Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Sex Differences In Collateral Remodeling Following Hindlimb Arterial Occlusion, Laura Burckhardt

Master's Theses

Clinical evidence indicates a higher incidence of peripheral arterial occlusive disease and associated likelihood of critical limb ischemia in women, as well as worse prognosis and decreased survival post myocardial infarction. Therefore, understanding the possible differences in underlying vascular compensation mechanisms is crucial. With arterial occlusions, necrosis and tissue injury can be naturally mitigated by the collateral circulation, improving patient prognosis. Previous sex-comparison studies describing differences in vascular remodeling are inconsistent. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the effect of arterial occlusion on collateral remodeling in healthy male and healthy reproductive-stage female mice. At 7 days following …

Computer-Aided Diagnoses (Cad) System: An Artificial Neural Network Approach To Mri Analysis And Diagnosis Of Alzheimer's Disease (Ad), Berizohar Padilla Cerezo

Master's Theses

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic and progressive, irreversible syndrome that deteriorates the cognitive functions. Official death certificates of 2013 reported 84,767 deaths from Alzheimer’s disease, making it the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. The rate of AD is estimated to double by 2050. The neurodegeneration of AD occurs decades before symptoms of dementia are evident. Therefore, having an efficient methodology for the early and proper diagnosis can lead to more effective treatments.

Neuroimaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can detect changes in the brain of living subjects. Moreover, medical imaging techniques are the …

Development Of Biomimetic Membrane Assemblies On Microspheres For High-Throughput And Multiplexable Studies, Nadiezda P. Fernandez Oropeza

Biomedical Engineering ETDs

Membranes and membrane-associated components are the target of approximately 60% of the current drugs, of synthetic materials, such as polymers, which are used for drug delivery purposes and of other biomolecules, such as endotoxins, which gain entry into the cell by disrupting the membrane. Therefore, the development of biomimetic membrane assemblies allows the study of different biological processes in which cell membranes play an important role, and the characterization and screening of drug delivery tools and other membrane-bound components.

Since its development, membrane assemblies on planar silica surfaces have been the method of choice to study membrane-associated and membrane-bound components. …

Comparison Of New Metrics For Assessment Of Risks Of Occupational Noise, Wisam Al-Dayyeni, Jun Qin

ASA Multidisciplinary Research Symposium

The acoustic environment nowadays is filled with excessive noise sources. Here, we will compare the conventional noise metrics(A-weighting and C-weighting) with our two developed advanced models (the adaptive weighting (F-weight) and the complex velocity level (CVL) auditory fatigue model).

Co-Existence Of Microbial Ecology In A Chemostat Using A Robust Feedback, Hector Puebla, Mariana Rodriguez-Jara, Margarita M. Gonzalez-Brambila, Eliseo Hernandez-Martinez, Alejandra Velasco-Perez, Ennio Piceno-Diaz

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Food Web Control And Synchronization Using A Robust Feedback, Hector Puebla, Mariana Rodriguez-Jara, Cesar S. Lopez-Monsalvo, Eliseo Hernandez-Martinez, Alejandra Velasco-Perez

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

A Patient-Specific Cardiac Phantom For Training And Pre-Procedure Surgical Planning, Justin Laing

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Minimally invasive cardiac procedures requiring a transseptal puncture are becoming increasingly common. For cases of complex or diseased anatomy, clinicians may benefit from using a patient-specific cardiac phantom for training, surgical planning, and the validation of devices or techniques.

An imaging compatible cardiac phantom was developed to simulate a MitraClip ® procedure. The phantom contained a patient-specific cardiac model manufactured using tissue mimicking materials.

To evaluate accuracy, the patient-specific model was imaged using CT, segmented, and the resulting point cloud data set was compared using absolute distance to the original patient data. The phantom was validated using a MitraClip ® …

Rice Hull Bioreactor For Recirculating Aquaculture, Marlon A. Greensword

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The engineering of floating media biofilters has been optimized over the years. The backwashing process has made them more energy and water efficient. Likewise, moving bed bioreactors (MBBR) are gaining interest and popularity because they are relatively affordable to build. Yet, developing countries’ aquaculture production remains largely excluded from the advances made in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). This discrepancy is partially driven by the high costs of media such plastic beads and Kaldnes (KMT) media, commonly used in MBBR.

