the performance of the PANI paper sensors. This simple paper sensing platform provides low-cost and reliable chemical/biomarker analysis access to various applications such as disease diagnostics and environmental monitoring, especially in underserved communities.
A multiplexed barcode hydrogel platform was proposed with four discrete compartments containing two types of oxygen and glucose sensing domains to demonstrate multiplexed optical sensing. The fabrication process was developed and optimized for low-cost and mass production by soft lithography and molding. Multiplexed oxygen and glucose response test were characterized by phosphorescent lifetime change of the sensing assays and it demonstrated minimal crosstalk between the nearby oxygen and glucose responsive compartments. The barcode hydrogel sensors were exposed to 10 consecutive cycles of 0 mg/dL glucose and 200 mg/dL glucose and demonstrated a good glucose response stability. This multiplexed and implantable barcode hydrogel platform has great potential in the diagnosis, monitoring, management, and treatment of various pathological conditions and can be a valuable tool in personalized medicine
LIFELINE
No full textBehind this project comes a tremendous amount of love and caring for my sisters and my family, many of the things I saw and experienced when I was younger led me to undertaking this final study. So that others don��������t have to go through the same experiences and can have a chance to get mental health support before a crisis. Preventing someone entering the criminal justice system before they can get real mental healthcare. Typically, behavioral, and mental disorders are discovered, and treatment for the disorders begins from a young age, however, many more go undiagnosed. Either their symptoms are misinterpreted as being hormonal or because of a person��������s age, they have an unstable home life that doesn��������t allow them to get proper care, or it can overall go unrecognized for an entire person��������s lifetime should they not seek mental healthcare, or they develop other ways of coping with it. Some ways positive and others leading to life changing decisions. Unfortunately, some turn to illicit drugs and alcohol to deal with their emotions, and how they feel overall inside. Others even turn to self-harm, and this can eventually lead to a person losing their own life, either by overdosing, alcoholism, or suicide. It also doesn��������t have to be that a person dies to lose their life either, but they might end up getting put in jail long before they are able to be diagnosed and treated properly, leading to issues getting jobs and functioning normally in society. BLOOD CAN BE WASHED AWAY, BUT THE SCARS WILL REMAIN; LET��������S HEAL OTHERS BEFORE THEY DEVELOP SCARS TO
Bachelor of Science in Nursing Currlculum Map
No full textThe document is 4 pages in length.The tool is structured to provide an efficient visual representation of where each element of the program learning outcomes is offered. In this map we used the indicators introduced (I), reinforced (R), strengthened (S) to identify where the content has been placed. The map provides an accurate picture of the entire curriculum. To understand the map, the courses (or content buckets) run horizontally across the top of the map. A list of the performance indicators for each competency is provided along the vertical axis of the mapTexas A&M University College of Nursing
Content contributor: College of Nursing (Re)Design Tea
Incorporation of Compatibilized Polypropylene Fumarate (PPF) Into Polycaprolactone (PCL) Networks for Applications in Bone Regeneration
Get PDFAutografts remain the standard treatment for cranio-maxillofacial (CMF) bone defects, despite numerous problems, specifically their inability to tightly fit into irregularly shaped defects. Thus, ���self-fitting��� tissue scaffolds based on a poly(��-caprolactone)-diacrylate (PCL- DA), a shape memory polymer (SMP), have been explored as a potential alternative. However, the degradation rate of PCL is much slower than the rate of bone regeneration, limiting its healing potential. In prior work, thermoplastic, biodegradable aliphatic polyesters were incorporated into cross-linked PCL-DA to form semi-interpenetrating networks (semi-IPNs), resulting in accelerated degradation which was closely linked to degree of miscibility. Poly(propylene fumarate) (PPF) is an unsaturated polyester that has been often studied for orthopedic applications due to its degradation rate and mechanical properties. Herein, we sought to incorporate PPF into a cross-linked PCL-DA network to further improve scaffold properties. To improve PPF miscibility, PCL and poly(D,L-lactic acid) (PDLLA) compatibilizers were utilized. A synthetic procedure for ���compatibilized PPF��� was established and its incorporation into PCL-DA yielded an accelerated degradation profile, similar mechanical properties, and similar shape memory behavior compared to the 100% PCL-DA control
As part of the project: "A history of Galveston Bay natural resource utilization"
No full text71 pages. As of 05/1994, no tapes or final documents regarding this report have been received by the GBIC. Available for download at the link below.This volume is the result of two independently carried out phases of inquiry into the changes that local people have observed in the Galveston Bay system over the last seventy years. The first phase of research was the collection of 27 oral interviews, also referred to as oral histories, from a number of people residing in the area
Multi-object Data Integration in the Study of Primary Progressive Aphasia
Get PDFThis article focuses on a multi-modal imaging data application where structural/anatomical information from gray matter (GM) and brain connectivity information in the form of a brain connectome network from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are available for a number of subjects with different degrees of primary progressive aphasia (PPA), a neurodegenerative disorder (ND) measured through a speech rate measure on motor speech loss. The clinical/scientific goal in this study becomes the identification of brain regions of interest significantly related to the speech rate measure to gain insight into ND patterns. Viewing the brain connectome network and GM images as objects, we develop an integrated object response regression framework of network and GM images on the speech rate measure. A novel integrated prior formulation is proposed on network and structural image coefficients in order to exploit network information of the brain connectome while leveraging the interconnections among the two objects. The principled Bayesian framework allows the characterization of uncertainty in ascertaining a region being actively related to the speech rate measure. Our framework yields new insights into the relationship of brain regions associated with PPA, offering a deeper understanding of neuro-degenerative patterns of PPA
RFID PC Passkey System
Get PDFMany Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems in use today are insecure since they function such that the tag sends the same signal to the reader every time it is read. This means someone could easily copy the tag and use it to break through the system. This research attempts to design an RFID system that cannot be easily copied or otherwise broken through. The goal is to prevent brute-force attacks that aim to mimic a valid tag. This system will implement two-way communication such that the reader will send a test signal to the tag and the tag will respond to this signal with its own unique message derived from the test signal and the tag���s unique key. This ensures that the tag will not always respond with the same message every time. Communication from the tag to the reader will be encrypted to prevent anyone listening in on the transmission from gathering useful information. The communication from reader to tag will use frequency modulation and the tag to reader will use amplitude modulation to transmit information through wireless coils. The system will operate on a 13.65MHz frequency. To demonstrate one use of this technology, I will use the final device as a key to unlock a personal computer