Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Implementation Of A Particle Image Velocimetry System For Evaluation Of Microfluidic Chip Flows, Sheila Mallenahalli

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Material Analysis Of A Tympanostomy Myringotomy Simulator, Abishek Stanley

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Cellular Interactions Within A Collagen Hydrogel, Austin N. Worden

Theses and Dissertations

Evidence has arisen over the past several years that use of a three- dimensional (3D) culture system provides a distinct advantage over two- dimensional (2D) systems when cellular interactions are examined in a more natural environment. Changes in morphology, speed, and directionality of cells tested in both planar and 3D matrices have all demonstrated that using 3D system is advantageous. The changes to the cellular migration patterns were shown to be dependent on several variables within the surrounding substrate including cellular content, physical environment, and the matrix chemical milieu. We have taken advantage of using collagen hydrogels as a 3D …

An Anatomical Basis Of The Differential Cholinergic Modulation Of Valence-Specific Pyramidal Neurons In The Basolateral Amygdala, Nguyen Vu

Theses and Dissertations

Emotion is a crucial component of the decision-making process. The amygdala, known as the “orchestrator” of the emotion circuit, associates emotional valence with incoming sensory stimuli and thus contributes to decision- making. Within the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA), spatially segregated and genetically distinct pyramidal neurons (PNs) have been identified based on their correspondence to distinct behavioral stimuli. These PNs project to several brain regions mediating different aspects of the emotional spectrum.

For example, BLA PNs projecting to prelimbic (PL) and infralimbic (IL) cortex are involved in fear acquisition and fear extinction, respectively. However, the mechanism by which these …

Role Of P-Glycoprotein In Alzheimer’S Disease For Enhanced Brain Elimination Of Amyloid-Β, Hope Holt

Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common form of neurodegenerative disorder, is characterized by deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques in the brain. Aβ monomer undergoes nucleation to form oligomers, then soluble aggregates, then fibrils which make up the plaques. Aβ oligomer species are believed to be the most neurotoxic aggregate species. Currently under investigation is a mechanism for Aβ removal from the brain, across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is a membrane-bound efflux protein located on the apical, or blood, side of the BBB, which transports a wide variety of substrates. Further complicating this potential clearance mechanism is the reduction …

Rage Expression And Inflammation In Alzheimer’S Disease: In Vitro Model Development And Investigation Of A Potential Peptoid Inhibitor, Lauren Michell Wolf

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the increasing prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), efforts to establish a definitive treatment or cure have met with little success. Many previous therapeutic strategies for AD have focused on the aggregation and accumulation of amyloid-b (Ab) in the brain, concentrating on its small intermediate aggregates as the primary targets to ameliorate neurotoxicity and damage. This approach has yielded little progress, and more recent discussions have shifted to strategies geared toward a multifaceted pathology, with chronic neuroinflammation emerging as an important factor in the disease etiology and progression.

The receptor for advanced glycation end-products, or RAGE, is …

Experimental Study Of Free-Solution Separation Under Pulsed Electrophoresis In Microchip, Xin Liu

Theses and Dissertations

Microchip electrophoresis (MCE) is a promising analytical tool started more than two decades. With the characteristics of short analysis time, trace level sample, high- throughput and easily integration, lots of efforts have been done with the transportation of the applications from capillary to microfabricated devices. However, with the complex designs on microchip rather than a single straight capillary channel, the strategies and approaches have to be figured out under the challenges of sample introduction, the improvement of separation conditions and the detection, for instance.

