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Title: ENHANCED DEGRADATION AND PEPTIDE SPECIFICITY OF MMP-SENSITIVE SCAFFOLDS FOR NEOVASCULARIZATION OF ENGINEERED TISSUES
Creator: Sokic, Sonja
Date: 2013, 2013-07
Description: Biomaterial strategies for engineering tissues of clinically relevant size require the formation of rapid and stable neovascularization. The...
Show moreBiomaterial strategies for engineering tissues of clinically relevant size require the formation of rapid and stable neovascularization. The ability of an engineered scaffold to induce vascularization is highly dependent on its rate of degradation. During the process of material degradation, the scaffold should degrade in a manner allowing for cellular infiltration, lumen formation, and extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play a key role in mediating cell-induced proteolytic matrix degradation, remodeling, and controlled neovascularization. Poly (ethylene glycol) PEG hydrogels have been extensively investigated as scaffolds for tissue engineering applications due to their ease of chemical modification allowing for the recapitulation of key aspects of the neovascularization process. The goal of the work described in this thesis was to develop strategies to enhance and control the degradation of MMP-sensitive PEG diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogels without inducing changes to the bulk physical and mechanical properties of the material and to further study the effect of the cleavage site concentration and MMP-sensitive peptide substrate specificity on the rate of neovascularization and tissue remodeling in vitro and in vivo. In the first part of this study, a detailed investigation was completed to investigate the effects of the mechanical and physical properties of the scaffolds as well as the role of proteolytically mediated hydrogel degradation on 3D fibroblast invasion within MMPsensitive PEGDA hydrogels. Initial studies focused on the use of a modified version of a previously published multistep conjugation method to generate degradable PEGDA macromer conjugates containing variations in the number of MMP-sensitive domains. Theoretical and experimental characterization of this multistep conjugation demonstrated xi that this method leads to the formation of multiple species that directly affect the compressive modulus and degradation rate of the scaffold making it difficult to control degradation independent of alterations in the bulk physical and mechanical hydrogel properties. After manipulation of multiple polymerization conditions, hydrogels with similar compressive moduli but different hydrogel degradation rates were synthesized. These initial studies showed that an increase in the incorporation of proteolytically sensitive domains in PEGDA hydrogels of similar modulus lead to enhanced degradation and 3D fibroblast invasion. In this study, the role of soluble FGF-1 on fibroblast invasion within these scaffolds was investigated and it was demonstrated that the inclusion of FGF-1 in the scaffolds results in further enhancement of fibroblast invasion in a dosedependent fashion. Further studies were necessary to develop a more controllable and robust approach in tuning scaffold degradation independent of alterations in the bulk physical and mechanical properties. In order to address this, a novel approach was developed to engineer protease-sensitive peptides with multiple proteolytic cleavage sites that could be covalently crosslinked into hydrogels without compromising the physical and mechanical biomaterial properties. This approach avoided the need for utilizing a multistep conjugation process as peptides could be incorporated into the backbone of PEG using a single step conjugation. Using this approach, hydrogels formed with the engineered peptides led to significantly enhanced degradation and neovascularization in vitro as compared to scaffolds with a single protease sensitive peptide between crosslinks. In addition, hydrogels with enhanced susceptibility to degradation promoted vascularization over a wider range of matrix properties. This approach allowed for controlled xii concentration of the proteolytic cleavage sites within the matrix and thus tuning of hydrogel degradation for tissue engineering applications. In the final study, MMP-sensitive peptide substrates specific to degradation by MMPs known to be expressed during neovascularization were screened for degradation and their role in neovascularization. MMP-sensitive PEGDA hydrogels (SSite and TriSite) were synthesized with peptide substrates sensitive to cleavage by MMP-2, MMP- 9, MMP-14, a mixed sequence of MMP-2, 9 and 14, and compared to the peptide substrate used in the previous studies, which is degraded by collagenase enzymes. The hydrogels were evaluated for their sensitivity and specificity to degradation by MMPs, in terms of cleavage site concentration, and for their role in neovascularization and tissue remodeling in vitro and in vivo. The presented approach allows for the incorporation of varying cleavage site concentration and MMP-sensitive peptide substrates into PEG hydrogels without alterations in the mechanical and physical properties of the hydrogels. Results showed that without the incorporation of growth factors in this scaffold, vascularization and tissue invasion was supported in all MMP-sensitive hydrogel groups regardless of the MMP-sensitive peptide substrate embedded in the matrix. In addition, the cleavage site concentration had a profound impact in enhancing vascularization in vitro and tissue invasion in vivo. These techniques can be used to tune the properties of polymer scaffolds for neovascularization and tissue remodeling. In addition, these studies provide insight into the effect of the physical, mechanical, and degradative properties of these systems and on the role of cleavage site concentration, and MMP substrate specificity on xiii neovascularization and tissue invasion within proteolytically degradable PEG hydrogel constructs.
PH.D in Biomedical Engineering, July 2013
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Title: AN ENERGY EFFICIENT ROUTING PROTOCOL FOR WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS
Creator: Lara, Aurobinda
Date: 2012-04-27, 2012-05
Description: Wireless distributed microsensor systems will enable the reliable monitoring of a variety of environments for both civil and military...
Show moreWireless distributed microsensor systems will enable the reliable monitoring of a variety of environments for both civil and military applications. A wireless sensor network consists of nodes that can communicate with each other via wireless links. One way to support efficient communication between sensors is to organize the network into several groups, called clusters, with each cluster electing one node as the head of cluster. Energy efficiency is of great importance for the wireless sensor network (WSN). A popular way to save energy is to construct clusters for data aggregation and forwarding. In this thesis a distributed cluster algorithm is studied to improve the energy consumption efficiency. It was observed that the cluster head has to lie within the transmission range of the base station (sink node) and the distance between cluster head and base station is critical for the energy consumption performance, we proposed a pseudo-cluster and virtual hierarchical clustering scheme (PC-LEACH), which considers the power level of the non-cluster head nodes and the residual energy level during the cluster head selection stage. Consequently we could better balance the chance of being cluster head for all nodes. Simulation results show that the scheme is able to result in longer network lifetime than the well-known protocol LEACH.
M.S. in Electrical Engineering, May 2012
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Title: Alleviating Homelessness in Chicago
Creator: Degroff, Justin
Date: 2011, 2011-05
Description: Alleviating homelessness in Chicago through the creation of a network of self-sufficient, revenue generating support nodes.

