79717 research outputs found
Sort by
A comprehensive study on initiating and scaling an export business for performance automobile parts
No full textThis study explores the pivotal role of creating a business plan for an Export Management Company (EMC) to facilitate the expansion of small to medium-sized manufacturers within the United States into overseas markets, specifically targeting regions such as Qatar, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. These regions collectively represent an aftermarket parts market valued at over one billion dollars. The study highlights the significance of establishing connections with manufacturers at prominent trade shows like SEMA and AAPEX, where potential partnerships can be forged, and expansion strategies can be identified. By leveraging such platforms, the EMC can initiate crucial dialogues with manufacturers, gaining insights into their international growth aspirations and product offerings tailored to the target markets. Moreover, this study sheds light on the competitive landscape within the targeted markets, highlighting the diversity between the types of products exported and the regions they are exported to. Understanding these dynamics is essential for the EMC to carve out its niche and position itself effectively in the market. Finally, the study presents a framework that could serve as a blueprint for presenting the gathered data to potential angel investors. Securing early-stage investment is critical for the EMC to participate in trade shows, engage in trade associations, and execute its market entry strategies effectively. By offering a structured plan backed by market research and strategic insights, the EMC can create confidence in investors regarding the viability and potential of its business model, paving the way for successful market entry and expansion
An Assessment of Bacterial Transfer and Mitigation on Food Contact Surfaces in Dry Packing Environments
No full textThe 2020 and 2021 outbreaks associated with dry bulb onions were greatly expanded to months-worth of product due to concerns of cross-contamination in packing facilities. Often times, these dry environments lack daily sanitation and therefore adequate separation between lots. It is essential to minimize the use of water in these facilities in an effort to maintain the quality and safety of the product. Due to this, there are limited options for implementing a sanitation step for risk management. It is known that dry cleaning alone does not reduce the microbial load on food contact surfaces, but there is further data needed to justify expanding outbreaks and the necessity of a sanitation step in these facilities.
The first objective of this project was to conduct laboratory studies to quantify Salmonella or surrogate (E. coli and Enterococcus faecium) transfer between onions and food contact surfaces. Interviews with those in industry informed which surfaces are the most common in the bulb onion packing industry and would be the most important to investigate, indicating plastic (HDPE), plywood, and rubber conveyor belt material. Three onion varieties, including red, yellow, and white, were assessed for their influence on bacteria transfer. A novel, dry inoculation method was used to imitate the irregularity of surface contamination on onions, creating a high starting inoculation level of 6-7 log CFU/onion. Transfer from inoculated onion to food contact surfaces was quantified by placing inoculated onions on surface materials under a constant force and enumerating bacteria on materials. Cross-contamination onto a subsequent onion was simulated by placing a non-inoculated onion on the newly contaminated surface. Combined average transfer rates of all bacteria from inoculated onions to surfaces were -1.36 (HDPE), -1.32 (conveyor belt), and -0.89 (plywood) log % (0.04%, 0.05%, and 0.12%). From surfaces cross-contaminated onto subsequent, uninoculated onions, the mean bacterial transfer rates were 0.54 (Salmonella), 0.33 (E. coli), and -0.29 (E. faecium) log % (3.5%, 2.1%, and 0.51%). Neither surface material or onion variety had significant difference on bacterial transfer to or from surfaces. There were significantly higher amounts of transfer from contaminated surfaces to onions as compared to onions to surfaces. Salmonella and E. faecium populations behaved similarly, but E. coli densities were significantly higher than the other organisms tested. There was high variability in populations enumerated on samples post transfer, but there is a general trend where transfer between surfaces is very low.
A second objective of this project was to evaluate the efficacy of dry sanitation with chemical sanitizers to reduce cross-contamination risks. The three surface materials (HDPE, plywood, and rubber conveyor belt) were inoculated with Salmonella and surrogates at 6-7 log CFU/surface. These inoculated surfaces were then treated with different commercial sanitizers including Purell, SaniPrime, DrySan Duo. SaniPrime was the only sanitizer that consistently achieved a 5-log reduction after 15 minutes of drying, but likely cannot be used in the onion industry due to a required rinse step. Because of this, the surfaces were also treated with alcohols excluding added ingredients at increasing concentrations to assess alternative options. Ethanol and isopropyl alcohol were evaluated individually at 10%, 30%, and 60% (v/v) with distilled water and as a mixture, each at 30% (v/v; 60% v/v total alcohol). It was found that 60% alcohol concentration consistently achieved a 5-log reduction when dried.
