Investigative Techniques Commons^™

Forensic Nursing: Death Investigation, Lauren Palazzo

Senior Honors Projects

Forensic Nursing is a fairly new exciting nursing specialty. Television shows such as CSI portray forensic nurses and investigators in a less than realistic manner. Forensic nursing and investigation are exciting fields to specialize in, but the role of the forensic nurse and investigator are often misunderstood. For my project I wrote a research paper on forensic nursing, joined the international association of Forensic nurses, attended the international conference in washington dc and set in on a few meetings with a board, including lawyers, represenatives from the rape crisis center, clinical managers from W&I ED, nurses, NP’s, etc. in discussing …

Analysis Of Cancer Risk And Brca1 And Brca2 Mutation Prevalence In The Kconfab Familial Breast Cancer Resource, Graham J. Mann, Heather Thorne, Rosemary L. Balleine, Phyllis N. Butow, Christine L. Clarke, Edward Edkins, Gerda M. Evans, Sián Fereday, Eric Haan, Michael Gattas, Graham G. Giles, Jack Goldblatt, John L. Hopper, Judy Kirk, Jennifer A. Leary, Geoffery Lindeman, Eveline Niedermayr, Kelly_Anne Phillips, Sandra Picken, Gulietta M. Pupo, Christobel Saunders, Clare L. Scott, Amanda B. Spurdle, Graeme Suthers, Kathy Tucker, Georgia Chenevix-Trench

Research outputs pre 2011

Introduction The Kathleen Cuningham Foundation Consortium for Research into Familial Breast Cancer (kConFab) is a multidisciplinary, collaborative framework for the investigation of familial breast cancer. Based in Australia, the primary aim of kConFab is to facilitate high-quality research by amassing a large and comprehensive resource of epidemiological and clinical data with biospecimens from individuals at high risk of breast and/or ovarian cancer, and from their close relatives. Methods Epidemiological family history and lifestyle data, as well as biospecimens, are collected from multiple-case breast cancer families ascertained through family cancer clinics in Australia and New Zealand. We used the Tyrer-Cuzick algorithms …

Hybrid Committee Classifier For A Computerized Colonic Polyp Detection System, Jiang Li, Jianhua Yao, Nicholas Petrick, Ronald M. Summers, Amy K. Hara, Joseph M. Reinhardt (Ed.), Josien P.W. Pluim (Ed.)

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

We present a hybrid committee classifier for computer-aided detection (CAD) of colonic polyps in CT colonography (CTC). The classifier involved an ensemble of support vector machines (SVM) and neural networks (NN) for classification, a progressive search algorithm for selecting a set of features used by the SVMs and a floating search algorithm for selecting features used by the NNs. A total of 102 quantitative features were calculated for each polyp candidate found by a prototype CAD system. 3 features were selected for each of 7 SVM classifiers which were then combined to form a committee of SVMs classifier. Similarly, features …

The Analysis And Characterisation Of Rotavirus And Norovirus Circulating In The South Of Ireland, Norma Reidy

Theses

On average more than 3,000 cases of rotavirus diarrhea are detected annually amongst Irish children less than 3 years of age. Rotavirus disease occurs mainly during the winter months, with peak infections detected from February to April. The symptoms of disease are diarrhea and dehydration, with 80% of patients requiring hospitalisation, The mean duration of hospitalisation is 3-4 days, with an average cost per day of €409. Eighteen percent of infections were detected in infants less than 6 months of age, suggesting inadequate maternal derived protection from existing strains, or the existence of novel strains in Ireland with little or …

Introduction To N-Adaptive Fuzzy Models To Analyze Public Opinion On Aids, Florentin Smarandache, W.B. Vasantha Kandasamy

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

“AIDS is not simply a physical malady, it is also an artifact of social and sexual transgression, violated taboo, fractured identity—political and personal projections. Its key words are primarily the property of the powerful. AIDS: Keywords – is my attempt to identify and contest some of the assumptions underlying our current ‘knowledge’. In this effort I am joined by many AIDS activists including people living with AIDS— Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome. “A syndrome is a pattern of symptoms pointing to a “morbid state” which may or may not be caused by infectious agents; a disease, on the other hand is, …

