Digital Commons Network^™

Real-Time Full Face Closed Eyes Detection, Lucas De Morais Tramasso

Theses and Dissertations

Intelligent systems based on machine-learning techniques are becoming a common way of solving problems in many different areas. In this thesis, our goal is to apply machine learning to a computer vision problem. We propose a new solution to detect closed eyes in full-face images. Accurate detection of closed eyes can be used in many problems such as driver drowsiness detection, human-computer interaction, and computer user monitoring. Most algorithms used to detect blinks or closed eyes follow a similar workflow. They require detection of a region of interest that is then used with different algorithms and techniques to determine if …

Real-Time Action Classification Using Intermediate Skeletal Pose Estimation, Kleanthis Zisis Tegos

Theses and Dissertations

The topic of Human Action Classification has attracted significant interest these past years, which can be attributed to the advancements in deep learning methodologies. Its applications range from robotics to surveillance and automated video categorization, as well as in the healthcare industry. The literature, however, has primarily focused on offline action classification, without significant attention being given to the constraints of an online real-time classifier. Using an intermediate skeletal representation of humans, while convoluted, provides a scalable means of tackling the action classification problem. This project discusses the existing literature, and adapts two of the state-of-the-art approaches for real-time analysis. …

Framework For Reasoning With Speech Processing, Ahmed Laarfi

Theses and Dissertations

It is known that programming languages are textual. We try here to take the advantages of Speech Recognition (SR) and employ them in creating a verbal Language, which takes its instruction from the voice. Because this work is a novel approach in the programming world, we could not find any resources. This dissertation aims to make essential developments in Speech Recognition (SR)and Artificial Intelligence by constructing a new compiler that receives commands verbally and executes them. That means entering data into the Computer by voice commands. This method of input means that we link several major computer topics with several …

Development Of A Deformation-Based Structural Health System With Contactless Sensors And Machine Learning For Health Characterization And Failure Prediction, Juan Camilo Avendano Arbelaez

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents the design and development of a structural health monitoring (SHM) system specifically tailored for transportation infrastructure components, such as bridges. The proposed system collects data by using contactless sensors and performs health characterization and failure prediction. It is capable of simulating multiple load conditions on structures, identifying possible failure points, and detecting and predicting failure scenarios. Both hardware and software implementations of a model of a bridge were performed as a pilot project in order to validate the proposed system. Computer simulation in ANSYS and the application of gradient boosting neural networks were performed to produce a …

Optimization Framework For Reconstructing Biomedical Images By Efficient Sample-Based Parameterization, Paul Richard Arbic Ii

Theses and Dissertations

An efficient computational approach for optimal reconstruction of binary-type images suitable for models in various biomedical applications is developed and validated. The methodology includes derivative-free optimization supported by a set of sample solutions with customized geometry generated synthetically. The entire framework has an easy to follow design due to a nominal number of tuning parameters which makes the approach simple for practical implementation in various settings, adjusting it to new models, and enhancing the performance. High efficiency in computational time is achieved through applying the coordinate descent method to work with individual controls in the predefined custom order. This technique …

Discovery, Validation And Sequencing Of Urinary Peptides For Diagnosis Of Liver Fibrosis—A Multicentre Study, Ayman S. Bannaga, Jochen Metzger, Ioannis Kyrou, Torsten Voigtländer, Thorsten Book, Jesus Melgarejo, Agnieszka Latosinska, Martin Pejchinovski, Jan A. Staessen, Harald Mischak

School of Medicine Publications

Background

Liver fibrosis is a consequence of chronic inflammation and is associated with protein changes within the hepatocytes structure. In this study, we aimed to investigate if this is reflected by the urinary proteome and can be explored to diagnose liver fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease.

