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Osteogenic Differentiation Of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells On Thin Film Tyrosine Derived Polycarbonates, Tamunotoyne Briggs

Theses

Mesenchymal stem cells, harvested from adult bone marrow, are promising in the field of regenerative medicine because of the vast differentiation potential into various cell lines such as: osteoblasts, chondrocytes, adipocytes, and neurons. Osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) could be an important tool in the treatment of orthopedic deficiencies such as bone defects. The extent of in vitro human mesenchymal stem cell growth, adhesion, motility and differentiation into osteoblasts is a function of the material surface chemistry which is mediated by protein adsorption onto the surface. A library of tyrosine derived polycarbonates allows the tailoring of material …

Auto Detection In Autism, Gayathri Chandar

Theses

Autism is a neurobiological disorder in which, certain regions of the brain are affected. The main features of autism are impairment in communication, social interaction, language and deficit in imitation and theory of mind. Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), haemodynamic responses during a bilateral finger tapping task are analyzed for both autistic subjects and normal control subjects. fMRI is a noninvasive technique to image the activity of the brain related to a specific task. Generally, the active voxels in the IMRI images are detected using parametric or non-parametric statistical methods in which the fMRI response is assumed to have …

Location Estimation In A 3d Environment Using Radio Frequency Identification Tags, Adwitiya Akash Jain

Theses

RFID tag location estimation in a 3D environment is investigated. The location of the tag with unknown coordinates can be estimated with certain accuracy. However, accuracy can be improved using the knowledge based on measurement of additional reference tags with known location. This thesis studies the mathematical formulation and practical realization of location sensing using RFID tags.

Deviating from the standard use of RFID technology which employs one tag reader to identify the presence of tag, here multiple tag readers with known location are used to estimate the physical location of an individual tag, with/without the help of few reference …

Development Of A System To Measure Cardiac Function In The Drosophila Melanogaster Animal Model, Heather Anne Reinhardt

Theses

Previous studies have shown that several genes are evolutionarily conserved from lower organisms to man, where a number of genes have been directly linked to cardiac function and disease. The Drosophila melanogaster (Fruit Fly) has a genome similar to humans and therefore has proven to be an important animal model to study the role of genetics in cardiac function and disease development. Fruit flies are an important basic science model because of the ease with which genes can be manipulated and quickly expressed due to the short lifespan of the fly. Although standard techniques exist to affect the genome of …

Performance Analysis Of Collaborative Hybrid-Arq Protocols Over Fading Channels, Igor Stanojev

Theses

Impairments due to multipath signal propagation on the performance of wireless communications systems can be efficiently mitigated with time, frequency or spatial diversity. To exploit spatial diversity, multiple-antenna technology has been thoroughly investigated and emerged as one of the most mature communications areas. However, the need for smaller user terminals, which results in insufficient spacing for antenna collocation, tends to limit the practical implementation of this technology. Without compromising terminal dimensions, future wireless networks will therefore have to exploit their broadcast nature and rely on collaboration between single-antenna terminals for exploiting spatial diversity.

Among cooperative schemes, Collaborative ARQ transmission protocols, …

Preliminary Results For A Monocular Marker-Free Gait Measurement System, Jane Courtney, Annraoi Depaor

Articles

This paper presents results from a novel monocular marker-free gait measurement system. The system was designed for physical and occupational therapists to monitor the progress of patients through therapy. It is based on a novel human motion capture method derived from model-based tracking. Testing is performed on two monocular, sagittal-view, sample gait videos – one with both the environment and the subject’s appearance and movement restricted and one in a natural environment with unrestricted clothing and motion. Results of the modelling, tracking and analysis stages are presented along with standard gait graphs and parameters.

Cerium-Based Spontaneous Coating Process For Corrosion Protection Of Aluminum Alloys, James O. Stoffer, Thomas J. O'Keefe, Matthew O'Keefe, Eric L. Morris, Scott A. Hayes, Paul Yu, Alex Williams, Berny F. Rivera Vasquez, Xuan Lin

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

A cerium-based coating for corrosion resistance is applied by exposing a cleaned aluminum-based component to a corrosion-inhibiting cerium solution containing cerium ions in the presence of an oxidizing agent. The coating deposits spontaneously without an external source of electrons.

