36th Annual Meeting March 6-8, 2020...Introduction or background, Methods, Results, Discussion and summaries, References and Acknowledgments. The Conference will be held at the Crowne

36th Annual Meeting

March 6-8, 2020

Crowne Plaza, New Orleans- Airport

2829 Williams Blvd, Kenner, LA

Telephone: 504-463-7010

http://sbec18.org

http://thequickglimpse.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/vitruvian-man.jpg

http://sbec18.org/

36th SOUTHERN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING CONFERENCE

Program

March 6-8, 2020 ………………………………………………………………….

Annual Meeting Organizers

Program Chair

Dr. Amol Janorkar

University of Mississippi Medical Center

Phone: 601-984-6170

[email protected]

Program Co-Chair

Dr. Vladimir Reukov

University of Georgia

Phone: 864-643-0905

[email protected]

Program Co-Chair

Dr. Stephen Florczyk

University of Central Florida

Phone: 407-823-2738

[email protected]

Conference-Co-Chair

Dr. Michelle Tucci


Phone: 601-815-1043

[email protected]

Conference-Co-Chair

Dr. Hamed Benghuzzi


Phone: 601-984-6324

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://www.umc.edu/news/images/Web headshots/janorkar,-amol_web.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.umc.edu/news/Miscellaneous/2018/08/Aug. 16, 2018/first-quarter-2018-grants,-awards-top-9m.html&docid=8-PnRZbCJzGkVM&tbnid=IobXc0VcThf_vM:&vet=10ahUKEwi8sPffmPXfAhXvdN8KHfKsAOUQMwhJKAwwDA..i&w=150&h=200&itg=1&bih=406&biw=768&q=photo of Amol Janorkar of UMMC&ved=0ahUKEwi8sPffmPXfAhXvdN8KHfKsAOUQMwhJKAwwDA&iact=mrc&uact=8


Major Sponsors of 36th SBEC

Mississippi Academy of Sciences

University of Mississippi Medical Center Office of Associate Vice-Chancellor for Research

Sponsors

Endorsement

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Program and Organizing Committee

Name Affiliation Email Amol Janorkar University of Mississippi Medical Center [email protected]

Stephen Florczyk University of Central Florida [email protected]

Vladimir Reukov University of Georgia [email protected]

Michelle Tucci University of Mississippi Medical Center [email protected]

Hamed Benghuzzi University of Mississippi Medical Center [email protected]

Ibrahim Farah Jackson State University [email protected]

Raj Prabhu Mississippi State University [email protected]

Lauren Priddy Mississippi State University [email protected]

Mahavir Chougule University of Mississippi [email protected]

Narayan Bhattarai North Carolina A&T State University [email protected]

Ken Butler University of Mississippi Medical Center [email protected]

Anthony McGoron Florida International University [email protected]

Felix Adah University of Mississippi Medical Center [email protected]

Joseph A. Cameron Jackson State University [email protected]

Lir-Wan Fan University of Mississippi Medical Center [email protected]

Yi Pang University of Mississippi Medical Center [email protected]

Elgenaid Hamadain University of Mississippi Medical Center [email protected]

Yuanyuan Duan University of Mississippi Medical Center [email protected]

Michael Roach University of Mississippi Medical Center [email protected]

Vinoy Thomas University of Alabama at Birmingham [email protected]

Zelma Cason University of Mississippi Medical Center [email protected]

Mohammed Benalla Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology [email protected]

C. LaShan Simpson Mississippi State University [email protected]

Thomas Rich University of South Alabama [email protected]

Teresa Murray Louisiana Tech [email protected]

Saami Yazdani University of South Alabama [email protected]

Ahmed El-Ghannam University of North Carolina at Charlotte [email protected]

Angie Garner University of Mississippi Medical Center [email protected]

Pradip Biswas Tougaloo College at Jackson MS [email protected]

Ramon Jackson (Executive Assistant)

University of Mississippi Medical Center [email protected]

Lisa McCammon (Staff)

Mississippi Academy of Sciences


SBEC HISTORY The Southern Biomedical Engineering Conference (SBEC) series

was conceived by bioengineering professionals from academia and

industry located primarily in the South of the United States in 1982.

The first Southern Biomedical Engineering Conference was held at

the LSU Medical Center, Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1982 organized

by the founder and chair of steering committee of SBEC Dr. Subrata

Saha (photo). Since then it has been held annually in different cities,

mostly in the southern United States, and has grown to become a

global event that regularly attracts attendees from all over the

world. Submitted Papers are peer-reviewed, and those papers

accepted for presentation and publication appear in the yearly issue

of SBEC proceedings. The SBEC serves a special purpose by emphasizing participation

from young professionals and advanced students. Since established investigators present papers in

the same sessions with the students, it encourages a high level of professionalism as a standard for

young investigators and students. Submission of papers from individuals from around the world is

encouraged. However, if their papers are accepted, an author or co-author must attend the

conference to present their work and to interact with other attendees. In keeping with the emphasis

on student participation, the SBEC presents best paper and presentation awards to undergraduate,

graduate, and professional students.

Conference Information The format of the conference is to have concurrent sessions, with each presentation limited to 15

minutes (12-minute presentation and three minute discussions). Room assignments for each session

will be posted at the conference.

Poster presentations will be held in Earhart room. The poster display dimensions are: 48” wide x 36”

length. Push pins and tapes will be provided (poster format should include: Title, Authors, Affiliations,

Introduction or background, Methods, Results, Discussion and summaries, References and

Acknowledgments.

The Conference will be held at the Crowne Plaza, New Orleans- Airport, 2829 Williams Blvd,

Kenner, LA (Telephone: 504-463-7010), which is located approximately is located just 90 mile away

from Jackson International Airport and 60 miles from the Gulfport International Airport. Driving

directions can be found at the end of the program. Participating hotels can be found on the SBEC

website http://sbec18.org.

All the accepted abstracts/papers will be published in a Special Issue of the Journal of Mississippi

Academy of Sciences, as well as, an archival proceeding book entitled BIOMEDICAL

ENGINEERING: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS. The program review committee will select

limited number of abstracts to be invited to submit full-length manuscripts (optional to authors) to be

published in the peer-review prestigious journal: Biomedical Science Instrumentations (IAE

Publisher).

Student Awards: Top undergraduate and graduate students for podium and poster

presentations will be recognized (Cash prized and Certificates) at the awards ceremony on

Sunday (must be present to receive cash prizes).

http://sbec18.org/


Registration Registration Fee includes access to all conference events, program copy, manuscript fee, lunches,

banquet, coffee breaks and snacks. Initial on-site registration will be held from 12:00–3:00 p.m.,

Thursday, March 21, 2019, and will continue all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning. reduced

registration rates. More information in how to register can be found at: http://sbec18.org.

Registration Fees

(http://sbec18.org)

Before January 31, 2020

After/Onsite

January 31, 2020

Investigators registration fee for SBEC $280 $375

Student registration fee for SBEC $190 $225

Companion Fee $150 $150

Conference registration fees are non-refundable after March 1st, 2020 (refund prior 2/1 is subject to

service fee of 75% (food and beverages, printing cost, etc… for presenters will be paid for by 2/1.)

Abstract will be removed from the program if presenter fails to register according to the time lines (by 1/31/2020).

Track Session Chair Co-Chair

Session I:

Clinical Applications-1

Hamed Benghuzzi, Ph.D.


Elgenaid Hamadain, Ph.D.


Session II:

Education

Joseph A. Cameron, Ph.D.

Jackson State University

Zelma Cason, Ph.D.


Session III:

Biomaterials-1

Stephen Florczyk, Ph.D.

University of Central Florida

C, LaShan Simpson, Ph.D.

Mississippi State University

Session IV:

Neuroscience -1

(Injury Modeling)

Raj K. Prabhu, Ph.D.


Ibrahim Farah, Ph.D.,

Jackson State University

Session V: Poster Session

Vladimir Reukov, Ph.D.

Clemson University

Amol Janorkar, Ph.D.


Session VI:

Biomaterials -2 (3-D

Scaffolds)

Amol Janorkar Ph.D.

University of Mississippi Medical Center Lauren Priddy, Ph.D.


Session VII:

Computational-1

Yuanyuan Duan, Ph.D.


Kenneth R. Butler, Ph.D.


Session VIII:

Biomaterial-3

(Electrospinning/Chitosan)

Narayan Bhattarai, Ph.D.

North Carolina A&T State University.

Joel D. Bumgardner, Ph.D.,

University of Memphis Health Science

Center

Session IX:

Neurosciences-2

Yi Pang, Ph.D.


H. Joon Lee, Ph.D.


Session X:

Patient Rehabilitation

Science

Felix Adah, Ph.D.


Mohammed Benalla, Ph.D.

Vaughn College of Aeronautics and

Technology

Session XI:

Drug Delivery -Cancer

Mahavir Chougule, Ph.D.

University of Mississippi Vladimir Reukov, Ph.D.

Clemson University

Session XII:

Biomaterials-4 (Metals)

Michael Roach, Ph.D.


Anthony McGoron, Ph.D.

Session XIII:

Computational-2

Raj K. Prabhu, Ph.D.

Mississippi State University Jamil Ibrahim, Ph.D.,


Session XIV:

Neuroscience – 3

Developmental Aspects

Lir-Wan Fan, Ph.D.

University of Mississippi Medical Center Lu Tai Tien, Ph.D.

Catholic University, Taiwan

Session XV: Lauren Priddy, Ph.D.

Mississippi State University Mahavir Chougule, Ph.D.

University of Mississippi

- Poster Session II Min Huang, Ph.D.


Xiaoli Dai, M.D.


http://sbec18.org/


Track Chairs

I. Dr. Ibrahim Farah:

Education and Patient Care (Sessions # 1, 6, 14, 15)

II. Dr. Amol Janorkar:

Healthcare Materials and Techniques (Sessions # 3, 5, 9, 13)

III. Dr. Pradip Biswas:

Computational and Imaging Techniques (Sessions # 2, 12, 16)

IV. Dr. Michelle Tucci and Ham Benghuzzi:

Biotechnology (Sessions # 4, 7, 8, 10, 11)

Student Awards Michelle Tucci, Ph.D. ,

University of Mississippi

Medical Center,

C. LaShan Simpson, Ph.D,



36th Annual Meeting

Program

Friday, March 6, 2020

11:00-6:00 Registration

Crowne Plaza, New Orleans Airport


Friday March 6, 2020

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Friday, March 6, 2020

11:00 am-6:00 pm Registration

1:00-1:10 pm Opening of the Meeting (Room: 1 and 2) Program Chair

Dr. Amol Janorkar, University of Mississippi Medical Center

Conference Co-Chair

Dr. Ham Benghuzzi; University of Mississippi Medical Center

Keynote Speakers for Sessions II and IV

Session II Education: Time 1:00 pm

Keynote 1: Timothy Turner, Professor and Chair Department of Biology, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS

Title: YEAR TWO: STUDENTS UNDERSTANDING CHEMISTRY CONCEPTS TO ENHANCE

STEM SKILLS (SUCCESS)

Dr. Timothy Turner is a Professor and Chair of the Jackson State University Department of Biology.

Dr. Turner received his B.S. degree in biology from Jackson State University, Jackson MS. His cancer

research career started at the University of California, Berkeley where he received his PhD in

Endocrinology and Tumor Biology under Dr. Howard A. Bern. Dr. Turner conducted postdoctoral

training in Developmental Biology in the Department of Pathology at the University of California at

San Francisco and in Molecular Biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His research

interests focus on identifying and disrupting signaling mechanisms involved the progression of prostate

cancer to its invasive and metastatic stages. Prior to coming to Jackson State University, Dr. Turner was

a Professor at Tuskegee University. At Tuskegee University he also served as the Deputy Director of

Research and Training in the Tuskegee University National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health

Care, Program Director of the Center for Biomedical Research/Research Centers at Minority

Institutions, and the Lead Principal Investigator for the Morehouse School of Medicine/Tuskegee

University/University of Alabama at Birmingham U54 Cancer Partnership. As Chair of the Department

of Biology, Dr. Turner is over the largest department on Jackson State’s campus, with over 900 students and over 30 faculty and staff

under his leadership. Over his career, Dr. Turner has been the recipient of several research, education, and community honors and

awards. He has authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications, participated on NIH, DoD, and NSF study section panels, and received

over 30 million dollars in extramural funding. Currently Dr. Turner is the PI on the NSF funded Students Understanding Chemistry

Concepts to Enhance Stem Skills (SUCCESS) grant, PI on the NOAA Center for Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Partnership grant, and

PI on the NSF Course-based Undergraduate Research Network 2.0 Partnership grant.


Session IV Neuroscience-1 (Injury Modeling): Time 3:15 pm

Keynote 2: Dr. Raj K. Prabhu Bioengineering Department, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS

Title: MULTISCALE MODELING OF THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF THE HUMAN

BRAIN UNDER IMPACT SCENARIOS AND SAFETY DESIGN ASPECTS

Dr. Raj Prabhu is an Associate Director for the Computational Engineering Mechanics (CEM) thrust

at the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems and an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering

in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Mississippi State University. Dr.

Prabhu earned his doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering from Mississippi State University, and

he earned his bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology-

Madras, Chennai, India. He also holds an Honorary Research position in the College of Engineering

at Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK. He has been conducting research in the areas of biomaterials

informatics, multiscale modeling and experimentation of the brain, specifically to investigate the

mechanical and structural evolutions of the brain due to primary injuries arising from external

mechanical insults. He has been guiding several post-doctoral research associates, graduate and

undergraduate students to research injury biomechanics, biomaterials informatics and human-centric

design. Due to the translational nature of his research, Dr. Prabhu has successfully established research

collaboration with faculties from within his University, and with faculties from other regional and international Universities.

March 6, 2020 Scientific Sessions

Concurrent Sessions I and II Friday Afternoon Presentation # Conference Room: 1

Time Session I: Clinical Applications-1

Session Chair: Hamed Benghuzzi, Ph.D., University of Mississippi Medical Center

Co-Chair: Elgenaid Hamadain, Ph.D., University of Mississippi Medical Center

1:00 1-1 DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A RECUMBENT PATIENT

WEIGHING SCALE FOR PEDIATRICS Kayla Rettig, Linda Thompson, Alan Eberhardt

University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL

1:15 1-2 USER TESTING TO ESTABLISH NEEDS FOR IKE (In-home Kid Exerciser) Ezzuddin Abuhussein, Nathan McWain, Sarah Owens, Addie Yazbak, Alan Eberhardt

University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL

1:30 1-3 THE EFFECT OF TRODE AND FOOT PREPARATION ON TRANSCUNEAL

EXTRACORPOREAL SHOCKWAVE DELIVERY TO THE EQUINE

NAVICULAR BONE

Robin Fontenot1, James Wooten2, Mandy Cha1, Patrick Foth1, Robert Wills3, Ben Nabors1

1Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine Department of Clinical Sciences,

Mississippi State, MS 2Mississippi State University Department of Agricultural and Biological

Engineering, Mississippi State, MS 3Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine

Department of Basic Sciences, Mississippi State, MS

1:45 1-4 Kairos

Gabriel Rios1, Sepehr Ramezani2, Hwan Choi3 1UCF, Orlando, FL. 2UCF, Orlando, FL, 3UCF, Orlando, Falkland Islands (Malvinas)

2:00 1-5 USE OF REAL-TIME VOICE INTEGRATED AUTOMATED RESUSCITATION

RECORDER (ARR) DURING NEONATAL RESUSCITATION Jagdish Desai, Jaimin Patel, Abhay Bhatt, Nilesh Dankhara

University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS

2:15 1-6 THE EVOLUTION OF BIOMEDICAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS IN

PATIENTS WITH LOCKED-IN SYNDROME


Tyler Wyatt, Gloriajean Wallace, Ph.D.

Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, LA

2:30 1-7 REVIEW: ASSOCIATION OF NSAIDS ON IMPLANT FAILURE RATE AND

ITS ROLE ON DELAYED BONE HEALING AND NON UNION

Stefan Medina, Ramon Jackson, Michelle Tucci, and Hamed Benghuzzi


2:45 1-8 REVIEW: THE OBSTACLES AND FACILITATIONS TO TRANSDERMAL

DELIVERY

Ramon Jackson, Stefan Medina, Michelle Tucci, and Hamed Benghuzzi


3:00-3:15 BREAK

Friday Afternoon Presentation # Conference Room: 2

Time Session II: Education

Session Chair: Joseph A. Cameron, Ph.D., Jackson State University

Co-Chair: Zelma Cason, Ph.D., University of Mississippi Medical Center 1:00 Keynote YEAR TWO: STUDENTS UNDERSTANDING CHEMISTRY CONCEPTS TO

ENHANCE STEM SKILLS (SUCCESS) Timothy Taylor

Jackson State University,, Jackson, MS,

1:30 2-1 MOTIVATING STEM INTERESTS THROUGH RESEARCH TRAINING AT

HBCU Maricica Pacurari Jackson State University, Jackson, MS

1:45 2-2 THE IMPACT OF MOBILE TECHNOLOGY ON LEARNER’S ENGAGEMENT

IN COURSE ACTIVITIES IN AN ACADEMIC HEALTH CARE SETTING:

STUDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

Jamil Ibrahim and Saja Ibrahim


2:00 2-3 BABY BOOMER MEETS MLLENNIAL LEARNER

Gloria Miller Jackson State University, Jackson, MS

2:15 2-4 CYTOPATHOLOGY EDUCATION TRAINING ASPECTS OF DEVELOPING

AN-ON-LINE PROGRAM Zelma Cason


2:30 2-5 IMPACT OF HIGH EXPECTATIONS AND INTENTIONAL READING

REINFORCEMENT ON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS Kesia T. Pope

Bay Springs High School, 510 Highway 18, Bay Springs, MS

2:45 2-6 IMPACT OF EARLY SCIENCE TRAINING ON STEM RECRUITS AND

POTENTIAL WORKFORCE Joseph A. Cameron Jackson State University, Jackson, MS

3:00-3:15 BREAK


Concurrent Sessions III and IV Friday Afternoon Presentation # Conference Room: 1

Time Session III: Biomaterials-1

Session Chair: Stephen Florczyk, Ph.D., University of Central Florida

Co-Chair: C. LaShan Simpson, Ph.D., Mississippi State University

3:15 3-1 INTERACTION BETWEEN POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE FEEDBACK IN

PLATELET ADHESION ON AN IMPROVED MICROCHANNEL PATTERNED

WITH THROMBOGENIC AND NON-THROMBOGENIC REGIONS. Sowjanya Dokku, Steven Jones

Louisiana Tech University, Louisiana, LA

3:30 3-2 KARTOGENIN IMMOBILIZATION ONTO COLLAGENOUS SCAFFOLD Allie Kerby, Jay Warren, Dr. Steve Elder

Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS

3:45 3-3 ADHESIVE PROPERTIES OF ELP:PEI FOR TISSUE ENGINEERING Sara Adibi1, Doyl Dickel1, Amol Janorkar2, Raj Prabhu1,3 1Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS), Starkville, MS, 2University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS. 3Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Starkville, MS

4:00 3-4 SUBSTRATE STIFFNESS: A PERMEABILITY-INDUCING MECHANICAL

STIMULUS IN PULMONARY ENDOTHELIUM

Sunita Subedi Paudel, Troy Stevens, Dhananjay Tambe

University of South Alabama College of Medicine, Mobile, AL

4:15 3-5 COMPARING PLA, AG, AND CERIA NANOFIBER COMPOSITES FOR

ANTIBACTERIAL EFFICACY IN CHRONIC WOUNDS Mark Livingstone, Craig Miller, Jordon Gilmore

Clemson University, Clemson, NC

4:30 3-6 THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODELING OF AN ALL-CERAMIC IMPLANT-

SUPPORTED FIXED DENTAL PROSTHESIS BASED ON MICRO-CT DATA Lohitha Kalluri1, John Seale1, Josephine Esquivel-Upshaw2, Yuanyuan Duan1 1University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 2University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

4:45-5:00 BREAK

Friday Afternoon Presentation # Conference Room: 2

Time Session IV: Neuroscience-1 (Injury Modeling)

Session Chair: R.K. Prabhu, Ph.D., Mississippi State University

Co-Chair: Ibrahim Farah, Ph.D., Jackson State University 3:15 Keynote MULTISCALE MODELING OF THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF THE

HUMAN BRAIN UNDER IMPACT SCENARIOS AND SAFETY DESIGN

ASPECTS Raj Prabhu

Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS

3:30 4-1 A MICROSCALE FINITE ELEMENT STUDY OF MECHANICALLY INDUCED

NEURONAL INJURY DEPENDENCE ON NEURONAL MORPHOLOGY Amirhamed Bakhtiarydavijani1, Mark Scimone2, Allan Dobbins3, Christian Franck4, Raj Prabhu1 1Mississippi State University, Miss. State ,MS. 2Brown University, RI. 3University of Alabama

Birmingham, Birmingham, AL. 4University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI

3:45 4-2 PREDICTION OF BRAIN COMPRESSION RESPONSE USING DIFFERENT

REGRESSION METHODS

Folly Patterson1, Osama AbuOmar2, R.K. Prabhu1

1Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS. 2Lewis University, Romeoville, USA

4:00 4-3 HEAD AND NECK INJURY-BASED ROBUST DESIGN FOR VEHICULAR

CRASHWORTHINESS Anand Balu Nellippallil1, Parker R. Berthelson2, Raj K. Prabhu3,1 1Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS. 2Center for

Applied Biomechanics, University of Virginia, Starkville, MS. 3Department of Agricultural and

Biological Engineering, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS


4:15 4-4 CYCLIC BIOMECHANICS OF THE BRAIN TISSUE Kali Sebastian1,2, Matthew Register1, Lauren Priddy1,2, Raj Prabhu1,2 1Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS. 2Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems,

Mississippi State, MS

4:30 4-5 A COUPLED MACROSCALE-MESOSCALE MODELING APPROACH TO

ASSESS CEREBRAL CORTEX MORPHOLOGY AND HETEROGENEITY

EFFECTS ON BRAIN INJURY LOCALIZATION Amirhamed Bakhtiarydavijani1, Michael Murphy1, Ghaidaa Khalid2, Mike Jones3, Mark Horstemeyer4, Allan Dobbins5, Raj Prabhu6 1Mississippi State University, Miss. State.,MS. 2Middle Technical University, Baghdad, Iraq. 3Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom. 4Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA. 5University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL. 6Mississippi State University, Miss. State, MS

4:45-5:00 BREAK

5:00-6:00 pm: Plenary Speaker 1-

Dr. Kerut Tulane University

Title: Machine Learning Calculation of AAA Probability for an

individual patient


6:00-7:30 pm: Session V: Poster Session and Welcome Reception

Poster Session: Co-Chairs Sukumar Saha, Ph.D., USDA-ARS, Mississippi State University, Starkville

Ibrahim Farah, Ph.D., Jackson State University

P#

HAPTIC THERMAL FEEDBACK PROSTHETIC BRAIN CONTROLLED ARM Atif Saeed, Ryan Tang, Mohammed Benalla

Vaughn College, East Elmhurst, NY

1

BIOMINERALIZATION OF 3D PRINTED AND COLD PLASMA MODIFIED PLA SCAFFOLDS

John Bradford1, Phillip Charles2, Vinoy Thomas1 1University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL. 2Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY

2

DEVELOPMENT OF AN IN VITRO CELL COCULTURE TO ANALYZE NANOPARTICLES TOXICITY Caitlyn Beasley, Tierica Anderson, Maricica Pacurari

Jackson State University, Jackson, MS

3

SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS UNDERGO PHENOTYPIC SWITCH DURING VASCULAR CALCIFICATION Kaylee Bundy, Mary Frances Segars, LaShan Simpson


4

A 3D MODEL FOR VASCULAR CALCIFICATION Ashley Branyon, LeAnn Ward, C. LaShan Simpson, Ph. D.


5

IDENTIFYING AMYLOID AGGREGATES AS BIOMARKERS OF BREAST CANCER

John Holmquist, Sanghamitra Deb, Ayanjeet Ghosh

The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

6

EXPOSURE TO INTERLEUKIN-1Β ENHANCES ROTENONE TOXICITY TO DOPAMINERGIC NEURONS in vitro Jonathan Lee1, Yi Pang1, Lu-Tai Tien2, Norma Ojeda1, Abhay Bhatt1, Renate Savich1, Lir-Wan Fan1 1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Newborn Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 2School of Medicine, Fu Jen

Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan

7

SIGNALING PATHWAYS INVOLVED IN ENDOTHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION AND THEIR ROLE IN

VASCULAR CALCIFICATION Cameron Roach, C. LaShan Simpson Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS

8

HYDROGEL BASED CONTROLLED DELIVERY OF 17Β-ESTRADIOL TOWARDS OBESITY MANAGEMENT Pallabi Pal, Rodrigo Oscar Maranon, Amol Vijay Janorkar University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS

9

PREDICTION OF THE PARTICLE SIZE AND TRANSITION TEMPERATURE OF ELASTIN-LIKE POLYPEPTIDE

COPOLYMERS Jared Cobb1, Alexandra Engel1, Maria Seale2, Amol Janorkar1 1University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, 2US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS

10

EVALUATION OF POLYALCOHOL BLENDS WITH CHITOSAN FOR A LOCAL

ANTIBIOTIC DELIVERY SYSTEM Landon Choi, Jessica Jennings University of Memphis, Memphis, TN

11

THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODELING OF AN ALL-CERAMIC IMPLANT-SUPPORTED FIXED DENTAL

PROSTHESIS BASED ON MICRO-CT DATA

Lohitha Kalluri1, John Seale1, Josephine Esquivel-Upshaw2, Yuanyuan Duan1 1University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS. 2University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

12

INHIBITION OF IGF2BP1 IN THE HUMAN BASAL CELL CARCINOMA CELL LINE UW-BCC1 PREVENTS

TUMOR GROWTH IN A XENOGRAFT MOUSE MODEL Felicite Noubissi, Cayla Harris, Clement Yedjou


13

IMPLEMENTATION OF DIGITAL DECONVOLUTION APPROACHES ON HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGE STACKS Taryn Dooms1, Joshua Deal2,3, Thomas Rish2,3, Silas Leavesley1,2,3 1University of South Alabama Department of Chemical Engineering, Mobile, AL. 2University of South Alabama Department of Pharmacology,

Mobile, AL. 3University of South Alabama Center for Lung Biology, Mobile, AL

14

EFFECTS OF IGF2BP1 INHIBITION ON THE SENSITIVITY OF HCT116 CELLS TO IRINOTECAN Tsige Gebretsadek, and Felicite Noubissi


15

STUDYING THE ROLE OF IGF2BP1 IN BASAL CELL CARCINOMA DEVELOPMENT Cayla Harris, Felicite Noubissi-Kamdem


16

FABRICATION OF TISSUE-ENGINEERED CARTILAGE THROUGH THE USE OF ELECTROSPUN BRANCHED-

CLUSTERS 17


Kasyap Cherukuri, Benjamin Minden-Birkenmaier, Gary Bowlin

University of Memphis, Memphis, TN

HIGH-FREQUENCY POLARIZED RAMAN STUDY ON HUMAN DENTAL ENAMEL Wencai He, Shan Yang


18

AUTONOMOUS MEDICINE DISPENSER Diego Villegas, Sebastian Valencia, Roshan Madramootoo

Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Flushing, NY

19

RESEARCH SHADOWING: HIGH IMPACT, LOW COST INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH

Kelly Johanson, Kathleen Morgan, Cecily DeFreece, Maryam Foroozesh, Clair Wilkins-Green, Roshan Nayak


20

TRANSCUTANEOUS ELECTRICAL NERVE STIMULATION AND LOW LEVEL LASER THERAPY IN

NEUROPATHIC PAIN Xiaoli Dai, Min Huang, Lir_Wan Fan, Michelle Tucci, Ramon Jackson, Ike Eriator, Claude Brunson


21

IMPACT OF NATURAL NUTRACEUTICS ON PROLIFERATION AND SURVIVAL OF MRC-5 LUNG AND THE

A549 CANCEROUS CELL PHENOTYPE Ibrahim O. Farah


22

ANALGESIC EFFECTS OF LOCAL MUSCLE VIBRATION ON INDIVIDUALS WITH KNEE PAIN: SYSTEMATIC

REVIEW Rachel Tyrone, Sam Jackson Dunnam, Natalie Hall, MacKenzie Ortlepp, and Min Huang


23

DISEASE PREVENTION THROUGH THE LENS OF GENETICS, ENVIRONMENT, AND NUTRITION LaShundra Brumfield

Piedmont College, Demorest GA

24

SYNTHESIS OF TWO NANO TEMPO CELLULOSE FORMS UTILIZING TEMPO/NAOCL/ OXONE CONDITION

AND THEIR USE IN THE PREPARATION OF TEMPO CELLULOSE THIN FILM BIOMATERIALS

Soma Shekar Dachavaram1, John P. More II2, Jamie A. Hestekin2, Peter A. Crooks1 1Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 2Department of

Chemical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR

25

7:30 pm Steering Committee Business Meeting (Members and Invitees)

End of Friday’s Sessions


Saturday March 7, 2020

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjCirTwvOTYAhUMjq0KHbMSCF4QjRwIBw&url=https://www.researchgate.net/post/what_is_the_reason_of_undetectable_peaks_in_EDS_analysis_during_SEM_investigation_of_ceramic_materials&psig=AOvVaw0Mu60tzybN7MqT9CBLzRPD&ust=1516394041477877

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://media.nature.com/m685/nature-assets/lsa/journal/v3/n11/images/lsa2014105f7.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.nature.com/articles/lsa2014105&docid=Q_h4_C3QHqIJdM&tbnid=bZnQO0zLLdbdvM:&vet=10ahUKEwiFoomsseLYAhUEVa0KHZ4WDlw4ZBAzCCEoHjAe..i&w=685&h=259&bih=575&biw=1034&q=sem picture&ved=0ahUKEwiFoomsseLYAhUEVa0KHZ4WDlw4ZBAzCCEoHjAe&iact=mrc&uact=8

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://media.nature.com/m685/nature-assets/lsa/journal/v3/n11/images/lsa2014105f7.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.nature.com/articles/lsa2014105&docid=Q_h4_C3QHqIJdM&tbnid=bZnQO0zLLdbdvM:&vet=10ahUKEwiFoomsseLYAhUEVa0KHZ4WDlw4ZBAzCCEoHjAe..i&w=685&h=259&bih=575&biw=1034&q=sem picture&ved=0ahUKEwiFoomsseLYAhUEVa0KHZ4WDlw4ZBAzCCEoHjAe&iact=mrc&uact=8


Saturday, March 7, 2020

7:00 am-4:00 pm Registration (Hotel Lobby)

Keynote Speakers for Sessions VI

Session VI Biomaterials-2 (3D Scaffolds): Time 8:30 am

Dr. Stephen Florczyk

University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL

Title: FREEZE-CASTING OF BIOMATERIAL SCAFFOLDS: A REVIEW OF

PROGRESS AND PERSPECTIVES ON FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Dr. Stephen Florczyk is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering

at University of Central Florida (UCF). Dr. Florczyk’s research group focuses on the development of

biomaterial scaffolds for tumor microenvironment and regenerative medicine applications. His group

produces 3D porous scaffolds from natural polymers and investigates the cell-material interaction of

cancer cells or adult stem cells with the scaffolds. He earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science &

Engineering at University of Washington. He completed a National Research Council Postdoctoral

Fellowship at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) prior to joining UCF.

