Engineering Commons^™

Effects Of Uniaxial Cyclic Strain On Endothelial Progenitor Cells, Maria Alejandra Zeballos Castro

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Despite the high prevalence of calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD), the underlying mechanisms of pathogenesis have not been found yet. Therefore, it is extremely important to study CAVD and understand how it develops. For this matter, we decided to study the potential of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) for use in tissue-engineered models of heart valves. EPCs were chosen as the cell source of interest for this study due to their high neovascularization potential and use in regenerative medicine and cardiovascular tissue engineering.

In this project, we aimed to engineer the microenvironment of cells that are involved in the formation of …

Revealing Hemodynamic Response And Dynamic Changes In Functional Cortical Networks Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (Fnirs), Jianwei Cao

Bioengineering Dissertations - Archive

Therapeutic interventions, such as physical therapy and non-invasive brain electrical stimulation can enhance the physical performance of persons with brain disorders. One often-used form of physical therapy named constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) improves motor control skills of children with cerebral palsy (CP) through forced intensive use of the affected extremity. A complementary method to physical rehabilitation methods for overcoming a deficit is to facilitate use of the affected brain areas by non-invasive brain electrical stimulation. One currently popular form of brain stimulation is transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), which has been shown to enhance both motor and language performance in …

Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition Coating Amorphous Silica Based Implants Enhancing Angiogenesis And Mitigating Toxic Oxidative Stress In Critical Size Bone Defects, Felipe Alves Monte

Bioengineering Dissertations - Archive

The advances in bone tissue engineering search for a biomaterial that could efficiently and gradually replace the bone while the new tissue grows through the implanted structure. However, due to limitations mainly related to mechanical properties and challenges, such as the balance between tissue regeneration and material degradation, the coating of well-known inert materials still has been used in orthopedics and dental clinical practices. Bone defects are commonly related to deleterious oxidative stress induced by low oxygen levels and inflammation. Toxic oxidative stress can impair damaged tissue healing due to inhibiting new blood vessels and new bone formation. The interaction …

Usa Boccia Ball Ramp For Athletes With Quadriplegia, Alissa A. Koukourikos, Matthew Lee, Nathan Bernards

Mechanical Engineering

In this report, the design process in creating an assistive device for Boccia Classification 3 (BC3) players is outlined. The initial research steps, including research into the rules of the game, capabilities of the players, and existing products is documented to show where ideas for the product stemmed from. This transitions into requirements that the sponsor requested, and preliminary designs and ideas for the product. Finally, this report explains the details of the final design, which has been analyzed for safety, ease of use, and ability to function under different conditions. The processes of manufacturing and testing will also be …

Eeg Characterization During Motor Tasks That Are Difficult For Movement Disorder Patients, Adam Joshua Aslam

Master's Theses

Movement disorders are a group of syndromes that often arise due to neurological abnormalities. Approximately 40 million Americans are affected by some form of movement disorder, significantly impacting patients’ quality of life and their ability to live independently. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is one treatment that has shown promising results in the past couple decades, however, the currently used open-loop system has several drawbacks. By implementing a closed-loop or adaptive DBS (aDBS) system, the need for expensive parameter reprogramming sessions would be reduced, side-effects may be relieved, and habituation could be avoided. Several biomarkers, for example signals or activity derived …

Interfacing A Hirudo Medicinalis Retzius Cell With Insulated Gate Of Mosfet, Rachel M. Smith

Master's Theses

Much work has been done to study the external stimulation of nervous tissue as well as the transmission of neural signals to electronics. Peter Fromherz was one of the pioneers in this area of electrophysiology, with a series of experiments in the 1990s that aimed to characterize and optimize the interface between neural tissue and transistors. In this thesis, Kurt Sjoberg and I interfaced a Retzius cell isolated from a Hirudo medicinalis ganglion with the insulated gate of a MOSFET. The goal was to see change in membrane potential that could be related Fromherz’s original 1991 work. Our experimental setup …

Blue-Light Induced Biosynthesis Of Ros Contributes To The Signaling Mechanism Of Arabidopsis Cryptochrome, Mohamed A. El-Esawi, Louis David Arthaut, Nathalie Jourdan, Alain D'Harlingue, Justin J. Link, Margaret Ahmad, Carlos F. Martino

Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Faculty Publications

Cryptochromes are evolutionarily conserved blue light receptors with many roles throughout plant growth and development. They undergo conformational changes in response to light enabling interaction with multiple downstream signaling partners. Recently, it has been shown that cryptochromes also synthesize reactive oxygen species (ROS) in response to light, suggesting the possibility of an alternate signaling mechanism. Here we show by fluorescence imaging and microscopy that H202 and ROS accumulate in the plant nucleus after cryptochrome activation. They induce ROS-regulated transcripts including for genes implicated in pathogen defense, biotic and abiotic stress. Mutant cryptochrome alleles that are non-functional in photomorphogenesis retain the …

Material Properties Design Using Simulations And Experiments For Powder Injection Molding Of Lead Zirconate Titanate (Pzt)., Bhushan Pramod Bandiwadekar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Powder injection molding (PIM) process simulations can be performed to minimize the number of injection molding experiments by estimating material properties necessary for PIM simulations. In current work, lead zirconate titanate (PZT) powder-polymer binder feedstock was compounded for 45 vol. % and 52 vol. % solids loading. PIM experiments on designed micro-pillar array geometry were performed using 52 vol. % PZT. Using PIM experiments results as basis, PIM simulations were performed on designed micro-pillar array geometries to understand the effectiveness of PIM simulations with the use of estimated feedstock properties in predicting molding behavior that have micro-features. Additionally, PIM simulations …

A Novel Approach To Assess Minimally Invasive Surgical Device Failure Utilizing Adverse Event Outcome Severity And Design Complexity., Marie K. Riggs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Medical device failure and misuse have the potential to cause serious injury and death. Given the intricate nature of the instruments utilized specifically in minimally invasive surgery (MIS), users and manufacturers of surgical devices share a responsibility in preventing user error and device failure. A novel approach was presented for the evaluation of minimally invasive device failures, which involved assessing the severity of adverse event outcomes associated with the failures modes and investigating aspects of the devices’ design that may contribute to failure. The goals of this research were to 1) characterize the design attributes, failure modes, and adverse events …

Synthesis Of Regioselectively Acylated Quercetin Analogues With Improved Antiplatelet Activity, Yu Duan, Na Sun, Min Xue, Xiaolan Wang, Hu Yang

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The aim of the present study was to report on a complete synthetic approach, namely benzylation-hydrolysis-acylation-hydrogenation, to the synthesis of regioselectively acylated quercetin analogues using low-cost rutin as a starting material. Three quercetin analogues, quercetin-3-O-propionate (Q-pr), quercetin-3-O-butyrate (Q-bu) and quercetin-3-O-valerate (Q-va), containing 3-, 4- and 5-carbon aliphatic acyl chains, respectively, were synthesized and characterized with ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), ¹³C NMR and mass spectrometry. Compared with quercetin, all three analogues exhibited improved lipophilicity. The lipophilicity of the analogue increased with increasing acyl chain length. Q-va exhibited the highest lipophilicity among the three analogues, but a lower water …

Design, Development, And Characterization Of Breathforce : A Respiratory Training System For Patients With Spinal Cord Injuries., Kevin L Tran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pulmonary and cardiovascular dysfunction are consistently reported as the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among the 1,275,000 people who are living with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) in the United States. Respiratory-cardiovascular complications from neurological disorders (primarily COPD and sleep apnea) are currently the number one cause of death and disability in the US.

The main goal of this project is to develop an inspiratory-expiratory training device for use in the rehabilitation of patients with respiratory motor and cardiovascular deficits that incorporates existing technologies and promotes successful training methodologies performed at the clinic and at home.

An embedded microprocessor …

Development Of In-Vitro And In-Vivo Devices To Study The Mechanobiology Of Ligament Healing, John Bayard Everingham

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Ligament injuries are the most common sports injury in the United States. The current clinical practice for treating ligament injuries leaves many patients with significant pain and joint laxity for years following the initial injury. Controlled mechanical stimulation of the tissue after injury is necessary for robust healing, but the optimal mechanical environment for ligament healing is not fully understood. Alternative therapies, such as instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM), offer a form of mechanical stimulation that is non-invasive and has shown promising clinical outcomes but the optimal dosage for IASTM treatments is unknown. The objective of this study was …

Sex Differences In Collateral Remodeling Following Hindlimb Arterial Occlusion, Laura Burckhardt

