Engineering Commons^™

Luciferase Reporter Crc Cell Line For Bioluminescence Imaging In Orthotopic Tumor Model, Pratik Chopade

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

CRC is the second most common type of cancer in women and the third most common type of cancer in men. It accounts for 9.7% of all cancers in terms of people diagnosed. Measuring the real-time effect of chemotherapeutic drugs has been a major obstacle in developing a tumor model mouse. Tracking the regression of cancer cells after chemotherapy could be an effective way to resolve this issue. Therefore, cancer cells expressing the constitutive luciferase reporter gene can be a potential solution. The biggest advantage of the luciferase (Luc) reporter is that it is detectable at very low concentrations in …

Identification Of Snps Associated With Multiple Antibiotic Resistance Genes In Eight Clinical Variants Of Enterococcus Faecium., Krishna S. Karia

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The evolution of multi drug resistant (MDR) bacteria has been well documented these last decade, suggesting that resistance to antibiotics is most commonly associated to single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) mutation. To this aim, several molecular methods have been performed to elucidate SNPs in the increasing number of resistant microorganisms. Early detection of MDR bacteria has become of prime necessity in order to combat the disease and ensure public health. Therefore, this research was conducted to screen for SNP mutations correlated to drug resistance in some nosocomial MDR bacteria strains donated from Moffitt Cancer Center (MCC) hospital. Blood, stool, urine, and …

A Micro-Nano Particle System For Sustained Drug Release In Lung Cancer Therapy, Heta N. Jadhav

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in men and women worldwide (National Comprehensive Cancer Network). Hence, developing an effective new therapy to treat lung cancer is under intense investigation. Specifically, the sustained release of a drug in lung tumors is critically important. Previous studies at the USF have shown that telmisartan exhibits synergistic properties when combined with Actinomycin-D for lung cancer treatment. The objective of this study is to develop a novel micro/nano system consisting of lipids and chitosan polymers that would be able to deliver Tel directly to the lungs and release its payloads in a …

Enhanced Fluoride Removal In Biosand Filters Using Aluminum Oxide Coated Media And Modified Filter Design, Madison Leigh Rice

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 2010, the UN formally stated that access to safe drinking water and sanitation is a human right. Yet, one in three people globally do not have access to safe drinking water. Contaminated drinking water can negatively impact the health of consumers. This is a challenge that disproportionally affects developing regions, where limited access to resources exacerbates the problem. One drinking water contaminant of concern is fluoride. Fluoride is often added in low concentrations to drinking water to enhance consumers’ dental health. However, when water with high concentrations of fluoride is consumed frequently, it can have negative health effects, such …

Role Of Serum Amyloid P Component In The Pathogenesis Of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, Brittany Urban

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Serum amyloid P (SAP) component is a glycoprotein that is a major constituent of human serum. SAP has been recognized to stimulate amyloid fibrillogenesis. One way that SAP can be transported to the brain is by passing through the blood brain barrier (BBB). Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and repeated or severe non-penetrating head injury, can escalate the exposure of the brain to SAP, which in turn can contribute to neurodegeneration. TBI can lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) which is a neuropathological condition that has been found in people who have been exposed to repeated head injuries or impacts. In …

The Design And Development Of A Wrist-Hand Orthosis, Amber Gatto

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with an incomplete C5-C7 spinal cord injury (SCI) lose grasping abilities but wrist function is almost universally retained. Most rehabilitation techniques apply the tenodesis effect, however, current tenodesis wrist-hand orthoses (WHOs) engage only the thumb and index finger, meaning that only 20% of activities of daily living (ADLs) can be completed.

This study tested the feasibility of a student-designed powered WHO by testing the device on healthy subjects to see if they could complete a variety of ADLs. A simulation software was then used to analyze wrist, thumb, and index finger joint angles. Additionally, an Assistive Technology Survey was …

Composition Of Atomic-Obligation Security Policies, Yan Cao Albright

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Existing security-policy specification languages allow users to specify obligations, but open challenges remain in the composition of complex obligations, including effective approaches for resolving conflicts between policies and obligations and allowing policies to react to the obligations of other policies.