Scientific Sessions: Concurrent Sessions VI &VII

Saturday Morning Presentation # Conference Room: 1

Time Session VI: Biomaterials-2 (3D Scaffolds) Session Chair: Amol Janorkar, Ph.D., University of Mississippi Medical Center

Co-Chair Lauren Priddy, Ph.D., Mississippi State University

8:30 Keynote FREEZE-CASTING OF BIOMATERIAL SCAFFOLDS: A REVIEW OF PROGRESS

AND PERSPECTIVES ON FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Stephen Florczyk University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL

9:00 6-1 PRODUCTION OF BIOMATERIAL SCAFFOLDS WITH HIERARCHICAL

POROSITY THROUGH 3D PRINTING

Zi Wang, Stephen Florczyk


9:15 6-2 REMOVAL OF TITANIUM POWDERS FROM ADDITIVELY MANUFACTURED

CELLULAR STRUCTURES

Emma Hill, Fatemeh Hejripour, Ebrahim Asadi


9:30 6-3 DOPAMINE-ASSISTED NANO-HYDROXYAPATITE COATING ON 3D PRINTED

POLY(LACTIC-CO-GLYCOLIC ACID) SCAFFOLD

Weitong Chen, Luke Tucker, Landon Teer, Lauren B. Priddy

Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Mississippi State University, MS

9:45-10:00 BREAK


Saturday Morning Abstract # Conference Room: 2

Time Session VII: Computational-1 Session Chair: Yuanyuan Duan, Ph.D., University of Mississippi Medical Center

Co-Chair Kenneth Butler, Jr., Ph.D., University of Mississippi Medical Center

8:30 7-1 NON-INVASIVE GLUCOSE MONITORING SYSTEM WITH SERVER LINK

Ryan Tang Dan, Atif Saeed, Mohammed Benalla


8:45 7-2 A COMPUTATIONAL STUDY OF HUMAN HEAD RESPONSE TO IMPACT FROM A

SMALL UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM

Alex Smith, Yucheng Liu, Parker Berthelson, Raj Prabhu


9:00 7-3 A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON DATA MINING TECHNIQUES FOR BREAST

CANCER SURVIVABILITY PREDICTION

Christian Zamiela, Haifeng, Wang, Wenmeng, Tian, Linkan, Bian, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS

9:15 7-4 AN ADAPTIVE DEEP LEARNING MODEL FOR RETINAL DISEASE DIAGNOSIS

USING 3D MEDICAL IMAGES

Haifeng Wang


9:30 7-5 EXTRACELLULAR DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF VARIABLE STIFFNESS

ANKLE FOOT ORTHOSES UNDER LEVEL WALKING CONDITIONS VIA FINITE

ELEMENT ANALYSIS

Alex Ambro1, Gabriel Carbonell2, Hwan Choi2, Chi Hou Lei1 1Saint Louis University, St Louis, MO 2Central Florida University, Orlando, FL

9:45-10:00 BREAK

10:00-11:00 Workshop Workshop Speaker: Laura Cavallone, M.D. University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS

Title: Selection of Animal Models for Biomedical Research

Dr. Laura Cavallone is an Associate Professor and the Vice Chair for Research of the Department

of Anesthesiology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where she has been on Faculty

since October 2019. Dr. Cavallone initiated and advanced her career as a translational clinical

researcher at Washington University in St. Louis where she was invited in 2004 as visiting

professor after graduating from Medical School and specializing in Anesthesiology from the

University of Milan, and working in Milan for the first few years of her career. During her career

as a researcher she has been actively involved in several basic science and translational

investigations, mainly focusing on mechanisms of central sensitization and brain plasticity. From 2004 until 2019 she worked

in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Center of Washington University under the mentorship of and in collaboration

with Dr. Robert W. Gereau, PhD. Her main focus has been on central nervous system plasticity in response to pain, and on

human experimental pain models that may be suitable to study the clinical development of novel analgesics. As part of one of

her projects, she was PI and sponsor of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the FDA to study the

pharmacokinetic properties of the mGlu5 negative allosteric modulator fenobam and its effects on experimental pain.


11:30 -12:30 Plenary Speaker and Lunch

Title: Implant Biomaterials: Past Accomplishments, Current Advances,

And Future Trends

By

Rena Bizios, Ph.D.

Lutcher Brown, Chair and Professor

Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio

Professor Bizios has taught various undergraduate and graduate fundamental engineering

and biomedical engineering courses as well as developed new courses for biomedical

engineering curricula. She has mentored many undergraduate and graduate students, post-

doctoral fellows and junior faculty. Her research interests include cellular and tissue

engineering, tissue regeneration, biomaterials (including nanostructured ones) and

biocompatibility. She has co-authored a textbook (entitled An Introduction to Tissue-

Biomaterial Interactions), co-edited a book (Biological Interactions on Material Surfaces: Understanding and Controlling

Protein, Cell and Tissue Responses), authored/co-authored scientific publications and book chapters, and is co-inventor of

several patents/disclosures. She has given numerous presentations at scientific conferences and invited seminars/lectures in

academic institutions and industry. She has also organized and/or co-chaired numerous symposia and sessions at

regional/national/international conferences. Professor Bizios is a member, and has been an active participant (including elected

officer positions) in several professional societies. She is a member of the Editorial Board of five scientific/engineering journals.

Professor Bizios has participated in various national-level review committees and has served on numerous departmental,

School/College of Engineering and Institute/University committees.

Professor Bizios’ contributions to education and her research accomplishments have been recognized by the following:

Rensselaer Alumni Association Teaching Award ; Clemson Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Literature by the Society

for Biomaterials; Distinguished Scientist Award by the Houston Society for Engineering in Medicine and Biology; Women’s

Initiatives Mentorship Excellence Award by The American Institute of Chemical Engineers; Founders Award by the Society for

Biomaterials; Theo C. Pilkington Outstanding Educator Award by the Biomedical Engineering Division, American Society for

Engineering Education; Amber Award, The UTSA Ambassadors, The University of Texas at San Antonio; election as Charter

Member of the Academy of Distinguished Researchers, The University of Texas at San Antonio; the AIMBE Excellence in

STEM Education Award by the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering; and the Excellence in Biomaterials

Science Award by the Surfaces in Biomaterials Foundation. Professor Bizios is Fellow of five professional societies, specifically,

the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), International Union of the Societies for Biomaterials

Sciences and Engineering (IUSBES), Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), American Institute of Chemical Engineers

(AIChE), and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She is also member of the National

Academy of Medicine (NAM), the Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (TAMEST), International

Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering (IAMBE), and of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).


Keynote Speakers for Sessions VIII and IX

Session VIII Biomaterials-3 (Electrospinning/Chitosan): Time 12:45 pm

Dr. Joel Bumgardner


Title: CHITOSAN CHITOSAN

Session IX Neuroscience-2 (Biology/Chemical Influences): Time 12:45 pm

Dr. Abhay Bhatt


Title: INTERVENTIONS FOR ENCEPHALOPATHY OF PREMATURITY: STATE OF

EVIDENCE

After completing medical school and pediatric residency, Dr. Bhatt came to the USA for his training

in the field of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Dr. Bhatt

joined the UMMC in 2000 as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics. He is currently a Professor and

Director of Research in the Newborn division. As a physician-scientist, Dr. Bhatt has been

conducting both clinical and basic science research over the last twenty years. His primary research

interest is to understand molecular mechanisms of hypoxia-ischemia and inflammation-induced

injury to the developing brain, with the long-term goal to translate that knowledge into clinical

practice. Dr. Bhatt is nationally well recognized for his contribution to the research in the field of hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in

neonates and he has a broad collaboration with many investigators. He has published 30 manuscripts, more than 40 abstracts, and two

book chapters. As a neonatologist, he strives to achieve the highest standard of performance to provide support for the critically ill term

and preterm newborn infants and their families through compassionate clinical care. He cares deeply about their outcome, combining

that with his role as the director of research in the newborn division at UMMC, he is committed to the advancement of science in the

field of the developing brain.”


Scientific Sessions: Concurrent Sessions IX &X

Saturday Afternoon Presentation # Conference Room: 1

Time SessionVIII: Biomaterials-3 (Electrospinning/Chitosan) Session Chair: Narayan Bhattarai, Ph.D., NC A&T University

Co-Chair: Joel Bumgardner, Ph.D. University of Memphis

12:45 8-1 3D POROUS CHITOSAN-ALGINATE SCAFFOLD STIFFNESS DISCERNS

PROSTATE CANCER PHENOTYPIC DIFFERENCES

Kailei Xu1, Kavya Ganapathy1, Thomas Andl2, Zi Wang1, John Copland3, Ratna Chakrabarti1, Stephen Florczyk1 1University of Central Florida, Orlando, USA. 2University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL. 3Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL

1:00 8-2 NANONET-ELECTROSPUN MESH OF POLY (Ε-CAPROLACTONE) AND

CHITOSAN FOR CONTROLLED RELEASE OF DICLOFENAC SODIUM

Sheikh Saudi, Shanta Bhattarai, Narayan Bhattarai

NC A&T State University, Greensboro, NC

1:15 8-3 COVALENT ATTACHMENT OF CIS-2-DECENOIC ACID TO ELECTROSPUN

CHITOSAN MEMBRANES FOR BIOFILM INHIBITION

Carlos Wells, Alexis Johnson, Joel Bumgardner, Priya Murali, J. Amber Jennings


1:30 8-4 3D COLLAGEN-COATED CHITOSAN SCAFFOLDS ENHANCE TUMOR

PROGRESSION IN PROSTATE CANCER

Chong Bin He1, Kailei Xu2, Zi Wang2, Stephen Florczyk2,3 1College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL. 2Department of Material

Science and Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, 3Burnett School of

Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL

1:45 8-5 ELUTION OF CURCUMIN FROM ELECTROSPUN CHITOSAN MEMBRANES

FOR LOCAL DELIVERY SYSTEMS

Stasianne Mallin, Carlos Wells, Jessica Jennings, Joel Bumgardner, Vishnu Murali


2:00 Panel PANEL DISCUSSION ON COLLABORATIONS IN BIOMATERIALS RESEARCH

Ham Benghuzzi, Michelle Tucci, Michael Roach, Raj Prabhu, Narayan Bhattarai, Lauren

Priddy, and Amol Janorkar

2:45 BREAK

Saturday Afternoon Presentation # Conference Room: 2

Time Session IX: Neuroscience-2 (Biology/Chemical Influences) Session Chair: Yi Pang, Ph.D., University of Mississippi Medical Center

Co-Chair: H. Joon Lee, Ph.D., University of Mississippi Medical Center

12:45 Keynote INTERVENTIONS FOR ENCEPHALOPATHY OF PREMATURITY: STATE OF

EVIDENCE

Abhay Bhatt University of Mississippi Medical Center, Newborn Division, Jackson, MS

1:15 9-1 INTRANASAL INSULIN REDUCES HYPOXIA-ISCHEMIA-INDUCED NEURON

APOPTOSIS, BRAIN DAMAGE AND SENSORIMOTOR BEHAVIORAL DEFICITS

IN NEONATAL RATS

Sara Sandifer1,2, Chirag Talati2, Jonathan Lee2, Norma Ojeda2, Silu Lu2, Varsha Prakash2,

Nilesh Dankhara2, Lindsey Winborne2, Tanner Nielson2, Gene Bidwell3, Yi Pang2, Abhay

Bhatt2, Lir-Wan Fan2 1Summer Undergraduate Research Experience Program (SURE), University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, 2Department of Pediatrics, Division of Newborn Medicine,

University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS. 3Department of Neurology,


1:30 9-2 PROTOCOL FOR NANOPARTICLE DELIVERY OF THERAPEUTICS TO TREAT

TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

Claire Jones1, Chelsea Pernici2, Jeung Soo Lee3, Teresa Murray1 1LA Tech University, Ruston, LA, 2University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT. 3Clemson

University, Clemson, NC


1:45 9-3 GLUCOCORTICOID-INDUCED REDUCTION OF MYELINATION AND

CONNEXIN 43 IS PREVENTED BY MIFEPRISTONE IN RAT MIXED CENTRAL

NERVOUS SYSTEM CELL CULTURES

Jose Javier Miguel-Hidalgo, Kathleen Carter, Preston Hardin Deloach, Leon Sanders, Yi

Pang University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS

2:00 9-4 NITRIC OXIDE MODULATION AND CALCIUM DYSREGULATION IN BRAIN

ENDOTHELIAL AND ASTROCYTE CELLS CO-CULTURES DURING

INFLAMMATION

Neela Prajapati, Mark A. DeCoster Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA

2:15 9-5 MATERNAL IMMUNE ACTIVATION PROMOTES ABERRANT NEURAL

GROWTH IN OFFSPRING RATS

Yi Pang, Marco Loayza, Kathleen Carter, Lir-Wan Fan, Abhay Bhatt University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS

2:30 9-6 HISTOPATHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF PANC-1 EXPOSED TO VARIOUS

GLUCOSE CONCENTRATIONS

Lamar Hamil, Hamed Benghuzzi, and Michelle Tucci


2:45 BREAK

Keynote Speakers for Sessions X and IX

Session X Patient Rehabilitation: Time 3:00 pm

Dr. Felix Adah


Title: REHABILITATION INSTRUMENTS/MODALITIES: EFFICACY FOR

HEALING AND OR PAIN MODULATION

Dr. Adah was trained in Nigeria as a Physical Therapist at the University of Ife, Nigeria; did a

graduate study in Human Nutrition at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria and a PhD in Clinical Health

Sciences at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson Mississippi. Dr. Adah joined the

University of Mississippi Medical Center in 1999 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of

Physical Therapy where he was promoted to the rank of Professor in 2009. Clinically, he is a

comprehensive physical therapist who has worked in virtually all aspects of physical therapy but his

focus areas are manual therapy and geriatrics. Research works include but not limited to the following: the effects of statin on bone

healing following trauma and a pioneer study of the effect of low power laser treatment on traumatized disc in a rat model.


Session XI Drug Delivery- Cancer: Time 3:00 pm

Dr. Anthony McGoron

Florida International University, Miami, FL

Title: DRUG DELIVERY APPROACHES AGAINST CANCER: WHAT IS THE STATUS

OF NANOMEDICINE?

Anthony McGoron is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs

in the College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University. He received his PhD

in Biomedical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University and post-doctoral training in the

Department of Pharmacology and Cell Biophysics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

Before Joining FIU he was as Assistant Professor at the University of Cincinnati Department of

Radiology, Divisions of Nuclear Medicine and Medical Physics. He is a Fellow of the American

Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). He served as Interim Chair of the

Department of Biomedical Engineering from 2007-2010. He was National President to the Alpha Eta

Mu Beta Biomedical Engineering Honor Society 2010-2014. He has over 200 journal articles, book

chapters and proceeding papers. He has received funding from the NIH, NSF, DOD, AHA, and Fl-

DOH as well as numerous companies. His primary area of research focuses on biosensing and image guided therapy of cancer using

polymer and inorganic nanoparticles and small molecules. Imaging modalities include nuclear (PET/SPECT), near-infrared

fluorescence, and Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy.

Scientific Sessions: Concurrent Sessions X &XI

Saturday Evening Presentation # Conference Room: 1

Time Session X: Patient Rehabilitation Session Chair: Felix Adah, Ph.D., University of Mississippi Medical Center

Co-Chair: Mohammed Benalla, Ph.D., Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology

3:00 Keynote EFFICACY OF NEGATIVE PRESSURE WOUND THERAPY COMPARED TO

STANDARD OF CARE ON PATIENTS WITH ULCERS AND OTHER NON-

HEALING CHRONIC WOUNDS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Felix Adah, Min Huang, Lisa Barnes, Anthony Pike, Travis Burdick, Norris Clark, and Ruben

Ruiz.


3:30 10-1 ARE CLINICAL POST-CONCUSSION TESTS RELIABLE? A PILOT STUDY OF

TEST-RETEST RELIABILITY OF SELECTED POST-CONCUSSION TESTS

Gabrielle Diaz, Karla Easterling, Tyler Luchtefeld, Janet Slaughter, Meredith Flowers, Ryan

McGlawn, Cody Pannel, Ryan Bab, Kim Curbow Wilcox1, Jennifer Reneker 1University of Mississippi Medical Center, School of Health Related Professions Department

of Physical Therapy, Jackson, MS

3:45 10-2 BLOOD FLOW RESTRICTION MODALITIES ON QUADRICEPS INTEGRITY

POST-ACL RECONSTRUCTION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

James Ingram, Jacob McIlwain , Kyle White, Peyton Willoughby, Ryan McGlawn University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS

4:00 10-3 ASSOCIATION OF QUALITY OF SLEEP AND PHYSICAL FUNCTIONING IN THE

ELDERLY POPULATION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Sherry Colson, Morgan Lott, Lauren Demuth, Ben Nhek, Kaleb Smith


4:15 10-4 DOES TIBIAL NERVE STIMULATION HAVE AN IMPACT ON INCONTINENCE IN

PEOPLE DIAGNOSED WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS? A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

OF THE LITERATURE


Haley Haygood Lewis, LeAnndra Griffith, Cody Lewis, Blake Patrick, and Kimberly Willis


4:30 BREAK

Saturday Evening Presentation # Conference Room: 2

Time Session XI: Drug Delivery-Cancer Session Chair: Mahavir B Chougule, Ph.D., University of Mississippi

Co-Chair: Vladimir Reukov, Ph.D., University of Georgia

3:15 Keynote DRUG DELIVERY APPROACHES AGAINST CANCER: WHAT IS THE STATUS

OF NANOMEDICINE?

Anthony McGoron


3:30 11-1 MICRONEEDLE MEDIATED DERMAL AND TRANSDERMAL DELIVERY OF

DRUGS

S. Narasimha Murthy

The University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, University, MS

3:45 11-2 INHALED NANOMEDICINE FOR THE TREATMENT OF LUNG CANCER

Mahavir B Chougule, Associate Professor of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery and Research Associate Professor in the Research of Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences,

Department of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, School of Pharmacy, University of

Mississippi, University, MS

4:00 11-3 EXTRACELLULAR NANOVESICLES: POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS IN

CANCER DIAGNOSIS, PROGNOSIS AND THERAPY

Ajay Singh,

Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Program Leader, Cancer Biology, Mitchell

Cancer Institute, University of South Alabama, , Mobile, AL

4:15 11-4 FUNDAMENTAL PROPERTIES OF CELLULOSE NANOCRYSTAL STABILIZED

EMULSIONS

Sanjiv Parajulia, Trey Heatha, Leeta Pratera, Kevin Greena, Mohammad Jahid Hasana,

Frankie A. Petrieb, Ashley E Johnsona, Erick S. Vasquezb, Esteban Urena-Benavidesa a Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677 b Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH

4:30 BREAK

Saturday, March 23, 2019 5:00-10:00 pm- Enjoy NOLA

New Orleans Tours Bus Transportation to and from the French Quarter

Sign up at registration desk

Pick-up 1: Crowne Plaza 5:00 pm Drop Off: French Quarter 5:45 pm

Pick-up 2: Crowne Plaza 6:45 pm Drop Off: French Quarter 7:15 pm

Return 1: French Quarter 8:00pm Drop Off Crowne Plaza 8:30 pm

Return 2: French Quarter 10:00 pm Drop Off Crowne Plaza 10:30 pm


Sunday March 8, 2020

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://emresolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/SEM-Products-Image-hp.jpg&imgrefurl=https://emresolutions.com/&docid=qFVCzzrw4x0ydM&tbnid=XGsMBNaIRszBKM:&vet=10ahUKEwjRkMGSruLYAhVFb60KHeIwA2EQMwiAAigiMCI..i&w=300&h=223&bih=575&biw=1034&q=sem picture&ved=0ahUKEwjRkMGSruLYAhVFb60KHeIwA2EQMwiAAigiMCI&iact=mrc&uact=8


Sunday, March 8, 2020

7:00 am-1:00 pm Registration (Hotel Lobby)

Keynote Speaker for Session XII

Session XII Biomaterials-4 (Metals): Time 8:30 am

Dr. Michael Roach


Title: DEVELOPMENT OF TITANIUM OXIDE IMPLANT COATINGS TO

PROMOTE BOTH ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY AND STIMULATE

OSSEOINTEGRATION

Dr. Michael D. Roach received both his BS Degree and MS Degree from the Department of

Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Mississippi State University. He then acquired a

Materials Engineer research position in the Biomaterials Department at the University of

Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) School of Dentistry in 2000. The UMMC department was

later renamed to Biomedical Materials Science (BMS) in 2005, and developed a new graduate

school program under the School of Graduate Studies in Health Sciences. Dr. Roach became the

first PhD graduate of the new BMS program in the Fall of 2010, and was immediately offered a faculty position in the department. He

currently serves as an associate professor in the BMS Department, and leads the development of metallic biomaterials and implant

coatings for use in dental and orthopedic biomaterials. In 2016 and 2019, he received the UMMC Bronze and Silver Medallions for

Research Excellence for his accomplishments. To date, he has published 29 journal articles, 2 book chapters, and has amassed 100+

conference presentations and invited lectures. Dr. Roach is also very active in standardization of metallic implantable materials, and

currently serves leadership roles in both the ISO and ASTM International standard organizations. For ISO, he serves as the ANSI USA

voting delegate for metallic implantable materials as part of the ISO TC 150 SC1 WG4 working group. For ASTM, he serves as the

committee secretary for the ASTM F04.12 subcommittee. Dr. Roach recently received the ASTM International Leroy Wyman award

in May 2018 for his outstanding contributions to implant materials standardization. Additionally, he serves as an active member in a

number of professional organizations including the American Association for Dental Research (AADR/IADR), the Academy of Dental

Materials (ADM), the Failure Analysis Society (FAS), and the Society for Biomaterials (SFB).

March 8, 2020 Scientific Sessions: Concurrent Sessions XII & XIII

Sunday Morning Presentation # Conference Room: 1

Time Session XII: Biomaterials-4 (Metals)

Session Chair: Michael Roach, Ph.D., University of Mississippi Medical Center

Co-Chair: Anthony McGoron, Ph.D., Florida International University

8:30 Keynote DEVELOPMENT OF TITANIUM OXIDE IMPLANT COATINGS TO PROMOTE BOTH

ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY AND STIMULATE OSSEOINTEGRATION

Michael Roach


8:50 12-1 PHOTOCATALYTIC ACTIVITY OF ANATASE COATINGS ON A SERIES OF

TITANIUM IMPLANT ALLOYS

Haden Johnson, Chappel Pettit, Caleb Hardman, Amol Janorkar, Michael Roach



9:05 12-2 DEVELOPMENT OF MODELS FOR MAGNESIUM ALLOYS FOR USE IN

BIOMEDICAL IMPLANTS

Doyl Dickel, Sara Adibi, Phong Phan


9:20 12-3 Al0.1CoCrFeNi HIGH ENTROPY ALLOY FOR PERIPHERAL VASCULAR

STENT IMPLANT APPLICATION

Nilesh Kumar

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

9:35 12-4 INFLUENCE OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES ON THE BIODEGRADATION

OF MAGNESIUM ALLOYS

Chiamaka Okafor and Norman Munroe

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Department, Florida International University,

Miami, FL

9:50 BREAK


Time Session XIII: Computational-2

Session Chair: Raj Prabhu, Ph.D., Mississippi State University

Co-Chair: Jamil Ibrahim, Ph.D., University of Mississippi Medical Center 8:30 13-1 In-Silico BIOMECHANICAL MODELS FOR AFFECTED MUSCLE IN

TRANSTIBIAL AMPUTEES

Joseph Dranetz1, Matthew Stock1, Michael Carrol2, Michael Varro2, Ulas Bagci1,

Heather Cornnell3, Hwan Choi1 1University of Central Florida, Orlando,FL, 2United States Department of Veterens

Affairs, Orlando, FL 3AdventHealth, Orlando, FL

8:45 13-2 DEVELOPMENT OF MEAM WITH BOND ORDER (MEAM-BO) FORCE FIELD FOR C-

H-O-N-S IN BIOMECHANICAL APPLICATIONS

Sungkwang Mun1,2, Michael Baskes2, Doyl Dickel1,2 1Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, Starkville, MS 2Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS

9:00 13-3 STRAIN-DEPENDENT RECOVERY RESPONSE OF PHOSPHOLIPID

BILAYER MEMBRANE SYSTEMS FOLLOWING BIAXIAL DEFORMATION

Michael Murphy, Raj Prabhu


9:15 134 COMPRESSIVE BEHAVIOR OF PORCINE SKIN AND ITS MATERIAL

MODELING

Fernando Dall’Aqua, Nayeon Lee, Raj Prabhu


9:30 13--5 AUTOMATED SEGMENTATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF LIPID

DROPLETS IN HEPATIC STEATOSIS

Utsav Shrestha, Aaryani Sajja, Marie Van Der Merwe, Nirman Kumar

The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN

9:45 BREAK


Keynote Speaker for Session XV

Session XV Computational Bioengineering - 2: Time 10:00 am

Need info

Dr. Amit Roy Chowdhury

Indian Institute of Engineering Science & Technology, India

Title: PATIENT SPECIFIC BONE GRAFT DESIGNING BY MIMICKING THE

STIFFNESS TO ACHIEVE OSSEO-INTEGRATION FRIENDLY MECHANICAL

ENVIRONMENT AT PERI-IMPLANT BONE

Dr Amit Roychowdhury is now the professor and Head of Dept. of Aerospace Engineering& Applied

Mechanics, IIEST, Shibpur, India. He is working in the area of biomechanics and biomaterials for past

28 years. He did his graduation from CU, and masters from IIT Kharagpur. He did his PhD from JU,

India. He has already published more than 92 journal papers in different peer-reviewed journals and

more than 75 national and international conference papers. He has investigated 10 projects funded by different Govt. agencies (DST,

DBT, UGC, etc. of Govt. of India) as a principle investigator. 15 scholars had already completed their PhD and 7 PhD scholars are

working currently under his supervision. He also supervised more than 35 industrial consultancy jobs in his last 23 years of teaching

career. He was also a visiting assistant professor in State University of New York, at Downstate Medical Centre, NY, USA in the year

2008-09.

