Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Anthropometric Analysis Of The Cervical Spine, Susan Hueston

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An understanding of the dimensional anatomy of the cervical spine is necessary in order to help diagnose disease, deformity, injury, and device development. Previous investigation has been completed utilizing cadavers, X-rays and other imaging techniques. This research utilized computer tomography images from the trauma registry at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio to complete an anthropometric study of the cervical spine. Linear mathematical models were developed to investigate the relationships present in the dimensional anatomy of the cervical spine. New measurements were completed on subjects of both Caucasian and African American descent and of both genders. An approximation of the …

Investigation Of Variability In Cognitive State Assessment Based On Electroencephalogram-Derived Features, Samantha Lokelani Crossen

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To implement adaptive aiding in modern aviation systems there is a need for accurate and reliable classification of cognitive workload. Using electroencephalogram (EEG)-derived features, it has been reported that an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) can achieve 95% or higher classification accuracy on the same day for an individual operator, but only 70% or less on a different day. To gain a further insight into this discrepancy, data from a previous study was utilized to study the classification variability. The EEG-derived features were first calculated by spectral power estimation. The variability was then analyzed by performing cognitive workload classification in which …

Selective Automatic Image Feature Detection, Aijing Wang

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To allow automatic assessment of computed tomography (CT) images of long bones, the identification of the location of regions of interest is important. The distance between the distal and proximal styloids may act as reference points for bone length; however, the locations of the distal and proximal growth plates represent further important reference features. The current methods to locate these feature positions are manual. In this project, we attempt to find these feature positions automatically.

A CT data set was split into two subsets, a development set, and a validation set. We first extracted basic information from the stack and …

Impact Of Insulin Resistance On Behavioral And Neurochemical Deficits In Db/Db Mice, Ajaykumar Narayan Sharma

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There is a high comorbidity of type-2 diabetes and neuropsychiatric disorders. However, there is paucity of preclinical research to study this phenomenon. The validity of the db/db mouse as an animal model to study type-2 diabetes and related macrovascular and microvascular complications is well established. The first part of this dissertation was designed to investigate comprehensively the db/db mouse behavior as preclinical evidence of type-2 diabetes related major neurobehavioral complications. Juvenile (5-6 weeks) and adult (10-11 weeks) db/db mice were screened for behavioral depression in forced swim test (FST), psychosis-like symptoms using pre-pulse inhibition (PPI) test, anxiety behavior employing elevated …

Son Is Essential For Nuclear Speckle Organization, Cell Cycle Progression And Pre-Mrna Splicing, Alok S. Sharma

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Nuclear speckles provide important spatial organization and dynamic regulation for pre-mRNA processing factors in mammalian cells. While the nuclear speckle proteome is complex, little is known at the molecular level about how these factors are organized into nuclear speckles or how alterations in the organization of these factors impacts gene expression. We have discovered a new function for a large (2564 amino acid) nuclear speckle protein called Son in maintaining the organization of pre-mRNA processing factors in nuclear speckles. Depletion of Son by RNAi causes snRNP and serine-arginine rich (SR protein) splicing factors to undergo dramatic disorganization into doughnut-shaped nuclear …

The Development Of Silver Nanoparticles As Antiviral Agents, John Christopher Trefry

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Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have received tremendous attention for their antimicrobial properties; however, many gaps in knowledge exist. To address these issues, three research objectives were examined. The first objective hypothesized AgNPs can be size selected and concentrated via tangential flow ultrafiltration. The second objective hypothesized a high-throughput method could be developed to screen nanoparticle antiviral-activity and cytotoxicity simultaneously. The third objective hypothesized AgNPs inhibit viruses by preventing viral entry.

For objective one, a tangential flow ultrafiltration scheme was tested on AgNPs synthesized via the Creighton Colloid method. AgNPs were analyzed via transmission electron microscopy. In objective two, an HIV-1 vector …

Semi-Automated Dental Cast Analysis Software, Mathew Thomas

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Dental casts have been used extensively to study almost all aspects of the human dentition. These aspects varied from the study of tooth form and morphology, inheritance and genetics, growth and development, occlusion, arch alignment and crowding to mathematical determination of dental arch form.

The aim of this project was to develop a tool to semi-automate the measurement of dental casts that would be precise, accurate and efficient. Measurements include tooth widths, arch lengths and widths, angle of rotation and crown area for each tooth.