In miniaturized microchip, the separation channel is reduced to several centimeters or less, fast and quality …

Generation Of Silver Nanoparticle Pharmacokinetic Profiles In A Lung Model, Rachel Galaska

Honors Theses

Nanomaterial technologies are becoming increasingly prevalent in consumer and industrial applications, including drug delivery, energy harvesting, environmental applications, and medicine due to their unique physiochemical properties. As nanomaterial use increases, so too does human exposure. This has made it progressively more important to understand the toxicological effects of nanomaterials and their interactions with the human body. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are one of the most commonly used nanomaterials due to their antibacterial properties. As inhalation is one of the most common exposure routes, understanding the toxicity of these AgNPs on lung tissue was studied. Using A549 cells for a lung tissue …

Effect Of Activated Carbon On The Performance Of A Solar Thermal Adsorptive Refrigerator (Star) Using Activated Carbon-Ethanol, Joshua Romo

Honors Theses

The Solar Thermal Adsorptive Refrigerator (STAR) project at the University of Dayton seeks to bridge sustainability and the need for reliable refrigeration in developing communities. Cost-effective construction, operation, and maintenance as well as the use of a sustainable adsorption pair, activated carbon-ethanol, give STAR great potential in the realm of humanitarian engineering. This project explores the effect of using two activated carbon brands, 8x16 and CocoPlus, on the cyclic performance of the STAR system. Although both brands have similar specifications given by the manufacturer, one (8x16) inhibited successful performance while the other (CocoPlus) enabled it. This project highlights both the …

Machine Learning Solution To Organ-At-Risk Segmentation For Radiation Treatment Planning, Brie Goo, Katrina May, Haobo Zhang, James Olivas

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

In the treatment of cancer using ionizing radiation, it is important to design a treatment plan such that dose to normal, healthy organs is sufficiently low. Today, segmentation requires a trained human to carefully outline, or segment, organs on each slice of a treatment planning computed tomography (CT) scan but it is laborious, time-consuming, and contains intra- and inter-rater variability. Currently, existing clinical automation technology relies on atlas-based automation, which has limited segmentation accuracy. Thus the auto-segmentations require post process editing by an expert. In this paper, we propose a machine learning solution that shortens the segmentation time of organs-at-risk …

Human-Centered Electric Prosthetic (Help) Hand, Jamie Ferris, Shiyin Lim, Michael Mehta, Evan Misuraca

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

Through a partnership with Indian non-profit Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti, we designed a functional, robust, and and low cost electrically powered prosthetic hand that communicates with unilateral, transradial, urban Indian amputees through a biointerface. The device uses compliant tendon actuation, a small linear servo, and a wearable garment outfitted with flex sensors to produce a device that, once placed inside a prosthetic glove, is anthropomorphic in both look and feel. The prosthesis was developed such that future groups can design for manufacturing and distribution in India.

Assessment Of Hand Gestures Using Wearable Sensors And Fuzzy Logic, Angel Cardenas, Ryan Messersmith, Will Newcomb

Bioengineering Senior Theses

Hand dexterity and motor control are critical in our everyday lives because a significant portion of the daily motions we perform are with our hands and require some degree of repetition and skill. Therefore, development of technologies for hand and extremity rehabilitation is a significant area of research that will directly help patients recovering from hand debilities sustained from causes ranging from stroke and Parkinson’s disease to trauma and common injuries. Cyclic activity recognition and assessment is appropriate for hand and extremity rehabilitation because a majority of our essential motions are cyclic in their nature. For a patient on the …

Nebuflask: Advancing Usability Of Nebulizers To Increase Patient Compliance, Murray Bartho, Michael Breshock, Megan Nolte

Bioengineering Senior Theses

Nebulizers are ubiquitous in the world of medicine. Any patient diagnosed with asthma, pneumonia, cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), or any other severe lung disease often use a nebulizer in order to deliver medication to the lungs. Although these technologies are quite common, they are surprisingly outdated. The most commonly used nebulizers today are bulky, loud, awkward to carry around, and must be plugged into an outlet. These aspects of the nebulizer make it a nuisance to use in general and almost impossible to use outside of the home or clinic. The ultrasonic and mesh nebulizers do address …

High-Throughput, Portable Microfluidic Aptamer Assay, Atticus Mccoy, Matthew Curtin

