Digital Commons Network^™

Bio-Inspired Multi-Spectral And Polarization Imaging Sensors For Image-Guided Surgery, Nimrod Missael Garcia

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Image-guided surgery (IGS) can enhance cancer treatment by decreasing, and ideally eliminating, positive tumor margins and iatrogenic damage to healthy tissue. Current state-of-the-art near-infrared fluorescence imaging systems are bulky, costly, lack sensitivity under surgical illumination, and lack co-registration accuracy between multimodal images. As a result, an overwhelming majority of physicians still rely on their unaided eyes and palpation as the primary sensing modalities to distinguish cancerous from healthy tissue. In my thesis, I have addressed these challenges in IGC by mimicking the visual systems of several animals to construct low power, compact and highly sensitive multi-spectral and color-polarization sensors. I …

Image Reconstruction Of The Speed Of Sound And Initial Pressure Distributions In Ultrasound Computed Tomography And Photoacoustic Computed Tomography, Thomas Paul Matthews

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Ultrasound computed tomography (USCT) and photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) are two emerging imaging modalities that have a wide range of potential applications from pre-clinical small animal imaging to cancer screening in human subjects. USCT is typically employed to measure acoustic contrasts, including the speed of sound (SOS) distribution, while PACT typically measures optical contrasts or some related quantity such as the initial pressure distribution. Their complementary contrasts and similar implementations make USCT and PACT a natural fit for a hybrid imaging system. Still, much work remains to realize this promise. First, USCT image reconstruction methods based on the acoustic wave …

Reconstruction Algorithms For Novel Joint Imaging Techniques In Pet, Homayoon Ranjbar

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Positron emission tomography (PET) is an important functional in vivo imaging modality with many clinical applications. Its enormously wide range of applications has made both research and industry combine it with other imaging modalities such as X-ray computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The general purpose of this work is to study two cases in PET where the goal is to perform image reconstruction jointly on two data types.

The first case is the Beta-Gamma image reconstruction. Positron emitting isotopes, such as ¹¹C, ¹³N, and ¹⁸F, can be used to label molecules, and tracers, such …

System Optimization And Iterative Image Reconstruction In Photoacoustic Computed Tomography For Breast Imaging, Yang Lou

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Photoacoustic computed tomography(PACT), also known as optoacoustic tomography (OAT), is an emerging imaging technique that has developed rapidly in recent years. The combination of the high optical contrast and the high acoustic resolution of this hybrid imaging technique makes it a promising candidate for human breast imaging, where conventional imaging techniques including X-ray mammography, B-mode ultrasound, and MRI suffer from low contrast, low specificity for certain breast types, and additional risks related to ionizing radiation. Though significant works have been done to push the frontier of PACT breast imaging, it is still challenging to successfully build a PACT breast imaging …

Abiotic- And Biotic-Formation Of Manganese Oxides And Their Fate In Environmental Systems, Haesung Jung

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Manganese (hydr)oxide (Mn (hydr)oxide) minerals are ubiquitous in aquatic and terrestrial environments. These minerals have high surface areas and are highly sorptive and redox active. From decades of accumulated knowledge about natural redox cycling, we have found that Mn (hydr)oxides play critical roles as electron donors and acceptors in elemental geochemical cycling and biological metabolisms in nature. Thus, Mn (hydr)oxides have garnered increasing interest to understand natural systems. Considering the variety of redox reactions with Mn (hydr)oxides in nature, it is also expected that there should be diverse pathways to form Mn (hydr)oxides through abiotic and biotic processes. Previous studies …

Development Of In Vitro Drug Screening Platforms Using Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiovascular Cells, Yosuke Kurokawa

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Drug-induced cardiotoxicity is a critical challenge in the development of new drugs. Since the advent of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (CMs), researchers have explored ways to utilize these cells for in vitro preclinical drug screening applications. One area of interest is microphysiological systems (i.e. organ-on-a-chip), which aims to create more complex in vitro models of human organ systems, thus improving drug response predictions. In this dissertation, we investigated novel analysis methods and model platforms for detecting drug-induced cardiotoxicity using human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cardiovascular cells.

