Engineering Commons^™

Patient-Specific Analysis Of Aortic Hemodynamics And Wall Shear Stresses In Patients Undergoing Pediatric Bariatric Surgery Using 2d Phase-Contrast Mri, Oluwaferanmi S. Akande, Joao Soares, Nathan Hargan, Dr. Uyen Truong, Haeung Kang, David Lanning

Undergraduate Research Posters

Patient-Specific Analysis of Aortic Hemodynamics and Wall Shear Stresses in Patients Undergoing Pediatric Bariatric Surgery using 2D Phase-Contrast MRI

Feranmi Akande¹ Nathan Hargan² Haesung Kang³ David Lanning³ Uyen Truong⁴ João S. Soares¹

¹ Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University

² Department of Mechanical & Nuclear Engineering, College of Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University

³ Department of Cardiology, Children’s Hospital of Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth University

Introduction: Severe obesity among today’s youth is a rising epidemic within the United States. Emerging research has linked childhood obesity with shortened life expectancy and early …

Finite Element Analysis Of 3d-Printed Pcl Scaffolds, Ireolu K. Orenuga, Joao Soares, Phillip D. Glass, Daeha Joung Ph.D.

Undergraduate Research Posters

Finite Element Analysis of 3D-printed PCL Scaffolds for Synergizing Cellular Micro-Environment and Mechanical Stimuli to Enhance Engineered Tissue Growth in Vitro

Ireolu Orenuga,1 Phillip Glass,2 Daeha Joung,2 Joao S. Soares1

1. Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, College of Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University
2. Department of Physics, College of Humanities & Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth University

Introduction: Tissue engineering aims to create viable and functional engineered tissues via biodegradable scaffolds and autologous cells. Scaffolds play an essential part in organizing the architecture of developing tissues and aid in the proper function of implants acutely by serving as mechanical support and long-term by …

Assisting End-Users In Creating Chatbots By Improving Training Data, Aparna Roy, Chris Egersdoerfer

Summer REU Program

No abstract provided.

Investigating Traction Forces Of Breast Cancer K14+ Leader Cells In Tumor Organoids, Ella Ramamurthy, Jessanne Lichtenberg, Priscilla Hwang

Summer REU Program

No abstract provided.

Nlp@Vcu: Crop Characteristic Extraction Framework, Cora Lewis, Bridget Mcinnes, Getiria Onsongo

Summer REU Program

We developed a crop characteristic extraction framework. Starting from a custom SpaCy named entity recognition model, we added pre-trained word embeddings and a part-of-speech based entity expansion post-processing step. Then, we implemented an evaluation framework that functioned as a 5-fold cross validation wrapper for SpaCy custom training. Preliminary results showed improvement in the extraction framework after these additions.

Evaluation Of Cell-Matrix Interactions In K14+ Leader Cells On Caf-Modulated Matrix, Trey P. Redman, Jessanne Y. Lichtenberg, Priscilla Y. Hwang

Summer REU Program

No abstract provided.

Exploiting The Sars-Cov-2 Spike Protein Components To Guide Molecular Level Entry Of A Bag-1 Inhibitor In The Treatment Of Breast And Lung Cancers, Malak Yasin, Michael Peters, Mo Jiang

Summer REU Program

Chemoresistance of lung cancer cells is the primary reason as to why limitations occur with cancer treatments. A protein, known as BAG-1 is responsible for many cellular activities including cellular stress response, cell growth, and apoptosis (regulated cell death). When overexpressed, the protein has been linked to the anti-apoptotic behavior of cancer cells. BAG-1 can combine to heat shock proteins (HSPs), a family of helical molecular chaperones that are known to aid in the maturation of proteins, refolding, and degradation. This response plays a crucial role in the study of chemoresistance in cancer patients due to its detrimental nature. Prior, …

Optimization Of An Automated Algorithm For Analysis Of Spontaneous Rhythmic Bladder Contractions During Urodynamics Testing, Isabelle Pummill, Rui Li, Zachary Cullingsworth, Adam Klausner, John Speich

Summer REU Program

No abstract provided.

