Digital Commons Network^™

Trials And Tribulations Of Humanizing Mice For Cancer Research, Brittney Ruedlinger, Steven Warsof, Eric Feliberti, Mary Beth Hughes, Ayobami ‘Edwin’ Oshin, Chunqi Jiang, Brittany P. Lassiter, Siqi Guo, Stephen J. Beebe

The Graduate School Posters

Cancers are aggressive, evasive, and ruthless killers, claiming millions of lives every year. Cancers are heterogeneous and there is often no single, clearly defined problem as they harness and manipulate a multitude of fundamental mechanisms at the very essence of life. To investigate these mechanisms and vet potential interventive therapies, humanized mice offer a unique model as a prelude to the use of nanosecond pulse stimulation (NPS), a pulse power technology applying nanosecond duration, high electric field pulses, to ablate human tumors. Immunodeficient mouse strains, NSG and NSG-SGM3, were engrafted with human immune cells and human tumors, which would allow …

Comparison Of Three Commercial Automatic Boom Height Systems For Agricultural Sprayers, Travis A. Burgers, John D. Gaard, Brian J. Hyronimus

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Automatic boom height systems reduce the variability of agricultural sprayer boom height. Consistent boom height is important for three key reasons: to reduce uneven spray dispersion if the boom is too low, to reduce spray droplet drift if the boom is too high, and to reduce damage to the boom or crop if the boom is too low. No data is available comparing commercial boom height systems. Three leading North American automatic boom height systems were compared: John Deere BoomTrac Pro (System A), Raven AutoBoom® XRT (System B), and Norac UC5TM Passive Roll (System C) on a John Deere R4045 …

Water News, Spring 2021, Department Of Agriculture And Biosystems Engineering

SDWRI Water News

Contents:
North Central Region tackle harmful algal blooms
Algae pull nutrients from swine facility manure, air
Study examines woodchip quality in bioreactors
Nonprofit joins battle to mitigate Lake Mitchell algal blooms

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 62 Number 1, Spring 2021 [Print Issue V.61:1], Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

14 - VALUE PROPOSITION With more people going to college than ever before, how do we calculate the worth of a college degree? Lauren Loftus.

22 - HUMANITY IN THE HUMOR Santa Clara Magazine sat down with Assistance Professor Danielle Morgan to explore how laughter can be lifesaving—and life affirming. Leslie Griffy.

26 - TOMORROWLAND So really, what happens next? We chat with experts about how the pandemic could change our world as we know it. Leslie Griffy and Tracy Seipel.

32 - A BREAK Explore what you see when you step away from it all—and discover some flighty friends …

A Foray Into Laboratory Scale Soil Incubations With Corn Stover And High Lignin Fermentation Byproduct, Michelle Wang

ENGS 88 Honors Thesis (AB Students)

As the production of biofuels increases to meet the demands of a growing low carbon economy, questions of sustainability surrounding its feedstock and waste streams have become increasingly relevant. In the biofuel production process, crop residues like corn stover are harvested from the field and converted to biofuels leaving generating a residue called high lignin fermentation byproduct (HLFB). From extensive process modelling in the literature, it is suggested that HLFB should be either combusted to fuel auxiliary conversion processes or returned to the soil in place of the crop residues that were harvested. Currently, there is little literature testing the …

Application Of Cycle-By-Cycle Analysis To Eeg Data From Individuals With Phelan-Mcdermid Syndrome, Naomi Miller

ENGS 88 Honors Thesis (AB Students)

This study aimed to analyze a novel method of processing data from electroencephalography (EEG) recordings, which implements time-domain cycle-by-cycle analysis. This "bycycle" method, developed by the Cole & Voytek laboratory, was implemented on a EEG dataset of children with and without Phelan-McDermid Syndrome in the hopes of uncovering network-level explanations for the genetic disorder. A supplemental Python pipeline was developed to organize and visualize the data. This led to the discovery of group-level differences in measures of cycle symmetry in alpha band waves over the sensorimotor electrodes. Through the same pipeline, the bycycle tool was validated as a sound EEG …

G-Map: Gastrointestinal Myoelectric Activity Phantom, Kei Castleberry, Sarah King, Edie O’Connor

Bioengineering Senior Theses

In the biowearable industry, there is a need for benchtop testing methods that present cost-effective, consistent, and ethical alternatives to current preclinical testing. Artificial phantoms serve to meet this need by mimicking the clinically relevant elements that biowearables monitor. They act as a tool for demonstrating a medical device’s safety and efficacy. The objective of this project is to create a gastrointestinal (GI) phantom that emulates the electrical and material properties of the stomach, small intestine, and colon in order to test diagnostic GI biowearables. Our team also aimed to create a computer-simulated model of the phantom in order to …

