Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2014

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 5971 - 6000 of 25859

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Interaction Between Insecticide Exposure And Trematode Infection Across Four Wood Frog Populations, Michael J. Hiatt, Jessica Hua Dr., Vanessa Wuerthner, Jason Hoverman Dr. Aug 2014

Interaction Between Insecticide Exposure And Trematode Infection Across Four Wood Frog Populations, Michael J. Hiatt, Jessica Hua Dr., Vanessa Wuerthner, Jason Hoverman Dr.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Amphibian populations are declining worldwide due to a number of stressors including pesticides and parasites. Conservation of these animals can be complicated because populations can differ dramatically in response to the same stressor. When consistently exposed to pesticides, some populations evolve tolerance through the process of natural selection acting across multiple generations. Alternatively, populations that are intermittently exposed to pesticides induce tolerance within a single generation. To date, however, there have been few studies examining the costs associated with these different stress tolerance mechanisms. In this study, we examined how difference in stress tolerance influence susceptibility to parasitic infections. We …

Go to article

Validating Hemoglobin Saturation And Dissolved Oxygen In Tumors Using The Oxylab Probe And Photoacoustic Imaging, Jenna Burnett, Justin Sick, Ms, Marc Mendonca, Keith Stantz, Phd Aug 2014

Validating Hemoglobin Saturation And Dissolved Oxygen In Tumors Using The Oxylab Probe And Photoacoustic Imaging, Jenna Burnett, Justin Sick, Ms, Marc Mendonca, Keith Stantz, Phd

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The goal of this experiment is to validate the relationship between hemoglobin saturation (SaO2) and partial pressure of dissolved oxygen (pO2) in breast tumors in mice using photoacoustic computed tomographic (PCT) imaging and OxyLite probe, respectively. In its simplest form, the relationship is described by the dissociation curve, or Hill’s equation, for hemoglobin, and is modeled as a sigmoidal curve that is a function of two parameters – the Hill coefficient, n, and the net association constant of HbO2, K (or pO2 at 50% SaO2). First, a calibration study to validate …

Go to article

Determining The Binding Between Saga Subunits And Spliceosomal Components, Peyton J. Spreacker, Rachel L. Stegeman, Vikki M. Weake Aug 2014

Determining The Binding Between Saga Subunits And Spliceosomal Components, Peyton J. Spreacker, Rachel L. Stegeman, Vikki M. Weake

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Proper gene regulation is vital to the health and development of an organism. Determining the relationship between splicing, transcription, and chromatin structure is vital for understanding gene regulation as a whole. There have been previous studies linking these elements pairwise; however, no evidence exists for a direct link between all three. Recent data shows that splicing components of the U2 small nuclear ribonucleic protein (snRNP) co-purify with Spt-Ada-Gcn5-acetyltransferase (SAGA), a highly conserved transcriptional co-activator and chromatin modifier. We hypothesize that SAGA binds with splicing components through a multi-protein binding surface with certain core components based on preliminary yeast two-hybrid data. …

Go to article

Bio-Inspired Helicoidal Composites: 3d Printing And Experiments, Michael E. Jones, Pablo Zavattieri, Nobphadon Suksangpanya Aug 2014

Bio-Inspired Helicoidal Composites: 3d Printing And Experiments, Michael E. Jones, Pablo Zavattieri, Nobphadon Suksangpanya

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Materials that are impact resistant enough for personal protection in sports, transport, and combat are not also lightweight, strong, tough, and impact tolerant. Nature can provide inspiration for novel materials that can meet these needs. The hierarchical composite of the stomatopod’s, or mantis shrimp’s, dactyl club has been shown to have high impact resistance and damage tolerance due to its helicoidal fiber reinforcement(1,2). Analyzing helicoidal composites of different pitch angles (angles between adjacent rows of fibers) under quasi-static, displacement-controlled loading has provided insights into the fracture mechanisms of the composite structure and how they affect the macroscopic properties of the …

