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In Vitro Assessment Of The Survivability Of Lactobacillus Casei Dn-114 001 And Lactobacillus Casei Shirota, Within Commercialised Food Matrices, In The Upper Gastrointestinal Tract, Rosie Wills

The Plymouth Student Scientist

The aim of this study was to determine the survivability of probiotics; Lactobacillus casei Shirota and Lactobacillus casei DN-114 001, within their respective commercialised food matrices YakultÃ’ and ActimelÃ’, during in vitro simulated gastrointestinal transit. Original and Light/Fat Free varieties of each brand were assessed to determine whether nutritional composition affected bacterial survival rate. Strains were exposed to 3 hours of simulated gastric transit at pH 2, using Hydrochloric Acid (32%) and Pepsin (3mg ml-1), followed by 2 hours of simulated duodenal transit, at pH 6.5, using Bile Salts (0.3% w/v) and Sodium Hydroxide (4M). Samples were serially diluted with …

A Preliminary Study Into The Use Of Canopy Invertebrates And Sampling Techniques In Relation To Forest Indicators In A Fragmented Scottish Woodland - Application And Management, Natalie Walsh

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Caledonian forests within the Scottish Highlands have experienced severe fragmentation and currently remain as small isolated habitats. Canopy invertebrates within these forests play an important role in ecosystem functioning and may be potentially used as forest indicators for the use in forest management. Four different low-cost invertebrate trapping methods were deployed into birch, oak and Scots pine trees, comparing family diversity and composition between tree and trap types. Data on canopy spread, tree height and d.b.h were also tested to see if they influenced family composition of invertebrates. Collected data found little difference in family diversity and composition between tree …

The Positive Effects Of Aquarium Visits On Children's Behaviour: A Behavioural Observation, Hazel Cocker

The Plymouth Student Scientist

To date research has found a positive effect of blue spaces on adults’ wellbeing. However, it remains to be seen whether these findings are also true for children. The present study aims to address this gap in the literature. The researchers observed children’s behaviour at the National Marine Aquarium across two weeks, including one where the Big Draw event was taking place. In line with restorative theories of natural environments (Kaplan, 1995, Ulrich, 1983), the current research found the exhibit had a calming effect on behaviour and increased levels of happiness across both weeks. During the Big Draw week children …

The Effects Of Energy Beverages In Counteracting The Symptoms Of Mild Hypoxia At Legal General Aviation Altitudes, Daniel Mark Bull

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to conduct preliminary research, in the form of a pilot study, concerning the natural effects of hypoxia compared to the effects of hypoxia experienced after the consumption of an energy beverage. The study evaluated the effects of hypoxia on FAA certificated pilots at a simulated legal general aviation altitude, utilizing the normobaric High Altitude Lab (HAL) located at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida. The researcher tested 11 subjects, who completed three simulated flight tasks within the HAL using the Frasca International Mentor Advanced Aviation Training Device (AATD). The flight tasks were …

Design And Construction Of A Tunable Light Source With Light Emitting Diodes For Photosynthetic Organisms, Nathan Phillipps

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis describes and documents the design and construction of a light source which is tunable and has the ability to mimic the spectral output of the sun in the photosynthetic active radiation range (400 - 700 nm). To adjust the spectral output at different wavelengths different types of LEDs were chosen and combined. This thesis describes the design, construction, testing, and suggestions for further improvements to this light source. The light source is comprised of 900 LEDs with 26 different peak wavelengths within the photosynthetically active radiation range. The light source is made tunable through the use of a …

Develop Novel Frap Techniques For Determining Anisotropic Solute Diffusion In Cartilaginous Tissues, Changcheng Shi