Modeling Fate And Transport Of Volatile Organic Compounds (Vocs) Inside Sewer Systems, Mohammadyousef Roghani, Ying Li, Nader Rezaei, Ariel Robinson, Elham Shirazi, Kelly G. Pennell

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Hazardous waste site investigations have shown that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can be transported via sewer pipes and migrate into indoor spaces. Despite field data confirming the presence of this exposure pathway, there is lack of context-based numerical models that provide guidance to characterize and predict VOCs concentration in sewer gas at vapor intrusion sites. Particularly, this poses a challenge when assessing and mitigating risks associated with these exposure pathways. Therefore, a numerical model has been developed to simulate the concentration of VOCs in sewer gas in different stages throughout the sewer lines. The developed model considers various input parameters, …

Tissue Engineering Pre-Reads, Ryan M. Williams

Open Educational Resources

This material provides an introduction to a tissue engineering module in an experimental methods in biomedical engineering course. Students are expected to be familiar with this material prior to a pre-assessment taken at the beginning of class as we have condense lecture time this semester.

Characteristics Of Surface Water Quality And Diversity Of Zoobenthos In Water Bodies, An Giang Province, Vietnam, Giao Thanh Nguyen, Thi Hong Nhien Huynh, Hoang Dan Truong

Applied Environmental Research

The use of zoobenthos to evaluate water quality has gained considerable interest due to its low cost and environmental friendliness. This study analyzed water and zoobenthos samples at 13 sites in the water bodies in An Giang province in the rainy season (on March) and dry season (on September) in 2018. The results showed that the surface water was contaminated by organic matters, suspended solids and coliforms. There was occurrence of 28 species of zoobenthos divided into five classes including Oligochaeta, Polychaeta, Insecta, Gastropoda, and Bivalvia in which Bivalvia was the most diverse class accounting for 75%. The densities of …

Willingness To Pay For Improving Household Solid Waste Management In Vietnam, Phan C. Chinh, Nguyen T.Q. Hung, Nguyen M. Ky, Nguyen T.L. Ai, Nguyen M. Tam

Applied Environmental Research

Management of solid waste is a major challenge in urban areas of most parts of the world, especially in developing countries. The study aimed to determine and estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) of the selected households for the improvement of solid waste management in Vietnam. The research evaluated WTP of household solid waste in case studies in Bien Hoa and My Tho cities using contingent valuation method (CVM). The data were collected through a closed-ended questionnaire survey and interviews with 200 households. The results showed that the most willingness to pay was equal to 10,000 and 15,000 VND per …

Characterization Of Uranium, Lead, And Rare Earth Element Pollution In Natural Soils And Sediments, Hope Rasmussen

Civil and Environmental Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Heavy metals in the environment add to the global burden of pollution, negatively impacting public health and ecosystem resilience. This study included projects regarding uranium (U), lead (Pb), and rare earth elements (REE) in natural samples, due to their known toxicity, ubiquity, and relevance in context to recent pollution trends. The first project focused on testing the potential of using a hydroxyapatite product as a remediation solution for U-contaminated groundwater and soil at an EPA Superfund site. The results showed that the U was sequestered in a highly crystalline mineral form within the solids, guiding the EPA to specify the …

Cost Functions Of Crabs: Applications Of Hermit Crab Shell Exchange Behavior To Vacancy Chain Modelling, Hannah Miele

Senior Honors Theses

Vacancy chain systems function as a method of resource distribution in domains such as housing and labor markets. Hermit crabs also employ vacancy chains as a method of shell exchange. Application of vacancy chain modelling in engineering has been attempted, but numerous flaws exist in the developed vacancy chain scheduling algorithm. This work addresses the lack of an appropriate vacancy chain cost function by developing a generalizable cost function based on hermit crab shell exchange behavior. The cost function’s purpose is enabling development of realistic engineering experiments and models based on real-world vacancy chain systems.

Collective Risk Of Construction Development On Desert Tortoise Populations, Paulina Smith

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) are threatened, extremely territorial reptiles living on a rapidly-shrinking landscape. This literature review was conducted with the goal of determining whether the desert tortoises of the Mojave Desert are experiencing compounded effects from construction development which are not reflected in mortality/fecundity calculations in the current literature. Seventeen peer-reviewed sources were identified from the last 20 years which related to roads, railroads, wind-harvesting, solar energy, and man-made barriers/flood control centers in the Mojave. Current literature reveals that researchers do not have the time nor resources to pursue long-term studies on all of the possible effects on this …

Development And Mechanical Characterization Of A Composite Biomaterial Made From Agricultural Waste Reinforcement In A Fungal Mycelium Matrix., John Adam Howe

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Velocity Distribution And Stress Analysis In A Continuous Exchange Cell-Free Protein Synthesis System, Grace Nguyen

