Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Foot Temperature Before And After Walking In Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease, Jose Anguiano-Hernandez

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) is a pathology that can decrease blood flow to the lower limbs, resulting in the inability to regulate body temperature [1]. The effects of impaired blood flow caused by PAD on body temperature are unclear. The purpose of this study is to compare foot temperature changes before and after walking in healthy people and in patients with PAD. We hypothesize that 1) feet affected by PAD will experience a greater increase in temperature than healthy feet during walking and 2) feet affected by PAD will experience a slower rate of temperature recovery after walking compared …

Modeling Spatial Asymmetry In Visuomotor Coordination, Kolby Brink, Aaron Likens, Nikolaos Stergiou

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Coordination is foundational to human movement. One prominent model of coordination is the Haken-Kelso-Bunz which predicts change in relative phase between two oscillators during movement. Use of this model has shown that the body has a natural tendency to prefer certain coordination patterns over others. The generalizability of the model has sparked its use throughout the scientific community to observe movement through the lens of dynamical systems theory. We contend that this model can be advanced further through incorporation of visually perceived spatial asymmetries, a component not currently accounted for by the model. That is, we sought to find if …

Implementation And Evaluation Of A Baseball Pitching Program And Its Impact On Injury Prevention And Performance, Tyler Hamer

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The purpose of this study sought to examine the efficacy of biomechanical evaluations on collegiate baseball pitchers. Through this, we seek to develop a model for identifying at-risk athletes through a longitudinal assessment of pitching mechanics spanning pre-season to post-season along with in-season tracking of pathomechanics.

Design And Development Of A Semi-Rigid Hip Exoskeleton To Reduce Metabolic Cost, Arash Mohammadzadeh Gonabadi, Prokopios Antonellis, Sara Myers, Iraklis Pipinos, Philippe Malcolm

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Robotic exoskeletons can reduce metabolic cost in healthy individuals and restore mobility in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). PAD is a cardiovascular disease produced by atherosclerosis of the leg arteries. The primary symptom of PAD is claudication or pain in the legs during walking, which severely shortens the distance a patient can walk. Knowing that up to 40% of the metabolic cost of walking comes from the hip muscles, different groups have been developing rigid exoskeletons and soft exosuits that assist the hip. Assisting at the hip has the advantage that the exoskeleton mass is positioned close to the …

The Effect Of Walking Speed And Magnitude Of Perturbation On Compensatory Responses, Farahnaz Fallah Tafti, Jenna Yentes

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Imposing a perturbation can induce an unstable condition during gait. Measuring the compensatory responses may be an accurate indicator of the ability to control stability. Responses to a perturbation can be quantified through the perturbed walking pattern deviations from an unperturbed condition. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of perturbation magnitude or speed of walking on compensatory responses to lateral perturbations during walking. Twenty healthy young participants recruited to this study and they were perturbed with the medium magnitude of perturbation, while walking on the treadmill at three different speeds (slow, preferred, and fast). They also …

Quantitative Pcr Of Small Nucleic Acids: Size Matters, Jay Min Lim, Rahul Tevatia, Ravi Saraf

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Faculty Publications

Quantitative dysregulation in small nucleic acids (NA), such as microRNA (miRNA), extracted from minimally invasive biopsies, such as, blood, stool, urine, nose, throat, are promising biomarker for diseases diagnosis and management. We quantify the effect of the extra step of poly(A) ligation for cDNA synthesis and small size of the NA on the limit of quantification (LOQ) of quantitative PCR (qPCR), the gold standard to measure copy number. It was discovered that for small NA, the cycle threshold, Ct that is proportional to −log[c], where [c] is the concentration of the target NA exhibits a sharp transition. The results indicate …

Pneumonia Radiograph Diagnosis Utilizing Deep Learning Network, Wesley O'Quinn

Honors College Theses

Pneumonia is a life-threatening respiratory disease caused by bacterial infection. The goal of this study is to develop an algorithm using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to detect visual signals for pneumonia in medical images and make a diagnosis. Although Pneumonia is prevalent, detection and diagnosis are challenging. The deep learning network AlexNet was utilized through transfer learning. A dataset consisting of 11,318 images was used for training, and a preliminary diagnosis accuracy of 72% was achieved.