All Dissertations

Cartilaginous tissue is a connective tissue composed of specialized cells (e.g., chondrocytes and fibroblasts) that produce a large amount of extracellular matrix (ECM), which is comprised mostly of collagen fibers, abundant ground substance rich in proteoglycan, and elastic fibers. It is characterized by its avascular structures within the tissue, implying that nutrition for normal tissue cells, for maintaining a healthy ECM, is mainly supplied through diffusion from nearby vascularized tissues and synovial fluid. Poor nutritional supply to the cartilaginous tissue is believed to be an important factor leading to tissue degeneration. Moreover, due to the complex collagen fiber structures, the …

Development Of A Closed-Loop Force Reduction Mechanism In A Gait Rehabilitation Device, Jeffrey Frankart

Theses and Dissertations

Elliptical trainers are prescribed in rehabilitative exercise but difficult to implement in populations with significant functional gait deficits. Typical elliptical machines do not mimic normal gait and therefore require modifications for clinical rehabilitation. This research builds on previous modifications of an elliptical trainer designed to simulate level-surface walking. This design differed from a commercial version. It included articulated footplates and an electromechanically-driven virtual-cam to control footplate position. Ankle dorsiflexion elicited lower-extremity muscle spasticity which produced an unwanted gait variant during stroke patient testing. Spasticity is a hyperexcitable stretch reflex causing inefficient gait. This project’s purpose was to develop an autonomous …

Noninvasive Optical Characterization Of Muscle Blood Flow, Oxygenation, And Metabolism In Women With Fibromyalgia, Yu Shang, Katelyn Gurley, Brock Symons, Douglas Long, Ratchakrit Srikuea, Leslie J. Crofford, Charlotte A. Peterson, Guoqiang Yu

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: Women with fibromyalgia (FM) have symptoms of increased muscular fatigue and reduced exercise tolerance, which may be associated with alterations in muscle microcirculation and oxygen metabolism. This study used near-infrared diffuse optical spectroscopies to noninvasively evaluate muscle blood flow, blood oxygenation and oxygen metabolism during leg fatiguing exercise and during arm arterial cuff occlusion in post-menopausal women with and without FM.

METHODS: Fourteen women with FM and twenty-three well-matched healthy controls participated in this study. For the fatiguing exercise protocol, the subject was instructed to perform 6 sets of 12 isometric contractions of knee extensor muscles with intensity steadily …

Consumer Attention To An Over-The-Counter Warning In Four Different Styles Of Design, Abhishek Gawasane, Laura Bix, Javier De La Fuente, Raghav Prashant Sundar, Timothy J. Smith

Industrial Technology and Packaging

The study consisted of three objectives: (a) to test the relative prominence and conspicuousness of a warning required by US law to be conspicuous; (b) to explore whether or not the conspicuousness of the said warning can be enhanced graphically; and (c) to develop preliminary data for power analysis that would guide decisions related to sample size in future studies.

Seventeen subjects viewed four over-the-counter drug packages (each with a different style of warning) along with five other products while wearing an eye tracking device. Four styles of warning were used on the over-the-counter drug packages: no outline and no …

Lonomics Atlas: A Tool To Explore Interconnected Ionomic, Genomic And Environmental Data, Eduard Dragut, Amgad Madkour, Mohamed Nabeel, Peter Baker, Mourad Ouzzani, David Salt

Cyber Center Publications

Ionomics Atlas facilitates access, analysis and interpretation of an existing large-scale heterogeneous dataset consisting of ionomic (elemental composition of an organism), ge- netic (heritable changes in the DNA of an organism) and ge- ographic information (geographic location, altitude, climate, soil properties, etc). Ionomics Atlas allows connections to be made between the genetic regulation of the ionome of plant populations and their landscape distribution, allowing scientists to investigate the role of natural ionomic variation in adaptation of populations to varied environmental conditions in the landscape. The goal of the Ionomics Atlas is twofold: (1) to allow both novice and expert users …

Differential Mitochondrial Toxicity Screening And Multi- Parametric Data Analysis, Maria V. Tsiper, Jennifer Sturgis, Larisa V. Avramova, Shilpa Parakh, Raymond Fatig, Ana Juan-García, Nianyu Li, Bartek Rajwa, Padma Narayanan, C. W. Wualls Jr., Joseph P. Robinson, Vincent J. Davisson

Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Early evaluation of new drug entities for their potential to cause mitochondrial dysfunction is becoming an important task for drug development. Multi-parametric high-content screening (mp-HCS) of mitochondrial toxicity holds promise as a lead in-vitro strategy for drug testing and safety evaluations. In this study, we have developed a mp-HCS and multi-parametric data analysis scheme for assessing cell responses to induced mitochondrial perturbation. The mp-HCS measurements are shown to be robust enough to allow for quantitative comparison of biological systems with different metabolic pathways simulated by alteration of growth media. Substitution of medium glucose for galactose sensitized cells to drug action …

A Novel Microfluidic Enrichment Technique For Carbonylated Proteins, Bryant C. Hollins

Doctoral Dissertations

Proteins are the building blocks of cells in living organisms, and are composed of amino acids. The expression of proteins is regulated by the processes of transcription and translation. Proteins undergo post-translational modifications in order to dictate their role physiologically within a cell.

Not all post-translational modifications are beneficial for the protein or the cell. One type of post-translational modification, called carbonylation, irreversibly places a carbonyl group onto an amino acid residue, most commonly proline, lysine, arginine, and threonine. This modification can have severe consequences physiologically, including loss of solubility, loss of function, and protein aggregation.

Carbonylated proteins have commonly …

Orientation-Invariant Ecg-Based Virtual Pathology Stethoscope Tracking For Standardized Patient Heart Auscultation, Nahom B. Kidane

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Cardiac auscultation (CA), the act of listening to the heart sounds, is a critical physician's skill that provides substantial information for diagnosing many cardiovascular disorders; therefore, competent training can be a key for accurate and reliable diagnosis. The teaching of CA has been an area of recognized importance since the inception of the stethoscope. However, recent changes in health-care, such as limited student access to patients and higher reliance on competing technologies have made it challenging to teach bedside CA techniques.

Over the past few decades, standardized patients (SPs), individuals trained to portray real patients, have been widely used for …

Slides: Session 3: Decision-Making And The Energy Poor, Andrew Yager

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Andrew Yager, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Sustainable Development

33 slides

Floating Wetland Systems For Nutrient Removal In Stormwater Ponds, Ni-Bin Chang, Martin Wanielista, Manoj Chopra

BMP Trains Research and Publications

Wet detention ponds are frequently used in stormwater management systems as part of a treatment train for attenuation of flow and removal of pollutants. Wet detention ponds designed and operated according to commonly used standards and specifications remove nutrients but the removal of nitrogen has remained low, about 30-40% concentration reduction on a yearly basis. A Floating Treatment Wetland (FTW) composed of selected plants suspended in a wet detention pond was proposed in this research to improve the removal of nutrients before discharge from a pond.

Chronically Inadequate Sleep Results In Abnormal Bone Formation And Abnormal Bone Marrow In Rats, Carol A. Everson, Anne E. Folley, Jeffrey M. Toth

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Insufficient sleep over long durations of the lifespan is believed to adversely affect proper development and healthful aging, although how this might become manifested is unknown. In the present study, rats were repeatedly sleep-restricted during 72 days to permit maladaptations to evolve, thereby permitting study. Densitometric and histomorphometric analyses were performed on harvested bone. In sleep-restricted rats, bone lined by osteoid was reduced 45-fold and osteoid thickness was decreased, compared with controls. This corresponded to a decrease in osteoblast number and activity. The percentage of bone lined by osteoclasts did not differ from that of controls. Plasma concentrations of an …

Preparation And Characterization Of A Self-Crimp Side-By-Side Bicomponent Electrospun Material, Yang Han