Master's Theses

Clinical evidence indicates a higher incidence of peripheral arterial occlusive disease and associated likelihood of critical limb ischemia in women, as well as worse prognosis and decreased survival post myocardial infarction. Therefore, understanding the possible differences in underlying vascular compensation mechanisms is crucial. With arterial occlusions, necrosis and tissue injury can be naturally mitigated by the collateral circulation, improving patient prognosis. Previous sex-comparison studies describing differences in vascular remodeling are inconsistent. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the effect of arterial occlusion on collateral remodeling in healthy male and healthy reproductive-stage female mice. At 7 days following …

Computer-Aided Diagnoses (Cad) System: An Artificial Neural Network Approach To Mri Analysis And Diagnosis Of Alzheimer's Disease (Ad), Berizohar Padilla Cerezo

Master's Theses

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic and progressive, irreversible syndrome that deteriorates the cognitive functions. Official death certificates of 2013 reported 84,767 deaths from Alzheimer’s disease, making it the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. The rate of AD is estimated to double by 2050. The neurodegeneration of AD occurs decades before symptoms of dementia are evident. Therefore, having an efficient methodology for the early and proper diagnosis can lead to more effective treatments.

Neuroimaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can detect changes in the brain of living subjects. Moreover, medical imaging techniques are the …

The Temporal Expression Of Adipokines During Spinal Fusion, Sohrab Virk, Alicia L. Bertone, Hayam Hamaz Hussein, Jeffrey M. Toth, Mari Kaido, Safdar Khan

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Background Context

Adipokines are secreted by white adipose tissue and have been associated with fracture healing. Our goal was to report the temporal expression of adipokines during spinal fusion in an established rabbit model.

Purpose

Our goal was to report the temporal expression of adipokines during spinal fusion in an established rabbit model.

Study Design

The study design included a laboratory animal model.

Methods

New Zealand white rabbits were assigned to either sham surgery (n=2), unilateral posterior spinal fusion (n=14), or bilateral posterior spinal fusion (n=14). Rabbits were euthanized 1–6 and 10 weeks out from surgery. Fusion was evaluated by …

Investigation And Engineering Of Polyketide Biosynthetic Pathways, Lei Sun

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research is focused on investigation and engineering of natural product biosynthetic pathways for efficient production of pharmaceutically important molecules or generation of new bioactive molecules for drug development.

Natural products are an important source of therapeutics, such as chromomycin (anti-cancer), emodin (anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor) and sprolaxine (anti-Helicobacter pylori). Metabolic engineering of natural product biosynthetic pathways shows its promise for creating and producing valuable compounds with chemical diversity for drug discovery. One goal of this research is to create highly efficient strains to biosynthesize valuable natural products. The engineered Streptomyces roseiscleroticus strain constructed in this work showed higher …

A High Accuracy Microwave Radiometric Thermometer To Measure Internal Body Temperature, Michael D. Grady

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released heat illness data which highlighted that ~29 heat stress hospitalizations and ~3 heat-related deaths occurred every day during the summer months within the US from years 2000 to 2014. Heatstroke- the most severe form of heat illness which oftentimes lead to death- has been cited to be entirely preventable if a timely intervention is introduced. This dissertation uses microwave radiometric thermometry to perform wireless non-invasive internal body temperature monitoring which can enable intervention methods that help to prevent deaths associated with heat-illness.

Overall, this dissertation develops a comprehensive closed-form analytical radiometric …

Silica Formation With Nanofiber Morphology Via Helical Display Of The Silaffin R5 Peptide On A Filamentous Bacteriophage, In-Wong Song, Hyojung Park, Jung Han Park, Hyunook Kim, Seong Hun Kim, Justyn Jaworski, Byoung-In Sang, Sung Yi

Bioengineering Faculty Publications - Archive

Biological systems often generate unique and useful structures, which can have industrial relevance either as direct components or as an inspiration for biomimetic materials. For fabrication of nanoscale silica structures, we explored the use of the silaffin R5 peptide from Cylindrotheca fusiformis expressed on the surface of the fd bacteriophage. By utilizing the biomineralizing peptide component displayed on the bacteriophage surface, we found that low concentrations (0.09 mg/mL of the R5 bacteriophage, below the concentration range used in other studies) could be used to create silica nanofibers. An additional benefit of this approach is the ability of our R5-displaying phage …

