Engineering Commons^™

Low-Cost Solid State Nanopore Biosensing Technology Towards Early Disease Detection, Julian Bello

Theses and Dissertations

Solid-state nanopore based biosensors are cost effective, high-throughput engines for single molecule detection of biomolecules, which is useful for detecting epigenetic modifications on DNA; one of these being the potentially cancerous hypo, or hypermethylation of CpG islands. Despite its immense potential in the realm of disease diagnostics, nanopore detection as it stands faces various limitations that inhibit it from widespread commercial use. These include the complex method of solid-state nanopore fabrication, fast DNA translocations through the pore causing poor resolution, and poor signal to noise ratio. The following work aims to improve the efficacy of the solid-state nanopore biosensing platform …

Barn-Raising On The Digital Frontier: The L.A.U.N.C.H. Collaborative, Bradford W. Hesse, David Ahern, Michele Ellison, Eliah Aronoff-Spencer, Robin C. Vanderpool, Karen Onyeije, Michael C. Gibbons, Timothy W. Mullett, Ming-Yuan Chih, Victoria Attencio, Grant Patterson, Jessica Boten, Christopher Hartshorn, Ben Bartolome, Katie Gorscak, Melanie Mccomsey, Alexandra Hubenko, Bin Huang, Corey Baker, Don Norman

Journal of Appalachian Health

A meta-analysis of oncology papers from around the world revealed that cancer patients who lived more than 50 miles away from hospital centers routinely presented with more advanced stages of disease at diagnosis, exhibited lower adherence to prescribed treatments, presented with poorer diagnoses, and reported a lower quality of life than patients who lived nearer to care facilities. Connected health approaches—or the use of broadband and telecommunications technologies to evaluate, diagnose, and monitor patients beyond the clinic—are becoming an indispensable tool in medicine to overcome the obstacle of distance.

Tra-1-60-Positive/Cd45low Cells Found In The Peripheral Blood Of Prostate Cancer Patients With Metastatic Disease – A Proof-Of-Concept Study, Claudia Schäfer, Yawen Ju, Youngbin Tak, Cesar Vazquez, Sangyoon J. Han, Edwin Tan, Et Al.

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Purpose

Over 90% of all cancer related deaths are due to metastasis. However, current diagnostic tools can't reliably discriminate between invasive and localized cancers.

Patients and methods

In this proof-of-concept study, we employed the embryonic stem cell marker TRA-1-60 (TRA+) to identify TRA + cells within the blood of prostate cancer patients and searched for TRA + cells in men with metastatic and localized cancers. We isolated whole peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 26 metastatic prostate cancer patients, from 13 patients with localized prostate cancer and from 17 healthy controls. Cells were stained for DAPI, CD45 and TRA + by …

"When The Enemy Drew Our Attention": Reconsidering Prior Restraint In The Context Of Dual Use Research Of Concern, Caine Caverly

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Through 2016 and 2017, a team led by Canadian virologist David Evans, and funded by an American pharmaceutical company, attempted to synthesize the previously extinct horsepox virus. After just six months and an expenditure of $100,000, the research team was able to successfully construct the virus “using only commercially available information, technology and tools.” In January of 2018, the team went on to publish their information in an American-based journal, PLOS ONE.

The publication was controversial because it included a potential “blueprint” for the synthesis of a genetic strand in the same viral family as the highly lethal, albeit eradicated, …

Experimental And Computational Tools For Single Cell Analysis In Cancer Diagnostics, Manibarathi Vaithiyanathan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Substantial evidence shows that cellular heterogeneity commonly exists within an isogenic or clonal population. Whether in isolation or caused through a combination of the above events, cellular heterogeneity can dramatically influence cellular decision making and cell fate, however, this can be masked by the average response from a population. One approach to solve this issue is to analyze a population at the individual cell level. The goal of this work is to develop high-throughput experimental and computational platforms to screen and quantify single cancer cells for specific intracellular enzyme activities. An interdisciplinary approach was taken to 1) better understand the …