Scientific Sessions: Concurrent Sessions XIV & XV


Time Session XIV: Neuroscience – 3 (Developmental Aspects)

Session Chair: Lu Tai Tien, Ph.D., Fu Jen Catholic University

Co-Chair: Lir-Wan Fan, Ph.D., University of Mississippi Medical Center

10:00 14-1 NEONATAL SYSTEMIC EXPOSURE TO LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE ENHANCES

METHAMPHETAMINE-INDUCED SENSITIZATION LATER IN LIFE

Lu-Tai Tien1, Yih-Jing Lee1, Jen-Ai Lee2, Lir-Wan Fan3 1School of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan. 2College of Pharmacy,

Taipei Medical University, Taipei City, Taiwan. 3Department of Pediatrics, Division of Newborn

Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, USA

10:15 14-2 PREVALENCE AND RELATIVE RISK FOR DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY ASSOCIATED

WITH PREMATURITY IN A HOSPITAL-BASED PEDIATRIC POPULATION IN

MISSISSIPPI

Irene Arguello1, Lir-Wan Fan2, Norma Ojeda2 1School of Health Related Professions-University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 2Department of Pediatrics-Newborn Medicine Division-University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS

10:30 14-3 ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER DIAGNOSIS USING BRAIN

FUNCTIONAL NETWORK PATTERN RECOGNITION

Harun Pirim, Haifeng Wang


10:45 14-4 INCREASED OXIDATIVE STRESS AND ALTERED INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE IN

NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DELAY ASSOCIATED WITH INTRAUTERINE GROWTH

RESTRICTION IN RAT OFFSPRING

Norma Ojeda1, Irene Arguello2, Jayden Smith3, Matthew Hairston3, Jonathan Lee1, Varsha Prakash1, Xiaoli Dai4, Lir-Wan Fan1 1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Newborn Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center,

Jackson, MS 2School of Health Related Professions, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, USA. 3Base Pair Program, University of Mississippi Medical Center/Murrah High School,

Jackson, MS 4Department of Anesthesiology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS

11:00 14-5 PREECLAMPSIA INDUCES CHRONIC INFLAMMATION IN THE SPINAL CORD AND

DEVELOPS HYPERALGESIA DURING PREGNANCY


Hyun Joon Lee1,2, Jumi Chung1,2, Marianne Lee3,4, Nilesh Dankhara4, Jonathan Lee4, Eric Chen4,

Norma Ojeda4, Xiaoli Dai5, Michelle Tucci5, Lir-Wan Fan4 1Department of Neurology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS. 2Research

Services, G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center, Jackson, MS. 3Mississippi INBRE Research

Scholars Program, Jackson, MS 4Department of Pediatrics, Division of Newborn Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS. 5Department of Anesthesiology, University

of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS

11:15 14-6 PRENATAL INFLAMMATION EXACERBATES INTRAUTERINE GROWTH

RESTRICTION-INDUCED COGNITIVE DYSFUNCTION IN JUVENILE RATS

Lir-Wan Fan1, Lu-Tai Tien2, Jonathan Lee1, Silu Lu1, Irene Arguello3, Xiaoli Dai4, Nilesh Dankhara1, Yi Pang1, Abhay Bhatt1, Renate Savich1, Norma Ojeda1 1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Newborn Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center,

Jackson, MS 2School of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan. 3School of Health Related Professions, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS. 4Department of

Anesthesiology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS

11:30 14-7 TEMPO CELLULOSE SUBSTRATUM FOR STEM CELL DIFFERENTIATION IN VITRO

AND SCIATIC NERVE CRUSH TREATMENT in vivo

Krishna D. Sharma1, Soma Shekar Dachavaram2, John P. More II3, Jamie A Hestekin3, Peter A

Crooks2, Jennifer Y. Xie4 1Biological Sciences and Arkansas Biosciences Institute, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR 2Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Arkansas for Medical

Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 3Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Arkansas,

Fayetteville, AR, 4Department of Basic Sciences, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Jonesboro, AR

11:45 BREAK


Time Session XV: Computational Bioengineering - 2

Session Chair: Lauren Priddy, Ph.D., Mississippi State University

Co-Chair: Mahavir B Chougule, Ph.D., University of Mississippi

10:00 Keynote PATIENT SPECIFIC BONE GRAFT DESIGNING BY MIMICKING THE STIFFNESS TO

ACHIEVE OSSEO-INTEGRATION FRIENDLY MECHANICAL ENVIRONMENT AT

PERI-IMPLANT BONE

Amit Roy Chowdhury Indian Institute of Engineering Science & Technology, Shibpur, Howrah, India

10:30 15-1 MULTI-OBJECTIVE DESIGN OF A CANINE VENTRICULOPERITONEAL SHUNT FOR

HYDROCEPHALUS

Ryan Yingling1, Matthew Register1, Anand Balu Nellippallil2, Travis Hannan1, Jack Simmons1, Andy

Shores3, Raj K. Prabhu2 1Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Mississippi State University, Starkville,

MS. 2Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS. 3Department of Clinical Sciences, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS

10:45 15-2 THE EFFECTS OF A REPEATED SUB-CONCUSSIVE BRAIN INJURY USING A RAT

MODEL

Anna-Marie Dulaney1,2, Russell Carr3, Lauren Priddy1,2, Raj Prabhu1,2 1Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Mississippi State, MS 2Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, Starkville, MS 3College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State, MS

11:00 15-3 HIGH PHOSPHATE LEVEL IN ECONOMICAL DIETS LEAD TO VASCULAR

CALCIFICATION

Eric Lucas, LaShan Simpson Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS

11:15 15-4 THE EFFECT OF TRANSCUTANEOUS ELECTRICAL NERVE STIMULATION AT

HEGU ACUPUNCTURE POINT ON SPINAL MOTOR NEURON EXCITABILITY IN

PEOPLE WITHOUT KNOWN NEUROMUSCULAR DISEASES

Huang M1, Dai XL2, Adah F1, Barnes L1, Benghuzzi H2, Antonio V Hayes3 and Dobrivoje S Stokic3.

1Department of Physical Therapy, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, 2Department of Anesthesiology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, and 3Neurophysiological Research Laboratories, The Methodist Rehabilitation Center, Jackson, MS


11:30 15-5 THE NEED FOR COMPLEMENTARY ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE HANDBOOK FOR

PRACTITIONERS: THE NEW MEDICATION BOOK

Lashanda Brumfield, Ham Benghuzzi, and Elgenaid Hamadain

Piedmont College, Demorest GA, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson MS

11:45 BREAK

12:00-1:00 pm: Workshop 2- FDA Approval and Clinical Trials

Workshop Speakers: Chris, Laura, and Gouri

1:00-1:30pm: General Assembly

Student Award Presentations

ABSTRACTS Session 1: Clinical Applications-1

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A RECUMBENT

PATIENT WEIGHING SCALE FOR PEDIATRICS

Kayla Rettig, Linda Thompson, Alan Eberhardt

University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, USA

For emergency departments and emergency medical services, weight-based

medications are difficult to administer, as medical personnel do not have a

means to obtain accurate patient weights. Paramedics generally rely on

visual estimation or pediatric height-age based estimation tools in order to

obtain weight. Over the past year, a team of biomedical engineering students

worked to design and fabricate a weighing device for in-ambulance use. This

device consists of three separate scales, wired together as one, that attach to

the base of an ambulance stretcher. Each scale consists of a platform of

syntactic foam and four strain gauge load sensors. An Arduino combines the

three weight measurements and displays the total weight on a liquid crystal

display. Validation was completed using an accuracy test, where the device

was compared to the standing weight of each participant; Estimations using

the Broselow tape and Pedi-Wheel were also recorded. The data were used

to determine if the device was reading accurately, and to see if the recumbent

scale performed better than current methods used by paramedics. After the

device was working properly and calibrated, it was tested by paramedics so

that they could provide feedback regarding the accuracy, usefulness, and

durability of the device. The results indicated that this prototype works as

well as, if not better than, the Broselow tape and Pedi-Wheel. Paramedics

expressed some concerns regarding durability and reliability. Future

modifications to the scales, including changes to the material, may help to

improve the durability, and further calibration may improve reliability. 38

USER TESTING TO ESTABLISH NEEDS FOR IKE (IN-HOME KID

EXERCISER)

Ezzuddin Abuhussein, Nathan McWain, Sarah Owens, Addie Yazbak, Alan

Eberhardt

University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, USA

For children with mobility impairments, achieving high levels of physical

activity is difficult. Over time, lack of physical activity can lead to secondary

conditions such as obesity and cardiovascular diseases that significantly

increase morbidity/mortality and reduce quality of life. Physical activity has

been clearly linked to reduction of secondary complications; however,

physical, economic, and psychological barriers for this population prohibit

access to fitness equipment. Translational rehabilitation technologies are

needed that promote safe and effective physical activity and fitness at home.

We developed a motorized elliptical machine with overhead body weight

support. User testing on children with neuromuscular conditions was

performed at United Ability in Birmingham, Alabama. The team met with

six parents, whose children (ages 16 mo - 12 yrs) had cerebral palsy,

hydrocephalus, and/or developmental delays. Discovering difficulties with

our harness, we discontinued its use and implemented a Rifton gait trainer to

position the children over the elliptical, which was found to be much more

efficient. Feedback from the parents indicated that they were impressed with

the ease of use, how comfortable their child seemed, and how well it

simulated walking, amd their willingness to pay $200-$5,000. Based upon

the parent feedback, we have devised a set of need specifications for a

pediatric gait trainer, including adjustable assistance, differential resistance,

adjustable sizing, useful in home setting at less than $3000. These need

specifications will provide direction for the team to design and construct the

next generation device, which we call IKE (the In-home Kid Exerciser).

THE EFFECT OF TRODE AND FOOT PREPARATION ON

TRANSCUNEAL EXTRACORPOREAL SHOCKWAVE DELIVERY

TO THE EQUINE NAVICULAR BONE

Robin Fontenot1, James Wooten2, Mandy Cha1, Patrick Foth1, Robert Wills3,

Ben Nabors1

1Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine Department of

Clinical Sciences, Mississippi State, MS, USA. 2Mississippi State University

Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Mississippi State,

MS, USA. 3Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine

Department of Basic Sciences, Mississippi State, MS, USA

Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) is a promising treatment option

for equine navicular syndrome; however, there is little information regarding

optimal ESWT protocols. Our study objectives were to determine the effect

of foot soaking and trode on transcuneal shockwave transmission to the

navicular bone. We hypothesized that readings would be highest for soaked

feet treated with a 35 mm trode. The distal forelimbs of donated equine

cadavers (n=12) were used for testing. One randomly chosen foot was

soaked in room temperature water for 12 hours and the contralateral foot was

left unsoaked. A piezoelectric sensor was inserted along the flexor surface

of the navicular bone, and feet were treated using an electrohydraulic ESWT

unit. A two-factor analysis was used to investigate the effect of trode,

soaking, and their interaction by treating both feet with a 20 mm and 35 mm

trode. Data logging was accomplished with a digital oscilloscope and data

were converted to megapascals (MPa). The effect of trode and condition on

log 10 MPa was assessed using linear mixed models. Significance was set at

p<0.05. The trode by condition interaction was significant (p=0.0363). The

mean log 10 MPa for the unsoaked feet treated with the 20 mm trode was

significantly lower than for the unsoaked feet treated with the 35 mm trode

(p<0.0001), but no difference was detected between the trodes in soaked

limbs. Based on these results, a 35 mm trode performs better than a 20 mm

trode when the foot is not soaked.

KAIROS

Gabriel Rios1, Sepehr Ramezani2, Hwan Choi3

1UCF, Orlando Florida, USA. 2UCF, Orlando, USA. 3UCF, Orlando,

Falkland Islands (Malvinas)

Passive ankle prostheses are the most common prosthetic device used by

people with lower limb amputation. They use an energy recycling

mechanism that mimics the behavior of the Achilles tendon and

gastrocnemius muscle [1]. The passive ankle prosthetic feet, which is usually

made of carbon fiber, similarly stores energy during early to mid-stance by

bending under the body’s weight. This energy is returned to the gait as the

weight of the body is shifted off of the device during terminal stance.

However, current passive ankle prostheses return the stored energy too early,

dissipating most of the energy pushing the limb upward rather than

propelling body forward due to the absence of any muscle control [2].

In this study, we developed a timing module that can control the energy

return timing of an ankle prostheses, replicating the function of the

gastrocnemius muscle. The timing module is designed to be installed onto

most current standard of care prosthetic feet without major modifications.

The timing module controls the energy release timing of the carbon fiber foot

by holding it in deformation until later in the gait cycle, increasing the

propulsion generated by the passive prosthetic device. This mechanism can

potentially reduce the metabolic cost of walking for people with transtibial

amputation [3].

USE OF REAL-TIME VOICE INTEGRATED AUTOMATED

RESUSCITATION RECORDER (ARR) DURING NEONATAL

RESUSCITATION

Jagdish Desai, Jaimin Patel, Abhay Bhatt, Nilesh Dankhara


Statement of Problem: Accurate documentation of the resuscitation events

is still challenging, and there is no consistent method/document

recommended by NRP to improve compliance. Due to the lake of guidance,

there is significant variability as well as poor compliance exists in following

NRP algorithm steps promptly and with appropriate documentation.

(Textbook of Neonatal Resuscitation (NRP), 7th Ed).

Primary Hypothesis: We hypothesize that adding a new technology using the

concept of Automated Resuscitation Recorder (ARR) to the human factor


during resuscitation will improve the compliance with NRP algorithm steps

and accuracy of real-time documentation.

Specific Aim: Our specific aim is to evaluate the reliability and feasibility of

“Automated Resuscitation Recorder (ARR)” using SimNewB simulation.

Our specific goals are (1) to improve documentation accuracy of the events

including assigning APGAR score in real-time and (2) to improve

compliance of the NRP algorithm steps by providing simple voice guidance

for specific major steps.

Background: Timely intervention and its documentation during resuscitation

are crucial. Extensive evidence supports that following the Neonatal

Resuscitation Program (NRP) algorithm steps on time may improve neonatal

outcomes. A sense of urgency, limited personnel and a lack of standardized

documentation templates may make these tasks very challenging during

resuscitation. Team and role assignments are even more challenging in

smaller community and rural hospitals due to limited personnel. This often

leads to multi-tasking, which has been shown to decrease the efficiency and

quality of neonatal resuscitation. Real-time documentation plays a vital role

in improving resuscitation efforts, post-resuscitation care, family counseling,

quality improvement, research, education and for addressing medico-legal

issues. Unfortunately, no standard exists that may be applicable for all

settings during resuscitation. Automated electronic devices and their

feasibility have not been tested so far.

Methods: Technology: ARR is a component of the bigger project named

“Virtual Resuscitation Provider (VRP)” system. The documentation part is

named as ARR, and it is a tablet-based application. This program has been

invented and designed at the University of Mississippi Medical Center

(UMMC, patent pending). Event annotations can be made in the system via

an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system or via manual buttons on the

device, i.e. “Delivered,” “Positive Pressure Ventilation (PPV),” “Intubation”

and so forth. The system will also maintain a record of the events which can

be printed or transmitted to electronic medical record (EMR). Besides, the

APGAR score timer will start as soon as the delivery command is executed

and it will pop-up APGR scoreboard to document AGAR in real-time.

Results: Early feasibility study (EFS) of the ARR system is been tested in a

simulation environment. Experiment for specific aims is being conducted at

the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Neonatal Simulation Center.

THE EVOLUTION OF BIOMEDICAL COMMUNICATION

SYSTEMS IN PATIENTS WITH LOCKED-IN SYNDROME

Tyler Wyatt, Gloriajean Wallace, Ph.D.

Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, USA

Locked-in syndrome is a rare neurological disorder in which there is

complete paralysis of all voluntary muscles excluding vertical eye

movements. Although cognitive abilities remain intact, these individuals are

mute and unable to communicate nonverbally. Consequently, people with

Locked-in syndrome are often ignored due to their limited ability to

volitionally interact with others. Recent technological advances offer these

individuals alternative forms of communication. This presentation will

discuss the neurological underpinnings and characteristics of Locked-in

syndrome. It will also describe three electroencephalogram-based

communication systems designed for affected individuals. System 1 enables

communication using yes/no response. System 2 involves more

sophisticated hardware-software design with an EEG module and a tablet

that displays six basic needs: food, water, help, sleep, entertainment and

bathroom/toileting. Software for this device contains an algorithm, an

android application and an online database. These systems interact to

generate a voice message that informs caregivers of the person’s needs. A

third system involves an eye tracking brain-computer interface system. This

enables the person with remaining ocular motor control to use eye movement

as a way of eliciting responses using another communication device.

Implications for biomedical technology usage are discussed in terms of

potentially greater life changing developments in the future.

SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW: THE ASSOCIATION OF

NSAID ON IMPLANT FAILURE RATE AND ITS ROLE ON

DELAYED BONE HEALING AND NONUNION

Stefan Medina, Michelle Tucci, Ramon Jackson, and Ham Benghuzzi

Department of Anesthesiology, University of Mississippi Medical Center,

Jackson, MS

Pain management is an important part of any surgical procedure, and

different approach may warrant distinct management strategies. The

literature is lacking conclusive studies regarding the pain induction and

therapy. The purpose of this systematic review is to specifically to focus on

major published and reliable documentations pertaining to induced bone pain

resulting from dental and orthopedics implant. The rational of conducting

this investigation due to major controversy literature regarding pain

management in post-operative medical conditions.

It is well known that most NSAIDs are non-selective COX 1 and 2 inhibitors.

Via this mechanism, they are excellent analgesics and anti-inflammatory

medications. They also play an important role in multimodal approaches to

pain management, especially in a time where the opioid crisis is of major

concern. Unfortunately, NSAIDs are avoided by many health care providers

due to their inhibition of the cascade of inflammatory pathway especially

COX 2 enzymatic reaction. This route of pain management is needed for the

differentiation of meditators that stimulate the conversion of embryonic

mesenchymal cells into bone making cells (osteoblasts). Although

theoretically this may be true, there are many other factors that must be taken

into consideration, such as drug dose, length of time taken, route of

administration. In addition, there are also patient factors that may favor non-

union or delayed healing, such as smoking and nutritional status, and co-

morbidities. There were a total of eight documented studies included in this

project. The selected studies represent different species and utilization of

NSAID in both dental and fractures post op therapy. Even though there are

differences in the magnitude of reducing pain among these studies, however,

the argument can be made that NSAIDs can play a critical part in pain

management for these patients.

A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE OBSTACLES AND

FACILITATIONS TO TRANSDERMAL DELIVERY

Ramon Jackson, Michelle Tucci, Stefan Medina, and Ham Benghuzzi

Department of Anesthesiology, University of Mississippi Medical Center,

Jackson, MS

The route of drug administrations was considered a major challenge to an

effective treatment of major medical disturbances. Conventional means of

drug administration such as injections, oral, lotion …etc have failed to

achieve favorable results. The rational of this stems in the notion that the

ability of a biologically active substance to have an effect on the body is

limited by the proximity of the intact substance to its target location. Contact

with the target is largely determined by anatomical properties, as well as, the

physicochemical properties of the substance and whether or not these allow

for a direct path. As advancements in drug development continue, there will

also be a need to facilitate an alternative delivery mechanisms to

conventional methods so that these drugs can reach locations to which there

are physiological barriers. Transdermal delivery of parenteral medications

produces less waste, maintains a more consistent steady state concentration,

and reduces the risk of side effects while providing a simple means of

discontinuing the drug in the event of adverse effects. In this systematic

review, the anatomical and physicochemical barriers that drugs encounter

were examined, as well as, the current methods to circumvent these barriers.

Relevant literature available within PubMed and published within the last 10

years was considered only if it also includes mechanistic information on the

facilitation or inhibition of the drug to a target. In addition, the risk of bias

across and in individual studies were considered. The results of qualifying

individual studies were compiled to form an up-to-date outline of the

available methods. The summary of these findings illustrated that

transdermal method of treatment has shown to be more effective in reducing

or eliminating the side effects encountered through traditional drug

administration. The literature also revealed that more population studies

have to be conducted to solidify the efficacy of transdermal delivery system.

Session 2: Education

YEAR TWO: STUDENTS UNDERSTANDING CHEMISTRY

CONCEPTS TO ENHANCE STEM SKILLS (SUCCESS)


Naomi Campbell1, Solomon Garner2, Barbara Howard3, Barbara Graham2,

Julia Saloni1, and Timothy Turner2

1Department of Chemistry, Physics and Atmospheric Sciences, 2Department

of Biology, and 3Department of Professional Interdisciplinary Studies,


The Jackson State University (JSU) Department of Biology is experiencing

a low graduation rate for its majors. Data shows that the first four chemistry

courses (General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry) are major barriers to

the success of many JSU biology majors. In this NSF-sponsored grant

entitled “Students Understanding Chemistry Concepts to Enhance STEM

Skills (SUCCESS)”, faculty members from two colleges partnered to design

a plan to improve the low four-year graduation rates among biology majors.

The primary goal of the SUCCESS Program is to reduce the “D-F-

Withdraw” (DFW) rates for biology majors in each chemistry course to 25%

or less. The SUCCESS Program uses a mixed-methods approach for

evaluation that includes: active learning strategies, pre- and post-tests,

surveys, focus groups, and end of course grades. Throughout the semester,

students enrolled in the general chemistry I and II lectures mandatorily or

voluntarily participated in two-hour per week SUCCESS sessions. Currently

all general chemistry I students are involved in active learning using the

Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) pedagogy. The general

chemistry I course offered, has experience a 54% decrease in persons failing

the course as a result of the intervention based on prior semesters.

Statistically, improvement in student retention (drop with “W” & drop within

“drop/add” period) course has improved by 25%. The major impact of the

SUCCESS Program is directly tied to its ability to enhance students’

understanding of chemistry concepts over the funding period and for years

to come. Although data is still being collected and evaluated, the SUCCESS

Program to date has had a positive impact on students understanding of

chemistry and the way chemistry is taught at JSU.

MOTIVATING STEM INTERESTS THROUGH RESEARCH

TRAINING AT HBCU

Maricica Pacurari


High school students have intentions to choose STEM disciplines, however

attaining a final degree is less successful. Recent studies showed that half of

those choosing STEM disciplines earn a degree within 4 to 6 years or even

longer after entering the college. These results indicate that: 1) STEM

programs need to be well developed and suited to sustain STEM students

throughout the 4-year programs; and 2) STEM programs must offer a

comprehensive education pathway to ease student’s learning and to sustain

student’s passion for STEM disciplines.

Therefore to attain and sustain student’s interest and excellence in STEM

programs, the entire community including, STEM colleges, funding

agencies, local funding agencies, and high schools must collaborate to

develop education pathways to engage the students starting early in their

high schools and continuing throughout the college. While many factors

influence student’s interest in STEM programs factors such as course

sequence, quality of teaching, grading policies, undergraduate learning

environments, student support, extracurricular activities, and student’s

understating of academia in general must be addressed to circumvent

student’s loss of interest in the chosen STEM discipline.

To increase STEM students’ interest in STEM disciplines literature suggests:

1) re-examination of the existing science-based curriculum and re-

configuration of course objectives; and 2) design and implement inquiry-

based courses and real-time undergraduate research and industry

collaborations to emphasize real-world research experience.

It is envisioned that these activities would advance student’s motivation to

continue education in STEM disciplines and prepare them for STEM careers

particularly of STEM graduates from underserved groups.

BABY BOOMER FACULTY MEETS MILLENNIAL LEARNER

Gloria Miller. College of Science, Engineering, and Technology, Jackson

State University, Jackson, MS

The millennial population (born between 1981 and 1996) is estimated to be

more than 100 million. The most striking differences that Millennials bring

to the university, when compared to other cohorts throughout history, are

their preferences for collaborating, connecting, and creating social change.

Research indicates that Millennial students appreciate being able to work

together and to use technology to interact with each other. The challenges

that Millennials will encounter after they graduate, however, will require

complex problem-solving and collaboration skills, including the ability to

define problems, pose questions, evaluate evidence, and express themselves

clearly. To meet these challenges, faculty must be prepared to facilitate

cooperation, prepare students for cross-cultural interaction, cultivate

knowledge creation, and promote engagement inside and outside the

classroom. Since Baby Boomer faculty members and Millennial learners are

most representative of the faculty-student demographic in most universities,

this paper addresses teaching and learning preferences of each. Further, we

offer recommendations for tailoring these preferences to meet the needs of

millennial learners in ways that will lead to 1) increased student learning of

core concepts, 2) increased student retention, and 3) better preparation of

students to enter into the job market.

CYTOPATHOLOGY EDUCATION TRAINING ASPECTS OF

DEVELOPING AN ON-LINE TRAINING PROGRAM

Zelma Cason, SCT(ASCP), PhD. Instructor Department Of Pathology,

University of Mississippi Medical Center Jackson, MS

Cervical cancer prevalence, incidence and death rate in developing countries

and low-income countries worldwide is increasing. This is partially due to

lack of the availability of screening programs and

cytotechnologist/pathologist. Liquid-Based or Conventional (slide) Pap Test

(and high-risk HPV co-testing as appropriate) is the standard screening test

for cervical cancer and precancerous cervical lesions. Our purpose is to

develop a simulation education program using digital imaging to train

inexperienced personnel to detect high risk lesion using rapid pattern

recognition of high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions or higher (HSIL+)

skills and locational skills to find HSIL. The training components consisted

of didactic, preclinical and clinical practice sessions. The didactic

components consisted of 10,000 images –HSIL+ and lower (benign cells,

endometrial cells, squamous metaplasia, and repair) and six didactic one-half

hour lectures based on daily performance. Canvas platform was used for

testing procedure and rapid diagnoses of banked digital images. A modified

Likert scale of 0 (unconfident) to 5 (confident) were used. Simulation

principles, such as immediate feedback, increasing difficulty levels and

deliberate practice of numerous representative images were used. Selected

participants had no experience examining cytologic smear and were able to

gain proficiency is a short time period using rapidly delivered digital images.

Although large volume rapid image review improves novice subject

performance, substantial improvement in both sensitivity and specificity of

HSIL+ image detection was seen in our subjects. Our data indicate that some

individuals may highly benefit from rapid image examination, although the

some of the subjects may require a different form of educational training to

separate lesional from non-lesional cells. Our data also indicate that some

subjects may be rapidly trained for select tasks, such as HSIL+ detection, a

needed skill in underserved parts of the world.

IMPACT OF HIGH EXPECTATIONS AND INTENTIONAL

READING REINFORCEMENT ON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Kesia T. Pope

Bay Springs High School, 510 Highway 18, Bay Springs, MS

In an effort to enhance the reading proficiency of students at, Bay Springs

High School, (BSHS, a public high school in Jasper County, Mississippi), an

administrator implemented Lock Down and Read (LDR), 20 minutes of daily

reading. The purpose of the LDR was to provide a reading reinforcement

experience to high school student(s), in particular those from a Title I high

school, to improve their reading comprehension; to enhance their writing,

speaking fluency and overall communication skills and to broadly contribute

to the students’ college and career readiness. The program utilized certified

teachers at BSHS in the implementation, execution and reinforcement of

programmatic activities, including student supervision and monitoring

procedures. Ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth grade students enrolled at

BSHS were required to participate. Students read and tested on two

Accelerated Reader (AR) books within their lexile range and received a daily

grade for cumulative points earned at the end of the term. The results show


that high expectations for reading and intentional reading reinforcement in

high school will increase the frequency that students read and test on AR

books. Some students met and surpassed expectations and reaped

comprehensive academic benefits towards Mississippi Academic

Assessment Program (MAAP), ACT (American College Test) PSAT

(Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test), Work Keys Assessment and overall

college and career readiness.

IMPACT OF EARLY SCIENCE TRAINING ON STEM RECRUITS

AND POTENTIAL WORKFORCE

Joseph A. Cameron1, Ibrahim Farah1, Clement Yedjou1, Joseph A. Cameron,

Jr.2, Michelle Tucci3, Zelma Cason4 and Hamed Benghuzzi 5

1Department of Biology, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS, 39217, 2Division of Health

Care Professions, Tarrant County College, Fort Worth, TX 76102, 3Department of Anesthesiology, 4Department of Pathology and 5 Department

of Clinical Health Sciences, School of Health Related Professions,

University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2500 North State Street, Jackson,

MS 39216

In an effort to increase the quantity of well-trained basic scientists and health

care professionals, Jackson State University, (JSU, a historically black

institution), in partnership with consultant biomedical researchers/health

care professionals at Tarrant County College and the University of

Mississippi Medical Center, (UMMC), a major research-oriented medical

center, established a Research Engineering Apprenticeship Program (REAP)

funded by the United States Army and administered by the Academy of

Applied Science AAAS). The purpose of the REAP was to “provide a hands-

on research experience to high school student(s), in particular those from

underserved and underrepresented groups, to develop their understanding of

the process of research; to spark their curiosity and understanding of work

in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); and to

broadly contribute to the future pipeline of talent capable of contributing to

the nature’s future STEM workforce. The program utilized mentors at

participating institutions in the planning and implementation of

programmatic activities, including trainee selection, advisement procedures

and research training activities. Pre-college tenth and eleventh grade

students were recruited from Jackson, Mississippi and surrounding areas.

Students received stipends and were exposed to a 5 to 8 week period of

training on basic laboratory methodologies, responsible conduct of research

concepts, literature survey mechanisms, oral presentations and scientific

writing techniques by mentors at JSU and UMMC. At the end of the

program, students provided oral presentations of their research experiences.

The results show that enhanced research training will increase pre-college

student knowledge of scientific methodologies and their interest in future

STEM training. Students entered college after High School and in some

cases, their research findings were presented at the Mississippi Academy of

Science (MAS) annual meeting.

THE IMPACT OF MOBILE TECHNOLOGY ON LEARNER’S

ENGAGEMENT IN COURSE ACTIVITIES IN AN ACADEMIC

HEALTH CARE SETTING: STUDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

Jamil Ibrahim1, Saja Ibrahim2

1University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, USA. 2University of

Jordan, Amman, Jordan

Modern Technology devices usage is widespread among students today.

There is no doubt that advances in technology continue to have a great

impact on the way faculty, and other campus community stakeholders

interact with learners. Opportunities and challenges are emerging for all of

these groups and institutions from the increasing availability of low-cost

mobile devices and associated infrastructures. The aim of this research was

to measure how students perceive mobile usage in the classroom, the types

of mobile devices they own or use, and other educational activities. Also this

study investigated whether students' perceptions are related to factors such

as age, gender, race, and school affiliation. During the fall of 2018-2019

academic year, a survey was administered online to students from an

Academic Health Sciences Center (AHS) using Qualtrics as a data collection

tool. A total of 2400 questionnaires were sent to students. Of these, 1185

responses were received for an approximately 49 percent response rate. Of a

total of 1185 responses, 924 (79%) students said they used mobile devices

to access course content and other learning activities. This paper reports the

findings of this study and concludes with the pros and cons of using mobile

technologies to support learning. It also offers recommendations on the best

practices of incorporating mobile devices in learning environments.