Title: Test of a 40 hp Halladay chasis
Creator: Fors, A. F., Kuehn, H. R., Semerak, A. W.
Date: 2009, 1913
Publisher: Armour Institute of Technology
Description: http://www.archive.org/details/testof40hphallad00fors
Thesis (B.S.)--Armour Institute of Technology

Title: JET MIXING CONTROL USING EXCITATION FROM MINIATURE OSCILLATING JETS
Creator: Raman, G, Cornelius, D
Date: 1995-02
Publisher: AMER INST AERONAUT ASTRONAUT

Title: PSECMAC Intelligent Insulin Schedule for Diabetic Blood Glucose Management Under Nonmeal Announcement
Creator: Teddy, S. D., Quek, C., Lai, E. M.-k., Cinar, A.
Date: 2010-03
Publisher: IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC
Description: Therapeutically, the closed-loop blood glucose-insulin regulation paradigm via a controllable insulin pump offers a potential solution to the...
Show moreTherapeutically, the closed-loop blood glucose-insulin regulation paradigm via a controllable insulin pump offers a potential solution to the management of diabetes. However, the development of such a closed-loop regulatory system to date has been hampered by two main issues: 1) the limited knowledge on the complex human physiological process of glucose-insulin metabolism that prevents a precise modeling of the biological blood glucose control loop; and 2) the vast metabolic biodiversity of the diabetic population due to varying exogneous and endogenous disturbances such as food intake, exercise, stress, and hormonal factors, etc. In addition, current attempts of closed-loop glucose regulatory techniques generally require some form of prior meal announcement and this constitutes a severe limitation to the applicability of such systems. In this paper, we present a novel intelligent insulin schedule based on the pseudo self-evolving cerebellar model articulation controller (PSECMAC) associative learning memory model that emulates the healthy human insulin response to food ingestion. The proposed PSECMAC intelligent insulin schedule requires no prior meal announcement and delivers the necessary insulin dosage based only on the observed blood glucose fluctuations. Using a simulated healthy subject, the proposed PSECMAC insulin schedule is demonstrated to be able to accurately capture the complex human glucose-insulin dynamics and robustly addresses the intraperson metabolic variability. Subsequently, the PSECMAC intelligent insulin schedule is employed on a group of type-1 diabetic patients to regulate their impaired blood glucose levels. Preliminary simulation results are highly encouraging. The work reported in this paper represents a major paradigm shift in the management of diabetes where patient compliance is poor and the need for prior meal announcement under current treatment regimes poses a significant challenge to an active lifestyle.
Endnote format citation for DOI:10.1109/TNN.2009.2036726
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Title: Digital Urban Park
Creator: Thornton, Alastair
Date: 5/4/2011, 2011-05
Description: This project is a park that utilizes social networks and interactivity to convey and make physical the internet. This is explored through...
Show moreThis project is a park that utilizes social networks and interactivity to convey and make physical the internet. This is explored through three parts and varying levels of group interaction between both the users of the space and by the spaces direct influence from the internet.
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Title: HIGH PERFORMANCE, HIGH STABILITY AND LOW POWER SRAM DESIGN BY USING CARBON NANOTUBE FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTORS
Creator: Wang, Wei
Date: 2012-07-07, 2012-07
Description: As the feature size of silicon semiconductor devices scales down to nanometer range, planar bulk CMOS design and fabrication encounter...