Bioengineering Senior Theses

Aptamer-based assays are a powerful platform for sensing a wide variety of biochemical targets, including drugs, disease biomarker, and biomolecules. However, aptamer assays often lack rapid identification and high-throughput screening. Performing an aptamer-based assay on a microfluidic device is a promising solution to increase throughput, portability, and sensitivity. In this paper, we present a microfluidic device capable of running aptamer-based assays. Our device utilizes normally-closed valves and a central micropump to move fluids throughout the chip. One chip could theoretically be scaled up to run multiple assays, and multiple of these microfluidic devices could be run in parallel to increase …

Noninvasive Screening Of A Fecal Biomarker For Human Necrotizing Enterocolitis (Nec), Daniela Campa, Kyle Sullivan

Bioengineering Senior Theses

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a disease that predominantly affects preterm infants. Of the 10% of preterm neonates that develop NEC, about one in four cases results in death. The pathophysiology presents as inflammation of intestinal epithelial cell lining and subsequent tissue death, sometimes resulting in intestinal perforations. The underlying mechanisms have yet to be comprehensively identified. Diagnosis--the rate limiting step in reducing critical disease-onset-to-treatment time--is based on relatively nonspecific signs, impeding early and accurate diagnosis. This project, a collaborative effort between Santa Clara and Stanford Universities, aims to improve current diagnostic methods by identifying the first verifiable and useful fecal …

Computational Characterization Of The Cellular Origins Of Electroencephalography, Shane Hesprich

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Electroencephalography (EEG) is a non-invasive technique used to measure brain activity. Despite its near ubiquitous presence in neuroscience, very little research has gone into connecting the electrical potentials it measures on the scalp to the underlying network activity which generates those signals. This results in most EEG analyses being more macroscopically focused (e.g. coherence and correlation analyses). Despite the many uses of macroscopically focuses analyses, limiting research to only these analyses neglects the insights which can be gained from studying network and microcircuit architecture. The ability to study these things through non-invasive techniques like EEG depends upon the ability to …

Regularized Fourier Ptychographic Microscopy, Shiqi Xu

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Quantitative phase image (QPI) is a popular microscopy technique for studying cell morphology. Recently, Fourier ptychographic microscopy (FPM) has emerged as a low-cost computational microscopy technique for forming high-resolution wide-field QPI images by taking multiple images from different illumination angles. However, the applicability of FPM to dynamic imaging is limited by its high data requirement. In this thesis, we propose new methods for highly compressive FPM imaging using a data-adaptive sparse coding and an online plug-and-play (PnP) method with non-local priors based on the fast iterative shrinkage/threshold algorithm (FISTA). We validate the proposed method on both simulated and experimental data …

A Deep Learning Approach To Detect Diabetic Retinopathy In Fundus Images., Winston R. Furtado

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Diabetic retinopathy is a disease caused due by complications of diabetes mellitus which can lead to blindness. About 33% of the US population with diabetes also show symptoms for diabetes retinopathy. If not treated, diabetic retinopathy worsens over time by progressing through two main pathological stages of non-proliferative and proliferative and four clinical stages. While the diagnostic accuracy of detecting diabetic retinopathy through machine learning have shown to be successful for OCT images, the accuracy of ultra-widefield fundus images have yet to be fully reported. This paper describes a method to non-invasively detect and diagnose diabetic retinopathy from ultra-widefield …

Estimating Cognitive Workload In An Interactive Virtual Reality Environment Using Electrophysiological And Kinematic Activity, Christoph Tremmel

Biomedical Engineering Theses & Dissertations

As virtual reality (VR) technology continues to gain prominence in commercial, educational, recreational and research applications, there is increasing interest in incorporating physiological sensors in VR devices for passive user-state monitoring to eventually increase the sense of immersion. By recording physiological signals such as the electroencephalogram (EEG), electromyography (EMG) or kinematic parameters during the use of a VR device, the user’s interactions in the virtual environment could be adapted in real time based on the user’s cognitive state. This dissertation evaluates the feasibility of passively monitoring cognitive workload via electrophysiological and kinematic activity while performing a classical n-back task in …

