Electrochemical sensing provides a quantitative alternative to colorimetric reactions within paper-based devices. The paper-based devices were fabricated by screen printing the conductive and reference inks onto porous substrates that were evaluated using cyclic voltammetry. Devices were evaluated based on the magnitude of the average anodic peak height, which correlates with...
Diatoms are single celled eukaryotic microalgae that self-assemble complex SiO₂
nanostructures by sillafin proteins within their cell wall. There has been increasing
interest in mimicking the diatom’s silica self-assembly process for fabricating metal
oxide nanoparticles, namely germanium dioxide (GeO₂). GeO₂ has a higher refractive
index than silica, enabling it to...
Surface-associated thrombosis is a critical concern in medical device development. Current extracorporeal circulation units require systemic anticoagulation to avoid thrombosis, which can cause adverse effects such as thrombocytopenia, hypertriglyceridemia, and hyperkalemia. To address this issue, we combine the technology of polydopamine (PDA) functionalization with slippery liquid infused porous surfaces (SLIPS)....
Metamix is a mixture of botanical compounds that promote healing and prevent infection for burns and diabetic ulcers. In this thesis, metamix was incorporated into 1.75 weight percent gellan gum hydrogels as a drug delivery method for burned skin. The ideal concentration of metamix was 25% by solution volume for...
Electroanalytical techniques allow scientists and engineers to characterize bulk solutions as well as interfaces. Potentiostats are commonly used by researchers in a variety of disciplines to analyze the chemistry which occurs at a working electrode surface. Advancements in microelectronics and the proliferation of open-source designs have allowed researchers to construct...
Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common primary brain tumor in adults ages 45-70, with over 12,120 new cases in the U.S. predicted for 2016 alone. Glioblastoma is also one of the most difficult cancers to treat because the tumor cells tend to invade into the surrounding healthy tissue, making it...
Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common primary brain tumor in adults ages 45-70, with over 12,120 new cases in the U.S. predicted for 2016 alone. Glioblastoma is also one of the most difficult cancers to treat because the tumor cells tend to invade into the surrounding healthy tissue, making it...
Rapid and effective treatment of burn injuries is critical to prevent long term damage. Besides the pain associated with the burn injury due to damage and death of surrounding tissue and cells, there is a large risk for complications, particularly infection, following a burn injury. To address these risks, Meta...
Nowadays, woody biomass is becoming increasingly significant because of its renewability and biodegradability. Lots of opportunities have been found to use excessive biological resources to derive products as diverse as fuels, heat, electricity, chemicals, food, clothing, paper, and much more. As such, biomass plays an important role in meeting demands...
Essential oils have numerous chemical and therapeutic applications. Some oil extraction methods, including steam distillation, require a large energy input. An alternative technique with a lower energy demand is the extraction of oils using supercritical liquid carbon dioxide (CO2), which extracts essential oils with minimal environmental impact. While this often...
The nature of engineering work requires that ethical considerations are taken into account while making decisions surrounding topics such as technology, equal distribution of cost benefits, and consumer risk. In order for engineers to make ethical decisions in their careers, it is helpful if their engineering education provided them with...
Sepsis is a blood infection that is caused by circulating bacteria cells and cell fragments, which contain immunogenic lipopolysaccharides (LPS) or endotoxin. The circulating endotoxin results in a severe dysregulation of the inflammatory response that ultimately leads to organ failure. One promising treatment method is removal of endotoxin by passing...
A common issue with extracorporeal medical devices is blood clotting due to bio-incompatibility. Systemic anticoagulants are often prescribed to mitigate the coagulation issues. However, such drugs can lead to further complications, for example hemorrhaging. One solution to improve the hemocompatibility of blood-contacting medical devices are biomaterials, such as slippery liquid...
This study is believed to be the first of its kind to characterize culturable fungal endophytes from the wood of Populus trichocarpa, and to examine the potential of inducible resistance and secondary chemistry as specific host factors that shape fungal endophytic communities in wood. To do so, more than seventy...
Platelet activation uses a complex set of pathways to respond to vascular injury during hemostasis. However, thrombosis relies on the same set of pathways. Antiplatelet therapies used to prevent thrombotic events often target the P2Y₁₂ platelet receptor for inhibition but can result in bleeding diathesis or in abnormally high ADP...
When vessel walls within the vasculature are damaged, exposed extracellular
matrix (ECM) proteins trigger a series of events that lead to the formation of a
hemostatic plug (Andrews et al. 2004, Furie et al. 2008, Watson 2009). Thrombus
formation requires an orchestrated series of receptor-mediated events facilitating platelet
recruitment, platelet...