The task was divided into two different parts: first, the development of semi-automatic software to …

Cervical Spine Biomechanical Behavior And Injury, Mbulelo T. Makola

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A finite element model of the cervical spine including the C2 through C7 levels was developed in order to study the behavior of the cervical spine region. The model was validated in flexion extension, bending, and rotational load scenarios. The model was found to represent the biomechanical behavior of the cervical spine. The validated cervical spine finite element model was used to study spinal injury and disease processes. The model provided qualitative estimates of load carrying and stress distribution as well as range of motion.

A Computational Tool For Biomolecular Structure Analysis Based On Chemical And Enzymatic Modification Of Native Proteins, Deacon John Sweeney

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Chemical and enzymatic modification of proteins is a well-established treatment technique for probing the conformational properties of these macromolecules. Investigators have recently extended the approach to probe many sites on a protein's structure in parallel manner, such that conformational properties of a target protein can be inferred. The modern approach uses mass spectrometry to quantify reactant loss and product formation. Rigorous analysis is challenging due to the high volume of mass spectrometric data that must be processed and interpreted.

An extensively interactive software suite has been developed to assist various aspects of the analytical protocol. The software offers a variety …

The Molecular Basis Of The Interaction Between The Coxsackievirus And Adenovirus Receptor (Car) And Magi-1, Abimbola Olayinka Kolawole

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A major factor in virus entry into cells is localization and abundance of the primary receptor. The Coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR) is the primary receptor for group B coxsackievirus and many serotypes of adenovirus. In most epithelia, a seven exon isoform of CAR (CAR^Ex7) is exclusively localized at the basolateral surface where it behaves as a homophilic adhesion protein and is inaccessible for viral infection. However, in well-differentiated human airway epithelia, we recently discovered an alternatively spliced, low abundance isoform of CAR (CAR^Ex8) that is apically localized where it may initiate apical viral infection. The …

Biological Effective Dose (Bed) Distribution Matching For Obtaining Brachytherapy Prescription Doses & Dosimetric Optimization For Hybrid Seed Brachytherapy, Jakub Pritz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Radioactive seed implant brachytherapy is a common radiotherapy treatment method for prostate cancer. In current clinical practice, a seed consists of a single isotope, such as ¹²⁵I or ¹⁰³Pd. A seed containing a mixture of two isotopes has been proposed for prostate cancer treatment. This study investigates a method for defining a prescription dose for new seed compositions based on matching the biological equivalent dose (BED) of a reference plan.

Ten prostate cancer cases previously treated using single isotope seeds (5 using ¹²⁵I seeds and 5 using ¹⁰³Pd seeds) were selected for this study. Verification of …

Feasibility Of Wearable Sensors To Determine Gait Parameters, Mario Alves Simoes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A wearable system that can be used in different settings to collect gait parameters on subjects with a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) would allow clinicians to collect needed data of subjects outside of the laboratory setting. Mild traumatic brain injuries stem from a number of causes such as illnesses, strokes, accidents or battlefield traumas. These injuries can cause issues with everyday tasks, such as gait, and are linked with vestibular dysfunction [1]. Different wearable sensor systems were analyzed prior to starting this study along with relevant gait parameters associated with mild traumatic brain injury. To monitor gait parameters relevant …

A Novel Device For Cell-Cell Electrofusion, Justin T. Stewart

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cell transplantation therapy is a potentially powerful tool and can be used to replace defective cells with healthy cells. This offers the possibility of alleviating the destructive symptoms for many diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, stroke, spinal cord trauma, Type I diabetes and many more. While there are many diseases that could be positively impacted from cell transplantation therapy, the focus of this research is insulin dependent, Type I Diabetes.

The Islets of Langerhans are composed of various types of cells located in the pancreas and are responsible for a variety of biochemical functions. Specifically, the beta Islet …

Comparative Manufacture And Cell-Based Delivery Of Antiretroviral Nanoformulations, Shantanu Balkundi, Ari S. Nowacek, Ram S. Veerubhotla, Han Chen, Andrea Martinez-Skinner, Upal Roy, R. Lee Mosley, Georgette Kanmogne, Xinming Liu, Alexander V. Kabanov, Tatiana Bronich, Joellyn Mcmillan, Howard E. Gendelman

Nebraska Center for Biotechnology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Nanoformulations of crystalline indinavir, ritonavir, atazanavir, and efavirenz were manufactured by wet milling, homogenization or sonication with a variety of excipients. The chemical, biological, immune, virological, and toxicological properties of these formulations were compared using an established monocyte-derived macrophage scoring indicator system. Measurements of drug uptake, retention, release, and antiretroviral activity demonstrated differences amongst preparation methods. Interestingly, for drug cell targeting and antiretroviral responses the most significant difference among the particles was the drug itself. We posit that the choice of drug and formulation composition may ultimately affect clinical utility.