Detection Of Microcracks During Bone Cutting Using Acoustic Emission Techniques, Ashkan Safari, Ger Reilly, Brendan Mccormack

Conference Papers

Surgeons may use a number of cutting instruments such as osteotomes and chisels to cut bone during operative procedures. The initial loading of cortical bone during the cutting process results in the formation of microcracks in the vicinity of the cutting zone with main crack propagation to failure occurring with continued loading; microcracking acts as a stimulus for main crack formation and has also been shown to occur during the propagation of the main crack. It has also been reported that Acoustic Emission (AE) is generated due to microcrack formation and crack growth, prior to, and during final fracture in …

Validation Of An Immunomagnetic-Electrochemiluminescence Detection System For The Detection Of Escherichia Coli 0157 In Food And Comparison With An Iso Standard Method, Eimear Carney

Theses

Rapid and sensitive methods for detecting Escherichia coli 0157 in contaminated food, water and other biological samples are important in limiting and preventing the spread of this pathogen. Traditional culture based methods for bacterial identification and detection can be time consuming and labour intensive. Modem alternative methods should be faster whilst maintaining sensitivity. Immunomagnetic separation (IMS) methodology has been investigated and appears promising for rapid bacterial detection in unrelated food and environmental samples. In this study, a commercial sensor which combined IMS with electrochemiluminescence (ECL) was evaluated for the detection of E. coli 0157 in unrelated food matrices. Emitted signals …

Effect Of Four-Day Psyllium Supplementation On Bowel Preparation For Colonoscopy:A Prospective Double Blind Randomized Trial [Isrctn76623768], Walter A. Salwen, Marc D. Basson

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Patients with new onset constipation or presumed hemorrhoid bleeding frequently require the use of both fiber supplements and diagnostic colonoscopy. We sought to determine whether preliminary fiber supplementation would alter the tolerability or efficacy of a standard bowel preparation for colonoscopy

Methods

A prospective, double blind, randomized trial was designed to compare a short course of a psyllium-based supplement versus placebo prior to a colon lavage. Patients were given an unlabeled canister of powder, and instructed to take 1 tablespoon with 8 oz of water bid for 4 days before colonoscopy. A 4-liter polyethylene based glycol lavage was …

Dual Energy Scanning Beam X -Radiography, Randolph Frank Wojcik

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Dual energy X-radiography is a method first developed in the mid-1970's by which one uses the information contained in the energy spectrum of the transmitted X-ray flux through an object. With this information one can distinguish the types of materials present in a radiograph and thus allow a computer to subtract them from the image enhancing the contrast of the remaining materials. Using this method, one can see details, which would have been hidden by overlying structures of other materials such as seen in radiographs of parts, made up of mixtures of metals and composites. There is also great interest …

By Any Means Necessary: Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Texas' Dna Testing Law In The Adjudication Of Free-Standing Claims Of Actual Innocence, Daryl E. Harris

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming.

The Impact Of Systematically Varying The Duration Of Breath Samples During Infrared-Based Alcohol Breath Testing, Chris C. Clatterbuck

Dissertations

The present study set out to investigate the reliability and performance of the BAC DataMaster®, an infrared-based alcohol breath testing instrument. The focus of this study was to determine: (a) the impact of varying breath sample duration during testing, (b) if Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) levels produced by the DataMaster® (BAC_DM) are significantly different from BAC levels produced by analysis of whole blood (BAC_WB), and (c) if the relationship between BAC_DM estimates and BAC_WB is influenced by the amount of alcohol an examinee has ingested. Each of 27 participants was randomly assigned to one …

Mapping Of Cortical Motor Reorganization In Spinal Cord Injury, Leonid Rozhkov

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The annual incidence of spinal cord injury (SCI), not including those who die at the scene of the accident, is approximately 10,000 new cases in the United States. SCI, in its best outcome, may partially and temporarily disconnect the spinal cord from the brain. Some neuronal pathways remain intact in most S CI individuals, whose recovery depends on the utilization of the surviving connections. There is a change in the control of voluntary movements of the extremities by the cerebral cortex of the brain following spinal cord injury.