Methods

In a multicentre combined cross-sectional and prospective diagnostic test validation study, 129 patients with varying degrees of liver fibrosis and 223 controls without liver fibrosis were recruited. Additionally, 41 patients with no liver, but kidney fibrosis were included to evaluate interference with expressions of kidney fibrosis. Urinary low molecular weight …

Health And Social Correlates Of Dementia In Oldest-Old Mexican-Origin Populations, Silvia Mejia-Arango, Emma Aguila, Mariana López-Ortega, Luis Miguel Gutiérrez-Robledo, William A. Vega, Flavia C. Drumond Andrade, Sunshine Rote, Stephanie M. Grasso, Kyriakos S. Markides, Jacqueline L. Angel

School of Medicine Publications

Introduction: Substantial gaps in research remain across oldest-old ethnic populations while the burden of dementia increases exponentially with age among Mexican and Mexican American older adults.

Methods: Prevalence and correlates of dementia among individuals ≥82 years of age were examined using two population-based cohort studies: The Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS, n = 1078, 2012) and the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (HEPESE, n = 735, 2012-2013). The analytic MHAS and HEPESE samples had an average age of 86.4 and 88.0 years, 1.2 and 1.8 women to men, and 2.7 and 5.1 average years …

Associations Of Cannabis Use Disorder With Cognition, Brain Structure, And Brain Function In African Americans, Marinka M. G. Koenis, Joke Durnez, Amanda Rodrigue, Samuel R. Mathias, Aaron F. Alexander-Bloch, Jennifer Barrett, Gaelle E. Doucet, Sophia Frangou, Joanne E. Curran, John Blangero

School of Medicine Publications

Although previous studies have highlighted associations of cannabis use with cognition and brain morphometry, critical questions remain with regard to the association between cannabis use and brain structural and functional connectivity. In a cross-sectional community sample of 205 African Americans (age 18–70) we tested for associations of cannabis use disorder (CUD, n = 57) with multi-domain cognitive measures and structural, diffusion, and resting state brain-imaging phenotypes. Post hoc model evidence was computed with Bayes factors (BF) and posterior probabilities of association (PPA) to account for multiple testing. General cognitive functioning, verbal intelligence, verbal memory, working memory, and motor speed were …

Model For End-Stage Liver Disease-Sodium Underestimates 90-Day Mortality Risk In Patients With Acute-On-Chronic Liver Failure, Ruben Hernaez, Yan Liu, Jennifer R Kramer, Abbas Rana, Hashem B El-Serag, Fasiha Kanwal

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND & AIMS: It is unclear whether the model for end-stage liver disease-sodium (MELD-Na) score captures the clinical severity of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). We compared observed 90-day mortality in patients with ACLF with expected mortality based on the calculated MELD-Na and examined the consequences of underestimating clinical severity.

METHODS: We identified patients with ACLF during hospitalization for cirrhosis in 127 VA hospitals between 01/01/2004 and 12/31/2014. We examined MELD-Na scores by ACLF presence and grade. We used actual and observed 90-day mortality to estimate a standardized mortality ratio (SMR) by ACLF presence and grade. We used transplant center-specific median …

Editor's Choice: Aldo Leopold Conservation Award, Luis A. Ruedas

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Every year since 2003, the American Society of Mammalogists confers during its annual meeting the Aldo Leopold Conservation Award on a highly deserving individual. A consequence of the award for the awardee is the responsibility to write a feature article in the pages of this journal. Aldo Leopold, the namesake of the award, is considered by an overwhelming majority of biologists to be the father of contemporary conservation biology. Born in Burlington, Iowa, Leopold graduated with a Master’s degree from the Yale Forest School, which had been endowed in 1902 by the Pinchot family and was one of the first …

