Digital Commons Network^™

Sers For Protein Detection At A Single Molecule Level For Developing A New Medical Diagnostics Platform, Lamyaa Almehmadi

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

A two-step process of protein detection at a single molecule level using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) was developed as a new platform for medical diagnostics in this proof-of-concept study. First, a protein molecule was bound to a linker in the bulk solution and then this adduct was chemically reacted with the SERS substrate. Traut’s Reagent (TR) was used to thiolate Bovine serum albumin (BSA) in solution followed by chemical cross linking to a gold surface through a sulfhydryl group. A Glycine-TR adduct was used as a control sample to identify the protein contribution to the SER spectra. Gold SERS …

Study Of Small Molecules With Dna Monolayers On Gold Electrodes Using Electrochemical Quartz Crystal Microbalance On The Millisecond Timescale, Sarasi Kaushalya Kumari Galagedera

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Biosensors based on DNA self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) combined with electrochemical transducers have shown great potential to serve an important role in simple, accurate and inexpensive genetic analyses relevant to many fields. The most popularly adapted method in designing biosensing platforms is the self-assembly of 5’-alkylthiol-modified single stranded or double stranded DNA on gold surfaces followed by a passivation step using a diluent like mercaptohexanol (MCH). Since analytical performance (sensitivity, selectivity and stability) of such sensors is solely related to the probe surface architecture, methods to characterize and measure the surface density has gained a lot of interest among the scientific …

A Class Of Finite Difference Schemes For Singularly Perturbed Delay Differential Equations Of Second Order, Pramod Chakravarthy Podila, Kamalesh Kumar

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

In this paper, we proposed a new class of finite difference schemes for solving singularly perturbed delay differential equation of second order. The proposed schemes are oscillation-free and more accurate than conventional schemes on a uniform mesh. These schemes are easily adaptable on special meshes like Shishkin mesh or Bakhvalov mesh and are uniformly convergent with respect to the perturbation parameter. The error analysis has been carried out and numerical examples are presented to show the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed schemes.

Between-Host Hiv Model: Stability Analysis And Solution Using Memeticcomputing, Musharif Ahmed, Ijaz Mansoor Qureshi, Muhammad Aamer Saleem, Muhammad Zubair, Saad Zafar

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

HIV poses a great threat to humanity for two major reasons. First it attacks the immunity system of the body and second, it is epidemic in nature. Mathematical models of HIV have been instrumental in understanding and controlling the infection. In this paper, we solve the between host epidemic model of HIV, described by nonlinear coupled differential equations, by using memetic computing. Under this model, the sexually active population is divided into four classes and we investigate the transfer of individuals from one class to another. The solution consists of Bernstein polynomials whose parameters have been optimized by using differential …

Exploiting Stochastic Petri Nets With Fuzzy Parameters To Predict Efficient Drug Combinations For Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Rza Bashi̇rov, Recep Duranay, Adi̇l Şeytanoğlu, Mani Mehraei, Ni̇met Akçay

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Randomness and uncertainty are two major problems one faces while modeling nonlinear dynamics of molecular systems. Stochastic and fuzzy methods are used to cope with these problems, but there is no consensus among researchers regarding which method should be used when. This is because the areas of applications of these methods are overlapping with differences in opinions. In the present work, we demonstrate how to use stochastic Petri nets with fuzzy parameters to manage random timing of biomolecular events and deal with the uncertainty of reaction rates in biological networks. The approach is demonstrated through a case study of simulation-based …

Performance Evaluation Of Webrtc-Based Online Consultation Platform, Ergün Alperay Tarim, Hüseyi̇n Cumhur Teki̇n

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Information technologies give patients the opportunity to communicate with medical professionals remotely. Telemedicine uses these technologies to provide advanced healthcare and medical services. We present a medical online consultation application based on Web Real-Time Communications (WebRTC) technology enabling chat, audio, and video calls. Communication architecture and protocols of the application are explained in detail. Additionally, the user interface of the application is shown via performed calls. The application is tested and evaluated on different network connections (3G, 4G, local, and DSL) and different browsers and mobile operating systems (Android, Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, iOS, Opera, Safari). During calls, communication quality …

