Click on the link below to download full interactive pdf for
AJUR Volume 13 Issue 2 (June 2016)
https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2016.010
Quick links to individual manuscripts (abstracts and keywords are provided in the section below):
p. 5 Robust Nonlinear Control of BLDC Motor in Quadcopter Applications
Steven T. Elliott & Thomas W. Carr
p. 15 Development of Four-Square Fiducial Markers for Analysis of Paper Analytical Devices
Jenna Wilson, Tabitha Ricketts, Ian Bentley & Ewa Misiolek
p. 29 Sensitivity Analysis of Common Input Parameters in Tools for Modeling Energy in Homes
Sheikh Tijan Tabban & Nelson Fumo
p. 43 Feeding Anti-Semitism: Representations of Jewish Food Practices in Der ewige Jude
Forrest Picher
p. 57 hTERT Suppression via Small Interference RNA in Cervical Cancer Cells
Shawn Gray & Douglas Christensen
p. 65 Malate : Quinone Oxidoreductase and Malic Enzyme are required for the Plant Pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 to Utilize Malate
Zabrina Ebert, Preston Jacob, Katrina Jose, Lina Fouad, Katherine Vercellino, Steven Van Dorn, Mahaa Sidiqqi & Eve M. Mellgren
p. 73 Engaging Students in Science through a Nature Hike: A Case of Two Students with ADHD
Ashleigh Moore, Kristy Lynn Daniel & Aimée K. Thomas
p. 81 Evaluation of Antiulcer Activity of Laghusoothshekhar (an Ayurvedic Formula) in Pyloric Ligature Induced Gastric Ulcers in Albino Rats
Nilofer Sayed & Vandana Barve
p. 87 Using Statistical Approaches to Model Natural Disasters
Audrene S. Edwards & Kumer Pial Das
p. 105 Explicit Solution for Cylindrical Heat Conduction
Kaitlyn Parsons, Tyler Reichanadter, Andi Vicksman & Harvey Segur
APPENDIXES
Abstracts and keywords for articles published in AJUR Volume 13 Issue 2:
p. 5 Robust Nonlinear Control of BLDC Motor in Quadcopter Applications
https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2016.011
Steven T. Elliott & Thomas W. Carr
ABSTRACT
This paper describes the development of a nonlinear closed loop motor control system for a quadcopter micro-unmanned aerial vehicle (micro-UAV) platform. Research groups have analyzed the performance of brushless direct current (BLDC) motors with nonlinear effects in various applications, focusing on areas such as friction’s effect on position. This paper analyzes the nonlinear effects of BLDC motors on speed when these motors are used in quadcopter flying robots. Notably, to account for nonlinear torque from the aerodynamic forces on a quadcopter rotor, a Control Lyapunov Function (CLF) approach is used in designing a stable feedback control system. The paper also explains the custom model and simulation of the system built in MATLAB/Simulink used to demonstrate and quantify the successful performance of the design.
KEYWORDS
Control Lyapunov Function; Micro-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle; Aerial Robotics; Quadcopters; Nonlinear Motor Control
p. 15 Development of Four-Square Fiducial Markers for Analysis of Paper Analytical Devices
https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2016.012
Jenna Wilson, Tabitha Ricketts, Ian Bentley & Ewa Misiolek
ABSTRACT
Fiducial markers are used in image processing to determine locations of interest based on fixed points of reference. There are a number of applications for these markers across various fields ranging from advertising to radiation therapy. The four-square fiducial markers discussed in this manuscript allow for the determination of locations of interest on digital images. These new markers are easily detected, provide information about image orientation, and allow for local color sampling. The markers are intended for use in a pharmaceutical assessment process in which images of colorimetric chemical tests are taken by a smart-phone in the field, uploaded to a database, and analyzed to collect quantitative information about the colors resulting from the tests.
KEYWORDS
Image Processing; Digital Imaging; Fiducial Markers; Image Thresholding; Color Calibration; MATLAB; Paper Analytical Devices
p. 29 Sensitivity Analysis of Common Input Parameters in Tools for Modeling Energy in Homes
https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2016.013
Sheikh Tijan Tabban & Nelson Fumo
ABSTRACT
Energy models of buildings can be developed and used for analysis of energy consumption. A model offers the opportunity to simulate a building under specific conditions for analysis of energy efficiency measures or optimum design. Due to the great amount of information needed to develop an energy model of a building, the number of inputs can be reduced by making variable the most relevant input parameters and making the others to take common or standard values. In this study, an analysis of input parameters required by computational tools to estimate energy consumption in homes was done in two stages. In the first stage, common input parameters were identified for three software and three webtools based on the criteria that the input parameter should be common for at least two software and at least one webtool. In the second stage, a sensitivity analysis was performed on the inputs identified in the first stage. The software BEopt, developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, was used as the source of typical input parameters to be compared, and to perform the simulations for the sensitivity analysis. The base or reference model to perform simulations for the sensitivity analysis corresponds to a model developed with information from a research house located on the campus of the University of Texas at Tyler and default inputs for the BEopt B-10 reference benchmark. Results show that besides the location, and consequently the weather, common parameters are building orientation, air leakage, space conditioning settings, space conditioning schedule, water heating equipment, and terrain. Among these parameters, the sensitivity analysis identified the largest variations in energy consumption for variations on space conditioning schedule (heating and cooling setpoints), followed by the type of water heating equipment.