Finally, cross-contamination and dry sanitation strategies were evaluated on harvest equipment surfaces directly sourced from the onion industry. Plastic and wooden onion harvest/storage bins were inoculated and used to hold onions before and after a sanitation intervention. The most and least effective sanitizers during small scale experiments, SaniPrime, 60% ethanol, and DrySan Duo, were evaluated. Bins were inoculated with E. coli at ~6-8 log CFU/square, uninoculated onions were dumped into the bins before and after sanitation and analyzed for E. coli prevalence. Sanitizers with 60% alcohol significantly reduced the amount of positive onion samples on plastic. DrySan Duo increased the number of contaminated onions after its use, indicating that an ineffective sanitizer may increase risk if used in dry environments.
This research shows that bacteria transfer from onions to food contact surfaces and vice versa is low, despite high inoculation levels. Sanitizers with 60% alcohol were seen to be highly effective against Salmonella and its surrogates on common packinghouse food contact surfaces. This information can be used by government agencies in regulation decision-making and by packers to make decisions on mitigation strategies. Ultimately, these data will be used to build a predictive model and use a Monte Carlo simulation to evaluate the impact of dry cleaning and dry sanitation on cross-contamination in onion packing facilities, all in an effort to enhance food safety
Adaptive workload modeling for human-robot teams
No full textReal world human-robot teams will be deployed in dynamic, uncertain environments where effective collaboration hinges on the robot's ability to comprehend its human teammate. Robots must be capable of estimating the human's internal state in real-time in order to adapt their behavior and provide appropriate assistance. A critical element of this adaptation is the ability to estimate the human's workload in unknown situations, as many real world teams may be assigned tasks they have not be trained to perform. Existing workload estimation algorithms use machine learning to model the relationships between physiological metrics and workload; however, these methods are influenced by individual differences, experience, and fatigue. These methods cannot generalize to unknown tasks while accounting for these factors, as they rely on standard machine learning approaches that assume data consists of independent and identically distributed samples. This assumption does not necessarily hold for estimating workload for new tasks. This dissertation presents three contributions that enable human-robot teams to overcome these limitations: 1) A multi-dimensional workload estimation algorithm capable of estimating all seven workload components, 2) a meta-learning based approach that adapts a machine learning model's parameters, such that workload can be accurately estimated for both known and unknown tasks, and 3) a demonstration of human-robot team's robot executing this algorithm, in real-time
Developing a Quantitative Oxidative Stress Assay for Zebrafish Danio rerio Embryos
No full textPoster presentation of work done under the SURE program to research micro- and nanoplastics toxicology
Theoretical regeneration of coked flat and stepped platinum catalysts
No full textDehydrogenation of hydrocarbons on metal surfaces often leads to coke formation which deactivates the catalyst, but in a hydrogen-rich environment the adsorbed carbon and coke can be hydrogenated to form CH4. This product can then desorb from the surface to open adsorption sites for other surface reactions. Coke hydrogenation, C* + 2H2 → CH4, also has many common elementary steps with decomposition or hydrogenation of hydrocarbon molecular fragments, making it of general interest in thermal catalysis. Using density functional theory (DFT), we study the reaction mechanism of coke to methane conversion on different platinum surfaces to determine the most favorable reaction mechanism and the role of surface structure. We compared four surfaces, Pt(111), Pt(100), Pt(211) (which has (111) terrace and (100) oriented step edge), and Pt(511) (which has (100) terrace and (111) oriented step edge). At room temperature, the CH intermediate was found to be thermodynamically favorable on Pt(111), Pt(211) and Pt(511), while pure coke was found to be favorable on Pt(100), however the hollow adsorption sites of coke and CH are the same on each surface, meaning they will all be “coked” at room temperature, either as carbon or CH. The CH + H → CH2 elementary step was discovered as the bottleneck reaction step, as CH2 was the last adsorption step to become thermodynamically favorable for coke to be reacted into on each surface. Pt(111) was the surface that coke removal became thermodynamically favorable on first, occurring at 1460 K, followed by Pt(511) at 1530 K, Pt(211) at 2000 K, and Pt(100) at 4600 K. Pressure was shown to increase the reaction rate and production of methane on Pt(111) at 1000 K due to the increased concentration of hydrogen causing more interactions between the hydrogen and coke on the surface, leading to more reactions.Keywords: DFT, Platinum, Catalyst, Regeneration, VASP, Methane Productio