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2015 10.4 million people worldwide became infected with tuberculosis (TB) with 1.8 million TB related deaths. Tuberculosis is a bacterial infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a slow growing yet highly infectious bacterium. Among the first line of treatments...
Antimicrobial coatings used to reduce the risk of infection caused by tissue-contacting medical devices must address specific biocompatibility requirements including prevention of thrombosis and rise of bacterial resistance. An antimicrobial-loaded poly(ethylene-oxide) (PEO) coating has been tentatively shown to be non-fouling with sustained antimicrobial activity. However, the presence of the antimicrobial,...
Polyfunctional thiols are sulfur containing compounds that are important to the flavor and aroma profile of some foods and beverages. S. Cerevisiae has been shown in wine yeast that it is capable of producing these thiols to create a fruity aroma and flavor profile. IRC7, a gene that codes the...
The majority of people suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Back pain is the leading cause of disability globally, ahead of 290 other conditions1. Over one million people in the United States receive spine surgery annually2. This thesis looked at five standard surgical procedures performed on...
Successful cryopreservation of bone marrow in situ within vertebral bodies offers an opportunity for quick and convenient storage of a significant quantity of bone marrow stem cells, including hematopoietic- and mesenchymal-type stem cells. However, cryopreservation of more complex large tissues and organs, such as the vertebral body (VB), remains problematic....
Unpaved roads are sources of chronic sediment in forested watersheds. Bare soil on roads is exposed to erosion from rainfall and runoff Published research on sediment production from forest roads focuses primarily on road characteristics. Since water drives the mechanics of sediment transport, hydrologic variables should correlate with sediment production....
Paper microfluidic devices are capable of processing fluids using capillary flow in materials that are lower cost than the standard materials used in microfluidics. Due to the low cost of their fabrication and minimal requirements for instrumentation, paper microfluidic devices are ideal for use in low-resource settings. They have the...
The use of ureolytic bacteria for the remediation of contaminated groundwater aquifers by inducing calcium carbonate precipitation is being studied in order to establish a better understanding of the modeling and prediction of how the bacteria will act in situ. This research has pursued the use of various ureolytic bacteria...
The improvement of coupled tendon transfer surgeries through the insertion of an adaptive engineering mechanism was explored using biomechanical simulations performed in OpenSim. Tendon transfer surgeries are commonly performed on the upper extremity to restore hand function. A conventional 4-tailed tendon transfer procedure model and a modified 4-tailed procedure model...
Surface patterning of bacterial biofilm provides an opportunity to understand the microbial metabolic exchange between bacterial species. By using various techniques, one can put different bacterial species in close proximity and study their interaction by using various assay kits and analytical techniques. In this study, surface patterning of Pseudomonas aeruginosa...
Cytoplasmic dynein is a motor protein complex found in eukaryotes that is essential to many cellular processes. With dynein being involved in mitosis, axonal transport and organelle transport, disruption of dynein function can lead to neurodegeneration and other diseases. The main function of dynein is transportation of cargo through the...
Loss of a limb can severely impact everyday way of life. Prosthetics provide a way to return functionality to the user and improve quality of life. However, most prosthetic systems currently available in the market lack sensory feedback making them comparatively more difficult to use resulting in prosthetic abandonment. Therefore,...
Infections in hospitals account for over 100,000 deaths per year. These infections occur at the
hospital from complications following bacterial adhesion to intravenous catheters, coronary
stents and other implanted devices. Another common problem is protein adsorption to the
surface of the device and subsequent blood clotting. Methods for combating these...
The matrisome is an ensemble of genes that are highly relevant for characterizing the behavior of the extracellular matrix (ECM) during the onset and progression of many diseases. Recent advances in the definition of the matrisome, such as The Matrisome Project, have been instrumental in making more advanced resources available...
The Jovanovic lab at Oregon State University (OSU) is developing iCore, a versatile blood processing platform which leverages microfluidic process intensification via increased mass transfer efficiency and decreased device footprint with the goal of creating a portable, wearable device. One application of iCore is for the treatment of hyperferremia resulting...
Our society today is heavily dependent on fossil fuels such as coal and oil. However, growing environmental concerns and future fossil fuel supplies have led to interests in alternative fuels. Dimethyl Ether (DME) is an inexpensive, clean-burning, non-toxic, and potentially renewable fuel, making it a suitable choice as an alternative...
An understanding of oppression and privilege would improve engineering climates and encourage individuals with marginalized identities to stay engaged in engineering spaces. Currently there are quantitative tools to assess cultural competencies, but none that measure understandings of power relationships. This project aims to create a qualitative assessment instrument to measure...
Ammonia oxidizing bacteria, including Nitrosomonas europaea, are inhibited by aromatic hydrocarbons which can be found in wastewater treatment plants. In recent studies, changes have been observed in N. europaea cell size upon exposure to benzene, but not toluene. Additionally, NE 1545, a gene proposed to be involved in fatty acid...
