Digital Commons Network^™

Prefrontal Network Engagement By Deep Brain Stimulation In Limbic Hubs, Anusha Allawala, Kelly R Bijanki, Denise Oswalt, Raissa K Mathura, Joshua Adkinson, Victoria Pirtle, Ben Shofty, Meghan Robinson, Matthew T Harrison, Sanjay J Mathew, Wayne K Goodman, Nader Pouratian, Sameer A Sheth, David A Borton

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Prefrontal circuits in the human brain play an important role in cognitive and affective processing. Neuromodulation therapies delivered to certain key hubs within these circuits are being used with increasing frequency to treat a host of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the detailed neurophysiological effects of stimulation to these hubs are largely unknown. Here, we performed intracranial recordings across prefrontal networks while delivering electrical stimulation to two well-established white matter hubs involved in cognitive regulation and depression: the subcallosal cingulate (SCC) and ventral capsule/ventral striatum (VC/VS). We demonstrate a shared frontotemporal circuit consisting of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and lateral orbitofrontal …

Modeling Suicidality With Multimodal Impulsivity Characterization In Participants With Mental Health Disorder, Nidal Moukaddam, Bishal Lamichhane, Ramiro Salas, Wayne Goodman, Ashutosh Sabharwal

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: Suicide is one of the leading causes of death across different age groups. The persistence of suicidal ideation and the progression of suicidal ideations to action could be related to impulsivity, the tendency to act on urges with low temporal latency, and little forethought. Quantifying impulsivity could thus help suicidality estimation and risk assessments in ideation-to-action suicidality frameworks.

METHODS: To model suicidality with impulsivity quantification, we obtained questionnaires, behavioral tests, heart rate variability (HRV), and resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging measurements from 34 participants with mood disorders. The participants were categorized into three suicidality groups based on their …

Novel Banana Lectin Car-T Cells To Target Pancreatic Tumors And Tumor-Associated Stroma, Mary K Mckenna, Ada Ozcan, Daniel Brenner, Norihiro Watanabe, Maureen Legendre, Dafydd G Thomas, Christopher Ashwood, Richard D Cummings, Challice Bonifant, David M Markovitz, Malcolm K Brenner

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Cell therapies for solid tumors are thwarted by the hostile tumor microenvironment (TME) and by heterogeneous expression of tumor target antigens. We address both limitations with a novel class of chimeric antigen receptors based on plant lectins, which recognize the aberrant sugar residues that are a 'hallmark' of both malignant and associated stromal cells. We have expressed in T cells a modified lectin from banana, H84T BanLec, attached to a chimeric antigen receptor (H84T-CAR) that recognizes high-mannose (asparagine residue with five to nine mannoses). Here, we tested the efficacy of our novel H84T CAR in models of pancreatic ductal …

Emerging Challenges To Cellular Therapy Of Cancer, Premal D Lulla, Malcolm Brenner

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Cellular immunotherapy of cancer in the form of chimeric antigen receptor-modified T-cell therapy has become a standard treatment for lymphoid and more recently plasma cell malignancies. Although their successes in these cancers represent a breakthrough for adoptive cell therapy, there are several challenges to their continued growth in the field of cancer medicine. In this review, we discuss the progress made thus far toward achieving "off-the-shelf" accessibility of cell therapies that has the potential to greatly offset the costs associated with the current practice of making patient-specific products. We also review the innovations under investigation that attempt to make cellular …

Explaining Organisational Business Process Adoption Mechanisms - A Critical Realist Perspective On Social Reflexivity And Process Affordances, Andreas Brönnimann

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The implementation of new business processes can be problematic for organisations. Employees tend towards reluctant behaviour when confronted with organisational change that requires adoption of new workflows and work tasks. The crucial importance of people affected by change has been highlighted in past research. While the adoption of new processes is beneficial to the organisation, deviations from or rejections of new processes can lead to increased risks, missed process goals, increased waste leading to lost revenue, and other unforeseeable outcomes.

However, the adoption of proposed processes by individuals only is less desirable, because the collective nature of processes requires choreographed …

Comparative Study On Development Of Novel Catalytic Oxidation For Removing Emerging Contaminants, Abdul H. Asif

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

‘Wastewater treatment’ is not itself a new concept, where global water bodies have been polluted since the evolution of mankind. As a result of human activities including domestic, industrial and commercial practices, levels of water pollution through aqueous contaminants are increasing every day. Moreover, rapid industrialisation and recent human progress has given rise to a new classification of pollution, that of emerging contaminants (ECs). Further, these chemicals are highly resistant to biodegradation and are capable of travelling, where they can penetrate from one part of the world to another. Whilst traditional wastewater treatment techniques, such as adsorption, might be effective …

Towards Establishing A Fit-For-Purpose Regulatory Framework For Radiation Protection In Western Australia's Mining Industry: Evaluating Mine Worker Exposures To Naturally Occurring Radionuclides, Martin I. Ralph

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Mining in the state of Western Australia (WA) formally commenced in the 1840s, and over the ensuing 180 years has evolved to be the epicentre of the Australian mining industry and a significant contributor to the national economy. The lithology of WA is replete with mineralisation that hosts uranium and “critical minerals” required for the global renewable energy sector. The state’s first uranium mine is under development, and high levels of activity are occurring in the state’s nascent critical minerals sector, with 168 WA-based companies pursuing rare earths-bearing minerals, 51 of which are actively drilling on their tenements.