This dissertation evaluates the usability and profitability of rice hulls (RH), an abundant by-product in many developing nations, as a sinking …

Development And Validation For A Mobile Speech-In-Noise Audiometric Task, Tommy Peng

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Traditional speech-in-noise hearing tests are performed by clinicians with specialized equipment. Furthermore, these tasks often present contextually weak sentences in background babble, which are poor representations of real-world situations. This study proposes a mobile audiometric task, Semantic Auditory Search, which uses the Android platform to bypass the need for specialized equipment and presents multiple tasks of two competing real-world conversations to estimate the user’s speech-in-noise hearing ability. Through linear regression models built from data of seventy-nine subjects, three Semantic Auditory Search metrics have been shown to have statistically significant (p < 0.05) with medium effects sizes for predicting QuickSIN SNR50. The internal consistency of the task was also high, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.88 or more across multiple metrics. In conclusion, this preliminary study suggests that Semantic Auditory Search can accurately and reliably perform as an automated speech-in-noise hearing test. It also has tremendous potential for extension into automated tests of cognitive function, as well.

The Effect Of Radial And Ulnar Length Change On Distal Forearm Loading, Ahaoiza D. Isa

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The effect of distal radial and ulnar length change on forearm bone loading is not well understood during simulated dynamic wrist loading. This thesis presents two studies which investigate the effect of these length changes on distal forearm loading under simulated dynamic wrist motion. The first study investigates the effect of radial length change on axial loading at the distal radius and ulna and relationship between ulnar variance and distal forearm loading. The complex variation in axial loads in the distal radius and during length change and dynamic wrist motion were studied and discussed. There was no correlation between native …

Acoustic Analysis Of Vocalizations For Detecting Separation Anxiety In Dogs, Karina Sequera, Nan Kong, Niwako Ogata

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Separation anxiety in dogs is a clinical condition in which a dog develops an intense dependence on their caretaker. It manifests itself in maladaptive physical and psychological behaviors that are similar to that of panic attacks in humans when the dog is isolated from its owner. These include excessive vocalizations, destructive behaviors, and in more extreme cases, self-mutilation. Currently, there are no direct ways to diagnose separation anxiety without the aid an owner’s report. To ease this diagnostic process, it would be useful to utilize a tool that can distinguish between certain vocalization patterns in dogs. Literature suggests that some …

A Parametric Study Of The Mechanics Of Different Skin Flap Techniques, Steven J. Meza, Adrián Tepole Buganza

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

In modern day plastic and reconstructive surgeries numerous skin flap designs have been developed and are used to close open wounds. Skin flaps are developed with the intention of imposing minimal tension in skin closure. Excessive tension can lead to poor blood flow that result in post-surgery complications such as necrosis. Currently there is no standard in choosing a skin flap design and a surgeon's choice is based personal experience. A comparison of the mechanical loading in these various designs has not yet been done. We have developed a parametric study, using finite element analysis, of two advancement skin flaps …

An Automated Device To Increase Screening Throughput Of Zebrafish Larvae, Fuoad Saliou-Sulley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The use of the zebrafish as an animal model alternative to mammalian species has spawned research advancements in several medical fields. Since the zebrafish shares a high degree of sequence and functional homology with mammals, studies using this organism can provide in-depth insight into host response to disease and provide a platform for testing a range of treatment options. The optical transparency of zebrafish at early stages of development permits easy assessment of the effects of treatments, occurrence of tumors and other abnormal growth, disease progression, and immune response, to name only a few. These characteristics make it ideal for …

Custom Software For The 3d Printing Of Patient Specific Plate Bending Templates In Pelvic Fracture Repair., Gordon B Lents

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this work is to reduce the operative time and blood loss incurred during open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of traumatic pelvic injuries through the creation of patient specific bending templates for reconstruction plates. These templates are 3D printed in a resin capable of being sterilized and taken into the operating room so that bending may be performed by the surgeon before the patient is opened or by another team member in parallel with the surgeon.

A novel software extension was created in 3D modeling software to allow a surgeon to individually position screws on a pelvic …

Genetic Engineering Studies Of Escherichia Coli And Microalgae For Expression Of Hydrolytic Enzymes And Development Of High Throughput Screening Technique, Shreyas S. Yedahalli

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The field of biochemical engineering has made substantial progress through major advances in genetic and metabolic engineering with applications in various sectors such as energy, food science, pharmaceuticals, etc. The hosts used for this work are constantly broadening. A host particularly important for energy applications are microalgae. The potential to enhance microalgae genetically for energy applications is not well explored and was therefore investigated in this thesis. Non-photosynthetic micro-organisms and photosynthetic microalgae offer a potential approach to enhance sustainable biochemical production. In this study expression vectors for Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris) …