In Vitro Evaluation Of The Influence Of Substrate Mechanics On Matrix-Assisted Human Chondrocyte Transplantation, Yueh-Hsun Kevin Yang, Courtney R. Ogando, Gilda A. Barabino

Publications and Research

Matrix-assisted chondrocyte transplantation (MACT) is of great interest for the treatment of patients with cartilage lesions. However, the roles of the matrix properties in modulating cartilage tissue integration during MACT recovery have not been fully understood. The objective of this study was to uncover the effects of substrate mechanics on the integration of implanted chondrocyte-laden hydrogels with native cartilage tissues. To this end, agarose hydrogels with Young’s moduli ranging from 0.49 kPa (0.5%, w/v) to 23.08 kPa (10%) were prepared and incorporated into an in vitro human cartilage explant model. The hydrogel-cartilage composites were cultivated for up to 12 weeks …

A Robust Lpc Filtering Method For Time-Resolved Morphology Of Eeg Activity Analysis, Jin Xu, Mark Davis, Ruairí De Fréin

Conference Papers

This paper introduces a new time-resolved spectral analysis method based on Linear Prediction Coding (LPC) method that is particularly suited to the study of the dynamics of EEG (Electroencephalogram) activity. The spectral dynamic of EEG signals can be challenging to analyse as they contain multiple frequency components and are often heavily corrupted by noise. Furthermore, the temporal and spectral resolution that can be achieved is limited by the Heisenberg-Gabor uncertainty principle [1]. The method described here is based on a z-plane analysis of the poles of the LPC which allows us to identify and estimate the frequency of the dominant …

Fabrication Of Vascularized Scaffolds For The Treatment Of Spinal Cord Injury, Paul P. Partyka

Theses and Dissertations

The overall goal of the research presented here is to evaluate the efficacy of transplanting scaffolds containing central nervous system vasculature to repair spinal cord injury. There are three major phases of this effort: development of a three-dimensional model of central nervous system vasculature, transplantation of a pre-vascularized scaffold and optimization of the biomaterial used to deliver vasculature to the injured spinal cord. This research has produced the first ever compliant, three-dimensional (3D) blood-brain barrier (BBB) vessel. In order to create vascularized scaffolds appropriate for transplantation into a rat model of spinal cord injury, techniques to fabricate and spatially pattern …

Enhanced Tes And Tdcs Computational Models By Meninges Emulation, Jimmy Jiang, Dennis Q. Truong, Zeinab Esmaeilpour, Yu Huang, Bashar W. Badran, Marom Bikson

Publications and Research

Objective. Understanding how current reaches the brain during transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) underpins efforts to rationalize outcomes and optimize interventions. To this end, computational models of current flow relate applied dose to brain electric field. Conventional tES modeling considers distinct tissues like scalp, skull, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), gray matter and white matter. The properties of highly conductive CSF are especially important. However, modeling the space between skull and brain as entirely CSF is not an accurate representation of anatomy. The space conventionally modeled as CSF is approximately half meninges (dura, arachnoid, and pia) with lower conductivity. However, the resolution …

Bioadhesive Hydrogel Composite Cell Carrier For The Repair Of The Degenerated Intervertebral Disc, Thomas Richard Christiani

Theses and Dissertations

Lower back pain (LBP) affects the worldwide population and can be attributed to the degeneration of the intervertebral disc (IVD). The IVD is composed of a central nucleus pulposus (NP), a peripheral annulus fibrosus (AF), and adjacent cartilage endplates (CEPs). IVD degeneration is characterized by proteoglycan loss, tissue dehydration, and decreased hydrostatic pressure. In this work, the use of an injectable bioadhesive hydrogel composite for replacement of the degenerated NP was investigated.