Safety And Effectiveness Of Hydroxychloroquine And Azithromycin Combination Therapy For Treatment Of Hospitalized Patients With Covid-19: A Propensity-Matched Study, Henry D Huang, Hani Jneid, Mariam Aziz, Venkatesh Ravi, Parikshit S Sharma, Timothy Larsen, Neal Chatterjee, Basil Saour, Zaid Aziz, Hemal Nayak, Richard G Trohman, Kousik Krishnan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: We sought to determine the effectiveness and safety of hydroxychloroquine-azithromycin (HCQ-AZM) therapy in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of 613 patients hospitalized (integrated health system involving three hospitals) for RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 infection between March 1, 2020 and April 25, 2020. Intervention was treatment with HCQ-AZM in hospitalized patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Outcomes of interest were in-hospital all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, pulseless electrical activity (PEA) arrest, non-lethal arrhythmias, and length of hospital stay. Secondary measures included in-hospital corrected QT (QTc) interval parameters and serum biomarkers levels.

RESULTS: Propensity-matched …

Inferior St-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Presenting When Urgent Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Is Unavailable: Should We Adhere To Current Guidelines?, Yochai Birnbaum, Glenn N Levine, John French, Juan Carlos Kaski, Dan Atar, Mahboob Alam, David Hasdai, Hani Jneid, Barry F Uretsky

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The pivotal studies that led to the recommendations for emergent reperfusion therapy for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) were conducted for the most part over 25 years ago. At that time, contemporary standard treatments including aspirin, statin, and even anticoagulation were not commonly used. The 2013 American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF)/American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines and the 2017 European Society of Cardiology guidelines give a class I recommendation (with the level of evidence A) for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) in patients with STEMI and ischemic symptoms of less than 12 h. However, if the patient presents to a hospital …

Stat1 Dissociates Adipose Tissue Inflammation From Insulin Sensitivity In Obesity, Aaron R Cox, Natasha Chernis, David A Bader, Pradip K Saha, Peter M Masschelin, Jessica B Felix, Robert Sharp, Zeqin Lian, Vasanta Putluri, Kimal Rajapakshe, Kang Ho Kim, Dennis T Villareal, Reina Armamento-Villareal, Huaizhu Wu, Cristian Coarfa, Nagireddy Putluri, Sean M Hartig

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Obesity fosters low-grade inflammation in white adipose tissue (WAT) that may contribute to the insulin resistance that characterizes type 2 diabetes. However, the causal relationship of these events remains unclear. The established dominance of STAT1 function in the immune response suggests an obligate link between inflammation and the comorbidities of obesity. To this end, we sought to determine how STAT1 activity in white adipocytes affects insulin sensitivity. STAT1 expression in WAT inversely correlated with fasting plasma glucose in both obese mice and humans. Metabolomic and gene expression profiling established STAT1 deletion in adipocytes (STAT1a-KO) enhanced mitochondrial function …

Multivessel Traumatic Coronary Artery Dissection After A Motor Vehicle Accident With Successful Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, Yagya Pandey, Brittany Owen, Gilad Birnbaum, Rashed Tabbaa, Ihab Hamzeh, Nasser Lakkis, Waleed Kayani

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Coronary artery dissection is a rare complication of blunt chest wall trauma. We report a case of acute left anterior descending and right coronary artery dissections after a motor vehicle accident. The musculoskeletal injuries obscured the cardiac symptoms. Electrocardiogram and bedside echocardiogram revealed cardiac pathology, which prompted urgent coronary angiography and intervention. (Level of Difficulty: Advanced.)

Inferior St-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Presenting When Urgent Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Is Unavailable: Should We Adhere To Current Guidelines?, Yochai Birnbaum, Glenn N Levine, John French, Juan Carlos Kaski, Dan Atar, Mahboob Alam, David Hasdai, Hani Jneid, Barry F Uretsky

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The pivotal studies that led to the recommendations for emergent reperfusion therapy for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) were conducted for the most part over 25 years ago. At that time, contemporary standard treatments including aspirin, statin, and even anticoagulation were not commonly used. The 2013 American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF)/American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines and the 2017 European Society of Cardiology guidelines give a class I recommendation (with the level of evidence A) for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) in patients with STEMI and ischemic symptoms of less than 12 h. However, if the patient presents to a hospital …

