Other Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment Commons^™

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Revolutionizing Attention Training In Autism Spectrum Disorder: Pioneering Virtual Reality And Artificial Intelligence, Bhavya Sri Sanku, Selena He, Joy Li

Master of Science in Computer Science Theses

In the realm of educational technology, attention training plays a critical role in tailoring learning experiences to individual needs, especially for learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study presents an advanced framework that provides insights into the efficacy of reinforcement strategies by predicting their impact on attention enhancement in educational virtual reality (VR) settings, utilizing physiological biomarkers such as eye-tracking (ET), heart rate (HR), and electrodermal activity (EDA). A comprehensive comparative analysis was undertaken to evaluate the performance metrics of various machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) algorithms. The results showcased the robustness of gradient boosting (GB) and …

Art Of Aging – A Portraiture Study, Alaina Mann

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The process of aging can be viewed through different lenses within our society. In the past, scientists and medical professionals performed various studies to better understand and analyze different facets of aging, medicine, and health in general. Historically the arts have reflected multiple aspects of medicine and treatments while more recently, the arts have been used in a research capacity to provide different ways to represent illness, suffering, and care. This study used art-based research methods and portraiture to gather qualitative observations on the older populations within our community. Data collected included drawings, a field journal, and interviews. This study …

Applications Of Causal Inference Methods For The Estimation Of Effects Of Bone Marrow Transplant And Prescription Drugs On Survival Of Aplastic Anemia Patients, Yesha M. Patel

Computational and Data Sciences (PhD) Dissertations

This dissertation provides an in-depth exploration into the treatment effectiveness for aplastic anemia using causal inference methods, structured around three pivotal research papers. Each paper contributes to a nuanced understanding of treatment impacts, specifically focusing on bone marrow transplantation (BMT) and prescription drugs, and the identification of optimal treatment strategies.

The first paper, "Causal Inference Analysis for Assessing the Effect of Bone Marrow Transplantation on the One-Year Survival of Adult and Pediatric Aplastic Anemia Patients," sets the foundation. It examines the short-term effectiveness of BMT in both adult and pediatric patients, providing crucial insights into how this treatment affects survival …

An Investigation Of Match For Lossless Video Compression, Brittany Sullivan-Reicks

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A new lossless video compression technique, Match, is investigated. Match uses the similarity between the frames of a video or the slices of medical images to find a prediction for the current pixel. A portion of the previous frame is searched to find a matching context, which is the pixels surrounding the current pixel, within some distance centered on the current location. The best distance to use for each dataset is found experimentally. The matching context refers to the neighborhood of w, nw, n, and ne, where the pixel in the previous frame with the closest matching context becomes the …

Using Digital Assessment Technology To Detect Neuropsychological Problems In Primary Care Settings, David J Libon, Emily Frances Matusz, Stephanie Cosentino, Catherine C Price, Rod Swenson, Meagan Vermeulen, Terrie Beth Ginsberg, Adaora Obiageli Okoli-Umeweni, Leonard Powell, Robert Nagele, Sean Tobyne, Joyce Rios Gomes-Osman, Alvaro Pascual-Leone

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

INTRODUCTION: Screening for neurocognitive impairment and psychological distress in ambulatory primary and specialty care medical settings is an increasing necessity. The Core Cognitive Evaluation™ (CCE) is administered/scored using an iPad, requires approximately 8 min, assesses 3- word free recall and clock drawing to command and copy, asks questions about lifestyle and health, and queries for psychological distress. This information is linked with patients' self- reported concerns about memory and their cardiovascular risks.

METHODS: A total of 199 ambulatory patients were screened with the CCE as part of their routine medical care. The CCE provides several summary indices, and scores on …

Covid‑19‑Related Risk, Resilience, And Mental Health Among Mexican American Mothers Across The First Year Of The Pandemic, Amy L. Non, Elizabeth S. Clausing, Sandraluz Lara‑Cinisomo, Kimberly L. D’Anna Hernandez

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Background Latina mothers have been especially affected by the pandemic and historically exhibit high rates of depression and anxiety. However, few longitudinal studies have assessed the effect of the pandemic on this vulnerable population. We hypothesized that COVID-19-related stressors would associate with psychological distress among Latina mothers across the first year of the pandemic.