Theses and Dissertations

Bicomponent composite fibers have been widely used in the textile industry and are gaining increasing attention on biomedical applications. In this research, polycaprolactone/poly (lactic acid) side-by-side bicomponent fibers were created for the application of a biodegradable scaffold. The side-by-side structure endowed the fiber with self-crimps when it was processed under certain conditions. This material was produced by electrospinning and collected on a high speed rotating mandrel to get highly oriented fibers. A mechanical stretch at the same direction was done followed by a wet heat treatment for polymer retraction. Crimped fibers were demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy. The quantitative porosity …

A Model For Optimizing The Allocation Of Ethanol Production In The U.S., Anali Huggins

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In the last five years, fuel prices have fluctuated from 2.86$/gallon to 3.87$/gallon which represents an increase of 35%. This situation has collocated the ethanol manufacturing in an advantageous situation. However, a major problem that is faced by the ethanol producers is the high cost of transportation. The objective of this thesis study is to determine the optimal allocation of ethanol production in the U.S. in 2009 that minimizes the transportation cost. This thesis is based on the application of a linear programing model. The thesis is focused on two questions. The first is the optimal allocation of ethanol between …

Determining The Proper Point Size For Display Type On Packaging, Joanna Fischer

All Theses

Through the use of a preference test, the proper point size of display text on a package was evaluated in relation to a package's proportions. The test involved the examination of packaging images displaying the product or brand name in various point sizes by 150 participants who were then asked to choose the option they most preferred. The participants were then provided with a post-survey intended to gather additional information regarding potential preference motives.
The primary purpose of this study was to determine the most preferred display type size of a package based on its relationship with the package's proportions. …

Analysis Of The Effect Of Feeding Regimen On Gh/Igf Axis In Channel Catfish (Ictalurus Punctatus), Samantha Puckett

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) are the most widely farmed aquatic animal in the United States. Assessing the effect of feeding regimens on their overall growth requires grow-out trials and a subsequent inefficient use of time and money. The growth hormone (GH)/insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) axis regulates growth based upon environmental factors such as feed intake in many teleost fish species. In order to increase the efficiency of aquaculture, the components of the GH/IGF-1 axis might be used as endocrine biomarkers to evaluate instantaneous growth rate. The goal of this study was to better understand the effects of feeding regimen on …

Evaluation Of Dichloromethane As An Electron Donor For Reductive Dechlorination Of Tetrachloroethene To Ethene, Yogendra Kanitkar

All Theses

Tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE) are the predominant contaminants at hazardous waste sites in the United States. Although less prevalent, dichloromethane (DCM) is also found at a number of sites. EPA classifies PCE and DCM as likely to be carcinogenic in humans by all routes of exposure, while TCE is classified as carcinogenic to humans by all routes. At some sites, releases of PCE, TCE and DCM comingle in the groundwater. Field evidence from one such site in California suggests that DCM is used as the electron donor for reductive dechlorination of TCE. Nevertheless, definitive evidence that DCM can serve …

The Effect Of Food Ingredients On The Oxygen Barrier Properties Of Retort Materials, Amanda Ward

All Theses

An unexplored area in research is addressing how retorted food ingredients interact with retort packaging's oxygen barrier. Ten common food ingredients (whey protein isolate, soy protein isolate, bovine gelatin, fish gelatin, high molecular weight fish gelatin, water, air, oil, potato starch, and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose) were assessed to find their effect on the barrier properties of CPP, PET, and high barrier commercial retort pouches. OxySense Gen III 300 and Mocon OxTran 2/21 were used to evaluate the samples. CPP pouches were first assessed with the OxTran 2/21 and indicated that treatments affected the OTR's of the film materials. However, results from …

Biomass And Lipid Production From Heterotrophic And Mixotrophic Fed-Batch Cultivations Of Microalgae Chlorella Protothecoides Using Glycerol, Shwetha Sivakaminathan