Session 3: Biomaterials – 1 (Surface Modification of

Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering)

INTERACTION BETWEEN POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE

FEEDBACK IN PLATELET ADHESION ON AN IMPROVED

MICROCHANNEL PATTERNED WITH THROMBOGENIC AND

NON-THROMBOGENIC REGIONS

Sowjanya Dokku, Steven Jones

Louisiana Tech University, Louisiana, LA

Many models are being developed for platelet-mediated thrombogenesis, but

these models consider the effects of platelet activators and inhibitors

separately. The interactions between these two types of agents depend on the

spatial and temporal relationships between inhibitors such as nitric oxide

(NO) and activators such as adenosine diphosphate (ADP). Combined

effects of positive and negative feedback signals acting at various locations

are the main controlling factors of the final thrombus size. To analyze these

effects, platelet adhesion was examined on regions in which thrombus

formation is active next to regions in which thrombus is prevented. This

configuration allows platelet-derived activators and inhibitors in one region

to influence platelets in a different region under varying shear conditions.

The percent surface area coverage is used as a measure of thrombus

formation. Xurography was used to layer each microchannel with collagen

or fibrinogen or albumin. Platelets were extracted from bovine whole blood

and were labeled with carboxyfluorescein-diacetate-succinimidyl-ester

(CFSE) and then enriched with LA, ADP, and/or L-NMMA. CFSE-labeled

platelet-rich plasma(PRP) was perfused through the microchannel under

varying conditions. Microchannels were imaged using a fluorescence

microscope and were processed with a Matlab program to determine percent

surface area coverage. The positive and negative feedback effects were

enhanced with the increase in platelet production of activator and inhibitor,

respectively. In contrast, when the NO was exogenous, as when the NO

donor DPTA was added to the PRP, the feedback was less pronounced, and

hence the spatial distribution of adhesion was more uniform.

KARTOGENIN IMMOBILIZATION ONTO COLLAGENOUS

SCAFFOLD

Allie Kerby, Jay Warren, Dr. Steve Elder


Scaffold-based approaches to cartilage tissue engineering strategies can be

enhanced through sustained delivery of chondrogenic factors. Kartogenin,

KGN, is a small molecule that promotes differentiation of human bone

marrow mesenchymal stem cells into chondrocytes. The purpose of this

project is to explore the use of EDC/NHS chemistry for binding KGN to a

collagen-rich, natural scaffold such that KGN is gradually released over a

period of 2-4 weeks. Preliminary experiments were conducted to determine

solubility of KGN, EDC, and NHS in PBS, ethanol and DMSO; to test

whether these interfere with assaying KGN by measurement of absorbance

at 284 nm wavelength; and to investigate how rapidly KGN is released after

simple adsorption onto a collagenous scaffold. DMSO was found to be the

ideal solvent, and none of the substances significantly interferes with the

A284 of KGN. A284 increases linearly with KGN concentration up to at

least 1 mg ml-1. Adsorbed KGN was rapidly released from decellularized,

freeze-dried porcine meniscus scaffolds within 48 hours. An experiment is

underway to measure the rate of KGN release after crosslinking with

EDC/NHS. EDC was reacted with KGN in DMSO, followed by reaction

with NHS, at weight ratio of 4:1:1 (EDC/KGN/NHS). Pieces of

decellularized porcine patellar tendon were then crosslinked in this solution

overnight. KGN adsorption without EDC/NHS crosslinking, EDC/NHS

crosslinking without KGN, and DMSO alone were also tested as controls.

Measurement of the KGN release profile is in progress. Future experiments

will test the chondrogenic activity of released KGN.


ADHESIVE PROPERTIES OF ELP:PEI FOR TISSUE

ENGINEERING

Sara Adibi1, Doyl Dickel1, Amol Janorkar2, Raj Prabhu1,3

1Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS), Starkville, MS, 2University

of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, 3Department of Agricultural

and Biological Engineering, Starkville, MS

Eastin-like peptides (ELPs) are of great interest as a platform for novel

biomaterial design and can be engineered into a variety of physical forms

such as scaffold, hydrogels, and artificial tissues. Therefore, they are finding

numerous applications in bioengineering, such as, drug delivery, tissue

engineering, and medicine. A copolymer comprised of biocompatible ELP

chemically conjugated to positively charged polyethyleneimine (PEI) has

been engineered for inducing self-assembly of hepatoma spheroid for cell

culture-based on least variability in spheroid sizes and minimum incidence

of overgrown aggregates. The objective of the study is to investigate how

mixtures of neat ELP and ELP-PEI copolymer with varying ELP: ELP-PEI

molar ratio arrange themselves when coated on a tissue culture polystyrene

surface. This arrangement dictates the cell behavior where we form small or

big spheroids (the ELP part attracts cells while the polyelectrolyte part repels

them). ELP–PEI system indicated the potential for influencing ultimate

spheroid dimensions, with spheroid size inversely related to polyelectrolyte

conjugation. Here, we integrate computational approaches and molecular

dynamics simulations to provide some insight into the effects of variations

of ELP-PEI arrangement substrate on the surface morphology of the tissue

culture and cell behavior. These simulations shed light on the detailed

mechanism(s) of PEI binding to ELP and scaffold and may facilitate the

design of smart material designs, with applications in biomedicine and

diagnostic devices or tissue engineering tool.

SUBSTRATE STIFFNESS: A PERMEABILITY-INDUCING

MECHANICAL STIMULUS IN PULMONARY ENDOTHELIUM

Sunita Subedi Paudel, Troy Stevens, Dhananjay Tambe

University of South Alabama College of Medicine, Mobile, AL

The endothelium has an intrinsic drive to move into open space. Even in

quiescent cells, the ability to protrude the membrane forward is essential to

maintain a semi-permeable barrier. In pulmonary arterial hypertension

(PAH), the pulmonary artery endothelial barrier is hyperpermeable. In

addition, PAH progression involves the stiffening of vessel walls. However,

it remains unclear as to whether the stiffening of the endothelial substrate

contributes to endothelial hyperpermeability. Here, we examine the extent to

which stiffness dependent regulation of ion influx through store-operated

calcium (SOC) entry causes stiffness dependent impairment of forward

motion of the cells. To address this, we cultured pulmonary arterial

endothelial cells (PAECs) on polyacrylamide hydrogels with stiffness

ranging from 0.22 kPa to 30 kPa, in which 1.25 – 4 kPa mimics a normal

pulmonary artery and 30 kPa mimics a hypertensive pulmonary artery.

Phase-contrast time-lapse images were assessed for the analysis of cell

morphology and cell movement. We found that cell movement, lamellipodia

formation, and membrane protrusion were optimal at physiological substrate

stiffness (1.25-4 kPa) and were decreased at low (0.22 kPa) and high (30

kPa) substrate stiffness. On the stiff substrates, the cells exhibited high

frequency, high amplitude calcium oscillations that impaired membrane

protrusion and barrier function, resembling the hypertensive condition. This

high frequency, high amplitude Ca2+ oscillations are at least partly due to

influx through SOC entry channels. These data indicate that stiffer substrate

promotes cytosolic calcium ion influx through SOC entry channels, and

impairs forward membrane protrusion, consistent with impaired barrier

integrity.

COMPARING PLA, AG, AND CERIA NANOFIBER COMPOSITES

FOR ANTIBACTERIAL EFFICACY IN CHRONIC WOUNDS

Mark Livingstone, Craig Miller, Jordon Gilmore

Clemson University, Clemson, NC

Diabetes mellitus (DM) affects more than 9% of the U.S. population. Wound

infections are especially problematic in DM patients due to compromised

immune function. There is a need to develop treatment methods that reduce

infection-related complications and improve antibiotic stewardship. This

work compares the antimicrobial efficacy of various combinations of Poly(l-

lactide acid) (PLA), Ag, and Ceria nanoparticles. We propose the use of

solution blow spun (SBS) nanofibers as an effective drug delivery system

that would allow in situ delivery of antimicrobial and antioxidive agents.

Silver and ceria nanoparticles have previously demonstrated antimicrobial

and antioxidive efficacy, respectively. In this study, we utilize both agents to

examine the antimicrobial efficacy against Pseudomonas aeuruginosa and

the antioxidative efficacy against its respective toxin, pyocyanin. PLA,

PLA/Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), PLA/Ceria nanoparticles (CNPs), and

PLA/AgNPs/CNPs nanofiber composites were fabricated via SBS. The

protocol employed allows for in situ nanofiber fabrication, silver

nanoparticle nucleation and growth, and ceria integration in the fiber

composites. Silver nitrate was incorporated into the solution and the SBS

nanofiber mats were reduced with ethylene glycol vapor to generate

antimicrobial elemental silver. Cerium nitrate salt was also incorporated in

the solution to generate antioxidative SBS nanofiber mats. Nanofiber mats

were characterized for geometry and elemental composition via SEM, tensile

strength, and surface tension. Antimicrobial efficacy was assessed with a

three-day optical density and biofilm production assay. Antioxidative

efficacy was assessed by measuring pyocyanin reduction using

electrochemical detection with a commercial electrochemical electrode and

potentiostat.

ADVANCES IN THIN FILM PREPARATION OF CAPILLARY

ALGINATE HYGROGEL (CAPGELTM) FOR APPLICATION AS A

TISSUE ENGINEERING SUBSTRATE TO GUIDE CELLULAR

MORPHOLOGY

Michael Kwan, Catherine Wheeless, Bradley Willenberg


CapgelTM is an alginate-based hydrogel containing patent parallel capillaries

with tunable capillary diameters ranging from 6-50µm. Such a unique

microstructure is useful as a tissue engineering substrate where contact

guidance of cells into preferential cellular orientations is paramount. To

promote cellular attachment and improve the stability of the material, gelatin

is incorporated into the alginate hydrogel. Previous methods to create

CapgelTM, i.e. by incorporating gelatin before the capillary formation

phenomena, led to large variations of gelatin concentration throughout the

gel. To overcome this hurdle a new method of first sectioning the hydrogel

into thin films and then incorporating gelatin was studied and optimized. To

this end, CapgelTM films of 150µm thickness were sectioned and

subsequently gelatinized and crosslinked. FTIR analysis confirmed the

incorporation of gelatin into the capillary alginate hydrogel and phase

contrast microscopy imaging suggested no significant changes in capillary

diameters when comparing diameters before (7.20±0.75µm) and after

(7.05±1.11µm) crosslinking. SEM images of the thin film surfaces revealed

preserved patent capillaries as well as unique surface features created by the

cutting blade. In vitro studies of human dermal fibroblasts cultured atop

these materials for 2 days in vitro revealed a significant orientation of cells

along the capillary’s long axis as well as good cell adhesion with nearly

complete cellular coverage of the material.

Session 4: Neuroscience 1-(Injury Modeling)

A MICROSCALE FINITE ELEMENT STUDY OF

MECHANICALLY INDUCED NEURONAL INJURY DEPENDENCE

ON NEURONAL MORPHOLOGY

Amirhamed Bakhtiarydavijani1, Mark Scimone2, Allan Dobbins3, Christian

Franck4, Raj Prabhu1

1Mississippi State University, Miss. State, MS, 2Brown University, Rhode

Island, RI, 3University of Alabama Birmingham, Birmingham, Al, 4University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI

In this study, microscale finite element (FE) simulations of neurons under

mechanical loading were used to evaluate the effects of neuronal geometry

and orientation on mechanoporation-induced neuronal injury. This approach

is used to address the variations in neuronal injury thresholds seen in cell

culture deformation studies that are not implemented in current FE head


models. To achieve this, 3D confocal microscopy images were used to

generate accurate 3D FE neuron models. A previously developed nanoscale-

informed strain rate and strain state dependent damage evolution constitutive

model of the neuronal membrane was also introduced to assess membrane

mechanoporation. The microscale FE models were validated against axonal

strains measured in cell culture studies. Each simulated neuron and its

surrounding hydrogel were examined under tension, shear, and compression

and at different strain rates to study the extent of membrane disruption under

these deformation scenarios. The membrane strains and damage were further

studied to identify correlations between neuron size, shape, number of

dendrites, and orientation considering the principal strains and neuronal

injury. It was found that the maximum strain on the membrane is not

dependent on neuron size, shape, or number of dendrites. However, the

nanoscale-informed damage is dependent on neuron shape and size.

PREDICTION OF BRAIN COMPRESSION RESPONSE USING

DIFFERENT REGRESSION METHODS

Folly Patterson1, Osama AbuOmar2, R.K. Prabhu1

1Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, 2Lewis University,

Romeoville, USA

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death worldwide. The

mechanics of the brain under injurious loads are not well understood, yet are

an important part of TBI. In vitro mechanical testing is a well-established

method for characterizing the brain’s material properties and subsequently

building constitutive models, but the material properties reported in the

literature vary by orders of magnitude. The effect of testing protocol

differences (e.g. post-mortem preservation time and testing temperature) is

frequently not taken into account when reporting the mechanical response of

the brain, despite acknowledgment of their significance. Here, a machine

learning approach is taken to characterize the relationship between testing

conditions and brain mechanical response. Ordinary least squares regression

(OLSR), regression tree, support vector regression (SVR), Gaussian process

regression (GPR), and bagged trees were compared for their ability to

predictive brain compression stress from testing condition parameters. GPR

performed the best with R2 = 1.00, RMSE = 0.089, MSE = 0.008, and MAE

= 0.054. GPR is able to capture the uncertainty and complexity in the

dependence of compression stress on testing conditions, while other

regression methods cannot. These results can inform constitutive models of

the brain by accounting for variability due to testing conditions.

HEAD AND NECK INJURY-BASED ROBUST DESIGN FOR

VEHICULAR CRASHWORTHINESS

Anand Balu Nellippallil1, Parker R. Berthelson2, Raj K. Prabhu3,1

1Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, Mississippi State University,

Starkville,MS, 2Center for Applied Biomechanics, University of Virginia,

Starkville,MS. 3Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering,


One major objective of governments across the world is the minimization of

human deaths and serious injury risks while using road transport systems.

From an engineering design standpoint, a major design goal, therefore, is to

minimize the effects of road impacts on occupants. This necessitates a need

to quantify and manage injury risks on the human body in terms of the

different vehicular impact variables and their associated uncertainties for

different crash scenarios.

In this research, we present a robust design framework to quantify and

manage the impact-based injury risks on occupants for different model-based

car crash scenarios. The key functionality offered is the designer’s capability

to carry out robust design studies with a focus on managing the selected

impact variables and associated uncertainties such that injury risks are

controlled within acceptable levels. Two injury criteria, namely, Head Injury

Criterion and Neck Injury Criterion are selected to quantitatively measure

the head and neck injury risks. Using the framework, a robust design

problem is formulated to explore the combination of impact variables that

best satisfice the injury goals defined. The framework and associated design

constructs are generic and support the formulation and robust design of

vehicle impact scenarios for managing injury risks.

CYCLIC BIOMECHANICS OF THE BRAIN TISSUE

Kali Sebastian1,2, Matthew Register1, Lauren Priddy1,2, Raj Prabhu1,2

1Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, USA. 2Center for Advanced

Vehicular Systems, Mississippi State, MS

In the U.S., traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects over 1.7 million people

annually and is responsible for not only immediate, but sometimes

permanent deficits in neurologic function1. TBI is characterized by external

forces causing permanent tissue damage1,2. The objective of this study was

to evaluate the mechanical and cellular response of porcine brain tissue

enduring cyclic compression, as a model for repetitive, sub-concussive

impacts in TBI. Parameters explored were cycle number (N=1, 25, 50, 100,

150 and 200), strain level (15, 30 and 40%) and strain rate (0.00625, 0.025,

0.1 and 1.0s-1). Post-compression testing, samples for each condition were

fixed for hematoxylin and eosin staining. The data was statistically evaluated

by comparing peak stress values. The data indicate a strain-rate dependence

highlighted by differences between peak stress values from first (N=1) to last

cycle (N=50) for all strain rates, suggesting that permanent deformation can

occur at low strain rates. However, only peak stress from 1.0s-1statistically

varied from that of all other rates. Intuitively, greater strain level caused

greater tissue deformation. No differences were found between any cycles

from N=25-150, or between 15% and 30% strains, indicating a permanent

deformation threshold may exist below 25 cycles and between 15-30%

strain. Collectively, this data provides further evidence for the elasto-

viscoplastic, strain-rate dependency of the brain tissue.

1Daneshvar,D.H. et al. (2011).The Epidemiology of Sport-Related

Concussion.Clin Sports Med,30(1),1–

17.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csm.2010.08.006.

2National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Focus on Traumatic

Brain Injury.[updated 2019; cited 2019 April].

From:https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Current-Research/Focus-

Disorders/Traumatic-Brain-Injury

A COUPLED MACROSCALE-MESOSCALE MODELING

APPROACH TO ASSESS CEREBRAL CORTEX MORPHOLOGY

AND HETEROGENEITY EFFECTS ON BRAIN INJURY

LOCALIZATION

Amirhamed Bakhtiarydavijani1, Michael Murphy1, Ghaidaa Khalid2, Mike

Jones3, Mark Horstemeyer4, Allan Dobbins5, Raj Prabhu1

1Mississippi State University, Mississippi State., MS, 2Middle Technical

University, Baghdad, Iraq. 3Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom. 4Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA, 5University of Alabama at Birmingham,

Birmingham, AL

In this study, macroscale and mesoscale finite element (FE) models were

coupled to study the effects of mesoscale brain complexities, i.e. brain

convolutions (sulci) and grey-white matter heterogeneity, during football

player head impact. These complexities are of interest as tau proteins

agglomerate at the depth of sulci in the gray matter as a result of chronic

traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). As accurately depicting these geometries

in macroscale FE traumatic brain injury models is computationally

expensive a coupled macroscale-mesoscale approach needs to be

implemented. To capture the effects of gray-white matter differentiation,

inclusion of sulci and gyri, sulcus length on stress wave propagation, stress

localization, and tissue location (brain lobe) multiple FE models were

produced and studied. It was found that when sulci are introduced, stress

wave interactions increased von Mises stresses below the sulcus (from 0.5

kPa to 18.0 kPa), which agrees with locations observed in the initial stages

of CTE. Sulci also generated stress bands that interact with one another to

generate secondary stress localizations (14.8 kPa). Further, the von Mises

stress had higher values in the frontal and occipital brain lobes (18.0 to 19.05

kPa) versus the parietal and temporal lobes (6.26 kPa and 11.08 kPa).

Session 5: Poster

HAPTIC THERMAL FEEDBACK PROSTHETIC BRAIN

CONTROLLED ARM

Atif Saeed, Ryan Tang, Mohammed Benalla

Vaughn College, East Elmhurst, NY


Prosthetics have shown drastic improvements throughout the years to allow

for operation through reading brain waves. This advancement has given

patients with more efficient and effective prosthetics that is able to function

in day to day tasks. However, these advancements still have a long path

ahead to being fully robust and efficient. All modern prosthetic arms lack the

ability to properly sense the environment.

The purpose of this project is to redesign a Brain-controlled prosthetic arm

to be fully equipped with thermal sensors, haptic feedback, and electronic

displays. Through these different modules, the arm will be able to sense the

environment and objects the patient wishes to manipulate. As the arm

attempts to manipulate an object with dangerous temperature levels, the

brain-controlled arm will provide haptic feedback through vibration motors

and display screens to alert the operator. In doing so, this can prevent injury

to the operator as well as provide prosthetics users a well-defined way to

sense the environment. Thus, returning the ability for a user to sense through

touch.

BIOMINERALIZATION OF 3D PRINTED AND COLD PLASMA

MODIFIED PLA SCAFFOLDS

John Bradford1, Phillip Charles2, Vinoy Thomas1

1University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 2Renssalaer

Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY

3D printing for scaffolds toward the application to bone tissue engineering

has astonishing potential. Prior literature reports the use of additive

manufacturing in a variety of ways to further knowledge in the field;

however, it is often in association with reagents or methodologies that can

cause degradation of the material or induce cytotoxicity to cells. In this

study low-temperature plasmas (LTP) was utilized to modify the 3D printed

PLA surface and to generate nucleation sites and access chelation ability for

the formation of a mineralized calcium phosphate substance under

biomimetic conditions in vitro. Confirmation of calcium phosphate

formation after aging in simulated body fluid (SBF) was performed using

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,

and scanning electron microscopy. The surface chemistry changes were

further confirmed via calcein stain fluorescence assay to confirm in vitro

biomineralization.

DEVELOPMENT OF AN IN VITRO CELL COCULTURE TO

ANALYZE NANOPARTICLES TOXICITY

Caitlyn Beasley, Tierica Anderson, Maricica Pacurari


Introduction. While the advent of nanotechnology is an exciting innovation,

the fast pace of nanoparticles development has proven to raise human health

concerns. Due to extensive NP applications (carbon nanotubes (CNT) and

metal oxides (cerium oxide, silver wires, and zinc oxide)) in many fields

such as optics, electronics, or medicine, their production and based-products

are predicted to increase as well as the exposure. A thorough safety of NP

will only be possible via fast biological screening methods that biologically

mimic tissue environment. The present study is investigating whether a triple

coculture of lung cells mimics in vivo lung injury.

Materials and Methods. Triple cell cocultures were performed using

Boyden chamber by employing two culturing Models: Model A culturing

apically SAEC and basally PMVEC, and Model B culturing apically

PMVEC and basally SAEC. In both methods, the apical side was challenged

with monocytes. In each condition, the triple cocultures was exposed to

MWCNT (20 µg/ml) for 48 h. Paracellular permeability was analyzed using

Blue Dextran extravasation.

Results. When alveoalr cells were exposed to MWCNT, dextran blue

extravasation increased across endothelial cell monolayer compared to the

model where endothelial cells were exposed to MWCNT. These data sugests

that injury to alveolar cell plays a key role in fluid extravasation versus

endothleial cells. Monocytes did not seem to influence alevolar or

endothelial cell interactions and paracellular permeability. Conclusion. The

results of this study suggests that triple couclture system depending on apical

cell type may be used to analyze nanoparticles interations for toxicity.

SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS UNDERGO PHENOTYPIC SWITCH

DURING VASCULAR CALCIFICATION

Kaylee Bundy, Mary Frances Segars, LaShan Simpson


Characterized by the hardening of arteries, the vascular calcification process

is like that of bone formation. The osteoblast-like cells responsible for

mineral deposition in arteries are hypothesized to originate from smooth

muscle cells which undergo a phenotypic switch. In order to observe this

phenotypic change, we have optimized a calcification model of vascular

smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and characterized the culture for different

biomarkers. VSMC calcification may be activated via the Wnt signaling

cascade and BMP signaling. We hypothesize that during calcification, a

phenotypic change of VSMCs occurs, characterized by the upregulation of

specific genes and proteins involved in Wnt and BMP signaling, such as

runX2 and BMP2. Human VSMCs were cultured in vitro and split into four

groups: 7 and 14 day control and 7 and 14 day calcification. After the

incubation period, the cells were analyzed using a o-cresolphthalein kit to

test for calcium content and PCR, western blots, and immunohistochemistry

test for cellular markers. Based on the results, it can be determined that when

VSMCs undergo calcification in vitro they do experience a phenotypic

change. These results are significant in understanding the mechanism and

pathways of vascular calcification in order to create target treatments in the

future.

A 3D MODEL FOR VASCULAR CALCIFICATION

Ashley Branyon, LeAnn Ward, C. LaShan Simpson, Ph. D.


In the United States, over 3 million people have been diagnosed with

vascular calcification. Vascular calcification is a regulated deposition of

hydroxyapatite mineral in the arteries narrowing the arterial space. Vascular

calcification was once considered a passive and degenerate process that

assumed to be a factor of aging. A process once considered irreversible is

now believed to potentially be preventable. Vascular calcification typically

occurs in the medial or intimal layers of the blood vessels. Medial

calcification is the most immense type of vascular calcification mainly found

in patients with kidney disease , type 2 diabetes, and has a higher

cardiovascular mortality rate. Medial calcification can cause a degradation

of elastin fibers. To date, no relevant research has been done creating a 3D

model of vascular calcification that can be used to assess calcification, the

degradation of elastin fiber, and how calcified arteries respond and retain

drug therapies. We report a 3D arterial model of vascular calcification made

of porcine renal arteries. The porcine artery underwent the process of

decellularization using a combination method of ion-ionic detergents, ionic

detergents, and Nuclease. The decellularization protocols had promising

results. DNA analysis and histology staining have shown removal of the

porcine DNA while maintaining an intact extracellular matrix. The arteries

were recellularized to a calcified state using a bioreactor to create a realistic

disease state using mechanical artery properties. We provide a proof-of-

concept disease model of vascular calcification to standardize and improve

vascular calcification research.

IDENTIFYING AMYLOID AGGREGATES AS BIOMARKERS OF

BREAST CANCER

John Holmquist, Sanghamitra Deb, Ayanjeet Ghosh

The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

Early detection of cancer cells and cellular markers is pivotal for improved

diagnosis of cancer and its targeted therapy. p53 is a tetrameric tumor

suppressor protein that plays an essential role in the prevention of cancer

development. p53 is mutated in most of human cancers, including breast

cancer, leading to its loss-of-function, which has been proposed to occur via

the oligomerization and amyloid-like aggregation of mutant p53. The

presence of protein aggregates in cancer cells and tissues presents an

opportunity to exploit them as molecular markers of the disease state. While

immunofluorescence can be employed to explore the presence of protein

aggregates in tissues, it is not always quantitative, and offers limited

specificity into the tissue chemistry. Infrared chemical imaging is a new

approach that can circumvent these limitations due its ability to identify


molecular species through their intrinsic absorption properties, thus

providing label-free molecular contrast. Amyloid aggregates have

characteristic infrared absorptions that can be leveraged to quantitatively

assess their presence in tissues. Discrete frequency infrared images that

highlight presence of amyloid aggregates in breast cancer tissues will be

presented. This data will be compared with Histopathological Diagnoses To

Evaluate The Potential Of Amyloid Aggregates As Putative Breast Cancer

Biomarkers.

EXPOSURE TO INTERLEUKIN-1Β ENHANCES ROTENONE

TOXICITY TO DOPAMINERGIC NEURONS IN VITRO

Jonathan Lee1, Yi Pang1, Lu-Tai Tien2, Norma Ojeda1, Abhay Bhatt1, Renate

Savich1, Lir-Wan Fan1

1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Newborn Medicine, University of

Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 2School of Medicine, Fu Jen

Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan

It has been indicated that following pro-inflammation exposure,

dopaminergic neurons are functioning at a “sub-optimal” status under

chronic inflammatory conditions, which may be responsible for the

enhanced vulnerability of dopaminergic neurons to a letter subsequent

insult. This study was designed to investigate whether pre-treatment with

recombinant rat interleukin-1β (IL-1β), a pro-inflammatory cytokine,

enhanced second hit rotenone-induced dopaminergic cell damage using in

vitro co-culture systems with astrocyte and dopaminergic neurons. In this

study, we obtained a relatively high density of mesencephalic dopaminergic

neurons on top of the astrocyte monolayer from the P5 rat brain. The density

of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH+) neurons was about 10 cells/mm2 and was 35-

40% of the total NeuN+ neurons. Cultures were pre-exposed to IL-1β (10

ng/ml) for 24 hr and then treated with rotenone (20 nM) for 48 hr. The

combined exposure resulted in dopaminergic neurons with substantially

fewer dendrites or no dendrites at all. Additionally, the percentage of

TH+/NeuN+ neurons in the IL-1β+rotenone group was significantly

reduced, while the survived cells exhibit abnormal morphology. IL-1β or

rotenone alone had no significant effects on dopaminergic neurons. A

significant increase of active caspase-3 or 4-HNE positive dopaminergic

neurons suggests that the combined treatment caused neuron degeneration

via oxidative stress. Our results indicate that IL-1β plays an important role

in enhanced vulnerability of dopaminergic neurons to a sub-toxic dose of

neurotoxin insult.

SIGNALING PATHWAYS INVOLVED IN ENDOTHELIAL-

MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION AND THEIR ROLE IN

VASCULAR CALCIFICATION

Cameron Roach, C. LaShan Simpson


Endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) is a process in which

endothelial cells lose their genetic markers, VE-cadherin and CD31, and

begin to express markers of mesenchymal cells, α-SMA, FSP-1, and

fibronectin. EndMT has been shown to cause vascular calcification, a

complication of atherosclerosis. However, the exact mechanism and process

through which EndMT occurs is still unknown. Recently, studies have

shown that overexpression of TGF-β/smad signaling and BMO, both

belonging to the TGF-β superfamily, contribute to EndMT vascular

calcification. In the TGF-βsignaling pathway, smad2, smad3, and smad7 are

combined to suppress the VE-cadherin marker, leading to EndMT. However,

there are components in both pathways that inhibit EndMT, specifically,

smad7 acting in the TGF-β pathway and Matrix Gla Protein (MGP)

regulating BMP in the BMP pathway. Previous studies noted that vascular

calcification might arise from the potential imbalance between endothelial

and smooth muscle cells, facilitated by the TGF-β and BMP signaling

pathways. Thus far, we performed a gene array of healthy versus calcified

smooth muscle cells showing the significant upregulation of smads, TGF-β,

as well as BMP. In the gene array, smad1, smad2, smad4, TGF-β1, TGF-β2,

TGF-β3, BMP2, and BMP4 were all significantly upregulated, whereas

smad3 was not significantly upregulated. In order to gain further insight on

the role of EndMT in vascular calcification and how that impacts vascular

smooth muscle cells, we will perform addition studies including a co-culture

of smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells.

HYDROGEL BASED CONTROLLED DELIVERY OF 17Β-

ESTRADIOL TOWARDS OBESITY MANAGEMENT

Pallabi Pal, Rodrigo Oscar Maranon, Amol Vijay Janorkar


Obesity has been established as a contributing factor to diseases including

type-2 diabetes, hypertension, and coronary heart disease (Pi-Sunyer, 2002)..