A Highly Conductive, Flexible, And 3d-Printable Carbon Nanotube-Elastomer Ink For Additive Bio-Manufacturing, Andy Shar, Phillip Glass, Daeha Joung Ph.D.

Undergraduate Research Posters

The synthesis of a highly conductive, flexible, 3D-printable, and biocompatible ink has been of great interest in the field of bio-based additive manufacturing. Various applications include ultra-sensitive, microscale tactile sensors, patient-customizable scaffolds for cardiac and nerve tissue regeneration, and flexible electrocardiogram (ECG) electrodes. Here, a novel elastomeric carbon nanocomposite is presented consisting of amino-functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNT-NH₂) homogenously dispersed in a one-part room-temperature vulcanizing (RTV) silicone matrix. The use of acetone as a swelling solvent aids in electrical percolation through the elastomer matrix. CNT-NH₂ ratios can be tuned to fit various needs; higher tensile strength is favored …

Exploring Cell Differentiation Vs. Localization In Engineered Ligament-To-Bone Entheses, Saagar N. Sheth, Michael E. Brown, Jennifer L. Puetzer

Undergraduate Research Posters

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) connects to bone via structurally complex insertions known as entheses that translate load from elastic ligament and stiff bone via gradients in organization, composition, and cell phenotype [1]. These gradients are not recreated in graft repair or engineered replacements, yielding limited repair options and high failure rates [2]. Previously, we developed a culture system that uses a tensile-compressive interface to guide ligament fibroblasts to develop early postnatal-like entheses by 6 weeks [3]; however, cells used were isolated from the entirety of the neonatal bovine ACL from bone to bone and likely contained multiple cell phenotypes …

The Critical Role Of Dynamic Surface Tension Of Surfactants On The Impact Dynamics Of Water Droplets, Amir Esmaeili, Reza Mohammadi

Graduate Research Posters

Due to their time-dependent surface tension, the addition of surface-active agents or surfactants to water for specific applications has made controlling the impact dynamics of these droplets a complex phenomenon. This work investigates the influence of the molecular weight, concentration, and ionic nature of the surfactants as well as the substrate surface characteristics on the impact dynamics of surfactant-laden droplets using a high-speed camera at 10000 frames per second. Sodium dodecyl sulfate, hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide, and n-decanoyl-n-methylglucamine were used as anionic, cationic, and nonionic surfactants, respectively. We used hydrophilic glass slides, hydrophobic polytetrafluoroethylene, and superhydrophobic alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) as substrates. …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Shielding Material, Vehicle Shape And Astronaut Position For Deep Space Travel, Daniel Bond, Braden Goddard, Robert Singleterry, Sama Bilbao Y Leon

Graduate Research Posters

Background: As future crewed, deep space missions are being planned, it is important to assess how spacecraft design can be used to minimize radiation exposure. Collectively with shielding material, vehicle shape and astronaut position must be used to protect astronauts from the two primary sources of space radiation: Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) and Solar Particle Events (SPEs).

Methods: The On-Line Tool for the Assessment of Radiation in Space (OLTARIS) version 4.1 analysis package is used to evaluate and analyze this detailed radiation field. Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Langley Research Center, the tool enables engineering and …

A Facile, Fast, And Low-Cost Method For Fabrication Of Micro/Nano-Textured Superhydrophobic Surfaces, Amir Esmaeili, Noshin Mir, Reza Mohammadi

Graduate Research Posters

Background

Alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) is frequently used in paper industry as an inexpensive sizing agent. The formation of a fractal structure after curing the solidified AKD for an extra-long time (4 - 6 days) results in superhydrophobicity. In this study, a facile and low-cost method was utilized to turn AKD’s surface superhydrophobic in a very short period of time.