Methods We investigated COVID-19-related impact, stigma, and fears across two critical time points and changes in these measures in relation to changes in maternal anxiety and depression among mothers of Mexican descent living in Southern California (n=152). Surveys were administered within 5–16 weeks of …

Benefits Of Immunoglobulin (Ig) Replacement Therapy For Primary And Secondary Immunodeficiency In Chronic Rhinosinusitis, Emily A. Garvey, Keisha Arielle Best, Bita Naimi, Alexander Duffy, Paavali Hannikainen, Chase Kahn, Douglas Farquhar, Marc Rosen, Mindy Rabinowitz, Shirley Fung, Elina Toskala, Gurston Nyquist

Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Faculty Papers

This is the first study to examine chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) outcomes after starting immunoglobulin (Ig) replacement therapy for patients with primary (PID) and secondary immunodeficiency (SID). This is a retrospective review of patients diagnosed with CRS from 2018 to 2022 prior to initiating Ig therapy for the treatment of PID or SID. Outcomes included medication use and Sinonasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) scores. Ten patients met the inclusion criteria. PID and SID patients had a decrease in antibiotics (PID: 9.40 to 3.20, P = .05, SID: 8.20 to 2.00, P = .04) and steroids (PID: (5.40 to 0.60; P = .06; …

Reduced Grey Matter Volume In Adolescents With Conduct Disorder: A Region‑Of‑Interest Analysis Using Multivariate Generalized Linear Modeling, Ru Zhang, Robert James R. Blair, Karina S. Blair, Matthew Dobbertin, Jaimie Elowsky, Johannah Bashford‑Largo, Ahria J. Dominguez, Melissa Hatch, Sahil Bajaj

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Background

Conduct disorder (CD) involves a group of behavioral and emotional problems that usually begins during childhood or adolescence. Structural brain alterations have been observed in CD, including the amygdala, insula, ventrolateral and medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and fusiform gyrus. The current study developed a multivariate generalized linear model (GLM) to differentiate adolescents with CD from typically developing (TD) adolescents in terms of grey matter volume (GMV).

Methods

The whole‐brain structural MRI data were collected from 96 adolescents with CD (mean age = 16.188 ± 1.259 years; mean IQ = 104.292 ± 8.107 ; 63 males) and 90 …

A Portable And Reliable Tool For On-Site Physical Reaction Time (Rt) Measurement, Brent Harper, Michael Shiraishi, Rahul Soangra

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

The drop-stick test system (DTS) invention has the capability to measure reaction accurately for sideline mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) assessment. The reaction time (RT) measurements showed moderate to good inter-instrument reliability with an overall ICC of 0.82 (95 % CI 0.78–0.85). RT is a useful biomarker of mTBI or concussion, but existing technologies in controlled laboratory environments are not feasible for assessments in the field. With wearable technologies and wireless connection with smartphones, it is now easier to conduct RT assessments on the field. The purpose was to develop a portable DTS involving wearable inertial sensors translatable from the …

Specialized Late Cingulo-Opercular Network Activation Elucidates The Mechanisms Underlying Decisions About Ambiguity, Jordan E. Pierce, Nathan M. Petro, Elizabeth Clancy, Caterina Gratton, Steven E. Petersen, Maital Neta

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Cortical task control networks, including the cingulo-opercular (CO) network play a key role in decision-making across a variety of functional domains. In particular, the CO network functions in a performance reporting capacity that supports successful task performance, especially in response to errors and ambiguity. In two studies testing the contribution of the CO network to ambiguity processing, we presented a valence bias task in which masked clearly and ambiguously valenced emotional expressions were slowly revealed over several seconds. This slow reveal task design provides a window into the decision-making mechanisms as they unfold over the course of a trial. In …

Thermal Dose Inactivation Of Escherichia Coli By Magnetic Induced Hyperthermia, Silverio A. Lopez, Carlos Trevino De Leo, Ivan Davila, Karen S. Martirosyan

Research Symposium

Background: Apoptosis of mutated cells via magnetic hyperthermia has gained advocacy as technology capable of being used in lieu of chemotherapy for targeting cancer tumors. Progress of nanotechnology offers effective remote heating of magnetic fluid via hyperthermia. The heating and specific power absorption of these nanoparticles use in the magnetic fluid are dependent on particle properties and treatment locations.