Previous studies have shown reduction in adipogenesis in vivo by implanting

estradiol tablets subcutaneously. In this study, we evaluated the effect of

estradiol in a 3D spheroid model of human adipose-derived stem cells

(hASCs), followed by incorporation of estradiol in collagen-elastin-like

polypeptide (ELP) hydrogels to achieve a controlled, localized, and

sustained estradiol delivery to inhibit fat accumulation.

The hASCs were isolated from an adult female donor (IRB approval #2012-

0004). We created the 3D in vitro adipocyte culture model by seeding hASCs

onto positively-charged ELP-PEI coated TCPS (Turner, 2017; Gurumurthy

2016). The spheroids were then supplemented with estradiol (100 or 500

nM). After 7, 14, and 21 days of culture, spheroids were imaged and

collected for evaluating their DNA, protein, and triglyceride content. We

loaded the collagen-ELP hydrogels with different concentrations of

estradiol.

Formation of similar size spheroids (diameter ~ 50 ± 8 mm) were noted for

both concentrations of estradiol on days 7, 14, and 21. DNA and protein

content of the samples were similar. Normalized triglyceride content of

control group increased from day 7 to day 21 while decreased for both

concentrations of estradiol. The estradiol was released at a rate of 90 ng/dl

from hydrogels. When the matured spheroids were exposed to the estradiol-

loaded hydrogel, the normalized triglyceride content of the 3D spheroids

decreased.

PREDICTION OF THE PARTICLE SIZE AND TRANSITION

TEMPERATURE OF ELASTIN-LIKE POLYPEPTIDE

COPOLYMERS

Jared Cobb1, Alexandra Engel1, Maria Seale2, Amol Janorkar1

1University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, 2US Army Engineer

Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS

Elastin-like polypeptide (ELP) belongs to a class of recombinant proteins

that exhibit a reversible phase transition where below its transition

temperature (Tt), the ELP remains soluble in the continuous phase, and above

Tt, the ELP phase separates and stabilizes into coalesced particles.

Understanding this behavior is essential for ELP’s use in applications,

including drug delivery, gene transfection, and biologically active

coatings. By combining ELP’s inverse phase transition behavior with the

DNA-binding potential of the PEI, ELP-PEI copolymers hold potential for

use in biological delivery systems as macromolecular carriers.

In this work, we report on the solution behavior of a two molecular weight

ELP-PEI copolymers (PEI = 800 g/mol, 10,000g/mol) in aqueous solutions

by altering the copolymer concentration (0.1, 0.17, 0.3 mg/mL), solution pH

(3,7,10), and salt concentration (0, 0.2, 1 M NaCl). A Dynapro Nanostar DLS

instrument (Wyatt Tech) was used to determine aggregation sizes of ELP and

ELP-PEI mixtures under the above-mentioned various solution conditions

over a temperature range of 20–60 °C. R version 3.6.1 was used for the

prediction of the aggregation sizes and transition temperatures of the ELP

and ELP-PEI mixtures.

An increase in polymer concentration yielded a higher maximum radius (Rh)

and a slight decrease in transition temperature (Tt) due to increased

hydrophobic interactions forming larger, more stable aggregates. The

addition of NaCl also increases the Rh, and markedly decreases the Tt of the

copolymers. This salting-out effect was seen at all experimental solution pH

levels and polymer concentrations. Certain conditions needed to form

specific particle diameters are harsh enough to kill cells (e.g., pH = 10, NaCl

concentration = 1 M). Crosslinking with glutaraldehyde allows for the

retention of the particle size after they are formed while minimizing the

negative environments needed to maintain them. DLS results show that

crosslinked particles retain their original diameter when lowered to a

temperature below the ELP transition temperature. Machine learning

algorithms were trained for predicting particle radii and transition


temperature using 80% of the total data. The models exhibited an accuracy

of 84.8% for predicting particle radii, and an accuracy of 93.0% for

predicting transition temperature. The ability to control aggregate sizes

formed by ELP-PEI conjugates could lead to the regulation of the amount of

drug or gene delivered by the conjugates as macromolecular carriers.

EVALUATION OF POLYALCOHOL BLENDS WITH CHITOSAN

FOR A LOCAL ANTIBIOTIC DELIVERY SYSTEM

Landon Choi, Jessica Jennings


Bacteria can adhere to implanted material or tissue and form complex

communities termed biofilms. Biofilms develop a dormant persister cell

phenotype characterized by decreased metabolic rates, making antibiotics

alone ineffective in treating biofilm-related infection. Mannitol, a sugar

polyol, has been shown to activate bacterial metabolism, reversing the

persister cell phenotype within biofilm and increasing susceptibility of

biofilm to aminoglycosides. Erythritol, a similar sugar polyol, has been

shown to disrupt biofilm. Blends of these sugar alcohols and chitosan may

form an injectable system capable of targeting biofilm for eradication. In this

research, we examined varying compositions of mannitol, erythritol, and

chitosan within a paste and characterized the effect on vancomycin elution.

Experimental groups consisted of varying percentages of mannitol,

erythritol, and chitosan ranging from 0.5%-2%. Dried experimental groups

were hydrated at a ratio of 1.5 mL/g with a 10 mg/mL vancomycin solution

and placed into 5 mL of PBS. Each replicate was sampled daily for 7 days,

and PBS was completely refreshed after each collection. Results indicate that

the group containing an equal blend of mannitol and erythritol demonstrated

the highest cumulative and daily release of vancomycin. Chitosan percentage

had minimal effect on elution, but as the total concentration of sugar alcohol

increased the amount of vancomycin eluted decreased. No experimental or

control groups eluted therapeutic concentrations of vancomycin past day 5.

Future work will characterize activity of paste materials against biofilm

associated bacteria.

THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODELING OF AN ALL-CERAMIC

IMPLANT-SUPPORTED FIXED DENTAL PROSTHESIS BASED

ON MICRO-CT DATA

Lohitha Kalluri1, John Seale1, Josephine Esquivel-Upshaw2, Yuanyuan

Duan1

1University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS. 2University of

Florida, Gainesville, FL

Objectives: To describe a 3D finite element modeling method for implant-

supported all-ceramic fixed dental prosthesis from 3D images obtained using

a micro-CT scanner.

Materials and methods: Two commercially available titanium dental

implants (Astra Tech Osseospeed, φ 4.0 and 4,8 mm, Dentsply) with

corresponding customized zirconia abutments and an all-ceramic fixed

dental prosthesis were scanned using a micro-CT scanner (Skyscan1172,

Skyscan). Stacks of slice images were generated using a micro-CT

reconstruction software and processed in a medical modeling software

(Simpleware). The 3D objects of implants, abutments and prosthesis were

generated from different masks, which were automatically extracted using

thresholding and other segmentation tools based on their corresponding

grayscale values. 3D objects of each model along with cuboid surface, that

was created to simulate bone, were incorporated into non-manifold assembly

and meshed simultaneously. Volume meshes obtained were exported to FEA

software (ABAQUS) for further analysis.

Results: The resulting 3D model demonstrated excellent resemblance with

the original structures. Matching, continuous surfaces and coinciding nodes

between different structural entities were assured by means of non-manifold

assembly tool.

Conclusion: 3D implant-supported fixed dental prosthesis models can be

created by the combination of micro-CT scanning and Simpleware ScanIP

software for research and clinical purposes.

INHIBITION OF IGF2BP1 IN THE HUMAN BASAL CELL

CARCINOMA CELL LINE UW-BCC1 PREVENTS TUMOR

GROWTH IN A XENOGRAFT MOUSE MODEL

Felicite Noubissi, Cayla Harris, Clement Yedjou


Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common form of cancer affecting

more than two million Americans each year. Although BCC metastasizes

rarely, if left untreated it can destroy tissues and nearby organs and cause

disfigurement. The cost of care for BCC represents the fifth highest for all

cancers in the Medicare population in the United States. BCC arises in the

basal cells of the epidermis and is caused mostly by long term sun exposure.

Constitutive activation of Hh signaling pathway is a key factor driving the

development of BCC. Activation of GLI1 which is the transcription factor

through which the Hh signaling is mediated is a key step in the initiation of

the tumorigenic program leading to BCC. We previously showed that Gli1

was also regulated by Wnt signaling in a IGF2BP1-dependent manner.

Moreover, the regulation of Gli1 by the Hh upstream signal was IGF2BP1-

dependent as well. We hypothesized that Wnt-induced and IGF2BP1-

dependent regulation of GLI1 expression and activities was important in the

development of BCC. To test our hypothesis, we used the CRISPR/Cas9

approach to knock down IGF2BP1 in UW-BCC1 cells. UW-BCC1 cells

depleted of IGF2BP1 were injected subcutaneously in the flank of

immunocompromised mice and tumor growth was monitored weekly for a

period of four weeks. We observed that knockdown of IGF2BP1 in UW-

BCC1 cells significantly reduces tumor growth in xenograft mice compared

to controls. IGF2BP1 appears to contribute to BCC development and might

represents a novel target in the treatment of basal cell carcinoma.

IMPLEMENTATION OF DIGITAL DECONVOLUTION

APPROACHES ON HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGE STACKS

Taryn Dooms1, Joshua Deal2,3, Thomas Rish2,3, Silas Leavesley1,2,3

1University of South Alabama Department of Chemical Engineering, Mobile,

AL, 2University of South Alabama Department of Pharmacology, Mobile,

AL, 3University of South Alabama Center for Lung Biology, Mobile, AL

Hyperspectral imaging approaches have been implemented in many fields

including agriculture, medicine, pharmaceutical sciences, and biomedical

engineering. Hyperspectral imaging approaches were developed by NASA

for remote sensing and satellite imaging applications. Traditional

fluorescence microscopy hyperspectral imaging approaches, which scan the

emission spectra, are inherently slow. To overcome this limitation,

Leavesley and colleagues have developed excitation scan-based imaging

approaches, which scan fluorescence excitation spectra rather than emission

spectra. These approaches have been shown to offer increased signal-to-

noise ratios and decreased acquisition speeds. To date, this approach has only

been used on epifluorescence microscope systems. Epifluorescence systems

collect light from the focal plane as well as out-of-focus light, effectively

limiting the resolution of the microscope system. We propose to implement

and validate a range of digital deconvolution algorithms in order to improve

the 3D image resolution. Digital deconvolution algorithms effectively

attempt to reassign the out-of-focus light to provide sharper imagines in three

spatial dimensions. We have implemented digital deconvolution techniques

using both standard ImageJ plug-ins as well as a custom ImageJ macro script.

Our preliminary results indicate digital deconvolution can help to deblur

images, allowing observation of intracellular structures in 3D and at higher

resolution.

EFFECTS OF IGF2BP1 INHIBITION ON THE SENSITIVITY OF

HCT116 CELLS TO IRINOTECAN

Tsige Gebretsadek1, Felicite Noubissi2

1Jackson state university, Jackson, MS, 2Jackson State University, Jackson,

MS

IGF2BP1 (Insulin growth factor 2 mRNA binding protein 1) also known as

IMP1, ZBP1, CRDBP, IMP-1, or CRD-BP isan RNA-binding protein whose

overexpression has been reported in various types of human cancers

including, colon, breast, liver, skin, ovary, and lung cancers. Induction of

IGF2BP1 has been shown to be responsible for a variety of pleiotropic

effects of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in human colorectal cancer cells.


Some of its identified mechanisms of action are: 1) inhibition of apoptosis

and 2) induction of active drug efflux from cells through elevated expression

of MDR-1. These mechanisms are believed to be responsible for the

resistance of colorectal cancer cells to chemotherapeutics. We therefore

hypothesized that inhibition of IGF2BP1 would sensitize colorectal cancer

cells to drugs. To test our hypothesis, we used the colorectal cancer cell line

HCT116 and the FDA-approved drug for the treatment of colorectal cancer

irinotecan. Using the MTT assay, we observed that inhibition of IGF2BP1

in HCT116 cells significantly reduced their ability to proliferate when

treated with low doses of Irinotecan (1.0 μM) for 72 hours. This reduction of

proliferation was associated with a significant increase in apoptosis in the

same cells as assessed by the caspase assay (P<0.005). This shows that

HCT116 cells depleted of IGF2BP1 respond better to treatment than control

cells. Inhibition of IGF2BP1 might represent a novel target in colorectal

cancer treatment.

STUDYING THE ROLE OF IGF2BP1 IN BASAL CELL

CARCINOMA DEVELOPMENT

Cayla Harris, Felicite Noubissi-Kamdem


Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) the most frequently occurring form of all

cancers. BCC begins in the basal cells, a type of cell within the skin that

produces new skin cells as old ones die off. The Hedgehog (Hh) signaling

pathway mediated by Gli1 transcription factor is the driving pathway of BCC

development. Gli1 expression was shown to be regulated not only by the

upstream signal of the Hh pathway but also by the Wnt/β-Catenin signaling.

The insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA binding protein 1 (IGF2BP1), a

direct target of the Wnt/β-Catenin signaling pathway was shown to bind to

GLI1 mRNA and regulate its expression and activity. The regulation of Gli1

by both the Hh and Wnt signaling was found to be IGF2BP1-dependent.

Therefore, we hypothesized that we can control both the Hh and Wnt/ β-

Catenin signaling by inhibiting IGF2BP1. In this study, we utilized various

genetic and molecular approaches to induce skin-specific IGF2BP1

knockout in the mouse model for BCC to study the role of IGF2BP1 in the

pathology of BCC. Additionally, we used human BCC cells depleted of

IGF2BP1 to study the effect of IGF2BP1 on tumor growth in a xenograft

mouse model. We observed that inhibition of IGF2BP1 significantly reduces

tumor growth in our xenograft studies. This suggests that IGF2BP1 could

represent a novel target in BCC treatment.

HIGH-FREQUENCY POLARIZED RAMAN STUDY ON HUMAN

DENTAL ENAMEL

Wencai He, Shan Yang


Water plays a critical role in dental enamel although it weighs only

approximately 3%. The structural analysis regarding water in enamel was

primarily conducted by nuclear magnetic resonance. Raman spectroscopy is

a powerful analytic technology with capability for structure analysis in

materials, which, however, has not been performed on water analysis in

enamel due to either the fluorescence interference under laser illumination

or reduced sensitivity of CCD detectors. In this study, we demonstrate high-

frequency Raman analysis in enamel using a polarized Raman

spectroscopy. A signal located at 3570 cm-1 is found dominating the O-H

region Raman spectra of enamel. The profiles of the high-frequency region

Raman spectra changes with the locations in enamel, as well as the

polarization of the excitation laser beam. The results suggest that the size or

crystallinity differences of hydroxyapatite crystals could be partially

responsible for the variation among different locations in enamel.

AUTONOMOUS MEDICINE DISPENSER

Diego Villegas, Sebastian Valencia, Roshan Madramootoo


The issue of adequately taking prescribed medications is essential for one’s

health and ability to convalesce. Studies have shown that people between the

ages of 34 and 84 are more likely to not stay on schedule with their

prescribed medications. We understand the negligence of this simple

responsibility due to the fast pace of today’s world and/or at an older age,

the ability to recall any task begins to deteriorate. Therefore, we intend to aid

in this critical obstacle by introducing an automated medicine dispenser

along with an external portable system, and a fingerprint scanner or code

lock for added security. This medicine dispenser is fully autonomous and

designed to assist individuals who require supervision. To achieve this

alternative as a solution and not an inconvenience, we have kept simplicity

above all. To operate the unit, the user places the drugs into a canister and

follows the indications displayed on an LCD screen. The medicine dispenser

will be able to dispense up to six different drugs and will be programmed to

send out a reminder via email and/or speakers that are embedded in the

central unit. When the user forgets to pick up their medicine, a reminder will

indicate the drug was not administered. Lastly, there will be a recording on

an excel spreadsheet format that will include a detailed summary of the

administrated medicines. This project will be achieved with the use of an

Arduino, LCD display, various sensors, along with other electronic devices.

RESEARCH SHADOWING: HIGH IMPACT, LOW COST

INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH

Kelly Johanson, Kathleen Morgan, Cecily DeFreece, Maryam Foroozesh,

Clair Wilkins-Green, Roshan Nayak


The positive impacts of shadowing experiences on undergraduate students’

career exploration has been well documented in medicine and other health-

related fields. However, use of shadowing to introduce students to scientific

research careers has not been as thoroughly explored. At Xavier University

of Louisiana, research shadowing has been used to make students more

aware of the research process and expand their knowledge of and enthusiasm

for biomedical careers. The National Institutes of Health-funded BUILD

Program at Xavier, Project Pathways, offers opportunities for students to

shadow in Xavier research labs and at local research-intensive partner

institutions. The participants observe undergraduate and graduate research

students along with research staff and faculty in labs over a period of several

weeks. Select participants also attend limited graduate course lectures. The

benefits to the shadowing students include but are not limited to the

opportunity to observe and ask questions about live experiments; and the

ability to explore the pros and cons of participating in research and attending

graduate school. Participants can also form and benefit from mentoring and

near-peer mentoring relationships. Shadowing participants are uniformly

positive in their responses to post-shadowing surveys and indicated that

shadowing was effective at helping them to understand the research process

and clarify their goals as related to research. Participants shadowing graduate

students also reported an increased intent to apply to graduate school.

TRANSCUTANEOUS ELECTRICAL NERVE STIMULATION AND

LOW LEVEL LASER THERAPY IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN

Xiaoli Dai, Min Huang, Lir_Wan Fan, Michelle Tucci, Ramon Jackson, Ike

Eriator, Claude Brunson


Neuropathic pain one of the most suffered conditions in medical disciplines,

affecting up to 5-10% of the population globally and can have a significant

negative impact on a patient’s quality of life. Neuropathic pain is difficult to

treat, thus, management of neuropathic pain represents an emerging

therapeutic challenge. A growing body of literature indicates that

transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and low-level laser

therapy (LLLT) can be effective and easy analgesic techniques in alleviating

pain for patients. In this study we used TENS and LLLT treatments for

neuropathic pain in rat sciatic nerve chronic constriction injury (CCI) model,

we investigated the effectiveness of TENS, LLLT and compared gender

differences. Experiments were conducted in adult male and female Sprague

Dawley (SD) rats (n=6 per treatment group). Animals received CCI under

anesthesia to establish the neuropathic pain model. TENS therapy

(Electrostim 380iF), LLLT (Microlight ML 830 laser with a wavelength of

830 nm), were used to treat CCI rats 3 days after surgery for 7 consecutive

days, respectively. The Von-Frey filaments test was performed on day 5, 7,

and 9 to obtain the response latencies to mechanical stimuli. The data was

used to compare the effectiveness of TENS, LLLT and gender differences.

The results indicated that the rat withdrawal latencies were significantly

increased in TENS, LLLT group on day 3, 5, and 7 compared to the CCI


control group. Gender differences has been founded in TENS treatment

groups between male and female.

IMPACT OF NATURAL NEUTRACETICS ON PROLIFERATION

AND SURVIVAL OF MRC-5 LUNG FIBROBLASTS AND THE A549

CANCEROUS CELL PHENOTYPE

Ibrahim Farah


In contrast to normal cells, cancer cells may lose the ability to utilize aerobic

respiration due to either defective mitochondria or hypoxia within the tumor

microenvironments. Tumor growth and abnormal cell survival were shown

to be associated with a number of cellular metabolic abnormalities. These

abnormalities are revealed by impaired oral glucose tolerance, depressed

lipoprotein lipase activity leading to hypertriglyceridemia and changes in

amino acid profile as evidenced by increased plasma free tryptophan levels

in patients with breast, lung, colon, stomach, and other cancers from various

origins. The above findings indicate a shift to non-oxidative metabolic

pathways in the cancer phenotype. Glucose was shown to be the major

energy source in cancer cells where it utilizes aerobic/anaerobic glycolysis

with the resultant lactic acid formation. The role of energetic/neutraceutics

modulations and use of glycolysis inhibition on cancer/normal cell survival

is unclearly shown by the literature. We hypothesize that nutraceutical

intermediates of glycolysis and the citric acid cycle will adversely and

differentially affect the cancer phenotype in contrast to their proliferation or

no effects on the normal cell phenotype. Therefore, the purpose of this study

was to evaluate eleven neutraceutics as glycolysis inhibitors namely, Pyruvic

acid, oxalic acid, Zn acetate, sodium citrate, fructose diphosphate (FDP) and

sodium bicarbonate, honey, glycerol, ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbate, and

d-glucose at µM concentrations on growing A549 (human lung cancerous

phenotype) and MRC-5 (normal human lung fibroblast) cell lines with the

objective of determining their influence on cellular metabolic activity, cell

proliferation /viability and end-point cell survival. Exposed and non-exposed

cells were tested for survival/death and metabolic activity trends through

MTT-assays, as well as death end-point determinations by testing re-growth

on complete media as well as viable counts by the T4 cellometer. Results

showed that oxalic acid and Zn acetate both influenced the pH of the medium

and resulted in non-differential within the exposure period. Pyruvic acid,

sodium citrate, sodium bicarbonate, honey, d-glucose, ascorbic acid, sodium

ascorbate, glycerol and FDP caused detectable loss of metabolic activity,

viability and survival/death endpoints with the resultant inactivation of the

A549 cell line. The MRC-5 cell line was differentially unaffected by

exposure to pyruvic acid, sodium citrate, sodium bicarbonate, FDP, honey,

d-glucose, ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbate and glycerol underwent complete

recovery and remained both attached and healthy for 6 weeks upon

subculture on a new complete medium. Oxalic acid and Zn acetate did not

show differential modulation with the consequent loss of survival and death

of the MRC-5 cell line. Metabolic activity, cell counts as well as death end-

point findings confirmed our hypothesis. These studies show the potential

utility of exploiting cellular metabolic differences in cancer management and

control.

FABRICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF FITC-DEXTRAN

LOADED PLGA MICRONEEDLES FOR TRANSDERMAL DRUG

DELIVERY

Apoorva Panda1, Srinath Rangappa1, S. Narasimha Murthy1.

1 Department of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, School of Pharmacy,

University of Mississippi, MS

Purpose: Biodegradable polymers have been prominently used in the field

of drug delivery due to its degradability and biocompatible properties. These

polymers break down in the body and produce non-toxic natural by-products

which are easily eliminated. Biodegradable microneedles have been

researched and has shown to possess several benefits as compared to other

types of microneedles. Biodegradable microneedles on insertion into skin

produce non-sharp waste and can be engineered in a way to allow a rapid or

slow release of drug. In this study PLGA (poly (D, L-lactic co-glycolic acid))

microneedles (MN) were fabricated and characterized for invitro release and

permeation studies. In addition, they were also evaluated for microscopy,

mechanical strength and in-vivo penetration.

Methods: FITC Dextran loaded PLGA microneedles were fabricated using

mold casting technique. Briefly the polymer was dissolved in acetonitrile,

and drug was dispersed until a uniform clear solution was seen. On casting

into the molds, they were subjected to centrifugation at 4500 rpm for 10 mins

and left to dry overnight. The microneedles were fabricated using mold

casting technique and left to dry overnight. Microneedles were characterized

using electron microscopy for Physical characteristics. They were subjected

to an In Vitro Release test to evaluate its controlled release profile. IVPT

studies were performed using Franz diffusion cells. In vivo penetration

studies were performed by poking the microneedles on to the rat skin and

cryosectiong at different time intervals and observed under fluorescence

microscopy. Textural properties of the microneedles were studied using TA-

XT2i.

Results: FITC-Dextran loaded PLGA microneedles were successfully

fabricated using mold casting technique. The microneedles had a dimension

of 410 µm height, 257 µm width of base and 25 µm width of tip of MN. The

in vitro release profile of the microneedles was biphasic; with an initial burst

release at 2 h, followed by a gradual release. In vivo release study in skin

showed a constant release of FITC-Dextran for a period of 72 h. The amount

of FITC-Dextran permeated was 3.483 µg/cm2 at the end of 96 hours and it

showed a 20fold higher permeation profile as compared to the control. The

texture analysis results showed that the FITC-Dextran loaded PLGA

microneedles (28.46g) required a higher puncture force as compared to blank

PLGA microneedle (16.92g). In vivo imaging studies showed a maximum

distribution of FITC-Dextran at 30 min, after which the FITC intensity

gradually decreased.

Conclusion: The study involving PLGA microneedles loaded with FITC-

Dextran clearly demonstrates that incorporating higher molecular weight

molecules into PLGA microneedles proved to be an effective strategy of

microneedle fabrication to sustain its release and mechanistic properties

required for transdermal delivery.

ANALGESIC EFFECTS OF LOCAL MUSCLE VIBRATION ON

INDIVIDUALS WITH KNEE PAIN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Rachel Tyrone, Sam Jackson Dunnam, Natalie Hall, MacKenzie Ortlepp,

and Min Huang


INTRODUCTION: Along with traditional pain management, research has

demonstrated that whole body vibration decreases pain in patients with knee

osteoarthritis.1 The use of vibration is related to the gate control theory of

pain. This states that non-painful input through mechanical transduction can

serve as a key in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord.2 This can close nerve

gates responsible for painful inputs traveling to the central nervous system.3

With improvements in technology, devices such as VibraCool™ have been

used in focal vibration treatment and shown to provide analgesic effects.4

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to investigate the analgesic effects

of localized vibration applied on or around the knee joint in individuals with

knee pain.

METHODS:

Search Engines: PubMed, Embase

Search Strategy: ((vibration) AND knee) AND pain

Eligibility

Articles were included based on the following criteria:

1. Experimental studies investigating the effects of focal vibration on

people with knee pain

2. Outcome measure including a pain scale

3. Reported in English

Studies were excluded based on the following criteria:

1. Trials implementing whole-body vibration

2. Knee pain resulting from systemic disease

3. Patients with sensory deficits

There were no restrictions on age, gender, ethnicity, type of setting, or reason

for pain, whether pre-existing or acute injury of the knee.


RESULTS: The database search resulted in 261 articles when duplicates

were eliminated. After screening titles and abstracts, 12 full texts articles

were obtained for review. Following an additional hand search of references

and application of final inclusion criteria, an overall total of 5 studies was

selected (4 RCT’s and 1 single arm experimental study). The systematic

review included 223 total participants.

The studies presented used various outcome measures to quantify subjective

pain ratings. Local vibration is shown to be more effective in treating knee

pain than all other comparative treatments in the evaluated between-group

studies. All 5 studies demonstrated positive effects by decreasing pain with

local vibration.

CONCLUSION: Evidence supports that localized vibration applied to the

knee joint significantly decreases pain based on this systematic review. The

results of these studies positively support that local vibration can be utilized

as an analgesic modality in physical therapy practice. This modality could

also contribute to conservative therapy in decreasing the dependency of

opioid usage for pain management.5 The small quantity of high-quality

research available serves as a limitation that could lead to a high risk of bias

in favor of the intervention. Additional studies are needed to further

investigate the use of this modality in comparison with other interventions

to decrease pain across various patient populations.

DISEASE PREVENTION THROUGH THE LENS OF GENETICS,

ENVIRONMENT, & NUTRITION

Lashanda Brumfield, PhD, MPH, CHES, CTRS

Piedmont College, Demorest GA

Today’s practitioners often offer to use genetic testing only when treating

diseases such as cancer or for detecting developmental markers health

maternal, but what if we begin to consider genetic testing in many of the

other diseases and health conditions within our nation.

Nutrigenetics/Nutrigenomics, which is the study of genetic variation and

dietary response, continues to grow an increased understanding of the role

of nutrients and gene expression. An observational follow-up study, in

Finland, took place to assess the long-term clinical and behavioral effects of

receiving personal genetic risk information. Patients receiving information

on increased personal specific genetic risk for CVD provided the motivation

for improvements in health behavior. Changes were modest, but in most

cases, remained visible even after a number of years (Hietaranta, 2018). This

proves that research is there to prove the many benefits

Nutrigenetics/Nutrigenomics in disease prevention, but the communication

and use among practitioners, especially Health Educators and Physicians,

does not exist. In many situations, genetic testing for specific diseases

continues to be of a lesser recommendation until the onset of the disease. If

taken into consideration, genetic testing could put us in the front of

prevention planning for many of our patients.

SYNTHESIS OF TWO NANO TEMPO CELLULOSE FORMS

UTILIZING TEMPO/NAOCL/OXONE CONDITION AND THEIR

USE IN THE PREPARATION OF TEMPO CELLULOSE THIN FILM

BIOMATERIALS

Soma Shekar Dachavaram1, John P. More II2, Jamie A. Hestekin2, Peter A.

Crooks1

1Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University

of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 2Department of Chemical

Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR

Cellulose is an advanced biomaterial obtained mainly from renewable forest

and agricultural resources. Oxidized cellulose containing carboxylic acid

functionalities is of great interest because it has a wide range of medicinal

and material science applications. Also, oxidized cellulose is completely

biodegradable and biocompatible under physiological conditions. For these

reasons we have successfully developed an efficient and novel method for

the oxidation of cellulose utilizing oxone (KHSO5) as oxidizing agent in

combination with 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyl-1-oxyl (TEMPO)/NaOCl

in aq. NaHCO3 (pH≈7.5 to 8.5) under microwave irradiation conditions to

afford a water-insoluble nano TEMPO cellulose (TEMPO cellulose form-I)

and water-soluble nano TEMPO cellulose (TEMPO cellulose form-II).

These two forms were characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, solid state

NMR, FT-IR spectroscopy, SEM, TEM and elemental analysis. This oxone-

mediated oxidation of cellulose represents a convenient methodology for the

synthesis of cellulose carboxylates. The advantages of this process are the

non-toxic nature of oxone as an oxidizing agent, and the relatively short

reaction time under microwave irradiation. We have also prepared TEMPO

cellulose thin films with various combinations of TEMPO cellulose form-I

and form-II utilizing casting through filtration and wet casting method.