KEYWORDS
Residential Buildings; Energy Consumption; Energy Analysis; Input Parameters; Building Simulation; Source Energy
p. 43 Feeding Anti-Semitism: Representations of Jewish Food Practices in Der ewige Jude
https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2016.014
Forrest Picher
ABSTRACT
The film Der ewige Jude has received a considerable amount of scholarship, but never solely in the context of its representations of Jewish food practices. This paper addresses this void arguing that the representations are used to de-civilize and dehumanize the Jewish people in the minds of the viewers. The representation of Jewish home life around the dinner table is done in such a way as to emphasize filth and bugs. Similarly the conditions of street food are naturalized and used as “evidence” that the Jewish people are a lower race. Later, as the film describes Jewish cultural practices it completely subverts the meaning of Purim in such a way as to access the longstanding prejudices of Jews as “bloodsuckers”. Finally, kosher slaughter is used to separate Jewish people from both a sense of Germanness and a European identity altogether. In fact, I argue this representation served as an argument to deny European Jews their humanity altogether. In all of these ways the film creates a cinematic argument that attempts to justify what would become the mass-murder and genocide of the European Jews.
KEYWORDS
Food; Film; Representations; Ghetto; Purim; Kosher
p. 57 hTERT Suppression via Small Interference RNA in Cervical Cancer Cells
https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2016.015
Shawn Gray & Douglas Christensen
ABSTRACT
Telomerase (TERT) functions to extend the telomeric repeat terminus of each chromosome allowing embryonic cells to proliferate into an adult organism. The TERT gene is subsequently inactivated following maturation, consequently conveying a finite lifespan to every adult cell line, as shortened chromosome arms trigger cell apoptosis. This process ensures that older cells lines, which are invariably accumulating mutations, are eliminated from the body and replaced by stem cells containing founding DNA. One of the defining attributes of a cancer cell is the ability to divide perpetually. This capability to divide continually is often due to the reactivation of TERT. Therefore, the abolishment of TERT activity presents a promising avenue for cancer treatment. Here, we demonstrate through qRT-PCR and ELISA techniques that although small interference RNA (siRNA) results in a transcription knockdown of ninety-seven percent the actual protein activity reduction is far less dramatic.
KEYWORDS
Telomerase; Small Interference RNA; Cancer; Tumor; hTERT; qRT-PCR; RNA Interference; ELISA
https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2016.016
Zabrina Ebert, Preston Jacob, Katrina Jose, Lina Fouad, Katherine Vercellino, Steven Van Dorn, Mahaa Sidiqqi & Eve M. Mellgren
ABSTRACT
Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato strain DC3000 (DC3000) is a gram-negative bacterial plant pathogen that causes disease on tomato and the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Interestingly, previous studies showed that malate:quinone oxidoreductase (Mqo), an enzyme in the citric acid cycle, is required for DC3000 to cause disease on these plants. In addition, growth of DC3000 lacking the mqo gene in minimal medium with malate was significantly delayed, but eventually reached wild-type levels of growth, which is similar to growth in planta. This suggests that malate may be an important carbon source for DC3000. One reason the mqo::KO bacteria may be able to reach wild-type levels of growth in culture and plants is that the DC3000 malic enzyme may be used to complete the citric acid cycle. Our research shows that a mutant strain lacking a functional mqo gene and malic enzyme gene (mqo::KO;ME::pJP) fails to grow in minimal media cultures with malate and has reduced growth in media with citrate, indicating that both Mqo and ME are required for normal growth when utilizing these carbon sources. Future studies looking at growth of this double mutant in plants will identify how important the activities of both of these genes are for DC3000 to cause disease in plants.
KEY WORDS
Malate:quinone Oxidoreductase; Malic Enzyme; MQO; Pseudomonas syringae; Arabidopsis thaliana; Malate; Citrate; DC3000
p. 73 Engaging Students in Science through a Nature Hike: A Case of Two Students with ADHD
https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2016.017
Ashleigh Moore, Kristy Lynn Daniel & Aimée K. Thomas
ABSTRACT
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is becoming prevalent amongst elementary school aged students and can lead to learning disorders. Additionally, informal science education is a field of study that is becoming increasingly popular and important in the world of science, especially with elementary students. Thus, it is important to understand how students with ADHD react to informal learning experiences. We measured learning gains and changes in environmental awareness among 84 fifth grade students that participated in an informal nature hike associated with the Over, Under, and Through: Students’ Informal Discover the Environment program. We also used a case study approach to reveal the hike experiences of two students with ADHD. Both students demonstrated increased attention and interest in science during and after their participation in the nature hike. While this is a small scale, case study, findings from this work and related literature suggest that more informal experiential learning opportunities should be integrated into science classes as they help improve student attention, content recall, and attitude toward science.