Go to article

Precipitation Variability And Nitrogen Deposition Alter Root Distribution In A Tallgrass Prairie, Emmalyn P. Terracciano, Michael Schuster, Jeffrey Dukes Aug 2014

Precipitation Variability And Nitrogen Deposition Alter Root Distribution In A Tallgrass Prairie, Emmalyn P. Terracciano, Michael Schuster, Jeffrey Dukes

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Climate change and increases in nitrogen deposition impact ecosystems globally. Projected atmospheric warming allows rain to fall in larger events with longer dry periods in between, increasing rainfall variability in many regions. Concurrently, the combustion of fossil fuels and the heavy use of nitrogen fertilizers continue to increase the availability of nitrogen globally. However, not much is known about how these global change factors, increased rainfall variability and nitrogen deposition, interact with each other to affect ecosystem functions, particularly belowground where root production contributes to soil carbon pools- an important component in regulating climate. In order to study these factors, …

Go to article

Thermoelectric (Te) Device Made Using Pbte Nanocrystal Coated Glass Fibers, Xiaoqin Zhu, Scott W. Finefrock, Yue Wu Aug 2014

Thermoelectric (Te) Device Made Using Pbte Nanocrystal Coated Glass Fibers, Xiaoqin Zhu, Scott W. Finefrock, Yue Wu

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Around 60 % of the energy produced in the U.S. in 2013 was wasted and most of this was dissipated in the form of heat. Thermoelectric materials could potentially harvest part of the energy being wasted by converting heat energy into electrical energy. Lead telluride nanocrystals are an interesting thermoelectric material particularly for solution-based coating of flexible substrates. The purpose of this project is to develop a working thermoelectric device using p-n pairs of PbTe nanocrystal coated glass fibers. In this project, p- and n- type PbTe nanocrystals are synthesized in solution. Bare glass fibers are sequentially dipped in solutions …

Go to article

Three-Dimensional Deformable Pore Networks, Jack W. Conrad, Laura J Pyrak-Nolte Aug 2014

Three-Dimensional Deformable Pore Networks, Jack W. Conrad, Laura J Pyrak-Nolte

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Porous structures in materials play a part in many areas of research and development. A couple of examples of this are extraction of water through aquifers and oil through fracking processes. Current understanding of the small scale fluid-fluid interactions in the structure of these porous materials stops at data of the two dimensional interface between the two fluids. This experiment aimed to create three dimensional, transparent, deformable micro-models which are expected allow us to obtain three dimensional data sets of the capillary pressure–saturation–interfacial area per volume relationship. The micro-models were synthesized using a grain deposition technique. Grains were formed using …

Go to article

Development Of Electron Microscopy Analysis And Simulation Tools For Nanohub, Mingxuan Lu, Chang Wan Han, Benjamin P. Haley, Volkan Ortalan Aug 2014

Development Of Electron Microscopy Analysis And Simulation Tools For Nanohub, Mingxuan Lu, Chang Wan Han, Benjamin P. Haley, Volkan Ortalan

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Electron microscopy has a crucial role in the field of materials science and structural biology. Although electron microscopy gives lots of important results and findings, some additional simulations and image processing/reconstruction is required to get more information from the data that are collected from the experiments. For this purpose, researchers are using IMOD1 and QSTEM2 for electron microscopy analysis and simulation. IMOD is a set of programs used for tomographic reconstruction and 3D visualization and QSTEM is used for quantitative simulations of TEM and STEM images. However, IMOD and QSTEM are hard to install or use for beginners …

Go to article

Functionalization And Length Fractionation Of Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes, Nina A. Bragg, Jing Pan, Jong Hyun Choi Aug 2014

Functionalization And Length Fractionation Of Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes, Nina A. Bragg, Jing Pan, Jong Hyun Choi