A Gal-Ms Device To Evaluate Cell Migratory Response To Combined Galvano-Chemotactic Fields, Shawn Mishra, Maribel Vazquez

Publications and Research

Electric fields have been studied extensively in biomedical engineering (BME) for numerous regenerative therapies. Recent studies have begun to examine the biological effects of electric fields in combination with other environmental cues, such as tissue-engineered extracellular matrices (ECM), chemical gradient profiles, and time-dependent temperature gradients. In the nervous system, cell migration driven by electrical fields, or galvanotaxis, has been most recently studied in transcranial direct stimulation (TCDS), spinal cord repair and tumor treating fields (TTF). The cell migratory response to galvano-combinatory fields, such as magnetic fields, chemical gradients, or heat shock, has only recently been explored. In the visual system, …

Development Of Biomimetic Membrane Assemblies On Microspheres For High-Throughput And Multiplexable Studies, Nadiezda P. Fernandez Oropeza

Biomedical Engineering ETDs

Membranes and membrane-associated components are the target of approximately 60% of the current drugs, of synthetic materials, such as polymers, which are used for drug delivery purposes and of other biomolecules, such as endotoxins, which gain entry into the cell by disrupting the membrane. Therefore, the development of biomimetic membrane assemblies allows the study of different biological processes in which cell membranes play an important role, and the characterization and screening of drug delivery tools and other membrane-bound components.

Since its development, membrane assemblies on planar silica surfaces have been the method of choice to study membrane-associated and membrane-bound components. …

Targeting The Bacterial Orisome In The Search For New Antibiotics, Julia E. Grimwade, Alan C. Leonard

Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Faculty Publications

There is an urgent need for new antibiotics to combat drug resistant bacteria. Existing antibiotics act on only a small number of proteins and pathways in bacterial cells, and it seems logical that expansion of the target set could lead to development of novel antimicrobial agents. One essential process, not yet exploited for antibiotic discovery, is the initiation stage of chromosome replication, mediated by the bacterial orisome. In all bacteria, orisomes assemble when the initiator protein, DnaA, as well as accessory proteins, bind to a DNA scaffold called the origin of replication (oriC). Orisomes perform the essential tasks of unwinding …

18f-Fdg Pet/Ctct-Based Radiomics For The Prediction Of Radiochemotherapy Treatment Outcomes Of Cervical Cancer, Badereldeen Abdulmajeed Altazi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cervical cancer remains the third most commonly diagnosed gynecological malignancy in the United States and throughout the world despite being potentially preventable. Patients diagnosed with cervical cancer may develop local recurrence in the cervix and surrounding structures (vaginal apex, parametrial, or paracervical), regional recurrence in pelvic lymph nodes, distant metastasis, or a combination of all. The management of such treatment outcomes has not been subject to rigorous investigation. Therefore, there is a need for studies and clinical trials that focus on decision making to support the choice of the best treatment modality that leads to the minimal number of adverse …

Rf Sensing System For Continuous Blood Glucose Monitoring, Fabiola Araujo Cespedes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to design a blood glucose sensing system based on the induced shift in the resonant frequency of an antenna patch operating in the ISM band (5.725 – 5.875 GHz). The underlying concept is the fact that when a person has variations in their blood glucose levels, the permittivity of their blood varies accordingly. This research analyzed the feasibility of using an antenna patch as a blood glucose sensing device in three configurations: 1) as an implantable active sensor, 2) as an implantable passive antenna sensor, and 3) as a non-invasive sensor. In the first …

Ambulatory Systolic Blood Pressure And Obesity Are Independently Associated With Left Ventricular Hypertrophic Remodeling In Children, Linyuan Jing, Christopher D. Nevius, Cassi M. Friday, Jonathan D. Suever, Arichanah Pulenthiran, Abba Mejia-Spiegeler, H. Lester Kirchner, William J. Cochran, Gregory J. Wehner, Aftab S. Chishti, Christopher M. Haggerty, Brandon K. Fornwalt

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Background: Children with obesity have hypertrophic cardiac remodeling. Hypertension is common in pediatric obesity, and may independently contribute to hypertrophy. We hypothesized that both the degree of obesity and ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) would independently associate with measures of hypertrophic cardiac remodeling in children.