Mouse Models To Study The Pathophysiology Of Combined Methylmalonic Acidemia And Homocystinuria, Cblc Type, Tiffany Chern, Annita Achilleos, Xuefei Tong, Chih-Wei Hsu, Leeyean Wong, Ross A Poché

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Combined methylmalonic acidemia and homocystinuria, cblC type, is the most common inherited disorder of cobalamin metabolism and is characterized by severe fetal developmental defects primarily impacting the central nervous system, hematopoietic system, and heart. CblC was previously shown to be due to mutations in the MMACHC gene, which encodes a protein thought to function in intracellular cobalamin trafficking and biosynthesis of adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl) and methylcobalamin (MeCbl). These coenzymes are required for the production of succinyl-CoA and methionine, respectively. However, it is currently unclear whether additional roles for MMACHC exist outside of cobalamin metabolism. Furthermore, due to a lack of sufficient …

Depletion Of Essential Isoprenoids And Er Stress Induction Following Acute Liver-Specific Deletion Of Hmg-Coa Reductase, Marco De Giorgi, Kelsey E Jarrett, Jason C Burton, Alexandria M Doerfler, Ayrea Hurley, Ang Li, Rachel H Hsu, Mia Furgurson, Kalyani R Patel, Jun Han, Christoph H Borchers, William R Lagor

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

HMG-CoA reductase (Hmgcr) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the mevalonate pathway and is inhibited by statins. In addition to cholesterol, Hmgcr activity is also required for synthesizing nonsterol isoprenoids, such as dolichol, ubiquinone, and farnesylated and geranylgeranylated proteins. Here, we investigated the effects of Hmgcr inhibition on nonsterol isoprenoids in the liver. We have generated new genetic models to acutely delete genes in the mevalonate pathway in the liver using AAV-mediated delivery of Cre-recombinase (AAV-Cre) or CRISPR/Cas9 (AAV-CRISPR). The genetic deletion of Hmgcr by AAV-Cre resulted in extensive hepatocyte apoptosis and compensatory liver regeneration. At the biochemical …

Estimates Of Throughput And Utilization At Freestanding Compared To Low-Volume Hospital-Based Emergency Departments, Cedric Dark, Maureen Canellas, Caroline Mangira, Nick Jouriles, Erin L Simon

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVE: Our investigation compared throughput metrics and utilization measures for freestanding emergency departments (FSEDs) versus hospital-based emergency departments (HBEDs) of similar volumes in the United States.

METHODS: This study is a cross sectional survey of 183 FSEDs and 317 HBEDs located across the United States using the Emergency Department Benchmarking Alliance (EDBA) Database. We measured common emergency department (ED) throughput metrics. Primary outcomes included overall length of stay, length of stay for admitted, and length of stay for treated and released patients. Outcomes were weighted based on the proportion of ED volume per facility as per a prior pilot study. …

Postacute Covid-19: An Overview And Approach To Classification, Eva M Amenta, Amy Spallone, Maria C Rodriguez-Barradas, Hana M El Sahly, Robert L Atmar, Prathit A Kulkarni

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has progressed, a large volume of literature has developed delineating the clinical manifestations of acute infection. Recent reports have also started to describe persistent symptoms extending beyond the period of initial illness or hospitalization. Anecdotes of different signs and symptoms occurring after acute infection have also arisen in the lay press. Here we describe the current existing medical literature on the emerging concept of postacute COVID-19 and suggest an approach to classifying different manifestations of the syndrome. We also review long-term clinical manifestations observed in patients who recovered from infection due to other …