Methods: Nanoparticles were fabricated using microfluidic system by interaction of two solutions containing 2Fe(NO3)3+FeSO4 and NaOH+2%Dextran to create nanostructured media with a biocompatible dextran coating and a Fe3O4 core. The nanoparticles, of a concentration of 5mg/ml, were placed in a vile …

Racial Differences In The Effect Of Apoe-Ε4 Genotypes On Trail Making Test Part B In Alzheimer’S Disease, Kaysie N. Ozuna, Annu Katithara, Chun Xu

Research Symposium

The trail making test part B (TMT-B) is used to evaluate executive functions in order to better understand the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The objective of this study is to better understand the association of apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 (APOE-ε4) genotypes on the TMT-B scores in those with Alzheimer’s disease, specifically in the Hispanic population. This study used data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). In total there were 482 participants with AD, 503 with cognitive normal (CN), 1,293 with MCI at baseline and a follow-up after four years. In this study the longitudinal effect of …

Using Cartesian Coordinate Systems To Create, Classify, And Retrieve Biomedical Time-Series: Applications To 24-Hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring, Antonio Garcia, Gladys E. Maestre, John Blangero, Jesus D. Melgarejo, Julio Facelli

Research Symposium

Background: Ambulatory Blood Pressure Measurement (ABPM) allows physicians to monitor blood pressure variability under everyday living conditions and predicts clinical outcomes better than conventional blood-pressure measurement. ABPM can demonstrate mean arterial pressure (MAP) behavior over 24 hours relevant to clinical practice, such as nocturnal hypertension or increased blood pressure variability. We hypothesized that individuals with the same cardiovascular health status would have the same MAP signal (MAPs) waveform.

Methods: This study reutilizes a data subset from the IDACO Consortium to create 24-hour MAPs. We assigned all the MAPs to data matrix X, performed principal components analysis (PCA) to X, and …

The Noloco Strategy For Essential Hypertension, F. Matthew Mihelic Md

Faculty Publications

Ninety-nine percent of all “essential” hypertension can be controlled by using the NoLoCo strategy, without causing any significant side-effects and without an increase in insulin resistance. NoLoCo stands for Norvasc (amlodipine), Lozol (indapamide), and Cozaar (losartan), but the medicines are considered and used in reverse order.

Assessing Blood Oxygen Level–Dependent Signal Variability As A Biomarker Of Brain Injury In Sport-Related Concussion, Evan D. Anderson, Tanveer Talukdar, Grace Goodwin, Valentina Di Pietro, Kamal M. Yakoub, Christopher E. Zwilling, David Davies, Antonio Belli, Aron K. Barbey

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Mild traumatic brain injury is a complex neurological disorder of significant concern among athletes who play contact sports. Athletes who sustain sport-related concussion typically undergo physical examination and neurocognitive evaluation to determine injury severity and return-to-play status. However, traumatic disruption to neurometabolic processes can occur with minimal detectable anatomic pathology or neurocognitive alteration, increasing the risk that athletes may be cleared for return-to-play during a vulnerable period and receive a repetitive injury. This underscores the need for sensitive functional neuroimaging methods to detect altered cerebral physiology in concussed athletes. The present study compared the efficacy of Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and …

Analyzing Pseudomonas Aeruginosa With Bacteriophage Tags Using Photoacoustic Flow Cytometry, Jennifer C. Schinke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The number of daily bacterial infections is climbing and the CDC explains that this is due to the antibiotic-resistant threat in the United States. Finding a faster way of bacterial identification is necessary as it currently takes 1-4 days for a medical lab to culture and identify bacteria. Photoacoustic flow cytometry (PAFC) can be used as an alternative method resulting in swift identification within an hour (Edgar, 2019). Pseudomonas aeruginosa, cell line PA01, will be coated in up to a few hundred red dyed phages making it detectible by the photoacoustic flow cytometry system. Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that …

Identification Of Structural Brain Alterations In Adolescents With Depressive Symptomatology, J. Bashford‑Largo, R. James R. Blair, Karina S. Blair, Matthew Dobbertin, Ahria Dominguez, Melissa Hatch, Sahil Bajaj

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Introduction: Depressive symptoms can emerge as early as childhood and may lead to adverse situations in adulthood. Studies have examined structural brain alternations in individuals with depressive symptoms, but findings remain inconclusive. Furthermore, previous studies have focused on adults or used a categorical approach to assess depression. The current study looks to identify grey matter volumes (GMV) that predict depressive symptomatology across a clinically concerning sample of adolescents.