Results indicate that the composite exhibits similar mechanical properties to the NP, adheres to AF tissue, and supports encapsulated mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) differentiation toward an NP-like phenotype …

S-Nitroso-N-Acetyl-D-Penicillamine Modified Hyperbranched Polyamidoamine For High-Capacity Nitric Oxide Storage And Release, Sean Hopkins, Megan C. Frost

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Synthetic nitric oxide (NO)-donating materials have been shown to have many beneficial effects when incorporated into biomedical materials. When released in the correct dosage, NO has been shown to increase the biocompatibility of blood and tissue contacting materials, but materials are often limited in the amount of NO that can be administered over a period of time. To address this, hyperbranched polyamidoamine (HPAMAM) was modified with the S-nitrosothiol, S-nitroso-N-acetyl-D-penicillamine, and nitrosated to form a controlled, high-capacity NO-donating compound (SNAP-HPAMAM). This compound has the potential of modifying polymers to release NO over long periods of time by being blended into a …

Engineered Three-Dimensional Scaffolds Modulating Fate Of Breast Cancer Cells Using Stiffness And Morphology Related Cell Adhesion, Samerender Nagam Hanumantharao, Carolynn Que, Brennan Vogl, Smitha Rao

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Goal: Artificially engineering the tumor microenvironment in vitro as a vital tool for understanding the mechanism of tumor progression. In this study, we developed three-dimensional cell scaffold systems with different topographical features and mechanical properties but similar surface chemistry. The cell behavior was modulated by the topography and mechanical properties of the scaffold. Adenocarcinoma (MCF7), triple-negative (MDA-MB-231) and premalignant (MCF10AneoT) breast cancer cells were seeded on the scaffold systems. The cell viability, cell-cell interaction and cell-matrix interactions were analyzed. The preferential growth and alignment of specific population of cells were demonstrated. Among the different scaffolds, triple-negative breast cancer cells preferred …

Carbon-Based Artificial Sei Layers For Aqueous Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes, Usha Subramanya, Charleston Chua, Victor Gin He Leong, Ryan Robinson, Gwenlyn Cruz Cabiltes, Prakirti Singh, Bonnie Yip, Anuja Bokare, Folarin Erogbogbo, Dahyun Oh

Faculty Publications

Replacing flammable organic electrolytes with aqueous electrolytes in lithium-ion batteries (LIB) can greatly enhance the safety of next-generation energy storage systems. With the extended electrochemical stability window of electrolytes, 'water-in-salt' (WIS) electrolytes containing LIB presented significant performance improvements. However, the solubility limits of lithium salts in water restrain the extent of kinetic protection offered by the high salt concentration. Here, we report design strategies of anode structure to improve the cycle life of LIB with WIS electrolytes. We introduced partially graphitic protective carbon layers on anode particles using a versatile coating method. This protective layer not only improved charge transfer …

Interaction Between The Metabolism Of Ketone Bodies In Brain Tissue And Neurological Disorders, Chan-Chih Hsiao

ETD Archive

Regulation of brain metabolism and cerebral blood flow involves complex control systems with several interacting variables at both cellular and organ levels. Quantitative understanding of the spatially and temporally heterogeneous brain control mechanisms during internal and external stimuli requires the development and validation of a computational (mathematical) model of metabolic processes in brain tissue. A computational model of the biochemical pathways in brain is presented in this paper. The model structure consists of neurons, astrocytes, and a surrounding capillary network. Glucose is the major oxidative energy substrate in the brain. However, under hypoglycemic conditions such as during diet or fasting …

Finite Element Simulation Of Head Impacts In Mixed Martial Arts, Stephen Tiernan, Aidan Meagher, David O'Sullivan Dr, Eoin O'Kelly Dr