From Being Real to BeReal: The Control, Authenticity and Surveillance of the Everyday Self
No full textBeReal, an app designed to capture the authenticity of daily life, has become the App Store’s most popular “anti-social media” social media app. Once a day, users are randomly pinged to “Be Real,” urging them to quickly snap a selfie and a picture of their surroundings within a two-minute window. Failing to capture a timely BeReal results in a notification sent to all the user’s friends, informing them that their friend posted “late.” Despite the explosion of BeReal onto the cultural zeitgeist, I argue that BeReal exemplifies a long lineage of a participatory, Liberal subjectivity, which links authenticity with transparent, democratic obligation. I suggest that BeReal, through its media affordances of reveal, rate, and rank, facilitates a contemporary link of the participatory subject, which I term the “performance anxiety subject,” whose “authentic” performances are most influenced when not using BeReal. BeReal has not only impacted the social media landscape in profound ways but also alters how we view ourselves in an era of ubiquitous surveillance
Investigating Accelerated Carbonation Methods for Sequestering CO₂ into Lime Treated Soils
No full textCivil engineers frequently use lime to improve the mechanical properties of weak clayey soils. The production of lime is associated with significant CO₂ emissions. Sequestering carbon dioxide into the stabilized soil can effectively reduce the carbon footprint of the lime. In the presence of CO₂, unreacted lime in the stabilized soil can react with CO₂, form stable carbonates (e.g., CaCO3), and trap the CO₂. Carbonation occurs due to atmospheric CO₂ is a slow and natural process. The use of gaseous CO₂ for accelerating carbonation is a popular option. However, this method is not pragmatic for sequestering CO₂ in the field. The primary objective of this study is to develop a pragmatic approach for sequestering CO₂ into stabilized soil materials. For this purpose, this study investigates different sources of CO₂ (gaseous, liquid, and solid sources of CO₂) to accelerate the carbonation reaction.
The approach is evaluated on soils with medium and low plasticity, respectively. The methods are evaluated by assessing the improvement in the mechanical properties and the amount of calcium carbonate formed due to carbonation. Unconfined compressive strength tests of the carbonated samples recorded an increase in compressive strength of 30-60 psi compared to the untreated sample. Durability analysis of the treated soils was performed through cyclic wetting and drying. The tests show that carbonation did not detrimentally affect the strength of the treated soil. Additionally, mineralogical characterization using X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscopy-Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) verified the formation of calcium carbonate due to carbonation. Thermo-Gravimetric Analysis and calcium carbonate test show a wide range of calcium carbonate content. Samples carbonated under high concentrations of gaseous CO₂ recorded the highest (100% carbonation of lime) amount of CO₂ sequestered. The results show that the addition of sodium bicarbonate is the most effective (50% carbonation of lime) method for sequestering CO₂
Theoretical Study of Solvent Effects in Heterogeneous Catalysis using Density Functional Theory
No full textHeterogeneous catalytic reactions in solvents are important for chemical processes like direct methanol fuels, biomass conversion to biofuels and electrochemical reduction of CO2 to fuels. Numerous experimental studies have shown that co-adsorbates and solvents affect the rate and selectivity of heterogeneous catalytic reaction, therefore fundamental understanding of how co-adsorbates and solvents influence heterogeneous catalytic reaction would help in the design of efficient catalyst system and provide cheap alternative ways to tune selectivity of heterogeneous catalytic reactions. Here we present density functional theory (DFT) calculations of acetic acid (CH3COOH) decomposition on Pd (111) and Pt (111) in presence of co-adsorbed water, as a model system for oxygenates decomposition on catalyst surfaces, with application in biomass conversion to biofuels.