A Multiscale Modeling Study Of The Mammary Gland, Joseph D. Butner

Biomedical Engineering ETDs

Multiscale, hybrid computer modeling has emerged as a valuable tool in the fields of computational systems biology and mathematical oncology. In this work, we present an overview of the motivations for, and development and implementation of, three hybrid multiscale models of the mammary gland system and early stage ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in the gland. Pubertal mammary gland development was described first using a two-dimensional, lattice-based hybrid agent-based model description of the mammary terminal end bud (TEB), and then with a three-dimensional lattice-free TEB model. Both models implement a discrete, agent-based description of the cell scale, and a continuum, …

Understanding The Surface Fouling Mechanism Of Ultrananocrystalline Diamond Microelectrodes Using Microfluidics For Neurochemical Detection, An-Yi Chang

Doctoral Dissertations

Electrochemical methods are widely used for chronic neurochemical sensing, but thus far, the organic solution redox reactions fouled the electrodes' surface. It caused the reduction of sensitivity and the electrodes' lifetime.

Here, we present the boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond microelectrodes (BDUNCD) as the next generation electrode material for neurochemical sensor development. To aid in long-term chronic monitoring of neurochemicals, they have a wide window of electrochemical potential, extremely low background current, and excellent chemical inertness. The main research goal is to reduce the rate of electrode fouling due to the reaction by-products, and significantly extend their useful lifetime.

We systematically characterize …

A Novel Approach To Increase Upper Extremity Active Range Of Motion For Individuals With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Using Admittance Control, Madeline Catherine Corrigan

Dissertations

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a neuromuscular disease with a prevalence of 1 in 3,500-5,000 male births, results in progressive muscle weakness causing loss of independence and imposing the demands of costly and intrusive assistive support and personal care for daily living tasks. Upper extremity function begins to decline while ambulation is still possible and gradually progresses with time, playing a prominent role in loss of independence. Importantly, upper extremity functional limitations exist despite residual muscle strength that is insufficient to lift the arms against gravity. Presently, there exist a number of commercially available assistive devices aimed at augmenting upper extremity …

A Tunable, Three-Dimensional In Vitro Culture Model Of Growth Plate Cartilage Using Alginate Hydrogel Scaffolds, Alek G. Erickson, Taylor D. Laughlin, Sarah Romereim, Catherine Sargus-Patino, Angela K. Pannier, Andrew T. Dudley

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Defining the final size and geometry of engineered tissues through precise control of the scalar and vector components of tissue growth is a necessary benchmark for regenerative medicine, but it has proved to be a significant challenge for tissue engineers. The growth plate cartilage that promotes elongation of the long bones is a good model system for studying morphogenetic mechanisms because cartilage is composed of a single cell type, the chondrocyte; chondrocytes are readily maintained in culture; and growth trajectory is predominately in a single vector. In this cartilage, growth is generated via a differentiation program that is spatially and …

Characterization And Manipulation Of Lipid Self-Assembly To Construct Stable, Portable Synthetic Lipid Bilayers, Guru Anand Venkatesan

Doctoral Dissertations

The overarching goal of this research work is to further our understanding of lipid self-assembly and its organization at an oil-water interface to support the development of synthetic lipid bilayer systems that can be used in biologically relevant fields such as membrane biophysics, protein electrophysiology, development of synthetic biomolecules, drugs, nanoparticles and other applications. Self-assembly kinetics and interfacial properties of lipid monolayers formed at a liquid-air and liquid-liquid interface are characterized using Langmuir-Blodgett trough and pendant drop tensiometer. Insights gained from these studies not only allow us to answer questions related to droplet interface bilayer (DIB; a promising technique to …

Optimizing A Standard Fasting Time For 2-Nbdg Uptake Studies In Murine Breast Cancers, Andrew C. Briley

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Recently, there has been a larger use of 2-NBDG, a fluorescent glucose analog, to study glucose uptake in different cell types. These cell types have ranged anywhere from bacteria to human cancer cells. However, there has yet to be a standard procedure and practice for using 2-NBDG. In this study, our goal is to create a standard fasting time for the cells before introducing 2-NBDG to them. This study uses 4T07 cells, a murine breast cancer cell line, to help optimize this fasting time. These cells were fasted at different time points in order to find the ideal fasting time. …

Design And Validation Of An In Vivo Long-Term Attachment Capsule Robot, Wanchuan Xie

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The invention of capsule endoscopy (CE) made the non-invasive monitoring of the entire small bowel possible and became the primary means for diagnosing small bowel pathology. In the last decade, capsule robots have been transformed from diagnostic devices into a widely studied biomedical platform with the potential for active locomotion, drug delivery and therapeutic capabilities. To perform accurate on-site drug release and therapy, it is necessary for a capsule robot to be able to attach to the intestinal tissue and maintain its position long-term. Design challenges derive from the task of long-term mucosal adhesion which requires firm, quick-response attachment without …

Characterization Of Murine Breast Cancer Cell Lines For Anti-Cancer Vaccine, Haven N. Frazier

