Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Otx2 Represses Sister Cell Fate Choices In The Developing Retina To Promote Photoreceptor Specification, Miruna Georgiana Ghinia Tegla, Diego F. Buenaventura, Diana Y. Kim, Cassandra Thakurdin, Kevin C. Gonzalez, Mark M. Emerson

Publications and Research

During vertebrate retinal development, subsets of progenitor cells generate progeny in a non-stochastic manner, suggesting that these decisions are tightly regulated. However, the gene-regulatory network components that are functionally important in these progenitor cells are largely unknown. Here we identify a functional role for the OTX2 transcription factor in this process. CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing was used to produce somatic mutations of OTX2 in the chick retina and identified similar phenotypes to those observed in human patients. Single cell RNA sequencing was used to determine the functional consequences OTX2 gene editing on the population of cells derived from OTX2-expressing retinal progenitor …

Optimizing Athletic Throwing Power For Increased Training Efficiency, Ian Ghanavati, Curtis Tomasevicz

UCARE: Research Products

A summary on the investigation of the mechanics of weighted baseball pitching.

• The demand for higher pitch velocity has increased at all levels of competitive play within baseball • Weighted baseball training programs are a common way to increase pitch velocity • The efficacy and safety of weighted ball throwing is not fully understood • The aim of this study is to further investigate the mechanics of pitching under and overweight balls in order to better understand their role in athletic training

Synthetic Lethality In Pediatric Brain Cancer Cells By Optimized Plga Nanoparticles And Drug Combinations, Megan Ruckman, Megan Otte, Forrest Kievit

UCARE: Research Products

Here we test drugs effectiveness to inhibit various DNA repair pathways with the purpose of sensitizing cancer cells to radiotherapy. We work on optimizing delivery of DNA repair pathway inhibiting drugs by the use of PLGA nanoparticles.

Combining Eye Tracking And Verbal Response To Understand The Impact Of A Global Filter, Franceli L. Cibrian, Jazette Johnson, Viseth Sean, Hollis Pass, Louanne Boyd

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Visual attention guides the integration of two streams: the global, that rapidly processes the scene; and the local, that processes details. For people with autism, the integration of these two streams can be disrupted by the tendency to privilege details (local processing) instead of seeing the big picture (global processing). Consequently, people with autism may struggle with typical visual attention, evidenced by their verbal description of local features when asked to describe overall scenes. This paper aims to explore how one adult with autism see and understand the global filter of natural scenes.

Acute Mechanical Stress In Primary Porcine Rpe Cells Induces Angiogenic Factor Expression And In Vitro Angiogenesis, Farhad Farjood, Amir Ahmadpour, Sassan Ostvar, Elizabeth Vargis

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Background

Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) is a major cause of blindness in patients with age-related macular degeneration. CNV is characterized by new blood vessel growth and subretinal fluid accumulation, which results in mechanical pressure on retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. The overexpression of RPE-derived angiogenic factors plays an important role in inducing CNV. In this work, we investigated the effect of mechanical stress on the expression of angiogenic factors in porcine RPE cells and determined the impact of conditioned medium on in-vitro angiogenesis.

Results

The goal of this study was to determine whether low levels of acute mechanical stress during early …

Transcranial Electrical Stimulation Motor Threshold Can Estimate Individualized Tdcs Dosage From Reverse-Calculation Electric-Field Modeling, Kevin A. Caulfield, Bashar W. Badran, William H. Devries, Philipp M. Summers, Emma Kofmehl, Xingbao Li, Jeffrey J. Borckardt, Marom Bikson, Mark S. George

Publications and Research

Background

Unique amongst brain stimulation tools, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) currently lacks an easy or widely implemented method for individualizing dosage.

