Engineering Commons^™

Bi-Planar Postural Stability Model: Fitting Parameters To Patient Data Automatically, Andrew Michael Sovol

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Studies of children with cerebral palsy (CP) have shown that maintaining control of posture in quiet standing is often difficult. Physical therapy and assistive devices, both with or without surgery, may be employed in an effort to improve postural stability. Assessing the effectiveness of such interventions is important for healthcare providers and their patients. A previously created bi-planar model of posture control has been further developed as a method of assessment. This MATLAB and Simulink model has successfully replicated experimental results for typical adults and children, as well as children with CP across three different test conditions: eyes open, eyes …

Sensitivity Of Motor Adaptation To The Statistical Properties Of An Environmental Load, Timothy Michael Haswell

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Linear, limited-memory models capture many important features of adaptive motor performance during reaching, stepping and pointing. A recent study in our lab found that a model fitted to data obtained from subjects reaching against elastic loads which varied from trial-to-trial later failed to fit the steady-state response behavior of subjects exposed to deterministic, step changes in load. Does motor adaptation depend on statistical properties of the environment (eg. mean load strength and variability)? Neurologically intact volunteers (n=14) made 6 blocks of 100 planar, ballistic, 10cm, out-and-back reaching movements against spring-like loads having equilibrium positions at the hand's starting point. View …

Combining Molecular And Imaging Biomarkers To Enhance Maldi Biomarker Analysis, Ayyappa Chowdary Vadlamudi

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This thesis presents a three-step method to predict prostate cancer (PCa) regions on biopsy tissue samples based on high confident, low resolution PCa regions marked by a pathologist. First, a prediction model is designed to predict PCa regions using matrix-assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) tissue imaging data from one prostate tissue slice. Second, a texture analysis technique is applied to a high magnification optical image for the same purpose from an adjacent tissue slice. Finally, those two results are fused to obtain the PCa regions that will assist MALDI imaging biomarker analysis. Experiments show that the texture analysis based …

Finite Element Analysis And Modeling Of A .38 Lead Round Nose Ballistic Gelatin Test, Danielle Datoc

Master's Theses

Firearms are present in two-thirds of United States households. As of 2003, roughly 500,000 projectile wounds occur annually in the United States. This costs an estimated 2.3 billion dollars of medical spending. The best treatment of gunshot wounds relies heavily on experience, but even with experience the unpredictable nature of ballistics can make treatment difficult.

Wound ballistics studies the injury pattern of a particular bullet. Ballistic gelatin tests are used to analyze this pattern. A block of 10 or 20% ballistic gelatin is set and a bullet is fired through the block. Key characteristics of the wound profile seen in …

An Investigative Study Into The Relationship Of Bone Morphogenetic Protein Antagonist Expression And Osteocyte Density By Region And Quadrant, Scott C. Mosher

Master's Theses

The role of cytokines and cell behavior and viability with respect to bone remodeling and bone behavior is an exciting area of orthopedic research. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between BMP antagonist expression and osteocyte density, lacunar densities and osteocyte viability in cortical bone. Samples of unloaded tibial bone obtained from six C57Bl/6 mice were immunohistochemically stained for gremlin and noggin expression and also underwent methyl green staining to determine osteocyte presence. Bone sections were divided into four quadrants (cranial, caudal, medial and lateral) and three regions (proximal, mid shaft and distal), followed by analysis …

Biomechanical Comparison Of Wire Circlage And Rigid Plate Fixation For Median Sternotomy Closure In Human Cadaver Specimens, Mark Steven Wong

Master's Theses

Background:

Over 700,000 patients per year undergo open-heart surgery. Healing complication rates can be up to 5% of patients who undergo this procedure, with a morbidity rate of 50% if mediastinitis supervenes. A secure and rigid fixation of surgically divided sternum is critical to avoid healing complications. The purpose of this study was to compare the yield load, construct stiffness, ultimate load, displacement at ultimate load, and post-yield behavior of three sternotomy closure methods (Peristernal wires or Sternalock titanium plates) when stressed in each of three directions: lateral distraction, rostro-caudal (longitudinal) shear distraction, and anterior-posterior (transverse) shear in a cadaveric …

Human Osteoblast Proliferation In Culture Following A Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Field (Nspef), Leonard Joseph Carinci Jr.