Telehealth Implementation Strategies For Healthcare Providers, Ismaila Gbenga Olatinwo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The shift in the landscape of healthcare services from inpatient care to outpatient care prompts healthcare leaders to re-evaluate their strategies to boost declining revenue. Telehealth offers potential for increasing efficiency and access to care, and the acceptance of its modal quality is essential for its diffusion and adoption. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies that healthcare providers used to implement telehealth to increase profitability. The conceptual framework was the technology acceptance model. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and review of organizational documents. The research population comprised 4 healthcare leaders in 1 organization in …

Improving Disaster Preparedness And Planning For Chronic Disease Populations, Gladys N. Gichomo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The significant rise of both chronic diseases and disasters in the last 20 years and the healthcare outcomes of individuals with chronic diseases during and in the aftermath of disasters have raised concerns among public health practitioners, healthcare providers, the U.S government, and the general public. Researchers have indicated that during disasters, the health outcomes of individuals with chronic diseases are significantly unfavorable compared to the general public. However, there is inadequate information on the management of chronic diseases, quality of care, and resource identification and allocation by disaster responders. This qualitative, grounded theory study, explored how the study participants …

Relaxed Mental State Detection Using The Emotiv Epoc And Adaptive Threshold Algorithms, Olin L. Anderson

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

The electroencephalogram (EEG) has proven to be useful in a wide variety of applications, including: diagnosis of mental disorders, psychological research, neurofeedback, and brain-computer interfacing. Most such applications of the EEG benefit from an ability to automatically detect when the subject is in a relaxed state. Recently, inexpensive and relatively easy to use EEG systems, with multiple electrodes, have become available at prices comparable to cellular phones or game machines. This project’s purpose is to investigate the feasibility of real-time classification of a subject's relaxation state using one such consumer-grade EEG system, the Emotiv Epoc. The subject's state is classified …

Understanding The Role Of Atg7 And Atg14 In Autophagy, Ronith Chakraborty

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Autophagy is the process by which cytosolic components are trafficked to and degraded by the vacuole or lysosome. It plays a critical role in cellular health, aging, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. Atg7 and Atgl4 are enzymes required for the autophagic process in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In this study, we hypothesized that Atg7 controls the size while Atg 14 controls the number of autophagosomes. Using western blotting, Pho8D.60 assay and transmission electron microscopy analysis, we found that Atg7 affects both the size and number of autophagosomes. In addition, we have created cells expressing various levels of Atgl4 using non-native promoters. In addition, …

Characterization Of The Microbial Phosphonate-Activating Pntc Enzymes, Kyle Rice

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

New strategies are urgently needed to combat infectious diseases in an era of rising antibiotic resistance. Furthermore, an emerging appreciation for the human microbiome’s role in maintaining health motivates discovery of species-specific antibiotics that minimally disrupt our native bacterial communities. Small molecule modifications to bacterial cell surfaces represent a potentially rich source of new targets for next generation antibiotics, as these molecules mediate virulence and evasion of the host immune response. Phosphocholine (PCho) is a rare cell surface modification that contributes to virulence, and modifications with phosphonates like 2-aminoethylphosphonate (AEP) are even more unusual and therefore provide opportunities for species- …

Rationality In Bargaining By Finite Automata, Jim Bell

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Aspects of behavioral decision-making can be integrated into game-theoretic models of two-player bargaining using finite automata which can represent bargaining strategies in combination with various behavioral traits. The automata are used as bargaining agents who must jointly agree upon a fixed allocation of transferable utility in an infinite-horizon Rubinstein bargaining game. At each turn, the automata are given the opportunity to accept a proposed portion of the transferable utility, or to reject the proposal and make a counter-offer of their own. A round-robin tournament and ecological simulations were run to explore strategic dominance under different conditions. Principles of bargaining strategy …

