Digital Commons Network^™

Leveraging Natural Language Processing To Mine Issues On Twitter During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Ankita Agarwal, Preetham Salehundam, Swati Padhee, William Romine, Tanvi Wright State University - Main Campus

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

The recent global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has spread to all corners of the globe. The international travel ban, panic buying, and the need for self-quarantine are among the many other social challenges brought about in this new era. Twitter platforms have been used in various public health studies to identify public opinion about an event at the local and global scale. To understand the public concerns and responses to the pandemic, a system that can leverage machine learning techniques to filter out irrelevant tweets and identify the important topics of discussion on social media platforms like Twitter …

Ion Pairing And Dielectric Decrement In Glycosaminoglycan Brushes, James D. Sterling, Wenjuan Jiang, Wesley M. Botello-Smith, Yun L. Luo

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

Cell−surface polysaccharides are essential to many aspects of physiology, serving as a highly conserved evolutionary feature of life and as an important part of the innate immune system in mammals. Here, as simplified biophysical models of these sugar coatings, we present results of molecular dynamics simulations of hyaluronic acid and heparin brushes that show important effects of ion pairing, water dielectric decrease, and coion exclusion. As in prior studies of macromolecular crowding under physiologically relevant salt concentrations, our results show equilibria with electroneutrality attained through screening and pairing of brush anionic charges by monovalent cations at the atomistic detail. Most …

Photoluminescent Nanomaterials For Biosensing And Single Cell Analysis Applications, Khashayar Ramezani Bajgiran

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The bioanalytical industry is projected to generate $36 billion by 2025, with the United States currently holding 80.9% of the consumers’ market. Among the bioanalytical platforms, point-of-care (POC) and point-of-use diagnosis (POU) have gained a lot of attention due to their emphasis on decentralized testing and providing low-cost solutions in resource-limited regions. While Traditional bioanalytical tools such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and flow cytometry can sensitively detect biomolecules and screen single-cell response, they suffer from multiple drawbacks such as the high cost of antibodies and time-intensive procedures, which limit their ability to expand to POC/POU applications. Rapid developments in microtool …

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 …

Singapore Airlines: Profit Recovery And Aircraft Allocation Models During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Michelle L. F. Cheong, Ulysses M. Z. Chong, Anne N. T. A. Nguyen, Su Yiin Ang, Gabriella P. Djojosaputro, Gordy Adiprasetyo, Kendra L. B. Gadong

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

COVID-19 has severely impacted the global aviation industry, causing many airlines to downsize or exit the industry. For airlines which attempt to sustain their operations, they will need to respond to the increase in passenger and cargo demand, as countries recover slowly from the crisis due to the availability of vaccines. We built a series of spreadsheet models to first project the COVID-19 recovery rates by countries from 2021 to 2025, then forecast the passenger and cargo demand, using historical data as base figures. Using the financial and operation data, the revenue, expense, and profit can be projected, then an …

Allocation Of Scarce Healthcare Resources In A Military Treatment Facility During A Pandemic: A Comparison Of Goal Programming And Portfolio Decision Analysis Methods, Donald B. Hale

Theses and Dissertations

In a pandemic, healthcare decisionmakers face the challenge of allocating critical, but scarce healthcare resources in a dynamic, uncertain environment. Their decisions will not only affect the patients coming to the hospital for treatment, but also the Military Treatment Facility's personnel responsible. The decisionmaker must decide how to allocate these resources to achieve multiple, conflicting objectives under multiple constraints. In response, we propose a methodology for the implementation of both Portfolio Decision Analysis and Goal Programming. The steps of this methodology provide a framework with which the decisionmaker can develop optimal allocation of resources. This framework was then applied to …

Impact Of Multiple Waves Of Covid-19 On Healthcare Networks In The United States, Emad M. Hassan, Hussam N. Mahmoud

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The risk of overwhelming hospitals from multiple waves of COVID-19 is yet to be quantified. Here, we investigate the impact of different scenarios of releasing strong measures implemented around the U.S. on COVID-19 hospitalized cases and the risk of overwhelming the hospitals while considering resources at the county level. We show that multiple waves might cause an unprecedented impact on the hospitals if an increasing number of the population becomes susceptible and/or if the various protective measures are discontinued. Furthermore, we explore the ability of different mitigation strategies in providing considerable relief to hospitals. The results can help planners, policymakers, …