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Osteoblasts are mononucleate bone forming cells responsible for the deposition of new bone. Application of mechanical stress on bone reveals its ability to produce and release electric potentials across the cell membrane called piezoelectricity. The electric potentials produced in response to mechanical stress may have a direct correlation on osseous cells and the signaling pathways that regulate proliferation. Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) are high intensity, ultrashort pulses which have the ability to maintain the integrity of the cell membrane by avoiding traditional electroporation. We delivered 8 nsPEFs (0.5 Hz) of a 25 kV/cm or 35 kV/cm electric field strength …

Uncertainty In Indirect Land Use Change Emissions In The Life Cycle Of Biofuels: Implications For Legislation, Adam Liska

Adam Liska Papers

Current EPA life cycle analysis (LCA) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from corn-ethanol will be the foundation for regulations for advanced biofuels. It appears regulatory policies that include emissions from indirect land use change (and other indirect emissions) in the biofuel life cycle are moving faster than the underlying science; there is no comparable scientific study that approaches the complexity in methods currently used by the EPA. There is substantial uncertainty in quantifying direct and indirect emissions from fuels, as evidenced by conflicting results from state and federal regulators and from within the scientific community. If indirect emissions from land …

A Linear Finite Element Acoustic Fluid-Structure Model Of Ultrasonic Angioplasty In Vivo, Mark Wylie, Garrett Mcguinness, Graham Gavin

Articles

The delivery of high-power ultrasonic energy via small diameter wire waveguides represents a new alternative therapy for the treatment of chronic totally occluded arteries (CTOs). This type of energy manifests itself as a mechanical vibration at the distal-tip of the waveguide with amplitudes of vibration up to 60 µm and at frequencies of 20- 50 kHz. Disruption of diseased tissue is reported to be a result of direct mechanical ablation, cavitation, pressure components and acoustic streaming and that ablation was only evident above the cavitation threshold. This work presents a linear finite element acoustic fluid-structure model of an ultrasonic angioplasty …

Development Of A Novel Noise Delivery System For Jp-8 Ototoxicity Studies, John E. Stubbs

Theses and Dissertations

Numerous chemicals with ototoxic properties may cause hearing loss directly, potentiate noise-induced hearing loss, or produce additive effects. Of interest to the US Air Force are studies showing ototoxic effects of JP-8 jet fuel and its hydrocarbon constituents. The Naval Health Research Center (NHRC) at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, in conjunction with the USAF, is studying the ototoxic effects of JP-8 in rats. The study requires a white noise source that is one octave band wide, centered at 8 kHz frequency, delivered from outside of exposure chambers. Sound pressure levels must be within ± 2 dB at all exposure points within …

Isolated Cellulose Synthase Promoter Regions, Chandrashekhar P. Joshi

Michigan Tech Patents

The invention relates to methods of inducing expression of coding sequences including cellulose synthase coding sequences in transgenic plants using promoters of cellulose synthase genes from Populus plant species and transgenic plants produced by the methods.

Height Adjustment In Assessing Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry Measurements Of Bone Mass And Density In Children, Babette S. Zemel, Mary B. Leonard, Andrea Kelly, Joan M. Lappe, Vicente Gilsanz, Sharon Oberfield, Soroosh Mahboubi, John A. Shepherd, Thomas N. Hangartner, Margaret M. Frederick, Karen K. Winer, Heidi J. Kalkwarf

Biomedical, Industrial & Human Factors Engineering Faculty Publications

Context: In children, bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) measurements by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) are affected by height status. No consensus exists on how to adjust BMC or BMD (BMC/BMD) measurements for short or tall stature.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare various methods to adjust BMC/BMD for height in healthy children.

Design: Data from the Bone Mineral Density in Childhood Study (BMDCS) were used to develop adjustment methods that were validated using an independent cross-sectional sample of healthy children from the Reference Data Project (RDP).