Method

We fabricated a superhydrophobic layer by dipping glass and paper substrates in molten AKD and then treating them with ethanol after solidification. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Confocal …

Spatio-Temporal Evolution Of Warm Dense Plasmas: Molecular Dynamics Modeling, Harrison Wenzel, Gennady Miloshevsky

Graduate Research Posters

SPATIO-TEMPORAL EVOLUTION OF WARM DENSE PLASMAS: MOLECULAR

DYNAMICS MODELING Cole Wenzel and Gennady Miloshevsky

Virginia Commonwealth University, Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, 401

West Main St, Richmond, VA 23284-3015

The exo-atmospheric detonation of nuclear device would be of great impact on the material integrity of orbiting satellites. The spectral energy distribution of high intensity X-ray flux, ~10 28 -10 35 photons/(cm 2 ∙s), originating from a nuclear blast is described by the Planck's blackbody function with the temperature from 0.1 keV to 10 keV. Particular damage would occur to the multi-layered, solar cell panels of satellites. However, the X-ray …

Jxb Force Effects On Beryllium Melt Splashing In Fusion Devices, Cheng Zhang, Gennady Miloshevsky

Graduate Research Posters

Instability and disruption of high-temperature plasma in fusion devices may result in the edge-localized modes (ELMs) and lead to melting of plasma facing components (PFCs) causing their damage. Beryllium (Be) is used as a first wall for PFCs due to its low density, high strength, and high thermal conductivity. However, melting of Be on the surface of first wall is of a great concern as splashing of a molten Be layer will result in the plasma contamination and termination of fusion reaction. Therefore, it is important to understand the physics mechanisms characterizing the splashing of Be from a pool under …

Photolithographic Micropatterning Of Organic, Flexible Biomaterials And Its Applications, Sayantan Pradhan, Sayantan Pradhan, Meng Xu, Vamsi K. Yadavalli

Graduate Research Posters

A current trend in biodevices has involved a shift from traditional rigid platforms to flexible and stretchable formats. These flexible devices are expected to have a significant impact on future healthcare, disease diagnostics and therapeutics. However, the fabrication of such flexible devices has been limited by the choice of materials. Biomimetic composites of naturally derived and synthetic polymers provide exciting opportunities to develop mechanically flexible, physiologically compliant, and degradable bioelectronic systems. Advantages include the ability to provide conformal contact at non-planar biointerfaces, being able to be degraded at controllable rate, and invoking minimal reactions within the body. These factors present …

Dose Deposition And Electrostatic Charging Of Kapton Films Irradiated With Electrons, Youssef Abouhussien, Gennady Miloshevsky

Graduate Research Posters

Kapton films are widely utilized in harsh radiation environments where radiation resistant insulating materials are required. For space applications, Kapton polymers are used on satellites as substrates for solar arrays and outer layers of thermal systems. Kapton is also used in nuclear power plants as wire insulation. Kapton materials can be exposed in nuclear reactors to a reactive chemical environment in addition to severe radiation. It is of utmost important to understand how Kapton materials behave under high irradiation conditions and mitigate radiation damage effects. High-energy electrons can deposit ionizing dose and electric charge deeply inside Kapton materials. The charge …

Elastic Foundations As Heterogeneous Adventitial Boundary Condition For The Assessment Of Aortic Wall And Peri-Aortic Stiffness From Dense-Mri Data Using Inverse Fem Approach, Johane H. Bracamonte, John S. Wilson, Joao S. Soares

Graduate Research Posters

Background: The establishment of in vivo, patient-specific, and regionally resolved techniques to quantify aortic properties is key for improving risk assessment in clinical practice and scientific understanding of cardiovascular growth and remodeling. Many in vivo studies quantify vascular stiffness using Pulse Wave Velocity. This method provides an averaged measure of stiffness for the entire aorta, ignoring variations in wall stiffness and boundary conditions. Previous studies using Displacement Encoding with Stimulated Echoes Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DENSE-MRI) suggested that the infrarenal abdominal aorta (IAA) deforms heterogeneously throughout the cardiac cycle.

