Engineering Commons^™

The Investigations Of Nps Modulated Immunity And Immunometabolism, Brittney Leigh Ruedlinger

Biomedical Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Cancers remain in the top noncommunicable diseases responsible for premature mortality. The heterogeneity among cancers and within tumors makes treating them ever more challenging. Our misfortune for developing cures is mocked by cancer, with the lowest probability of success (PoS) through clinical trials and FDA approval. At the basic level, there are generally two broad gaps impeding cancer eradication: the unidentified shared mechanism(s) exploited by all cancers and the therapeutic approach to intervene. Nanosecond pulse stimulation (NPS) offers a unique approach since its broad impacts intersect those often hijacked by oncogenesis. Metabolic pathways, known for dysfunctions among cancers, share a …

Mechanisms For Osteoblast And Osteocyte Initiation And Sustainment Of Bone Formation In Young-Adult And Aged Mice, Taylor Lynn Harris

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The cellular mechanisms for loading-induced bone formation, from osteocyte mechano-sensation to osteoblast-directed bone formation, are not well understood. Elucidating these mechanisms and identifying any processes that are disrupted in aged mice can aide in the development of new anabolic drugs for treating diseases like osteoporosis. This thesis begins by investigating the genes expressed by osteocytes following loading at an early mechanosensitive (4-hr) timepoint, and later at a bone-forming (day 5) timepoint. We demonstrated increases in Ngf and Wnt1 in osteocyte-enriched intracortical bone by laser capture microdissection and microarray analysis. These results were important in demonstrating the presence of Ngf in …

The Impact Of Nanopulse Treatment On The Tumor Microenvironment In Breast Cancer: Overturning The Treg Immunosuppressive Dominance, Anthony Nanajian

Biomedical Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Nanopulse treatment (NPT) is a high-power electric engineering modality that has been shown to be an effective local tumor treatment approach in multiple cancer models. Our previous studies on the orthotopic 4T1-luc breast cancer model demonstrated that NPT ablated local tumors. The treatment consequently conferred protection against a second live tumor challenge and minimized spontaneous metastasis. This study aims to understand how NPT mounts a potent immune response in a predominantly immunosuppressive tumor.

NPT changed the local and systemic dynamics of immunosuppressive cells by significantly reducing the numbers of regulatory T cells (Tregs), myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), and tumor-associated macrophages …

Development Of Deep Learning Neural Network For Ecological And Medical Images, Shaobo Liu

Dissertations

Deep learning in computer vision and image processing has attracted attentions from various fields including ecology and medical image. Ecologists are interested in finding an effective model structure to classify different species. Tradition deep learning model use a convolutional neural network, such as LeNet, AlexNet, VGG models, residual neural network, and inception models, are first used on classifying bee wing and butterfly datasets. However, insufficient data sample and unbalanced samples in each class have caused a poor accuracy. To make improvement the test accuracy, data augmentation and transfer learning are applied. Recently developed deep learning framework based on mathematical morphology …

Involvement Of The Ino80 Chromatin Remodeling Complex In Cell Division And Genomic Stability, Ethan Chen

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cell division is a vital biological process for growth and development in both single and multi-cellular organisms—whereby the cell must duplicate its organelles and genome in entirety and appropriately distribute the copied contents to the daughter cells. Cells undergo a cycle of two distinct phases: interphase and mitosis. During interphase, the cell replicates its genomic DNA (in the form of chromosomes) located within the nucleus. DNA replication is carried out in a euchromatin state, where the chromosome structure is loose and easily accessible by DNA polymerase and other replication enzymes. Upon the completion of replication, chromatin is condensed into highly …

Evaluation Of The Cytotoxyc Effects Of Lmdf5-7 On A Human T-Cell Leukemia Cell Line, Andrea F. Ibarra Chacon

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

According to World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide, with 9.6 million deaths in 2018 . In the United States, an estimated 434,982 people were living with cancer during 2017 . Leukemia is the most common blood cancer in children from birth to 14 years old . In particular, Hispanic children in the United States experience a higher incidence rate of leukemia . Therefore, the discovery of novel cancer therapies is necessary to help those affected survive the disease. A new compound, LMDF5-7 was investigated and found to have anticancer properties that can help …

Exploration Of Antimicrobial And Cell Proliferation Properties Of Nanofibers Incorporating Nopal (O. Cochenillifera) Extract, Cristobal Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on the fabrication of Forcespinning® nanofibers composed of Opuntia cochenillifera, ‘nopal’, mucilage (N) extract, chitosan (CH), and pullulan (PL) (N/CH/PL) were developed with an optimum fiber average diameter of 406±127 nm, and studied for their ability to sustain adhesion and proliferation of mouse embryonic fibroblast (NIH 3T3) cells. After a 6-day incubation period, N/CH/PL nanofibers displayed robust cell proliferation, while also exhibiting inhibitory properties through an N extract dip-coating process against gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli in a 24 h bacterial growth study. A demonstration of integrated natural bioactive compounds with combined biodegradable polymers, provide an enhanced …

Moderate Heat-Assisted Gene Electrotransfer For Intradermal Dna Vaccination And Protein Replacement Therapy In The Skin, Chelsea Marie Edelblute

Biomedical Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Gene electrotransfer (GET) holds great promise for the delivery of therapeutic agents. The skin serves as an attractive target for GET due to its availability and unique cellular composition. Protein replacement therapy and DNA vaccination are potential applications for intradermal GET. The combination of moderate tissue preheating and GET has been shown to achieve elevated gene expression levels while reducing the necessary applied voltage. In the current work, we utilized a 16-pin multi-electrode array (MEA) and incorporated nine optical fibers, connected to an infrared laser, to pre-heat the tissue to 43°C before application of GET. In a guinea pig model, …

