Digital Commons Network^™

What Internal Variables Affect Sensorimotor Rhythm Brain-Computer Interface (Smr-Bci) Performance?, Alex J. Horowitz, Christoph Guger, Milena Korostenskaja

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

In this review article, we aimed to create a summary of the effects of internal variables on the performance of sensorimotor rhythm-based brain computer interfaces (SMR-BCIs). SMR-BCIs can be potentially used for interfacing between the brain and devices, bypassing usual central nervous system output, such as muscle activity. The careful consideration of internal factors, affecting SMR-BCI performance, can maximize BCI application in both healthy and disabled people. Internal variables may be generalized as descriptors of the processes mainly dependent on the BCI user and/or originating within the user. The current review aimed to critically evaluate and summarize the currently accumulated …

An Improvement Of Cross Entropy Thresholding For Skin Cancer, Nancy Aref Zreika N, A. Zreika, Ali El Zaart, Abdallah Al Shakik

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

Image processing procedures in medical diagnosis are used to improve diagnosis accuracy. An example of this is skin cancer detection using the thresholding approach. Thus, research studies involved in identification of inherited mutations predisposing family members to malignant melanoma have been performed in the Cancer Genetics field. Melanoma is one of the deadliest cancers, but could be cured when diagnosed early. A fundamental step in image processing is segmentation that includes thresholding, among others. Thresholding is based on finding the optimal thresholds value that partitions the image into multiple classes to be able to distinguish the objects from the background. …

Washing Technology For Medium And Highly Saline Soils, B.K. Saliev, M. S. Yuldashev, N.O. Shaimanov

Irrigation and Melioration

The article discusses the issues of conducting field experiments to assess the reclamation conditions of soils, which are a particular issue of managing salinity and water-salt regime, as well as increasing the efficiency of desalination. Today, 46.6% of the irrigated lands of the Republic of Uzbekistan have salinization of varying degrees, of which 30.9% are weak, 13.3% are moderate and 2.5% are highly saline. Medium and highly saline lands make up 15.8%. The essence of the proposed method of flushing from the traditional one is that in late autumn or winter, the collectors-ditches are closed, and the groundwater is artificially …

Distribution Of Calcium And Its Reserve Forms In Widespread Irrigated Gray Meadow Soils Of The Syrdarya Region, A. Akhatov

Irrigation and Melioration

The article examines the uneven distribution of calcium in reserve (general, potential, close and labile) forms in irrigated and gray-earth-meadow soils of the experimental section of the NIISSAVKH of the Gulistan district of the Syrdarya region and the farms "Sokhil" and "Ak altin" in irrigated meadow soils the form of a close reserve in the soil profile is 310 mg per 100 gr of soil. The upper layer of highly saline, medium loamy soil gradually decreases at a depth of 60-76 cm. layer. The labile calcium reserve in irrigated serozem-meadow, highly saline, medium loamy soils varies from 175 to 260 …

The Influence Of Gender Approaches On Education Efficiency, G. Eshchanova

Irrigation and Melioration

The given article covers the influence of gender approaches on education efficiency on the basis of statistical and scientific data, and the need to rely on the basis of the necessary knowledge for the ecologically sustainable development of women's knowledge, competence and entrepreneurship are shown. The educational process based on Gender differences and equality contributes significantly to the development of society.

Exploring Robustness Of Neural Networks Through Graph Measures, Asim Waqas, Ghulam Rasool, Hamza Farooq, Nidhal Carla Bouaynaya

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

Motivated by graph theory, artificial neural networks (ANNs) are traditionally structured as layers of neurons (nodes), which learn useful information by the passage of data through interconnections (edges). In the machine learning realm, graph structures (i.e., neurons and connections) of ANNs have recently been explored using various graph-theoretic measures linked to their predictive performance. On the other hand, in network science (NetSci), certain graph measures including entropy and curvature are known to provide insight into the robustness and fragility of real-world networks. In this work, we use these graph measures to explore the robustness of various ANNs to adversarial attacks. …

Development Of A Bipolar Radiofrequency Ablation Device For Renal Denervation, Noel Perez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The American Heart Association (AHA) reported in March 2020, hypertension (HT) is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and heart stroke. Resistant hypertension (RH) is a subset of HT and affects 11-16% of hypertensive patients. RH is diagnosed when a patient cannot achieve blood pressure control despite taking three or more medications and is a serious clinical management challenge.