Method: Herein, we hypothesize that the aortic wall strain heterogeneity is driven …

Perfusion Cell Seeding And Expansion In Dual Mechanical Stimulation Bioreactor For In Vitro Tissue Development, Sarah Saunders, Sam Coles, Joao S. Soares

Graduate Research Posters

BACKGROUND: Engineered tissues are an exciting potential source of small diameter vascular grafts due to limited supply and patency of available alternatives. Engineered tissue vascular grafts (ETVGs) will provide physiological function that resembles native arteries and maintain the required mechanical properties as they integrate with host tissue. Mechanical stimulation during incubation encourages proper cell alignment and increases extracellular matrix deposition. The enhanced organization of the engineered tissue leads to improved compliance over synthetic alternatives without sacrificing strength and may lead to better integration in vivo.

METHODS: We have developed a bioreactor that mechanically trains grafts during incubation. To test the …

The Role Of Microenvironment Reagent Solubility On Reaction Kinetics Of 4-Nitrophenol Reduction, Michael P. Zeevi, Andrew Harrison, Christina Tang

Undergraduate Research Posters

The Role of Microenvironment Reagent Solubility on Reaction Kinetics of 4-Nitrophenol Reduction

Michael Zeevi¹ with Andrew Harrison¹ and Christina Tang, PhD¹

¹Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering, VCU School of Engineering

Introduction: Nanoparticles are of increasing interest due to their high surface area to volume ratio, as well as that they enable fine-tuning of the reaction microenvironment. Through flash nanoprecipitation, core-shell polymer nanoreactors were formed by directed self-assembly. Using the reduction of 4-nitrophenol as a model reduction reaction, we investigated the effect of reagent solubility in the nanoreactor microenvironment’s on nanoreactor kinetics.

Methods: The standard …

Using Crosslinked Hyaluronic Acid (Ha) And Collagen Scaffolds With Sustained Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (Bdnf) Release For Post-Sci Nerve Regeneration, Panth Doshi

Undergraduate Research Posters

Traumatic events resulting in spinal cord injuries (SCIs) often leave people paralyzed or with partial loss of motor function. The physical disabilities arising from traumatic events prevent people from functioning at the same level as pre-injury. My work aims to identify a plausible method to overcome the inhibitory post-SCI environment and to regenerate nervous tissue in order to restore neural function and, subsequently, motor function. I identified components of a new, hypothetical nerve scaffold based on the immune response after SCIs and the efficacy of currently used scaffolds for nerve regeneration. Hyaluronic acid (HA) polymer scaffolds and collagen-based scaffolds are …

The Silver Lining: A Novel, Inkjet-Printed Mesh Coplanar-Slot Antenna For The Uhf Band, Anastasios C. Karles

Undergraduate Research Posters

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is opening up frequencies within the television range (400MHz to 700MHz) of the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) band for use in emerging technologies, such as cognitive radio networks and machine-to-machine communication. In order for manufacturers to produce affordable antennas that can be used in these emerging technologies, inexpensive antennas are required that meet these new spectrum needs. This paper presents a mesh coplanar-slot bowtie patch antenna fabricated using commercially available inkjet-printing technology. Two antennas were fabricated: a 27x21cm copper FR4 antenna with .25mm lines and a 27x21cm silver antenna with 2mm lines fabricated using inkjet-printing. …

Cloud Workflow Automation, William Crump, Eric Darling, Kyle Hagood, Syed Rizvi

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The goal of our project was to develop an application in the cloud which automates complex business tasks. The application allows users to create configurable events consisting of a trigger followed by an action. Triggers are designed for common tasks such as scanning a directory or email inbox for new files. When a new file is detected, the application triggers the execution of an associated action such as sending an email alerting the user of the changes or processing and moving the files. Users are thus able to automate complex tasks by configuring event sequences, leading to an increase …