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Lean Implementation In An Aquatic Cryopreservation Laboratory, Jennafer Zimmerman

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Hydrothermal Synthesis And Structural Investigation Of A Crystalline Uranyl Borosilicate, Kristen A. Pace, Vladislav V. Klepov, Mark D. Smith, Travis Williams, Gregory Morrison, Jochen A. Lauterbach, Scott T. Misture, Hans Conrad Zur Loye

Faculty Publications

The relevance of multidimensional and porous crystalline materials to nuclear waste reme-diation and storage applications has motivated exploratory research focused on materials discovery of compounds, such as actinide mixed-oxoanion phases, which exhibit rich structural chemistry. The novel phase K1.8 Na1.2 [(UO2)BSi4 O12 ] has been synthesized using hydrothermal methods, rep-resenting the first example of a uranyl borosilicate. The three-dimensional structure crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Cmce with lattice parameters a = 15.5471(19) Å, b = 14.3403(17) Å, c = 11.7315(15) Å, and V = 2615.5(6) Å3, and is composed of UO6 octahedra linked by [BSi4 O12 ]5− chains to …

Spring 2021, Joëlle Walls

The Investigator Research Magazine

Dear readers,

We are proud to present the spring issue of The Investigator and share with you the expansion of diverse research and scholarly activities occurring at Kennesaw State. Although this year was met with challenges, KSU’s research enterprise has thrived and grown.

In this issue, Pamela Whitten discussed the establishment of the Interdisciplinary Innovation Initiative, an internal funding program to spur new collaborations focused on KSU’s research themes. And alumni Carl Saint-Louis and Karen Armstrong, featured in our cover story, have returned as faculty to mentor the next generation.

This publication would not have been possible without the visual …

Program And Proceedings: Nebraska Academy Of Sciences 1880–2021, 141st Anniversary Year, One Hundred-Thirty-First Annual Meeting, April 23-24, 2021

Nebraska Academy of Sciences: Programs and Proceedings

Program

Aeronautics and Space Science

Anthropology

Applied Science and Technology

Biological and Medical Sciences

Collegiate Academy: Biology

Collegiate Academy: Chemistry and Physics

Earth Sciences

Environmental Sciences

General Chemistry

General Physics

Teaching of Science and Mathematics

Friend of Science Award: Paul Karr

Nanoanalytical Analysis Of Bisphosphonate-Driven Alterations Of Microcalcifications Using A 3d Hydrogel System And In Vivo Mouse Model, Jessica L. Ruiz, Joshua D. Hutcheson, Luis Cardoso, Amirala Bakhshian Nik, Alexandra Condado De Abreu, Tan Pham, Fabrizio Buffolo, Sara Busatto, Stefania Frederici, Andrea Ridolfi, Masanori Aikawa, Sergio Bertazzo, Paolo Bergese, Sheldon Weinbaum, Elena Aikawa

Publications and Research

Vascular calcification predicts atherosclerotic plaque rupture and cardiovascular events. Retrospective studies of women taking bisphosphonates (BiPs), a proposed therapy for vascular calcification, showed that BiPs paradoxically increased morbidity in patients with prior acute cardiovascular events but decreased mortality in event-free patients. Calcifying extracellular vesicles (EVs), released by cells within atherosclerotic plaques, aggregate and nucleate calcification. We hypothesized that BiPs block EV aggregation and modify existing mineral growth, potentially altering microcalcification morphology and the risk of plaque rupture. Three-dimensional (3D) collagen hydrogels incubated with calcifying EVs were used to mimic fibrous cap calcification in vitro, while an ApoE−/− mouse was used …

Dbl: Efficient Reachability Queries On Dynamic Graphs, Qiuyi Lyu, Yuchen Li, Bingsheng He, Bin Gong

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Reachability query is a fundamental problem on graphs, which has been extensively studied in academia and industry. Since graphs are subject to frequent updates in many applications, it is essential to support efficient graph updates while offering good performance in reachability queries. Existing solutions compress the original graph with the Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) and propose efficient query processing and index update techniques. However, they focus on optimizing the scenarios where the Strong Connected Components (SCCs) remain unchanged and have overlooked the prohibitively high cost of the DAG maintenance when SCCs are updated. In this paper, we propose DBL, an …

Boundary Precedence Image Inpainting Method Based On Self-Organizing Maps, Haibo Pen, Quan Wang, Zhaoxia Wang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In addition to text data analysis, image analysis is an area that has increasingly gained importance in recent years because more and more image data have spread throughout the internet and real life. As an important segment of image analysis techniques, image restoration has been attracting a lot of researchers’ attention. As one of AI methodologies, Self-organizing Maps (SOMs) have been applied to a great number of useful applications. However, it has rarely been applied to the domain of image restoration. In this paper, we propose a novel image restoration method by leveraging the capability of SOMs, and we name …