A Validation Of A Prototype Dry Electrode System For Electroencephalography, Jason Monnin

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Current physiologically-driven operator cognitive state assessment technology relies primarily on electroencephalographic (EEG) signals. Traditionally, gel-based electrodes have been used; however, the application of gel-based electrodes on the scalp requires expertise and a considerable amount of preparation time. Additionally, discomfort can occur from the abrasion of the scalp during preparation, and the electrolyte will also begin to dry out over extended periods of time. These drawbacks have hindered the transition of operator state assessment technology into an operational environment. QUASAR, Inc., (San Diego, CA) has developed a prototype dry electrode system for electroencephalography that requires minimal preparation. A comparison of the …

V1-Derived Renshaw Cells And Ia Inhibitory Interneurons Differentiate Early During Development, Ana Benito González

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Locomotor development is dependent on the maturation of spinal cord circuits controlling motor output, but little is known about the development of the spinal interneurons that control motoneuron activity. This study focused on the development of Renshaw cells (RCs) and Ia inhibitory interneurons (IaINs), which mediate recurrent and reciprocal inhibition, respectively, two basic inhibitory circuits for motorneuron control. Both interneurons originate from the same progenitor pool (p1) giving rise to ventral spinal embryonic interneurons denominated V1. V1-derived interneurons (V1-INs) establish local inhibitory connections with ipsilateral motoneurons and express the transcription factor engrailed-1. This characteristic permitted the generation of transgenic mice …

Completely Biodegradable Soyprotein–Jute Biocomposites Developed Using Water Without Any Chemicals As Plasticizer, Narendra Reddy, Yiqi Yang

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Soyprotein–jute fiber composites developed using water without any chemicals as the plasticizer show much better flexural and tensile properties than polypropylene–jute composites. Co-products of soybean processing such as soy oil, soyprotein concentrate and soy protein isolates are inexpensive, abundantly available and are renewable resources that have been extensively studied as potential matrix materials to develop biodegradable composites. However, previous attempts on developing soy-based composites have either chemically modified the co-products or used plasticizers such as glycerol. Chemical modifications make the composites expensive and less environmentally friendly and plasticizers decrease the properties of the composites. In this research, soyprotein composites reinforced …

High Temperature Dilute Acid Pretreatment Of Coastal Bermuda Grass For Enzymatic Hydrolysis, Arthur P. Redding, Ziyu Wang, Deepak R. Keshwani, Jay J. Cheng

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Dilute sulfuric acid was used to pretreat coastal Bermuda grass at high temperature prior to enzymatic hydrolysis. After both pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis processes, the highest yield of total sugars (combined xylose and glucose) was 97% of the theoretical value. The prehydrolyzate liquor was analyzed for inhibitory compounds (furfural, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF)) in order to assess potential risk for inhibition during the following fermentation. Accounting for the formation of the inhibitory compounds, a pretreatment with 1.2% acid at 140 °C for 30 min with a total sugar yield of 94% of the theoretical value may be more favorable for fermentation. From …

Biocomposites Developed Using Water-Plasticized Wheat Gluten As Matrix And Jute Fibers As Reinforcement, Narendra Reddy, Yiqi Yang

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Biocomposites developed from wheat gluten using water without any chemicals as plasticizer and jute fibers as reinforcement have much better flexural and tensile properties than similar polypropylene composites reinforced with jute fibers. Wheat gluten is an inexpensive and abundant co-product derived from renewable resources and is biodegradable but non-thermoplastic. Previous attempts at developing biocomposites from wheat gluten have used plasticizers such as glycerol or chemical modifications to make gluten thermoplastic. However, plasticizers have a considerably negative effect on the mechanical properties of the composites and chemical modifications make wheat gluten less biodegradable, expensive and/or environmentally unfriendly. In the research reported, …

Ethanol Yields And Cell Wall Properties In Divergently Bred Switchgrass Genotypes, Gautam Sarath, Bruce S. Dien, Aaron J. Saathoff, Kenneth P. Vogel, Robert B. Mitchell, Han Chen

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Genetic modification of herbaceous plant cell walls to increase biofuels yields is a primary bioenergy research goal. Using two switchgrass populations developed by divergent breeding for ruminant digestibility, the contributions of several wall-related factors to ethanol yields was evaluated. Field grown low lignin plants significantly out yielded high lignin plants for conversion to ethanol by 39.1% and extraction of xylans by 12%. However, across all plants analyzed, greater than 50% of the variation in ethanol yields was attributable to changes in tissue and cell wall architecture, and responses of stem biomass to diluteacid pretreatment. Although lignin levels were lower in …