Growth Rates Under Interval Uncertainty, Janos Hajagos, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

For many real-life systems ranging from financial to population-related to medical, dynamics is described by a system of linear equations. For such systems, the growth rate lambda can be determined as the largest eigenvalue of the corresponding matrix A. In many practical situations, we only know the components of the matrix A with interval (or fuzzy) uncertainty. In such situations, it is desirable to find the range of possible values of lambda. In this paper, we propose an efficient algorithm for computing lambda for a practically important case when all the components of the matrix A are non-negative.

Possibilities Of Glutamate-Mediated Synaptic Like Activity In Somatosensory Mechanoreceptors Such As Pacinian Corpuscles?, Kevin Kopko

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Pacinian Corpuscles (PCs) are somatosensory mechanoreceptors, composed of a central neurite, surrounded by layers of lamellae that make up the inner core, which are specialized glial cells, and fibroblast derived outer-core lamellae of the surrounding capsule. Several components specific to a chemical synapse (Vglut1, Vamp1, SNAP-23) were localized to both the neurite and the inner-core cells in feline mesenteric PCs using immunocytochemistry. However, it has long been postulated that the first synapse of the PC occurs at the dorsal column nuclei, or spinal cord, and that no classical synapse is present in the distal ending of the capsulated receptor. While …

Initial In Vitro And In Vivo Characterization Of A Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Assist System., Jeffrey Michael Colyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Historically in the area of pediatric heart failure, few options have been available that are specifically designed to provide pediatric circulatory support. Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) was the traditional method of choice, providing cardiopulmonary support (CPS) for a relatively short time of 3-7 days. The pediatric cardiopulmonary assist system (pCAS) examined in this paper is designed to be able to provide left ventricular assist (LVA), right ventricular assist (RVA), or cardiopulmonary assist to a pediatric patient for a period of 30 days, with the option of device replacement if needed. A specially designed controller allows for both continuous and pulsatile …

Vascular Tortuosity Is Culprit To Abnormal Perfusion In 9l Gliosarcoma Tumor, M. M. Darpolar, Robert C. Molthen, F. C. Wu, Kathleen M. Schmainda

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

2nd Annual Undergraduate Research Conference Abstract Book, University Of Missouri--Rolla

Undergraduate Research Conference at Missouri S&T

No abstract provided.

An Investigation On The Importance Of Material Anisotropy In Finite-Element Modeling Of The Human Femur, Ryan Krone, Peter Schuster

Mechanical Engineering

Detailed finite element modeling of the human body offers a potential major enhancement to the prediction of injury risk during vehicle impacts. Currently, vehicle crash safety countermeasure development is based on a combination of testing with established anthropomorphic test devices (i.e., ATD or dummy) and a mixture of multi-body (dummy) and finite element (vehicle) modeling. If a relatively simple finite element model can be developed to capture additional information beyond the capabilities of the multi-body systems, it would allow improved countermeasure development through more detailed prediction of performance.

A simpler finite element model of human bones could be developed if …

Flight Physician - April, 2006, Civil Aviation Medical Association

Browse all Civil Aviation Medical Association Newsletters

A sixteen page newsletter of the Civil Aviation Medical Association. The newsletter provided news about civil aviation medicine and information related to the organization.

Six Sigma Applied To Flight Operations Quality Assurance: An Exemplar Case Study, Alan J. Stolzer, Han Wu, Carl Halford

School of Graduate Studies - Daytona Beach

“Due to the requirement to maintain and improve the safety record of commercial air transportation in the United States (U.S.) despite increasing traffic, several proactive safety programs have been introduced in recent years. Among these proactive safety programs is a form of Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) known in the U.S. as Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA). FOQA is a program utilizing quantifiable, objective data collected from the air carrier aircraft’s data recording system. The data is then analyzed to identify trends and other indicators of potential safety problems. With few exceptions, FOQA data analysis has been rudimentary, often limited to …

Engineering@Nebraska - Spring 2006

Engineering@Nebraska (Alumni Magazine)

Table of Contents:

A Swine Sensation: William Velander is creating a safe, inexpensive treatment for hemophilia using protein from the milk of transgenic pigs.
Bridging a Community: UNL and the Nebraska Department of Roads join together to build the United States’ first tied-arch bridge in Ravenna.
Five Men and a Machine Shop: The Engineering and Science Research Support Facility helps UNL faculty turn ideas into reality.
From the Gridiron to G-forces: Graduate student Curt Tomasevicz makes his Olympic debut.
The Industry Standard: The new Charles Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction is expected to train the next generation of …

Nebraska Blueprint – Spring 2006

Nebraska Blueprint (Student Publication)

Table of Contents:

Medical Marvels – "Biomedical engineering ties many branches of engineering together, encouraging teamwork and collaboration among departments as well as outside partners. This is a snapshot of some of the ongoing biomedical research at UNL."

