Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Effect Of Reinforcement Thickness And Content On The Properties Of Compressed Earth Blocks, Salah Eddine Mokeddem, Abdelmadjid Hamouine, Rabia Abdeldjebar, Atef Hamaidi

Journal of Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies

This study explores the mechanical, hygroscopic, and thermal behavior of stabilized and unstabilized compressed earth blocks (CEB) by incorporating date palm wood chips (DPWC) as a natural fiber additive. The investigation covers a range of DPWC thicknesses (1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm) and content variations (0% to 1% by weight), focusing on the interaction between the bio-based reinforcement and the stabilized soil matrix, which is stabilized with 10% white Portland cement. The mixtures were compressed at a pressure of 5 MPa using a hydraulic press, providing a detailed examination of how these parameters impact the structural integrity and functional …

Ex Vivo And Simulation Comparison Of Leakage In End-To-End Versus End-To-Side Anastomosed Porcine Large Intestine, Youssef Fahmy, Mohamed Trabia, Brian Ward, Lucas Gallup, Whitney Elks

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Anastomotic leaks after colorectal resection are serious surgical complications. We have compared the integrity of two common colorectal anastomosis techniques, end-to-side (ES) and end-to-end (EE), to control specimens using a novel experimental setup that mimics anastomotic air leak tests, which are typically performed during surgeries. Freshly harvested porcine colonic sections from 23 F1 cross-species pigs were used. Pressure measurements and video imaging were used to monitor the ex vivo experiments on EE, ES, and Control specimens. Using EE (n = 16), ES (n = 12), and Control (n = 22) specimens, leak pressure was 282.6 ± 3.0 mm Hg for …

Novel Electrospinning Techniques For Fabricating Scaffolds To Model Intracranial Atherosclerotic Disease In Tissue Engineered Blood Vessel Mimics, Isaac "Squeaky" Buentipo

Master's Theses

Novel Electrospinning Techniques for Fabricating Scaffolds to Model Intracranial

Atherosclerotic Disease in Tissue Engineered Blood Vessel Mimics

Isaac “Squeaky” Buentipo

Dr. Kristen Cardinal’s Tissue Engineering Lab at California Polytechnic State University specializes in fabricating customized vascular models, known as Blood Vessel Mimics (BVMs), for medical device testing. BVMs are simplified in vitro vascular models designed to bridge the gap between bench testing and in vivo evaluation of intravascular medical devices. BVMs are produced by combining a polymer scaffold with human vascular cells. Through novel scaffold fabrication techniques, such as silicone injection molding, silicone dip casting and electrospinning, the capabilities of …

Electroporation Protocol Development For Cal Poly Cell Therapy Laboratory Courses, Gabrielle Melamed

Biomedical Engineering

Cancer is a heterogeneous disease caused by unchecked cell proliferation. The disease contributed to 9.7 million deaths worldwide in 2022, with hematological malignancies (leukemias, lymphomas, and myelomas) accounting for over 1.4 million deaths in the United States from 1999 to 2020. This thesis focuses on the treatment of these cancers, with an emphasis on non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs). R-CHOP (Rituximab-Cyclophosphamide, Doxorubicin hydrochloride, Oncovin/Vincristine, and Prednisone) is the standard of care first-line treatment for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common subtype of NHL, and encompasses a mixture of chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and corticosteroids. The R-CHOP regimen cures 50% to 70% patients, …

Development Of Translational Microscale Systems To Interrogate How Biophysical And Biochemical Cues Alter The Phenotype Of Hormone Positive Breast Cancer, Braulio Ortega Quesada

All Dissertations

Cancer is a complicated disease and one in every three diagnoses are women with breast cancer. Recent research shows that the progression of cancer depends strongly on interactions with other non-cancerous cells and non-cellular components. Metastasis, the spread of cancer to other parts of the body, is a key step in cancer progression and makes treatment harder, leading to poor response to treatments culminating in death in ~90% of patients. This dissertation focused on creating a series of microdevices as novel pre-clinical models of breast cancer. Two different devices were fabricated to (1) study how exposing cancer cells to the …

Ex Vivo Multiplex Knockdown Of Angptl3 And Cypor In Hepatocytes As A Novel Cell Therapy For Familial Hypercholesterolemia, Callie D. Clark

All Dissertations

Inherited metabolic diseases (IMDs) affect approximately 1 in 800 individuals. The only curative treatment for IMDs is liver transplantation. However, transplantation carries significant risks, including organ rejection and a lifelong need for immunosuppression. Therefore, gene editing has emerged as a promising alternative to liver transplantation for treating IMDs.