Setting: We conducted the study in five …

One-Pot Enzymatic Synthesis Of Deoxy-Thymidine-Diphosphate (Tdp)-2-Deoxy-∝-D-Glucose Using Phosphomannomutase, Yung-Hum Yang, Young Bok (Abraham) Kang, Dae-Hee Kim, Tek-Hyung Lee, Sung-Hee Park, Kwangwon Lee, Dongwon Yoo, Kwang-Kyung Liou, Hee-Chan Lee, Jae-Kyung Sohng, Byung-Gee Kim

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

Production of deoxy-thymidine-diphosphate (TDP)-sugars as substrates of glycosyltransferases, has been one of main hurdles for combinatorial antibiotic biosynthesis, which combines sugar moiety with aglycon of various antibiotics. Here, we report the one-pot enzymatic synthesis of TDP-2-deoxy-glucose employing high efficient TMP kinase (TMK; E.C. 2.7.2.12), acetate kinase (ACK; E.C. 2.7.1.21), and TDP-glucose synthase (TGS; E.C. 2.7.7.24) with phosphomannomutase (PMM; E.C. 5.4.2.8). In this study, replacing phosphoglucomutase (PGM; E.C. 5.4.2) by PMM from Escherichia coli gave four times higher specific activity on 2-deoxy-6-phosphate glucose, suggesting that the activity on 2-deoxy-glucose-6-phosphate was mainly affected by PMM activity, not PGM activity. Using an in …

Lipids And Collagen Matrix Restrict The Hydraulic Permeability Within The Porous Compartment Of Adult Cortical Bone, Demin Wen, Caroline Androjna, Amit Vasanji, Joanne M. Belovich, Ronald J. Midura

Chemical & Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

In vivo the hydraulic permeability of cortical bone influences the transport of nutrients, waste products and signaling molecules, thus influencing the metabolic functions of osteocytes and osteoblasts. In the current study two hypotheses were tested: the presence of (1) lipids and (2) collagen matrix in the porous compartment of cortical bone restricts its permeability. Our approach was to measure the radial permeability of adult canine cortical bone before and after extracting lipids with acetone-methanol, and before and after digesting collagen with bacterial collagenase. Our results showed that the permeability of adult canine cortical bone was below 4.0 × 10 …

Electrically Mediated Delivery Of Plasmid Dna To The Skin, Using A Multielectrode Array, Richard Heller, Yolmari Criz, Loree C. Heller, Richard A. Gilbert, Mark J. Jaroszeski

Bioelectrics Publications

The easy accessibility of skin makes it an excellent target for gene transfer protocols. To take full advantage of skin as a target for gene transfer, it is important to establish an efficient and reproducible delivery system. Electroporation is a strong candidate to meet this delivery criterion. Electroporation of the skin is a simple, direct, in vivo method to deliver genes for therapy. Previously, delivery to the skin was performed by means of applicators with relatively large distances between electrodes, resulting in significant muscle stimulation and pain. These applicators also had limitations in controlling the directionality of the applied field. …

Links With Canada Benefit Dit Prosthesis Research, Colm O'Kane

Articles

Colm O’Kane is a lecturer in the School of Manufacturing and Design Engineering and a member of the DIT Biomedical Device and Assistive Technology Research Group. He is currently engaged in PhD research in the field of knee prosthesis development, focused on developing optimised strategies for partial and total joint replacements used in treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee joint. This article is an account of a research scholarship sponsored by the CHC Helicopter Corporation and awarded by the Ireland Canada University Foundation (ICUF). This foundation awards annual scholarships for research visits between Ireland and Canada with the aspiration of …

Controlling Nonviral Gene Delivery Through The Cell-Biomaterial Interface, Beth A. Duensing

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Controlling Nonviral Gene Delivery through the Cell-Biomaterial Interface
Beth Ann Duensing, M.S. University of Nebraska, 2010
Adviser: Angela Pannier

Cell-biomaterial interactions and the corresponding cellular behaviors are poorly understood. Therefore, in this study, the ability of biomaterial surface properties to control nonviral gene delivery was investigated through surface chemistry and protein adsorption and subsequently correlated to cellular behaviors controlled by cell-biomaterial interactions. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkanethiols on gold were used as model biomaterials to investigate the effect of surface properties on nonviral gene transfer to cells adhered to these surfaces. SAMs presenting terminal CH₃, OH, COO^{- …}

Crystallization Of Community-Acquired Respiratory Distress Syndrome Toxin From Mycoplasma Pneumonia, Olga N. Pakhomova, Alexander B. Taylor, Argentina Becker, Stephen P. Holloway, T. R. Kannan, Joel B. Baseman, P. John Hart

Bioelectrics Publications

Community-acquired respiratory distress syndrome toxin (CARDS TX) is a 591-amino-acid protein with ADP-ribosyltransferase and vacuolating activities that damages the cells lining the respiratory tracts of patients infected with the bacterial pathogen Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Crystals of CARDS TX were grown in space group C2, with unit-cell parameters a = 191.4, b = 107.4, c = 222.1 A, beta = 90.6 degrees. A complete 2.2 A data set was obtained from a single CARDS TX crystal.

