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Creating a More Efficient Course Schedule at UNO Department o Economics and Finance Using Linear Optimization
Get PDFIn 2012, Wormald R. & Guimond C. developed a mathematical model utilizing integer linear programming and network flow to help Worchester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) create a more efficient course schedule. Course scheduling was a major problem at WPI in 2012, as the manual process at that time often resulted in courses being assigned to inappropriate (too large or too small) classrooms. The University of New Orleans (UNO) is facing a similar challenge, as the current scheduling system at UNO does not always produce efficient course schedules. The goal of this thesis, therefore, is to improve upon the 2012 model by WPI, from that developing a more efficient course schedule at UNO Department of Economics and Finance. This can serve as a starting point for future research on finding an optimal schedule at UNO, given the restrictions and preferences on room assignments
Characterization of Genes Involved in Chromatic Acclimation in the Cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. A 15-62
Get PDFSynechococcus, a genus of photosynthetic cyanobacteria, is the second most abundant oxygenic microorganism in the marine environment that contributes significantly to the ocean’s primary productivity (Humily et al. 2013; Shukla et al. 2012). They are capable of utilizing available light of different wavelengths in the visible spectrum to perform photosynthesis and fix carbon dioxide and thus inhabit a wide range of light niches in the ocean along horizontal (coast vs offshore) and vertical gradients (depth) (Humily et al. 2013). A gene encoding a putative lyase isomerase, mpeQ, is present in phycoerythrin-II encoding operon that is expressed constitutively and a gene encoding putative lyase, mpeW, is present in CA-4 genomic island whose expression is regulated by ambient light color were identified and characterized in Synechococcus sp. A15- 62, a strain having a blue light specialist phenotype in its basal state. The amino acid sequence of the proteins encoded by mpeW and mpeQ are similar to other characterized lyases and these genes are conserved in cyanobacteria strains containing the CA4-B genomic island, which controls CA4 (Humily et al. 2013). The MpeW and MpeQ proteins were produced in E. coli and co-expressed with recombinant HT-MpeA and phycoerythrobilin (PEB) synthesis machinery. Site directed mutants of the HT-MpeA protein (Cys75Ala, Cys83Ala, Cys140Ala) were used to investigate the site for bilin attachment. The recombinant protein co-expression experiments of MpeQ and MpeW demonstrated that MpeQ attaches phycoerythrobilin (PEB) to cysteine-83 site on a-phycoerythrin II and isomerizes it to phycourobilin (PUB) and MpeW attaches phycoerythrobilin (PEB) to the same site
A Study of 3D Printed Silver-Polymer Composite Structures
Get PDFThis research project primarily focuses on three major aspects: synthesis and inclusion of silver microparticles and nanowires within a polymer matrix, extrusion of composite filaments and, three-dimensional (3D) printing of multifunctional polymer composites. Since very few studies have explored the inclusion of silver nanoparticles in 3D printing materials, the findings from this study can be significant for additive manufacturing technology. Over the past few decades, the applications of additive manufacturing has been expanding considerably in several industries like automobile, biomechanics, aerospace, hardware engineering, to name a few. We are particularly interested in silver particles and nanowires because of their enhanced antimicrobial, mechanical and optical properties.
The unique antimicrobial properties of the silver-polymer composite will especially be applicable in the food and meat industry, where microbial infection is a major concern because of the exposure of microbes in the polymer belts that are used to transfer and package the items in the factory. It costs the industries a considerable amount of time, money and labor to regularly clean and sanitize those belts. If we are able to develop polymer belts with embedded antimicrobial properties, it could have tremendous applications in the food and meat industries. The morphology of the particles will be studied using scientific techniques like Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The idea is then to nanoparticles will be incorporated into PLA polymer pellets and extruded into composite filaments that can be used for 3D printing of dog-bone test structures. After the fabrication process, tensile tests and fracture surface analysis will be conducted to study the extent of enhancement of the mechanical properties as compared to neat polymer 3D printed specimens. The critical challenge in this project would be to ensure homogenous distribution of the nanoparticles throughout the polymer filaments. This project will integrate concepts and applications from three different fields: nanotechnology, material science, and additive manufacturing