Renal denervation (RD) using radiofrequency (RF) ablation is an accepted form of RH therapy. RD devices are typically delivered through femoral access into the renal artery with the assistance of a standard guided sheath. In the European Union (EU), the …

Facile Fabrication And Characterization Of Kraft Lignin@Fe3o4 Nanocomposites Using Ph Driven Precipitation: Effects On Increasing Lignin Content, Frankie A. Petrie, Justin M. Gorham, Robert T. Busch, Serhiy O. Leontsev, Esteban E. Ureña-Benavides, Erick S. Vasquez

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

This work offers a facile fabrication method for lignin nanocomposites through the assembly of kraft lignin onto magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4) based on pH-driven precipitation, without needing organic solvents or lignin functionalization. Kraft lignin@Fe3O4 multicore nanocomposites fabrication proceeded using a simple, pH-driven precipitation technique. An alkaline solution for kraft lignin (pH 12) was rapidly injected into an aqueous-based Fe3O4 nanoparticle colloidal suspension (pH 7) under constant mixing conditions, allowing the fabrication of lignin magnetic nanocomposites. The effects of increasing lignin to initial Fe3O4 mass content (g/g), increasing in ratio from 1:1 to 20:1, are discussed with a complete chemical, structural, and …

Flavour Chemicals, Synthetic Coolants And Pulegone In Popular Mint-Flavoured And Menthol-Flavoured E-Cigarettes., Esther E. Omaiye, Wentai Luo, Kevin J. Mcwhirter, James F. Pankow, Prue Talbot

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently banned flavours from pod-style electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), except for menthol and tobacco. JUUL customers have quickly discovered that flavoured disposable e-cigarettes from other manufacturers, such as Puff, are readily available. Our goal was to compare flavour chemicals, synthetic coolants and pulegone in mint-flavoured/menthol-flavoured e-cigarettes from JUUL and Puff, evaluate the cytotoxicity of the coolants and perform a cancer risk assessment for pulegone, which is present in both JUUL pods and disposable Puff products.

Somatic Inhibition By Microscopic Magnetic Stimulation, Hui Ye

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Electric currents can produce quick, reversible control of neural activity. Externally applied electric currents have been used in inhibiting certain ganglion cells in clinical practices. Via electromagnetic induction, a miniature-sized magnetic coil could provide focal stimulation to the ganglion neurons. Here we report that high-frequency stimulation with the miniature coil could reversibly block ganglion cell activity in marine mollusk Aplysia californica, regardless the firing frequency of the neurons, or concentration of potassium ions around the ganglion neurons. Presence of the ganglion sheath has minimal impact on the inhibitory effects of the coil. The inhibitory effect was local to the …

Design For Living

DePaul Magazine

With health care increasingly moving online, DePaul has emerged as a leader in cutting-edge digital technology leveraged for the greater good. From harnessing design as a vehicle for social change to creating an app to help close racial inequity gaps in care, 21st-century advances with an eye toward Vincentian values are unfolding every day at DePaul thanks to the inventiveness and ingenuity of its faculty, staff and students.

Identifying The Determinants And Extent Of Crop Diversification At Farm Level: A Case Study Of Uzbekistan, A.Э. Primov, M.H. Saidov, I. B. Rustamova, A.A. Abduvasikov

Irrigation and Melioration

Since independence, the government of Uzbekistan has implemented the number of agricultural policies such as making some crucial structural reforms at the farms, comprising different institutions and enhancing diversification of agricultural production in order to stabilize the agricultural sector of the country. Therefore, crop diversity has an important role in sustainable agriculture. We calculated the diversification index based on the Simpson Diversity Index method while ordinary least square (OLS) regression analysis was employed to assess the association of crop diversification on farm income using cross-sectional data from 381 farmers of Uzbekistan. The study revealed the mean computed Simpson Index values …