Island Invasion: The Silent Crisis In Hawaii, Sophia Janssen

Pomona Senior Theses

Keeping out invasive species may, upon first review, seem like a trivial environmental cry from ecologists and deep environmentalists; a belated wish to return to an undeveloped world where nature was pristine. However invasive species create problems that impact all of us and can have far more severe consequences than changing a stunning landscape. These problems are heightened in islands like Hawaii, where the fragile ecosystems have developed over centuries of evolution and adaptation. The introduction of a disease-carrying mosquito can put the people of Hawaii at risk to many vector-born illnesses and create an epidemic, taking human life. The …

Improving Access To Clean Water In Rural Ecuador: The Connection Between Willingness To Pay And Population Health, Micalea Leaska

Capstone Collection

Climate change is affecting social and environmental determinants of health through access to safe drinking water, safely managed sanitation systems, and access to health care services and the ability for individuals to break free from unsuitable circumstances. Ecological disturbances such as those caused by climate change can cause a shift in host vectors or a change in habitat that results in a greater likelihood of the pathogen coming in contact with humans. Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services and their accessibility to populations can directly impact a community’s vulnerability to diseases and limiting factors to increase economic growth. If rural …

Health Risk Tolerance As A Key Determinant Of (Un)Willingness To Behavior Change: Conceptualization And Scale Development, Hyoyeun Jun, Yan Jin

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

After the study of testing determinants of risk tolerance affecting information sharing, this study was conducted as a second step to actually develop the scale for risk tolerance. Firstly, this study followed qualitative steps, such as in-depth interview and focus group, to capture how public describes the situation when they are tolerating the risk, when they knew what the recommended behavior is to relieve the risk. Secondly, this study collected 1000 U.S. public sample for the survey questionnaire that are the items generated from the qualitative steps.

Reinforcement Learning For Optimal Control Of Network Epidemic Processes, Alec H. Kerrigan

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Our society is increasingly interconnected, making it easy for cascades/epidemic (diseases, disinformation etc). Current epidemic control efforts are based on approximate network epidemic models, which often ignore the unique complexity and rich information embedded in the complex interconnections of real-world networks/populations.Deep reinforcement learning (RL) is a powerful tool at learning policies for these nonlinear, complex processes in high-dimension. To control an epidemic outbreak on a Susceptible-Infected-Susceptible network epidemic model, we design a RL framework with a custom reward structure using the node2vec embedding technique. Results indicate deep RL is able to determine and converge on an optimal intervention policy in …

Serological Survey And Pathogen Exposure Of Adult Female White-Tailed Deer In The Western Dakotas, Katherine L. Moratz, Bailey S. Gullikson, Eric S. Michel, Daniel M. Grove, Jonathan A. Jenks, William F. Jensen

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Establishing baseline values for pathogen exposure and nutritional indices is necessary to monitor population health. However, little is known about white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) pathogen exposure and nutritional condition in the Northern Great Plains. Our objective was to assess pathogen exposure and establish nutritional indices for female white-tailed deer in Dunn and Grant counties, North Dakota and Perkins County, South Dakota. During 2014, we collected blood serum from 150 adult female white-tailed deer. Pathogens with the highest antibody prevalence included West Nile Virus (WNV; 85%), epizootic hemorrhagic disease (48%), and malignant catarrhal fever (32%). Serum values for creatine kinase, globulin, …

Elq-331 As A Prototype For Extremely Durable Chemoprotection Against Malaria, Martin J. Smilkstein, Sovitj Pou, Alina Krollenbrock, Lisa A. Bleyle, Rozalia A. Dodean, Lisa Frueh, David J. Hinrichs, Multiple Additional Authors

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

The potential benefits of long-acting injectable chemoprotection (LAI-C) against malaria have been recently recognized, prompting a call for suitable candidate drugs to help meet this need. On the basis of its known pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic profiles after oral dosing, ELQ-331, a prodrug of the parasite mitochondrial electron transport inhibitor ELQ-300, was selected for study of pharmacokinetics and efficacy as LAI-C in mice.