These thin films afford low contact angle measurements with water utilizing

the sessile drop technique. TEMPO cellulose material and its thin film forms

exhibit excellent biocompatibility as artificial extracellular matrices for

neural differentiation and for various other biomedical applications. In

conclusion, our newly created TEMPO cellulose thin films obtained via

oxone oxidation of cellulose represent biocompatible materials with a

promising future for biomedical applications.

Session 6: Biomaterials-2 (3D Sacffold)

FREEZE-CASTING OF BIOMATERIAL SCAFFOLDS: A REVIEW

OF PROGRESS AND PERSPECTIVES ON FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Stephen Florczyk


Biomaterial scaffolds are a key component of tissue engineering constructs

that are produced in many formats through several methods. Freeze-casting

is a biomaterial scaffold production technique that produces 3D porous

biomaterial scaffolds. Freeze-casting is a commonly used technique since it

is a simple process that may be conducted with many materials. Freeze-

casting enables the control of the scaffold pore size and pore structure

through control of the freezing kinetics and processing conditions. The

basics of the freeze-casting technique will be described, along with

variations of the technique employed by biomedical researchers. Examples

of freeze cast scaffolds used in tissue engineering and cancer research

applications will be presented. Highlights of research projects from the

author’s lab will be presented demonstrating new insights and directions in

freeze-casting for biomaterial scaffolds, including mechanical modeling of

the scaffold freezing process, the development of a scaffold production

technique that combines freeze-casting and 3D printing, and the

development of freeze-cast porous thin films. These projects demonstrate the

influence of the mold geometry on the freezing behavior and the scaffold

pore structure, the production of hierarchical scaffold porosity through the

combination of freeze-casting and 3D printing, and the effect of freeze-

casting solutions in limited volumes on the pore structure. The combination

of the results of these projects and other insights will lead to perspectives on

future directions in freeze-casting for biomaterial scaffolds.

PRODUCTION OF BIOMATERIAL SCAFFOLDS WITH

HIERARCHICAL POROSITY THROUGH 3D PRINTING

Zi Wang, Stephen Florczyk


Biomaterial scaffolds with hierarchical structures may better resemble tissue

structures and improve cell-material interaction. However, it is challenging

to create hierarchical structures using single conventional techniques. We

developed the Freeze-FRESH (FF) technique that combines 3D printing

(3DP) and freeze-casting to produce a hierarchical structure by introducing

micropores in 3D printed scaffold struts. FF scaffolds were generated by

extrusion 3DP in support bath, freezing, lyophilization, and recovery from

the bath. FF scaffolds were frozen at -20 °C and -80 °C and they had porous

struts with similar pore sizes of 307.79 ± 97.12 µm and 269.17 ± 58.39 µm

due to freezing in support bath. The -20 °C and -80 °C FF scaffolds had strut

porosities of 63.55 ± 2.59% and 56.72 ± 13.17%, respectively, while controls

had 3.15 ± 2.20% strut porosity. The -20 °C and -80 °C FF scaffolds had a

pore wall stiffness of 41.85 ± 14.41 kPa and 56.63 ± 13.20 kPa. FF scaffolds

were resilient in bending. FF scaffolds supported MDA-MB-231 cell growth

and had significantly greater cell numbers than controls. Cells formed

multicellular clusters and had improved distribution on FF scaffolds. The FF

method successfully produced hierarchical porosities in scaffolds that

enhanced MDA-MB-231 growth.


REMOVAL OF TITANIUM POWDERS FROM ADDITIVELY

MANUFACTURED CELLULAR STRUCTURES

Emma Hill, Fatemeh Hejripour, Ebrahim Asadi


In this work, our goal was to propose a new cleaning process for Titanium

cellular structures which is safe for medical applications. Using cellular

structures has a wide range of medical capabilities, particularly for implants

which facilitate bone growth. Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing

is a promising method to produce these cellular structures. During the

process, partially melted powder remains both loose and adhered to the

structure. These powders are incompatible with the body, and cause

cytotoxicity. In order for the samples to be safe to introduce to live cells, the

majority of these particles have to be removed. For our purposes, we tested

two separate cell sizes, with Diamond and Dodecahedron structures. We

present an effective strategy for cleaning which includes ultrasonic bath

cleaning, and also jet blasting samples with Aluminum Oxide at varying

levels of pressure. The process achieved major particle removal, with an

average of 9.8% weight loss for 1.5 pore size structures, and 8.57% for 2

pore size structures. Future work on this project would include introducing

live cells to the structures and determining their rates of growth on and within

the cells.

DOPAMINE-ASSISTED NANO-HYDROXYAPATITE COATING

ON 3D PRINTED POLY(LACTIC-CO-GLYCOLIC ACID)

SCAFFOLD

Weitong Chen, Luke Tucker, Landon Teer, Lauren B. Priddy

Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Mississippi State

University, MS, USA,

Although transplanted autogenous bone remains the gold standard in treating

large bone defects, donor site morbidity and limited volume of harvested

bone necessitates the development of customized bone scaffolds for bone

regeneration. Surface modifications to enhance the wettability and

roughness of 3D printed polyester-based scaffolds are critical for adhesion,

proliferation, and differentiation of cells on these surfaces. Dopamine (Dop)

can penetrate porous structures and easily attach on various hydrophobic or

hydrophilic surfaces through self-polymerization in a weak basic

environment, without degrading the polymer. The present research

investigated the effects of dopamine-assisted nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA)

coating on surface morphology, chemistry, and hydrophilicity of 3D printed

poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.

First, four groups of scaffolds and solid plates were prepared: non-treated

(PLGA), nHA coated (PLGA/nHA), dopamine (4 mg ml-1 in 10 mM Tris-

HCl, pH=8.5) treated (PLGA/Dop), and dopamine-treated and nHA coated

(PLGA/Dop/nHA). Second, the morphology and surface chemistry were

characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM),

energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Fourier-transform

infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Third, the change in wettability was evaluated

by water contact angle (WCA) analysis (n=5). The SEM images showed that

the dopamine and nHA particles were successfully coated on the surface of

PLGA/Dop/nHA. Moreover, the EDX elemental mapping indicated that the

nHA particles were uniformly distributed with the precoating of dopamine.

The dopamine and nHA coatings were confirmed on the surface of

PLGA/Dop/nHA by FTIR detection of the following: a broad absorbance

between 3150 cm-1 and 3600 cm-1 which identified the stretching vibrations

of N-H and O-H, the peak at 1615 cm-1 indicating the C=C of the benzene

ring in the dopamine molecule, and the peak at 1020 cm-1 from the P=O in

the nHA crystal. The WCA of PLGA, PLGA/nHA, PLGA/Dop, and

PLGA/Dop/nHA were significantly reduced (all pairwise comparisons) in

the following order: 108.62 ± 5.86º > 70.67 ± 3.56º > 48.61 ± 3.79º > 29.07

± 2.69º. Although all treated groups exhibited hydrophilic surfaces,

PLGA/Dop/nHA was the most hydrophilic. The pre-treatment of dopamine

effectively promoted homogeneous distribution of nHA coating, which is

expected to improve the osteoconductivity of the 3D printed PLGA scaffolds

for bone regeneration.

Session 7: Computational

NON-INVASIVE GLUCOSE MONITORING SYSTEM WITH

SERVER LINK

Ryan Tang Dan, Atif Saeed, Mohammed Benalla


Glucose meters have been widely used due to its ability to provide fast and

efficient analysis of blood glucose levels. These monitors have become very

important in the management of hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic disorders

in adjusting glucose levels to a near-normal range. The most common

products for these monitoring and management systems are intrusive and

requires a patient to prick their finger to obtain a blood sample. In recent

developments, advancements have been made in the creation of a more non-

intrusive patch consisting of micro-needles that are able to obtain glucose

readings. However, there are no current glucose meters that can effectively

record these measurements for medical examination.

This new device provides a non-invasive glucose monitoring system that can

upload results from daily glucose tests to a cloud server system. The cloud

server system can then be accessed by the patient’s doctor. In many different

situations, symptoms may appear at unpredictable times and are not easily

detected while at the hospital. Through this server, a doctor can track the

history of the patient prior to a visitation. Through this recorded history

doctors can properly provide the right diagnosis and treatments necessary to

target illnesses in the patient. Furthermore, the server can alert doctors of any

abnormalities or potentially dangerous readings obtained from the patients.

A COMPUTATIONAL STUDY OF HUMAN HEAD RESPONSE TO

IMPACT FROM A SMALL UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM

Alex Smith, Yucheng Liu, Parker Berthelson, Raj Prabhu


High biofidelic human head and neck finite element analysis (FEA) models

were developed by Mississippi State University (MSU) to investigate the

response of human head subjected to impacts from small unmanned aircraft

systems (UAS). The FEA models were created by meshing a CAD model

generated from computed tomography (CT) scans of a post-mortem human

subject (PMHS) provided by Ohio State University (OSU). Verification and

validation procedures were carried out at first for the developed FEA models

and the obtained simulation results showed good correlation with

experimental data. The FEA human head and necks, along with a small UAS

FEA model, were then imported into LS-DYNA software package for small

UAS – human head and neck impact analysis. 15 impact simulations were

conducted to replicate the small UAS-PMHS impact tests performed at OSU.

Relatively good agreement was achieved between MSU’s simulation results

and OSU’s impact test results, with the average difference in peak

accelerations being 14%. Simulation results showed that the risk of brain

injury would increase as the velocity, thereby the kinetic energy, of the small

UAS increased. Different levels of Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) 3+ brain

injury risk were obtained when assessing the simulation results using Brain

Injury Criterion (BrIC) or Head Injury Criterion (HIC). Such discrepancies

suggest a need to develop a new brain injury criteria.

A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON DATA MINING TECHNIQUES FOR

BREAST CANCER SURVIVABILITY PREDICTION

Christian Zamiela, Haifeng, Wang, Wenmeng, Tian, Linkan, Bian,


This research presents a comparative study of using common data mining

techniques for breast cancer survivability prediction. Breast cancer is one of

the leading cancer instances in the United States. The prediction of survival

rate can certainly help healthcare providers to understand the disease and

generate prevention strategies to reduce the breast cancer mortality.

However, clinical test is quite costly and time-consuming for the breast

cancer prognosis. It is also a tedious task to have a long-term monitoring

process after breast cancer treatment. Data mining models are potential

approaches that can provide early breast cancer detection and improve the

efficiency of the whole diagnosis process. This research aims to apply data

mining techniques to predict the survivability of patients after diagnosed as

breast cancer. A comparative study is conducted for six classification

models, i.e., linear discriminant analysis, logistic regression, naïve Bayes

classifier, support vector machine, random forest, and gradient boosting on


a practical large-scale dataset. The data is based on the breast cancer dataset

from National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End

Results (SEER) program, which includes more than 800,000 instances over

40 years’ collection. This research shows the potential of using advanced

data mining techniques to solve practical breast cancer prediction problems.

The outcome of this research could also be used for other disease diagnosis

and benefit the decision making in healthcare process.

AN ADAPTIVE DEEP LEARNING MODEL FOR RETINAL

DISEASE DIAGNOSIS USING 3D MEDICAL IMAGES

Haifeng Wang


This research presents an adaptive deep learning model for retinal disease

classification based on 3D optical coherence tomography (OCT) images.

Computer-aided retinal disorder diagnosis is one of the critical research

topics that can benefit the patient care process. 3D medical images can

provide more comprehensive information about retinal structures. However,

due to the higher data dimension and more complicated data pattern

compared to 2D images, 3D image analysis is challenging the performance

of many machine learning models. This research aims to develop a machine

learning model for retinal disease diagnosis on 3D OCT images. A public

dataset, which includes age related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic

macular edema (DME), and the normal cases, is used in this study. The

model includes three main procedures: 1) Image preprocessing is conducted

for each cross-sectional retinal image. A novel Hough transform-based line

detection approach is developed to extract 3D retinal layers. 2) 3D retinal

layer samples are constructed, which are used to optimize an adaptive deep

learning model to identify the most effective and efficient model structure.

A novel objective function is proposed to optimize the convergence trend in

this process. The constructed deep learning structure is based on the search

result of a neural architecture space. 3) The optimized deep learning model

is trained using the extracted 3D samples. The experimental results show that

the proposed model can significantly boost the training efficiency and

improve the testing accuracy.

DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF VARIABLE STIFFNESS

ANKLE FOOT ORTHOSES UNDER LEVEL WALKING

CONDITIONS VIA FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

Alex Ambro1, Gabriel Carbonell2, Hwan Choi2, Chi Hou Lei1

1Saint Louis University, St Louis, MO 2Central Florida University, Orlando,

FL

The prevalence of stroke in the United States is more than 795,000 annually

with more than half of stroke survivors experiencing atypical walking

patterns from tight and short muscle characteristics. Ankle foot orthoses

(AFOs) are commonly prescribed assistive devices which help amend

pathologic walking patterns. Adjusting an AFO’s stiffness is a common

tuning parameter for producing better clinical outcomes. However, current

standard of care AFO varies stiffness by modifying the trimline between heel

and malleolus. Once stiffness is set, it is difficult to adjust the stiffness level

because the modification is irreversible. There are commercially available

AFOs with adjustable stiffness, however, their stiffness is only manually

adjusted with the patient in a static position. This makes comparing

musculotendon operating length with AFO stiffness challenging using

standard visual methods. Therefore, the goal of this study is to develop an

AFO with dynamically adjustable stiffness, using cantilever beam bending

mechanics about different support positions. We used finite element

analysis, via ANSYS, to calculate stiffness for varying cross-sections and

support positions on the beam, derived from known motion of the AFO

during walking. This AFO will help orthotists prescribe optimal stiffness and

allow to apply algorithms enabling improved atypical walking patterns.

Session 8: Biomaterials 3 (Electrospinning/Chitosan)

3D POROUS CHITOSAN-ALGINATE SCAFFOLD STIFFNESS

DISCERNS PROSTATE CANCER PHENOTYPIC DIFFERENCES

Kailei Xu1, Kavya Ganapathy1, Thomas Andl2, Zi Wang1, John Copland3,

Ratna Chakrabarti1, Stephen Florczyk1

1University of Central Florida, Orlando, USA. 2University of Central

Florida, Orlando, FL. 3Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in

men. The tissue stiffness increases with the PCa progression from normal

prostate tissue to primary PCa and further in bone metastatic site. This

stiffness change in the PCa stages provides an opportunity to mimic the

stages in vitro using 3D scaffolds. Here, we used 2, 4, and 6 wt% chitosan-

alginate (CA) scaffolds with increasing stiffness to mimic the normal,

primary PCa and metastatic PCa tissue stiffness. PCa cell lines PC-3, C4-

2B, and 22Rv1 were cultured on the three CA scaffold compositions to

investigate the effect of CA scaffold stiffness on cell responses. All CA

scaffolds supported cell growth, but the growth was stiffness-independent.

The C4-2B and 22Rv1 cells had multicellular spheroid morphology on all

CA scaffolds, while PC-3 cells formed clusters. All PCa cells cultured on

CA scaffolds expressed markers that confirmed their phenotypes and

epithelial status. All CA scaffolds revealed the phenotypic differences of

PCa cells, where osteoblastic C4-2B and 22Rv1 cells mineralized in basal

media, while the osteolytic PC-3 cells did not. These results suggest that CA

scaffolds could be used to discern the osteoblastic and osteolytic PCa

phenotypic characteristics.

NANONET-ELECTROSPUN MESH OF POLY (Ε-

CAPROLACTONE) AND CHITOSAN FOR CONTROLLED

RELEASE OF DICLOFENAC SODIUM

Sheikh Saudi, Shanta Bhattarai, Narayan Bhattarai Bhattarai

NC A&T State University, Greensboro, NC

Electrospun fiber mesh have been found as a versatile platform to deliver

different doses of bio or chemical agents. However, there is still an unmet

need to develop practical fiber compositions for water-soluble drugs needed

at high dosing or desire for sustained release. To date, most sustained release

electrospun fibers have been mostly restricted to the delivery of hydrophobic

drugs at low drug loading which is often not beneficial in some clinical

applications. For hydrophilic, small molecule drug, such as Diclofenac

Sodium (DS) due to its high aqueous solubility and poor incompatibility with

insoluble polymers, makes long-term release even more challenging. Here

we investigate electrospun composite nanofibers of poly (ε-caprolactone)

(PCL) and chitosan (CS) to sustain release of DS drug that are highly loaded

in the fibers. Nanofibers with different amount of DS drug were fabricated

by electrospinning technique and found very interesting Nanonet-nanofiber

patterned in morphology. Different physicochemical properties such as

morphology, aqueous stability, mechanical properties and chemical

properties of nanofibers were evaluated. High drug entrapment efficiency

and concentration dependent drug release patterns were investigated in

phosphate buffered saline up to 14 days. Furthermore, biocompatibility of

the drug loaded membrane were tested in NIH 3T3 fibroblast cells and found

that the fiber topography enhanced the cell attachment on the fibers.

COVALENT ATTACHMENT OF CIS-2-DECENOIC ACID TO

ELECTROSPUN CHITOSAN MEMBRANES FOR BIOFILM

INHIBITION

Carlos Wells, Alexis Johnson, Joel Bumgardner, Priya Murali, J. Amber

Jennings


About 80% of infections are caused by bacterial biofilm. There is a need for

a local delivery system for a natural fatty acid bacterial signals that disrupt

biofilms, such as cis-2-decenoic acid. Electrospun chitosan membranes have

functional groups on the linear polysaccharide, which allows bonding to fatty

acids. Chitosan membranes with attached cis-2-decenoic acid may offer

biocompatible extension of delivery as well as surface protection. Our

research objective for this study was to construct chitosan nanofiber

membranes with covalently bonded C2DA and to determine elution of

C2DA for potential biofilm inhibition. Cis-2-decenoic chloride was

produced using 0.15 mol thionyl chloride and 0.1 mol cis-2-decenoic acid

with a chloride reflux reaction. Evidence of covalent bonding was confirmed

with Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). An elution study was

performed in PBS for 7 days, after which concentrations were measured with

high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); after 7 days, membranes

were placed in bacterial lipase to determine whether bacterial enzymes

trigger release of C2DA. FTIR spectra confirm that the intended reaction

occurred, resulting in ester bonds. Ability of C2DA directly attaching to


chitosan could provide extended elution and protection of surfaces from

biofilm. Further investigation is necessary to explore characterizing the

elution and anti-biofilm activity using microbiological assays. C2DA

modified membranes could be used is in wound healing applications, bone

defects, and dental guided bone regeneration membranes to defend healing

tissue against infection.

3D COLLAGEN-COATED CHITOSAN SCAFFOLDS ENHANCE

TUMOR PROGRESSION IN PROSTATE CANCER

Chong Bin He1, Kailei Xu2, Zi Wang2, Stephen Florczyk2,3

1College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL. 2Department of Material Science and Engineering, University of Central

Florida, Orlando, FL, 3Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, College of

Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the leading causes of death in men due to

metastasis or treatment resistance. Shifting the preclinical drug screening

platforms from the previously 2D models to 3D cultures that better mimic

the complex tumor microenvironment allows for development of new

therapies against PCa. Our group demonstrated that 3D porous 4% chitosan-

based scaffolds support prostate cancer cultures. Here, we improved our

scaffold-based models by incorporating collagen type I, an extracellular

matrix protein commonly found in prostate tumor microenvironment, into

the scaffolds. We hypothesized that the modified scaffolds would enhance

the tumor progression process. PCa cell lines, C4-2B and PC-3, were seeded

on polystyrene plates (2D), chitosan only or collagen-coated chitosan

scaffolds and analyzed on days 3, 7, and 10. We showed that both types of

chitosan scaffolds better support tumor progression of C4-2B and PC-3 than

2D polystyrene culture by upregulating prostate specific antigen and

cytokeratin 8. Furthermore, the expression pattern of CD44, a pro-malignant

factor, of C4-2B and PC-3 in both types of chitosan scaffolds was opposite

to the CD44 expression of the corresponding PCa cells in 2D. More

importantly, the collagen-coated chitosan scaffolds demonstrated faster,

more prominent molecular changes compared to the uncoated counterpart.

ELUTION OF CURCUMIN FROM ELECTROSPUN CHITOSAN

MEMBRANES FOR LOCAL DELIVERY SYSTEMS

Stasianne Mallin, Carlos Wells, Jessica Jennings, Joel Bumgardner, Vishnu

Murali


Polyphenol curcumin, a component of turmeric, has become a major point

of interest in the medical world because of its antioxidant and anti-

inflammatory effects, which can help conditions ranging from metabolic

syndrome to arthritis to anxiety. A major limitation in delivery of the

hydrophobic curcumin is maintaining active concentrations for extended

periods. Electrospun chitosan membranes may be stabilized with

hydrophobic acylation, which has been shown to sustain delivery of other

hydrophobic molecules. This led to our research question: Can electrospun

chitosan membranes loaded with curcumin elute curcumin at therapeutically

effective levels? First, we loaded hexanoic acylated electrospun chitosan

membranes with curcumin dissolved in ethanol at varying concentrations,

and then completed an elution study of the membranes in phosphate-buffered

saline (PBS) over the course of 7 days. Analysis of the eluates via

spectrophotometry and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)

indicate that curcumin is released in small amounts and that it breaks down

into curcuminoids as it elutes. By visual observation, curcumin is retained

within the membranes over extended periods. After elution in PBS, 50%

acetic acid was used to wash out curcumin retained on the membranes, which

revealed that high levels of curcumin were retained. Therefore, curcumin

may be loaded and eluted from electrospun chitosan membranes. Further

research will include determining optimum loading amount and exploration

of different biomaterial compositions, like nanoparticles and hydrogels,

which could be utilized in local treatment of inflammatory conditions.

Session 9: Neuroscience-2 (Biological and Chemical

Influences)

INTERVENTIONS FOR ENCEPHALOPATHY OF

PREMATURITY: STATE OF EVIDENCE

Abhay Bhatt

University of Mississippi Medical Center, Newborn Division, Jackson, MS

Encephalopathy of Prematurity is a complex permutation of destructive and

developmental disturbances of immature brain in survivors of premature

birth which leads to cerebral palsy in 5% to 10%, other motor disturbance in

25% to 40% and a broad spectrum of cognitive, visual, social-behavioral,

attention, and learning disabilities in 25% to 50% of very low birth weight

(less than 1500 g) survivors. This review will start with a succinct description

of the pathophysiology of brain injury with a particular focus on the role of

maturation-dependent factors, which make the specific brain regions and

brain cell types vulnerable to injury. The rest of review will focus on the

current state of evidence of preventive and therapeutic interventions for

encephalopathy of prematurity.

INTRANASAL INSULIN REDUCES HYPOXIA-ISCHEMIA-

INDUCED NEURON APOPTOSIS, BRAIN DAMAGE AND

SENSORIMOTOR BEHAVIORAL DEFICITS IN NEONATAL RATS

Sara Sandifer1,2, Chirag Talati2, Jonathan Lee2, Norma Ojeda2, Silu Lu2,

Varsha Prakash2, Nilesh Dankhara2, Lindsey Winborne2, Tanner Nielson2,

Gene Bidwell3, Yi Pang2, Abhay Bhatt2, Lir-Wan Fan2

1Summer Undergraduate Research Experience Program (SURE), University

of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, 2Department of Pediatrics,

Division of Newborn Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center,

Jackson, MS. 3Department of Neurology, University of Mississippi Medical

Center, Jackson, MS

Perinatal hypoxic‐ischemia (HI) brain injury occurs in approximately 1 to 3

out of every 1,000 births, with 15‐20% dying in the postnatal period. The

present study is to investigate whether intranasal insulin attenuates hypoxia-

ischemia-induced neuron apoptosis and brain damage in neonatal rats. P10

rat pups either had the HI exposure by ligation of the right carotid artery

followed by 90 min of hypoxia (8% O2) or sham surgery followed by room

air. Immediately after HI or Sham, pups were given florescence-tagged

insulin (Alex 546-Insulin)/Vehicle, human insulin (25 μg), or vehicle or in

each nare under anesthesia. Sensorimotor behavioral tests were carried out

24 hours after HI exposure and brain tissues were collected to conduct

neuronal damage studies on P11. Widespread Alex546-Insulin-binding cells

were detected in the brain and double-immunostaining showed that Alex546-

Insulin-bindings were primarily co-localized with neurons. In the

hippocampus, phospho-Akt was found to be activated in a subset of

Alex546-Insulin double-labeled cells, suggesting activation of the Akt/PI3K

pathway in these neurons. Intranasal insulin treatment also reduced HI-

induced sensorimotor behavioral disturbances and ipsilateral brain damage,

as indicated by Fluoro-Jade C+ degenerated neurons and caspase 3+ neurons

in the P11 brain. These results suggest that insulin may provide protection

against neonatal HI brain neuronal injury and sensorimotor behavioral

disturbances, and that protective effects are associated with the reduction of

neuronal death by activation of intracellular cell survival

signaling. Intranasal Insulin has the potential to be a promising non-invasive

therapy to improve outcomes of newborns with hypoxic-ischemic

encephalopathy.

PROTOCOL FOR NANOPARTICLE DELIVERY OF

THERAPEUTICS TO TREAT TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

Claire Jones1, Chelsea Pernici2, Jeung Soo Lee3, Teresa Murray1

1LA Tech University, Ruston, LA, 2University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT. 3Clemson University, Clemson, NC

Spinal cord injuries (SCI) and traumatic brain injures (TBI) result in

impaired motor and sensory skills, which tend to amplify over time due to

the natural immune responses to trauma. An experimental treatment method,

poly(lactide-co-glycolide)-graft-polyethenimine (PgP) is used as a vector for

drug delivery. This previously described method has been seen to

successfully treat SCI using the nanoparticles for delivery of Rolipram (Rm),

a phosphodiester inhibitor, to repair damage in a rat model. We propose to

utilize the same treatment used for SCI to reduce secondary axonal damage

after TBI. The evidence presented supports the use of this method for TBI


treatment by illustrating the ability of the nanoparticles to diffuse through

neuronal tissue post intraventricular injection. The results here also show the

possible validity of alternative administration methods. Alternative methods

will negate the damaging effect of direct injection into neural tissue.

GLUCOCORTICOID-INDUCED REDUCTION OF MYELINATION

AND CONNEXIN 43 IS PREVENTED BY MIFEPRISTONE IN RAT

MIXED CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM CELL CULTURES

Jose Javier Miguel-Hidalgo, Kathleen Carter, Preston Hardin Deloach,

Leon Sanders, Yi Pang


Repeated stress induces systemic elevations in glucocorticoid levels. Stress

is also associated with alterations in astrocytes and oligodendrocytes in the

central nervous system, involving connexins and myelin proteins.

Corticosteroid elevation seems a major factor in stress-induced

neuropathology. Changes in astrocyte connexins and myelin components

may be important mediators for the neurological effects of corticosteroid

elevations. Two primary cell culture models, a myelination culture from rat

embryonic spinal cord (SC) or cerebral cortex (CC) consisting of neurons

and glial cells (oligodendrocytes, microglia and astrocytes), and a mixed

astrocyte-and-oligodendrocyte culture prepared from postnatal rat CC, were

used in this study. Cell cultures were treated with either vehicle,

corticosterone (CORT) with or without glucocorticoid receptor antagonist

mifepristone, or dexamethasone (DEX) during the period of in

vitro myelination. Immunoreactivity of astrocyte connexin 43 (Cx43) and

oligodendrocyte myelin basic protein (MBP), or the myelination index (co-

localization of MBP and phosphorylated neurofilament immunoreactivities)

were determined by double immunofluorescent labeling. Oligodendrocyte

morphology was evaluated by Sholl analysis. Prolonged exposure to CORT

or DEX induced dose-dependent reduction of the myelination index and

immunostaining for MBP and Cx43 in SC and CC myelination cultures,

effects which were prevented by mifepristone. In glial cultures, single CORT

or DEX exposure caused shrinkage and simplification in MBP- or CNPase

positive oligodendrocyte processes. In conclusion, the results support that

concurrent effects of glucocorticoids on myelination and astrocyte Cx43

immunoreactivity are mediated by glucocorticoid receptors and may

partially account for the involvement of central nervous system glia in the

pathological effects of prolonged stress.

NITRIC OXIDE MODULATION AND CALCIUM

DYSREGULATION IN BRAIN ENDOTHELIAL AND ASTROCYTE

CELLS CO-CULTURES DURING INFLAMMATION

Neela Prajapati, Mark A. DeCoster

Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA

Failure of the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) has been associated with

inflammatory processes and is widely being investigated as a key player in

neuronal and mental disorders and for drug delivery to treat diseases. Nitric

Oxide (NO), a key signaling molecule, is expressed in both normal and

disease states in the brain. Though NO has been indicated to increase BBB

permeability, specific mechanisms are poorly studied. This research

quantifies NO synthesized in response to an inflammatory stimulus to brain

microvascular endothelial cells (BMVECs), and astrocytes individually and

in a coculture model, in-vitro. We observed that for the same inflammatory

stimulus (Tumor Necrotic Factor 100ng/ml + Lipopolysaccharide 5ug/ml),

BMVECs produce a significantly high concentration of NO compared to

astrocytes. In the co-culture model, the astrocytes seem to provide negative

feedback to countercheck the high NO production from BMVECs.

Stimulated BMVECs show higher cell proliferation forming lumens in

between the cells’ monolayer as a response to an inflammatory stimulus.