The technology of high-resolution EEG co-registered with MRI was applied to non-invasively …

Ultrasonographic Measurement Of Periodontal Attachment Levels, John Edward Lynch

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Periodontal disease is one of the two major causes of tooth loss today, and has been associated with several systemic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Unfortunately, the most widely used diagnostic tool for assessment of periodontal diseases, measurement of periodontal attachment loss with a manual probe, may overestimate attachment loss by as much as 2mm in untreated sites, while underestimating attachment loss by an even greater margin following treatment. Manual probing is also invasive, which causes patient discomfort.;This work describes the development and testing of an ultrasonographic periodontal probe designed to replace manual probing. …

Qualitative Evaluation Of Data Compression In Real-Time Ultrasound Imaging, Bijoy J. Sundersingh

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The purpose of this project was to evaluate qualitatively real-time ultrasound imaging using objective and subjective techniques to determine the minimum bandwidth required for clinical diagnosis of various anatomical and pathological states. In the experimental setup live ultrasound video samples representing the most common clinical examinations were compressed at 128, 256, 384, 768, 1152 and 1536 kbps using a compressor-decompressor (CODEC) adhering to International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T) recommendation H.261. A protocol for qualitative evaluation was developed and subjective and objective testing were performed based on this protocol. Subjective methods comprised of inter-rater reliability tests using kappa statistics and three way …

A Simple Method For Generating Full Length Cdna From Low Abundance Partial Genomic Clones, Yongxin Wang, Joseph M. Fugaro, Fauzia Siddiq, Chandra Mouli V. Goparaju, Fulvio Lonardo, Anil Wali, John F. Lechner, Harvey I. Pass

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

PCR amplification of target molecules involves sequence specific primers that flank the region to be amplified. While this technique is generally routine, its applicability may not be sufficient to generate a desired target molecule from two separate regions involving intron /exon boundaries. For these situations, the generation of full-length complementary DNAs from two partial genomic clones becomes necessary for the family of low abundance genes.

Results

The first approach we used for the isolation of full-length cDNA from two known genomic clones of Hox genes was based on fusion PCR. Here we describe a simple and efficient method …

Applications Of The Atomic Force Microscope Within The Fields Of Haematology And Cytogenetics, Margaret O'Reilly-Crowley

Theses

Atomic force microscopy [AFM] has become a rapidly developing interdisciplinary field of research in recent years. The technique, including instrumentation and specimen preparation methods, is now more sophisticated and its application has increased dramatically. The key advantage of AFM is in providing three-dimensional images of samples imaged. Both size and shape of samples imaged can be obtained allowing their subsequent quantification. Red blood cells [RBCs] and chromosomes were imaged in this work. A brief overview of the current status of biomedical AFM, has been presented in the review.

Measurement of mean cell volume [MCV] of immobilised red blood cells with …

The Molecular Epidemiology Of Rotavirus In Ireland, Fiona O'Halloran

Theses

Between 1997 and 1998, 3,136 cases of rotavirus diarrhoea were detected in Irish children less than 2 years of age. Hospital inpatients accounted for 80% of these infections, with the remainder being diagnosed in general practice. A large percentage of infections were detected in neonates, suggesting a possible inadequate maternal derived protection from existing indigenous strains. This feature suggested the possible existence of ‘novel’ strains circulating in Ireland. No data describing the epidemiology of rotavirus strains in this country currently exists. Furthermore no assessment of the potential health-economic impact or quantitation of potential disease burden was ever undertaken

Three hundred …

Applications Of Wavelet Transforms In Biomedical Optoacoustics, Zibiao Wei, Shujun Yang, Amin N. Dharamsi, Barbara Hargrave

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We discuss the utility of wavelet transform methods in signal processing in general, and in particular, demonstrate the technique in optoacoustic applications. In several optoacoustic experiments with different samples, we have successfully enhanced the signal to noise ratios. Wavelet transforms optimize resolution by utilizing a tailored, variable time-window in different frequency regions. The technique's great advantage lies in the fact that the wavelet transform adds some redundancy to the original signal, and some desired features can be enhanced in the transformed space. In addition, proper choice of the basis set allows a sparse representation of the signal. Therefore, even when …