WA’s mineral …

Optimising A Defence-Aware Threat Modelling Diagram Incorporating A Defence-In-Depth Approach For The Internet-Of-Things, Menaka L. Godakanda

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Modern technology has proliferated into just about every aspect of life while improving the quality of life. For instance, IoT technology has significantly improved over traditional systems, providing easy life, time-saving, financial saving, and security aspects. However, security weaknesses associated with IoT technology can pose a significant threat to the human factor. For instance, smart doorbells can make household life easier, save time, save money, and provide surveillance security. Nevertheless, the security weaknesses in smart doorbells could be exposed to a criminal and pose a danger to the life and money of the household. In addition, IoT technology is constantly …

Experiments And Modelling Into Air Staging In A Fixed Bed Biomass Combustor, Awais Junejo

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Combustion of biomass to produce heat and electricity has increased recently due to environmental concerns over the use of fossil fuels. Being CO2 neutral, biomass has the potential to replace solid fossil fuels, such as coal, in thermal power plants. Direct combustion of biomass is the most widely used thermochemical process to generate heat and electricity.

In staged biomass combustion, primary air is supplied beneath the fuel bed, with secondary air then provided above in the freeboard region. The freeboard can be divided into primary freeboard length (LI), which is upstream of secondary air, and a secondary freeboard length (LII), …

Impact Of Multi-Source Data Augmentation On Performance Of Convolutional Neural Networks For Abnormality Classification In Mammography, Inchan Hwang, Hari Trivedi, Beatrice Brown-Mulry, Linglin Zhang, Vineela Nalla, Aimilia Gastounioti, Judy Gichoya, Laleh Seyyed-Kalantari, Imon Banerjee, Minjae Woo

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: To date, most mammography-related AI models have been trained using either film or digital mammogram datasets with little overlap. We investigated whether or not combining film and digital mammography during training will help or hinder modern models designed for use on digital mammograms.

METHODS: To this end, a total of six binary classifiers were trained for comparison. The first three classifiers were trained using images only from Emory Breast Imaging Dataset (EMBED) using ResNet50, ResNet101, and ResNet152 architectures. The next three classifiers were trained using images from EMBED, Curated Breast Imaging Subset of Digital Database for Screening Mammography (CBIS-DDSM), …

The Importance Of Multimodal Play And Storytelling In Medtech For Children: A Case Study Of Co-Designing A Mixed Realities Play Kit To Prepare 4 To 10-Year-Olds For An Mri Scan, D Yamada-Rice, S Love, J Thompson, S Thompson, H Mcquillian

School of Art, Design and Architecture

This article examines the research and development of a mixed realities play-kit to prepare children for an MRI scan to be undertaken without the need for a General Anaesthetic. The kit uses three different types of play; augmented, virtual reality and physical to help children become familiar with the look of an MRI scanner, the noises it makes, the role of the radiographer, what to expect when they go to hospital and to practise staying still. We reflect on the initial multimodal research methods that were used to bring children into the first stages of the design and development process. …

Diversity, Duplication, And Genomic Organization Of Homeobox Genes In Lepidoptera, Peter O. Mulhair, Liam Crowley, Douglas H. Boyes, Amber Harper, Ot Lewis, Pwh Holland

More Faculty of Science and Engineering Research

Homeobox genes encode transcription factors with essential roles in patterning and cell fate in developing animal embryos. Many homeobox genes, including Hox and NK genes, are arranged in gene clusters, a feature likely related to transcriptional control. Sparse taxon sampling and fragmentary genome assemblies mean that little is known about the dynamics of homeobox gene evolution across Lepidoptera or about how changes in homeobox gene number and organization relate to diversity in this large order of insects. Here we analyze an extensive data set of high-quality genomes to characterize the number and organization of all homeobox genes in 123 species …

Astronomically Forced Saline Lake Deposition And Paleoclimatic Response In The Huanggang Basin During The Paleogene, Eastern China, Cuiyu Song, Dawei Lv, Jie Chang, John I. Ejembi, Lulu Tang, Munira Raji, Wentao Chen, Zhihui Zhang