Objective

We developed a method of reverse-calculating electric-field (E-field) models based on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans that can estimate individualized tDCS dose. We also evaluated an MRI-free method of individualizing tDCS dose by measuring transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) motor threshold (MT) and single pulse, suprathreshold transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) MT and regressing it against E-field modeling. Key assumptions of reverse-calculation E-field modeling, including the size of region of interest (ROI) analysis and the linearity of multiple E-field …

Multiphysics Computational Model Of Fluid Flow And Mass Transfer In Aneurysm, Tanja Cupac

Graduate Student Research Symposium

The abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) mostly affects men between the ages 65-85 and is very common with more than 3 million cases in the United States per year. AAA is defined as the weakening of the arterial wall producing a blood-filled bulge in the body’s largest blood vessel. AAA is progressive, asymptomatic, and can eventually lead to rupture which is a catastrophic event leading to massive internal bleeding and possibly death. Of the males within this age range, 1-3% will die from this disease. About 75% of AAA cases will be characterized by the development of an intraluminal thrombus (ILT). …

Laser Micropatterning Effects On Corrosion Resistance Of Pure Magnesium Surfaces, Yahya Efe Yayoglu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Magnesium and its alloys are good candidates to manufacture medical implants. They have excellent biocompatibility and because they biodegrade secondary surgical operation to remove the implant could be eliminated. However, in aqueous environments, magnesium alloys rapidly corrode, resulting in premature degradation of the implant along with biologically intolerable hydrogen gas generation. In literature, there are multiple studies focused on creating water repelling hydrophobic magnesium surfaces in order to decrease corrosion rates. Hydrophobic properties can be achieved by creation of a roughness profile on an initially smooth surface combined with a treatment that reduces the free surface energy. In theory, hydrophobic …

Biomimetic Gold Nanoshell-Loaded Macrophage For Photothermal Biomedicine, Sung Hun Kang, Yong Kyu Lee, Il Seok Park, In-Kyu Park, Seok Min Hong, Soon Young Kwon, Young Hee Choi, Steen J. Madsen, Henry Hirschberg, Seok Jin Hong

Integrated Health Sciences Faculty Research

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of photothermal treatment (PTT) with gold nanoshell (ANS) using a macrophage-mediated delivery system in a head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell line. To achieve this, ANS-loaded rat macrophages (ANS-MAs) were prepared via the coculture method with ANS. The human HNSCC (FaDu cell) and macrophage (rat macrophage; NR8383 cell) hybrid spheroid models were generated by the centrifugation method to determine the possibility of using ANS-MAs as a cancer therapy. These ANS-MAs were set into the tumor and macrophage hybrid spheroid model to measure PTT efficacy. Kinetic analysis of the …

Biomimetic Gold Nanoshell-Loaded Macrophage For Photothermal Biomedicine, Sung Hun Kang, Yong Kyu Lee, Il Seok Park, In-Kyu Park, Seok Min Hong, Soon Young Kwon, Young Hee Choi, Steen J. Madsen, Henry Hirschberg, Seok Jin Hong

Integrated Health Sciences Faculty Research

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of photothermal treatment (PTT) with gold nanoshell (ANS) using a macrophage-mediated delivery system in a head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell line. To achieve this, ANS-loaded rat macrophages (ANS-MAs) were prepared via the coculture method with ANS. The human HNSCC (FaDu cell) and macrophage (rat macrophage; NR8383 cell) hybrid spheroid models were generated by the centrifugation method to determine the possibility of using ANS-MAs as a cancer therapy. These ANS-MAs were set into the tumor and macrophage hybrid spheroid model to measure PTT efficacy. Kinetic analysis of the …

Manipulation And Patterning Of Mammalian Cells Using Vibrations And Acoustic Forces, Joel Cooper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recently, there has been a surge in researchers and scientists investigating different methods which move, manipulate, and pattern biological cells. Multiple different mechanisms can be used for cellular manipulation, microfluidics, biochemical queues, and even optics, just to name a few. However, all techniques have their downsides. A majority of these methods require expensive equipment or reagents and can only manipulate a small number of cells at a time.

Some of the most common cell manipulation devices utilize acoustic pressure waves to move the cells to desired locations. Currently, it is unknown what level of force from these types of devices …

Ece Senior Design Project - Cost-Effective Diy Electrometer, Benjamin Hahn

Honors Theses

An electrometer is a critical electrophysiology instrument used to generate minuscule currents for intracellular stimulation of biological neurons. An electrometer also enables simultaneous measurement of the neuron membrane voltage response. This device is necessary to perform accurate stimulation of neurons. However, the cost of commercial electrometers, around $5000, is prohibitive to many researchers, particularly at the high-school or introductory college level. A recent Western Michigan University graduate student, Lucas Essenburg, designed a basic electrometer for $210. His thesis proved that quality electrometers can be constructed for a fraction of the price of commercial-grade equipment.

