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Full-Text Articles in Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering

Re-Engineering Cardio-Oncology Testing Using Biomimetic Heart Slice Cultures., Jessica Miller Dec 2022

Re-Engineering Cardio-Oncology Testing Using Biomimetic Heart Slice Cultures., Jessica Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

28% of drug withdrawal from the market are due to unforeseen disruptions in cardiomyocyte contractility and electrophysiology. The most commonly used platforms for drug testing are in vivo animal models and in vitro cell culture models. While both have been of paramount importance for the discovery and detection of many cardiotoxicities and mechanisms of action, they lack the ability to model an intact human myocardium. This work aims to establish cardiac tissue slices, which are 300-micron thin tissue sections taken from the left ventricular myocardium, as an alternative platform for cardio-oncology studies, specifically cardiotoxicity testing. Additionally, this work aims to …


Establishing The Efficacy Of Non-Cellular Components Of Adipose-Derived Stromal Vascular Fraction In Promoting Angiogenesis., Daniel Benson Dec 2022

Establishing The Efficacy Of Non-Cellular Components Of Adipose-Derived Stromal Vascular Fraction In Promoting Angiogenesis., Daniel Benson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Microvascular disease is hallmarked by pathophysiological conditions such as endothelial senescence, intimal thickening which impairs vasodilation, and regression of the capillary beds causing tissue ischemia in the myocardium or in peripheral vascular networks. Adipose-derived stromal vascular fraction (SVF) has previously demonstrated the ability to revascularize tissue. Increasing evidence shows that regenerative cells elicit their therapeutic benefit by paracrine mechanisms, leaving open extracellular vesicles (EVs) as a potential crux of the cell therapy paradigm. To test this idea, three types of gelatin methacrylate hydrogels were employed: SVF gels, EV gels derived from SVF, and blank control gels, which were used in-vitro …


Effect Of Dorsal Quadrant Or Ventral Quadrant Spinal Cord Injury On Gait Features During Locomotion., Anya Nicole Trell Aug 2022

Effect Of Dorsal Quadrant Or Ventral Quadrant Spinal Cord Injury On Gait Features During Locomotion., Anya Nicole Trell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the Unites States, approximately 1.5 million people currently have a spinal cord injury and suffer permanent sensory and motor loss due to the disruption of the spinal cord. Due to the significant morbidity, it is vital to understand the functional impact of disrupting neural descending pathways that modulate spinal neurons involved in intermuscular coordination critical for gait behaviors. Tasks that are more difficult require additional input from these neural pathways; therefore, fourteen feline subjects were familiarized with level overground locomotion and stair descent gait tasks. After collection of baseline kinematic data, the subjects received either a dorsal or ventral …


Evaluation Of Drug-Loaded Gold Nanoparticle Cytotoxicity As A Function Of Tumor Tissue Heterogeneity., Hunter Allan Miller Aug 2018

Evaluation Of Drug-Loaded Gold Nanoparticle Cytotoxicity As A Function Of Tumor Tissue Heterogeneity., Hunter Allan Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The inherent heterogeneity of tumor tissue presents a major challenge to nanoparticle-medicated drug delivery. This heterogeneity spans from the molecular to the cellular (cell types) and to the tissue (vasculature, extra-cellular matrix) scales. Here we employ computational modeling to evaluate therapeutic response as a function of vascular-induced tumor tissue heterogeneity. Using data with three-layered gold nanoparticles loaded with cisplatin, nanotherapy is simulated with different levels of tissue heterogeneity, and the treatment response is measured in terms of tumor regression. The results show that tumor vascular density non-trivially influences the nanoparticle uptake and washout, and the associated tissue response. The drug …


Longitudinal Tracking Of Physiological State With Electromyographic Signals., Robert Warren Stallard May 2018

Longitudinal Tracking Of Physiological State With Electromyographic Signals., Robert Warren Stallard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Electrophysiological measurements have been used in recent history to classify instantaneous physiological configurations, e.g., hand gestures. This work investigates the feasibility of working with changes in physiological configurations over time (i.e., longitudinally) using a variety of algorithms from the machine learning domain. We demonstrate a high degree of classification accuracy for a binary classification problem derived from electromyography measurements before and after a 35-day bedrest. The problem difficulty is increased with a more dynamic experiment testing for changes in astronaut sensorimotor performance by taking electromyography and force plate measurements before, during, and after a jump from a small platform. A …