The Effects Of Free Fatty Acids On Gluconeogenesis And Glycogenolysis In Normal Subjects, X Chen, N Iqbal, G Boden

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

We have quantitatively determined gluconeogenesis (GNG) from all precursors, using a novel method employing 2H20 to address the question of whether changes in plasma free fatty acids (FFA) affect GNG in healthy, nonobese subjects. In the first study (n = 6), plasma FFA were lowered at 16 to 20 hours with nicotinic acid (NA) and were then allowed to rise at 20 to 24 hours (FFA rebound after administration of NA). FFA decreased from 387 microM at 16 hours to 43 microM at 20 hours, and then rebounded to 1,823 microM at 24 hours. GNG decreased from 58.1% at 16 …

The Atomic Force Microscope In The Elucidation Of Leukocyte Abnormality, Derbrenn O'Connor

Theses

The aim of this project was to investigate the novel use of the atomic force microscope (AFM) as a technique in the elucidation of leukocyte abnormality. To this end, comparative AFM imaging and elasticity studies were performed on normal and myeloid leukaemic leukocytes.

Initially, an evaluation of techniques for the isolation of specific leukocyte (e.g. lymphocytes, granulocytes, etc.) populations from whole blood or leukocyte concentrates, was carried out. It was found that a silanised glass surface failed to select and immobilise a leukocyte population. However, centrifugation of whole blood in an Isopaque-ficoll gradient solution yielded a viable mixed leukocyte population …

Dobutamine Stress Echocardiography For Assessing Coronary Artery Disease After Transplantation In Children., R L. Larsen, P M. Applegate, D A. Dyar, P A. Ribeiro, S D. Fritzsche, N F. Mulla, Girish S. Shirali, M A. Kuhn, R E. Chinnock, P M. Shah

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility, safety and diagnostic accuracy of dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) for evaluating posttransplant coronary artery disease (TxCAD) in children, and to determine the frequency of selected cardiac events after normal or abnormal DSE.

BACKGROUND: Posttransplant coronary artery disease is the most common cause of graft loss (late death or retransplantation) after cardiac transplantation (CTx) in children. Coronary angiography, routinely performed to screen for TxCAD, is an invasive procedure with limited sensitivity. The efficacy of DSE for detecting atherosclerotic coronary artery disease is established, but is unknown in children after CTx. …

Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (Mrsa): Molecular Detection And Dna Fingerprinting, Leslie Cotter

Theses

Throughout the 1990s, the incidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus has increased in many health care areas including acute and chronic care facilities, outpatient clinics and in the community. Once introduced into a health care environment, this nosocomial pathogen can spread rapidly and as MRSA are resistant to multiple antibiotics, treatment is often difficult. Therefore effective infection control measures are required to prevent cross-infection and further spread of endemic strains.

In this study, a sensitive and specific triplex-PCR assay was designed for MRSA detection, wherein three genes, the methicillin resistance gene (mecA). femA and the extracellular thermonuclease gene (rmc) were simultaneously …

Development Of An Atomic Force Microscopic Immunosensor For The Ferritin Antigen, Brendan O'Connell

Theses

The adsorption conditions for a range of different immunoreactants to both polystyrene and ultrasmooth silanised silicon surfaces are optimised. The conditions studied were concentration of protein, time and temperature of incubation, pH, molarity and ionic strength of the buffer. The anti-ferritin surface was selected as our model system. This immunosensor was used to develop and evaluate a millispot ELISA for ferritin. The millispot ferritin ELISA developed utilises a sample volume of 6pl and a sample incubation time of 10 minutes. Precision and accuracy studies show the assay to have a dynamic assay range of 7.8-lOOng/ml ferritin. The millispot ELISA detected …

Evaluation Of The Role Of Fructosamine As An Indicator Of Diabetic Control, Katherine Hooley

Theses

Diabetes mellitus, a common metabolic disease, is characterised by excess circulating glucose concentrations. Such a hyperglycaemic status provides the stimulus for irreversible glycation (non-enzymatically post-translational) of structural and functional proteins. Protein glycation, although a cause of complication (neuropathy, micro/macrovascular disease), provides a time-averaged index of diabetes status and control. In particular, glycated plasma proteins analysis, i.e., the fructosamine assay, has received favourable response due to its speed, simplicity, low cost, and ease of automation. However, lack of standardisation and a universally-accepted calibrant has limited technical and subsequent clinical confidence in fructosamine analysis. In response, a comprehensive technical evaluation (including novel …