Analysis Of Inflammation, Metabolic And Clinical Markers In Predicting Fat Mass In Hiv-Positive Males Using Artificial Neural Network, Nurul Farhah Shamsuddin

Student Works (2020-2029)

Increased inflammation has been discovered in people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which has been associated with the development and advancement of metabolic diseases. Immune activation and inflammation have been revealed to affect the redistribution of fat in people living with HIV (PLWH) whether the individual is on treatment with antiretroviral therapy (ART) or treatment naïve. Therefore, the assessment of body fat composition of PLWH based on markers of inflammation is important to develop keen diagnosis and prognosis of medical conditions facing by these patients, for example lipodystrophy syndrome, metabolic syndrome, dyslipidemia and diabetes mellitus. The purpose of this …

Effects Of Flight Altitude On The Lift Generation Of Monarch Butterflies: From Sea Level To Overwintering Mountain, Madhu K. Sridhar, Chang-Kwon Kang, Brian D. Landrum, Hikaru Aono, Shannon L. Mathis, Taeyoung Lee

PRC-Affiliated Research

Aerodynamic efficiency behind the annual migration of monarch butterflies, the longest among insects, is an unsolved mystery. Monarchs migrate 4000 km at high-altitudes to their overwintering mountains in Central Mexico. The air is thinner at higher altitudes, yielding reduced aerodynamic drag and enhanced range. However, the lift is also expected to reduce in lower density conditions. To investigate the ability of monarchs to produce sufficient lift to fly in thinner air, we measured the climbing motion of freely flying monarchs in high-altitude conditions. An optical method was used to track the flapping wing and body motions inside a large pressure …

Development Of Brain Atlases For Early-To-Middle Adolescent Collision-Sport Athletes, Yukai Zou, Wenbin Zhu, Ho-Ching Yang, Ikbeom Jang, Nicole L. Vike, Diana O. Svaldi, Trey E. Shenk, Victoria N. Poole, Evan L. Breedlove, Gregory G. Tamer Jr, Larry J. Leverenz, Ulrike Dydak, Eric A. Nauman, Yunjie Tong, Thomas M. Talavage, Joseph V. Rispoli

Purdue University Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund

Human brains develop across the life span and largely vary in morphology. Adolescent collision-sport athletes undergo repetitive head impacts over years of practices and competitions, and therefore may exhibit a neuroanatomical trajectory different from healthy adolescents in general. However, an unbiased brain atlas targeting these individuals does not exist. Although standardized brain atlases facilitate spatial normalization and voxel-wise analysis at the group level, when the underlying neuroanatomy does not represent the study population, greater biases and errors can be introduced during spatial normalization, confounding subsequent voxel-wise analysis and statistical findings. In this work, targeting early-to-middle adolescent (EMA, ages 13–19) collision-sport …

Acute Dose-Dependent Neuroprotective Effects Of Poly(Pro-17Β-Estradiol) In A Mouse Model Of Spinal Contusion Injury, Manoj K. Gottipati, Samuel A.T. Ellman, Devan L. Puhl, Zhen Guan, Phillip G. Popovich, Edmund F. Palermo, Ryan J. Gilbert

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

17β-Estradiol (E2) confers neuroprotection in preclinical models of spinal cord injury when administered systemically. The goal of this study was to apply E2 locally to the injured spinal cord for a sustained duration using poly(pro-E2) film biomaterials. Following contusive spinal cord injury in adult male mice, poly(pro-E2) films were implanted subdurally and neuroprotection was assessed using immunohistochemistry 7 days after injury and implantation. In these studies, poly(pro-E2) films modestly improved neuroprotection without affecting the inflammatory response when compared to the injured controls. To increase the E2 dose released, bolus-releasing poly(pro-E2) films were fabricated by incorporating unbound E2 into the poly(pro-E2) …

An Improved Clipped Sub-Histogram Equalization Technique Using Optimized Local Contrast Factor For Mammogram Image Analysis, Nurshafira Hazim Chan

Student Works (2020-2029)

Mammography has been known worldwide as the most common imaging modalities utilized for early detection of breast cancer. The mammographic images produced are in greyscale, however they often produced poor contrast images, non-uniform illumination, and the image often contain artefacts and noise. These limitations can be overcame during the pre-processing stage by improving the image enhancement process. Therefore, in this research an optimized enhancement framework is developed where the local contrast factor is manipulated to preserve details of the image. This technique aims to improve the overall image visibility without altering histogram of the original image, which will affect the …

The Age-Dependent Characterization Of The Er-Alpha Positive Breast Cancer Tumor Microenvironment, Katie Marie Hamel

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In disease states such as cancer, endocrine and paracrine signals from adipose tissue contribute to cancer progression and drug resistance. Young individuals diagnosed with estrogen receptor-alpha positive (ER-a+) breast cancer have an observed increase in resistance to endocrine therapies. This suggests that an alternative estrogen signaling pathway is active within these tumors. Despite this, the effects of stromal age on the endocrine response in breast cancer is not well known. Here, we review and highlight the involvement of the stromal age in both tumorigenesis and physiological wound healing. To identify specific differences between young and aged ER-a+ breast tumors, RNA …

Primer Payload System For Higher-Order Multiplex Lamp: Design And Development Of Unit Processes, Tochukwu Dubem Anyaduba

