A Curriculum Model: Engineering Design Graphics Course Updates Based on Industrial and Academic Institution Requirements

Engineering design graphics courses taught in colleges or universities should provide and equip students preparing for employment with the basic occupational graphics skill competences required by engineering and technology disciplines.  Academic institutions should introduce and include topics that cover the newer and more efficient graphics techniques and technologies developed through research by academic institutions and professional organizations as well as information obtained from experienced engineering design graphics practitioners.  This paper presents the systematic approach used at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK), Department of Industrial Technology (ITEC), to update and improve its existing multidiscipline engineering design graphics course.   Twenty five engineering design graphics course syllabi, all from programs accredited by either the Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering (ATMAE) or the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), were reviewed in this study.  A review of the course syllabi identified 20 of the most commonly taught engineering design graphics topics.  The 20 topics were used to develop a survey instrument subsequently sent to the top 10 employers of ITEC students majoring in Construction Management, Industrial Distribution, and Telecommunications Management.  The results obtained from the employer survey were analyzed and used to update the introductory engineering design graphics course at UNK so that engineering design graphics topics taught are consistent with academia and kept current and relevant to the needs of industry

Investigation of the Total Organic Halogen Analytical Method at the Waste Sampling and Characterization Facility

Total organic halogen (TOX) is used as a parameter to screen groundwater samples at the Hanford Site. Trending is done for each groundwater well, and changes in TOX and other screening parameters can lead to costly changes in the monitoring protocol. The Waste Sampling and Characterization Facility (WSCF) analyzes groundwater samples for TOX using the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SW-S46 method 9020B (EPA 1996a). Samples from the Soil and Groundwater Remediation Project (SGRP) are submitted to the WSCF for analysis without information regarding the source of the sample; each sample is in essence a ''blind'' sample to the laboratory. Feedback from the SGRP indicated that some of the WSCF-generated TOX data from groundwater wells had a number of outlier values based on the historical trends (Anastos 200Sa). Additionally, analysts at WSCF observed inconsistent TOX results among field sample replicates. Therefore, the WSCF lab performed an investigation of the TOX analysis to determine the cause of the outlier data points. Two causes were found that contributed to generating out-of-trend TOX data: (1) The presence of inorganic chloride in the groundwater samples: at inorganic chloride concentrations greater than about 10 parts per million (ppm), apparent TOX values increase with increasing chloride concentration. A parallel observation is the increase in apparent breakthrough of TOX from the first to the second activated-carbon adsorption tubes with increasing inorganic chloride concentration. (2) During the sample preparation step, excessive purging of the adsorption tubes with oxygen pressurization gas after sample loading may cause channeling in the activated carbon bed. This channeling leads to poor removal of inorganic chloride during the subsequent wash step with aqueous potassium nitrate. The presence of this residual inorganic chloride then produces erroneously high TOX values. Changes in sample preparation were studied to more effectively remove inorganic chloride from the activated-carbon adsorption tubes. With the TOX sample preparation equipment and TOX analyzers at WSCF, the nitrate wash recommended by EPA SW-846 method 9020B was found to be inadequate to remove inorganic chloride interference. Increasing the nitrate wash concentration from 10 grams per liter (g/L) to 100 giL potassium nitrate and increasing the nitrate wash volume from 3 milliliters (mL) to 10 mL effectively removed the inorganic chloride up to at least 100 ppm chloride in the sample matrix. Excessive purging of the adsorption tubes during sample preparation was eliminated. These changes in sample preparation have been incorporated in the analytical procedure. The results using the revised sample preparation procedure show better agreement of TOX values both for replicate analyses of single samples and for the analysis of replicate samples acquired from the same groundwater well. Furthermore, less apparent adsorption tube breakthrough now occurs with the revised procedure. One additional modification made to sample preparation was to discontinue the treatment of groundwater samples with sodium bisulfite. Sodium bisulfite is used to remove inorganic chlorine from the sample; inorganic chlorine is not expected to be a constituent in these groundwater samples. Several other factors were also investigated as possible sources of anomalous TOX results: (1) Instrument instability: examination of the history of results for TOX laboratory control samples and initial calibration verification standards indicate good long-term precision for the method and instrument. Determination of a method detection limit of 2.3 ppb in a deionized water matrix indicates the method and instrumentation have good stability and repeatability. (2) Non-linear instrument response: the instrument is shown to have good linear response from zero to 200 parts per billion (ppb) TOX. This concentration range encompasses the majority of samples received at WSCF for TOX analysis. Linear response was checked using both non-volatile TOX species (trichlorophenol) and volatile TOX species. Average recoveries of the volatile TOX species ranged between 50% and 75%. (3) Improper sample preservation: ion-chromatographic analysis of several samples with anomalous TOX results revealed that the samples were properly preserved with sulfuric acid and not hydrochloric acid

Spectral gamma-ray logging report for the six new characterization boreholes in the 100-FR-1 operable unit

Six characterization boreholes were drilled, sampled, logged, and abandoned in the 100-FR-1 Operable Unit. The geophysical logging was carried out with the Radionuclide Logging System (RLS) to determine the levels of radioactive contaminants in the subsurface. Five of the six boreholes penetrated contamination that was successfully assayed with the RLS data

Spectral gamma-ray logging report for the 216-B-57 crib groundwater impact assessment

Using the In Situ Characterization Probe to place access holes near the 216-B-57 Crib, the Radionuclide Logging System was used to further characterize the radioelement contamination surrounding the crib. Data collection was not completely successful in that the logging sonde was not able to go the full depth of each of the access holes. However, significant data were gathered and analyzed to meet the objective of the effort

Evaluation of Vascular Delivery Methodologies to Enhance rAAV6-mediated Gene Transfer to Canine Striated Musculature

A growing body of research supports the development of recombinant adeno-associated viral (rAAV) vectors for delivery of gene expression cassettes to striated musculature as a method of treating severe neuromuscular conditions. However, it is unclear whether delivery protocols that achieve extensive gene transfer in mice can be adapted to produce similarly extensive gene transfer in larger mammals and ultimately patients. Consequently, we sought to investigate methodological modifications that would facilitate rAAV-mediated gene transfer to the striated musculature of canines. A simple procedure incorporating acute (i) occlusion of limb blood flow, (ii) exsanguination via compression bandage, and (iii) vector “dwell” time of <20 minutes, markedly enhanced the transduction of limb muscles, compared with a simple bolus limb infusion of vector. A complementary method whereby vector was infused into the jugular vein led to efficient transduction of cardiomyocytes and to a lesser degree the diaphragm. Together these methods can be used to achieve transgene expression in heart, diaphragm, and limb muscles of juvenile dogs using rAAV6 vectors. These results establish that rAAV-mediated gene delivery is a viable approach to achieving systemic transduction of striated musculature in mammals approaching the dimensions of newborn humans