Show moreAs the feature size of silicon semiconductor devices scales down to nanometer range, planar bulk CMOS design and fabrication encounter significant challenges. This situation is exacerbated when it comes to SRAM, as SRAM takes a large part of power consumption and area overhead in modern VLSI processor designs. To achieve higher performance, stability and lower power consumption, carbon nanotube (CNT) has been introduced to SRAM design as an alternative material. The semiconducting single-walled CNTs are promising candidates for the channel material of CMOS devices because of two advantages over the other semiconductor materials: high ON current, leading to high speed and low OFF current, leading to less leakage power. In this research work, characterizing work of technology parameters for 6T carbon nanotube field effect transistor (CNFET) SRAM cell is performed for basic understanding of the relationship between SRAM delay/power and CNFET technology parameters. Stability issue is studied by investigating the diameter and transistor ratio impacts on the SRAM static noise margin (SNM). A stability-optimized 6T CNFET SRAM cell achieves 38.88% reading delay reduction, 21.61% writing delay reduction, 85.65% reading power reduction, 5.88% writing power reduction, 97.80% leakage power reduction, 41.41% SNM increment, 91.23% reading power-delay product (PDP) reduction and 26.23% writing PDP reduction, compared with conventional silicon MOSFET SRAM cell. To mitigate major CNT imperfection impacts on CNFET circuits, a misalignment immune SRAM design method is proposed to eliminate CNT misalignment problem by using etching region defined in circuit layout; and a diameter variation sensing and compensating system is designed to mitigate the negative impacts of CNT diameter variation on SRAM delay and power consumption. A hybrid silicon/CNT 4T SRAM cell design is proposed for low-power high-density cache application, which is better than conventionally used 6T SRAM in terms of power consumption and circuit area. Finally, a design flow of high performance, high stability and low power SRAM is summarized.
Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, July 2012
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Title: Test of a new type of storage cell
Creator: Allyn, A. J., Torrance, R. S.
Date: 2009, 1906
Publisher: Armour Institute of Technology
Description: http://www.archive.org/details/testofnewtypeofs00ally
Thesis (B.S.)--Armour Institute of Technology

Title: DYNAMICS OF A THREE-DIMENSIONAL FOUR-BAR LINKAGE SUBJECT TO RANDOM EXTERNAL FORCING
Creator: Lytell, Mark R.
Date: 2011-11-15, 2011-12
Description: This thesis explores the dynamics of a three-dimensional four-bar mechanical linkage subject to random external forcing. The Lagrangian...
Show moreThis thesis explores the dynamics of a three-dimensional four-bar mechanical linkage subject to random external forcing. The Lagrangian formulation of the equations of motion are index-3 stochastic di erential-algebraic equations (SDAE) that describe the time evolution of the sample paths of the generalized coordinates, velocities, and Lagrange multipliers as stochastic processes. We solve the SDAEs using two di erent approaches: inverse dynamics, Case Study 1, via independent, successive solution of the nonlinear equations for each kinematic variable, where the time evolution of one generalized coordinate is prescribed; and direct dynamics, Case Study 2, via direct solution of the SDAEs in the index-1 formulation, using fourth-order stochastic backward di erentiation formula (BDF) with modi ed Newton iteration and position and velocity stabilization (Ascher and Petzold [2]), where the (deterministic) input driving torque is prescribed. For the particular application of a three-dimensional swing gate security system, we conduct numerical experiments for both approaches. In Case Study 1, we simulate the random external forcing as a Gaussian wind speed process that applies stochastic wind drag onto the gate. The kinematic variables are deterministic, while the required input driving torque is a stochastic process. In Case Study 2, we apply the external forcing as a resistive torque with additive Gaussian noise modeling the wind drag; the kinematic variables are stochastic processes. For both cases, we apply four mean wind speeds: 0 mph (deterministic only), 10 mph, 20 mph, and 30 mph, from which we compute the deterministic solution and three stochastic sample paths for each stochastic process. The overall conclusions are that direct solution is possible for inverse dynamics, that the solution of index-1 SDAEs in multibody dynamics is tractable since the mass matrix is symmetric and positive de nite, and that the deterministic solution is the expectation of the sample paths.
M.S. in Applied Mathematics, December 2011
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Title: Reclaiming the Lake: Ecological Infrastructure as a Catalyst for Change
Creator: Searle, Gideon
Date: 2010-07-30