Reviewing Technologies And Devices For Drying Grain And Oilseeds, Jalolitdin Pakhritdinovich Mukhitdinov, Elyorbek Xasanovich Safarov

Chemical Technology, Control and Management

The article analyzes the operation of the most commonly used dryers for drying sunflowers and other agricultural cereals. Based on the study of drying technology and methods, the advantages and disadvantages of dryers have been analyzed, the results of comparisons of their technical indicators have been presented in tabular form. In the form of a diagram, an analysis of foreign and domestic patent data obtained over the past 10 years for the considered drying devices was presented. The choice of the most suitable installation was carried out on the basis of the compiled analytical table. In order to improve the …

Alternative Approaches To Protect Sensory Inner Ear Tissue Against Cisplatin-Induced Ototoxicity, Nicole K. Febles

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is a prevalent neurodegenerative disorder often involving permanent damage and loss to the inner ear’s mechano-sensory hair cells and spiral ganglion neuron fibers. Significant causes of SNHL are ototoxic drugs, environmental factors, loud noises, and continuous wear with age. A successful but ototoxic chemotherapeutic known as Cisplatin often damages auditory hair cells via mitochondria dysfunction, DNA fragmentation, and cellular death through apoptosis. Despite the high prevalence of SNHL, there currently is no FDA-approved prevention or cure. Thus, auditory and cancer researchers have investigated various individual otoprotective agent preventions with limited success. This dissertation used a novel …

Determination Of Main Ingredients In Milk Using Akm-98 Milk Analyzer, Qobil Mukhiddinov Master, Sh Sultanova Dr., J Safarov Dr. Professor, A Aït-Kaddour Dr., Professor, D Samandarov Phd

Technical science and innovation

The aim of the research is a quick, easy, economical way to determine milk content. Nowadays, the production of cow’s milk is dominant, but the original quality of non-bovine milk, such as camel’s milk, is now better described and is experiencing growing interest. Camel’s milk, goat’s milk, ewe’s milk and buffalo’s milk have received special attention because of their recognition as potential functional foods from a nutritional point of view. It is admitted that camel’s milk presents a high nutritional quality; e.g., it has three times more vitamin C, minerals, and essential and polyunsaturated Fatty Acids than cow’s milk. It …

Evaluation Of Fluoride Adsorption Mechanism And Capacity Of Different Types Of Bone Char, Benyapa Sawangjang, Phacharapol Induvesa, Aunnop Wongrueng, Chayakorn Pumas, Suraphong Wattanachira, Pharkphum Rakruam, Patiparn Punyapalakul, Satoshi Takizawa, Eakalak Khan

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

The fluoride adsorption capacity of three types of bone char (BC), including cow BC (CBC), chicken BC (CKBC), and pig BC (PBC), was examined. At the optimum charring conditions (temperature and time), PBC had the highest hydroxyapatite (HAP) content (0.928 g-HAP/g-BC), while CBC had the highest specific surface area (103.11 m2/g-BC). CBC also had the maximum fluoride adsorption capacity (0.788 mg-F/g-HAP), suggesting that fluoride adsorption capacity depends more on the specific surface area of the BC than the HAP content. The adsorption data of CBC, CKBC, and PBC fit well with the pseudo-second-order model and the Langmuir isotherm. The maximum …

A State-Of-The-Art Review Of Laser-Assisted Bioprinting And Its Future Research Trends, Chaoran Dou, Victoria Perez, Jie Qu, Andrew Tsin, Ben Xu, Jianzhi Li

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Bioprinting is an additive manufacturing technology with great potential in medical applications. Among available bioprinting techniques, laser-assisted bioprinting (LAB) is a promising technique due to its high resolution, high cell viability, and the capability to deposit high-viscousity bioink. These characteristics allow the LAB technology to control cells precisely to reconstruct living organs. Recent developments of LAB technologies are reviewed in this paper, covering various designs of LAB printers, research progresses in energy-absorbing layer (EAL), the physical phenomenon that triggers the printing process in terms of bubble formation and jet development, printing process parameters, and major factors related to the post-printing …

High Speed Switching For Plasma Based Electroporation, Shivangi Sharma

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ever since mankind has started identifying the diseases, extensive work has been done, and pathologies are written identifying the cure for them. As technology progressed, the development in the field of pathologies also did. Thus, finding innovative and efficient ways to get the ‘cure’. With the advancement in drugs, the delivery methods for these drugs also have advanced. One such delivery method is gene therapy. This method is beneficial when genes are to be used to prevent diseases.