First, we utilized human iPSC-derived CMs (iPS-CMs) to establish optical methods of …

Extrinsic And Intrinsic Control Of Integrative Processes In Neural Systems, Anirban Nandi

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

At the simplest dynamical level, neurons can be understood as integrators. That is, neurons accumulate excitation from afferent neurons until, eventually, a threshold is reached and they produce a spike. Here, we consider the control of integrative processes in neural circuits in two contexts. First, we consider the problem of extrinsic neurocontrol, or modulating the spiking activity of neural circuits using stimulation, as is desired in a wide range of neural engineering applications. From a control-theoretic standpoint, such a problem presents several interesting nuances, including discontinuity in the dynamics due to the spiking process, and the technological limitations associated with …

A Comparison Of The Aerodynamic Centers For Panel Code Compressible Corrections And Openfoam 5 For Mach 0.1 To 0.8, Dustin Weaver

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

It is known that the aerodynamic center changes from quarter chord to half chord from incompressible to compressible flows on airfoils. Compressible corrections are derived and implemented in a vortex panel code. These results will be used to find the aerodynamic centers for the specified Mach range of 0.1 to 0.8 in 0.1 increments within - 6 to 6 degrees angle of attack. OpenFOAM 5 cases will be created with specific meshes and settings. The results calculated from OpenFOAM 5 will be compared to the results obtained from the compressible corrections.

The Vibe, Sarah P. Douglass

Capstones

The Vibe is a long-form narrative about where tech is taking the female orgasm. The piece concludes that physiological research is a required next step when creating the climax of the future.

http://sarahpdouglass.com

Control Freak: How An Injured Esports Athlete Got Back Into The Game, Imad Khan

Capstones

This capstone profiles Aziz "Hax" Al-Yami, a professional Super Smash Bros. Melee player. Melee is a video game and Al-Yami is an esports competitor, i.e. a professional gamer. In this world, gamers compete as athletes, pushing their skills to their absolute limit to become the best in the world. Al-Yami, at 21, suffered from a wrist injury. This injury put him out of the game for over a year. His injury was so bad that doctor's told him that he could never compete again. But through his own research, Al-Yami surmised that if he were to get his FCU tendon …

“It’S A Kind Of Killing:” Afghan Refugees In Shadow Of The Eu Fear They’Re Forgotten, Kyle Mackie

Capstones

For Karimi Wahab, an Afghan refugee currently accommodated at a center for asylum seekers in Sjenica, Serbia, watching refugees from other war-torn countries get moved along into the European Union has become routine. Afghans make up nearly two thirds of Serbia’s stranded migrants and refugees. In Sjenica, it’s been more than a year since any Afghan got onto the list maintained by Hungarian immigration authorities that allows 10 migrants to enter the country from Serbia each business day. Compared to Syrians and Iraqis, Afghans have also been granted asylum less frequently across the EU, on average, every year since 2014. …

Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad: How Slaughterhouse Safety Hasn’T Kept Up With The Times, Emily Ziemski

Capstones

From legal loopholes and outdated rules to undetectable infections and understaffing, the United States Department of Agriculture may not be doing all it can to make sure the American public’s health isn't at risk. As the people of the United States consume over 500 million pounds of beef a year, food safety policy and slaughterhouses are falling behind in proper procedural measurements in the beef industry.

emziemski.com/capstone

Poisoned By My Government: How The Military Let Families Drink Contaminated Water For Decades And Didn’T Learn From It, Alana Pipe, Lori Freshwater

Capstones

This story is about a quest to find classmates from Camp Lejeune and put together a record of a school, where in the early 1980s the children drank and breathed heavily contaminated water and air. Not only were the children involved in what is widely accepted as the worst water contamination case in U.S history, they were there during the years when the levels of chemical contaminants peaked. The United States Marine Corps knew this at the time and did nothing to protect the children in its custody. While looking into the past contamination on Camp Lejeune, it was discovered …

Palm Papers, Nicole Rothwell

Capstones

The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) came into possession of a secret dataset of property owners of the Palm Islands, the elite high-end artificial islands on the coast of Dubai.

With over 250 neighborhoods on Dubai’s waterfront, a group of journalists around the world has been investigating who these individuals are that can afford the posh and pricey real estate. While most fall into the uber-rich category, some also have corrupt to criminal backgrounds leading to questions such as if the Palm Islands are truly a real-estate paradise, or instead a refuge for the corrupt.

The task for …

The Shunned Speak Out: Former Members On Life In The Jehovah's Witnesses And After, Nour Saudi, Joy Notoma

Capstones

"The Shunned Speak Out" is an interactive feature that explores the practice of religious shunning among Jehovah's Witnesses. When Jehovah's Witnesses opt to leave the group or are punished for an indiscretion, they are shunned and have to completely start their lives over without their families and the only community they have known. This piece profiles 13 former Jehovah's Witnesses, including their journeys and the emotional repercussions of shunning. Their personal stories are weaved in with expert voices and research on the organization.

https://jwshunning.github.io/jw/

Personal Privacy And Data Security In The Age Of The Internet, Alexandra Langone

Capstones

This project highlights the vulnerability of personal privacy in the age of the internet and the lack of control consumers have over their own data online. As sharing sensitive personal information with entities like social networks and major corporations becomes more and more commonplace for ordinary people, consumers are slowly waking up to the fact that they are often inadvertently giving up control over their personal information. The articles in this portfolio tackle different aspects of the dangers of online privacy, touching on the lack of regulation in the U.S. to protect consumers from companies that do not do enough …