Sepsis, caused by bacterial release of endotoxin, is a serious blood infection that causes uncontrolled systemic immune response. In North America alone, sepsis kills between 220,000 and 380,000 people each year, more than prostate cancer, breast cancer, and HIV/AIDS combined. Sepsis treatment is complicated and often requires prolonged hospital stays,...
Monitoring the concentration of phenolic compounds is important for environmental regulation, health diagnostics, and bioenergy fermentation. Vanillin is a phenol compound used as a food flavoring that can cause allergies and inhibits biofuel production. The phenol m-cresol is a toxic compound that is regulated in the environment and in human...
There are at least fifteen types of upper extremity tendon transfer procedures for combined peripheral nerve injuries that involve re-routing a single donor muscle to multiple recipient tendons. As a result, force and movement across finger joints become coupled, resulting in limited grasping abilities. Quantification and modeling of the donor...
Neonatal jaundice secondary to hyperbilirubinemia occurs in 60% of all term newborns and nearly all preterm newborns in the US. Severe cases of this may lead to chronic encephalopathy, neurologic deficits, and, in some cases, death. Intensive blue light phototherapy involves irradiation of a patient with high intensity light and...
The consumption of alcohol has been shown to have effects on health that are both harmful and
therapeutic, depending on the amount that is consumed. Alcohol’s effects can be damaging to the body in excess but, in moderation, can act as a protectant against certain conditions. The two studies discussed...
Throughout a large portion of our planet, malaria has been nearly eradicated or reduced to levels that are highly manageable, and many countries possess the means to effectively treat the disease. However, many areas of the world, such as Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, are still heavily burdened by malaria....
As access to potable water grows scarce, there is an increasing reliance on alternative drinking water sources, namely groundwater (WHO, 2018). Chlorinated solvents, such as 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA) and 1,2-cis-Dichloroethene (cisDCE) are some of the most ubiquitous groundwater contaminants spread throughout the US. 1,4-dioxane (1,4D) was used primarily in the late...
The ability of nanoparticles (NPs) to induce oxidative stress on organisms has been linked to NP cytotoxicity and genotoxicity for a variety of organisms. One proposed mechanism of this increased oxidative stress is the ability of NPs to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS). Due to the dynamic nature and small...
Sepsis is a life-threatening blood infection which leads to an uncontrolled systemic inflammatory state. In North America alone, sepsis annually afflicts approximately 750,000 individuals and kills 38-50% of these (more than HIV/AIDS, breast cancer, and colon cancer combined). Current treatment involves administration of IV fluids, antibiotics and hemoperfusion, requiring prolonged...
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23. Mean diameter of WLBU2 kill zones against E. coli and P. pentosaceus. A small effect of
Currently, wax printing is limited to materials that can be processed by a wax printer. Wax transfer printing is a method that allows previously unusable materials to be patterned with wax via an intermediate template. Millipore cellulose, a material too thick to be processed by a wax printer, was patterned...
Xanthan gum, a naturally produced polysaccharide, is biocompatible, and it is commonly used as a food additive. When combined with trivalent ions, such as chromium (III), a gel can form. Various concentrations of xanthan gum and chromium (III) nitrate were combined to evaluate the sol-gel transition of this system. Samples...
Nitrate (NO₃-) accumulation in water sources is a serious health and environmental concern. Common methods used to reduce NO₃- accumulation have one or more undesirable traits that limit their efficacy in large-scale decontamination. However, treatment of NO₃- electrochemically is a promising area of study because of the absence of toxic...
Technology is constantly co-evolving with science to produce simple and effective tools that address the needs of researchers. Cost and time effective point-of-care devices are valuable for sample collection and analysis, particularly in medicine and environmental health and safety. Digital microfluidic (DMF) technology provides a possible solution. This study explores...
The factors that cause abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture were investigated. Included
in this study were aneurysm volume, thrombus thickness, lumen area, thrombus area,
the average stress acting on the aorta, and the maximum stress on the aorta. The
geometric values were obtained by tracing a series of computerized axial tomography...
The development of simple, rapid, and sensitive methods for thiophenol detection is of great importance in various fields, including environmental monitoring and food quality. Here, we present a novel approach for the colorimetric detection of thiophenols using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as the sensing platform. AuNPs aggregate in the presence of...
Presented here is an investigation and comparison of two entrapment methods of algae. Conventional calcium alginate bead entrapment is compared to a recently described modified bead entrapment method, utilizing poly(ethylene glycol) and calcium alginate, which results in void or capillary formation within the beads. It is shown that algal growth...