Methods: Structural MRI data were collected from 338 clinically concerning adolescents (mean age = 15.30 SD=2.07; mean IQ = 101.01 SD=12.43; 132 F). Depression symptoms were indexed via the Mood …

Epileptic Seizure Classification Using Image-Based Data Representation, Amber Surles

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

Epilepsy is a recurrence of seizures caused by a disorder of the brain in over 3.4 million people nationwide. Some people are able to predict their seizures based off prodrome, which is an early sign or symptom that usually resembles mood changes or a euphoric feeling even days to an hour before occurrence. Consequently, the natural instincts of the body to react to an upcoming attack lends credence to the existence of a pre-ictal state that precedes seizure episodes. Physicians and researchers have thus sought for an automated approach for predicting or detecting seizures.

In this research, we evaluate the …

Development And Testing Of A Mapcheck3-Based Patient-Specific Qa Method For Prime Intensity Modulators Used With Bolus Electron Conformal Therapy, James T. Crist

LSU Master's Theses

Purpose: Irregular surfaces in bolus electron conformal therapy (BECT) create target volume dose inhomogeneity, which off-axis intensity modulation (IM) can reduce. This research developed and tested a patient-specific clinical quality assurance (QA) procedure for fabricated Passive Radiotherapy Intensity Modulation for Electrons (PRIME) devices used for IM-BECT delivery.

Methods: To evaluate MapCheck3 (MC3) diode array accuracy, electron dose measurements beneath PRIME devices were compared with scanned measurements in a water phantom. Lateral dose profile comparisons were made for 35 combinations of five beam energies (7-20MeV) and seven PRIME devices - converging and diverging island blocks (pins) having 100-68.8% intensities. To evaluate …

Specialized Late Cingulo-Opercular Network Activation Elucidates The Mechanisms Underlying Decisions About Ambiguity, Jordan E. Pierce, Nathan M. Petro, Elizabeth Clancy, Caterina Gratton, Steven E. Petersen, Maital Neta

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Cortical task control networks, including the cingulo-opercular (CO) network play a key role in decision-making across a variety of functional domains. In particular, the CO network functions in a performance reporting capacity that supports successful task performance, especially in response to errors and ambiguity. In two studies testing the contribution of the CO network to ambiguity processing, we presented a valence bias task in which masked clearly and ambiguously valenced emotional expressions were slowly revealed over several seconds. This slow reveal task design provides a window into the decision-making mechanisms as they unfold over the course of a trial. In …

Development Of Rp-Hplc Method For Simultaneous Determination Of Nebivolol Hydrochloride, Valsartan And Hydrochlorothiazide In Co-Administrated Antihypertensive Agents And Human Plasma, Shereen Mowaka, M. Rizk, Maha M. Abou El‐Alamin, Mariam Mohamed

Pharmacy

Reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography combined with photodiode array (HPLC-PDA) detector method was developed for simultaneous determination of two binary antihypertensive combinations; either Nebivolol (NEB) with Hydrochlorothiazide (HCZ) or with Valsartan (VAL) in pharmaceutical formulation and spiked human plasma. The method was successfully applied to separate the three drugs on one chromatogram under the same chromatographic conditions that used for two binary combinations. The separation was established on Xterra C18 column using gradient mobile phase which composed of acidified water of pH = 3.0 (adjusted with 0.1% orthophosphoric acid) and acetonitrile with flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The drugs …

Examining Benefits Of Early Intervention In Cases Of Pediatric Chronic Hypoxia, Kendra Stefan

University Honors Theses

There is a strong foundation of evidence and consensus in the literature that hypoxia has adverse impacts on brain function. Recent research has broadened the field in two directions. One is the treatment for acute hypoxic injuries, and the second is regarding the accumulative impact of intermittent or chronic hypoxia. Historically, in cases of acute hypoxia, action is taken to remedy the source of hypoxia. Physical and cognitive rehabilitation has typically been provided as needed depending on the severity of the injury. While cases of intermittent or chronic hypoxia may not demonstrate an acute urgency for treatment and rehabilitation, current …

Algorithmic Bias: Causes And Effects On Marginalized Communities, Katrina M. Baha

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Individuals from marginalized backgrounds face different healthcare outcomes due to algorithmic bias in the technological healthcare industry. Algorithmic biases, which are the biases that arise from the set of steps used to solve or analyze a problem, are evident when people from marginalized communities use healthcare technology. For example, many pulse oximeters, which are the medical devices used to measure oxygen saturation in the blood, are not able to accurately read people who have darker skin tones. Thus, people with darker skin tones are not able to receive proper health care due to their pulse oximetry data being inaccurate. This …