Three-Dimensional Collagen Tubes For In Vitro Modeling, Rebecca Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Collagen type I represents a novel material for three-dimensional in vitro models. While two-dimensional models are typically inadequate for recreating the complex processes of the body, collagen provides a three-dimensional basis with a variety of applications, including remodeling of vascular cells under tension and vascular stenosis. Smooth muscle cells reorganize and reconstruct their environment differently under conditions of tensions, such as with sutures, or under conditions without applied external tension. Vascular stenosis, the abnormal narrowing of blood vessels, arises from defective developmental processes or atherosclerosis-related adult pathologies. Stenosis triggers a series of adaptive cellular responses that induces adverse remodeling, which …

Estimation Of Arterial Wall Parameters Via Model-Based Analysis Of Noninvasively Measured Arterial Pulse Signals, Dan Wang

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation presents a model-based method for estimating arterial wall parameters from noninvasively measured arterial pulse signals via a microfluidic-based tactile sensor. The sensor entails a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microstructure embedded with 5×1 transducer array built on Pyrex/Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. The arterial pulse causes a time-varying deflection on the top of the PDMS microstructure, which registers as a resistance change by the transducer at the site of the artery.

Owing to the time-harmonic nature of its radial motion, the arterial wall is modeled as a second-order dynamic system. By combining this dynamic model with a hemodynamic model of blood flow, …

The Effect Of Defects And Surface Modification On Biomolecular Assembly And Transport, Haneen Martinez

Nanoscience and Microsystems ETDs

Nanoscale transport using the kinesin-microtubule (MT) biomolecular system has been successfully used in a wide range of nanotechnological applications including self-assembly, nanofluidic transport, and biosensing. Most of these applications use the ‘gliding motility geometry’, in which surface-adhered kinesin motors attach and propel MT filaments across the surface, a process driven by ATP hydrolysis. It has been demonstrated that active assembly facilitated by these biomolecular motors results in complex, non-equilibrium nanostructures currently unattainable through conventional self-assembly methods. In particular, MTs functionalized with biotin assemble into rings and spools upon introduction of streptavidin and/or streptavidin-coated nanoparticles. Upon closer examination of these structures …

Deswelling Induced Morphological Changes In Dual Ph And Temperature Responsive Ultra-Low Crosslinked Poly (N-Isopropyl Acrylamide)-Co-Acrylic Acid Microgels, Molla R. Islam, Maddie Tumbarello, L. Andrew Lyon

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) microgels prepared without exogenous cross-linker are extremely “soft” as a result of their very low cross-linking density, with network connectivity arising only from the self-crosslinking of pNIPAm chains. As a result of this extreme softness, our group and others have taken interest in using these materials in a variety of bioengineering applications, while also pursuing studies of their fundamental properties. Here, we report deswelling triggered structural changes in poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid) (ULC10AAc) microgels prepared by precipitation polymerization. Dynamic light scattering suggests that the deswelling of these particles not only depends on the collapse of …

Develop A 3d Neurological Disease Model Of Human Cortical Glutamatergic Neurons Using Micropillar-Based Scaffolds, Cheng Chen, Xin Dong, Kai-Heng Fang, Fang Yuan, Yao Hu, Min Xu, Yu Huang, Xixiang Zhang, Danjun Fang, Yan Liu

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Establishing an effective three-dimensional (3D) in vitro culture system to better model human neurological diseases is desirable, since the human brain is a 3D structure. Here, we demonstrated the development of a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) pillar-based 3D scaffold that mimicked the 3D microenvironment of the brain. We utilized this scaffold for the growth of human cortical glutamatergic neurons that were differentiated from human pluripotent stem cells. In comparison with the 2D culture, we demonstrated that the developed 3D culture promoted the maturation of human cortical glutamatergic neurons by showing significantly more MAP2 and less Ki67 expression. Based on this 3D culture …

(Poster) Design And Fabrication Of A Custom Wrist Orthosis For Enhanced Patient Comfort, Marko Tasic, Matthew Hansen, Mang Lian, Demetre Mitchell, Rashedul Sarker, Renny Fernandez, Erin Peterson, Joseph Herzog, David Olawale, Najmus Saqib