Four trials were conducted in which mice were injected with a single intramuscular dose of ELQ-331 or other ELQ-300 prodrugs in sesame oil with 1.2% benzyl alcohol; the ELQ-300 content of the doses ranged from 2.5 to 30 …

Statistical Modeling Of Influenza-Like-Illness In Montana Using Spatial And Temporal Methods, Benjamin A. Stark

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Studying air pollution and public health has been a historically important question in science. It has long been hypothesized that severe air pollution conditions lead to negative implications in basic human health. Primarily, areas thats are prone to severe degrees of human pollution are the focus of such studies. Such research relating to less populated areas are scarce, and this scarcity raises the question of how such pollution dynamics (human-made and natural) influence human health in more rural areas.

The aim of this study is to explore this hole in research; in particular we explore possible links between air pollution …

Silver Nanoparticles: An Effective Antibacterial Agent Against Gram-Negative Bacteria, Ashley M. Wilcox

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

A fourth of the world’s population lack access to safe water, thus the need for a more effective water treatment is imperative. Interest in silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) has grown in the last decade. Unlike chlorine, AgNPs do not form disinfection by products (DBPs), making them a prime candidate for drinking water treatment. The main aim of this study was to compare the antibacterial activity of electrochemical silver nanoparticles (eAgNPs-f) of ~5 nm in diameter against well-established pathogens: Escherichia coli (E. coli), Klebsiella variicola (K. variicola), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) to chlorine and Ag+ for drinking water. This was achieved …

Taking The Bait: Species Taking Oral Rabies Vaccine Baits Intended For Raccoons, Betsy S. Haley, Are R. Berentsen, Richard M. Engeman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Raccoon rabies in eastern USA is managed by strategically distributing oral rabies vaccine (ORV) baits. The attractiveness, palativity, density, and non-target species bait take affect ORV effectiveness. We examined raccoon and non-target species differences in investigating/removing fish-meal polymer and coated sachet baits applied to simulate two aerial bait distribution densities. Bait densities of 150 baits/km2 and 75 baits/km2 were evaluated, respectively, in zones expected to have high and low

Racc oon densities. Three primary non-target species visited baits: coyotes, white-tailed deer, and feral swine. The proportion of bait stations visited by raccoons during 1 week observation periods ranged from 50 …

Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles For Bird Harassment On Fish Ponds, Ciera A. Rhoades, Peter J. Allen, D. Tommy King

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The effects of aquaculture decline on piscivorous birds in the Mississippi Delta concern catfish farmers, with possible increases in fish loss and disease transmission. Piscivorous birds quickly habituate to most current methods of harassment (loud noises and visual disturbances) leading to increased depredation and disease. Our study was designed to test the efficacy of using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to effectively control piscivorous birds at fish farms. We hypothesized that a UAV would be more efficient at reducing the number of fish-eating birds on fish ponds than current forms of harassment. We conducted pre-treatment bird surveys, harassment observations, and post-treatment …

Assessing The Impact Of Incorporating Residential Histories Into The Spatial Analysis Of Cancer Risk, Anny-Claude Joseph

Theses and Dissertations

In many spatial epidemiologic studies, investigators use residential location at diagnosis as a surrogate for unknown environmental exposures or as a geographic basis for assigning measured exposures. Inherently, they make assumptions about the timing and location of pertinent exposures which may prove problematic when studying long latency diseases such as cancer.

In this work we explored how the association between environmental exposures and disease risk for long-latency health outcomes like cancer is affected by residential mobility. We used simulation studies conditioned on real data to evaluate the extent to which the commonly held assumption of no residential mobility 1) affected …

Mathematical Investigation Of The Spatial Spread Of An Infectious Disease In A Heterogeneous Environment, Arielle Gaudiello

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Outbreaks of infectious diseases can devastate a population. Researchers thus study the spread of an infection in a habitat to learn methods of control. In mathematical epidemiology, disease transmission is often assumed to adhere to the law of mass action, yet there are numerous other incidence terms existing in the literature. With recent global outbreaks and epidemics, spatial heterogeneity has been at the forefront of these epidemiological models. We formulate and analyze a model for humans in a homogeneous population with a nonlinear incidence function and demographics of birth and death. We allow for the combination of host immunity after …