Articles

This study determined brain stress and strain in an unhelmeted sport and correlated this with concussive injuries. Thirteen MMA athletes were fitted with the MiG2.0 Stanford instrumented mouthguard. The mouthguard records linear acceleration and angular velocity in 6 degrees of freedom. Angular acceleration was calculated by differentiation. All events were video recorded, time stamped and reported impacts confirmed. 298 impacts above 10g were recorded during sparring sessions and 153 impacts in competitive events. The competitive events resulted in five concussions which were diagnosed by a medical doctor. The impact with the highest angular acceleration from each sparring session and competitive …

Concussion And The Severity Of Head Impacts In Mixed Martial Arts, Stephen Tiernan, Aidan Meagher, David O'Sullivan, Eoin O'Keefe, Eoin O'Kelly, Eugene Wallace, Colin Doherty, Mathew Campbell, Yuzhe Liu, August Domel

Articles

Background: Concern about the consequences of head impacts in US football motivated researchers to investigate and develop instrumentation to measure the severity of these impacts. However, the severity of head impacts in unhelmeted sports is largely unknown as miniaturised sensor technology has only recently made it possible to measure these impacts in vivo.

Aim: The objective of this study was to measure the linear and angular head accelerations in impacts in mixed martial arts (MMA), and correlate these with concussive injuries.

Methods: Thirteen MMA fighters were fitted with the Stanford instrumented mouthguard (MiG2.0). The mouthguard records linear acceleration and angular …

Load-Balancing Rendezvous Approach For Mobility-Enabled Adaptive Energy-Efficient Data Collection In Wsns, Jian Zhang, Jian Tang, Zhonghui Wang, Feng Wang, Gang Yu

Faculty and Student Publications

Copyright © 2020 KSII The tradeoff between energy conservation and traffic balancing is a dilemma problem in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). By analyzing the intrinsic relationship between cluster properties and long distance transmission energy consumption, we characterize three node sets of the cluster as a theoretical foundation to enhance high performance of WSNs, and propose optimal solutions by introducing rendezvous and Mobile Elements (MEs) to optimize energy consumption for prolonging the lifetime of WSNs. First, we exploit an approximate method based on the transmission distance from the different node to an ME to select suboptimal Rendezvous Point (RP) on the …

Revisiting Lightweight Encryption For Iot Applications: Error Performance And Throughput In Wireless Fading Channels With And Without Coding, Yazid M. Khattabi, Mustafa M. Matalgah, Mohammed M. Olama

Faculty and Student Publications

© 2013 IEEE. Employing heavy conventional encryption algorithms in communications suffers from added overhead and processing time delay; and in wireless communications, in particular, suffers from severe performance deterioration (avalanche effect) due to fading. Consequently, a tremendous reduction in data throughput and increase in complexity and time delay may occur especially when information traverse resource-limited devices as in Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications. To overcome these drawbacks, efficient lightweight encryption algorithms have been recently proposed in literature. One of those, that is of particular interest, requires using conventional encryption only for the first block of data in a given frame being transmitted. …

Cooperative Relay Selection For Load Balancing With Mobility In Hierarchical Wsns: A Multi-Armed Bandit Approach, Jian Zhang, Jian Tang, Feng Wang

Faculty and Student Publications

© 2013 IEEE. Energy efficiency is the major concern in hierarchical wireless sensor networks(WSNs), where the major energy consumption originates from radios for communication. Due to notable energy expenditure of long-range transmission for cluster members and data aggregation for Cluster Head (CH), saving and balancing energy consumption is a tricky challenge in WSNs. In this paper, we design a CH selection mechanism with a mobile sink (MS) while proposing relay selection algorithms with multi-user multi-armed bandit (UM-MAB) to solve the problem of energy efficiency. According to the definition of node density and residual energy, we propose a conception referred to …

Tuning The Size And Composition Of Manganese Oxide Nanoparticles Through Varying Temperature Ramp And Aging Time, Celia Martinez De La Torre, Jasmine H. Grossman, Andrey A. Bobko, Margaret F. Bennewitz