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are a promising material for future biological applications such as imaging and targeted drug delivery. SWCNTs can be made soluble in water through surface functionalization, a priority for their use in biology. By studying the surface chemistry of SWCNTs, various functionalization methods can be accomplished without perturbing their electronic structure. This study probes the use of pyrene derivatives and phospholipids to non-covalently functionalize SWCNTs, maintaining useful surface properties. Phospholipids cross-linked to polyethylene glycol (PEG) or 1-pyrenebutyric acid conjugated to DNA is anchored onto the sidewalls of SWCNTs by hydrophobic interactions or π-stacking. The PEG/DNA portion is …

Go to article

Measurement Of Zeta Potential Of Polysaccharides And Fabricating Polysaccharide-Polysaccharide Nanotubes, Sandra Chough, Jozef L. Kokini, Luis Maldonado Aug 2014

Measurement Of Zeta Potential Of Polysaccharides And Fabricating Polysaccharide-Polysaccharide Nanotubes, Sandra Chough, Jozef L. Kokini, Luis Maldonado

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Biopolymer nanotubes (BNTs) are two-open ended cylindrical structures which can be used for nanodevices, medicine, and biology. Especially, fabricating BNTs using proteins is suitable for biological and biomedical applications due to their safety and biocompatibility. This study has been focused on fabricating BNTs using polysaccharides which have been proved to be safe by the FDA and used in food applications. The zeta-potential, surface charge, of different polysaccharides was measured to find the region of stability and isoelectric point from pH 4 to 11 by DLS. Next, xanthan and chitosan have been selected for fabricating BNTs because of their stability and …

Go to article

Three Dimensional Quantification Of Angiotensin Ii-Induced Murine Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Using High Frequency Ultrasound, Amelia R. Adelsperger, Alexa A. Yrineo, Hilary D. Schroeder, Ashley Nicole Blaize, Katherine E. Wilson, Evan H. Phillips, Frederick W. Damen, Craig J. Goergen Aug 2014

Three Dimensional Quantification Of Angiotensin Ii-Induced Murine Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Using High Frequency Ultrasound, Amelia R. Adelsperger, Alexa A. Yrineo, Hilary D. Schroeder, Ashley Nicole Blaize, Katherine E. Wilson, Evan H. Phillips, Frederick W. Damen, Craig J. Goergen

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs), a localized dilation of the vessel wall of 50% or more above normal, claims approximately 14,000 U.S. lives yearly due to aortic rupture. This commonly asymptomatic disease can only be treated by endovascular stent grafts or invasive surgery, usually after the AAA diameter reaches 5 cm. Because these treatment methods carry serious risk, stem cell therapy is being explored in order to provide a low risk option for managing smaller AAAs. To determine if stem cell therapy, once administered, could stabilize or reduce AAA growth, baseline 3D ultrasound measurements in a control group were first needed. …

Go to article

Regulation Of Mor By Different Abiotic Stresses In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Luke Stepan, Rucha Karve, Anjali Iyer-Pascuzzi Aug 2014

Regulation Of Mor By Different Abiotic Stresses In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Luke Stepan, Rucha Karve, Anjali Iyer-Pascuzzi

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The climate is changing and as a consequence the environment is becoming hotter and drier. How different plants will react to these changes is unknown. Identification of genes involved in stress tolerance can help predict plant-environment interactions and lead to stress tolerant plants. The MOR gene (Modulator Of Root ROS, ROS = Reactive Oxygen Species) in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana encodes a transcription factor that may regulate stress responses, as mor mutants are drought tolerant. We hypothesized that MOR expression changes in response to different abiotic stress stimuli. We tested MOR expression in response to salt (NaCl), abscisic acid …

Go to article

Improved Microrobotic Control Through Image Processing And Automated Hardware Interfacing, Archit R. Aggarwal, Wuming Jing, David J. Cappelleri Aug 2014

Improved Microrobotic Control Through Image Processing And Automated Hardware Interfacing, Archit R. Aggarwal, Wuming Jing, David J. Cappelleri