A Data Mining Framework For Improving Student Outcomes On Step 1 Of The United States Medical Licensing Examination, James Clark

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Identifying the factors associated with medical students who fail Step 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) has been a focus of investigation for many years. Some researchers believe lower scores on the Medical Colleges Admissions Test (MCAT) are the sole factor used to identify failure. Other researchers believe lower course outcomes during the first two years of medical training are better indicators of failure. Yet, there are medical students who fail Step 1 of the USMLE who enter medical school with high MCAT scores, and conversely medical students with lower academic credentials who are expected to have …

Bivariate Cure Rate Model Using Copula Functions In Presence Of Censored Data And Covariates, Jie Huang

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Bivariate survival cure rate models extend the understanding of time-to-event data by allowing for the formulation of more accurate and informative conclusion. These conclusions are obtainable from an analysis that accounts for a cured fraction of the population and dependence between paired units. We propose a mixture cure rate model where a correlation coefficient is used for the association between bivariate cure rate fractions and a new generalized Farlie Gumbel Morgenstern (FGM) copula function is applied to model the de-

pendence structure of bivariate survival times. Covariate effects are incorporated into two components of our model, cure rate fractions and …

Design, Synthesis, And Evaluation Of Potential Burkholderia Pseudomallei Ispf Inhibitors, Sydney Marie Watkins

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This body of work focuses on the inhibition of Burkholderia pseudomallei enzyme IspF. Burkholderia pseudomallei is the causative agent of Whitmore’s disease, and IspF is an essential enzyme in the synthesis of isoprenoids, a vital class of compounds. This work has involved the design and synthesis of nearly five dozen compounds, as well as the design, modification, and use of assays to demonstrate potential interactions between the compounds being investigated and the targeted organisms or enzymes. Development of assays was made challenging by the difficulty in observing the consumption of an unstable substrate or production of a product without a …

The Design, Synthesis, And Evaluation Of Inhibitors Of The Ispf Enzyme In The Mep Pathway, Christopher G. Stewart

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Isoprenoids are a class of over 50,000 compounds that serve as key precursors for many compounds in plants and animals. These compounds play critical roles in many biological functions such as cellular growth, respiration, and go on to form critical compounds such as steroids and vitamins. Despite their overall necessity to life their biosynthesis only follows two synthetic pathways. These pathways are the Mevalonic Acid (MVA) Pathway and the 2-C-Methyl-D-Erythritol-4-Phosphate (MEP) Pathway also known as the non-mevalonate pathway. The MVA pathway is found primarily in humans and some higher plants while the MEP pathway is found in bacteria and some …

Academic Preparation For Business, Industry, And Government Positions, Alejandra Alvarado, Candice R. Price

Mathematics Sciences: Faculty Publications

According to the 2015 Annual Survey of the Mathematical Sciences, 1901 PhDs were awarded in the USA. The report shows that 52% of those recipients are working in academia. This is a decrease from the 2014 survey which stated that 56% of new doctoral recipients went on to academia. Thus, what support do we, as academics, provide to this growing population of business/industry, or government job seekers? The goal of this paper is to provide insight into programs tackling this question along with relevant information and advice for new PhDs interested in jobs outside of academia as well as those …

Microwave Synthesis And Characterisation Of Zinc Sulfide Nanomaterials For Photocatalytic And Anti-Bacterial Applications, Damian W. Synnott

Doctoral

This thesis is focused on the development of a novel ambient pressure microwave synthesis of ZnS based materials for photocatalytic and anti-bacterial technologies. Chapter 1 introduces the problems with anti-biotic resistant bacteria and the impact that these species are causing within healthcare systems. One of the approaches to tackling these problems is the development of self-cleaning materials to replace the harsh cleaning agents currently in use to sterilize the surfaces of buildings and materials used in healthcare environments. Chapter 1 also introduces semiconductors, semiconductor photocatalysis and the mechanism of action, improving photocatalytic action and how to semiconductor photocatalysts have been …