Experimental Design And Robust Regression, Pranay Kumar

Theses

Design of Experiments (DOE) is a very powerful statistical methodology, especially when used with linear regression analysis. The use of ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation of linear regression parameters requires the errors to have a normal distribution. However, there are numerous situations when the error distribution is non-normal and using OLS can result in inaccurate parameter estimates. Robust regression is a useful and effective way to estimate the parameters of a regression model in the presence of non-normally distributed residuals. An extensive literature review suggests that there are limited studies comparing the performance of different robust estimators in conjunction with …

3d Hybrid Model For New Product Development, Nataraj Munoli

Theses

Peter Thiel, in his book Zero to One, mentioned the importance of going from zero to one over one to infinity. The value of innovation and creating a unique product will always hold a higher value than doing something that has already been done. The author explains how the businesses that are unique or have very few competitors tend to be more successful when compared to businesses that offer similar services or products as offered by numerous other businesses. To achieve this edge over the contemporaries, there is a growing need to introduce new products to the market by exploiting …

Development Of Design Equations For Drilled Shafts In Granular Dense Soils Using Dem Simulations, Sadia Faiza

Civil Engineering ETDs

Drilled shafts have proven to be cost-effective, excellent performing, deep foundation systems where large loads and lateral resistance are major factors. The available design methods that are recommended by FHWA (2010) for drilled shafts are mostly empirical and are developed based on generalized data which sometimes can be conservative for a particular soil. The main objective of this study is to develop a design methodology for estimating the side resistance of an axially loaded drilled shaft based on the current and the unique properties of the soil. The objective was met through using the discrete element method (DEM) to investigate …

Characterization And Modeling Of Asphalt Concrete For Dynamic Properties And Performances, A S M A. Rahman

Civil Engineering ETDs

The recently developed mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (MEPDG, also known as Pavement M-E design method) uses the nationally calibrated, binder viscosity-based dynamic modulus predictive model for the design and analysis of asphalt pavements. In this study, this model is assessed for its appropriateness for asphalt-aggregate mixtures typically used in New Mexico. In essence, this study investigates the predictability issue of complex modulus of New Mexico mixes. A total of 54 Superpave mixes with different aggregate gradations, air voids, and binder grades were collected from the mixing plants and from the pavement construction sites. The loose asphalt mixtures were then compacted, …

Improving Obesity Management In Primary Care, Jeffrey M. Waddell

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Project

This project examined how advanced practice nurses (APNs) manage overweight and obesity in primary care. Not only were their general attitudes and beliefs toward overweight and obesity explored, but their beliefs about the treatment and management of obesity were also examined. The APNs’ knowledge and current practice with managing obesity in the primary care setting were evaluated. This project went on to examine the APNs’ awareness and utilization of clinical practice guidelines in managing overweight and obesity. Finally, the study asked about the perceived impact of a website designed to provide guidance managing obesity based on the American Association of …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Enzyme Catalyzed Biodegradable “Click-Ene” Polymers For Targeted Cancer Therapy, Elaf Alattas

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

In this study, we report various biodegradable polymers with tunable physical properties and their possible drug delivery applications. These polymers were designed in such a way that bio-based starting materials (for example, sorbitol, hexanediol, glutaric acid) were used in order to obtain double-bond functionalized biopolymers in one-pot, and the polymerization reaction was catalyzed using an enzyme catalyst, Novozyme 435. In addition, a novel “Click-ene” chemistry was used to functionalize the resulting polymers in order to target specific cancer cells. The resulting polymers were purified using solvent precipitation method and characterized using spectroscopic techniques such as NMR, FT-IR, GPC, DSC and …

Repairing Gaps In Kinari-2 For Large Scale Protein And Flexibility Analysis Applications, Magdalena Metlicka, Mojtaba Nouri Bygi, Ileana Streinu

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

Pebble game rigidity analysis is a combinatorial method, implemented in our free web server KinariWeb, for extracting protein rigidity and flexibility information without performing costly molecular dynamics simulations. Due to the idiosynchrasies of the data in the Protein Data Bank (PDB), Kinari succeeds only on a fraction of the available files. Motivated by large scale applications, aiming at processing almost all the PDB files, we have recently developed a faster and more robust version, the phased pebble game algorithm. It is specifically designed to take advantage of the sequential structure of biopolymers. However, the structural data available in the Protein …

Novel Therapeutic Approaches For Juvenile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis (Cln3), Megan Elizabeth Bosch

