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A Comprehensive Reengineering Of The Hospital Emergency Triage System, Nicholas D. Boltin

Theses and Dissertations

Hospital emergency triage and specifically Mass Casualty Incidents (MCIs) are of major concern with regard to treatment and patient outcomes. Traditional emergency department triage models are oversimplified and often lead to over/under triaging of patients. Furthermore, triage models do not account for the full spectrum of different types of MCIs which often results in misclassification. In this thesis, we begin by looking at traditional triage models currently being used in hospital systems and identify several shortcomings of using these models within the context of a chemical related MCI. I will then move to describe a new approach to creating a …

Modulation Of Amyloid-Β Aggregation Via Small Molecules And Glycine Zipper Alterations, Steven Zebulon Vance

Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of neurodegenerative disease. Nationally, AD is the 6th leading cause of death and the only top 10 killer of Americans that cannot be slowed, cured, or prevented. AD is characterized by the deposition of extracellular plaques of aggregated amyloid-β protein (Aβ). Aβ originates from the amyloid precursor protein (APP), a transmembrane protein that is cleaved to form a short and inert protein fragment called Aβ. However, Aβ undergoes a nucleation process wherein aggregates from soluble oligomers to insoluble fibrils are formed. While uncertainty remains as to the exact mechanism, studies have associated …

Association Between Mechanics And Biology In Vascular Graft Remodeling, David Andrew Prim

Theses and Dissertations

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) restores myocardial perfusion in patients with severe coronary artery disease by utilizing autografts – usually at least one of the internal thoracic artery (ITA), radial artery (RA), and great saphenous vein (GSV) – to bypass stenosed regions of coronary arteries. While decades of research and clinical improvements have made CABG an indispensable procedure, tens of thousands of grafts fail each year, which is due, at least in part, to an inability of the source vessels to adapt to the altered stimuli of the coronary circulation. In this dissertation, we first quantify and compare the mechanical …

Automated Image Analysis And Spatial Computational Modeling Of Nf-Kb In Cerebrovascular Endothelial Cells, Kasey Catalfomo

Theses and Dissertations

Cerebrovascular endothelial cells play a key part in the inflammatory response of the blood-brain barrier in pathological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. Specifically, the NF-κB signaling pathway plays a central role. Better understanding of the factors in inflammatory disease progression can lead to more effective treatments for such devastating illnesses like Alzheimer’s, asthma, arthritis, cancer, diabetes and many more inflammatory diseases. The proposed approach analyzes spatial NF-κB distribution contained in multispectral stacked micrograph images of cerebrovascular endothelial cells indexed based on dose of the activating protein and the length of activation. Image analysis code identifies the location of nuclear boundaries …

Therapeutic Potential Of Catechins And Derivatives For The Prevention Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Shelby Elaine Chastain

Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative condition that affects 1 in 9 people over the age of 65, an estimated 5.4 million Americans. It is the only disease among the top 10 that cannot be prevented, cured, or treated. Based on the lack of a viable therapeutic for the prevention or cure of AD, it is vital that therapeutic research for AD continues. AD is characterized by the deposition of extracellular neuritic plaques comprised of insoluble amyloid-β (Aβ) fibrils. These plaques are formed from the amyloidogenic aggregation of Aβ monomer, generated from the cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) …

Design And Development Of A Ventilation Chamber For Testing Efficacy Of Tracheal Stents, Caroline N. Horton

Theses and Dissertations

Tracheobronchial malacia results in a weakening of the tracheal walls, leading to increased difficulty breathing. Stents are used to reopen the lumen of the trachea, however, current models are not personalized to each patient, leading to migration, inflammation, and breakage of the stents. In order to successfully test novel stent designs, a ventilation chamber is needed to recreate the breathing conditions of the body.

The following describes the iterative development of a ventilation chamber, which allows inflation and deflation of lungs via negative pressure ventilation, as representative of an actual body undergoing respiration. Previous work shows that lungs are not …

Material Considerations For Development Of 3d Printed Bronchial And Tracheal Stents, Nidah M. Hussain

Theses and Dissertations

Tracheobronchial malacia is a commonly under-diagnosed condition that results in difficulty breathing. The use of a tracheobronchial stent is the best course of treatment for patients whose quality of life has deteriorated due to malacia; unfortunately stents need replacing after issues with inflammation, migration, or eventual stent-breakdown resulting in fistula formation.

The purpose of this thesis is to use three-dimensional (3D) printing technology to improve on existing stents through designing and printing a bioresorbable/biodegradable tracheobronchial stent that can treat tracheobronchial malacia. This was undertaken by testing three biologically favorable materials, type I collagen, polycaprolactone (PCL), and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), with …