In Vitro Evaluation Of Novel Titania-Containing Borate Bioactive Glass Scaffolds, Romina Shafaghi, Omar Rodriguez, Anthony W. Wren, Loraine Chiu, Emil H. Schemitsch, Paul Zalzal, Stephen D. Waldman, Marcello Papini, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Titanium-containing borate bioactive glass scaffolds (0, 5, 15, and 20 mol %, identified as BRT0, BRT1, BRT3, and BRT4) with a microstructure similar to that of human trabecular bone were prepared and evaluated in vitro for potential bone loss applications in revision total knee arthroplasty (rTKA). Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) cell viability assays of scaffold ion release extracts revealed that BRT0 scaffolds (0 mol % titanium) inhibited cell proliferation and activity at day 14. At day 30, all scaffold extracts decreased cell proliferation and activity significantly. However, live/dead cell assay results demonstrated that degradation products from all the scaffolds had …

Review Of Current Healthcare Waste Management Methods And Their Effect On Global Health, Anushree Priyadarshini, Christina Kenny

Articles

Healthcare is a rapidly growing industry as medical treatments become more sophisticated, more in demand due to increasing incidence of chronic disease and more widely available worldwide. This booming industry is also creating more waste than ever before and, as such, there is a growing need to treat and dispose of this waste. Healthcare waste (HCW) disposal includes a multitude of disposal methods, including incineration, landfilling and chemical treatments. These rudimentary methods and their growing use present their own problems that negatively impact both the environ- ment and, in turn, damage public health, thus contributing to a global healthcare crisis. …

Understanding Fatigue Within A Collegiate Aviation Program, Flavio Mendonca, Julius Keller, Erik Levin, Aaron Teo

Publications

Objective: The purpose of this study was fivefold: to investigate the symptoms that would prompt collegiate aviation pilots perceive they are fatigued; to investigate the time of the day they are most fatigued; to investigate their academic and personal schedules; to investigate the methods collegiate aviation pilots utilize to ensure they are fit to fly; and to investigate whether they have received any academic and/or flight fatigue identification and management training.

Background: Fatigue is a pervasive safety hazard in aviation affecting several aspects of flight crew members’ ability to perform their job. Fatigue in aviation and its consequences has been …

Liposomal Delivery Of Remdesivir For Localized And Targeted Treatment Of Covid-19, Anupama Melam

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Liposomal delivery of Remdesivir for localized and targeted treatment of COVID-19

COVID-19 is a serious, and in many cases lethal, disease that is caused by infection of the upper respiratory tract by the novel betacoronavirus, SARS-Cov-2 virus. This disease has a very high mortality rate and has affected the world in a global pandemic. SARS-Cov-2 binds to the ACE2 receptor via the receptor-binding domain (RBD) in the S protein. After this, the virus fuses with the cell membrane by the formation of a six-helix bundle. Thus, the S protein plays a major role in ensuring that the virus attaches to …

Special Issue On Professor John M. Tarbell’S Contribution To Cardiovascular Engineering, Hanjoong Jo, Keefe Manning, John M. Tarbell

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Medical Surge Capability: Performance Modeling Of Hospital Emergency Departments, Egbe-Etu Emmanuel Etu

Wayne State University Dissertations

Hospitals are faced with significant challenges during and after natural or human-caused disasters. Surge planning is a critical component of every healthcare facility’s emergency plan and response system. The process of managing and allocating scarce resources by tackling the vulnerability inherent to patients means that defining improvement priorities is one of the main challenges healthcare systems face when responding to a medical surge event (e.g., COVID-19). The consequences of these challenges include increased patient mortality, ambulance diversion, long wait times, and unavailability of beds. Previous efforts in hospital operations management have successfully applied operations research techniques in analyzing and optimizing …