First, we investigated acetic acid decarboxylation (DCX, formation of CO2) and decarbonylation (DCN, formation of CO) on Pd (111) in vacuum. For the most favorable DCX and DCN pathway for acetic acid decomposition on Pd (111), the first two elementary steps are the same, which are O-H bond cleavage of CH3COOH to acetate (CH3COO) and then C-H bond cleavage of CH3COO to CH2COO. The critical steps that separate the DCN and DCX pathways are the OC-O bond cleavage of CH2COO (DCN) and C-H bond cleavage of CH2COO (DCX), in which the DCX pathway is more favorable than the DCN pathway.
Second, we investigated how co-adsorbed water affects different bond cleavages involved in acetic acid decomposition on Pd (111). Co-adsorbed water enhances O-H bond cleavages through hydrogen shuttling or stabilization of the transition state, while generally inhibits the OC-O and C-OH bond cleavages. Co-adsorbed water generally inhibits C-C bond cleavages and the effect on C-H bond cleavages varies. The presence of co-adsorbed water increases the favorability of acetic acid decarboxylation over acetic acid decarbonylation on Pd (111).
Third, we developed a DFT based microkinetic model for acetic acid decomposition on Pd (111) in the presence and absence of co-adsorbed water. The presence of co-adsorbed water reduces the coverage of CO and increases the coverage of CH3COOH and CH3COO. The presence of co-adsorbed water increases the TOF of adsorbed CO2 formation and decreases the TOF of adsorbed CO formation. Additionally, O-H bond cleavage and C-OH bond cleavage of CH3COOH are the first initial steps for acetic acid decarboxylation and decarbonylation, respectively, at 450 K.
Fourth, we investigated acetic acid decomposition on Pt (111) in the absence and presence of co-adsorbed water. Similar to Pd (111), co-adsorbed water enhances O-H bond cleavages through hydrogen shuttling or stabilization of the transition state, while generally inhibits OC-O and C-OH bond cleavages. Co-adsorbed water generally inhibits C-C bond cleavages except for intermediates, where the α-carbon is fully dehydrogenated. The presence of co-adsorbed water increases the favorability of acetic acid DCX pathway over acetic acid DCN pathway, in agreement with experimental findings.
Overall, these findings give us fundamental insight on how co-adsorbed water affects different bond cleavages for oxygenates decomposition on Pd (111) and Pt (111), and how these effects can translate into changes in the overall favorability and rate of the different pathways, coverages of different adsorbed intermediates, and the effect of different elementary reaction steps on the selectivity of oxygenates decomposition on Pd (111) and Pt (111)
A Robotic Hand Design Approach for Fully Actuated In-Hand Manipulators and Active Gimbal Scanning for 3D Reconstruction During Robotic Apple Picking
No full textRobotic in-hand manipulation allows for improved dexterity and increases the capabilities of robots operating in the real world. However, the amount of manipulation that a robot hand is capable of is highly dependent on its design and actuation capabilities. This thesis first proposes a method for designing fully-actuated planar manipulators that can be optimized for specific in-hand motions. Before in-hand manipulation can take place, a robotic system has to first identify and grasp an object. In some environments, like orchards, this can be difficult due to occlusion and lack of scene representation. In the second part of this thesis, I present a novel approach for active scanning during robot apple picking using an actuated gimbal end-effector. This method increases the number of possible viewing angles and can scan during a pick motion to uncover previously occluded regions
The diets of specialist bees
No full textBees, like humans, have food preferences. While there may be a diversity of plants to forage from in a landscape, bees may preferentially visit specific flowering plants. Nectar and pollen are the primary resources bees collect from flowers. Bees might collect nectar from many different plants, but they can be picky about where they collect pollen. Bee diet breadth is characterized by pollen foraging habits of female bees (males don’t collect pollen), and exists on a spectrum from specialization to generalization. Around 65%
of Western U.S. bee species are thought to be generalists, collecting pollen from four or more plant families. The remaining species collect pollen from three or fewer plant families, or may be as specific as collecting from a single plant genus. These species are referred to as specialists. Over 3 years, we collected and identified bees visiting plants in our research garden at Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture in Corvallis. Here, we share the 6 known specialist species found in our garden and suggest Pacific Northwest native host plants to include for them in your garden.In cooperation with 10-Minute University, and funded by the Clackamas County Master Gardener Association, these briefs will help you translate research findings into sustainable gardening practices