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

This custom wrist orthosis project is the continuation of efforts made by students in the R.B Annis School of Engineering during the 2017-2018 academic year. Throughout this project, we have implemented the Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) methodology to guide the design process. Within the R.B. Annis School of Engineering, this methodology has been adapted into guide the DesignSpine process. We have designed a new orthosis that is custom fabricated for enhanced patient comfort. In the occupational therapy field, patients have reportedly not been wearing their prescribed orthoses/braces, which are designed to stabilize injured areas so that they heal properly. …

Identification Of New Glutamate Decarboxylases From Streptomyces For Efficient Production Of Γ-Aminobutyric Acid In Engineered Escherichia Coli, Haina Yuan, Hongbo Wang, Ozkan Fidan, Yong Qin, Gongnian Xiao, Jixun Zhan

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Background

Gamma (γ)-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) as a bioactive compound is used extensively in functional foods, pharmaceuticals and agro-industry. It can be biosynthesized via decarboxylation of monosodium glutamate (MSG) or L-glutamic acid (L-Glu) by glutamate decarboxylase (GAD; EC4.1.1.15). GADs have been identified from a variety of microbial sources, such as Escherichia coli and lactic acid bacteria. However, no GADs from Streptomyces have been characterized. The present study is aimed to identify new GADs from Streptomyces strains and establish an efficient bioproduction platform for GABA in E. coli using these enzymes.

Results

By sequencing and analyzing the genomes of three Streptomycesstrains, …

Analysis Of The Effect Of Corrosion On The Surface Chemistry Of Mild Steel Exposed To Biofuel, Timothy D. Plourde

Theses and Dissertations

The use of biofuels in society is steadily becoming more prevalent. Through this proliferation a concern regarding the role of the fungus Byssochlamys nivea in microbially induced corrosion has surfaced. Through the use of X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) technology, this thesis focused on attempting to determine what effect, if any, Byssochlamys nivea has on the corrosion of mild steel. For this analysis, samples were placed in environments that simulated the conditions of fuel tanks containing the biofuel B20, water, and spores of Byssochlamys nivea for varying lengths of time. However, due to a variety of …

Review Of Educational Technology: Closing The Gap Between Modern Technology And The College Engineering Classroom, David Pinkerton, Krishna Pakala

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper aggregates information from past and current studies regarding the implementation of technology in engineering classrooms and identifies the most promising ideas, technologies, and techniques. This paper provides insight into best practices for implementing technologies to improve the education of engineering students. This paper provides recommendations to adopt non-traditional teaching methods. Educational tools and techniques are evaluated on the basis of: Adoption and Assimilation, Access, Community, Intellectual Presence, Student Perception, and Development of Social and Professional Skills. Best practices are highlighted with descriptions of the technologies and techniques that were found most promising.

Design And Development Of A Wireless Eeg System Integrated Into A Football Helmet, Akshay V. Dunakhe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, approximately 2.8 million Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) occur annually. Out of these 2.8 million occurrences, 280,000 injuries are caused by sports and recreational activities. The actual number can be significantly higher since mild TBI are often unrecorded. These injuries not only cause physical damage to players, but they are also one of the leading causes of a player’s retirement from a sports career. While working with TBIs, it is vital to detect the concussion at its first occurrence, termed as a “primary concussion.” If the primary concussion goes undetected, the player may continue to play the …

Cerebellar Source Localization Using Event-Related Potentials In A Simple Motor Task, Efrain Torres, Scott A. Beardsley

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Electroencephalography (EEG) is widely used to characterize the temporal patterns of electrical activity, primarily associated with neocortex. Traditionally, the sensitivity of EEG to cerebellar activity has been considered limited with the electrical potentials assumed to stem from cortical pyramidal cells. This study leverages recent work examining the structure, organization, and synchrony of purkinje neurons to promote local field potentials measured by EEG. In conjunction with high fidelity EEG recording and source imaging analysis we examined the feasibility of using current EEG systems to characterize cerebellar function in a series of simple motor tasks. Distributed source imaging analysis revealed consistent task-related …