All Theses

Chlorella protothecoides is a microalga that can grow both photo-autotrophically and/or heterotrophically under different culture and environmental conditions. In this study both the heterotrophic growth and mixotrophic growth have been conducted. The heterotrophic experiments were conducted completely in the dark while the mixotrophic experiments had the dark cycles with periodic light exposure. The aim of the study was to independently understand the effect of each mode on biomass and lipid yields.
For the heterotrophic experiments, glycerol was used as an external organic carbon source while yeast extract was used as the nitrogen source. The carbon and nitrogen source were added …

The Formulation Of A Bone Targeted Drug Delivery System Of Poly(Glycolic Acid)-Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Coated Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles For The Delivery Of Statins, Erika Jelen

All Theses

Bone is a form of mineralized connective tissue that provides strength and rigidity to the skeleton. The two primary components within bone tissue are an organic extracellular matrix, containing type I collagen, and an inorganic mineral component composed mainly of calcium phosphate hydroxyapatite crystals. Over time the microarchitecture of bone can break down due to a variety of different factors, mainly the onset of osteoporosis in post-menopausal women, Paget's disease, and the experience of a loss of gravity during space flight. Currently there are about ten million people in the United States alone suffering from osteoporosis.
The prevention of further …

Mathematical Model And Experimental Exploration Of The Nanoinjector Lance Array, Nathan C. Toone

Theses and Dissertations

The Nanoinjector Lance Array has been developed to inject foreign material into thousands of cells at once using electrophoresis to attract and repel particles to and from the electrically-charged lances. A mathematical computer model simulating the motion of attracted or repelled proteins informs the design of the nanoinjection lance array system. The model is validated by accurately predicting protein velocity in electrophoresis experiments. A complete analysis of parameters is conducted via simulations and specific research questions regarding the counter electrode of the nanoinjector lance array system are explored using the model. A novel technique for fabricating lance arrays from collapsed …

The Biomechanical Implications Of An Intrinsic Decompressive Pre-Load On A Posterior Dynamic Stabilization System, Jeffrey Ellis Harris

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate the influence of applying an intrinsic decompressive pre-load to a particular dynamic stabilization device on the biomechanical response of the lumbar spine. The FlexSPAR, which supports this ability, was used as a test case. A finite element model of a full lumbar spine was developed and validated against experimental data, and tested in the primary modes of spinal motion. The model was used to compare five lumbar spine test cases: healthy, degenerate, implanted with a pre-loaded device, implanted with a device without a pre-load, and implanted with rigid fixators. Results indicated that …

Using System Dynamics To Contribute To Ecological Economics, Takuro Uehara, Yoko Nagase, Wayne Wakeland

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper demonstrates the usefulness of the system dynamics approach to the development of ecological economics, the study of the interactions between economic systems and ecological systems. We build and analyze an ecological economic model: an extension of a population–resource dynamics model developed by Brander and Taylor and published in American Economic Review in 1998. The focus of the present paper is on the model building and analysis to contribute to theory building rather than eliciting policy implications from the model. Hence, this is an example of model-based theory building using system dynamics. Our analysis sheds light on several problems …

An Application Of Con-Resistant Trust To Improve The Reliability Of Special Protection Systems Within The Smart Grid, Crystal M. Shipman

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores an application of a con-resistant trust mechanism to improve the performance of communications-based special protection systems to further enhance their effectiveness and resiliency. New initiatives in the energy sector are paving the way for the emergent communications-based smart grid technology. Smart grids incorporate modern technologies in an effort to be more reliable and efficient. However, with the benefits of this new technology comes added risk. This research utilizes a con-resistant trust mechanism as a method to quickly identify malicious or malfunctioning protection system nodes in order to mitigate the resulting instabilities in the smart grid. The feasibility …

Engineering Of Metabolic Pathways And Global Regulators Of Yarrowia Lipolytica To Produce High Value Commercial Products, Ethal Jackson

Metabolic Engineering IX

No abstract provided.

Conference Program, Engineering Conferences International

Metabolic Engineering IX

No abstract provided.