Gene therapy has been proven effective for treating a wide range of conditions, such as cancer, heart diseases, and diabetes. Gene therapy …

Development Of A Numerical Process Model For Adsorbent-Amended Constructed Wetlands, Lillian Mulligan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a need for alternative methods for municipal landfill leachate treatment as the high concentrations of pollutants in leachate interfere with processes at publicly owned treatment works (POTWs). Constructed wetlands (CWs) have been shown to be a sustainable alternative with good removal efficiencies for chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia nitrogen (NH4+). The addition of an adsorbent media, such as zeolite and biochar, to CWs to further enhance removal efficiencies has been investigated in recent years. However, the long-term effects of zeolite and biochar addition to CWs is not well known. A model could be a useful tool to …

Robotic Technologies For High-Throughput Plant Phenotyping: Contemporary Reviews And Future Perspectives, Abbas Atefi, Yufeng Ge, Santosh Pitla, James Schnable

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Phenotyping plants is an essential component of any effort to develop new crop varieties. As plant breeders seek to increase crop productivity and produce more food for the future, the amount of phenotype information they require will also increase. Traditional plant phenotyping relying on manual measurement is laborious, time-consuming, error-prone, and costly. Plant phenotyping robots have emerged as a high-throughput technology to measure morphological, chemical and physiological properties of large number of plants. Several robotic systems have been developed to fulfill different phenotyping missions. In particular, robotic phenotyping has the potential to enable efficient monitoring of changes in plant traits …

Comparison Of Promoter, Dna Vector, And Cationic Carrier For Efficient Transfection Of Hmscs From Multiple Donors And Tissue Sources, Tyler Kozisek, Andrew Hamann, Luke Samuelson, Miguel Fudolig, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are primary cells with high clinical relevance that could be enhanced through genetic modification. However, gene delivery, particularly through nonviral routes, is inefficient. To address the shortcomings of nonviral gene delivery to hMSCs, our lab has previously demonstrated that pharmacological “priming” of hMSCs with clinically approved drugs can increase transfection in hMSCs by modulating transfection-induced cytotoxicity. However, even with priming, hMSC transfection remains inefficient for clinical applications. This work takes a complementary approach to addressing the challenges of transfecting hMSCs by systematically investigating key transfection parameters for their effect on transgene expression. Specifically, we investigated …

Flow Visualization And Aerosol Characterization Of Respiratory Jets Exhaled From A Mannequin Simulator, Sindhu Reddy Mutra

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It is important to understand the airborne transmission of infectious diseases due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Physical experiments were conducted to understand the dispersion of aerosols emitted from a mannequin simulator replicating human tidal breathing through the nose and mouth with and without a protective face mask in an enclosed space. Flow patterns are observed via high-speed visualization, and the concentration and size distribution of the particles is measured as a function of distance from the mannequin using an optical particle sizer. Masks were shown to effectively reduce the horizontal dispersion of aerosol for both mouth and nose breathing. Further, …

Sustainability Assessment Of A Pressure Retarded Osmosis System, Samar Al Mashrafi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Desalination has the potential to provide a stable supply of clean fresh water and meet the increasing water demands; however, this process does come with a few challenges such as high energy consumption, high energy cost, and a discharge of a highly concentrated brine. Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) is a technology that could work as an efficient energy recovery technology for desalination since it can significantly reduce the energy consumption and dilute the brine before discharge. Studies have assessed the economic feasibility of PRO systems; however, these studies have not addressed the environmental sustainability of the systems. Thus, there is …

Transparent Planar Micro-Electrode Array For In-Vitro Electric Field Mediated Gene Delivery, Raj Himatlal Shah

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gene delivery is the process of delivering the modified gene into the human cell. There are two types of gene delivery depending on where the target cells are. The in-vivo gene delivery deals with delivering the altered genes into the cells while still in the host body. While another approach is to extract the cells from the host body, transfer the modified gene into cells and then put these cells back into the host body, this approach is called the ex-vivo method.