KGI Theses and Dissertations

Design and Development of Platforms for the Application of Loop-mediated Isothermal Nucleic Acid Amplification, LAMP, in the Diagnosis of Polymicrobial Diseases

Tochukwu Dubem Anyaduba, Travis Schlappi (PI)

For the past two decades, several isothermal nucleic acid amplification technologies have emerged. These are mostly in response to the need for robust molecular diagnostic tools amenable to point-of-care and limited-resource settings. Of these, loop-mediated isothermal amplification, LAMP, stands out as a highly specific and rapid alternative to the polymerase chain reaction, PCR. One of LAMP's significant characteristics involves using four essential and two loop (rate increasing) primers to recognize six to eight …

Enhancement Of Electrospun Nanofiber Properties Via Automated Track Post-Draw Processing, David Anthony Brennan

Theses and Dissertations

Electrospinning is an alternative manufacturing method, capable of producing fibers with nanoscale diameters from a wide range of different polymers in a process which is relatively simple and inexpensive in comparison to other forms of nanofiber production. This has made electrospinning the subject a great deal of research as a method of producing nanofibers for various high-performance applications. However, electrospun nanofiber tensile strength is weak in comparison to conventional fibers of the same material, preventing widespread use and marketization. This disparity in mechanical strength is attributed to poor polymer chain alignment in individual fibers, caused by the absence of a …

Bibliometric Survey On Image Processing Techniques Using Lattice Boltzmann Method For Cfd Simulations, Priyambada Praharaj Mrs, Chandrakant Sonawane Dr, Madhura Ingalhalikar Dr

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This bibliometric analysis aims to understand how Lattice Boltzmann Method could be a potential solver in integrating computational fluid dynamics with image segmentation smoothly. Cardiovascular diseases have been a major health problem in our society and have been an interesting topic for researchers to focus on. Computational Fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation on well-segmented patient-specific images could help the clinicians in diagnosing many cardiovascular diseases in the initial stages itself thereby avoiding surgery. This paper focuses on how various methods have been used since 1988 and been successfully implemented in subsequent years. The bibliometric analysis is done from Scopus and the …

Hemodynamic Response To Device Titration In The Shunted Single Ventricle Circulation - A Patient Cohort Modeling Study, Chet Villa, Farha Zafar, Angela Lorts, Ethan Kung

Publications

Clinical outcomes of ventricular assist device (VAD) support for shunted single ventricle patients trail the larger population due in part to the challenges in optimizing VAD support and balancing systemic and pulmonary circulations. We sought to understand the response to VAD titration in the shunted circulation using a lumped-parameter network modeling six patient-specific clinical cases. Hemodynamic data from six patients (mean body surface area = 0.30 m²) with a systemic-to-pulmonary shunt was used to construct simulated cases of heart failure and hemodynamic response to increasing VAD flow from 5 to 10 L/min/m². With increasing VAD flow, …

Computational Bone Mechanics Modeling With Frequency Dependent Rheological Properties And Crosslinking, Timothy G. Moreno

Master's Theses

Bone is a largely bipartite viscoelastic composite. Its mechanical behavior is determined by strain rate and the relative proportions of its principal constituent elements, hydroxyapatite and collagen, but is also largely dictated by their geometry and topology. Collagen fibrils include many segments of tropocollagen in staggered, parallel sequences. The physical staggering of this tropocollagen allows for gaps known as hole-zones, which serve as nucleation points for apatite mineral. The distance between adjacent repeat units of tropocollagen is known as D-Spacing and can be measured by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). This D-Spacing can vary in length slightly within a bundle, but …

The Tierni Resistance Training System, Michael J. Hansen, Abigail M. Youngblood, Gabriel M. Johnson

Biomedical Engineering

The purpose of the Tierni Resistance Training System project was to design and construct functional workout apparel that has built-in resistance. For this product, the key customer requirements we set out to address were most importantly material comfort and functionality, followed by stylishness, lack of latex, safety for injured and uninjured users, and washer safety. To meet these customer requirements, we started by researching current resistance training technology, and used the findings as a springboard for our own design development. After initial brainstorming, engineering specifications were generated based on the customer requirements. These specifications revolved around the thermal insulation, pressure, …

Development Of An Internet Of Things (Iot) Enabled Novel Wireless Multi Sensor Network For Infield Crop Monitoring, Nipuna Chamara

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

Multispectral imaging systems on satellite, aerial, and ground platforms are used commonly to monitor in-field crops in precision agriculture by farmers and researchers. Limited spatial and temporal resolution and weather dependence of the data collection are two main disadvantages of these methods. In-field sensor networks can continuously monitor environmental and plant physiological parameters by leveraging low-power computation and long-range communication technologies. We built and tested a novel sensor network equipped with soil moisture, multispectral and RGB imaging sensors in an experimental soybean field at Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center, NE, USA. 10 down-looking and 1 up-looking sensor node were …