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is and IMD characterized by elevated LDL-C levels resulting in premature cardiovascular disease. CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene editing to disrupt the gene encoding angiopoietin-like 3 (ANGPTL3) in the liver represents a novel therapeutic approach for FH. Nonviral delivery performed ex vivo is safer than systemic delivery because gene editing is in …

Examining The Effects Of Quercetin On Phenotypic Characteristics Of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Thomas M. Needy

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Introduction A significant obstacle to mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) potency and therapeutic utility is in vitro senescence, an irreversible cessation of replication associated with age-related complications. Senolytic drugs, such as quercetin, may be helpful in selectively culling senescent cells while leaving non-senescent cells unaffected, thereby increasing potency of high-passage MSCs.

Methods The phenotypic, genotypic, and immunomodulatory effects of quercetin were assessed using in vitro models. Senescent cells, created through repeated subculturing of MSCs in vitro, and non-senescent cells were treated with 10 μM quercetin, differentiated into osteocytes, adipocytes, and chondrocytes, and analyzed to observe the effect of quercetin.

Results Quercetin …

Efficacy Of Mitophagy Inhibition As A Potentiating Agent For Conventional Chemotherapy, Morghan Relich, Shelby Bess

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cancer is a result of uncontrolled growth and reproduction of cells. Damaged or abnormal cells grow and multiply when they should not and in turn the cells continue to proliferate and metastasize. Malignant cells rely on functional mitochondria for proliferation, metastasis, and survival. These mitochondria maintain a functional mitochondrial network through a quality control mechanism called mitophagy. Mitophagy is a conserved intracellular process to maintain quality control and remove damaged mitochondria.

Previous research has been done to examine the effects of mitophagy in tumor cells, as well as the effects of mitophagy inhibition. One focus of current research has been …

Metabolic Responses Of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells In Collagen I Hydrogels, Caroline R. King

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Peripheral nerve injury affects approximately 44 in 1 million people in the United States every year and can lead to incomplete nerve recovery and loss of motor and sensory function. A significant amount of energy is required for nerve injury repair. A lack of energy allocation to the injury site hinders repair. Current treatments include hollow nerve guidance conduits, decellularized nerve grafts, and autografts. However, they are limited by factors such as donor site morbidity and sustained immunosuppressive treatments. Using three-dimensional collagen I hydrogels laden with adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) can assist in neural regeneration. Three-dimensional collagen scaffolds aim to …

Optimizing The Effects Of Yoda1 And Assessing The Effects Of Mrna Silencing Of Piezo1 Gene In Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Addison R. Mclaughlin

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent adult stem cells that are capable of differentiating into various skeletal tissues, making them promising candidates for regenerative medicine. A critical factor influencing their differentiation potential is mechanosensitivity, the ability to respond to mechanical stimuli. The mechanosensitive calcium ion channel PIEZO1 has emerged as a key regulator in this process, particularly in osteogenic differentiation. This study investigated the role of PIEZO1 in MSC osteogenesis through pharmacological activation using YODA1 and gene silencing via siRNA. Human bone marrow-derived MSCs were cultured and induced for osteogenic differentiation under varying concentrations and durations of YODA1 treatment. Alizarin …

Exploring Veto Activity: Dnam-1-Cd155 Axis In Overcoming Nk Cell-Mediated Allo-Rejection And Applications For Car-T Cell Therapy, Wei-Hsin Liu

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

As Miller et al. defined veto activity, it enables cells to target host cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) precursors specific to veto cells' antigens, selectively eliminating anti- donor T cell clones without inducing rejection. By leveraging this unique immune property, two key research aims were proposed: “Exploration of the Impact of Veto Activity on Natural Killer (NK) Cell-Mediated Allo-rejection” and “Development of Off-the- shelf Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-T Therapy: Engineering Anti-Viral Veto CD8+ T Cells”. As demonstrated in our previous research, in a murine model with mild conditioning, anti-third-party central memory CD8+ veto T cells (veto Tcm) can prevent T cell- …

The Effects Of Cigarette Smoke Extract On Osteoarthritis In A Primary Joint Tissue Explant Model, Emily Sawvell

All Dissertations

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common degenerative joint disease in the world with an economic burden of nearly $140 billion annually. Factors identified to increase the risk of developing OA include age, obesity, sex, race, genetics, and previous joint injury. However, one risk factor that has been scarcely studied in OA etiology is cigarette smoking. While some studies have reported smoking to protect against OA, increasing evidence suggests that cigarette smoking results in more severe and painful OA, increases the rate of developing OA, and reduces the efficacy of pain medications and arthritis-targeting therapies. Despite this, the impact of cigarette …