Identifying Sources Of Covid19 Pandemic Supply Chain Fragility, Clovia Hamilton

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Supply chain management is in the industrial engineering management and operations management disciplines. It involves product procurement of raw materials, production, storage, distribution, wholesales, and retail sales. The COVID19 pandemic has the added challenge of healthcare service operations management. This paper is a bibliometric study of the COVID19 supply chain fragility problem. In February 2021, the United States’ President called for a review of the pandemic related supply chain for vaccines, personal protective equipment (PPE), medical equipment such as ventilators, and food. This study involves a search for references published between January 1, 2020 and April 30, 2021. It reveals …

Moderate Heat-Assisted Gene Electrotransfer For Cutaneous Delivery Of A Dna Vaccine Against Hepatitis B Virus, Chelsea Edelblute, Cathryn Mangiamele, Richard Heller

Bioelectrics Publications

An estimated 350 million people are living with chronic Hepatitis B virus (HBV) worldwide. Preventative HBV vaccination in infants has reduced the disease burden; however, insufficient immunization programs and access obstacles leave vulnerable populations at risk for infection in endemic regions. Gene electrotransfer (GET) using a noninvasive multielectrode array (MEA) provides an alternative platform for DNA vaccination in the skin. DNA vaccines are nonlive and nonreplicating and temperature stable unlike their counterparts. In addition, their simple engineering allows them to be manufactured quickly at a low cost. In the current work, we present the combination of GET and moderate heating …

The Role Of Reactive Oxygen Species In The Immunity Induced By Nano-Pulse Stimulation, Siqi Guo, Niculina I. Burcus, Megan Scott, Yu Jing, Iurii Semenov

Bioelectrics Publications

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are byproducts of tumor cells treated with Nano-Pulse Stimulation (NPS). Recently, ROS have been suggested as a contributing factor in immunogenic cell death and T cell-mediated immunity. This research further investigated the role of NPS induced ROS in antitumor immunity. ROS production in 4T1-luc breast cancer cells was characterized using three detection reagents, namely, Amplex Red, MitoSox Red, and Dihydroethidium. The efficiency of ROS quenching was evaluated in the presence or absence of ROS scavengers and/or antioxidants. The immunogenicity of NPS treated tumor cells was assessed by ex vivo dendritic cell activation, in vivo vaccination assay …

Towards An Ontology-Based Approach To The "New Normality" After Covid-19:The Spanish Case During Pandemic First Wave, Evelio Gonzalez

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

The impact of the pandemic caused by COVID-19 has been immense in all fields of human activity. In most of the affected countries, the authorities have decreed a series of legal measures to try to stop the growth of the disease and the number of people affected by it. These legal measures involved, in most cases, restrictions on the free movement of people and on work and trade activities, new hygiene procedures, and social distancing. In the particular case of Spain, the rapid evolution of the pandemic led to the declaration of a so-called state of alarm and a period …

New Views On The Ingenious Applications Of Ag Nanoparticles As A Sensor For Antibiotic Detection And As A Potent Antimicrobial Agent, Keyur Bhatt, Anita Kongor, Mohd Atharb, Vinod Jain

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

Nanotechnology uses exceptional approaches for the control of bacterial infections which uncovers the potential function of bio-systems at nano-scale level. Compared to silver ions, silver nanoparticles possess enhanced physicochemical stability and low bio-toxicity properties. The intrinsic chemical framework of silver nanoparticles is prone to exhibit a significant chemistry when used as sensor and as therapeutic. Nowadays, silver is used in (nano-) medicine, in the form of nanoparticles to optimize its therapeutic property for controlling infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria. Exclusive use of antibiotics as medicines and its discharge from the body of the infected person or animals into the sewage …

Intrabodies Reveal Critical Steps Involved In Ricin's Interactions With The Ribosome, Timothy Francis Czajka

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Ricin is a highly lethal protein toxin derived from the seeds of the castor plant, Ricinus communis. It is a Type II ribosome inactivating protein (RIP), meaning it is a heterodimer with one subunit, ricin toxin B (RTB), that mediates cell surface attachment and intracellular trafficking and a second subunit, ricin toxin A (RTA), that irreversibly shuts down protein synthesis in the cytosol. During trafficking, RTA and RTB necessarily separate in the endoplasmic reticulum, wherein RTA unfolds and translocates into the cytosol where it refolds into an enzymatically active conformation. RTA is remarkably fast acting and efficient, with few molecules …