Medication Nation: Pharmaceutical industry grows as it finds new uses for common drugs

The Freshman Connection – "The university's freshman learning community program"

E-Week 2006 [two photographs]

Development Of Self-Assembled Monolayer-Based Cell Culture Platform Towards Fabrication Of A Three-Dimensional Bioreactor, Rajendra Kandoor Aithal

Doctoral Dissertations

The extracellular matrix (ECM) plays an important role in regulating a number of cellular properties and functions like cell differentiation, cell synthesis and degradation, cell viability and proliferation, cell function, and cell aging. Surface modification of planar substrates with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) is a promising technique to achieve stable ECMs.

In this work, substrates such as silicon (Si), gallium arsenide (GaAs) and indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates were modified with SAMS containing amino (-NH2), methyl (-CH3), thiol (-SH) and carboxylic (-COOH) end groups and characterized using contact angle measurements, surface infrared (IR) spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Different cell …

Biodiesel Basics, Czarena L. Crofcheck, Timothy S. Stombaugh, Michael D. Montross

Agricultural Engineering Extension Publications

Biodiesel is a renewable fuel for diesel engines. Biodiesel, defined by ASTM International (D6751), consists of longchain fatty acid alkyl esters and is made from renewable vegetable oils, recycled cooking oils, or animal fats. It can be used at full strength, but it is typically blended with petroleum diesel. A blend of 2 percent biodiesel and 98 percent diesel is referred to as B2. Other typical blends include B5, B10, and B20; pure biodiesel is sometimes referred to as B100. Biodiesel is safer for the environment and produces significantly less air pollution compared to petroleum diesel. Biodiesel can be produced …

Biodiesel Faq, Timothy S. Stombaugh, Czarena L. Crofcheck, Michael D. Montross

Agricultural Engineering Extension Publications

Biodiesel and other alternative fuels continue to gain popularity as petroleum fuel prices rise and we become more concerned about our environment. Introduction of these fuels raises many questions about actually using them in current equipment. The purpose of this factsheet is to address some of the common questions asked by those considering the use of biodiesel in existing diesel equipment.

Lung Circulation Modeling: Status And Prospect, Anne V. Clough, Said H. Audi, Robert C. Molthen, Gary S. Krenz

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Mathematical modeling has been used to interpret anatomical and physiological data obtained from metabolic and hemodynamic studies aimed at investigating structure-function relationships in the vasculature of the lung, and how these relationships are affected by lung injury and disease. The indicator dilution method was used to study the activity of redox processes within the lung. A steady-state model of the data was constructed and used to show that pulmonary endothelial cells may play an important role in reducing redox active compounds and that those reduction rates can be altered with oxidative stress induced by exposure to high oxygen environments. In …

Cs 205-08: Computer Literacy And Office Automation, Kim Gros

Computer Science & Engineering Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Cs 205-01, 02, 03: Computer Literacy And Office Automation, Ann Tirpack

Computer Science & Engineering Syllabi

•To understand basic computer operations and the principal components of a computer and connected peripheral devices
•To understand and examine current operating systems, software utilities, device drivers and application software
•To define and understand current storage technology and learn about logical file storage and management
•To become proficient in using:
-Windows
-Word Processing Applications
-Spreadsheet Applications
-Database Applications
-Presentation Graphics Applications
•To understand the basics of e-mail
•To introduce networking concepts including the Internet and its components and web browser basics
•To learn ways to protect your data and avoid computer disasters

Test Methods And Results For Sensors In A Pre-Crash Detection System, Charles Birdsong, Peter Schuster, John Carlin, Daniel Kawano, William Thompson

Mechanical Engineering

Automobile safety can be improved by anticipating a crash before it occurs and thereby providing additional time to deploy safety technologies. This requires an accurate, fast and robust pre-crash sensor that measures telemetry, discriminates between classes of objects over a range of conditions, and has sufficient range and area of coverage surrounding the vehicle. The sensor must be combined with an algorithm that integrates data to identify threat levels. No one sensor provides adequate information to meet these diverse and demanding requirements. However the requirements can be met with an optimal combination of multiple types of sensors. Previous work considered …