This project focused on the improvement …

Inducing Increased Bioplastic Production In R. Palustris Cga009, Cameron Gilley, Dylan Hoppner, Brandi J. Brown

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

PHA’s (polyhydroxyalkanoates) are important bio polymers in different industries such as petroleum, medicine, and nano technology. In the microorganisms in which they are produced, they serve as an energy storage material by storing both carbon and usable electrons. This is useful in environments where the organisms are nutrient starved. PHA’s have a practical use especially in the medical field as bio-plastics because they are biodegradable and bio-compatible. Rhodopseudomonas. palustris, a common soil bacterium, is notable for its uncommon metabolic flexibility. Its diverse metabolism means that it can fix CO 2 and grow on many lignin based monomers in both aerobic …

Quantification Of Phenotypic Change Resulting In Sensitization Of Primary Sensory Neurons Due To Oxidative Stress, Adan Redwine, Sarah M. Romereim, Rebecca A. Wachs

UCARE: Research Products

84% of the population will suffer from low back pain at some point in their lives, and 39% of the cases may be related to pain originating from the intervertebral disc (IVD) also known as discogenic pain. Age or injury can cause progressive degeneration of the IVD, and this can allow innervation by nociceptive (pain-sensing) neurons from the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) into the inner IVD.⁶ Long-term exposure to pain-inducing stimuli can cause nociceptor sensitization, manifested as increased pain sensation in response to non-painful or painful stimuli.⁷ Sensitization results in the nociceptors responding more strongly to a stimulus, …

The Natural Historian’S Guide To The Ct Galaxy: Step-By-Step Instructions For Preparing And Analyzing Computed Tomographic (Ct) Data Using Cross-Platform, Open Access Software, T. J. Buser, O. F. Boyd, A. Cortés, Cassandra M. Donatelli, M. A. Kolmann, J. L. Luparell, J. A. Pfeiffenberger, B. L. Sidlauskas, A. P. Summers

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

The decreasing cost of acquiring computed tomographic (CT) data has fueled a global effort to digitize the anatomy of museum specimens. This effort has produced a wealth of open access digital three-dimensional (3D) models of anatomy available to anyone with access to the Internet. The potential applications of these data are broad, ranging from 3D printing for purely educational purposes to the development of highly advanced biomechanical models of anatomical structures. However, while virtually anyone can access these digital data, relatively few have the training to easily derive a desirable product (e.g., a 3D visualization of an anatomical structure) from …

Walking Kinematics In Young Children With Limb Loss Using Early Versus Traditional Prosthetic Knee Prescription Protocols, Mark Daniel Geil, Zahra Safaeepour, Brian Giavedoni, Colleen Coulter

Faculty Articles

The traditional treatment protocol for young children with congenital or acquired amputations at or proximal to the knee prescribes a prosthesis without a working knee joint, based in part on the assumption that a child learning to walk cannot properly utilize a passively flexing prosthetic knee component. An alternative to this Traditional Knee (TK) protocol is an “Early Knee” (EK) protocol, which prescribes an articulating prosthetic knee in the child’s first prosthesis, during development of crawling and transitioning into and out of upright positions. To date, no study has compared samples of children with limb loss at or proximal to …

Study Of The Therapeutic Effects Of Synchronization-Modulation Of The Na/K Pump On Muscle Fatigue, Jason E. Mast

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It has been shown that by applying a specially designed oscillating external electric field to a cell membrane that the membrane's sodium/potassium pumps can be synchronized to all work at the same rate. Then by slowly increasing the electric field's frequency the pumps' turnover rate can also be increased. By increasing the pumps' turnover rate, the sodium and potassium concentration gradients can be increased, this type of stimulation is called synchronization-modulation. There are three generations of the synchronization-modulation waveform each with different utilities. In particular, the third generation of synchronization-modulation has the ability to use the energy of the external …

Hybrid Electro-Plasmonic Stimulation Of Primary Neurons, Ratka Damnjanovic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Biomedical prosthetics utilizing electrical stimulation have limited, effective spatial resolution due to spread of electrical currents to surrounding tissue, causing nonselective stimulation. So, precise spatial resolution is not possible for traditional neural prosthetic devices, such as cochlear implants. More recently, alternative methods utilize optical stimulation, mainly infrared, sometimes paired with nanotechnology for stimulating action potentials, which has its own drawbacks, as it may heat surrounding tissue. Recently, we employed plasmonic stimulation methods utilizing gold nanoparticle-coated nanoelectrodes to convert visible light pulses into localized surface plasmon resonance transduction for stimulation of electrically excitable cells, which had limited success. Here, we report …