Mitochondrial Matrix K+ Flux Independent Of Large-Conductance Ca2+-Activated K+ Channel Opening, Mohammed Aldakkak, David F. Stowe, Qunli Cheng, Wai-Meng Kwok, Amadou K.S. Camara

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Large-conductance Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ channels (BK_Ca) in the inner mitochondrial membrane may play a role in protecting against cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury. NS1619 (30 μM), an activator of BK_Ca channels, was shown to increase respiration and to stimulate reactive oxygen species generation in isolated cardiac mitochondria energized with succinate. Here, we tested effects of NS1619 to alter matrix K⁺, H⁺, and swelling in mitochondria isolated from guinea pig hearts. We found that 30 μM NS1619 did not change matrix K⁺, H⁺, and swelling, but that 50 and 100 …

St Monitoring On The Programmer For Implantable Cardioverter Devices, Sarina Satya

Master's Theses

Cardiovascular disease is one of the most prevalent causes of death which has a high mortality rate. If identified early and treated appropriately, the mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease can be hugely reduced. For several decades, 12-Lead ECG has been the standard technique used to identify ischemia, and recent studies have shown that intracardiac electrogram has many benefits over external monitoring such as holter. ST Monitoring feature has been added to St. Jude Medical intracardiac cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) to leverage the ECG technology for identifying cardiovascular disease. This algorithm monitors the intracardiac electrogram to detect and report patterns which …

Ct Energy Weighting In The Presence Of Scatter And Limited Energy Resolution, Taly Gilat Schmidt

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose: Energy-resolved CT has the potential to improve the contrast-to-noise ratio(CNR) through optimal weighting of photonsdetected in energy bins. In general, optimal weighting gives higher weight to the lower energy photons that contain the most contrast information. However, low-energy photons are generally most corrupted by scatter and spectrum tailing, an effect caused by the limited energy resolution of the detector. This article first quantifies the effects of spectrum tailing on energy-resolved data, which may also be beneficial for material decomposition applications. Subsequently, the combined effects of energy weighting, spectrum tailing, and scatter are investigated through simulations.

Methods: The study first …

The Effect Of Ace Inhibition On The Pulmonary Vasculature In Combined Models Of Chronic Hypoxia And Pulmonary Arterial Banding In Sprague Dawley Rats, Shanelle Clarke, Shelley Baumgardt, Robert C. Molthen

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Microfocal CT was used to image the pulmonary arterial (PA) tree in rodent models of pulmonary hypertension (PH). CT images were used to measure the arterial tree diameter along the main arterial trunk at several hydrostatic intravascular pressures and calculate distensibility. High-resolution planar angiographic imaging was also used to examine distal PA microstructure. Data on pulmonary artery tree morphology improves our understanding of vascular remodeling and response to treatments. Angiotensin II (ATII) has been identified as a mediator of vasoconstriction and proliferative mitotic function. ATII has been shown to promote vascular smooth muscle cell hypertrophy and hyperplasia as well as …

Predicting Neointimal Hyperplasia In Stented Arteries Using Time-Dependant Computational Fluid Dynamics: A Review, Jonathan Murphy, Fergal Boyle

Articles

This paper reviews the recent literature regarding the time-dependant computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses of blood flow through implanted coronary stents. The in vivo processes which result in arterial restenosis are identified. The definition and range of the computationally predicted variables which are believed to stimulate the restenosis processes are evaluated. The reviewed literature is subdivided into effect-based in which the effects of altering the flow model are investigated and design-based in which different geometric stent configurations are compared. Finally, conclusions are made regarding the body of work reviewed and recommendations are provided for future work in this field.