KEYWORDS
ADHD; Engagement; Environmental Science Education; Informal Science Education; Mobile Technology; Nature Hike
p. 81 Evaluation of Antiulcer Activity of Laghusoothshekhar (an Ayurvedic Formula) in Pyloric Ligature Induced Gastric Ulcers in Albino Rats
https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2016.018
Nilofer Sayed & Vandana Barve
ABSTRACT
Laghusoothshekhar is an ayurvedic formula widely used for gastritis and peptic ulcers that has been described in various ayurvedic texts such as Bharat Bhaishajya Ratnakar, Ayurved saar sangraha and Nav samhita with slight variations in their ingredients. Marketed formulas from the first two references are available but the study of this formula from nav samhita is not yet carried out nor is it available commercially. It is a simple formula of few ingredients and is widely prepared and used by ayurvedic practitioners for treating gastritis (both acute and chronic) and peptic ulcers. Hence, efforts were taken to evaluate its antiulcer activity. Four groups comprising of six animals each were studied. Control Group: vehicle (2% w/v gum acacia), Group A: (50 mg/kg), Group B: (100 mg/kg), Group C: ranitidine (25 mg/kg). One hour after the last dose, pyloric ligation was done and animals were deprived of food and water for 4 hours, thereafter sacrificed and the number of ulcers and their severity was calculated. Both the doses of Laghusoothshekhar showed significant anti-ulcer activity and the histopathological findings of the gastric tissues confirmed the same. The results proved that the drug is as efficient as the standard drug ranitidine used in the treatment of gastritis and peptic ulcers. Ranitidine inhibits acid production by reversibly blocking H2 receptors on the basolateral membrane of parietal cells in the stomach.
KEYWORDS
Laghusoothshekhar; Pyloric Ligation; Ranitidine; Nav Samhita; Ayurveda; Amlapitta; Peptic Ulcers; Gastritis; Naagvel Patra; Ginger; Suvarna Gairik
p. 87 Using Statistical Approaches to Model Natural Disasters
https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2016.019
Audrene S. Edwards & Kumer Pial Das
ABSTRACT
The study of extremes has attracted the attention of scientists, engineers, actuaries, policy makers, and statisticians for many years. Extreme value theory (EVT) deals with the extreme deviations from the median of probability distributions and is used to study rare but extreme events. EVT’s main results characterize the distribution of the sample maximum or the distribution of values above a given threshold. In this study, EVT has been used to construct a model on the extreme and rare earthquakes that have happened in the United States from 1700 to 2011.The primary goal of fitting such a model is to estimate the amount of losses due to those extreme events and the probabilities of such events. Several diagnostic methods (for example, QQ plot and Mean Excess Plot) have been used to justify that the data set follows generalized Pareto distribution (GPD). Three estimation techniques have been employed to estimate parameters. The consistency and reliability of estimated parameters have been observed for different threshold values. The purpose of this study is manifold: first, we investigate whether the data set follows GPD, by using graphical interpretation and hypothesis testing. Second, we estimate GPD parameters using three different estimation techniques.Third, we compare consistency and reliability of estimated parameters for different threshold values. Last, we investigate the bias of estimated parameters using a simulation study. The result is particularly useful because it can be used in many applications (for example, disaster management, engineering design, insurance industry, hydrology, ocean engineering, and traffic management) with a minimal set of assumptions about the true underlying distribution of a data set.
KEYWORDS
Extreme Value Theory; QQ Plot; Mean Excess Plot; Mean Residual Plot; Peak Over Threshold; Generalized Pareto Distribution; Maximum Likelihood Method; Method of Moments; Probability-Weighted Moments; Shapiro-Wilk test; Anderson- Darling Test
p. 105 Explicit Solution for Cylindrical Heat Conduction
https://doi.org/10.33697/ajur.2016.020
Kaitlyn Parsons, Tyler Reichanadter, Andi Vicksman & Harvey Segur
ABSTRACT
The heat equation is a partial differential equation that elegantly describes heat conduction or other diffusive processes. Primary methods for solving this equation require time-independent boundary conditions. In reality this assumption rarely has any validity. Therefore it is necessary to construct an analytical method by which to handle the heat equation with time-variant boundary conditions. This paper analyzes a physical system in which a solid brass cylinder experiences heat flow from the central axis to a heat sink along its outer rim. In particular, the partial differential equation is transformed such that its boundary conditions are zero which creates a forcing function in the transform PDE. This transformation constructs a Green’s function, which admits the use of variation of parameters to find the explicit solution. Experimental results verify the success of this analytical method.
KEYWORDS
Heat Equation; Bessel-Fourier Decomposition; Cylindrical; Time-dependent Boundary Conditions; Orthogonality; Partial Differential Equation; Separation of Variables; Green’s Functions
APPENDIXES