A vector is a carrier that carries the modified gene to the host cell or body. Hence, depending …

Assessing The Feasibility Of Microbially Managed Biological Filtration In U.S. Drinking Water Systems For Removal Of Contaminants Of Emerging Concern, Andrew J. Black

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The future of water security in the U.S. is clouded by the progression of anthropogenic climate change and the increasing number of households unable to afford access to safe drinking water, while advances in detection and potential health risks of trace organic contaminants are constantly moving the water treatment finish line. There is a need for sustainable, economically feasible technology to provide the means to meet increasingly stringent water quality regulations while also ensuring current standards are met for all communities. Biologically active filtration, combined with an operational approach designed to optimize contaminant removal by the biofilm, may enable water …

Mechanical Failure Of Metal/Ceramic Interfacial Regions Under Shear And Tensile Loading, Xiaoman Zhang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Quantitative assessment of the adhesion strength of ceramic hard coatings on substrates is a subject of great technological importance as well as current scientific relevance. Achievement of reliable and quantitative measurements of interfacial strength has proven difficult over the past two decades. In this dissertation, how the deformation and fracture behavior of ceramic/metal/substrate interfacial regions under shear and tensile loading is influenced by the structure and chemical composition of the interfacial region were observed and discussed. Interfacial shear failure experiments were carried out on focused ion beam fabricated micro pillars containing interfacial regions of ceramic/metal/substrate systems. Detailed characterization was carried …

Maximum Multiplicative Programming: Theory, Algorithms, And Applications, Payman Ghasemi Saghand

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents three different contributions to an important class of optimization problems known as Multiplicative Programs (MPs). The first group of contributions contains the development and analysis of several multi-objective optimization-based based algorithms designed to find the optimal solution of Mixed Integer Linear MPs. As for the second group, the application of a special class of MPs in radiotherapy planning is presented. Finally, in the last group, a new technique for conducting the multiplication process in the objectives of MPs is presented. Using this technique, we introduce a family of novel solution methods that are capable of solving both …

Low-Cost Device For Laser Phacoemulsification: A Preliminary Study, Mitchell Harrah

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current gold standard of cataract removal surgery is phacoemulsification systems. These are divided based on the type of devices used; both are considered equal but with different delivery modes. These delivery methods are either acoustic or light-based. However, these devices pose two hurdles for impoverished areas: high costs and heavy resource usage. This thesis proposes a novel phacoemulsification system is based on the low-cost, off-shelf laser diodes that implement light-based phacoemulsification of cataracts. The system is tested for viability over two methods: finite element analysis and experimentation on various phantoms. Simulations on the device have occurred on the COMSOL …

Effects Of Stiffness And Cell Shape On Cellular Mechanosensing, Sarah Lynn Furman

Theses and Dissertations

Cellular mechanosensing is the process of converting mechanical signals into biological responses. Stem cells are self-renewing cells with the potential to transform into specialized cell types - this differentiation process is influenced by cellular mechanosensing. Cells sense material stiffness, and stiffer environments result in increased cellular mechanosensing and preferential differentiation into bone-producing osteoblasts. Cell shape also plays an important role due to its influence on cytoskeletal contractility, and photopatterning can be used to study the effects of cell shape on cellular mechanosensing. Although the effects of material stiffness and cell shape have been studied, little is known about the joint …

Estimation Of Able-Bodied Humans Elbow Joint Actions Using Semg And Ann-Based Softmax Classifier, Abdullah Al-Maliki

Theses and Dissertations

The upper limb is a complex part of the human body, and it is necessary to carry on daily tasks and maintain self-dependence. As a result, the daily life of people with upper limb amputation could not be as easy or as free as the more fortunate people without amputation. This work focuses on estimating the upper limb’s angular displacement, speed, acceleration, and torque at the elbow joint, it does so regardless of arm’s orientation and effort level. We do so to enable better control of the myoelectric prosthesis. This work complements the related existing literature, which usually does not …