Title: A test of an evaporative condenser to determine the coefficient of heat transmission
Creator: Evans, Robert T.
Date: 2009, 1909
Publisher: Armour Institute of Technology
Description: http://www.archive.org/details/testofevaporativ00evan
Thesis (B.S.)--Armour Institute of Technology

Title: Teacher Knowledge Share (Semester Unknown) IPRO 320: Teacher Knowledge Share IPRO 320 Ethics F08
Creator: Bern, David, Bochantin, Marike, Hartline, Julian, Mccall, Ian, Mick, Emily, Peake, Andrew, Pierce, Alison, Pindrik, Dmitriy, Quinn, Michael, Stanford, Carly, Tilatti, Michael
Date: 2008, 2008-12
Description: The goal of IPRO 320 is to create an online professional network for school teachers at the kindergarten through twelfth grade level to allow...
Show moreThe goal of IPRO 320 is to create an online professional network for school teachers at the kindergarten through twelfth grade level to allow for the sharing of ideas, lesson plans and other professionally relevant information. This is a continuing project which saw limited success in the previous semester in that a functioning web site was constructed based on surveys of public school teachers but it saw very little use. This semester, the planned approach is to build on the research generated last semester by performing additional market research with teachers. Following that, IPRO 320 will rework much of the previous web site by refining some of the features, adding additional ones as the research indicates and improving the website in general, both functionally and aesthetically.
Deliverables
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Title: A study of motor cycle engine characteristics
Creator: Ott, C. L., Pimstein, S.
Date: 2009, 1916
Publisher: Armour Institute of Technology
Description: http://www.archive.org/details/studyofmotorcycl00ottc
Thesis (B.S.)--Armour Institute of Technology

Title: Center for Interdisciplinary Education: tA_Final Book
Creator: Alvarez, Tomas
Date: 4/20/2011, 2011-05
Description: This project consists of developing an efficient collegiate building in which the disciplines of Business, Mathematics, and Science can...
Show moreThis project consists of developing an efficient collegiate building in which the disciplines of Business, Mathematics, and Science can interact, collaborate, and ultimately create new knowledge by merging existing information. "All disciplines have imported aspects of other fields to clarify their own disciplinary perspectives."
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Title: Sustainable Theme Park and Museum
Creator: Fujishima, Kenta
Date: 5/4/2011, 2011-05
Description: An indoor facility consisting of both theme park and museum components with the integration of green and sustainable elements.

Title: SEARCHING ENCRYPTED CLOUD DATA
Creator: Urs, Karthik Mahendra Raje
Date: 2011-05-04, 2011-05
Description: The major setback of the cloud is its inability to induce strong trust in its users. For us, the users of the cloud, to be sure of the...
Show moreThe major setback of the cloud is its inability to induce strong trust in its users. For us, the users of the cloud, to be sure of the security of the data from other users, we have to trust cloud. In most of the cases, say if the data were to be hosted on Microsoft’s servers, we can trust Microsoft in its policies to prevent unauthorized access to it from other users (via hacking). But, the issue that is haunting the cloud is this - ”How can we be sure that our data is safe from Cloud service providers themselves?” The most intuitive solution for the cloud service provider to gain trust is to insist we encrypt our data. That is an irrefutable act of honesty from the cloud. But this has some obvious setbacks, few of which would negate the very advantages of cloud. One such issue that dictates the scope of this thesis is this - Typical cryptographic algorithms are not amenable to search. Now, if we were to implement a search engine on cloud (which has the data encrypted), the native search techniques have to be extended on to the cryptographic domain so that the cloud can perform the tasks of a search engine. This thesis explores the solutions to the above mentioned problem of searching over encrypted data, specifically using a secure pre-processed index approach. Though significant ideas have been proposed in the area, there is no concrete implementation to analyze if it can be used in the industrial setting. The main goal of the thesis is to implement a system which supports a variety of searching techniques. We make use of Amazon EC2 and test out the designed systems to evaluate how feasible they are for immediate consumption by the industry.
M.S. in Computer Engineering, May 2011
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Title: CONTROLLER DESIGN AND DISTRIBUTED CONTROL WITHIN MULTI-AGENT SYSTEMS
Creator: Shao, Quan Min
Date: 2013, 2013-12
Description: None
PH.D in Chemical and Biological Engineering, December 2013