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Untethered submilliliter-sized robots (microrobots) are showing potential use in different industrial, manufacturing and medical applications. A particular type of these microrobots, magnetic robots, have shown improved performance in power and control capabilities compared to the other thermal and electrostatic based robots. However, the magnetic robot designs have not been assessed in a robust manner to understand the degree of control in different environments and their application feasibility. This research project seeks to develop a custom control software interface to provide a holistic tool for researchers to evaluate the microrobotic performance through advance control features. The software deliverable involved two main …

Go to article

Population Balance Modeling Of Conjugation In Enterococcus Faecalis, Jeremy Binagia, Vu Tran, Che-Chi Shu, Doraiswami Ramkrishna Aug 2014

Population Balance Modeling Of Conjugation In Enterococcus Faecalis, Jeremy Binagia, Vu Tran, Che-Chi Shu, Doraiswami Ramkrishna

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

In the bacteria species Enterococcus faecalis, transfer of plasmid pCF10 by conjugation between donor cells that possess sets of genes conferring drug resistance and recipient cells leads to the spread of this resistance in a population. A complex signaling molecule network is responsible for communication between recipient and donor cells. Up to this point, the nature of these signaling molecules has been modeled deterministically from the point of view of an “average” cell. While this view has been cured slightly by stochastic treatments, a model is needed that better accounts for the individual nature of each cell, each cell’s interactions …

Go to article

Seedling Uptake And Fate Of Soil-Applied Capsaicin, A Potential Browse Deterrent, Carmen K. Dobbs, Joshua L Sloan, Douglass F. Jacobs Aug 2014

Seedling Uptake And Fate Of Soil-Applied Capsaicin, A Potential Browse Deterrent, Carmen K. Dobbs, Joshua L Sloan, Douglass F. Jacobs

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Seedling damage due to browse constitutes a major challenge to afforestation and reforestation efforts in the Central Hardwood Forest region of the USA. Many efforts have been made to deter herbivores, but the costs, implementation methods, and relative ineffectiveness of existing mitigation options often preclude operational implementation. An alternate means of deterring wildlife browse is capsaicin, a hot pepper concentrate, which has been reported to decrease herbivory of tree seedlings and is available in a controlled-release form designed to act systemically following application to the soil and subsequent plant uptake. However, the degree to which seedlings are capable of absorbing …

Go to article

Quantification Of Lps Eluate From Coated Microelectrode Devices, Jahrane A. Dale, Janak Gaire, Kevin J. Otto Aug 2014

Quantification Of Lps Eluate From Coated Microelectrode Devices, Jahrane A. Dale, Janak Gaire, Kevin J. Otto

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Penetrating microelectrode arrays have a great potential to be used as control and communication interfaces for neuroprosthetics. A persistent obstacle in the clinical implementation of microelectrode arrays is the chronic degradation of these devices, putatively due to the foreign body response. Though researchers have studied the progression of the foreign body response and the effect of anti-inflammatory drugs on the efficacy of the implant, the exact biological mechanisms of implant degradation are not fully understood. To more closely investigate the effect of the foreign body response on device degradation, neuroinflammation can be exacerbated by coating dummy electrodes implanted into mice …

Go to article

Development Of Transgenic North American White Ash (Fraxinus Americana) Expressing A Bacillus Thuringiensis Protein For Management Of The Emerald Ash Borer, Eric A. Dean, Paula M. Pijut Phd., Micah E. Stevens Aug 2014

Development Of Transgenic North American White Ash (Fraxinus Americana) Expressing A Bacillus Thuringiensis Protein For Management Of The Emerald Ash Borer, Eric A. Dean, Paula M. Pijut Phd., Micah E. Stevens

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

White ash (WA), Fraxinus americana, is an integral part of the hardwood forest ecosystem. Economically, WA provides wood for important products such as baseball bats, tool handles, and hardwood flooring. Ecologically WA provides cover and mast to support wildlife. The emerald ash borer (EAB) is a significant threat to all ash species because of a lack of native resistance in North American ash trees, its rapid spread, and the ineffectiveness and expense of control measures. EAB is a non-native beetle that consumes tree vascular tissue while in the larval stage. The development of an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation protocol may …