A Deep Transfer Learning Based Model For Automatic Detection Of Covid-19from Chest X-Rays, Prateek Chhikara, Prakhar Gupta, Prabhjot Singh, Tarunpreet Bhatia

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Deep learning in medical imaging has revolutionized the way we interpret medical data, as high computational devices' capabilities are far more than their creators. With the pandemic causing havoc for the second straight year, the findings in our paper will allow researchers worldwide to use and create state-of-the-art models to detect affected persons before it reaches the R number. The paper proposes an automated diagnostic tool using the deep learning models on chest x-rays as an input to reach a point where we surpass this pandemic (COVID-19 disease). A deep transfer learning-based model for automatic detection of COVID-19 from chest …

Agent-Based Model Of Broadband Adoption In Unserved And Underserved Areas, Ankit Agarwal

Masters Theses

"In the last two decades, demand for broadband internet has far outpaced its availability. The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) 2020 Broadband Deployment report suggests that at least 22 million Americans living in rural areas lack access to broadband internet. With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting normal life, there is an overwhelming need to enable unserved and underserved communities to adapt to the “new normal”. To address this challenge, federal and state agencies are funding internet service providers (ISPs) to deploy infrastructure in rural communities. However, policymakers and ISPs need open-source tools to predict take-rates of broadband service and formulate effective strategies …

Novel Machine Learning And Wearable Sensor Based Solutions For Smart Healthcare Monitoring, Rajdeep Kumar Nath

Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering

The advent of IoT has enabled the design of connected and integrated smart health monitoring systems. These health monitoring systems can be utilized for monitoring the mental and physical wellbeing of a person. Stress, anxiety, and hypertension are the major elements responsible for the plethora of physical and mental illnesses. In this context, the older population demands special attention because of the several age-related complications that exacerbate the effects of stress, anxiety, and hypertension. Monitoring stress, anxiety, and blood pressure regularly can prevent long-term damage by initiating necessary intervention or clinical treatment beforehand. This will improve the quality of life …

Facilitating Analysis Of Toxoplasma Gondii Bradyzoite Metabolic Activity Via Image Processing And Multivariate Logistic Regression For High Throughput Classification Of Mitochondrial Morphologies, Brooke Place

Theses and Dissertations--Biomedical Engineering

Approximately a third of the population worldwide is chronically infected by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. During chronic infection the parasite resides within tissue cysts as the poorly understood bradyzoite form. Observation of these bradyzoites via microscopic imaging within tissue cyst purified from infected mouse brains has shown metabolic activity with heterogeneous replication potential. With fluorescence microscopy imaging targeting the parasite’s actively respiring mitochondria, the parasite’s metabolic state can be further investigated as the morphology of mitochondria can be associated with specific physiologic states. However, manually classifying mitochondrial morphologies from these images can be tedious and prone to error as …

Cell And Biofilm Adhesion Strength Quantified By The Laser Spallation Technique Yields A Novel Biocompatibility Metric, The Adhesion Index, James Boyd

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Implant associated infections are one of the leading causes of hospital acquired infections in the United States. Medical orthopedic implant devices are designed to improve adhesion of relevant cells within our body. In the case of orthopedic implants, osteoblast cells will adhere and allow for proper integration with the body’s bones. However, virulent bacteria will also adhere onto medical implants and proliferate into biofilms. Bacterial biofilms become extremely difficult to eradicate clinically as antibiotics are not as effective, resulting in severe infections or loss of implant. The aim of this research is to quantify the adhesion strength differential between relevant …

Cold Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma Caused Protein Damage In Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Cells In Biofilms, Li Guo, Lu Yang, Yu Qi, Gulimire Niyazi, Lingling Huang, Lu Gou, Zifeng Wang, Lei Zhang, Dingxin Liu, Xiaohua Wang, Hailan Chen, Michael G. Kong