An atomic obligation requires that either all or none of the included actions are executed. Atomicity can be extended to include the decision to permit or deny an event after the obligation executes. For many practical policies, obligation atomicity is necessary for correctness. Executing only the parts of such an obligation violates its atomicity which can lead to an undesirable …

Implementation Of Large-Scale Anaerobic Digestion Of Food Waste At The University Of South Florida, Karamjit Panesar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Food waste represents a major sustainability issue in the United States. Food waste represents 18% of landfill space and is the largest contributor of landfill methane emissions. US EPA’s Food Recovery Hierarchy recommends alternatives to landfilling food waste, including source reduction, food donation and anaerobic digestion.

The Student Green Energy Fund (SGEF) Food Recovery Project aims to follow suggestions outlined by the US EPA Food Recovery Hierarchy to encourage the University of South Florida (USF) to become a zero-waste campus. A multi-disciplinary approach aims to source reduce wasted food, look for opportunities for source reduction and anaerobically digest any remaining …

Enhanced Nitrogen, Organic Matter And Color Removal From Landfill Leachate By Biological Treatment Processes With Biochar And Zeolite, Bisheng Gao

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Leachate percolating through landfills must be collected and properly treated. However, high concentrations of ammonia (NH4+), refractory organic matter [measured as chemical oxygen demand (COD)], water color and heavy metals in leachate interfere biological processes in conventional wastewater treatment plants. Constructed wetlands (CWs) have been used in the past to treat leachate, but their design and performance has not been properly optimized. In particular, low cost adsorbent materials, such as zeolite and biochar, have the potential to adsorb ammonia and organic compounds, respectively. This increases their retention in the wetland and reduces their toxicity to microorganisms and plants in the …

Sunitinib-Loaded Mpeg-Pcl Micelles For The Treatment Of Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Jarriaun D. Streets

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Age-related Macular Degeneration, or AMD will be responsible for the vision impairment of more than 5 million late-aged adults in the next 30 years. Current treatment options include frequent intravitreal injections which report high levels of pain resulting in a low patient compliance. However, there are methods of drug delivery that can decrease the amount of intravitreal injections by sustaining drug release. Polymeric micelles, specifically MPEG-PCL have reported superb biocompatibility and more efficient ways of delivering anti-VEGF drugs such as Sunitinib to the posterior segment of the eye. In this study, the novel micellar formulation exhibited an average DLS particle …

Synthesis Of A Targeted Ph Responsive Nanoparticle For Controlled Release Of Actinomycin D, Alejandro Jesus Gonzalez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Out of all cancer diagnosis’s, lung cancer has the highest mortality in both sexes making it the leading cause of cancer deaths. Current therapeutic and clinical methods fail to successfully treat the disease, contributed to the development of multi-drug resistance (MDR). Hence, new therapies are needed that can exploit the tumor microenvironment (TME) to target Cancer Stem Cells (CSC). CSCs constitute a key population of the TME, promoting hypoxia, low intracellular pH, and angiogenesis. Actinomycin D (ACD) is a potent CSC inhibitor, but due to its high toxicity and lack of specificity towards cancer cells presents a need for a …

Testing Glutathione-S-Transferase Mu 1 (Gstm1) In Protecting Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cells From Oxidative Stress, Inyoung C. Garner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Currently, the most widely available treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) involves the intraocular delivery of biopharmaceuticals, such as anti-VEGF therapy. Drawbacks of this treatment includes a short-term efficacy, requiring repeated injections with additional risks, and a limited availability of options for non-responders. Furthermore, there are no treatments available for patients diagnosed with dry-AMD. The drawbacks and limitations of current therapies represent a need for more effective and permanent therapy as the prevalence of the population affected by AMD is growing. Antioxidant gene therapies are one solution to these implications, protecting the cells from oxidative stress which is one …