Go to article

Nonlinear Optical Microscopy Of Murine Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm, Katherine E. Wilson, Alexa A. Yrineo, Amelia J. Adelsperger, Hilary D. Schroeder, Delong Zhang, Jesse Zhang, Chien-Sheng Liao, Frederick W. Damen, Ji-Xin Cheng, Evan H. Phillips, Craig J. Goergen Aug 2014

Nonlinear Optical Microscopy Of Murine Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm, Katherine E. Wilson, Alexa A. Yrineo, Amelia J. Adelsperger, Hilary D. Schroeder, Delong Zhang, Jesse Zhang, Chien-Sheng Liao, Frederick W. Damen, Ji-Xin Cheng, Evan H. Phillips, Craig J. Goergen

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a cardiovascular disease characterized by dilation and weakening of the vessel wall. AAA rupture is responsible for approximately 14,000 deaths annually in the United States [1]. Nonlinear optical (NLO) microscopy presents new possibilities for analyzing AAA tissue samples from murine models. Common NLO techniques are two-photon excitation fluorescence (TPEF), which detects the intrinsic autofluorescent properties of elastin, and second-harmonic generation (SHG), which is specific for collagen fibrils. Elastin and collagen, two major extracellular matrix components, help the aortic wall withstand internal pressure. Murine AAAs were created through 1) subcutaneous continuous systemic infusion of angiotensin II …

Go to article

Designing Constructed Wetlands For Water Purification In Tanzania, Danielle Mcneely, Michael Sheehan, John Lumkes Aug 2014

Designing Constructed Wetlands For Water Purification In Tanzania, Danielle Mcneely, Michael Sheehan, John Lumkes

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

In Tanzania half of households have unsafe drinking water (Nkonya, 2010) and many diseases arise from poor water quality, including meningitis, hepatitis A and E, and salmonella (Kusiluka et al., 2004). One cost-effective way of cleaning water is by passing it through a wetland. This research is focused on simplifying the process of horizontal subsurface flow wetland construction for the villagers of Endallah. The outcome is an Excel tool that standardizes methodology for building wetlands that can then be applied to Endallah. Rainfall data from the Arusha region of Tanzania was used to make a rainfall estimation grid. From this …

Go to article

Chronic Brain Stimulation Using Micro-Ecog Devices, Hayden C. Carney, Roy Lycke, Kevin J. Otto, Amelia A. Schendel, Justin Williams Aug 2014

Chronic Brain Stimulation Using Micro-Ecog Devices, Hayden C. Carney, Roy Lycke, Kevin J. Otto, Amelia A. Schendel, Justin Williams

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Recording and stimulating brain activity has had great success both as a research tool and as a clinical technique. Neural prosthetics can replace limbs, restore hearing, and treat disorders like Parkinson’s and epilepsy, but are relatively crude. Current neural prosthetic systems use penetrating electrodes to achieve high precision, but the invasive nature of these devices provoke a strong immune response that limits chronic use. (Polikov et al) In our study we evaluate micro-electrocortiographic (micro-ECoG) devices which sit under the skull and on the surface of the brain for stimulation over chronic timescales. We anticipate these devices with their less invasive …

Go to article

Modeling Of Mixed Friction Interactions Occurring In Axial Piston Pumps, Andrew C. Adelsperger, Lizhi Shang, Dan Mizell, Monika Ivantysynova Aug 2014

Modeling Of Mixed Friction Interactions Occurring In Axial Piston Pumps, Andrew C. Adelsperger, Lizhi Shang, Dan Mizell, Monika Ivantysynova

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Axial piston pumps are integral to a variety of hydraulic systems due to their versatility and reliability, but most attempts to model them for design purposes have failed. However, software which fully models the fluid structures within these pumps, such as the FSTI gap design program, has improved significantly. Unfortunately, current discrepancies between simulated and measured friction forces on the cylinder due to the fluid drag and piston movement need to be eliminated so that more accurate simulation of these pumps in operation is possible. Friction measurements and FSTI simulation outputs were analyzed with MATLAB filters and graphs, resulting in …