Development Of A Nurse Anesthesia Program Point-Of-Care Ultrasound Airway Examination Curriculum, Sarah Elyse Sandheinrich Butler, Colton Phillip Butler

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Airway management is a critical and fundamental skill for anesthesia providers. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is an up-and-coming assessment technique that can provide critical information about a patient’s airway anatomy and may increase patient safety during anesthesia care. As a result, understanding the appropriate POCUS equipment, techniques, findings, and clinical implications for airway examination can become essential for safe and effective anesthesia practice. This project aimed to develop a clinical airway POCUS examination curriculum with detailed instructions on all aspects of appropriate examination equipment, set-up, technique, and implications for findings. The team designed the curriculum to incorporate it into the host …

Degree Of Uncertainty In Reporting Imaging Findings For Necrotizing Enterocolitis: A Secondary Analysis From A Pilot Randomized Diagnostic Trial, Disa Rathore, Kira Bourrett, Sherwin S. Chan, Erin Opfer, Alain Cuna

Research Days

Background: Uncertainty in reporting of imaging findings for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) can be challenging for clinicians and result in ambiguity, miscommunication, and potential diagnostic errors. The degree to which uncertainty complicates diagnostic imaging for NEC has not been characterized.

Objective: To determine the degree of uncertainty in diagnostic imaging for NEC.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study using data from a previously completed pilot diagnostic randomized clinical trial (RCT). The study population comprised of preterm infants with suspected NEC who were randomized to either standard imaging with abdominal radiographs (AXR) alone or experimental imaging with AXR + add-on bowel ultrasound …

Implementation Of A Nurse-Led Clinical Algorithm For Pressure Injury Prevention Associated With Non-Invasive Ventilation Medical Device Use, Capri Steinkuhler, Kaitlin Rogge

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects: College of Nursing

Purpose and Aims

Medical device related pressure injuries (PI) account for as much as 61-81% of all hospital reported wound incidents (Gefen et al., 2020) and are frequently caused by respiratory devices such as non-invasive ventilation (NIV). Use of NIV in critically ill patients dramatically increased during the pandemic. PI are one of the leading causes of injury to hospitalized patients and lengthens hospital stays (National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel [NPIAP], 2019). The NPIAP recommends routine skin assessment under devices, proper mask fit, protective barrier, moisture reduction, and interdisciplinary collaboration to prevent PIs from NIV masks. This feasibility study’s purpose …

Center Based Cardiac Rehabilitation Outcomes Associated With Covid-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Comparative Cohort Study, Haley Williams, Kayla Woodworth

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects: College of Nursing

Background: Traditional cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a multidisciplinary, multifaceted program for cardiac patients. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, health care, including center-based CR (CBCR) programs, were closed to in-person sessions. Even with the return to CBCR participation, patient outcomes may have been affected by this disruption in care. The goal of this study was to determine if CR participation outcomes differed before and after CBCR program closure due to Covid-19.

Methods: A retrospective comparative cohort design was used to examine CR participant outcome data before and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Convenience sampling of CR participants at a large, urban …

Cardiovascular Disease Prediction Modelling: A Machine Learning Approach, Usmaan Al-Shehab, Maduka Gunasinghe, Yousuf Elkhoga, Nimay Patel, Juliana Yang

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The objective of this project is to utilize the UCI Heart Disease dataset to identify physiological biomarkers that are highly correlated with heart disease incidence. A predictive model can then be developed using these biomarkers to estimate the likelihood of someone having or developing a heart-related condition. This study compares the efficacy of predicting cardiovascular disease as an outcome using three machine learning algorithms: Support Vector Machine, Gaussian Naive Bayes, and logistic regression. Support Vector Machine works by creating hyperplanes between data points to conduct classification. Gaussian Naive Bayes works by using the conditional probabilities of events to classify the …

Management And Considerations In The Usage Of Txa In Hemorrhagic Trauma Patients, Matthew Petterson, James Espinosa, Alan Lucerna

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Tranexamic acid is a synthetic reversible competitive inhibitor that exerts its action on plasminogen, preventing plasmin formation and deterring fibrinolysis.1 Current FDA-approved indications of TXA include heavy menstrual bleeding and short-term blood loss prevention in patients with hemophilia following tooth extraction.1 TXA has more recently been utilized in the management of massive hemorrhagic trauma patients despite this being an off-label use. While TXA has shown promise as a hemostatic agent for this patient population, considerations in the pre-hospital and hospital settings must be examined for its integration into massive hemorrhage protocols.