In Vitro Investigation Of Macrophage Functional And Metabolic Modulation, Shelby Nicole Bess

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Macrophages are a subset of immune cells with a variety of functions that are abundant in numerous tumor types such as colorectal and breast cancer. It has been suggested that macrophages may serve an important function as immune mediators in tumor behavior; however, macrophage activity is complex and remains not completely understood. The overall goal of this dissertation was to explore and exploit tumor-associated macrophage phagocytic function and the changes in their interactions with cancer cells in an in vitro mouse model and in 2D and 3D in vitro culture models. First, we wanted to better understand macrophage behavior under …

Dust Analyses In Ventilation Ducts, Karolina Vyhlidalova, Petr Vlček, Olga Rubinová, Jiří Bernard

Journal of Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies

The paper describes the importance of monitoring the dust in the atmosphere of human life. It deals with the issue of dust in air ducts, approaching the methods that can be used to detect the amount of dust. For conditions for buildings in the Czech Republic there is created the methodology of quantitative and qualitative evaluation of dust sediment for the needs of HVAC and other building surfaces. The scale for visual evaluation was created and it has been elaborated the assessment of kind of particles contained in dust.

Assessment Of Long Time Approximation Equation To Determine Thermal Conductivity Of High Porous Materials With Nss Probe, Hussein Humaish, Bastien Ruet, Laurent Marmoret, Hassen Beji

Journal of Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies

Recent economic changes have increased the focus on energy conservation in buildings. Improve insulation represents one of the biggest challenge to save energy. The TP02 Huksefux® Non Steady State Probe (NSSP) has been used to determine the thermal conductivity of the building insulation materials. Usually, the long term approximation equation (linear form) is applied to determine the thermal conductivity when using hot wire techniques. Long term approximation has been successfully used to characterize glycerol: a fluid which doesn’t present contact resistance and porosity. But, an S-shaped appears for more porous materials. So to generalize the possibility of using this method, …

Determining The Wound Closure Capabilities Of A Biological Engineered Blood Vessel For Hd Access, Brianna Regan, Alex Dumitru, Mai Lam

Medical Student Research Symposium

End stage renal disease (ESRD) is a prominent chronic condition with dialysis as a primary treatment option. Dialysis necessitates implementation of an access point, with the gold standard being an AV fistula which possesses multiple shortcomings. Alternative access points, namely synthetic grafts, do not allow wound healing characteristics. This work aims to explore how a tissue engineered vascular graft (TEVG) may be able to address these issues by allowing a long-term access point for HD that can close puncture wounds.

The effects of growth factors on our cells were tested preliminarily by means of a scratch assay on plates of …

Optimal Tissue Clearing Of Gastric Cancerous Organoids Imaged Via High Resolution Light Sheet Microscopy, Lauren D. Lieu

2025 Fall Honors Capstones Projects - Archive

While the rate of surviving a myocardial infarction has increased in the past 60 years from 60% to 90%, the rate of Americans developing chronic heart disease such as heart failure, arrhythmias, and hypertensive heart disease has risen. This has led to the development of imaging technology such as Light Sheet Microscopy (LSM) and Light Field Microscopy (LFM) to study heart contractility and congenital heart disease via models such as cancerous organoids or Zebrafish. However, LSM and LFM results are highly dependent on the quality of the staining and cleared samples. This study looks to add to the growing field …

Signal Analysis Of Calcium Dynamics In Pancreatic Cells, Abhidha Kunwar

2025 Fall Honors Capstones Projects - Archive

Calcium (Ca²⁺) signaling plays a critical role in insulin secretion from pancreatic βcells. Photo-biomodulation (PBM) of red or near-infrared wavelengths is applied to enhance cellular metabolism and Ca²⁺ activity in pancreatic cells. This study aims to rigorously analyze how PBM influences calcium dynamics in pancreatic cells by applying the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), converting Ca²⁺ spiking patterns to the frequency domain to determine dominant oscillatory behaviors. Using a calcium-binding fluorophore, Ca²⁺ activity was acquired before and after PBM at 810 nm, processed with a machine learning algorithm, and further analyzed in MATLAB using FFT to assess changes in calcium signal …

Inactivation Of Zika Virus With Hydroxypropyl-Beta-Cyclodextrin, Cory R. Hewitt, Nicholas J. Wixon, Arthur Gallegos, You Zhou, Victor C. Huber, M. Scott. Killian

Nebraska Center for Biotechnology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Background/Objectives: Zika virus (ZIKV) infection is associated with life-threatening diseases in humans. To date, there are no available FDA-approved therapies or vaccines for the specific treatment or prevention of ZIKV infection. Variation in the ZIKV envelope protein (Env), along with its complex quaternary structure, presents challenges to synthetic approaches for developing an effective vaccine and broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs). We hypothesized that beta-cyclodextrin (BCD) could be used to uniquely inactivate infectious ZIKV without disruption of Env.