Calcium (Ca++) activity for BMVECs treated with the inflammatory agents

when stimulated with ATP and glutamate showed significant Ca++ peaks

with notable calcium oscillations. In contrast, astrocyte showed smaller

response to ATP and glutamate. These findings lay out more details on

inflammation and BBB permeability and suggest a cue on how BMVECs

and astrocyte may interact in regulating BBB permeability.

MATERNAL IMMUNE ACTIVATION PROMOTES ABERRANT

NEURAL GROWTH IN OFFSPRING RATS

Yi Pang, Marco Loayza, Kathleen Carter, Lir-Wan Fan, Abhay Bhatt


Large body of population studies suggest that maternal infection is a risk

factor for neurodevelopmental disorders including Autism Spectrum

Disorder (ASD). A causative link is further supported by experimental

studies by demonstrating that maternal exposure to bacterial endotoxin

lipopolysaccharide (LPS) produces ASD-like behavioral characteristics in

offspring animals. However, how LPS-triggered inflammatory response

leads to underlying abnormal brain development are not fully understood.

This study tested the hypothesis that maternal LPS exposure disrupts cellular

programs regulating neuron numbers, leading to excessive neurogenesis in

the perinatal period. Pregnant rats at embryonic day 12.5 (E 12.5) were

injected with LPS (50 µg/kg body weight, i.p.). Expression of microglial pro-

inflammatory and anti-inflammatory markers, programmed neuronal death

(PND), and neural progenitor cell proliferation were examined On E17. The

sizes of hippocampus and striatum were assessed by stereology in Nissl-

stained sections on postnatal day 21 (P21). Our data showed that maternal

LPS significant suppresses PND in the hippocampal region, which was

associated with excessive neural progenitor cell proliferation in the

neurogenic niche. LPS-induced microglia activation is characterized with a

mixed M1 and M2-like phenotype, as shown by upregulation of both pro-

inflammatory (iNOS, CD68 and MHC-II) and anti-inflammatory (TGFß and

CD206) markers. Maternal LPS also leads to a significant increase of

hippocampal size in male but not female rats. In conclusion, our study may

shed light on the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of brain

overgrowth in ASD infants.

HISTOPATHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF PANC-1 EXPOSED TO

VARIOUS GLUCOSE CONCENTRATIONS

Lamar Hamil, Hamed Benghuzzi, and Michelle Tucci


Several studies have documented that transformed cell lines can be utilized

effectively as models for exploring the new modality of treating various

metabolic diseases such as diabetes. Panc-1 is a human pleiomorphic

epithelioid carcinoma of the pancreas. Previous studies have shown evidence

that these cells can be manipulated into insulin producing cells, by

transfection with an insulin promoter or by altering the culture medium. The

specific objective of this investigation was to Histopathologically assess

Panc-1 cell line exposed to Various Glucose Concentrations. The

experimental design entails that cells were initially grown in flasks with

control medium, and then split into three separate groups containing control

media, or media containing an extra 2.5% or 5% glucose. After selection for

round phenotypes, the cells were maintained in control media for several

passages. Cells from the three cultures were plated (100,000 cells/well) and

treated with control, 1%, 2.5%, or 5% glucose for 24, 48, and 72 hours. Cells

were harvested and morphological evaluation was conducted following

standard protocols. Control cells grown in 2.5 or 5% glucose showed

significant decreases in cell number at 48-72 hours. Cells in control group

were screened to be round, clear background, and sheet like formation

otherwise healthy appearance. In contrast, cells grown in various doses of

glucose have exhibited cellular debris, anucleated cells, hydropic swelling,

and occasional hyperchromatic cells were present. Overall, it appears in

the assessment of Panc-1 cells as a model for diabetic research,

morphological evaluation has to be taken in consideration as a key element

in insulin production.

SESSION 10: Rehabilitation Sciences

EFFICACY OF NEGATIVE PRESSURE WOUND THERAPY

COMPARED TO STANDARD OF CARE ON PATIENTS WITH

ULCERS AND OTHER NON-HEALING CHRONIC WOUNDS: A

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Felix Adah, Min Huang, Lisa Barnes, Anthony Pike, Travis Burdick, Norris

Clark, and Ruben Ruiz.


Background: This study was conducted to examine the efficacy of negative

pressure wound therapy (NPWT) on chronic non-healing wounds.


Objective: The systematic review looked at studies that used NPWT on

patients with chronic or non-healing ulcerations compared to the specified

“standard of care” for each study.

Methods: PubMed and Embase were used to conduct a thorough search.

Inclusion criteria for this study was: (1) articles written in English, (2)

researchers used human participants, (3) studies published between 2008-

2018, (4) ulcers due to venous stasis, decubitus ulcers, diabetic foot ulcers,

and non-healing wounds, (5) compared NPWT vs standard of care defined

by the study.

Results: Nine studies were selected for inclusion in the review. The studies

were assessed with regard to specific outcomes: number of patients to

achieve 75% wound closure (1), amount of decrease of wound size (5), time

to wound closure (1), time to achieve 50% wound volume reduction (1),

number of participants to achieve granulation tissue (4). All outcomes of

interest exhibited a p-value of <0.049 between NPWT and standard of care

groups. The effect size for the outcomes of interest were assessed as either

an odds ratio (1.57-35.48) or Cohen’s d (0.623-6.863). All results were found

to be significant and favored the use of NPWT.

Conclusions: NPWT was shown to be a more effective treatment strategy

for chronic wounds rather than standard of care alone. The clinical

implication that when treating chronic or non-healing wounds, negative

pressure wound therapy technique needs to be considered.

ARE CLINICAL POST-CONCUSSION TESTS RELIABLE? A

PILOT STUDY OF TEST-RETEST RELIABILITY OF SELECTED

POST-CONCUSSION TESTS

Gabrielle Diaz, Karla Easterling, Tyler Luchtefeld, Janet Slaughter,

Meredith Flowers, Ryan McGlawn, Cody Pannell, Ryan Babl, Kim Curbow

Wilcox, Jennifer Reneker

University of Mississippi Medical Center, School of Health Related

Professions Department of Physical Therapy, Jackson, MS

Background/Purpose: Objective clinical tests are utilized by physical

therapists to identify impairment and functional deficits following injury. To

create an appropriate plan of care, these tests must be reliable. Few studies

have established reliability of post-concussion tests. The purpose of this

study was to assess the test-retest reliability of Post-Concussion Symptom

Scale (PCSS), convergence testing, cervical joint-position error (JPE),

dynamic visual acuity (DVA), and cranio-cervical flexion test (CCFT).

Methods: Healthy adults (18-28 years old) with no history of concussion or

whiplash in the past two years and no current symptoms that would interfere

with the testing were recruited. Initial testing was completed on day 1 with

follow-up examinations on days 7 and 28. The testing order was consistent

for all testing days. Specific equipment was implemented throughout testing.

Results: A strong linear relationship was found between all test days for

DVA, convergence testing, and PCSS. The CCFT-control demonstrated a

positive, moderate to good correlation between all testing days, whereas the

CCFT-endurance showed a poor relationship. The correlation coefficients

for the cervical JPE test ranged from poor to moderate in all test conditions

and was inconsistent across the examinations.

Conclusion: Based on the results, DVA, convergence and PCSS show good

test-retest reliability, CCFT-control has moderate reliability with poor

reliability for JPE and CCFT-endurance. This suggests that the DVA,

convergence test, and PCSS may reliably be used by clinicians to assess for

changes in people following a concussive injury, whereas the CCFT and JPE

should be used with caution.

BLOOD FLOW RESTRICTION MODALITIES ON QUADRICEPS

INTEGRITY POST-ACL RECONSTRUCTION: A SYSTEMATIC

REVIEW

James Ingram MS, Jacob McIlwain BS, Kyle White BS, Peyton Willoughby

BS, Ryan McGlawn PT DPT OCS MDT


Objective: Examine the available evidence examining the effectiveness of

Blood Flow Restriction (BFR)-mediated physical therapy versus traditional

physical therapy with respect to quadriceps integrity in patients undergoing,

or planning to undergo, Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) surgery, with

considerations given to time of application of BFR-mediated physical

therapy.

Methods: Searches across online academic databases including PubMed,

Embase, and hand searches yielded results in accordance with these specific

inclusion criteria: 1) ACL repair participants, 2) Measured outcome(s) of

quadriceps muscular integrity defined as change in impairment or function,

3) Utilized pressure controlled BFR devices, 4) Allowed for strength

comparison either pre and post intervention, or between groups 5)

Interventions performed within 6 months of surgery. Specific exclusion

criteria included: BFR devices that do not control pressure, joints other than

the knee, non-surgical participants, participants admitting to steroid use.

Risk of bias in eligible studies was determined using the PEDro scale.

Results: 6 studies qualified for inclusion into this systematic review.

Quadriceps integrity measures included, 1) Maximal Voluntary Isometric

Contraction (MVIC), 2) Cross-sectional area (CSA), 3) Knee extensor

muscular torque, 4) 1 repetition max leg press. One study found significant

differences in an acute response to BFR therapy, approximately 3 weeks

post-op, and demonstrates a measure of quadriceps strength, exercise load,

and exercise volume between a BFR therapy group and a traditional therapy

group (p<0.05). One study saw similar losses in quadriceps CSA between

BFR therapy and traditional therapy groups after 2 weeks of BFR therapy

post-op (p=0.6265). Two studies examining post-operative BFR therapy

found BFR is more effective at reducing loss of quadriceps CSA than

traditional physical therapy after 2 weeks post-op, and 16 weeks post-op,

respectively (p=0.046; p=0.04). One study suggested BFR is effective at

increasing knee extensor muscular torque post-surgery as compared to

traditional physical therapy after 16 weeks post-op (p=<0.001,p=0.004).

Two studies examined BFR modalities prior to surgery, and saw no

significant differences between BFR and control groups after 10 days pre-

op, and 8 days pre-op, respectively (p=0.113,0.134; p=0.35).

Conclusion: Based on the published evidence evaluated in this systematic

review, there appears to be conflicting evidence in terms of the effectiveness,

or advantage, of administering BFR-mediated physical therapy as compared

to traditional physical therapy in regards to quadriceps integrity following

ACL reconstruction. Despite the conflicting evidence, no study reported a

significantly reduced outcome measure from BFR therapies when compared

to traditional therapies. It has been demonstrated that BFR-mediated

physical therapy can elicit improvements in quadriceps integrity, however,

the timing of the BFR modality may play a role in the effectiveness of the

modality. Additional research is required to determine a more reliable timing

of BFR-mediated physical therapy for improved patient outcomes.

ASSOCIATION OF QUALITY OF SLEEP AND PHYSICAL

FUNCTIONING IN THE ELDERLY POPULATION: A

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Sherry Colson, Morgan Lott, Lauren Demuth, Ben Nhek, Kaleb Smith


Decreased quality of sleep (QOS) is a common complaint among the

geriatric population and has been associated with decreased physical

function. The present study aims to determine the association between QOS

and daily physical functioning in the elderly population. Electronic database

searches were completed from October 29, 2018 through November 3, 2018

using PubMed and EMBASE as the primary databases. Inclusion criteria:

healthy, elderly individuals, age 60 years or older, measured QOS, and

physical function/quality of life. Articles consisting of patients with disease,

physical disability, or drug therapy were excluded from the study. Risk of

bias was assessed using a National Institute of Health Quality Assessment

Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. Thirty-two

articles were screened by all authors. Seven studies met the

inclusion/exclusion criteria. Five studies identified an association between

QOS and physical function based on selected functional outcome measures

and self-reported quality of sleep. We suggest using a longitudinal design in

future studies to determine the relationship between poor sleep quality and

physical function in the elderly population. Future studies should employ

polysomnography (the gold standard) to more accurately measure an

individual’s QOS.


While cause and effect cannot be determined during this review, an

association exits between decreased quality of sleep and a decline in physical

function. Based on these findings, physical therapist should take an active

role in screening for sleep disturbances and providing education on benefits

of good sleep habits and tips to facilitate improved sleep.

DOES TIBIAL NERVE STIMULATION HAVE AN IMPACT ON

INCONTINENCE IN PEOPLE DIAGNOSED WITH MULTIPLE

SCLEROSIS? A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Haley Haygood Lewis, LeAnndra Griffith, Cody Lewis, Blake Patrick, and

Kimberly Willis


BACKGROUND: The efficacy of posterior tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS)

is being examined as a treatment for urinary incontinence in patients with

Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Some systematic reviews have explored other

treatment options for urinary incontinence (UI) in patients with MS;

however, there are currently no systematic reviews focusing on the effects

of PTNS on UI in people with MS. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is

to evaluate the current evidence of tibial nerve stimulation as a treatment for

urinary incontinence in people diagnosed with MS. METHODS: PubMed

and Embase databases were searched with a variety of search terms for

PTNS, MS, and urinary incontinence. Following the screening process, a

total of seven articles were included in this systematic review. All articles

had a moderate risk for bias with use of The Quality Assessment Tool for

Before-After Studies With No Control Group. Cohen’s d effect sizes were

calculated with a 95% confidence interval (CI) for all articles reporting

results in mean (standard deviation). RESULTS: The studies indicate both

acute and chronic, or maintenance, PTNS has a significant impact on

different measurements of incontinence. DISCUSSION: Limitations of this

study include lack of available research specific to this patient population

and treatment modality, and the lack of high-quality evidence available.

Additional research is needed to determine the clinical implications for use

of chronic PTNS on UI in patients with MS. Future research should also

assess the onset and duration of the effects of PTNS treatments following

both acute and maintenance protocols.

Session 11: Drug Delivery-Cancer

DRUG DELIVERY APPROACHES AGAINST CANCER: WHAT IS

THE STATUS OF NANOMEDICINE?

Anthony McGoron


The application of Nanomedicine, and in particular using nanoparticles for

imaging and drug delivery, is highly studied with the number of journal

articles (and review articles) continues to rise each year. In addition, the

amount of funding from the US federal government from the National

Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the

Department of Defense (DOD) has been considerable. Federal funding has

increase overall every year, with over $6B cumulative over the last 10 years.

There are over 840 active Nanomedicine focused clinical trials throughout

the world, most evaluating well established formulations such as liposomal

and albumin-bound drug conjugates. Only 55 of the trials are for other

nanoparticle types. Nanomedicine is being applied to many diseases. While

the majority of funding and journal papers are for cancer, the majority of the

approved Nanomedicine drug formulations are for indications other than

cancer. Also, the percentage of funding for indications of diseases other than

cancer is rising faster than it is for cancer. Some Nanomedicines have been

successful, but despite clear advantages in animals, they tend to provide only

modest clinical improvements compared to standard therapies in humans.

Clearly, there is a bottle-neck between research and commercialization and

there are many reasons, capital being among the most important. That is, the

cost of development and conducting clinical trials and the return on

investment that might be realized if the drug is approved and marketed.

Several Nanomedicine Market analyses are available (for purchase) and all

forecast strong growth. So, why hasn’t the huge investment in Nanomedicine

lead to more breakthrough drugs and cures? This talk will present the status

of Nanomedicine drugs and examine these points.

MICRONEEDLE MEDIATED DERMAL AND TRANSDERMAL

DELIVERY OF DRUGS

S. Narasimha Murthy

The University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, University, MS

Dermal and transdermal delivery of drugs is challenging due to the physical

and biological barrier nature of stratum corneum, the outermost layer of the

skin. Chemicals used to enhance the skin permeability have limited

efficiency in improving the delivery polar molecules and macromolecules.

Microneedle technology has been found to be a promising technology to

deliver such therapeutic agents into the skin. Soluble Microneedles were

formulated for rapid delivery of nicotine, lidocaine and other small

molecules. Controlled release formulations were fabricated for the delivery

macromolecules using PLGA. The microneedles were characterized for

physicochemical and mechanical characteristics. The microneedles were

subjected to in vitro release testing and in vitro drug permeation testing

studies across the human skin. The effect of gamma radiation on the

microneedles was evaluated to investigate the potential use of gamma

radiation for sterilization. The data from multiple projects involving

microneedles as the mode of drug delivery will be presented in the seminar.

INHALED NANOMEDICINE FOR THE TREATMENT OF LUNG

CANCER

Mahavir B Chougule, Associate Professor of Pharmaceutics and Drug

Delivery and

Research Associate Professor in the Research of Institute of Pharmaceutical

Sciences,

Department of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, School of Pharmacy,

University of Mississippi, University, MS

Despite an increased understanding of pathophysiology and advanced

therapies, the success rate in the treatment of lung cancer remains

unsatisfactory. Conventional therapies are rarely successful due to limited

amount of drug reaching the tumor site even administered at a high dose and

associated toxic effects. Therefore, site-specific targeted inhalation delivery

of therapeutically active agents to the tumor cells is the most crucial step for

the effective treatment of lung cancer. Our approach is to deliver the

chemodrugs using targeted inhalable biodegradabile lipidic biomaterial

based nanocarriers directly to tumor cells/tissue. The Celecoxib loaded

nanostructured lipid carriers of about 200 nm were developed using

homogenization method. The developed targeted inhalable nanocarriers

were tested under in vitro, aerosolization performance, and lung cancer

xenografts/orthotopic tumor models. The Celecoxib was released in

controlled manner from the nanocarriers. A comparable toxicity was

observed in the lung cancer cells. The in vivo studies demonstrated that the

use of nanocarriers resulted in the increase in lung residence time and

anticancer activity in the orthotopic tumor model. After successful clinical

trials. the Celecoxib loaded lipidic nanocarriers may be available for the

treatment of lung cancer.

EXTRACELLULAR NANOVESICLES: POTENTIAL

APPLICATIONS IN CANCER DIAGNOSIS, PROGNOSIS AND

THERAPY

Dr. Ajay Singh

Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Program Leader, Cancer

Biology, Mitchell Cancer Institute, University of South Alabama, , Mobile,

AL

Nano-sized membrane vesicles are released from nearly all types of living

cells in the body. These extracellular vesicles (EVs) serve as mediators of

intercellular communication and have received significant attention in recent

years for their roles in pathobiology of several diseases including cancer.

They carry bioactive cellular material (protein, lipids, nucleotides, etc.) and

are not only capable of altering the properties of cells in close proximity but

also travel to distant sites and have functional impact. EVs act as a proxy of

the donor cells since they carry their surface molecules and thus hold

significant potential in cancer diagnosis and post-diagnosis/-therapy

monitoring. Furthermore, due to their functional significance and being a

natural carrier of bioactive materials, they are also being investigated for

therapeutic targeting and drug delivery. Recent data from our lab have shown

that shedding and composition of EVs are altered in cancer and as a result of

changes in cellular microenvironment such as low oxygen (hypoxia) and


therapeutic insult. Indeed, we have evidence that EVs play important roles

in hypoxic survival and therapeutic resistance. Expression of exosomal

marker proteins is also altered in cancer cells and shows some association

with patient survival. We have also characterized the cargo of EVs isolated

from normoxic and hypoxic cells, which is suggestive of their diverse

pathobiological implications and biomarker properties. Research is ongoing

to validate these findings in pre-clinical and clinical settings.

FUNDAMENTAL PROPERTIES OF CELLULOSE NANOCRYSTAL

STABILIZED EMULSIONS

Sanjiv Parajulia, Trey Heatha, Leeta Pratera, Kevin Greena, Mohammad

Jahid Hasana, Frankie A. Petrieb, Ashley E Johnsona, Erick S. Vasquezb,

Esteban Urena-Benavidesa

a Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Mississippi,

University, MS, 38677

b Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Dayton,

Dayton, OH

Stable emulsions were prepared using dodecane or castor oil as organic

phases and aqueous phases containing cellulose nanocrystals (CNC),

surfactants and dissolved electrolytes. Two high ionic strength (I) brines

were studied; American Petroleum Institute (API: I=1.9M) brine and

synthetic seawater (SSW; I=0.65M). Adsorption isotherms for various

surfactants were generated indicating the adsorption of coco-alkylamine

(CAA), dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) and octyl

glucopyranoside (OGP) onto the CNC surface in both salt solutions. Adding

CNC to CAA increased surface tension, however there was no appreciable

change for DTAB and OGP despite them adsorbing onto the nanoparticles.

The adsorption energy of CNC onto the oil/brine interface was estimated

from contact angles and interfacial tension using a newly derived equation.

It was determined that addition of CAA or DTAB lowers the CNC

adsorption energy. Consequently CAA addition lead to emulsion breakup,

however in the case of DTAB the interfacial tension was low enough to allow

the formation of stable emulsions. Oil content, adsorption energy and

interfacial tension were the main factors contributing to emulsion stability.

CNC were also coated with iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles by a single-

one step co-precipitation method. The superparamagnetic hybrid

nanoparticles were used to prepare O/W and W/O emulsions, the stability of

which can be controlled by a magnetic field.

Session 12: Biomaterials- 4 (Metallic Biomaterials)

DEVELOPMENT OF TITANIUM OXIDE IMPLANT COATINGS

TO PROMOTE BOTH ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY AND

STIMULATE OSSEOINTEGRATION

Michael Roach


Titanium and its alloys are commonly used for implant applications, and are

well known to form a thin amorphous oxide layer upon exposure to

oxygenated environments. While amorphous TiO2 provides excellent

corrosion resistance and biocompatibility, it produces suboptimal integration

of titanium implants with surrounding bone tissues, and provides limited

bioactivity. Prior to implantation, titanium surfaces are often modified

through electrochemical anodization processes. Anodized surfaces have

shown faster osseointegration and to stimulate bone formation compared to

their un-anodized counterparts. It has been shown that a number of surface

factors, including roughness, porosity, wettability, crystallinity, and

intentionally added dopant elements, each may play a significant role in the

optimization of implant coatings. A prominent cause of implant failure, and

the need for revision or replacement surgery, is bacterial infection occurring

around the implantation site. Some crystalline TiO2 surfaces have been

shown to exhibit a photocatalytic response upon stimulation with a UV light

source of sufficient energy. In the photocatalytic reaction, reactive oxygen

species are generated, which may then attack bacteria cell membranes and

provide a bactericidal effect. This presentation will summarize findings in

our laboratories and other recent literature on the optimization of titanium

oxide layers to simultaneously enhance osseointegration and reduce bacterial

attachment.

PHOTOCATALYTIC ACTIVITY OF ANATASE COATINGS ON A

SERIES OF TITANIUM IMPLANT ALLOYS

Haden Johnson, Chappel Pettit, Caleb Hardman, Amol Janorkar, Michael

Roach


Titanium (Ti) alloys are commonly used as implant materials due to their

mechanical properties and biocompatibility. Biocompatibility of titanium

alloys is largely attributed to the naturally forming, amorphous oxide.

Anodization can crystallize Ti oxides and incorporate bioactive elements to

enhance surface functionality. Photocatalytic activation of crystalline Ti

oxides by UVA light results in production of reactive oxygen species that

attack bacterial cells. The primary objective of this study was to compare the

photocatalytic activity of anodized oxides on six Ti implant alloys.

Commercially pure Ti – Grade 4 (CPTi4), Ti-6Al-4V ELI (TAV), Ti-6Al-

7Nb (TAN), Ti-35Nb-7Zr-5Ta (TNZT), and two forms of Ti-15Mo (Beta

and Alpha + Beta) (TiMoB and TiMoAB), were anodized in a mixed-acid

electrolyte to a final forming voltage of 144 V. Energy dispersive

spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy revealed

all alloys formed phosphorous-incorporated, anatase oxide layers exhibiting

sub-micron surface porosity. Photocatalytic activity was measured using

methylene blue degradation assay. After three hours of 8 mW/cm2 UVA (365

nm) exposure, anodized TiMoB exhibited significantly increased

photocatalytic response compared to TAV, TAN, and TNZT (p = .003). No

significant differences were observed between TiMo B, TiMo AB, and

CPTi4. Future studies will evaluate the bactericidal properties and osteoblast

response.

DEVELOPMENT OF MODELS FOR MAGNESIUM ALLOYS FOR

USE IN BIOMEDICAL IMPLANTS

Doyl Dickel, Sara Adibi, Phong Phan


Accurate in vivo modeling of engineered biomaterials requires a complex

description of interactions of unlike materials at a number of length scales.

In particular, the behavior of metal alloys used, for example, as bone screws

or joint replacements, and their interaction with the biological material

surrounding them, depends on the microscopic interaction of the aqueous

medium and organic compounds with the metal atoms. This results in rates

of wear and degradation which in turn affect the surface interaction and

strength of the material, ultimately determining both the implant lifespan and

the impact on the host organism.

Most modeling efforts at the microscale are not readily capable of handing

the interaction between metallic systems and organic molecules. The

recently developed bond order extension to the modified embedded atom

method (MEAM-BO) is the first which readily accounts not only for both

materials, but also for their interaction. In this work, we will present the

development of modeling tools for particular magnesium alloys proposed as

a novel material for implant devices due to their ability to naturally dissolve

over time as well as their stiffness, which can be tuned to closely match bone,

reducing wear. This modeling effort will help refine the particular alloy

chemistry as well as predict the performance of such materials and their

impact on the surrounding tissue.

Al0.1CoCrFeNi HIGH ENTROPY ALLOY FOR PERIPHERAL

VASCULAR STENT IMPLANT APPLICATION

Nilesh Kumar

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

High entropy alloys (HEAs) are relatively new class of metallic materials

with multi-principal alloying elements. Research carried out in last one and

half decades has shown outstanding properties of HEAs. At present, HEAs

are being explored for a wide range of applications including peripheral

vascular stent implants in biomedical field. In this work, microstructural

analysis and mechanical properties evaluation of a single phase face-

centered cubic Al0.1CoCrFeNi HEA have been carried out. Uniaxial tensile

properties were evaluated in as-cast and thermo-mechanically processed &

annealed conditions whereas fatigue properties were studied only in thermo-

mechanically processed & annealed conditions. The elastic modulus of the

alloy was determined using nanoindentation. The yield strength, ultimate


tensile strength, and % elongation of the alloy in thermo-mechanically

processed & annealed conditions were 212 MPa, 570 MPa, and 50%,

respectively. The elastic modulus of the alloy was determined to be 203 GPa.

These values were found to be comparable to austenitic stainless-steel Type

SS316. Although mechanical properties of the alloy are promising for

peripheral vascular stent implant application, further research is needed to

study corrosion behavior of the alloy in simulated body fluid to understand

its biocompatibility.

INFLUENCE OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES ON THE

BIODEGRADATION OF MAGNESIUM ALLOYS

Chiamaka Okafor and Norman Munroe

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Department, Florida International

University, Miami, FL

Magnesium alloys have been greatly researched as a biodegradable

biomedical implant material for several decades. However, non-uniform and

uncontrolled degradation remain the greatest challenges facing their

adoption in the medical industry. As such, researchers have used various

alloying elements, heat treatments and metallurgical processing techniques

such as extrusion to alter their microstructure, which ultimately impact

corrosion and mechanical properties. In this investigation, the morphology

and crystallography of magnesium alloys are investigated using scanning

electron microscopy (SEM)/energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and

x-ray diffraction (XRD) respectively. In-vitro biodegradation rates were

assessed in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) using electrochemical

impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Additionally, semi-static immersion tests

were conducted in Hank’s balanced salt solution at 37oC in 4% carbon

dioxide atmosphere. The effect of alloying elements zinc and calcium on

hardness, elasticity and corrosion rates of the alloy were also investigated.

Session 13: Computational-2

In-Silico BIOMECHANICAL MODELS FOR AFFECTED MUSCLE

IN TRANSTIBIAL AMPUTEES

Joseph Dranetz1, Matthew Stock1, Michael Carrol2, Michael Varro2, Ulas

Bagci1, Heather Cornnell3, Hwan Choi1

1University of Central Florida, Orlando,FL, 2United States Department of

Veterens Affairs, Orlando, FL 3AdventHealth, Orlando, FL

The role of residual gastrocnemius in gait for transtibial amputees remains

relatively unexamined. During the transtibial amputation surgery, the distal

end of the gastrocnemius is typically wrapped around the distal end of the

limb [1]. As the apparent role of the muscle changes after an amputation,

understanding the characteristics of the residual gastrocnemius and nature of

these acquired functions can inform the development of surgical and

rehabilitative strategies.

Study of the electromyographic activations of the residual gastrocnemius

during gait show that activation patterns vary greatly between but not within

transtibial amputees [2]. This suggests that transtibial amputees develop

different strategies for their gastrocnemius during gait. Developing subject

specific models that account for unique physiology of the residual

gastrocnemius could better elucidate the character and function of the muscle

given the variance observed in electromyographic data.

The goal of this study is to collect data to determine the physiological cross-

sectional area, optimal fiber length, pennation angle, and muscle path

contour of individual intact and residual gastrocnemii using EMG,

Ultrasound, MRI, a human dynamometer, and a motion capture system in

order to construct subject specific musculoskeletal models in OpenSim.

From these models we can assess the character and function of the muscle.

References

1. Taylor, B. C., A. Poka (2011). “Osteomyoplastic transtibial

amputation technique and tips.” J Orthop Surg Res 6-13.

2. Huang, S and D. P. Ferris (2012). “Muscle activation patterns during

walking from transtibial amputees recorded within the residual limb

prosthetic interface.” J Neuroeng Rehabil 9: 55

DEVELOPMENT OF MEAM WITH BOND ORDER (MEAM-BO)

FORCE FIELD FOR C-H-O-N-S IN BIOMECHANICAL

APPLICATIONS

Sungkwang Mun1,2, Michael Baskes2, Doyl Dickel1,2

1Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, Starkville, MS 2Mississippi State

University, Starkville, MS

The focus of this presentation is to introduce the recent development of the

Modified Embedded Atom Method with Bond Order (MEAM-BO) force

field that can describe the in vivo mechanical/ chemical interactions between

biomolecules and metallic systems in atomistic scale. The MEAM-BO force

field is an extension of the MEAM, a popular choice to study various metallic

system problems, to cover a wide range of organic molecules composed of

carbon-hydrogen-nitrogen-sulfur (C-H-O-N-S) elements. The properties of

interest in biomechanical applications include the influence of biomolecules

on metal composite and vice versa, the stability of the system, and toxicity.