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Manganese oxide (MnO) nanoparticles (NPs) can serve as robust pH-sensitive contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) due to Mn2+ release at low pH, which generates a ~30 fold change in T1 relaxivity. Strategies to control NP size, composition, and Mn2+ dissolution rates are essential to improve diagnostic performance of pH-responsive MnO NPs. We are the first to demonstrate that MnO NP size and composition can be tuned by the temperature ramping rate and aging time used during thermal decomposition of manganese(II) acetylacetonate. Two different temperature ramping rates (10°C/min and 20°C/min) were applied to reach 300°C and NPs were aged …

A Mobile Learning Community In A Living Learning Community: Perceived Impact On Digital Fluency And Communication, Devshikha Bose, Krishna Pakala, Lana Grover

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Though mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, and tablet computers have an immense potential for improving student learning, there is little empirical research which reports ways in which students actually use these technologies for learning, especially in fields like Engineering. Based on a social-constructivist approach to learning, the purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate student perceptions regarding changes in mobile device based digital fluency and communication, after participation in a Living Learning Community (LLC) based Mobile Learning Community. This study contributes to existing literature in the field in that it reports student perceptions of how mobile devices can …

Fluid Dynamics Characterization Of Transcatheter Aortic Valves, Mohammed Barakat

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Aortic stenosis due to degenerative calcific aortic valvular disease is the most reason for aortic valve replacement in developed countries. Aortic stenosis affects up to 7% of the world population, and current clinical data indicate that the number of the affected people could be triple by 2050, due to population ageing and health lifestyle. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) was introduced as a minimal invasive treatment of severe aortic stenosis. Even though surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) is considered the golden standard treatment for severe aortic stenosis patients, TAVR showed equivalent or even superior outcome compare to SAVR. Currently, transcatheter …

Diurnal Patterns Of Gene Expression In The Dorsal Vagal Complex And The Central Nucleus Of The Amygdala - Non-Rhythm-Generating Brain Regions., Mary M Staehle, Sean O'Sullivan, Rajanikanth Vadigepalli, Kate F Kernan, Gregory E Gonye, Babatunde A Ogunnaike, James S Schwaber

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

Genes that establish the circadian clock have differential expression with respect to solar time in central and peripheral tissues. Here, we find circadian-time-induced differential expression in a large number of genes not associated with circadian rhythms in two brain regions lacking overt circadian function: the dorsal vagal complex (DVC) and the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA). These regions primarily engage in autonomic, homeostatic, and emotional regulation. However, we find striking diurnal shifts in gene expression in these regions of male Sprague Dawley rats with no obvious patterns that could be attributed to function or region. These findings have implications …

Investigation Of Physiochemical Properties And Biocompatibility Of Amourphos Calcium Polyphosphate Hydrogel Doped With Antibiotics And Injectable Polymeric Dicalcium Phosphate Dihydrate Bone Cement, Yasaman Chehreghanianzabi

Wayne State University Dissertations

Amorphous calcium polyphosphate (ACPP) is an inorganic polymer ceramic. Here we use a simple method of preparing ACPP hydrogel in the presence of excess volume of water. Essentially, water availability to polyphosphate chains accelerates water molecule ingress and microstructural transformation of ACPP hydrogels. Antibiotic delivery capacity of ACPP hydrogel increases by the specific mixing and molding method, where the VCM has higher antibiotic encapsulation efficiency with the small burst release for the compressed discs. In part of this study, we investigate impact of ACPP hydrogel replacement by monomeric calcium phosphate on the quality of final product (dicalcium phosphate dihydrates (DCPD) …

Is It Time To Give Athletes A Voice In The Dissemination Strategies Of Concussion-Related Information? Exploratory Examination Of 2444 Adolescent Athletes, Mark Beakey, Brian Keenan, Stephen Tiernan, Kieran Collins

Other Resources

Objective: The objective of the research was to screen male and female adolescent athletes on their concussion educational histories and preferred future methods of education in terms of educational messenger, modality, and concussion-related areas of interest.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Setting: Examination setting within the classroom.