Methods: ZIKV was propagated in Vero cells and admixed with BCD. The BCD-treated ZIKV was evaluated for infectivity using immunofluorescence and quantitative …

Characterization Of Multispecies Microbial Communities At Beef And Pork Processing Plants And Their Impact On Pathogen Stress Tolerance, Rong Wang, Sapna Chitlapilly Dass, Vignesh Palanisamy, You Zhou, Tatum Katz, Joseph M. Bosilevac

Nebraska Center for Biotechnology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica are major foodborne pathogens. Biofilm formation may potentially contribute to product contamination by these pathogens at meat processing facilities. Further, pathogen stress tolerance may vary significantly due to the interactions with the multispecies microbial community at meat plants, which may be affected by processing activity, animal species, and the local selective pressure caused by sanitization practices.

We characterized natural microorganisms collected from floor drains at various areas at three beef plants and two pork plants and analyzed their impact on pathogen sanitizer tolerance.

The pathogen strains were able to integrate efficiently into the multispecies …

Fabricating Silver-Ceria Polymer Nanocomposite Scaffolds For Biomedical Therapeutic Applications, Shreya S. Pawar

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Improper healing of bone fractures and limited regeneration of bone following bone tumor resection remain a prevalent complication worldwide. Long-term effects of this include joint instability, limited movement, and arthritis. Bone infections (osteomyelitis), reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation via excessive inflammation, and underlying conditions such as osteoporosis can contribute to suboptimal bone tissue regeneration. ROS accumulation stimulates osteoblast apoptosis, while promoting osteoclast differentiation. These processes inhibit mineralization and osteogenesis. Conventional therapeutics involve the utilization of drugs and bone grafts. However, these approaches pose limitations and can result in subsequent complications. Microbial infections, ROS accumulation, and excessive inflammations are factors that …

In Vitro Microfluidics System For Mechanobiologic Investigations, Michael A. Daanen

Honors Theses

Mechanobiology is an emerging field that aims to study the relationships between mechanical forces and cellular behavior. Such mechanobiological relationships are especially critical in the cardiovascular system, where endothelial cells lining the vasculature align in response to fluid shear stresses from blood flow (Sinha, 2016). Implanted flow devices, diabetes, chronic hypertension, and various other diseases and pathophysiologies alter vessel geometries and flow dynamics. Such alterations impact fluid shear stress and endothelial cell behavior, leading to microcirculatory dysfunction, vessel leakage, and organ failure (Poredos, 2021; Papadaki, 1999; Leitschuh, 1987). To simulate dysfunctional endothelial cell behavior in vitro and evaluate novel therapeutic …

Incorporating Insulin Into Alginate-Chitosan 3d-Printed Scaffolds: A Comprehensive Study On Structure, Mechanics, And Biocompatibility For Cartilage Tissue Engineering, Afsaneh Jahani, Mohammad Sagdegh Nourbakhsh, Ali Moradi, Marzieh Mohammadi, Lobat Tayebi

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability worldwide, challenging current treatments to limited cartilage self-healing capacity. Cartilage tissue engineering (CTE) integrates cells, scaffolds, and signaling molecules, with Insulin being utilized as a differentiation biomolecule due to cost-effectiveness, dose-dependent influence on chondrogenesis, suitable biological activity, and ability to activate relevant receptors. Yet, administering differentiation biomolecules through conventional scaffolds poses a persistent challenge. Alginate (Alg) is commonly employed in CTE for its biocompatibility, though it lacks sufficient mechanical properties. Chitosan (Cs), while enhancing scaffold mechanical properties, but does not independently provide optimal support for chondrogenesis. While Alg-Cs scaffolds have garnered attention, challenges …

Microscopic Analysis Of Temperature Effects On Surface Colonization And Biofilm Morphology Of Salmonella Enterica, Zachariah Vice, You Zhou, Sapna Chitlapilly Dass, Rong Wang

Nebraska Center for Biotechnology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Salmonella enterica represents a diverse group of pathogens commonly associated with food contamination including red meat. Even though pre- and post-harvest cleaning and sanitization procedures are widely implemented at meat processing plants to mitigate the hazard, S. enterica cells may escape the process by colonizing, on contact, surfaces in the form of a biofilm that functions as an aggregated microbial community to facilitate mutual protection, antimicrobial resistance, proliferation and dissemination. Biofilm development is a complex process that can be affected by a variety of factors including environmental temperature. We developed methods using scanning electron microscopy and confocal microscopy with a …