Classification Of Primary Versus Metastatic Pancreatic Tumor Cells Using Multiple Biomarkers And Whole Slide Imaging, Poupack Pooshang Baghery

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Pancreatic cancer is a challenging cancer with a high mortality rate and a 5-year survival rate between 2% to 9%. The role of biomarkers is crucial in cancer prognosis, diagnosis, and predicting the possible responses to a specific therapy. The Discovery and development of various types of biomarkers have been studied intensively in the hope of determining the best treatment approaches, better management, and possibly cure of this deadly cancer. However, metastasis, responsible for about 90% of the deaths from cancer, is still poorly understood. A few research that have investigated the expression of a particular biomarker or a panel …

Impact Of Particle Surface Charge Heterogeneity On Deposition Onto Flat Surfaces And Transport In Porous Media, Thompson Delon

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Biological and non-biological natural colloids are anisotropic and ubiquitously exist in groundwater. Previously in colloid transport modelling, colloids are assumed to be homogenous for simplification, whether in shape or surface charge. More research has been done to incorporate surface heterogeneity in the transport experiment, i.e., surface charge heterogeneity on collector in column experiment. However, few studies have been done on surface heterogeneity on colloids themselves.

In this dissertation, Janus particles with different surface charge was developed to model surface heterogeneity on colloids. The interaction energy between Janus particle and flat surfaces was analyzed through DLVO simulation. It was discovered that …

Cultivating Gratitude And Learning: Virtual Agriculture Education For Elementary School Students, Heather Smith, Joy Gritton

2021 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Oral Presentations

In a time when the majority of young children know more about a computer than agriculture, this project brings agriculture to them in a unique way. This presentation introduces a program that aims to connect elementary students with the vast agriculture industry in the digital age using appropriate technology. The project consists of teaching children in Eastern Kentucky and beyond about agriculture and land use through the virtual dissemination of relevant stories, facts, and activities. In this way children can learn how agriculture is vital to their everyday life. Featured topics include horticulture crops, agronomic crops, livestock, and the history …

Developing A Predictive Model Of Depression And Suicidal Tendencies In Pilots, Tanya Kim Bulleigh

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The mental health of commercial airline pilots is as important as their physical health because of their immense responsibility for the safety of their passengers and crews. Pilot suicides that end in fatal aircraft crashes result in many injuries and deaths. Although depression and suicidal tendencies are common across all genders, ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds, the mental health of aviation pilots has been challenging to evaluate and quantify through routine flight medical exams.

The purpose of this study was to determine predictive factors of depression and suicidal tendencies among commercial airline pilots. Previous research has determined predictive factors of depression …

Cei Hub Failure Following A Cascadia Earthquake Event: Preliminary Modeling Of A Liquid Fuel Spill In The Lower Willamette And Columbia Rivers, Mike Du Bose

Civil and Environmental Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub in Northwest Portland, OR spans a six-mile stretch of the Lower Willamette River and stores 90% of Oregon’s liquid fuel supply and 100% of the jet fuel for PDX. The CEI Hub is also built entirely on liquefiable soils which are likely to fail during a Cascadia earthquake event. The purpose of this project was to model a liquid fuel spill in the Lower Willamette and Columbia Rivers using the CE-QUAL-W2 model. Several scenarios were developed to account for different environmental conditions, (e.g., high and low discharge years) and varying spill durations (e.g., rapid …

A Comparison Of Particulate Matter Deposition Onto Green Roof Species And White Roof In Portland, Oregon, Amelia Drake

University Honors Theses

This study explores the following question: how do different green roof vegetation species contribute to particulate matter deposition relative to a white roof in Portland, Oregon? To answer this question, rinse water from two species of vegetation and rinse water from a white roof were filtered to measure the mass of particles found on these leaves. Leaf area was then determined in order to calculate the density of particles found on each surface. The resulting conclusions from this process clearly indicate that a larger density of particles collected on vegetative surfaces as opposed to the surface of the white roof. …

Marine Robot Deployment And Control System, Nicky Castillo, Nick Ellis, Trent Kelsall, Matt Kiyama

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

A full operations package for underwater research, including the mid-sized ROV Nautilus with a distributed control system, a topside graphical user interface (GUI), and a dedicated launch and recovery system (LARS), was developed to increase the operational efficiency of scientific exploration and experimentation missions through Santa Clara University’s (SCU’s) Robotics Systems Laboratory (RSL). Design of the mechanical subsystems on Nautilus added flexibility of usage and protection of components. The new GUI improved pilot control of Nautilus with an added heads-up display and easy access to sensor readouts. The simulated Nautilus altitude control system has an error of ±1% and a …