Participants: Adolescent male (n = 1854) and female (n = 590) athletes aged 12 to 18 years.

Main outcome measures: To explore the concussion educational histories and preferred future methods of education in Irish male and female adolescent athletes.

Results: 19.7% (n = 482) of the sample received education in the past 12 months. Male …

Timcc: On Data Freshness In Privacy-Preserving Incentive Mechanism Design For Continuous Crowdsensing Using Reverse Auction, Xiaoqiang Ma, Weiwei Deng, Feng Wang, Menglan Hu, Fei Chen, Mohammad Mehedi Hassan

Faculty and Student Publications

© 2013 IEEE. As an emerging paradigm that leverages the wisdom and efforts of the crowd, mobile crowdsensing has shown its great potential to collect distributed data. The crowd may incur such costs and risks as energy consumption, memory consumption, and privacy leakage when performing various tasks, so they may not be willing to participate in crowdsensing tasks unless they are well-paid. Hence, a proper privacy-preserving incentive mechanism is of great significance to motivate users to join, which has attracted a lot of research efforts. Most of the existing works regard tasks as one-shot tasks, which may not work very …

Effects Of Fiber Density And Strain Rate On The Mechanical Properties Of Electrospun Polycaprolactone Nanofiber Mats., Adriano A Conte, Katie Sun, Xiao Hu, Vincent Beachley

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

This study examines the effects of electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) fiber density and strain rate on nanofiber mat mechanical properties. An automated track collection system was employed to control fiber number per mat and promote uniform individual fiber properties regardless of the duration of collection. Fiber density is correlated to the mechanical properties of the nanofiber mats. Young's modulus was reduced as fiber density increased, from 14,901 MPa for samples electrospun for 30 s (717 fibers +/- 345) to 3,615 MPa for samples electrospun for 40 min (8,310 fibers +/- 1,904). Ultimate tensile strength (UTS) increased with increasing fiber density, where …

Global Joint Registry: Analysis Of Revision Hip Arthroplasty Data, Alicia M. Runser

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) has become well-known as being one of the most successful procedures with much long-term positive clinical results. However, revision surgeries are still required. The four most common failure modes for THAs, “reasons for revision”, are loosening, dislocation or instability, fracture, and infection. The goal of a hip arthroplasty register is to gather information on patients that undergo a total hip arthroplasty and factors pertaining to their surgery which may affect their outcome for future years such as the reason for revision. Analysis of this data can help with the allocation of healthcare funds and the efficacy …

Pwd-3dnet: A Deep Learning-Based Fully-Automated Segmentation Of Multiple Structures On Temporal Bone Ct Scans, Western University, London Health Science Centre

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

The temporal bone is a part of the lateral skull surface that contains organs responsible for hearing and balance. Mastering surgery of the temporal bone is challenging because of this complex and microscopic three-dimensional anatomy. Segmentation of intra-temporal anatomy based on computed tomography (CT) images is necessary for applications such as surgical training and rehearsal, amongst others. However, temporal bone segmentation is challenging due to the similar intensities and complicated anatomical relationships among crit- ical structures, undetectable small structures on standard clinical CT, and the amount of time required for manual segmentation. This paper describes a single multi-class deep learning-based …

Fuzzy Controller Algorithm For Automated Hvac Control, M. Chae, K. Kang, D. Koo, S. Oh, Jae Youl Chun

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This research presents the design framework of the artificial intelligent algorithm for an automated building management system. The AI system uses wireless sensor data or IoT (Internet of Things) and user's feedback together. The wireless sensors collect data such as temperature (indoor and outdoor), humidity, light, user occupancy of the facility, and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) which is known as the source of the Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) or New Building Syndrome because VOC are often found in new buildings or old buildings with new interior improvement and they can be controlled and reduced by appropriate ventilation efforts. The collected …