Characterization Of Nanoplastic-Induced Exacerbation Of Asthmatic Pathophysiology In A Murine In Vivo Model, Keith Li

Theses and Dissertations

As global plastic production increases, so does the environmental and biological presence of nanoplastics (NPs), raising growing concerns about their potential impact on human health. These particles have been detected in various organs, including the lungs, yet their role in respiratory inflammation remains largely unexplored. Emerging evidence suggests that NP exposure may influence immune responses in the lungs, particularly in individuals with preexisting conditions such as asthma. However, the specific ways in which these particles interact with allergen driven inflammation are still unclear.

In this study, a murine model of allergic airway inflammation was used to investigate how surface modified …

The Bacteriostatic, Regenerative, And Immunomodulatory Properties Of Extracellular Matrix Particles For Lung Injury, Keera P. Rhoads

Theses and Dissertations

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a prevalent, life-threatening lung condition, affecting nearly 200,000 Americans annually, with a 40% international mortality rate. There is no cure for ARDS, and current pharmacological treatments have limited effectiveness. Symptoms can be mitigated with mechanical ventilation, though this often leads to ventilator-induced lung injuries (VILI) and puts critically ill patients at risk of infections, including ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). A promising therapeutic is the extracellular matrix (ECM), a complex network of structural proteins and bioactive molecules that has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties and prevent fibrosis. We aim to utilize the regenerative and immunomodulatory …

Generation And Characterization Of Human Blood-Brain Barrier Models For Investigating Neuropsychiatric Disorders And Tumor Metastasis, Yunfei Li

Dissertations and Theses

The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is important in the normal function of the central nervous system (CNS). An altered BBB has been described in various neuropsychiatric disorders. The brain-specific microvascular endothelial cell (BMEC) is an essential structural component of the BBB. To test if integrity of the BBB formed by BMECs is compromised in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (also called DiGeorge syndrome), which is one of the validated genetic risk factors for schizophrenia, a 2D iBBB (induced BBB) on a Transwell filter was generated from human microvascular endothelial cells (HBMECs) derived from the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) out of patients with …

Modeling Synergistic Effects Of Integrin And Tgf-Β Signaling In Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition, Prerak Thakkar

Theses and Dissertations

The induction of Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) is initiated by a

number of protiens and growth factors, one of which is the profibrotic cytokine Trans-

forming Growth Factor β (TGF-β). Within the extracellular matrix (ECM), TGF-β

is found in a latent, inactive form bound to proteins such as fibronectin (FN). For

TGF-β to contribute to EMT induction, it has to be extracted from the latent com-

plexes into a soluble form. This soluble, activated TGF-β can then bind to receptors

on the cell membrane, which causes the transduction of signals that begin EMT. Re-

search has shown that the release …

Molecular Characterization Of Leptin Gene In Sheep (Ovis Aries), Shahenda M. Hegazy, Mohamed Fouda, Ahmed Ateya, Huda A. El Emam

Mansoura Veterinary Medical Journal

INTRODUCTION: Advances in molecular genetic techniques have simplified the process of identifying individual differences at the DNA level. Genetic polymorphisms at candidate genes controlling economic features have recently drawn a lot of scholarly attention due to their potential as a tool for genetic selection and the identification of evolutionary linkages in livestock. OBJECTIVE: This work aimed to detect nucleotide sequence variants in Lep gene as genetic markers for growth and heat tolerance traits in Barki and Abudeleik sheep using PCR-DNA sequencing approach in search of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). METHODS: 30 female ewes, 15 of each breed (Barki and Aboudeleik) …

Intercellular Mitochondrial Transfer Contributes To Microenvironmental Redirection Of Cancer Cell Fate, Julie Sofie Bjerring, Yara Khodour, Emilee Anne Peterson, Patrick Christian Sachs, Robert David Bruno

School of Medical Diagnostics & Translational Sciences Publications

The mammary microenvironment has been shown to suppress tumor progression by redirecting cancer cells to adopt a normal mammary epithelial progenitor fate in vivo. However, the mechanism(s) by which this alteration occurs has yet to be defined. Here, we test the hypothesis that mitochondrial transfer from normal mammary epithelial cells to breast cancer cells plays a role in this redirection process. We evaluate mitochondrial transfer in 2D and 3D organoids using our unique 3D bioprinting system to produce chimeric organoids containing normal and cancer cells. We demonstrate that breast cancer tumoroid growth is hindered following interaction with mammary epithelial cells …