Methods: Children, aged 8–17 years, prospectively underwent cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) and ABP monitoring. Left ventricular (LV) mass indexed to height^2.7(LVMI), myocardial thickness and end-diastolic volume were quantified from a 3D LV model reconstructed from cine balanced steady state free precession images. Categories of remodeling were determined based on cutoff values for LVMI and …

Macroscopic Anisotropic Bone Material Properties In Children With Severe Osteogenesis Imperfecta, Carolyne Albert, John Jameson, Sergey Tarima, Peter Smith, Gerald F. Harris

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Children with severe osteogenesis imperfecta(OI) typically experience numerous fractures and progressive skeletal deformities over their lifetime. Recent studies proposed finite element models to assess fracture risk and guide clinicians in determining appropriate intervention in children with OI, but lack of appropriate material property inputs remains a challenge. This study aimed to characterize macroscopic anisotropic cortical bone material properties and investigate relationships with bone density measures in children with severe OI. Specimens were obtained from tibial or femoral shafts of nine children with severe OI and five controls. The specimens were cut into beams, characterized in bending, and imaged by synchrotron …

Computational Sensitivity Investigation Of Hydrogel Injection Characteristics For Myocardial Support, Hua Wang, Christopher B. Rodell, Madonna E. Lee, Neville N. Dusaj, Joseph H. Gorman Iii, Jason A. Burdick, Robert C. Gorman, Jonathan F. Wenk

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Biomaterial injection is a potential new therapy for augmenting ventricular mechanics after myocardial infarction (MI). Recent in vivo studies have demonstrated that hydrogel injections can mitigate the adverse remodeling due to MI. More importantly, the material properties of these injections influence the efficacy of the therapy. The goal of the current study is to explore the interrelated effects of injection stiffness and injection volume on diastolic ventricular wall stress and thickness. To achieve this, finite element models were constructed with different hydrogel injection volumes (150 µL and 300 µL), where the modulus was assessed over a range of 0.1 kPa …

Rehabilitating Asymmetric Gait Using Asymmetry, Tyagi Ramakrishnan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Human gait is a complex process that involves the coordination of the central nervous and muscular systems. A disruption to the either system results in the impairment of a person’s ability to walk. Impairments can be caused by neurological disorders such as stroke and physical conditions like amputation. There is not a standardized method to quantitatively assess the gait asymmetry of affected subjects. The purpose of this research is to understand the fundamental aspects of asymmetrical effects on the human body and improve rehabilitation techniques and devices. This research takes an interdisciplinary approach to address the limitations with current rehabilitation …

Comparison Of New Metrics For Assessment Of Risks Of Occupational Noise, Wisam Al-Dayyeni, Jun Qin

ASA Multidisciplinary Research Symposium

The acoustic environment nowadays is filled with excessive noise sources. Here, we will compare the conventional noise metrics(A-weighting and C-weighting) with our two developed advanced models (the adaptive weighting (F-weight) and the complex velocity level (CVL) auditory fatigue model).

Gender And Participation In An Engineering Problem-Based Learning Environment, Laura Hirshfield, Milo D. Koretsky

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

The use of problem-based learning (PBL) is gaining attention in the engineering classroom as a way to help students synthesize foundational knowledge and to better prepare students for practice. In this work, we study the discourse interactions between 27 student teams and two instructors in an engineering PBL environment to analyze how participation is distributed among team members, paying particular attention to the differences between male and female students. There were no statistically significant differences between the amount that male and female students spoke; however, stereotypical gender roles and traditional gendered behavior did manifest in the discussion. Also, regardless of …

Hydrodeoxygenation Of Acetic Acid As A Model Compound For The Aqueous Phase Catalytic Pyrolysis Oils, Hossein Jahromi, Foster Agblevor

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Catalytic pyrolysis of biomass generates organic, aqueous, gaseous and solid fractions. The organic fraction can be easily hydrotreated to produce hydrocarbons, but the aqueous phase that contains between 10 to 25% soluble organics can pose challenges in wastewater treatment. The aqueous fraction from the catalytic pyrolysis of Pinyon Juniper wood was characterized for its organic content. The fraction contained about 15 wt% organic compounds determined from Karl Fischer analysis. The organic fractions were further characterized using gas chromatography and mass selective detection (GC/MS). The analysis showed that the dissolved organics were composed of acetic acid, ketones, aldehydes, and phenolic compounds. …