Uncovering The Roles And Evolved Sequence Grammar Of Hypervariable Intrinsically Disordered Proteins In Bacterial Cell Division, Megan Cohan

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Across all domains of life, a defining hallmark of the onset of cell division is the formation of a cytokinetic ring at the center of the cell. Cell division is a tightly controlled process that involves various regulatory factors that modulate the assembly of the cytokinetic ring. In rod-shaped bacteria, the ring is termed the Z-ring after the protein FtsZ, which is foundational to ring formation and is the bacterial homolog of tubulin. Like tubulin, FtsZ is an assembling GTPase, where GTP binding promotes the cooperative assembly into FtsZ polymers that laterally associate to form bundles. While the GTPase domain …

Evaluating The Structural And Functional Consequences Of Traumatic Joint Injury And Their Relation To Nf-Κb In A Non-Invasive Model Of Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis, Ian Matthew Berke

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) is a painful and debilitating disease of the synovial joint, characterized by degenerative changes to various joint tissues following traumatic joint injury. While several risk factors have been identified in the symptomatic progression of PTOA following injury, inflammation and NF-κB mediated changes are believed to significantly contribute to symptomatic joint dysfunction and pain. However, the temporal presentation of these pro-inflammatory signals following clinically relevant injury and their relationship to the development of symptomatic disease have not been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, there exists a critical need to better understand how these early inflammatory events following injury may contribute …

Autologous Stem Cell-Derived Β Cells For Diabetes Cell Replacement Therapy, Kristina G. Maxwell

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Autologous stem cell therapy is a promising treatment for patients with diabetes worldwide. Previous stem cell-derived β (SC-β) cell protocols were unable to efficiently differentiate multiple patient induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into stem cell-derived islets (SC-islets), containing insulin-secreting SC-β cells. Recent updates targeting the actin cytoskeleton have enabled the differentiation of 14 diabetic and nondiabetic stem cell lines into SC-islets. We used genetic engineering, specifically CRISPR/Cas9, to correct the diabetes-causing mutation in stem cells from patients with Wolfram Syndrome. The genetically engineered SC-β cells functioned and had a composition similar to nondiabetic SC-β cells, unlike the unedited SC-β cells …

Bio-Inspired Materials For Electrochemical Sensors, Matthew Joseph Hummel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Electrochemical biosensors are a rapidly growing research area that has greatly improved its specificity, accuracy, and precision in the detection of biomolecules in contemporary literature and industry alike. Typically, these systems exist in a three-electrode conformation with a working electrode functioning as the anode, a counter electrode functioning as the cathode, and a reference electrode allowing for the control of potential in the system. The method by which these sensors work is through the sharing of electrons via redox reactions with the target molecule and the working electrode or modifications on its surface. By exploiting the function of biomaterials that …

In Vitro And In Vivo Response To A Novel Borophosphate Bioactive Glass, Nada Abokefa

Masters Theses

"Bioactive glasses have been widely used in several biomedical and tissue engineering applications since the late 1960s. Numerous families of bioactive glasses have emerged over the years, with each having its own advantage and disadvantage. One concern common to all families is that most bioactive glasses create a basic or acidic environment when degraded and, therefore, are toxic for cells. Recently, there has been an increased interest in borophosphate bioactive glass (BPBGs) because of their neutral pH, release of therapeutic ions, and biodegradable properties. Despite the growing interest, there is little reported on the bioactivity of BPBGs. The biological effects …

Intrabodies Reveal Critical Steps Involved In Ricin's Interactions With The Ribosome, Timothy Francis Czajka

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Ricin is a highly lethal protein toxin derived from the seeds of the castor plant, Ricinus communis. It is a Type II ribosome inactivating protein (RIP), meaning it is a heterodimer with one subunit, ricin toxin B (RTB), that mediates cell surface attachment and intracellular trafficking and a second subunit, ricin toxin A (RTA), that irreversibly shuts down protein synthesis in the cytosol. During trafficking, RTA and RTB necessarily separate in the endoplasmic reticulum, wherein RTA unfolds and translocates into the cytosol where it refolds into an enzymatically active conformation. RTA is remarkably fast acting and efficient, with few molecules …

Optimizing New In Vitro Methodologies For Assessing The Effects Of Mechanical Stimuli On Lung Cells: Implications For Lung Biology And Disease, Alicia E. Tanneberger

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Chronic lung diseases affect millions of people in the United States and are a leading cause of both morbidity and mortality. Studying how environmental factors affect lung cell biology and function is being increasingly recognized as a critical step in understanding lung disease pathogenesis and the development of new therapeutic approaches that combat lung diseases. These factors include lung extracellular matrix (ECM) composition and the mechanobiological factors of stiffness and cyclic mechanical strain, which during breathing, act on cells during the normal expansion and contraction of the lung. However, current methodologies for studying these factors have significant limitations and new …

Investigating The Antitumor Effects Of A Dsrna-Nanoparticle Complex In An In Vitro Ovarian Cancer Model, Aaron Lewis

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

An estimated 1 in 70 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in their lifetime. Despite advanced detection and treatment methods, it remains a silent killer with an expected survival rate of 50%. A developing method in cancer treatment is the use of compounds that stimulate the immune system to aid in the body's fight against the disease. This project focused on the use of the potent immune stimulant double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), commercially available as polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid, poly(I:C), to induce cytotoxicity in two ovarian cancer cell lines; SKOV-3 and OVCAR-3. Some challenges exist with the delivery of dsRNA due to …