Performance Enhancement Techniques For Next-Generation Multi-Service Communication And Medical Cyber-Physical Systems, Ali Fatih Demir

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Advances in science and technology have significantly improved our quality of life over the past decades. For example, wireless communication systems have evolved from basic voice services to delivering high-definition video for entertainment or business conferences at an accelerating pace. Furthermore, progress in cyber-physical systems has led to the development of brain-computer interfaces and wireless body area networks with the vision of advanced pervasive healthcare, anytime and anywhere. The primary motivation of this dissertation is to improve the performance of the next-generation multi-service communication and medical cyber-physical systems.

The research has been concentrated in physical (PHY)/medium access control (MAC) layer …

Reliability Analysis Of Power Grids And Its Interdependent Infrastructures: An Interaction Graph-Based Approach, Upama Nakarmi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Large blackouts with significant societal and economic impacts result from cascade of failures in the transmission network of power grids. Understanding and mitigating cascading failures in power grids is challenging due to the large number of components and their complex interactions, wherein, in addition to the physical topology of the system, the physics of power flow and functional dependencies among components largely affect the spatial distribution and propagation of failures. In this dissertation, data-driven interaction graphs, which help in capturing the underlying interactions and influences among the components during cascading failures, are used for capturing the non-local nature of propagation …

Lung Nodule Malignancy Prediction From Computed Tomography Images Using Deep Learning, Rahul Paul

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lung cancer has a high incidence and mortality rate. The five-year relative survival rate for all lung cancers is 18%. Due to the high mortality and incidence rate of lung cancer worldwide, early detection is essential. Low dose Computed Tomography (CT) is a commonly used technique for screening, diagnosis, and prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) compared low-dose helical computed tomography (LDCT) and standard chest radiography (CXR) for three annual screens and reported a 20% relative reduction in lung cancer mortality for LDCT compared to CXR. As such, LDCT screening for lung cancer …

Low-Grade Kaolin Clay Natural Resource For Use As A Supplementary Cementitious Material In Structural Concrete Elements, Brandon X. Lorentz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

At the turn of the century, low-grade kaolin clay (LGK) was presented as a widely available and potential natural resource of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) for producing high performance concretes. In using LGK as an SCM, clinker production is reduced, aiding environmental concerns with associated CO2 emissions. These types of clays have very heterogeneous mineralogy and microstructural characteristics, causing unique influences on concrete structural and flow performance, although these influences are not well understood. This research studies LGK natural to the state of Florida and assesses their potential use as high performance SCM.

Ten kaolin clays were obtained through a …

Algorithms And Framework For Computing 2-Body Statistics On Graphics Processing Units, Napath Pitaksirianan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Various types of two-body statistics (2-BS) are regarded as essential components of low-level data analysis in scientific database systems. In relational algebraic terms, a 2-BS is essentially a Cartesian product between two datasets (or two instances of the same dataset) followed by a user-defined aggregate. The quadratic complexity of these computations hinders the timely processing of data. Thus using modern parallel hardware has become an obvious solution to meet such challenges. This dissertation presents our recent work in designing and optimizing parallel algorithms for 2-BS computation on Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). The unique architecture, however, provides abundant opportunities for optimizing …

Stable Adaptive Control Systems In The Presence Of Unmodeled And Actuator Dynamics, Kadriye Merve Dogan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In adaptive control of physical systems, it is well-known that the presence of actuator and/or unmodeled dynamics in feedback loops can yield to unstable closed-loop system trajectories. Motivated by this standpoint, this dissertation presents novel model reference and distributed adaptive control architectures with stability and performance guarantees for uncertain sole and multiagent dynamical systems with unmodeled and/or actuator dynamics.