More Faculty of Science and Engineering Research

Halite is a type of evaporite that can be processed into refined salt for food processing, and used as an important raw material in the chemical industry. However, our understanding of the astronomical forcing pattern on halite formation at the sedimentary basin scale is still limited. Here, we present a halite-rich lacustrine record from the middle-late Eocene through the early Oligocene of the Dawenkou Formation in the Huanggang Basin, Eastern China. A ∼ 6.5-Myr-long floating astronomical time scale was constructed based on a 405-kyr orbital eccentricity cycle tuning of gamma-ray (GR) series measured from the Upper and Middle members of …

A Scientometric Analysis Of Global Scientific Literature On Learning Resources In Higher Education, Muhandiramge Kasun Samadhi Gomis, Olugbenga Timo Oladinrin, Mandeep Saini, Chaminda Pathirage, Mohammed Arif

School of Art, Design and Architecture

There is a significant increase in the literature on learning resources in Higher Education (HE) but very limited evidence of studies that have taken a global overview of the context, range, and emerging trends from the previous research. This study aims to conduct a Scientometric analysis of research articles to accommodate a global overview and research trends under the theme of learning resources in HE. 4489 scientific articles were obtained as the dataset from the Web Of Science database between 1970 and 2022. Network maps and critical data were obtained by conducting co-authorship analysis for authors, organisations and countries and …

What’S Really Down The Hospital Plughole?, J. Butler, M. Upton

School of Biomedical Sciences

As reported in recent articles in this journal and others, hospital wastewater plumbing systems (WPS) are increasingly being highlighted as an important source of nosocomial infections [ [1] , [2] ]. Potential interventions to mitigate these risks include changes in patient management through to engineering solutions and modifications to plumbing infrastructure, with recent calls to improve building guidance to mitigate the impact of suboptimal designs on patients and healthcare staff [ [3] ]. The WPS is a complex interlinked system of pipework that is intermittently filled with water containing a multitude of solutes and solids. The interface between this system …

Air Quality And Mental Health: Evidence, Challenges And Future Directions, Kamaldeep Bhui, Joanne B. Newbury, Rachel M. Latham, Marcella Ucci, Zaheer A. Nasir, Briony Turner, Catherine O'Leary, Helen L. Fisher, Emma Marczylo, Philippa Douglas, Stephen Stansfeld, Simon K. Jackson, Sean Tyrrel, Andrey Rzhetsky, Rob Kinnersley, Prashant Kumar, Caroline Duchaine, Frederic Coulon

School of Biomedical Sciences

Background Poor air quality is associated with poor health. Little attention is given to the complex array of environmental exposures and air pollutants that affect mental health during the life course. Aims We gather interdisciplinary expertise and knowledge across the air pollution and mental health fields. We seek to propose future research priorities and how to address them. Method Through a rapid narrative review, we summarise the key scientific findings, knowledge gaps and methodological challenges. Results There is emerging evidence of associations between poor air quality, both indoors and outdoors, and poor mental health more generally, as well as specific …

Unlocking Social Innovation In Xr For Healthcare In Coastal Communities, Alejandro Veliz Reyes, Marius N. Varga, Hannah Bradwell, Rory Baxter

School of Art, Design and Architecture

This position paper reconsiders the 'social' aspect of XR systems for healthcare, often developed following a 'problem-solution' approach that neglects sociocultural factors affecting their codesign and successful adoption. Focusing on coastal and rural communities, we review and present key principles to consider when codesigning XR systems with marginalised groups. Our work stems from two projects funded by UK Research & Innovation that aim to promote healthy ageing in coastal communities.

Mathematical Modelling Of A Floating Clam-Type Wave Energy Converter, Siming Zheng, John Wilfrid Phillips, Martyn Hann, Deborah Greaves

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

In this paper, wave power extraction from a floating Clam-type wave energy converter is investigated. The device is mainly composed of a Clam, which is formed from two pieces of floating flaps hinged at a submerged body. The Clam is closed by a flexible impermeable bag with the two hinged floating flaps kept apart by a Power Take-Off system. As waves propagate through the device, the Clam motion of the device is excited, which can be used to drive the Power Take-Off system to capture wave power. To evaluate the response and also the wave power absorption of the device, …

Spatial Robustness: Double-Design And The Democratization Of Space, An Exploration Of Designing For Multiple Uses, Michael Cassidy

School of Art, Design and Architecture Theses

Spatial Robustness: Double-design And The Democratization Of Space, An Exploration Of Designing For Multiple Uses by Michael Warren Arkinstall Cassidy Differing attitudes to the expected life and value of architecture characterize the sustainability debate, yet space itself is rarely mentioned. The buildings for which architecture is responsible comprise both space and materials. While it is taken for granted that some existing buildings can be reused productively, this cultural phenomenon has not influenced the design of the new stock. While content to revere old buildings, the qualities that make them valued have not influenced design principles for new projects. Should new …