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Survey of Soilborne Pathogens Infecting Strawberry in Oxnard, California & Effect of Planting Date and Chill Treatment on Yield of Strawberry
Get PDFSurvey to quantify the frequency of the five main pathogens (Macrophomina phaseolina, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. fragariae races 1 and 2, Verticillium dahliae, and Phytophthora spp.) infecting strawberry in the Oxnard growing district of California. M. phaseolina was the most prevalent pathogen detected in diseased plants in the Oxnard growing district, present in 67.6% of samples positive for at least one pathogen. F. oxysporum f. sp. fragariae race 1 (35.3%), V. dahlia (8.8%), F. oxysporum f. sp. fragariae race 2 (5.9%) and Phytophthora spp. (2.9%) followed at lower prevalence. Associations were found between fewer drip irrigation lines and the presence of M. phaseolina and F. oxysporum f. sp. fragariae race 2. No associations were found between pathogen presence and mulch color, organic/conventional, or soil type. To quantify the effect of planting date and chill treatment on strawberry yield, plug plants sourced from North Carolina State University were planted at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Earliest planting optimized fruit yield and the number of branch crowns for both ‘Monterey’ and ‘Fronteras’ plug plants. Chilling treatment increased overall yield and number of branch crowns, and decreased plant mortality. This trial also proved the feasibility of producing high quality strawberry plug plants in North Carolina, shipping to California, and producing fruit during typical production season
SLO Children’s Museum Music Education Exhibit
Get PDFThe Children’s Museum in San Luis Obispo is a non-profit facility providing education to young children through interactive exhibits. The proposed project would address a basic introduction to musical theory through mechanical engineering principles. The target audience for this musical art installation would be young children, aged 5-10, who would be regularly interacting with this exhibit, as well as their parents, and the employees of the museum. The installation will educate children in basic musical understanding through interaction while still being engaging enough to hold their attention. This document describes the final concept design and various methods of verification in detail to show exactly how the design will fulfill the requirements of the sponsor.
This document details the final design of the exhibit, its design process and implementation, and the measures taken to test and verify the design for its usage in the museum. The appendices provide vital reference information regarding the project, from the project budget to the actual code used to program the electronic components. Also included in the appendices is the User Manual and Risk Assessment documents to ensure the exhibit is properly operated and maintained
Battery Energy Storage System
Get PDFThe project is a continuation of part 1 of the “Reliability Measurement for Grid-Connected Solar System” project. The goal is to continue where the previous design failed. This project will configure an ITECH IT-6000C and Tabuchi Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) to the small-scale microgrid at the Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo EE Department. Initially, a system was designed to connect an ITECH IT-M3633 as a PV solar source emulator to the Tabuchi BESS within a grid-connected microgrid system in Room 20-102 at Cal Poly. A Photovoltaic Thevenin equivalent model was developed for the ITECH IT-M3633, but this setup failed to operate correctly. This project intends to finish the previous team\u27s goals to have an operational BESS
Luxury in Pixels: Uplifting Brands and Hype Back Into SSENSE
No full textSSENSE, a luxury e-commerce platform based in Montréal, Canada, is renowned for its avantgarde aesthetic and editorial approach. Despite its success, the website’s minimalist design and vast catalog pose usability challenges, including limited and difficulty navigating filters, lack of brand hype and awareness, and lack of customization. This project addresses these pain points through a more user-centered design, employing research methods such as user and employee interviews to inform design decisions
Swim Fly Drone
Get PDFThis project addresses the need for a versatile drone that is capable of operation in both air and water environments, with potential applications in infrastructure inspection, defense, search and rescue, and ocean exploration. This project focuses on the design and development of a waterproof aerial drone capable of floating on the water surface and submerging underneath to controlled depths with the integration of a custom detachable buoyancy chamber. The buoyancy chamber design utilizes syringes to compress and decompress air inside of the chamber, changing the volume of the chamber, with an actuation system controlled by a closed-loop control system that uses a pressure sensor for feedback.