Title: Screech Tones from Rectangular Jets with Spanwise Oblique Shock-cell Structures
Creator: Raman, G.
Date: 1997-01-10
Publisher: Cambridge Univ Press
Description: Understanding screech is especially important for the design of advanced aircraft because screech can cause sonic fatigue failure of aircraft...
Show moreUnderstanding screech is especially important for the design of advanced aircraft because screech can cause sonic fatigue failure of aircraft structures. Although the connection between shock-cell spacing and screech frequency is well understood, the relation between non-uniformities in the shock-cell structures and the resulting amplitude, mode, and steadiness of screech have remained unexplored. This paper addresses the above issues by intentionally producing spanwise (larger nozzle dimension) variations in the shock-cell structures and studying the resulting spanwise screech mode. The spanwise-oblique shock-cell structures were produced using imperfectly expanded convergent-divergent rectangular nozzles (aspect ratio = 5) with non-uniform exit geometries. Three geometries were studied: (a) a nozzle with a spanwise uniform edge, (b) a nozzle with a spanwise oblique (single-bevelled) edge, and (c) a nozzle that had two spanwise oblique (double-bevelled) cuts to form an arrowhead-shaped nozzle. For all nozzles considered, the screech mode was antisymmetric in the transverse (smaller nozzle dimension) direction allowing focus on changes in the spanwise direction. Three types of spanwise modes were observed: symmetric (I), antisymmetric (II), and oblique (III), The following significant results emerged: (i) for all cases the screech mode corresponds with the spanwise shock-cell structure, (ii) when multiple screech modes are present, the technique presented here makes it possible to distinguish between coexisting and mutually exclusive modes, (iii) the strength of shocks 3 and 4 influences the screech source amplitude and determines whether screech is unsteady. The results presented here offer hope for a better understanding of screech and for tailoring shock-containing jets to minimize fatigue failure of aircraft components.
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Title: VALIDATION OF BAKING TO INACTIVATE SALMONELLA IN HIGH-PROTEIN AND HIGH-FAT MODEL FOODS
Creator: Wang, Wenqian
Date: 2017, 2017-07
Description: Baked food products, such as dry pet foods, undergo changes of temperature and water activity (aw) during forced hot air processes. As one of...
Show moreBaked food products, such as dry pet foods, undergo changes of temperature and water activity (aw) during forced hot air processes. As one of the most thermal resistant microorganisms in low-moisture/intermediate moisture foods, Salmonella’s thermal inactivation kinetics during these processes is not well understood and difficult to predict. The objective of this study was to evaluate thermal inactivation kinetics of Salmonella enterica serovar Agona 447967 in model high-protein (HP) and high-fat (HF) multiple-component foods baked in a laboratory-scale oven, as influenced by oven temperature and relative humidity (RH). Model high-protein and high-fat foods, formulated with wheat flour, soy protein and soy oil, were inoculated with Salmonella Agona to a level of ~9 log CFU/g, and mixed to form a homogenous dough. Dough samples (57 mm diameter x 6 mm thick) were baked (3 samples per dwell time, 6 dwell times per condition) in a lab-scale oven at 120°C (10% RH) and 85°C (20%, 35% RH, 50% RH), respectively. Temperature and aw were measured at the surface and geometric center of the product during baking. Processed samples were collected in sterile bags and immediately cooled in an ice-water bath. Salmonella was enumerated on trypticase soy agar supplemented with yeast extract and incubated at 37°C for 24 h. Similar reductions (p>0.05) of 5.12-, 5.11-, 4.55-, and 4.78-log CFU/g were achieved after 40 min at 120°C/10% RH, 90 min at 85°C/20% RH, 50 min at 85°C/35% RH, 8 min at 85°C/50% RH, respectively, in the high-protein model food. Similar results were achieved in the high-fat matrix. The aw at the geometric center of the product (initially at aw =0.98) did not change appreciably during baking, while the aw at the product surface, the location of least lethality, decreased significantly (p<0.05) during baking; the decreases were more pronounced at lower oven RH. The results indicate that thermal inactivation of Salmonella Agona was driven by temperature and relative humidity in the oven. Higher temperature and higher relative humidity level led to greater Salmonella inactivation.
M.S. in Food Process Engineering, July 2017
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