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Expression And Purification Of Snake Antivenom Peptide In Pichia Pastoris, Israel Juarez Contreras

Master's Theses

It has been shown that a peptide of the first 10-15 N-terminal amino acids of the lethal toxin neutralizing factor (LTNF) protein found in opossums (Didelphis spp.) holds promise as a low-cost therapy for snake envenomation. To date, the 11-mer has been expressed in E. coli and shown to neutralize snake venoms. However, possible endotoxin concerns warrant an investigation into other microbial hosts. The methylotrophic yeast, Pichia pastoris, shows promise as an alternative host. Active LTNF peptide was expressed and purified in P. pastoris. This was accomplished by subcloning a tandem repeat of the first 15 N-terminal amino acids of …

Investigation Of The Effect Of Age On Regenerative Outcomes Following Treatment Of Volumetric Muscle Loss Injuries, John Taehwan Kim

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Volumetric muscle loss (VML) is a traumatic injury in skeletal muscle resulting in the bulk loss of more than 20% of the muscle’s volume. Included in the bulk loss of muscle is the skeletal muscle niche comprised of nerve bundles, vasculature, local progenitor cells, basal lamina, and muscle fibers, overwhelming innate repair mechanisms. The hallmark of VML injury is the excessive accumulation of non-contractile, fibrotic tissue and permanent functional deficits. Though predominant in the younger demographic, the elderly population is also captured within VML injuries. There are many factors that change with aging in skeletal muscle that may further hinder …

Epic: Examining Patch Impedance Characteristics, Shane Buck, Jyotsna Gopinath, Kyle Markfield

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

In the United States, approximately one in 4 adults have at least one chronic illness, making up approximately 84% of US Healthcare Spending. Unfortunately, 50% of patients with chronic diseases do not take their medication properly and as such spend more money trying to get better – approximately $100 billion in annual preventable costs. One solution to this issue is digital medicine as it allows for the monitoring of patient medicine consumption.

Our industry partner has developed a three-part digital medicine system with the aim of allowing patients with chronic health issues to better reach their health goals through monitoring …

Justrun - Social Gps Running Game, Riley Bergin, Maggie Cai, Simran Judge, Grace Ling

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

With advances in technology allowing people to live more sedentary lives, more and more people are struggling to live a healthy active lifestyle. In the efforts to combat unhealthy styles of living, we wish to introduce a mobile app that takes advantage of motivational game mechanics to motivate players will make go on runs regularly.

The Theia Soteria: Alternative Design For Safer Initial Entry During Laparoscopic Procedures, Kayla Dubois, Patrick Ryan, Madelyn Joanis

Honors Theses

Laparoscopic procedures account for 15 million surgeries worldwide [1], with the initial entry into the peritoneal cavity accounting for 33-50% of all major laparoscopic complications [7]. This initial entry is the most dangerous as surgeons must enter the cavity using a sharp object with no visibility and space between the outer surface of the cavity and internal tissues. During the initial entry into the peritoneal cavity, the patients undergoing laparoscopic procedures are at a high risk for damage to internal organs and vasculature, necessitating the development of a device to protect these internal tissues and increase patient safety.

Hgmb1 And Rage As Essential Components Of Ti Osseointegration Process In Mice, Cláudia Cristina Biguetti, Franco Cavalla, Elcia Varize Silveira, André Petenuci Tabanez, Carolina Favaro Francisconi, Rumio Taga, Ana Paula Campanelli, Ana Paula Favaro Trombone, Danieli C. Rodrigues, Gustavo P. Garlet

School of Podiatric Medicine Publications and Presentations

The release of the prototypic DAMP High Mobility Group Box 1 (HMGB1) into extracellular environment and its binding to the Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products (RAGE) has been described to trigger sterile inflammation and regulate healing outcome. However, their role on host response to Ti-based biomaterials and in the subsequent osseointegration remains unexplored. In this study, HMGB1 and RAGE inhibition in the Ti-mediated osseointegration were investigated in C57Bl/6 mice. C57Bl/6 mice received a Ti-device implantation (Ti-screw in the edentulous alveolar crest and a Ti-disc in the subcutaneous tissue) and were evaluated by microscopic (microCT [bone] and histology [bone and …

Machine Learning Solution To Organ-At-Risk Segmentation For Radiation Treatment Planning, Brie Goo, Katrina May, Haobo Zhang, James Olivas

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

In the treatment of cancer using ionizing radiation, it is important to design a treatment plan such that dose to normal, healthy organs is sufficiently low. Today, segmentation requires a trained human to carefully outline, or segment, organs on each slice of a treatment planning computed tomography (CT) scan but it is laborious, time-consuming, and contains intra- and inter-rater variability. Currently, existing clinical automation technology relies on atlas-based automation, which has limited segmentation accuracy. Thus the auto-segmentations require post process editing by an expert. In this paper, we propose a machine learning solution that shortens the segmentation time of organs-at-risk …

Human-Centered Electric Prosthetic (Help) Hand, Jamie Ferris, Shiyin Lim, Michael Mehta, Evan Misuraca

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

Through a partnership with Indian non-profit Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti, we designed a functional, robust, and and low cost electrically powered prosthetic hand that communicates with unilateral, transradial, urban Indian amputees through a biointerface. The device uses compliant tendon actuation, a small linear servo, and a wearable garment outfitted with flex sensors to produce a device that, once placed inside a prosthetic glove, is anthropomorphic in both look and feel. The prosthesis was developed such that future groups can design for manufacturing and distribution in India.

Course Portfolio For Assessing Student Learning Surrounding Biological Examples In Bsen244: Thermodynamics Of Biological Systems, Forrest M. Kievit

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Thermodynamics is a course required in many engineering disciplines as it covers concepts utilized in many upper level engineering courses. In the Biological Systems Engineering Department at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, this course, in a way, acts as a gateway to the major since this will be one of the first classes where the students must apply and hone their problem-solving skills. This course was developed to allow students in the department to have access to a thermodynamics course that relates to their major area of interest – biological systems. However, many concepts in thermodynamics do not have …

A Ctenophore (Comb Jelly) Employs Vortex Rebound Dynamics And Outperforms Other Gelatinous Swimmers, Brad J. Gemmell, Sean P. Colin, John H. Costello, Kelly R. Sutherland

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

Gelatinous zooplankton exhibit a wide range of propulsive swimming modes. One of the most energetically efficient is the rowing behaviour exhibited by many species of schyphomedusae, which employ vortex interactions to achieve this result. Ctenophores (comb jellies) typically use a slow swimming, cilia-based mode of propulsion. However, species within the genus Ocyropsis have developed an additional propulsive strategy of rowing the lobes, which are normally used for feeding, in order to rapidly escape from predators. In this study, we used high-speed digital particle image velocimetry to examine the kinematics and fluid dynamics of this rarely studied propulsive mechanism. This mechanism …

Expression, Purification, And Characterization Of Recombinant Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor In Pichia Pastoris, Henry Hieu Minh Le

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Wounds in the mouth, occurring after oral surgery, take time to heal. No ointment can be added to help with the healing process because mouth saliva will constantly wash it away. In order to combat this problem, we propose engineering a normal flora microbe to grow at the site of injury and secrete a recombinant growth factor to promote healing of the damaged tissue. Our goal is to have the yeast Pichia pastoris produce human basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), which aids in cellular proliferation. P. pastoris is a good choice for this application because not only is it considered …