Go to article

New Insight Into The Effects Of Small Heat Shock Proteins On Callipyge Lamb Meat Tenderness, Traci Cramer, Yuan H Brad Kim, Danyi Ma, Jolena N. Waddell, Moriah Penick Aug 2014

New Insight Into The Effects Of Small Heat Shock Proteins On Callipyge Lamb Meat Tenderness, Traci Cramer, Yuan H Brad Kim, Danyi Ma, Jolena N. Waddell, Moriah Penick

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Callipyge lambs are a type of sheep that are genetically known to produce tough meat. High expression of calpastatin, which inhibits proteolytic activity of µ-calpain, has been identified as the main factor behind the toughness of callipyge lamb meat. Another group of proteins called small heat shock proteins (sHSP) has recently been suggested for its possible involvement in tenderness development of meat, where up-regulation of sHSP may be associated with toughness. However, the role of sHSP in meat tenderization of callipyge lambs has never been investigated; therefore, the objective of this study is to determine possible involvement of sHSP in …

Go to article

Characterization Of Swelling Ratio And Water Content Of Hydrogels For Cartilage Engineering Applications, Emily E. Gill, Renay S.-C. Su, Julie C. Liu Aug 2014

Characterization Of Swelling Ratio And Water Content Of Hydrogels For Cartilage Engineering Applications, Emily E. Gill, Renay S.-C. Su, Julie C. Liu

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Due to the high prevalence of arthritis and cartilage-related injuries, tissue engineers are studying ways to grow cartilage tissue replacements. Resilin, an elastomeric protein found in insect cuticles, is known for its extraordinary resilience and elasticity. In previous studies, recombinant resilin-based hydrogels, or cross-linked protein networks, exhibited potential for use in cartilage tissue scaffolds. Our lab successfully developed resilin-based proteins with a sequence based on the mosquito gene and showed that resilin-based hydrogels possess mechanical properties of the same order of magnitude as native articular cartilage. In addition, these mechanical properties can be controlled by changing the protein concentration. To …

Go to article

Wind Sensor, Jiaoyang Li, Jiqin Ni Aug 2014

Wind Sensor, Jiaoyang Li, Jiqin Ni

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Wind measurement is needed in many practical and scientific research situations. Some specific applications require to precisely measuring both wind direction and wind speed at the same time. Current commercial sensors for wind direction and wind speed measurement usually use ultrasonic technology and the sensors are very expensive (> $1500). In addition, the sensors are large in dimension and cannot measure airflow patterns in high spatial resolution. Therefore new and low cost wind speed and direction sensors that can satisfy the specific requirements are needed. This research project will develop a low cost and compact anemometer to measure the wind …

Go to article

Testing The Viability Of Coiled Coils As Biomaterials For Future Use In Regenerative Medicine Applications, Stephen Godfrey, Manish Nepal, Jean Chmielewski Aug 2014

Testing The Viability Of Coiled Coils As Biomaterials For Future Use In Regenerative Medicine Applications, Stephen Godfrey, Manish Nepal, Jean Chmielewski

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Regenerative medicine and some drug delivery today uses natural biomaterials such as collagen and fibrin as platforms on which to attach cells, growth factors, and other biological chemicals, but these can have immunological effects on the body. Developing other biomaterials that can perform the same tasks without the immunological effects would be beneficial to the field as a whole1. This study aimed to recreate known behaviors of collagen fibers using a novel trimeric coiled coil by coordinating the coiled coils into hollow spheres around a metal ion. These spheres could have future use as a drug delivery platform …

Go to article

Design And Fabrication Of A Novel Electrospinning System For Musculoskeletal Tissue Regeneration, Carter L. Chain, Maggie R. Del Ponte, Meng Deng, Feng Yue, Shihuan Kuang Aug 2014