Specifically, model reference and distributed adaptive control architectures are powerful theoretical tools for both sole and multiagent systems, where they have the capability to suppress the effect of exogenous disturbances and system uncertainties for achieving a desired level of closed-loop system …

Microfluidically Reconfigurable Millimeter-Wave Switches, Antenna Arrays And Filters With Fast-Actuation Using Movable Metallized Plates And Integrated Actuation, Enrique J. Gonzalez Carvajal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Microfluidic reconfiguration of microwave devices has emerged as a potentially attractive alternative to integrated semiconductor (ICs/MMICs) and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) based technologies. On the one hand, MMICs suffer from low power handling capabilities, high IL, non-linear effects, and elevated costs; on the other hand, MEMS are limited by their complex packaging requirements, and relatively low reliability from stiction-based effects. However, microfluidic reconfiguration provides low insertion loss (IL) due to its mechanical nature and it is not limited by power saturation effects. These attributes are especially valuable for applications at mm-waves, potentially reducing costs and increasing power efficiency capabilities. Microfluidic reconfiguration …

Shallow Water Seafloor Geodesy: Gps On An Anchored Spar Buoy, Surui Xie

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Measuring seafloor motion in shallow coastal water is challenging due to strong and highly variable oceanographic effects. Such measurements are potentially useful for monitoring near-shore coastal subsidence, subsidence due to petroleum withdrawal, strain accumulation/release processes in marine shelves and submerged volcanoes, and certain fresh water applications, such as volcano deformation in caldera-hosted lakes. I participated in a project to develop a seafloor geodetic system for this environment based on an anchored spar buoy topped by high precision GPS. Orientation of the buoy is measured using a digital compass that provides heading, pitch, and roll information. The combined orientation and GPS …

Algorithms Enabling Communications In The Presence Of Adjacent Channel Interference, Berker Peköz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Newer cellular communication generations are planned to allow asynchronous transmission of multiple numerologies (waveforms with different parameters) in adjacent bands, creating unavoidable adjacent channel interference (ACI). Contemporary windowed-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (W-OFDM) algorithms have limited ACI rejection capability under high delay spread and small fast Fourier transformation (FFT) sizes. CP is designed to be longer than the maximum excess delay (MED) of the channel to accommodate such algorithms in current standards. Most prior work on windowing assume additional extensions reserved for windowing, which does

not comply with standards. The robustness of these algorithms can only be improved against these conditions …

Some Recent Advances In Design Of Bayesian Binomial Reliability Demonstration Tests, Suiyao Chen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reliability demonstration test (RDT) is one of important reliability assurance activities to demonstrate products' quality over time. Binomial RDT (BRDT) is one class of RDTs with appealing features, such as less failure monitoring efforts and fewer reliability modeling assumptions. Integrating with Bayesian method further allows prior knowledge incorporation for potential test sample size reduction. However, conventional designs often assume the binary failure states (i.e., success and failure) and consider a single objective of minimizing the testing cost with limited planning horizon. In this dissertation, a series of RDT designs are proposed and studied by advancing the conventional Bayesian BRDT designs …

Modeling And Control Of Renewable Energy In Grids And Microgrids, Yin Li

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

To save the non-renewable resources and reduce pollution emissions, the integration of renewable energy sources (RES) into the main grid is increasing very fast. However, power systems experience more stability issues that are caused by the higher penetration of RES. The main objectives of this dissertation are to 1-investigate these stability issues using linear analysis, EMT simulation results, and experiment results; 2-provide the suitable solutions with the evaluations. The research results will be presented into two parts based on two modeling approaches. In the first part, RES units are normally modeled as an aggregated power source for the investigation

because …

On The Convergence Of Transportation And Power Systems In Smart And Connected Communities, Kevin A. Melendez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Even though the total number of light-duty vehicles in the U.S. is expected to increase by 2030, total fuel consumption is expected to significantly decrease in the same timeframe. This contradictory behavior is in part explained by the increasing utilization of electricity as the primary source of energy in the transportation sector. Due to its potential to decrease dependency on fossil fuels, electric transportation has become a promising approach to alleviate the increasing environmental crisis. Passenger car markets are expected to experience a flood of new Electric vehicles (EVs) in the next few years. EVs are considered effective resources to …