The project involved the integration of mechanical, electrical, and software components and successfully demonstrated the system’s ability to transition between floating to submersion phases. However, the flight testing remains incomplete. The detachable buoyancy chamber could be especially beneficial for heavier drones transitioning between the two mediums, which might otherwise require significant motor energy to stay afloat in the water. Continuation of the project could provide valuable insights into the advantages of the design feature through comparative testing of the drone’s performance with and without the buoyancy chamber, including efficiency analysis during takeoff and keeping the drone afloat on the water surface
Using Noninvasive Calibrated Cuff Plethysmography to Observe the Effects of Diabetes on Arterial Compliance
Get PDFThe prevalence of cardiovascular disease is on a continuous exponential growth across the globe. Thus, research into the underlying factors, effective methods of diagnoses, and preventive measures is necessary. Endothelial dysfunction is an early detector of cardiovascular diseases and can be used to inform people of preventative measures and early treatments before any extreme medical conditions occur. Something that is also on the rise and closely linked with cardiovascular disease is diabetes. There have been many past research studies that show the impact of diabetes on cardiovascular disease and more specifically endothelial dysfunction. A calibrated cuff plethysmography device is a promising solution to measure endothelial function by specifically looking at the arterial compliance of certain blood vessels. IN this study, a calibrated cuff plethysmography device was used to test for the impact diabetes has on arterial compliance. Although the results did not show significant differences between the diabetic and control group it shows trends that we would expect from previous studies and is promising for more research. In this study the results showed no statistically significant difference between the diabetics and non-diabetics with a p-value of 0.805677 for the 0 mmHg – 75 mmHg range and a p-value of 0.668734 for the 25 mmHg – 75 mmHg range. However, when comparing the baseline measurements to the hyperemia measurements for the 0 mmHg – 75 mmHg range there was a statistically significant difference with a p-value of 0.0034 for diabetics and a p-value of 0.04347 for the non-diabetics. Given this statistically significant difference, the device used was concluded to effectively measure arterial compliance and area
Restoration of the Cantilever Deck Structure
Get PDFThe Restoration of the Cantilever Deck Structure is an inter-disciplinary project seeking to provide public safety, the continuity of a historic structure, and contribute to the life of the Poly Canyon Experimental Structures Laboratory. This project brought together architectural engineering students Roger Biddle and Calvin Vigeant and construction management student Calvin Morgan for a year long journey of Learn by Doing. The structure is visually stunning and gives the impression of a ship cresting a wave, featuring two prominent steel masts and large tapered wood beams. The deck is perched on a steep hillside site over a seasonal creek that accentuates the feeling of being lifted over the environment and sailing through the rolling grassy hills of Poly Canyon.
As you walk out onto the Cantilever Deck Structure, you stand on metal grating which allows you to see through to wood support beams and the ground below, giving the structure a feeling of lightness. The grating spans between intersecting screw-laminated wood beams which are tapered to add to the ship aesthetic. These beams intersect each other at the centerline of the deck to integrate all the wood framing together and remove the need for connection hardware at the beam intersections. This wood beam lattice system spans between a hollow structural steel (HSS) frame that runs along the perimeter of the deck. This frame is supported by an array of steel suspension cables that run over the top of two large vertical steel masts on either side of the deck and then run down to the back of the structure where they are anchored into a concrete foundation. The deck also features a steel handrail frame with cable infill.
This majestic structure had aged significantly during its time in the canyon and was losing not only its visual splendor, but its structural integrity. Poly Canyon, as a student led space, also needs to be maintained by students, so we took it upon ourselves to restore the deck‘s iconic visual display of materials and forms as well as its structural integrity to insure safety for students and visitors for decades to come
Queering Composition Pedagogy: Camp-Informed Teaching Within Florida\u27s Censorship
Get PDFThis social justice strategy article examines composition teaching within Florida colleges and universities over a seven-year period of intense political and social change. These institutions carry different levels of protection from Florida\u27s censorship and anti-LGBTQIA+ laws. Using principles from Susan Sontag\u27s 1964 Notes On Camp, the author examines strategies for navigating these boundaries and creating safe, inclusive spaces for students while flying under the oppressive state government\u27s \u27radar.\u27 This article found that teaching which includes multimodality, popular culture, digital learning, inclusive content, and identity politics can \u27camp\u27 pedagogy, with benefits to students and low risk to faculty. However, it also calls to action WPAs and instructor training in order to give lower-level faculty and staff the tools to implement these strategies safely
Development of a Cell Culture Incubator Capable of Providing a Hypoxic Environment
Get PDFIn order to perform more robust and physiologically relevant research, the Microphysiological Systems laboratory required a method of culturing cells where the level of oxygen could be adjusted. To fulfill this need, I designed and manufactured a hypoxic cell culture incubator. I employed a Quality Function Deployment to understand the customer requirements and convert them into engineering specifications. Based on these specifications, I created various conceptual designs. I evaluated the conceptual designs as compared to existing products and decided to move forward with the control system separated from a small, standard chamber. I developed the circuitry schematics for the temperature control loop, incorporating three heating pads and a temperature sensor, and the gas concentration control loop, incorporating three solenoids and two gas concentration sensors for oxygen and carbon dioxide. I designed the chamber in SolidWorks and 3D printed it. Finally, I performed vigorous validation testing of the device’s ability to control the temperature, the concentration of carbon dioxide, and the concentration of oxygen. The incubator was able to maintain the temperature within 0.5 degrees Celsius of a setpoint, the concentration of carbon dioxide within 0.24% of a setpoint, and the concentration of oxygen within 0.05% of a setpoint. These results surpassed the determined requirements