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women and the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States (1). While treatments involving radiation and chemotherapy currently exist, disease must be detected early in order for the treatments to be somewhat effective, and there is no effective treatment after metastasis occurs (2). Additionally, current therapies do not mitigate tumor immunosuppression. Decreasing the tumor-associated immunosuppressive conditions while activating antitumor immunity could prevent recurrence and metastasis, possibly leading to an effective treatment for cancer (3). Tumor cell vaccines could possibly address this issue and have become a …

Blood-Brain Barrier-On-A-Chip Systems Based On 3d Printing, Cade I. Harding

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research focused on the design and testing of a blood-brain barrier (BBB)-on-a-chip microfluidic device produced using 3D printing. First, COMSOL simulations were used to define dimensions of the microchannel that would most accurately replicate the flow environment imposed on the blood-brain barrier, the wall shear stress being the most important characteristic. In using COMSOL, water was used as the simulated fluid and also the testing fluid in the fabricated devices. Therefore, the microsystem is designed to produce the BBB environment using water instead of blood. The numerical simulation parameters were based on theoretical calculations performed to scale up the …

Phototherapy Mounting System For Inpatient Rehabilitation, Kelsey Henderson, Elizabeth Fortunato, Jacob Dixon

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

The Agile Approach In Pharmaceutical Software Development, Priyal Bhargava

Honors Scholar Theses

The Agile development model is increasingly being adopted by the pharmaceutical industry for software development. Currently, there are several software projects under development by pharmaceutical companies that are using the Agile process. Other methodologies such as the Waterfall process, a traditional approach to project management, have evolved over time and been compared against the Agile method. Also there are conflicts of interest which should be taken into consideration when in a pharmaceutical setting such as abiding by FDA regulations. In addition, Agile’s sub-divisional approaches add to the versatility of how this iterative approach is applied in the pharmaceutical industry. The …

A Novel Biochamberfor Modeling Of Atherosclerotic Arteries: In-Vitro Capabilities And Applications, Iman Salafian, Angelos Karagiannis, Benjamin S. Terry, Yiannis S. Chatzizisis

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Atherosclerosis is a chronic disease that involves the lipid accumulation and inflammation of the arterial wall [1,2]. Despite great efforts,its pathophysiology has not been fully elucidated. Existent drugs can reduce its progression but there are no available drugs to prevent its complications [3,4]. Atherosclerosis remains the leading global cause of death[5].

The purpose of this work is to design and build a customized biochamber which can be used for the following studies:

•Study the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis in vitro & ex vivo

•Investigate the mechanisms of atherosclerotic plaque disruption

•Examine the direct effect of different anti-atherosclerotic drugs on lesions

•Use …

Chemical And Physical Priming Of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells To Alter Nonviral Gene Delivery Outcomes, Tyler Kozisek, Andrew Hamann, Amy Mantz, Mathias Schubert, Eva Schubert, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are a multipotent cell, meaning they are able to differentiate into a more mature cell type, such as osteocytes, chondrocytes, and adipocytes, that are found in numerous tissues in the human body, such as bone marrow, fat, and muscle. Since hMSCs can be derived from adult human tissues, they do not have the same ethical concern associated with them as other stem cells, such as embryonic stem cells. Due to hMSCs multipotency and ease of obtaining, they have become one of the most widely researched stem cell types in areas such …

Improvement Of Fluorescence-Based Microfluidic Dna Analyzers, Collin Tranter

Doctoral Dissertations

A tremendous effort continues in the development of micro-total-analysis-systems; in support of this, many chemical passivation methods have been developed to enhance the biocompatibility of such microfluidic systems. However, the suitability of these passivation techniques to many fluorescence-based assays still remains inconsistent. This part of this work is focused on the performance of a third generation intercalating DNA dye when used within microfluidic devices treated with a select variety of passivating coatings. The results of these tests indicate that passivation coatings which are intended to shed DNA based on electrostatic repulsion will in fact imbibe the fluorescent DNA intercalating dye …

Acl Reconstruction Results In Alterations For Force Control Variability During Multidirectional Force Production, Amelia S. Lanier

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

After anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture most will undergo reconstructive surgery. Within the first year after surgery 25% of patients will re-tear their ACL. Most of those injured attempt to return to sports which include running and cutting. The ability to produce appropriate ground reaction forces may be crucial for the successful return to sports without re-injury. Understanding stability of multidirectional ground reaction force (mGRF) production in healthy and ACL reconstructed (ACL-r) patients can lend insight to the high instance of re-injury. Typically, stability has been measured using linear analyses, but these analyses cannot capture the subtle time varying changes …