Surface Engineering Of Macrophages With Nanoparticles To Generate A Cell-Nanoparticle Hybrid Vehicle For Hypoxia-Targeted Drug Delivery, Christopher A. Holden, Quan Yuan, W. Andrew Yeudall, Deborah A. Lebman, Hu Yang

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Tumors frequently contain hypoxic regions that result from a shortage of oxygen due to poorly organized tumor vasculature. Cancer cells in these areas are resistant to radiation- and chemotherapy, limiting the treatment efficacy. Macrophages have inherent hypoxia-targeting ability and hold great advantages for targeted delivery of anticancer therapeutics to cancer cells in hypoxic areas. However, most anticancer drugs cannot be directly loaded into macrophages because of their toxicity. In this work, we designed a novel drug delivery vehicle by hybridizing macrophages with nanoparticles through cell surface modification. Nanoparticles immobilized on the cell surface provide numerous new sites for anticancer drug …

An Investigation Of Humeral Stress Fractures In Racing Thoroughbreds Using A 3d Finite Element Model In Conjunction With A Bone Remodeling Algorithm, Ryan James Moore

Master's Theses

The humerus of a racing horse Thoroughbred is highly susceptible to stress fractures at a characteristic location as a result of cyclic loading. The propensity of a Thoroughbred to exhibit humeral fracture has made equines useful models in the epidemiology of stress fractures. In this study, a racing Thoroughbred humerus was simulated during training using a 3D finite element model in conjunction with a bone remodeling algorithm. Nine muscle forces and two contact forces were applied to the 3-dimensional finite element model, which contains four separate load cases representing fore-stance, mid-stance, aft-stance, and standing. Four different training programs were incorporated …

Time-Efficient Patient-Specific Quantification Of Regional Carotid Artery Fluid Dynamics And Spatial Correlation With Plaque Burden, John F. Ladisa, Mark Bowers, Leanne Harmann, Robert W. Prost, Anil Vamsi Doppalapudi, Tayyab Mohyuddin, Osama Zaidat, Raymond Q. Migrino

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose:

Low wall shear stress (WSS) and high oscillatory shear index (OSI) influence plaque formation, yet little is known about their role in progression/regression of established plaques because of lack of practical means to calculate them in individual patients. Our aim was to use computational fluid dynamics(CFD) models of patients with carotid plaque undergoing statin treatment to calculate WSS and OSI in a time-efficient manner, and determine their relationship to plaque thickness (PT), plaque composition (PC), and regression.

Methods:

Eight patients (68±9 yr, one female) underwent multicontrast 3 T MRI at baseline and six-month post statin treatment. PT and PC …

Stiffness Of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells From Aged Primates Measured Using Reconstituted Tissue Model, Shilpa Nagendra

Theses

Increased stiffness of the aorta is an important detrimental change that occurs with aging. Most previous research has implicated stiffening of the extracellular collagen matrix with age. The study reported in this thesis focused instead on the potential contribution from stiffening of the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) with age.

VSMCs previously obtained from young and old monkeys (macaca fascicularis) were seeded into a collagen gel to form a reconstituted tissue. The aim of this study was to quantitatively characterize the mechanical properties of this reconstituted tissue model via uniaxially stretching each ring to defined levels of strain. The total …

Development Of A Device For Whole Body Stimulation Of The Otoliths, Jon Edward Weimer

Theses

Over the past few decades, research has been conducted to explore the effects of microgravity on human musculature, As seen in astronauts upon their return to Earth after prolonged spaceflight, extensive muscle atrophy due to adaptation to conditions of microgravity many times decreases a person's ability to walk or even stand, With an understanding of the anatomical mechanisms that provide postural control, the proper stimulation, resulting in a reduction in spasticity, could be provided by simulating these conditions of microgravity.

In order to simulate microgravity, a device has been developed that is capable of providing whole body stimulation of the …

A Comparative Analysis Of Haptic And Eeg Devices For Evaluation And Training Of Post-Stroke Patients Within A Virtual Environment, Gregory Nicholas Ranky

Theses

Virtual Rehabilitation benefits from the usage of interfaces other than the mouse and keyboard, but also possess disadvantages: haptic peripherals can utilize the subject's hand to provide position information or joint angles, and allow direct training for specific movements; but can also place unneeded strain on the limbs; brain-machine interfaces (BMI) can provide direct connections from the user to external hardware or software, but are currently inaccurate for the full diversity of user movements in daily life and require invasive surgery to implement. A compromise between these two extremes is a BMI that can be adapted to specific users, can …

Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Biofuels: Variability, Uncertainty, And Steps Toward Accurate Regulation, Adam J. Liska, Bruce E. Dale

Adam Liska Papers

a)Variability in life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from corn-ethanol:
biorefineries
cropping systems
co-product feeding to livestock

b) EPA regulation of life cycle GHG emissions from biofuels & use of life cycle analysis (LCA):
uncertainties & inaccuracies
indirect effects

c) Building accurate knowledge infrastructure, theory, and research teams for accurate LCA methods for biofuels