Amc Native Webrtc Client, Kellan Childers, Michael Dowling, Sherdil Khawaja

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Traditional call center and telecommunication hardware is being replaced by thin, browser-based, cloud enabled web services. Industry standards for web based communication protocols, such as WebRTC, are being established. AMC needed to address this new technology, while maintaining a hybrid approach of server-based capabilities, taking advantage of the web-based communication channel, while broadcasting events to the Contact Canvas Server. Contact Canvas Agent Palette is the editing platform of the AMC adapter for Salesforce.com, allowing agents to communicate with customers through the AMC adapter/ Softphone. Using Agent Palette, the task was to integrate Video Chat using WebRTC into the AMC toolbar. …

Company Health Dashboard, Zachary Raney, Ahmad Shahir Abdul Satar

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Company Health Dashboard is a web application that serves as a tool to display information in dynamic grid-like modules. This application displays viewer-friendly information on the televisions around the company office using Raspberry Pi devices. In order to benefit different types of users, the application divides the screen into multiple customizable modules, with each module representing different information. Company employees, for example, can view information about company news, upcoming events, or even what’s on tap for that day. Visitors or clients, on the other hand, can see information about the company while waiting for their meeting.

The design of the …

Mapcom Self-Service Portal, Kelsey Bullock, Viet Nguyen, Alvenia Weathers

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Mapcom Systems is a software development firm that primarily serves small, rural telecommunications companies. The company is widely recognized for developing M4 Solutions, a visual operations platform that allows service providers to manage their workforce. Our team was tasked with the design and implementation of a self-service portal to be used by the customers of these telecommunications companies. The application would allow customers to easily manage their accounts, including creating and managing trouble tickets, communicating with their assigned technician, and viewing their scheduled appointments. Additionally, it would be offered across three different platforms: Web, Android, and iOS. In order to …

Richmond Mural Tour, Matthew Mcgee, Paul Mcdonald

Capstone Design Expo Posters

In the past years Richmond has been growing in popularity in the world of street art. This popularity is due in part to the many projects that brought in artists from around the world to create beautiful artwork. There is so much art outside in Richmond as a result of these projects, but no great way to navigate the streets of the city in an efficient manner to see all of it. Richmond Mural Tour is a mobile cross-platform application that allows users to explore all of the amazing outdoor artwork around the city.

This application is built on ionic …

Lab-Scale Reproduction Of Siloxane Foam Synthesis, Albert Deangelis, Benjamin Ledoux, Conrad Roos

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Evonik has a synthesis reaction to create siloxane-based foam for sale that they run in their Hopewell plant. They would like to utilize a bench scale reactor system for experimentation on the process. The problem is that the foam created on the lab scale does not show the same properties as the foam created on the plant scale and to run experiments accurately they would have to use the plant reactor, wasting both reactor time and plant resources. Evonik wanted the Senior Design team to find a way of recreating the conditions of the plant reactor on the lab scale …

Compressible Media For Water Treatment, Christine Forkins, Steven Kammermeier, Antonio Musso

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Tertiary water treatment is used to remove total suspended solids (TSS) from wastewater. Suez uses compressible media for their tertiary water treatment. There have been supplier issues in the past such as unreliability, long lead-times, unknown manufacturing process, and chances of resale. The chance of resale is an important issue because the specifications may change from one supplier to another.

The group was tasked to characterize different types of compressible media for water treatment, design a lab scale filtration unit, and design and manufacture a new media to be tested. In order to gain an operational expenditure advantage, Suez accomplishes …

Hazardous Waste Reduction Continuation, J. Brian Morrell, Alex Alvarez, Adnan Qasem

Capstone Design Expo Posters

A silicone manufacturing process yields two-phase wastewater, of which the aqueous phase flashes at 2°C primarily due to hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO). To be classified as non-hazardous and immediately disposable, it must flash above 60°C. Project objectives entailed identifying a method and then designing a prototype for on-site aqueous phase treatment, removing enough HMDSO for non-hazardous disposal. The previous team’s proposal was gravity separation, NaCl extraction, and feeding through an activated carbon packed bed. Extraction proved ineffective, packed bed outlet samples flashed at 52°C, and HMDSO quantification methodology was incorrect. From titration, wastewater was determined to be 3.3 ± 0.2 wt.% aqueous …