Effect Of Low Molecular Weight Heparin On Fracture Healing In A Stabilized Rat Femur Fracture Model, David J. Hak, Rena L. Stewart, Scott J. Hazelwood

Biomedical Engineering

The purpose of this studywas to evaluate the effect of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) on fracture healing in a standard stabilized rat femur fracture model. A closed, mid-diaphyseal transverse fracture was created in the right femur of Long-Evans rats after insertion of a 0.8-mm K-wire into the medullarycanal. Animals were randomized to receive either LMWH (70 units/kg dalteparin) oraninjection of normal saline daily for 2 weeks. Animals were sacrificed at 2, 3, and 6 weeks. Fracture healing was assessedbyradiographs, histology, and mechanical testing. There were no significant differences between the control and LMWH groups in the percentage of animalswith …

Updated Asabe Standard Manure Excretion Standard, Richard K. Koelsch

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Presentations and White Papers

This newsletter introduces the new ASABE (American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers) Standard D384.2, Manure Production and Characteristics. This new standard provides an equation-based approach that integrates animal feeding program and performance into the final estimate of total solids, nitrogen, and phosphorus excretion for seven livestock and poultry species. This article reviews the opportunity this standard provides for improving accuracy of farm-specific nutrient management planning and introduces an educational opportunity for users to be introduced to new software for using the standard.

I propose to conduct one or more workshops on the standard and supporting software tool in June. …

Strategy For Product Reusability Based On Technical And Economic Model, Srikanth Uppuluri

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Reusing old components is considered the most profitable End-of-Life strategy in the modern day scenario of sustainable manufacturing. Though there is increasing pressure on the product designers worldwide to make reuse possible, the functionality of the products and the economic feasibility have been the main considerations for manufacturers in evaluating the reuse strategy. The quality level of the used product and mainly the economic aspect of disassembling the product have been the main uncertainties confronting the industries to move towards the product recovery strategies like reuse and disassembly. The profitability factor in designing and implementing the technology for disassembly of …

Information Visualization Methods And Techniques Using Web Services, Kevin Dupigny

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Data, even in small amounts, can be difficult to interpret quickly and efficiently. Data domains are continually expanding and making this data available and usable in collaborative data environment is a challenge that was not addressed by legacy systems. Such a framework would make the existence of a global information sharing system feasible. Visualizing this complex dataset presents a complex task for current static interface solutions. A flexible layered service oriented model is presented in this work to approach this challenge. The visual scope of human perception is largely untapped by today's data visualization applications. Human mental processes are adept …

A Comparative Study Of Monoclonal Antibodies (Mabs) Purified From Cell Culture Supernatant On Edtpa-Modified Zirconia Beads And Protein A-Hyper D Support, Anuradha Subramanian, Blanca Martinez, Jill Holm, Peter W. Carr, Clayton V. Mcneff

Papers in Biotechnology

Colloidal zirconia was spray dried to yield zirconia particles, which were further modified with N, N, N0, N0- Ethylenediamine tetra methylenephosphonic acid (EDTPA) to yield a sup-port for use in bioseparations. EDTPA modified zirconia particles will be further referred to as, r_PEZ. Cell culture supernatants rich in monoclonal antibody (Mab) subtypes IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, and IgG3 were chromatographed on a r_PEZ column, and on a protein A-hyper D col-umn that was purchased commercially. All Mab subtypes bound to r_PEZ and process yields in the range of 88 to 99% were obtained. The purity of the Mab products were ascertained by …

Improved Tool For Fingerspelling Recognition, Rosalee Wolfe, Nora Alba, Stacey Billups, Mary Jo Davidson, Cindy Dwyer, Diana Gorman Jamrozik, Lori Smallwood, Karen Alkoby, Lesley Carhart, Damien Hinkle, Amy Hitt, Brian Kirchman, Glenn Lancaster, John Mcdonald, Lindsay Semler, Jerry Schnepp, Brent Shiver, Anna Suh, Jeffrey Young

Visual Communications and Technology Education Faculty Publications

Conference proceedings from the Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference-2006. California State University at Northridge, Los Angeles, CA March 20-25, 2006.