Design And Fabrication Of A Novel Electrospinning System For Musculoskeletal Tissue Regeneration, Carter L. Chain, Maggie R. Del Ponte, Meng Deng, Feng Yue, Shihuan Kuang

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Disease and injury to human tissue, especially musculoskeletal tissue, is a prevalent concern to the public, affecting millions of people each year. Current treatment options involving autografts and allografts are hindered by limited availability and risk of immunogenicity, respectively. In order to overcome these limitations, a transdisiplinary regenerative engineering strategy has emerged with a focus on the development of biomimetic scaffolds that closely mimic the properties of the native tissues. For example, the structure of muscle tissue is characterized by oriented muscle fibers. However, fabrication of aligned nanofiber structures that mimic the anisotropic organization of muscle presents significant engineering challenges. …

Go to article

Portable Pneumatic Demonstrator For Stem Education, Joe Chege, Tyler Helmus, John Lumkes Aug 2014

Portable Pneumatic Demonstrator For Stem Education, Joe Chege, Tyler Helmus, John Lumkes

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

This project involves the development of a compact and portable pneumatic demonstrator. Using two pneumatic actuators and four solenoid valves, we are able to move an arm on both the X and Y-axes; one actuator for each range of motion. The setup also employs an air pump and a tank to maintain pressure for the actuators. On the actuators there is an arm that holds a camera, a stepper motor and an electromagnet. The stepper motor raises and lowers the electromagnet which is used to pick up objects. The camera is used to automatically identify objects for when the demonstrator …

Go to article

Wirelessly Powered And Transmitting Current Sensing Device, Christopher Quinkert, Steven Lee, Pedro Irazoqui Aug 2014

Wirelessly Powered And Transmitting Current Sensing Device, Christopher Quinkert, Steven Lee, Pedro Irazoqui

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

As the rate of incidence of diabetes increases in the modern world, more accurate and reliable methods of glucose detection must be developed for patients with diabetes. Currently, 25.8 million people have diabetes in the United States alone and account for $174 billion in healthcare costs annually [1]. Devices that can be used without the need for as much patient interaction, regular replacement, or great patient expenses would be a large step forward in the ability of doctors and patients to effectively manage diabetes. To measure glucose concentrations in vivo, a biosensor is used to transduce glucose to an electrical …

Go to article

Identifying Candidate Genes That Affect Epidermal Development, Christina J. Smith, Longfei Wang, Michael V. Mickelbart Aug 2014

Identifying Candidate Genes That Affect Epidermal Development, Christina J. Smith, Longfei Wang, Michael V. Mickelbart

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The regulation of stomata, pores on the epidermis of leaves that allow for gas exchange, is an ideal target for creating a plant capable of acclimating to environmental stresses such as drought. Changes in stomatal density (SD) are correlated with different environments, but the identity of genes that act as modulators of SD are mostly unknown. To identify transcription factors that may act as modulators of SD, T-DNA mutants of candidate transcription factors identified in a genome-wide association study were characterized, and one candidate mutant displaying a phenotype was further characterized for anatomical and physiological traits. Expression of Arabidopsis thaliana …

Go to article

Graphical User Interface On Analysis Of Mechanics And Dynamics Of Biopolymers In Living Cells, Peter D. Russel, Shubham Agrawal, Taeyoon Kim, Abdel-Rahman Hassan Aug 2014

Graphical User Interface On Analysis Of Mechanics And Dynamics Of Biopolymers In Living Cells, Peter D. Russel, Shubham Agrawal, Taeyoon Kim, Abdel-Rahman Hassan

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The mechanical properties of cells depend on the qualities of filamentous-actin (f-actin for short), among other cytoskeletal polymers. The ability to quickly determine f-actin qualities in a sample will help cellular biologists with cytoskeletal protein research. The goal of this project is to create a Matlab program which would allow researchers to determine, with limited manual input, the average filament length and persistence lengths of selected filaments. Through the graphical user interface, the user loads the image stack and can optimize the tracking result by altering several expectations of the program such as the expected contrast between the filament and …

Go to article

First Prev Next Last