Theses & Dissertations

Juvenile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis (JNCL) is a lysosomal storage disease caused by autosomal recessive mutations in CLN3. Neuronal loss is thought to occur via glutamate excitotoxicity; however, little is known about neuron-astrocyte glutamate regulation in JNCL. We discovered that Cln3^Δex7/8 astrocytes have significantly lower basal spontaneous Ca²⁺ oscillations and decreased responses to glutamate, indicating a disrupted signaling network. Cln3^Δex7/8 astrocytes also displayed significantly lower basal mitochondrial respiration and ATP production, suggesting impaired metabolic functions. Concurrent with diminished astrocyte metabolism and Ca²⁺ signaling, Cln3^Δex7/8 neurons were hyper-responsive to glutamate stimulation. These studies suggest that CLN3 …

Influenza A Virus Genomic Reassortment And Packaging, Graham Devin Williams

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Influenza A viruses (IAV) are a major human and environmental pathogen. IAV successfully infects a diverse host range and adaptation of new viral strains to humans may cause pandemic events with high morbidity and mortality. As a member of the Orthomyxoviridae family, IAV inherently possesses a segmented genome, which enables a process of segment transmission between viruses following cellular co-infection, a process termed reassortment. The high rate of IAV mutation and continued co-circulation of diverse viral strains in divergent host species leads to the persistent prospect for emergence of new IAV with pandemic potential. Therefore, it is of great importance …

Mechanism Of Gene Regulation By Coding Polya Tracks, Laura Lea Arthur

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Regulation of gene expression is essential for cellular development and survival. The great variety and complexity of regulatory mechanisms underscores this fact. Messenger RNA stability and translational efficiency are often key determinants of gene expression. mRNA surveillance pathways, discovered for their role in degradation of aberrant mRNA, are now known to be instrumental in the regulation of physiologically correct mRNA stability. Thus, the study of cis elements in a transcript that can induce mRNA surveillance pathways has become an area of particular interest.Here I report on the mechanism of gene regulation by coding polyA tracks, defined as a sequence of …

The Regulation Of Extracellular Amyloid-Β Levels By Ionotropic Glutamatergic Transmission In An Alzheimer’S Disease Mouse Model, Jane Cecelia Hettinger

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Brain extracellular concentration of the peptide amyloid-β (Aβ) is a major contributor to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis. High Aβ levels in the extracellular space precipitate aggregation of the peptide into soluble and insoluble toxic species. This process begins decades before cognitive impairment and triggers the cascade of pathology that eventually leads to AD. Synaptic activity is key to the regulation of extracellular Aβ levels. Presynaptic activity drives the production of Aβ, while postsynaptic receptor activation exhibits more nuanced regulation. For example, high levels of NMDA receptor (NMDA-R) activation have been shown to decrease Aβ production through the extracellular signal-regulated kinase …

Bridging The Translational Gap Between Rodent And Human Pain Research, Tayler Diane Sheahan

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The treatment of chronic pain is an immense clinical and societal burden rooted in the ineffectiveness and adverse side effects of existing analgesics. Extensive efforts have been directed towards the development of novel pain therapies with maximal efficacy and minimal unwanted effects; however, putative therapeutic targets identified in preclinical rodent models rarely translate in clinical trials. The poor translational record of basic pain research findings has been attributed, in part, to the use of suboptimal rodent pain models and behavioral endpoints used to assess putative analgesics, as well as differences in the pharmacological profiles of rodents and humans. The work …

Structured Illumination Diffuse Optical Tomography For Mouse Brain Imaging, Matthew Reisman

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

As advances in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have transformed the study of human brain function, they have also widened the divide between standard research techniques used in humans and those used in mice, where high quality images are difficult to obtain using fMRI given the small volume of the mouse brain. Optical imaging techniques have been developed to study mouse brain networks, which are highly valuable given the ability to study brain disease treatments or development in a controlled environment. A planar imaging technique known as optical intrinsic signal (OIS) imaging has been a powerful tool for capturing functional …

Regulation Of Early Zebrafish Embryogenesis By Calcium Signaling And Dachsous1b Cadherin, Jiakun Chen

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Early animal embryogenesis entails a dynamic combination of embryonic cleavages, axial patterning, and gastrulation movements to shape a basic body plan. The underlying molecular signaling responsible for regulating this process remains poorly understood. In this thesis work, I first review recent progress in understanding of gastrulation movements in various model organisms brought by advances in imaging techniques. The externally developing and optically translucent zebrafish embryo is an ideal model organism to study vertebrate embryonic development by in vivo imaging. The objective of my thesis research is to leverage experimental advantages in the zebrafish model to uncover novel regulators and elucidate …