To date, the principles governing and driving the interfacial interactions are

not well understood due to their complex physiochemical properties that

involve shape, size, surface chemistry, and inter/intra-molecular

interactions. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and a force field at its

core can help scientists discover and predict such complex behaviors at

detailed levels that cannot be measured directly in experiments. Unlike the

classical force fields, the MEAM-BO allows a bond to break or form, which

is critical to the interfacial study. The simulation results using the MEAM-

BO force field for hydrocarbon and sulfur system show good agreement with

experimental data and quantum calculations, which bring us one step further

towards the full development of a unified equation for both inorganic and

organic materials, consequently, 1) to provide a critical explanation of the

effect of metal implant in biological system and 2) to design a new

biocompatible implant material.

STRAIN-DEPENDENT RECOVERY RESPONSE OF

PHOSPHOLIPID BILAYER MEMBRANE SYSTEMS FOLLOWING

BIAXIAL DEFORMATION

Michael Murphy, Raj Prabhu


The current study examines the behavior of simplified cellular membrane

systems after they have been deformed biaxially using the molecular

dynamics method. This work provides important insights into the recovery

of cellular membranes after being disturbed due to mechanical insult, as

occurs during traumatic brain injury due to mechanoporation. Initially,

membrane systems were equilibrated and then deformed in the x and y (in-

plane) dimensions, which allowed multiple strain rates and strain states to be

examined. Then, points of interest, such as yield and failure, were identified

and system snapshots were taken in relation to the points of interest and

relaxed under the isothermal-isobaric (NPT) ensemble. The simulator

LAMMPS and CHARMM36 force field were used for all simulations.

System properties (e.g. planar area) and image analysis were used to

determine how much the relaxed system changed compared to pre-

deformation. Deformed-structure snapshots taken prior to yield relaxed to a

planar area similar to the non-deformed, equilibrated structures. However,

snapshots taken post-yield demonstrated larger planar areas compared to

non-deformed, equilibrated structures. This change in planar area for only

snapshots taken post-yield suggests that deforming the system past some

point resulted in a permanent change in the membrane structure for the time

scales examined.

COMPRESSIVE BEHAVIOR OF PORCINE SKIN AND ITS

MATERIAL MODELING

Fernando Dall’Aqua, Nayeon Lee, Raj Prabhu


We studied the mechanical behavior and material modeling of the porcine

scalp. Because porcine skin has similar histological and physiological

features to human skin, it could serve a good human skin surrogate tissue.

Global compressive responses were assessed using Mach-1 compression

tests under three different quasi-static loading conditions with strain rates of

0.1/s, 0.025/s, and 0.0065/s, and local compressive responses of the surface

layer, stratum corneum, were examined by using nanoindentation tests.


Experimental results revealed that strain dependency increased after 0.15 of

compressive true strain. Using those experimental data, we determined

material constants in material modeling to capture hyper-elastic mechanical

behavior with assumptions of incompressibility and isotropy using several

models, including Mooney-Rivlin models and Ogden model, and Ogden

constitutive model presented the best fit. For validation, finite element (FE)

analysis with a two-layered skin model was run using FEBio software. We

also examined contact properties showing that tied elastic interaction does

not affect to deviatoric/shear stresses but pressure. This computational model

can be used to develop an FE model of a human head to simulate impact.

AUTOMATED SEGMENTATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF

LIPID DROPLETS IN HEPATIC STEATOSIS

Utsav Shrestha, Aaryani Sajja, Marie Van Der Merwe, Nirman Kumar

The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN

Hepatic steatosis is the accumulation of fat in the liver, affecting about 20%-

30% of the U.S. population. It is often caused by diet high in fat and sugar,

and is frequently linked to obesity and insulin resistance. Steatosis can cause

lipo-toxicity and eventually lead to fibrosis and cirrhosis. In this study, an

automatic algorithm was developed to characterize and quantify fat

accumulation in liver samples of mice-fed chow(n=4), n6-PUFA(n=6) or n3-

PUFA(n=6) rich high fat diets. The images were acquired at 20x-

magnification, processed using morphological operations, and fat-droplets

were segmented automatically using features of eccentricity, roundness and

area change using an iterative process. The algorithm was implemented in

python using the “skimage” library. The following were the measured mean

fat percentages: 0.08%, 0.44% & 4.29%, fat droplet radii(µm): 3.48, 6.06 &

8.82, and average distance(µm) between fat-droplets: 134.5, 155.25 & 139.4

for chow, n3-PUFA and n6-PUFA respectively. Overall, we observed low

fat percentages in all samples, but the fat percentages and radii were

significantly higher (p <0.05) for n6-PUFA. This technique will further be

investigated in characterizing fat accumulation in liver samples with a wide

range of fat percentages and eventually be used to develop fat distribution

models.

Session 14: Neuroscience-3 (Developmental Aspects)

NEONATAL SYSTEMIC EXPOSURE TO

LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE ENHANCES METHAMPHETAMINE-

INDUCED SENSITIZATION LATER IN LIFE

Lu-Tai Tien1, Yih-Jing Lee1, Jen-Ai Lee2, Lir-Wan Fan3

1School of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan. 2College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei City, Taiwan. 3Department of Pediatrics, Division of Newborn Medicine, University of

Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, USA

Our previous studies have shown that neonatal exposure to

lipopolysaccharide (LPS) resulted in long-lasting dopaminergic injury and

enhanced methamphetamine (METH)-induced increase of locomotion in the

adult male rat. To further investigate the effect of neonatal systemic LPS

exposure-induced dopaminergic injury, neonatal LPS exposure (2 mg/kg,

intraperitoneal injection in P5 rats) were used to examine the METH-

sensitization as an indicator of drug addiction in adult rats. On P70, animals

began a treatment schedule of 5 daily subcutaneous administrations of

METH (0.5 mg/kg) or saline (P70-P74) to induce behavioral

sensitization. Ninety-six hours after the 5th treatment with METH or saline

(P78), animals received a single dose of 0.5 mg/kg METH or

saline. Neonatal LPS exposure enhanced the level of development of

behavioral sensitization including distance traveled to METH administration

in adult rats. Neonatal LPS exposure also enhanced the reinstated behavioral

sensitization and METH-induced increase in the striatum IL-1β and

cyclooxygenase-2 concentration, and reduction of striatum dopamine

transporter (DAT) expression and [3H] dopamine uptake after the

administration had ceased for ninety-six hours in the adult rat. These results

indicate that neonatal LPS exposure produces a persistent lesion in the

dopaminergic system, as indicated by enhanced METH-induced behavioral

sensitization, and reduction of the striatum DAT expression and [3H]

dopamine uptake later in life. These findings show that early-life brain

inflammation may enhance susceptibility to the development of drug

addiction later in life and that may be associated with the chronic

inflammation-induced alterations in striatum DAT expression and [3H]

dopamine uptake.

PREVALENCE AND RELATIVE RISK FOR DEVELOPMENTAL

DELAY ASSOCIATED WITH PREMATURITY IN A HOSPITAL-

BASED PEDIATRIC POPULATION IN MISSISSIPPI

Irene Arguello1, Lir-Wan Fan2, Norma Ojeda2

1School of Health Related Professions-University of Mississippi Medical

Center, Jackson, MS 2Department of Pediatrics-Newborn Medicine

Division-University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS

Developmental Delay (DD) is a long-term complication associated with

prematurity (PT) with wide variability in prevalence rates worldwide. This

variability is associated with regional differences affecting diagnosis and

management. We investigated the prevalence of DD associated with PT in

Mississippi. We utilized the Patient Cohort Explorer (PCE), a public de-

identified database from the University of Mississippi Medical (UMMC)

Center Research Data Warehouse. We included pediatric patients who have

received healthcare service at the Medical Center from 01-01-2013 to 09-30-

2019. We used SPSS23 software and MedCalc.net website for statistical

analysis. We have identified 312,486 pediatric patients; 1,857 patients with

diagnosis of DD and PT and with a 20.39% prevalence rate. Relative risk

(RR) showed a seven fold increase in risk for DD among children with PT

compared to children born at full term (RR=7.1326, 95%CI: 6.8149 to

7.4652, P<0.0001). The targeted population showed significant differences

for sex and race, with males 10% higher compared to females (M: 55% vs

F: 45% 95%CI 6.7 887 to 13.1821, P<0.0001), and African Americans 38%

higher compared to Caucasians (AA: 65% vs. W: 27%, 95%CI: 34.9838 to

40.9062, P<0.0001). This is the first hospital-based population study on the

risk of developmental delay among children with premature births in

pediatric patients receiving medical attention at UMMC. These results

suggest that our hospital-based population is at a higher risk for

developmental delay associated with prematurity in males African American

infants

ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER

DIAGNOSIS USING BRAIN FUNCTIONAL NETWORK PATTERN

RECOGNITION

Harun Pirim, Haifeng Wang


This research presents a brain functional network-based machine learning

model for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis.

ADHD is a frequent mental disorder for children and has attracted numerous

attentions in different studies. However, it is still quite challenging to

understand the mechanism of ADHD due to the complexity of brain

function. This study aims to understand ADHD through analyzing the

connectivity pattern of brain functional network. A public resting-state

functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) dataset is used in this

research, which includes both ADHD and healthy subjects. Based on the

Pearson correlation between brain regions, brain functional networks are

constructed. Descriptive network analysis including centrality, coreness,

connectivity, robustness and graph clustering are employed to support

machine learning. Some of the features used in classification are generated

by several centrality scores, coreness values, articulation nodes, robustness

scores for ADHD and healthy subjects. Remaining features are obtained by

unsupervised learning counting on cluster formation differences between

ADHD and healthy subjects. The proposed research dwells on brain network

formation, analysis including graph mining procedures followed by a recent

classification methodology. The framework provides an integrated approach

for ADHD prediction.

INCREASED OXIDATIVE STRESS AND ALTERED

INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE IN NEURODEVELOPMENTAL

DELAY ASSOCIATED WITH INTRAUTERINE GROWTH

RESTRICTION IN RAT OFFSPRING

Norma Ojeda1, Irene Arguello2, Jayden Smith3, Matthew Hairston3,

Jonathan Lee1, Varsha Prakash1, Xiaoli Dai4, Lir-Wan Fan1



Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 2School of Health Related

Professions, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, USA. 3Base

Pair Program, University of Mississippi Medical Center/Murrah High

School, Jackson, MS 4Department of Anesthesiology, University of

Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS

Clinical and experimental studies have reported the association between

intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and neurodevelopmental

delay. However, the exact mechanisms involved are unclear. Previously,

we indicated that exposure to inflammation during pregnancy resulted in

activation of microglia in offspring’s brain. We investigated the

involvement of oxidative stress and inflammation in the association between

IUGR and neurodevelopmental delay in rat offspring. IUGR was induced

by exposing pregnant rats to reduction in uterine perfusion (RUP) during late

gestation. Behavioral tests were performed on postnatal day 0 and 8 (P0,

P8). Brains were collected at the end of each time point for molecular and

histological analysis. Offspring exposed to RUP showed signs of IUGR with

significantly lower birth weight compared to controls (p<0.05). Behavioral

tests showed significant neurodevelopmental delay in IUGR offspring

compared to controls (p<0.05) at P0 and P8. Oxidative stress in brain tissue

was significantly increased in IUGR offspring compared to controls (p<0.05)

at P0 and P8. Pro-inflammatory cytokines were significantly elevated in

IUGR offspring compared to controls (p<0.05) while anti-inflammatory

cytokines were significantly reduced in IUGR offspring compared to

controls (p<0.05). These results suggest that oxidative stress and

inflammation are involved in developmental delay associated with IUGR in

rat offspring.

PREECLAMPSIA INDUCES CHRONIC INFLAMMATION IN THE

SPINAL CORD AND DEVELOPS HYPERALGESIA DURING

PREGNANCY

Hyun Joon Lee1,2, Jumi Chung1,2, Marianne Lee3,4, Nilesh Dankhara4,

Jonathan Lee4, Eric Chen4, Norma Ojeda4, Xiaoli Dai5, Michelle Tucci5, Lir-

Wan Fan4

1Department of Neurology, University of Mississippi Medical Center,

Jackson, MS. 2Research Services, G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical

Center, Jackson, MS. 3Mississippi INBRE Research Scholars Program,

Jackson, MS 4Department of Pediatrics, Division of Newborn Medicine,

University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS. 5Department of

Anesthesiology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS

Emerging epidemiological studies suggest that systemic inflammation

induced by preeclampsia may affect CNS functions in late postpartum years.

Our analysis of a deidentified clinical database demonstrated that the

preeclampsia group was diagnosed for pain of any types at a greater rate than

the normal pregnancy group. Moreover, the preeclampsia group showed a

twofold increase in the incident of chronic or neuropathic pain compared

with the normal pregnancy group. Using experimental rat models of reduced

uterine perfusion pressure (RUPP) and systemic lipopolysaccharide (LPS)

exposure, we examined whether maternal inflammation in the spinal cord is

associated with enhanced pain sensitivity in rats with induced preeclampsia.

LPS was injected into pregnant rats on day 13 of gestation and sham or RUPP

surgery was performed on day 14 of gestation. The rats were subjected to tail

flick testing by thermal stimuli and von Frey testing by mechanical stimuli

until postpartum day 21. All experimental groups (Saline+RUPP,

LPS+Sham, and LPS+RUPP) showed increases in thermal sensitivity but

only the LPS+RUPP group showed mechanical hypersensitivity across

postnatal days. These groups demonstrated increases in microglia and

astrocyte activation and unmyelinated c-fiber projections in the lumbar

spinal cord after 21 postpartum days with the LPS+RUPP group showing the

greatest increases. These data suggest that systemic inflammation during

preeclamptic pregnancy induces chronic spinal inflammation and alters

intraspinal projection of pain afferents and spinal pain signal processing

contributing to the development of nociceptive hypersensitivity in pregnant

women.

PRENATAL INFLAMMATION EXACERBATES INTRAUTERINE

GROWTH RESTRICTION-INDUCED COGNITIVE

DYSFUNCTION IN JUVENILE RATS

Lir-Wan Fan1, Lu-Tai Tien2, Jonathan Lee1, Silu Lu1, Irene Arguello3, Xiaoli

Dai4, Nilesh Dankhara1, Yi Pang1, Abhay Bhatt1, Renate Savich1, Norma

Ojeda1


Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 2School of Medicine, Fu Jen

Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan. 3School of Health Related

Professions, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS. 4Department of Anesthesiology, University of Mississippi Medical Center,

Jackson, MS

Epidemiological and experimental studies suggest that intrauterine growth

restriction (IUGR) is associated with neurodevelopmental impairments. Our

previous studies demonstrated that systemic inflammation during pregnancy

induced the priming activation of microglia and elevated levels of pro-

inflammatory cytokines, which may contribute to behavioral dysfunction in

offspring. This study was designed to further examine whether maternal

inflammation via lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure enhances cognitive

deficits associated with IUGR in juvenile rats. LPS (100 µg/kg) was

administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) into pregnant rats on day 13 of gestation

(E13) and the reduced uterine perfusion (RUP) surgery was performed on

day 14 of gestation (E14) to generate IUGR rat offspring. The body weight

and locomotion of offspring were determined on postnatal day P21, and

cognitive tests were determined by Y maze (P23) and passive avoidance on

P23 and P24. Our results show that offspring from dams exposed to either

LPS or RUP showed significantly lower birth weight compared to controls

at P21. Exposure to LPS during gestation exacerbated IUGR-associated

motor disturbances including increases in rearing events in juvenile rats as

well as cognitive deficits, which include short-term memory, learning and

long-term memory. The current study suggests that exposure to LPS during

gestation enhances IUGR-associated cognitive deficits including learning

and memory in both male and female juvenile rats. This model may be

useful for studying mechanisms involved in children’s neurodevelopmental

delays associated with exposure to inflammation and growth restriction

during gestation, and could help to develop future potential therapeutic

strategies.

TEMPO CELLULOSE SUBSTRATUM FOR STEM CELL

DIFFERENTIATION IN VITRO AND SCIATIC NERVE CRUSH

TREATMENT in vivo

Krishna D. Sharma1, Soma Shekar Dachavaram2, John P. More II3, Jamie

A Hestekin3, Peter A Crooks2, Jennifer Y. Xie4

1Biological Sciences and Arkansas Biosciences Institute, Arkansas State

University, Jonesboro, AR

2Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University

of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 3Department of

Chemical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 4Department of Basic Sciences, New York Institute of Technology College

of Osteopathic Medicine, Jonesboro, AR

Cellulose based materials are being studied extensively for applications in

the biomedical field due to its abundance, amenability and biocompatibility.

We created novel, stable TEMPO cellulose materials utilizing the

TEMPO/NaOCl/Oxone® (KHSO5) with microwave irradiation method. We

further tested these TEMPO cellulose materials as an extracellular matrix

substratum to support in vitro neural stem cell (NSC) differentiation into

neurons/oligodendrocytes (ODCs) or in vivo treatment of nerve degeneration

using exosomes loaded onto TEMPO cellulose thin films. Rat NSCs

harvested at E14 (embryonic day 14) were propagated and differentiated on

a TEMPO cellulose-coated culture surface in neuron-favoring conditions for

7 days. At day 7, immunocytochemical staining was performed to determine

the percentage of cells positive for neuronal marker βIII tubulin and

astrocytic marker GFAP (glial marker glial fibrillary acidic protein) relative

to the total cell count. About 33% and 25% of NSCs differentiated into

neurons and astrocytes on TEMPO cellulose substratum, respectively,

comparable to the traditional poly-D-lysine surface. Separate batches of

NSCs were propagated for 10 days on the TEMPO cellulose surface under


ODC-favoring culture conditions. By Day 10, about 70% and 30% of NSCs

differentiated into Rip (receptor interacting protein)+ ODCs and GFAP+

astrocytes, respectively, similar to those on the precursor micron cellulose

surface. These results indicate that TEMPO cellulose is a viable material

supporting stem cell survival and differentiation in vitro. We further tested

these materials in vivo by utilizing the TEMPO cellulose thin film as a carrier

to hold exosomes to treat peripheral nerve injury in rats. Exosomes are

nanoscale vesicles released by all kinds of cells and contain a variety of

RNAs and proteins to change the extracellular milieu and impact the

functions of adjacent cells. Exosomes from Schwann cells have been shown

to produce beneficial effects on the regeneration of injured nerves. We

harvested exosomes from cultured human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)

and loaded them onto a thin TEMPO cellulose film that was wrapped around

an injured sciatic nerve. The mobility of the injured hindlimb was assessed

before and after injury. Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats received left

sciatic nerve crush for 10 seconds at mid-thigh level and the mobility of the

left hindlimb was assessed at various time points for 3 weeks using BBB

locomotor rating scale. Nerve crush elicited a significant reduction of the

BBB score at 24 h post-surgery, which gradually recovered spontaneously

over time. The animals treated with exosomes+TEMPO cellulose film

showed a trend of faster recovery rate compared to the control groups,

although this effect was not statistically significant. Further experiments are

planned to increase the dose of the exosomes to obtain better efficacy. In

conclusion, our newly created TEMPO cellulose substratum has excellent

biocompatibility in vitro and in vivo and holds great potential in regenerative

medicine.

Session 15: Clinical Applications-2

PATIENT SPECIFIC BONE GRAFT DESIGNING BY MIMICKING

THE STIFFNESS TO ACHIEVE OSSEO-INTEGRATION

FRIENDLY MECHANICAL ENVIRONMENT AT PERI-IMPLANT

BONE

Amit Roy Chowdhury

Indian Institute of Engineering Science & Technology, Shibpur, Howrah,

India

Stress shielding caused by disparity in stiffness of bone and implant prevents

bone ingrowth as well as osseointegration. It is known that the main cause

of failure of implant is loosening, which occurs due to lack of

osseointegration. This problem may be resolved partially by using porous

scaffold with reduced stiffness. The main aim of this study was to design and

development of an interconnected porous scaffold as bone replacement

implant that mimics the stiffness variation of the replaced natural bone. A

novel design technique was proposed to develop pre-implant mechanical

condition at peri-implant bone after implantation, which will help better bone

growth. The positional variation of stiffness in the scaffold was assigned

based on the Hounsfield Unit (HU) of Computed Tomography (CT) scan

data of that location as it is proven that the density and the stiffness of the

bone directly related with pixel value of CT scan images. Two different

alloys (Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-Mg) were considered to design the scaffolds on

two different positions of human femur bone (diaphysis and greater

trochanter). Finite element (FE) analyses were carried out to assess the

performance of scaffolds in comparison to solid implant. Scaffolds were

additively manufactured from Ti-6Al-4V powder and compression test was

performed on it to assess the stiffness. For carrying out the another set of FE

simulations, reconstruction of 3D model of that implant was also done from

micro CT data of that implant. The simulated results revealed that porous

scaffold generated mechanical environment at peri-implant bone closer to

intact bone independent of material property or anatomical location, as

compared to solid implant. However reconstructed model showed more

variation than designed models. Using the same procedure, any types of

patient specific implant can be designed for any anatomical locations which

will help to achieve more osseointegration friendly mechanical environment

at peri -implanrt bone.

MULTI-OBJECTIVE DESIGN OF A CANINE

VENTRICULOPERITONEAL SHUNT FOR HYDROCEPHALUS

Ryan Yingling1, Matthew Register1, Anand Balu Nellippallil2, Travis

Hannan1, Jack Simmons1, Andy Shores3, Raj K. Prabhu2

1Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Mississippi State

University, Starkville, MS. 2Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems,

Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS. 3Department of Clinical

Sciences, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS

Hydrocephalus is a condition affecting humans and animals in which excess

cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) builds up within the ventricles of the brain causing

an increase in intracranial pressure. For treating Hydrocephalus, a

ventriculoperitoneal shunt that includes a ventricular catheter (VC), valve

and distal catheter is used to divert excess CSF from the brain ventricles to

the peritoneal cavity. In canines, treating hydrocephalus is complicated

because of shunt malfunctions happening due to VC obstructions. This

demands the need to design shunts taking into consideration the fluid flow

characteristics such that the performance is improved.

In this research, we present a design framework to carry out the design

exploration of a canine ventriculoperitoneal shunt (catheter) to satisfy

multiple goals. The framework includes a SolidWorks flow simulation

environment and the compromise Decision Support Problem construct to

support the problem formulation. The fluid flow rate, shear stress and weight

of the catheter are considered as the design goals. Mathematical surrogate

models are developed to correlate the goals in terms of the catheter design

variables, namely, inner diameter, inlet hole angle and number of inlet holes.

Using the framework, the design space is explored and the combination of

catheter variables that best satisfice the performance goals are identified. The

framework and design constructs are generic and support the decision-based

design of similar bio-medical devices for specific performance requirements.

THE EFFECTS OF A REPEATED SUB-CONCUSSIVE BRAIN

INJURY USING A RAT MODEL

Anna-Marie Dulaney1,2, Russell Carr3, Lauren Priddy1,2, Raj Prabhu1,2

1Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Mississippi State,

MS 2Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, Starkville, MS 3College of

Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State, MS

Repetitive, sub-concussive brain injuries may result in neuroinflammation

and behavioral changes similar to the effects of a singular concussive impact.

Neuroinflammation has the potential to exacerbate the cumulative,

neurodegenerative effects of repeated sub-concussive injuries. The current

study used a rat closed-head injury (CHI) model to investigate the effects of

a repeated sub-concussive brain injury. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats

received three sub-concussive injuries from an impact load with a kinetic

energy of 0.04J or 0.02J at 48hr intervals, followed by a 4-day or 7-day

recovery period. We hypothesized that the shorter recovery period (4-day)

group would display behavioral impairments and an acute

neuroinflammatory response compared to the longer recovery group (7-day).

Post-injury, rats were examined behaviorally for anxiety-like behavior and

short-term memory function using an open field test (OFT) and novel object

recognition (NOR) test, respectively. Ex vivo brain tissue was examined for

neuroinflammation using immunohistochemical markers, glial fibrillary

acidic protein (GFAP, astrogliosis) and ionized calcium binding adaptor

molecule 1 (Iba1, microgliosis). Preliminary results demonstrate no

differences between any groups with respect to behavioral or

neuroinflammatory outcomes. Ongoing studies include comparing the

effects of a single concussive brain injury and repeated sub-concussive brain

injuries using a similar rat CHI model. This study marks the first critical step

in experimentally addressing the cumulative effects of repeated sub-

concussive brain injury using an adult rat CHI model.

HIGH PHOSPHATE LEVEL IN ECONOMICAL DIETS LEAD TO

VASCULAR CALCIFICATION

Eric Lucas, LaShan Simpson


One of the biggest health disparities affecting families across the United

States is cardiovascular diseases and complications. The leading factor

causing this phenomenon is the calcification of the vascular system. Studies

have shown that phosphate found in everyday foods begins the downward

cascade of cardiovascular health. Socioeconomic lines and health disparities

are often two pathways that cross. Food Deserts (FD) are a common issue

that effect low socioeconomic communities across the United States, more

so African-American communities. FD’s limit the access for people in the


community to attain fresh food which often results to only fast food

options. These processed foods from fast foods and grocery outlets are

found to have high concentrations of inorganic phosphates. Phosphates are

highly absorbed in digestion and lead to upregulation of biomarkers of

vascular calcification (VC) and other cardiovascular issues. The aim of this

study is to establish how to effectively lower phosphate levels and intake.

By successfully lowering phosphate levels/intake, this will decrease or even

prevent VC. Positive outcomes such as lowering VC would have a huge

impact on the cardiac health of millions.

THE EFFECT OF TRANSCUTANEOUS ELECTRICAL NERVE

STIMULATION AT HEGU ACUPUNCTURE POINT ON SPINAL

MOTOR NEURON EXCITABILITY IN PEOPLE WITHOUT

KNOWN NEUROMUSCULAR DISEASES

Huang M1, Dai XL2, Adah F1, Barnes L1, Benghuzzi H2, Antonio V Hayes3

and Dobrivoje S Stokic3.

1Department of Physical Therapy, University of Mississippi Medical Center,

Jackson, MS, 2Department of Anesthesiology, University of Mississippi

Medical Center, Jackson, MS, and 3Neurophysiological Research

Laboratories, The Methodist Rehabilitation Center, Jackson, MS

Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to determine the effect of

transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS) at Hegu acupuncture point on

H-reflex. Subjects: This study was performed on 40 volunteer subjects

without known neuromuscular diseases, with an age range from 22 to 51

years old. Methods: Subjects were randomly divided into Five groups:

control (C), TENS stimulation at sensory threshold at Hegu acupoint

(STAP) and 1.5 times sensory threshold at Hegu (1.5 STAP), TENS at

sensory threshold at non acupoint (STNAP) and 1.5 sensory threshold at non

acupoint (1.5 STNAP). TENS was administered for 15 minutes. Stimulation

intensity varied according to group assignment. H-reflexes were recorded

before and at 0, 5 and 10 minutes after TENS Stimulation. Results: There

was no statistical significance among any of the variables. The mean

difference comparing the threshold variable to the control had the highest

degree of significance (p=.70). Conclusion: Intensity variances between

sensory level and 1.5x sensory level in both acupoint and nonacupoint sites

were noted. Stimulation to nonacupoint sites lead to a higher H-reflex than

the baseline, while a decrease in H-reflex was seen following stimulation to

acupoint sites. Intensity at sensory level increased the H-reflex, while

intensity at 1.5x sensory level decreased the H-reflex. At this time no definite

conclusions can be made because the small sample size rendered our results

to be statistically insignificant.

THE NEED FOR COMPLEMENTARY ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

HANDBOOK FOR PRACTITIONERS: THE NEW MEDICATION

BOOK

Lashanda Brumfield, Ham Benghuzzi, and Elgenaid Hamadain

Piedmont College, Demorest GA, University of Mississippi Medical Center,

Jackson MS

Aside from primary health care providers, all healthcare professionals should

have some knowledge of all the possible drugs and supplements their

patients/clients may be taking. The growing consumer demand for

complementary and alternative therapies (CAM) in health care has had an

effect on all health professionals. The 2007 National Health Interview

Survey (NHIS) reported that adults in the United States spent $33.9 billion

out of pocket on visits to CAM practitioners and purchases of CAM

products, classes, and material (Nahin, et al). With this known, the average

healthcare provider knows little to nothing about advising patients/clients on

practical use. A recent study conducted in Mississippi, among nurses, found

a need for increased education and resources on CAM in their practicing.

This study found that none of the universities attended by the nurses in the

study offered a core course on CAM and that 53% reported having only a

component of a course that included CAM. Eighty percent of the nurses felt

unprepared when discussing CAM with patients (Brumfield, et al). The NIH

has taken many measures in providing the information needed by health care

professionals’ byway of the National Center for Complementary &

Integrative Health, but this resource is unknown to many healthcare

professionals. Most professionals’ trained to use their professional

handbooks, such as The Medication Handbook. There is now a need for the

Alternative Medicine Handbook, to support this current age of integrative

health care, a time when supplemental medicine is a common practice among

patients.

36th Annual Meeting March 6-8, 2020...Introduction or background, Methods, Results, Discussion and summaries, References and Acknowledgments. The Conference will be held at the Crowne

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