The Cancer Patient And Cardiology, José Luis Zamorano, Christer Gottfridsson, Riccardo Asteggiano, Dan Atar, Lina Badimon, Jeroen J Bax, Daniela Cardinale, Antonella Cardone, Elizabeth A M Feijen, Péter Ferdinandy, Teresa López-Fernández, Chris P Gale, John H Maduro, Javid Moslehi, Torbjørn Omland, Juan Carlos Plana Gomez, Jessica Scott, Thomas M Suter, Giorgio Minotti

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Advances in cancer treatments have improved clinical outcomes, leading to an increasing population of cancer survivors. However, this success is associated with high rates of short- and long-term cardiovascular (CV) toxicities. The number and variety of cancer drugs and CV toxicity types make long-term care a complex undertaking. This requires a multidisciplinary approach that includes expertise in oncology, cardiology and other related specialties, and has led to the development of the cardio-oncology subspecialty. This paper aims to provide an overview of the main adverse events, risk assessment and risk mitigation strategies, early diagnosis, medical and complementary strategies for prevention and …

External Stoma Diversion: A Palliative Measure For Peristomal Wound Healing In Resource-Limited Settings, Rachel W Davis, Youmna A Sherif, Catherine Anne Morrison

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The provision of intestinal stoma care is challenging in austere settings due to limitations in surgical and wound care access as well as the high cost and sparsity of ostomy supplies. As a result, many surgical patients suffer from ostomy-related complications such as peristomal wounds and are unable to find relief for these complications from standard treatments and measures. This article describes the external stoma diversion, a cost-effective palliative surgical procedure that assists in the healing of peristomal wounds in resource-limited settings.

Navigating Academia During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Can You Do It All?, Abha Rai, Kristen Ravi

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

The goal of this reflection paper is to draw from our own experiences of starting new tenure-track faculty positions in social work departments amid a global pandemic. By drawing from our experiences, we hope to reflect on strategies and resources utilized. By discussing our approach, we endeavor to provide support to other academics across the world. We believe these resources and strategies will be useful as we continue to live in the “new normal.”

Pre-Transplant Marital Status And Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Outcomes., J Tay, S Beattie, C Bredeson, R Brazauskas, N He, Ibrahim A. Ahmed, M Aljurf, M Askar, Y Atsuta, S Badawy, A Barata, A M Beitinjaneh, N S Bhatt, D Buchbinder, J Cerny, S Ciurea, A D'Souza, J Dalal, N Farhadfar, C O Freytes, S Ganguly, U Gergis, S Gerull, H M Lazarus, T Hahn, S Hong, Y Inamoto, N Khera, T Kindwall-Keller, R T Kamble, J M Knight, Y N Koleva, A Kumar, J Kwok, H S Murthy, R F Olsson, M Angel Diaz-Perez, D Rizzieri, S Seo, S Chhabra, H Schoemans, H C Schouten, A Steinberg, K M Sullivan, J Szer, D Szwajcer, M L Ulrickson, L F Verdonck, B Wirk, W A Wood, J A Yared, W Saber

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Background: Evidence about the impact of marital status before hematopoietic cell transplantation (hct) on outcomes after hct is conflicting.

Methods: We identified patients 40 years of age and older within the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research registry who underwent hct between January 2008 and December 2015. Marital status before hct was declared as one of: married or living with a partner, single (never married), separated or divorced, and widowed. We performed a multivariable analysis to determine the association of marital status with outcomes after hct.

Results: We identified 10,226 allogeneic and 5714 autologous hct cases with, respectively, …

The Impact Of Uncorrected Mild Aortic Insufficiency At The Time Of Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation, Yuki Tanaka, Tomohiro Nakajima, Irene Fischer, Fei Wan, Kunal Kotkar, Marc R Moon, Ralph J Damiano Jr, Muhammad F Masood, Akinobu Itoh

2020-Current year OA Pubs

OBJECTIVE: The study objective was to investigate the progression of uncorrected mild aortic insufficiency and its impact on survival and functional status after left ventricular assist device implantation.

METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 694 consecutive patients who underwent implantation of a continuous-flow left ventricular assist device between January 2006 and March 2018. Pre-left ventricular assist device transthoracic echocardiography identified 111 patients with mild aortic insufficiency and 493 patients with trace or no aortic insufficiency. To adjust for differences in preoperative factors, propensity score matching was used, resulting in 101 matched patients in each of the mild aortic insufficiency and no aortic …

Treatment-Induced Neuropathy Of Diabetes In Youth: Case Series Of A Heterogeneous And Challenging Complication., Eirene G. Alexandrou, Sarah D. Corathers, Amit Lahoti, Jacob M. Redel, Siobhan Tellez, Nana-Hawa Yayah Jones, Ahlee Kim

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Treatment-induced neuropathy of diabetes (TIND) is a small fiber neuropathy precipitated by rapid correction of hyperglycemia. Literature on TIND in pediatric diabetes is scarce. We present 7 cases of TIND in children and young adults, increasing awareness of this condition in pediatric diabetes and broadening the scope of published knowledge.

Cardiac Biomarkers During Cancer Therapy: Practical Applications For Cardio-Oncology, Jose A Alvarez-Cardona, Kathleen W Zhang, Joshua D Mitchell, Vlad G Zaha, Michael J Fisch, Daniel J Lenihan

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

Spot The Difference: Comparing Results Of Analyses From Real Patient Data And Synthetic Derivatives, Randi E Foraker, Sean C Yu, Aditi Gupta, Andrew P Michelson, Jose A Pineda Soto, Ryan Colvin, Francis Loh, Marin H Kollef, Thomas Maddox, Bradley Evanoff, Hovav Dror, Noa Zamstein, Albert M Lai, Philip R O Payne

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Synthetic data may provide a solution to researchers who wish to generate and share data in support of precision healthcare. Recent advances in data synthesis enable the creation and analysis of synthetic derivatives as if they were the original data; this process has significant advantages over data deidentification.

OBJECTIVES: To assess a big-data platform with data-synthesizing capabilities (MDClone Ltd., Beer Sheva, Israel) for its ability to produce data that can be used for research purposes while obviating privacy and confidentiality concerns.

METHODS: We explored three use cases and tested the robustness of synthetic data by comparing the results of …

Existence And Stability Of The Doubly Nonlinear Anisotropic Parabolic Equation, Huashui Zhan, Zhaosheng Feng

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

In this paper, we are concerned with a doubly nonlinear anisotropic parabolic equation, in which the diffusion coefficient and the variable exponent depend on the time variable t. Under certain conditions, the existence of weak solution is proved by applying the parabolically regularized method. Based on a partial boundary value condition, the stability of weak solution is also investigated.

Gender Differences In Communication With One's Mother And Father And Its Effects On Feelings Of Depression Among Young Adults, Ethan Nicolas Blanchard

All Theses

Depression among young adults is a growing concern that becomes more severe every year. Several factors can contribute to one’s feelings of depression including how much someone communicates their feelings to their parents. Communication with parent’s relationship to depression among young adults is a largely unexplored area of research that this study covers. The purpose of this study is to test gender differences in communication with one’s parents and how parental communication affects feelings of depression. Using the third wave of the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR), a nationally representative data set consisting of 1680 young adults living …

The Effect Of In-Situ Activated Carbon On Biodegradation Of Tce, Sreedhar Harigovind

All Theses

Contaminants pose a serious concern due to their relative ease of transport through groundwater, where they can accumulate and become a plume (i.e. dissolved contaminants that move with groundwater flow). Chlorinated solvents are contaminants of concern due to their potential for causing cancer, organ disease, and other ailments. Due to improper storage and disposal, these solvents find themselves in groundwater reserves, and thus warrant the need for finding treatment options to remove them from the water. In-situ biodegradation of TCE is a respiratory process consisting of electron donors, acceptors, and microorganisms that are either native or introduced into the system. …