Development Of A Differential Assay To Selectively Measure Α-Amylase Isoenzymes., Miriam O'Connor

Theses

α-Amylase is a heterogeneous polypeptide, primarily found in the Salivary and Pancreatic glands, giving rise to two isoenzymes, namely Salivary- and Pancreatic-type Amylases. Total α-Amylase activity measurements are routinely carried out in hospital laboratories to aid in the diagnosis of diseases of the pancreas and in the investigation of pancreatic function in patients with severe abdominal pains. With the development and wide availability of modem chromogenic oligosaccharide substrates specific for Amylase, assays have become more sensitive, rapid and easier to use.

Differential Amylase Isoenzyme assays ware developed to distinguish isoenzyme levels. Several methods were developed for isoenzyme determination. Of these. …

Development And Validation Of An Improved Ultrasensitive Assay For Cardiac Troponin I (Ctni), William G. Blake

Theses

Cardiac troponin I (cTnl) has been reported to be a highly specific marker for myocardial injury. In patients suffering from acute coronary syndromes, a sensitive serum marker which is closely related to the extent of myocardial damage which provides prognostic data and which can be measured rapidly is desirable. In this thesis a “sandwich” enzyme immunoassay was developed to measure cTnI. The developed assay was reproducible with the inter assay precision ranging from 4.8-14% and the intra assay precision ranging from 3.1-9.5%. The limit of detection of the assay was calculated as 0.385 ng/ml. The upper reference range (non-parametric 95% …

Development And Validation Of Flow-Injection (Continuous-Flow) Elisa Techniques., Declan Gerard Spillane

Theses

A flow-through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was developed based on affinity chromatography using the determination of ferritin in serum as a model system. In this method, samples and standards are introduced to separate columns containing immobilised anti-ferritin antibody, and antigen bound by solid-phase antibody is subsequently detected using an anti-ferritin-alkaline phosphatase conjugate. To detect immobilised label, p-nitrophenyl phosphate is added and product is developed in the column at room temperature. Following elution of product from the column, the absorbance is measured and the columns are regenerated using a low pH elution. The final developed system requires approximately 1.5 h for the …

Development Of An Elisa Method For The Measurement Of Cd44 Expression In Human Serum, Ciara Hurley

Theses

CD44 is a cell surface glycoprotein (mol. wt. =85-95 kDa) which has been implicated in lymphocyte-HEV interactions and the process of lymphocyte homing. CD44 is a complex glycoprotein which undergoes extensive alternative splicing to generate various CD44 isoforms. CD44 functions include the delivery of an activation signal to T-cells, binding to hyaluronate, mediation of lymphocyte homing, and the spread of metastatic cells. CD44 has been particularly implicated in the dissemination of non- Hodgkin's lymphoma and as such may serve as a useful prognostic marker of disease progression. CD44 measurement in serum may provide a rapid, inexpensive and relatively non-invasive prognostic …

Gamma-Ray Imaging Detector For Small Animal Research, Andrew Gerard Weisenberger

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

A novel radiation imaging technology for in vivo molecular imaging in small mammals is described. The goal of this project is to develop a new type of imaging detector system suitable for real-time in vivo probe imaging studies in small animals. This technology takes advantage of the gamma-ray and x-ray emission properties of the radioisotope iodine 125 (125I) which is employed as the label for molecular probes. The radioisotope 125I is a gamma-ray emitting radioisotope that can be commercially obtained already attached to biomedically interesting molecules to be used as tracers for biomedical and molecular biology research.;The isotope 125I decays …

Update - July 1997, Loma Linda University Center For Christian Bioethics

Update

In this issue:

-- Practicing on Newly Dead Bodies
-- Life versus Death: The Ethical Imperative to Practice and Teach Using the Newly Dead
-- You Can't Always Get What You Want
-- MA in Clinical Ethics
-- MA in Clinical Ministry