Engineering A Switchable Nanosystem For Customizable Therapeutics, David Diebold, Hanzhe Chen

Bioengineering Senior Theses

Exosomes are nanovesicles that are naturally secreted by mammalian cells in vivo for intercellular communications. Due to their inherent targeting ability, exosomes have a potential for therapeutic applications. However, due to their physiological derivation, the isolation of engineered exosomes has been a major obstacle to their therapeutic application, and successful disease-targeting has been difficult to control. Recently, we have developed an exosome technology that borrows from switchable Chimeric Antigen Receptor (sCAR) T-Cell Therapy and Strep-tag engineering to overcome these obstacles. Here, we describe the development of a de novo method to produce genetically modified exosomes with switchable targeting ability and …

Predicting Depression Progression Rates In Radiotherapy Patients, Ardella Phoa, Joshua Vincent, Shani Williams

Bioengineering Senior Theses

Cancer is a highly prevalent disease that affects millions of people worldwide. In addition to the physiological effects of the disease, cancer patients are more likely to be diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Unfortunately, prior research has shown that MDD can also decrease the efficacy of radiotherapy cancer treatments. Currently, there is no way to predict, prevent, or mitigate this comorbidity, preventing physicians from administering supplemental therapies. In this paper, we propose a low-cost and efficient computational tool that can be utilized to quantify a patient’s likelihood of developing depression. To do so, we used PET images and a …

In Vivo Non-Ribosomal Protein Synthesis In Mammalian Cells, Akhil Choppa

Bioengineering Master's Theses

The mechanism of Sortase A substrate specificity has been widely studied and applied to many approaches to bioconjugation. Current research includes transpeptidation between peptide nucleotide acids, polypeptides, viruses, or antibodies. These applications help improve drug targeting and delivery. Scientists have performed Sortase A-mediated protein ligation in vitro. This project proposes an in vivo protein ligation method with Sortase A. In this design, Sortase A acts as a catalyst to initiate bioconjugation between the LPETG motif and pentaglycine (Gly5) chain to express GFP. This technique bypasses the ribosome and offers an alternative way to synthesize protein in mammalian cells. Three recombinant …

Computational Approach To Correcting Joint Instability In Patients With Recurrent Patellar Dislocation, Oliver Alvarez, Robert N. Steensen, Paul J. Rullkoetter, Clare K. Fitzpatrick

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Patellar dislocation is a debilitating injury common in active adolescents and young adults. Conservative treatment after initial dislocation is often recommended, but almost half of these patients continue to suffer from recurrent dislocation. The objective of this study was to compare preoperative patellofemoral joint stability with stability after a series of simulated procedures, including restorative surgery to correct to pre-injury state, generic tibial tubercle osteotomy, patient-specific reconstructive surgery to correct anatomic abnormality, less invasive patient-specific surgery, and equivalent healthy controls. Three-dimensional, subject-specific finite element models of the patellofemoral joint were developed for 28 patients with recurrent patellar dislocation. A …

Microfluidic Liquid Biopsy For Cancer Prognosis, Brendan Heap, Anthony Ramirez Guerrero, Sam Nichols

Bioengineering Senior Theses

Leukemia is a deadly and common cancer, especially in children and adolescents. The misdiagnosis and unexpected complications during the treatment are some factors that increase the mortality rate of leukemia. The goal of our project was to create a device that would quickly and accurately assess these complications. While there are existing tests that can perform a single test for either metastasis or sepsis, there are none that can test for both simultaneously and rapidly. We propose to modify and combine some of these existing microfluidic designs as well as create a new component to perform a combinatorial assessment. While …

“Gobabygo!” Rehab Engineering To Make Children Mobile, Connor Albin, Chase M. Pfeifer

UCARE: Research Products

GoBabyGo! is a project to give children with movement difficulties a chance to move on their own. GoBabyGo! conducts community builds of modified ride-on-cars for these children and grants them mobility. Once issue is that once children have cars, there is no feedback to improve future builds. This project "“GoBabyGo!” – Rehab Engineering to Make Children Mobile," wishes to collect quantifiable data on how these cars are being used and how they can be improved. This project aims to do this by collecting surveys from caretakers and through a programmed module to be installed in cars. The installed car module …

Mechanobiology Of Breast Cancer Cells, Shea Thompson

UCARE: Research Products

Mechanobiology Cells response to mechanical loading Mechanical loading includes Shear flow, Stretching, Compression

How does shear flow effect breast cancer cell migration in a three dimensional space?