Bioelectrics Publications

Biofilms formed by multidrug-resistant bacteria are a major cause of hospital-acquired infections. Cold atmospheric-pressure plasma (CAP) is attractive for sterilization, especially to disrupt biofilms formed by multidrug-resistant bacteria. However, the underlying molecular mechanism is not clear. In this study, CAP effectively reduced the living cells in the biofilms formed by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and 6 min treatment with CAP reduced the S. aureus cells in biofilms by 3.5 log₁₀. The treatment with CAP caused the polymerization of SaFtsZ and SaClpP proteins in the S. aureus cells of the biofilms. In vitro analysis demonstrated that recombinant SaFtsZ lost …

Integrated Torrefaction-Extrusion System For Conversion Of Fiber-Plastic Wastes Into Solid Fuels, Shreyas Kolapkar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Waste generation is increasing, and a significant portion is being landfilled. In parallel, we are constantly pursuing cleaner fuels due to environmental and regulatory factors. To address both these challenges, torrefaction of wastes to produce clean fuels and feedstock for other thermochemical processes is one of the potential solutions. This work focuses on (a) fundamental understanding of the properties of un-torrefied and torrefied wastes and (b) development of a pilot-scale integrated torrefaction-extrusion system for converting fiber-plastic wastes to solid fuels.

In this study, a 60:40 fiber-plastic waste blend was used for performing extensive experiments on densified and un-densified wastes to …

Low-Temperature Gas Plasma Combined With Antibiotics For The Reduction Of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Biofilm Both In Vitro And In Vivo, Li Guo, Lu Yang, Yu Qi, Gulimire Niyazi, Jianbao Zheng, Ruobing Xu, Xusong Chen, Jingye Zhang, Wang Xi, Dingxin Liu, Xiaohua Wang, Hailan Chen, Michael G. Kong

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Biofilm infections in wounds seriously delay the healing process, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of wound infections. In addition to inactivating micro-organisms, low-temperature gas plasma can restore the sensitivity of pathogenic microbes to antibiotics. However, the combined treatment has not been applied to infectious diseases. In this study, low-temperature gas plasma treatment promoted the effects of different antibiotics on the reduction of S. aureus biofilms in vitro. Low-temperature gas plasma combined with rifampicin also effectively reduced the S. aureus cells in biofilms in the murine wound infection model. The blood and histochemical analysis demonstrated the biosafety of …

Matters Of Biocybersecurity With Consideration To Propaganda Outlets And Biological Agents, Xavier-Lewis Palmer, Ernestine Powell, Lucas Potter, Thaddeus Eze (Ed.), Lee Speakman (Ed.), Cyril Onwubiko (Ed.)

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The modern era holds vast modalities in human data utilization. Within Biocybersecurity (BCS), categories of biological information, especially medical information transmitted online, can be viewed as pathways to destabilize organizations. Therefore, analysis of how the public, along with medical providers, process such data, and the methods by which false information, particularly propaganda, can be used to upset the flow of verified information to populations of medical professionals, is important for maintenance of public health. Herein, we discuss some interplay of BCS within the scope of propaganda and considerations for navigating the field.

The Effects Of The Coronavirus On Transportation, Brittney Crandall

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This year the world has been challenged with the Coronavirus pandemic. This has led to national shutdowns which have negatively affected many aspects of everyday life. One of the industries that has seen adverse effects from the global pandemic is the transportation industry. This raises the question of exactly how the transportation industry has been affected by the pandemic, what the long-term effects will be, and what the future of the transportation industry will look like. Using existing data and research, predictions will be made to solve these questions.

Relation Of Wettability Of Surfaces To Virus Survival Times, Anthony Pintola

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

A newly identified coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, also known as COVID-19, has caused a worldwide respiratory illness pandemic. The virus is known to spread via contact with water droplets from an infected person. These drops can contaminate the surfaces we as humans interact with on a daily basis. It can be beneficial to understand if there is a correlation between how long the virus can survive on these surfaces and how easily wettable they are. The data was collected by placing 10 mL droplets onto various surface samples and collecting images of the surface contact. From the image a radius was determined …