By going through the engineering cycle, I was able to successfully convert the Parallel Flow Chamber into a Three Dimensional Flow Chamber. At this point, I have no results due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Future Research Understanding how breast cancer migrates is essential to preventing the spread of cancer. While other chemical means have been investigated, mechanotransduction is relatively unexplored. Next step: Mechanobiology of breast cancer cells moving through a maze Cells have …

Nanoparticle Treatment To Counter Reactive Oxygen Species After Traumatic Brain Injury, Brandon Mcdonald, Forrest Kievit

UCARE: Research Products

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is defined as damage to the brain, resulting from an external mechanical force, such as an impact to the head (Kievit et. al, 2016).There are several examples that could result in a potential TBI; such as falling with contact to the head, car accidents and even physical activities including football, wrestling, and boxing. Because of the several different scenarios that an individual could impact their head, TBI’s have become an all too common aspect of everyday life. TBI is currently the leading cause of death and disability in children and adults under the age of 45, …

How Do Surgeon Preferences And Technique Variances Affect Outcome?, Anastasia Axiopoulou, Caroline G. L. Cao, Katherine Lin Md, Keith Watson Md

Celebration of Undergraduate & Graduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities Materials

The goal of the research project is to create a blue-print of a robot-assisted hysterectomy procedure to support design and evaluation of technology to enhance system performance. To create this blue-print, we will conduct a task analysis, model the cognitive task flow and decision making, and develop a simulation of the hysterectomy procedure. The surgical simulation will be used as a platform to train surgeons on robotic-assisted hysterectomies, as well as to assess learning and performance. Additionally, it will be used to design and develop techniques and novel technology to support surgeons in their performance of the surgery. Current research …

Indirect Structural Connectivity As A Biomarker For Stroke Motor Recovery, Miguel Renato Sotelo Munoz

Dissertations (1934 -)

In this dissertation project, we demonstrated that diffusion magnetic resonance imaging and measures of indirect structural brain connectivity are sensitive to changes in fiber integrity and connectivity to remote regions in the brain after stroke. Our results revealed new insights into the effects local lesions have on global connectivity—in particular, the cerebellum—and how these changes in connectivity and integrity relate to motor impairment. We tested this methodology on two stroke groups—subacute and chronic—and were able to show that indirect connectivity is sensitive to differences in connectivity during stroke recovery. Our work can inform clinical methods for rehabilitating motor function in …

Developing A Skin Phantom For The Testing Of Biowearables, Tawni Henderson, Ju Young Lee, Matthew Placide, Kiran Sutaria

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

There is a demonstrated need in the biowearables industry for a benchtop model that can accurately emulate the perspiration mechanism and corresponding impedance vs. frequency spectra of skin. This model, or skin phantom, could increase the efficiency and accuracy of early-stage testing of biowearables, as well as minimize animal, human, and cadaver testing.

The objective of this project is to develop a skin phantom that can emulate the perspiration mechanism and impedance spectrum behavior of human skin for the testing of biowearables in the 2,000 - 20,000 Hz range. We also endeavored to create computer-simulated models to aid in the …

Reaching Performance In Heathy Individuals And Stroke Survivors Improves After Practice With Vibrotactile State Feedback, Valay A. Shah

Dissertations (1934 -)

Stroke causes deficits of cognition, motor, and/or somatosensory functions. These deficits degrade the capability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs). Many research investigations have focused on mitigating the motor deficits of stroke through motor rehabilitation. However, somatosensory deficits are common and may contribute importantly to impairments in the control of functional arm movement. This dissertation advances the goal of promoting functional motor recovery after stroke by investigating the use of a vibrotactile feedback (VTF) body-machine interface (BMI). The VTF BMI is intended to improve control of the contralesional arm of stroke survivors by delivering supplemental limb-state feedback to the …